Who says Christmas cards need snow?
Around here, we’re lucky if December temperatures dip below 70 degrees sometimes. So this little Christmas flamingo is perfect for our kind of Christmas. I wanted to give him a warm color background like a desert sunset with a few Christmas pine trees. And I found a little shortcut in my patterned paper stash.
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Featured Unity Supplies
 Somewhere South of Christmas USC |
 Pine Ridge Silhouette {Stencil} USC |
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Warm Weather Christmas Twist
This flamingo is perfect for those of us who celebrate Christmas without snow. I stamped and colored him with Copic markers, then fussy cut him for the card front. I also stamped and cut out the sentiment with my sentiment dies, setting both pieces aside while I worked on the background.
Copic Colors: RV21, RV23, RV25 | BG10, BG11, BG15, BG18 | Y13, Y15
I originally planned to ink blend the entire background, but then I remembered some ombré patterned paper in my stash. The pink, coral, and yellow colors were exactly what I wanted. Why spend time blending all those colors when the paper was already perfect? Of course, ink blending is still a great option when I run out of this paper.
To give the background a little more Christmas feel, I used the treeline stencil to ink blend three rows of trees with Distress Oxide Ink. I like using Oxides over patterned paper because they’re more opaque than regular Distress Inks, so the colors show up better. I chose colors that complemented the flamingo to keep everything coordinated. Then I popped up the flamingo and sentiment and added two tiny pink clay hearts to finish it off.
I love having a Christmas card that fits our warmer holidays for a change. Who says Christmas always needs snow and traditional colors? This flamingo is a fun reminder that we can mix things up a little and still keep that Christmas feel.
Thank you for joining me today. I sincerely hope that today’s project inspires you. If you create something, feel free to tag me, @dahlhousedesigns, on social media as I would be thrilled to see it!
Supplies
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Please Note: Product names with ** are suggested supply substitutions if I use something discontinued or hard to find.
Copic Colors: RV21, RV23, RV25 | BG10, BG11, BG15, BG18 | Y13, Y15
Somewhere South of Christmas USC |
Pine Ridge Silhouette {Stencil} USC |
 Scalloped & Stitched Sentiment Dies USC |
 Hammermill Cardstock AMZ |
 Ombre {paper pad} SBC |
 Obsidian Amalgam Ink OTH |
 Evergreen Bough Oxide SBC |
 Mini Clay Hearts {pink, red, white} HA | AMZ |
Most Used Tools
 Platinum 6 Die Cutting Machine SB | OTH |
 Magnetic Magic Mat SB |
 Black Stamping Tool SB |
 Blending Brushes AMZ |
Blending Brushes Large AMZ |
 Blending Brushes Medium AMZ |
 Blending Brushes Mini AMZ |
 Blending Brushes Small AMZ |
 Cutter Bee Scissors SB | SSS |
 Die Cut Envelopes AMZ |
 Foam Roll – 2 Inch SB |
 Foam Roll Combo Pack SB |
 Grip Mat 4.75×6 AMZ |
 Grip Mat 6.5×8.5 AMZ |
 Grip Mat 6×6 AMZ |
 Mini Blending Brushes AMZ |
 Mini Trimmer SB |
 MISTI – Mini SB | SSS |
 MISTI – Original SB | SSS |
 MISTI – Original – Black SB |
 MISTI Corners SB | AMZ |
 1.5″ block SB | OTH |
 Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive SB |
 Post It Note Tape AMZ |
 Reverse Tweezers SB |
 Sticky Mat SB |
 Triangle Trays AMZ |
 White Gel Pens SB | AMZ |
 White Glass Mat AMZ |
 Media Mat Mini SB | SSS |
 Mini Stencil Mat** SB |
