Christmas in July Sneak Peek: Spread Holiday Cheer All Year Long with the Nordic Birdhouse
by Jennifer Harte

Hello Friends! Today, I’m sharing a mini sneak peek instead of a full blog. It’s officially “Christmas in July!” Whether you celebrate this fun tradition by getting an early start on your holiday cards or by simply send a little Christmas cheer to friends, the new Poppystamps Holiday Cheer release has something for everyone.  

While the collection is filled with beautiful Christmas-themed dies, you’ll also find wonderful designs for autumn and even year-round crafting! Today, I’m featuring the gorgeous Nordic Birdhouse die and sharing a few ideas to show just how versatile it can be.

My first card features the new Nordic Birdhouse, Nordic Valley Bird and Merry Christmas Fluffy Script dies. I also used last year’s beautiful Nordic Holly Sprig for this traditional holiday card. 

The birdhouse is easy to assemble and is filled with beautiful details. I used the Memory Box Cherry Red cardstock for the main part of the bird house. I die cut the roof with a piece of white woodgrain paper and lightly colored it with gray ink. For a festive touch, I used white glitter paper for the scalloped edge turning it into snow. As you’ll see in the following cards, the decorative trim doesn’t have to be snow—it can simply be an accent or even left off for a completely different look. Instead of using the included festive bow and bell, I opted for a simple red glitter heart from the new Coffee Penguin die.

To create the little visitor peeking from the birdhouse, I die cut the Nordic Valley Bird, but only used the bird’s head, tucking her into the opening of the house. A small piece of brown twine added the perfect finishing touch.

For the greenery, I ink blended the Nordic Holly Spring with several shades of green Distress Oxide inks before assembling the layers. I finished the card by die cutting the new Merry Christmas Fluffy Script twice for extra dimension. I skipped using the backer for this card and separated the words for a more delicate look.

Since this is a mini preview of the new Holiday Cheer release, I won’t go into all of the details for my next three cards. Instead, I want to show how easily these dies transition beyond the holiday season. 

I couldn’t resist placing the adorable new Nordic Acorn Squirrel on the top of the birdhouse where she’s been busy storing acorns for the long winter ahead. I used some pretty Memory Box Poinsettia Garland patterned paper for my background and the squirrel’s sweater.

Next, I have an autumn-inspired card, I simply changed the color palette. Using warm patterned paper from the Memory Box Nutmeg Forest 6×6 pad and rich ink-blends on the Nordic Valley Bird transformed the same birdhouse into a cozy autumn design.

Finally, I created a spring or summer version using soft pastel colors. I decorated the roof with the smaller blooms from the Nordic Scatter Flowers and Nordic Luminelle Flower die sets. I tucked in a few of the Nordic Leafy Stems giving the birdhouse a fresh, cheerful seasonal makeover.

So, which version do you like best—winter, autumn, or summer? Even if you can’t choose, I hope these cards inspire you to look at the Poppystamps Holiday Cheer release in a whole new way. It’s a collection that goes far beyond the holidays, and I can’t wait to share even more cards featuring these beautiful new dies.

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