In Color: Fresh Freesia, Part III

Do you love Words of Cheer? I know I do. And when you combine them with a beautiful color like Fresh Freesia, you can’t go wrong.

Fresh Freesia is one of the new 2021-2023 In Colors. And a lovelier soft purple could not have come along! During July, my In Color Club explored Fresh Freesia. For this card, we are pairing it with Soft SeaFoam and Gray Granite.

Words of Cheer in a Slimline Card

For this cheery card, I mimicked the Words of Cheer Stamp Set sample on page 20 of the August-December 2021 Mini Catalog by Stampin’ Up!. If you see the catalog image, you will note that their card is done in blue. My focus was to use purple…more notably, Fresh Freesia.

The standard recipe for a slimline card is 7 x 8 1/2″, with the 7″ side scored in half at 3 1/2″. The great thing about a slimline card is that it fits into a standard size business envelope.

Christmas Cheer Dies

The coordinating Christmas Cheer Dies give us our cheer. I die cut the cheer background using Fresh Freesia Cardstock. Next, I stamped the large floral image from the Words of Cheer Stamp Set in Fresh Freesia Ink over the die cut, to add lined interest.

Before I die cut the individual cheer letters, I sponged Gray Granite Ink over my Gray Granite Cardstock using a Blending Brush. By doing this before I die cut them, I didn’t have to worry about getting each letter inked up individually to deepen its color. I love that the die is one large image, but cuts out each letter separately. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to attach the cheer letters to the cheer background die cut. My Silicone Craft Sheet is perfect for this type of sticky situation!

Another die that was fun to use from the Christmas Cheer Dies was the holly sprigs! Just a small scrap of Soft Seafoam Cardstock yielded me 3 individual sprigs with one pass thru the machine. Each sprig has two connecting leaves, which I chose to keep together. But, I could have easily used them individually by snipping them apart.

Specialty Papers

Did you notice the white flowers that were die-cut above? One die creates 3 large flowers and the other makes 3 small flowers. They all come out of the die cutting machine individually and can be layered, small over large. I used the Snowy White Velvet Sheets for my flowers, and Multipurpose Liquid Glue to attach the small flower to the large. The texture is velvety soft!

Another specialty paper that went into the making of my Words of Cheer card is the 2021-2023 In Color Shimmer Vellum. Of course, I used the Fresh Freesia color. The shimmer is soft, without the harsh glare of glitter, and it made the perfect backdrop for my words of cheer.

I used some Tear & Tape Adhesive on the backside of the shimmer vellum, with a piece approximately the size of my cheer diecut. It is easy to tell the front of the shimmer vellum from the back, only one side is shimmery. My die cut word of cheer will help to hide the “see-thru tape” once my card is assembled.

Words of Cheer Background Stamping

From the remaining Fresh Freesia Cardstock leftover from creating my slimline card base, I cut an additional front layer. This measures 3 1/4 x 8 1/4″. You will only have 2 small strips of paper leftover from your 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet of cardstock if you try this method.

Just like the sample card I am copying, there is some background stamping to do. I used the sentiment stamp ‘Sending you Christmas Cheer’ and Fresh Freesia Ink. Starting at the top of the cut layer, I began to stamp a lazy “S” design, winding the words down my cardstock from top to bottom.

When I was done with my sentiment stamping, I added Fresh Freesia Ink to the sides of my front layer using a Blending Brush. I try to start off my cardstock and move in circular motions onto the outer edges. This method deepens the color of the cardstock and helps it stand out as a tone on tone color on my card.

More Than One Way to Silver It Up

The card sample in the catalog appears to use Brushed Metallic Adhesive Backed Dots on each of the holly berries. In fact, a whopping 24 in total! That is a lot of bling, and I like to be a bit more frugal. So I came up with my own work-around.

With a little VersaMark Ink and some Silver Embossing Powder, I created my own silver toned berries. I have a VersaMark Marker, but an ink pad and Blender Pen would work just the same. I split the embossing work into two sections, to make it easier to heat emboss accurate berries with my Heat Tool.

Words of Cheer Card Assembly

First, I adhered my sentiment background stamped layer to the front of my card base. Next, I added the shimmer vellum. Following this, I put some Multipurpose Liquid Glue on the back of my cheer die cut, and placed this on the vellum.

The next step is to add the Soft Seafoam holly sprigs. I started by placing a mini glue dot in the location I wanted each sprig to go. For the flowers, I added a mini glue dot to the back of each and placed them over the holly sprigs. Last, I made a simple bow out of Linen Thread and placed it on my card front.

Simple Slimline Cards

If you love this card and would like to watch my live assembly on FaceBook, click here. Looking for another slimline card idea? Check out my slimline card post on Zany Zebras here. And of course, if you need more Fresh Freesia inspiration, click here.

As always, I hope to inspire you in your creativity. When you purchase the Words of Cheer Bundle (both the stamp set and dies together), you will save 10% automatically. If you need new, refills, or clearance deals on Stampin’ Up! supplies, please visit my online store at any time. I look forward to helping you become a better paper crafter!