Cards are my favorite things to make, and Christmas is my favorite card-giving holiday; so I have LOTS of ideas for using these fabulous new products. This one is the most colorful, so it's my current fave!

Step 1: Gather Materials: Make-It Christmas Sweets Stamp Set and Peppermints Stencil; plus a selection of candy-colored Archival Inks, Liquid Pearls and Ranger Embossing Powders in coordinating shades.

Step 2: Use the Stickles and Liquid Pearls Confetti Template to create enamel dots using Liquid Pearls in Succulent, Ballerina and Coral. (Note: By securing the template to the Stay-tion with the magnets, and giving it a couple of good taps on a flat surface, it helps the Pearls keep a nice round shape.) Set aside on a flat surface and allow to dry completely, ideally overnight.

Step 3: Trim a piece of Stark White Cardstock to 4 x 5.25" and round the corners, if desired. Place the Peppermints Stencil over the panel and add a single shade of Archival Ink to each candy, using a Tiny Ink Blending Tool and a clean foam for each color. Sample has four Aquamarine candies, three Sweet Treat, three Sun Dazed and three Sea Grass. Remove the sencil, wipe it clean with rubbing alcohol and pat it dry before proceeding.

Step 4: Shift the (newly cleaned!) stencil about 1/8" on the diagonal, and add a second, darker version of each color to the candies. In the sample, Aquamarine is paired with Manganese; Sweet Treat with Cayenne; Sun Dazed with Coastal Coral and Sea Grass with Emerald.

Step 5: After cleaning the stencil once more, using the same method as above, place the largest complete candy shape over a small scrap of Stark White, and apply Sun Dazed Archival; then shift the stencil and apply Coastal Coral. Using nested dies or a template, cut this candy into a circle shape and set it aside.

Step 6: Using Emboss It Clear Ink and the Heat It Craft Tool, stamp and emboss the following using the Christmas Sweets Stamp Set: Candy Cane in Ranger Red E/P; small wrapped candy in Green; two-part bell-shaped candy AND "Candy Cane Wishes" sentiment in Blue. After the images are completely cool, cut the candies out neatly with scissors and the sentiment with a small oval die.

Step 7: Using scraps of white cardstock, create mats as follows, each about 1/8" larger all around the shapes they are matting: for the background panel, a rectangle with rounded corners inked in Sun Dazed; for the large cut-out round candy, a circle edged in Coastal Coral; for the sentiment, an oval inked with Aquamarine Archival.

Step 8: Assembly: Add the three shapes from Step 7 to their coordinating mats with Dina Wakley MEdia Glue. Affix the matted round candy and oval sentiment to the matted Peppermint Candy background panel with 3D Foam Squares. Arrange the three fussy-cut candies around the large matted candy and sentiment. Add the completed design panel to a white A6 card.

Step 9: Stamp an interior sentiment, if desired, and congratulate yourself on getting your holiday cards started early! Choose a pretty box to store your holiday cards and maybe make a few more versions of this card to build your stash.