The Clear Trend has been hot in the scrapbooking world for the past year—now, all those rub-ons, sheer ribbons, clear acrylic embellishments and acetate overlays are making a big impact on card making, especially for the holidays and the new year. Take a look as card expert Susan Cobb adds this latest look to her holiday greetings.

Contemporary Christmas Card

“Teal and purple—maybe not the most traditional holiday colors, but I love them for clean, contemporary Christmas cards,” says Susan, who trimmed 1” off the front of her blank card, then covered the remaining card front with dark blue textured paper and inked the edges black for added dimension. A 6 1/8”x3 5/8” piece of light blue textured paper is centered on the card front; Susan chalked the edges purple and added a white mini brad at each corner. She angled a blue tag cut-out on the card front, then attached the overlay quote at the opposite angle. A few Vellum Zots™ or a dab of glue stick placed behind the dark portions of the text will hold the overlay in place.

“I love how the edges of the overlay quote just blend into the background paper,” says Susan. “And the colored text of the words blends perfectly with the muted light blue paper behind it.”

Supplies:
Cardmaker’s Christmas Creative Pack
Cardmaker’s™ Christmas Clear & Frosted Overlays
Cardmaker’s™ Citrus Ribbons
white mini brads
Vellum Zots™ or stick glue
Cardmaker’s™ Blank White Cards and Envelopes

Totally Traditional Christmas Card

Susan opted for a traditional red and green color combination on this holiday card. “You might think you can only use clear overlays on light paper,” she says, “But matting an overlay on white gives you the option to use it on rich, dark paper too!”

Susan matted a 41/2”x1” strip of red poinsettias paper onto white paper, then glued it horizontally across the center of a 41/2”x6” piece of holly paper. She matted the holly paper onto red poinsettias paper and glued it to the front of the card, then added a white brad at each corner.

She matted the “holiday hugs” image on white paper, then green holly, then red poinsettias paper and finally onto white paper—then centered it over the red paper strip. She matted the “blessings” and “joy love peace” border on white, then added them to the card front. A red grosgrain ribbon is tied in a bow and attached to the bottom left corner of the “holiday hugs” overlay.

Supplies:
Cardmaker’s Christmas Creative Pack
Cardmaker’s™ Christmas Clear & Frosted Overlays
Cardmaker’s™ Classic Ribbons
white mini brads
Vellum Zots™ or stick glue
White paper
Cardmaker’s™ Blank White Cards and Envelopes

Love the clear look for cards? See these ideas, plus many more, on our More Christmas Card Making webisode! Play the webisode at your next class or crop, or use it to train your teachers or employees.