Thursday, March 08, 2018

Merry Christmas with Holly

Hi everyone.  Another Christmas card from me today ... and one that includes holly so I'm adding this to the CAS Christmas March Challenge - Holly.



This background was in my stash.  I used a NBUS stamp that I bought late in December last year.  I stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in white onto a piece of watercolour paper.  I then added distress ink to my craft mat and "splashed" away until I was happy with the depth of colour.  Check out my video on Splash Watercolour Background by clicking HERE.

But, as it happens to me often, the design I had in my head didn't work out, so I added this to my stash for later.  Today is the day to use it. :)

I popped up the panel on my card base, added a few holly leaves that are die-cut from green card stock, sponged on the edges, shaped with my stylus and then wink'd with stella.  The berries are done the same way with red card stock, then a small dot of white from a gel pen to finish.

Here's a close-up...
I hope you'll pull out your holly stamps, dies, or stencils and join us.  Remember to keep your design clean and simple.







Stamps:  Merry Christmas (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Watercolour paper (Arches 140 lb. Hot Press); White card front (Neenah 110 lb. card stock); Garden green and Real Red card stocks (SU!)
Ink:  Versamark; Distress Inks:  Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn (Tim Holtz); Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler inks (SU!)
Accessories & Tools:  White embossing powder, heat tool, water mister, Holly & Berry dies (C.C. Designs), stylus, sponge mat, sponges, white gel pen, clear wink of stella

Challenges:
CAS Christmas March Challenge - Holly


24 comments:

Julie B said...

Love the smooshed background Loll.
My feed to your blog has thrown a wobbler and when clicked fills my screen with text! Hopefully it will resume normal service soon, it has also lost the feed to MB! :)

MaryH said...

Fab background. The lighter marbled green shade on the background really makes the dark colors of this wonderful holly sprig show up marvelously. Great dimensional look on the berries too! (been thinking about a design so I can play along). TFS & Hugs

Debbie said...

Beautiful, Loll! That BG is such a pretty shade of green - really adds pizzazz and looks great with the white sentiment.

Liz said...

Gorgeous card, I love the beautiful inky panel, such lovely shades of green. xx

Mac Mable said...

So glad you used this gorgeous splashed background. Very striking and it goes to show that CAS doesn't have to have white space it can be any colour. Fabulous inspiration and such a stunning card x

nancy littrell said...

Gorgeous artsy Spash background with your heat embossed sentiment. So wonderful for your die cut holly, Loll. Love how you added your gel pen dots to the berries. TFS...you are inspiring me to make another holly card. Hugs

Nstiz said...

I love your festive green in your background combined with the white sentiment. I never think to emboss in white and really love the way it looks. The holly is the perfect topper for this card too.

Susan said...

Lovely background in beautiful shades of green! Perfect sprig of holly in the corner!

Bonnie said...

What a beautiful Merry Christmas, Loll! And your splash background is gorgeous! Love the depth of the greens that are so perfect with your die cut holly!

Christine Alexander said...

Loll, I love the greens and that wonderful Merry Christmas with your holly :)

kiwimeskreations said...

What a wonderful card Loll - love your green background
Blessings
Maxine

Kath said...

A fabulous card and beautiful design.
Kath x

Mimi said...

Love this card!!! Oh man, I love that greeting stamp! Beautiful! Excellent CAS card with perfect details.

Jeanne said...

Beautiful! The greens in the background provide a beautiful backdrop for the holly and the pretty Merry Christmas sentiment. Great tip to hang onto a background for use later. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Robyn Oliver said...

Simple and gorgeous Loll, fabulous script sentiment, really fresh card

Anita in France said...

What a gorgeous vibrant splashy background, Loll ... and a delicious scripty sentiment ... the sprig of dimensional holly is the perfect little addition! Hugs, Anita :)

Bobby said...

I will be CASEing this card, Loll. I have the stamp and I love your background. The last thing I found in my WTDWT drawer I was going to enter in a challenge and then realized I had already posted it to another challenge. I had a completed front but hadn't put it on a base. Or else the base got ruined. I don't know but I'm sure glad I caught it.

Trina P. said...

Beautiful card and splash watercolor background, Loll. Love that large white embossed MC script sentiment. xx

Papercraft Boutique said...

Gorgeous splash watercolour background, Loll! How can you control the splash marks so well!? The flourish font of the sentiment is perfect for the background. They look like they're part of the splashes. Love the details of the holly leaves and berries too. Hideko xx

Barb Ghig said...

Your watercolored background is so striking, Loll! It pairs so well with this sentiment and your holly and berries are perfect! I'm definitely going to watch your video again...thanks!

Darnell said...

Just catching up with some of my inbox and had to stop and tell you how much I love this, Lolly! The greens are sensational and I must have that sediment; it was a perfect choice!! Hugs, Dolly

Linda said...

This is stunning .... love the background, and I've got to get that sentiment, it's gorgeous xx

My Card Attic: Hazel said...

This is just gorgeous Loll! I can see I have missed so much since my (self imposed) isolation! The weather is warming a little now (although they have forecast the return of the bitterly cold weather for this weekend, 4 degrees, feeling more like minus 4 they say, due to wind chill factor), so we'll see! Anyway, I LOVE this design, so simple, but that gorgeous panel just speaks for itself! Love & Hugs. Hazel xx
My Card Attic

BożenA said...

Such a beautiful Loll project! I love how the color covered the panel wonderfully. I love how he gathered in some roundness of sentiment. It looks so beautiful. Adding a small holly element brings our attention to it.
BożenA xoxo