O TANNENBAUM . . .

I haven't felt much like stamping the past several days - too tired I guess - but I woke up at 6 a.m. this morning and felt like playing. I had seen these cute little punched Christmas trees online and wanted to make one - so that's where I started with this card. All products are Stampin'Up! except the buttons.

I started by punching the tree branches from ALWAYS ARTICHOKE using the PHOTO CORNERS punch. Then I layed the branches in place to determine the size to cut the VERY VANILLA background. Once I cut the background, I took a scrap strip of CHOCOLATE CHIP and adhered it to the center of the VERY VANILLA as the trunk. I added a strip of adhesive to the tree trunk and placed the branches in place. Three big corners on the bottom followed by two of the smaller corners.

Next I used the TICKET CORNER punch on all four corners of the VERY VANILLA and matted with CHOCOLATE CHIP. From this point I was lost. I had no idea what I wanted to do with the tree - other than make a card. I chose the snowflake pattern from the CHRISTMAS COCOA SPECIALTY Designer Paper for the background. If you haven't seen this paper set up close and personal - you are missing a real treat! They're GORGEOUS!!!! One of them is flocked - the rest have a light metallic shimmer. Perfect for Christmas cards & gift items.

The cardbase is KRAFT cardstock and the ribbon is SU! Chocolate Chip. The finishing touch are the cute little star buttons I found in the craft section of a local hobby store. Don't they blend perfectly with the background paper??? The one on the ribbon is popped up on a round 4-hole ALWAYS ARTICHOKE button. Once I put on the buttons I had to go back an add the faux stitching to the branches and around the VERY VANILLA to match the buttons homespun look.

Thanks for looking.

Until Next Time -

Happy Stamping!

Jill