A dusting of snow and a sprinkle of sparkle bring today's handmade holiday card to life! Against a dramatic black background, a beautiful swag of Christmas botanicals and wild orchard fruits takes center stage, all gathered together with a big, bright red bow. Rich copper tones and bright reds add warmth to the festive greenery, while delicate touches of shimmer make the leaves glisten as though they've been kissed by nature. Sprinkles of sparkling white snow dance across the dark background, creating a magical wintery scene. The scripted "Love and Joy" sentiment in red and white adds the perfect finishing touch to this elegant, earthy and enchanting Christmas card!
My 5" X 7" card features the following Honey Bee Stamps products:
Lovely Layers: Christmas Botanicals Honey Cuts dies
Lovely Layers: Wild Orchard Honey Cuts dies
Lovely Layers: Boughs & Bows Honey Cuts dies
Hive Hues Collection - Holiday Charm Collection
For the basics... my Honey Bee Stamps featured project below is made from Neenah 80lb Solar White cardstock for the card base and card front panel. All of the black ink stamping was done using Honey Bee’s Bee Creative Intense Black Ink. I use Honey Bee Stamps Bee Creative Precision Glue and for when I want more dimension, Bee Creative Foam Honeycomb Foam for adhering my elements together. My blender brushes (large and small) are a must for ink blending color on the background, too. For white highlights, I use my white acrylic pen. My card is 5" X 7" in size.
Check out my REEL on Instagram HERE. Watch me assemble this card from beginning to end!
To make this 5" X 7" card, I started by die cutting all the elements of the Lovely Layers: Christmas Botanicals Honey Cuts dies and Lovely Layers: Wild Orchard Honey Cuts dies. I used the cardstock from the Hive Hues Collection - Holiday Charm Collection for the elements. Bright reds and rich greens make these die cuts come to life! I wanted this botanical Christmas swag to have some additional winter flair. I used a clear sparkle embossing powder and Versamark Watermark Ink Pad to add a touch of "icy" patches to the edges of the greenery. I assembled the red berries on the stems and added shadows in R89 and R46 and highlights with a white pen.
For the fruit from the Lovely Layers: Wild Orchard Honey Cuts dies. I used my blender brushes (large and small) to add color to the fruit. I also used Copic markers in R89, RV99 and E42 to add additional depth and details to the pomegranate. For the orange slices, I used Distress Oxide Inks to color them and YR27, YR24 and YR09 for details.
I attached the elements to a piece of black cardstock measuring 5" X 7" for the card front. I used Bee Creative Foam Honeycomb Foam to attach the fruit to the swag. I wanted them to stand out from the background and greenery. Once everything was in place, I attached the "Love & Joy" cut from red and white cardstock, to the bottom right corner, allowing a small piece of greenery to fall over the letters.
I added a big bow at the top. The Lovely Layers: Christmas Botanicals Honey Cuts dies includes dies for a layered bow, but the bow was too small for this sized swag. Instead, I got out my Lovely Layers: Boughs & Bows Honey Cuts die set and die cut a red bow using the bow dies. I assembled the bow and attached it to the top of the swag.
Note: I added additional green stems to the top for the swag to make it look more realistic. I simply cut narrow green strips and glued them in place before attaching the bow. It appears that the bough items have longer stems branches than what they really do.
To complete the card, I sprayed Ranger Distress Spritz in Picket Fence to make it glisten in the light. I also splattered white acrylic and metallic copper watercolor paint over the front for a more imperfect, yet perfect look! It gives the feel of a flurry of snow falling against the dark black background. Once the inks and paints dried, I attached the front panel to a white card base to complete it.
NOTE: I did cover the "Love & Joy" sentiment to avoid any splatters falling on it. I wanted to keep is clean from the splatters of inks and paints.
Check out my REEL on Instagram HERE. Watch me assemble this card from beginning to end!
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