Category Archives: Christmas

Paper Pumpkin Christmas Cards in the October 2022 Kit!

It seems like Saturday afternoons are good times to work on a Paper Pumpkin Kit! These Christmas cards were made with the October 2022 Paper Pumpkin Kit! Very cute! I only made two of each of the designs and then I like to go back and see if I want to make some alternative ideas with the supplies in the kit.

Of course, it is past time to join Paper Pumpkin and have this kit mailed to you, but most of the time, it is possible for you to be a subscriber and then go back in the Online Store and purchase a Past Kit or Refill. The Refill has all the supplies you need except for the stamp set and ink spot, because if you already got the full kit you would have those already and would only need the consumables. Sometimes if the Past Kit isn’t available, the Refill will do and you can use your own stamp sets and ink pad with the kit contents.

The best way not to ever miss out on these super cute kits is to Join Paper Pumpkin and a kit will automatically come in your mailbox about mid-month (unless you live at my house, then it seems that the post office likes to send it to farther away cities first!) (but that’s not Stampin’ Up!’s fault!). You can skip a month if you need to or don’t care for the upcoming kit. And Stampin’ Up! guarantees all Paper Pumpkin Kits.

The November Kit has already been mailed out. If there are extras, they will be in the Online Store a little later, but you must be a Paper Pumpkin subscriber first to order the Past Kits & Refills.

The December Kit is up now! Subscribe by December 10th! You’ll make little boxes that will hold gift cards, and they have designs that you can use all year long. Or use them for other small gifts or treats. You will probably even receive the kit before Christmas if you wanted to make a few for holiday gifts.

Join Paper Pumpkin today so you don’t miss out on any of the fun!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN NOW!

Lights Aglow Colored Strips Christmas Card

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This Lights Aglow Colored Strips Christmas Card came about after seeing a pretty similar card in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Mini Catalog on page 32. It’s a great way to use up designer paper scraps by using various designer paper strips for the background of the card. It shows off lots of the pretty paper and provides a nice card front. And no waste if you have saved a bunch of scraps!

This card starts with a Cherry Cobbler Cardstock card base. I had a lot of scrap strips from the Lights Aglow 6″ x 6″ Specialty Designer Series Paper. In whatever way I had cut up the paper, I had a lot of 4″ x 3/4″ strips. I began laying out the strips on the card base, just eyeballing it. Then I got the idea that with the paper having gold foil accents, it might look nice if there was gold foil in between the strips. Finally, I decided to cut a piece of Gold Foil for the background of the strips. Fortunately, six strips fit just right on that layer of Gold Foil! If you want to do all the math and figure out the space measurements and all that, go right ahead, but you are very likely to just lay out the strips and have them spaced apart pretty evenly! My Stampin’ Up! Grid Paper was a little bit of help but mostly I just eyeballed it.

I die-cut a Christmas tree out of one of the green Lights Aglow papers using the Twinkling Lights Dies. I also cut out a tree in Gold Foil just with the outline die to adhere behind the tree die so the gold would show through the little holes in the Christmas tree! The tree was then adhered to the card front. You can pop it up if you like, I just glued mine flat. You could instead pop up the background with the strips of paper. If you are going to mail the card, though, you don’t want it

For the greeting, I stamped the banner in Cherry Cobbler ink in the Christmas Banners Stamp Set and cut it out with the Christmas Banner Dies. You can get both in the Christmas Banners Bundle and save 10%. Since I wanted the greeting to be gold to match the card, I stamped the greeting with Versamark Ink and embossed it with Gold Powder using the Heat Tool. The greeting is in the Christmas Banners Stamp Set. I popped up the banner using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To finish off the Christmas tree, I die-cut the little “star” at the top of the tree with one of the dies out of Gold Foil. I also placed a few Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels on the tree for just a little more sparkle!

I don’t think you would want to mass-produce this card to send, but if you have some scraps, it is easy enough to make one or a few more cards with this design!

Jingle Jingle Jingle Pastels Christmas Card

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Yesterday when I went into one of my favorite gift shops, I saw a display of Christmas nutcrackers, buildings, decorations, and ornaments all in pastel colors! It was all really pretty and I was a little surprised to see a big display like that of those soft colors. That is what inspired this Jingle Jingle Jingle Pastels Christmas Card!

I sometimes forget I own this Jingle Jingle Jingle Stamp Set but I really do like it! I plan to make lots more cards with this stamp set. There are so many ways to use it and extra images to add more whimsy!

For this card, I simply used a Pool Party cardstock base with a layer of Blushing Bride pink cardstock. The top layer is Basic White. I used three colors of ink – Pool Party, So Saffron, and Blushing Bride, plus Memento black for the “all the way” part of the greeting. Maybe I should have used a pastel color instead of black. Then when I spied the candy canes in the stamp set, I stamped those around randomly in the same colors. And for a finishing touch, I added a few of the 2021-2023 Opal Rounds. These aren’t the exact colors I used on the card, but they are close enough since they are light-colored.

I may try another version of this card using these or similar colors. I have some other ideas! We’ll see!

Get your “Jingle” on and check out this fun stamp set!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE!

Get on My List For the Remaining “12 Weeks of Christmas”!

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Time is flying by and there are only 8 weeks left of my 12 Weeks of Christmas holiday emails! Every week for 12 weeks I send you a free holiday project idea that you can use to make your holidays brighter! The only people who receive these free projects are the people who are on my Stamping With Karen Mailing List! This is my way of thanking my mailing list subscribers for following me, so if you would like to receive these special holiday emails, please sign up!

You have already missed the first four emails but there are eight more to come, starting this afternoon at 1:00 PM Central Time! Sign up right now and here’s how: If you are on my blog, sign up in the red box in the top right sidebar. If you are on your phone, you may have to scroll way down. OR go to my sign-up page HERE and sign up in the red Mailing List box! We’d love to have you!

Besides these holiday emails, I also send out a weekly newsletter on Tuesdays with the latest Stampin’ Up! news and new product information plus a stamping project or two or maybe some papercrafting tips!

Please join us!

Fitting Florets Collection Available TODAY!

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Today is the first day you can purchase the Fitting Florets Collection in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store! “Add just the right touch of elegance to any occasion, including Christmas and seasonal celebrations, with the sweet Fitting Florets Collection. From color schemes to sentiments and embellishments to dies, these unique products blend together so that your cards and crafts fit whatever occasion you might need. Send birthday wishes, express your gratitude, or spread Christmas cheer—with so many options to mix and match you’ll be set no matter the celebration all year!”

This is an interesting Collection because all of it is available now through January 4th (while supplies last), but the Framed Florets Bundle (stamp set and dies, all of the same name!) will continue on and be in the January-June 2023 Spring Mini Catalog! (I know we can’t comprehend a Spring catalog when we just finished Halloween!)

The best way to get an idea about this whole beautiful Collection is to watch this Stampin’ Up! video!

Click the photos below to read the Flyer.

This is a beautiful set of new products! Use them exactly as is or, as the designer did, turn some into a Christmas presentation. The Framed & Festive Stamp Set has really fun greetings to use right now for our Christmas cards and projects.

Check it all out and let me know if you have any questions! The Framed & Festive Stamp Set, the Gold embellishments, and the designer paper will only be available until January 4th or while supplies last before that. The Framed Florets stamps and dies are available now and will be in the Spring Mini Catalog! It’s all pretty! You’ll like it! Get it all in the Collection or pick and choose what you want!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP!

Twinkling Lights Christmas Tree Card

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Here’s a Christmas card idea with a pretty diecut Christmas tree, the Twinkling Lights Christmas Tree Card. I felt like I was missing out, not having cards with a Christmas tree on the front! I already purchased this pretty Lights Aglow 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper but I found I couldn’t do without a Christmas tree!

This card begins with a Cherry Cobbler card base, one of the coordinating colors of the Lights Aglow paper. Next, I layered a piece of Gold foil (if you want to “cheat”, cut a piece out of the middle of the Gold Foil to use later, it won’t show on the front of the card!) and then a print layer of the Lights Aglow paper.

