LET THERE BE PEACE ON EARTH

I realize that I have already shown you this card in a previous post. You can see it here: http://www.paperseedlings.com/2014/09/peace-on-earth.html, when I was displaying all the different ways that I had been experimenting with the lovely stamp set, Nature's Peace, found on page 26 of the Holiday Catalog.

But, this time I am going to share a tutorial with you on how to create one of your own.

My favorite feature of this particular card is the beautiful watercolor look you get when you employ this technique:

Because I cut out the image with the largest of the Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits, the card needed to be a little off-size from the traditional 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". There is only 1/4" difference between the two sizes, which makes my card measure 5 1/4" x 4 1/4". 

The Framelit size is a little goofy, and because I wanted the card to fit inside a traditional A2 size envelope, I needed to adjust a bit. This is what I came up with:

The reverse side of the card

Like to give it a try? Here's how:

Fold a 4 1/4" x 10 1/2" piece of Island Indigo cardstock in half, creasing well with a bone folder.

Choose 2-3 colors of Stampin' Write Markers. I used Island Indigo, Old Olive and Soft Suede. With the SIDE of the brush end, randomly color all of the stamp, first doing one color -- preferably the lightest color -- and then moving on to the next until you have the entire image colored in marker. Keep in mind that if you do too much overlapping of colors, you may get a muddy brown. Spritz VERY LIGHTLY with water so all of the stamp is re-wetted. IF YOU GET TOO MUCH MOISTURE ON THE STAMP, IT WILL BLEED AND RUN. AND YOU'LL HAVE TO START ALL OVER WITH THE COLORING. SO, BE PRUDENT.

When the stamp is properly moistened, stamp it onto a half sheet of Naturals White cardstock. 

With the largest of the Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits, cut out the image, trying to keep the bottom of the Framelit about 1/4" from the lower edge of the stamped image and centering from side to side.

With the Simply Scored board, score at 5 1/8'. Fold on this score line, and adhere the lower portion to the card front. The scored line on the white piece should match with the score line of the card base.

Round the bottom corners of the card base with the Corner Rounder.

Tie a piece of Island Indigo ribbon around the top back of the card in a knot so the two ends of the ribbon protrude over the top of the card. Trim ribbon ends at an angle as needed.

Stamp desired sentiment inside the card in Island Indigo or Soft Suede ink. If it bothers you to stamp and/or write on a fairly dark cardstock such as Island Indigo, glue inside the card a piece of Naturals White cardstock measuring 4" x 5", and proceed with stamping the sentiment.

By the way, this card is actually a monoprint. This means that you can only get one image from the stamping, and no two images will ever be the same. 

How are you coming along with your Christmas card making? How many cards do you plan on creating? And, will they all be the same design? If not, how many of each design do you plan to make? Do you have any "assembly line" card creating tips to share with us?

Peaceful

Smiles.