In Color: Soft Succulent Part I

Papercrafters everywhere are thinking thoughts of Christmas as October deepens. While I turn to another 2021-2023 In Color, Soft Succulent, I am thinking Christmas too.

This soft, calm green shade may remind you more of spring, but don’t let it fool you. I find that Soft Succulent can hold its own along with Real Red and Cherry Cobbler for festive makings.

In fact, for this card, my challenge is to use Rich Razzleberry, a tone that lends towards purple. Along with Rich Razzleberry, I am tasked to use Mint Macaron. Mint Mac and Soft Succulent are very similar shades, but I was able to work all three of these colors cohesively for my Tidings & Trimmings Card.

Snowy White

I adore the sweet stockings from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. You will discover two different designs to choose from. And the good news is, they both fit the same die from the Christmas Trimmings Dies.

With my stockings, I wanted to use some colorful cardstock as the base. Rather than just stamping ink on top of my Soft Succulent cardstock and Rich Razzlebery cardstock, I chose to heat emboss instead. First, I stamped the stocking image using Versamark Ink. Next, I sprinkled on white embossing powder and set the powder with my Heat Tool. Then I ran each stocking thru my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine to die cut it out.

*TIP: While prepping your paper for embossing, attach the cardstock to a clothespin or clip first. Hold on to the clothespin rather than the paper to prevent the Heat Tool from burning your fingers.

To top off my stockings, I chose to use the tied ribbon bow stamp from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. Again, I used Versamark Ink and white embossing powder, then heat set my bows. I chose a Rich Razzleberry bow for my Soft Succulent Stocking, and a Mint Macaron bow for my Rich Razzleberry Stocking. The white embossing brings the look together and adds elegance too.

Paper Delight

Even though I looked high and low for some Christmas designer paper in Rich Razzleberry, I could not find any. Instead, I chose a neutral design from what could be considered a fall pack of paper, Blackberry Beauty Specialty DSP.

Barely noticeable but significant just the same, is the tone on tone stamping on the Rich Razzleberry Designer Series Paper. I measured my paper to stamp the berry sprigs from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set in Rich Razzleberry Ink. By stamping in just the right location, my design elements would be accented.

As a fan of adding a lot of layers to my card fronts, I started with a Thick White Cardstock base. The thicker cardstock really holds up to the task at hand! Next, I added a layer of Rich Razzleberry CS, followed by Soft Succulent CS. Then, came the pretty designer series paper.

And to add even more texture to my card, along with the heat embossing, I chose to use the Snowy White Velvet Sheets. From the Christmas Trimmings Dies, I chose 3 different “sprig’ dies from the Christmas Trimmings Dies and die cut them from this fuzzy velvet paper using my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine. These sprigs look adorable peeping out of the tops of my Christmas stockings. They also add a brightness to this card.

Stamping Sentiments

I chose two sentiments to work with from the Tidings & Trimmings Stamp Set. The scripty “Noel” is a timeless classic. I wanted to keep it front and center, so I stamped it in Versamark Ink on Soft Succulent CS. After that, I heat embossed it using white embossing powder.

Next, I used the sentiment “May your days be merry & bright”. Again, I stamped in Versamark Ink, but this time only used the ink as a watermark image. Against my Mint Macaron CS, it shows very lightly and subtly in the background. By using Versarmark Ink instead of Mint Macaron Ink (tone on tone), I was able to keep my sentiment light and simplistic.

Tidings & Trimmings Together

I felt that my stockings needed a little holly. With the Christmas Tidings Dies, this was an easy fix. There are two holly dies, but you will end up with four individual holly leaves after die cutting. How awesome is that? I chose Evening Evergreen CS as a great complimentary green for this particular task.

After adding my sentiment pieces to my card front, it was time to add my stockings and the trimmings. I glued the holly leaves and bows to each stocking first, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue. This made it easy for me to later place the decorated stockings on my card front.

My next step was a dry fit for the Snowy White Velvet die cut sprigs and my stockings. A dry fit is when you put elements on your card front without adding any adhesive. You can move parts and pieces around as you decide where you want them to go.

When I was happy with the sprig placement, I removed the stockings and taped the base of my sprigs in place. I prefer to use Tear & Tape Adhesive for jobs like this.

Next, I simply glued down my stockings over the taped down sprigs. The stockings interlocked just slightly in a natural position. You can see that they are off-set in height nicely too.

To complete my card, I chose to add a few Pearl Basic Jewels. With all the white elements on this card, these pearls look very natural. I find it easiest to place adhesive backed embellishments on my projects using the Take Your Pick Tool.

Soft Succulent Success

If you enjoyed this Christmas card using Soft Succulent and the Tidings & Trimmings Bundle, please stop by my online store for the supplies you need to re-create it. Did you know that by purchasing the bundle instead of adding the stamp set and dies to your cart individually, you will automatically save 10%?

For another Christmas style card using the In Color, Evening Evergreen, click here. I have also explored Christmas cards in Polished Pink and Fresh Freesia.

My In Color exploration will continue with Soft Succulent, so be sure to come back and visit to see my next color combos and creations! It is with great joy that I experiment with color and delight you with my  efforts.