My Favourite Christmas Cards

Since we’re well past Christmas now, I think it’s safe to share these with you! These are my favourite Christmas cards that I created and sent to family and close friends. I made a lot more cards, of different types, but I just loved how these turned out.

THE BACKGROUND

Really, the background of these cards is the showstopper! Whether you call the look Northern Lights, fairy lights or just plain ‘colourful’, I think you’ll agree it’s pretty. Here’s how the backgrounds look to start.

Was I right? Are these gorgeous, or what?! And I love how the camera actually shows all the sparkle!

HOW TO CREATE THE BACKGROUND

Here’s the secret – start with Glimmer Paper! I created more than 4 of these backgrounds, so I tried out 2 different brands of paper. First, I used Lawn Fawn Pixie Dust, which is a true, bright white. Then I also tried out Tonic Sugar Crystal, which looks white until you put it next to the Pixie Dust. That’s when I realized it’s more of an off white, almost ivory colour. It makes a subtle difference in how the ink shows on the paper, but not much to worry about.

Start with a full sheet of glimmer paper – this way you can cut up the sheets to create multiple cards. Next, choose your alcohol ink colours. You also need Alcohol Ink Blending Solution – lots of it! These are 3 colour combinations I used; it was a while ago when I did these, and I think I tried different combinations. But you can start with these, if you need a starting point.

Valencia, Wild Plum, Amethyst, Guilded Alloy
Dandelion, Wild Plum, Indigo, Guilded Alloy
Wild Plum, Purple Twilight, Amethyst, Guilded Alloy

The colours listed are all Tim Holtz alcohol inks, with the Alloy ink Guilded added to each. Start with the first colour; for example add Valencia directly to the glimmer paper, then add Wild Plum, and then Amethyst. Add Alcohol Ink Blending Solution on top of all 3 colours, and use the Air Blower to move the ink and blend the colours. Next, add the Guilded (which is a metallic gold), more Blending Solution, and use the Blower again to blend. Keep doing this, adding more inks, Blending Solution and Alloy, until you’re happy with your composition. Because this paper is absorbent, it does take a bit more Blending Solution to get the inks to move than if you were using Yupo, or a different slick surface. But it’s worth it, don’t you think?!

CREATE YOU CARDS

Because I wanted the beauty of the backgrounds to show, I decided to layer die cuts for the card fronts. With white cardstock and my Big Shot, I die cut 2 layers for each card. Both dies are from Memory Box; the background one is called Tall Fir Collage, and the front one is called Lamplight Tree Collage. You can see other cards I made using these dies in this post HERE. This is what I turned those backgrounds into – what do you think?

I think that they turned out beautifully! The simple sentiment doesn’t take away from the card, either. It is from the Poppystamps Christmas Fun stamp set, stamped in dark blue ink. Because these cards were all going in the mail, I simply glued the layers together. Usually I would pop them up with foam squares or tape, but extra layers would’ve meant extra postage!

CLOSE UP OF DIFFERENT COLOURS

Here are some close up pictures of the cards, so you can see the different colours of inks.

Do you have a favourite colour combination? What colours will you try, together?

SUPPLIES

This technique for creating the backgrounds of my favourite Christmas cards is fun, and easy to do! And the colour combinations are endless; just use your imagination. I hope that you’ve enjoyed seeing these cards, and hope that you’ll give this a try.

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