Justine's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 & Day 3

My day began with a trip to the dentist—fortunately, I only needed a check-up, clean and polish. With that out of the way, I spent the afternoon catching up on the next two instalments of Justine’s 12 Days of Christmas and creating my own cards inspired by her designs.

Day 2:

The Day 2 brief called for white heat-embossed text, ink blending through a stencil and a circular sentiment to finish the design. I dug out a very old Hero Arts friendship-text stamp, stamped it in Versamark and embossed it in white. For the background, I used a Tim Holtz Holly Bough stencil.

My first attempt at colouring the berries did not go to plan, but I managed to rescue the background with red glitter die-cut dots. Looking back, I would choose a darker green for the holly leaves to create more contrast. To make the circular frame, I combined two Spellbinders Nestabilities dies: a plain circle and a smaller scalloped circle. I stamped a sentiment from Rosie’s Studio Hearth & Home set on the centre circle, popped it up for dimension and adhered the outer frame directly to the card. Three tiny glitter dots added the final touch.

Day 3:

Justine’s Day 3 card featured three embossed cardstock strips and a label with a stamped sentiment. I borrowed those key elements while putting my own spin on the design.

I chose her alternative palette of white, pale blue and dark blue, then cut the strips and embossed them with the Gina K Tapestry folder. For the label, I used a Catherine Pooler Merry Labels die. Instead of stamping a sentiment, I added a black die-cut Christmas tree topped with a silver star.

What I enjoy most about Justine’s approach is her encouragement to use what you already have. You do not need the exact same products; the fun lies in adapting the ideas, experimenting with the techniques and making each card your own.

Justine's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Lately, my friend Cindy has been sharing some beautiful cards she created for Justine Hovey’s 12 Days of Christmas series, and they inspired me to join in. The free sessions had already begun, so I decided to purchase the upgrade and catch up.

Here’s my take on Day 1.

The design brief called for a white embossed background, gold splatters, washi tape, a white focal image, and a gold die-cut sentiment.

I chose a landscape layout to make the most of my embossing folder, which features large snowflakes and a delicate snowfall pattern. It’s a 3D folder from a Card Making Magic magazine that I picked up at my local stationery store. Once the background was embossed, I added a strip of washi tape and a scattering of gold splatters for a little festive sparkle.

For the focal image, I used a white die-cut poinsettia. A touch of gold in the flower centre ties it in beautifully with the gold die-cut sentiment and the splattered background.

It’s been a long weekend here in New Zealand, with Labour Day commemorating the struggle for the eight-hour working day—a right New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim in 1840. Because I don’t work on Fridays, the break has felt especially long, giving me plenty of time in my craft room.

I’ve also taken a few extra days off this week after being encouraged to use some of my accumulated leave, which means even more time for crafting. I’ll have more Christmas cards to share over the coming days!

Rocker card for Die Cut Divas

It’s my turn to share some inspiration for October’s challenge at Die Cut Divas! This month’s sponsor is Pink and Main. Although I didn’t have any of their stamps or dies in my collection, I was delighted to discover their digital images and chose a couple to work with.

The theme for this month is Shaped Cards, so I decided to create a fun rocker card.

For the focal image, I used the Critter Mugs digital stamp set. I printed the adorable Owl Mug and coloured it with pencils, then cut it out using a Spellbinders circle die. To create the rocker base, I used my ScanNCut to cut a 5½-inch circle, then added a slightly smaller circle of patterned paper for a decorative layer.

I finished the card with a sentiment from Penny Black’s Hedgie Friends. I stamped it on white cardstock and matted it with black to help it stand out.

It’s always enjoyable to experiment with different card-base shapes, and this rocker design was such a lovely change from a traditional folded card.

Halloween at Sweet Stampin' Challenge/

Halloween has arrived at Sweet Stampin’ Challenge! Although Halloween isn’t a major celebration here in New Zealand—and my collection of Halloween stamps is fairly small—I found two adorable designs that were perfect for today’s cards.

For my first card, I used a Penny Black Cling stamp—Bat Cat—as the star of the design. I stamped the image onto white card and coloured it with Zig Real Color markers and added Glossy Accents to the mask. 

To avoid fussy-cutting all those fiddly details, I also stamped Bat Cat directly onto some Halloween paper that I had printed from my digital files. I then cut out the coloured image, layered it over the patterned version, and finished the card with a stamped sentiment from an older Clearly Besotted set.

 

For my second card, I reached for a charming little 1¾-inch square wooden stamp called Spooky Snoopy by Stampabilities, dating from around 2005. 

I followed a sketch I found online, stamping Snoopy onto a square of white card and adding a touch of colour with alcohol markers. I matted the panel first with orange card and then with a slightly larger piece of matte gold card. 

For the grey tartan background, I found a pattern online, printed it, and trimmed it to fit the card front. The paper for the circle and flags came from MyGraphico digital images. To carry the design through to the inside, I added a strip of the grey tartan paper to a white card panel.

Had fun making these two cards. 

 

Christmas Joy: Two Festive Cards from One Fabulous Die

Christmas cards are my favourite  type of card-making, and today I’m sharing two cheerful designs created with the same JOY focal die. By changing the colours, characters, and finishing touches, I gave each card its own personality while keeping the process wonderfully simple.

