HD Christmas Classics - The Nativity #4

This is the 4th card from the "The Nativity" card topper set - made as a center step card.  Sometimes my card designing process is a bit unusual.  This one was a case in point.  I first decided I wanted a card topper that was 3 3/4" x 5" in size.  Why?  Because the border I wanted to use at the bottom was only 3 3/4" wide!  As I was playing around with elements on the card topper, I realized that rather than making such a small card, what I wanted to do was use the topper as the center piece of a center step card!  Once I knew that, the rest was pretty easy.

NOTE: it was only as I started on another topper set from this card collection that I realized I had switched two of the patterned card stock pieces!  What you see here was actually from the Christmas Greetings topper set! (though still HD Christmas Classics collection)

Materials:

• Hunkydory Christmas Classics Luxury Card Kit - The Nativity topper set
• Star embossed cream colored paper from "hand made" paper kit I got at Costco years ago.
• The Essential Book of Christmas Sentiments 2016 (Hunkydory)
• Cream colored 5" x 7" card base

Method: 

• Card Structure: I followed the standard procedure for making a center step card - making the front step 1" tall and calculating how wide the sides needed to be to leave me with 3 3/4" in the center portion.
• Center Panel: Often I make the side of the front step a part of the center - cutting patterned paper to cover it all in one piece.  This time, I decided to do things differently.  The center panel goes all the way to the bottom of the step, but is straight on the sides, leaving the side portions of the step uncovered.  I cut a piece of the embossed "hand-made" paper that was 3 3/4" wide and 5" tall.  I glued my left-over border piece (the rest of it was glued to the bottom of Nativity card #2) to the bottom of this panel.  I centered the focal elements in the remaining space and glued them in place - the wise men piece on foam tape.  Then I added a sentiment (from the Essential book) using more foam tape.
• Sides: Taking the remaining piece of border print card stock, I cut two 1/2" strips of the gold foiled portion - just a little shorter than 4" long.  That left a just a bit of the foiled border on the remaining patterned card stock.  I cut this at 1" tall and then into two pieces approximately 1 3/4" wide to form the sides of the front step.  I then cut two matching pieces from the remaining patterned card stock - each about 1 3/4" x 4" - just the size of my sides.  I glued the 1/2" foiled strips down the center, then added gold-edged ribbon (from my stash) on either side of the foiled piece - wrapping ends around to the back before gluing the whole in place on the sides of the card.
• Inside: The inside has borders done in a similar way as the sides - except the center part of the border is not foiled, but is in fact made from scraps that coordinate but were from my stash rather than the kit.  After gluing them in place I added a couple of sentiments (from Essential book) - one at top left and one at bottom right.