Hi there! I’m back today with some more inspiration using a few of the new goodies from the Ellen Hutson Essentials By Ellen release. I seem to be gravitating towards simple color schemes lately, and these cards today are an homage to my love of chalkboard! Any time I see a beautiful, chunky sentiment, I immediately think “this needs to be a chalkboard.” I have two “ode to chalkboard” projects for you today, so let’s get started with the details! (Affiliate links used where possible. Thank you for your support!)

Both of my projects feature the new Sending Holiday Cheer sentiment stamp set. The typography in this set is marvelous; those chunky sentiments just make me so happy, and they make creating your card front so quick and easy!

For my first project, I began by white embossing the “may your days be merry and bright” sentiment (cannot get enough of that phrase for holiday cards!) from Sending Holiday Cheer onto some Pitch Black cardstock from Hero Arts. I wanted to make the sentiment cover a bit more of the card front, so I used my sharp scissors and fussy cut each line to create four separate sentiment lines.

I wanted some subtle texture for the backdrop of this pretty sentiment, so I die cut the Twirling Flurries die from some more Pitch Black cardstock. I used some Hero Arts Unicorn White Pigment Ink and a blending brush to blend some frosty, chalky ink around the edges. I love the way the white pigment ink highlights the subtle stitching in the beautiful background! I backed the die cut card front with some white cardstock to allow the tiny little die cut snowflakes to peek through, then used foam tape to adhere the sentiment for lots of dimension and texture on this card front. The final touch was to add some iridescent white gems for a bit of sparkle! The bright, crisp white embossing stands out so beautifully from the subtly textured black background.

My next project features the new Holiday Sprigs stamp set, as well as the Sending Holiday Cheer stamps. I again began by doing some white embossing on black cardstock using the “sending holiday cheer” stamp from Sending Holiday Cheer. I also embossed a big bunch of the botanical images from Holiday Sprigs stamp set, then die cut them with their coordinating dies.

I die cut one of my most favorite dies from the Essentials By Ellen line: Stitches Cover Plate from another panel of Pitch Black cardstock. I adhered the die cut flowers and sentiment using lots of foam adhesive and liquid adhesive to add plenty of dimension. The final touch was to add a few bright red gems. I adore a pop of red on a monochromatic card front! I think they look almost like holly berries.
Well, that’s all for my projects today! If you haven’t looked already, I hope you’ll check out the new Essentials By Ellen holiday release… there are so many fun new goodies available right now! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
