Countdown to Christmas 2026 – Week 2

October 10, 2026October 5, 2026 ~ Karen Young ~ Leave a comment

For week 2 of my Countdown to Christmas 2026 series, I’m sharing this very quick and simple Christmas Card.

It uses the Merriest Tags Stamp Set and Dies Bundle from the Online Exclusives range.

My main colour is Real Red, with Basic White.

The stocking image is stamped multiple times on the background using the Stamp Set. An extra stocking is also stamped onto a separate piece of Basic White cardstock. Each stocking is then coloured with a Real Red Stampin’ Blend.

This is a great design for batch making. To make multiples of this project at once, just stamp and colour a whole piece of cardstock and cut it when you have finished. You can make 4 backgrounds out of one piece of A4.

Using the Dies from the Bundle, the tag and separate stocking are both cut out.

These are layered together and a length of coordinating twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack is looped through the hole.

Finally, the tag is raised up on the background using Dimensionals.

Join me at one of my classes. Visit my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2026 – Week 1

October 3, 2026September 11, 2026 ~ Karen Young ~ Leave a comment

It’s already that time of year where I start my annual Countdown to Christmas series.

Countdown to Christmas 2026 is a 12 week countdown between now and Christmas. Every Saturday I’ll share a project designed to provide you with ideas and inspiration for your festive crafting.

For my first project of 2026, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the Advent Labels Stamp Set and Punch Bundle from the new Catalogue. Especially the ‘Countdown to’ stamp, it seemed very appropriate for this Christmas card!

Using traditional Christmas red and green, my colour combination is Peaceful Pine, Real Red and Darling Duckling, with Basic White.

The background piece is stamped tone on tone with the wreath images and a strip of cardstock is added across the centre.

Then, the three shapes are cut out using the coordinating punch. Two are stamped with the fairy lights, and the other with ‘Countdown to Christmas’. Wink of Stella is added to the fairy lights to give them a touch of sparkle.

The two fairy light shapes were stuck straight to the project, with the centre shape raised up on Dimensionals.

Join me at one of my classes. Visit my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 12

December 20, 2025December 11, 2025 ~ Karen Young

The final project for my Countdown to Christmas 2025 series is this cute Rudolph card. It is the final project from my Christmas Card Making Day too.

Some of you will know that I like to make a fun Christmas project and it is usually punch art or various die cut pieces.

First, the background was given a colour flare using a Blending Brush and Balmy Blue ink. It was then stamped using the snowflake from the A Little Cheer Stamp Set, again in Balmy Blue.

Next, a strip of Poppy Parade was stuck across the project and three lengths of the Black & White & Gold Baker’s Twine were added.

It was then time to create Rudolph. His face is a Crumb Cake circle cut using the 2 3/8″ Circle Punch. Antlers in Pecan Pie cut from the Loveliest Tree Dies are then stuck to the back of the circle.

For the eyes and mouth, the circles from the Ornamental Christmas Dies were cut in Black and White and layered for the eyes, with just one circle for the mouth.

I have used a variety of items on this project with some from the Online Exclusives range.

A few of the producs I have used on this project are also now on the Last Chance Products list, so make sure you grab them while you can.

His shiny nose is cut in Poppy Parade from the Turtle-y Awesome Dies and coated in Wink of Stella.

Rudolph is added to the project using Dimensionals, with his nose stuck with a Dimensional as the final touch.

A fun project for all the family to finish this year’s countdown!

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 11

December 13, 2025December 11, 2025 ~ Karen Young

We have now reached the penultimate week of this year’s Countdown to Christmas series.

Week 11 brings you a project that could be used as both a Christmas Card and a piece of Christmas Decor.

I really like the various layers on this project and think it would look great in a box frame.

This is the second project from my Special Christmas Cards session as part of my Christmas Card Making Day.

