Christmas Parade of Cards Part One

Hello and welcome to my blog.  Well, here we are in mid-September already, and it's amazing to feel the shift from the warm days of summer, to the cool down of Fall.  While the days are getting shorter, the daytime sunshine and warmth is welcome.

I'm well ahead of having my 50 Christmas Cards finished before the end of September goal.  I only have two more to finish.  So I thought it would be a good time to start sharing what I've made.  All of these cards have a few things in common:

• Products from the Holiday Mini 2025
• Simple designs that are quick and easy to complete
• Combine old and new products such as stamps and dies
• They were made with love! 

Click here to see PDF Version of the Holiday Mini Catalogue 

The one thing in common with all four of these cards is they have a banner layered matte that's been embossed with the mini corrugated embossing folder and die cut with the retired Banner Die Set from Stampin' Up. The banners which were cut from Real Red, Garden Green of Crumb Cake cardstock measure 4 1/8" x 2 1/4". If you don't have the die, these are easy to cut from scratch. These banners form the foundation for the focal point on each of the designs.

Card #1: 

I like to add coordinating ephemera stickers to the insides and the backs of my cards for a finishing touch. These stickers are from the Christmas Tags & More  pack #165907.

• For this card I started with an 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" Garden Green cardstock base, that is scored at 4 1/4".   
• The first matte is a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Basic White cardstock.
• The Designer Series matte measures 3 3/4" x 5".  The plaid design comes from the Greetings Cards and Envelopes #165907.  This pack comes with 10 envelopes and card bases and there are 5 Crumb Cake and 5 Garden Green designs.  These cards are big - 4 1/4" x 6 1/4" and the design printing is on both the front and back of the card.  I generally cut the card bases in half and then cut the half down to whatever size I need. There are always scraps you can use from the leftovers for die cuts or to add a border on a matte. 

• The next matte layer measures 4 1/8" x 2 1/4" and is the banner focal point in Real Red.  There is a smaller matte measuring 2" x 3" of Garden Green gingham paper cut from the Christmas Tags and More Specialty Designer Paper #165907.  This 6 x 6 DSP package offers 8 each of 4 reversable designed papers plus 2 pre-cut pages of ephemera that coordinate with the colours in the dsp:  Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Garden Green, Real Red and Soft Seafoam.  
• To finish off this focal point I added a picture of a bear carrying presents from the North Pole Delivery 12 x 12 paper pack #165837.  He's mounted on dimensionals, and is oh so cute! The sentiment is from the Greetings for you Mix and Match Ephemera Pack - LOVE THESE!  And, the sequins are from the Traditional Sparkling Sequins #165875 package.  

Card #2:

Additional strips of coordinating cardstock come in handy for adding a border to the bottom of a card.  The sweet little red bow on this card is from the Gingerbread Man die set. 

• For this card the front and inside matte are cut from Soft Sea Foam card stock.  I seldom use this colour, however it matches so beautifully with the DSP and ephemera that it was a "must use more often" discovery.  

Card #3: 

Card #4: 

• For this card I embossed the second matte with a retired Stampin' Up! embossing folder called Holly.  The square which features three stips of dsp measures 2 5/8" x 2 5/8".  I used a small strip of gold glimmer paper to enhance the sentiment strip and add a little dazzle to the card front. 

Instead of using cardstock for a matte on this card, I used a piece of DSP measuring 4 x 5 1/4".  I like how this looks. 

All four of these cards took only a few minutes to make due to the prep I had done prior to sitting down to make cards. All the banners were pre-cut from the base matte and embossed, which gave me a good start.  I keep the ephemera in trays so its handy, as well as the matte layers.  It's simply assembly and a bit of stamping. 

I hope you enjoyed these cards today.  I'd love to hear from you.  Let me know if you have a favourite or if you have questions about the products used.  

Please come back again next week to see another series of Christmas cards featuring products from the Holiday Mini.  

HAPPY STAMPING!

PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN SPOT

Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006

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