Holly Jolly Stamping...

Hey everyone and welcome to a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog!

As Christmas approaches faster than a blink of an eye, this week's challenge is all about HOLLY JOLLY STAMPING! From santa to trees, from sentiments to snowflakes ~ we can't wait to see what you will create and hope you play along with our fun challenge...

I really can't believe where this year has gone, it's absolutely flown by and I'm so not ready for Christmas yet...maybe give me another month and I might be there! But as we head towards the big day, at least I have managed to create a couple of special cards and this is the first of them! I hope you love it as much as I loved creating it... 

For me, Christmas 2016 has been all about metallic and when I was planning this card in my head, I thought how wonderful a Tattered Poinsettia would look in silver metallic card, set against a black background with just a hint of sparkle. I then thought of adding a touch of nostalgia into the mix and I think it's a match made in heaven and this card turned out exactly how I envisaged!


and here's how I created this card!

To begin with I took a piece of black card and gave it a spritz of Frost Color Bloom Spray Mist, heat dried the card and then misted over the top with Brushed Pewter Distress Spray Stain. I loved how this looked, almost like a shimmering night sky.

Once the card was dry, I then needed some sparkle and added some Transparent Texture Paste through the Snowflake Layering Stencil. Whilst the paste is still wet, I sprinkled Rock Candy Dry Glitter over the top, tapped away the excess and set the card aside to dry. At this stage, don't be tempted to poke, it will take a while to dry and needs to harden completely before the next stage.

So, I moved onto my stamping and took a piece of white watercolor card and stamped the Music Santa from the Christmas Magic Stamp Set, in Jet Black Archival Ink. I watercoloured the image using a combination of greys and neutral tones and then inked around the edges with Antique Linen, Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress Ink for a more vintage look. 

At this stage, I also used the sparkles stamp from the same stamp set and inked with Antique Linen, to create a little more depth around the edges. Heat dry to make sure everything is set and then, I distressed the edges and matted it onto a piece of kraft card.

Now for the fun part, to create that gorgeous texture around the edges of the matted layers and for this, I used Prima Soft Matte Gel and mixed some Silver Micro Beads and Gold Glass Glitter into the paste before apply it with a palette knife around the edge of both the spritzed card and the stamped image.

Whilst the paste is still wet, I sprinkled Antique Silver Sugar Ultra Fine Glitter over the top, tapped away the excess. I loved the sparkle of the background and the raised snowflakes that shimmer in the light, they look so beautiful!

Once all my mediums were completely dry, I matted the black spritzed card onto a piece of silver card and wrapped a piece of silver metallic trimming around the matted layers.

I mounted the card onto the front of my card blank and attached the stamped image using foam pads and added a Small Talk Sticker.

As an added touch of sparkle, I added a gem to the corners of the image.

Now, all that's left is to make up that gorgeous poinsettia and for this I used the Tattered Poinsettia die and silver Metallic Kraft Core card stock.

I made up the bloom using the die cut layers and shaped the petals for a more realistic look.

Once I'd stuck my flower into place, I then added some Holiday Greens die cuts and a few punched laurel leaves, tucking them around the poinsettia. To complete the flower, I added glass glitter to the centre and used the fabulous Tim Holtz Splatter Brush to flick some Picket Fence over the top.

As the finishing touch, I added a vintage mother of pearl button and popped a Gumdrop into the centre.

All that's left now is for me to do now, is write this very special card and give it to two very special people in my life ~ my Mum and Dad!

As always, if you need any further inspiration for this challenge, then you need look no further than our blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. Good luck....

Just click on the link below to go shopping:

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Thank you so much for all your visits today and hope you all have a great week ahead

See you again soon...love Emma xx

Products used:

Tim Holtz Stamps: Christmas Magic
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Dies: Tattered Poinsettia, Holiday Greens
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Laurel Leaf Paper Punch

Distress Ink: Vintage Photo, Old Paper, Antique Linen

Distress Paint: Picket Fence

Distress Spray Stain: Brushed Pewter

Distress Marker Pens

Mediums: Ranger Transparent Gloss Texture Paste, Frost Color Bloom Spray, Jet Black Archival Ink

Prima Art Ingredients: Antique Silver Art Sugar Ultra Fine Glitter, Soft Matte Gel, Silver Micro Beads, Gold Rush Glass Glitter, Sterling Glass Glitter

Idea-ology: Gumdrop Ornamental Embellishment, Occasions Small Talk Stickers, Metallic Trimmings

Surfaces: Metallic Kraft Core Card Stock, Black Card, Watercolor Card, Kraft Card

Ranger Craft Sheet

Blending Tool

Heat Gun

Tim Holtz Splatter Brush

Big Shot

Foam Squares

Antique Mother Of Pearl Button and crystal gems from my own stash