Clean and Simple Christmas Joy

by Joanne James20. November 2016 09:00

It's Sunday and time for a new challenge over at The Paper Players! It's the turn of my sweet friend Claire to host this week and she has a fun clean and simple challenge for you to work with:

        

I was inspired by a few other challenges too for my cards today - yes, not one, not two but three cards to share with you! The challenge over at Fusion has a great inspiration photo (you can see it below as the card that I am entering for this challenge is further down the post) that led me to use the 'Joyful Nativity' Christmas set from the annual catalogue and with the Addicted to CAS challenge codeword is ombre and CAS Colours and Sketches calling for monochromatic blues, I dug out my Marina Mist, Dapper Denim and Night of Navy ink pads and set to work.

The genre of 'clean and simple' tends to be rather subjective and whilst my general style is definitely 'clean' it tends toward 'clean and layered' rather than 'clean and simple'. So today I decided to take the same basic idea and create both a clean and simple and a clean and layered card to illustrate the difference! So here's my first card, a simple one layer affair stamped on extra thick Whisper White cardstock:

 

I stamped the angel in the centre of my 'o', brushed the stamped areas with my clear Wink of Stella brush and added a metallic shape to the star to finish my card. Super clean and simple! I also made a second version of this card, this time adding in the secondary sentiment, stamped in Night of Navy:

 

For my final card, I created a clean yet layered card, using this week's sketch over at the Global Design Project:

     

I used a cardbase of Marina Mist and switched out the angel for the Bethlehem skyline, added a piece of in-colour envelope paper for my background layer and heat embossed my sentiment in silver onto a strip of Night of Navy cardstock:

 

All three of the cards have a beautiful shimmer as a result of the careful brushing with my Clear Wink of Stella which adds a gorgeous subtle sparkle in real life. So which one do you prefer? Do leave me a comment below - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:

 

You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any. 

Before you reach for your ink and papers, check out what our amazing team has created to inspire you this week:

The Paper Players Design Team
 Jaydee
Laurie Schmidt
Nance Leedy
Sandy Mathis 
Linda Callahan
Hannelie Bester
Colleen Begley
 
 
Here's a quick recap of our challenge rules:
 
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission.
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL.
4.  Have FUN! 

 

I look forward to seeing your clean and simple cards this week. We are off for our usual Sunday morning of sport assuming the hockey pitch hasn't frozen with the sub-zero temperatures we've been having for the last couple of days, followed by lunch, some baking for a school bake sale this week and then a birthday party to attend for the youngest of the James Juniors, so another full-on Sunday!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend as it will be over all too quickly; I'll be back tomorrow with another project and news of an exciting new promotion for next week only; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

Comments (15) -

Laurie
LaurieUnited States
11/20/2016 1:22:18 PM #

Awesome cards Joanne! It's fun to see them side by side to see the difference. I tend to be clean and layered too! Have a great day!

Cathy P
Cathy PUnited States
11/20/2016 3:04:20 PM #

Gorgeous card, Joanne!  I saw your card in the CAS Colours and Sketches gallery and had to pop over and leave a comment.

Linda Callahan
Linda CallahanUnited States
11/20/2016 9:09:04 PM #

CAS perfection!  Beautiful cards....elegant in their simplicity!

LeAnne Pugliese
LeAnne PuglieseUnited States
11/20/2016 9:14:45 PM #

Well, all three are beautiful, but I have to admit that the simplest one is my favorite!  I love the ombre effect, especially with the WOS shimmer....just gorgeous!

Barb Ghig
Barb GhigUnited States
11/21/2016 12:29:59 AM #

Such a lovely CAS Christmas card, Joanne! I love all the shimmer...so pretty!
Thanks so much for playing along with us this week at Addicted to CAS!

karen h
karen hUnited States
11/21/2016 4:23:01 AM #

What a great progression of styles! I love them all! Thanks for playing along with us at CC&S!

Nance Leedy
Nance LeedyUnited States
11/21/2016 12:47:21 PM #

They are all fabulous, Joanne.  I love the colors and the ombre effect.  A great example of how to step up a simple, but elegant, design.  Just lovely!

Claire Broadwater
Claire BroadwaterUnited States
11/21/2016 5:54:21 PM #

Joanne, these are just fantastic!  I love them all!  The ombre effect is so pretty!  I am happy I don't have to pick a favorite!  You rocked my challenge this week, My Friend!  XX

sandym
sandymUnited States
11/21/2016 9:13:25 PM #

Joanne this is clean and simple beauty in its purest form. Love all three versions, and all three would be simple enough to create en masse, the perfect kind of Christmas card!

jaydee
jaydeeUnited States
11/21/2016 10:45:02 PM #

Jaydee
such a wonderful card - the ombre effect works beautifully to showcase the simplicity of the words - really allowing your eye to focus on the main element.  Gorgeous
hugs
jaydee

Colleen Begley
Colleen BegleyUnited States
11/22/2016 1:58:07 AM #

Great CAS card, Joanne! Simple and gorgeous too. Love the blues.

Patricia Hays
Patricia HaysUnited States
11/23/2016 2:18:20 PM #

All three of your cards are fabulous, Joanne!  I do think that the first one is my favorite, though - so elegant in its simplicity!  Thanks so much for being a part of our birthday celebration at CC&S!  Smile

Beverley
BeverleyUnited Kingdom
11/24/2016 1:32:30 PM #

WOW! Love this, you have used the colours beautifully and a stunning CAS card. Thanks so much for joining in on the celebrations at CC&S. Hugs Bev x

carol
carolCanada
11/27/2016 2:35:12 AM #

Clean and simple or clean and layered; either way, the results are gorgeous!  The angel and silhouette of Bethlehem tucked inside the "o" is outstanding!  Thrilled that you shared your creativity in the Fusion Challenge...brings me joy!
~carol

Elizabeth Stewart
Elizabeth StewartUnited States
11/30/2016 2:20:13 AM #

Absolutely beautiful!

Comments are closed

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