I have been playing along with Freshly Made Sketches every week for quite some time. Most times an idea for the sketch just hits me over the head – my inspiration from the sketch is instant. Other times, though, I have to let the sketch marinate in the back of my head a bit before I can start my project. Today’s project is one of those that had to stew for a while. I am happy I waited because I really like how it turned out. Before I share this week’s card, though, I want to thank Rita Wright who selected my Fabulous Florets card as a Perfect Prince last week. It’s always wonderful to be recognized by this panel of designers.
Rita is hosting this week’s sketch challenge with Freshly Made Sketches, and here’s my card:
And here’s Rita’s really fun sketch that inspired my card:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders
- Black and White and Red All Over. Of course Santa’s outfit is Red and White. When the whole thing is stamped in Red, though, I’m left wanting more. Red boots and red trim around his white beard just don’t look right to me. Thus begins an arduous snipping project – definitely not a good idea for a card you want to mass produce! I incorporated the red and black in other parts of the card, too – it’s atypical for a Christmas card to have this much black, but I think it works. On Tuesday, I am going to share tips for snipping this jolly man so that it all comes together perfectly. You will want to come back to check that out!
- Highlight with Stampin’ Write Marker. Once the pieces were all combined and glued together, I was left with a nice black border around all the white pieces but not around the red ones. Santa needed a little more, so I used my Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker to carefully paint the edges of his hat, suit and leggings – those are leggings, right?
- Square Shape. I’ve been doing a lot of square cards lately. When I start making square cards, it’s like I can’t stop. I can’t. When I sat down to make this card, I promised myself it would be a standard size card. BUT I measured my squares wrong and had to increase the size of the card base. The point is…I tried. In the end, square just looked so good with this sketch.
Stamp sets: Tag It, Teeny Tiny Wishes Inks: Basic Black, Real Red Papers: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White Accessories: Typeset Alphabet Bigz Die, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker, Stampin’ Dimensionals
On Tuesday, I will be sharing additional tips about components of this card – I’ll be showing how I snipped all the pieces to make Jolly St. Nick. I’ll also be sharing a quick tip for lining up the letters at an angle so that they are all positioned the same way between the squares. Please come back to see those.
Thank you for stopping by my blog today!
Brian
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Adorable card ! I love it! Thanks for sharing another awesome creation with us!
Very very clever. Love it!
Love, love the 3 bright sets of H’s and O’s in this really cool sketch and the way you framed them with a bit of black showing, looks really elegant but, the way you snipped out that little Santa…..well Brian, that is absolutely amazing. You have shown on other cards your incredible abilities with the scissors and this carefully snipped Santa just reaffirms it, you even snipped out the little puff on his hat!!!!! Thank you for sharing this delightful Christmas card.
I really like the squares with the off set letters. Looks so great. Of course, I like the “lil” guy too! 🙂
So cute!
Fun, fun, fun! Glad you let the sketch marinate 😉 You got a great result.
The Snipped Santa is the perfect finish.
Eager to read more on that …
Square cards just give you more creating room – I just need to remember to do that! When I start a card, I cut the base to an A2 size without even thinking! I think I need to put a post-it on my desk to remind me!
oh my gosh — GORGEOUS!!! Outlining Santa in black really makes him POP…. perfection and certain to be a wonderful treat for the lucky recipient!
This is such a cute card!!
Brian, you have rocked this sketch! Just adorable! The ones that have to “marinate” seem to bring great things. Glad to see you the week!
Such a bold and fun card Brian!!! Yet another winning combination of great layers, detailed snipping, and strong colors!!! Congratulations on your Princely power!!! 🙂
Brian – I absolutely LOVE this card. It’s Bold, it’s Bright, it’s sooooooooo Christmasey! And, of curse, your snipping skills are a prize winner. Everything about this card evokes a smile from me.
I like this sketch ! i saw it the other day and jotted it down because I lean towards cards with squares …but , i would not have thought about the 3 Hos …(sp) done like that ..and as everyone has said it`s the black that makes everything on this card pop.! I hope you are pleased with yourself …now you have me snipping ! I must have snipped a dozen Fall leaves last night to go on cards ….actually it`s kinda relaxing . Love love this card !!
What a wonderful card! The black really makes everything pop. Love the way you angled the letters.
Just when I think you can’t outdo yourself…you do! You are so creative and clever, Mr. King!
Love how you did the Santa!
Darned adorable!!! I love it! What a way to make the Santa stamp versatile!
HO-HO-HOly cow I love this! And I dropped the bundle on the alphabet die set because of you!
What a cute card Brian , love your Santa !!!
And ho ho ho of a super nice week !!!
Hugs frenchie
Oh Oh Oh…. I LOVE THIS!!!!!!
Brian, this is absolutely the bomb! I love it. You did it again, Brian!
You knocked this one out of the park, it’s adorable!
I love your take on the sketch! Thanks for joining us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!
Adorable and *so* striking! I think it has a very modern and contemporary feel to it. Great design, Brian!