Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing another holiday card today, this time featuring Penguin Photo Strip from Lili of the Valley. It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for penguins, and these are fun and playful. I love the idea of the photo strip, but I decided to shake it up and not make it a strip.
I started by coloring the images with Copics. They each come with a frame, but I wanted this postage stamp look, so I cut my images on the inside of the frames.
I wanted some interest in the background, and the Sparkling Snow embossing folder from Simon Hurley/Spellbinders is amazing! It creates proper six pointed snowflakes and gives such a cool texture, I want to use it on everything. I used it with a panel of Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s one of my favorite light blue colors, I may need to hoard it since MFT went out of business. I trimmed my panel down, matted it with a panel of Cranberry cardstock from Concord & 9th and adhered both to a top fold white card base I covered with an A2 panel of X-Press It blending card, just so that my whites would match.
I adhered each of my colored images onto Cranberry cardstock for a nice framed look, then adhered my matted images to postage stamps I die cut with the Postage Collage die from Waffle Flower.
I mounted each of my postage stamps using foam squares, adding the first two straight before making sure the last two were wonky. I like that both the images and their placement tell a story about what happened in that photo booth, everything going perfectly at the start, followed by slight chaos. To finish off the card, I added black glaze to the eyes for some shine and a tiny bit of dimension, as well as snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
Not a whole heap of colors used for these.
I haven’t done any coloring since December, so I felt rusty. Thankfully, these images from Lili of the Valley are easy ones for jumping back in! Once my coloring was complete, I fussy cut him, leaving a thin white border around the edge. I didn’t want to cut away the “fuzzies” that are so typical of LOTV images, so by leaving a white border, I could preserve the look. I used an embossing folder (Quilted embossing folder from Concord & 9th) to create some interest in the background without being too distracting.
I cut down a few colors of cardstock from Concord & 9th to 3/16″ wide strips and glued them together on a scrap piece of white cardstock. The colors I used are Oceanside, Aqua Sky, Buttercup, Grapefruit and Honeysuckle. I mounted my stripped up panel at an angle, put a few foam squares behind the monkey and added him on top. I die cut hugs (Quilted die set from C9) three times from white cardstock, stacked them and adhered them on top of my strips next to the monkey. I then stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Gifting stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a black piece of cardstock from Concord & 9th. I added a couple of layers of black cardstock behind for strength and dimension and adhered it on top of the die cut word, before finishing off with a few sequins from the Starry Night mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
Simple color combo this time.
I colored my cutie with Copics and made sure to color enough on the sky and the ground beneath him so I could die cut my panel with a circle die. I used a black glaze pen to get some shine into his eyes, and once the black was dry, I added a dot of white Gelly Roll 05. I die cut a white ornament using the Snowflakes and Ornament die set from Hero Arts, and glued my colored panel on top, before working on the rest of the card.
For my background, I used the Magic Snow Cover die from Mama Elephant to die cut from Powder cardstock from Concord & 9th. I adhered that to a top fold white card base and glued my ornament in the center with a couple of layers of cardstock behind it for a little bit of dimension. I die cut a sentiment from white cardstock using the Jolly Holiday Greetings die set from Concord & 9th. I die cut the back from Champagne cardstock, also from Concord & 9th and added the complete sentiment to my card with a little dimension behind it, before finishing off with a die cut bow in the same cardstock color, die cut using the Gift Bows die set from Kristina Werner.
Simple palette for this one.
I colored the little snowball with Copics and fussy cut him, adding a touch of black glaze pen to his eyes to make them shiny, and then a tiny white dot of Gelly Roll 05 once the black was dry. I used the Fa la la inlay die from Concord & 9th and die cut a white panel. I trimmed off a little on each side and glued it to a card base I created from Grapefruit cardstock from Concord & 9th, inlaying the white letters back into place. I cut a few in the grapefruit color, stacked them and emphasized one line in the background using this color, which left just enough room on the right for the snowman to sit on some foam tape.
I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the older Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley onto a piece of Aqua Sky cardstock from Concord & 9th. The cardstock color was a little bit light for the white letters, so I ink blended on top using Aqua Sky ink to make the sentiment more visible. The exposure in the photo makes it lighter than it is in real life, it’s actually very easy to read it in person. I used the Snowflake Confetti Fancy die from Hero Arts to die cut small snowflakes from Aqua Sky cardstock. I stacked two of each for a tiny bit of dimension and used them as embellishments on the card.
Very limited color palette for this one.
I stamped the bee on X-Press It blending card and colored it with Copics, before I used a die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to create a faux stitch border.
Onto a panel of Aqua Sky cardstock from Concord & 9th, I ink blended Aqua Sky ink through the Geometric Mosaic stencil from My Favorite Things and adhered the panel to a white card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, then mounted the panel with the bee in the center using foam tape.
I used the Sending You Hugs die from My Favorite Things to die cut the word HUGS four times. I die cut three white, one from Aqua Sky cardstock and stacked them for dimension. I used the same technique on the sending die from the Blooming Delight die set from Altenew, but switching out the color for the top die cut to Buttercup cardstock from Concord & 9th. I adhered the letters for HUGS above the bee, and the stacked sending above that, letting the s hang from the edge of the panel to break the line in the design.
I used sequins and gems from the Urban Chic mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to embellish, and I also used my trusted black glaze pen/white Gelly Roll 05 combo for the eyes to give them a little dimension and shine.
Simple color palette for this one.
I printed my panda onto X-Press It blending card, colored him with Copics and used a black glaze pen, then a white Gelly Roll 05 to create shine and a little bit of dimension in his eyes and nose. I then used the Polaroid Shaker Frame die from My Favorite Things to create the perfect spot for him by die cutting a few layers from white cardstock and one layer from cardstock that I colored green with one of the inks in the Jade Greens family of fresh dye inks from Altenew.
Using the Leaf Clusters stamp set from Altenew, I stamped one of the leaf clusters onto my white card base with various greens to create an ombre look. I used Pistachio, Misty Sage, Mossy Meadow and Green Opal inks, all from that same Jade Greens family of Fresh dye inks. I actually stamped it twice, but the polaroid covers most of the one I stamped in the bottom left corner. I also used the inks to create a little ink splatter on the background.
I stamped a sentiment from the Leaf Clusters stamp set in Green Opal ink, cut it down to a strip and added a couple of strips behind it for strength and dimension, before finishing off the card with a visual triangle of sequins from the White Orchid Sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
It’s no secret that I love dimension on my cards, and my three layer sentiment on top of the four layer polaroid frame add enough weight for this to require extra postage, but that’s true of most of my cards.
These pandas tend to make for some pretty simple color combos.
Enough housekeeping. I colored this cute panda and the bamboo in the background onto X-Press It blending card using Copics, before stamping a small sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant using Obsidian ink from Altenew.
I adhered my colored piece to a top fold white card base and used the Leafy Cover die from Mama Elephant to die cut a frame from Green Parakeet cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I strategically cut off a few leaves that did too good of a job of hiding my panda, before adhering the frame on top of the image.
I added a black glaze pen to his eyes and nose, before going in with a Gelly Roll 05 once the black was dry. I love the extra shine and dimension it adds to the image, even if it doesn’t show up in the photos. What does show up, however, is the embellishment mix. This is the Spring Leaves mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I purposefully underexposed my photo as I was taking the picture to avoid blowing out the light areas during editing. It’s a trick I learned today from Mona Tóth (@mona.toth on Instagram), and it blows my mind that willingly making the photos look dark as you shoot makes them that much better in the end – but it totally works!
I didn’t use too many Copics for this one.
I separated the image into two, so I could create staggered postage stamps on my final card. I colored the images with Copics, and used the Postage Collage die from Waffle Flower to turn them into postage stamps. I also die cut a third postage stamp and stamped the sentiment in the center of it using Obsidian ink from Altenew. The sentiment itself is from the Easter Bunnies stamp set from Simon Hurley. Once I knew the sentiment was dry, I masked off the edges of the postage stamp and ink blended the center rectangle using Grapefruit ink from Concord & 9th.
I cut down a sheet of Powder cardstock from Concord & 9th to fit the front of an A2 card, and used the Linen & Canvas impression plate from Papertrey Ink to add some subtle texture to the background. I adhered it to a white top fold card base and arranged my postage stamps, adding various thicknesses of dimension behind each for some interest, before finishing off with a few pearls from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.
I realize now that I’m missing a few colors in this graphic. I used RV42, R11 and YR000 for the peachy pink.
I colored my reindeer with Copics, added black Glaze to his eyes for shine, a white dot on top with a Gelly Roll 05 once the black was dry and also a thick layer of Glossy Accents to his nose for dimension as well as shine. I fussy cut him leaving a white border and proceeded to work on the rest of my card.
I covered a card base with the Julhälsningar sheet from the Vintage Winter collection from Maja Design. This has a little bit of pattern to it, but not so much that it’s too distracting. I created a window in a white panel using a heart die from Papirdesign, then used one of the dies in the Stitched Borders die set from Lawn Fawn to create a little bit of interest to the sides, before adhering the panel with foam tape to the center of the card front.
Using the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant, I die cut three layers from white cardstock and one from the patterned paper to adhere on top. I stacked the four together and adhered my die cut to the card. I white heat embossed a sub sentiment from the Holiday messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a scrap piece of patterned paper and trimmed it down to a strip, before I added a few layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and adhered it below my die cut word.
I mounted the reindeer on foam tape offset in the heart opening and added die cut snow flakes here and there. Some I created with the Snowflake Confetti Fancy die from Hero Arts, some are made with the Stitched Let It Snow Circle Frame die set from Memory Box, which includes a die that cuts three individual snowflakes (which is what I used).
This card has a lot of texture and dimension, and the shine on Rudolph’s nose is the perfect detail to draw attention to him!
Not a lot of Copics for this one.
I colored my snowman with Copics, added black Glaze to his eyes, then a white dot using a Gelly Roll 05 once the black was dry. I also used the white to add the white dots to his hat. I fussy cut my snowman, leaving a thin white trim around him, before putting him to the side to work on the rest of my card. I covered my card base with patterned paper from Maja Design. This frosty blue paper is from the Vintage Frost Basics collection from 2013, the sheet’s called 13th of December. I used the Notebook Edge die from My Favorite Things to create a fun border on a piece of Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used Light & Fluffy Modeling Paste from The Crafter’s Workshop to create snow through the Falling Snow stencil from Simon Says Stamp. While the paste was still wet, I sprinkled on Rock Candy distress glitter for an even frostier effect, and mounted my white panel with foam tape to my card front.
I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the 
Simple color palette for this one. Lots of blues.
Papirmølla 