We’re into another mini heatwave with temperatures feeling like mid 30C courtesy of the humidity. So as before I will close the windows and curtains until the heat of the day has passed. Then this evening when things cool down a little I’ll open everything up again. Meanwhile I intend to spend the day playing in my craft studio. The first thing that came to mind was cooler weather, much cooler in fact. So of course that made me think of snowflakes and Christmas. Then out came the Kindest Gnomes.

GNOMES COORDINATION

From the four gnomes in the set I began by choosing the gnome with the lantern. Then using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped him and the “Merry Christmas & a happy new year” sentiment onto some some Thick Basic White Card.

Thinking of the winter season I decided to use cool blues for my colour scheme. So I coloured his hat and overalls using dark and light Pool Party Stampin’ Blends. I also added a little light Bermuda Bay around the edge of his beard. Next for his shoes and mittens I went with a bold contrast, using dark and light Soft Suede. After that came the lantern with dark and light Smoky Slate for the casing and dark and light Pumpkin Pie on the ‘glass’. Once I had coloured his nose with the Ivory Stampin’ Blends I was ready for a little die-cutting. For this I turned to the Gnomes Dies and easily found the one that coordinated with my coloured image.

After cutting out the gnome I then decided to die-cut the sentiment too. There’s no label-style dies in the Gnomes Dies set so instead I reached for the Stitched Rectangles Dies and found the perfect size. Once I’d cut out the sentiment I set the pieces aside while I prepared the rest of the card pieces.

I began by cutting some Coastal Cabana Card for my card base. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

SNOWFLAKES

Then in the Storybook Gnomes 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack I found a sheet with a grid pattern of small snowflakes. From the sheet I cut a 6″ x 6″ square and then cut off a 2-1/4″ strip. Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the strip to the flap of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Trimming off the excess paper with Paper Snips was simple process using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Next from the remaining DSP I cut a 3/4″ x 5-1/4″ strip. Then using liquid glue I fixed it down the right-hand edge of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Along the left edge of the DSP I glued a 1/8″ x 5-1/4″ strip of Bermuda Bay Card. Finally I glued the assembled layer inside the card base. Now all I needed was to design the card front.

Going back to what was left my original 6″ x 6″ piece of DSP I cut one last piece at 3″ x 4″. Then I glued that to a 3-1/8″ x 4-1/8″ layer of Bermuda Bay Card, before attaching it to the card front. My plan was to simply layer the sentiment and gnome on top but I decided it needed something extra.

It was only then I remembered the Snowflake Specialty Vellum that had been delivered to me last week. There are six 12″ x 12″ sheets comprising three different winter patterns, one each with a soft white flocking and one in iridescent foil. Today I chose a large iridescent partial snowflake along an edge and cut it out with my Paper Snips.

From there I placed the snowflake on the card front and fixed the sentiment on top using Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then with more Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the gnome, making sure the iridescent snowflake was also secured to the card. Finally I added a few Soft Succulent embellishments from the Festive Pearls pack and I was done.

This was another project that came together without any real plan and I love it. What do you think?

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Kindest Gnomes Stamp Set in a bundle with the coordinating Gnomes Dies. Buying the two products using the ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle below in case you want to compare these options.