A Blue and Gold Christmas

October 25, 2016

Hello Friends. A friend asked me to order the Memory Box Snowflake Scrollwork Sleeve die for her and while searching for inspiration using this die I found several beautiful and creative examples by the very talented design Pam Sparks. Be sure to check out her blog here.

FYI: Be sure to double click the photos to see a larger version.

Here's a photo of the Scrollwork die. As you can see, it is called a sleeve because it scores the cardstock around three sides so that it will form a sleeve to slip on a card. Frankly I found this to be a bit cumbersome so I cut off the "sleeve" edges and adhered the die to the card front.

Besides the scrollwork die, the other thing today's Christmas cards have in common is that they are either predominately baby blue or bright gold in color. Please keep in mind that the blue is much richer and prettier IRL and the gold mirrorcard is quite hard to photograph. Be sure to double click on each card to see it in more detail.

The Memory Box die Snowman Collage is a real favorite of mine. For this card I cut the main panel from white cardstock using the Stitched Rectangles dies. Next I cut and decorated the snowman (everything is included with the die) then adhered the Scrollwork snowflakes behind the opening. Cute and simple and fast! The sentiment is an old one from Memory Box and one of my favorites.

Here's the die:

And the card:

Snowman – Memory Box dies Snowflake Scrollwork Sleeve, Snowman Collage and Stitched Rectangles; Memory Box sentiment stamp; design inspired by Pam Sparks

I showed another sample with this die in an earlier post ... Let me share it with you again. For this card I sponged the background with dye inks then embossed the Shimmer Stars stencil with pearlescent embossing paste. Snowman Collage – Memory Box die Snowman Collage; sentiment by Hero Arts; Memory Box stencil Shimmer Stars; design inspired by Jenny Griffiths

This card really shows off the scrollwork die. I cut a blue card to 5½” square and centered the Merry Christmas die in the center front panel. The channel die cuts the words out but does not cut above or below the words. I cut two scrollwork dies and adhered them to the top and bottom of the front panel. Finally I added a white cardstock panel inside the card. Pam's original card with this design was bright red and quite stunning too!

Merry Christmas – Memory Box dies Snowflake Scrollwork Sleeve and Fancy Merry Christmas Channel; design inspired by Pam Sparks

I love building scenes so it was a natural to use the Night Before Christmas Town as a backdrop for the big sleigh full of presents. This is a step card cut to 5½” x 11" and scored at 4¼” and 1¼” twice. The front panel is covered with white cardstock embossed with snowflakes, and the back panel is stamped with snowflakes and embossed in white. The rest is cutting and assembling the dies. Once I added the town the foreground seemed very plain so I cut some snowdrifts, glued them on and outlined them with Diamond Glitter Glue (Ranger).

Dashing Through the Snow – Taylored Expressions dies Eventful – Night Before Christmas, Dashing Through the Snow and All Wrapped Up; Impression Obsession cover-a-card stamp Snowflake Background; Cuttlebug embossing folder Snowflakes

For my first gold card, I used several Memory Box dies and layered them on top of each other to form a scene with trees, snowdrifts and snowflakes. The red cardinal and gold deer add just the right pop of color. Deer in Trees – Memory Box dies Snowflake Scrollwork Sleeve, Country Hills Oval Frame, Forest Clearing Oval Frame and Deer Trio; Impression Obsession die Birch trees (cardinal); Taylored Expressions stamp set Rejoice; design inspired by Pam Sparks

Another gold deer stars on this pretty white card.

Birch Tree Deer – Taylored Expressions dies Birch Tree Accessories and Banner Stacklets 1; TE embossing folder Snowfall; TE stamp set A Winter View

I used the scrollwork snowflake die again on this card, hanging the ornament from it. I added lots of medium and small snowflakes and a pretty gold embossed sentiment.

Ornament – Memory Box dies Snowflake Scrollwork Sleeve, Hooks and Caps and Brittaney Ornament; Penny Black die Blizzard; Taylored Expressions die Snowflake Confetti; Memory Box sentiment stamp; design inspired by Pam Sparks

While neither blue nor gold, I had to include this colorful card. The green cardstock was embossed with a new embossing folder from Taylored Expressions (Twinkling Holidays) then cut on the diagonal to form a tree. A strip of colorful paper across the bottom defined the color palette for the presents. A happy sentiment and a few sequins finished off this cute card.

Tree with Presents – Taylored Expressions die All Wrapped Up; TE embossing folder Twinkling Holiday; design inspired by Kim Singdahlsen

I hope these samples inspire you to start creating your own Christmas cards. Thanks to Pam Sparks for her inspiration. Please stop in soon to see these and many other samples in person.

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