For the first card, I cut the JOY die from red card. I then die-cut only the centre negative piece from the “O” in white, blended ink over it, and added texture with a 3D Snowfall folder from Card Making Magic magazine.

To create the base panel, I used the two largest dies from Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles: the largest cutting die and the next size down, which adds the delicate pierced-dot detail. Once the JOY was in place, I stamped a sentiment from Rosie’s Studio Hearth & Home set in the lower corner.

Next came the star of the scene: a cardinal from the Waffle Flower Duo Cardinal die set. I cut the bird from white card, then used the coordinating stencils and Altenew inks to build up those gorgeous colours.

A few leftover green branches from a previous project found the perfect home at the bottom of the “O”. I perched the cardinal on top and finished the scene with tiny red glitter dots for berries. Such a simple detail, but it brought the whole design together beautifully.

For my second JOY card, I switched to gold glitter cardstock and made a 5½-inch square card. I used the same embossing folder again, but this time embossed the entire front of the card base before adding the glittering JOY die-cut.

For the focal character, I stamped and die-cut Penny Black’s Snowy. I cut him twice to give the finished piece a little extra stability, then coloured him with Spectrum Noir Tri Blends. Once Snowy was attached to the card, I added Distress Stickles Rock Candy to his pompom for an extra touch of festive sparkle.

I love how differently these two cards turned out, even though they began with the same focal die. One features a classic cardinal and rich red details; the other pairs a playful snowman with shimmering gold. They truly were a JOY to make!

A Handmade Card in Soft Green

Today’s card came together a little at a time over several days. With work keeping me busy and leaving me tired at the end of the day, short crafting sessions were the way to go! The inspiration was a card I’d recently seen in a soft green colour scheme. I didn’t have anything similar in my stash, so I decided to make my own coloured card using Distress Ink in Bundled Sage. A pad-to-paper technique gave me a couple of panels in that lovely shade.

For the background, I cut one of my green panels with a Waffle Flower Deckled Frame, then used a Lil’ Inkers stitched die to cut out the centre. I used the same stitched die to cut a piece of white card and added some ink smooshing with Bundled Sage for a lovely, subtle background. With the green frame attached to a white panel, I fitted the smooshed piece into the centre.

Next came a strip of my homemade green card, with a punched lacy border tucked behind it. For the sentiment from Altenew’s Cone Flower stamp set, I made a circle using two dies together: a plain outer circle die and a second die that cuts just the little circles.

To add the finishing touches, I used a Sizzix floral die to cut branches from white card and two different greens, then tucked them behind the sentiment circle. A little bow made from green seam binding I found in my ribbon box was the perfect colour to complement the layout. Finally, I added a few little dots made from the leftover pieces of my homemade green card.

I’m so pleased with how this card turned out. Sage green is such a beautiful colour, and making my own coloured panels meant I could enjoy that soft green look without having the right card in my stash. This one took a few days, but it was lovely to see all those little crafting sessions come together!

A Snarky 70th Birthday Card for My Husband

Today is a special day in our household: my husband is celebrating his 70th birthday! For the next eight months, he gets to enjoy being older than me—a milestone that definitely called for a card with a little humour.

 I wanted to create something a little snarky, so I turned to Copilot for a punny birthday quote. I’m happy to say it came to the party with exactly the kind of playful line I had in mind.

 

To make the card, I began by adding a stenciled detail down the left-hand side of the panel using an Aall & Create stencil and Pumice Stone Distress Oxide ink. I then stamped one of Tim Holtz’s Crazy Birds and coloured it with alcohol markers. A few Nuvo Clear Drops on the eyes added a fun finishing touch.

Next, I printed the quote from my computer, trimmed it into a rectangle and matted it with black cardstock. To complete the design, I added a gold-and-black die-cut “70”.

I’m really happy with how the card turned out. It feels playful, personal and just snarky enough for this very special birthday.   And he loved it!

Paper Towels, Distress Ink, and a Little Christmas Magic

I recently upgraded my access to Laurel and Justine’s Stress Free Cardmaking Summit with every intention of getting an early start. Of course, life had other plans, and I only managed to watch a few sessions. Thank goodness for the upgrade—I can now catch up at my own pace.

The other day, I watched Juliana Michael’s tutorial on embossing with paper towels. Yes, you read that right: paper towels! I was amazed by the result. The technique created a beautifully embossed texture and instantly inspired me to give it a try.

Like Juliana, I chose to use the reverse side of the embossed panel. I lightly swiped Distress Ink in Bundled Sage and Pumice Stone across the surface, then added touches of gold metallic rub-on wax for a festive shimmer.

I did make one small mistake: I cut the panel too short. Rather than starting again, I simply adjusted the length of the card base, so everything fitted together. Sometimes a quick design change is all it takes to turn a mishap into part of the creative process.

To complete the card, I found a “Joy” die in my stash from Chloe’s Creative Stamps. It had originally been a magazine freebie, and it was perfect for this project. I die-cut the word from red and gold card, then layered the two pieces with a slight offset to create a subtle shadow.

A couple of holly leaves and a berry added the final festive touch. This project was a lovely reminder that it is always worth trying something a little different—especially when an everyday item like a paper towel can create such a stunning result.