Penguins in the Snow – 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Sketch Challenge

This week’s challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is a sketch, and I couldn’t resist creating a little snowy scene with some cute penguins and Christmas trees.

Card Details

Challenge theme: Sketch
Card size: 6″ square, deckle-edge base
Main colours: Soft Sky, Lucky Limeade, White, Black
Techniques: Embossing, die cutting, alcohol marker colouring, glitter accents

Step 1: Building the Background

I started with a 6″ deckle-edge white base card and cut a mat layer from Soft Sky cardstock just slightly smaller, leaving a narrow white border all the way around.

To add texture, I embossed the top half of the Soft Sky layer using the 3D Snowflake Embossing Folder by Spellbinders.

Across the centre, I added a strip of white cardstock, which not only followed the sketch layout but also doubled up as a snowy ground for my little scene.

Step 2: Adding the Sentiment

Beneath the white strip, I stamped the sentiment from the Christmas to Remember by Stampin’ Up in black ink – simple and clear, so the images above could take centre stage.

Step 3: Christmas Trees

Next, I die cut three Christmas trees from Lucky Limeade cardstock. Using a sponge dauber, I added a little extra Lucky Limeade ink around the edges to bring depth and shading.

These were then adhered in a neat row across the centre of the card, with the centre tree popped up on foam tape, following the sketch design.

Step 4: Penguins

The stars of the show are, of course, the three penguins from the Penguins Go Skating stamp set by Mama Elephant. I stamped them in black ink on white cardstock, then coloured them with alcohol markers in shades of blue, pink, green and grey with a little yellow for their beaks.

Using the matching dies, I cut out each penguin and popped them up on foam adhesive in front of the trees, giving the whole scene some dimension.

Step 5: Finishing Touches

To bring in a bit of festive sparkle, I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the trees and the snow beneath the penguins, applying it with a quickie glue pen. The glitter catches the light beautifully and adds that frosty finish.

Final Thoughts

This sketch was such fun to play with, and it worked perfectly for building a little scene. The penguins look right at home in their snowy setting, and the sparkle finishes it off with a touch of Christmas magic.

There’s still time to join this week’s sketch challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown – I can’t wait to see what you create!

Happy crafting! 🐧🎄❄️