Week 1 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Countdown

October 01, 2025

Week 1 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Countdown

Happy October, crafty friends! 🍂 This is my favorite time of year—the cool, crisp air and crunchy leaves always inspire me. But what makes it even better is starting the countdown to Christmas! Over the next 12 weeks, I’ll be sharing a new holiday card every Wednesday to get us into the festive spirit.

For Week 1, I was inspired by The Stamping Zoo, who made Santa into a man. I loved that idea and decided to take it a step further by turning the elf into a little cutie wearing earmuffs. And of course, no Christmas scene is complete without a furry friend—so I added this sweet dog (a retired stamp, but one I still treasure 🐾).

Basic Instructions:

Card Base – Start with a standard card base in Basic Black (5 ½” x 8 ½”, scored at 4 ¼”).
Layers – Cut a Basic White layer at 5 ¼” x 4” and adhere to the base. Add a Black DSP panel slightly smaller (5” x 3 ¾”) as your top layer.
Snow Bank – tear a piece of white cardstock with a wavy edge and attach it to the bottom of your panel.
Images – Stamp and color your treess and characters (elf, man, dog, and trees). I used blends for coloring. Then die-cut or fussy cut them out. I created the paled coast and hat by drawing the lines using a ruler and a black marker. I then cut the elf ears off die cut a small circle in gold then cut it in half adhere one to each side. My Dog is retired so just use any furry friend you have.
Arrange Scene – Adhere trees to the background first, then add your characters with Dimensionals for depth.
Sentiment – Adhere your sentiment
Finishing Touches – Add sequins, gems, or Wink of Stella for sparkle.