Morning all!
I'm back with the next instalment in my Christmas in July series.
It's great to see that Concord & 9th have released a new dimensional card base die set in their popular Stacks series - namely the Pop-Out Stacks Base dies.
They're a great complement to the original Card Stacks Base Dies, which are now discontinued. So if you were a fan of those, you'll love this new take on the look.
The new release included some new scene building sets designed specifically for the Pop-Out Stacks Base dies, including the Boardwalk Stacks dies and Secret Garden Stacks dies.
I'm keeping my fingers firmly crossed that there will be a new festive take for the Pop-Out Stacks Base dies coming our way later this year - wouldn't a North Pole village scene complete with gingerbread houses be fab?
But in the meantime...
One of the OG die sets in the Stacks series is the Home for the Holidays Stacks dies. And until Concord & 9th grants me my very reasonable wish, I thought it would be fun to see how this die set would, pardon the pun, stack up.
And if the remaining Home for the Holidays Stacks dies have now sold out, there are other tiny house dies and scene building sets that could also work well...
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The new Altenew Cozy Homes dies
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Waffle Flower Winter View Elements
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Concord & 9th Over the Rooftops dies and even the elements in the Alpine Village set
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The Greetery Countryside dies and Christmas Time in the City dies
And of course, you can request a restock for the Home for the Holidays stamps and dies while they are still available from Concord & 9th.
I started my card by cutting all the Pop-Out Stacks Base elements - with my current go-to festive pink for the sky, which I splattered with white paint and pearlescent White Gold watercolour for a bit of sparkle.
Then I used the hill edge die in the Home for the Holidays die set to add a slope effect to the three white pop-out layers and set those aside while I cut and assembled all the village elements.
The houses are all cut with C9 Sea Glass, I added some ink blending to the contrasting surfaces, and also to the grey roofs.
In addition to using sparkly glitter card, I added "snow" with a white Posca paint pen, and that really brought the houses to life.
Concord & 9th recommends that you assemble the Pop-Out Stacks strips before sticking them onto the card base. But there's also a bit of wiggle room to fill in gaps with trees and other small accents once the layers are in, however it's definitely easier to build up the strips, then stick them down. And of course if you're stamping your sentiment directly onto one of the layers, do that before you assemble the card.
It really is quite magical seeing the card come together as you stick down the layers inside. And I would definitely recommend watching the video for the Pop-Out Stacks Base dies on YouTube for tips and to make assembly easier.
Until next time, happy crafting!
