Stampin' Up Nests of Winter Christmas Cards

 

Hi everyone,

First up, I wanted to share some awesome news!  A couple of months ago, I was approached by the team at Splitcoaststampers to see if I would like to be a part of their Dirty Dozen Design Team.  I have been a part of Splitcoaststampers since 2008 and My Gallery on there has 511 cards which I started uploading before I even started blogging.  Everyone there has always been so encouraging and helpful and I just love being a part of their community - plus they introduced me to Stampin' Up.  I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be offered a spot on their Design Team! 

Once we discussed how it would all work and the commitment needed, I said a resounding "YES".  The tenure is for six months.  How it works, is that if you are a PAID Fan Club member of Splitcoaststampers, you get certain privileges like your uploaded cards show up straight away in your Gallery instead of being delayed until Admin approves your card - and you can take part in the Monthly Fan Club Challenges.  Being a paid member means you are contributing towards the cost of running their website and I've been a member for many years.  If you are not a paid member, the Fan Club Forum, Fan Club Challenges and Fan Club Galleries are hidden from view.  The main proviso for being on the Design Team is that you do not use any counterfeit products - which I never do anyway - but other than that, I can use whatever I have - old products, new products, retired products etc.

The Monthly Fan Club Challenges go live on the 15th of each month - and I and the rest of the Design Team get a month prior to the 15th to create our projects with the theme for that particular month - and have to upload them by the 15th so that Fan Club Members have a Fan Club Gallery full of projects and ideas to inspire them when the Challenge goes live.  The monthly themes are set by the Dirty Dozen Admins and I already have all the themes for my six months.  I started in December and will finish up in May 2026.  

One proviso is that I am not allowed to share my projects anywhere online until my six months is up so I will have LOTS to share after May 2026.  I feel so excited to be a part of the team and I just love that I am learning new techniques and styles of cardmaking that are taking me out of my comfort-zone.  I have felt so inspired by my other Team Members too as we all have different ways of creating, interpretations of the monthly themes and our own unique flair.  

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So, onto sharing one of the Christmas Cards that I made this season:

I made multiples of this card to give to family and friends and did them production-line style.  I saw a similar card on Pinterest a while ago but there was no link or name so no idea who made it.  In any case, I did add my own spin to the design to change things up a little.

First up, I diecut the birds on the branches from the Stampin' Up Nests of Winter Designer Series Paper using my Big Shot.  I love how Stampin' Up has brought out papers that you can diecut images from because it is a great timesaver when you want to make multiples.  

To do the background, I used a Blending Brush on Bristol Smooth White Cardstock to add Stampin' Up Pool Party gradually fading to white.  I made the ink a little darker on the RHS.  I used my Pool Party Reinker with a little water added to splatter the background using a Fan Brush.  I did the same with Kuretake Pale Gold Watercolour Paint.  I really like how the splatter just lifted the background from being a little plain.  I was in a bit of a hurry so dried my panels with a Heat-Gun.

Here is a different angle so you can see the splatter better:

I stamped branches from the Stampin' Up Golden Greenery Stamp Set - sadly retired - using Versafine Olympia Green Ink.  I stamped off first to make the lighter branches and full strength for the darker ones.

Next, I glued on the diecut image using Tombow Mono Multi Glue.  This panel was matted onto Pool Party Cardstock then Cherry Cobbler Cardstock.  I added some Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush to the berries for some sparkle.

The sentiment is from the Stampin' Up Greetings of the Season Stamp Set - another retired set - but a fabulous one if you can pick it up second-hand.  Here is a photo of it:

I stamped both the MERRY and Christmas using Versafine Onyx Black Ink - but separately so I could cut out the MERRY which is popped up on a little scrap of white cardstock.

On a couple of the cards that I was hand-delivering, I added 3 x small Gold Pearls but didn't think to take a photo beforehand.  I didn't want to post cards that had pearls on them because I wanted a flat card.

Lastly, I glued my card front to a Kaisercraft White Card Base.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stampin' Up Greetings of the Season #164325 (retired) + Golden Greenery #164331 (retired)

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black + Olympia Green, Stampin' Up Pool Party

Designer Paper:  Stampin' Up Nests of Winter #164183

Accessories:  Big Shot, Stamping Platform, Kuretake Starry Watercolours - Pale Gold, Fan Brush, Blending Brush (Amazon), Tombow Mono Multi Glue, Canson Bristol 250gsm/110lb White Cardstock, Stampin' Up Cardstock - Pool Party + Cherry Cobbler, Kaisercraft White Card Base, Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush, Heat-gun

Dies:  Stampin' Up Winterly Tree Tops #164065 (retired)