Christmas Wreath
Week 3
Good day, fellow crafters. The history of Christmas wreaths dates back to ancient civilizations, particularly the Romans, who used decorative wreaths as a sign of victory and celebration. The circular shape, representing eternity or the unending cycle of life, made it a symbol of various festivals, including Saturnalia, which was celebrated in December. As Christianity spread, wreaths became associated with Christmas. In the 16th century, Germans and Scandinavians adopted the tradition of bringing evergreen wreaths into their homes during winter. This practice symbolized hope and the promise of life amid the harshness of winter. Over time, the Christmas wreath tradition spread across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world. Today, Christmas wreaths are a popular decoration during the holiday season, crafted with evergreen branches, pinecones, ribbons, and ornaments, serving as a warm and welcoming symbol for homes and businesses alike.
This is the third week of the Run Up to Christmas Hop 2023 series. Join us in embracing the spirit of the season where love, joy, and creativity harmoniously converge. I hope you enjoy my submission to these challenges and if you would like to see the work the other participants in the hop have done then check out #runuptochristmashop2023 or head over to my Instagram page @forgetmenotcardco, find my post with this card, and then follow the other participants listed in the description.
To create this card I first began with some pale blue cardstock, the Taylored Expressions Swirls Pierce & Cut Plate (featured left), and something new to me a circular die-cutting diffuser plate. If you have never seen or used one before let me explain how it works. Basically what you have is a plastic plate that you substitute for one of your layers in your die-cutting sandwich that works just like your top plate to press down on your die, the difference with these plates is they have cut out (mine was circular) where there is no material over the die. What having that cut out allows for is that when you run your die through the machine wherever the cut out is no pressure is placed on the die so the paper doesn’t get cut, punched, or imprinted with the die or embossing folder that you are using. This allows for creating an area that is untouched where you can add your focal point. Once I ran my sandwich through I carefully creased the cuts to make them lift up. I then trimmed the panel to its final dimension and adhered it to a pre-cut & folded A2 white card base.
The next step was to create my focal point. Since Christmas Wreathes are the focus theme for this week I opted to use the Holiday Twinkle stamp set (CYNS739) from Your Next Stamp. I aligned some white cardstock in my Misti stamping tool and then aligned the stamp. Once I was satisfied with the position I inked up the stamp with some black pigment ink and with even pressure stamped the image. I usually do this at least twice so that I can ensure that it has a clean crisp transfer. I then took the imaged cardstock out of the Misti and colored it in using PrismaColor colored pencils. Next I carefully fussy cut the image out and then adhered it to the background.
The last step was to create the sentiment. Using the same stamp set I aligned my sentiment choice and some more of the blue cardstock in my Misti, then inked it with clear embossing ink and stamped the image. With embossing ink, I repeat the process at least twice, sometimes thrice with much lighter pressure so that the stamp doesn’t spread. I then pulled the stamped cardstock from the Misti, added some gold embossing powder, and set it with my heat tool. Once it was cooled I used a sentiment tag die to cut it out. To give the card more dimension I used some foam tape to adhere it to the card. With that, I called the card complete.
