Category Archives: Christmas

Is It Really Time For the 12 Weeks of Christmas??!

12 Weeks of Christmas 2026 Banner

Is it really only 12 weeks until Christmas? It comes up pretty quickly and by surprise every year! Most of us are just getting serious about Halloween coming the end of the month, but we know once the Halloween decorations go up, Christmas is not far behind!

What is the 12 Weeks of Christmas special edition email? This is a special thank you gift I send to my email subscribers every year with exclusive ideas I won’t be posting anywhere else. First we start with holiday cards, then gift ideas, and finally gift bag and tag ideas for wrapping those gifts! The weeks fly by for sure!

Every Wednesday I will send out a 12 Weeks of Christmas email at 1:00 PM. Hopefully, it will be an inspiration (and reminder!) for creating your own projects for the holidays and getting a head start!

I have fun sending these emails and I think my customers enjoy receiving them and getting extra ideas that they can use for their holiday crafting. Tell your friends to sign up, too, if they like papercrafting! They might not even need to be stampers! All us crafters like to see new ideas! There are always alternatives if you aren’t a stamper. You might come up with a different project using paint or whatever your hobby is.

How do you get these 12 Weeks of Christmas emails? You have to be on my Mailing List! Just sign up in the red box on the right if you are on my website. If you are on your phone, you may have to scroll all the way down to find it. Or just click HERE to go to the page to sign up. It’s free, of course, and you can unsubscribe at any time if it’s not for you. If you are already getting my Tuesday emails, then you don’t have to do anything! You are IN!

These projects will not be anywhere else…not on my blog, Facebook page, or Instagram. They are my gift to my mailing list subscribers as a thank you for following me and stamping along with me! We’d love to have you join us if you would like! The first email goes out Wednesday, October 7, 2026! See you then!

October 2026 Paper Pumpkin Kit

Paper Pumpkin Noel Greetings Kit Oct 2026 Banner

Although all the Paper Pumpkin Kits are good, I especially enjoy the holiday kits! Paper Pumpkin is a monthly subscription kit that comes to you in the mail. It’s all presented almost like a gift! You will love it!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN BY OCTOBER 10.

OCTOBER 

Craft elegant, layered Christmas cards in a sophisticated neutral palette. 

NOEL GREETINGS: Subscribe September 11–October 10 

Makes 10 cards: 5 each of 2 designs with 10 coordinating envelopes 

  • Precut paper pieces
  • Makes 10 cards: 5 each of 2 designs with 10 coordinating envelopes.
  • Gold foil accents
  • Coordinating colors: Basic Beige, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Mossy Meadow (Premium Stampin’ Spot), Pecan Pie

(Try out the new Premium Stampin’ Spots! They are about an inch longer and slightly wider than the Spots we have had all these years.)

Coordinates with the Neutral Noel Suite Collection (item 168469)!

Check out the coordinating dies to use with your October, November, and December Kits and any time! (optional)

Paper Pumpkin Dies Oct Nov Dec 2026

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN TODAY SO YOU DON’T MISS OUT!

Whispering Woods Bear Christmas Card

Whispering Woods Bear Christmas Card

This Whispering Woods Bear Christmas Card is made with two new things in the new Stampin’ Up! September-December 2026 Catalog. I used the cute bear in a new stamp set and the beautiful paper that looks like forest where the bear lives.

The card base is Real Red because I wanted the card to look like Christmas. For the background, I used the new Whispering Woods Designer Series Paper. I liked the sheet with all the little pine trees in the forest where bears like to live! This paper is extra-special because with every package sold, Stampin’ Up! will donate $3 to organizations to help spread a little holiday cheer. You can find this paper on page 64 in the catalog. There are 12 sheets, 4 each of 3 double-sided designs. Two of the patterns have designs at the top and the bottom so that you could cut the paper apart into panels and use them to make several cards at once. Or each would make a beautiful scrapbook page border.

Whispering Woods Designer Series Paper

For the focal point of the card, I stamped the bear holding a sign from the Christmas Crew Stamp Set. I stamped him in Memento black ink, along with a greeting on a sign, on a piece of Basic White cardstock, colored him with Stampin’ Blends, and fussy-cut him. There are Christmas Crew Dies, but I didn’t buy those. but you can save 10% by getting them in the Christmas Crew Bundle along with the stamp set. I colored him with Pecan Pie Blends and Black for his nose, also Blend 1000 for under his nose.

For the background on the banner-shaped tag, I diecut a scrap of paper from the middle of the paper with the trees at the top and bottom. These dies are in the Nested Essentials Dies. The paper had a bit of color that looked like clouds, although it didn’t really show up on my small piece very well. I added some color with a Small Blending Brush and Misty Moonlight ink. On top of that, I drew in some little snowflakes with a White Gel Pen. These newer White Gel Pens are better than the ones we used to have. I just got this one, but I’ve been reading how well they work compared to others.

In order for the background piece of DSP to be layered on the Real Red cardstock, I trimmed off the edges with the “stitching” on both sides and the top of the designer paper, leaving the bottom banner end as is. Then it fit over the diecut piece of Real Red. I thought it still needed something, so I just cut another larger banner shape with my Paper Trimmer out of Shaded Spruce cardstock. This piece is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. I also fussy-cut a tree from another sheet of the DSP and stuck him in on the left side of the bear. To finish it off, I added a bow made wtih the Real Red 1/4″ Stitched Ribbon. It is adhered with a couple of Mini Glue Dots. The feel of the ribbon surrpised me – it has a silky feel! I was expecting a cotton/fabric texture to it. You’ll find the ribbon in the Online Exclusives. It seemed like the perfect finishing touch for this card!

On the inside of the card, I stamped a Christmas greeting on a piece of Basic White and adhered a narrow strip of the same designer series paper with the little trees on the left side of the Basic White to decorate the inside of the card a little!

I think we all will have lots of fun with the Christmas Crew Stamp Set characters and their signs! And the bear can be used for birthdays or other occasions depending on his sign!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Christmas Crew Snowman Monochromatic Card

Christmas Crew Snowman Monochromatic Card

I’m not sure why I felt like I wanted to make a monochromatic card, but I tried it, and this Christmas Crew Snowman Monochromatic Card is the result! Christmas Crew is one of the new stamp sets in the Stampin’ Up! September-December 2026 Catalog that just went live this week. It’s a stamp set with a couple of animals and this cute snowman, each holding up a sign which can hold one of the several greetings. I wouldn’t normally pick a stamp set like this one for making Christmas cards, but this one really caught my eye and I couldn’t resist!

The card base is Basic White. For photography purposes, I have the card on a piece of Hydrangea Hue cardstock so it is not part of the card, but if it WAS the card base, I think that would look good too! The plaid layer on the Basic White cardstock is the 2026-2028 Gingham Gallery Designer Series Paper. It’s the Hydrangea Hue plaid. One side of the paper has a large scale gingham pattern on one side and a narrower one, as you see here, on the other side. You choose which one fits your project better.

The snowman is stamped in Hydrangea Hue ink on Basic White, and then diecut using the largest rectangle in the Nested Essentials Dies. I used the Light and Dark Hydrangea Hue Stampin’ Blends to color in the snowman and sign to add a little color. The hat band and alternating squares on the scarf are colored with the dark color. There was no way I couldn’t add Pumpkin Pie to color his carrot nose on a snowman!

I thought we needed some snow that the snowman was standing in. I got the idea to use the Shimmering Stripes Specialty Designer Series Paper since it has a sparkly look. I diecut just a partial piece to match the die shape with the curved corners and tore two little pieces to look like snowdrifts. I added five little Moody Palette Glossy Dots in white to look like little snowflakes around the snowman. This whole diecut piece is just layered on a piece of Hydrangea Hue cardstock that I cut myself. It is 2 5/8″ x 3 1/4″. I popped up this piece on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

That’s all there is to this card, pretty easy actually. However, I look forward to making more cards with this stamp set in more traditional Christmas colors and looks! There is also a set of dies that goes with this stamp set in a Bundle. Save 10% on any Bundle over buying the stamp set and dies separately.

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Make a Christmas House With the Merry Manor Kit

https://www.stampinup.com/products/merry-manor-kit?demoid=54345

Did you notice this darling Christmas house in the new Stampin’ Up! September-December 2026 Catalog? It just happens to be published in the catalog on the page talking about Stampin’ Up! Kits, but it sure happens to be an eye-catcher if you love cute holiday decorations! It’s the Merry Manor Kit in the Stampin’ Up! Kits Collection!

A year or two ago, Stampin’ Up! sold a Halloween house kit that sold out very quickly. It wouldn’t get restocked until after Halloween, so some creative people bought it anyway, but made it into a Christmas house! I wonder if that’s how this Merry Manor house came about. You can still buy the Haunted Home Kit in the Online Store in the Kits Collection if you’d rather stick with Halloween for now!

This Christmas house is 8″ x 9 1/2″. You will need a glue gun for assembly (at least that’s probably the strongest adhesive to use). Just follow the directions to make the house, and then if you want to add your own decorative touches or changes, you can do that. All supplies are included (except for the glue gun!).

Merry Manor Kit Contents (2)

Here are the contents of the Merry Manor Kit, even including a little wreath to hang and other fun things! You may not be in a holiday mood yet, but it would be good to get this and make it ahead of time so it will be one less thing to do when things get hectic close to Christmas! Or buy extra kits to make for gifts!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Pink Pretty Poinsettia Christmas Card

Pink Pretty Poinsettia Christmas Card

Make this Pink Pretty Poinsettia Christmas Card quicker and easier than you would think! Even though you will use quite a few dies for the flower and leaves (and the greeting), you can put all the dies for the poinsettia on one piece of paper, the leaves on another, and the little flower centers on a tiny scrap. So diecutting doesn’t take much time!

This card base is Petal Pink. Besides the actual poinsettia, the actual star of the card is the Shimmering Stripes Specialty Paper. It’s different than anything we have had. All the sheets have glittery stripes on white paper, but the glitter doesn’t rub off or anything! It’s great for a rather subtle background but with some sparkle.

Before adhering the Shimmering Stripes paper to the card base, I wrapped some ribbon around the side and across the bottom. I used the White with Gold 3/8″ Ribbon from the Spring Mini 2026 (retired). You can use whatever ribbon you have. The bow is tied separately and adhered with several glue dots.

To make the poinsettia in Petal Pink, just diecut the petals and stack them one on top of the other, using Mini Glue Dots or Liquid Glue to adhere them together. The tiny yellow centers are the actual flower, my research says. The leaves are Old Olive extras from diecutting for another card. Use the Pretty Poinsettia Bundle for stamping the greeting in Old Olive ink and diecutting the poinsettia. The greeting is stamped on a circle punched with my retired 2″ Circle Punch. I needed something small enough to fit in that space. I also added some Petal Pink dots. Mine are from the Muted Palette Dots from the Annual Catalog 2025-26.

Even though the poinsettia makes this look like a fancy card, I think you will find it pretty easy to make!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Pretty Poinsettia Z-Fold Christmas Card

Pretty Poinsettia Z-Fold Christmas Card

Christmas is less than six months away, so no, it’s not too early to start making Christmas cards! Yikes! This Pretty Poinsettia Z-Fold Christmas Card is made with the Pretty Poinsettia Bundle in the Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives. You get the Pretty Poinsettia Stamp Set and the Pretty Poinsettia Dies in the Bundle, and you will save 10%. The dies kind of confused me at first as they all looked like leaves, but actually, the leaves on the stem are actually leaves (but you can cut them apart) and the four dies with four or five “leaves” on them are the poinsettia petals which you can stack.

This card was actually pretty quick and easy to make! I love to make Z-fold cards because they are simple and make a great presentation for the recipient. It’s probably the easiest “fancy-fold” you can make. Just fold half of the card front back! I had already made the large white label on which the poinsettia is adhered another day with the Stampin’ Hot Foil System and the Flourish & Frames Hot Foil Dies. You can see the pretty gold foil border around the edge. You could use any large label-type piece you have similar to this one or just a cardstock rectangle. You may even have some ephemera piece you could use.

The poinsettia itself is made with Real Red cardstock, diecut with the poinsettia dies. I used Mini Glue Dots to adhere them together in layers, but you could also use tiny dots of the Multipurpose Liquid Glue. If you have it, this would be a good time to use the Silicone Craft Sheet to keep the adhesive on it instead of your table! Just stack the poinsettia petals, placing them however you think looks best. You probably have heard that what we think of as the flower petals of poinsettias are specialty leaves called “bracts”. The real flower is the little yellow centers on poinsettias! When you stack the four layers of petals and add the tiny diecut yellow centers, it kind of turns into a 3D flower! If you like, you can curl the petals carefully with a Bone Folder or crease on the center line to make them stand out, perhaps on a gift bag or box. It wouldn’t work so well for mailing. I added the green leaves, just sticking them under the poinsettia after cutting them off the stem.

The greeting is one in the Pretty Poinsettia Stamp Set. It fit just perfectly on that label piece below the poinsettia. It is stamped in Real Red ink. I used another greeting for the inside of the card as you will see in the photo below. I added a piece of Basic White cardstock, 4″ x 5 1/4″ for the inside of the card for either a stamped sentiment or personal message. You do want to make sure the greeting is tucked behind the z-fold and focal point so that it can’t be seen from the front of the card.

The card base is cut at 5 1/2″x 8 1/2″ as usual, then scored at 2 1/8″ and 4 1/4″. Fold the card in half as you always do, then fold back on the 2 1/8″ score line so the card front is folded back toward the card fold. That’s all there is to it! I added a strip of the A Stitched Season Designer Series Paper down the center of that folded back piece. It is 1″ wide by 5 1/2″ long. I also added a 1/2″ strip along the inside Basic White layer, which shows from the front.

For the most difficult part, if anything is difficult, the white frame with the poinsettia is adhered with the center lined up with the creased fold of the front. Be sure to only put adhesive on the half that is attached to the z-fold, otherwise you will have glue sticking to the inside of the card! You can see how the whole card looks opened up in the photo below.

Pretty Poinsettia Z-Fold Christmas Card open

I like this card so much that as soon as I do some more hot foiling with the Flourish & Frames Dies to make more pieces for the front of this card, I want to make more poinsettia cards just like this one. I just love the colors, the way the poinsettia looks rather built up even though it is flat and the pretty designer paper.

You can still purchase the Pretty Poinsettia Craft Class in the Online Store and stamp along with Stampin’ Up! staff as they show you how to use this Pretty Poinsettia Bundle. Or watch and stamp on your own later. I bought the class but missed watching it on the day during the live (plus it was my anniversary!). But the good thing is, I can watch it any time or multiple times. The couple of other online stamping events with Stampin’ Up! that I have done proved to be fun and had lots of good tips for the projects.

There are lots of creative possibilities with the Pretty Poinsettia Bundle, so even though it is a little early for the holidays, start thinking ahead and planning for some ideas you might like to make!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

A Stitched Season Panel Christmas Card

A Stitched Season Panel Christmas Card

The other day I posted my first Halloween card because it was a new package of paper from the Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives, and I wanted to try it out! Today I am posting my first Christmas card of the year, A Stitched Season Panel Christmas Card. If you are a stamper and quilter, you will probably want this Christmas paper! If you are a stamper or scrapbooker but not a quilter, but you like quilt patterns, you might like to live vicariously through this paper and maybe the dies, too!

You will find the A Stitched Season Suite Collection in the newest Online Exclusives, just released July 1st. The Christmas stocking dies in the Stitched Stocking Dies, I think, are adorable, but I limited my spending to just the designer paper and the ribbon! You can do a lot with any or all parts of this Suite.

This card is pretty easy. The sheet in the A Stitched Season Designer Series Paper caught my eye because it looked like I could cut a “panel” out of the paper to use on the front of my card with six images. It isn’t a perfect 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece. I very carefully tried to cut right along the borders of those squares on the top and sides. with the Paper Trimmer. Even though the margins top and bottom are a little narrower than on the sides, I think it still looks good on the card front.

The card base is Peaceful Pine. I used another paper in the package for the background behind the “quilt” panel. I made it the full size of the card front, 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ because there wasn’t enough space for margins. In the bottom right-hand square, which was a square with a Pecan Pie background and tiny white flowers, I added a greeting which fit perfectly, except I hated covering up the white flowers. The greeting is from the Pretty Poinsettia Stamp Set. It is stamped with Peaceful Pine ink on Basic White then layered on a piece of Pecan Pie cardstock. For a finishing touch, I made a very small bow with some gold and white baker’s twine that is now retired. Linen thread would work, also, or some other twine that you have.

A Stitched Season Panel Christmas Card inside

This is the inside of the card with a Basic White layer and a stamped greeting in Peaceful Pine ink. It is in the Pretty Poinsettia Stamp Set as well. I also added a narrow strip of the background paper from the front of the card.

You could make several cards if you cut the paper as I did, or you could cut the squares into different configurations. Make the six squares go horizontally or make them just 2 x 2 instead of filling the whole space on the card.

SHOP THE ONLINE EXCLUSIVES!

Christmas Eve Last Minute Ideas

Candy Bar Homemade Christmas Fudge

Here’s an idea that’s been around a long time! Buy one of those giant chocolate bars and print out this poem!

Snowman Gift Bag

Need a gift bag? Decorate to look like a snowman! Don’t have a white bag? Make this design or similar on a piece of white cardstock and stick it on the front of a bag!

Christmas Votive Home Decor

One of my favorite votives of all time! I think it was the black and white gingham paper with the greenery and red berries. Dress up any votive holder or little jar you have and decorate however you like. Put a tea light inside. Of if it is a jar, fill it with candies or little cookies for a gift!

Christmas Candy Bar Wrapper Ideas

Here’s an oldie, but wow! Still just as cute eleven years later, if I do say so! Just cover a chocolate candy bar with designer paper or in this case, cardstock, and decorate or stamp or print a holiday greeting. Who wouldn’t enjoy a cute candy bar for Christmas? It’s a good stocking stuffer!

Joy of Christmas Gift Card Holder Inside

And of course, gift card holders are always great at the last minute. Or put in cash! Or write an IOU for that gift that didn’t arrive yet! Here’s the link with directions. And there are two styles on that post!

Joy of Christmas Gift Card Holder

Quick & Easy Gift Card Holder

Reindeer Days Gift Card Holder (1)

I’m reposting this from last year, as I came across it for a Quick and Easy Gift Card Holder. I’m thinking that at this late date, a lot of us might be looking for simple gift card (or cash!) holders. Of course you can use any cardstock and designer series paper you have.

Start with a 4″ x 12″ strip of cardstock. You could make it taller if you wanted to. Score this strip of paper at 4″ and 8″, basically in thirds, since the paper is 12″ long. Then on the end section, cut from the score line down to the corner on a diagonal. This can be on either end of the card.

Gift Card Holder Diagram

Put a strip of Tear & Tape Adhesive or other strong adhesive on the bottom of that section with the diagonal cut. Then fold that diagonal piece over to the inside panel next to it.

My sample is a card base of Real Red, and I used the Reindeer Days Designer Series Paper and Sticker Sheet to decorate the holder. On the front, I cut a piece of designer paper with the packages at 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″. The tree and strip of holly leaves behind it are stickers from the Reindeer Days Sticker Sheet.

You can decorate the inside however you like or leave it plain. I put another paper behind the diagonal piece and a diagonally cut piece of designer paper on that diagonal corner. Just cut a square of 3 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ and cut diagonally from one corner to the other. Just make sure you have the pattern going the right way and that you cut to and from the correct corners. You can write a message on the inside left of the holder or add a piece of Basic White on which to write or stamp something.

Reindeer Days Gift Card Holder Inside

Put your gift card or cash in the pocket. Decorate the front a little more with some bling, like these Iridescent Faceted Gems on the tree. If you prefer, make a belly band to go around the gift card holder to keep it closed. These are so quick and easy, I bet you can’t make just one!

Make a Decorative Trees Gift Bag

Decorative Trees Gift Bag

I guess it’s time to be wrapping holiday gifts, if you’ve done your shopping, that is! One of my favorite things to do is create decorative gift bags for any occasion, such as this Decorative Trees Gift Bag, perfect for a Christmas gift.

You may have shopping bags like this kraft one from shopping at certain stores, usually nice gift shops. Even if they have the store name on the front, you can usually cover that up with your decorating. You can also buy a pack of gift bags in various sizes like this one, or sometimes in white or colors, at a craft store. It’s just like making a card except on a larger canvas! Creativity knows no ends!

