Making the most of the Jolly & Joy Card Kit

Note - Photo heavy post.

I recently picked up a Jolly & Joy card kit and some rub-ons from Spotlight, and decided to see just how many cards I could make from the kit.

Rather than using the card bases as they were, I cut each one into two panels. I then teamed those panels with bits and pieces from my stash. The kit also included cut-out elements and sentiments, so there’s plenty to play with—and I still have lots left over!

Here are what I've made so far

A simple start: For this card, I paired one of the card panels with a rub-on.

JOY makes another appearance: Out came my JOY die again! This time, I used another panel and added a rub-on inside the opening of the O.

Merry with a gnome: I combined a Merry die-cut with a stamped gnome and one of the card panels.

Making use of the leftover panel: This time, I cut JOY from one of the panels and used the remaining piece as the matting panel. I also die-cut candles from white, green and gold, then pieced them together.

One more with rub-ons: The final card in this batch brings together another panel and some rub-ons.

That’s what I’ve made so far, and there are still plenty of bits left in the kit. Cutting the card bases into panels has been a lovely way to stretch the supplies and mix in some favourites from my stash.

A Meowy Christmas Card with My Favourite JOY Die

I’m really enjoying making my Christmas cards at the moment! I’ve been busy creating with a kit and some rub-ons I purchased from Spotlight, but today I’m sharing a card made for the November Christmas Kickstart Challenge: Meowy Christmas and Yappy New Year! The challenge is to include cats or dogs on your project, so this was the perfect opportunity to bring out some little feline friends.

Of course, my new favourite JOY die made another appearance. I just can’t seem to put it down!

For this card, I used a New Zealand A6 size, which is taller and slightly narrower than a US A2 card. I embossed a panel with a snowflake embossing folder, then cut the JOY lettering from pink striped paper, positioning the stripes on an angle. For the cat element, I chose three cats from a die I’d purchased at my local stationery store. It has lots of peeking cats, so I had plenty to choose from!

To give the cats their little green eyes, I added a small strip of green behind each pair and a tiny black mark for each pupil. I then arranged the cats so they were peeking out of the O in JOY. To finish, I used the perfect sentiment from a stamp I’ve had for a long time, made by a New Zealand company that is no longer in business. I stamped it and cut it out with a flag-ended die.

This weekend, I’m taking a little break from crafting as we’ve headed to Mangawhai. We spent the day on a Garden Ramble, a fundraiser for the local kindergarten, visiting eight gardens around the area. There was such a lovely variety, from big, sprawling rural gardens to small, compact town gardens—a lovely change of pace from the craft table!

 

Another JOY card and more inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas.

 Today I’m sharing another JOY card, along with two smaller cards I made during my time at home this past week. I’m really enjoying coming up with different ways to use this die! I still have a few cards to catch up on from Justine’s 12 Days of Christmas, but I made time for these projects, including two inspired by Days 4 and 5.

For my JOY card, I chose an NZ A6 card base, which fitted the die a little better. I embossed the background panel with Altenew Dotty Circles, then cut JOY from pale blue glitter card and the centre of the O from dark blue card. For the Nativity scene, I used textured, sandy-coloured card and added a star cut from gold glitter card. The scene die came with a magazine many years ago!

My next two cards use 4-Bar bases, measuring 3.5” x 5”. These were left over from cutting my 5” square card bases, so this was a lovely chance to use up the offcuts.

Inspired by Day 4

For the first of these smaller cards, I used the Altenew Dotted Starburst Debossing Cover Die for the background and added strips of red, gold and green glitter card. The poinsettia was already in my stash, cut from red card that I’d sprayed with glitter spray. It’s so shimmery and shiny in real life! I cut the largest poinsettia layer from green card to sit behind the flower, added a gem cluster to the centre, and finished with a Merry Christmas sentiment die-cut from dark green card.

Inspired by Day 5.

For the next card, I embossed the base with the Snowfall 3D folder and added a Catherine Pooler Trellis Frame die-cut, keeping all the little pieces in place. I’d originally made this for the Day 4 card but changed my mind, so I was pleased to find a home for it here. The Couture Creations Ringing Bell image was also waiting in my “to be used” container, already stamped and cut with my Scan’n’Cut. I added a touch of colour to the bow and holly, then gave the bell a generous layer of Wink of Stella for extra shimmer.

It’s always satisfying to use up offcuts and give those waiting-in-the-wings pieces a place on a finished card. Between the glitter card, textured backgrounds and little touches of shimmer, these three makes have given me plenty to enjoy!

Justine's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 4 and Day 5

Today I enjoyed some time in my craft room, catching up on Justine’s 12 Days of Christmas. Days 4 and 5 gave me two different cardmaking briefs to play with, and it was lovely to spend the afternoon creating.

The Day 4 brief called for an embossed background, glitter strips and a large focal image. I chose a slightly different colour combination: teal green, silver and bright blue. Such a lovely mix!

I started by embossing my front panel with the 3D Snowfall folder from Creative Cardmaking Magic. For the focal image, I die-cut a large white snowflake from Elizabeth Crafts and added a little silver snowflake. Justine used a white-on-black sentiment on her card, but I went with black on white, matted with black card. A few silver dots finished it off.

 

For Day 5, the brief was to combine a coverplate die, a shaped frame and a cute image.

