Posted by Oles B
on September 11, 2026
Hello, crafty friends! It’s Lisa Tilson here with you on the blog today to share a card using the Wrapped Up City Holiday Etched Dies from the Christmas City Holiday Collection designed by Yana Smakula. This is a beautiful set of dies that expand on the original City Holiday Etched Dies set. The dies create a gorgeous ribbon and bow that you can use to “wrap up” your house – like a gift! Not only that, but you can also add in some delicate trailing greenery. Finish your festive scene with a sweet little lamppost. Of course, you can mix in elements from Yana’s earlier City collections as well. Awnings, flower boxes, trees, presents, or even a little cat or dog all work beautifully to customise your scene.
Also included in this new collection are the Holiday Hugs Sentiments Press + Foil Plate and Die Set, as well as the Mansard Roof Etched Dies. This is a new roof shape that can be added onto the existing house – fun and very smart!
So, let’s get started with the card for today.
Deck The Halls with Love & Laughter
Create the Background
- Take a panel of Teal Topaz ColorWheel Cardstock measuring 5” x 7” and pop it into a box.
- Add a small amount of Splatter White Opaque Watercolor onto an acrylic block.
- Spritz the paint with a little water and then, using a No.2 round brush, splatter the paint around the outside edges of the panel. You don’t need to do the bottom edge as this will be covered up later.
Die-cut the Lamppost, Ribbon, Bow, and Greenery
For all the die cutting, use the Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine with the die-cutting sandwich as follows (from bottom to top):
- Plate A – Platform Base
- Plate B – Platform Top
- Plate C – Cutting Plate
- Plate C – Cutting Plate
The cardstock/die will be inserted between the two cutting plates with the die sitting on top of the cardstock, cutting edge down.
NOTE: The dies in the next few photos are placed on their respective cardstock, cutting side up, to enable them to be more easily referenced. When die cutting, the dies will be turned over so that the cutting edge is directly on the cardstock, and they will be taped in place using Best Ever Craft Tape.
- Take the Wrapped Up City Holiday Etched Dies and die-cut as follows:
- Three foliage die cuts from Rainforest ColorWheel Cardstock.
- Two long ribbons and two bow pieces from Poppy ColorWheel Cardstock.
- One bow piece from Cranberry ColorWheel Cardstock.
- Two lamppost/lantern dies from Anchor ColorWheel Cardstock.
- Lamppost ironmongery from Raven ColorWheel Cardstock.
- Inside lantern die cuts from both Cranberry and Saffron ColorWheel Cardstock.
TIP: Place all your die cuts into a Craft Stax Medium Tray for safekeeping. Those five tiny black die cuts might go missing otherwise!
- Tape the dies to the cardstock using Best Ever Craft Tape and then run them through the Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine with the sandwich listed above.
Die Cut the House
- Take the City Holiday Etched Dies and die-cut as follows:
- Main house and house top from Blue Spruce.
- Two snow dies from Classic White.
- Door from Cranberry.
- Front doorsteps and long windowsill from Anchor.
- Wreath from Peridot.
- Pot/star from Anchor and from Saffron.
- Christmas tree from Rainforest.
- Arch window - three times from Seaside.
- Continuing with the City Holiday Etched Dies, die-cut as follows:
- Large picture window from Seaside and Classic White.
- Curtains from Waterfall (twice) and Teal Topaz (once).
- Door from Classic White.
- Windowsill die twice from Classic White. (This is the small die with three horizontal cuts). You will end up with six windowsills.
- Front doorsteps and long windowsill from Classic White.
- Arch window frame three times from Classic White. When you tape the dies in place, try to make sure that the frame is even all the way around.
- Take the Everyday Windows, Curtains and Flower Boxes Etched Dies and die-cut as follows:
- Curtains from Teal Topaz (twice) and Waterfall (once).
- Rectangle window three times from Seaside (middle of the photo).
- Rectangle window frame three times from Classic White. Again, when you tape the dies in place, try to make sure the space around the frame is as even as possible.
Assemble the House
- Using Bearly Art Glue, adhere the Seaside large window die cut to the bottom right of the house, using the guidelines to help you. There will be a frame around this window, so try to make sure that you adhere the die cut in the centre of those guidelines.
- Using liquid glue, adhere the front door to the bottom left of the house, using the guidelines to help you. Again, this will have a frame around it, so make sure you position it as centrally as you can within those guidelines.
- Using tiny dabs of liquid glue, adhere the white picture window frame and door frame into place.
TIP: As these are very delicate die cuts, tap off any excess glue before adhering them in place. This will help to avoid any seepage after they are glued down.
- Now take the three arch window frames and add small dabs of glue onto the backs. You won’t need any glue along the bottom edge. Tap off any excess.
- Now adhere the curtains to the back of the die-cut.
