Christmas Artist trading cards

  Hi Everyone. It's time for my fortnightly design team make for Visible Image. Today I am sharing a set of artist trading card using the gorgeous  Across the miles stamp set from the brand new 2026 Christmas release.

 I've created a set of three festive Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). Measuring just 2.5 x 3.5 inches, they're the perfect little canvases for creating miniature Christmas scenes.

I love making ATCs they are such a great way of sharing your art. I organise a monthly swap over in the Visible Image Fans Facebook group. If you would like to join us do check out the link here.

The backgrounds are made from pieces of Distress Stain Spray cardstock left over from previous projects in my stash – a great way to make use of those colourful offcuts. 

I stamped the Dear Santa sentiment and a postmark at the top of each ATC 

I stamped the adorable robins onto white card. The charming post box was partially stamped onto scraps of red cardstock, so you don't even need a full sheet of card. I also stamped up the postal times plate onto a scrap of white card and layered it up.  The robins were coloured with Distress Watercolour Pencils and then fussy cut.

I adhered the post box first before adding the robins and the tiny letters. By tucking the letter beneath the robin's foot really brings each miniature scene to life!

On the reverse, I used the Love of ATCs stamp set. 

I organise an ATC swap in the Visible Image Fans Facebook group, so one of these little creations will soon be making its way to my swap partner. ATCs are such fun to exchange with fellow crafters and also make lovely keepsakes to attach to Christmas gifts.

The Across the Miles  stamp set is such a versatile addition to the new release, making it perfect for everything from cards and mixed media projects to festive ATCs. I hope I've inspired you to have a go at creating some miniature Christmas art of your own!

Here are a few close ups;

 If you hurry there is still a fab bundle offer for the whole release, check it out here.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Remember to follow my Instagram account here where I share all my creative makes. 

Bye for now,

Jane x

HO HO HO it's time for the Visible Image 2026 Christmas release

Ho Ho Ho it's a busy blog day for me today with my 2nd post! It's that wonderful time of the year, yes it's time for the 2026 Christmas release from Visible Image! It is available exclusively for now on the HobbyMaker website. 

Mark will be on your HobbyMaker TV screens at 6pm with the festive launch today.  He was on at 2pm and you can catch that  show  here on rewind for 7 days.. There are lots of great offers and inspiration as well as all our design team samples. 

This festive collection includes 5 gorgeous stamp sets featuring:

Across the Miles; A charming pillar box with robins

 Marshmallow dreams; A cosy hot chocolate cup

Merry and Bright; A beautiful Christmas tree

 All wrapped up; Wrapping paper fun kraft set

 Christmas Magic; A festive stocking set

There are also 3 fabulous stencils:

 Close knit

 Snowfall

 First class 

Over the coming days I'll be sharing the design team samples I've created over on Instagram here using this wonderful collection, along with plenty of inspiration and ideas for your Christmas crafting. I can't wait to show you what I've been making!

Here's a little taster of what I have been making

I'm sharing my cosy fireplace with the "stockings hung" later so do pop on over to Instagram here and to see it in full with some process photos. 

Bye for now,

Jane x

Catch a star with Visible Image

 Hi Everyone. It's time for my fortnightly design team make for Visible Image. Today I am sharing a pair of tags made using the beautiful 

Catch a star stamp set.

 This set is perfect not just for cards but for gift tags too.

Both tags were made in the same way. I die cut 2 tags using black card. When stamping and heat embossing on black card I always use an anti static bag to prevent the coloured embossing powders sticking to areas I want to keep black.  

The standing child was gold heat embossed. Then I stamped and white heat embossed the large star. Lastly I repeat stamped the background using the star cluster stamp and also white heat embossed those too. 

I stamped and gold heat embossed the words onto strips of black card and then stuck them in place.

I used exactly the same process for the sitting down child tag. 

For a finishing touch I layered them onto gold card and added a gold ribbon to each.

Here they are once more individually. 

