Trimming the Town for Christmas

All it took to attract me to the Trimming the Town Suite was one sheet of Designer Series Paper. Yes, this one with the mountains and the ice rink. 

I soon realised that the rest of the Trimming the Town Designer Series Paper pack was equally gorgeous... and then of course the Coming Home bundle started speaking to me, too... not least because we used to own a Volkswagen Beetle when I was a child. It was Pool Party, although I strongly suspect that wasn't the colour listed on the V5.

What’s special about the Coming Home stamp set is that £2.50 from every sale goes to Fertility Network UK. In every market, this set will be supporting charities devoted to adoption, foster care and infertility, issues which affect many, many families around the world.

For my World Card Making Day event on 3rd October, I wanted to use this suite so people can make a start on their Christmas cards. It’s ideal for a remote class as all these projects can be made with just the Designer Series Paper, although guests have the option to add the Coming Home stamp set and Home Together Dies if they wish.

It was UK demonstrator Amanda Bates who gave me the idea for these little cards. I never occurred to me to cut out the tiny houses until I saw her clean and simple projects here.

 

 

I’ve since added ribbon but think I actually prefer them without.

I haven’t done the maths but Amanda reckons from two full 12x12 sheets of this design, you could make 120 cards! My guests only get two 6x6 pieces in their kits so presumably can make 30 cards, which should be enough fussy-cutting for anyone!

 

If fussy-cutting isn’t your bag (and it definitely isn’t mine!), then you’ll be delighted to know that the Home Together Dies fit the larger houses in the DSP perfectly, just as you’d expect from Stampin’ Up!® and its commitment to co-ordination.

 

Yes, even these trees have dies to fit. This, you won’t be surprised to hear, is one of my favourite designs in the DSP pack; as you probably know if you’re a regular reader, I do love trees.

There’s even a die to create this lovely swooping hill. There's a plain one, as used here, and one with little pine trees attached, too. 

 

For an extra touch, I’ve stamped snowflakes and some tiny chimney smoke to come out of the house on this card, using the Coming Home stamp set. I’ve also created a fun, colourful greeting by carefully slicing up one of the Designer Series Paper sheets. This one has greetings in French, English German and Dutch, and I particularly like “Kling Klokje Klingelingeling” in the pack, which Google tells me is a Dutch children’s Christmas song. Elsewhere I’ve used greetings from In The Pines and Yuletide Pasture.

I hope you enjoy these projects and that my class guests do, too. They've seen a sneak peek and booked up in a matter of days which is a promising sign. I have to take bookings a lot earlier these days, now that I have to prepare kits and get them in the post, so please follow my Facebook page for the latest events, so you don’t miss out. 

And please come back Thursday for a Gilded Autumn-themed blog hop!