Encre, papier, ciseaux: A Moose With Attitude

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Let's Get Ready for Christmas) + MFT Sketch #405 + Little Red Wagon #466 (Use a Stencil)

There was no doubt in my mind I was going to purchase the Merry Moose dies after seeing the Tim Holtz Sizzix Christmas release video. Not only is it perfect for Canadian Christmas cards, but this is the cutest moose die I've ever seen. There is just something about his puffed out chest and his knobby little legs that scream confidence and attitude! I liked the angled card sketch from MFT to go with it, and I wanted papers that had a homey, woodland feel so I pulled out the Festive Farm Design Series Paper from Stampin' Up! (2018 Holidays Catalogue), which were perfect to pair with the dies. The long tall tree comes from the same set. There's a separate die that cut the pieces you need to either add foliage to the tree or in this case, I turned the pieces into snow instead. I used the Snowcap stencil from Tim Holtz (also newly released this year) to add snow on the ground.

The sentiment was also die-cut. I used Core'dinations cardstock for almost all of my pieces, which allowed me to grunge it up a bit and add texture with the distressing. I moved the strip from the sketch to the top of the card, and instead of a big embellishment (which I didn't have room for with the large sentiment), I added three iridescent stars around the strip instead. I made a matching envelope out of the same patterned paper and Core'dinations cardstock. This card took surprisingly long considering the ideas kept coming and I didn't really try out various ideas, like I sometimes do. There's quite a few little details to die-cut to embellish the moose, so this can be deceiptively long to put together. I did back every single piece of cardstock I die-cut with Big Shot adhesive sheets, which allowed me to stick the minuscule pieces quickly without having to fidget with glue. Adding the sheets took a bit of time, but less than adding glue would have taken, I'm sure.

Supplies
Cardstock: Neutrals and Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Festive Farm
Dies: Stitched Oval Stackables, Dotted Rectangle Stackables (Lawn Fawn);
Merry Moose (Tim Holtz for Sizzix); Meilleurs Voeux Dies (Dee's Distinctively)
Accessories: Crystal Stars (Buttons Galore & More); Antique Bronze Distress Crayon (Ranger);
Texture Paste, Envelope Punch Board, Big Shot Adhesive Sheets (Stampin' Up!);
Snowcap Stencil (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)