Hey crafty friends, I did an Online Card Class last week, which has filled me with Holiday Card ideas and I'm having fun just working my way through some themes that were taught in the classes. One of the things I love about these classes, is that they encourage you to 'shop your stash', which for me is wonderful, because living in New Zealand, these classes which include kits, are prohibitively expensive for me. So I love that Online Card Classes, keep things accessible in every way. You can craft along during the 'live week', or you can take your time and work through the classes at your leisure. There's even a Facebook Group to share your creations in, as you work your way through the classes. This is a great way to see other creatives twist on themes, or colour combinations etc. My designs follow the themes, but have my own twist to them, because, as always, it's my Whimsy stash I reach for to create the designs. I usually pretty sure there'll be something in my Whimsy stash that'll fit the bill and with these classes, it wasn't too great a stretch. There are a couple I cannot do until I think up an alternate bit of stash, but that'll come down the line I'm sure. So I focused on the techniques I could easily do with the stash I had.
This year, Jaycee Gaspar taught a class which used paper strips to create the background. I have quite a lot of Concord and 9th papers in my stash, as I'm a big fan of their slightly different colour palette. So I was excited that these were going to be used as the colour palette focus. I did get a few extra papers which included some specialty cardstocks that I'd not seen before in their main line. These were suggested for the classes. I made these beautiful contemporary Christmas cards using the papers from the Cozy Christmas Assorted Cardstock Pack from Concord and 9th. This pack includes 3 sheets of their cardstock colours in these gorgeous colours, Cayenne, Nectar, Eucalyptus, Rainforest, Grasshopper, and Champagne Foil. Their curated colour palette for this set is 'so me'. I love how these cards look with this paper combination.
Such gorgeous colours including some of my favourites, Cayenne and Rainforest and now I've discovered it, this pretty champagne foil, which is just so lovely. I used my Whimsy stash for the extra elements, and love the way these cards turned out. Such fun classes, they gave me a boost on my Christmas crafting and reminded me of techniques I’d not done in a while. The two Whimsy Stamps die sets I used were perfect for these contemporary Christmas card designs. I love their graphic bold designs and if you've a lot of cards to make, these are a great option, because they make it SO easy! I’ve made another batch of cards from one of the classes since, so I will share that soon too. I used Spellbinders White Glitter Foam for the Love Peace & Joy card above. The version with just the Peace & Joy, I used plain white cardstock. Hammermill is my white cardstock of choice usually. All the stacking elements for the letters I use Hammermill 100lb Cover Weight. The J and Y of JOY were cute from leftovers of my Cardstock Warehouse Quartz cardstock. It has a lovely sheen and up close is a nice shimmery finish for those letters.
This joy to the world card included an adapted element which was part of one of Jennifer McGuire’s classes. I adapted her design to work with the bauble die I had in the Whimsy Joy Word Die Set, so it became a popped up 3D element. I've done this before, but not with the clever 'folds flat for posting' adaptation she teaches! So this was really fun! I diecut the little starburst elements from the Retro Mod Die Set from the Champagne Foil. A couple of my cards, the strips of paper were too short for, so these helped cover some of those seams. I wanted to complete the sentiment on the JOY card to read Joy to the World. So stamped that second part of the phrase from Whimsy's Simple Sentiment Strips Holidays Clear Stamp Set. I used Ranger Liquid Platinum to heat emboss the little strip. This is a chameleon embossing powder, it looks gold on some things and more silvery on others, it's very cool. I finished that sentiment strip with a little glitter enamel gem from my stash, from Rosie's Studio, Very Merry Collection.
Just in case you missed my recent posts, we have a fun event happening at Whimsy Stamps right now. We are sharing our 'Top 9' boards with our favourite Whimsy Stamps makes from across the year. I've shared three boards, no prizes for guessing two of them were Halloween boards! You can check out the fun in our Facebook Group. Just click through on the banner above to head there. Last day for entries is 26th November, end of day EST.
We've also just had the most wonderful release at Whimsy Stamps. It's full of fun and fabulous stamp, die, stencil and quick card front sets, perfect for the holidays! My recent order has just arrived, so I'll be sharing makes with some of these products very soon! The Whimsy design teams have been creating magical makes with these already! I will be back again soon with another crafty adventure. Hope you're all having a great week. Thanks for stopping in to visit my little corner of the blogosphere. Leave me a comment if you've time, I'd love to come visit you too. Hugs, Wends xoxo
(I share thumbnails to the elements I design with in order to make your search for them easier, in case you like something I've used. I do use affiliate links where possible, and so appreciate if you use these when shopping. They cost you no extra whatsoever. I am proud to design for the companies I do and always feel happy to share where my inspiration and where my crafty stash comes from. I am occasionally gifted products to use, but I only design for companies whose products I absolutely love and buy for myself. My opinions are always my own.)
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