Christmas Classics Noel Slimline Christmas Card

Today I'm sharing a card that's a little more involved so perfect for a spot of weekend crafting! I used the fabulous sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches for my layout:

I've made quite a few cards with my 'Joy of Noel' bundle and wanted to try something a little different with this slimline layout - take a look:

Here's the low-down on today's card:

Joy Of Christmas - The colour scheme for today's card was inspired by the beautiful piece of Joy of Christmas Designer Series Paper I used for the first layer on my card. A white background covered in red berries and festive holly and pine foliage, this paper is perfect for a traditional Christmas card. Whilst much of this panel is covered by the other layers of the card, enough of it can be seen to tie in the other elements. 

Joy of Noel - Most if not all of my other cards using the NOEL 'Joy of Noel' stamps and dies have positioned the letters in a square. This slimline format allowed for me to use the letters in a column (still broken with 'joyous') - this works really well. I originally stamped my letters in Real Red onto Basic White, but they didn't have enough impact. I swapped them for Real Red cardstock embossed with silver and liked this much better. The silver picks up on the grey outlines of the base DSP and the silver and red combo stands out much better and the red ties in with both the red frame I used for the sentiment panel and the two strips of Real Red cotton ribbon I used on the base DSP layer.  

Christmas Classics - For the square layers of the sketch, I used a couple of diecuts of the Christmas Classics foliage border square die. I originally used a sild colour of green for this layer, but it was too stark. Eventually I cut the layers out of a piece of (retired) Garden Green check paper that resulted in a softer, more interesting variegated look. I added some extra detail with a green Blends marker, along with a few red rhinestones for a little extra red berry detail:

This card has seven layers, but I think each of them serves a purpose and makes a valuable contribution to the overall design, which I love. What do you think - does this celebration of festive foliage remind you of a traditional Christmas? 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. 

Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with my card for our new challenge over at The Paper Players. Until then, happy stampin'!

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

CHRISTMAS CLASSICS DIES (35.00)	JOY OF NOEL BUNDLE (ENGLISH) (45.75)	JOY OF CHRISTMAS 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 CM) DESIGNER SERIES PAPER (11.75)	METALLICS EMBOSSING POWDERS (17.00)	VERSAMARK PAD (9.00)	BASIC WHITE A4 THICK CARDSTOCK (8.50)
REAL RED A4 CARDSTOCK (9.50)