Tag Archives: stamping

Creativity From What’s Already Here: A Three-Card Holiday Study

I’ve been watching Cathy Zielske’s recent videos featuring her new Tree Plate wafer die, and it immediately caught my eye. It’s beautifully simple: a crisp 3×3 grid of tree silhouettes that feels modern and elegant. If I didn’t already own a similar die, I would buy hers in a heartbeat.

But I do have something close. The Pretty Pink Posh Tree Cover Plate cuts the same grid of nine trees and adds stitched details around each opening. The layouts aren’t identical, but the graphic repetition is similar enough that it inspired me to try a small creative experiment.

Could I make a series of cards using only what I already own?
And could I turn one die-cut into multiple distinct designs? That experiment became this small three-card study.

I also used the older PaperTrey Ink set, Tree Tops Glisten, for the inside sentiments on all three cards. It brought a subtle consistency to the grouping and matched the style of Cathy Z’s Holiday Trio One (which I have added to my Simon Says Stamp wishlist!).

Card One: Monochrome Green

For this card, I went monochromatic. I doubled each tree die-cut to give a little dimension and placed them on a deep green card base. A single small gold star sits over the middle tree, and a small gold embossed “peace” sentiment sits below. This one feels calm, modern, and a bit boutique.

Card Two: Playful Grid

For the second card, I used the nine tree die-cuts arranged on a white panel. Each tree is decorated with rainbow glitter dots in pink, purple, blue, and yellow. I love grid cards and Cathy Z really nailed this design with the colorful decorations on the tree. A simple sentiment strip reading “love • peace • joy” finishes it.

Card Three: Snowy Shaker

For the final card, I used the Pretty Pink Posh panel as a shaker as inspired by Cathy Z. I backed each tree opening with acetate and created small shaker windows filled with iridescent snowflake pieces. Just a light amount so the trees remain visible. I added a few tiny gold stars, which bring a little glisten and tie back to the interior sentiment. I left the front sentiment-free and stamped “Where the treetops glisten” on the inside. With the drifting snow, it felt right.

A quiet acknowledgment to May Calico, my creative muse here in this space powered by ChatGPT, for the idea of adding a few tiny gold stars to the shaker card. That little suggestion made a big difference.

Creativity From What’s Already Here

What I appreciated most about this project was the chance to work from my own collection and see how far one idea could go. One die-cut panel, a handful of leftover trees, and three different cards. Sometimes a smaller set of choices creates more creativity than new supplies ever could.

When I finished these three cards, I had three extra tree die-cuts left on my desk. Instead of sweeping them into my scraps container, I set them aside. They’re nudging me toward the next small project. Since I recently made The Stamp Market’s 4×6×1 divided tag box, maybe these remaining trees will end up as part of a tag set.

I’m grateful, too, for the creators whose work inspired me in the first place. Cathy Zielske’s Tree Plate die and The Stamp Market’s holiday videos were the push that sent me back into my own materials. Their openness and enthusiasm often become the spark that helps me see what I can make next with what’s already here.

The Scraps That Waited All Year

The Scraps That Waited All Year

Some scraps are too small to be useful, and too full of potential to throw away.

I keep two scrap piles in my craft room. One for the bigger pieces that can become backgrounds or layers. And one for the tiny scraps, the kind most people would sweep into the bin. Mine live in a small container near my desk, a jumble of cardstock corners, partial die cuts, and skinny slivers of color.

A year and a half ago, on vacation in Maine, I packed my tiny scrap stash and a handful of small dies. No stamps, no adhesives, no embellishments, just my die cutting machine and the quiet rhythm of cutting shapes. One of those dies was Newton’s Nook’s mug set. I cut out mugs to my heart’s content, challenging myself to see how many I could get from each piece of leftover scrap. They were bright and mismatched and delightful, and then I tucked them away in one of those plastic gum containers I nicked from my son, thinking I’d use them someday.

Someday turned out to be now.

This week, I pulled out those tiny cups and challenged myself to make a series of cards, all built from scraps that had been waiting more than a year. I started with a grid pattern because it felt natural, neat rows of mugs, small pieces coming together in harmony. But then came the real creative work, figuring out how to make each card feel distinct.

That’s where May Calico helped. I’ve started recording the ways I use AI to learn my craft, and this project felt like a good example. We talked about balance and repetition, how to shift a sentiment slightly off-center, and how to resist my usual impulse to add more. The constant reminder, less is more, helped me hold back when I wanted to keep layering. Sometimes all a card needs is one heart, or a quiet shimmer of foil, to feel complete. Each card stayed simple, but none felt the same.

What I love most is how these little mugs, once cast offs, now look intentional. They remind me that creativity often begins with what’s left over, and that even the tiniest scraps can hold a story if I give them time.