Christmas in the City

Merry Christmas Philadelphia! Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love, and friends of the city know the iconic Philadelphia landmark created by Robert Indiana. Today, the larger than life landmark unites people from all over the world in Love Park, right in the center of the city. Wherever you call home, big city or small town, may it be filled with love and joy this holiday season!

This card is all about the layering - -lots and lots of layering! But first, we begin with the beautiful wooden embellishment from Unique Laser Designs! 

I painted the Love in the original Indiana sculpture colors, vivid red on the front, bright sky blue on the inside. Give it a couple of coats for a bright, smooth finish.

To make the card, cut a white card stock base 5.75 by 5.75 square. I love square cards, and usually have them open on the bottom. Then cut a layer of patterned paper 5.5 by 5.5 square. Then cut your "snow" layer, which must be 5.5 inches wide, and about 2 inches tall, out of shiny Bazzill Bling Diamond. You can freehand a rolling hill, or use a die cut machine. I used my favorite winter die cut landscape, Modern Landscape from Memory Box. Line up your snow base with your patterned paper, then adhere with a thin line of glue, but only on the bottom to secure it in place.  Use a guillotine to trim your layer to a 5.5 by 5.5 inch square.

Now, remember when I said this card was all about the layering? Every layer must go behind the previous layer, so you can't glue anything in place until all of your pieces are cut and assembled. 

Next come the city buildings! Cut one Cityscape Nightline out of Bazzill Bling String of Pearls card stock. Cut a second Cityscape Nightline out of shiny Bazzill Bling Sparkle (light blue).  Then cut two  Cityscape Silhouettes out of Bazill Bling Infatuation (light purple).

Next we add the holiday lights in all the windows! Let your imagination run wild! I use little scraps left over from my glitter paper stock, with yellow glitter paper for most of the windows, with a few red, green, blue and purple pieces to look like a city waiting for Santa! You could make all the windows red or green, or mix them all up in a rainbow of colors. To add the windows, use a pair of craft tweezers to add tiny, tiny squares to the back of your cut Cityscape Nightline. When all of the windows are finished in both skylines, adhere your light purple Cityscape Silhouette slightly to the left behind the skyline, so it looks like a "shadow."

Layer order: white cardstock base, patterned paper, snow layer, String of Pearls buildings, glitter windows, light purple shadow, Sparkle buildings, glitter windows, light purple shadows. Did I say layers?

Once all those layers are glued into place, then it's time to decorate the city! I used Diamond white clouds, a few Bazzill Bling Bank Roll Evergreen Trees, by Poppystamps, and artsy snowflakes cut with a tiny hole punch.

And, now, finally, add the lovely jewel in the crown, your painted LOVE wooden show stopper from ULD! I love how it fits center stage!

Despite the time-consuming layering and tedious glitter paper placement and gluing, this card is easier to make than you might imagine. A little practice makes perfect too! Here's what you'll need to send your city a little love!
Supplies:
ULD LOVE wooden laser cut
White card stock base
Bazzill Bling card stock: Diamond, String of Pearls, Sparkle, Infatuation,  & Bank Roll
Memory Box dies: Modern Landscape, Cityscape Nightline, Cityscape Silhouette, & Puffy Clouds
Poppystamps die: Evergreen Trees
Assorted glitter paper scraps
Acrylic paints: crimson & cerulean blue

Thanks for dropping by today!

Live your life in color!