Tag Archives: Christmas Card

Spruced Up

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Stampin Up Spruced Up

We just returned from traveling to Northern New York to spend a few days with my eldest son, David and his family to celebrate Madison’s first birthday.  Madison is our 6th grandchild!  I know I say this all the time, but time sure flies.  It just doesn’t seem like a year since she was born.  Her birthday is actually today but David works every other weekend so we wanted to go when he was available to spend some time with us too.  The weather was amazingly warm.  We were expecting it to be in the 40s but it was actually in the ’70s all weekend.  It was nice to be able to spend some time outside.  I’ll post some photos below.

I decided it was time to start making some Christmas cards because the way time is flying, it will be here soon!  I used a bundle in the July – December Mini Catalog called Spruced Up.  Yes, both the stamp set and the dies have the same name making it so much easier to remember.  I wanted to use non-traditional colors so I used some of the 2021-2023 InColors (Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide and Parakeet Party).

To make this card I first stamped the trees in Parakeet Party ink and cut them out using the coordinating dies.  The fun thing about these dies is they cut out the trees but they also cut out a border outlining the trees.  I stamped the presents in Tahitian Tide ink and cut them out too.  I used the Stitched Rectangles dies in Tahitian Tide, Parakeet Party and 2021-2023 InColor Glimmer Paper.  This glimmer paper comes in all five InColors and the colors graduate from lighter to darker.  It is very pretty in person.  I layered everything on a Sweet Sorbet card stock.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in Sweet Sorbet ink

Here are some photos of Madison and Oliva from this past weekend.

Happy birthday, sweet Madison.

Sweet Sorbet
Tahitian Tide
Parakeet Party

Product List

Spruced Up Bundle (English)

$45.00

Stitched Rectangles Dies

$35.00

2022–2024 In Color 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Glimmer Paper

$12.00
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Mountain Air

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My eldest sister, Katherine, asked me to make her some Christmas cards for her to send to some friends. She lives in Vermont and loves nature and winter so designed this card for her.

To make it I first took some Whisper White ink and a Blending Brush and made the “snow” along the bottom of a piece of Crumb Cake card stock. Then I stamp the moon using the stamp set called Mountain Air. I dried the ink using my Heat Tool and then did both things a couple of more times to make the ink more opaque. After it was dry I stamped the trees randomly in Mossy Meadow and Old Olive ink. The sentiment is from a retired stamp set called Christmas Pines. I chose this sentiment because it has a special meaning to my sister. The last thing I did was put the snowflakes around using a white gel pen. I layered the stamped piece on a larger piece of Mossy Meadow card stock and a Crumb Cake card base.

I was reaching into my drawer of envelopes to pull some out for her when I saw some retired Crumb Cake (or maybe Kraft) envelopes that went well with this card. I added a piece of Beauty Of The Earth Designer Series Paper to the inside of the envelope which matched the card perfectly.

Product List
Mountain Air Photopolymer Stamp Set
[151610]
$20.00
Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill
[147277]
$9.50

Embossing With A Decorative Mask

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Stampin Up Poinsettia Petals

Hello everyone.  Here is a fun card I made using one of the Stampin’ Up!® Decorative Masks from the set called Adorning Designs.  It is the snowflake one from this pack and it is in the 2021 July – December Mini Catalog (also known as the Holiday Catalog).  It is another fun way to use your Decorative Masks.

To make this card you need to have an Impressions Mat.  Right now Stampin’ Up!® does not have one available but hopefully one will be soon.  I had one from my old Big Shot so I used that. I first cut out a piece of Gold Foil using a die from the Stitched Rectangle dies.  It is better to cut it before you emboss it so it does not flatten the design when running it through.   The sandwich I used in my Cut & Emboss machine to emboss it is as follows:  the main base plate>#3 plate>impressions mat>Gold Foil shiny side up> Decorative Mask and #4 plate.  You can use regular card stock too with the same sandwich.  It left a beautiful snowflake impression on my Gold Foil and turns your Decorative Mask into  an embossing folder.  I love it!

After running the Gold Foil through my Cut ‘N Emboss machine I adhered it to a Basic White card base using Multipurpose Glue.  I cut the Poinsettia flowers out using the Poinsettia Dies in Basic White card stock and the center of the flower in Gold Foil.  After I glued them together, I bent the petals up to make it more 3D.  I stamped the sentiment (from a retired stamp set called Four The Holidays) in Versamark and heat embossed it with Gold Embossing powder.

It looks beautiful in the photograph but even prettier in person.  I think it would look beautiful using Shimmer card stock too.  You could do this technique with any Decorative Masks.

Product List

Adorning Designs Decorative Masks

$8.00

Poinsettia Dies

$36.00

Gold Foil Sheets

$5.00

Metallics Embossing Powders

$18.00

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

$120.00

Designer Series Paper

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Hello everyone!  Today is another Stamp Off Challenge with Buffy, Jackie and me. This time our challenge was to use Designer Series Paper.  If you read my blog you will know that I have been trying to use DSP more often.  It is so hard to cut that large 12″ x 12″ piece because it is so pretty but it really is meant to use so I have been trying harder to cut it up.

Stampin Up Designer Series Paper

The other day when I was looking ahead at our challenges, Splitcoast Stampers sent me their weekly email showing a new technique called Disappearing Nine Patch Card.  Now, honestly I have no idea why they called this technique that.  I assuming it is because you started with nine squares of DSP and cut them up.  In any case, I decided to go with that technique.  I did change it up a bit and used 12 squares but it is basically the same.

To make my version of this card I cut twenty, one inch squares from the Tidings Of Christmas Designer Series Paper Pack and layered them on a piece 4″ x 5″ piece of an Adhesive Sheet.  Then I cut that up into 3 vertical pieces and then 4 horizontal pieces.  I randomly layered these onto a piece of scrap card stock using Multipurpose Glue.  You can’t see the scrap card stock so it really does not matter what color you use.  Then I layered that onto a piece of Soft Succulent card stock and onto a Evening Evergreen card base.

I decided since the background was so colorful and busy that I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple.  I stamped the sentiment from Poinsettia Petals using Evening Evergreen ink onto a piece of Basic White card stock.  I cut it out using the Stitched Stars die set.  I layered that onto a larger star I had cut out using Real Red cardstock using Dimensionals.

Now, let’s go see what Jackie and Buffy made using their Designer Series Paper.

Product List

Poinsettia Petals Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

$27.00

Stitched Stars Dies

$38.00

Tidings Of Christmas 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

$11.50

Adhesive Sheets

$10.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

 

Christmas Pinecone Dies

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Stampin Up Christmas Pinecone Dies

Stampin’ Up!® is offering this amazing Christmas Suite in the 2021 July – September Mini Catalog called Painted Christmas.  This suite offers two stamp sets, two sets of dies, Designer Series Paper, ribbon and Gold Holly Leaves.  You can mix and match the stamp sets and dies so it is like getting a ton of products the coordinate to use for your Christmas cards.

I used a set of dies in the Painted Christmas Suite called Christmas Pinecone Dies on my card.  This set includes two large dies which cut out the evergreen on my card and six pinecone dies which are two step dies.  This means you use two or more dies to make an image (in this case a pinecone).

The first thing I did was cut out the two background dies in Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen card stock.  I layered these together using Adhesive Sheets.  Adhesive Sheets are great for putting adhesive on the back of intricate die cuts.  You just peel off one side of the Adhesive Sheet and put it on the back of a piece of card stock.  Then run it through your Cut & Emboss Machine with a die.  Then all you need to do is peel off the back piece of the Adhesive Sheet and stick it on your card.  It works great!

Then I cut out the pinecones using Crumb Cake and Early Espresso card stock and layered them together.  I cut out the berries in Cherry Cobbler card stock.  The berries are from the other die set in the Painted Christmas Suite called Seasonal Labels Dies.  The greeting is from the stamp set called Merry Snowflakes.  I stamped it in Evening Evergreen ink and cut it out using a die from the Seasonal Labels set.

Product List

Painted Christmas Suite Collection (English)

$141.25

Christmas Pinecone Dies

$45.00

Seasonal Labels Dies

$38.00

Merry Snowflakes Cling Stamp Set (English)

$21.00

Adhesive Sheets

$10.00

Whimsical Trees Sneak Peek

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Stampin Up Whimsical Trees

This is a sneak peek of a new Suite that that is in the 2022 July – December Mini Catalog called Whimsy & Wonder.  This suite includes the stamp set called Whimsical Trees, coordinating dies called Christmas Trees (and you can save10% by purchasing them in a bundle), Blushing Bridge 3/8″ Frayed Grosgrain Ribbon, Wonderful Snowflakes (which are iridescent) and Whimsy & Wonder Designer Series Paper.  I loved this Suite as soon as I saw it and knew it would be on my list.  This catalog will be available to order from beginning August 2nd to all customers. As a Demonstrator I was able to purchase it early (a great perk of becoming a demonstrator).

