Quick Christmas cards and last-minute treats with Humble Home from Stampin’ Up!®

 

There are two types of crafters in the Stampin’ Up!® world, I find. Those who have sorted all their Christmas projects and are now thinking ahead to 2025. And those like me.

I was convinced I had enough Christmas cards left from previous years and from this year’s events, but it turned out the box contained some 3D projects which were making it look fuller than it was.

What I DID have was quite a big pile of stamped and punched Humble Home houses which I’d made for some 3D treat boxes. However, while making them, I got distracted and stamped FAR more than I needed.

So I quickly set aside what I needed to make the required treat boxes – more on those later – and used the remaining house fronts on Stampin’ Up!® Note Cards and Envelopes to make REALLY simple cards.

Are these the easiest Christmas cards ever?

 

Do you have no time for crafting at the moment? Or maybe your mojo has gone walkabout? I'm hearing both of these issues from many of my Stampin’ Up!® customers and friends.

In fact, thanks to a new job and the commitment of rehabilitating a rescue dog, I barely have any crafting time for myself either.

Undeterred, I decided to throw some quick Christmas cards together at the weekend to show you how quick and easy making cards can be. 

Home Together Dies masked moon card

Just playing around with the Home Together dies and trying to come up with projects for tomorrow’s Crafty Friday event over Zoom. This is the one that got away.

To make this, I die-cut a circle (any circle will do) from a Post-It Note and stuck it to my card. I sponged around this mask using Pool Party ink. Then I simply built up the layers using die-cut hills and trees in Whisper White cardstock.

I finished off with a greeting from In The Pines in Misty Moonlight ink and some Pool Party ribbon to add shimmer and pick up the Pool Party around the moon.

No sticky notes in the house? Simply use thin copier paper and some Tombow Multipurpose Adhesive. Apply a few small dots on your circle and allow them to dry fully. This turns it into a temporary adhesive so you can remove the mask with care.

 Take a look at some of the other fab projects you could make with these dies...

Sneak Peek: Forever Greenery Suite

I can't wait a moment longer to show you some of the products from my favourite Suite in the new catalogue.

The suite is called Forever Greenery and the stamp set is Forever Fern. I was naturally drawn to the lovely green colours – I think the Designer Series Paper probably uses all the greens we have!

Here I’ve created three cards for three stages of crafter...

The #simplestamping project uses just one Garden Green ink pad and a pack of notecards and envelopes, and is perfect if you don’t have many supplies or if you’re just in a hurry. 

The second project is for the casual crafter who may have some ribbon, embellishments and a punch (GREAT new punch, by the way!). 

Finally, there’s a project for the avid crafter which uses ribbon, embellishments, the co-ordinating Forever Flourishing dies, along with the absolutely gorgeous Forever Greenery Designer Series Paper and some vellum, too. Which one is your favourite?

If your Designer Paper is too bright for your project, you can tone it down a little by overlaying a piece of vellum as I’ve done here. This allows you to retain the design and keep the colours in the same palette without it dominating. 

You, too, can get early access to brand new products if you sign up as a demonstrator! Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Keeping it simple with Dandelion Wishes

Keeping with the #simplestamping theme, these cards really could not be more simple. Well, I suppose they could if you stamped directly onto the card inestead of creating a layer. Oh, and I’ve used two stamp sets because the greeting I wanted was not included in Dandelion Wishes. But you get the idea... just stamping onto white cardstock with two ink pads can give you striking results.

Keeping it simple with Accented Blooms

There’s a theme to this week’s blog posts, which wouldn’t necessarily be obvious at first glance.  I’m using three different stamp sets, three different colours schemes and the cards are for three different occasions. So what’s the theme?

The theme is ... #simplestamping.

We demonstrators have realised that we get so into our craft that we sometimes neglect the new stamper. We are so keen to throw everything at our projects – purely because we can – that we forget that some people are starting out with limited supplies.

This project, then, takes things back to basics. One ink pad, one stamp set, one colour cardstock, one punch and one pack of embellishments. Perfect for the new stamper... or the experienced stamper in a hurry.

Dashing Deer and Winter Woods... a match made in heaven

I can’t get enough of Dashing Deer and Winter Woods... as I’m sure you’ve noticed. They are a match made in heaven and perfect for really simple projects like the one above, as well as more complicated technique cards like this Winter Woods card using a Stamparatus technique or this vibrant brayered deer card.

I needed lots of these cards to thank my lovely customers, so brought out the Stamparatus for speed stamping. Once those stamps are in position, you can stamp really quickly and accurately. The only image I stamped by hand was the one to represent the ground. As I needed this to be stamped repeatedly and largely at random, it was easier to use a clear block.

The Designer Series Paper you see here is no longer available I’m afraid – I forgot to post this project in September, sorry – but you will find a great range of equally beautiful and suitable designs in my online store and in both the Annual Catalogue and the Autumn/Winter catalogue.

Simple Christmas? Or stepped up?

The card on the left is a three-minute Christmas card, proving without a doubt that you DO have time to make your own cards this year. Time is saved by using the pre-folded Notecards and Envelopes, and the fabulous Suite Season Washi Tape.

Please visit my Facebook page to see how I made this card in super-fast time

The fiddliest thing about this card is the linen thread bow, but you could skip that and replace with a jewel... just be aware that the faceted gems will bump up your postage in the UK to a “large letter”, and we don’t want that!

For the stepped up version, I dispensed with the Sprig Punch and used the fabulous new Blizzard Thinlits die instead, as well as some basic rhinestones to add a mixed metallics theme.

You can also see a hint of a scalloped Cherry Cobbler edge. This is a piece of the Delightfully Detailed Laser-cut Designer Series Paper, brayered in Cherry Cobbler ink. So, on the whole, a more time-consuming project, but nice if you want to send something a bit more “special” to a close friend or family member. Or, if we’re being honest here, a fellow cardmaker. We know we all save our “best” cards for crafters, don’t we?

Keeping it simple for Christmas

I have a Stampin’ Up!® party tonight for a lady who prefers her projects to be quick and easy. This is the perfect time of year for quick and easy cards, especially if you’re planning to make all your own Christmass cards. So my challenge has been to produce a Make & Take which could be used as a really simple Christmas card design, perfect for making in bulk.

No spoilers, though... this isn’t it. This is one of the ones that got away. I decided I could possibly scale things back even further. Come back next week to see the finished design...

Tropical leaves, cool colours

Here’s an example of just using the dies without the stamps. You can create a lovely layered effect with the squre die in different shades; I’ve used cool colours to show you don’t have to keep it tropical all the time. And can you spot the Subtle Embossing Folder again? I do love this folder; you’ll be seeing a lot of it!

Dandelion Wishes - CAS card in retro Pool Party and Poppy Parade

Seriously, it took me longer to photograph this project than it did to make it. It’s clean and simple all right... and no less effective for it.

All I did was stamp on a piece of Whisper White in this lovely retro combo of Pool Party and Poppy Parade, add a strip of Poppy Parade cardstock and pop it up onto a notecard, with some bling to finish it off.

Yes, I have done a U-turn on Poppy Parade, which I was never keen on last time around. And with a brand new Pool Party ink pad to play with, I think you’ll be seeing a lot of this combo.

CAS card with Bird Banter

Oh how I do love this stamp set... even more so because I WON it at OnStage in Solihull. It’s always exciting to win a Prize Patrol and even more so when it’s a set you really love.

The birds are such fun to colour with our new Stampin’ Blends, so I kept the card really simple, with just a doodled line around the image to frame it on the Whisper White cardstock.

Color Me Happy with Layered Leaves embossing folder

Mini wreaths aren’t just for Christmas you know. These little beauties, from page 197 of the Annual Catalogue, actually open out to form a long “branch”... just perfect for this little birdie to sit on. He’s coloured with the new Stampin’ Blends (Pool Party), as is the rhinestone, although that doesn’t show up too well in the photo.

The greeting? That’s a Sneak Peek... from Picture Perfect Birthday, a brand new stamp set from the Spring/Summer Catalogue.

CAS cards with Stampin' Blends

When I saw this card from Dani Dziama, I knew it would be perfect for a Make & Take using the Stampin’ Blends. So this is exactly what we did at a party last week... the fun thing was, everybody used a different colour. 

Go here to find out about my Collect & Earn Programme for the new Stampin’ Blends

Painted Harvest with Woodland Embossing Folder

I love the clean crispness of this card, which I blatantly CASEd from the talented Monica Gale. The Woodland Embossing Folder has been around for a while now but it always worth adding to your craft supplies if you don’t already have it.

I used a splash of copper foil below the greeting and echoed this with my very last piece of copper trim. Might have to get some more...


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Cat punch - gift-wrapped!

I’ve wanted to share this card on here for ages but have had to wait for my friend and able helper Kelly’s birthday to come and go!

But now I can reveal all... along with the link to the brand new Autumn/Winter catalogue, which is where you will find this fabulous cat punch and the DSP which fits it perfectly.

I’ve placed the cat in a box by cutting off the end from a wooden crate die-cut from Kraft cardstock (yes it’s back! Page 12). The background is watercoloured in two of Kelly’s favourite colours: Soft Sky and Smoky Slate and the words are stamped with the Labeler Alphabet, which is really coming into its own now that I have cat cards to make!

Find the new Autumn/Winter catalogue here!

Clean and simple Pieces & Patterns

So you think you don’t have time to make your own cards? Think again. I turned out 20+ of these note cards – with stamped envelopes – in about half an hour. That’s just over a minute per card.

And if you’re wondering why the photo doesn’t show the pure Whisper White of the note cards, it’s because they’re not white. We now sell these handy little fellas in Very Vanilla, which is just perfect to co-ordinate with the Cajun Craze bear, Lemon Lime Twist pencil and Tranquil Tide greeting.

Bookcase Builder Clean and Simple card

This is my new favourite stamp set – and it’s one which has been overlooked by many people, I fear... if the lack of samples on Pinterest is anything to go by.

I love reading so was drawn to this from the start, but resisted in favour of the bundles. I finally caved in last week and took delivery of Bookcase Builder.

I also took the plunge and did the unthinkable...

I confess I struggle with some of the sentiment stamps provided by SU and many of mine lie unused. This time, though, I was brave. I knew I’d use a simple “Thank you” a whole lot more than “Thank you for being my friend” so I took the plunge and separated the words. It wasn’t as easy as you’d think but it went smoothly and now I have the perfect “Thank you” stamp... and can add “for being a friend” to the clear block as and when I need to.

The card above is going to this month’s hostess, Tracey, while her guests get the smaller versions, below. Hope they like them – none of them has ordered the set yet, so at least it will be something new to show them!

Nailed It - a fun card with Labeler Alphabet

What a fun stamp set this is. It’s called Nailed It and I probably wouldn’t have bought it but I won it at the OnStage event for demonstrators and am so glad I did. It’s ideal for Father’s Day, but also for so much more. And not just masculine cards; here I’ve teamed it with Labeler Alphabet and Window Shopping to create a fun card for a friend.

I’m sure we all have a friend who fits this description. If not, you should get one, as they’re the most fun.

Celebrations Duo embossing folders

This is a fun product which won’t break the bank: Celebrations Duo Textured Impressions Embossing Folders. They’re on p40 of the Spring/Summer catalogue, tucked away at the top. Two folders, one spells “Happy” (as you can see) and one spells “celebrate”.

I’ve combined it with Marquee Messages to create a simple and bright card for my teenage nephew (not an easy audience, I’m sure you’ll agree!).

What’s particularly fun about these folders is that they deboss rather than emboss, which makes a change and also allows for some fun techniques, such as stamping around the image to create an outlined word, just as the Stampin’ Up!® designers have done for this project shown on p41...