Die Leftovers...

The Nativity set from Simon Says Stamp has been in my stash for months, waiting for me to feel like making Christmas cards. I know it's usually "Christmas in July," for most people, but I just wasn't ready to think about that yet! Anyway, after making the Nativity card the inside of the creche was cardstock I was not willing to waste by throwing it out, especially after I stamped a wood grain on it, so I decided to turn it into a birdhouse. So under each individual card I've explained how I made the card. All cardstock and inks are from Stampin' Up unless otherwise stated. Thanks for looking and I hope you like these!

First card I made was the Nativity one:

I stamped the Holy family in Momento Black ink and colored them with Copic markers and cut them out with the matching dies. I also stamped the star with Momento Black and cut it out with the matching die. I also sponged over the star with More Mustard ink so that the white outlines would not show. I sponged around the Holy Family with Soft Suede ink for the same reason.

I stamped Smokey Slate cardstock with the Hardwood background in Grey Granite ink and cut it out with the creche die. For the outside night scene I blended Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves and Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide inks over a piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock and spritzed it with a fine mist of water and let it dry. I cut off the bottom 1 1/4" of this (which had the Seedless Preserves ink on it) and cut it in half with Memory Box's Stitched Curves dies and glued them together and then glued them back onto the remaining bottom of the "sky" piece.

The background is a stamp that I purchased years ago and don't even know who made it but it gave me the Middle-Eastern look for a wall that I wanted. I used River Rock cardstock (which I have to tell you that I NEVER use as I don't like the color, but it has that "yellowish" tint to it that I thought would give a sandstone look. I used Soft Suede ink on that stamp and "slid" the pad across the stamp instead of pouncing it over it and stamped off 1st on a piece of scrap. That way the solid stamp gave me the mottled look. I sponged around the background in Soft Suede ink and mounted everything on a piece of Baked Brown Sugar cardstock. I stamped the greeting from the Nativity set in Versafine Onyx Black ink.

I made a dozen of the Nativity card so I had a dozen "house shapes" that already had the wood grain stamped on them, so I sponged around them with Soft Suede ink, added a black 1" circle and a Soft Suede 1/2" circle to the front, a scrap of  Smokey Slate for the pole, sponged to give it a dimensional look. And I used the roof edge of the creche die to cut out just the roof and glued it to the top of the birdhouse. I used Glossy Accents and drizzled a fine line along the top of the roof, dipped it in a white flock and then in Nuvo Pure Sheen glitter (Ice White).

The background is Bristol Smooth which I blended Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide on the top half and then stamped the Tree Line stamp from Paper Roses in Smokey Slate ink across it. I liked this stamp as it was not just a line of spruce trees but had the winter bare-branch trees with them.

The roof and backing are both Handsome Hunter cardstock but the photo makes it look blue. Anyway, the bird is Hero Arts Color Layering Cardinal which I cut out with the matching dies. I stamped the first layer in Poppy Parade, the 2nd in Real Red, and the 3rd in Cherry Cobbler. I also trimmed any of the white cardstock around the edges as I did not want white trim around it and then sponged around the edge with Soft Suede ink. I added two foam pieces behind only the body to hold it up and bent the edges of the bird back for a more realistic look.

Finally, I stamped the pine branches, also from the Hero Arts Color Layering Cardinal set in Old Olive ink and added the red bow.

So now I have 24 of my Christmas cards done and a bunch more to go!!