I adore a clean card with lots of white space – white space can be a very important element on a card. For this week’s CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge, I made a quick and sweet Christmas card with a tree bought and a simple sentiment. I layered bold stripes behind the clean image to add a little extra intrigue to this clean card. You know I can’t help myself, right? Here’s my card:
And here’s the banner for the challenge that inspired my card:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders
Holly Jolly. Last year’s Holiday Catalog introduced us to Holly Jolly Greetings and the coordinating Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies. What a treat! Not only do I adore the three Thinlits, but I love how they coordinate with the Holly Jolly Greetings stamps. Both products also work independently of the other, too. Here’s a look at the variety of sentiments in the Holly Jolly Greetings:
Holly Jolly Greetings, Stampin’ Up!
And here’s a look at the three must-have Thinlits that coordinate with the set:
Christmas Greetings Thinlits, Stampin’ Up!
Stamping Off. I love the soft look of the bough from Stampin’ Up!’s Christmas Pines stamp set – I didn’t want the image to be heavy with a full concentration of Emerald Envy ink, but I also didn’t want to stamp the bough with a lighter green ink (like Pear Pizzazz or Wisteria Wonder). I also wasn’t sure, at the time, how I’d place the sentiment across the image, so I didn’t want it to be too dark. To achieve the lightness I wanted, I stamped off once. What does that mean? I inked up the stamp, lightly stamped it on a piece of scrap paper and then stamped it on this card front. It’s an easy way to achieve a softer look.
A Touch of Black. Emerald Envy and Real Red are a great pair for a bright, cheery Christmas project. Emerald Envy has a touch of bright with a lot of rich depth. I went back and forth between a Real Red base and an Emerald Envy base for this card. Since the Real Red words already pop off the page on the front of this card, I decided to back the card with Emerald Envy. The thin, black border around the Whisper White panel is a grounding effect on this card – it breaks up all the green and red. As Lydia once told me, “If you ever feel like something’s missing, it just might be that you need to add some black.” That was certainly the case here.
Stamp Sets: Christmas Pines, Holly Jolly Greetings Papers: 2016-2018 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack, Whisper White, Basic Black, Emerald Envy, Real Red Inks: Emerald Envy, Real Red Accessories: Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies, Stampin’ Dimensionals
Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set – 142049
Price: $35.00
Holly Jolly Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set – 139882
Price: $20.00
Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies – 139659
Price: $17.00
2016-2018 In Color Designer Series Paper Stack – 141408
Price: $22.00
Emerald Envy 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock – 141415
Price: $8.00
Real Red 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock – 102482
Price: $8.00
Christmas Pines Photopolymer Bundle – 143496
Price: $54.75
Supply List
I hope you’ll pop over to the CAS(E) This Sketch site to see the cards by the design team members and to play along with this week’s challenge.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Brian