Thanks so much to everyone who made the annual potluck Christmas stamp-a-stack event a huge success!  Everyone had a blast making their Christmas cards, enjoying each other’s company, listening to music, and EATING!  Huge thank you’s to everyone – the food was fantastic, but the best part was getting together with YOU and just having some fun!  Here’s to having our cards out in the mail FIRST!  Here are the cards we made with the step-by-step instructions.  Feel free to e-mail me with any questions.

Card #1

1. Ink up the stamp – then with a baby wipe, wipe off the little bird and color it red with the red rose marker, then stamp the image on the round white paper.  Then on a large sticky note, stamp the bottom image of the stamp and then cut only along the bottom section where the snow is to create a mask of the “ground”.
2. Punch out a 1-3/8 white circle and put it over the red bird for your “moon”.  Take your mask of the snowy ground and line it up with your stamped image on the big circle so the ground is covered by your mask.  Then take some night of navy and lightly sponge the top section above the ground mask.  Not too dark, but sponge the top, going over the circle mask and you can lightly go over the trees also.
3. Remove both masks.  Take some 2-way glue and go over the trees to simulate snow and then use it to apply snow to the ground underneath the trees – I just applied it right underneath the blue lines under the trees.  Apply your completed white imaged circle to the Night of Navy circle.
4. Fold your card in half and then spread it out flat again.  Don’t use adhesive, but just place your circle onto the top portion of the card to help you see how far down you need to put your score lines and using the Score Buddy, score two ¼ inch score lines underneath your image, leaving enough room at the bottom for your sentiment to go.  Now flip your card over on the Score Buddy and line up the score lines with the grooves on the Score Buddy and re-score the lines lightly so as to have the score lines become raised on the front of your card.
5. Now flip your card over to the front side and fold it in half.  Now adhere your image to the front top of your card.
6. Put a knot in your Organza ribbon and adhere it to the top of the circled image.
7. With Stazon, stamp your sentiment under the score lines.  Wait a few minutes to make sure your sentiment on the outside is completely dry and then select and stamp your inside sentiment. (Thanks to Lee for this card).

Card #2

1. Fold your glossy white card stock in half.  Using the embossing buddy, lightly go over the front of the card.

SUGGESTION 1:

1. Using Versamark, stamp your image with Versamark, then with the spoon in the container, just sprinkle the black embossing powder over the main image – BUT NOT THE STAR.  Tap off excess black power.  Then using the other container with the GOLD tinsel embossing powder, sprinkle the gold over the star, holding the card the opposite way you did for the black, so the heavier gold embossing powder doesn’t get mixed with the black embossing powder.  Heat emboss the image and star.  Any areas that did not take, go over the image again with the Versamark PEN, then apply the black embossing powder and heat emboss your final image again.

SUGGESTION 2:  OR YOU COULD:  Stamp your image in BLACK CRAFT INK (yes, it is available in the catalog!), then wipe off the star with a baby wipe and with a versamark PEN, apply versamark on the star and stamp onto your card.  Then sprinkle CLEAR embossing powder over the main image, tap off excess, and then pour the gold tinsel embossing power over the star image and then heat emboss. Please note that the craft ink will “stick” to the glossy, so you will need to pull up straight, holding down the paper to release it, just the same as the Versamark does.

1. Using the Bashful Blue ink pad and sponge, lightly rub blue ink all over the image, extending all around, but not all the way to the sides.  You can keep reapplying until it is the desired shade of blue that you like.
2. Next, with Stazon, stamp your sentiment on the front.  I found that if I just heat set that with the heat gun, it will dry the ink faster, especially on the glossy white paper.
3. Stamp your sentiment on the inside.

Card #3

1. Stamp your image on your white paper with Stazon ink – make sure you get the image covered fully for a nice dark image.
2. Color all the desired areas.
3. Apply two way glue to steps, bottom ground area, on light, on tree next to door, on wreath and on the greens around the door – then sprinkle on dazzling diamonds
4. Stamp your sentiment.
5. Sponge all around the edges with the Rose Red ink.
6. Fold your old olive card stock in half.  Apply the white paper to the red paper and then apply to the front of the card.  Stamp your inside sentiment.

Card #4

1. Stamp on the white paper the tree from the set “Lovely as a Tree” at each corner, creating a bough branch look.
2. Stamp in red in the middle, the ornament stamp.
3. Stamp in Kiwi Kiss the “Merry Christmas”.
4. Place the stamped white paper in the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder and run it through the Big Shot.
5. Using the scallop trim border punch, punch the bottom.
6. Next, adhere a piece of red grosgrain ribbon from the top of the ornament to just underneath the back side of the white layer.
7. Attach the white layer to the red layer, then fold the old olive card stock in half and attach the layered front piece to the front of the card.
8. Make a bow from the red grosgrain ribbon and using a glue dot, adhere it to the top of your white layer as shown in the photograph.
9. Stamp your sentiment on the inside and you are done!  (I saw the original card from Regional, and thought it was brillently clever but I don’t know who originally designed this card.)

Card #5

1. Stamp in Old Olive the leaf and with the cherry cobbler marker, color the berries directly onto the stamp itself, then stamp the leaf in the top right and bottom left corners.
2. Stamp your “Peace on Earth” in cherry cobbler onto the white square and then adhere it to the cherry cobbler little square.
3. Adhere your ribbon in the middle of your main layer and then cut a small piece of ribbon and tie it around the far left side of the ribbon.
4. Adhere your middle square layer to the front in the center.
5. Gold emboss your dove and cut it out and adhere it to the front of the card using a dimensional.
6. Stamp your inside sentiment.  (Thanks to Sandy for the inspiration for this card!)

I hope you enjoyed looking at my stamp-a-stack class, and I look forward to next year’s potluck Christmas stamp-a-stack!

~ Gail