Sneak Peek: Introducing Bells & Baubles, Pretty Poinsettia, Dotted Diamond Dies & Feliz Navidad

Hello and welcome to day 3 of our Sneak Peek Week!  All this week I am showcasing projects using our newest Holiday collection which will be available to purchase on August 25th.

Today I have a number of cool new products to share, including two beautiful new holiday layering stamps, two new versatile background dies, and a fun script Spanish Christmas greeting. Let's jump right in!

Card No. 1: My first card uses our new Bells & Baubles Stamps for the bell, glass ornament, and new corner tree branch which builds on all our other previous tree branches from a number of our other holiday layering sets. To frame my scene I used one of the stitched scalloped frames from our Fancy Frames Rectangle Dies and then backed my scene with the new Dotted Diamond Landscape background die, inking it up with Broken China Distress Ink. I tucked two of these stamped branches in the top two corners and then scattered coordinating rhinestones using our Rubellite Pink Jewels, Aquamarine Jewels, and Peridot Green Jewels to give the look of twinkly Christmas lights.

This set comes with the phrase "Every Time a Bell Rings An Angel Gets His Wings" from the Movie It's a Wonderful Life (or you can alternately choose "its" wings depending on what you prefer). I really had to work hard to get the full phrase to fit within the confines of the 4x6 set around all the other elements so many of the words have been squeezed wherever they would fit and read like a bit of a puzzle on the set. The beauty though is it gives the user maximum flexibility to line them up all in a row or put them in a block with multiple rows depending on the particular card design.

Card No. 2: For my next Bells & Baubles Card I combined two of the bells with the wreath and bow from our Winter Wreaths Stamps and berries from our Holiday Greetings Stamps. For the background, I die-cut a tone-on-tone frame, using our Stitched Rectangle Dies which I stamped with the tree branches with a pale pink ink only a couple shades darker than my cardstock for a really classy, subtle backdrop.

I stamped and die-cut the retro "Merry Christmas" greeting from the Bells & Baubles set using Gina K. Red Hot Ink. I love using this red for sentiments because this particular red doesn't stain my photopolymer stamps which is a rare feat when it comes to red ink. Lastly, I scattered some pale Pink Spinel Jewels in an odd number to form a visual triangle, guiding the viewer's eye through the card and adding a bit of extra weight to the right side of my card.

Card No. 3: This holiday card focuses on the vintage glass ball and bow images from the Bells & Baubles Stamps which I stamped in a rainbow of colors. I took inspiration from a card I had previously created a number of years ago using our Holiday Style Stamps, borrowing the tree branch & ornament hangers from that set to create my Christmas tree down the left side of my card. I inked up my background using Broken China Distress Ink, fading it towards the center to give the appearance of glowing lights. To balance out the left side of my card, I added a thin strip of rainbow-striped patterned paper from our Rainbow Bright Paper pack which I trimmed with the stitched edge using the stitched die from our Ribbon & Lace Border Dies. I stamped my "Happy Holidays" greeting using Versafine Clair Glamous Ink using our Holiday Greetings Stamps and added our Colorful Drops scattered throughout the tree as my string of lights. These are such beautiful glass embellishments with painted bottoms that look so gorgeous the way they catch the light!

  

Card No. 4: Next up is a card, combining the bell, bow, tree branch and "Merry Christmas" greeting from Bells & Baubles Stamps, with the poinsettia and leaves from our new Pretty Poinsettia Stamps.

Last year I designed this same poinsettia on a tiny scale for our Winter Wreaths Stamps and I realized when I was using it how easy it was to layer and use even despite its tiny size so I knew I had to create a larger version to enjoy this year. I love how this set comes with a beautiful layered flower, leaves, and a gorgeous script greeting all for the price of a 3x4 stamp set--So much bang for the buck! Another plus is the flower looks unique enough that you can rotate it in a variety of different directions to look like a different flower image when grouped together in a floral arrangement. 

I inked up the new Dotted Diamond Portrait Die, masking off the edges and blending the center with Worn Lipstick and Kitsch Flamingo Distress Inks. I was able to hide the transition between the inked and uninked portions by adding a stitched scalloped frame from our Fancy Frames Rectangle Dies. I finished my card by "hanging" my bell using some metallic gold thread and added a Gold Jewel to my bell to provide a little extra interest.

Card No. 5: For my next Pretty Poinsettia Card, I started by embossing my white cardstock background using our Moroccan Circles Embossing Folder. I then trimmed it down to 4" x 5.25" to mount it onto my A2 card base cut from red cardstock. I loosely arranged my poinsettias in the center and used a pencil and ruler to mark where to trim them one by one. I then used the extra portions from two of the flowers to form my bottom two corners.

These flowers were actually my boo-boos that I stamped when trying to get my stamp layers perfected while setting them up in my MISTI tool. Rather than throwing them away, I just fussy cut them out with my scissors, added some dots of Ranger green enamel to the center to hide where they didn't line up, and then used the enamel medium to act like glue to adhere my Peridot Green Jewels. I love when I can salvage images that didn't go as planned to still create a beautiful project. The adage that "there is no such thing as mistakes, just opportunities to embellish" is so true! I completed my card by heat embossing the "season's greetings" phrase using a greeting from our Inside Greetings Holiday Stamps.

Card No. 6: For my next card featuring the Pretty Poinsettia Stamps, I started by creating the pierced background using our new Dotted Diamond Portrait Dies. I then added a thin strip of green gingham patterned paper from our Joyful Holiday Paper pad to add a splash of color and tie in with my stamped leaves. I formed a wreath of sorts using three of the poinsettias, together with the leafy sprigs from our Winter Greenery Dies cut from two different shades of green cardstock. To help me maintain the general shape of a circular wreath, I cut a frame using our Stitched Circle Small Dies and Stitched Circle Large Dies cut from white cardstock to essentially blend into the background. I then added the "merry and bright" sentiment from the stamp set to the center, stamping it on some scratch cardstock, fussy cutting it out with my scissors, and popping it up using some foam tape. 



Card No. 7: While I had the Pretty Poinsettia Stamps and Winter Greenery Dies out on my desk, I made another card with them showcasing a completely different look. This time I stamped the poinsettias using pink inks, grouping Gold Jewels in the centers. I used our Dotted Diamond Landscape Dies to add the pierced texture to my navy cardstock background and then used an extra piece of the navy cardstock to cut a stitched scalloped mat using our Mini Mat & Tag 1 Dies, adding foam tape between the two layers to make them stand out better. I then heat embossed my Merry Christmas sentiment using our Holiday Greetings Stamps and Hero Arts Brass Embossing Powder. I used the Winter Greenery dies to cut out coordinating sprigs using metallic gold cardstock. Lastly, I added some Pink Spinel Jewels to fill in some of the bare spaces between my flowers. I adore this non-traditional color palette for a Christmas card!

Card No. 8: For this next card, I created a more rustic country feel with the Pretty Poinsettia Stamps, pairing them with the button and holly leaves from our new Woolen Mitten Dies (which I will be sharing more of tomorrow). To hold my "potted" poinsettias I turned to our Layered Basket Stamps.

My background was created by Inking the surface of our Buffalo Plaid Embossing Folder, using a brayer roller with Versafine Onyx Black Ink. Pigment ink is the ideal ink because it's sticky enough to stick to the slick plastic surface of the folder. I then carefully took a wet Q-Tip to all the recessed areas that might have got some of the ink which shouldn't have before gently laying my red cardstock down, closing the folder down onto it tightly, and making sure it didn't slip or shift while moving it to my die-cutting machine to make the impression.

Afterward, I trimmed down my red cardstock panel and added the black stitched ribbon and eyelet lace border using our slimline style Ribbon & Lace Border Dies to the bottom edge of my card. Lastly, I stamped my greeting using our new Feliz Navidad Stamps using that same Versafine ink which I heat embossed with Hero Arts Ultra Clear Fine Embossing Power before die-cutting them out with the coordinating Feliz Navidad Dies.

Card No. 9: For my last card of the day, I paired the Feliz Navidad Stamps with the darling cacti from our Looking Sharp Stamps, adding Santa hats from our Penguin Party Stamps and other holiday elements from our Santa Claus Lane Stamps. To frame my little scene, I used our Mini Mat & Tag 4 Dies and mounted them onto a fun & colorful print from our Joyful Holiday Paper pack. I adore how this turned out--There's something about smiling plants that just makes me happy.



To help you line up our layered stamps I've created a special layering guide (you can click on the photo below to view it larger).  The guide shows the stamps starting with the lightest ink color, working towards the darkest, but sometimes I find it easier to start backward when setting up my layers. They both work depending on what your preference is.  The black outline indicates where that layer touches the previously stamped layer. 

I frequently am asked which ink colors I used for my layered images. While I think there are so many great options out there, these are the colors I used today for my stamped images from light to dark. Since I ran out of time and not all of the stamped images I created ended up making it onto today's cards, I took a photo of them that correlate with the letter added below in parentheses.

Pink Poinsettia & Bow (A)
Altenew Frosty Pink
Hero Arts Cotton Candy
Hero Arts Azalea

Hot Pink Bow & Bauble (B)
Altenew Baby Pink
Versafine Clair Charming Pink
Gina K. Passionate Pink

Red Poinsettia, Bow & Bauble (C)
Hero Arts Grapefruit (or Gina K. Peach Bellini for a slightly lighter version)
Gina K. Lipstick
Gina K. Coral Reef

Ruby Red Poinsettia, Bow & Bauble (D)
Altenew Coral Berry
Versafine Clair Glamorous
Altenew Ruby Red

Green Leaves & Bauble (K)-Using various combinations of the two nearest colors to each other
Gina K. Key Lime
PinkFresh Studio Grassy Knoll
PinkFresh Studio Key Lime
Gina K. Lucky Clover

Aqua Blue Bow & Bauble (E)
Gina K. Ocean Mist
Versafine Clair Warm Breeze
Gina K. Tranquil Teal

Aqua Green Bow (F)
Concord & 9th Aqua Sky
Altenew Lagoon
Concord & 9th Oceanside

Emerald Green Bow & Bauble (G)
Altenew Volcano Lake
PinkFresh Studio Mermaid Cove
Altenew Emerald

Silver Bell (H)
Ranger Archival Shadow Grey
Hero Arts Soft Granite
VersaFine Clair Morning Mist
Hero Arts Charcoal
VersaFine Clair Nocture or VersaFine Onyx Black

Bronze Bell & Bauble (I)
Gina K. Sandy Beach
Hero Arts Sand
Gina K. Kraft
Concord & 9th Wheat
Hero Arts Cup O' Joe

Yellow Gold Bell & Bauble (J)
Altenew Buttercream
Gina K. Sweet Corn
Hero Arts Spicy Mustard
Hero Arts Fawn
Hero Arts Caramel

Ornament Bauble Hanger
Hero Arts Caramel

Basket (Card No. 8)
Hero Arts Soft Sand
Gina K. Sandy Beach
Concord & 9th Wheat or Gina K. Kraft
Hero Arts Cup O' Joe

That wraps up today's sneak peeks. I'm so happy you spent part of your day 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. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our daily contests will run through Monday, August 28th at Midnight PST with winners announced here on Friday, September 1st. :)

Here's a closer look at our new Bells & Baubles Stamps & Dies, Pretty Poinsettia Stamps & Dies, Feliz Navidad Stamps & Dies, Dotted Diamond Portrait Dies, and Dotted Diamond Landscape Dies used today (which will be available to purchase starting on August 25th):

 

Other Supplies Used:

Looking Sharp Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Looking Sharp Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Rectangle Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad Shop at: Sunny Studio
Versafine Onyx Black Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	Fancy Frames- Rectangles Shop at: Sunny Studio	Moroccan Circles Embossing Shop at: Sunny Studio	Buffalo Plaid Embossing Shop at: Sunny Studio
Santa Claus Lane Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Santa Claus Lane Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Inside Greetings-Holidays Shop at: Sunny Studio	Layered Basket Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Layered Basket Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Winter Greenery DIes Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Greetings Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Penguin Party Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Penguin Party Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Winter Wreaths Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Winter Wreaths Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Mini Mat & Tag 1 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Mini Mat & Tag 4 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Joyful Holiday Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Ribbon & Lace Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Woolen Mitten Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Gold Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Rubellite Pink Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Pink Spinel Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio
Peridot Green Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Aquamarine Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Brass Embossing Powder Shop at: Sunny Studio	Hero Arts White Detail Shop at: Sunny Studio
Tsukineko Jumbo Dauber Shop at: Sunny Studio	VersaMark Watermark Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	Ranger Glossy Accents Shop at: Sunny Studio	Multi Medium Matte Shop at: Sunny Studio
Holiday Style Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Style Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Rainbow Bright 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Colorful Drops Shop at: Sunny Studio
Stitched Circle Small Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Circle Large Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio