Tutorial by Linda Fields
Welcome to another Minute Monday! I challenged myself to create a set of 7 Christmas cards using a blast from the Tim Holtz blueprint past! I wanted to make these fun cards in as little time as possible without sacrificing quality. I’m so excited to bring you my end results. Note, the gingerbread house took the longest because of all the tiny details so keep this in mind when figuring your creative goals.
Materials
- Neenah Heavy Cardstock
- Tim Holtz Guillotine – Straight Edge
- Tim Holtz Guillotine – Deckle Edge
- Tim Holtz Stamping Platform
- Tim Holtz Christmas Blueprint Stamp Set
- Tim Holtz Christmas Blueprint 3 Stamp Set
- Whimsy Christmas Sentiment Stamps
- Versafine Waterproof Black Ink Stamp Pad
- Copic Pens
- Wink of Stella Pen
- White Gel Pen
- Double Sided Tape
Simple Steps
- Use straight edge guillotine to cut 8.5 x 11″ cardstock in half, creating two 4.25 x 11″ strips.
- Turn one strip and emboss halfway at 5.5″.
- Use folding tool to press and close top fold A2 card. Repeat. (1 sheet = 2 card bases)
- Use deckle edge guillotine to cut 8.5 x 11″ cardstock in half, creating two 4.25 x 11″ strips.
- Turn one strip and deckle cut halfway at 5.5″.
- Trim remaining straight edges until you have 4 deckle edged sides measuring 4 x 5.25″.
- Repeat step 6 until you have 4 card fronts measuring 4 x 5.25″ each. (1 sheet = 4 card fronts)
- Use a stamping platform to stamp each card front with the main stamp and sentiment.
- Repeat step 8 to stamp however many card fronts you want.
- Using Copic pens, color the stamped images. Use light to dark colors then return to your first light color.
- Use Wink of Stella and/or White Gel Pen to accent your images for that special touch.
- Use double stick tape on the back of the card fronts. Attach to card base and enjoy!
Tips ‘n Tricks
If you look in the photos you’ll see a pair of green rimmed glasses. These are wonderful if you’re eyesight isn’t what you need it be. I put these on over my regular glasses. They have lights built in that turn on or off depending on whether you’re wearing them or not.
When it comes to coloring using alcohol ink pens, use 2-3 colors different shades in the same color to create a beautiful blending effect. Start with your lightest color, add the next shade and the darkest last but go back with the lightest shade after to blend them together.
I love to use a white gel pen to add light accents. I also used a Wink of Stella pen to add silver everywhere color was not used in the stamped image.
These clean and simple cards are incredibly fun to make so don’t stop! There are so many creative things you could do to embellish these designs to the next level. Most importantly, have fun!
