Slimline Christmas Card

My mother in law asked me to make her 11 Christmas cards to hold money and of course I said I would. I had just received my October Hero Arts My Monthly Hero kit so I was excited to bust open the kit and start creating. I knew I wanted to make slimline cards so she can add cash to them. But other than that, I didn’t have a clear direction or idea.

I started with a 3.5 x 8.5 in card panel of Hammermill 110lb. Cover stock. I used Hero Arts ink cubes from past kits in Blue Hawaii, Blue Reactive and Grape Slush reactive inks. I recently started using this Hammermill paper and I’m really liking it. It’s so smooth and perfect for blending. I gave the panel a spritz of Hero Arts shimmer spray and set it aside to dry.

While that was drying I cut some hills using Avery Elle Slimline Basics die. This is a great basics die set. It has a scallop and a stitched rectangle frame plus hill and clouds border and a few other shapes. I swiped Hero Arts Embossing and Watermark ink across the hills and heat embossed the White Sparkle embossing powder long the top edges. It gives the hills some subtle sparkle. I knew I needed to make these hold money but I also wanted it to be a tri-fold card that opened from the top and bottom. I decided to add a flip down panel and attach it to the inside on the edges to make a pocket to hold the money.

I stamped the Santa image onto the ink blended background using Versafine onyx black ink. I like using this ink because it’s the blackest black ink and it stamps crisp edges. The only negative is it absolutely will smear, believe me! I also used that ink for my sentiment.

I stamped, heat embossed and die cut a few of the small and large trees using green-gold embossing powder from the November 2018 kit. I attached them to the card using Hero Arts Precision Glue.

To finish up I added these tiny star like sequins for a previous kit. I always struggle with finishing touches. I feel like I add too much or the placement is awkward. I tried to go light and follow the lines of the snowy hills. While making this card I realized that this design is not easy to mass produce. I’ll need to come up with another card design for my mother in laws cards. But, I’m super happy with the way this one did come out. Back to the drawing board.