Keeping Christmas Blog Hop - April 2020

Hello friends!  I can't believe another month has gone by and it's time for our fun blog hop to inspire you to make your Christmas cards!  The complete hop list is at the end of my post.  I hope you will check out each awesome designer as I know you will find a lot of beautiful inspiration along the way!

Last month I made a card with a wreath (click HERE if you missed it) and today I have a slim-line card with a wreath that's totally different!  

Let's get started on the card!  I have all of the supplies, and links, listed below.

• Create the card base by scoring a 7" x 9-½" piece of Neenah Solar White 80# card stock at 3-½".
• Use a score board and tool to emboss the lines along each edge of the card base front.
• Layer a light gray 9" x 3" card stock with a dark gray 8-¾" x 2-¾" with liquid glue and attach to the card base.
• Emboss a 8-½" x 2-½" strip of white card stock with the Lumber embossing folder.  This strip is longer than the embossing folder, so I just flipped it around and lined it up with the first embossing to emboss the remainder of the strip.
• Add the embossed piece to the card base.
• Stamp the Woodgrain Background stamp with gray ink onto white card stock.
• Die cut the letters N, E and L from the woodgrain piece.  Die cut two more for each letter from white card stock.  Adhere all of these layers together.
• Die cut the letters again from dark gray card stock and adhere to the other letters slightly offset.
• Die cut the bow and berries from red card stock.  I used a piece of card stock from my stash.
• Die cut the wreath base and leaves once from three shades of green card stock.
• Using a ball-tipped stylus and foam pad, lightly shape the leaves and bow.
• Build the wreath by adhering with liquid glue leaves around the wreath.  I attached the two larger sizes first and filled in with the smallest leaves.
• Attach the bow and berries with glue.

I felt like it needed just a bit more, so I used some of the extra leaves and berries to embellish the other letters.

I hope that you are well and that you are finding relief by crafting.  I know I'm so thankful I have this hobby that I love to keep me occupied while we are home.  I always so appreciate your visit to my blog--thank you!  Here's the hop list so be sure to go leave some kindness for these talented ladies!

Kelly Lunceford

Vicki Finger (off this month)

Claire Broadwater

Lori Tecler

Nance Salkeld

Nina Forsyth

Nancy Guse

Marybeth Lopez

Nancy Penir

Carol Hintermeier << that's me!

Supplies:

Honey Bee Stamps Joy Noel Wreath Honey Cuts

Honey Bee Stamps Woodgrain Background stamp

Rubbernecker Stamps Color Fuse Ink Set #12

Tim Holtz 3D Texture Fades Lumber embossing folder

Simon Says Stamp Shade of Gray cardstock

Altenew Green Meadows Gradient Cardstock set

My Favorite Things Field Day Prestige Cardstock

Heartfelt Creations Flower Shaping Essentials Kit

CAS Peace on Earth | Honey Bee Stamps

Hello friends!  As promised over on my Instagram post, here's a quick "how I made it" blog post.  I was struck with fear when we were told this week would be CAS and quick to produce card week.  I mean, really, look at my cards--nothing CAS about them--not ever!  LOL!  All of the products I used are available in the Honey Bee shop--just click on the link.  Nothing like one-stop-shopping!

Here are the steps for the card base:

• Die cut some Tim Holtz Distress Woodgrain Cardstock with the largest A2 Deckle Edge die.  Die cut a top-folding A2 card base with the same die, leaving the top edge of the die just beyond the fold.
• Take the #5 and #6 deckle dies (with the smallest being #1) and center, then tape them together to create a frame.  See photo below.
• Center these dies onto the woodgrain die cut piece and run it through your machine.
• Keeping the 2 dies taped together, die cut some foam so the frame will have dimension. (I had to die cut card stock 4 times as I remembered that I was out of foam.)
• Adhered the foam to the woodgrain frame.
• Adhere the largest piece to your top-folding card that was die cut with the Deckle Edge die. Then adhere the stacked frame.
• Using the #5 Deckle Edge die, cut out a piece of the evergreen paper that's from the Holiday Traditions 6x6 paper pad.  Adhere it in the center.  (Honey Bee has a die release tool with a little spatula like tool on one end that helped push this piece down in the frame.)

