Clean and Simple - Christmas!

It's definitely the time of year when we all need a little Clean and Simple EVERYTHING in our lives! I'm sure you're like me and the rest of the Operators today, making that final Christmas List and checking it twice, maybe three times to make sure it's ALL done for this very special holiday!

Hopefully by now, you've had a chance to make at least a few Christmas cards - even if you haven't gotten them all in the mail yet! :) (Guilty!)
But, if not, then not to worry, today's Clean and Simple Card is just the thing to make you and your card recipients smile wide!

Having been awfully sick for over a week, I was a bit behind on my card making and sending, so I decided to combine two tasks into one - creating the card for this post and creating the card for my downline team. Here is the final result:

Yes, Virginia, it doesn't get much simpler than that.

I started with just one stamp set - Christ is Born, one cardstock - Very Vanilla and two ink pads - Versamark and Cherry Cobbler. The only adhesive on this card is Stampin' Dimensionals behind the center panel.

Let's me share what I did. The card base itself is simply a half sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock, cut in half to 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" and folded to make an A2 sized card (4 1/4" x 5 1/2").
The center panel is cut at 2 1/2" x 4".

I inked up the focal image with Versamark and using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to line up the image, I stamped it then heat embossed it with my Heat Tool and Gold Embossing Powder. (Note - for the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, I'd stamped the image on the plastic imaging sheet in Cherry Cobbler so it would show up, then cleaned my stamp before using the Versamark.)

For the card base, I inked up the poinsettia stamp with Cherry Cobbler and stamped in opposite corners to frame the center panel. The poinsettia was also stamped once on the inside of the card in the lower left corner for an accent and I used the inside greeting stamp from the stamp set as well.

Once the card base was done, I simply added four Stampin' Dimensionals to the back of the focal panel and mounted it to the card base. Simple, elegant, done!

Well, not quite.......
Once I created my sample card, I wanted to add just a touch of shimmer, so I removed the center panel and found my Gold Glow Smooch Spray and added a couple of spritzes to the card base only. You can barely see it in this photo here:

Trust me - in real life, that Smooch Spray makes the card!

Here's the best part - I was able to make from start to finish in just three hours, 40 of these cards. Yep, 40. That included cutting, embossing and smooching!

I really like Clean and Simple, don't you?! :)

I hope today's post has inspired you to try the less is more side of stamping. It can be very freeing to create this way, not to mention time saving and economical for you too. If you decide to create a card based on how this post inspired you, be sure to share it with us here! Just leave a comment with a link to your creation - we love to see your handiwork!

Happy Stamping and Merry Christmas!