Helleborus Archives - Kathy by Design

Spellbinders Winter Garden Dies 3 Ways for Day 1 of Christmas in July

Hello, Friends! Bundle up, put on your mittens and come for a stroll through Spellbinders Winter Garden Dies with me. Yes, it’s the first day of Christmas in July here at Kathy by Design. I know, I know…we’re all still wearing our flip flops, drinking iced tea and wearing Bermuda shorts. But as fast as this year is going by, I thought we’d better get a head start on our Christmas crafting.

With shipping delay issues, handmade gifts are the way to go this year! The remainder of this month (and into August and even September as my ordered supplies come in) I’ll be sharing some fun ideas for cards, folios, banners, gifts and tags.

Today’s post features 3 lovely Susan’s Winter Garden dies used in 3 different ways. I’ve put together a little video tour with tips for you as well as a tutorial for creating a 5×7 double gatefold card base. Are you ready to get your Christmas craft on? Then let’s get started!

Spellbinders Winter Garden Dies Project #1: Carta Bella Christmas Rustic Ice Skate Card

Here’s a true confession: Although I grew up in Vermont, I never learned to ice skate. Did you? The closest I ever got to skating was falling down. A lot. But my dad was a marvelous skater. He could go forwards and backwards and spin, too. Ice skates and Christmas cards go together like Santa and reindeer.

This 6×6 top fold card features the Winter Garden skate, Evergreen Foliage and Christmas Rose dies. You can find out more about this rustic Christmas card, learn some fun crafting tips, and see the inside in the video below.

Spellbinders Winter Garden Dies Project #2: Stamperia Pink Christmas Slimline Card Folio

Care to join me for a Victorian skating party? This 4 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ slimline card folio features pink ice skates, of course! This time I layered 2 skates together and topped them with pearls and a bow. This girly girl project was probably my favorite of the three. Here’s how to make the trifold base from 1 sheet of 8 1/2″ x 11″ cardstock.

First, place the long side of your cardstock on the your scoring tool.
From the left, score at 4 1/2″, 5″ and 9 1/2″. (This measurement is wrong in the video; that’s why I’m adding it here.)
Fold the 2″ flap on the end to the inside of the card base.

It’s that easy! Wait ’til you see the inside of this pretty card! I hope you’ll enjoy the video tour with tips!

Spellbinders Winter Garden Dies Project #3: 5×7 Double Gatefold with Belly Band Tutorial

Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays! This 5×7 Double Gatefold card sports a decorative belly band that I like more every time I look at it! It’s made with Photoplay’s new Christmas collection called “It’s a Wonderful Christmas.” And truly, this is a wonderful collection!

The Evergreen Foliage die is so versatile, friends. Instead of keeping the boughs whole, I snipped them into individual pieces and built this lovely wreath. Can you guess what I used to make the “berries” adorning the wreath? You’ll have to watch the video tour to find out if you’re right. I’ll also share a quick tutorial showing you how to assemble the card base.

Winter Garden Dies 3 Ways Video on YouTube

If you’d like to take a tour of the projects, the dies and the paper collections I’ve used in today’s post, I hope you’ll enjoy this video.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another tutorial featuring more new Christmas goodies! I love Christmas in July! It’s like getting to open your presents the night before Christmas!

You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy