STAMPIN' UP! CARDS

Sleigh Bells Ring

This card is made using the stamp set ' Sleigh Bells Ring ' from SU!'s Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Catalog. It's a wonderful set for creating a traditional feeling.

Cardstock is also SU!'s - Sahara Sand. It's the perfect image to colour with SU!'s Stampin' Pastels chalk collection. I decided on the gate-fold style for this card as it allowed me to create a 'sneak peek' on the front - in the end, I simply slipped a nice velvet ribbon band to keep this closed and then can you see the recipient open to see the lovely gay scene of the sleighers being pulled by their horses - perhaps off to a festive dance at the church!

However I made the background design directly behind the main stamp image differently in each card - I was experimenting and had a lot of fun as I wanted to go outside the norm and yet still keep the familiarity of christmas patterns. I tried using some lovely ribbons and made my tied bow embellishment in the left top-corner with 3 ribbons!

The stamp set comes with 3 stamps, the winter sleigh scene, a holly-berry accent, and a sentiment as you see on the card. I've already used the holly-berry stamp for other cards many times over! In fact, I'm waiting to see what other uses I come up with for this stamp set.

To balance the neutral shade of the cardstock, I found a pretty silver sparkle cardstock and used glitter ravishly around the images, and on berries. Red adds good 'punch' for the eye!

One additional fact is the card with the plaid background {not the red gingham} is made by using Papertrey Ink's clear stamp set " Faux Ribbon " - its been great fun making my own borders and even this plaid as I sent this card to a friend in bonnie Scotland!

* Note: Be aware that this set is on the Retired List of Stampin' Up! ....so if you want to get it then you'd best contact me. Thanks for looking! :)