Holiday Haul

Inspiration: Fab Friday #178 + MFT Sketch #467

I took advantage of the day of free shipping offered by Stampin' Up! to get a few last supplies from the Holidays catalogue as well as some new goodies from the upcoming minicatalogue and SAB promotion. I have had my eye on the two Holidays catalogue hostess sets, which were not available during preorder, so I was finally able to get my own sets. I'm still cranking out a few last-minute Christmas cards as I ran out of Stampin' Up! cards to send to my team. The first thing I grabbed from the order to stamp with was the Holiday Haul stamp set.

I thought the Fab Friday colour combo would pair great with it. It's funny, it reminds me of a colour combo I used quite a few times in demos back when Stampin' Up! had done one of its big colour overhaul. Back then, I was combining Bravo Burgundy, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery and Always Artichoke. Four retired colours and now I'm using four new shades, with a very similar result. There is something about this darker combination that has a classic retro vibe that I like.

As for the sketch, I used the MFT sketch with the four circles. I punched four 1-3/4" circles out of scrap paper and placed them with temporary adhesive on my cardstock to line them up properly, and then I punched them out. I ran the cardstock through the Big Shot using the Hammered Metal 3D embossing folder for texture. The card base was stamped with the stars from the Holidays Haul stamp set and I decided I also wanted texture on the Mossy Meadow cardstock showing through the punched windows, so I used the brand-new Stone 3D embossing folder. (Keep an eye out for this one during 2020 SAle-A-Bration. It's part of a Level 2 set with matching stamps.)

I then started stamping my images and I fussy cut the images out. I had initially placed the reindeer in the fourth window, but this one was looking a little empty, so I decided there was room for a sentiment in there as well. I went looking and realized the second hostess set from the Holidays catalogue was full of sentiments that could work. My initial thought was to stamp a short sentiment and cut it out in word blocks, but then I realized one of the sentiment would work very well in a circle. The first one I used was too big - I realized when I punched it out that it was only fitting in the same size circle punch and I tested it on the card and didn't like the look. I picked another sentiment that was slightly smaller and that looks way better. I sized down to the 1-1/2" Circle punch and now that we see the dark green around the sentiment, the design is more balanced. I didn't want to lose the cute reindeer, so I had him jump between the two panels.

To embellish slightly, I added a piece of Seaside Spray metallic ribbon (one of my favorites we've ever carried) and I added gold metallic pearls to the wheels. I wonder how much I'll use that stamp set. It was one of those sets that I loved on sight, but also had a feeling I would have trouble using. I was happy to find out the images are easy to handcut, which should help, but we'll see how many designs this inspires. This one is about to retire in a few weeks, so I think that will impact how much I use it. There are non-Christmas images in the set, though (pumpkins, hearts, balloon) so I might try to make a few generic cards with it before I move on to the Spring and SAB stuff.

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Holiday Haul, Ce que j'aime à Noël
Cardstock: Merry Merlot, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow, Whisper White
Ink: Merry Merlot, Seaside Spray, Pear Pizzazz, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Metallic Pearls, Seaside Spray Metallic Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
White Medium Envelope, 1-3/4" and 1-1/2" Circle Punches, Stone 3D Embossing Folder,
Hammered Metal 3D Embossing Folder

 

Comments

[Heather H]

Oh my gosh, Cindy - this is gorgeous! So much fussy cutting - so worth it! I love your showcase of this set, and how awesome it looks in our colors - beautiful! Thanks so much for playing at Fab Friday!

[Amanda Mertz]

I love all the layers and textures on your card! So many fun details to notice and enjoy! the metallic pearls are perfect as the hubcaps! Thanks for sharing at Fab Friday!