The main products used are the fabulous Christmas Greenery Dies and the large Merry Christmas Stamp Set from the Mini Catalogue. These items are now on the Last Chance list, so make sure you grab them while you can.

To begin, 4 holes were punched using a punch from the Hole Punch Assortment pack.

Next the Merry Christmas was stamped in Secret Sea. Lengths of the Black & White & Gold Baker’s Twine were threaded through the holes.

Leaves were cut in three different shades of green, Granny Apple Green, Old Olive and Mossy Meadow. Cutting everything out three times takes a while, but it is defintely worth it.

All of the pieces were then given a touch of extra colour and shading using a Blending Brush and Old Olive Ink.

Berries are cut out in Real Red and given a coat of Wink of Stella.

Everything was then layered together, first some leaves were stuck directly onto the background. The rest were stuck to the back of the sentiment piece and then the whole piece was raised up on Dimensionals.

Finally, the berries were added in clusters across the project.

Using the paler Soft Sea Foam for the main card and sentiment layer helps to bring everything together.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 10

December 6, 2025December 4, 2025 ~ Karen Young

This poinsettia card is the design for Week 10 of my Countdown to Christmas 2025 series. It was also one of the projects from the ‘Special Christmas Cards’ session at my Christmas Card Making Day.

These ‘special’ cards are those you would hand-deliver to the special people in your life. There are extra steps in the designs including additional layers. They are also handed over in an envelope handmade from DSP.

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that my special Christmas cards projects always include a poinsettia. This year is no different!

For this project, stars from the Ornamental Stamp Set are stamped onto the background using Lemon Lolly.

Next, the poinsettia and flower image is stamped twice and cut out using the Christmas Greenery Stamp Set and Dies Bundle. A combination of Real Red, Shaded Spruce, Garden Green, Lemon Lolly are used to colour in the images. The outline is stamped in Basic Gray.

These two images are then stuck to the background using Dimensionals.

Using the Traditional Labels Stamp Set and Dies Bundle, a sentiment is stamped, cut out and layered together.

A length of the fabulous Black & White & Gold Baker’s Twine is looped before the sentiment is attached, again using Dimensionals.

Using Wink of Stella, a touch of sparkle is given to the centres of the flowers.

Some of the items used on this project are now Last Chance Products, and some are discounted too. Don’t miss out on getting your hands on these fabulous items.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 9

November 29, 2025November 28, 2025 ~ Karen Young

The project for week 9 of this years Countdown to Christmas series is also the final project from the Crack your Christmas Cards session, from my Christmas Card Making Day.

During this part of the day, the attendees made 16 cards (4 each of 4 designs).

This card mainly uses the fabulous Stay Warm Stamp Set from the Mini Catalogue.

I chose Balmy Blue and Pretty Peacock as my main colours for this project, along with Basic White.

To begin, the background is stamped with stars from the A Little Cheer Stamp Set. It is then given an extra dose of colour using a Blending Brush.

Next, circles and layers are cut using Circle Punches. The white layers are stamped with the hat and mittens.

These images are then coloured using Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens.

A sentiment from the Traditional Labels Stamp Set is stamped and layered.

This is given a Baker’s Twine swoosh behind it using the Black & White & Gold Baker’s Twine from the Online Exclusives range.

Finally, the sentiment is attached using Dimensionals.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 8

November 22, 2025November 20, 2025 ~ Karen Young

For week 8 of my Countdown to Christmas 2025 series, I’m sharing the 3rd project from my Christmas Card Making Day.

This bright, tone-on-tone project is a fun design for all the family.

It is similar to this project I designed for one of my recent monthly Card Making Classes. The attendees enjoyed the project, so I recreated it for Christmas.

Using the A Little Cheer Stamp Set, each of the stripes are stamped tone-on-tone with Poppy Parade, Shy Shamrock and Darling Duckling.

The strips are then attached to the layer.

