Whimsy Stamps ~ Merry & Bright

Hey friends, I've a fun trio of cards to share with you today. After my Online Card Class which featured using Washi Tape on card fronts, I decided to do a few more, especially since I'd had my lovely Tim Holtz Washi Tape pack delivered just after the class finished. So I really wanted to use that on a design. I didn't want to add the extra stencilling over the Washi that the class suggested, as I wanted these to be quick and simple cards. I needed to make three for Zac's lovely teachers, as Christmas is not a short break for our kiddos but is actually the end of the school calendar year. He is in a combined open planned class with three teachers, he has his principal teacher, but the other two are involved in joint classes and combined teaching events, so they've all had an impact on him this year. It was a special thank you for all they have done this year and they were very well received by Zac's account. Apparently reduced all three teachers to tears! (Zac's lovely message inside was more responsible for that I'm sure, but hey, it was definitely a lovely thing!)

I made up 3 card bases, two in the standard A2 card size, but I was cutting them from NZ A4 paper, so was left with a 4 inch base as the last one. (I can cut one A2 width card, leaving a 4 inch strip behind.) So I used two sheets of A4 to get all 3 card bases. I decided to still create an A2 size front on the third one, but rather than have a the lovely border around, the Washi Tape would go edge to edge on the A2 card front and then I adhered the slightly narrower 4 inch card base behind. When you open it, there's a hint of the Washi Tape edge, but happily, I had continued the Washi Tape strips slightly beyond the edge on the reverse side, so it has a nice finish. 

I really love the tartan and gingham designs in the new Tim Holtz Washi Tape pack this year. I had to have it when I saw that one! So it was fun to use those on a couple of these designs with a mix of other Washi Tapes I've had in my stash for a very long time. I like to buy Washi Tape, but don't use it nearly as much as I'd like to, so I was really taken with this idea from the Online Card Classes Holiday Card Workshop this year. Whimsy Stamps have several fabulous new word dies for Christmas, the first card I did in this design, I used their lovely Believe Word Die but I wanted to use the Merry & Bright Word Die Set for these three, as this was a new addition to my stash and I wanted to have a play. You may have seen the first card I used this on here. I loved how that turned out, so I wanted to use this die again for these three. 

I used such a lovely shiny cardstock for the diecut sentiment, it was hard to capture the prettiness of this in the flat-lay still shots, but angled into the light, I could capture the shine quite nicely, so I wanted to share the pics above to show that shine off. The gold Washi Tape is really lovely when it catches the light too. I used a gold glitter Washi Tape in the first card shown, then the shiny gold washi tape for the next two. That last one, I also used a lovely wide black Washi Tape with Merry and Bright in Gold on it. This simple limited colour palette worked so well for these cards. I will change it up and try some other colours next, but I really loved the red, black, white and gold theme for the these Christmas creations. I popped the shadow of the sentiment up on foam before adding it to the card fronts and then added the lovely shiny red sentiment with liquid glue over the shadow. So simple yet so striking I think.

I am going to be back pretty much every day until Christmas to get all my cards shared before the big day! I've made so many and there's just not enough time in my days at the moment to keep up with sharing them all, so I apologise that my posts will be coming so fast, but I really want to share my crafty fun with you all. So I will see you again soon. Hugs and hope your Christmas crafting is going well too!