Sneak Peek: Holiday Express, Bear Hugs & Forest Trees Stencils

Hello and welcome to the last day of our 2021 Holiday Peek Week!  Every morning this week I have showcased cards using our newest fall & winter collections which will be begin shipping today! Hooray!

Today I am sharing our last two new 4x6 Stamp sets for winter, along with our very first set of stencils, called Forest Trees. This is an idea I have been tossing around for several years and I finally decided to take the plunge and create them. It consists of three numbered 6-inch wide stencils that can be used alone or layered together to create the look of a dense forest backdrop for your cards.

I have created a video sharing not only the new products from today, but also a closer look at all products and cards shared over the past six days. I hope you will join me! You can also watch directly on our YouTube channel HERE.

Card No. 1: For my first set of cards today I'm sharing ways to use our new Holiday Express Stamps. The set comes with a train engine, a gondola style rail car, a peeking Santa, reindeer, polar bear, penguin, tree, gifts, a number of fun elements to decorate the cars with and several versatile mix and match greetings. 

For my card, I started by inking my background lightly with tumbled glass distress ink before inking in my trees using the new Forest Trees Stencils with Twisted Citron for the first layer and Mowed Lawn for the second layer. I then added a layer of brush below my trees using our Fluffy Cloud Border Dies and a bank of snow with our Slimline Nature Border Dies. The set comes with the bells to decorate with and I stamped multiples of the reindeer from the set, giving one a red nose to look like Rudolph. I tucked a bag of toys behind the last one using an image from our Santa Claus Lane Stamps. I was running out of a good place to fit a greeting so our Comic Strip Speech Bubbles Dies came to my rescue and allowed me to stamp a sentiment from the Holiday Express set.

Card No. 2: For my next card I created a slimline style card using the largest die from our Stitched Rectangle Dies set which I elongated by hanging one end off the cutting plate before running my paper through the die-cutting machine and then repeating the process on the opposite side. The stitching helps you lock the die into position making this super easy to do and get beautiful results. For my tree lined background I also elongated the border from our Winter Scenes Stamps by first stamping it in the center (with pale blue ink) and then masking off the edges before stamping them again on both sides. I then shaded the trees using my Copic Markers before adding a snowy sparkle using my favorite Stardust Stickles by Ranger.

For this card I used the little string of lights from the Holiday Express set to decorate my box cars which were filled with penguins, polar bears, trees and gifts all colored in a cool blue, green and turquoise analogous color scheme. I finished my card with a cute greeting from the set which I stamped using VersaFine Onyx Black Ink.

Card No. 3: Up next is an everyday take on the cute train (and gifts) from Holiday Express. For this fun birthday card I paired the critters from our Beach Buddies stamps with the balloons from our Floating By Stamps and the little banners from our Balloon Rides Stamps. For my fir tree with grass hillside backdrop, I turned to a border from our Scenic Route Stamps. Lastly I inked up the stitched cloud border from our Slimline Nature Border Dies with some Twisted Citron Distress ink to form a little brush directly behind my train. I just love how happy and festive this turned out!

Card No. 4: For my next card I started by inking up my background using the three layers of Forest Trees Stencils before die-cutting my panel using the outer stitched rectangle from our Frilly Frames Quatrefoil Dies. I then stamped some tufts of grass along the bottom half of my panel using images from our Barnyard Buddies Stamps. I thought this train would also make a cute baby boy card so for my focal point I colored it with more whimsical colors and added the little bear from our Beach Buddies Stamps, I framed the image using a scalloped circle from our Fancy Frames Circle Dies, inserting a little half circle beneath my train to ground my scene.  For my sentiment I paired the word "congrats" from our Tool Time Stamps with the phrase "coming your way" from the Holiday Express Stamps, stamping them both onto a small banner from our Banner Basics Stamps.

Card No. 5: For my last train card for the day, I mass produced this playful holiday card for our brick and mortar stores to display, focusing almost entirely on the elements from our Holiday Express Stamps. One time saving measure I utilized was using a basic solid aqua cardstock for my background rather than inking it up with distress inks like I often do for my one-of-a-kind cards. I also chose to set up the three cloud puffs of steam in my MISTI tool and to stamp them all at once which saved me so much extra time in stamping, coloring, cutting and gluing the individual pieces later. I also used the basic stitched hillside border from our Slimline Nature Border Dies, which cuts a stitched slope on both sides of the cutline. I used this to my advantage by positioning the die in the center of my white cardstock and cutting two snowy borders at once. For my sentiment, I used a greeting from the set which I also set up in my MISTI tool and stamped quickly and easily with my favorite VersaFine Onyx Black Ink. All these time saving measures kept me from wanting to pull my hair out during the assembly line process, but I don't think the average recipient would ever know I cut corners to make the cardmaking process quicker.

Card No. 6: Switching gears, I have a series of cards showcasing our new Bear Hugs Stamps. This set with all the hugging bears works great for the holidays, Valentine's Day, Father's Day and Mother's Day and even to let someone know you miss their hugs during Covid.

For this card I started by inking up my sky and fir tree background using our Forest Trees Stencils with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. I then added some birch trees to either side of my card using the Bear Hugs Stamps and a stitched drift of snow using our Slimline Nature Border Dies. For my focal point I used the sweater clad bears rubbing noses from the Bear Hugs stamps and a greeting from the set. I then stamped five little hearts (also from the set) with red ink. Finally I added a strip of the candy cane striped paper from our new All Is Bright Paper pack, backed with a thin strip of red cardstock to the bottom of my card.

Card No. 7: Starting with the same Forest Trees Stencils and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks, this time I inked my borders on a card panel with a vertical orientation and added a fourth row of trees to the foreground using our Winter Scenes Stamps. This scene set comes with a separate line image that hugs the edge of the trees which gave me the opportunity to create separation so I could color the icy Arctic Ocean with my Copic Markers for my sleeping polar bear with his ice block to float on. For my greeting I borrowed a sentiment from our Lazy Christmas Stamps which felt so perfect for this image and I couldn't resist adding the tiny Santa hat from our Christmas Critters Stamps as a last minute touch. I just love this bear!  

Card No. 8: For this card I paired the three images featuring the hugging Mama and Papa Bears from the Bear Hugs Stamps. To ground my images I lined them up on the scalloped gift tags with matching toppers included with our Sliding Window Dies set. I cut out the toppers from a aqua checked patterned paper from our All Is Bright Paper pack and covered the tag's holes with small red hearts from our Mini Basic Shape II Dies which were coated with Glossy Accents. For my card background I used a red stitched scallop print from that same holiday paper pack and die-cut the bottom edge with a lacy scallop to match my tags using our Slimline Basic Border Dies. I wanted to have a white shadow behind my red scalloped edge so I cut a second strip from white cardstock with the plain scalloped border die that also comes with the border die set to offset behind my background. For my greeting, I heat embossed several words from the Bear Hugs stamps with white embossing powder and paired them with the scripty "hugs" word die-cut from our Scalloped Oval Mat 3 Dies.

Card No. 9: For my next card I took one of those same hugging bear images, this time coloring them to look like polar bears for my card's focal point. I thought a pink and lavender color scheme would be a fun change of pace so I started by inking up a piece of white cardstock with Spun Sugar Distress ink for my sky and then layered it with varying shades of Shaded Lilac Distress Ink using our Forest Trees Stencils. I cut a snowy hillside using our Slimline Nature Border Dies to layer along the bottom of my scene and then trimmed a Stitched Arch from a piece of pink snowflake patterned paper from our Holiday Cheer Paper pack to layer over my entire background. This window gave me a wonderful frame to showcase my hugging bears and a great place to stamp my greeting from the set. I then cut a number of small snowflakes from our Snowflake Circle Frame Dies to randomly scatter in the foreground which I topped with our Metallic Silver Drops. These drops are so much fun to work with and they really make your cards shine!

Card No. 10: For my last card of the day I thought I would create an everyday themed card using the Bear Hugs Stamps to show how well they work for cards outside the winter season. For this card I used the bear, mug and birch trees with leaves from the set to create a light and airy scene, pairing them with the mountain from our Alpaca Holiday Stamps. I colored my sky using Spun Sugar Distress ink and then when it was fully dry, I heat embossed a sentiment from our Beautiful Autumn Stamps. My grassy layers were created by flicking on color with my Copic Markers and trimming the edges using the grass border die from our Picket Fence Dies. As my last touch I added a number of daisies to the grass using the flower image from our Spring Scenes Stamps. Finally I had drew some steam coming from my coffee mug using a Sharpie White Extra Fine Point Paint Pen.

Well, that wraps up all my sneak peeks for the week! I'm so happy you've joined me! I read all your comments and they mean so much!  I'd love to give a $25 gift code to one lucky winner using the rafflecopter below.  Don't forget there's still time to enter our giveaways from earlier in the week, including our birthday blog hop HERE with loads of prizes at every stop. The contests run through TODAY at Midnight PST with winners announced here on Sunday, August 29th. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This week we also have three different discount codes to chose from, however you are limited to one discount code per order so please chose the one with the biggest savings for you. ❤️

Plus all order will automatically come with our newest free mini ornament die for the season!

Here's a closer look at the our new Holiday Express Stamps & Dies, Bear Hugs Stamps & Dies and Forest Trees Stencils used today (which are available for pre-order as part of our birthday festivities and will begin shipping on August 27th):

Other Sunny Studio Supplies Used:

Beach Buddies Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Outback Critters Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Picket Fence Border Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Rectangle Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Tsukineko Jumbo Dauber Shop at: Sunny Studio	Versafine Onyx Black Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	Barnyard Buddies Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Fancy Frames-Circle Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Beautiful Autumn Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Sliding Window Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Holiday Cheer 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Alpaca Holiday Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Alpaca Holiday Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Mini Basic Shape Dies II Shop at: Sunny Studio	Fluffy Clouds Border Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Comic Strip Speech Bubble Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Scenic Route Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Scenic Route Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Snowflake Circle Frame Shop at: Sunny Studio	Banner Basics Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Banner Basics Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Floating By Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Floating By Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Spring Scenes Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Spring Scenes Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Tool Time Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Arch Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Frilly Frames Quatrefoil Shop at: Sunny Studio
Slimline Basic Borders Shop at: Sunny Studio	Slimline Nature Borders Shop at: Sunny Studio	Winter Scenes Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Winter Scenes Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Balloon Rides Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Scalloped Oval Mat 3 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	All Is Bright Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Hero Arts White Detail Shop at: Sunny Studio
Lazy Christmas Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	VersaMark Watermark Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio	Metallic Silver Drops Shop at: Sunny Studio

Sneak Peek: Pristine Poinsettia, Winter Greenery & Lacy Snowflake Dies

Hello and welcome to day 5 of our 2021 Holiday Peek Week!  Each morning this week I am showcasing cards using our newest fall & winter collections which will begin shipping on August 27th.

Today I am sharing three new standalone dies for the holidays called Pristine Poinsettia, Winter Greenery and Lacy Snowflakes. I had so much fun using these three dies and I'm super excited to finally share my cards using them!

Card No. 1: My first card combines our new Pristine Poinsettia Dies with a couple of the dies from our Winter Greenery Dies set. I go more into detail about how I assembled these poinsettia flowers near the bottom of my post today, but when layering three layered sets together this die creates a finished flower that is 2.5" wide in size. For these poinsettias I arranged our Red Zircon Jewels in the center using the largest size in the center and a set of smaller jewels around the perimeter which I adhered with a strong liquid adhesive. 

For this card I started with a red checked print from our All Is Bright Paper pack for my background. I then cut our Scalloped Oval Mat 2 Dies from black cardstock and cut out the center using our Stitched Oval 2 Dies. I then backed the opening with our Frilly Frames Quatrefoil Dies background cut from grey cardstock and a second oval using our Scalloped Oval Mat 1 Dies cut from white cardstock. I completed my card using our Season's Greetings Stamps for my greeting, stamping it using VersaFine Onyx Black Ink.

Card No. 2: For my next card I utilized the same Pristine Poinsettia Dies and Winter Greenery Dies, but this time I used two different leaf dies from the set. For my flower center I used an old Queen & Co. Goosebumps jewel from my stash. My bold striped background was created by cutting 3/4" wide strips from Black and white cardstock which I then taped together on the back side with Scotch tape before running it through my die-cutting machine with our Stitched Rectangle Dies. I then mounted them onto a red stock panel to match my poinsettia and stamped my "joy to the world" sentiment using our Festive Greetings Stamps. This card came together really quickly, but I love the bold impact!

Card No. 3: For this card featuring our new Pristine Poinsettia Dies and Winter Greenery Dies, I paired them with a green checked patterned paper from our All is Bright Paper pack. For my greeting I turned to our Inside Greetings Christmas Stamps, stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black ink onto a cutout cut from white cardstock using our Scalloped Oval Mat 1 Dies. I then used our Stitched Oval 2 Dies to cut a red gingham mat behind my sentiment using our Classic Gingham Paper. As final finishing touches, I added some Ruby Red Pearls in the center of my poinsettia flower and scattered a few random Iridescent Clear Jewels on my card background.

Card No. 4: For my next card I thought I would switch gears and go soft and sweet with a pink Pristine Poinsettia card. I was a bit limited for some of my cardstock colors so I was able to expand my choices by inking up some of the layers using distress inks prior to assembly. When I was done I added some green pearls to the center using our Iridescent Pearls and added some sparkle to the completed flower using Ranger Stardust Stickles.

For the rest of my card I used our Frilly Frames Quatrefoil Dies for the background, Striped paper from our Sleek Stripes Paper pack and a heat embossed sentiment from our Retro Ornaments Stamps. For the rest of my floral grouping, I stamped the layered pinecones from our Christmas Trimming Stamps onto kraft colored cardstock and used more of the vines and sprigs from our Winter Greenery Dies.

Card No. 5: For my last Winter Greenery card showcase the holly and berries, I started by stamping the tree branches from our Christmas Trimmings Stamps, Classy Christmas Stamps and Holiday Style Stamps with clear VersaMark Ink onto black cardstock and then heat embossed them using Ranger's Leaf Green & Fern Green embossing powders by Wendy Vecchi. I first sprinkled the darker color near the center and dumping that portion back into the container before sprinkling the tips with the lighter color. I like the small variation it gave my grouping.

I trimmed down my card panel using stitched rectangle from our Frilly Frame Retro Petals Dies and then mounted them onto a larger red cardstock panel sized 4.25" x 5.5". My sentiment was a combination of stamps from our Christmas Trimming Stamps and Merry Mice Stamps which I heat embossed using Ranger's Red Geranium embossing powder. I am such a fan of Ranger's colored opaque embossing powders. They heat up so smoothly with beautiful bold results!  As a final touch, I went back with my Sharpie White Extra Fine Point Pain Pen to add my dots to the background.

Card No. 6: I have one last Pristine Poinsettia card to share. I realized when nearly all my cards were done that I failed to use one of my favorite patterned papers from the new All Is Bright Paper pack. For this card I used a sketch by Page Maps that Scrapbooks & Cards Today is sharing on their website right now. I was able to cut out all my rectangles and pennants using the dies from our Stitched Rectangle Dies, shortening the poinsettia background slightly to make room for my sentiment by running the die through my machine a second time. I tied a red gingham bow using some American Crafts ribbon and stamped my sentiment using a greeting from our Holiday Style Stamps. Lastly, I added the Ruby Red Pearls to the center of my poinsettia flower.

Card No. 7: Switching gears, my next card showcases our new Lacy Snowflake Dies with a bold, modern design. I used the three snowflake designs from the set to create a background pattern on black cardstock. When I was done I stamped the over-sized greeting from our Deck the Halls Stamps onto our Stitched Oval Dies and mounted them onto a die from our new Scalloped Oval Mat 1 Dies. At this point I was feeling my sentiment was looking a little dwarfed in the center of my card, but I didn't want to cover more of my snowflake background that I had worked so hard on. To compromise I die-cut our Stitched Oval 2 Dies from vellum to give my sentiment more weight and prominence, but I like how the translucent quality still allows me to see those snowflakes down below.

Card No. 8: For this card I started by creating a 4.5" stitched square using the middle rectangle from our Stitched Rectangle Dies. I used the long side of the die to create the width of my square and then elongated it by hanging the edge of the die off my cutting plate when running the die through my die-cutting machine. This allowed me to not cut one edge so that I could then flip the die over and cut the other half of my square using the same method. I then mounted it onto a piece of checked paper from our Gingham Pastels Paper pack which I had cut down to 4.75" square.

To create my wreath I used our Lacy Snowflakes Die cut from 5 different shades of pink, lilac and aqua cardstock to add up to a total of 15 snowflakes. I lightly traced around a 3" circle die on the back of my die-cut square and then used a light box to see through the cardstock for my snowflake placement. I could have just as easily traced it on the front and erased it later, but that can sometimes get messy with intricate dies and lots of glue so I thought I would try this option instead and it actually worked really nice. I tried my best to form visual triangles with each of the five colors so that they were all evenly space around my circle. I then picked them up one at a time and carefully added some glue to the backs using my Zig Glue Pen and adhered them one by one.To embellish the center of my snowflakes I used Ranger's multi-matte medium to adhere our Pink Spinel Jewels, Lavender Quartz Jewels and Aquamarine Jewels. This adhesive dries as the name would indicate with a clear matte finish so if a little gets somewhere it shouldn't then it won't leave a glossy shine to draw attention to it later.  

