Hi everyone! 

Holiday season is in full swing - even though times are challenging right now, people are finding creative ways to celebrate.  I have just recently gotten my 2021 planner and so I decided for today's blog post I would create a Happy New Year card - something that seemed to uplift me and give me hope!  

I'm still on a slimline kick, and today I'll show you how  to very easily layer two of the recently released slimline stencils together to create a different look.

To create my background, I grabbed a sheet of white cardstock (I don't cut mine down initially when using slim line stencils, as it gives me more room to play/add a border or not.) I then used the first layer of the You Are Amazing Stencil and ink blended it with Mint ink.  I took the second layer and ink blended with Meadow ink (using the image on the packaging to line it up in the absence of a stamped outline - you can see through the stencil slightly which makes it easy to align).  The two layers I used are those that are leafy branches rather than single leaves.

 For my third layer I used the Horizontal Stripe stencil. I laid it over the stenciled leaves,  and then selectively (and lightly) ink blended with Misty Coast ink, just in areas where there weren't already any stenciled leaves.   This doesn't have to be perfect - in some areas my stripes do overlap slightly with the leaves.  You can see from the photo, it adds the illusion of dimension!  I splattered the panel with some gold ink and set aside to dry.

For the main focal images on my card, I created frames to anchor them using the smallest of the Essentials: Inverted Stitched Scallop Circle die set, using the inner and outer dies to cut standalone circles. I die cut three of them from white cardstock, and then ink blended them with Passion Fruit ink.  I trimmed out my now dry background, leaving a very thin white border around the edge, and adhered the die cut circles down the middle using thin foam tape strips.

My florals have a no-line look and are from the Merry & Bright stamp set. To line them up, I first die cut my cardstock using the Merry & Bright coordinating dies three times. I left the piece inside the cardstock, and placed it in my MISTI to align the stamps.  I stamped the leaves in Meadow and Mint to match the background, the berries in Berrylicious ink (of course!) and the flowers in Passion Fruit, edged with Berrylicious.  These are all separate layering stamps, so you can change them up however you choose (or add the outline stamp, but I'm carrying on my no-line theme).  I also added some touches of gold gel pen.

I popped the flowers on foam tape onto my circle frames.  My sentiment comes from the Phrase Builder Happy Holidays set. I built 'Happy New Year' and die cut from gold glitter cardstock.  I then adhered each word in its own circle frame with liquid glue.   I then mounted the panel onto a white notecard base.  As a finishing touch I scattered a few green jewels from the Essentials: Jewels Mix. 

I love anchoring each word in the sentiment in its own frame on slimline cards!  I hope this gave you some ideas for layering up your stencils and building up your slimline cards in different ways!

Jenny x