A very cool thing happening this year is that Christmas and Hanukkah are happening at the same time.  Tonight,  people will be lighting Menorahs as Hanukkah begins and others will be heading to Christmas Eve candlelight services.  It is kind of nice to know that many people all over the world will be celebrating miracles all at the same time.

I wanted to create a Hanukkah card that would symbolize light.  I used a few old and a few new things to create it.  The Fancy Frost Paper, sequins and ribbon are all from the holiday Occasions catalog. (And on clearance! You can still buy HERE!) The silver glitter paper and the stamp are retired.  The Stitched Oval framelits are a sneak preview from next year’s catalog.  They all combined to make a Hanukkah card I was happy with.

The Fancy Frost paper is lightly colored with Soft Sky to give it a blue hue and bring out the detail.  I also inked Wink of Stella all over the Fancy Frost paper to make it sparkle. You have to suspend your disbelief and know this technique worked really well to give the paper a sheen. I loved how it turned out, but I hate how it photographed!  The silver ribbon and glimmer paper all added to the shine.

The stamp is a few years old and I have hung on to it because I just love it.  I stamped and colored in with Dapper Denim then finished off with Wink of Stella on the flames.  Again, you just have to believe me,  it looks great!  The final touch were the Fancy Frost sequins.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Recipe

Merry Mice is a stamp set I got at the year end clearance. ( You can too click HERE!) I had had my eye on it for a while and the price was too good to pass up.  This is not the usually type of stamp set I buy.  But the mice in this set are just too darn cute!  I have used it to make tags, etc.  But I wanted to do a card.

What is so great about these stamps is they are all outline drawings and you can color!  Being able to color in images gives you a lot more control as well as a chance to do some interesting things like add Wink of Stella to the ornament and star.  You can’t see the glitter in this photo, but it is there and adds some interest.

Having such great choices in DSP comes in handy.  I used the Presents & Pinecones DSP and it worked perfectly with what I wanted to achieve.  There was no room for ribbon, but the strip of Cherry Cobbler DSP does the trick and the design in the paper is echoed by the design in the stamp I used under the sentiment! This easy coordination is what I love about Stampin’ Up!

Well, the holidays are near and this will be my last Christmas Card posting. (Sniff, sniff). I wish I had another month to work on more projects. It is hard to believe I have been working on Holiday projects since August.  There is just never enough time…..

Next week I will start on projects that will be available in the new Occasions catalog starting January 4th.  That is another thing I love about Stampin’ Up!  So many good things keep coming! Not only is a new Occasions catalog on the way, so are FREE STAMPS!  Yes, Sell-A-Bration starts the same day as the catalog launch!  You should have gotten your catalog in the mail.  Take some time for yourself during the holidays and take a look at this beautiful edition and all the wonderful things coming for Spring!

Recipe

Papers: Cherry Cobbler, Emerald Envy, Presents & Pinecones DSP, watercolor paper
Stamps: Merry Mice, Christmas Pines
Embellishments: Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine

This card with the fabulous Noel stamp from Christmas Pines was CASED from an organized by mail swap card I got from Lorrie Skinner.  I loved the look of her card and her use of the Noel stamp as the focus.  I just had to create a version using Emerald Envy and Cherry Cobbler!

The card uses the Timeless Textures stamp set, which at first glance you would not think of for a holiday card.  But with this design it works!  The stamps form the perfect background to the Noel sentiment.  The sequins are from the Fancy Frost Sequins assortment.  I used the Soft Sky sequins. They seem to pick up the Emerald Envy color and turn green on this card! I love the glow effect.

What is hard to see from the photograph is that I used Shimmery White for the background paper.  This is an excellent product I don’t use often enough.  The shimmer effect on this paper was perfect to set off the texture stamps and the sequins. Its a subtle effect, but it really makes the difference between a ordinary card and a special one.

I stamped the pine branches in Chocolate Chip and Emerald Envy and then went ahead and placed die cuts over. It gives the pine branches a lot of dimension to have both.  And then I topped the branches off with a couple of pine cones, some Cherry Cobbler Metallic Thread and a bow of Cherry Cobbler Backer’s Twine.  Definitely a different look, but I love the colors.

The “texture” stamps are a must have Both Timeless Textures and Gorgeous Grunge are great stamps to have to add color, unexpected touches and dimension to cards.  If you like to layer looks, then both of these sets will become your “go toos”!

Recipe

Papers: Shiimery White, Emerald Envy, Cherry Cobbler
Stamps: Timeless Textures, Christmas Pines
Embellishments: Cherry Cobbler Backer’s Twine, Cheery Cobbler Metallic Thread, Fancy Frost Sequins
Tools: Pretty Pines Thinlits, Big Shot