Category Archives: Cards

A Christmas Poem For Stampers!

Can any of us relate to this poem?? I knew there were some stamping poems out there, from many years ago, and after searching I found this one in a forum from 2005! I don’t think the Demonstrator knew where it came from, it was shared with her from others, so I have no idea who came up with it, but they knew what they were talking about! I can think of one dear stamping friend in particular, but I think it applies to most of us! (Except for those people who had their cards done last summer! But what fun is that?!)

Enjoy! And have a Happy Christmas Eve!

The Week Before Christmas (In a Stamper’s House)

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and the house was a hush
Save the stamping of rubber in a last minute rush.
The cardstock was cut with precision and care
In hopes that a greeting would soon be stamped there.

The children were tucked in their beds around eight,
But now it’s ten-thirty… How’d it get so late?
And I in my PJs with bleary red eyes
Had finally arranged all the stamping supplies.

It started out simple. (It does every year.)
Just make a few cards for friends who are dear.
I pressed ink to paper. (It looked crisp and clean.)
A sprinkle of powder, heat to a sheen.

When what on my green Christmas card should appear?
Why, a tiny gold Santa with sleigh and reindeer.
On pigment! On powder! On heat from a gun!
Now ribbon and glitter! Can I make eighty-one?

“I can do it!” I said with all of my might
And looked at the clock – ’twas well past midnight.
I went straight to stamping out card after card.
“This might take all night, but at least it’s not hard.”

But after I finished, they looked a bit lame.
I didn’t want fancy, but these were too plain.
And then in a twinkling, a thought came to mind.
“I’ll just dress them up, and then they’ll be fine.”

So I went to my craft room and looked all around,
Then back to the table with all that I’d found.
My Fiskars I brandished (I wasn’t a quitter),
And soon I was covered in EP and glitter.

The cap of a marker I held in my teeth.
I’d lay in some color or maybe gold leaf.
My broad little face was all beaded with sweat,
But I wouldn’t give up – well, not at least yet.

There was glue on the table and ink on the floor.
I laughed at the sight though my fingers were sore.
I did not complain, just kept up my work.
When more things went wrong, I did not go berserk.

When finally finished, one card about six,
It looked pretty good after all of my tricks.
I’m keeping this one. My work on it shows.”
So clutching my card, up the stairs I arose.

I crawled into bed at the crack of dawn,
Creativity all spent, motivation all gone.
But make no mistake, I promise one thing:
You’ll all get your cards, but not ’til next spring!

–Author Unknown

Brightly Gleaming Square Christmas Cards

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We’re down to the wire but you may still need some easy Christmas cards to make to put with a gift (or even mail late!) so take a look at these Brightly Gleaming Square Christmas Cards that you can make!

You can make square cards any size you like. I made these 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ by just cutting across a full sheet of cardstock horizontally at 4 1/4″. Since the paper is 8 1/2″ wide, when you fold it in half you have 4 1/4″ so that works out perfectly! You could also do 3″ x 3″ for a gift enclosure. Just trim your paper at 3″ x 6″.

You can make it super simple and just add a layer of designer paper, but I added some Copper Foil behind the designer paper on two of the cards. The first card has a base of Mossy Meadow Cardstock, then foil under the Mossy Meadow pattern of the paper, all just regular margins like we make on our cards.

The card on the right has a card base of Pretty Peacock Cardstock. When I went to make the foil layer underneath the Pretty Peacock pattern, all I had were scraps of the Copper Foil so I just cut two strips of foil and put them on two sides of the designer paper. It looks like I designed the card that way, not that I ran out of paper!

For the middle card, I used a card base of Very Vanilla with a layer of Night of Navy underneath the designer paper.

Each card just has a stamped greeting that is die-cut and then layered on another die-cut. You could use punches or simply cut squares or rectangles for the greetings and layers. I won’t even list the dies I used, just use what you have!

These cards I made are difficult to photograph because of the pretty foil accents on the Brightly Gleaming Specialty Designer Series Paper. This paper is, as I write this, on the Giant Year-End Closeout sale, discounted 50%! It’s very pretty so you might want to grab some if it is still available.

Square cards are quite the thing these days. The only thing is that if you mail a square card in a square envelope you are supposed to pay a surcharge. But these square cards will fit in our regular Medium Envelopes so no worries. But if you are just enclosing one with a gift or handing one to someone, you can use or make a square envelope with no issues.

