Sneak Peek: Classy Christmas, Retro Ornaments & Quatrefoil Die

Hello and welcome to day 3 of our Fall & Winter Peek Week!  All this week I am showcasing cards using our newest collection which will be available to purchase on Friday, August 21st. 

Today's sneak peeks include two new 4x6 holiday stamp sets, their matching dies and a brand new frilly frames die. Plus by popular quest we have a coordinating die to go with one our previously released sentiment sets. Let's get started!

Card No. 1:  My first set of cards today showcases our new Classy Christmas Stamps and dies, as well as our newest Frilly Frame Quatrefoil Dies. Typically our Frilly Frame dies measure 4" x 5.25", but this one is sized a bit larger and will cut a full stitched A2 Sized panel that is 4.25" x 5.5" and will mat together nicely with the outer die from our Frilly Frames Retro Petals dies. This new stamp set comes with three poinsettia flowers, two coordinating leaves, three holly leaves, two berry groupings, two pine cones, two tree branch sprigs and a noel greeting. 

For my images I stamped them out using colored dye inks onto Bristol paper using a stamp positioning tool and then stamped them a second time with clear VersaMark Ink, heat embossing them with clear embossing powder. By heat embossing them, I could take advantage of my full array of dye ink colors and they could get wet without bleeding. I then colored my images using Karin Brushmarker Pro markers and a wet paintbrush for blending them out and moving the color throughout my flower, leaves and pine cones. I'm not the best at staying in the lines when it comes to working with water so I elected to fussy cut my images after they had dried and paired them with the tree branch garland pieces that I stamped with Grassy Knoll and Key Lime green inks from PinkFresh Studio Over the Hills Ink cube set. I then inked up the front of my card base with the Coral Reef ink included with the PinkFresh Studio Heartbeat Ink cube set before layering it with my die-cut quatrefoil panel.

Card No. 2:  For my next Classy Christmas card I uses all the same elements, but this time I colored my images with Copic Markers. For my front panel I started by die-cutting the stitched edge using our Frilly Frames Retro Petal Dies and used center portion of the Frilly Frames Quatrefoil Dies to create an embossed look, running them through my machine with a rubbery embossing mat in place of my bottom cutting plate. It's such a fun way to get extra life from your background dies and it lends a very classy look to your holiday cards. After I had my pieces all arranged and adhered, I added glossy accents to my berries to make them shine and added a simple greeting the center of my card using our Holiday Style Stamps and dies.

Card No. 3:  For this card using the Classy Christmas Stamps, I stamped and colored my images the same way I did for my first card, however this time I switched up my color scheme, stamping and coloring them in a pinkish berry color instead. I was able to stamp out the images for my two cards at the same time while all my stamps were positioned and ready to go in my MISTI which greatly helped speed up my cardmaking process. For this clean & simple design, I cut a stitched scalloped panel from white cardstock using our Frilly Frames Hexagon Dies and stamped it in the center with "Season's Greetings" from our Festive Greetings Stamps. As my last step, I mounted my completed panel onto a piece of our green diagonal grid patterned paper from our new Classic Sunburst Paper pack (being shown more later this week) and added some transparent Lipstick Red Crystals by Studio Katia to the center of each of my poinsettias in a variety of sizes.

Card No. 4: For my last poinsettia card today with the Classy Christmas Stamps I heat embossed my flower and leaves using VersaMark Ink with some white embossing powder onto Bristol paper and and colored them using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, going darker for my back petals and working lighter for the top petals to create a little dimension. I topped them with some pearls in varying sizes from our Rainbow Pearls pack.

For my background, I used the Frilly Frames Quatrefoil dies to cut out the background from pink, red, green and white cardstock. I set aside the outside frame portions to use on future cards, but used all the inside pieces to create a repeat pattern for my background with a fun harlequin feel. Technically I had enough pieces leftover to create 4 identical cards so this would be a fun one to create several of and fill in while you catch up on your favorite TV show.  It actually came together really quick since I had covered my entire background with adhesive and all I had to do was pop the pieces into place.

For my "Merry Christmas" sentiment I used our Season's Greetings Stamps from last year, stamping them in red ink and pairing them with our new coordinating Season's Greetings Word Dies. I realized too late last year that sometimes you just really need to have a way layer these great over-sized sentiments on top of an embossed or die-cut background like this one and these are a welcome addition to our line-up.