I used the Pink Fresh Studio Floral & Diamond Tiles coverplate to create my background, then found an image from a Tiddly Inks stamp set that I had already stamped and coloured. Using Nellie’s Multi Oval Die set, I made a frame and cut out the image. I attached the frame directly to the panel and added 3D tape beneath the centre portion for a little dimension. Three small silver glitter stars provided the finishing touch.

It was a lovely afternoon of crafty play, rounded off with a video chat with my daughter and littlest grandson. He had decided that the middle of the day was just the right time for a bubble bath! A lovely way to end my afternoon.

 

Justine's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 & Day 3

My day began with a trip to the dentist—fortunately, I only needed a check-up, clean and polish. With that out of the way, I spent the afternoon catching up on the next two instalments of Justine’s 12 Days of Christmas and creating my own cards inspired by her designs.

Day 2:

The Day 2 brief called for white heat-embossed text, ink blending through a stencil and a circular sentiment to finish the design. I dug out a very old Hero Arts friendship-text stamp, stamped it in Versamark and embossed it in white. For the background, I used a Tim Holtz Holly Bough stencil.

My first attempt at colouring the berries did not go to plan, but I managed to rescue the background with red glitter die-cut dots. Looking back, I would choose a darker green for the holly leaves to create more contrast. To make the circular frame, I combined two Spellbinders Nestabilities dies: a plain circle and a smaller scalloped circle. I stamped a sentiment from Rosie’s Studio Hearth & Home set on the centre circle, popped it up for dimension and adhered the outer frame directly to the card. Three tiny glitter dots added the final touch.

Day 3:

Justine’s Day 3 card featured three embossed cardstock strips and a label with a stamped sentiment. I borrowed those key elements while putting my own spin on the design.

I chose her alternative palette of white, pale blue and dark blue, then cut the strips and embossed them with the Gina K Tapestry folder. For the label, I used a Catherine Pooler Merry Labels die. Instead of stamping a sentiment, I added a black die-cut Christmas tree topped with a silver star.

What I enjoy most about Justine’s approach is her encouragement to use what you already have. You do not need the exact same products; the fun lies in adapting the ideas, experimenting with the techniques and making each card your own.

Justine's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 1

Lately, my friend Cindy has been sharing some beautiful cards she created for Justine Hovey’s 12 Days of Christmas series, and they inspired me to join in. The free sessions had already begun, so I decided to purchase the upgrade and catch up.

Here’s my take on Day 1.

The design brief called for a white embossed background, gold splatters, washi tape, a white focal image, and a gold die-cut sentiment.

I chose a landscape layout to make the most of my embossing folder, which features large snowflakes and a delicate snowfall pattern. It’s a 3D folder from a Card Making Magic magazine that I picked up at my local stationery store. Once the background was embossed, I added a strip of washi tape and a scattering of gold splatters for a little festive sparkle.

For the focal image, I used a white die-cut poinsettia. A touch of gold in the flower centre ties it in beautifully with the gold die-cut sentiment and the splattered background.

It’s been a long weekend here in New Zealand, with Labour Day commemorating the struggle for the eight-hour working day—a right New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim in 1840. Because I don’t work on Fridays, the break has felt especially long, giving me plenty of time in my craft room.

I’ve also taken a few extra days off this week after being encouraged to use some of my accumulated leave, which means even more time for crafting. I’ll have more Christmas cards to share over the coming days!

Rocker card for Die Cut Divas

It’s my turn to share some inspiration for October’s challenge at Die Cut Divas! This month’s sponsor is Pink and Main. Although I didn’t have any of their stamps or dies in my collection, I was delighted to discover their digital images and chose a couple to work with.

The theme for this month is Shaped Cards, so I decided to create a fun rocker card.

For the focal image, I used the Critter Mugs digital stamp set. I printed the adorable Owl Mug and coloured it with pencils, then cut it out using a Spellbinders circle die. To create the rocker base, I used my ScanNCut to cut a 5½-inch circle, then added a slightly smaller circle of patterned paper for a decorative layer.

I finished the card with a sentiment from Penny Black’s Hedgie Friends. I stamped it on white cardstock and matted it with black to help it stand out.

It’s always enjoyable to experiment with different card-base shapes, and this rocker design was such a lovely change from a traditional folded card.

Halloween at Sweet Stampin' Challenge/

Halloween has arrived at Sweet Stampin’ Challenge! Although Halloween isn’t a major celebration here in New Zealand—and my collection of Halloween stamps is fairly small—I found two adorable designs that were perfect for today’s cards.

For my first card, I used a Penny Black Cling stamp—Bat Cat—as the star of the design. I stamped the image onto white card and coloured it with Zig Real Color markers and added Glossy Accents to the mask. 

To avoid fussy-cutting all those fiddly details, I also stamped Bat Cat directly onto some Halloween paper that I had printed from my digital files. I then cut out the coloured image, layered it over the patterned version, and finished the card with a stamped sentiment from an older Clearly Besotted set.

 

For my second card, I reached for a charming little 1¾-inch square wooden stamp called Spooky Snoopy by Stampabilities, dating from around 2005. 

I followed a sketch I found online, stamping Snoopy onto a square of white card and adding a touch of colour with alcohol markers. I matted the panel first with orange card and then with a slightly larger piece of matte gold card. 

For the grey tartan background, I found a pattern online, printed it, and trimmed it to fit the card front. The paper for the circle and flags came from MyGraphico digital images. To carry the design through to the inside, I added a strip of the grey tartan paper to a white card panel.

Had fun making these two cards.