Stampin’ Up!’s Ornamental Pine for Merry Monday

Before I share today’s card, I want to thank the Merry Monday Design Team for selecting last week’s Mod Moose card as an Honorable Mention.  I really love that moose card (see it here), so it was really nice to be [honorably] recognized by the team.  Thanks so much!

This week’s Merry Monday challenge has several unique elements:  to use pinecones with greens and plaid ribbon.  I was initially scared of these criteria, but I grew to love them because they helped me to make this:

Ornamental Pine, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, MM121

Here’s the banner for this week’s Merry Monday Challenge:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Plaid Ribbon…Plaid Ribbon.  I saw “pinecones” earlier this week and planned my card around that.  When I sat down to make the card, I saw “plaid ribbon.”  Hmmmm…plaid ribbon.  Templed fingers…contemplation.  No current Stampin’ Up! plaid ribbon…what to do, what to do?  I trimmed a beautiful 5/8″ wide piece of plaid paper from the Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack and layered a strip of Organza Ribbon over it.  Lovely, right?
  • Perfect Pinecone.  When I sat down to create my pinecones, I ran a quick test – what if I embossed the pinecone with Early Espresso on Sahara Sand cardstock?  I tried it – and never looked back.  It was the perfect color and texture – it gave me exactly what I was looking for.  Yippee!
  • Label It.  The Christmas Wishes sentiment from Ornamental Pine fit perfectly inside this label from the Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits.  A Cherry Cobbler band balances out the shapes and colors, and the white embossed sentiment pops.Ornamental Pine, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, MM121

Stamp Sets:  Ornamental Pine  Papers:  Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack  Inks:  Garden Green  Accessories:  White Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Early Espresso Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Project Life Cards & Labels Framelits, 5/8″ Organza Ribbon, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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63 Comments

  1. Ooh-la-la Brian! Your creation is stunning! Thank you for sharing!

  2. Beautiful card …. great job with the pine cones, love the dimension. Linda xx

  3. This is STUNNING! Love everything about it! I have not played with this yet but when I saw this in the catalog I was SO excited….endless clean and simple possibilities! YOU ARE A WINNER in my eyes! Fabulous card! Hugs!

  4. Just beautifully done, Brian! Love these images (they’re on my wish list!) and your plaid ribbon is perfect!

  5. AWESOME card! Love the pinecone embossing tip, who woulda thunk 🙂 Wonderful brainstorming with the “plaid ribbon”. Just love your creative thought process 😉

  6. Just gorgeous. The pinecones and ribbon add the perfect touch.

  7. You always have the perfect touches to your cards… love it!!

  8. Perfection! I love how you created your plaid ribbon and those pinecones are awesome! Great card. Thank you for joining us at Merry Monday!

  9. LOVE the pinecone and “ribbon” – right! lovely!!!

  10. You never cease to amaze me, Brian! I just adore this! I am really taken with the red background for the sentiment- it is perfect stage for all the elements on your card. Thanks for sharing:)

  11. I loved this stamp when I saw it and now love it even more. Beautiful, beautiful card!

  12. Wow, what a stunner! The pinecones look positively real!

  13. I live this card! It is gorgeous. (Please put my southern
    Accent in your head). Gorgeous!

  14. El, a Stampin' Pretty Pal

    Great design, Brian! Love it!

  15. Pretty card ! Love the green bough and pinecone . Plus the addition of the plaid paper from the Trim The Tree ….This could be another winner !!!

  16. Oh Brian! Did you hand snip those pine cones? I mean really, where the heck do you get the patience? And I would never, ever, ever have thought to use plaid paper to create the illusion of plaid ribbon. Bravo! I’m getting really tired of waiting for the Holiday catty. I know, I know, patience is a virtue but right now I’m not feeling all that virtuous! LOL It’s actually good that it hasn’t come yet because I haven’t had my “purged stamp room” sale yet and that will give me the $$$ for all the new stuff I am anticipating from the catalog. OH well, I better settle down and just spend time enjoying the previews. Have a super Sunday Brian and thanks for such an informative and fun blog post every single day. We all love ya!

  17. I hear the heat guns being fired up across America right now!
    What a nice card, Brian. Subtle, elegant, serene…love the way you used the ribbon to soften that DSP. This is a real winner. Says everyone looking!

