Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Night in Bethlehem

As Christmas approaches, I am drawn to the authentic

message, captured in images of the star and a young

couple.  For me, the Night in Bethlehem set on page 26,

with coordinating Bethlehem Edgelits dies, captures

the feeling of Joy and Expectation.  The shiny sparkles,

paired with dark, human figures say it all.

We bring our humanity down the road that we travel,

keeping our eye on a bright star ahead.

Colorful Seasons with Christmas Pines

Sorry, but I really do need to find a better way to

take pictures of cards that I blog.  Maybe that will

be my New Year's resolution!

This card also signals that fact that although I have

readily embraced metalics on my Christmas cards, 

I continue to have an issue with using Black

on these cards.  I do, however, like other nontraditional

color combinations.  In this example, Blushing Bride

and Sweet Sugarplum.  I used the snowflakes and 

thinlits from the Colorful Seasons set (p 147) and

Seasonal Layers Thinlits.  What a lovely combination!

The sentiment comes from Christmas Pines, on page 120.

Add a bit of 1/4 inch Copper Ribbon and I'm good to go!

Seasonal Chums Deer on Ovals

Seasonal Chums, with the coordinating Seasonal Tags

Framelits Dies, on page 47 of the Holiday catalog, is an

incredibly sweet collection of product.  They are designed

to be used as tags, but you can also separate the images and

mount the front or back of the images individually.

In this example, I used the Layering Ovals Framelits and

Stitched Shapes Framelits (p 214) as backdrops for the

deer image.  These ovals were placed on a layer of 

Color Theory Designer Series Paper stack on page 187.

I added a bit of linen thread to pull the card together.

Watercolor Christmas with Snowflakes

I love the Watercolor Christmas set on page 34 of the

Holiday catalog.  It coordinates with a Project Kit, but

I often look at these coordinating products as separate

components, because they can work well separately, too.

This is all Copper, Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive.  I'm pretty

partial to Copper and snowflakes.  These snowflakes, made out

of Copper Foil Sheets (p 194), come from the 

Seasonal Layers Thinlits on page 216.  I like the fact that

these Thinlits offer 3 different sizes of snowflakes, 

so that you have options for any Christmas card.

Lift Me Up Cookie Cutter Santa

First off, don't ask me how I came up with this card.

I was shuffling through my sets and for some reason,

the Lift Me Up set (p 58) paired itself with Cookie Cutter

Christmas (p 116).   Like if the reindeer go on strike, 

Santa can parachute into town.  At least that's the story

and I'm sticking to it.

Santa was colored with the new Stampin' Blends (LOVE) and

layered on to some Only Olive Color Theory DSP (p 187).

The Seasonal Layers Thinlits (p 216) snowflakes were

made with Silver Foil (p 194).  The candy dots were

colored with a silver Sharpie to coordinate with the snowflakes. 

Santa's Sleigh Stamp Off Sketch Challenge

Hey stamping friends.  Welcome to our Stamp Off

Challenge, hosted by Buffy, Susan and me!

This week, we are doing a sketch challenge, provided by Susan.

I feel that sketch challenges are kind of like paint by number

 kits; they guide you on the creative process.

I "sort of" followed the sketch, which works for our 

challenges.  I stamped the deer from Santa's Sleigh (p 119),

and colored it with the Stampin' Blends.  The sentiment comes

from the Star of Light set on page 122.  The rest of this

card was picking colors and layering.  The Rhinestones

are colored with the Stampin' Blends, which is a 

wonderful means to coordinate card elements.

Now make sure that you check out what Susan and Buffy

have created for this sketch challenge! 

Cookie Cutter Christmas in Hearth and Home

Given the new Stampin' Blends alcohol markers, I often

pull out coloring book sets, so that I can play.  There is

no better Christmas set to color, than the 

Cookie Cutter Christmas set on page 116.  The coordinating

Cookie Cutter Builder Punch (p 208) makes it quick

and convenient to punch out your image.

I positioned the reindeer inside the Hearth and Home

Thinlits Dies (p 213) window, with a Seaside Textured

Impressions Embossing Folder (p 210) layer behind.

I decided to add a few branches and bow from the

Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies on page 216.

He's a pretty cute reindeer, especially when framed

within his little window. 

Night in Bethlehem in Oval

I will have to admit that I love Christmas cards.  They

express the faith of the creator, warm our hearts and

sparkle with anticipation.  As a child, I was always the

first one up on Christmas morning, not because I wanted

presents, but more so because I anticipated all the joy

that my family would share together.  I couldn't wait.

Night in Bethlehem, on page 26 of the Holiday catalog is

a set that warms my heart.  I love the coordinating 

Bethlehem Edgelits Dies that enable you to frame stamped

images, or create silhouettes. 

The stamped city is placed behind an oval cut out, with

the Cherry Cobbler layer run through the Pinewood Planks

(p 211) 3D Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing

Folder.  I wanted to bring in a wood stable feeling.

