Vintage Christmas Cards–How to achieve a vintage look

Vintage Snow Covered Bridge

If you have been following my blog for a while, you know one thing you don’t usually see here are vintage Christmas cards! But this week the gals over at Merry Monday threw me for a loop – yes…the theme is to create a vintage Christmas card!

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I don’t have ANY stamps that fit this bill, so I pulled out my trusty Stampscapes stamps and sat down to create my own vintage feel. Now if you’re a VIP Community member you’ll get to see exactly how I created this in a step by step video…I know all the members who love scenic cards will just love it. And if you want other exclusive videos, be sure to get the creative tips e-letter!

Every now and then it’s good to step outside your comfort zone and try something new. I know doing just that keeps my creative juices sharp! So how exactly do you make a vintage card.

Well, first I googled it…lol! Yes, I know it seems rather cut and dry, but like I said, this is not my style, so I thought I’d surf for a little visual help. I came across several how to tutorials for turning photos into a vintage look with Photoshop and that gave me my color palette. Basically, muted colors – a little more on the earthy side with some framing – which I would do with a scene anyway.

how to make a vintage christmas card

The scene is built on a foundation of Crumb Cake card stock. I used a stipple brush to color in my scene along with some Stampin’ Up! Classic Ink pads. For the road I used Tea Dye and the stream – Stormy Sky Distress inks. My hills are in Pear Pizazz, the barn is in Riding Hood Red, the clouds are in Midnight Muse and the stamping was done in Early Espresso.

You’ll want to add some concentrated Pigment ink in the form of a q-tip from a white Craft Pad, I used one by Stampin Up and a pigment pen – Signo Uniball Gel pen. I also stippled a little with the white craft ink to get a muted white feel. To get the vintage feel around the edges, use a mini sponge tool and some walnut stain distress ink.

Of course there is quite a bit of masking that went on to build the scene along with coloring certain elements. I just wish I had masked the sky off when I did the hills – at the horizon they are a bit green – oh well!

Vintage Snow Covered Bridge -vintage christmas cards

Overall, to build the scene, I used the following stampscapes stamps – Snowy Covered Bridge, Single Pine & Trees and Hills from Nature Set 1, Tree Duo Sm, Lilly Grass, Snowy Rocks Sm, and Cloud Cumulous Large. I stretched out the scene a bit with an Early Espresso Marker in a few spots.

To keep with the vintage feel, the greeting is embossed in Pewter rather than a shiny silver. The finishing touch of course is the sliver just shy of 1/16” matting in Very Vanilla popped up on dimensionals onto Early Espresso. My card measures 6 3/8 x 5 3/8”.

Overall, I think my vintage Christmas card turned out pretty cool. I’m glad I tried it out! Have a crafty weekend!

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Sparkly Pines and Rocks

It’s Merry Monday!  I am so honored to be a guest designer this week on this very cool weekly challenge blog.  If you haven’t yet participated…definitely check it out!  The challenges are fresh and intriguing.  You’ll definitely stretch your Christmas card making abilities into a new stratosphere.  Like this week – Sequins!

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I wouldn’t normally reach for this little embellishment, but boy what a new addiction I have now after this one!  Thanks a lot girls – look what you’ve done. Smile

Pines on Rocks Winter Scene

Creative Tips –

  • I used the large Stampscapes Pines and Rocks stamp in Night of Navy by Stampin’ Up! here.  Simple, just stamped on some Crumb Cake card stock.
  • To bring the snowy feel in, I used a Uniball Signo White Gel pen for some highlights and snow in the sky.

Pines on Rocks Winter Sequin Card (5)

  • To create some mist and bigger flakes, I used a qtip and white pigment ink.
  • For the sparkle and a fun touch, I added not only the sequins in clear, but the little pieces from the sequin holes.  They add just the right sparkle to this project.
  • The card front and banner are popped up for some character along with some subtle sponging in crumb cake.

Pines on Rocks Winter Sequin Card (8)Pines on Rocks Winter Sequin Card (7)

  • A simple banner greeting from Sweet Essentials from Stampin’ Up! finish this card perfectly.

Now it’s your turn!  I can’t wait to see your cards entered.  Have a Merry Monday!

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Pines on Rocks Winter Sequin Card (3)