This hop is now closed.  The winner is Pat Bowman selected from Sandy Hulsart’s blog.  Thanks for hopping!

Heartfelt Creations Festive Holly Christmas Card Folio Tutorial for the November Alumni Hop

Hello, Friends!  Welcome to the Heartfelt Creations November Alumni Hop!  With Christmas right around the corner, I’ve created a Festive Holly Christmas Card Folio Tutorial to share with you today.

This  5 1/8″ x 7 1/8 x 1/2″ card folio is adorned with handmade poinsettias and holly leaves.  Here’s what you’ll need to create this card:

• 12″ x 12″ Festive Holly Paper Collection
• Poinsettia and Holly Clusters Cling Stamp Set and matching Die
• 3-D Poinsettia Shaping Mold
• Deluxe Flower Shaping Kit
• Album Tags and Accents Dies
• Frame a Card Leafy Borders
• Gold Stamens
• Embossing Ink Pad and Gold Embossing Powder
• Ranger Distress Grit Paste
• Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive
• 2 sheets of deep red 81/2″ x 11″ cardstock
• white cardstock for die cutting
• Spellbinder Large and Standard Circle Dies
• 1/2″ Scor-Tape
• Diamond Stickles
• Ribbon and Embellishments from your stash

Festive Holly Christmas Card Folio Tutorial: Creating the Card Base

Begin by cutting one sheet of red cardstock into (2) 5 1/8″ x 8 1/2″ panels.  Place 1/2″ Scor-Tape on the 5 1/8″ end of one panel.  Remove the liner tape and overlap the second panel to create one long 16 1/2″ panel.  Score on the long side at 7 1/8″, 7 5/8″ and 14 1/4″.  Fold and burnish to create a top fold card with a 1/2″ spine at the top.

Now cut a 5″ x 7″ panel of the blue snowflake paper from the collection.  Use the small standard circle die to cut the cardinal image from one of the 4″ x 6″ card fronts.  Cut a second circle using the companion large circle die and mat.

Trim a second 4″ x 6″ card front so that just the white border shows.  Mat on red cardstock.

Die cut the 5″ and 7″ leafy borders from white cardstock.  Adhere to the 5″ x 7″ panel of designer paper.  Now place foam adhesive or waste chipboard on the back of the rectangular card front and adhere as seen.  Next, adhere the cardinal circle as seen in the photo.  You will need to add some foam tape to the top of the circle to make it sit evenly.  I tapped the snowy areas with Diamond Stickles to mimic the look of sparkling snow.

Die cut the lace border and adhere as seen in the photo.

Festive Holly Christmas Card Folio Tutorial: Creating the Poinsettia and Holly Clusters

Locate a piece of the red patterned paper from the collection.  Then use Embossing Ink to stamp two sets of both Poinsettia Cluster Stamps.  Heat emboss with fine gold embossing powder, then die cut with the matching die.  Repeat this process with the holly leaves, only stamp onto green patterned paper.

TIP: Using patterned paper is a a real time saver!  The paper is already colored, so all you have to do is stamp, emboss, die cut and shape.  Plus, the paper will always be a perfect match for your card, as it comes from the collection.

To shape the flowers and leaves, place each die cut face down in the 3-D mold.  Spritz lightly with a water, then run through your machine.  The flowers and leaves will be ready to use, which is another huge time-saver.

Place the leaves on the foam mat from the Tool Kit and press into the center using the 3mm stylus tip.  Then use the piercing tool to create a small hole in the center of each flower layer.  Thread the flower layers onto a gold stamen, placing a small dab of hot glue between the layers.

When the flowers are all assembled, snip off the extra stamen.  Wrap these pieces around the end of a paint brush to coil, then insert them into your floral arrangement.   Then arrange the flowers in clusters around the cardinal image.

Use your finger to tap on a bit of grit paste to look like snow.

Festive Holly Christmas Card Folio Tutorial: A Peek Inside

I’ve added a gift card holder and tag/pocket combo to the inside of this card.

The gift card holder measures 3 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ and is made from a 9″ x 3 1/4″ scrap of red cardstock.  Simply score at 4 1/4″ and again at 8 1/2″.  Then line the inside panels, secure the 1/2″ flap with a little adhesive on the top and bottom and you are all set!

Die cut the tag base from white cardstock, then line it with patterned paper.  This is super easy to do, as Heartfelt Creations designed the dies to do this perfectly.  I stitched around the edges of my tag.  Then I matted a panel from the cut apart page on red cardstock and created a treat pocket on the tag front.

On With the Hop!

This hop begins on Friday, November 30th at 8AM EST and ends at 11:55PM on Monday, December 3rd.  The winner will be announced on the Heartfelt Creations blog and Facebook Page on Wednesday, December 5th.  I’ll also post the winner at the top of this blog post at that time.

We have a wonderful line up of inspirational projects for you in this month’s hop.  Be sure to visit each blog and leave a lovely comment behind.  One comment from a mystery blog will be randomly chosen to win a $25 gift card to Heartfelt Creations!

Here’s the hop list for this month:

Kathy (You are HERE) ♥ Vicki  ♥ Amarilys ♥ Martine ♥  Pam  ♥  Joann  ♥  Sandy  ♥  Susan  ♥

I hope I’ve shared some tips, techniques and inspiration that you can use in your own craft adventures.  If so, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Thanks for hopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy