Hi, everyone! I have a very clean and simple Christmas card to share today, featuring little Timothy from Purple Onion Designs. I love this little hedgehog, he’s so cute.
My card is heavily inspired by a card Tenia Nelson shared last week on Instagram. If you don’t already follow her, you should. She has a very clean and simple style, and is a master at using white space on her cards. Occasionally, you’ll even find music performances on her feed, she’s a professional musician too! Very talented lady, definitely worth a follow!
Tenia’s card had a wide piece of washi tape going in from the right near the top of the card, with a rectangle perpendicular to the washi with a couple of small colored flowers on top, a sentiment and a few enamel dots. Once I’d ink blended a little bit using Audrey Blue and Island Blue inks from Simon Says Stamp, I tried to add a rectangle to my card, but it was too long and too wide for my liking. I scrapped that idea and die cut a polaroid frame instead for my little hedgehog to sit in. I used the second smallest die from the Precious Polaroids die set from My Favorite Things, and stacked four on top of each other for dimension. The die cut was just big enough to stamp a sentiment onto. The shortest sentiment in the Snowflake Grove Sentiment set was the perfect size.
I added a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, and my card was complete. Lots of white space, a cute hedgehog and one more Christmas card in the bank for 2021. Doesn’t get much better than that!
Super limited color palette for this tiny image.
I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I’ve made another red Christmas card. I love creating Christmas cards, but I’m not a fan of red, not even for Christmas. The best thing about creating cards is that they get sent to someone else, so even if I personally don’t like certain colors, I’m getting rid of them eventually anyway, so it doesn’t matter. 😉
Once I’d colored the image with my Copics, I trimmed 1/4″ off each of the four sides and covered the back with foam tape. I found an old scrap of patterned paper from Magnolia that was already cut down to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″, probably a reject from a previous project, but perfect for this one, the red matches my coloring! It has white “snowflakes” on it. These have 8 points, so they’re not actually snowflakes. There’s no such thing as an eight pointed snowflake (or a five pointed, for that matter), it has to do with how water molecules are formed.
I die cut a couple of scraps of Maja Design patterned paper using two of the Fishtail Flag Frames dies from My Favorite Things. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto one of the die cut banners, adhering it to the larger one using 1 mm foam squares for a little bit of dimension. I used the same foam squares on the back of the bigger one and glued both banners to part of a mini doily from Doodlebug adhered to the top left corner of my colored panel. I added a few enamel dots from Papirdesign, and my card was done.
I found an old scrap of patterned paper from 3ndypapir that was just large enough to create an envelope from using the A2 V flap envelope dies from Simon Says Stamp. I thought the color matched the brown in my card nicely.
Not a lot of colors used for this one.
I colored the image with Copics and die cut it using the second largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 2 set from My Favorite Things, before adding it to a card base made from Gumdrop Green Heavyweight card stock, also from MFT, using lots and lots of foam tape. I used a black Glaze pen to add some dimension and shine to their eyes and noses.
I’m one of those people that use patterned paper on my cards. I don’t use lots, and I pretty much always use them for small clusters, but my ancient stash of patterned paper is shrinking ever so slightly with each card. I have a tub of die cut patterned paper scraps on my desk, and rummage through it to find the perfect pieces for my clusters. The dark green patterned paper I used here is actually from 2005, which was years before I started making cards. I stamped one of the sentiments from the Always Bring a Smile stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a separate piece of Gumdrop Green card stock and die cut it using one of the dies in the Slimline Starter die set. I finished off my card with a few enamel dots from Papirdesign to match the tiger and the details on the bird.
Another great use of patterned paper is envelopes. I’ve nearly run out of colored envelopes for A2 cards, and I’m definitely out of white ones, but larger scraps of patterned paper are perfect for creating one of a kind envelopes. I used the A2 V flap envelope dies from Simon Says Stamp on this piece of patterned paper from 3ndypapir. Another old one, this paper’s from 2010.
Lots of bright colors used for this one. I also used B40, which is a color I’ve created myself.
I thought 
Using Memento Bamboo Leaves ink, I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS inside one of the balloons, stamped again in VersaMark ink and clear heat embossed it. It makes it stand out a little more from the balloon. I die cut the panel using a die from the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things and adhered it to a card base made from Sour Apple card stock from MFT using lots of foam tape for dimension.
I added Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh to three of the balloons, and my card was finished. All that was missing was an envelope. The only colored envelopes for A2 sized cards I have left are in warm tones, so I decided to make my own using the A2 V flap envelope dies from Simon Says Stamp with a scrap piece of patterned paper from Papirdesign.
I thought the color of the patterned paper matched the blue balloons on the card so well, and it made the pile in my scrap drawer shrink ever so slightly, gotta love that!
I kind of went overboard with the number of Copics used for each balloon, but I think it turned out pretty good in the end.
My sister’s birthday’s in a few weeks, and I thought this was the perfect card for her. She used to have the nickname “musa” (the mouse) when we were kids. Our cousin, a few months younger, was also quite a bit bigger, earning her the nickname “rotta” (the rat). Of the two, I think my sister got the better nickname.
I die cut the frame five more times, cutting away the interior pieces and stacking the frames to form the walls of my shaker. The frame is quite thin, so I didn’t trust myself enough with a ruler and a craft knife to create five identical frames. Die cutting seemed safer and quicker. I’ve kept all the pieces and am planning on using them in the future for a card or two.
There’s quite a bit of dimension in this. Card base, five layers of walls for the shaker, a piece of acetate, die cut cover frame on top, then three layers of letters. Dimension is life!
Limited color palette with such a small image.
I colored in the candles using a rainbow color palette. Using the largest die in the Slimline Scallop Frame die set from Simon Says Stamp, I die cut six frames from white card stock and glued them together in a stack to form the walls for my shaker card. Into the shaker, I put some micro beads, some flat, iridescent sequins and quite a few “diamonds” from Kort & Godt, before adding a piece of acetate to seal the shaker. I die cut one last scallop frame to put on top, this time from a super glittery silver card stock from Kort & Godt. It’s very sparkly, and the glitter doesn’t rub off, I love it. I die cut Happy birthday from the same cardstock and adhered the letters onto the acetate to finish the card.
Lots of colors for this one. That happens with rainbows 🙂
I stamped 
I used one of the Precious Polaroids dies from My Favorite Things, as well as a wishes die from Mama Elephant. I die cut both four times from Blue Yonder card stock from My Favorite Things and stacked them for a dimensional look. Directly onto the card base, I used a blender brush from Taylored Expressions with Classic Kraft ink from Papertrey Ink over a Tim Holtz mini layering stencil to create some interest in the background. I stamped selected words from two sentiments from the 
I’m woefully short on envelopes to fit A2 cards, and definitely didn’t have any blue, kraft or white ones to go with my card, so I pulled out my A2 V Flap Envelope dies from Simon Says Stamp and created one using scraps of patterned paper from Papirdesign. Blue with snowflakes, can you get any better for a blue, wintery birthday card?
Very limited color palette this time, but it’s no wonder given the size of the image. I also used B90 for the hat, which is a color I’ve made myself.
I adhered everything to my die cut panel, some directly, and some with a couple of more layers of paper behind them for added dimension. I added a couple of veneer snowflakes from Crafty Moly that I’d already white heat embossed with three layers of super detail embossing powder from Ranger. I used a piece of the strip of 12×12″ paper that has the barcode on it from Papirdesign. Their barcode strips are awesome. One side has the barcode and all the information, the other side of the strip actually has a design on it, so nothing needs to go to waste.
I adhered everything onto a card base I made from Classic Kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink. I didn’t have any colored envelopes to match (and I’ve run out of white envelopes for A2 sized cards), so I used the A2 V Flap Envelope dies from Simon Says Stamp to create an envelope from some larger scraps of Maja Design patterned paper.
As usual, I leave you with the Copics I used. In addition to B0000 and the blender, I also used B90, which is a color I’ve made myself, for the sky.
After coloring the image, I used a die from the nested stitched doily set from Cottage Cuts to turn my colored piece into a circle with some nice detailing along the edge. I die cut two more from white cardstock and added them to the back for a little bit more strength and stability.
Using the Detail Ringlet Plate from Simon Says Stamp, I created a white panel with subtle texture. I wanted something that wasn’t too plain while at the same time not being too distracting from the image. I cut down four more pieces of white card stock, added them to the back of the die cut one and adhered it to a card base I made from Berry Sorbet card stock from Papertrey Ink.
A stacked die cut sentiment (die from Papirdesign) and a heat embossed sub sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS were added to the front, and finally a couple of matte gold sequins from Little Things From Lucy’s Cards. Before adhering it to the card, I used a shimmer spray on my colored piece, you can sort of see it in this photo, but it’s a lot more sparkly in person.
I have this throw pillow on my couch that jump started my inspiration. It’s got a nice geometric look, but it’s not too colorful (I prefer a neutral interior to a super busy colorful one, I put all my color into my cards), and the best thing is those blue triangles (it’s a darker blue in real life than in the photo, I need to compensate for bad winter lighting these days). I love blue (as evidenced by the blue throw pillow behind it, the blanket on the left that has lots of blue in it and the light blue walls in the background)!
My first card uses the exact same pattern as the one that’s on the pillow, but in other colors. I used the After Midnight color from My Favorite Things, Tickled Pink and Grout Gray, also from My Favorite Things, along with Berry Sorbet and Stamper’s Select White from Papertrey Ink for the vibrant pink and white, respectively.
I popped my panel of triangles onto a 4 3/4″ square card base using lots of foam tape. On a die cut circle I stamped and gold heat embossed a sentiment from the 
Being told “you are great” is something we all could use at times, right?
My next card features basically the same pattern, but I changed up the colors and extended the pattern to make it a rectangle. I wish I hadn’t cut the top part off, or cut even more off to make the pattern end in a full size or half size rectangle instead of what I ended up with, but it’s the sacrifice I made to make my card an A2 size with 1/4″ border around the triangles.
The card stock colors I chose for this card are Orange Zest, Summer Sunrise, Lemon Tart, True Black, and Rustic White, all from Papertrey Ink, as well as Blue Breeze from My Favorite Things. The Rustic White is more of a grungy white (is that a thing? It’s not bright white) with dark speckles here and there, it’s really cool. I used the Sweet Hello die from 
Below the die cut hello, I added a sub sentiment from the 
For my last card I decided to go rainbow. No chunky 1/4″ frame, I wanted the colorful triangles to go all the way to the edge in this one. The card measures about 4 1/4 x 5 1/4 (I learned from last card and didn’t want any weird looking shapes). The card stock colors (except for the white, which is Stamper’s Select White from Papertrey Ink) are all from My Favorite Things. They are, from top to bottom, Blue Yonder, After Midnight, Field Day, Limelight, Pineapple, Orange Zest, Red Hot, Razzle Berry, Grape Jelly and Wild Wisteria.
I didn’t want to cover up too much of the background, so I took out my Impact Alphabet die set from My Favorite Things and die cut the letters H and I six times from white card stock. I stacked two of each letter, added two layers of vellum on top, then the remaining four layers of the letters on top for a dimensional look. By having a couple of layers of the letters behind the vellum, it makes the vellum float. I added a few raindrops from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards for a finishing touch.
This one is definitely less dimensional than the other two cards, but the colors and the stacked sentiment still make it pop.
There you have it – 3 same but different cards using one fabulous geometric builder die. Obviously you could create triangles on your own without the die, but the die makes it so much easier and more accurate than I could ever hope to do on my own. And I’m super detail oriented and a bit of a perfectionist, so I’d definitely use the die!
Papirmølla 