Traditional Colors for Christmas

Hi everyone. I'm posting a few cards today that I made showcasing the beauty of red and green.   I admit, when I make my Christmas cards I very rarely stray from traditional colors.  I love red and green and I think when they're mixed with more neutral colors like black, white or beige they really stand out on a card.  

For this card I started with the Stitched Woodgrain Cover Up die from Lil' Inker Designs. It makes a beautiful background in Simon Says Stamp's  Khaki cardstock.  I stenciled the tags using white Gesso medium and Sizzix Tim Holtz Holiday Knit stencil. The sentiment is Cas-ual Friday's Snowy Sayings from the Stamp of Approval's Holiday Magic Collection.   I topped it off with my favorite WPlus9 reindeer from the Stag Trio die set.

Here's a close up.  Doesn't the red and green look gorgeous with the natural colored twine and background?

For this card I used the red and green against a white background with a bit of a gold accent with the bow.  I love this Sizzix Tattered floral die using Simon Says Stamp Schoolhouse Red cardstock and some border stamps from CAS-ual Fridays and Stamp of Approval's Holiday Magic Collection.  The Quilted Stitched Cover up die is from Lil' Inker Designs.

And just because you use traditional colors doesn't mean you can't add a little whimsy to your cards.  I thought this card turned out cute using My Favorite Things Christmas Tree Cutout die.  I accented it with some gold string and gold foil cardstock.  For the background I used Lil' Inker's Stitched Mats: Rectangles and Border Builders die sets.

Well this is the week I mail out all of my cards to friends and family.  I didn't make any duplicates this year which was a first for me. I was able to come up with 50 different card designs and  I owe it all to Stamp Nation.  They really pulled out all the stops over there with their CASE-ing Christmas class in November and their December challenges.  There was just so much wonderful inspiration at Stamp Nation and it really inspired me to try some new designs and techniques.  If you're not a member yet I encourage you to stop over and sign up today.  I can promise 2016 will be loaded with more inspiring projects from Catherine Pooler and the Dream Team.

Have a great day everyone!