Tag Archives: Take Your Pick Tool

Making Christmas Cards Assembly Line Style

Making Christmas Cards - Cut Paper

When you are going to make a batch of Christmas cards, whether it’s a few or a hundred, plan to make them “assembly-line style”. I learned early on not to make one whole card, then another whole card, and then another. Instead, gather all your supplies and do each step for ALL the cards. Whether you are cutting or stamping or adding embellishments, you will do it faster if you do it over and over again. And if you are making a whole pile of cards, you almost get “muscle memory” for doing each step and that makes it even easier!

I am copying a card Snowflake Splendor Merry Christmas Card, I already made awhile back (in August!!) but liked it a lot. Since I like to make a lot of different cards from all the ideas I see in the catalogs and online, I’m making many different designs and maybe five copies of each one. The only problem is that when I go to send them, I have to choose which card to send to which person! You might choose one card design and make 50 cards the same. I’ve done that, also. Then everyone just gets the same card! And your muscle-memory gets really good at making the cards!

The first step, as you see in the top photo is to cut all your paper and score the card base as well. Cut the card base, layers, designer paper, scrap pieces….everything you need to make the card. Make little piles of the same pieces so you don’t get them mixed up.

Making Christmas Cards - Adhesive Sheets

Now amazingly, this time I remembered to use the Adhesive Sheets before cutting out the snowflakes! This makes it easier to adhere them because they will already have adhesive on all the little areas from the Adhesive Sheets. No need to add tiny drops of glue! The snowflakes are made with the So Many Snowflakes Dies.

Making Christmas Cards - Die Cut Pieces

For this card, I diecut all the white snowflakes out of the Whisper White layer I was going to use under the designer paper. Shhh! Don’t tell anybody! They’ll never know!

Making Christmas Cards - Adhere Layers

Adhere the Whisper White layer to the Highland Heather card base. And since I used the Adhesive Sheets on the back so I could diecut the snowflakes, I don’t even have to use glue, just adhere the Whisper White to the card. Do all the cards like this.

Making Christmas Cards - Adhere Diecuts

Adhere all the die-cut snowflakes to all the pieces of the watercolor pattern in the Snowflake Splendor Designer Series Paper. The Take Your Pick tool helps to separate the backing of the adhesive sheets from the snowflake.

Making Christmas Cards - Stamp

When you have stamping to do making Christmas cards, it’s really useful to have the Stamparatus! Get the words or whatever images lined up perfectly and then stamp with the Stamparatus! If the inked image is incomplete, you can just reink the stamp and stamp again as long as you don’t move the paper!

Making Christmas Cards - Add Greetings

Stamp and punch our all the greetings so they are ready to go on your cards. This greeting is from the Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set and is punched with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch.

Making Christmas Cards - Add Embellishments

Finish assembling your cards by adding some Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels. Inside the card, adhere the smaller designer paper snowflakes you already cut out and stamp the greeting using the Stamparatus on another layer of Whisper White, also from the Poinsettia Petals Stamp Set. Then you have a stack of Christmas cards all finished!! Make them assembly-line style!

How To Take a Feels Like Frost Plain Christmas Card To an Embellished Card

Feels Like Frost Plain Christmas Card

While I thought I could do without this beautiful wintery designer paper, I found that I could not and started working on a card. Just layering the designer paper I chose on the card base I thought looked simple and beautiful enough, especially if you were just sending a personal note. Since the card was so pretty as is, I thought about taking it step by step from a plain Christmas card to an embellished Christmas card and showing you the steps.

As you can see, the first card was just a card base of Seaside Spray Cardstock with a layer of Whisper White under the Feels Like Frost Specialty 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper. I think the white helps the designer paper stand out even better. I just thought the card looked so elegant enough with just the designer paper that it barely needed anything else! I could see this paper being used to make a series of note cards or regular size cards for Christmas cards, holiday cards, or just cards for winter. Often when we have someone of a different religion who is not celebrating Christmas, we like to have a more generic card to send them during our holiday.

Feels Like Frost Christmas Card With Greeting

To step up the first card, I added a holiday greeting to this plain card. Since there was kind of an open area on the designer paper, I put the greeting in the upper corner. The greeting is in the Itty Bitty Christmas Stamp Set and is stamped with Seaside Spray Ink, one of the newest In Colors. I die cut it with one of the small circle dies in the Layering Circles Dies. I looked through my dies a little bit and decided to use this cute circle layer in the Stitched Labels Dies.

Feels Like Frost Embellished Christmas Card

Next, to step up the card, even more, I added the Silver 3/8″ Metallic-Edge Ribbon. I moved the greeting down to the lower corner of the card And for a little bling, I added the teeny tiny Snowflake Sequins to the card, three of the tiny silver ones and three of the snowflake ones. I just used the tiniest dot of Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere the sequins with the help (and I do mean HELP) of the Take Your Pick Tool. This is a great tool, no matter which end of the tool you use. I have used the pokey end and also the spatula for scooping up jewels off the sheet and applying to the project and today the sticky end for picking up and placing the sequins. Otherwise, you would go crazy without it, so put one on your next order!

Feels Like Frost Embellished Card Closeup

Check out this beautiful paper in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog and in the Online Store. Even though the photographic wintery images are beautiful, wait until you flip the paper over to the other side with the silver foil images! (As I write this, I see this paper and matching ribbon are backordered. The Feels Like Frost will be back in stock next week and the ribbon at the end of October.) (I must have gotten the last ones!)

If you are unsure about making a card, just start with something very simple like I did with just the designer paper. Then see what greeting you might want to add. Next see if you have some ribbon or jewels you want to add or a layer for the greeting, whatever it is. Sometimes it is good to stop before you overdo it! And sometimes it is good to jazz it up a bit! Anyway, check out the steps I took to take this plain Christmas card to an embellished Christmas card.