These cards with just a card base, layer, and greeting are simple to make. Change up the designer paper or colors and greetings and you can make a card for a birthday or congratulations or whatever you need. Remember to check out this pretty paper in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store. It is well-worth 50% off for sure! If you need last-minute cards, try these Brightly Gleaming Square Christmas Cards!

Don’t Forget! Giant Closeout & Clearance!

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As we are busy getting ready for Christmas this week, take a moment to breathe and relax by looking online at the Stampin’ Up! Giant Year-End Closeout! Remember, the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog (Holiday Catalog) is retiring January 4th. Some products will carry over to future catalogs, but a lot is leaving.

I hate to see the end of the Holiday Catalog, yet by the time the holidays are over, I am ready for the fresh, new things in the next catalog! The January -June 2021 Mini Catalog (Spring Mini) will go live January 5th as well as Sale-A-Bration! If you are a regular customer of mine, you probably have received (or will receive soon) both the Spring Mini Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. Be sure to watch your holiday mail! I know some customers have received theirs but with the mail so unpredictable these days, yours may still be on its way! (Or the mail person is enjoying reading it before giving it to you!!)

Also, the Clearance Rack was “refreshed” not long ago but there are only a few products left! Be sure to check it out. You might find a bargain or two that you “need”!

I hope you are closer to “done” with your Christmas preparations than I am! I’m still doing my cards, believe it or not. It’s my favorite thing to do but it always get saved until last and then it’s a rush. Sending my Christmas cards always reminds me of my mother. She always had her Christmas card register booklet with everyone’s addresses and would write notes inside in her pretty handwriting and address all the envelopes. We had typewriters and return address labels (I think) but no computers to write a Christmas letter. I remember when the mailman would make two trips in a day to deliver Christmas cards! Now that was the “good old days!”

Don’t miss out on the bargains that are available now. Maybe you need a Christmas present for yourself (although you know it won’t arrive until after Christmas!). I’m probably going to pick up something I want this afternoon just because! Take care of yourself, too!

Happy Holidays!

Wrap Gifts With Designer Paper

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If you happen to run out of wrapping paper as you wrap your Christmas gifts, or gifts any time of year, consider this idea: Wrap Gifts With Designer Paper!

This is a gift for my son and this particular pattern of paper in the Toile Tidings Designer Series Paper I thought would be a fun one for him since he sees some of these animals when he is out hiking where he lives. This paper was in the Holiday Mini Catalog LAST year but surprisingly was carried over to this year. Right now it is discounted on the Year-End Closeout by Stampin’ Up! so it really is a good deal. There is even some “official” Toile Tidings wrapping paper discounted over 50% off on the Clearance Rack right now.

I did not make a box, I just adhered this paper on to the box the gift is packed in. He’s going to have to rip the paper off to get inside the box! I only had one full sheet of this animal paper and another partial sheet so I had to piece it together somewhat. The top is not really a lid, it is another sheet of paper with the checked design folded over the top and that is also just adhered to the box, not really a lift-off lid. I used the Stampin’ Seal+ adhesive for a good strong bond.

The reason I am posting this gift-wrapping idea is to give you a reason to use up your designer paper (maybe especially retired paper that we all hoard!), maybe look for some paper that makes the gift more personalized, and keep you from rushing out to the store for more wrapping paper! You can use some of your old ribbon (or new!) as well.

Now yesterday at the same time I was getting ready to wrap this package, Sara Douglass, Stampin’ Up! CEO was going live on Facebook showing an easy way to make designer paper gift boxes with NO CUTTING! I felt like we were both a little bit on the same wavelength! I just sort of tried her method when I made the lid of my box, although, as I said, it’s not a lid that lifts off, it is glued down. But I did the corners as she did!

Here is the link to Sara’s video on Facebook (if it works!). Don’t forget other gift-wrapping ideas you can use rather than spending a lot of money on wrapping paper or rather than running out to the store.

Use designer paper or cardstock to make small gift bags.
Use designer paper or cardstock to make small gift boxes.
Use gift bags you already have from shopping and decorate the front right over the store printing.
Stamp on plain white computer paper or cardstock to make your own designer paper to wrap a gift.
Decorate kraft or white lunch sacks you may have in your pantry to hold a gift.
Stamp on or use brown packing paper you might receive in shipped gifts and then embellish the package with Stampin’ Up! ribbon and embellishments.
Make your own gift tags with kits, punches, or die-cut squares, rectangles or circles.