NOTE: In the photo, there are two completed windows for you to see how they will look. One window shows how it looks from the front, the other how it looks from the back.
- Now adhere all three of the arch windows onto the solid Seaside arch window die cuts by adding glue on the back of the curtains.
TIP: If you want, you could adhere the curtains onto their solid die cuts using small pieces of foam squares. This would create a gap between the curtains and the rest of the room and create some extra dimension on the card.
- Glue the three arch windows onto the house. There are guidelines to help you with placement here.
- Adhere the three white windowsills onto the bottom of each window frame.
NOTE: You could skip this step and leave the windows as they are, but it does add a little extra dimension.
- Adhere the long white windowsill onto the bottom of the picture window frame.
- Now take the three rectangle windows and glue the curtains onto the back, following the same process as you did for the arch windows.
NOTE: The curtains on these windows need to be adhered to the sides of the back of the frame. The bottom of the curtain will meet the sill.
- Add glue onto the back of the curtains and adhere all three onto the three solid rectangle Seaside die cuts.
- Now glue the three rectangle windows onto the top row of the house.
- Finish the windows by adhering the three remaining small white windowsills.
- Moving on to the lamppost now. Glue the tiny Saffron flame to the small red die cut. There are some guidelines to help you here.
- Then add glue onto the back of the Anchor lantern case die cut and adhere it over the red/yellow die cut. Make sure to tap off any excess glue first. These die cuts are similar in size, and you might find it easier to adhere the red/yellow die onto the lamppost first and then add the lantern casing die cut on top.
- Now glue the lantern onto the lamppost.
- Adhere the five tiny black die-cuts onto the lamppost.
- Glue the small grey die-cut to the base of the lamppost. The lamppost is now finished.
- Glue the Poppy die-cut onto the Cranberry die-cut. Make sure that the longer detail lines on the Poppy die-cut are at the bottom. There are also guidelines on the Cranberry die cut to help you line this up.
- Adhere the centre of the bow onto the loops.
- Then adhere the bow onto the tails.
- Now that the background panel is dry, adhere the large snowbank onto the bottom.
- Now glue the house in place.
- Glue the roof above the top edge of the house.
- Now glue the smaller snow die-cut in place.
- Adhere the two ribbons. The longer ribbon reaches from the bottom of the house to just under the roof.
- Now adhere your bow where the two ribbons cross.
- Add small dabs of glue onto the back of the longest greenery die-cut and glue it in place.
- Now glue the corner section. Tuck the bottom end of the greenery just under the top of the first piece so they overlap a little.
- Add the final piece of greenery. Again, just insert the bottom edge under the preceding piece.
- Glue the wreath onto the door.
- Adhere the larger grey doorstep die cut just under the door.
- Now adhere the smaller grey doorstep onto the larger die cut.
- Glue the pot to the right of the door.
- Glue the star to the top of the Christmas tree and then add two small White Adhesive Foam Squares onto the back. Place the tree down just so that it overlaps the pot slightly.
- Glue the lamp to the left side of the house.
- Add some Red Color Essentials Gems onto the tree and wreath.
Foil the Sentiment and Finish the Card
- Turn on your Glimmer Hot Foil System and let it warm up.
- Prepare your sentiment for foiling.
- Take the Holiday Hugs Sentiments Press + Foil Plate and Die Set and remove the “Deck the Halls with Love & Laughter” plate.
- Put a piece of Opaque Black Glimmer Hot Foil onto a piece of Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock (shiny side up).
- Add the plate on top (detail side down).
- Tape it in place using yellow tape.
- When the green Platform Ready light comes on, flip your plate/cardstock over and place it face down onto the heated platform. The plate is in direct contact with the heat.
- Add the green Thin Shim on top, followed by the clear Spacer Pad.
- Press the Timer button, and it will start to flash on and off (green).
- When the Timer light stops flashing, remove the heated platform from the system and run it through the Platinum SIX Die Cutting Machine.
- Pull back the foil to reveal your beautiful sentiment!
- Tape the coordinating die in place and run this through your die-cutting machine.
- Add some White Adhesive Foam Squares onto the back of the sentiment and adhere it onto your house.
- Using liquid glue, adhere the finished panel onto a 5” x 7” side-folding white notecard created from Classic White ColorWheel Cardstock (10” x 7”, scored and folded at 5”).
The card is complete! I hope you like how it turned out, and that you’ll feel inspired to give this design a try. Even if you are new to cardmaking, I hope that by seeing each step laid out, you will feel more confident about making it. The detail in these dies is gorgeous, and there are so many ways you can customise your scene. I hope you have fun!
If you would like to see more of my cards, I would love to have you join me over on my blog, Instagram, and Facebook. In the meantime, thank you so much for being with me here on the Spellbinders blog today. I hope that you have a good day!
Spellbinders Supplies:
Other Supplies
Splat Box, No.2 Round Brush, Acrylic Block.
