It's Christmas in July! As busy as the holiday season is, you can never start too early and I'm excited to share a Christmas card that shows you a peek at one of the upcoming Essentials by Ellen new releases. That's right! The new Fall 2015 release is just around the corner and Julie Ebersole has done it again. You are going to LOVE the new stamp and die sets!
Let's get started shall we? My card today gives you a peek at the new Mistletoe and Holly stamp and die sets. They are perfectly coordinated which gives you a perfect professionally cut look and saves you a ton of time cutting out images!
I decided to try out a new technique, for me anyway, and see how well cork would die cut and stamp. I love the fun warm and textural look it gives. It's also super easy to get a unique look just by changing out the material that you stamp and die cut.
To start my project I die cut one of the cork sheets from the Tim Holtz Textured Surfaces pack. These are adhesive backed and easy to die cut.
To stamp on the cork I simply used some pigment ink. I adore the Avery Elle White Pigment ink. It has AMAZING coverage which can sometimes be an issue for white pigment ink. I highly recommend it. After stamping the images onto the cork, I heat set the ink with a heat gun. Pigment ink takes a long time to dry so make sure you keep that in mind.
I used the same ink on the MFT Stamps Woodgrain Background Stamp. This is such a great background stamp as I love how well it adds texture and interest to anything you stamp.
To create some matching hemp twine, I cut a length of it and then colored it with a red Copic marker. This is a great way to customize light or natural twine to any color you want!
To put the design all together, I peeled off the backing on the cork die cuts and layered them together to form a swag. Copic markers also work great on the cork and I added little dots of red to the stamped berry areas.
The sentiment also comes with the Mistletoe and Holly stamp set and is stamped in my favorite Jet Black Archival Ink. This ink stamps on pretty much everything! The final touch was to adhere 1/4 inch tiny silver jingle bells to the twine bow knot to make the card look more festive.
Stay tuned for lots of fabulous projects coming up with the Fall 2015 Essentials by Ellen release that is just around the corner! It's time to get your autumn and holiday crafting started! Mistletoe and Holly and the rest of the release will be available for purchase soon!
Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom!
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