2024 Holiday Series #1 | Merry Christmas

Hi friends!  Since November is here, I figured I had better get a start on my holiday card series so that I would get my Christmas cards made before the actual season arrived.  Let’s get started…

The supplies used were:

Altenew “Forest Canopy” Glitter Cardstock Set (Peridot, Titanite, Jadeite, & Emerald)

Simon Says Stamp “Christmas Wishes” Sentiment Strips (Reverse)

Pinkfresh Studio “Classic Edgers” Die Set

Crafty Critta “Merry Red” Hot Foil

Honey Bee Stamps “Make It Merry” Gem Stickers          

Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Distress Collage Medium

Heidi Swapp Mini Minc Machine

Ranger Stickles “Christmas Red”

I began the project by trimming each of the three darkest colors in the Altenew “Forest Canopy” glitter cardstock set at the long edge using a Pinkfresh Studio “Classic Edgers” die (I chose the scallop one) – these will form the boughs of each of the glittery Christmas tree layers on the card front.  To reduce the bulk/weight of the card, I decided to trim approximately one inch from the flat (non-scallop), long edge of my glitter cardstock pieces – the remainder will be trimmed off once they are adhered to the card base. 

I used an A2 size card base with a side fold for today’s card – I’m going to turn this card base in the landscape orientation so that the fold will be on the long side at the top of the card.  I drew a pencil line at 2-3/4” down the center of the 5-1/2” side (landscape orientation) to aid me with centering each of the glitter cardstock panels.  I then proceeded to glue each glitter cardstock layer, starting with the lightest color at the bottom and working my way up the card base, ensuring each strip of glitter cardstock is basically centered with that pencil line I drew on the card base.  I also attempted to layer each glitter cardstock strip approximately ¾” apart from each other and this measurement was taken at the lowest point of each panel.  Once the glue dried on all the pieces of glitter card stock on the card front, I used the paper trimmer to cut off all the excess that exceeded the A2 size card base.

Using the Sizzix “Funky Baubles” die set and an assortment of Christmasy cardstock colors, I began die cutting each of the ornament’s layers that I chose to use for the card.  I selected the cardstock colors from a 12x12 paper pack from American Crafts called “Christmas Cardstock” in addition to these I also selected Spellbinders’ “Cosmic Sky” for my blue cardstock.  I glued all the layers of the ornaments together using the packaging as a guide, added foam squares to the back sides and adhered them to the card front.  I also die cut the bow and two sets of holly from this die set and added those to the tops of the ornaments.  I added Ranger Glossy Accents to the holly berries and the red bow.

For my sentiment, I chose the sentiment strip set from Simon Says Stamp called “Holiday Greetings Reverse” that says Merry Christmas and I used a sheet of Craft Critta “Merry Red” foil to foil the entire page of sentiments using my Minc machine.  So pretty!

After removing the release paper from the ornaments and placing them and their ornament hanging strings to the card front, I put a strip of foam tape to the reverse side of my foiled sentiment strip and adhered it to the lower center of the card.  My final touches to this sparkly holiday card were when I added red gems from Honey Bee Stamps’ “Make It Merry” gem stickers to the ornaments and a small amount of Ranger “Christmas Red” Stickles to each of the holly berries.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!

Christmas 2023 | Tiny Gift Bag

Hi there!

Today I’m sharing the steps I followed to create the cutest tiny gift bag using My Favorite Things’ (MFT) “Gift Bag” die set and some products from Tim Holtz and Spellbinders.

• Using the MFT “Gift Bag” dies, I die cut the gift bag from the Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Christmas 2023 Backdrops paper and I chose the piece that looks like old school candy sticks – you cut this piece twice.

• For the bag’s handles, I used the same die set as above and only used the handle die and Simon Says Stamp’s Luxe Glitter Cardstock in gold to cut the cardstock four times for a front and back side of each handle.

• I glued the two sides of the gift bag and the handles together Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium and set it aside to dry.

• Using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Thinlets “Big Tidings”, I cut the holly leaves and berry from some green cardstock from my stash and a scrap of Simon Says Stamp’s Rich Red Matte Metallic Cardstock, then glued those to the upper right corner of my little gift bag.

• Using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Thinlets “Chilly & Freezy – December 2022”, I cut the left facing snowman and its scarf and hat from random cardstock from the scraps bin and glued the pieces together to complete the snowman and used the Distress Collage Medium to adhere him to the right side of the gift bag. I glued a little white pearl embellishment to the end of the snowman's hat for added dimension.

• I crazily decided I wanted to create custom tissue paper so I grabbed a small piece of wrapping tissue paper and added small green and red dots in random places about the tissue using Cranberry and Green Stickles… don’t laugh.

• For the little gift tag, I used the Spellbinders “Christmas Magic” hot foil plates – I chose the “Not a Pony” plate – and hot foiled the sentiment onto a small piece of Simon Says Stamp “School House” red cardstock and die cut the tag using Spellbinders’ “Assorted Tags” cutting dies.  I adhered the tag to one of gift bag’s handles.  So cute!

