Start Holiday Cards Early! Featuring Sentimentally Speaking + Sweet Christmas | The Rabbit Hole Designs

Every year around mid-December, I find myself wishing I had just a few more handmade cards ready to send out. There's nothing worse than rushing through something you love, especially when you want each card to feel personal and special. So this year, I'm flipping the script and starting early! I’m giving myself — and you — permission to soak up every second of the creative fun without the pressure of a looming deadline.

Today’s project is a great example of how starting early doesn’t mean making complicated cards. It’s about using simple techniques that feel special, using products you love. I'm sharing a sweet and festive card featuring the Sentimentally Speaking Holidays Stamp Set, the Sweet Christmas Stamp Set, the Sweet Christmas Outline Dies, and the Candy Twist 6 x 6 Stencil — all from The Rabbit Hole Designs. These products made it easy to create a playful, colorful scene that feels finished but didn’t take days to complete.

If you’ve ever struggled with holiday card overwhelm, today’s post is especially for you.

Start Holiday Cards Early!

Project Inspiration: Building a Scene that Pops

When I sat down to create, I knew I wanted something festive but lighthearted. The Sweet Christmas Stamp Set has the most adorable cupcakes, complete with little holiday details like holly leaves and candy canes. It reminded me of the Christmas bake sales my church used to have when I was a kid. Tables would be filled with all kinds of sweet treats wrapped up with ribbons and bows. I wanted to capture a little of that cozy, homemade feeling in a card.

By combining simple masking and partial die cutting, I was able to create a custom scene that looks dimensional without needing lots of layers. If you’ve never tried partial die cutting, it’s a great trick for getting that “fussy cut” look but letting your dies do most of the work.

Pro Tip: When partial die cutting, take your time lining up the edges and use a few small pieces of low-tack tape to hold the dies exactly where you want them. It saves a ton of frustration later.

Techniques that Made This Card Special

Stamping and Masking: I started by stamping the center cupcake with the present and holly leaves. After masking it off, I added cupcakes on either side and tucked candy canes behind the center cupcake to create the feeling of a full, festive table. Removing the mask after stamping everything else is always a magical moment — it’s when your scene really comes to life!

Coloring: I reached for my Copic Markers to color everything in bright, cheerful reds, greens, and browns. One thing I love doing is adding a simple shadow underneath images to anchor them. It’s a tiny detail, but it makes a huge difference.

Pro Tip: When adding shadows, think about where the "light source" would hit. Even a loose, soft shadow grounds your images and adds a polished touch.

Partial Die Cutting: Using the Sweet Christmas Outline Dies, I carefully partial die cut around each image. It took a little patience, but by avoiding cutting into neighboring images, I kept everything looking cohesive. A little snipping with scissors along the very top edges finished it off neatly.

Background Stenciling: Instead of leaving the card base plain, I used the Candy Twist Stencil with Candied Apple Distress Ink just in the area that would peek out from behind the stamped panel. It gave the card a festive, playful look without competing with the main scene.

Assembly: Popping the colored panel up with foam adhesive added just the right amount of dimension. I also like adding a dab of liquid glue to foam adhesive pieces — it gives you a few seconds of wiggle room to get everything lined up perfectly.

Finishing Details: A few highlights with my White Milky Pop Gel Pen on the candy canes, cupcake frosting, and wrappers gave the card a bright, happy finish.

Why You’ll Want to Try This Approach

This style of card making is a perfect solution for anyone who loves making detailed cards but doesn’t want to get stuck halfway through a big holiday card list feeling overwhelmed. By using simple masking, minimal coloring, and partial die cutting, you can create a professional-looking card that feels special — without spending hours on each one.

Pro Tip: Create a few versions at once while you have your supplies out! Change the stencil color or cupcake decorations slightly on each one to keep things fresh but efficient.

Starting early means you can enjoy the process, experiment with fun techniques, and most importantly, share your handmade love without the last-minute stress. Trust me — your future self will thank you.

Final Thoughts

If you’re like me and determined to actually enjoy your holiday crafting this year, now’s the perfect time to dive in. Start with something fun like today’s card — bright, festive, and easy to make more than one at a time. The Sentimentally Speaking Holidays and Sweet Christmas sets from The Rabbit Hole Designs are such wonderful staples to have on hand for a holiday card session.

I hope today’s project inspires you to start your holiday cards a little earlier this year. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming — it can be as joyful as the season itself.

Thanks for dropping by today I hope that you found a little spark of creative inspiration with my project today. Wondering what I used in this project? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails in the Materials Used section, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible.

Materials Used:

Here you will find the list of supplies that I used to create today's card. All supplies are linked to supply sources below. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.

Happy Stampin'

Rick Adkins

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