2025 Holiday Card Series #3 | May This Season Bring You Peace

Hi crafty friends!  Today I am sharing a sweet Christmas card that has a special meaning in my heart… the winter cardinal.  If you’ve lost someone near and dear to you, I’m sure a lot of you feel the same way when you see a red cardinal at Christmas time.  My Gran always told me it was a sign from a passed loved one who was coming to check on us – that’s what I like to think anyway.

The supplies used:

Honey Bee Stamps – Lovely Layers: Winter Birds Die Set

     The Greetery – Botanicuts Mighty Oak Die Set

     Sizzix – Holiday Greens-Mini Die Set

     Spellbinders – Precision A2 A Layering Die Set

     Spellbinders – Crimson, Poppy Field, Phone Booth Cardstock

     Pinkfresh Studio – Holiday Greetings Sentiments Press Plates

     Copic Alcohol Markers – R89, R59, R37, R29, R14, E37, E59, G05, G46

     Sakura White 05 Gelly Roll Pen

     Spellbinders – Opaque Black Glimmer Hot Foil Roll

     Ranger/Tim Holtz – Distress Watercolor Paper

     Gina K. Designs – Black Onyx Cardstock

Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors (oatmeal-color mix I created)

     Ranger/Tim Holtz – Distress Snowfall Grit Paste

     Ranger/Tim Holtz – Distress Palette Knife

     Pinkfresh Studio – Ruby Glitter Drops Embellishments

     Simon Says Stamp – Big Momma Foam Tape

     Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

     Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil System

     Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

Creating the Card Front Background

I started the card by die cutting a piece of white watercolor paper using the second to largest die in the Spellbinders Precision Layering A2 A die set and then cut a piece of Gina K. Designs Black Onyx cardstock using the largest die in that set.  I created sort of an oatmeal-colored mixture of Mijello watercolors to give the background a simple wash to serve as a backdrop for my focal point image.  I applied the wash of watercolor paint to the watercolor paper using a ¾” Silver Black Velvet oval watercolor brush and set the panel aside to air dry.

Creating the Focal Point

For the branch/greenery, I used the Sizzix Holiday Greens – Mini die set and cut the holly branch eight time from white cardstock and the berry branch four times and glued a die cut on top of another so that all the die cuts were double stacked to give them some more heft.  I also used the branch die from The Greetery’s Botanicuts Mighty Oak die set and cut it two times from kraft cardstock and glued those one on top of the other.  Lastly, I die cut the cardinal from Honey Bee Stamps “Lovely Layers: Winter Birds out of Spellbinders Crimson, Phone Booth, and Poppy Field cardstocks; however, I did cut the base layer twice and glued it behind its counterpart for added dimension.

I added shading and color to all the die cuts using Copic alcohol markers.  The color combinations used were:

     Branch:  E37, E59

     Holly Leaves:  G05, G46

     Berry Branches:  E59, R29

     Cardinal:  R89, R59, R37, R29, R14 (white Gelly Roll pen for eye)

Next, I snipped all the little holly leaves from the four holly branches I colored and also snipped the berry stems from the berry branches and set them aside.  I took the branch diecut (from the Botanicuts Mighty Oak set) and placed it on my glass mat and began gluing all the holly leaves onto the empty branch stems.  Once those were glued into place, I began gluing the little berry branches in front of and behind the holly leaves.  I placed an acrylic block on top of the branch/leaves until dry.  While the branch was drying, I assembled and glued all the layers for the cardinal then placed a white dot on the cardinal’s eye with a Sakura 05 white Gelly Roll pen.

Building the Sentiment

Utilizing the Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foil System and Opaque Black Hot Foil Roll, I selected the Pinkfresh Studio Holiday Greetings Sentiments Press Plate set and hot foiled the “May This Season Bring You Peace” plate onto a scrap piece of the watercolor paper I used for the card’s background.  Once hot foiled, I used the coordinating die to diecut the sentiment.