Take a piece white self-adhesive glitter foam and adhere it to a scrap piece of white card stock.  Then die cut the wreath from the Joy Noel Honey Cuts twice.  I intertwined them a bit and adhered them together with a few drops of glue.  Adhere that to the center of the green panel.

Next I used a sentiment from the Rejoice stamp set.  I stamped it with Versamark and heat embossed it in WOW! Silver Metallic embossing powder.  Then I die cut it with a die from the Banner Builder Honey Cuts.  I added a couple of strips of thin foam tape to the back and adhered it to the frame.  

The final thing was to add some green gems from the Log Cabin Gem Stickers set.  I used small dots of Distress Collage Medium Matte just to make sure those gems stayed put!

Ok, I know that may sound like a lot of steps, but honestly, once you have it all set up, it comes together very quickly.  I hope you've found these steps helpful.  As always, you are so kind to stop by my blog--I appreciate you!

Supply list:

HBS A2 Deckle Edge Honey Cuts

HBS Joy Noel Honey Cuts

HBS Rejoice Stamps

HBS Holiday Traditions 6x6 paper pad

HBS Log Cabin Gem Stickers

HBS Die Release tool

Darice self-adhesive glitter foam sheets

Tim Holtz Woodgrain Cardstock

Distress Collage Medium Matte
WOW! Silver Metallic embossing powder

Golden Joy Holiday Card | Honey Bee Stamps

Hello friends!  Today I'm over on the Honey Bee Stamps blog with the elegant, easy to make holiday card.  I've used the Joy Noel Wreath Honey Cuts, Winter Bouquet Honey Cuts and the Follow That Star Background Stencil to create this classic and elegant Christmas card!

To begin, I cut some red card stock to 5-¼" x 4".  Then I used two of the Background Blender Brushes to ink around the edges with Fired Brick Distress Ink and just a touch of Black Soot Distress Ink.  I sprayed some Pixie Spray on the back of the Follow That Star stencil and let that dry.  Pixie Spray is a light tack, repositionable adhesive that makes using stencils so easy!  Then I put it on the red cardstock and applied Golden Era NUVO Glacier Paste through the stencil.  This paste is so smooth and not as "gritty" as other glitter pastes with a beautiful and subtle shine.  Be sure to clean your stencil immediately!

While the Glacier Paste was drying, I used the "j" and "y" from the Joy Noel Wreath Honey Cuts and die cut them from some gold mirror cardstock.  I also cut the smallest and next to largest poinsettias from the Winter Bouquet Honey Cuts from the gold mirror cardstock.  For the middle layer I smooshed a Ranger Emboss It Dabber Clear embossing ink onto some 80# Neenah.  I made sure I had a thick, solid layer of the embossing ink.  I sprinkled some Stampendous Shabby White Embossing Enamel over it.  I let my heat tool get good and hot and then heat set it from the back of the paper so the enamel didn't blow off.  This embossing powder is SO pretty with the gold, white, and gold sparkle in it!  Once that was totally cool, I die cut the next to largest poinsettia and the flower center from the embossed piece.  I adhered the pieces together with glue dots.

After the stenciled piece way dry, I used a ruler and an extra fine point gold metallic marker to draw a frame near the edges.  I layered this onto a 5-½" x 4-¼" gold mirror piece.  I added these to a top-folding 80# Neenah card base.

I used my t-square ruler to help align and center the J and Y.  I adhered those and the poinsettia with liquid glue.  I love how the poinsettia dies have lines in them that emboss for that extra dimension!

I love combining sets, and all of these that I've used are so versatile!  Thank you so much for stopping by!  Stay warm, and crafty!!

Supplies:

Honey Bee Stamps:

Joy Noel Wreath Honey Cuts

Winter Bouquet Honey Cuts

Follow That Star background stencil

Background Blender Brushes

Other supplies:

Pixie Spray

Golden Era NUVO Glacier Paste

Craft Perfect Gold Mirror cardstock

Ranger Emboss It Dabber

Stampendous Shabby White Embossing Enamel

Sakura Gold Extra Fine Point Metallic Gold