SENDING HOLIDAY CHEER & HOLIDAY SPRIGS

I’m always torn on color schemes for the holidays—not just for cards, but for holiday home decor, too; traditional vs. non-traditional . . . I do love red and white—especially a warm white—it just speaks cozy to me for the holidays. I have to laugh, tho, because at least on my cards I don’t have to “commit” with any permanency, LOL!

feat. Holiday Sprigs / Sending Holiday Cheer / “Wishing you a Merry Christmas…” from Holly Jolly Christmas

Sharing some samples today from the new 2021 Holiday Release that feature Sending Holiday Cheer and Holiday Sprigs. Now, I don’t show them on these particular examples, but there are some humorous quips in Sending Holiday Cheer that would totally bust me up if I opened a holiday card to find them inside. If that resonates with you, definitely take a close look at that set!!!

I love this ombré inking effect and couldn’t resist repeating that throughout a number of the samples I made for the release page. Holiday Sprigs has solid imagery to coordinate with outline counterparts so if you are not a colorist (like me!), you’ll be happy to have that kind of flexibility.

The outlines even look so pretty stamped simply in a rich red color against that natural white hue of watercolor paper. I added some fine spatters of black acrylic paint for just a tiny bit of texture and used one of the dies to cut sprigs from glitter paper to create a wreath effect—IRL the sparkle really sets off the whole design.

I was somewhat hesitant to try this on a darker card stock, but I think the white embossing looks stunning against this grey card stock, especially with the pops of red from the NUVO Drops—such a sophisticated, upscale look! I’m glad I tried it!

I’m so curious to know what other folks lean towards for their holiday colors!

Sidebar: Ellen Hutson is giving away prizes over on our Instagram Hop—if you’re so inclined to toss your name into the hat, go comment along the hop to enter! You can start at my Instagram or the Ellen Hutson Instagram account—just look for the hop graphic so you know you’re commenting on hop related pics!

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SUPPLIES:

• Sending Holiday Cheer by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps

• Holiday Sprigs by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps

• Rockin Red, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad

• Peppermint Scrub, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad

• Smoothies Minis, Creative Expressions

• Embossing Magic Bag, Inkadinkado

• Powder Tool Adhesive Deactivator, EK Success

• VersaMark Ink Pad

• Stampendous Embossing Powder, Detail White, 0.76 oz.

• Stampendous Embossing Powder, Detail Gold

• Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Wax Lips, 25 pk

• Holiday Sparkle, Hero Arts Glitter Paper

• Solar White - 25 pk, Neenah Classic Crest Cardstock

• Slate Gray 100 lb - 25pk, Essentials By Ellen Cardstock

• Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops, Red Berry Gloss

• Ranger Stickles, Gold

• Scrapbook Adhesives Crafty Foam Tape, White

• Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3-D Foam Squares, Mix White

• Dual Speed Heat Tool, WOW

• New & Improved Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7), My Sweet Petunia

• Crafter's Companion Gemini Junior

• Platinum 6 Die Cutting And Embossing Machine, Spellbinders Tools

Disclosure: I include affiliate links to the products used in my projects and make a small commission when you purchase via those links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for buying all the things!

ESSENTIALS BY ELLEN HOLIDAY 2021 RELEASE IS NOW LIVE

Click on the graphic above to go straight to the release page.

Have you determined what you wanna make for your holiday cards this year? Cuz you’re in luck today! The Ellen Hutson Holiday 2021 Release just dropped! We’ve got snowflakes, stockings, festive holiday botanicals, bold typography and some lighthearted snark for the insides of your greetings (HINT: take a close look at Sending Holiday Cheer on that release page; just sayin’ . . . ) that will elicit some laughs from the recipients of your creations!

feat. Essentials Snowflakes Die Set / Oh What Fun Stamp Set (Gift with $75 purchase)

Today I wanted to highlight the Gift With Purchase Set “Oh What Fun”—I adore the modern lettering and how nicely it plays with this “eclipse” technique, using the new Essentials Sowflakes set (the largest of the set was used to create the eclipse, and the other sizes were layered all over to create a faux embossing folder effect!

“On What Fun” will be included with any orders of $75 at ellenhutson.com Oct 15-17 (while supplies last; please see the website for details).

The ombré inking effect on the sentiment was achieved by inking and stamping first with Rockin’ Red (a stamp positioning tool, like the MISTI, is key to creating this effect with precision), then inking the lower half of the sentiment with Peppermint Scrub, blending the edge with a smooth blending sponge, to avoid a hard line, and stamping again directly over the first impression. The end result will be a beautifully smooth transition from the red to the deeper almost wine hue. I’m a sucker for ombré . . .

If you’re not familiar with the “eclipse” technique, you can see me demonstrate it during a LIVE with Ellen that we did for Summer of Stamping. It’s definitely one of my all-time favorite techniques. Because easy.

As for the faux embossing folder effect? I have a tip for ya’:

Apply Stick-It Sheet adhesive to the back of your card stock BEFORE die cutting the snowflakes; then you can just peel and stick ‘em wherever you want on your card front all quick-like. When you trim off snowflakes that end up hanging off the edge of your card front, many of them can be positioned elsewhere you feel there are any gaps (along the outer straight edges). •fist pump•

I’ll be sharing more samples in the coming days—thanks so much for reading!

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SUPPLIES:

• Oh What Fun (Gift With Purchase) Stamp Set

• Essentials Snowflakes Die Set, from the 2021 Holiday Release

• Solar White - 25 pk, Neenah Classic Crest Cardstock

• Solar White Heavyweight 110 lb - 25 pk, Neenah Classic Crest Cardstock

• Rockin Red, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad

• Peppermint Scrub, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad

• Peppermint, Lawn Fawn Hemp Cord

• Prisma Glitter, Lawn Fawn

• Smoothies Minis, Creative Expressions

• New & Improved Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7), My Sweet Petunia

• Crafter's Companion Gemini Junior

• Platinum 6 Die Cutting And Embossing Machine, Spellbinders Tools

Disclosure: Yup, those are affiliate links to the products used in my projects and I make a small commission when you purchase via those links, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for buying all the things!