Christmas Miracle | Design Team: Nikki Sher

by Amy Sonnemann September 20, 2026

Hello fellow Layle by Mail friends!

Can you believe it’s September already? And you know what that means—the holidays are right around the corner! What better time to start (or pick back up!) those holiday crafting projects?

When I saw Layle’s brand new Holly Days Collection, I immediately thought of a few favorite memories from last Christmas that I still wanted to document. The colors, patterns and playful holiday icons were perfect for this Christmas Day memory!

For my December album last year, I used a 6x8 pocket page album, so I decided to continue with that format for this layout. I chose a page protector with eight 3x4 pockets and filled four of them with the key photos from this moment. That left four pockets to get creative with—a title card, a journaling card, an embellished card and, of course, a card for the date.

I love working with pocket pages because each little pocket becomes its own mini canvas, while everything still comes together to tell one complete story.

For my title card, I wanted to bring in some of the gold that appears throughout the rest of the layout. I started with patterned paper and used the Holly Days Textures 4x4 Stamp to create a subtle repeating pattern.

For the title itself, I used the Christi Alpha to stamp the word “Christmas,” mimicking one of the designs found in the patterned paper, and then fussy cut it out. To soften the pattern behind my title and help everything stand out, I layered a piece of vellum over the background. I finished the title by stamping and gold heat embossing the remaining words with the Cooper Alphabet Stamp Set.

I knew I also wanted to create a cute little Christmas scene on one of the cards, and the Holly Days Die Cut Icons and 6x12 Stickers were perfect for it. I layered trees, presents, a reindeer and snowflakes together, adding foam tape behind some of the pieces to create extra dimension. I love how such a simple little card adds so much to the overall layout!

Since this memory happened on Christmas Day, I definitely wanted “Dec 25” to have its own special spot. The Holly Days Say It Stamp Set was perfect for creating the date. I used the In the Box – Frames Stamp and coordinating Dies to create a base for “Dec 25.” I stamped the date onto white cardstock and heat embossed it in gold to tie it back to the title card. After fussy cutting it out, I adhered it to the stamped frame with foam tape for a little extra dimension.

I finished the card with several of the gold-foiled Holly Days Die Cut Icons, layered everything over patterned paper and added a few more die cuts and word strip stickers throughout the layout to tie all of the pockets together.

I love that this layout gives such a specific little moment from Christmas Day its own special place in my album. Sometimes it’s not the big holiday traditions that make the best stories—it’s those unexpected, funny and completely memorable moments that you know you’ll be talking about for years to come!

And if you still have a few memories from last Christmas waiting to be documented, the new Holly Days Collection might be just the excuse you need to pull them back out. Or maybe it’s time to get a head start on those 2026 holiday projects!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy crafting!

Best,

Nikki

Crafty Creations by Nikki

Products Used:

Layle by Mail Holly Days Collection

Layle by Mail Holly Days 12x12 Paper Pack

Layle by Mail Holly Days 6x12 Stickers

Layle by Mail Holly Days Die Cut Icons

Layle by Mail Holly Days Word Strip Stickers

Layle by Mail Holly Days Textures 4x4 Stamp Set

Layle by Mail Holly Days Say It 4x6 Stamp Set