Card No. 5:  My next set of cards showcase our new Retro Ornament Stamps and dies. With this set you can create 5 unique vintage ornaments in dozens of fun color combinations.  I started this card off by using a set of ornaments I had stamped in a traditional color scheme with PinkFresh Studio Inks (linked below). To create my tree, I pulled out the branch from my trusty old favorite Holiday Style Stamps and repeatedly stamped it off the edge of the card to create the look of a Christmas tree. I then arranged my ornaments, topping them with the three of the different 1950's inspired retro bows from the set. 

To dress up my card, I added a stitched edge to my panel using our Slimline Basic Border dies and then added a custom made green and red striped strip of paper to tie in with my ornaments using our Background Basics Stamps. I just discovered when making this card that when stamping the striped border stamps using my original MISTI, I could slide my paper over and stamp it again in a different color! Talk about a light bulb moment. I'm not quite sure it never occurred to me, but now I feel like creating a bunch of borders assembly line style one afternoon to just have on hand. I don't think the physical stamp is quite long enough to make this cool two-colored stripe work for a horizontal card, but it works amazing for vertical cards like this one, since it's easy to trim off the excess portions on either side where each of the colors cut off. 

For my greeting I used a sentiment from our new Inside Greetings Holiday Stamps which I will be sharing more fully on Thursday.  As a final step, I added small dots of Stardust Stickles by Rangers and set it aside to dry. They aren't super noticeable here, but it just gives it a little extra sparkle in person.

Card No. 6:  And now for my personal favorite card of the day... I always love crisp white and royal blue together. It reminds me of the blue & white china handed down to me by my Mother who received it from her grandmother. I also remember as a child how my grandma liked to take her real trees outside to be flocked. As an adult that sounds just way too messy to deal with, but yet it was completely beautiful!  OK, enough trips down memory lane. ;)

For my card I started with a piece of bright navy blue cardstock, stamping the edge with the two different tree branches from our new Classy Christmas Stamps with clear VersaMark Ink. When I had them all stamped out, I heat embossed them all at once using white embossing powder. I then ran my A2 sized panel through my die-cutting machine to give it the stitched outer edge using the outside die from our Frilly Frame Quatrefoil Die set. For my sentiment I used our new Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps (which will also be shared Thursday) and added a thin scalloped edge along the bottom with our new Slimline Basic Border dies.

For the ornaments themselves I used the inks from PinkFresh Studio's Morning Sky Ink cube set. The dies that go with this set also cut out a little hole for you to string them with twine or embroidery floss which is fun.  As a last touch I added some sparkle to two of my ornaments using some more Stardust Stickles. It sort of remind me of snowy icicles coming down around the glass bulb.

Card No. 7: For this card I used just the one striped ornament from the Retro Ornaments set, stamping them in a rainbow of colors. As I was stamping I realized the orange one looks a lot like a pumpkin and how cute it would be to stamp the tops green and create a fall card with them, perhaps adding some jack-o-latern faces! Unfortunately that will have to be a project for another day.

I used those same versatile branches from the new Classy Christmas Stamps to stamp a wreath-like garland around the perimeter of my card. For those curious, these branches mix and match beautifully with our Christmas Trimmings and Holiday Style sets. It's always nice to have additional size options and these are ultra flexible for filling in small spaces with a single sprig.  

I chose to fussy cut my ornaments for this particular card. My ink had bled past the edge on a couple of the ornaments that I wanted to disguise and I also thought it would be fun to do some extra inking around the edges to give them a three-dimensional appearance that would have been harder with the white edge there. On the other hand if you have a circle punch, die or electronic die-cutting machine that can cut a 1-1/8" wide circle, you can create a mask to put over the outside edge and sponge on some ink along the edges before die-cutting them out. You can also try double stamp them and sponging on some ink along the edges of the physical stamp while your images are still in your MISTI.  :)

For my sentiment I stamped my greeting using our new Season's Greetings Stamps and the new coordinating Season's Greetings Word Dies. I just love the way the large words look with the extra shadow and popped up with foam tape. As a final touch I sprinkled around some basic clear sequins to give the look of twinkly lights.

