CCC #6: A Merry Christmas

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

Let your heart be light

From now on,

Our troubles will be out of sight

Not sure that our troubles are out of sight, but I do know that the theme for our sixth two-week Creative Cutting Challenge is "Christmas".  Click here to check out the creative inspiration from our Design Team and join the challenge.  Even if you don't use SVG files, you will find some great ideas from these talented ladies!

The Details:

• I have always loved The Creative Pointe's 'Poinsettia' SVG file and finally put it to use on this vintage-y and feminine Christmas card.  It's so easy to make a three-dimensional, realistic looking blossom that becomes a spectacular focal point.  And it's only $1!
• I selected three shades of red patterned paper scraps and cut them using the darkest as the bottom layer and the lightest as the top layer.
• Each layer was stained with Aged Mahogany Distress Stain and spritzed with water.  Before drying with my heat gun, I carefully crinkled and pinched the petals.  Applying heat dries the ink and locks in the dimension.  
• Pop Up Glue Dots separate each layer of the blossom for added dimension and random dots of Liquid Pearls form the center.

• The leaves were done in much the same way as the petals, but instead of crinkling them, I embossed them with Tim Holtz's Cracked texture fade, placed upside down.  With strategic positioning, I've found that the cracks perfectly emulate leaf veins.
• These were stained with Bundled Sage and a touch of Crushed Olive and spritzed with water.  Again, I dried them with a heat gun to lock in the dimension.
• The beautiful little vintage Christmas letter is from The Graphics Fairy.

Other Challenges:
The Graphics Fairy: Brag Monday #163
Sugar Creek Hollow: #38 - Kraft

Supplies:
Cardstock:	Papertrey Ink ‘Kraft’
Patterned Paper:	My Mind’s Eye ‘Lost & Found Christmas’ 6x6; scraps
SVG:	The Creative Pointe ‘Poinsettia’
Image:	The Graphics Fairy ‘Beautiful Envelope’
Stamps:	Stampin’ Up! ‘French Script’
Inks:	VersaMark; Distress Stains ‘Aged Mahogany’, ‘Bundled Sage’, ‘Crushed Olive’
Embellishments:	Doily; velvet ribbon; Liquid Pearls ‘White Opal’, ‘Bisque’
Tools:	EK Success punch ‘Graceful Heart’; mister; heat gun; SCAL; Cricut Expression; 3M foam tape; Glue Dots ‘Pop Up’; Tim Holtz paper distresser