Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by. Have you checked out the Mini Catalogue September - December 2025 released last week by Stampin' Up! If not, you can click here to see a PDF copy. If you live in the Abbotsford/Fraser Valley area, let me know if you would like a catalogue by dropping me an email.
As a demonstrator we get early access to all the catalogues and products, so I was able to order enough supplies to make all my Christmas cards, tags and decor for this holiday season, and it didn't break the bank. Here's what I bought:- Greetings For You Mix & Match Ephemera Pack #166208 pg 15
- Christmas Greetings Mix & Match Specialty cards & envelopes #165908
- Christmas Tags & More 6"x 6" Speciality DSP #165907 pg 15
- Traditional Labels Bundle #165865 pg 23
- Traditional Sparkling Sequins #165875 pg 23
- North Pole Delivery 12 x 12 Specialty DSP pg 29
- Gingerbread Man Bundle #165785 pg 54
- Delightful Decorative Dots #165915 pg 55
I currently have made 40 of my 50 card goal for September using a mish mash of all of these products and I'll proudly be sharing samples with you over the next few weeks. So I hope you'll continue to come back to check out my posts and provide me with feedback as to what you like.
One of the first stamp and die bundles I chose is on page 54 of the catalogue and is called the "Gingerbread Man" #165784.
Here are some cards I made and some tips for using this fantastic combo of stamps and dies.
While I love most of the stamps and dies in the Gingerbread Man stamp bundle, the toque is what captured my heart and gave me reason to buy it. Here is a card featuring three of the toques. Adorable! Here's a view of the inside and back of this card.
My next cards feature the Gingerbread Man. What fun these were to make. I began stamping and due cutting all of the images before I started to assemble and make these cards. When you're making batches of cards this is the way to go, and it's fun to do all the gluing and fiddly stuff while I'm watching my favourite Prime or Netflix series. I used Pecan Pie cardstock for all of my gingerbread men because it seems to be the closest colour to an actual gingerbread cookie. It's a very warm and rich shade of brown. I cut several pieces of Pecan Pie cardstock to 4" x 5 1/4".
Tips for Cutting Out, Stamping and Embossing the Gingerbread Man: If you want to have a gingerbread man (GBM) that's joined at the hands, you'll need a larger size of cardstock than what I use. I found I could cut two GBM at a time by stacking two 4 x 5 1/4" sheets of cardstock and placing only one of the GBM on the die on top of the cardstock. There will be a little overlap on the arm, but that's good. Your image will have a small piece of the arm from the second GBM left in tact. Just imagine there's a line there and cut around it to keep the arm rounded.
Or you can stamp your GBM image onto the cut out first and then trim around the white outline. Whatever works best for you. There are four different facial expression stamps and coordinating dies in the kit, so you can choose which expression you want as well as what color you want these features to be.
Because I don't have a basic white ink pad I chose to stamp the GBM's image in Versa Mark Ink and then layer on some Basic White Embossing powder to create the white image. Remember to use your anti static pad on the GBM before you stamp and emboss on it, so you can remove any additional little white specs.
Here's how my cards turned out:
For most of my Christmas cards I started with a Basic White 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" card base that was scored at 4 1/4". The mat layer was either in Shaded Spruce or Real Red cardstock and measured 4" x 5 1/4".
For the gingerbread image I cut 1/4 sheets of Pecan Pie ( 4" x 5 1/4"). The beige plaid dsp layers on all the cards measure 3 3/4" x 5" and were cut from the Christmas Greetings cardstock on page 15 of the catalogue.
I like my cards to have a real finished look inside and out and I often add ephemera or a stamped image to the insides and back of the card that matches the theme. Prior to sitting down to make a batch of cards I prepare my card base layer by cutting and scoring it and then I stamp my Logo on the back of each card base. I generally cut and prepare ten card bases at a time.
I cut at least ten of each colour of mat that I am using and extend the use of my cardstock and lighten the weight by cutting out the centers of the cards with a variety of shape dies. For these cards I cut touques, candy and bow ties, so there was no waste and I had a variety of circle, square, banner dies on hand as well.
I've stamped the sentiment "May your holidays be wrapped in happiness and trimmed with the love of family and friends" in Real Red ink. I love this christmas message from the retired "More Merry Messages" stamp set by Stampin' Up! Once I've cut ten of these mats 3 3/4" x 5" I stamp each one with a sentiment and apply the ephemera. Then adhere the mats to the inside of the card.
I hope you enjoyed today's cards and will let me know which Gingerbread Man won over your heart. I love them all
My goal is to make fifty Christmas cards by the end of September, so I will be having lots of samples to show you over the coming weeks. I hope you'll come back again and when you're here be sure to leave me a comment, I love to get feedback.
HAPPY STAMPING!PENNY TOKENS STAMPIN' SPOT
Penny Hanuszak, CDN Stampin' Up! Demo since 2006