This gift bag is actually the third version of my original idea. Actually, it’s not even close to my first idea except for involving Christmas trees, but creativity often evolves as you work on your project. I saw the Decorative Trees Stamp Set on my shelf and it is still current, on the Last Chance List discounted 50%! When I looked it up in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store, I saw a cute idea for a card which I just translated to a bag. Perhaps you have this stamp set from last year or whenever it came out.

For the background on this bag, I stamped the greeting “O Christmas Tree” in the stamp set diagonally across the bag in Crumb Cake ink. Then I stamped three different colors of trees, just the outline, in Garden Green, Shaded Spruce, and Old Olive. I didn’t want to look for the dies, but there are some although not available at Stampin’ Up!, so I just cut them out by hand. The first two are embossed and the third on has stamping on the inside. The first one is embossed with the Dotted CIrcles Embossing Folder. The second one is embossed with the Forever Plaid folder. I added a little Pecan Pie trunk to each tree. The center tree is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

If you don’t have tree stamps or dies, just cut some out by hand! We’ve all drawn Christmas trees by hand at least when we were kids, so just channel your inner child! If nothing else, just draw a triangle!

Then the fun began! Decorative the trees and bag with embellishments! Use whatever you have! The first tree has current Traditional Sparkling Sequins in gold and Pool Party (which almost looks like silver). The middle tree has retired Cherry Cobbler and Clear Berries gems (some name like that). I colored the clear ones with a Dark Cherry Cobbler Stampin’ Blend marker to look like berries. Some are in sets of three, some single. The third tree has adhesive gold stars in a strand that a special friend brought me all the way from Japan! They fit perfectly on this tree! And because I came across them, I used the small white stars in the Shimmer Star Foam Stickers to look like little stars or even represent little snowflakes.

Even though my first idea was to use a white paint pen and form a tree shape by drawing small snowflakes on the kraft bag, I thought I should make something that other stampers could copy. But if you wanted that look, you could use white craft ink and a snowflake stamp. There’s always a work-around for ideas!

You probably have a bag of bags in your house somewhere so check it out and personalize a bag or even gift wrapping. If you run out of fancy wrapping paper, use the kraft-colored grocery paper bags or plain wrapping paper. You can always decorate these things with your stamping and scrapbooking supplies!

Decorative Trees Gift Bag

Traditions of Christmas Season’s Greetings Card

Traditions of Christmas Season's Greetings Card

This kind of card is difficult to photograph with its gold foil accents, but I assure you this Traditions of Christmas Season’s Greetings Card is pretty in person! This is the particular patterned paper that “spoke” to me when I looked in the Tradtions of Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper. That’s a good way to get your creativity going – just look at a package of designer series paper and see what strikes you! Then go from there!

I really liked the Pool Party color on some ribbon and flowers on this paper so I really wanted to have Pool Party be a part of the card. I could have put the colors in reverse or used only Pool Party as the card base, but this time I used Real Red for the card base with a layer of Pool Party ( 4″ x 5 1/4″). Then the designer paper is cut at 3 3/4″ x 5″.

With this paper, I was rather purposeful in wanting the red flowers centered and hopefully not hidden when I added a greeting. Sometimes you can trim the sides or top and bottom so that you get a certain image in the spot where you want it to show on the card.

For the greeting, I used the Traditional Labels Bundle (stamp set and dies). You can do it either way, but this time I diecut the label and then stamped the greeting in Real Red on Pool Party cardstock. To add a layer, I adhered the stamped label and greeting to a piece of Gold Foil, the simply cut around it leaving a narrow margin of gold. It was easy to cut it by hand so don’t be afraid to do it! Before adhering to the card, I added some Stampin’ Seal on the back and adhered some Gold Striped 3/8″ Ribbon to the backside where I wanted it, then used Stampin’ Dimensionals to pop up the greeting and help hold down the ribbon. I love this ribbon! However, it is unavailable right now and not due back in stock until February!!

Just so you know, the Traditions of Christmas Designer Series Paper, is currently unavailable as are the Christmas Tags & More 6″ x 6″ DSP and the Greetings For You Ephemera Pack, but all are due back in stock next week!! So check back earlier or fill in the blank to be notified with each product. Sometimes things arrive sooner and you can grab them before everybody else.

If you already have these materials or even make a card like this one last-minute, I think you will find it plenty easy to make with no fuss!

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Christmas Tags & More Presents Card

Christmas Tags & More Presents Card

This Christmas Tags & More Presents Card was a fun card to make with the ephemera pieces in the designer paper! I think I’ve made a card like this in the past, using paper to make it look like a stack of Christmas presents. When I looked at the ephemera pieces in the Christmas Tags & More 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper, I saw a couple actual gifts plus a couple other pieces that could be gifts!

This card has a Garden Green base with a layer of Real Red. May as well use green and red together today for a Christmas card! To start stacking the gifts, I used the green and white plaid one first, and then the red plaid banner in the ephemera looked like it could be a gift also. I cut off the banner end and shortened the green and white gift on the top. The bottom holly piece was just another tag or some kind of piece of ephemera that was the right size to put underneath the red plaid gift. Then I also noticed the little green package with white polka dots and slipped that at the top of the stack of gifts. The green and white package already had a bow on it, so for the other two, I just added two ephemera bows also in the package.

Before adhering the stack of gifts, I figured the Basic White top layer was going to look a little plain. Another good opportunity to use the Metallic Textures Rub-Ons to add a little design for the background in gold! These things are so fun to play with! I put the cross-hatch design in diagonal corners and some dots in the other two corners. After adding those, I adhered the gifts to the card front.

For the greeting, I found this one in the Greetings For All Ephemera Pack. I had tried out some others, but this one seemed to be the right size and showed up against the background. Instead of the Metallic Textures Rub-Ons, you could emboss the white background first with something not too busy or add some sequins or gems for a little bling and sparkle.

When you have an assortment of these ephemera packs, you have an easy and fun way to make a card!

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Elegant Pine Snowflakes Card From Our House to Yours

Elegant Pine Snowflakes Card From Our House to Yours

As many of my cards do, this Elegant Pine Snowflakes Card From Our House to Yours card came about from looking through the package of designer series paper! Quite often, your creativity kicks into gear once you start looking at your products and paper. I liked the background paper and thought maybe if I cut out a snowflake that would look good for the focal point of the card.

This card starts with a card base of Shaded Spruce cardstock with the fold at the side rather than the top of the card. Cut the cardstock at 4 1/4″ x 11″ and fold at 5 1/2″. You could also put the fold at the top of the card. Usually we have the fold along the long side of the card.

The snowflake layer of paper is in the Elegant Pine Snowflakes Designer Series Paper. I chose one of the larger snowflakes from another sheet of the same designer paper and cut it our by hand (fussy-cut) with my Paper Snips. It’s so easy to cut out things by hand if you turn and move the image you are cutting out rather than moving your scissors. It really does make it easy once you change your focus on cutting. I planned to just adhere the snowflake to the front of the card, but I thought it needed something behind it. Since there was this Basic White diecut circle from the Stylish Shapes Dies already in my package of Basic White, I tried placing that behind the snowflake and liked the look of it. I also added a piece of the Shaded Spruce & Gold Edge 7/8″ Ribbon underneath. I think just the strip of ribbon looks pretty enough. No need for a bow anywhere. The snowflake is adhered flat on the white diecut circle and then the whole thing is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The greeting is from my favorite thing, the Greetings For You Ephemera Pack. I think the small banner size fits perfectly on the card without detracting from the big snowflake. I trimmed off the right side of the banner to be straight along the edge of the designer paper. For a little sparkle, I added a small red Traditional Sparkling Sequin to the center of the snowflake and three gold sequins on the background paper. Those sequins are on the Last Chance category now and reduced 10%. I think you should get some! They are so pretty! I’m already on my second package and haven’t even made all my Christmas cards and projects yet!

Check out the whole refreshed Last Chance Products!

Check out the Cyber Prepaid Paper Pumpkin Sale through Dec. 9th!

Check out the new Kits in the Kits Collection (even the old ones, great gifts to give!)!

Check out the newest Online Exclusives!

And check out the new Product of the Month for only $5.00 with a $75.00 purchase!