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!