Patterned Playfulness and Holiday Cheer

Well, it's that magical time of the year again... The time when Christmas is actually still 3 months away but retail shops have gone into overdrive. They've already tossed out the turkey and put out all things red and green. Oh well - I might as well hop on the bandwagon, right?

Patterned paper can be a doozy to work with, but I've been loving all the graphic fanburst cards with the strips of patterned paper stemming out from one corner. I decided to do an interpretation of the fanburst cards and do pieces of paper in a slightly different pattern. Do not try this at home, folks. It takes forever! Just kidding. I hope you do try it at home and then tell me your secrets! At least it's worthy of an entry into Virginia's View Challenge #7 - Patterned Paper.  I think the background turned into a statement piece.

The best bet to get all the pieces to fit together without pulling your hair out (if you're not a math genius and know how to do the proper angles) is to start with the top and work your way to the bottom. 

I also wanted to play in A Blog Named Hero's "Spell it Out for Me" challenge so decided to bust out the dusty stamped letter set I own and create some faux Christmas ornaments that spelled out a jolly saying. I didn't want to cover up the background effect, so I intentionally kept the card cleaner than my normal aesthetic. 

I cut out some 1-inch balloons using Cricut's Basic Shapes Cartridge and turned them upside down. Next, I embossed the letters in white and added a glossy layer to the top to give them that ornament feel. A little white ribbon finished the look. Note to all those who want to attempt this look: do not try to speed up the drying process by using your heat tool gun or you will have to start all over. The glossy accent material does not like to be trifled with. Just do yourself a favor and let it sit overnight. 

I used Stampin Up's "Bells and Boughs" set to ink a piece of holly using Distress Ink "Forest Moss" and colored it with Spectrum Noir markers. I added some dots of the glossy accent to raise the berries.

The finished project is both merry and bright and will make a perfect card for the upcoming holiday season. Even if it did take forever and a lightyear to figure out. :)

MATERIALS:

Red and green cardstock

Patterned paper (I think stripes give it an even cooler effect)

Inkssentials Glossy Accents

Cricut "Basic Shapes" cartridge

White ribbon

Distress Ink: Forest Moss

Spectrum Noir Markers: LG4, DR4, DR6, GB11

Stampin' Up "Bells and Boughs" stamp set