Right as Rain - Cardmaking and Scrapbooking with Jean Manis

Spellbinders | Santa by the Mantel

Hello! There’s something especially heartwarming about Christmas scenes set inside the home. My latest card, created with several Spellbinders Simon Hurley die sets, captures Santa by the mantel, surrounded by stockings and holiday cheer. I loved bringing this cozy moment to life with die cuts that build a story—one that feels like it could come straight from a Christmas Eve illustration. I talk about the appeal of Santa in cardmaking HERE.

- Cover a 5″ x 7″ card base front with Hard Candy Christmas patterned paper. Add a strip along the bottom of Honey Bee Pinstripes and Polka Dots paper.
- Cut Santa with the The Clauses set and assemble.
- Create the mantel with the Mantel Village and Mantel Decorations die sets. Use a die in the North Pole Sentiments set to cut the sentiment into the mantel. Back with white cardstock.
- Add assembled elements to prepared card base.

I especially love that this card comes together entirely with die cuts—no stamping needed, and having the sentiment cut right into the mantel keeps the design clean and uncluttered.

A Tim Holtz-Inspired Holiday Card

Hello! Mixed media isn’t my usual cardmaking style, but it’s always fun to step outside my comfort zone and experiment. For this Christmas card, I used a variety of Tim Holtz products including stenciling and alcohol inking. The variety of mediums adds character and depth to the design—each layer contributing its own texture and visual interest. It’s a festive project full of wintery sparkle and creative play.

- To begin, create a card base 3 3/4″ x 6 7/8″ from woodgrain cardstock. Ink the sides of the cardstock with Gathered Twigs.
- Next, create a monoprint on watercolor paper with the Pinecones stencil using Antique Linen Distress Spray and water. There are several of the Tim Holtz makers who regularly use this technique. Once dry, stencil in the pinecones and greenery. Apply the Sparkle paste through the panel and set aside to dry. Tim Holtz recently created a video discussing the many pastes available.; it proved to be an invaluable resource.
- Once dry, you can add Antique Linen ink to the cardstock since the areas covered by the paste resist the ink. This can help fill in bare spots from the monoprint method.
- Cut the bird from alcohol-inked black cardstock. I used the same formula as on this card.
- Cut the greenery, from cardstock to which Distress ink has been applied, with dies in the Holiday Greens set. Add a snow effect by applying Snowfall Grit paste and Rock Candy glitter.
- Stamp the Festive Overlay sentiment on to cardstock and cut with a circle die. Cut a vellum circle slightly larger. Adhere the two.
- Trim the stenciled panel and add to the card base. Add sentiment circle, greenery, and bird.

It’s a bit more involved than my usual clean and simple cards, but worth every step for the texture and sparkle it brings to the finished design.

CAS Stenciled Christmas Card

Hello! Today, I’m sharing a clean and simple Christmas card created with Simon Hurley products that captures the season’s elegance in just a few details. The background was made with the multi-part Festive Poinsettias stencil, blending classic holiday reds and greens. To complete the design, I heat-embossed the Sketched Snowmen sentiment in green and framed it with a touch of gold.

- With the first stencil in the Festive Poinsettias set, stencil the poinsettia petals on to Bristol cardstock with Candied Apple ink. With the second stencil, color the greenery with Mowed Lawn. The third stencil has details for both the poinsettia and the greenery. Stencil Archival Vermillion on the poinsettias (masking the areas for the greenery) and stencil Rustic Wilderness on the greenery, masking the poinsettias. Finally, add Champagne Gold Stencil Butter to the centers of the poinsettias, masking the other holes on the fourth stencil. (I decided that I only wanted the gold in the flower centers).
- Once dry, trim the stenciled panel and add to an A2-size card base.
- Heat-emboss the sentiment from the Sketched Snowmen set in Green and cut it with a rectangle die. Add to a gold cardstock mat with foam adhesive. Add assembly to card base.

I love how the layered stenciling adds depth while keeping the card clean and modern.

Newton’s Nook | Cozy Fall Card

Hello! There’s nothing like settling in with a good book and a warm cup of coffee on a crisp autumn day, which is the feeling I wanted to capture with today’s card. I used the Newton’s Nook Autumn Reads stamp set to create stacks of books accented with pumpkins and one topped with a steaming mug. The images are stamped and watercolored in rich fall hues, and the simple sentiment, “Happy Fall,” ties it all together with seasonal charm.

- Add Summer Snapshots Collection patterned paper panel to an A2-size card base.
- Stamp Autumn Reads images on Arches Cold Press watercolor paper. Color with medium of choice. I used watercolor markers and Distress inks. Once dry, cut with the coordinating die set.
- Stamp the Fall Roundabout sentiment and cut with the smallest Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle.
- Add elements to prepared card base.

Here for the Presents with Hero Arts

Hello! I’m sharing a Christmas card created with the Best Gift Ever Collection from Hero Arts. The design pairs the Gift Boxes die set, a cover plate that cuts an array of six presents, with the Here for the Presents Letterpress plates.

To create my design, I cut the Gift Boxes from white cardstock (for the frame) and again from coordinating Christmas-themed patterned papers and solid cardstock.

I used Library Green ink on the Letterpress sentiment plate. The sentiment set includes coordinating dies.

On three of the packages, I added gold twine bows.

While perfect for Christmas, the Gift Boxes set can easily be used for birthdays or any celebration.