Those are just a few ideas I hope you will find helpful as we all get pressed for time! I think we all have designer paper that we can spare for wrapping gifts that will make a high quality gift presentation! Keep that idea in mind of wrapping gifts with designer paper whether for Christmas now or future occasions!

Sign Up For the Paper Pumpkin Sending Hearts Kit

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Love is in the air! Send a little love to someone special with the Sending Hearts Paper Pumpkin Kit. From heaps of heart-shaped elements to paper pieces in red and pink, this month’s kit has everything you need to create eight adorable cards—with coordinating envelopes—for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and every celebration of love in between!

With the add-on to January’s sweet and sentimental kit, there’s even more love to share! The add-on—called Little Love Boxes—includes 20 tiny, printed boxes and 24 die-cut, heart-shelled snails and sentiment labels. When combined with the remaining components from the Sending Hearts kit, you can create treat packaging, additional cards, and so much more!

Who doesn’t love making Valentines and sending them? I think Valentine’s Day takes us back to our childhood, to elementary school, when we would decorate shoeboxes or lunch sacks in which to receive our valentines from our classmates!

Sign up time is open now for the January 2021 Paper Pumpkin Kit, Sending Hearts! Sign up now or reactivate your account so you will receive this kit mid-January!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!

Forever Fern Christmas Card

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This Forever Fern Stamp Set is so beautiful, more beautiful than you can really imagine until you stamp with it, so I wondered if I could make it into a Christmas card. Another stamper online had wondered the same thing and came up with a card that I copied as far as the layers she used.

The card base for this card is Mossy Meadow, one of the coordinating colors for the Heartwarming Hugs Designer Series Paper that I used for one of the layers. I think this paper is so pretty and so Christmas-y but the patterns can also be used as generic patterns on non-holiday cards.

Over Mossy Meadow is a thin layer of Whisper White to help the designer paper stand out. The front layer of the card is layered on Gold Foil to add some pizzazz to this happy Christmas card.

On the front layer, I stamped the larger ferns in Mossy Meadow Ink in the Forever Fern Stamp Set on the card, with the stems being hidden underneath the greeting, otherwise, those large ferns would not fit very well. Then I stamped some smaller ferns in Old Olive Ink and the berries in Real Red Ink and die cut them with the Forever Flourishing Dies. If you are stamping and die-cutting several images, I think it’s a good idea to stamp a couple extras as long as you are stamping, so in case your die slips or doesn’t come out right, maybe you will then have an extra die-cut to use, or you can save the extra one if they all come out fine.

The greeting is stamped in Real Red Ink and die cut with one of the Ornate Frames Dies. It is popped up on three Mini Dimensionals so I could get it placed in the center but so there was space to slip wonder the die-cut ferns and berries under the greeting. Some of those I popped up on regular-size Dimensionals and some I adhered flat on the card. I resisted the urge to use some Real Red Rhinestones for some bling!

The way these Forever Fern Stamps are designed, the images come out rich and beautiful looking. “This is a Distinktive** stamp set; it has a special texture that gives added depth and dimension in a single step, creating photo-realistic images. **Patent pending” When you first use this type of stamp, you may think it didn’t pick up the ink properly, but that is the way it is designed and as you look at it, you will see the texture and the beauty of the stamping.

If you want to make a card like this Forever Fern Christmas Card, you can make it simpler if you just use basic layers and not these multiple ones. Anything you make with this Forever Fern Stamp Set and dies in the Forever Fern Bundle will be a beautiful card!

Astounding News About Whisper White!

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We got this astounding update yesterday from Stampin’ Up! Read about the change from our beloved Whisper White!

“Whisper White has been a Stampin’ Up! staple for so long. We love it and we know you love it, too. We are sad to announce that the supplier’s mill producing our Whisper White cardstock has permanently closed due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, we weren’t given much notice on this closure. This means that the technology unique to this particular supplier is now unavailable to us and we can no longer offer our Whisper White cardstock and related products, such as Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes. Please note that this won’t affect any of our other cardstocks, this only affects Whisper White.

We know Whisper White has a huge fan base; we’re big fans, too! And we are crushed that it’s going away. Even though this decision was out of our hands, rest assured that we jumped right into action to find the best replacement paper possible. We have dedicated many hours to source and test alternative cardstock options from several suppliers to find the perfect fit that still maintains the Stampin’ Up! quality you know and trust. We are happy to share that we have found a winner for our new cardstock, Basic White!

The quality of our new Basic White was thoroughly tested by our quality assurance and product teams. It also tested very well with demonstrators and concept artists who gave it a huge thumbs up. We believe in the quality of the new Basic White cardstock and we know it will become your new crafting staple!

With Whisper White going out of production, this means a number of Whisper White products will be affected. Below is a list of all products that will be replaced with our new Basic White cardstock. These items are now available while supplies last with an order limit of 2 per item per order.

Whisper White 12″ x 12″ (30.5 x 30.5 cm) Cardstock (124302)
Assorted Memories & More Cards & Envelopes (149710)
Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes (131527)
Whisper White 3″ x 3″ (7.6 x 7.6 cm) Envelopes (145829)
Whisper White 8-1/2″ x 11″ Cardstock (100730)
Whisper White 8-1/2″ x 11″ Thick Cardstock (140272)
Whisper White Medium Envelopes (107301)

Our new Basic White products will become available to purchase as soon as we have them in stock. This means that some Whisper White and Basic White products may be available at the same time. Additionally, due to the nature of sourcing, some Basic White products may not be available before the Whisper White products sell out. Please know that we are working on getting these products available to you as fast as possible.

Since this change is outside our control, we haven’t been able to tackle all necessary alterations at once. You may still see the name Whisper White on some of our non-cardstock product labels, catalog, and marketing material for a while. We will be working on a rolling change to address this.

While we expect this to come as quite a surprise, we hope that this transition to our new Basic White products can be an exciting change for everyone! To help soothe any nerves about this change, we want to provide as much information as possible to get the word out about our new Basic White cardstock.

We also have a video message addressing some potential concerns that you and your customers may have. This video goes over a comparison of Whisper White to Basic White so you will know what to expect with this change. You can watch the video here.

It’s always hard to say goodbye, but we are excited about the new Basic White product line and we encourage you to try it out! We are confident that you’ll love it just as much as we do.”

Were you as surprised as I was with this news??! Another victim of the pandemic, unfortunately! Who would have thought it would affect our Stampin’ Up! paper! But only the Whisper White, remember! We’ll have to stay tuned and see how it goes!

Easy Tag Buffet Christmas Cards

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Talk about some easy stamping to make Christmas cards, especially the card on the left, these two Easy Tag Buffet Christmas Cards are it!

The other day when I had the Tag Buffet Stamp Set out, I noticed the stocking and just thought about stamping a background with it! Sometimes I like to just do some repetitive stamping! It feels so good!

For the first card, I just stamped the stocking around on the card front. I used the Thick Whisper White Cardstock because I wasn’t going to have layers. I stamped in Real Red Ink. The greeting is also from that stamp set and die cut with the Stitched So Sweetly Die and layered on Real Red also die-cut from that set.

For some embellishment, I added some Red Satin Ribbon and some Red Rhinestone Jewels. I had to!

After I had fun making that card, I decided to use the ornament stamp in the Tag Buffet Stamp Set and stamp that randomly but with different colors! I used Poppy Parade, Old Olive, and Crushed Curry.

The Christmas greeting is also in the Tag Buffet Stamp Set and I stamped it in Old Olive. The rectangles are in the Stitched Rectangles Dies. Then I used the Ornate Garden Ribbon Combo Pack on the backside of the greeting for some pizzazz with ribbon instead of rhinestones!

So basically, these cards are just stamping and adding a greeting, maybe some ribbon or bling! Time is getting short to finish Christmas cards and get them in the mail so you might try this idea!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! HERE!

Today! Stampin’ Up! Year-End Closeout!

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Today, December 8th, is the first day of the Stampin’ Up! Giant Year-End Closeout! It’s time to grab your favorites from the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog before they retire! Although you have until Jan. 4th when the catalog ends, some products will go fast and are only available WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! Some products are discounted and are great bargains so check those out in the Online Store!

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CLEARANCE RACK UPDATED TODAY ALSO!!

The Early Bird gets the worm!

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Here are just a FEW of my favorites I’ve made from this Holiday Mini catalog!

Gnome For The Holidays 3 Gnomes Christmas Card

Freezin’ Fun Snowflake Card

Poinsettia Decorated Mini Coffee Carrier

Tag Buffet Christmas Gift Tags

Gilded Autumn Gather Together Card For Fall

And many more….! But it’s time for you to go shop! Many embellishments and accessories are on great sales! Happy Shopping!

SHOP THE CLOSEOUT!

‘Tis The Season Candy Cane Christmas Card

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If you only had the ‘Tis The Season Designer Paper, I can’t imagine how many different Christmas cards you could make! And there are also generic patterns that you can use long after the holidays.

This was an easy card to design. I picked the candy cane print pattern of the ‘Tis The Season 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. I also chose the red narrow-striped design for the bottom portion of the card. I adhered those two papers together using my Grid Paper to make sure everything lined up for the correct size. Then I was able to wrap around a piece of the Real Red 3/8″ Double-Stitched Satin Ribbon to cover the seam of the two papers.

The greeting is stamped in Real Red Ink from the Tag Buffet Stamp Set. I love the font and style of this writing in this stamp set! Even though it goes with the Tag Buffet Project Kit, it’s really a stand-alone kit for making any Christmas cards and projects. But I also love the Tag Buffet Kit tags!! You can see the ones I made HERE.

I looked through all my dies and decided on this shape for the greeting. It is in the Tasteful Labels Dies. It is large enough and has an interesting shape plus a stitched edge! For a little bling, I couldn’t resist adding some of the Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels. I’m not sure I like how I placed them. What do you think??

Then on each side of the greeting I tied two small pieces of the red ribbon just in a knot, not a bow. A bow would take up too much area and obscure the greeting.

The card base is Shaded Spruce. Since that is rather dark for the inside of the card, just add a layer of Whisper White. I just stamped a holiday greeting on it, but you can also add a strip of the designer paper along the bottom edge of the inside layer for a little decoration.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, December 8th is the first day of the Stampin’ Up! Giant Year-End Closeout. This is a list of the retiring products in the August-December 2020 Mini Catalog (otherwise known as the Holiday Mini Catalog!). These products will not be available after January 4th. However, they are only available while supplies last so don’t wait until January 3rd to get your favorite product you don’t own yet.

Actually, this ‘Tis The Season Designer Paper will be discounted 20% during the Closeout Sale! Check the list for the discounts and save!

And these products will carryover into future catalogs. Click on the image below and see what is staying!

Perfectly Plaid Pastel Trees Christmas Card

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This Perfectly Plaid Pastel Trees Christmas Card came about after seeing some Christmas cards using non-traditional colors, even pastels! I thought I would see what I could do with a pastel color scheme for my card!

The card base is Blushing Bride Cardstock with a layer of Soft Sea Foam Cardstock. I tried putting another layer of Balmy Blue but it looked like too much. I left it at just the pink and green.

The main paper I used is Shimmery White Cardstock. This is my favorite paper ever! It has just the slightest shimmer to it if you look closely. It stamps so well and even takes watercoloring better than regular Whisper White Cardstock. I just love it!

The three trees stamped on the Shimmery White are from the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set. This stamp set was carried over from last year and I’m glad because it has so many possibilities, not to mention the Pine Tree Punch which coordinates with the trees. I could also have punched out the trees with that punch and made them a little more 3D. The trees are stamped in Blushing Bride Ink, Balmy Blue Ink, and Soft Sea Foam Ink.

The greeting is also stamped in Soft Sea Foam Ink. It is also in the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set as are some other ones I could have used. I just stamped this on a scrap strip in my Shimmery White Cardstock and then punched the ends with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch. It is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals®.

Then to add a little something extra, I added some Adhesive-Backed Snowflakes. These are little snowflake sequins that have adhesive so they are easy to place and stick on a card! No glue required!

Another thing I could have done, instead of the snowflakes, was to put some Rhinestones or perhaps the Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels on the trees. If I would have stamped the trees up just a little bit higher I think that would have worked. Or maybe I could have stamped some small snowflakes. So many different things you can do with stamping!

You could change the color scheme of this card and use traditional red and green colors and see how different it would look. Here is another card I made with this set, in red and green colors, and using all three styles of trees. Or as I mentioned, use the Pine Tree Punch to punch out the trees and pop them up on Dimensionals instead of the greeting. Just play until you are satisfied!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

‘Tis The Season Candy Cane Christmas Card

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It’s time to get busy on Christmas cards and this ‘Tis The Season Candy Cane Christmas Card is an easy one! Mainly I wanted to just play with the ‘Tis the Season Designer Paper as I did the other day and see what else I could come up with.

In this case, I assumed I would use only this pattern of paper on half the card, but I cut the full size for the layer and I wanted to use it just like that! So simple! The card base is Real Red. I thought Cherry Cobbler looked a little dark, but it is a coordinating color with these papers.

I stamped the greeting in Real Red Ink from the Tag Buffet Stamp Set. I wasn’t sure how I wanted to cut it out, so I just browsed through my sets of dies and settled on this one in the Stitched So Sweetly Dies. I wanted a layer but instead of a die-cut I took the easy way out and just measured a plain rectangle to layer behind it. Sometimes you just don’t have the right size die!

For a final touch, I added a Real Red 3/8″ Double-Stitched Satin Ribbon, tied in a bow. I adhered it with a couple of Glue Dots. That’s all there was to it!

On the inside of the card, I added a layer of Whisper White stamped with a greeting from the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set. All of the “Itty Bitty” stamp sets are great ones to have because you can always find a greeting stamp in one of them!

If you need any supplies for making Christmas cards, there is still time, but I suggest ordering as soon as possible, certainly by December 8th as recommended by Stampin’ Up!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

Get the Last 4 Weeks of the 12 Weeks of Christmas!

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The “12 Weeks of Christmas” is my special Thank You gift to my Stamping With Karen Mailing List subscribers. Each Wednesday for 12 weeks leading up to Christmas I have sent out an email with an exclusive holiday project to give you an idea complete with supply list and instructions. You could use it exactly or use it as inspiration to come up with your own creative project.

This is absolutely FREE and I’m excited to share these project ideas with you! This is my annual gift to my mailing list subscribers, and I love sending out these weekly emails!

The 12 Weeks of Christmas is ONLY for members of my mailing list, however, and I have already sent out eight weeks. But you don’t have to miss any more weeks if you sign up for my Mailing List TODAY by 1:00 pm CT to receive Week 9! We have already done 5 weeks of Christmas card ideas, then Gift Ideas, and now on to Gift Wrap, Bags, and Tags.

Even though you missed some weeks, you can still enjoy these last four! When we start these 12 Weeks it’s almost incomprehensible that we are on the road to Christmas…..and before we know it, we are getting close to the end!!

Just sign up in the red box in the upper-right corner of my blog. You will get a free gift just for signing up! We’d love to have you!

‘Tis the Season Tri-Panel Christmas Card

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For this card, the Tis the Season Tri Panel Christmas Card, I got the idea to copy myself! One of my fall cards was this same basic design and turned out pretty well. This is a great design for using up scraps of designer paper if you have them, or you can even stamp different panels for a card like this.

I used the ‘Tis the Season 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper for this card. It’s a great assortment of Christmas papers with generic and traditional designs. The 6″ x 6″ size is nice for making cards so you don’t have to work with the large designer paper.

The card base is Real Red, although Cherry Cobbler is also a coordinating color with the DSP. The Gold Foil is cut at 5″ x 3 3/4″ underneath the panels. Each panel of DSP is cut at 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″. You can vary that size depending on if you make the foil layer a little larger or if you want the panels to touch on the sides rather than let the gold foil show through in between. Just try to adhere the panels evenly spaced and if necessary, you can trim the foil layer if it is uneven on one side or the other. You could also use another color of cardstock instead of foil if you like.

The greeting is stamped from the Perfectly Plaid Stamp Set in Real Red Ink on Whisper White and die cut with one of the Layering Ovals. Then a scalloped oval die was used for the Gold Foil layer.

The trees were punched with the Pine Tree Punch. I used a green pattern in the ‘Tis The Season Designer Paper. For a little bling, I added some red and green Holiday Rhinestone Jewels. To look a little like a star on top of the tree, I used a gold Gilded Gem at the top of each tree. I popped up the greeting with Stampin’ Dimensionals, but then glued down the trees flat so there would be room for the rhinestones and gems as far as height. Something to think about if you are mailing cards with embellishments. You might also enclose a piece of paper towel or any piece of scrap computer paper, maybe crimped, to cover and give protection to the embellishments. If you have a really fancy card, you should consider mailing it in a special padded envelope.

This is a pretty easy card to make and you can make all kinds with different pieces of paper. I want to try some more with this particular paper and design and see what else I can come up with! Here is my fall card I made with the beautiful Gilded Autumn Designer Paper.

Get out your designer paper for the holidays and even some non-holiday paper because you might find patterns you can use just fine on Christmas cards. It’s time to be making cards and mailing them early! Hope my ‘Tis the Season Tri-Panel Christmas Card gives you some inspiration for making your own cards!

Tis the Season Tri Panel Christmas Card Closeup

Paper Pumpkin Jolly Gingerbread Projects

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I knew the November 2020 Paper Pumpkin Kit was going to be cute just based on photos of the box and my expectations were met! Here are the Paper Pumpkin Jolly Gingerbread Projects that I have made “so far”! I still have lots of materials and other ideas I want to make with this kit!

The two single houses you see at the bottom of the photo above are the projects the kit has designed. They are gift card holders and I’m sure you could insert cash or a check inside for a gift as well. There are also cute matching envelopes! The kit has enough supplies to make 15 gift card holders, but if you do not need that many gift card or money holders you can use the supplies to make other cards or anything else you want! That’s why after each month’s Paper Pumpkin kit arrives are subscribers’ home, you can always find alternative ideas online for ways to use the supplies!

The two cards at the top of the photo above are ideas I got from another Demonstrator online, but I changed it up a little bit. I used two different embossing folders on Mint Macaron Cardstock, the Woodland Embossing Folder, and the Diamond Embossing Folder for the backgrounds. I added some “snow” with Whisper White Cardstock with a torn edge. To get the single house, I cut the gift card holder pieces with a front and back of a house in half to use just the front of the house and added the stamping, greeting, and embellishments to the front portion of the house. Then this house was adhered to the card front. So easy to make a card with the kit supplies!

The middle piece is simply a tag I made with the “back” of the house I said I cut off in the paragraph above. That piece didn’t have a door printed on it, so I used the “punched out” piece from the white house front and colored it with a Calypso Coral Stampin’ Blend Marker, and added a Gilded Gem for the door knob! I just punched a hole in the top for some Braided Linen Trim. We always need more gift tags!

Paper Pumpkin Jolly Gingerbread House Cards

The idea for these cards came from Debbie Henderson, if I remember correctly, that I saw online and loved. I changed the background a little bit by embossing the Balmy Blue background with the Winter Snow Embossing Folder. On the second card, I stamped snowflakes from the Snowman Season Stamp Set. They are stamped off once to be lighter. The gift card holder was cut in half again so I could just use the house front. The little candy archway is cut out from a white piece that would be stamped and adhered to the front of the house, but of course you can use the pieces however you like! What is really brilliant, is using the pieces punched out from those white pieces to make the open doorway, which are used for fence posts on these cards!! This is what I love so much about stamping….the creativity and ideas that other stampers (usually not me!) come up with!

And my favorite thing about this kit are these adhesive-backed “candies” to use as embellishments on the projects! These are some of the cutest stick-on things I have seen! They are showcased very well on this card on the fence and house!

Paper Pumpkin Jolly Gingerbread Treat Boxes

These little gingerbread treat holders are what I thought was probably coming in the kit, but it took other Demonstrators to figure out how to make a little box for the bottom and these house pieces wrapped around it. To make the box inside, a piece of cardstock is cut at 4 1/4″ x 4 3/8″, scored at 1″ on all sides and then snips made on two opposite sides on those score lines up to the 1″ score line. Then you need two of the house pieces to fold around the box, using the Tear & Tape included in the kit. I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the box inside as I folded the gingerbread house around it. Now they are ready for treats or gifts inside wrapped up in a cello bag or tissue paper! So cute!

After a lot of online Christmas shopping yesterday, I finally had time to work on my Paper Pumpkin November 2020 kit! My kit always arrives later than most everyone else’s, I don’t know what the post office is doing with it! But patience paid off, it’s a fun kit to create with! There are more ideas than I probably have time or supplies to use! This holiday Paper Pumpkin kit is a good way to get into the Christmas spirit by making some cards and projects we will be needing for the holidays!

The next Paper Pumpkin Kit is the “Beary Comforting” Kit, a kit to make a dozen cards to send to loved ones and friends who might need some encouragement and comfort during this difficult time. I’m guessing that most people would save these cards to send in January or February after the holidays. Be sure to sign up by the deadline or make sure your account is activated by December 10th to get this kit, which will be mailed out mid-December.

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY!