Simple & Elegant

I am absolutely positive that most of you have used the phrase “Less is More” many times in your life, and this card definitely reflects that. I have been in that mood myself for quite some time and I am trying to find more and more ways to achieve a “wow” factor with my designs.

In my opinion, this card speaks elegance and sophistication and on top of everything, it is super easy to mass produce, which is great if you have a large family and a lot of friends you would like to send a holiday card to this season.

And this is how you make it:

After you selected your paper of choice and cut it to size, the first step is stamping. If you are making one or two cards you could use a stamping block, but if you are mass producing I suggest you use a stamp positioner. The one that I am using here is a MISTI stamp positioner by My Sweet Petunia. Using a stamp positioner is also great if you need to double stamp. This is especially helpful if you are using textured paper like I am here. For adding details I did use a small stamping block. When adding such tiny details it is much quicker to a stamping block. After my image was done it was time for me to add a sentiment. I used VersaMark embossing ink and gold embossing powder by Recollections.

Next it was time for assembly.

I created a card base using Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb. For more interest I added a layer of gold paper. For layering, I often use card stock that is not too heavy. That way it will not add too much bulk and weight to my cards, which is better for mailing. This particular gold paper is by Recollections and it is 65 lb. I would like to mention that the paper that I used for stamping is a heavy, watercolor paper by Canson. And then, I glued everything together.

And a wreath would not be a wreath without a bow. I created tiny bows by using a satin ribbon. This particular ribbon that I used here is 4 mm wide. I bought a big spool of this ribbon a couple of years back and I truly do not remember where I got it from, but there is a lot of different ribbons on the market today that you will definitely have no issues finding what is wright for you.

There are a lot of different ways to attach embellishments to your project. When my embellishments are not paper based, I usually gravitate towards my glue gun. And there are several reasons why, it is inexpensive, strong and it dries super fast.

And that is it. As you can see this is a very easy project and the techniques are basic and simple and can be applied to a lot of different projects. And if you just wanted to purchase this project without getting your hands dirty, you can now do so at Curate Studio in San Anselmo, CA .