Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Guest Designer: Christmas Emporium Easel Card

Hello, Friends!  This is my 3rd Guest Designer post for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  I am having so much fun with these fabulous chippies!  Today I have a sweet vintage Christmas project to share with you.  This Christmas Emporium Easel Card is made with Graphic 45 papers and some wonderful chipboard from Gypsy Soul.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need to create this  Christmas Emporium easel card:

• Victorian Silhouette Frames
• Snowflake Shape Set
• Christmas Shape Set
• Winter Shape Set
• 10 Words
• Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium 8×8 paper pad
• Red Cardstock
• Black Cardstock
• Gold Foil Cardstock
• Tim Holtz Distress Paints: Crushed Olive, Festive Berries, Black Soot, Picket Fence
• Fine  Glitter, such as Dazzling Diamonds
• Marcasite Stampendous Frantage Embossing Enamel
• Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE)
• Stampendous Shaved Ice
• Stampendous Spoonful of Rust Embossing Enamel
• Red Glitter Embossing Powder
• Stickles Sprinkled Sugar
• Red Rhinestones
• Antique Gold Plaid Ribbon
• 3/8″ Christmas Plaid Ribbon
• Burlap String
• Rusty Jingle Bells
• Versamark Embossing Ink
• Non-Stick Craft mat

Prepping Your Chipboard for the Christmas Emporium Easel Card

From the chipboard sets listed above, you will want to select:

• the Victorian Frame with the fiddler on the rooftop
• the large snowflake from the Snowflake shape set
• the word “joy” from 10 words
• The snowflake border strip from the Winter Shape Set
•  the English Lamp Post, small holly leaves and berries from the Christmas Shape Set.

Get out your non-stick craft mat and your Distress Paints.  Paint the Victorian Frame with Black Soot Distress Paint.  While the paint is still wet, sprinkle with the Marcasite Embossing Enamel and then heat emboss.  This type of embossing powder leaves a finish that looks like enamel and it is a wonderful, quick way to alter chipboard.  I always hold my chipboard with a pair of reverse tweezers, and begin heating from the under side of the chip so that my powder doesn’t blow away.  I find that applying the powder to the wet paint helps prevent fly away powder as well. I love the sparkly enamel finish it left on this frame:

Put down a heavy layer of Versamark or other embossing ink directly onto the surface of the English lamp Post from the Christmas set.  Sprinkle liberally with Spoon Full of Rust embossing enamel, then press the powder down with your fingertips.  Heat emboss as in the step above. When it has cooled, tap it lightly with Crushed Olive Distress Paint to give it an oxidized appearance.  Paint the small holly berries and leaves from the Christmas Shape set.  I used a pencil to draw in vein markings on the holly leaves.  For the berries, while the Festive Berries paint was still wet, I embossed with a red glitter embossing powder and then topped them with red rhinestones once cooled. Glue the leaves and berries onto the lamp post.  Add the rhinestones.  Tie a burlap string bow and attach the tag from Christmas Emporium.

Paint the snowflake and snowflake border piece with Picket Fence Distress Ink and while still wet, sprinkle with glitter.  Set aside to dry.

Paint the word JOY with black soot paint.  Tap along the edges very lightly with Picket Fence Distress Paint to mimic the look of snow  When dry, Cover with Stickles Sprinkled Sugar and let dry.

Prepping the Card Base for the Christmas Emporium Easel Card

Create a 7″ wide x 5″ tall easel card base using red cardstock.

• Cut an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of cardstock to measure 7″ x 10″
• Score on the long side at 5″ and again at 7.5″, creating 2 mountain folds.
• Crease along the score lines to form the easel card base.
• Cut a separate 7″ x 5″ rectangle from red cardstock
• Cut a 6.75″ 4.75″ rectangle from gold foil cardstock
• Cut a 6.5″ x 4.5″ rectangle of designer paper (I used the Christmas bells)
• Glue the designer paper and gold paper to the red cardstock rectangle.  Do NOT glue onto the easel card base yet.
• Wrap with antique gold plaid ribbon, using Scor-Tape or other double sided adhesive to secure.
• Trace around the Victorian Frame onto the Santa’s workshop image in the designer paper.  Cut out and trim to fit. Tap with Versamark Ink, and heat emboss with UTEE. When the image has cooled completely, bend it gently to “crack” the finish, giving it the look of old glass.  Glue onto the back side of the prepared frame.
• Cut a scrap of the Christmas Carol paper and glue to the right hand side of the frame as seen in the photo.  Cut a4.5″ square mat from the red plaid paper.  Round the corners.  Glue the frame onto this mat.
• Cut a 4.75″ square from black cardstock.  Round the corners. Glue the matted frame onto the black cardstock.
• Fussy cut the teddy bear, rocking horse and baby doll from the paper collection.  Ink the edges.  Use foam adhesive to add to the base of the frame as seen in the photo.

Adding the details to the Christmas Emporium Easel Card

• Fussy cut the Christmas list from the designer paper.  Glue it to the card base as seen here.  I crumpled it lightly to add texture.
• use strips of foam adhesive to secure the prepared lamp post to the right hand side of the card, as seen here.  Spread glue at the base and sprinkle with Shaved Ice to make it look like snow.
• Glue the matted frame to the  card as seen above.
• Use strips of foam adhesive to add the large snowflake in the lower left hand corner of the frame.
• Use hot glue to secure the word “JOY” on top of the snowflake.
• Tie a bow with the Christmas plaid ribbon, top with a burlap string bow, and tie on the rusty jingle bells.  Secure with hot glue as shown in the photo above.
• Cut a 6 7/8″ x 4.75″ rectangle of the Christmas Bells and glue to the INSIDE of the prepared card base.
• Cut a 6.75″ x 1.5″strip of the red plaid paper.  Mat with a slightly larger piece of black cardstock.  Glue this to the very bottom edge of the card interior. Add the prepared snowflake border piece. This forms the stopper for your easel card. Decorate with rhinestones if desired.
• Decorate the interior of the card as shown.

Add glue to the bottom half the easel card front and carefully line up the bottom half of your decorated card front to this flap.  The card will now stand up on its own for display, and lay flat to fit in an envelope.

This Christmas Emporium easel card is such a fun design, as it doubles as home decor.  Adding all this lovely chipboard adds texture and dimension and makes the card really stand out.  You could use any paper or theme of course, but this is one of my all time favorite Christmas collections.

I hope you learned some new tips and tricks from today’s tutorial.  If you did, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy