This week’s 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is a colour challenge, and the brief was to use teal and silver. My inspiration came from the gorgeous teal opalescent sequins by Spellbinders that I recently picked up in their sale—I knew they had to take centre stage in a frosty, festive design. Here’s how my teal-and-silver creation came together.
Step 1: The Base Card
I began with a 6″ x 6″ deckle-edged card base, then added a double row of stitching in white thread around the front panel using my sewing machine. This gave the card a beautifully tactile frame, perfect for setting the scene.
Step 2: Splattered Background
To bring in teal accents, I dropped a little teal reinker onto a stamping block, spritzed it with water, and then used a brush to flick splashes across the top of the card. The speckled effect added a playful snowy feel.
Step 3: Building the Lower Panel
Across the bottom section, I added a strip of brushed silver card. On top of this, I spread white texture paste through a polka dot stencil, leaving it to dry for a raised, snowy effect.
To add more teal, I cut a narrow strip of teal card the same width as the silver panel and embossed it with a snowflake border die. This piece was adhered neatly to the top of the silver panel.
Step 4: Creating the Wreath Feature
From teal card, I die cut a stitched circle, then cut it in half and adhered one half to the upper part of the card base. Over this, I layered a Craft Addiction UK wreath die cut in white cardstock, also trimmed in half. I stacked the two halves on top of each other, gently lifting the leaves for dimension.
Using a Quickie Glue Pen, I added adhesive to some of the leaves and sprinkled them with Dazzling Diamonds glitter. The shimmer against the teal was magical!
Step 5: Adding the Tags and Twine
Before assembling the focal elements, I wrapped a piece of white twine around the teal embossed strip, attaching two mini Christmas tags by Craft Addiction UK and tying a small bow. This detail added a sweet, handmade touch.
Step 6: The Penguins
For the stars of the show, I die cut three cute penguins from white cardstock. Using alcohol markers, I coloured them in soft greys and blacks, with cheerful yellow beaks and feet. A little pale blue shading around the white areas gave them a frosty look.
They were adhered to the card with a mix of foam adhesive and wet glue, adding depth and movement.
Step 7: Finishing Touches
Finally, I scattered a sprinkling of those teal flat sequins across the design. They tie the whole colour scheme together and give the card a festive sparkle.
Why This Card Works for the Challenge
The mix of teal and silver is both striking and elegant, and the combination of textures—from stitched edges to glittered leaves, embossed snowflakes to glossy sequins—creates layers of interest. The playful penguins bring a touch of fun, making this a card that’s both modern and festive.
If you’re taking part in this week’s colour challenge, I hope this inspires you to play with teal, silver, and maybe even a little sparkle of your own!
Lily-by-Gilly 
Love this card…beyond cute…Disney would have been proud of this
oh wow Gill, elle est splendide, quel joli trio, tu sais mettre du sel dans tes créations, biz
Oh Wow Gill, she’s splendid, what a lovely trio, you know how to add some spice to your creations, kisses
Čudovito praznično čestitko si naredila :-)) Lepo si sledila izbranim barvam!
You made a beautiful holiday card :-)) You followed the chosen colors beautifully!
Your penguins are beyond adorable. I love how you combined them with the teal and silver.
Čudovito voščilnico si izdelala v predlaganih barvah!
You made a beautiful greeting card in the suggested colors!