Each of the images is then stamped onto a separate piece and cut out using the coordinating A Little Cheer Mini Punch Pack. The A Little Cheer Stamp Set and Punch Bundle can be found in the Online Exclusives range.

A shape cut out using the Sign Design Punch, also from the Online Exclusives range, is then stamped with the sentiment. The three tiny images are then carefully stuck to this piece.

This then has a length of Baker’s Twine from the Black & White & Gold Pack looped behind it, before being attached to the project using Dimensionals.

This type of design is a great one for using up any scraps of cardstock or DSP you may have in your stash.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 7

November 15, 2025November 13, 2025 ~ Karen Young

This card from my recent Christmas Card Making Day is also the project for Week 7 of my Countdown to Christmas 2025 series.

There were four Christmas Cards to make in the ‘Crack Your Christmas Cards’ morning session, and this is the second of the four.

This design uses a colour combination of Old Olive, Mossy Meadow and Daffodil Delight, with Basic White.

All of the images are from the Ornamental Christmas Stamp Set.

First, the trees are stamped in different generations around the edge in Old Olive, followed by the stars.

A sentiment is then stamped in Mossy Meadow and cut out using a large Circle Punch.

With a length of the Black & White & Gold Baker’s Twine attached to the top of the project, the sentiment is then added with Dimensionals to look like a bauble hanging from a tree.

The Stamp Set, Circle Punch and Baker’s Twine are all from the Online Exclusives range.

Finally, a bunny ears bow is added at the top of the bauble.

If you didn’t want to use the Baker’s Twine to create the hanger and bow here, you could alway use a loop of Twine at the top of the bauble instead.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 6

November 8, 2025November 7, 2025 ~ Karen Young

This week’s Countdown to Christmas 2025 project is a pretty design in non-traditional colours.

The project is also the first card from my Christmas Card Making Day I’m holding today. All of the attendees are creating simple Christmas Cards in the morning at the ‘Crack Your Christmas Cards’ session. Here they will be making 16 cards, 4 each of 4 designs.

So, here is a sneak peek for any of the attendees who are reading this before heading to class!

This design uses Berry Burst, Blackberry Bliss and Fresh Freesia, along with Basic White. Images are from the Seasonal Tags Stamp Set.

The first step is to stamp the sentiment in two colours in the top corner.

Next, masking a diagonal section and stamping the various images creates the background.

Then, a strip is added across to hide the join, with a length of knotted Black & White & Gold Bakers Twine added on top. All attendees are receiving this fabulous Baker’s Twine combo in their class kits.

Finally, the layers are stuck together to complete the project.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.
2026 Class details coming soon…

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

Countdown to Christmas 2025 – Week 5

November 1, 2025October 31, 2025 ~ Karen Young

This design for Week 5 of my Countdown to Christmas 2025 series is great for batch making.

It uses two main colours of Garden Green and Daffodil Delight.

First, the tree from the Ornamental Christmas Stamp Set and Dies Bundle is stamped multiple times. One of the trees is stamped in the position where the focal tree will go. The trees are then coloured using Blender Pens. This Bundle is part of the Online Exclusives product range.

Next, the stars are stamped randomly across the piece.

Another tree is stamped onto coloured card and cut out using the Dies from the Bundle, along with a star. The star is coated in Wink of Stella.

A swoosh using the Black & Gold & White Baker’s Twine, also from the Online Exclusives range is added.

Finally, the tree and star are raised up on Dimensionals over the originally stamped tree.

If you wanted to speed up the process for batch making, you could randomly stamp a full page of trees and stars and cut it into 4 pieces.

New Online Exclusives will be arriving in the next few days. Make sure you watch this space for details.

Join me at one of my classes. Head to my Class Timetable for full details.

Happy crafting

Karen Young HIPPOFROG Designs

To order any of the supplies shown below, head to my Online Store. Items available while stocks last.

NEW Stampin’ Rewards Join my team Current Products Offers & Promotions Book a Class

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