Christmas in July: Handmade Card Inspiration, Craft Challenge & Giveaway

Happy July, folks! It’s the height of summer which can only mean one thing - Christmas!! Ok, don’t come at me… Christmas in July is a real thing in the card making world. And it’s never too early to get started when you make handmade Christmas cards!

To get us started, I’ve made this Christmas card in a non-traditional colour scheme. My cheeky haul of card making supplies arrived from Concord and 9th last week, including the beautiful Berries and Leaves layering stencils by Kristina Werner.

I used Ballet Slipper for the background stencil, then added the berries in Sorbet, and finally the leaves in Sea Glass. I used white cardstock so that the outline of the mistletoe remained white, and I love this colour scheme!

For the sentiment I used Holiday Sayings die set, cutting both the shadow die and word dies from white cardstock, then ink blending them to match my card background - top tip if you don’t have matching cardstock! I ink blended the shadow layer in Sorbet, and added some shading to the bottoms of the words in Ballet Slipper using a mini blender brush.

For finishing details, I swiped a thin strip of card through my Sorbet ink pad and glued it horizontally across my background, before adding a strip of sparkly pink gold cardstock next to it. I added the sentiment with foam tape and trimmed the entire card panel to 3.5 x 4.75” and added it with foam tape to a white A2 card base. Finally, I added some clear sequins with liquid glue.

I hope this inspires you to break out your card making supplies and get crafting! Don’t forget that Christmas cards don’t have to be red, green and gold - non-traditional colour schemes can be very refreshing, and a great personal twist to your handmade holiday cards.

So, your turn! Here’s the challenge rules:

RULES

• Create a handmade card, scrapbook layout or other handmade craft project with a Christmas / holiday theme;
• Submit your entry via InLinkz, below;
• You can use any brands you love;
• Please feel free to share it on social media, too, and use the hashtag #craftandconnectchallenge - don’t forget to tag us, @craftandconnect_uk too, so that we can find it! 
• Each month, the challenge will be open from the date the challenge is posted until 5pm (UK time) on the final day of the month;
• Winners will be picked at random, and will have the opportunity to guest design for a future challenge;
• Winners will receive a prize, detailed in that month’s challenge blog.

Link to enter: https://fresh.inlinkz.com/party/4597183914ae43e48613bcb92985d53b?visitor

You have until 5pm BST on 31st July 2025 to enter your project(s), and the winner will receive a £10 Craft & Connect gift card PLUS a chance to guest design for a future challenge!

To celebrate our Christmas in July challenge, we have reduced (in fact, halved!) the price of our holiday themed classes. You can now get out Winter Wishes virtual retreat day for just £25 (this is honestly such great value, with six amazing classes from inspiring teachers, lifetime access to the videos and PDF course guide), or our Stretch Your Supplies online class for just £9. Plenty of Christmas card inspiration there!

We had so many amazing entries to our Pride themed challenge in June! The lucky winner is Meghan, who entered three beautiful rainbow cards this month! You can find lots more inspiration from Meghan on her blog at https://www.madebymeghank.com

Congratulations, Meghan, we'll be in touch with you shortly to arrange your gift card and guest design spot!

Happy crafting!