Unique Shaped Cards for Holiday Celebrations

If you’ve ever wanted to add something special to your holiday cardmaking, shaped cards are a great way to do it. Using large open dies is an easy and creative technique to craft unique cards that stand out. In this project, I used the Gingerbread House Die from Kat Scrappiness to create a festive gingerbread house-shaped Christmas card.

How to Create the Shaped Card

I started by cutting an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of kraft cardstock in half along the short side, creating two 4.25″ x 11″ panels. I set one aside and cut the other in half again, giving me two 4.25″ x 5.5″ pieces. One of these would become my decorative card front.

To create a custom patterned background, I used a snowflake stamp from the Reindeer Games Sentiments Stamp Set and dark brown ink (Gina K Dark Chocolate). I randomly stamped snowflakes over the kraft cardstock panel. Next I used the Gingerbread House Die to cut the stamped panel into the shape of the house. This formed the front layer of my card.

Next, I turned to the card base. Using the 4.25″ x 11″ kraft cardstock, I scored it at 5.5″ to form a standard top-folding card. I aligned the same gingerbread house die so that the top edge slightly overhung the fold line and ran it through my die-cutting machine. This step preserved the fold while shaping the card base into a house.

Embellishing the House

To decorate, I went through my stash and pulled out red, white, green, and yellow glitter cardstock scraps. I used these to die cut embellishments for the gingerbread house. From the Merry Grinchmas Embellishment Set, I added some playful Grinch-themed accents.

For extra shine and texture:

I used Glossy Accents on the yellow window pieces to give them a glassy, realistic appearance. (Diamond Glaze is a great option as well)
I applied Tulip Puffy Paint to the snow on the chimney and activated it with a heat gun, creating a fluffy snow effect.

Once all elements were ready, I assembled the layout and glued everything down onto the front gingerbread panel. After it dried, I adhered this panel to the folded card base, completing the shaped card.

A Finishing Touch

Rather than placing a sentiment on the front, I chose to keep the focus on the gingerbread house design. I added a holiday sentiment to the inside using the Simple Sentiments Holiday Stamps and Universal Sentiment Die from Kat Scrappiness.

The end result? A cheerful and festive gingerbread house-shaped card, perfect for the holidays.

Final Thoughts

This technique can be applied to almost any large open-shaped die to create your own custom-shaped cards. It’s a wonderful way to use your die stash in new and creative ways.

Supplies Used: