Hi, crafty friends. Christmas Eve is in exactly two months. Yikes. I’m trying to be prepared, but I still haven’t bought a single present. I’ve created gift tags for these imaginary presents, though, and today I’m sharing two with some really fun images Shari Bresciani illustrated for Purple Onion Designs.
Shari Bresciani’s cast of characters is so fun and quirky. Michele at Purple Onion Designs is very good at finding illustrators with a distinct style. The left tag features Starla, Scruffy and Christmas Tree, and the right tag features Carrie and Snowman. I also added sentiments from the Holiday Blurbs II stamp set, the blurbs match these characters well.
For both of my tags, I used the Wintry Forest stencil set from Pinkfresh Studio to create my background of blue trees. I used Polar Bear, Icy Water and Winter Lake inks from Altenew to create my trees, die cut my panel into tags using the Stitched Trad. Tag STAX die set from My Favorite Things, then sprinkled on Chunky White embossing enamel from Stampendous which I melted from the back for a snowy look.
I love the expression on Scruffy’s face! This tree originally has a star on top, but I wanted Starla to add the star to the tree, so I cut off the star from the top and colored the cone shaped part of the star in green, so it looks like it’s the actual tree, even though the even curved line is a telltale sign that it’s not. I don’t think many people will notice, and even less will care.
I stamped the sentiment using two ink colors from My Favorite Things: Jalapeño Popper and Sour Apple. I would have preferred a green tone with more blue in it, but I don’t have that in the ink formulation that’s best for this kind of mostly solid stamping. I find that the squishy ink pads that have become popular in recent years do better with this kind of stamping than the old firm felt pad type ink pads.
Close to the sentiment, I added pearls from the Party Girl mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I was tempted to add lots of pearls in different colors to the tree too, to act as baubles, but opted not to.
I threaded some satin ribbon through the tag hole and tied it with a piece of Natural twine from May Arts. I also added a couple of gold bells from my stash, I love tags that make that jingle sound.
Lots of colors for this, even though I felt like I didn’t use too many.
It’s Carrie’s turn. She goes so well with this snowman, you could almost think they’re one stamp and not two. I don’t mind when things hang off the edge of my cards or, in this case, tags. Will the ears and the branch get bent once this tag is on a present under the tree? Possibly. But I don’t mind, because I feel it adds to the design. If I had cut off the ears and branch to make everything fit inside the dimensions of the tag, this tag wouldn’t be as fun.
For this one, I stamped the sentiment in Amarena Cherry ink from My Favorite Things. It matches her scarf nicely.
I managed to get something sticky in the middle of Carrie. There was no way to remove it, so I was very strategic about the placement of the clay snowflakes I added. They’re Snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, and I love them.
I threaded ribbon through the hole at the top of the tag, tied a bow around it using more of that Natural Twine from May Arts and added a couple of gold bells to the top. Different kind of bell than on the green tag, but they still make that wonderful sound.
Lots of Copics for this one too. I just can’t help myself.
For the back of the tags, I stamped To/From from the B06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Obsidian ink from Altenew. The remaining stamps are stamped in Classic Kraft and Dark Chocolate inks from Papertrey Ink. For some of it, I used second generation stamping. The circle stamp with 24.12 in the center and the tree stamp are both from Inkido. The little snowflakes are from North Star Design, the smaller circle stamp with God jul in the center is from Ladybug & Friends. Unless I’m mistaken, none of these companies are still in business. It’s kind of sad, but I’m very glad I have these stamps!
I colored my emu and koala with Copics, and fussy cut the image leaving a white trim. Cutting around that string of lights was tricky, but worth it.
Onto a piece of white cardstock, I stamped the Christmas Lights Bold Prints stamp from Hero Arts using VersaMark ink, and poured on Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from Judikins, which I then heat embossed. It adds a sparkly, but subtle shine to the background and I love that the lights are just like the colored lights on the emu.
I cut off a strip of the panel on each side and die cut a star in the top center using the Stars Five die set from Spellbinders. I mounted the panel on foam tape and added it to a card base I’d covered with the 
I mounted the emu in the star opening, making sure to adhere the delicate lights directly to the white panel, while the emu itself is backed with foam tape. I stamped an white heat embossed a sentiment from the Christmas Wishes stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a scrap piece of my gum leaves paper, before using the coordinating die to cut it out. I backed it with four white die cuts and adhered it underneath the emu’s feet and dangling lights, before finishing off with sequins and star confetti from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
You can see a little more of the sparkle in this photo.
The emu and the koala are very muted, so I chose bright colors for the lights.
I had a plan for this one even before I started coloring. Things changed as I was creating, but I still love the end result. I colored the little girl and fussy cut her, leaving a thin white trim around the hat and no trim at all around her mittens. I used The Stitched Snowflake Frame die from Lawn Fawn to create my large snowflake frame. I die cut four from white cardstock that I stacked for dimension and one from Soft Stone cardstock from Papertrey Ink that I adhered behind the white ones, you can see the gray peeking out from the points on the snowflake. The die also cuts a circle inside the frame. It has the same faux stitching as the snowflake, but I wanted a plain circle for this and used a circle die to cut a circle that was slightly larger than the frame opening. Inside the circle, I sprinkled on chunky white embossing enamel from Stampendous and melted the granules from the back for a snowy look. I put foam tape on the back of the girl and added her to the opening in the frame.
Using the Stitched Snowflake Backdrop die from Lawn Fawn, I created some texture to a plain white panel. The die actually cuts a panel that covers an A2 card, but I wanted a bit of a border on mine and pulled out the A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX 2 die set from My Favorite Things to get it a little bit smaller. I adhered it to a panel of Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things, which I then adhered to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.
I adhered the snowflake frame at the top center of the card and created a stacked die cut merry using the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant. There are four white layers topped with one in Soft Stone. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Holiday messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a scrap of the blue card I used previously. I cut it down to a strip and added four small cardstock strips behind it for dimension, before I nestled it in with the die cut and finished off with a couple of pearls from the Glossy Porcelain mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
There’s quite a bit of dimension on this card. I love dimension!!
I tried to limit the amount of marker colors for this one. Did I succeed? Up to you 🙂
Today’s card is a super simple one. I colored up this bunny from the 
I used a die from the Additional A2 Layers die set from Waffle Flower to cut a rectangle from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. You can easily cut this with a trimmer, but I had the die set basically at my fingertips and decided to use that. I then ink blended very softly from the top of the panel using Sno Cone ink from My Favorite Things. I wanted a super light background and this was perfect. I matted it on a piece of Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink and mounted it to a top fold landscape A2 card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock, once again. It’s my favorite white cardstock, it’s whiter than anything else I’ve tried. I die cut the Silhouette Snow Trees from Mama Elephant from the same white cardstock, layering them up for dimension. I adhered the trees to my ink blended piece, then used foam tape to add the bunny on the side, before finishing off the card with sequins and confetti stars from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
Very simple color palette for this one.
Today’s the last day of Designer Week at Lili of the Valley! This means you can save 20% on any item on 
I chose four of the snowmen in the set and scaled them to fit inside the windows on this Globies Grid Cover die from Mama Elephant. I colored them with Copics and fussy cut them leaving a thin white border.
I die cut the cover die from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, added acetate to the back and adhered my snowmen to the back of the acetate in a few of the windows. Onto a panel of Sno Cone cardstock from My Favorite Things, I did some very subtle ink blending at the bottom of each row of snowglobes, using Sno Cone ink, also from My Favorite Things. The ink blending adds a little gradient to each of the snowglobes. I stamped a sentiment from the Julehilsen stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Caribbean Sea ink from My Favorite Things.
I flipped the front over, added foam tape to the back of my windows and sealed the globe with the sentiment shut so no shaker bits would be in that particular window. I added a sprinkling of Distress Mica Flakes to each of the remaining 11 windows and carefully placed my ink stamped and ink blended panel onto the exposed adhesive to close my shaker wells.
I adhered my front to a top fold card base I created from Sno Cone cardstock from My Favorite Things. To finish the card, I die cut the bases for the snow globes from white cardstock and added a little bit of subtle shading on the edges with a T0 Copic marker, as well as the colorless blender.
These snowmen are super tiny, it’s a miracle I used so many colors. I may have gotten carried away with the red in particular. Five colors for these tiny areas is probably way too many, but there you go.
I colored my penguin mug with Copics and fussy cut the image right up against the black stamped lines. This image doesn’t have a whole lot of the whispy, perpendicular lines that are so characteristic of Lili of the Valley images, which was the reason I opted not to include a white trim around the edges. There are 3 or 4 lines at the top of his head that I had to cut off, but I was okay with that. I stamped some snowflakes onto a card base using Spring Rain ink from Papertrey Ink. The snowflakes are from an old Tim Holtz stamp set. I mounted the mug on foam tape near the bottom right of the card.
I die cut a few snowflakes using a couple of die sets from Memory Box. The one at the top, that is partially hidden behind the penguin and speech bubble is from the Stitched Let It Snow Circle Frame die set. The die set comes with a stitched snowflake circle frame and three individual snowflake dies. The snowflakes with the stitching detail are from the Twilight Snowflakes die set. I added some blue diamonds from Kort & Godt to the mug, as well as a heart from the Festivities mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I stamped a couple of sentiments from the Holiday messages stamp set from Mama Elephant using Lazy Days ink from My Favorite Things and die cut them into speech bubbles using the Say Anything die set from My Favorite Things. I stacked a couple of additional white die cuts behind the speech bubbles for dimension.
Simple color palette for this one, and I realize now that I forgot to jot down the blue Copics I used for this, but I believe they are B93, B91 and B90, which is a color I’ve made myself.
I did a lot of masking for this card, using two stamp sets from the recent release. I’ve got the 
I colored them all with Copics, added black glaze to their eyes for shine, then a dot of white Gelly Roll 05 once the black was dry. I fussy cut my “tree”, added foam tape to the back and mounted it on a card base I created from Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things.
I used the Stitched Snowflake Backdrop die from Lawn Fawn to create some texture on the card base. This card measures 5 x 7 1/4″, so I had to get creative with the die, because it’s a standard A2 size die. I love the subtle texture in the background.
I used a die from Kort & Godt to create my sentiment (Christmas hug in Norwegian). I stacked four die cuts from white cardstock and adhered the top of the word to the bottom of my critter tree. I used Starry Sky ombré glitter drops from Pinkfresh Studio to finish off. I love the sparkle and shine to these.
I mounted the snowman on foam tape for dimension, he fits perfectly next to the sentiment. To finish the card I added a few sequins from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
Even though the background is adhered directly to the card base, I love all the dimension in the other elements. And here’s a little secret: I actually like the pops of red. Just don’t tell anyone 😉
For this card I paired 
This is why! This image, taken from a TV advent calendar, is of the fictional character Skomaker Jens Petrus Andersen. He was the protagonist in this advent calendar and he lived (and had his shoe repair business) in this green house. If you’ve grown up in Norway after the ’70s (but before 2010), you undoubtedly know this character and this very green house. I get nostalgic just looking at the photo.
Back to the card. Once my coloring was done, I added my panel to a card base I created from Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things. I used the Stitched Happy Birthday rectangle die from Memory Box to die cut the word happy. The die cuts a rectangle with the words happy birthday inside, but I wanted the word happy for my card and cut it away from the rest. I stacked a few for strength and dimension and adhered it to the roof of the train station, adding a white heat embossed sub sentiment from the 
Lots of Copics for this one.
I colored up the reindeer with my Copics and fussy cut him leaving a white trim around the edges. I added Glossy Accents to his nose for shine and put him aside while I worked on the rest of my card.
I used the Snowflake Confetti Fancy die from Hero Arts to make an impression into a white piece of cardstock. By dry embossing with the die, I add a bit of interest to the background without it being distracting.
I used partial die cutting with the Stitched Rectangle Scallop Edge Frames die set from My Favorite Things to create my scalloped borders on either side of the dry embossed white cardstock. I used patterned paper from Maja Design for this. The design is called Ornaments and comes from the Happy Christmas collection from 2021. I don’t use a lot of patterned paper on my cards, but I really like this green pattern with some sprigs, leaves and hearts in a darker green, along with some white dots scattered around like snow. The patterned paper from Maja Design has always been my favorite. It’s double sided and very thick. It’s so thick you can even use it for a card base.
I used the Snowflakes and Ornament die set from Hero Arts to create the ornament for my reindeer to sit in. I die cut the ornament die itself from the same patterned paper that I used for my scalloped borders. I then temporarily taped the two dies in the set together, so I could create an ornament with snowflakes. I cut a few from white cardstock and one from silver glitter cardstock from Kort & Godt, stacking them for dimension. I tied a bow to the top of the ornament using May Arts natural twine and added a few pearls from the Glossy Porcelain mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards on top of the knot for additional shine.
I added Rudolph with his shiny nose to the center of my ornament. I also stamped a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Holiday stamp set from My Favorite Things using Shadow Creek ink from Altenew onto a scrap piece of the patterned paper I’ve used throughout. I added a few strips of white cardstock behind it for dimension and adhered it below the ornament, centered on my white, dry embossed piece.
This card wound up very simple looking, but it’s still kind of technique heavy. Partial die cutting, dry embossing with a die and layered die cuts. All the layers make it a very thick card, and it’s not the most mail friendly card I’ve ever made – I love dimension!
For an image this simple, I sure used a lot of colors!!
Papirmølla 