snowflake rubber stamp or two (we used 2 one large and one small)
turquoise rubber stamping ink (we used a chalk finish ink)
blue paper scraps in various shades
small metallic blue and silver paper scraps
small piece of paper to make tree trunk (we used a piece of iridescent origami paper for the card in the photo)
bare branch tree paper punch (EK Success)
small star punch (EK Success)
adhesives (we used glue sticks)
small quilled paper bow (see Related Project links below for instructions)

Note: Photos show another version of this card, but the technique for making the tree is identical.

1. 2.

Step 1. Place the white card on a larger sheet of scrap paper. Use the turquoise ink and the snowflake rubber stamps to stamp the background design of the card.

Stamping Tip: To give your design a more natural, random look, stamp off the sides of the paper, so the edges feature partial snowflakes (that's why you want to work on a larger sheet of scrap paper).

Step 2. Use the EK Success bare branch tree punch (photo 1) and blue paper scraps to punch a lot of trees. It's easier to punch with the punch upside down, as in the photo, so you can see exactly where you are punching. This allows you to punch closer together and get more punches out of your paper. For this particular project, you should punch some trees entirely, and some with the tree truck edge of the punch off the paper, so you end up with a tree without a trunk. This latter shape is good for the top layer of branches. How many punched trees you need will depend on the size of your card.

3. 4.

Step 3. Use a small star punch to punch the metallic blue and/or silver paper scraps into tiny stars for the tree's decorations.

Step 4. Take a pencil and ruler and lightly trace a large triangle on the front of your card -- this will be the general shape of your Christmas tree. Don't worry about the pencil marks, they will be covered when the card is finished.

Step 5. Starting at the top of the tree and working your way down the outline of the triangle, (photo 2) begin applying the small punched trees to the card. To do so, apply a small drop of white glue or glue from a glue stick to the bottom part of the punched tree only. Keeping the top part of the punches free of adhesives will give your tree a 3 dimensional look.

Tip: You can give your tree even more dimension by using a pencil or even your fingers to slightly curl the branches of the punched trees before applying glue and sticking them to the card.

Step 5. Continue placing punched trees on the card. To get a realistic look, place the punched trees at a slight upward angle. Outline the edges of the tree and fill in towards the center. Use some the punches without the bottom tree trunks to fill in the top layers of branches.

After you have filled all the branches, randomly glue the punched stars onto the tree for decorations.

Tip: For gluing tiny pieces, like the small dots or even the punched trees, try using your glue stick to "pick them up," thereby transferring some of the adhesive to the paper, while being able to move and place the piece.

Step 6. To make the base or trunk of the tree, fold a small piece of paper in half and freeform cut a small, flat topped triangle piece of paper. Open the fold and glue this to the base of the tree, hiding any ragged punch ends in the process.

Step 7. Glue a small quilled bow to the center of the base of the trunk using a glue dot or other adhesive.

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