This card involves only stamps & ink - no pattern paper.  You'll be making your own background pattern with a large background stamp.  This is a great card for keeping supply costs low and uses my all-time favorite set of dies: Stylish Shapes.  If you had to buy only one set of dies, this is the one you want.

Supplies

Stamp Sets:  Keeping Traditions #166806 and Painted Stripes #165437 

Inks: Basic Beige #163806, Secret Sea Ink #165285, Strawberry Slush #165286 and Shaded Spruce #147088

Paper: Secret Sea #165624, Basic Beige #164511 and Basic White Card stock #166780

Other: Stylish Shapes dies #159183, Scissors, Paper Trimmer #152392, Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine #149653, Multipurpose Liquid Glue #110755 & Stampin’ Dimensionals #104430.  

These are larger stamps, so you will need at least block E #118484 for "Christmas" (or you could use F #118483).  Block I has been retired, but that would work well too.

Measurements

• Secret Sea card stock: 5-1/2” x 8-1/2”, scored at 4-1/4” [card base]
• Basic Beige card stock: 5-1/4" x 4"
• Basic White card stock: 5-1/4" x 4" [inside]

Instructions

1. Fold Secret Sea card base in half.
2. Ink Painted Stripes stamp with Basic Beige ink.  I place the ink pad on top of the stamp and don't even bother with a block. I lay the background stamp upright on my table and place Basic Beige card stock on top of the inked stamp.  Press/rub lightly with fingers to get ink onto paper.
3. Adhere to front card base.
4. You can either cut first or stamp first.  You will want to stamp "holly jolly" with Secret Sea ink on white card stock and cut out with the largest banner shaped die from Stylish Shapes dies.
5. Cut an additional largest banner shape with Strawberry Slush card stock.
6. On scrap white, stamp the holly image with Shaded spruce ink and the berries with Strawberry Slush ink.  Cut out with scissors.
7. Glue the Strawberry slush shape flat onto front of card.
8. With dimensionals, adhere the holly jolly banner offset onto strawberry slush banner.
9. With dimensionals, adhere the cut out holly to the left side of shapes.
10. Stamp "Christmas" with Strawberry Slush ink and "cheer" with Shaded Spruce ink onto white (for inside of card).
11. Adhere to inside of card.
12. Optional to stamp holly & berries on the front of your envelope.

My philosophy on Christmas card making is to keep it simple and easily duplicatable.  Many of us make multitudes of holiday cards and there is no way we can spend an hour on each card.

If this is your first week, thank you for joining my list.  These 12 Weeks of Christmas tutorials are exclusively for those on my mailing list.  I will not be sending out prior weeks.

Feel free to copy exactly, use as inspiration or save for future use.  I recommend creating a folder in your email system (naming it 12 Weeks of Christmas or similar) to save each week.  That way, when you are ready to get creating, the ideas/emails will easily be found.

Enjoy!

If you liked this project & need supplies to make it, you can order them with the listed item numbers at:

www.mailsomethingpretty.com/shop

Christine Josti

Mail Something Pretty

Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator