From Our House to Yours

The Snow Festival Designer Series Paper from last year's Holiday Catalog is so much fun! I wanted to use the pattern with little houses on it, and I found the perfect sentiment to match. I'm entering this clean-and-simple card into the Curtain Call Challenge: CAS-ual Christmas.

I thought Primrose Petals would be a fun, non-traditional Christmas card color. On both the front and inside of this card, I stamped in VersaMark ink, then heat embossed with white embossing powder.

The inside uses the new Endless Wishes photopolymer stamp set. The coolest thing about photopolymer stamps is that they are COMPLETELY see-through! So you don't even need a Stamp-a-ma-jig, because once you ink it up, you can see exactly where you are going to stamp! (Well, it was a little difficult when using VersaMark, since it is also clear. But with normal ink, you're good to go!)

You know I made a matching envelope! :)

My Sweet Season stamp set is for sale. Click here to see it on Etsy, along with many of my handmade card sets!

Stamps: Sweet Season, Endless Wishes
Paper: Snow Festival DSP, Primrose Petals CS 
Ink: VersaMark
Tools: Extra-Large Oval Punch, White Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Big Shot, Envelope Liners Framelits
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals 

italics = retired product

Two Posts in One Day!

Wow - I'm on a roll! I made two different cards last night, using a combination of FIVE different challenges! Woohoo! Here is the second of the two. This one uses clean & simple #264 (FTL264 - layout) and Pals Paper Arts #178 (PPA178 - color). I'm also entering this card into the latest Penny Black Challenge - Anything Goes.

I tried to be a color "purist," but the Early Espresso was just too harsh for my card so I changed it to Soft Suede.

The sentiment looks a little washed out in the first pic, so here is a close-up. I used my markers to color in the words, cake, and candles. Doesn't it look like a decadent chocolate cake? Yum! My Stamp-a-ma-jig was essential to line up all the images.

The In Color 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon is a little too thick (in my opinion) to make a full-on bow. In any case, there wasn't enough room on this card for a full bow. So I like to just attach a strip of ribbon to my card, then take a second little piece and knot it around the strip that's already attached. The card is complete after a couple of snips with the Stampin' Up! Craft Scissors (seriously - they cut ribbon like butter; I bought them after using them just one time).

I never forget to make a coordinating envelope! In this case, I didn't have a big enough piece of coordinating DSP to make an entire envelope using the Envelope Punch Board. Enter: Envelope Liners Framelit dies! You get three different dies - one to fit our Medium envelopes, one to fit the envelopes that come with our notecards, and one to fit the tiny 3-1/8" square envelopes. So for this card, I jazzed up the Whisper White envelope with a different pattern of the Soft Suede DSP. 

Stamps: Patterned Party, Whimsical Words 
Paper: Birthday Basics DSP, Soft Suede from Neutrals DSP Stack, Summer Starfruit CS, Whisper White CS
Colors: Summer Starfruit Marker, Crisp Cantaloupe Marker, Soft Suede Marker
Tools: Envelope Punch Board (to round my corners), Big Shot, Envelope Liners Framelits, Stamp-a-ma-jig
Accessories: Summer Starfruit 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots (I like these for adhering ribbon ends to the back of my paper)

italics = retired product

Dusty Eggplant Bay

Hehe I love the funny little names they always come up with over at SCS for the color challenges. So I made up my own for today's title! This is one of my swaps from Convention 2009.

Supplies: Dig In Stamp Set, Itty Bitty Backgrounds Stamp Set, On Your Birthday Stamp Set; Dusty Durango, Bermuda Bay, Elegant Eggplant, and Whisper White cardstock; Dusty Durango and Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pads; VersaMark Ink Pad; Star Punch; Dusty Durango 1/2" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon; Mini Glue Dots; Stampin' Dimensionals

In Color Autumn

I loooooove the way this card turned out!! I used 3 of the new In Colors - I think they go well together (they remind me of Reese's Pieces!). I sponged each color onto the main panel - I tried to keep the brown shade near the bottom (for the ground), and the yellow & orange shades in the sky, to make it look like it's around sunset. I'm very pleased with the result.

I stamped the greeting in Craft Ink (in a darker shade of brown), which I thought might stick better to the textured cardstock.

I first stamped the trees in Craft Ink, then used clear embossing powder to emboss them, before I did the sponging.

Supplies: Heard from the Heart Stamp Set, Lovely as a Tree Stamp Set; Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Very Vanilla cardstock; Soft Suede Textured cardstock; Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, and Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pads; Chocolate Chip Craft Stampin' Pad; Stamping Sponges; Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder; Heat Tool; Stampin' Dimensionals

Christmas in July

Well I've been really busy with work (boo!) and haven't had much time to stamp. However, I can only use the "Christmas in July" cliche for a couple more days so I figured I'd better post something! A couple years ago, Stampin' Up! had this really cute card kit (Holiday Glitz I believe) using Wild Wasabi as the card base. For whatever reason, I had some leftover pieces so I whipped up quite a few cards to get rid of this stuff! Once I get my Etsy shop up and running, these card sets will also be available for purchase!

I like the matchbook style card. I will have to make some more of those in the future! So all in all I ended up making 7 packs of 4 cards each. Not too shabby for one afternoon! ;)

Happy Holidays Supplies: Snowfall Stamp Set*; Whisper White cardstock; Wild Wasabi* and Real Red Textured cardstock; Soft Sky Prints* Designer Series Paper; Wild Wasabi*, Soft Sky*, and Real Red Classic Stampin' Pads; Jersey* Ribbon Originals; Stampin' Dimensionals; staples

Merry Christmas Supplies: Punches Three Stamp Set*; Whisper White cardstock; Wild Wasabi*, River Rock*, and Real Red Textured cardstock; Dashing* Designer Series Paper; Wild Wasabi* Classic Stampin' Pad; Scallop Square Punch; Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon; Mini Glue Dots; Stampin' Dimensionals; staples

*retired SU! item

Jewelry Color Inspiration #43

Finally got to do some stamping-just-for-fun today so I hit up two challenges. Stacey's Jewelry Color Inspiration Challenge #43 and SCS Sketch Challenge #231. Most of the products I used for this card are retiring tomorrow! Sniff.

Supplies: Petal Pizzazz Stamp Set, Hugs & Wishes Stamp Set; Kiwi Kiss, Pink Pirouette, Yoyo Yellow, and Very Vanilla cardstock; Walk in the Park Designer Series Paper, Candy Lane Designer Series Paper; Yoyo Yellow and Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pads; 1/16" Circle Punch; Flower Fusion Too; Paper Snips; Rhinestone Brads Ice Circles; Stampin' Dimensionals

Sneak Peek Swap #2

I felt bad for the Razzle Dazzle set because no one was signing up for it to swap. :( So I signed up to do not one, but two swaps using this set. Oi. Like I mentioned before, I wanted to change up the color scheme because everyone is using the whole pink-and-purple palette. So I came up with these colors all on my own! I changed my mind between funky and ugly a few times, but now I really like it! :) It reminds me of Mary Engelbreit stuff. I still couldn't figure out a layout or design, so I turned to SCS once again. I ended up totally CASE-ing this card by Chat.

I even made a few extra for myself, and I'm going to stamp different sentiments in the corner from the new Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set. :)

Supplies: Razzle Dazzle Stamp Set; Real Red, Soft Suede, Barely Banana, Bermuda Bay, and Whisper White cardstock; Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper; Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede, and Real Red Classic Stampin’ Pads; VersaMark Ink Pad; Eyelet Border, 1-3/8” Square, 1-1/4” Square, 1” Circle, 3/4” Circle, and 1/16” Circle Punches; Bermuda Bay Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon; Bold Brights Brads; Mini Glue Dots; Stampin’ Dimensionals

Razzle-tastic Swap!

I gotta agree with Julie, some of these new names are a little ridiculous. :) But I REALLY like how my first sneak-preview swap turned out! I really didn't want to do new-In-Color-overkill, like most people seem to be doing. But I like the two pieces of Designer Series Paper that I picked out and it just worked out that way. For my second swap using this set, I took a totally different route and color scheme. Check it out tomorrow!

Supplies: Razzle Dazzle Stamp Set; Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, and Whisper White cardstock; Crushed Curry Textured cardstock; Razzleberry Lemonade Designer Series Paper; Pumpkin Pie, Rich Razzleberry, and Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pads; Modern Label and Word Window Punches; Paper-Piercing Tool; Mat Pack; Stampin' Dimensionals