Christmas/technique cards for Tech 4 Stampers Blog Hop

Sale-a-bration is the theme for September’s Tech 4 Stampers blog hop. Thanks to the lovely Sara Sayers for setting the theme.

As Sale-a-bration gallops toward the end in two weeks time, I selected the Be Dazzled papers which you can get free with a £45 purchase, and another using the Summer Shadow dies which is free with a £90 purchase. It’s a double whammy for this blog hop!

The Tech 4 Stampers is a monthly subscription group run by Louise Sims. She mentors and enables members to understand IT jargon and equips them with a fountain of Technical knowledge to build or manage their own websites. It takes the mystery out of “tech” and I’ve certainly grown in confidence thanks to her expertise, patience and guidance. Not only that, I’ve met and made new friends with my fellow “Techs” and love the camaraderie within the group.

Card 1 – Free with £45 Be Dazzling 6″x 6″ Specialty papers

Which camp are you in? Red and green for Christmas, or anything but? Call me old fashioned because I do prefer the traditional red and green. However, I was willing to be persuaded otherwise with the soft shades of Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake in this year’s Whimsy & Wonder Suite. Added to the mix Misty Moonlight (love blues anyway), Mossy Meadow and Polished Pink.

This card has a little surprise when you open it. The card base was cut from Blushing Bride 4-1/8″ x 11″ and folded in half in landscape orientation. The Mint Macaron layer measures 3-3/4″ x 5-1/8″ and was embossed with one of the Wintry 3D embossing folders. There are two in a pack which is designed for the Mini Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine. In order to emboss this layer, I had to run it through twice in the larger Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine instead.

I had originally intended to adhere the Mint Macaron layer directly onto the card base, but it didn’t “pop”, so I added a Basic White mat layer 3-7/8″ x 5-1/4″ which made all the difference.

The tinsel, baubles and stars were die cut from the Be Dazzling 6″x 6″ specialty paper. I attached a self adhesive sheet on the back before die cutting the elements to save time and sticky fingers!

FYI the Be Dazzling papers can also be coloured in a colour of your choice. Simply fill a spritzer with rubbing alcohol and add a few drops of re-inker and you’re good to go! I wouldn’t recommend using your Stampin’ Blends on the Be Dazzling paper as it is textured and could damage the brush tip of your alcohol marker.

Inside card

To minimize “bulk”, I adhered the pretty “Whimsy & Wonder” DSP directly on to the card base as a backdrop. Both these measure 5-1/4″ x 3-7/8″. The Basic White pieces measure 2″ x 3″ which was attached to the Blushing Bride strip. I adhered the first panel and last panel to the card base, leaving the second and third free to fold outwards.

I kept stamping to a minimum to allow room to address and sign off on the first and last panels. The second and third panels gave me the opportunity to stamp and use the other dies in the set. Just love those tall, quirky skinny trees!

When you view it from the top, you can see the “W” the second and third panels form. The middle strip in Blushing Bride measures 2″ x 11″ and I simply folded it in half, and half of the half again to create the “W” fold. The first and last panels were adhered to the front and back of card as pictured above.

Card 2 – Free with £90 Summer Shadow Dies

Shadow stamping

I did a technique called shadow stamping on the Shaded Spruce label from Tasteful Labels Dies. You stamp your image in Whisper White craft ink first and allow it to dry. Ink the same stamp image in a darker colour, usually this would be the same colour as your card stock, and ever so slightly stamp again but just the tiniest fraction off the original stamped image to create the shadow effect above. This technique works best on dark card stock.

The mat layer, die cut from Soft Sea Foam card stock with the Stitched Greenery die was distressed all round the edges with the blade edge of the scissors. I also sponged the edges with Soft Sea Foam to add a bit of depth.

The solid floral images were die cut from Petal Pink, and the accents in Blushing Bride. Solid leaves were die cut in Soft Sea Foam and the leaf accents in Shaded Spruce.

Happy Hopping!

Product List

Whimsical Trees Bundle (English) [156810]	Scalloped Contours Dies [155560]	Whimsy & Wonder 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [156329]
Wintry 3 D Embossing Folders [155433]	Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride [131287]	Basic White A4 Cardstock [159228]
Mint Macaron A4 Cardstock [138344]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad [147100]
Polished Pink Classic Stampin' Pad [155712]	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin' Pad [147106]	Mint Macaron Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154889]
Subtles Stampin' Write Markers [147156]	Be Dazzling 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Specialty Paper [156629]	Blushing Bride 3/8'' (1 Cm) Frayed Grosgrain Ribbon [156341]
Shaded Summer Cling Stamp Set [155783]	Summer Shadows Dies [156618]	Stitched Greenery Die [155451]
Soft Sea Foam A4 Cardstock [147012]	Shaded Spruce A4 Cardstock [147006]	Petal Pink A4 Cardstock [147009]
Card Stock A4 Blushing Bride [131287]	Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill [147277]	Soft Sea Foam Classic Stampin' Pad [147102]
Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad [147088]	Genial Gems [155500]	Sponge Daubers [133773]
Stamparatus [148187]