Hello and welcome.
It’s time for another 52 Christmas Card Throwdown colour challenge, and this week we’re keeping things beautifully simple with just two colours – green and beige.
I really enjoyed working with this limited colour palette. Green is, of course, a classic Christmas colour, but pairing it with beige gives the card a softer, more understated feel. It’s amazing how restricting your colour choices can actually make designing a card easier, as there’s no need to worry about whether lots of different colours will work together!
Here’s how I made my Design Team card.
Materials Used
- Cardstock: Old Olive, lucky limeade, beige
- Designer Series Paper: Striped pattern in old olive
- Inks: old olive, black
- Dies:
- Tree dies
- Holiday Blooms – Spellbinders
- Blending Brush
- Adhesive: foam, liquid glue
- Embellishments: green sequin
Step 1: Create the Background
I started with an Old Olive card base and cut a piece of beige cardstock slightly smaller, leaving a narrow border around the edge when it was adhered to the card. I love the contrast between the rich green and the softer beige. The combination feels festive without being quite as traditional as the usual red and green pairing.
Before adding anything else, I stamped a simple Christmas sentiment by Stampin’ Up in black ink towards the top right-hand corner of the beige panel. Keeping the sentiment tucked into the corner leaves plenty of space for the decorative elements while giving the eye somewhere to rest.
Step 2: Create the Christmas Trees
Next, I die cut several Christmas trees from lucky limeade cardstock. To give the trees a little more depth, I used an Old Olive ink pad and a blending brush to add shading around the edges. It’s such a quick and easy way to turn a flat die cut into something with a little more dimension.
The trees were then arranged and adhered towards the left-hand side of the beige panel.
Step 3: Add the Striped Paper
Time for another rummage through the scraps box!
I found a piece of Old Olive striped designer series paper that was just the right colour for the challenge. I trimmed it to the width of the beige panel and positioned it across the card, overlapping the bottom of the trees. I adhered the DSP using foam adhesive, which gives it a little lift and helps separate it from the trees behind.
I love using scraps in this way. There’s something particularly satisfying about finding a piece that has been waiting patiently in the box and turning it into an important part of a finished card.
Step 4: Create the Floral Embellishment
For the final decorative element, I reached for the Holiday Blooms die set by Spellbinders. I die cut a pretty poinsettia from beige cardstock, together with two holly leaves from Old Olive cardstock.
The little floral arrangement was then assembled and adhered towards the left-hand side of the striped DSP, creating a lovely cluster at the base of the trees. To finish the poinsettia, I added a single green sequin to its centre. Just one tiny embellishment is enough to add a little sparkle while keeping within our restricted colour palette.
Final Thoughts
I really like how this card came together using just green and beige. The Old Olive gives us the traditional Christmas feel, while the beige softens the overall look and gives the card a slightly more natural, understated appearance.
It’s also another card that made good use of my scraps box, which is always a bonus! The striped DSP was a leftover piece that might otherwise have remained tucked away, but here it adds just the right amount of pattern and texture.
Limited colour challenges are a great opportunity to look at your supplies differently. Instead of reaching for every colour under the sun, choose just two and see where they take you!
Why not join us over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week and have a go with this simple but versatile green and beige colour combination? We’d love to see what you create.
Happy crafting!
Lily-by-Gilly 