For my greeting I stamped the "Happy New Year" sentiment first with dye ink using our Season's Greetings Stamps and then a second time with clear VersaMark Ink so that I could heat emboss using some clear glitter embossing powder for extra sparkle. I then cut my Scotch Foam Tape into thin strips and removed the paper backing before adhering them so that I could bend and mold the tape to match the curve of my letters, while keeping all the little pieces hidden.

Card No. 9: For my last card of the day using the new Lacy Snowflakes Die I returned to my favorite red and white color scheme. In addition to cutting two of each of the lacy snowflakes from white cardstock, I also cut out a few of the snowflakes and "winter wishes" greeting from our Layered Snowflake Frame Dies to add to the mix. Before adhering anything I visually arranged them on my red cardstock panel, leaving a tiny room between them for some smaller snowflakes from our Deck The Halls Stamps which I stamped with VersaMark Ink and heat embossed using Hero Arts White Detail Embossing Powder. After everything was adhered I added some white dots using my favorite Sharpie White Extra Fine Paint Pen and some White Pearls to the center of some of the snowflakes.

Pristine Poinsettia Assembly: I die-cut and assembled a number of poinsettias all in one sitting using cardstock scraps I had in my stash which I store in Ziploc gallon sized freezer bags by color. When sorting through my cardstock scraps I had enough paper to create six flowers that leaned peachy-red and six that leaned pinkish-red for the lightest layers. 

To keep my petals from falling apart, I used a strong paper piercer and a foam mat to pierce through all 9 layers and a small brad of a similar color to strongly hold all the petals together and still give me the opportunity to not fully glue all 9 petals down my card to give them a more realistic look. After closing the brad, I positioned them over a self healing mat and then took a small craft hammer to them so that the brad head would completely flatten out so that I could apply other embellishments over the center without the brads getting in the way.

To help you line up our layered stamps like a pro I've created a special layering guide (you can click on the photo below to view it larger). The guide shows the stamps starting with the lightest ink color, working towards the darkest, but sometimes I find it easier to start backwards. They both work depending on what your preference is.  The black outline indicates where that layer touches the previously stamped layer.  :)

That wraps up today's sneak peeks. I'm so happy you spent part of your day with me today. I read all your comments and they mean so much!  I'd love to give a $25 gift code to one lucky winner using the rafflecopter below.  Make sure to come back tomorrow for one last set of sneak peeks & another prize, plus there's still time to hop along with our 6th birthday blog hop HERE where you could potentially win one of twelve prizes. The contests run through Friday, August 27th at Midnight PST with winners announced here on Sunday, August 29th. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's a closer look at the our new Pristine Poinsettia Dies, Winter Greenery Dies and Lacy Snowflake Dies used today (which are available for pre-order as part of our birthday festivities and will begin shipping on August 27th):

 

This week we also have three different discount codes to chose from, however you are limited to one discount code per order so please chose the one with the biggest savings for you. ❤️

Other Sunny Studio Supplies Used:

Holiday Style Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Rectangle Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Deck The Halls Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Versafine Onyx Black Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio
Classic Gingham 6x6 Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Christmas Trimmings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Christmas Trimmings Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Stitched Oval Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Frilly Frames Retro Petals Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Season's Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Merry Mice Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Layered Snowflake Frame Shop at: Sunny Studio
Frilly Frames Quatrefoil Shop at: Sunny Studio	Classy Christmas Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio	Inside Greetings-Christmas Shop at: Sunny Studio	Retro Ornaments Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio
Sleek Stripes Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Season's Greetings Word Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Scalloped Oval Mat 1 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	Scalloped Oval Mat 2 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio
Stitched Oval 2 Dies Shop at: Sunny Studio	All Is Bright Paper Shop at: Sunny Studio	Red Zircon Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Pink Spinel Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio
Aquamarine Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Lavender Quartz Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	Iridescent Pearls Shop at: Sunny Studio	White Pearls Shop at: Sunny Studio
Ruby Red Pearls Shop at: Sunny Studio	Hero Arts White Detail Shop at: Sunny Studio	Iridescent Clear Jewels Shop at: Sunny Studio	VersaMark Watermark Ink Shop at: Sunny Studio
Festive Greetings Stamps Shop at: Sunny Studio