I will be back in 2 weeks with my next VI make and a little heads up that it might be Christmas in July with a brand new release. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Remember to follow my Instagram account here where I share all my creative makes. 

Bye for now,

Jane x

An idea for one of those always tricky male birthday cards, Visible Image style!

 Hi everyone, I had such positive messages after sharing my blogged step by step for my last Visible Image design team make that I decided to write another! I can't promise this for every make but I will try as often as time allows. 

 For this fortnight I was set the brief of creating a summer-themed male birthday card. I immediately reached for the fabulous "You're a Classic" vintage car stamp set—it's such a versatile collection and perfect for masculine makes.

To bring the design to life, I created a road background using the Logic stencil.

One of the things I love most about Visible Image background stencils is how flexible they are—you don’t always have to use the whole design. Sometimes just a small section can completely transform your project, and that’s exactly what I did here.

I started by building a vibrant distress ink background to give a warm, summery feel. 

I stamped the sentiments in opposite corners.

I stamped and cut out the car

and loosely placed it where I wanted it on the background. I used scraps of copier paper to give the width of my road.

I layered additional distress ink through part of the stencil to form the road. This adds depth and interest without overpowering the focal image.

Using a ruler and distress watercolour pencil in the same colour I drew in the edges of the road

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and then added some more background stamping using the numbers stamp from the set. 

Using these 2 distress inks I painted a little colour on the car and it's wheels. 

 The vintage car was glued on top, tying the whole design together.

Here is my finished card again

Remember that most of my creative makes are shared over on Instagram (linked here and in my sidebar), so feel free to pop over and follow along there too.

Thanks for visiting me today

Bye for now!

Jane x

Anyone for a Visible Image ice cream?

It’s time for my fortnightly design team make for Visible Image. These are usually shared over on my Instagram account, along with step-by-step photos, but I’ve had a few requests recently from those who don’t use Instagram to share the occasional blog post instead—so here we are!

My brief for this make was to use a stencil and build up layers, which is always a technique I enjoy. This time, I created a fun, summery birthday card using the delightful Better with Ice Cream stamp set. I also incorporated the Atmospheric stencil, added background stamping with Grunge Tones, and used the ever-versatile Broken mesh Layering Die. The birthday sentiment comes from the Birthday Wishes set.

Step-by-Step Process

I started with a piece of Distress Spray Stain background from my stash.

I cut it down to 4½" x 6½". Using Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, I applied colour through the Atmospheric stencil, placing it in random areas to create a soft, layered effect.

To build more depth, I stamped randomly over the background using the Grunge Tones set with these 2 colours of Versafine Clair ink, continuing until I was happy with the overall look.

Next came the focal elements—the ice creams! This set includes two fabulous styles: a waffle cone and a classic Mr Whippy-style swirl.

 I stamped the cones using Acorn Versafine onto kraft card (or the inside of cereal packaging if you don’t have kraft to hand—such a handy tip!). The ice cream tops were stamped in red and brown onto white card, creating realistic strawberry and chocolate scoops.

After fussy cutting all the elements, I assembled the cones and added a flake to the Mr whippy style to create a classic “99”—such a fun detail!

For extra texture, I used the Mesh Layering Die, cutting it from white card and trimming it into pieces to adhere around the edges of the background.

The birthday sentiment was created by combining a greeting from the Birthday Wishes set with one from the ice cream set, stamped onto white card. 

Finally, I assembled the whole design, mounting it onto black card and then onto a white card blank.

Final Touches

To finish, I added a few of my trademark sequins for a little sparkle.

 Thank you so much for visiting today—I hope you found this tutorial helpful and maybe even a little inspiring to make your own fun ice cream cards. 

Here is my card once more with a close up of the focal. 

Remember that most of my creative makes are shared over on Instagram (linked here and in my sidebar), so feel free to pop over and follow along there too.

Back soon…(I have my new STAMPlorations Design Team post coming up this afternoon. A busy blog day!)

Bye for now!

Jane x