The Christmas tree is die cut with the tree shape in the Twinkling Lights Dies. Actually, there are two dies to use. One cuts out the tree with the little punched-out dots to look like lights and the other cuts out the same size and shape solid tree. On this card, I die cut the tree out of the Lights Aglow patterned paper with the die that cuts the little holes but I also cut a solid tree out of Gold Foil to show through from the underside of the tree. They are adhered together.

The tree is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals with some Gold 1/4″ Shimmer Ribbon that is adhered back and forth on the back of the tree.

The greeting is stamped in Cherry Cobbler Ink from the Brightest Glow Stamp Set. I just cut the banner ends and layered it on a piece of Gold Foil. It is popped up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

There are so many variations you could make of this same card with different colors and patterns of paper or using cardstock along with the designer paper. Everyone loves a Christmas tree for Christmas cards so if you need one, use the trees in the Twinkling Lights Dies to make a card like this Twinkling Lights Christmas Tree Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! HERE

Cottage Wreaths Christmas Card

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To make this card, I started off with the designer paper in the Fitting Florets Designer Series Paper, a new release coming November 1st. It has lots of flowers so you wouldn’t think you could use it to make a Christmas card. But this Evening Evergreen plaid pattern is perfect for this Cottage Wreaths Christmas Card. I even made it easier than I originally planned on!

The card base is Evening Evergreen to match the designer paper. I thought about putting a layer of Real Red in between the card base and designer paper, but I didn’t. I used the Stitched Rectangle Dies to cut out a piece of Basic White and a layer of Real Red. My Basic White piece is about 2 5/8″ x 4″ and the Real Red layer is 3″ x 4 3/8″. You can just cut out rectangles with your Paper Trimmer if you do not have the dies or you can make yours different sizes.

I simply stamped the wreath and berries in the Cottage Wreaths Stamp Set on the Basic White. I originally thought I would of course die cut it, but then I thought let’s just stamp it. I inked the wreath with Pear Pizzazz ink BUT then I added some other greens with Stampin’ Write Markers. I think I used Garden Green, Old Olive, and Granny Apple Green. I just randomly and lightly added the marker on various leaves of the wreath, trying not to do all of them. This is a Distinktive stamp set so just inking up a stamp and stamping automatically gives that textured look to the image. I thought it worked especially well with this wreath. Then I stamped the groups of three berries around on the wreath in Real Red. They were a little light so I couldn’t resist just adding a dab of Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker to each berry.

The bow in the stamp set was also stamped on a scrap of Basic White and die-cut with the Country Wreaths Dies. I just glued it onto the bottom of the wreath. You could also pop it up on Stampin’ Dimensionals. The greeting is stamped in Real Red and is also in the Cottage Wreaths Stamp Set. The size is perfect for this card design.

To finish it off, I used a few of the Red Rhinestone Basic Jewels. I like a little sparkle but you could easily leave these off or use ones that are not red. You could also color plain rhinestones with a Real Red Stampin’ Blend Marker.

If you want fancier, then use the wreath die cut and leaves and go for it! You can purchase the stamp set and dies in a Bundle, the Cottage Wreaths Bundle.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP ONLINE HERE!

New Paper Pumpkin Kit For November!

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This November, Paper Pumpkin delivers this and more with its one-of-a-kind, holiday-themed crafting experience. This festive kit includes 12 fun, sparkly gift tags and (as always!) an exclusive stamp set—plus everything you need for a successful holiday crafting experience.

This kit includes:

This month’s kit contains enough elements to create 12 tags—4 each of 3 designs. This all-inclusive kit includes printed die-cut paper pieces, twine, adhesive, and more!
Includes a Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin’ Spot!
You’ll love decorating your gift tags with snowflakes and banner die-cut pieces on our Mint Macaron glitter specialty paper (a Paper Pumpkin exclusive).
Create festive gift tags for all your packaging needs this holiday season with classic Christmas colors and designs.
Finished gift tag size: 2″ x 3″ (5.1 x 7.6 cm)

Coordinating Stampin’ Up! colors: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Mint Macaron, Shaded Spruce, Sweet Sorbet

If you need unique Christmas packaging to round out your gifting, you will be able to purchase these exclusive North Pole Sacks add-ons in the Online Store under Paper Pumpkin Past Kits, for subscribers only. Available now.

