Christmas & Winter Cards with Elizabeth Craft Designs!

Winter Mantelscape Project

If any of you have been following the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog, you know I have been blogging over there as a guest!  I have neglected my own blog...but now I am back here offering some BLOG CANDY from Elizabeth Craft Designs!  It is my most favorite die set of all, the Fancy Label Accordion Card die set.  I have been making what I call "mantelscapes" out of them.  The most challenging to date was the Twelve Days of Christmas.  You can see it HERE.  And be sure to leave a comment on THIS blog for a chance to win the random drawing that will take place on Wednesday, December 17, just in time for Christmas.  Some lucky person will win this for their stocking this year!

Now on to the featured mantelscape for this winter.  This one can go into January with its snowy scenes.  I attended a special retreat to teach this technique in October, and the ladies all loved creating this project.  We used Karen Burniston's triple pivot technique in the center of this winter mantelscape.  You can go to YouTube and watch her amazing video on how to do this technique HERE.  Be sure to scroll down below the simple instructions on this card to see my Christmas version of the card Karen did in this video.  It is fun to see how it looks in other papers and colors!

To do this project, you will need some coordinating winter/snow cardstock, watercolor paper, Distress inks, and several stamps with winter scenes on them.  I used some that were much too large for the panels, but each one had an area that could be cut down and used.  

1. Stamp four winter images on watercolor paper (I like Fabriano Hot Press 140 lb.) and die cut with the largest Fancy Frame.   It is the one slightly smaller than the pivoting area inside the frame.  
2. Stamp two more with winter sayings or a title.  
3. Color all images monochromatically with Ranger Distress inks and the Distress ink application tool in shades of the lighter blues from Tim Holtz's Distress ink collection.  Ink the edges of these stamped images and adhere to the center panel of the accordion card.  
4. Stamp something for the front of the card when it is closed and adhere to the center of the panel.  
5. Now following Karen's instructions for making the triple pivot card that goes in the center of this mantelscape, make a coordinating piece for your own card.  
6. Cover all frames with the coordinating snowflake frame sold separately.  Cut a frame for each panel from the same die. Trim it down as shown in the Twelve Days of Christmas tutorial and adhere to the back of each panel to firm up the piece.

First few panels Close up

        Evergreen Triple  Pivot card

7.  Accent frame edges using snowflake frames that coordinate with the Fancy Label die set.  Decorate the little trees with Elizabeth Craft Designs Glitter Dots or rhinestones or sequins.   Take great care when handling this delicately cut grouping of trees.  They tend to come unglued to their neighbors and/or they can break easily at their pivot points.  I have gotten in the habit of  reinforcing the frames from behind, extending the pivot point areas into a basic reinforcement to help keep the pivots strong and in good working order. 

Last panels (far right)

So try this fun technique during some of the days around Christmas and beyond to help cheer your household up from the let-down of the holidays!  This is a fun project, and it will give your family something to do--watch you create!  Or enlist them in the project for a fun family time.  Make several and display them all together on the mantel, or on a table in a prominent place.

Finished!

Here is a photo of the original Evergreen Triple Pivot Accordion Card constructed after watching Karen's video:

Christmas--Evergreen Triple Pivot Accordion Fold Card on display

Front of closed card

...and now for your comment for a chance to win this Fancy Label Accordion Die set from Elizabeth Craft Designs!

Thanks for coming today!  Good luck on the drawing!