Illuminations "Joy" Christmas card

Hello!  Kathy Jo here to share a Christmas card using the new Quietfire Illuminations stamp set.  Yes, you read that correct...a Christmas card.  It is barely spring and I am thinking of Christmas cards!  Well, there is a reason for thinking of the season: one of my New Year's resolutions was to make at least one Christmas card a month to avoid the rush closer to the holidays.  The Illuminations set helped to make a quick card for this month's holiday stash.

I stamped the Illuminations background onto ivory card stock using Versamark and then heat embossed using gold detail embossing powder.  Next I stamped the letters J, O and Y from Quietfire Designs Capital Letters set in red and heat embossed.  Spellbinders Classic Squares was used to die cut the images.  Red paper was die cut from Spellbinders Labels Fifteen.  The die cuts were stacked on wood grain paper and an ivory ribbon was adhered as shown.  The bow had a single red metal button applied.  Definitely a quick and easy card!

I played around with some other colors using the Illuminations background and the Capital stamps.  The gold with red really seemed to work well with the wood grain which is why I chose that combination for this card.  I also tried a light gray background with red letters (very classy and clean looking with some pop) and Tim Holtz' Antique Linen on the background with dark brown letters (which will look fantastic on vintage card).  I will share those cards when they are finished.  Hopefully the Illumination cards will inspire you to get a head start on your stash, too!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a happy, crafty day!