Pine Tree Punch

Perfectly Plaid Christmas in July

Perfectly Plaid Christmas Card with Stamp Set and Punch

Perfectly Plaid Christmas in July is my take on today’s Freshly Brewed Projects Blog Hop.

Our theme is Christmas in July. Although I can’t imagine Christmas in the middle of summer, that’s exactly when it is for my friends in Australia. For example, right now they are having the kind of weather most of us in the USA think of as Christmas weather.

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Christmas in July?

It’s never too early to begin working on Christmas cards. When I plan cards for Christmas, one of the main criteria is simplicity. Of course, I want to make pretty cards with layers, but I won’t be making fancy folds or cards that require a ton of supplies.

Today, I’m using the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set and the Pine Tree punch. The card is monochromatic, which means only a couple of colors of cardstock and ink are needed.

Perfectly Plaid Christmas Card with Stamp Set and Punch

How It’s Made

I used Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen inks for stamping, along with a touch of Cinnamon Cider for the tree trunk. The same colors of cardstock, along with Basic White make up the card. Believe it or not, the DSP is from the Pansy Petals Suite. It’s not just for pansies! And the best part? By cutting the DSP to 2″ x 4″, you can get 18 pieces from one 12″ x 12″ sheet of DSP with zero waste!! The white layer uses one of the Scalloped Contours Dies.

Perfect Plaid Christmas in July Card

Masked Background

The soft background behind the tree uses a die from Hippo & Friends. The shape is cut from a piece of scrap paper. The frame is adhered to the card using REMOVEABLE adhesive, and Soft Succulent ink is added with a Blending Brush. When the scrap paper is removed, this beautiful soft background magically appears! If you’re making multiple cards, the Stamparatus will make quick work of this step.

The tree is stamped in Evening Evergreen and punched with the Pine Tree punch. I LOVE using punches when I’m making multiple cards. It’s so much faster than using dies. I added linen thread to the back layer and Champagne rhinestones to the tree for a little bling.

Perfectly Plaid Christmas in July closeup

The Inside

For the inside, I simply stamped the sentiment and added three trees, two in Soft Succulent and one in Evening Evergreen. I did stamp all of these off on scrap paper once to soften the color.

Perfectly Plaid Christmas in July inside

Let’s Hop!

See what my friends have created for Christmas in July by clicking on the links below.

Here’s the fixin’s:

Freshly Brewed Projects – Christmas DSP

It’s time for another Blog Hop with my friends in Australia!  Today, we are using Christmas DSP (Designer Series Paper ) in our projects.  I can’t wait to see what everyone does.

I thought I would share a project from one of my monthly Stamp Clubs.  We took a 6 x 6 sheet of DSP from the Flowers for Every Season pack in the Annual Catalog. As the description states, this package of paper DOES cover all the seasons, including tulips for Spring, daisies for Summer, sunflowers for Autumn, and poinsettias for Winter.  And, that’s only the beginning.  This DSP pack has 48 sheets (4 each of 12 double-sided designs)!

This was a One Sheet Wonder class, which means we took one sheet of DSP and cut it into pieces to make four different cards.

We weren’t able to meet in person, so everyone picked up their kit and we made these cards in an online class.  Then, everyone was left to their own devices to finish and embellish their cards.

I wanted to show them just how versatile these cards can be, so I finished each one of mine with a different stamp set, hoping they would all own at least one of these sets, or have something similar.

This card was finished with the Christmas Gleaming Variety Bundle.  This Bundle comes with a stamp set, not one but TWO ornament punches, PLUS Specialty DSP with copper foil accents.  It’s beautiful!

I finished this one with the Perfectly Plaid stamp set and coordinating Pine Tree Punch from the Annual Catalog.

 

This card was completed using the Gift Wrapped Bundle, which comes with the Gift Bow Builder Punch.  You’ll find it in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog.

My last card, and favorite, uses the Poinsettia Petals Bundle.  This Bundle will make poinsettias in different sizes, and mine uses the smallest of the dies.  It also comes with dies to emboss the petals, which is optional, but I really like the embossing.

Now that you’ve seen just how versatile these cards can be, what would you use to finish yours?!

Be sure to see what the other ladies have done with their Christmas DSP by clicking on the links below.  I’m sure it’s something fabulous!

 

Here’s the fixin’s:

 

Perfectly Plaid Note Card

One of my favorite bundles in the Holiday Catalog is Perfectly Plaid.  Why?  Because I LOVE punches.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my dies, but punches are just so easy and quick to use!

I made this card as a demonstration at a recent party.  One of the Make-n-Takes for the party was a pumpkin card, using the same design.  If you missed it, you can take a look here.

This is one of my GOTO designs when I need a card in a hurry.  It works with any stamp set!  And, using the note cards and envelopes (which are pre-cut and scored) help you create a great card even faster!  This would make a cute Christmas card and you could whip out a bunch of these in no time!

Here’s the fixin’s: