Winter - Right as Rain

52 Christmas Card Throwdown | Winter Countryside

Looking for the Spellbinders Blog Hop post? Head HERE.

Hello! A few weeks ago, I won the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Theme Challenge. As the winner, I was invited to be a guest for the November Theme Challenge Winter Countryside.

The sight of a winter countryside evokes feelings of nostalgia with childhood memories of playing in the snow, building snowmen, and/or sledding. It offers a serene and idyllic backdrop creating a magical atmosphere that many people find irresistible!

To create the challenge card, I eagerly dug through my supplies. One of my favorite aspects of participating in card challenges – they provide an excuse to pull out favorite supplies and those that have never been used or used infrequently.

To begin, I stenciled and A2-size panel of Taylored Expressions Blue Corn cardstock with white paste through the Lawn Fawn Snow Flurries stencil. You can read more about stenciled backgrounds in my post HERE.
While the stenciled background dried, I cut the Memory Box Country Landscape (now retired) from Snowdrift cardstock. I used the Spellbinders Silent Night Make a Scene set to cut the red house and Santa and his reindeer. (The set is retired, however, I see that it is in stock at Frantic Stamper HERE. As I have mentioned before, Fran offers terrific customer service and has a large inventory.) I backed the houses with Blue Corn cardstock as I was depicting a nighttime scene.
With Hero Arts white powder, I heat-embossed the Essentials by Ellen Santa’s Flight set sentiment (released in 2015 and now-retired) on Pomegranate cardstock and cut it with a banner die.
I cut the frame from Snowdrift cardstock with the largest die in the MFT Stamps A2 Rectangle Frames set.
Once dry, I added the stenciled panel to the card base. I added the countryside landscape to the background, and then added the frame. Finally, Santa, the red house, and the sentiment were added.

I hope you are inspired to craft your own Winter Countryside card for the challenge!

Coffee-themed Winter Wishes

Hello! While visiting my blog archive for my post on cardmaking with the hot beverage theme, I decided to do a mash-up of two of the cards shown HERE and HERE. I eagerly delved into my supplies, reigniting my passion for crafting with these products.

To create the card, I used a number of now retired supplies. I’m calling this a “Shop Your Stash” post! I know there are a lot of shiny new products out there that I could easily buy. It is more of a challenge to use what I already own. The retired supplies are listed at the bottom. I have emboldened supplies that are currently available and included them in the LinkDeli list.

- Dry emboss a white cardstock square (4 1/2″) with a folder for subtle texture. (Note: I used the now-retired SU Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions folder. The shim required is the base platform, the folder with the cardstock inside, and one cutting plate.) Add to card base.
- Stamp Lawn Fawn Kraft cardstock with the Hero Arts Candy Stripe Bold Prints background stamp in red pigment ink. Once dry, cut with the Lil’ Inker 4 1/4″ stitched square. Add to card base.
- Cut a 3″ circle from Waterfall cardstock and add white embossing paste through the Snowy Sky stencil. Set aside to dry.
- Stamp Hero Arts Winter Wishes sentiment in black on white cardstock. Cut with the 3″ circle die and again with a die in the MFT Snow Drifts set. (I bought this set of hills in November 2012; the set was one of my first ever die purchases.) Add sentiment hill to the stenciled circle and add assembly to the card.
- Cut mittens with dies in the My Favorite Things Warm & Fuzzy set from red cardstock and dry-emboss with the Taylored Expressions Cable Knit embossing folder. Cut to-go coffee cup with dies in the Mini Café All Day set. Assemble and accessorize with a snowflake cut with a Mini Snowflakes die from white glitter foam. Add cup and mittens to card.

Retired Supplies: My Favorite Things Warm & Fuzzy; My Favorite Things Snow Drifts; Lil’ Inker 4 1/4″ stitched square; Hero Arts Candy Stripe Bold Prints; Taylored Expressions Cable Knit embossing folder; Colorbox red pigment ink; Hero Arts Winter Wishes; SU Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions embossing folder

Impression Obsession | Santa Mug

Hello! Today, I am sharing a hot beverage-themed Christmas card featuring the Santa Mug die set from Impression Obsession. I recently posted about the hot beverage theme HERE.

I happily stumbled upon the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown with the theme Christmas Cup.

Stamp Nordic Stripes in red ink on white cardstock. Cut to A2-size and add to card base. After I wrote about Creating Card Backgrounds with Stamps, I reorganized my background stamps and rediscovered this one!
Stamp In & Out 11 sentiment in black on to patterned paper. Cut with die in the Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Rectangle set (3 3/4″ x 5″). Add to card base.
Cut Santa Mug pieces from a variety of cardstocks. I used black glitter foam for the eyes. Add assembly to card front with foam adhesive.

Spellbinders | Deco Holiday Embossing

Hello! Today, I am sharing a CAS, holiday card showcasing the Spellbinders Deco Holiday embossing folder, used to dry-emboss a pattern of squares and paired with a glimmer-foiled sentiment.

Using the 1″ die in the Everlasting Squares set, I cut twenty cardstock squares of purple, teals, and blues. I arranged the squares and taped them together on the back before dry embossing with the Deco Holiday folder. I added the panel to a Snowdrift cardstock base measuring 4 1/4″ x 5 1/4″.
Using one of the sentiments in the Christmas Mailbox Greetings set, I glimmer foiled Snowdrift cardstock in silver. I cut the sentiment with the 2″ die in the Everlasting Circles set and attached it to a circle cut from vellum with the 2 1/4″ die.
I attached the sentiment circle to the card center with foam adhesive and embellished with snowflakes cut with the Holiday Decorations set from white foam glitter.

You can read more about card backgrounds created with embossing folders HERE.

Take advantage of the Spellbinders Fall Warehouse Sale that runs now through September 21!

Sunny Studio Stamps | Snow One Like You

Hello! It is hard to resist a winter scene with a snowman. In this post, I am sharing two cards, both showcasing the delightful stamp set Snow One Like You from Sunny Studio Stamps. On one, I used the Lawn Fawn Say Cheese, Again Polaroid-style frame, and on the other, I used the Sunny Studio Stamps Mini Mat & Tag 3 set to create a mat for my scene. In this post, I discussed the use of frames and mats in cardmaking.

To create the background, cover an A2-size card base with patterned paper.

To create the focal image, stamp Snow One Like You with Versafine on Arches Cold Press watercolor paper and heat set. Color the image with watercoloring medium of choice. Once dry, cut the images with the coordinating die set. (Check out my “Resources for Watercoloring Stamped Images” HERE.)

Use one of the hill dies in the Slimline Nature Borders set to create the snowbank.

Cut the frame with the Lawn Fawn Say Cheese, Again frame. Add snowbank and patterned paper behind the frame, trimming as needed. Cut sentiment with the Art Impressions Journal Letter die set from white glitter foam. Adhere the letters to the frame, attach the frame assembly to the background, and add the focal image to the card with foam adhesive.

Alternatively, cut a mat with the Sunny Studio Stamps Mini Mat & Tag 3 die set. Use a rectangle die to cut the sky from patterned paper and to trim the snowbank. Add the sentiment, cut with the Art Impressions Journal Letter die set from white glitter foam, to the snowbank. Add the assembly to the card background and the focal image to the card with foam adhesive.

Below are sketches of the two designs.