Creativity Now – Sweet Candy Canes Bundle

I know it’s the first day of Summer, so it feels a little strange posting Christmas cards already. But there’s a reason why. Last weekend, Stampin’ Up! hosted a super fun event called Creativity Now for demonstrators. It included four fun-filled hours of crafting featuring new products from the upcoming July-December Mini Catalog.

I was thrilled to be asked to present during the event! My projects featured the new Sweet Candy Canes Bundle and several products from the Sweetest Christmas Suite Collection, including the Sweetest Christmas 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper, Real Red and White 6″ x 6″ Glimmer Paper, Real Red & Garden Green 3/8″ Ribbon Combo Pack, and Adhesive-Backed Seasonal Sequins. (All will be available to purchase July 1 when the new Mini Catalog goes live!)

Today, I’m sharing the three projects I presented, and then later, I’ll share some additional projects that I showed at the end of my presentation. As an added bonus, I’ve included links to PDF tutorials for each project below.

Christmas Cheer — Watercolored Wreath

My first project focuses on the darling Sweetest Christmas Designer Series Paper. I cut the candy canes on this card directly out of the paper — easy peasy, and then added a light coat of Wink of Stella for some extra glitz. The background also features the beautiful paper. I love the fresh colors, including Sweet Sorbet, Real Red, Garden Green, and Pool Party.

The Candy Cane Dies include a diagonal stripe background, which I trimmed down on this card.

I particularly love how the stamps, dies, and designer series paper have candy canes going in both directions. In addition, the dies include a tag that fits over real candy canes to create fun treats. I used that die to cut the sentiment, and then folded it in half for a slightly different look on this card.

My demonstration focused on pre-watercoloring a large sheet of Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper so I could use it to cut multiple leaves to create a wreath on this card. I also used the leaves as embellishments on other projects.

You can download a PDF tutorial of the Christmas Cheer Card HERE.

The photo above includes a pre-watercolored sheet with Pool Party and Garden Green that I used for the card above. It also shows another pre-watercolored sheet with Parakeet Party and Garden Green that I used for other projects.

Peekaboo Treat Bag — Stamp on Blended Background:

My second project was a Peekaboo Treat Bag. I love making lots of treats during the holidays so I have them on hand. They’re great for spreading Christmas cheer and an unexpected act of kindness. (I always bring something to the Post Office when I mail all my cards that need hand cancelling!)

I used Masking Paper to protect the window when I stamped the bag itself. Then, I used Stampin’ Blends Markers to color a sheet of Basic White Cardstock with an ombre pattern before stamping and embossing the candy cane in white. I also used the excess colored paper to stamp and emboss the sentiment.

As you can see, there are more of those watercolored leaves on this project too!

You can download a PDF tutorial of the Peekabook Treat Bag HERE.

Merry & Bright Card — Multicolored Candy Canes & Watercolored Background:

My last project is a watercolored card with multicolored candy canes that are embossed in clear so they look like real candy canes.

To create the candy canes, I inked up the stamps with one color of ink and then used Stampin’ Write Markers to color the smaller lines directly on the red rubber stamp before stamping on Basic White Cardstock. Then, I covered the entire stamped image with Versamark ink so I could emboss it in clear (two times.) Afterwards, I cut out the candy canes with the coordinating dies.

This card includes more of the darling Sweetest Christmas Designer Series Paper, and all the projects include the beautiful Seasonal Sequins!

My demonstration also showed how to watercolor the vibrant background.

You can download a PDF tutorial of the Merry & Bright Card HERE.

I hope these projects inspire you to use the Sweet Candy Canes Bundle. Keep posted for more ideas coming at a later date.

Have a wonderful and creative day.

Use Host Code EDUJ6XA2 for purchases at my online store to qualify to receive free exclusive project tutorials. This month’s PDF includes 12 fantastic tutorials designed by my demonstrator friends and I to inspire your creativity! The projects feature products that will be current in May 2024 from the new Annual Catalog and Online Exclusives.