I purchased the Christmas Label and Christmas Greenery bundles a bit ago and I finally got around to creating with them this morning. I have some time off this week and I’ll be using some of that time to build up my stash of cards to send this Holiday season. I normally don’t like to leave it this close to the wire, but it is what it is. It’s time to get inky!!!

The evergreen bough die is much longer than what I needed for my card, so I only used the end of the die on a smaller piece of Garden Green cardstock. To add a bit of dimension to the holly leaves I used a small blending brush to add some Granny Apple Green ink around the outside edges. The red background is embossed with the new Beautiful Pattern 3D embossing folder; the detail is subtle, but it definitely adds something to the card. For this project I used the debossed side of the cardstock – which adds a subtle image without raised edges. I really like this look for this particular embossing folder! Finally, the thing that I love most on this card was something that I added as an afterthought – the gold sparkling sequins. The best part is that they add some glitz without adding any lumpiness. I won’t have any issue mailing this card first class, even with the temperamental new sorting machines at the Post Office!

This sketch challenge was the inspiration for my card design. I’m actually managing to get this post done just under the wire to be able to participate while the challenge is live. Yay!

I love how the layers, banner and foliage all come together on this sketch for a very versatile layout. I used it for a Christmas card, but it could just as easily be used for a card for any season of the year.

Traditional Labels Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [165854] $19.00	Traditional Labels Bundle (English) [165865] $43.00	Traditional Labels Dies [165864] $29.00	Christmas Greenery Dies [165872] $36.00
Beautiful Pattern 3 D Embossing Folder [167097] $10.50	Traditional Sparkling Sequins [165875] $8.00	Small Blending Brushes [160518] $14.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $4.25
Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [120953] $14.00	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [166780] $14.00	Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [102482] $14.00	Granny Apple Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146990] $14.00
Garden Green 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [102584] $14.00	Basic Beige 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [164511] $14.00	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [147114] $9.00	Granny Apple Green Stampin' Pad [147095] $9.00