Let's talk about trees...

Hi there,

Wanted to talk about trees today.

Christmas trees to be exact, and these Christmas trees below, to be even more exact.

They're made using a Cuttlebug die/embossing folder combo set. They're really lovely, but unfortunately, I think they're discontinued now. It's a shame, but you can make some great substitutions.

By the way, the embossing folder is from Cuttlebug too. Really nice background and one I didn't think I'd have much use for until I used it! Usually happens like that. Only need one good idea and it's a winner.

The music paper is from an old hymnal. I cut strips with some scalloped scissors and pleated them onto the card.

The rest of the bits are punches, Stickles and some red buttons.

Back to the trees.

Okay, so it's discontinued, so what do you do?

Well, you improvise!

I made 150 of these cards last year (for an order) and I chose to do it the easy way. Even though I had the die and embossing folder to use, there was no way I had the time to cut out 300 trees and emboss them all individually (which is how you have to do it with the embossing folder that comes with the set). No way! No time!

I simplified by using a Marvy triangle punch and I embossed at least ten at a time with my A2 folders. Much quicker.

Now, if you can't get the Cuttlebug die, or find a suitable punch, you can always make your own triangles. They're pretty easy to cut out.

You can go for this elongated look. The beauty of doing them yourself is that you can make them different sizes too.

Here I added a small triangle to the top as well.

Or you can so the same thing, but just cut them with scissors, which means you will probably have sides of all different sizes, but that's okay, it's a handmade card. Add a bit of stitching (or faux stitching) and some torn edges and go for the handmade/homespun look. Nice. And easy. And the cheapest option too.

One last idea for you.

You can buy a Sullivans tree punch and trim the furry bits off the sides to make the straight sides you're looking for. Makes for a nice tree actually.

My suggestion is to make a template (ie. punch it and then trim the sides to get the exact tree you want), then use it to trim all the other trees you want to do.

Okay, hope all that helps you and you have fun making lots of trees!