I used another new product in the Mini Catalog called Peaceful Place Specialty Designer Series Paper.  This paper is Basic Black, Basic Gray, Smoky Slate and Basic White and is really beautiful in person.  I used this paper to make a night scene on my card.  On a side note, after I made this card my husband, Rob saw it and said “I hate that card!”.  I asked him why and he said it was dark, depressing and asked me if I was going Goth!  I said it is a night scene! There are shiny silver stars in the background!  He liked it better after that <insert eye roll>.  Here is a close up of the silver starry background.  It does sparkle win the light.

To make this card I first cut out the background piece from the Peaceful Place Specialty Designer Series Paper and then the trees using the Christmas Trees Dies.  Then I cut out the ribbon and the stars using another sneak peek called Silver Foil Specialty Paper.  This paper comes in three different “colors”.  There is a bright shiny silver that I used, a matte finish silver and a brushed finished silver. I layered all of those together onto a 4″ x 5.25″ piece of Basic Gray card stock and a Smoky Slate card base.

Lastly I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set called Poinsettia Petals in Versamark and then heat embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder.  I adhered that using Stampin Dimensionals.

So what do you think?  Pretty or dark and depressing?  Let me know in the comments.  By the way, I can not link and of these new products below because they are not available to the public yet.

Product List

Poinsettia Petals Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

$27.00

Versamark Pad

$9.50

Metallics Embossing Powders

$18.00

Poinsettia Petals

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Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you are having an amazing holiday or just an amazing day.  It is time for another Stamp Off Challenge with Jackie, Buffy and me.  This time our challenge was Christmas so I decided to post one of this year’s Christmas cards.  I posted the other one last Wednesday.

Stampin Up Poinsettia Petals

The other favorite bundle of mine in the August – December Mini Catalog is part of the Poinsettia Place Suite.  The stamp set is called Poinsettia Petals and the coordinating dies are called Poinsettia.  The suite also has Designer Series Paper, ribbon, beautiful Beaded Pearls and Plush Poinsettia Specialty Paper.  The stamp set and the dies will be carrying over but if you purchase this bundle before January 4th you can get a 10% discount.  After that the discount goes away.

One of the reasons I love this bundle is that the dies cut out three different flower sizes that layer on each other to form the flower but there is also a die that embosses the petals at the same time.  I found out that the best way to do this is to actually use a piece of Washi Tape to join the die that cuts the outside of the petal and the die that embosses together so both steps are done at once.  I made 30 of these cards.  I had to run each layer through my Cut & Emboss Machine 30 times so if I had not joined them together with tape, I would have had to run them throw 60 times.   That is a lot so it worked great taping them together.  The leaves of the Poinsettia are also made up of two dies so I taped them together too in order to save a step.

To make this card I first cut out all the Poinsettias and then glued them together by just putting a dot of glue in the middle.  I wanted the flowers to curve and bend so it would look 3D so I didn’t want to put glue on the entire flower.  Then I cut out the center piece in Old Olive cardstock and adhered that to the center.  I cut out the leaves in Old Olive too and glued them underneath the flower.

After I made all the flowers and leaves, I used a die from the Curvy Dies to cut the piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock out.  I love those Curvy Dies because they add such interest to a card!  Then I adhered everything to a  Whisper White card base.  If you recall a couple of weeks ago, I told you how I lost my Merry Christmas stamp that is in the Poinsettia Petals stamp set.  I am hoping it is at the cottage but I won’t be back there until May to find out so I had to use a retired Merry Christmas stamp.

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope you all stay healthy and happy this year.  2021 has to be better, right?

Now let’s go see what Buffy & Jackie made for this challenge.  I know their creations will be beautiful!

Here is a side view photo so you can see the dimension of the flowers better.  They probably got smushed in the mail but this is how they are supposed to look.

Stampin Up Poinsettia Petals

 

Product List

Poinsettia Petals Bundle (English)

$56.50

Quite Curvy Bundle (English)

$41.25

Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine

$120.00

Stitched Triangles

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Stampin Up Stitched Triangles

I am in love with all the stitched dies Stampin’ Up!® is offering now.  There are circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, stars, labels and more.  One of my favorite new die sets are the Stitched Triangles.  These dies go with the stamp set called The Right Triangle.  I didn’t use the stamp set but it is adorable too!  If you buy the stamps and the dies together in a bundle you can save 10%.