Join Paper Pumpkin by November 10th to receive this kit!

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

My 12 Weeks of Christmas Begins Today!

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Today is the day my 12 Weeks of Christmas holiday emails begin! Hard to believe, I know, to think about Christmas when we have just entered fall! But we crafters know that we must start early on our handmade projects so we can get all the fun things finished on time that we want to make!

It’s just 4 hours until my first 12 Weeks of Christmas email goes out today at 1:00 PM (CT)! The only way you can get these emails is to be on my Stamping With Karen Mailing List! I send out a regular weekly email on Tuesdays and these holiday emails will go out on Wednesdays until Christmas! To get on my email, sign up in the red box on the right side of this blog. If you are on your phone, you may have to scroll to the bottom of your screen.

Or CLICK HERE to sign up for my emails and begin receiving these special holiday emails!

Every year I send out special holiday emails with a single project for you to make or by inspired by on Wednesdays to my mailing list subscribers. This is a thank you gift to them from me for following me and being on my newsletter list. I really do appreciate those who show an interest in my stamping business either by being a customer or even just following my blog and reading my newsletters.

Please join us and sign up now so you don’t miss the first 12 Weeks of Christmas email this afternoon!

Coming Next Week! It’s the 12 Weeks of Christmas!

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Believe it or not, Christmas is not that far off, just a little over 12 weeks away, so it is time for my 12 Weeks of Christmas Holiday Emails to begin! These special emails will begin next Wednesday, October 5th!

Every week for 12 weeks you will be getting an email from me with a fantastic holiday project for you to make! It is completely FREE, but it is exclusive to people on my mailing list. You can use these ideas to make your holiday preparations easier!

This is a thank you gift for my mailing list subscribers that I like to do every year. Just like in my regular weekly email, I will send a photo of a project, a list of supplies needed, and all the directions to make it.

In the first few weeks, I will send card ideas since it’s likely that is the first thing most of us will work on at this point. Next, come a few weeks of gift ideas, and finally, as we are doing Christmas shopping, some ideas for gift wrap, bags, and gift tags.

These are exclusive projects that I won’t be posting on my blog or anywhere else. I just want my subscribers to know that you are appreciated! If you are already on my mailing list, no need to do anything!

The only way you can get these special 12 Weeks of Christmas emails is to be on my Stamping With Karen Mailing List! If you are not on my Mailing List, you better get on it before Wednesday, October 5th at 1:00 PM, otherwise, you are going to miss out! The first 12 Weeks of Christmas goes out on Wednesday!

Just sign up in the red box on the upper right if you are on my blog or click the link below!

JOIN THE STAMPING WITH KAREN MAILING LIST!

Jingle Jingle Jingle Christmas Card With Bells

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This Jingle Jingle Jingle Christmas Card With Bells was fun to design! This stamp set, Jingle Jingle Jingle, is probably a less noticed one in the Holiday Mini Catalog because it’s not part of a Suite or Bundle. However, it’s a fun stamp set with cute words and extra little stamps like a candy cane, Christmas lights, stars, and Santa hat, plus fun words to use as sentiments.

This card has a card base of Real Red and a layer of Basic White. I simply spaced out the stamped word “Jingle” using my Stamparatus to make sure I had it straight and that it stamped the image well in Real Red ink. I didn’t really do it the “right” way with my Stamparatus (I should have just moved the plate down instead of placing the stamp on the card where I wanted it!) but it turned out just fine. Using the lines on the Stamparatus, I could see if I had the word straight.

In between the words, I stamped the string of Christmas lights. These are stamped in Memento ink and colored in with Stampin’ Blends. I used Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Granny Apple Green, Orchid Oasis, and Daffodil Delight. You can use the Light or Dark marker or any other colors you like for Christmas. Another tip would be to add some Wink of Stella Glitter Brush to each light bulb for a little bit of sparkle up close.

I added two Flat Jingle Bell Trinkets to the bottom of the card. I’m not sure where the red and white baker’s twine came from but it was on my desk so I used it! I ran the twine through the holes in the bell trinkets but glued down the bells with Mini Glue Dots. These bells are flat which is great because they will be easier to go through the mail. So cute!

I almost added some Iridescent Rhinestones or some jewels for a little sparkle, but then I decided to use the star stamp in the set stamped with Daffodil Delight ink.

On the inside of the card, I added a Basic White layer stamped with two rows of Christmas lights and one of the phrases in the set that goes with the bells. I could also stamp or write “Merry Christmas” underneath when I send the card and sign it.

Jingle Jingle Jingle Christmas Card With Bells inside

Whether we like to think so or not, it’s the middle of September already, and time to get ahead of ourselves and start making our cards and projects so we won’t be so rushed when the holidays arrive! I am saying this to myself!

This Jingle Jingle Jingle Stamp Set is a good stamp set to use because you can make several different versions of cards with this set. The whimsical images will be fun to use!

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!

Paper Pumpkin Holiday Kit!!

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‘Tis the season to make your own Christmas cards with the Ho Ho Ho Paper Pumpkin Kit! This kit contains whimsical designs of Santa and his reindeer in a classic Christmas color palette which is sure to match various styles of holiday décor and look great on mantles everywhere.

Each kit contains enough supplies to create 9 festive cards—3 each of 3 designs—and 9 coordinating envelopes. These cards are sure to bring a warm holiday spirit.

And word from the North Pole is that this kit coordinates with next month’s Paper Pumpkin tag kit and the special add-on product! With so much coordination between products, you’ll have a breeze at creating a cohesive look for all your holiday gifting needs. Make this season the most wonderful time of the year for your loved ones—and for yourself!

My Spooky Treats Paper Pumpkin Kit isn’t even here yet but already I can’t wait to get these next two coordinating kits! If you want extras, just change the quantity in your account! The Holidays are definitely coming! This is an easy and fun way to get ready!

JOIN PAPER PUMPKIN NOW!

If you don’t care for a monthly subscription, purchase a Prepaid Subscription on your regular Stampin’ Up! order for the number of months that you choose!

New Kit For Christmas Gifting!

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You’ll love the ease of gift gifting this year with the Christmas Gifting Kit! Create gorgeous gift tags to attach to presents or make the gift card holders to wrap your loving gift cards in!

Available starting today, the Christmas Gifting Kit is a simple way to enhance the gift gifting experience for you and your loved ones! Give your friends and family gift cards to the places they love, while still adding a handmade touch.

DETAILS

Kit Includes:

Kit includes 9 tags and 9 gift card holders—3 each of 3 designs
Includes the exclusive Christmas Gifting Stamp Set and a Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin’ Spot
Sized to fit standard gift cards
Coordinating colors: Basic Black, black foil, Mint Macaron, Real Red, Shaded Spruce

Celebrate the season with a card kit that has everything you need to wish those you love a merry Christmas and a joyous New Year. Don’t let the holidays overwhelm you–get your all-inclusive kit and make quick multiples everyone will love!

Watch Sara show the Christmas Gifting Kit in this video! Watch for the pretty foil! That caught my interest!

By the time you start wrapping Christmas gifts, you will be very happy to have these tags already made and ready to go instead of having to use those stick-on tags you buy at the grocery store!

There’s also the Cozy & Bright Kit for making Christmas cards with all the supplies included in your kit!

Check out the entire Kit Collection in the Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Lights Aglow Gold Christmas Card

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I looked through the Lights Aglow Designer Paper and chose this pattern without knowing what I would make. That’s a good way to get started when you are trying to come up with an idea. In a little while, I had this Lights Aglow Gold Christmas Card made!

After deciding on this gold foil snowflake pattern of paper in the Lights Aglow 6″ x 6″ Specialty Designer Series Paper, I decided to make the card base Cherry Cobbler cardstock. I started with Real Red, but I think just knowing the coordinating color for this designer paper pack was Cherry Cobbler, Real Red just didn’t feel right. I cut the snowflake layer down a little so I could add some Gold Foil strips to the top and bottom. I cut two Gold Foil strips 3/4″ x 5″ to add a 1/4″ edge peeking out.

For the greeting, I stamped “Merry Christmas’ in the Brightest Glow Stamp Set. I stamped it with Versamark ink so I could heat emboss it with Gold Embossing Powder in the Metallics Embossing Powders using the Heat Tool. I used Very Vanilla cardstock.

To help the Very Vanilla greeting stand out, I diecut it with one of the Painted Labels dies and immediately cut another one out of Gold Foil. The gold foil is then cut in half horizontally so that it could be layered just a tiny bit under the top and bottom of the greeting piece. It’s not absolutely perfect, but plenty close enough.

For a little embellishment, I remembered that I had Gold Holly Leaves leftover from last year’s Holiday Catalog but carried over to the current Holiday Mini. They are almost like little fabric leaves and come in two sizes in the package. Then I die cut some Cherry Cobbler berries from the Christmas Banners Dies. I think they are a little larger than I would have liked but they still are okay. I popped the greeting up not on Stampin’ Dimensionals but on Foam Adhesive Strips. They seem to be a little higher than the Dimensionals so I might have preferred the Dimensionals. But it is fine!

So once you know what the design is on this card, it’s really fairly simple! You can change the background designer paper and make it a little different or even make the card for a different occasion, instead of this Lights Aglow Gold Christmas Card.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! and SALE-A-BRATION (until Aug. 31st)!

Lights Aglow Tis the Season Christmas Card

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I just got this designer paper and sort of copied a sample card in the Holiday Mini Catalog to come up with this Lights Aglow Tis the Season Christmas Card. When you don’t have an idea of what to make with one of your Stampin’ Up! products, always remember to look in the catalog for ideas. You might think you will copy the card exactly, but I’m willing to bet that as you go along you may just change it up a little as your ideas start to flow.

Although I don’t have the Christmas Lights Bundle in the Lights Aglow Suite, I wanted to get the Lights Aglow 6″ x 6″ Specialty Designer Series Paper. As I write this, the Lights Aglow Paper is not available but should be back in stock in early September. I must have ordered the last pack! LOL! This paper has gold foil dots that are meant to look like twinkling lights! Very pretty papers!

To make this card, I started with a Cherry Cobbler card base. Then I used the Cherry Cobbler paper with tiny stars all over as a layer on the card base. If you wanted to save paper, you could just add strips to the side. I made all the paper layers on this card run the full length of 5 1/2″. The Cherry Cobbler paper with stars is 5 1/2″ x 4″.

The center portion of the card, the arcs of stars and dots, needs a little extra care. Surprisingly I realized that before I cut it! To get the proper arc, you need to cut the center portion of the sheet of that paper. Below is a photo of how I cut the paper. Since I wanted a 3″ wide section, that left 3″ so I cut 1 1/2″ off each side.

Before adhering that center paper to the card, add some Gold Foil strips to each side, or as the Holiday Catalog shows (page 30) use the Gold Glimmer Paper in the Glimmer 12″ x 12″ Specialty Paper.

For the greeting, I sort of copied the design of the sample card but changed it up a little bit. I used a sentiment in the Brightest Glow Stamp Set. I think this is a fantastic set of traditional Christmas greetings in pretty fonts. I chose the ‘Tis the Season stamp and stamped it in Cherry Cobbler. Then I die cut it with a small plain circle in the Layering Circles Dies and layered it on a scalloped circle die in the same set, cut out of Gold Foil.

On the inside of the card, I used a layer of Basic White and added a strip of designer paper with the little stars that I used on the front of the card. That way you can stamp a greeting or write a note.

That’s all there is to this Lights Aglow Tis the Season Christmas Card but if you wanted to add any extra embellishments you could do that.

SHOP STAMPIN’ UP! ONLINE HERE!