What could be hiding in your dies?
Today I’m kicking off my Same But Different Christmas 2026 series with 4 City House Christmas cards, and a few fun ways to look beyond the obvious and stretch your dies even further. You can find the whole series HERE as it grows.
Want more festive inspiration? Check out my 2025 playlist right HERE!
But first, let’s start by taking a peek at today’s cards?
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You can grab a cuppa and watch the video here or watch it in on YouTube HERE. Scroll down for more photos and all the card details.
City House Christmas Cards!
You may already know that I love finding ways to stretch my supplies, so today I’m looking at these dies a little differently and seeing just how many ways I can use them.
With your die cuts, the possibilities are endless! Here are some fun ideas you can try:
FUN WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR DIES
- Combine dies from different sets
- Make one of the smaller dies the main focal point
- Don’t be afraid to do a little die-cut surgery – trim, snip or alter pieces to make them work differently
- Add an interactive element – make it wobble, spin or add a pull tab
- Use just part of a larger image or design instead of the whole thing
Look beyond the obvious!
Sometimes the most interesting card idea is hiding in a die you already own.
The City Holiday die set was released last year, and since then Yana has added some wonderful coordinating dies to help you build even more with it. The newest additions have a distinctly festive feel, which of course got me thinking…
Card #1 – Mansard Roof
It’s always nice to try a die set as intended before you start changing things up. I combined the City Holiday and Mansard Roof die sets to create this full house, and that roof adds a ton of drama straight away.
And I just had to “deck the halls” – which literally means to decorate for Christmas. Traditionally that means festive greenery and decorations, but for me it was with window garlands and bows.
And Lili is back making another appearance this year… she is one of our rescues and can you guess what color she may be? 🐈⬛
Card #2 – Santa in the Chimney
Now it was time to start changing things up. I used the same die sets, but this time I only needed part of the house.
I joined the two chimneys together to make one opening wide enough for Santa, then performed a little die-cut surgery on poor Santa so he could make his entrance headfirst!
I added the rooftop over one of my premade Northern Lights backgrounds to create a fun nighttime Christmas scene.
And this sentiment was perfect for the design!
Card #3 – Wrapped Up City House
Again, I started by using the Wrapped Up City Holiday pieces more as intended. The large bow instantly turns the house into a Christmas gift, while the ink-blended vine adds a softer festive detail.
I kept the house white with a blue roof and door, added vellum curtains to the windows, and finished it with a Christmas tree…
and a little red doorknob to tie in with the bow.
Card #4 – Clean & Simple Door
For the final card, I took the same die sets and stripped the design right back.
This time, the door became the whole focal point. I added a dimensional red bow, shaped and shaded for a little extra interest, then popped everything onto a simple white panel with the sentiment.
It’s a much cleaner look, but it shows just how different the same dies can feel when you change the scale and focus on just one small part of the original design.
That’s how I stretched the same dies into four very different Christmas cards – now it’s your turn!
I’d love to know: which idea inspired you most, and do you ever look at your dies and see something completely different hiding there? Let me know in the comments below!
And if you create something inspired by today’s cards, don’t forget to tag me on social media so I can see what you make.
Sending crafty hugs your way,
Special thanks to my crafty assistant, Chad (aka ChatGPT), for helping me stay on track with my Gemini brain, grammar, and spelling… well, all the things! 😄
*Certain content that appears on this site comes from Amazon, this content is provided ‘as is’ and is subject to change or removal at any time. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Spellbinders: SHOP US HERE | SHOP UK HERE
Ink: Altenew – Heart Beat | Cloudy Night | Cloudy Sky | Forest Glades | Evergreen.
Cardstock: Altenew – Jet Black | Misty Sage | Peachy Glow | Seaglass | Industrial Diamond – Concord & 9th – Poppy – Scrapbook.com – Cobblestone- Bazzill – White Vellum.
Copics: R27.
Embellishments: Spellbinders – Fashion Jet | Fashion Bella.
Tools: Petal Shaper Tool
Today's Supplies
 City Holiday Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Mansard Roof Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Wrapped Up City Holiday Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 The Clauses Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Holiday Hugs Sentiments Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Joyful Christmas Sentiments Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Precision Layering A2 A Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 BetterPress SB Shop at: ALT | SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Tool N One Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Altenew Cardstock Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Concord & 9th – Cardstock Shop at: SSS | C9 |
 Vellum Shop at: SSS |
 Opal Mix Gems Shop at: SSS | SB US | SB UK |
Basic Supplies:
 Neenah Solar 110 Shop at: SSS | AMZ |
 Neenah Solar 80 Shop at: SSS | AMZ |
 Nocturne Shop at: SSS |
 Fresh Dye Inks Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Mini Blending Brush Set Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Tweezers Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Perfect Picker Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Fine Blade Scissors Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Bone Folder Shop at: ALT |
 Score Board Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Paper Trimmer Shop at: SSS |
 Mini MISTI Shop at: SSS |
 Stampwheel Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Sticky Grid Mat Ultra Shop at: ALT | SSS | SB US |
 Platinum 6 Shop at: ALT | SSS | SB US | SB UK |
 Glue Tape Shop at: ALT | SSS |
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Foam Tape Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Black Foam Tape Shop at: ALT | SSS |
 Bearly Art Glue Shop at: SSS | AMZ |
 Satin Masking Tape Shop at: ALT |