Snowflakes and snowfolks

I've been trying to get a few more Christmas cards made and posted for the past couple of days and haven't had much luck. I wasn't feeling inspired and did a lot of staring at my stamps and paper and then getting frustrated. But I finally managed to pull together a few wintery-themed Christmas cards, and if you change or omit a couple of the sentiments, they would be great all-occasion winter cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^®):
Stamps: Stylin' Snowfolk, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Card stock: Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Gumball Green, Pumpkin Pie, Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, Jet Black StazOn, Craft Whisper White
Accessories: Apothecary Accents Framelits dies, white baker's twine, paper piercer, Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

Since I had previously used the Stylin' Snowfolk stamp set to make cards with a snow-family and a snow-woman, I decided I'd use a snow-kid and a snowman as focal points on cards. For this little guy, I stamped the snowman outline, added the arms, button and facial features, and then cut him out. I stamped the hat and mittens separately, cut them out and glued them onto the snow-kid piece.

For the background I stamped several Whisper White Craft ink snowflakes on a Crumb Cake card base and then applied the white ink around the edges of the card front and the edges of the Riding Hood Red die-cut piece. (I skipped a sponge and just lightly rubbed the pad directly on the card stock.) To add the baker's twine, I adhered the die-cut to the card and pierced a hole (through the die-cut and card front) in each side.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Stylin' Snowfolk, Hugs & Wishes
Card stock: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Soft Suede
Ink: Jet Black Staz On, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede
Accessories: Houndstooth embossing folder, black grosgrain ribbon, Brights glimmer brads, snowflake punch, 1" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, 1-3/4" circle punch, Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

This very dapper snowman amuses me; he seems just like the kind of snowman you'd find in front of a stately old mansion. I used three circle punches to create the snowman's body, and the snowflake punch for his arms; I just cut one "spoke" off the snowflake for each arm and then trimmed off the extra pieces at the end. The pipe, bow-tie and hat were stamped separately, cut out and adhered to the snowman's body.

I wanted to keep the rest of the card dignified enough for this snowman, so I embossed a piece of Sahara Sand card stock with the Houndstooth embossing folder and adhered it to the bottom of the card. I tied a piece of black grosgrain ribbon over the seam and added a Real Red glimmer brad for just a touch of sparkle.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Tiny Tags
Card stock: Soft Suede, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Soft Suede
Accessories: Snowflake punch, Jewelry Tag punch, Argyle embossing folder, Soft Suede taffeta ribbon, Vintage Trinkets, paper piercer, Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue

I think this card is my favorite of the group; I love the repeated bold snowflakes, the contrast of the red and white, and the texture. To create the background I punched out several Whisper White snowflakes and arranged them on a 3-3/4" x 5" piece of Real Red card stock. Once I was happy with the pattern, I used liquid glue to adhere the snowflakes. (It was a little time-consuming, but I made sure to apply glue to all the little snowflake ends so nothing came loose later.) Then I ran the whole piece through the Argyle embossing folder. The texture reminds me off a cozy winter sweater or pair of mittens.

I originally made this piece as the background for the snowman in the previous card, but it was much too busy. Instead I used it as the focal point on its own card by mounting in on a Soft Suede card base and wrapping Soft Suede ribbon around the card. I punched out three small tags, stamped "merry" on the white one and attached them to the the knot in the ribbon with a small safety pin.

All this wintery-ness seems a little out of place since our weather has been downright balmy, and the forecast for Wednesday calls for a high in the 60°s F. But I think it's a little more fun to make winter cards when you're not surrounded by it outside. Thanks for stopping by!