• I wrapped the gift I was placing inside the bag with some of the hand-decorated tissue and cut two rectangles to pop out the front and back sides of the bag.

That wraps up another Christmas project for 2023 and it couldn’t be more cute!  Thanks so much for stopping by.  I appreciate you doing so!

Happy Making!

Christmas 2023 | Santa’s Sleigh

Hi there! Today I’m sharing the steps I followed to mass-produce my 2023 Christmas cards that I will be sending out to my friends and family.

• Cut as many pieces as necessary of black cardstock to measure 6” x 5” to create the card base front for all my cards.

• Using the Honey Bee Stamps “Snowflakes Background” stencil and Tim Holtz’s Distress Sparkle Texture Paste, I applied a thin coat of the paste through the stencil over each of the pieces of black cardstock and set aside to dry.

• Cut all the black card panels to measure 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” using the Trinity Stamps “Modern Embossed Rectangle Stack”.

• Using Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White Ink, I splattered little white specks over all my pieces of black cardstock and set them aside to dry.

• For the reindeer, I used the Rubbernecker “Flying Reindeer” die and cut the pieces from cardstock colors represented on the packaging. I used Altenew Crisp Dye Inks in Dark Chocolate for the antlers and Raw Umber for blending on the bodies. I glued all the pieces together, added a tiny drop of Nuvo Crystal Drops in Red Berry to the reindeer noses, a dot of Gelly Roll Black Glaze pen to the eyes, and set them aside to dry while I moved onto the next element.

• The sleigh was created using the Rubbernecker “Santa’s Sleigh” die set – I cut the rails and top trim from Simon Says Stamp Matte Gold cardstock and the body of the sleigh itself was cut from American Crafts red textured cardstock (it’s from the Christmas 12x12 pack). I glued the three pieces together and set aside to dry.

• The Santa and gifts were die cut using the Rubbernecker “Santa with Presents” die set -– I cut the mustache, beard, cuffs, and hat trimmings from Simon Says Stamp Snow White Pawsitively Velvet Luxury Cardstock and the rest of the elements were cut from color appropriate cardstocks from my stash. I used Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight #438 for Santa’s eyes followed by the clear Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze to make them shine. The Santas were a bit time consuming, but I absolutely love piecing die cuts together… it’s like a puzzle!

• The greeting sign was created using the Rubbernecker “Winter Sign” and the Whimsy Stamps “Slimline ATC Windows” die sets. I cut the red, brown, and white pieces from a textured cardstock pad I bought at Hobby Lobby and the snowy pieces were cut from Cardstock Warehouse’s White Diamond Glitter cardstock. For the rectangular sentiment sign, I used Tim Holtz/Ranger’s Distress Specialty Stamping Paper. I die cut all the sign shapes. For the sentiment, I chose the Season’s Greetings stamp from Simon Says Stamp’s “Cozy Christmas” stamp set and used Simon Says Stamp’s Pawsitively Saturated ink in the Cherry color.

• The snowy hills were cut using the Rubbernecker “Deckle Hills” dies. For each card’s hills, I cut a 1-1/2” piece of Cardstock Warehouse’s White Diamond Glitter cardstock and used the deckle die to cut the strip of sparkly cardstock in half which gave me perfect hills and valleys for my greenery.

• For the trees on the hills, I used the Sizzix/Tim Holtz die set called “Tall Pines” (665583) and cut it into pieces to place the trees in a couple of spots.

• Now for the assembly! I put the toy bag, Santa and the two gift packages in the sleigh and glued them in place. I glued the reindeer (except his antlers/head) onto the card front. Before gluing the reindeer’s head, I placed an 8” strand of golden string around the neck of the reindeer and placed the two ends underneath the assembled Santa’s sleigh, held it in place with a piece of tape, trimmed the excess string, then glued the sleigh to the card front.

• For the sign, I took two very small strips of brown cardstock and glued one end of the strips to the signpost and the other end to the actual sign.

• I glued one half of the snowy hill just off the bottom edge of the card front and glued my trees into place. I popped up the second half of the snowy hill onto Simon Says Stamp’s Big Momma Foam tape strips and made sure to leave a slot clear of tape for the signpost and adhered it to the card front.

• I added the assembled sign to the card using Simon Says Stamp’s thin 3D foam squares to give it some dimension. Used liquid glue to adhere the reindeer and a combination of 3D foam squares and liquid glue to adhere Santa and his sleigh since there were variations in depth depending on how much cardstock ended up in any give spot.

• Once the card fronts were all completed, I adhered them to an A2 top folding card base. Finished!

This card was probably not the most ideal for bulk producing because all the paper piecing and assembly was quite time consuming, but I'm glad I created them and love how they turned out.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you doing so! :)