Christmas Eve Box Treats - Snowman Seasons

April 29, 2021 Claire Taylor

A few years ago I found a gorgeous Christmas Eve box in a local charity shop which I gave to my sister for my nieces. Every year I give little treats to be added to the box. Todays project is one of my favourite items to provide for the Christmas Eve box which is some Snowman Mallow Poles.

I used the Snowman Seasons Stamp set and the Snowman Builder Punch. It is a simple project which uses stamps, inks and card with a bit of bling. I love that you can choose how to decorate the buttons, today I went for simple Matte Black Dots.

I coloured the nose by using the Pumpkin Pie Stampin’ Marker but you could use a Stampin’ blends as no-one will ever see the back as they are stapled together.

Measurements:

Card Strips - CM - 4cm

Card Strips - Inches - 1.5” or 1.75” (both fit the snowman)

The video below shows how simple it is to make.

What I love about this project and the mallow poles is that you can use lots of different stamp sets and punches. I love the cookie cutter punch reindeer. I also think that the bunny looks good for a super cute Easter present (i still need to stamp his face though).

I also used the ice cream punch to create a version which you could use for a birthday item, may be in a party bag,

Which is your favourite?

CASEing my favourite design

March 21, 2021 Claire Taylor

I love searching for inspiration either by searching Google images or using Pinterest, although I can spend hours searching and not enough time crafting. Whilst looking for inspiration for a snowman card, I found an amazing card created by Karina’s Kreation’s the card can be found here. I loved the simplicity and that it had layers but not what I would call ‘normal layers.’

I have to confess that my first card that I tried, was not that amazing. I think that the snowy panel is too large and the Stitched Shape die is too small. I then went back to the drawing board, looking at the panel sizes and also the snow banner.

I finally came up with a size that I liked, which I felt is balanced for the card.

Measurements:

My Metric

10.5 cm x 14.5 cm

Inside White Panel – cm x 13.5cm

Panel 1 – 11.5cm x 7.5cm

Panel 2 – 11.3cm x 7.3cm

Snow Panel – 10.5 x 3.9cm (to fit in 1 ½ inch groove in the triple banner punch)

Metric

10.5 cm x 14.8 cm

Inside White Panel – 9.5cm x 13.8 cm

Panel 1 – 11.5cm x 7.5cm

Panel 2 – 11.3cm x 7.3cm

Snow Panel – 10.5 x 3.9cm (to fit in 1 ½ inch groove in the triple banner punch)

Imperial

4." x 5 ½ "

Inside White Panel – 3 ½” x 5”

Panel 1 – 4 ½ ” x 3”

Panel 2 – 4 6/16 x 2 14/16

Snow Panel – 4” x 1 ½

I used traditional blue snow colours, but I think that this would work with lots of different colours. I prefer the Night of Navy and Balmy Blue, whats your favourite?

Snow Scenes - With Snowman Seasons Stamp Set

March 18, 2021 Claire Taylor

I have been looking at the DSP which is available in the catalogue. As I am crafting Christmas cards at least 5 months early (christmas in July anyone), there are no Christmassy papers in the catalogue. I like the pattern from the artistry blooms DSP although it is not traditionally Christmas colours. I think it looks pretty used in the simple layout of the card. I love the fact that these cards are quick, easy and also that you can make each one individual adding different elements so that no two look the same.

Measurements:

My Metric

10.5 cm x 14.5 cm

Inside White Panel – 9.5cm x 13.5cm

Snow panel - 10.5 cm x 7.5 cm

Metric

10.5 cm x 14.8 cm

Inside White Panel – 9.5cm x 13.8 cm

Snow panel - 10.5 cm x 7.5 cm

Imperial

4." x 5.5" (Tent fold)

Inside White Panel – 3.5 x 5”

Snow panel - 3” x 5.5

You could use any cute critter on your card. I love the Donkey which is your favourite?

How to Make Snow Backgrounds

March 14, 2021 Claire Taylor

And now for something completely different….

Over the last few weeks I have been making Christmas cards for my Christmas Card challenge. I have been going through my piles of designer series paper to find paper that I could use for a snowy background. As there is no current June to December catalogue and no Christmassy DSP in the the catalogue, I have been using some random sheets and colours.

I found some in the Artistry Blooms DSP and also the Flowers for Every Season DSP. They are gorgeous patterns but I thought that I would make my own. I have identified a number of ways to create snowy backgrounds.

Some are very simple, some are very messy, some take a while to create, others are super super quick.

All the techniques have been add to card which is 10.5cm by 29cm

Technique 1

This uses a Stampin’ Chalk marker to create dots, you could also use a white gel pen or the Craft White ink and a blender pen

Technique 2

This uses ‘tone on tone stamping’ this can be seen better on lighter colours, for this technique you use the same coloured ink to add snowflakes to the card.

Technique 3

This uses Versamark ink and embossing powder to create the background. Simply stamp in Versamark, add the embossing powder and heat using your heat gun. Do not forget to use an embossing buddy first, I would suggest that you emboss bit by bit to ensure that the embossing powder stays in place. The added advantage to heat embossing is that you can use the emboss resist technique and use blending brushes to create gorgeous blending on your card.

Technique 4

This uses White Craft ink and the snowflake stamp to create a snowy background, this needs time to dry or the ink can smudge and the snowflakes will not be as defined.

Technique 5

This uses the craft ink refill, add one drop to a block and spritz with water and use a paintbrush to flick the white water. This technique can get very messy.

Technique 6

This uses the white frost shimmer paint, add one drop to a block and spritz with water and use a paintbrush to flick the shimmery . This technique can also get very messy. you can use the Shimmer paint on its own, it does not create as many spots and I think creates a more abstract background than Snowy background.

I love the ink splatter background the best, even if it the messiest. Which is your favourite?

Simple Ink blended Snowman Seasons cards

March 11, 2021 Claire Taylor

I decided that I would doesomething slightly different today and use the Snowman Builder Punch. It is a super cute punch which creates the snowman, a hat, a nose and two arms when punched. It makes quick simple cards and tags really easy and multiple card making a dream.

I have also been inspired by a number of butterfly cards recently which has ink blended backgrounds. I am in love with the new blender brushes. I have a collection, from Amazon to make up brushes and even other companies. The new Stampin’ Up! brushes are super soft and amazing at creating gorgeous backgrounds.

My tips for using a blending brush are keep a brush for each colour family, tap off the excess ink before blending the colour on the card and use a light touch, you can add colour but you can not remove excess.