Joyful Christmas Gold Embossed Card

This card is so different than my typical style, but I was so pleased with how it came out.  I've been dusting off some of my old retired stamp sets that haven't seen a lot of ink lately, and it's been so much fun.  I love the look that the Musical Score background stamp gives to cards.  I would normally look at that stamp and think it had to be stamped in black on white or vanilla card stock.  But I thought just a tiny bit out of the box and embossed it with gold on black card stock, and the look is stunning.  In fact, I went a little crazy with the gold embossing on this card, but I don't think it would look as good if I hadn't carried the embossing throughout the entire card.  I love this card so much that I'm going to make a few more to send to the music lovers on my Christmas card list!

Stamps:  Joyful Christmas, Musical Score (retired), Christmas Punch (retired)
Ink:  VersaMark
Paper:  Naturals Ivory, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, and Always Artichoke card stock
Accessories:  Gold Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Paper Snips, Decorative Label Punch, Crochet Ribbon, Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon

Joyful Christmas Vellum Card

This is another card I made using Joyful Christmas.  This time I went with a more traditional Christmas look, pairing Cherry Cobbler with Old Olive.  I love that combination for Christmas!  What makes this card more interesting is that the poinsettia is stamped, then embossed, on vellum.  I used the very old (and long retired) vellum paper, rather than the thicker vellum card stock that Stampin' Up! now sells.  I much prefer the vellum card stock, because it's thicker.  However, I think the thinness of the vellum paper is what made the flower petals curl up like they did.  I'm not sure if the thicker vellum would give the same effect.  I used a sponge dauber and inked the front of the leaves and petals for a beautiful look.

The Most Important Tip

• Make sure your ink pad is well inked before stamping!  Ugh, I wish that greeting looked a lot better than it does.  That's a rookie mistake that this very experienced stamper made.  Oh well, now you know not to make the same one! :)

Supplies
Stamps:  Joyful Christmas
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive, VersaMark
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler and Naturals White card stock, Vellum card stock
Accessories:  Heat Tool, White embossing powder, Old Olive taffeta ribbon, sticky strip, Big Shot, Pretty Print embossing folder

Joyful Christmas Sunflower Card

I've been making tons of Christmas cards lately, but I can't quite seem to bring myself to post one today.  By Monday, I'll fully be in a Christmas mood, but it's still November, so I'm going to enjoy my Thanksgiving decorations for at least one more day.  (Although I will confess that I'm pretty sure we're going to go get our Christmas tree today.)

I hadn't intended to get any new Christmas stamp sets this year.  But I've had my eye on Joyful Christmas since the Holiday catalog came out, and when the clear mount stamp was listed as part of the Holiday Sale (which is still going on!), the price was just too good to pass up on it.  I've been playing with this set for the past couple of days and have some gorgeous Christmas cards to show off in the next couple of weeks. 

Who Knew?

• You can totally turn a poinsettia into a sunflower!  I think that an additional layer of the petals would look better (and more sunflower-like), but I used glue on this card and didn't want to mangle it in an attempt to dismantle it and add another layer.

• Crushed Curry and Gumball Green look FANTASTIC together!  Never in a million years would I have thought to combine those two colors.  It makes me sad that Gumball Green will only be around for a few more months.

• Maybe you knew this already, but RUN to the Clearance Rack and stock up on single color packs of Core'dinations Card stock.  That's where I found this Early Espresso paper.  It's also available in the Neutrals pack of Core'dinations Card Stock.

Supplies

Stamps:  Oh Hello and Joyful Christmas
Ink:  Gumball Green Crushed Curry, and Early Espresso
Paper:   Gumball Green Crushed Curry, and Soft Suede card stock, Early Espresso Core'dinations
Accessories:  Simply Pressed Clay and Molds, Linen Thread, Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon, Sanding Block, Paper Snips