Folded Christmas Tree with Homemade Patterned Paper

Rather than using a piece of ready made backing paper to create the Christmas tree, I decided to make one of my own.

Create a patterned paper on a piece of A4 copy paper. Stamp three of the clarity snowflakes five times using Garden Patina, Cornflower Blue and Manganese Blue archival inks.

Add further snowflakes in Watering Can, Cobalt and Paradise Teal archival inks.

Add the final snowflakes in Bluebird Archival ink and Platinum Planet Brilliance ink. Switch to the silhouette angels from the Silent Night stamp set. Add them three times each using Chipped Sapphire, Broken China and Stormy Sky Distress Oxides.

Now use the words from the Jayne Nestorenko Postcard Framer set and add them in Blueprint Sketch Oxide, Tumbled Glass Oxide, Faded Jeans Oxide and Forget-Me-Not archival ink.

Finish off the stamping using the star from the cabin in the woods set in Jet Black Archival ink.

Brush over the background with Tumbled Glass Distress ink.

Arrange the second, fourth, sixth and eighth smallest nested picot square dies on the background and die cut four pieces.

Fold each square in half along the two diagonals plain side to plain side, opening up again after each fold. Fold the square in half patterned side to patterned side taking the bottom edge to the top. Squeeze in the sides to create a triangular shape each time ensuring any words are the correct way up on the front.

Cut a piece of dark blue glitter card using the largest nested window die and a piece of mixed media card using the next size down. Mat the two together.

Add a line of glue at the bottom of the largest triangle (at the back) and stick it in place towards the bottom of the arch.

Repeat with the next size down, sliding the back layer of the triangle behind the point of the first.

Continue until the tree is complete. Add a dot of glue in the centre of each triangle (behind the top layer) and press the top layer down, leaving the outer corners free to lift.

Add the words used to create the patterned paper to the front of an 8” x 8” white card blank in the same inks as before.

Add a star at the top of the tree by using an embossing pen through the Christmas tree stencil and heat embossing in silver embossing powder.

To finish, add the window panel to the front of the card.