To make this card I first cut out all the stitched triangles using the Heartwarming Hug Designer Series Paper.  I cut out the tree stems in Early Espresso cardstock by hand.  I adhered them to a card base of Whisper White using Stampin’ Seal tape and Dimensionals so the little trees in the front popped up a bit.  I added the BumbleBee star from the die set called Stitched stars.  The sentiment is from Poinsettia Petals.  If you remember from the other day, I lost this stamp but I know I had it at some point because I used it to make this card.  Sigh. 

 

Product List

The Right Triangle Bundle

$46.75

Poinsettia Petals Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

$27.00

Stitched Stars Dies

$38.00

Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series Paper

$11.50

Perfectly Plaid & Christmas Layers

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Perfectly Plaid is one of the stamp sets that is in the 2019 Holiday Catalog that is carrying over and I could not be happier.  This is such a fun, light hearted Christmas set and it has a matching punch called Pine Tree Punch.  Although it is carrying over into the next catalog, you will not be able to purchase it for 10% after January 3rd so if you love this set, you should buy it before the end of the Holiday Catalog sales period.

The colors I used on this card are Cherry Cobbler, Call Me Clover and Whisper White.  The first thing I did to make it was to use the Christmas Layers Dies and cut 4 or 5 of the snowflakes out of Whisper White cardstock.  I layered these onto of a piece of Whisper White cardstock.  You can see a close up of it below.

Then I stamped the tree and the sentiment in Call Me Clover Ink.  I punched the tree out using the Pine Tree Punch and the sentiment using the Stitched Nested Labels Dies.  I wrapped a piece of the Cherry Cobbler 3/8″ Diagonal Striped Ribbon (also in the Holiday Catalog but is retiring on January 3rd) around a piece of Call Me Clover cardstock and then layered everything together.  I felt it needed something more so I took 3 of the Epoxy Clear Droplets and colored them using my Dark Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Blends.  Stampin’ Blends are great for coloring just about anything and the ink stays on and doesn’t rub off.

I have to say, I have had the honor to take care of my youngest grand daughter, Olivia once a week.  It has been so much fun to take care of a baby again.  Olivia is 6 months old and whenever you look at her, she smiles.  It is the sweetest smile!

Isn’t she just beautiful?!?

Product List

Perfectly Plaid Bundle (En)

Christmas Layers Dies

Stitched Nested Labels Dies

Cherry Cobbler 3/8" (1 Cm) Diagonal Stripe Ribbon

Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets

Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack

So Many Stars

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This is one of the cards we made at our monthly stamp class.  Lynette, who is a member of the class sends me ideas of cards and projects she wants to make.  It is great help to me.  Sometimes it is hard to come up with ideas for this class.  Most of the ladies have been with me for almost 12 years so I am constantly looking for ideas.  Anyway, Lynette sent me a picture of a card that is similar to this one but I don’t know who actually made it or I would give credit to them.  I did change it up a bit but the basic design was someone else’s.

To make this card I first cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock 4.25″ x 11″ and folded it in half.  Then I cut 1 1/4″ off the bottom of one side.  I wanted to use the gorgeous Designer Series Paper called Feels Like Frost but the class has too many ladies in it and I would have had to purchase four packs for everyone to have a matching piece so I used retired DSP that is similar to Feels Like Frost.  I layered this paper over a piece of Silver Foil Paper and attached it to the card base.  All the foil sheets that Stampin’ Up!® offers are so beautiful.  The also have copper, gold and champagne (a really soft gold).  I find it is better to use Multipurpose glue when using the foil sheets.

I cut the stars out using the Stitched Stars dies (shhhh these dies are carrying over into the next mini catalog Yay!) in Silver Foil and Whisper White and then layered them on top of the Designer Series Paper.  I stamped the sentiment from So Many Stars in Versamark and embossed it using Silver Embossing Powder.  You can save 10% if you purchase the So Many Stars stamp set with the Stitched Stars in a Bundle.

The card came out super shiny which is perfect for Christmas.

Product List

So Many Stars Bundle (En)

Feels Like Frost Specialty 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper

Silver Foil Sheets

Versamark Pad

Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)