A Very Vintage Christmas Card

 Hello friends!  I love kitschy looking Christmas from the late 40's and 50's.  There is something about it that just speaks to me.  Maybe its that my Grandma and Mom decorated the house with things they had saved over the years - I don't know!  What I do know is when I see paper that has that style or vibe, I am all over it.  

The paper for this card is from Simple Stories.  The collection is Simple Vintage Holly Jolly.  I used paper from the 6 x 8 Paper Pad and pieces from Bits & Pieces and Sentiment Bits Packs.  I did add a little bit of Stickles on Santa's Beard to replicate the glittery cards from the past.

What inspired me to make this card was the new Spellbinders - Felt Stitch & Create Collection Dies: Candy Cane by Nichol Spohr.  This candy cane made from felt reminds me of the little ornaments we would stitch using felt, sequins and beads.  

The first candy cane I made, I used two layers of felt and while that would be perfect for many cards, I felt like it would be to heavy for this card.  In order to stitch just one layer of felt, I really needed some type of stabilizer so my stitches were regular and neat.  I was also concerned about my felt puckering.  The solution I came up with was to die cut a piece of cardstock.  

I laid a piece of felt on top of the cardstock and then laid on the red felt stripes.  I started stitching the red stripes first using red floss.  I went completely around each red piece and tied it off at each one.  Nicole Spohr has great informative tutorials on her YouTube channel to neat stitching.  I could have done a traditional backstitch since the back of my candy cane wouldn't be seen, but I went with Nicole's stitching suggestions.  I would high recommend gently poking out the little dots before you start stitching, it help you line up the layers perfectly.  I stitched the leaves and the holly the same way.  In order to stay with the nostalgic vibe, I added sequins and beads to the center of the holly berries.

Assembly:  I glued the candy cane to the card background.  I used hot glue to add the leaves, holly and tinsel also.  The sentiment and Santa were popped up with some foam squares.  

Spellbinders has come out with a number of different Felt Stitch & Create Dies.  I am really looking forward to doing more projects with them.  I think I am going to do a gingerbread man next!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a great day!!!