Hi, crafty friends. I’m still creating holiday cards, I still have no idea how many I’ve made this year, but I do know that this snowmen stamp set from the latest Lili of the Valley release is a must have.
I’ve actually created a tri-fold card this time. There are several images in this stamp set that lend themselves very well to this kind of off the edge design. I colored my snowman with Copics, before adhering him towards the right edge of a half sheet (8 x 5 1/2″) of Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I fussy cut to the right of him, leaving a white trim and used a steel ruler and a craft knife on the left to create a vertical edge. Adhering him to the white cardstock did two things: 1 – it added strength, and 2 – it covered up the back of my coloring for a clean look when the card is open.
This is the card closed. I created this by gluing 2 side fold A2 card bases together; the half with the snowman with the fold on the left and the other one with the fold on the right.
I used the Snowflake Confetti fancy die from Hero Arts to die cut from Gina K Masking Magic to create a stencil to ink blend through. I used Iceberg ink from Altenew to create subtle blue snowflakes in the background on the front of the card to the left of the snowman and also on the other flap.
I adhered an 1/8″ gold glitter cardstock strip from Kort & Godt for the snowman to hold on to for a defining edge and used the Stacked Merry die from My Favorite Things to die cut 6 times for a stacked look. 5 layers from white cardstock, the top layer from a piece of X-Press It blending card that I colored to match the green on the snowman. I stacked the six layers and adhered them in the center of the left front panel, stamped and white heat embossed a sub sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley, before adhering it on top of the stem of the Y with a few additional layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and strength.
I embellished with a combination of gold pearls around the sentiment and tiny confetti stars all across the background. Both are from the Vanilla Kiss mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I also added a bit of black glaze pen to the eyes of the snowman. It adds a tiny bit of dimension and some shine. Once dry, I went over with a dot of white, using a Gelly Roll 05.
On the inside flap, behind the snowman, I stamped another sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley, this time using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things.
Simple color palette for this one. Lots of colors for the snow, though, I can’t seem to help it.
I had to go for my traditional Christmas colors for this one with blue, brown and grey, it’s such a good combo. I made all the lights the same color. I know some people prefer the differently colored lights, but as a Scandinavian minimalist, my color palette for Christmas is very toned down, including my Christmas lights, which are all white.
Once I’d colored my image, I used the largest die in the Stitched Rectangles STAX 2 set from My Favorite Things to create a faux stitch border around my panel. I then took the Plaid builder stencil set from My Favorite Things and ink blended using Blue Yonder ink from My Favorite Things in the top right corner with the stencil with the wide stripes. On top of the stencil with the smaller stripes, I used Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste from The Crafter’s Workshop for a little bit of added dimension and interest to the background.
I adhered my panel to an A2 top fold card base I created from Enchanted Evening cardstock from Papertrey Ink. Using the scripty wishes die from Mama Elephant, I die cut three layers of white and one blue on top for a stacked look and adhered it on top of my stenciled background. I also stamped and white heat embossed a couple of sentiments from the Holiday messages stamp set from Mama Elephant to add to the wishes to make my sentiment complete. I cut them down to strips and added a few layers of cardstock behind each of them for dimension, before finishing off the card with a few sequins from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, as well as Glossy Accents for the lightbulbs.
I love the glow and shine from the lightbulbs.
Fairly simple color palette for this one.
I colored up these two sloths from the Hang Out and Celebrate stamp set. I stamped using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things, which is a hybrid ink safe to use with alcohol markers. I colored the sloths with Copics, then re-stamped over the black lines, this time using Obsidian ink from Altenew. This is a pigment ink that is super crisp, but it’s not compatible with Copics, so I need to stamp with an alcohol friendly ink first, do my coloring, then stamp on top with the pigment ink. Once the ink was dry I used the coordinating dies to cut out these cute sloths.
I created an A2 top fold card base from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink and decided to do a little ink blending near the top right. Using the Watercolor Circle stencil from My Favorite Things (which was also new in the July release), I ink blended Eastern Sky and Iceberg inks from Altenew to create a soft sky. I eventually realized it needed to be darker for my clouds to show up over top, so I also went in with Ultramarine, which is one shade darker than Eastern Sky. These three blues are all in the same color family from Altenew.
With the circle mask still in place, I added the Tiny Clouds stencil from My Favorite Things on top, and used Fresh Snow hybrid ink from Papertrey Ink to create soft clouds on top of the blue I’d already ink blended.
At the bottom center of the card, I stamped a sentiment from the stamp set with the sloths, this time using Caribbean Sea ink from My Favorite Things. I also stamped “Make a” from the older Birthday Chicks stamp set and adhered die cut letters between my stamping to complete the sentiment. I die cut the word with from the Wish Big Today die that also came out in the July release from My Favorite Things (it was such a good release). I used Sour Apple cardstock, and at the base of the letters I ink blended using Sour Apple ink, and a little bit of Jalapeño Popper ink for extra oomph. I put three additional die cuts behind each letter and adhered them to my card.
Time for the sloths. I die cut three additional layers of cardstock to go behind each of my die cut sloths, and glued them directly to the card base. I cut off a portion of the balloon on the back layers, so I could overlap the colored one with the other sloth. I added a dot of black glaze pen to the eyes of the sloth that’s awake, and Glossy Accents to the balloon for a bit of shine.
To finish off the card I used some sequins from the Waterfall mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I packed a lot into this card, and the sentiment wound up taking much more space than I’d sketched out in advance, but I still like it. This is the part where I usually show a graphic of the Copics I used, but I simply can’t locate the post-It I used to write them down.
I started by stamping this bird on a piece of X-Press It blending card using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things. I colored the bird to look like a bullfinch using my Copics. In this little corner of the world, no bird says Christmas like a bullfinch. Once I finished my coloring, I stamped on top of my initial stamping, this time using Obsidian ink from Altenew to get really crisp lines. I love how crisp this ink is. It’s not compatible with Copics, so I need to stamp after my coloring’s complete, but that’s not a problem with a stamp positioning tool.
Onto a piece of Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I stamped a few branches using Classic Kraft ink for a soft backdrop for my sentiment, which I stamped in Dark Chocolate ink, also from Papertrey Ink. I popped up the 3 1/2″ wide kraft panel in the center of a top fold white cardbase using foam tape, added foam tape behind my die cut image and placed it near the top center of the card, before finishing off with a gold heart for a little bit of embellishment.
Simple color palette for this image.
I’m usually a pretty slow card maker, but this came together sooo quickly. The card, start to finish, including the coloring, took me just over half an hour. I don’t think I’ve ever created a card this quickly. Yes, it’s simple, but most of my cards are, and they still usually take me way longer than this to create.
I printed the image fairly small on a piece of X-Press It blending card. I wanted it to fit the width of a top fold A2 card. I colored the image and letters with Copics, then used a border die from Lawn Fawn to create a nice detail on the top and bottom. Using a black Glaze pen, I added a little bit of shine and dimension to the eyes, and on the koala I also added white dots with a Gelly Roll 05 pen once the black was dry.
I wanted a soft background and chose this pretty yellow chevron pattern from the Wallpaper Patterns 6×6″ paper pad from My Favorite Things. I let it cover the entire card base and mounted my colored panel near the top of the card using foam tape.
I love dimension on my cards, and for cards that are this simple, it makes a big difference.
I added a few yellow pearls from the Beach Dreams mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards for a finishing touch. The end result is a clean and simple card, with just enough detail to make it interesting.
Super simple color palette.
The cold weather’s been perfect for Christmas in July, though, and this 
I colored both the penguin and the letters with Copics and fussy cut them. I left a white border around the penguin, but cut the letters up to the black lines.
I created a circular card base from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, and added a circle on top that I created from Sno Cone cardstock from My Favorite Things. I dry embossed the Magic Snow Cover die from Mama Elephant onto the colored cardstock for a little bit of added interest in the background, before mounting the penguin in the center of the card and adding the letters around him.
To finish off the card I added a few Snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to the letters. I tried using pearls first, but these worked better with the card. She’s stopped selling these clay sprinkles, so I kind of hoard the ones I have.
Super simple color combo for this guy.
Hot pink and orange/yellow/gold. It’s not a Christmas color palette you see every day, and when I did the actual coloring, I wasn’t sold on this. I wasn’t sold when the card was done, either, but it’s grown on me, and I’m now in a place where I like it. That might change again, though, ask me tomorrow 😉
I printed the image on the bottom half of a quarter sheet of X-Press It blending card, did my coloring, then used the Basket Weave stencil from My Favorite Things to add a little bit of interest to the panel. Above the image, I used Puffy Heart and Rose Quartz inks from Altenew, underneath the image I used Scattered Straw Distress Ink. I trimmed off 1/4″ on each side and mounted it with foam tape onto a card base I created from Ripe Raspberry cardstock from My Favorite Things.
I added black glaze to the eyes for some shine and Glossy Accents to the lightbulbs, before stamping and white heat embossing a sentiment from the Holiday Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a scrap piece of pink cardstock. I cut the sentiment down to a strip, added a few more layers behind it and added it to my card, before finishing off with a few gold jewels from the Fesitivities mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
The Glaze, Glossy Accents, sub sentiment and gems all work together to add interest to what is otherwise a very simple card.
The coloring is pretty simple too 🙂
I decided to use the macaron from the stamp set. There’s actually a large and a small one in the set. I used the large one, and I stacked seven on top of one another, so I could add lots of different colors to them. It’s an odd rainbow, but I think it works, and I kept the coloring very simple. I fussy cut my stack of macarons, leaving a thin white border and put it aside while I worked on the rest of my card.
I cut down a piece of patterned paper from the Ink Drops – Vivid paper pad from Craft Consortium. I chose this particular sheet because the colors I used for the macarons are well represented in the paper. I printed the sentiment directly onto the patterned paper and adhered it to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I die cut the largest frame in the Classic Rectangle Frames die set from My Favorite Things 9 times from white cardstock. I stacked them and adhered them to the card front, before adding sequins and gems to the well. The sequin mix I used is the Vanilla Kiss mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I adhered a few around my sentiment to keep them from falling to the bottom, then sealed my shaker well with a piece of acetate from Simon Says Stamp. I added one final white die cut frame on top of the acetate for a clean look and also adhered the stack of macarons to finish the card.
By creating thick walls for my well, the sequins, gems and pearls really have a lot of space to shake around. I made sure to place the large pearls and gems the right side up before I added the acetate, so they wouldn’t turn around on me. The smaller ones do, but as long as the big ones show their good side, I’m okay with that.
Very sherbety color palette for this one. Three colors for each macaron.
I colored Mae with Copics, opting for one of my go to summer color palettes. There’s something about pink, yellow and orange that just screams summer to me. Once colored, I fussy cut her, leaving a white border around the image. The white border makes her stand out against a colorful background, and with that hair, there’s no way I was cutting right up against the black lines in the image.
I created an A2 top fold card base from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, and did some ink blending directly on the front. I first used the Watercolor Circle stencil from My Favorite Things and ink blended using Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed Distress inks. I removed the circle stencil, added the Geometric mosaic stencil, also from MFT, and used Spiced Marmalade Distress ink for an orange pattern on top, extending out from the circle a bit. I didn’t think the orange was dark enough, so I went over it with Orange Peel ink from Simon Says Stamp and even added a little bit of Abandoned Coral Distress ink on top to amp up the contrast.
I mounted Mae on foam tape, before adding a couple of Kort & Godt sentiment stickers, which I also put foam tape on the back of.
I love dimension on my cards, and by popping up the image and the sentiments, they stand out a little against a fairly busy background.
To finish the card, I added a few pearls, hearts and gems from the Chrysanthemum mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I love her mixes, and use them on most of my cards, they add the perfect finishing touch.
Simple color palette.
There are five adorable penguins in this stamp set, and I chose two to color, with a vague idea for a card in the back of my mind as I was coloring. Once I’d colored both penguins and fussy cut them, I realized splitting them up and creating two cards would be better. For this card, I placed the Grid stencil from My Favorite Things at a bit of an angle directly on my top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. Using Sno Cone ink from My Favorite Things and a blender brush, I created a soft blend near the bottom of the card front, fading to white above and below.
The wishes die from Mama Elephant is probably my most used word die, I love it so much. I die cut it five times from Wild Cherry cardstock from My Favorite Things and stacked the die cuts for dimension. Onto the background I stamped a sub sentiment and the word Christmas from the 
The good thing about small(ish) images is that you don’t need heaps of colors. They’re also fairly quick to color.
Papirmølla 