We're almost a week into 2021, and I'm here with my first Christmas cards of the year, thanks to ABC Christmas Challenge! We are starting the year with A for Advent and B for Bells.
There are many traditions and customs associated with Advent, and I, like many of my teammates, decided to focus on the colour purple/violet, traditionally associated with the season of Advent through liturgical vestments:
I wanted to combine the colour with Christmas trees, but after several attempts that went nowhere, settled for just the colour. I used shaded lilac distress ink with a snowflake stencil, then added a thin layer of glimmer paste for sparkle and shine. I die cut the sentiment and sponged it with the same ink, spraying it with sparkle mist before backing it with vellum to let it stand out a little more. The card base is also coloured with the same ink.
With B for Bells, I had a choice between traditional bells and jingle bells, and opted for a jingle bell:
I really hope this sentiment has less of a pandemic vibe to it by the time Christmas 2021 rolls around! It and the bow are stamped in red and embossed with sparkle embossing powder, while the bell itself is embossed in silver. For the card base, I crossed my fingers, hoped for the best, and embossed a music background on the red TEXTURED card base. Fortunately, with a generous application of anti-static powder, I kept stray speckles to a minimum. Both cards are relatively flat for easy mailing come the season.
My talented teammates have lots of Advent and Bell inspiration for you - and imagine how nice it will be to have such an early start on your 2021 holiday cards!
Supplies: (merry & bright) Neenah white cardstock, vellum, shaded lilac distress ink, Uniko Let It Snow stencil, Dieversions Merry & Bright die, Nuvo moonstone glimmer paste, Tsukineko clear sparkle shimmer mist; (jingle on) Neenah white cardstock, Craft Smith textured red card base, A Jillian Vance Design Jingle All the Way & Market Street Stamps Vintage Music stamps, Versamark & Memento Luxe love letter ink, Hero Arts sparkle, Ranger silver & Wow white embossing powder
Fab cards Lindsey - love the subtle sparkle on the first one & yes, let's hope that we are calm by next Christmas!
ReplyDeleteHelen x
Great cards, thanks for reminding me about advent, the music background on your second card is gorgeous, I don't know why I never thought to emboss on coloured cardstock, DUH. Great start to the new challenges and mailable is a bonus.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Lindsey and I hope you had a good Christmas! Love your awesome snowflake background on the first card, and the festive and jolly look on the second one. That's 2 in the bag for next year! Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Carol x
Two wonderful cards, and what fun to start to get ahead of the season so early.
ReplyDeleteI'm swooning over your cards! Love the sparkly winter wonderland of the first and the classic red/white/silver of the second. Your embossing on the red cardstock looks speck-free to me! A great start on your 2021 stash...
ReplyDeletehugs~c