Christmas - Right as Rain

Mixed Media Christmas Card

Hello! Today I’m sharing a Christmas card created with Tim Holtz products. The sentiment and focal items are kept understated to spotlight the background, where the texture and dimension really come through. This mixed media approach is a bit different from my usual clean style, but it’s been fun to experiment.

- Create a monoprint with the Tiny Poinsettia stencil using Decayed Mica Stain. I shared another stencil monoprint card HERE.
- Once dry, ink the poinsettias with the stencil in place.
- Apply Twinkle paste through the stencil and set aside to dry. I noticed that the colors change considerably with the application of the paste.
- Trim and mat the panel with gold cardstock. Add the assembly to a card base covered with seasonal patterned paper (I used Carta Bella from several years ago). The overall size is 4 3/4″ x 6 7/8″.
- Stamp the Festive Overlay sentiment in Library Green ink on off-white cardstock. Cut with a circle die. Mat with a slightly larger vellum circle. Add to the base.
- Cut the bells with dies in the Festive Things set. Assemble and add to the prepared base.

Tim Holtz | Vintage Holiday Card

Hello! Today’s card leans into the vintage style of Tim Holtz, which is a departure from my usual look. I used the Tim Holtz sled die as the focal point, cutting it from cardstock that I inked and distressed for a worn, mixed media feel. The snowflake-embossed background adds texture, and the “Merry and Bright” sentiment brings in holiday cheer. I loved playing with layers, texture, and inky color to create that signature Tim Holtz weathered charm.

- Dry-emboss and A2-size panel of textured cardstock with a snowflake embossing folder. I used the now-retired Sizzix Tim Holtz Simple Snowflakes 662432 folder. Add to card base.
- Cut the Vintage Sled from a variety of cardstock colors and textures. Assemble.
- Stamp the Tiny Text Christmas sentiment in Potting Soil ink on off-white cardstock that has been colored with Antique Linen ink. Cut with a banner die.
- Add assembled sled to the card base with foam adhesive. Add sentiment to sled with foam adhesive.

Spellbinders | Santa by the Mantel

Hello! There’s something especially heartwarming about Christmas scenes set inside the home. My latest card, created with several Spellbinders Simon Hurley die sets, captures Santa by the mantel, surrounded by stockings and holiday cheer. I loved bringing this cozy moment to life with die cuts that build a story—one that feels like it could come straight from a Christmas Eve illustration. I talk about the appeal of Santa in cardmaking HERE.

- Cover a 5″ x 7″ card base front with Hard Candy Christmas patterned paper. Add a strip along the bottom of Honey Bee Pinstripes and Polka Dots paper.
- Cut Santa with the The Clauses set and assemble.
- Create the mantel with the Mantel Village and Mantel Decorations die sets. Use a die in the North Pole Sentiments set to cut the sentiment into the mantel. Back with white cardstock.
- Add assembled elements to prepared card base.

I especially love that this card comes together entirely with die cuts—no stamping needed, and having the sentiment cut right into the mantel keeps the design clean and uncluttered.

A Tim Holtz-Inspired Holiday Card

Hello! Mixed media isn’t my usual cardmaking style, but it’s always fun to step outside my comfort zone and experiment. For this Christmas card, I used a variety of Tim Holtz products including stenciling and alcohol inking. The variety of mediums adds character and depth to the design—each layer contributing its own texture and visual interest. It’s a festive project full of wintery sparkle and creative play.

- To begin, create a card base 3 3/4″ x 6 7/8″ from woodgrain cardstock. Ink the sides of the cardstock with Gathered Twigs.
- Next, create a monoprint on watercolor paper with the Pinecones stencil using Antique Linen Distress Spray and water. There are several of the Tim Holtz makers who regularly use this technique. Once dry, stencil in the pinecones and greenery. Apply the Sparkle paste through the panel and set aside to dry. Tim Holtz recently created a video discussing the many pastes available.; it proved to be an invaluable resource.
- Once dry, you can add Antique Linen ink to the cardstock since the areas covered by the paste resist the ink. This can help fill in bare spots from the monoprint method.
- Cut the bird from alcohol-inked black cardstock. I used the same formula as on this card.
- Cut the greenery, from cardstock to which Distress ink has been applied, with dies in the Holiday Greens set. Add a snow effect by applying Snowfall Grit paste and Rock Candy glitter.
- Stamp the Festive Overlay sentiment on to cardstock and cut with a circle die. Cut a vellum circle slightly larger. Adhere the two.
- Trim the stenciled panel and add to the card base. Add sentiment circle, greenery, and bird.

It’s a bit more involved than my usual clean and simple cards, but worth every step for the texture and sparkle it brings to the finished design.

CAS Stenciled Christmas Card

Hello! Today, I’m sharing a clean and simple Christmas card created with Simon Hurley products that captures the season’s elegance in just a few details. The background was made with the multi-part Festive Poinsettias stencil, blending classic holiday reds and greens. To complete the design, I heat-embossed the Sketched Snowmen sentiment in green and framed it with a touch of gold.

- With the first stencil in the Festive Poinsettias set, stencil the poinsettia petals on to Bristol cardstock with Candied Apple ink. With the second stencil, color the greenery with Mowed Lawn. The third stencil has details for both the poinsettia and the greenery. Stencil Archival Vermillion on the poinsettias (masking the areas for the greenery) and stencil Rustic Wilderness on the greenery, masking the poinsettias. Finally, add Champagne Gold Stencil Butter to the centers of the poinsettias, masking the other holes on the fourth stencil. (I decided that I only wanted the gold in the flower centers).
- Once dry, trim the stenciled panel and add to an A2-size card base.
- Heat-emboss the sentiment from the Sketched Snowmen set in Green and cut it with a rectangle die. Add to a gold cardstock mat with foam adhesive. Add assembly to card base.

I love how the layered stenciling adds depth while keeping the card clean and modern.