It's not too late....

...for the last Christmas post, or too late to whip up a few last minute cards for your nearest and dearest either!

Basic Grey's True Love range caught my eye whilst browsing the shop - despite being a valentine style range, something about the candy cane red, marshmallow pink and crisp icy blue colour combination cried Christmas at me, and so I decided to use the range to make some Christmas cards.

 As well as patterned paper from the range, my supplies included the amazing Die Cuts & Transparencies pack.

Now this is a big claim to make - but these may be my favourite embellishment pack I've ever bought! There is absolutely loads in there to play with, and a variety of textures - some are printed on card, some on vellum and some on plastic transparencies, far more economical than buying several different packs of differing types of embellies. Some of the pieces also pop into separate shapes and frames - giving you endless options and combinations. This really is an amazing-value-for-money-pack and I whole-heartedly love them!

I also got the stickers and elements sheets which includes a whole host of stickers which were perfect for my project.

To realise my Christmas dream, I added a new set of AC Peppermint Express stamps in to the mix:

Here are six cards I made, hopefully something for everyone!

This quick card was created easily by layering a vellum heart from the die cuts pack on top of a journalling sticker from the element sheet, over patterned paper from the range (Love's Garden and Vintage Love). I created the greeting using a variety of stickers from the alpha sheet and sticker sheet. Using some AC embossing powder in Powder blue, I stamped a border using different images from the pack, and cut out a stamped, embossed holly leaf which I added a few gems and a stick pin to.
I wanted to use the "Christmas" part of the "Merry Christmas" stamp, so covered the merry with a piece of washi tape when I inked it up, and whipped it off before stamping on to my card as seen below.

Card 2 above used a piece of Cupid's Shower as a base, on which I strung a garland of bunting made from the flag stickers on the elements sheet, and popped some tiny die cut hearts from the die cut packet in between for added depth. At the bottom of the card I stamped the reindeer, first in red, then in dark green. To achieve the lighter green reindeer on the left, I stamped him a second time without reinking first. The stamped greeting, a transparent arrow from the die cut pack and a couple of veneer stars completed the card.

Card 3 feels a bit more traditional with rich reds and greens making an appearance. I used strips of both sides of the Little Things paper as my background, punching three small scalloped circles along the bottom one - the perfect size for the bauble stamp to fit right into, stamped directly onto the card base before being coloured in. The floral border sticker from the elements sheet joined a strip of washi to make a base for my greeting, which I made using a mixture of alphas from the sheet and the Love die-cut transparency. To further decorate the blue side of teh true love paper, I stamped the baubles using a watermark inkpad.

The technique on card 3 is a bit of a tried and tested method of card making for me! It's a great way of using scraps and pulls a pretty card together quickly. I simply punched several squares from the different papers using a 1" punch, and arranged them on the red base piece of Simple Elegance paper and added a faux zig-zag stitch with a black pen. I punched a journalling spot from the grid side of Cupid's Shower which I popped my greeting on to; which was created using a mix of stickers from both the elements and alpha sheet, a die cut banner from the pack and the Merry Christmas stamp.

Card 4 has a clean, modern feel and was quick to put together. Again, Cupid's Arrow formed the base (grid papers are always so useful!), and a quick clusyer of embellishments was created using the vellum starburst and a cardstock scroll from the die-cut pack, along with the deer and wonderland ticket stamped images. A "shower" of stamped snowflakes and veneer stars completed the wintery theme.

The last card has a pretty, wintery floral feel to it.

Strips of both sides of Love's Garden formed the base, which I ran a strip of washi tape across. The main focus of the card is a large envelope-effect journalling sticker from the elements sheet, which I gave a festive customization to using the AC stamps. A little banner sticker from the alpha sheet (oh yessssss, you get more than just alpha stickers on there - thank you Basic Grey!!) and some heart die cuts accompanied a stick-pin button to add the finishing touch.

I was really pleased with how, with a spot of creativity, I was able to customise the love-themed stash to make festive cards for my nearest and dearest! The Basic Grey sticker and alpha sheets and die cut packs really are jam-packed with goodies - making them excellent value and really useful in your projects. Go on, treat yourself - it's Christmas!! ;)