Finishing the Design

To complete the card, I added thin foam tape to the back side of the watercolor panel and adhered it to the A2 size piece of black cardstock.  Next, I positioned my cardinal and holly branch where I wanted them to be on the card front.  After picking the two up together with reverse tweezers, I added small, narrow pieces of foam tape behind the holly leaves surrounding the cardinal.  I added Bearly Art Precision Glue to the back side of the cardinal and adhered both the branch of holly and the cardinal at the same time.  I added foam squares to the back side of the sentiment and adhered it to the upper left of the card front.  Lastly, I added Ranger/Tim Holtz’s Distress Snowfall Grit Paste with a palette knife along the top side of the branch and on a majority of the holly leaves – just a tad here and there to give it a frosty, wintery look.

For the last touch, I added a few Pinkfresh Studio Ruby Glitter Drops embellishments over all the berries and adhered the card front to an A2 size card base.  Another holiday card completed for the 2025 season!

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

Day 12 | Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween

Hi crafty friends!  I’m back to share my creation for Day 12 from the 2025 Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween kit. 

The supplies used were:

Spellbinders – 13 Days of Craftoween Box Kit, Day 12 Dies

    Spellbinders – Friendship Lace BetterPress Plates

    Spellbinders – Precision Layering A2 B Die Set

    Spellbinders – Precision Layering A2 A Die Set

    Hero Arts – Nested Circle Infinity Dies

    Spellbinders - Antique Matte Metallic Treasured Cardstock

    Spellbinders – Brushed Black Cardstock

    Spellbinders – Carrot Essentials Cardstock

    Gina K. Designs – Onyx Black Cardstock

    My Favorite Things – Limelight Cardstock

    Altenew – Forest Canopy Glitter Cardstock Set

    Thin Vellum from Amazon

Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foiling System

Spellbinders - Opaque Black Glimmer Foil

    Sakura Moonlight Gelly Roll Pen #405P

    Sakura Black Glaze Pen #849

    Simon Says Stamp Black Foam Squares

    Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

    Misti Original Stamp Positioning Tool

    Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

I began today’s card by doing some hot foiling.  I used the Spellbinders Opaque Black Glimmer Foil and the Spellbinders “Friendship Lace BetterPress Plates” to hot foil the large press plate from this set onto a piece of My Favorite Things Limelight cardstock.  Then I used the largest die from both the Spellbinders “Precision Layering A2 A” and “Precision Layering A2 B” die sets to cut out my hot foiled panel and well as the Brushed Black matting layer for my card front.

Now for the Day 11 die set – I die cut each of the elements from the following cardstock and glued them together after die cutting was completed:

    Cauldron Base:  Spellbinders Brushed Black Cardstock

         (Sakura Black Glaze added to highlight area on cauldron)

    Cauldron Rim and Handles:  Gina K. Designs Onyx Black Cardstock

    Skull and Bone:  Spellbinders Antique Matte Metallic Treasured Cardstock

    Witches Boots, Sock Stripes, and Skull Base:  Gina K. Designs Onyx Black Cardstock

    Cauldron Bubbles:  Altenew Peridot, Jadeite, & Titanite Glitter Cardstocks

    Witch Socks:  Spellbinders Carrot Cardstock

    Straw:  Scrap purple from my stash (stripes added using Moonlight Gelly Roll #405P)

The cauldron base, witch’s boots, and socks were each cut three additional times from regular black cardstock to add dimension to the focal point that will be adhered to a circle of vellum in my next step.  I glued two of the additional die cuts to the back side of the cauldron and set the other extra die cuts aside for now.

Using the fourth largest circle from the Hero Arts “Nested Circle Infinity Dies”, I die cut a piece of thin vellum that I purchased years ago from Amazon.  This vellum circle will be a landing point for the cauldron on the card front.  I positioned the vellum circle over the opening in the background that was foiled onto the Limelight cardstock and once the correct position was found, I glued the cauldron to the front and trimmed the excess vellum off the right side of the card front. I also glued those last three black diecuts (cauldron base, socks and witch boots) to the reverse side of the vellum and lined them up with their coordinating piece from the front side of the vellum - this is being done to make it easier to hide the glue on the vellum.   Next, I glued the cauldron/vellum focal point to the card front and then glued the card front to the Brushed Black card front matting panel.

