Artiste Christmas Card is THE ONE

I finally, finally, finally settled on the one card I could make in bunches for Christmas this year.  If you've followed along this season, you'll know I'm quite determined not to spend any money, use scraps whenever possible, and use what I've already got in my craft room.

Here's what I came up with:  (a standard-sized card that will fit in an A-2 envelope).

Notice the elegant Christmas tree shape?  Not the usual-----and I LOVE it.  :-)

The shape is actually a layer that is found using the 3D Object button.  It was originally intended to  coordinate with a triangular gift box from the CTMH "Artiste" Cricut cartridge.  I cut mine out at 7 1/2".  Please note:  that doesn't mean it is actually 7 1/2" long.  The size that ends up being cut goes with the 7 1/2" triangular gift box.  :-)

Next stop for the "tree" is the Cuttlebug.  I used D'vine Swirl and then swiped sandpaper over the top to reveal the cardstock's white inner core.  (Note: Only cardstock with a white inner core--like that from CTMH--will achieve this look in this particular way.)

After a trip through the Cuttlebug folder, each tree was paper pierced to make way for all the brads.  Here you can see I sped up the process by making a template and then stacking three trees underneath.  Then, I simply pierced through the existing holes of the top tree to get exact results at great speed.

Some time ago I found Colonial White embellishment packs on clearance with CTMH.  So, I purchased a dozen or so to use for Cards of Caring at church and for fun.  What I found, however, was that I hadn't used the metal tags yet.  Hooray for me!  This was the day.  Each square was cut to be 11/16" wide to fit neatly into the metal frame.  I glued them with some sort of Liquid Glass-type stuff I picked up at a CK convention this past year.

The "TO:" comes from CTMH's "Tag the Occasion" stamp set and the "YOU" comes from "Card Word Puzzle."

The tiny golden gift underneath the tree was first stamped in Chocolate and then I used a metalic gold pen over the top.  (I'd given my gold ink away so that's the way I made do.  Remember: I only want to use what I have this year.)  :-)

The Bible verse in the background is from "Everlasting Life."  I made the card the way I did because I really wanted the gift to represent God's Great Love for us through the gift of His Son.

Finally, I cannot forget to mention the olive ribbon to go with the Olive, Chocolate, Ruby, and Colonial White cardstocks.  I first saw this ribbon over the summer at Michaels--but I could only find one roll.  So, each time I went, I tried to remember to go look and see if they had more in stock.  Finally, they did--and I bought three more rolls.  Hooray!

Now all I need to do is finish making the rest of the cards.  Hopefully I'll get done tonight.........


Thank you so much for stopping by to take a look.  :-)

I appreciate you!
Blessings,
Brenda