Sneak Peek: Holiday Tags & Labels with Video & 11th Birthday Sale!

Hello, and welcome to the last of our Holiday Sneak Peeks!  All week, I have been sharing cards showcasing our newest collection, which is finally available to purchase! Yay! Before you run off to shop, though, I have one last new set to share that I'm very excited about.

Today I'm sharing ideas using our new Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps and coordinating dies. For years I have wanted a stamp set to complement the smallest tags from both our popular Scalloped Square Tag Dies and Scalloped Circle Tag Dies. This new set is the answer to that wish. The new coordinating Holiday Tags & Labels Dies also introduce two new tag dies, now giving you a total of four mix-and-match options! Hooray!

Tag Set 1: For my first set of gift tags, I had mass production in mind, so I picked a monochromatic design that is easy to do assembly-line style and maximized my time by using all four tag dies. I stamped everything in my MISTI tool so I could quickly go through and stamp in stages. This stamp set even comes with four unique snowflakes in approximately the same size, so I was able to stamp four at the same time and then die-cut four with one pass through the die-cutting machine. Seeing them lined up here makes my heart happy! 

I added a couple rows of 1/4" Scor-tape to the back of each tag so when Christmas rolls around I can just peel and stick these to a package like I would with a store-bought tag. I also embellished the tags with 5/8" wide ribbon from my stash and topped them with some Iridescent Pearls using liquid adhesive. Hot glue would make much of the assembly process go faster, but it didn't occur to me until my tags were complete. 

Tag Set 2:  For this set of tags, I used the sprigs & berries label from the Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps. This is the only label from the set that is holiday-specific, while the others can be used without the accompanying Christmas images year-round for birthday tags and scrapbook labels. The fir tree sprigs and berry images can be used with a variety of different ink colors to create oodles of combinations! I paired these with both the Holiday Tags & Labels Dies and Scalloped Circle Tag Dies and patterned paper from our Classic Gingham Paper, Classic Sunburst Paper, and Striped Silly Paper packs.

Here's a closer look at the set all done up in the same festive red, black, and white color scheme. I often buy large rolls of gift wrap in red and white prints that coordinate with each other under the tree, so I can see myself mass-producing this gift tag for years to come. 

Tag Set 3: If it hasn't been obvious by the multitude of poinsettia-themed products we've released over the years, I have a soft spot for poinsettias. Funny enough, I'm not actually in love with real potted poinsettias, but I'm a sucker for a pretty poinsettia image. For this set of tags showcasing the new Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps, I paired the poinsettia from the set with the fir tree sprigs from our Season's Greetings Stamps, cut out with the included dies. For my tags, I stamped the solid dotted circle label in a true red ink and layered it on a green circular tag from the Holiday Tags & Labels Dies, which I cut from a print found in our Classic Sunburst Paper pack. I adore how they turned out, and I love that the image is easy to quickly color in large batches.

Tag Set 4: This is another tag set I designed to perfectly coordinate with my Christmas-themed red and white wrapping paper. I love how easily the new Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps can be customized to match any color scheme or theme. For this tag set, I paired the square polka-dot label stamped with black ink with the matching stitched square dies from the Holiday Tags & Labels Dies and the Scalloped Square Tag Dies, cut from red cardstock. I again added two rows of 1/4" Scor-tape to the back to have quick and easy peel-and-stick tags to add to gifts. As a finishing touch, I topped each tag with the silver bells and bow image from the set.

Tag Set 5: I went with a fun and playful color scheme for my last set of gift tags using the new Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps. I paired the stitched circular label from the set with the Scalloped Circle Tag Dies, cut from a pink gingham print from the Gingham Pastel Paper pack. To dress them up, I topped each tag with the holly and berries image from the set that I colored with Copic markers. I love how the cursive "to" and "from" add to the cute, whimsical feel.

Card No. 1: The Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps aren't limited to just making gift tags, though. Switching gears, I have several cards I created with this versatile set! Up first is a fun background using the solid square stamp from the set, which I stamped in a diagonal diamond pattern. This was easier than I ever dreamed to line up. I started by lightly penciling in the X and Y axes, then stamping my first blue square at the center. From there, it was quite easy to line up each square and stamp them in rows in my MISTI tool by lining them up with the previous squares using Gina K. Ocean Mist, Turquoise Sea, Light Lilac, Light Orchid, and Powder Blue Ink. 

When the ink had dried, I took turns stamping the four snowflakes from the new stamps in the center and heat embossing them with White Detail Embossing Powder. I then topped each snowflake with a little coordinating jewel (linked below) that I adhered with Multi Matte Medium. For my greeting, I added a strip of vellum using the stitched edge from the Slimline Basic Border Dies and the "Happy New Year" greeting from the Season's Greetings Stamps. My husband's mother and sister still live in Japan, so I often try to send them special New Year's cards. To give my greeting a bit of sparkle, I stamped it again with clear Versamark ink while my cardstock was still in position so I could then add some sparkly Holographic Embossing Powder.

Card No. 2: For my next card featuring the Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps, I once again found the center of my A2-sized cardstock panel and then stamped my first stitched circle in red, before stamping them in rows using my MISTI tool. Afterward, I thought it would be fun to die-cut a window out of the center of each circle frame using a small 1" circle die from either our Stitched Circle Large Dies or Radiating Circle Dies (they both have 1" circle dies that work well). I then backed the openings with prints from our Classic Gingham Paper, Classic Sunburst Paper, and Polka-dot Parade Paper packs. I heat embossed the "merry wishes" greeting in the center opening from our Build-a-Greeting Holiday Stamps and then filled all the other openings with peeking critters from our Holiday Express Stamps, Christmas Critters Stamps, Fall Friends Stamps, and Beach Buddies Stamps.

Ink colors used:

• Gina K. Light Carnation
• Gina K. Turquoise Sea
• PinkFresh Studio Key Lime
• PinkFresh Studio Candy Apple

Card No. 3: For my last card of the day using the new Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps, I repeatedly stamped and heat-embossed the various snowflakes from the set, stamping four or five at a time, before heating them with White Detail Embossing Powder and moving on to the next set. It went quite quickly, and I love the results! It's a bit tough to see here, but I added some subtle, deeper-red shading to the outside edge with Lumberjack Plaid distress ink, using a very damp towel to buff off any that stuck to the white-embossed snowflakes. For my focal point, I heat embossed the oversized Christmas greeting from the Holiday Greetings Stamps and then paired it with a cute Roly Poly Penguin on each side.

That wraps up today's sneak peek. I'm so happy you joined me this week! I'd love to give a $40 gift code to one lucky winner, who will be randomly selected from comments on this blog post and on our Facebook and Instagram posts. Our daily contests will run through tomorrow at Midnight PST, with winners announced here on our blog on Sunday, August 30th.

In honor of Sunny Studio's 11th birthday this week, we are running a sale for 20% off all full-priced Sunny Studio Branded products using the discount code ELEVENYEARS at checkout through September 6th at Midnight PDT. Excludes the newest release and retirement items already on sale. Limit one discount code per order.

With each new collection, we include a free mini die automatically with orders placed in our online store. For this release, we have a fun new mini oak leaf die!

I've also created a video that offers a closer look at all the products and the cards I made with them, which you can view on our YouTube channel HERE.

Here's a closer look at our new 4x6 Holiday Tags & Labels Stamps and Holiday Tags & Labels Dies, which are now available for purchase.

  

Other Supplies Used:

Scalloped Tags-Circle Shop at: Sunny Studio	Scalloped Tags-Square Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Circle Large Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Slimline Basic Borders Shop at: Sunny Studio
Christmas Critters Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Christmas Critters DIes Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Express Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Express Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Beach Buddies Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Beach Buddies Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Fall Friends Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Fall Friends Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Season's Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Season's Greetings Word Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Greetings Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Gingham Pastels 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Build-a-Greeting Holidays Shop at: Sunny Studio	Roly Poly Penguin Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Roly Poly Penguin Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Classic Gingham 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Striped Silly 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Polka-dot Parade 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Classic Sunburst Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio
Pink Spinel Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Aquamarine Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Blue Topaz Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Lavender Quartz Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio
Iridescent Pearls Shop at: Sunny Studio	Hero Arts White Detail Shop at: Sunny Studio	VersaMark Watermark Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	Versafine Onyx Black Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio

Sneak Peek: Introducing Nativity Scene Builder Craft Dies

Hello, and welcome to day 4 of our Holiday Sneak Peek Week!  All this week, I am sharing cards showcasing our newest collection, which will be available for purchase tomorrow!

Card No. 1: I've been wanting a versatile Nativity die set for years. I own a couple of different sets that you cut out in one pass, but I was longing for something with more flexibility to create a variety of scenes, and with that, our newest Nativity Scene Builder Dies were born!

For my first card using the set, I started by die-cutting small circles from masking material, which I positioned randomly across the center to give the look of bokeh with the out-of-focus lights of Bethlehem in the background. To achieve this look, I inked a bit, then moved the dots and inked some more using Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Salty Ocean, Prize Ribbon, Chipped Sapphire, and Black Soot Distress inks. I then added the stable and layered it with the Mini Grass Border Dies, which I ran through my machine twice to line up and achieve the dip in the center I was after. I then arranged Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus in the manger and the adoring animals around them. For my sentiment, I split up the sentiment in two parts using our Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps and stamped the first portion in black ink onto a Brilliant Banner 4 Dies and then the second half, heat-embossing it with White Detail Embossing Powder onto the black cardstock.

Card No. 2: For my next card showcasing the Nativity Scene Builder Dies, I started by inking my sky with Scattered Straw, Kitsch Flamingo, Salty Ocean, Prize Ribbon, and Chipped Sapphire with Black Soot Distress Ink in the far corners. I then stamped the palm trees on each side from our Beach Bus Stamps and layered in the village dies from the set, adding small rectangles of yellow inked cardstock to fill the window and door openings for the bottom layer. Next, I added stitched hills cut from navy cardstock using our Slimline Nature Border Dies, inked with Black Soot Distress Ink, and tucked in a couple of palm trees from the set. I flipped the shepherd to fill in as Joseph and put Mary on the back of the donkey. I added some highlights with my white gel pen to make them stand out against the dark background, but then felt the white was too stark and walked it back by coloring over them with a dark grey Copic marker. Lastly, I heat-embossed a greeting from those same Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps.

Card No. 3: Next up, I have a slimline Christmas card featuring the Nativity Scene Builder Dies. I started with an unexpected color scheme for Christmas and inked up my 8" x 4" slimline panel with a blend of Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves, Wilted Violet, and a tiny bit of Villainous Potion Distress Inks. I kept the spot where I wanted my shining star to be much lighter to give a glowing appearance. I then stamped some tree branches along the top edge using the fir tree sprigs from the Classy Christmas Stamps and Christmas Trimmings Stamps, using Versafine Onyx Black Ink. I added a simple stitched hillside with the Slimline Nature Border Dies and tucked the building from the Nativity Scene Builder dies to form Bethlehem in the distance. Lastly, when I was certain the background and border along the top were fully dry, I heat-embossed a sentiment from the Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps.

Card No. 4: For this card, using the Nativity Scene Builder Dies, I switched up my color palette a bit, selecting warm tones. For this vertically oriented card, I wanted to have the stable scene in the foreground with Bethlehem behind it, like it's up in the hills. To do this, I started by inking the sky with Lumberjack Plaid, Candied Apple, and scattered straw in the center (mostly hidden by the buildings). For my hills, cut using the Slimline Nature Border Dies, I inked them up using Tea Dye Distress Ink and then inked the star and the area glowing behind Jesus with Scattered Straw ink. Initially I had just the one hill, but I felt like the buildings were standing a little too tall and stark against the red, so I added in the hills behind them to look like they are in a bit of a valley. I wasn't left with very many places to squeeze my greeting, so I repositioned my elements so they would fit around the greeting from the Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps set and be framed by the stable. I was happy with how the scene came together, and I think this could be reimagined with a variety of different color schemes.

