Welcome to my crafty blog. I’m still busy with Christmas cards, and now starting on ones for family & friends, having prepped lots to sell in aid of my church. I was thinking about this stamp from Claritystamp, having seen them on Hochanda last weekend. I’ve had it for several years, and have used it nearly every Christmas since.

I took my inspiration from a couple of blog challenges. The design is from Freshly Made Sketches (https://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/) and the colours are from Fab Friday (http://fabfridaystampinchallenge.blogspot.com/)

I started with a piece of dark blue pearlescent paper, and cut it to fit onto a 7×7 square card blank, with a piece of matt silver card to mount it on. I dotted the upper part of the blue card using a Versamark ink pen, and heat embossed it using WOW ‘metallic platinum’ powder, to look like a starry sky. I stamped the shepherds window also using Versamark, embossed that with the ‘metallic platinum’ and then cut it out.

I wanted to colour in the shepherds and the star, and remembered that you can mix mica powders (Perfect Pearls) with water to make a paint. I used ‘blue smoke’ mixed with white for the shepherds, and ‘perfect gold’ for the star. You only need to put a little water with them, and they easily paint over coloured card

I’d stamped the ‘joy to the world’ from Claritystamp’s Christmas sentiments onto the right hand panel & heat embossed that with the ‘metallic platinum, before attaching both pieces of card to the silver mount, and fixing that to the front of the card

I finished the card by attaching the shepherd’s window onto the front, to sit across the two panels. I’ll certainly be making a few more of this design to send out this year.