2025 Holiday Card Series #10 | Warm Winter Hugs

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a card featuring a sweet snowman trio from a Gina K. Designs stamp set called Snowflake Kisses.  I love everything about this stamp set – the images, the sentiments, all of it!  Let’s get started.

The supplies used:

Gina K. Designs – Snowflake Kisses Stamp Set

     Spellbinders – Everlasting Squares

     Spellbinders – Perfect Touch Rectangles and Tag Die Set

     X-Press It Blending Cardstock

     Matte Silver Metallic Cardstock

     Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad

     Copic Alcohol Markers:  B000, R20, YR15, YR21, G19, YG09, G12,

          YG17, YG03, YG01, RV19, RV25, RV21, C3, C1, C0, R85, R81, RV00

     Sakura Black Glaze Pen

     Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen

     Scor-Tape Double Sided Adhesive

Simon Says Stamp - Big Momma Foam Tape

     Altenew – 1” Instant Dimension Foam Tape – 1/16”

     My Sweet Petunia - MISTI Stamping Tool

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Card Front Panels

Using the Spellbinders Everlasting Squares die set, I selected the fifth largest die to cut a piece of matte silver metallic cardstock which ends up being 3.25” x 3.25” for my matting layer, then using the sixth largest die from this set I die cut a piece of white X-Press It cardstock (this will be the panel I stamp my images on).  Lastly, I used the second largest die from Spellbinders’ Perfect Touch Rectangles and Tag die set and die cut another piece of the white X-Press It cardstock for the panel that will be adhered directly to the A2 card base.  Normally, I don’t use X-Press It for matting layers; however, since I will be Copic coloring the images on X-Press It cardstock I needed my white cardstocks to match.

Creating the Focal Point

For my focal image, I used the snowman trio from Gina K. Designs’ Snowflake Kisses stamp set and Memento Tuxedo Black ink to stamp the image onto the square piece of X-Press It cardstock I cut in the step listed above.  These are the Copic alcohol marker color combinations I used:

     Snowman Bodies & Snow on Ground:  B000

     Snowman Noses:  YR15, YR21

     Blush on Cheeks:  R20 w/ white gel pen accents

     Green Scarf & Hat:  G19, YG09, G12, YG17, YG03, YG01

     Dark Pink Scarf & Hat:  RV19, RV25, RV21, C3, C1

     Light Pink Scarf & Hat:  R85, R81, RV00, C3, C0

Building the Sentiment

I used the “Sending Warm Winter Hugs” sentiment from the Gina K. Design’s Snowflake Kisses stamp set and stamped it to the lower center of the card.

Finishing the Design

To complete the card, I added Scor-Tape to the back side of the stamped/colored panel and adhered it to the matte silver metallic cardstock layer.  Next, I added Simon Says Stamp’s Big Momma Foam Tape to the back side of the silver metallic cardstock and adhered it to the largest white cardstock panel.  I added Altenew 1” x 1/16” Instant Dimension Foam Tape to the back of the card’s focal image “stack” and adhered it to the front of a light blue, side-folding, A2 card base.  My final touches were to add some white gel pen highlights here and there and added black Sakura Glaze to the eyes and buttons of the snowmen.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it. Until next time, happy crafting!

2025 Holiday Card Series #9 | Merry Christmas

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a wintry card featuring Spellbinders’ City Holiday die set designed by Yana Smakula.  I’ve been wanting to work with this die set all season long and am finally getting the opportunity to do so.   I put my fate once again in Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Cubes and a random number generator to pick my color scheme and today’s Color Cube card was #010.  This one feels more autumnal; however, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it will be magical!

The supplies used:

Spellbinders – City Holiday Die Set

     Birch Press Design – Merry Christmas Dapper Script

     Ranger Ink/Tim Holtz – Distress Ink Pads – Chipped Sapphire, Villainous Potion,

          Brushed Corduroy, Mowed Lawn

     Waffle Flower – Background Blender Brushes

     Spellbinders – Timber, Cinnamon, Terracotta, Indigo, Peridot, Alabaster,

          Plum Cardstock

     Concord & 9^th – Peanut Cardstock

     Altenew – Moonstone Glitter Cardstock

     Idea-ology/Tim Holtz – Gold Metallic Kraft Cardstock

     Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Winsor & Newton White Designers Gouache

     Rainbow Splash – Rainbow Gem Stickers

     Altenew – Mini Blending Brush

     Krylon Workable Fixatif Spray

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Card Front Background

I cut a piece of white cardstock to measure 5” x 7” and selected Chipped Sapphire, Villainous Potion, and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks to use for ink blending my night sky. 

For the sky, I started ink blending at the top of the cardstock using Chipped Sapphire and blended about a third of the way down the panel, switched to Villainous Potion for the next four or so inches and then finished ink blending the remaining bottom portion of the panel using Brushed Corduroy.  Since I will be spattering white gouache over the background sky, I took the panel outside and sprayed it with Krylon Workable Fixatif Spray to try to keep the Distress Inks from seeping into the white spatter.  I set the sprayed background panel aside to dry and moved on to the focal point.

Creating the Focal Point

For my focal point image, I used the Spellbinders City Holiday die set and cut the individual pieces from the following cardstock colors:  

     Snow:  Altenew Moonstone Glitter Cardstock

     Roof, Window and Door Sills & Steps:  Spellbinders Timber Cardstock

     Trees and Wreaths:  Spellbinders Peridot Cardstock

Stars on Exterior Trees:  Idea-ology/Tim Holtz – Gold Metallic Kraft Cardstock

     Door and Window Frames:  Concord & 9^th Peanut Cardstock

     Draperies:  Spellbinders Indigo Cardstock

     Building Structure:  Spellbinders Cinnamon Cardstock

     Wreath Bows and Swags:  Spellbinders Cranberry Cardstock

     Inside Windows:  Spellbinders Alabaster Cardstock

     Gifts:  Spellbinders Plum Cardstock

I assembled all the pieces for the apartment building using Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue.

Building the Sentiment

Utilizing Birch Press Design’s Merry Christmas Dapper Script sentiment die, I die cut the sentiment once from the Idea-ology/Tim Holtz Kraft Gold Metallic Cardstock and two more times from Spellbinders Indigo cardstock.  I glued the three layers of the sentiment together in a stack and placed an acrylic block on top until the glue dried.

Finishing the Design

To complete the card, I mixed a small amount of Winsor & Newton white gouache with a couple drops of water and spattered it heavily across the background panel.  Once the spatter dried, I glued the snow hill across the bottom of the card and then adhered the apartment building in the center of the snow hill.  For the exterior trees, I lightly ink blended Distress Mowed Lawn Ink with an Altenew blending brush along the bottoms of the trees and added a little up the sides.  I adhered the two trees on either side of the building using thin foam squares and liquid glue, added some yellow Rainbow Gem Stickers to the trees, and added the sentiment to the top of the card.  Lastly, I adhered the card front panel to a white, 5” x 7” card base.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!

2025 Holiday Card Series #8 | Merry Little Things

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing another tag that could also be made into a card featuring some humorous and delightful stamps from AALL & Create.  This company makes some of the most adorable, whimsical stamps that I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with.   I put my fate once again in the Sarah Renae Clark’s Color Cubes and a random number generator to pick my color scheme and today Color Cube card was #641.  Again, this one didn’t yell Christmas in the traditional sense, but I think we can make it work.

The supplies used:

AALL & Create – Hexalove Die Set

AALL & Create – The North Pole Stamp Set

AALL & Create – Merry Little Things Stamp Set

AALL & Create – Lil Elf Stamp Set

Technique Junkies – Birch Tree Border

X-Press It Blending Cardstock

Simon Says Stamp – So Very Black Cardstock

Copic Alcohol Markers – E04, E11, E00, E19, E15, E13, RV34, RV63, RV52, RV17, RV14, RV13, RV11, V17, V15, V12, BG78, BG72, BG11, N3, N1, N0

Ranger/Tim Holtz – Distress Oxide Ink Pads – Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo

Lawn Fawn – Jet Black Premium Ink Pad

Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic Gold

Sakura Gelly Roll White 10

Scrapbook Adhesives Thin 3D Foam Squares

Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

Winsor & Newton White Designers Gouache

Krylon Workable Fixatif Spray

Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Card Front Background

I cut a piece of white cardstock to measure 4” x 6-1/2” to give me plenty of space for ink blending and to allow room to use the AALL & Create Hexalove die to cut the card front.  Next, I used the inner tag die from the Hexalove die set, placed it on the white cardstock, and traced loosely around it with a pencil to show me where my actual cutting boundaries will be when I place the tree background stamp and do the ink blending for the background.  After that, I used the Technique Junkies Birch Tree Border stamp and stamped it on the left end of the tag using Copic friendly ink and stamped it a second time onto Altenew Masking Paper.  I fussy cut the image that I stamped onto the masking paper and used Copic markers N3, N1, and N0 to color the tree image stamped onto the white cardstock.  Once the alcohol marker ink dried, I peeled the backing from the masking paper tree image and placed it over the Copic-colored one on the cardstock.

For the sky, I used Distress Oxide inks in the colors Kitsch Flamingo and Sun Sugar.  I started ink blending at the top of the cardstock using Kitsch Flamingo and blended toward the bottom with the Spun Sugar.  Once the ink had a chance to dry, I die cut the ink blended cardstock panel with the tag front die from the Hexalove die set.  To set the colors and help them to not bleed when I spatter with white gouache, I went outside and lightly sprayed the inky tag panel using Krylon Workable Fixatif spray (you want to do this outside with lots of air flow!).  The Fixatif spray will also add a satin sheen to the cardstock versus the chalky finish you would get with the Distress Oxide inks… just in case you were wondering.  I allowed the Fixatif coating to completely dry then mixed a couple drops of water with some Winsor & Newton white gouache and spattered it across the tag background. 

I die cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp So Very Black cardstock using the decorative tag die in the Hexalove die set to frame the tag front.  I glued the inked front panel to the decorative tag panel and set aside to dry.

Creating the Focal Point

My focal point for this card was the elf from the AALL & Create The North Pole stamp set, the present from ALL & Create’s Lil Elf stamp set, and a tree from AALL & Create’s Merry Little Things stamp set.   I’ll list the Copic markers used for each element below:

     Elf Skin:  E04, E11, E00

     Elf Eyes:   E15, E13

     Elf Clothing:  BF78, BG72, BG11 (Teal)

         RV17, RV14, RV13, RV11 (Pink)

         V17, V15, V12 (Purple)

         Buttons and Bell – Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic Gold

     Tree Trunks:  E19, E15, E13

     Tree Flower Petals:  RV34, RV63, RV52 (Pink)

     Tree Flower Centers:  E19, E15, E13

     Tree Body:  BF78, BG72, BG11 (Teal)

         RV34, RV63, RV52 (Flower Petals)

         E15, E13 (Flower Centers)

     Present:  V17, V15, V12, E19, E15, E13

     Star on Tree:  Sakura Gold Metallic Gelly Roll

Once the coloring was completed, I added some white highlights here and there to the images just for fun and added interest using a white, size 10 Gelly Roll pen.  Once the white highlights dried, I fussy cut the images and added foam squares to the backs for adhering to the tag front later in the process.

Building the Sentiment

Utilizing the “merry little things” sentiment from AALL & Create’s Merry Little Things stamp set, I stamped the sentiment onto the tag’s background using Altenew Obsidian Pigment Ink. 

Finishing the Design

To complete the card, I removed the backing paper from the adhesive squares on all the elements and adhered them to the card front.  Using a ¼” hole punch, I punched a hole at the top of the tag so it could be placed on a gift more easily.  My final touch was to add a bit of mauve and white ribbon to the top to finish off the festive design and then sprinkled some glitter at the center of the bow. 

Thank you for stopping by and checking out today’s blog post, I really appreciate it.  Until next time, happy crafting!