I added the Gold Star and Pear Pizzazz ribbon to complete the 

Christmas feeling. 

Another Christmas Card

I did a number of different Christmas cards because

I have a short attention span when creating a large

production of cards.  This Christmas card uses the

Happy Scenes set on page 11 of the Holiday Mini.

This is such an awesome set, with varied sentiments

and scenes.

The other component of this card is the 

Woodland Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

on page 39 of the Holiday Mini.  This folder was officially

placed on the retiring list, but due to MUCH foot stomping

on the part of demonstrators, 

it will return in the 2016-17

Catalog!

WWC46 Jean's Masculine Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday sure does roll around fast,

doesn't it.  This week, Jean has provided a cool challenge;

a CAS Masculine challenge.

I have 5 nephews and we all know that it can be

difficult to come up with designs for a masculine card.

 So get out there and start creating!

I'm not a huge Stars Wars fan, but seem to have been affected

by all of the hype and trailers.  I just could not get this card

out of my head, especially knowing that my nephews 

would "get" candy canes that become light sabers.

The Snow Place set with Snow Friends Framelits (Holiday catty)

made it easy to design a duel, with parts and pieces flying.

I used the Alphabet Rotary Stamp (page 132) to

create the novel sentiment and punched it out with the

Washi Label Punch.

So now that you have been "inspired",  jump on over to the

Watercooler Challenge site to link up your entry for

Jean's challenge.

 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Catching Up

Sorry I haven't been posting much.  I have been STAMPING!

I made about 84 cards for a church fundraiser.

I appreciated Valarie Moody (Great Britain) giving

me permission to CASE one of her cards (lower right).

Some of these stamp sets are retired, some components

still available.

Every Blessing with Retired c/s and DSP

This Christmas card features some retired products, 

with the new Every Blessing Christmas set (p 70).

I used a Pistachio Pudding card base, with some retired DSP.

I added the "Joy" from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits (p 172),

which fit nicely with the card components. 

Don't miss the SU video on the Wonderful Wreath set!

Every Blessing with Gold Touches

This card features the Every Blessing set on page 70.

It is a very elegant Christmas set, with nice sentiments for

inside and outside the card.

I decided that the Soft Suede cardstock base is a tad

dark for a Christmas card, but opted to post it anyway.

Partridge and Pears

This is such an elegant set, that looks lovely stamped

with regular ink or embossed.  In this example,

I stamped the image with Black Memento ink and then

colored with Blendabilities markers.

 

Partridge & Pears Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$13.95

Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Daffodil Delight Assortment

$11.95

Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Old Olive Assortment

$11.95

Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Coastal Cabana Assortment

$11.95

Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment

$11.95

Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Crumb Cake Assortment

$11.95

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad

$5.95

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Work of Art Snowman

This is a very quick little snowman made with the

Work of Art set on page 165.  This is a set that

works as the main image, background, whatever your

imagination can create!

Work Of Art Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$29.95

Work Of Art Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$21.95

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Baked Brown Sugar Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Marina Mist Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Blushing Bride Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Ornamental Pines with Chalk Talk Framelit

There were such a nice selection of sets in this

year's SU Holiday Mini.  Ornamental Pines is

elegant, both in terms of images and sentiment.
The background was stamped with Gorgeous Grunge.

Ornamental Pine Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$25.95

Ornamental Pine Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$18.95

Chalk Talk Framelits Die

$24.95

Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Cherry Cobbler Assortment

$11.95

Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments

$4.95

Pear Pizzazz 3/4" Chevron Ribbon

$8.95

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

Pear Pizzaz Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad

$5.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Endless Wishes on Coastal Cabana

As I've mentioned previously, Endless Wishes (#136829)

is one of my favorite Christmas sets.

I also enjoy nontraditional Christmas colors.

This layout was one used by Mary Brown, and is

a great way to bring in several colors.

Below are product numbers for the items used on

this card (the picture link system is down!).

136829 (Endless Wishes),  131178 (Strawberry Slush ink), 

131175 (Coastal Cabana ink), 131297,

130136 (In-Color Designer Series Paper Stack), 

135637 (Strawberry Slush Thick Twine), 

121045 (Basic Black Card Stock), 100730 (White card stock) 

Online Extravaganza Sale

Online Extravaganza starts on Monday with select items and bundles at discounted prices. Plus, there will be limited-time doorbusters on November 24 and December 1. You don't want to miss them! This sale lasts from November 24 through December 2, or while supplies last. Learn more about these deals and discover which products (including select Textured Impressions Embossing Folders) are going on sale!

During Online Extravaganza, a few of our past Paper Pumpkin refill kits will be 20% off and available to ALL customers. 

(Please note that refill kits do not include stamps or ink.)

There are so many great discounts on punches and tools,

 please be sure to place your order before items run out!

If you order online, please use the following

hostess code:  YAKUN9UJ