Merry Christmas Tree How To

This is a Christmas card made using a stencil and ink to create the tree.  I hope that the step out below will inspire you to try some new ways of making your Christmas cards.

Directions:

Step 1:  Cut cream colored cardstock to 4 inches by 5 inches.  (Finished size will be trimmed when assembling the card.)  Take your tree stencil and mask off the trees on the stencil you will not be using. 

Step 2:  Tape down your stencil onto your work surface.  Center the tree stencil you will be using over your cardstock and tape it down also.  (This is a good way to use all that washi tape you have been hoarding.)

Use a sponge dauber and start applying ink through the holes in your stencil.  In the Kaleidacolor Fruitcake Inkpad there are three shades of green.  Use all three shades of green, the different colors will give your tree more depth. 

When I was happy with the color, I removed the stencil. 

Step 3:  Stamp the sentiment on a piece of vellum using VersaMark Ink, add gold embossing powder, and heat emboss.  (Before stamping the sentiment, use an anti static brush on your vellum.  This will help stop the embossing powder from sticking in places you do not want it to stick.)

Step 4:  Take a scrap piece of your cream cardstock, rub VersaMark on it, add gold embossing powder and heat emboss it.  This paper will be used to punch an embellishment for the tree.

Step 5:  Trim your tree image to the size you want for your card front (3 3/8 inches by 4 ¾ inches). 

Step 6:  Cut a mat from the cream cardstock (3.625 x 5).  Add Tear It! Tape to all four edges.  Pour gold embossing powder over the tape and heat emboss.  The gold mat perfectly matches the gold in your sentiment.

Step 7:  Add a piece of Tear It! Tape to the very edge of cardstock.  Repeat the above steps.  Cut the gold strip with your paper trimmer.  This trim strip will be used at the top of the vellum sentiment. 

Step 8:  Wrap the vellum strip around the bottom of the stenciled image.  Take a bottle of Sheer Shimmer Spritz (gold), shake it to mix the color.  Lay your image in a box.  Hold your bottle above the image and just spray.  Do this several times.  The gold mist falls onto your card front and adds a beautiful shimmer.  To get more defined splats of color, shake your bottle, remove the lid and gently bounce your finger against the stem.  Let your image dry.

Step 9:  Cut a green mat just slightly larger than the gold mat.  Adhere the gold strip to the top of the vellum with the Tear It! Tape.  Add your gold mat and green mat to the image.  Attach to your card base (3.875 x 5.25).  Punch a gold star for the top of the tree and attach it with glue.  A gold enamel dot was centered on top of the star.  Three red embellishments were added to the gold strip. 

Difficulty

Intermediate

Time

45 min + dry time

Materials Needed

Imagine Crafts

·         VersaMark ink

·         Gold Embossing Powder

·         Kaleidacolor Fruitcake Inkpad

·         Tear It! Tape

·         Sheer Shimmer Spritz (gold),

Other:

• Hero Arts Sentiment Stamp
• The Crafters Workshop stencil – Mini Evergreens
• Miscellaneous:  Cream and green cardstocks, Vellum, Heat gun, Favorite adhesive, Enamel Dots