Card No. 8: For this card I started out intending to have it be a horizontal card, but I had already done a card like that for the navy blue one earlier and for some reason I just liked the unexpected look of running the branches down the right side and how it balanced out the weight of the ornaments on the left. I stamped my ornaments using Coral Reef & Passion Fruit ink from the PinkFresh Studio Heartbeat Ink set and the Ballet Slipper from Concord & 9th Ink Cube Bundle. The two company's have a lot of great colors with almost no overlap, but I think they each help fill some gaps in their color line-up so it's fun to use them together. My tree branches were stamped in alternating shades of green from the PinkFresh Studio Over the Hills Ink cube set and my beaded chains and ornament toppers were stamped with Colorbox Suede Archival Ink. 

I heat embossed a sentiment from our new Inside Greetings Holiday stamps onto a piece of lime green paper from our Classic Gingham Paper set which I cut out using the stitched label from our Sliding Window dies. Then I added a sliver of matching lime green striped print paper from our new Sleek Stripes Paper pack down the right side of my card to tie it all together.

Card No. 9: For my last card of the day, I cut a striped panel from our Subtle Grey Tones Paper pack using the stitched mat from our new Slimline Scalloped Frame Dies. I then used the scalloped portion of the frame to cut my border on either side. Once again, I have loved using these slimline dies on my A2 sized cards. I stamped two of the tree branches from the Classy Christmas Stamps onto my background directly and then stamped several more into white cardstock which I die-cut with the matching dies and then adhered them near the edge, trimming off the excess with my scissors. But not before first stringing my ornaments with twine and hiding the ends behind the tree branches. Lastly I stamped a sentiment in the same pink ink (linked below) to match my Retro Ornaments, using a sentiment from our Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps. I mass produced this card as a display card for the brick and mortar stores who carry our products and while it was a tiny bit time consuming, it wasn't too bad when making it assembly line style.

A couple of the retro ornaments in this set can be a bit tricky to line-up just right on the first try so a stamp positioning tool is a must. To get my layering stamps lined up perfectly, I start by stamping a half dozen or so of the first layer for each style onto scraps of printer paper cut down into small squares. Then when I was ready to position my second layer I had plenty of scraps on hand to test the position and get it just right before messing up my good ones stamped on cardstock. Once I get my layers set up, I love to mass produce my images assembly line style all at once so I have plenty of choices ready to grab and go when I'm ready to sit down and create cards. 

I think it's probably pretty straightforward with this set, but just in case there's any confusion, I've created an alignment guide to share how the ornaments go together. The black outlines show where that layers line up with the previous layer. Three of the glass balls are the same shape so they get to share the same die which has the added bonus of making the coordinating dies more affordable. Always love when I can do that.  :)

Here's some additional color combinations I created that I didn't have a chance to include on a card yet using all the new inks in our store by PinkFresh Studio (linked below). For all my ornament toppers I used Colorbox Suede Archival Ink so it would be easy to mix and match them for different projects.

That wraps up today's sneak peeks. I'm so happy to have you hang out with me today. I read all your comments and they mean so much!  I'd love to give a $25 gift code to one lucky winner using the rafflecopter below. Make sure to keep checking back all this week for more peeks & prizes. The contests run through Wednesday, August 26th at Midnight PST with winners announced here on Sunday, August 30th. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's a closer look at the new Classy Christmas Stamps & coordinating dies, Retro Ornament Stamps & coordinating dies, as well as the new Frilly Frame Quatrefoil Dies and new Season's Greetings Word Dies featured today (available for purchase on Friday).

  

  

Other Supplies Used:

Holiday Style Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Style Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Festive Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Background Basics Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Sliding Window Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Frilly Frames Hexagon Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Frilly Frames Retro Petals Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Season's Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Slimline Basic Borders Shop at: Sunny Studio	Slimline Scalloped Frame Shop at: Sunny Studio	Inside Greetings-Christmas Shop at: Sunny Studio	Inside Greetings-Holidays Shop at: Sunny Studio
Classic Sunburst Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Sleek Stripes Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Iridescent Pearls Shop at: Sunny Studio	Majestic Fusion Sequins Shop at: Sunny Studio

Classic Gingham 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Fairy Dust Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Heartbeat Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Indian Summer Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio
PinkFresh Over The Hills Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Garden Stroll Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Island Oasis Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Morning Sky Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio
PinkFresh Soul of Provence Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Urban Raincoat Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio