Friday, December 12, 2025

THE SHEPHERD'S CARE

I'm going to be right up-front about this card today.  It did not turn out as I envisioned when I started.  In fact, this was my third version of the card.


My first plan was to emboss the Shepherd on Vellum and then lay it over the beautiful Lights of Aurora Designer Series Paper (DSP).  My problem was that my typical process for adhering vellum to cardstock didn't work out so well.  I usually use a sponge to apply a VERY LIGHT amount of Tombow Adhesive to the back of the vellum and then adhere it to the cardstock.

Normally, once the adhesive dries it is virtually invisible.  Well, that did not work this time.  It looked terrible and went in the trash.  Plus the Vellum really "blurred" out the design of the Lights of Aurora paper.


My 2nd attempt was to emboss the Shepherd directly on the DSP.  That certainly fixed the issue of blurring the DSP design, but I didn't like that the "aurora lights" were very strongly visible through my Shepherd.  It looked weird -- like he was an invisible man wearing a cloak.


So, for my 3rd attempt, I embossed him on Basic Black cardstock and then fussy cut him leaving just a tiny border of black around the figures.  That worked and I was happy!

But, having said that, I'm not sure if my card really qualifies for this week's "Last-Minute Christmas Cards" theme.  While he was easy to fussy cut, I don't think fussy cutting qualifies for something called "last minute."  It's not difficult, but, at least for me, it isn't exactly fast!

Oh well, I really like how the card ultimately turned out, so you are getting it today anyway!  I'm sort of on a "last minute" timeline, too, and I don't have time to start all over!  LOL  😅

What do you think?  Any ideas or other solutions to turn this into a "last minute card?"

Use this link to download a tutorial.

The products I used are shown below.  To learn more about any of the products just click on the image.

By the way...  The Lights of Aurora Suite is on the Last Chance List, but I checked, and ,at the time I'm writing this post, the gorgeous Lights of Aurora Designer Series Paper IS NOT on the list!  YAY!  I hope it sticks around for a while.  It is so pretty!

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Wednesday, December 10, 2025

LET'S MAKE 3 CARDS

I stated on my Monday post that this week is all about Last Minute Christmas Cards.  If you are running behind, or even if you just counted your cards and found out you are a few cards short, then you are going to want to keep reading.

It takes about as long to make these three cards as it takes to make one card!  So, if you need some last-minute, quick cards, use this STACK & CUT TECHNIQUE.

All you need to do is select 3 coordinating designs from your favorite Christmas Designer Series Paper (DSP).  Cut them to size (see the tutorial for the dimensions I used) and then cut the stack into three pieces.  

The number of cards you can make at once depends on the capability of your paper trimmer, but I would recommend that you limit your stack to a maximum of 4 different designs of DSP.  When you cut the stack it is important to insure that the pieces do not slide while you cut because you need the smaller cut shapes to all be the same.  If they are not, then as you mix & match, they may not fit together correctly.  

My personal experimentation found that when I tried to cut more than 4 layers of DSP at the same time, they were more likely to slide as I cut them.


Once you have your stack cut into three pieces, mix and match to create three different combinations.

NOTE:  If you decide to use 4 different DSP designs, you need to cut the stack into 4 pieces and you will then make four cards.

If you cut your stack into rectangular or square pieces, you can use both sides of the DSP as you mix and match.  However, if you cut the stack into pieces that have shapes with non-90 degree corners (like I did), you will need to use the all designs that were face-up when cutting.

I used the Traditions of Christmas DSP for my stack.  I could have used all the same color mats, but I decided to use three different colors.  I chose three colors from my DSP -- Real Red, Old Olive & Secret Sea.  You can see all three colors in the first photo, but for the rest of the photos I am showing the Secret Sea card.  Everything other than the mats is basically the same on all three cards.


Oh, I did have to change the color my Traditional Sparkling Sequins because I ran out of red, but you can make all three cards exactly the same or change up cardstock colors and embellishments as you like.  


I coordinated the color of the mat on the inside of each card with the mat color on the front, but I used the same floral DSP on all cards as well as on the envelope flap.

The inside sentiment is also from the Traditional Labels stamp set.  The Merry & Christmas sentiments are separate stamps, but I mounted them on the same block so stamped them at the same time.  This speeds up the process even more.


A list of the products used is shown below.

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Monday, December 8, 2025

HAVE A HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS

This week I am going to be sharing "Last Minute Christmas" cards.  If you are still making your Christmas Cards this week, you are probably feeling a little stressed and could use some ideas for cards that do not take too long to make.


Although this card may not look like it is a quick & easy card, it is!  As long as you have the right tools, this card is VERY quick and easy to put together.

The Very Vanilla card front with all the holly leaves was created with the Jolly Holly Hybrid Embossing Folder.  With just one quick pass through the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine you emboss and die cut the holly leaves at the same time.  


If you are not familiar with a Hybrid Embossing Folder, it means that there is a die that fits inside of the embossing folder.  You just add your cardstock in the folder and run it through your die cutting machine!  Voila, you are finished!  t doesn't get much easier than that.

The two rectangular die cuts and the "joy" are also created with dies form the same Holly Jolly dies.  


There is zero stamping on the card front.  And those holly leaves are positioned perfectly to be able to tuck the corners of the sentiment assembly under them.  I added a little liquid adhesive on the back of the assembly to hold it firmly in place.

On my card I did add Basic Rhinestones colored with Stampin' Blends to highlight the holly "berries".  However, if you are really short on time just leave those off.  Honestly, if I were to make this card again, I don't think I would put the colored Rhinestones on it.  It is clean & elegant without them.  By the time I figured out I would like to leave them off, they were stuck in place, so removing them was not an option without damaging the card (I tried).


The Holly Jolly sentiment on the inside was heat embossed with gold embossing powder, and I added a simple Brushed Gold Foil strip to add a bit of decoration.

Use this link to download a tutorial with detailed instructions.

A list of the products used is shown below.  The products needed are few.  You just need the right ones to keep it quick & simple.  If you don't add the Rhinestones, you would not need those or the Stampin' Blends that I used to color them.


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Friday, December 5, 2025

HAPPY SPANNER FUN FOLD

My last card this week is a Spanner Fun Fold and surprise, surprise it is not another Christmas Card.

This card was made with Sharon Armstrong's Million Dollar stamp set called Happy Place.  Even though the "HAPPY" is designed as a tropical beach scene, I decided to combine it with the gorgeous Splendid Autumn Designer Series Paper.  

It's Autumn (going on winter) here in Michigan and our summer boats and toys have been put away for a couple of months but it is always a good season to be HAPPY!

I inked my "HAPPY" stamp with sponge daubers working from top to bottom with Balmy Blue, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Mossy Meadow -- some good Autumn colors.


My biggest challenge with this card was that I wanted as much of the Autumn path on the arch to show as possible.  I played a bit and finally a lightbulb went off when I remembered there is such a thing as Acetate Sheets.  So I decided to cut apart each letter from the "HAPPY" and mount them to a strip of Acetate with dimensionals.  


This way I could at least see through between the letters, and then when you lift up the spanner portion of the card you can see the full path.  (Yes, you can see the dimensionals on the backside of the letters when you open the spanner, so just place with neatly!)


What do you think?

Isn't this Splendid Autumn DSP beautiful?  I honestly thought it was retired, but when I looked it up on the Stampin' Up! Online Store I was pleasantly surprised to see that it is still available!  YAY!


Flip up the middle flap and you see the inside of the card.  The "BIRTHDAY" was also inked with sponge daubers to create a bit of ombre effect with Crushed Curry and Cajun Craze ink.

I think this card would work well for men or women.  What do you think?


A list of the products used is shown below.


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