  18. Your name is all over the place …. again. Congrats on your success. Now a funny story.
    My DH was reading a farm publication and read of a dairy farmer named Brian King. My Dh said,” Been wondering what Brian King does for his day job, now we know.” Then when the new StampinSuccess came out and your name was all over the place he said, ” How does he have time to milk all those cows and stamp to?” Just thought you would find this funny. Keep up the good work.

  19. Absolutely fantastic card! And just reading the post is a treat! You’re a terrific writer!

  20. This card is absolutely gorgeous. I love the elegance of the pine cone. Can’t wait to get the new catalog.

  21. Is there anything you can’t do? Seriously, you are brilliant! The ribbon over the DSP. The embossing in Early Espresso on Sahara Sand for color perfection. The sentiment embossed, too. The DSP layer at the back. This is a card I would make for bringing the true New England Christmas feeling to my very best friend. Great job, Brian!

  22. Absolutely–a gorgeous card! I look forward to your post every single day. You definitely are the KING of stamping!!!

  23. Absolutely gorgeous Brian! I LOVE it!! 🙂

  24. Brian, I love this. I’ve been hesitating over purchasing that stamp set but have seen so many beautiful projects. Yours threw me over the top, it’s on my next order.
    Lynn

  25. Absolutely beautiful, simple, celebrating.
    ~Sandra

  26. Fabulous card Brian, I love how you created your ribbon and this layout if wonderful. Thank you for joining us for Merry Monday.

  27. Cathy from Illinois

    Very clever idea for the pine cones! They look like they have “snow” on them!! Thanks for sharing the card, Brian!

  28. Fabulous card, Brian! Those greens & pinecones are fantastic! Love the plaid paper, ribbon and the beautifully embossed sentiment! This is the perfect Christmas card! Thanks for playing along with us this week over at Merry Monday! 🙂

  29. This card puts me in a Winter Holiday mood. It is absolutely gorgeous. The pine cones are perfection. Awesome job Brian

  30. Brian, This card is FABULOUS! Great job!

  31. Stunningl! Pine cones are perfect!! I see this stamp set in my future!

  32. I’m so late but, well, it’s Sunday…..
    Brian, this is one of the most beautiful Christmas cards you’ve ever made!!!!! I can’t get over it, I keep looking at it and looking at it, I showed it to my hubby and he asked me if I was going to “copy” it, LOL!! (it’s CASE my dear, LOL!!) I of course will try to “copy it”, because it’s gorgeous. The detail of the plaid ribbon is not only lovely, it’s GENEOUS, CLEVER, AMAZING and of course, lets not forget your outstanding paper snipping skills.
    Thank you for sharing this truly beautiful and elegant card.

  33. What, what, what??? We have an Ornamental Pine stamp set? How have I missed that? When I first saw it, I thought, “Has Brian slipped off the wagon, and used non-SU product?” This card is outstanding! I confess, I am a traditional Christmas card lover, and boy, do I love this card.

  34. Very pretty card, Brian!! And I love your ribbon! Thanks for sharing the idea!
    Cheryl

  35. love it and will be casing it when I buy it next month for my card classes! Thanks for sharing!

  36. I was scared of this challenge too, when I first saw it 🙂 You’ve done an amazing job and I totally agree that your pinecones look fabulous! Thanks so much for joining us at Merry Monday.

  37. This is perfect, Brian! Love the pine branch, the popped up pinecones and the embossed sentiment! Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday!

  38. Love this card! Ribbon treatment and embossed pine cone are da bomb! Casing may be in the future.

  39. GORGEOUS!!!!!! Your pine cones look real! I love it! XX

  40. Love your card. It’s beautiful. Your pine cones look so real! I have a fondness for them as I’m from East Texas home of the Piney Woods.

  41. Love this. We have raised and sold white and scotch pines for Christmas trees for nearly 25 years. I always look for something to express that part of “our” Christmas, and this is perfect! Love it.

  42. I love your pine cones! I’ll definitely be trying that!

  43. Wow!! This is GORGEOUS!! 🙂

  44. Your Christmas card is delightful Brian, I love every detail. I like the way you made the plaid paper your ribbon and your attention to detail with the pinecones. Thanks for joining us at Merry Monday.

  45. Your cards are beautiful. I don’t think there is one you have done that is not inspirational. I look forward to your blog – you make me smile. Thanks for bringing beauty into this time when we really need it.

  46. Brian I can see why you grew to love this inspiration from Merry Monday – the card you made is absolutely GORGEOUS! I love every single thing about it! I bet you win!!!
    🙂 Jill

  47. Great card! I’m pinning this one!

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