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A Stinkin’ Sweet Christmas

Oh, the holiday crafting season is officially here, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with the brand new “A Whiff of Christmas Cheer” stamp set from Unity Stamp Company! ????

These two cards feature the same adorable critter — but with totally different festive vibes. Whether you love classic candy cane reds or cozy green Christmas trees, you’re going to want to grab your markers and dive in!

Let’s make some holiday magic!

♥️ Card 1: “A Merry Little Christmas”

 

???? Step-by-Step Tutorial

  1. Stamp the Image: Start by stamping the adorable skunk holding a candy cane onto Copic-friendly ivory cardstock using your favorite alcohol marker-safe ink.

  2. Color the Cutie!: Use soft grays and pink tones to bring your skunk to life. Add a pop of red for the candy cane and a hint of holly green for that festive touch!

  3. Create the Background: Layer a vintage-style grid patterned paper over a green cardstock base. It gives that sweet, retro holiday vibe!

  4. Add the Big Candy Cane Die-Cut: Die cut a large candy cane heart shape from red cardstock and adhere it to the background. It perfectly frames your little skunk!

  5. Assemble the Card: Pop up the skunk image with foam tape for dimension. Add a few holly leaves around for a festive flourish.

  6. Finishing Touches: Add your sentiment strip at the bottom — “A Merry Little Christmas” — and you’re done! Simple, charming, and oh-so-merry. ❤️

???? Supplies Used:

???? Card 2: “Have a Stinkin’ Sweet Christmas!”

???? Step-by-Step Tutorial

  1. Stamp and Color: Stamp your skunk image and color using cool grays and festive accents. Keep the candy cane bright and shiny — this is the star of the show!

  2. Create the Background: Start by stamping the sheet music background with soft grey ink. Then, layer a bold green stenciled Christmas tree right on top. It makes your scene pop with holiday spirit!

  3. Add a Touch of Sparkle: Sprinkle a few red sequins or enamel dots across the tree — because who doesn’t love a little sparkle at Christmas?

  4. Frame It Up: Mount your background on black cardstock for a classy border, then layer on a bright red card base. Instant festive flair!

  5. Pop Up Your Image: Use foam tape to give your skunk a bit of dimension. It’ll look like he’s stepping right out of the card to hand you that candy cane!

  6. Finish with the Perfect Sentiment: Add the cheeky greeting “Have a Stinkin’ Sweet Christmas!” and you’ve got yourself a playful, joy-filled holiday card ready to mail!

???? Supplies Used:

These two cards show just how versatile and adorable the A Whiff of Christmas Cheer stamp set really is. Whether you’re going for sweet and simple or layered and bold, this little skunk will steal your heart (and your candy cane)! ????

So go ahead — grab your favorite markers, papers, and dies, and get your stinkin’ cute holiday crafting started!

Until next time… Happy Crafting!

Love this look? Browse all of Unity’s Christmas stamps for more inspiration.

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All About Backgrounds with the Advent Calendar Day 1 ~ December Challenge

 Hello there crafty friend!
Crystal here from Tawny Owl Paperie with a new challenge for December over in the Unity Show & Tell group… it’s All About Backgrounds this month!! I’m also sharing inspiration for Day 1 of the 2022 Advent Calendar!! I just love Unity’s Advent Calendar! It gets more amazing each year.

 

Holly Days Card

The sweet and delicate ornament stamp is the first Advent Calendar stamp. I colored it very simply with just a few Copic Markers: C00, C2, R14 and G24. And then I die cut it with the smallest circle die from the Scallops & Circles {nesting dies}. Next I mat it with a red circle die cut from the next largest circle die from the set.

 

This month’s challenge is all about the backgrounds though! I started this background with an ink smooshed card front that I had actually made last week during the video for my Mixed Media Background card. Ink smooshed with Twisted Citron and Evergreen Bough Distress Oxide inks. I stamped the beautiful Holly Days Background with Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles Distress Oxide inks.

 

What makes this background even more fun is the texture. After I stamped it with the Holly Days Background stamp I placed it in a woodgrain embossing folder and ran it through my Big Shot. I then lightly rubbed the Mowed Lawn oxide ink over the embossed background. It gives the background a bit of dimension. I think you can see some of the texture in this photo. I finished off the card with a few white rhinestones and a sweet sentiment from the Christmas Wishin’ stamps.

 

The Video

You can check out my video revealing the Advent Calendar Day 1 stamp and my process in making this card here… Advent Calendar Day 1 | December Challenge | All About Backgrounds | Unity Stamp Co.

 

I am so excited about this month’s challenge! To play along just make a fun background using inks, stamps, paints, embossing folders… really the list could go on and on. I can’t wait to see what you create! Be sure to share your cards in the Unity Show & Tell group and also add them to the November challenge album in the group to be entered for a prize!! See you back here next Thursday for more inspiration for the All About Backgrounds challenge!

 

Inky Hugs,
Crystal

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Rustic Christmas

Hello Unity friends! Happy Friday! This is Jules of Paper Gems by Jules and I am gearing up to create my holiday card stash and loving this new Holly Time stamp set.  It’s so pretty and can be used in so many ways.  Today, I wanted to share this rustic watercolored version.

To start this card, I stamped the holly leaves on watercolor paper using Versamark ink.  I used gold embossing powder to heat emboss the image.  Next, I created a couple of masks of the holly image and covered the first one to stamp it again.  I was looking to make a cluster of holly leaves with berries.  Once they were all stamped and embossed, it was time to color.

I colored the holly and berries with Viviva water colors.  They are super vibrant and melt onto the paper.  Next, I used a drop of Distress Ink Vintage Photo and started to ink the inside and drag the color out using water.  I love the look of the old weathered paper and it leaves so much room for error.  You’ve definitely got to give it a try.

For an added distress and vintage vibe, I splattered some of the Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Copic Opaque White Ink and some watered down Perfect Pearls. If you make any mistakes… splatters will save you (and your card).

Last I stamped and heat embossed the “Merry Christmas” sentiment in the same gold embossing powder.  I trimmed the paper and backed it with brown card stock.  I also trimmed down the watercolored hollies, and backed them with gold card stock and adhered it all to an ivory card base.  I can’t wait to try this distressed look with other beautiful red rubber images by Unity Stamp Co.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog and I hope you found some inspiration.  Make sure to subscribe to be notified of all the amazing creations by the Unity Stamp Co. Design Team.

Until next time…

Have a Crafty Day!

Jules

See every set in Unity’s Christmas stamps collection — red rubber, made in the USA.