Holiday Best

Sometimes Hostess sets don't look all that appealing at first, but then you want to make a card and they are the perfect set for that card. This is one of those times. I chose this set only for the Christmas stamp included in it, and did not think I would ever use the other stamps since I do not make thanksgiving cards and my Halloween cards are for kids, not adults and I like them to be funny or scary, not elegant. This Valentines stamp was perfect for a card I wanted to make for my husband.

I used the Nouveau Chic DSP and chalked a little bit more color onto it. This particular piece has a bit of Apricot Appeal on it, but I wanted to add some more Sage Shadow in without it being overpowering, so I used the Stampin' Pastels. They are perfect for adding just a little bot of color since you can really control how much goes on.



Stamps: Holiday Best
Ink: Basic Gray
Paper: Sage Shadow, Basic Gray, Whisper White Cardstocks, Nouveau Chic DSP
Misc: Sponge Daubers, 3/4" Circle Punch, 5/8" Basic Gray Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Pastels, Stampin' Dimensionals, Texturz Plates Backgrounds 1

I love the subtle added dimension that the Texturz Plates add to a project. It is not as crisp or defined as a typical embossing folder, but it still adds a little bit of interest. You can make it pop out more by adding a cardstock shim or two to get more pressure and get more definition.

Also if you are worried about your Satin ribbon fraying an easy way to seal the cut ends is to take your heat gun for embossing and to just hold it near ish the cut ends and it will melt the ends. You don't want to get too close, but you will see the change in the ribbon when you do this. I did it on this ribbon to show you what it looks like. You can barely notice that I did it, but they will not fray anymore.

To get the large scallop border I took 3/4" circles from the punch and cut them in half and placed them under the layer of sage shadow cardstock.

Until next time, Happy Scrappin'