The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hello friends,

With time seeming to move at the speed of light, I'm determined to create at least one more assemblage piece before Christmas arrives! This Display Panel project is wonderfully adaptable to anything you have on hand—or perhaps, what's "leftover" from your other holiday makes. The project begins with a simple Vignette Panel, but quickly turns into an ode to my beloved Rock Candy Chunky! Let's dive into this fun, whimsical piece that could really punch up your decor this year!

Start by added Backdrop Paper to the Display Panel. I used Collage Medium to add the paper, as well as seal it so I can add Distress Crayon over the top once it is dry. I also added Design Tape Trim in green. My very favorite tape to use on Christmas projects!

I needed to create a shelf for the project. Six inch Etcetera Trim pieces are the exact same size as the Garlands sign from the Emporium pack so they will work perfectly for the shelf. I used four Trim pieces in both wide and skinny (2 each). 

The wide was glued to the Garlands sign, then another wide was added to the top (for the top of the shelf). I covered that with plaid Backdrop paper.

This might be a better shot - Basically, the large or wide trims are on the outside, the skinny or narrow trims are on the inside: to give the top strength and the back, which will used to glue the shelf to the Panel.

Same exact shot but with Collage Medium added. 

Now you are ready to add the shelf to the panel.

Now add the shelf to the panel where the paper changes pattern (make sure it's straight!) Let dry a for at least 30 minutes before standing the panel up.

While that is drying, lets work on the Alpine trees. I have sprayed the two trees with Bundled Sage Spray Stain and dried them with a heat tool. To add the Rock Candy mix, I used a Splat Box to add Distress Resist Spray to the trees before adding the Rock Candy. You could always use Glossy Accents or Collage Medium to the tree instead of the Distress Resist Spray, but I like the overall effect best with the Resist Spray.

While the trees are drying, I put together a little window with a photo from an older SKU of Christmas Paper Dolls. We used to make a whole SKU just for Christmas (and we loved it) but then started adding them to the layers pack in later years. The packs are still available and I have linked them below (TH94290). Anyway, I added some color using Distress Crayons, then added the photo to the window from the Emporium pack.

You can see how I used the bingo chips to raise the window from the surface and give it a 3D effect.

Its hard to see that 3D detail in a photo, but it's there. A also added the strip below that is from the Emporium pack (use Thin Foam Squares).

Next, the Alpine trees are glued in with Collage Medium. I wanted the red bases to keep with the 50's theme of the Emporium pack.

NOTE: I did have to trim off the back of the larger tree so it would sit against the panel.

You can decorate the trees anyway you like. I'm going to use colored Baubles and something unusual, chenille trim (aka: cheap pipe cleaners from Hobby Lobby). I just sprayed it with Antique Linen Spray Stain to age it just a bit, then dried it with the heat tool. Admittedly, it took a bit to dry. Next time I think I would spray them and leave overnight to dry.

I cut small pieces and wrapped the tree with each piece, hot gluing the ends to keep them in place.

For the small tree, I used the two smallest Baubles and colored them with Crimson (MY FAVORITE) and Juniper Alcohol Inks.

 I love how fluffy the pipe cleaners are!!

Now lets add some larger pieces from the Layers pack. I used the two poinsettia die cuts - one here and one on the left. I did add Glossy accents and Rock Candy to the layers for more 50's magic. These were added with Thin foam squares.

This might look like the same photos but another die cut piece has been added to the panel with regular foam squares.

And here is the left side. I cut the one poinsettia in half to make it fit under the shelf. Then used that piece on the right end.

You can see that piece added here.

I also added another piece of pine to mimic the right side. Layers, layers, layers!

Rip a few small pieces of cotton batting and start to place them around the tress with Collage Medium. Eventually I will add more cotton batting on the right, then a bit of Collage Medium on top and a sprinkling of Rock Candy mix.

Add Ephemera where you think it might appear natural. Mine is tucked up into the cut off piece of poinsettia. This is just the start of the bottom area. I will go on to add cotton batting with Rock Candy, an ephemera ticket and a word stick from the Baseboards Pack once the ticket is secure.

At the top I started adding ephemera with Thin foam squares. I could not help myself on the calendar, I just needed to add a nail at the top. Once I was done with this one, I just kept adding more ephemera pieces to fill in the space.

The tiny red bell is my favorite thing. The perfect size to hang from the nail with thread...

I cut up a candy cane and added the pieces to a small Corked Vile. Red and white twine was added to the neck and a little bell was hot glued in place. I also painted some Collage Medium over the cork and just the top of the vial so I could sprinkle Rock Candy over the top.

The candy bottle and a painted Salvaged Snowman (small size) was added to the right side. I also added a few more Baubles in Crimson and a couple pieces of candy. Once the Baubles were secure, I painted Collage Medium over just the top of the Bauble and sprinkled Rock Candy from above so that, like the bottle, it appears as if snow has fallen from above. Tiny bits of cotton batting were added between the Baubles, the Salvaged Snowman and the Corked Vile.

*distress paints were used to paint the snowman: Candied Apple, Evergreen Bough, Scorched Timber, Black Soot and Spiced Marmalade. He also has a wash of Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the top.

Moving back to the bottom, I added a word stick from a pack of Baseboards. Because I scrunched up the ticket before I glued it down, the word stick just kinda fell into a groove. It looked like a natural place for it to go, so I left it. I did add another small red ticket but it's impossible to see in this shot.

You might also notice in the next couple shots that there is lots of Rock Candy at the bottom section. When I was done adding the "snow" to a few areas around the ticket, I used a paint brush to paint Collage Medium where the sides meet and even up on the back wall. I lightly sprinkled this area with Rock Candy so it takes on a sparkly effect at night!

Hopefully, this project will resonate with some of you! If you don't have time to make it this year, then maybe you can glean some ideas for your own makes that might still be in the works!

Now carry on,

paula

Holiday Sketchbook Cards

Hello friends,

I've been creating a set of festive holiday cards that are sized perfectly to slip right into a Simon Says Stamp Mini Slimline Envelope (I used the gorgeous Schoolhouse Red).

For the main elements, I used the Stampers Anonymous Holiday Sketchbook stamp set and the coordinating wafer dies from Simon Says Stamp. The background for these stamped and die-cut images is the festive Christmas Backdrop paper.

After coloring my stamped images, I added a beautiful texture and sparkle using a Rock Candy glitter mix for that perfect holiday shimmer. The finished elements were then simply attached to the tag base using idea-ology Cello Tape. The best part? The entire back of the tag is left blank, giving you plenty of space to write your personal message before sealing it inside the red envelope!

Holiday Sketchbook

Coloring: Once the image was stamped with Archival ink, I scribbled Mustard Seed, Evergreen Bough and Mowed Lawn Distress Crayons onto my glass mat. I picked up the crayon with a damp Detailer Water Brush and added it to the card in layers of color. Once dry, I added dots of Glossy Accents, then sprinkled a Rock Candy mix over the top. Thin foam squares lift it from the card. 

Now carry on,

paula

Merry Christmas Tag

Hello Friends,

The 5 Palette Christmas fabrics from Tim Holtz is such a fun collection! The variety of texture, patterns, and scale works together perfectly. What I love most is the Collage fabric—its small-scale prints create the illusion that you spent hours patchwork-piecing tiny designs, when in reality, the work is already done for you! 

Ready to make a festive tag? You can find the full tutorial for my Palette Christmas Tag over on the Simon Says Stamp blog. Come learn my easy techniques for creating a simple patchwork background, constructing a beautiful large wreath, and giving your faux pine an easy transformation!

Now carry on,

paula

2025 Christmas Card File

Hello Friends,

Today I am sharing the Christmas Card File I created for the idea-ology Christmas LIVE back in September. I love making Card Files because each group of three cards allow for order to the making process. I also love that you can work on just one group a day and be done in a week's time. Sometimes the cards are easy, and will take just 30 minutes or they might be more demanding a take a few hours. Either way, you can work the cards around what you have scheduled for the day. Then return when you have time and work on the next group until the box is full.

I always begin a Card File by spraying all the cards with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. I like an over all color rather than sprayed dots. So I spray each group of three on the front side, immediately wipe/rub over the stain with a paper towel. Dry for 10-15 seconds with a heat tool, then repeat on the backside. If a card comes out too light for my taste, I just give it one more spray and wipe it off again. It really does not take as long as it sounds! I can finish a set of three cards in about 2-3 minutes.

So here they all are! The one exception - I will need cards or #5 tags to slide into the pockets - that's a total of 9 Mixed Media Heavystock cards or tags. I will call them out when we get to the File Card.

I'm going walk you through the cards/pockets made with the basic File Cards, then the cards/pockets made with the File Cards 2 pack. I did not use the pockets from the basic pack. 

There is no "correct" order for working the cards. I usually start with the Tabbed Cards and work my way to the zig zag cards which take the most thought. Cards can be put into the Card File in any order. 

Please note, all Paper Dolls were colored with Distress Crayons and sprayed with a Fixative.
I used Thin Foam Squares to slightly raise all Paper Dolls and much of the ephemera.

I also created a 50/50 mix of Rock Candy and Rock Candy Chunky in a empty jar. I used this mix throughout the project. Mostly over ephemera and before adding the Thin Foam Squares to the back.

FILE CARDS 

Tabbed Cards: Collage Strips and Christmas Sticker Book.

Notes: These are the easiest of all the cards. Of course they could be embellished more, but I kept mine simple, using just Collage Strips and some clippings from the sticker book. The Collage Strips make it look like you worked harder than you did!

Flat Cards: Backdrops, Paper Dolls from Layers pack, Christmas Ephemera, Christmas Sticker Book and Cello Tape.

Notes: Use Collage Medium to add pieces of Backdrop paper to the flat card. Round the corners. Add Cello Tape. Add ephemera and Paper Dolls with Thin Foam. The only thing that is not raised is the holly, because it slides slightly under the calendar that is raised.

Folded Cards: Collage Strips, Backdrop Paper, Christmas Ephemera, Cello Tape and string.

Notes: I used one Collage Strip per card and filled in the blank space with Backdrop paper. The three added ephemera pieces were covered with Collage Medium and sprinkled with a Rock Candy Mix before adding with Thin Foam Squares.

FILE CARDS 2

Library Pocket: Collage Paper, Backdrops, Christmas Ephemera, Christmas Sticker Book, Ledger Script stamp, string.

Notes: Pocket does not come with an insert. I used a #5 tag and cut it to 3 3/4" long. Stamp the background with the Ledger Script stamp. I got the watercolor look by inking the stamp, then spritzing it once with the Distress Sprayer before stamping. Add Backdrop Paper to the front of the pocket as well as embellishments like stickers and ephemera. 

Inserts: Use Collage Medium to add Collage Paper to the inserts. Collage Medium goes both under and over the Collage Paper. Dry with heat tool. Scribble Distress Crayons in Rustic Wilderness and Walnut Stain on glass mat. Pick up with a damp Detailer Water Brush (no added water) and paint the images.

Envelopes: Collage Paper, Christmas Sticker Book, Bold Tidings 1 and 3, red string, eyelets.

Notes: Use Collage Medium to add Collage Paper to the envelope. Dry with heat tool. Scribble Distress Crayons in Rustic Wilderness, Candied Apple and Walnut Stain on glass mat. Pick up with a damp Detailer Water Brush and paint the image. Added Cello Tape makes it look like a real postcard.

Cards: Envelope does not come with insert, so I cut my own from Mixed Media Heavystock (2 3/4 x 4"). Use the Bold Tiding stamps to stamp the card. Round the corners of each card, then punch a hole with a Crop-A-Dile and add the eyelet.  

Side Note: Simon Says Stamp now carries Antique Brass Eyelets!!! Seriously, these are impossible to find so I am over the moon that they now carry them!

Add string to the eyelet. Tiny stickers can be added to the ends of the string (from the 2025 Sticker Book). I backed the sticker with paper and then cut around the shape.

Pocket with Window: Swirly Snowflakes stamp, Collage Strips, Backdrops, eyelets, red string.

Notes: Stamp pocket with Stampers Anonymous Swirly Snowflakes using Iced Spruce Oxide Ink. I used the same "watercolor" technique when stamping. 

Pocket does not come with insert, so I cut my own from Mixed Media Heavystock (2 3/4 x 4"). Add Collage Strips to the front, then round the corners. Use a Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole at the top and add an eyelet and string. I also added poinsettia Backdrop paper to the inside of the pocket so it shows when the card is pulled out. 

Zig Zag Cards: Collage Strips, Christmas Ephemera, Christmas Sticker Book, Bold Tidings 2, 3 and 4 + red string, eyelets and various ribbons for closure.

Notes: The front of the zig zag books are covered in Collage Strips or Backdrops. The strips on the left side of two books are from the Sticker Book. Round ephemera has Rock Candy over the top. A Tiny Clip as used to close the green plaid book, whereas the other two books have a ribbon closure.

I made the inside of each zig zag very simple and easy by relying heavily on the Swirly Snowflakes and Bold Tidings stamp sets. I started each zig zag by stamping a saying from a Bold Tidings set. Then I added multiple Swirly Snowflakes over the length of the card. After that it was ephemera, stickers and Paper Dolls that had been previously colored. Much of the ephemera has added Rock Candy.

The red plaid strip is from the Sticker Book.

It's hard to see, but the holly on the bell has Rock Candy over the top.

If a Paper Doll is too tall, just chop off the legs to make it work!

I pulled multiple cards From the Emporium pack to add to the card File (feed in between the other cards).

To make them a bit unique, I added ephemera with staples and Cello Tape or Mini Paper Clips. I even added clippings to some of the botanicals.

Because the Card File was used in the Christmas Live, you can view the replay on Tim's YouTube Channel. The Card File comes up at the 1 hour mark and lasts for 11 minutes. It's a great way to see the Card File and how things open and close, the use of the Rock Candy, and see the depth of the raised pieces. You really get a sense of the texture and how the pieces work together. So I encourage you to watch that portion if you are thinking of making this project!

Now carry on,

paula