diecutting - Right as Rain

Cardmaking with a Winter Theme

As cardmaking for Christmas will soon draw to a close, I am looking for ways to extend the joy of the season. I took a look back through my blog archive at a decade’s worth of cards to find winter-themed cards that can be sent for occasions other than Christmas – friendship, birthday, even valentines. In many cases, the same focal items used for Christmas cards can easily be used for winter-themed cards simply by changing the colors and/or the sentiment.

The appeal of winter-themed cards featuring activities like sledding, snowmen, winter animals and birds, and cozy cabins lies in their ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia and wonder. These focal items capture the essence of winter, emphasizing joy, togetherness, and the beauty of nature.

Throughout this post, I’ll be using cards from my blog archive as examples. Click on the card image to be taken to the original post. While the specific products used on these cards may no longer be available, the focus is on how the theme is represented on the card with a variety of holidays and occasions included. Note: As I updated information and links on the original posts, I also checked to see which retailers carried the older sets. Frantic Stamper, offering fantastic customer service, has a number of the older and retired items in stock.

Snowmen are a universal symbol of winter. People can relate to the image of a snowman (snowperson), making it a widely appreciated theme for winter cards. In addition to Christmas, I have used snowmen on friendship and Valentine’s Day cards.

Penguins are undeniably cute and endearing. Their waddling walk, distinctive black and white coloring, and charming features make them visually delightful.

Many people appreciate wildlife imagery, and foxes, with their bushy tails and distinctive coloring, represent a captivating aspect of winter fauna.

Featuring a polar bear on a birthday card adds a whimsical and adventurous element to the card.

The addition of scarves and/or hats to winter birds adds a cozy and festive touch, instantly conveying the warmth of friendship during the colder months.

Capture the spirit of winter sports for someone who appreciates the thrill of the slopes and the enchantment of a snow-covered mountain landscape.

A cabin in a snowy landscape symbolizes warmth and serenity. The motif can evoke feelings of nostalgia for winter holidays, family getaways, or the simple joys of a rustic lifestyle.

As I wrote this post, I recognized the potential for crafting even more holiday cards and winter-themed greetings using the same supplies.
I am eager to embrace this newfound inspiration. I sincerely hope that my creative exploration of winter-themed cards has sparked your imagination and kindled the inspiration to craft your own cards!

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!

Spellbinders | Fave Holiday Product Blog Hop

Hello! I am delighted to be participating in a Spellbinders blog hop featuring favorite holiday products released this year. You should have reached me from the blog of Lisa Mears. Scroll to the end of the post for the full list of participants. For the hop, I chose to create with the Snow Globe die set, part of the Simon’s Snow Globes Collection by Simon Hurley. The enchanting allure of snow globes lies in their ability to transport us to whimsical realms, evoking feelings of warmth and joy.

To celebrate, Spellbinders is giving away a $25 gift certificate to 3 lucky blog readers – selected from the comments on our blog. Giveaway closes on Sunday, November 19, 11:59 pm MST. The winner will be announced on the Spellbinders blog hop post the following Wednesday. The winner is responsible for shipping costs, duties, and taxes. Please note, store credit (gift certificate) cannot be applied to Club Subscriptions. Store credit can be applied to shop past Club products, Club extras, and regular releases.

This card came together quickly. I limited my supplies to patterned papers, Snowdrift cardstock, and the Snow Globe die set. I previously used the set HERE.

Create an A2-size card base and add a patterned paper background.
With the circle die in the Snow Globe set, cut the night sky from patterned paper. Use the same die to cut two circles of Snowdrift cardstock. With the snowbank die in the set, cut two snowbanks. Add the snowbanks to the night sky.
Cut the snow globe base and sentiment from patterned paper and Snowdrift cardstock. Assemble and add to the globe assembly.
Cut the trees, houses, and Santa and reindeer from patterned paper and Snowdrift cardstock. Assemble and add to the snow globe with dot and foam adhesive.
Add entire assembly to the card base with foam adhesive.

Head next to the blog of Deepa Robbins.

Spellbinders Blog
Yana Smakula
Tina Smith
Zsoka Marko
Sandi MacIver
Kristie Marcotte
Annie Williams
Nichol Spohr
Daniel West
Allison Frazier
Bibi Cameron
Lisa Mears
Jean Manis<–You are here
Deepa Robbins
Linh Van
Vicky Papaioannou
Heejung Hunsberger
Jennifer Kotas
Mindy Eggen
Joy Wilson
Bonnie Crane
Michelle Short
Lien Leysen

Pretty Pink Posh | The Stockings Were Hung

Hello! Today I am sharing a slimline-sized holiday card created with the charming Pretty Pink Posh Build A Stocking die and Christmas Sentiment Strips stamp sets. By the way, Pretty Pink Posh is now available at Scrapbook.com!

I wanted to showcase the variety of stockings you can create with the 17- piece set, so I created a background from patterned paper measuring 7″ wide by 3 3/4″ tall. I added the background to a card base.

With the set, I cut a variety of stockings and assembled them. It was fun to try out the various overlays and stocking tops. I used solid cardstock to coordinate with the patterned paper in the colors: Taylored Expressions Red Pepper, SU Very Vanilla, SU Old Olive, and SU Mossy Meadow.

I heat-embossed the Christmas Sentiment Strips sentiment in gold on Old Olive cardstock and cut it with a banner die.

I added the five assembled stockings to the card base with foam adhesive and the sentiment strip with foam adhesive over the two stocking on the right-hand side.

Card Backgrounds with Cover Plate Dies

Hello! Today, I am exploring the use of cover plate dies to create backgrounds for handmade cards. This post is a continuation of my series on card backgrounds that includes Paper Based Backgrounds, Embossing Folder Backgrounds, Stenciled Backgrounds, and Stamped Backgrounds.

Cover plate dies (which I will also refer to as cutting plates) come in a diverse range of styles and add depth, texture, and visual interest to handmade cards.

Some cover plate dies puncture the cardstock to create a subtle, textured effect. With these dies, the design is pressed into the paper, leaving a subtle impression without fully cutting through. My most often used cover plates are this type including the Lawn Fawn Stitched Cloud Backdrop shown below.

The Lawn Fawn Woodgrain Backdrop adds rustic and nature-inspired texture to a card background, as on the card below which also includes the Stitched Cloud Backdrop.

Other cover plate designs cut out designs, such as the Taylored Expressions Tropical Blooms Cutting Plate shown below, which was cut from white cardstock and colored with Distress Oxide inks.

Cover plate dies can include a sentiment, as in the Taylored Expressions Merry Christmas Cutting Plate shown below, cut from colored cardstock and added to a patterned paper background.

A cover plate background cut from the same color cardstock as the card base adds texture and does not take away from the focal point.

Cover plate backgrounds cut from solid-colored cardstock can be added over an inked panel to reveal the image, such as the Simon Says Folk Dance die shown below. Note: This particular die does not cut an outside border; an A2-size die was used to cut the panel.

Solid cardstock can be added to the back of the die-cut openings, as with the Reverse Confetti Big Polkas Cover Panel.

Add textural interest with geometric dies that can be used alone or layered to create a plaid look, as with the Reverse Confetti Plaid Lines Small and Plaid Lines Big Cover Panel dies.

The inlay technique can be used to fill in part or all of a background. In this case, the die is first used to cut the frame. Subsequent cuts are made of the additional cardstock colors and the cut pieces are added to the frame.

A stitched cover plate die can be used to cut holes that act as a guide for stitching with floss or used without any actual stitching, in which case the dots and embossed lines act as faux stitched details.

Considerations and Limitations Cover plate dies present limitations in terms of size and orientation, which can impact their suitability for specific card designs. For example, a 4 1/4-inch wide by 5 1/2-inch cover plate with a pattern oriented from top to bottom (such as rainfall) would not work on a landscape-oriented scene. Additionally, many cover plate dies cost $20 or more making them a pricey background option.

Insights As I mentioned earlier, my most used cover plate dies are those that puncture the cardstock to create a textured background. In terms of my favorite way to use cover plate dies, the inlay technique creates a stunning background that becomes the focal point; only a sentiment is needed to finish it off.

Do you frequently use cover plate dies for backgrounds? Are any on your “to buy” list?