Card No. 5: I couldn't create a card with the new Nativity Scene Builder Dies without taking our Sunburst Embossing Folder out for a spin. I found a digital nativity scene that provided the inspiration I needed for my background, and I've walked you through the steps of how I recreated that background below. I was really pleased that it turned out the way I was envisioning!  To complete my card, I cut a stitched hill using the border die from our Slimline Nature Border Dies and added a heat-embossed sentiment from the Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps.

The create my sunburst background I started with a piece of 5.5" x 5.5" 120 pound white cardstock. I first inked up the raised surface of one side of my embossing folder using the brayer with the Colorbox blue pigment ink from my stash. In hindsight, the Versafine Clair Paradise or Bluebell inks would also work well for this. You need to use a pigment ink that can stick well to the plastic surface without beading up like dye ink would. Even though I don't need a full square piece of cardstock on my final card, I thought it would give me more options for rotating, if I messed up one corner. In the end, I felt all the corners were usable, but now it also has the added bonus of 1/3 being leftover to use on a future card.

After rolling the ink out on the surface of my embossing folder, I took a Q-tip with a bit of rubbing alcohol and carefully removed any portions of ink that accidentally got onto the recessed portions of the folder. I then laid my white cardstock on the un-inked side of the embossing folder and carefully closed the inked "lid" down onto my paper and held it tight so it wouldn't shift before running it through my die-cutting machine. When I removed the panel, there were some areas that didn't ink up as well as I would have liked to I zapped it with my heat gun and then filled in the lighter spots with a coordinating Copic Marker in the same color.

Next, I inked up the entire outside edges with a medium to light blend of Prize Ribbon Distress Ink, followed by Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot on the most outside corners. While I never used Distress Ink on the centers, I still wanted to lighten the raised rays that had been inked in my first step with the pigment ink, so I smooshed some of my Hero Arts Unicorn Pigment Ink onto my glass mat and then rubbed it around the center and into the rays using my finger. I decided I would have more control that way, and it would be easier to wash my finger later than sacrifice one of my precious brushes to become filled with pigment ink that was tinted with blue.

Card No. 6: For my last card today using the Nativity Scene Builder Dies, I switched gears and this time went a bit lighter and airier for my scene, cutting the pieces from white cardstock. For my background, I blended Salty Ocean, Shaded Lilac, and Spun Sugar Distress Inks before adding a grassy border cut from white cardstock, using the Mini Grass Border Dies (running them through twice to span the distance), and inking the bottom with a blend of Bundled Sage and Twisted Citron Distress inks. I splattered the background with water before adding stars with a white gel pen and scattering small die-cut stars across the sky using the mini dies from the Nativity set. Lastly, I stamped the "O Holy Night" in black ink using the Holy Night Stamps.

That wraps up today's sneak peek. I'm so happy you joined me today! I'd love to give a $40 gift code to one lucky winner, who will be randomly selected from comments on this blog post and on our Facebook and Instagram posts. Our daily contests will run through Saturday, August 29th, at Midnight PST, with winners announced here on our blog on Sunday, August 30th.

Here's a closer look at our new Nativity Scene Builder Dies, which will be available for purchase starting tomorrow.

Other Supplies Used:

Christmas Trimmings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Christmas Trimmings Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Brilliant Banner 4 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Slimline Nature Borders Shop at: Sunny Studio
Classy Christmas Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Classy Christmas Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holy Night Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holy Night Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Inside Greetings-Christmas Shop at: Sunny Studio	Mini Grass Border Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Beach Bus Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Beach Bus Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Sunburst Embossing Shop at: Sunny Studio	Spellbinders Masking Sheets Shop at: Sunny Studio	We R Nesting Circles Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Hero Arts White Detail Shop at: Sunny Studio
VersaMark Watermark Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	Versafine Onyx Black Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	PinkFresh Studio Blending Brushes Shop at: Sunny Studio