For the sentiment, I used one that I had created in an earlier cardmaking session from the Spellbinders “Halloween Icons” press plate set.  I added a few strips of scrap black cardstock to the back side to give it dimension and adhered it to the card front.  To finish the card, I added few green gems that I’ve had in my stash for about a decade (and glad I’ve kept them all these years!).

That completes today’s card!  Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this Day 12 card showcasing the dies from the Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween boxed kit and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  One more day to go!!

Until next time… happy making!

Day 9 | Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween

Hi friends!  I’m back to share my creation for Day 9 from the 2025 Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween kit. 

The supplies used were:

Spellbinders – 13 Days of Craftoween Box Kit, Day 9 Dies

Reverse Confetti – Double Stitch Window Cover Die

    Spellbinders – Haunted House Die Set

    Spellbinders – All Seasons Autumn Press Plate & Die Set

    Spellbinders – Carrot Cardstock

    Scrapbook.com – Rainbow Glossy Cardstock (Black)

    Scrapbook.com – Rainbow Glossy Cardstock (White)

    My Favorite Things – Boysenberry Cardstock

    Spellbinders – Lilac Cardstock

    Spellbinders – Opaque White Glimmer Foil

    Ranger/Tim Holtz – Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain Cardstock

    Ranger/Tim Holtz – Villainous Potion Distress Ink

    Ranger/Tim Holtz – Crackling Campfire Distress Ink

    Ranger/Tim Holtz – Wilted Violet Distress Ink

    Ranger/Simon Hurley – Golden Hour Solar Spray

    Winsor & Newton Designers White Gouache

    Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue

Spellbinders Glimmer Hot Foiling System

    Misti Original Stamp Positioning Tool

    Anna Griffin Empress Die Cutting Machine

I started today’s card by die cutting and assembling the individual pieces for the Day 9 trick-or-treat monster.  The type and colors of cardstock for each of the pieces were:

     Wings, Horns, Tail, Pitch Fork Die:  Scrapbook.com Black Glossy Cardstock

    Teeth & Eye Die:  Scrapbook.com White Glossy Cardstock

    Pumpkin Pail Die:  Spellbinders Carrot Cardstock

    Pail Handle, Eye Center, Pail Base:  Scrapbook.com Black Glossy Cardstock

    Monster Body Die:  My Favorite Things Boysenberry Cardstock

I used Villainous Potion Distress Ink to shade around the edges of the monster’s body and Crackling Campfire Distress Ink to shade around the pumpkin pail.

For my card front, I die cut a piece of Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain Cardstock using the Reverse Confetti “Double Stitch Window” cover die.  I cut a piece of Spellbinders Lilac (you could have just used white) cardstock to measure 4” x 4” and I ink blended the panel from top to bottom using Distress Inks in the colors Villainous Potion and Wilted Violet.  I placed the ink blended panel in my splat box and splattered Ranger’s Golden Hour Solar Spray and white gouache all over the panel to create a night sky.  Once the panel was dry, I adhered it to the back side of my black woodgrain card front so that the inky scene was visible and centered through the aperture.

Using the Spellbinders “Haunted House” die set, I die cut the moon, clouds, bats, and ghosts from scrap cardstock in my stash to build the scene for my night sky panel.  I did use a scrap of iridescent vellum that already have double sided adhesive applied to the back for the two little ghosts. Next, I added black foam squares to the back side of the monster and glued all the night sky scene pieces to the ink blended sky. 

For the sentiment, I used Spellbinders “All Seasons Autumn” Press Plate and Die Set, Spellbinders Opaque White Glimmer Foil, and the Glimmer Hot Foil System to hot foil the sentiments (which are all on one plate) onto a piece of black cardstock.  I die cut them using the all-in-one coordinating die from the set and chose to use the “trick or treat” sentiment for this card and glued it to the lower front of the card. 

That completes today’s card!  Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this Day 9 card showcasing the dies from the Spellbinders 13 Days of Craftoween boxed kit and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects! 

Until next time… happy making!