The X-mas factor

Glad to see you back here for my second Country View Christmas challenge inspiration project. Today I have a card with special features!

I used Crafters Companion Die'sire Create a Card Square Accordion die to create something that, hopefully, will look different on the mantelpiece and attract attention, something with the X-mas factor!!! =))

These dies have been around for a while (they exist in square, rectangle, circle and oval versions) and I did notice they had some Christmas specific overlay dies that allow the frame to be decorated with a themed die-cut, such as Candy Cane, Christmas Carol for extra Wow factor.

Here's the die-cut card, 2 panels only but with the Accordion dies you can cut and join as many panels as you want.

I stamped the fir cones from the Winter's Blossoms (Penny black stamp) using green ink for the pine needles and a water based pen for the actual pine cones.

I added a sentiment from the Pointsettia set (Inspired By Stamping) in black ink.

For the inside of the card  I have stamped the Pointsettia from the Penny Black set, using a "no line" technique . With this technique, it is usual to use a very pale colour for the stamping (for instance Vintage Linen Distress ink) but I added green and red ink where I could on top on my yellow base so I could see the impression more clearly.

I then coloured the image with coloured pencils.

The far right panel is 2 patterned papers (magazine freebies) die-cut with 2 of the frames from the Accordion die set. I stamped the Holly leaves and berries in coloured ink and the sentiment in black, all from the Inspired By Stamping set.

The next step is to cut the tab on the last panel, as it is not going to be used to link with another panel.

I left the card for a few days trying to decide if I should add something more, in particular on the frames. Nothing came to mind but serendipity came to the rescue! I received my prize package from Nefertiti for winning her first challenge on the theme of Halloween. And there was a small box of Christmas wooden charms!!!

So I chose 3 trees of different shapes, painted them dark green and added a bit of gold by dabbing DecoArt Metallic Lustre with a cloth. I threaded them on a piece of baker's twine and attached to the inside of the card as an additional surprise.



To show you the card as it will look when finished I have used Tim Holtz tissue tape to attach temporarily the decorated panels together.







I didn't glue the tab that links the 2 cards yet, because experience has taught me it isn't easy to write the message when the card is fully constructed... been there done that!


I hope you are getting on with your Christmas makes, and if you haven't entered our challenge yet it's time to think about it before the Christmas festivities take over our schedules!

Thanks for coming by,
I'm entering the Stamping Sensations and That's Crafty challenges.