It's time to start making Christmas cards again, already!! And this month I have struggled to use the new layering photopolymer set Good Greetings from Stamping' Up. I loved the set but when I say "struggled," I mean I was trying out different ways to stamp it, in different colors, trying to get it lined up perfectly, etc.

Anyway, if you are a beginner stamper, layering stamps might  not be the way to go as they are just a little bit more challenging. Finally, I found the correct colors after trying Old Olive and Always Artichoke, I changed to Old Olive and Garden Green which gave a much better color for the holly leaves.

Also, stamping this on plain cardstock just didn't do anything for me as holly leaves are shiny. With this in mind I switched to glossy cardstock for this example.

If you've ever used glossy cardstock before you know that you have to be careful not to rock or even slide your stamp slightly when removing it from the paper, which is difficult to do because of the slick surface. Also, the drying time is a little longer between ink colors so smudging can be a problem for us impatient stampers!!

I've shortened this video tremendously as I didn't want it so long and I would like to share a tip that I show in the video that really helped line up the stamps. When I tried to line up the berry stamps on the image, the stamp stuck to the glossy card surface more than the lid of the stamp positioned, which pulled the stamp off the lid and it stayed stuck to the glossy surface of the card... not exactly making me happy!

To counteract this problem, I used a couple magnets to hold the glossy in place and then put a piece of acrylic sheet overtop of where I wanted to place the berries. Then held that down with another magnet. Then the stamp was positioned on the clear sheet where I wanted it and when I closed the lid the stamp stuck to the lid and even though the acrylic sheet lifted, it could be peeled off the stamp without moving it on the lid.

I hope this explanation is helpful and I'm sorry to have you read all this text but I was hoping it would better explain my shortened video!

Anyway, Happy Stamping and Enjoy!! To watch the video in full size on YouTube click here.