Merry Little Christmas...in August!

In honor of the Holiday Catalog release I want to share a card with you that has me humming Christmas carols!

The inspiration for this card came from a delightful sketch over at The Paper Players. I just love clean and simple so this spoke to me immediately! I also decided to play along with the Merry Monday "Month Long-Anything Goes Christmas" Challenge.

My goal this year is to create my Christmas cards beginning NOW and continuing through the fall with the goal of having them complete and ready to mail by Halloween...I will keep you posted on my progress:)

The Designer Series Paper I have used here can be found in the "Season of Style" Designer Series Paper pack. The colors featured here are classic Christmas all the way...Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler! The stamp set is called "Merry Little Christmas" and has three stamps that coordinate beautifully. I have stamped off on another piece of Whisper White card stock in Old Olive to add a little banner for contrast. Three Candy Dots in Old Olive add the perfect finishing touch. Candy Dots have become a staple around my crafting table!

I featured the Envelope Liners Framelits Die again today. I can't tell you enough how easy it is to add a HUGE touch of elegance to a card with this simple tool. It is so easy to use and not only is it beautiful to look at, it also adds a heft to the envelope that just screams "style"!

So...one Christmas card down and a stack to go...who's with me to get started and finished and enjoy a more stress-free holiday this year?

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas (131829)

Paper: Whisper White (101730), Old Olive (100702) Cardstock; Season of Style (132340) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Cherry Cobbler (126966), Old Olive (126953) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Envelope Liners Framelits Dies (132172), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049)

Embellishments: Brights Candy Dots (130931)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Kind Thoughts - PPA166 Color Challenge

Today brings a wonderful color challenge from the talented team of designers over at Pals Paper Arts:

And here is my creation:

I needed to create a card to send to someone who has been down lately and I am hoping this will brighten her day! I recently received a beautiful handmade card in my mailbox out of the blue and I was just tickled so I have decided to pay it forward and actually MAIL more of my cards (a novel concept I know). AND I have noticed that I have been more inspired when I have a specific recipient in mind...

This card utilizes the "Too Kind" stamp set. This stamp set has a stem stamp in it with two stems but one of them was too straight for me so I inked up only the stem with a curve to it, stamped it using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig as my guide for placement, then turned the stamp upside down and used the same stem to create a curved stem going the other way. I stamped the blooms in Strawberry Slush but I stamped off first to create a softer stamped image. The sentiment is from the same set. Love when that happens!

A few Candy Dots in Daffodil Delight as accent and done! 15 minutes max. Now THAT makes me happy!

Did you happen to notice the lovely envelope liner? It was created using a new set of Framelits that are available in the Holiday Catalog which is live TODAY!! So easy to create and attach to the envelope. It is sized perfectly to slide right in, all the way to the bottom and it lines up perfectly with the adhesive on the envelope. e-z-peasy!!!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Too Kind (130450)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Daffodil Delight (119683), Smoky Slate (131202) Cardstock

Ink: Strawberry Slush (131178), Smoky Slate (131179) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Envelope Liners Framelits Dies (132172), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (101049)

Embellishments: Brights Candy Dots (130931)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Sweet Baby - Freshly Made Sketches #97

Happy Wednesday to you! Do you know why I love Wednesdays? Because there's a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches to play along with!!

What a fun, clean sketch today by Jen Timko, who by the way I had the pleasure of meeting at Convention :-) I have been a fan of hers since starting to play along at Freshly Made Sketches so I was like WOW!! It's JEN TIMKO!! lol, it was fun to meet her in person and she was a delight to chat with! And with that, here's the card that I created with her sketch:

Doesn't this little guy just make you say "Awwww", yep, he's a keeper! He's from the set "Zoo Babies". I have been dying to ink up this set and this sketch was perfect for it! Do you recognize the Designer Series Paper? No? That's because it is in the Holiday Catalog which goes live tomorrow...yay! It's called "Sweater Weather" and is a wonderful trendy fall-themed paper. But if you have followed me for any time you will know that I delight in taking things outside the box. Fall-themed paper for a baby card? Sure, why not! This paper can be used year round :)

I stamped the giraffe onto my Very Vanilla layer and then stamped it again on another piece and fussy cut him out. The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Banners and I inked it up with Sahara Sand and Crushed Curry markers and then used the Bitty Banners Framelits and my Big Shot to quickly die cut it out. I followd the sketch closely this week so I added a few banners to the top, one in Sahara Sand and the other in Soft Sky. A little bling seemed in order with some Candy Dots in Soft Sky and one Vintage Faceted Designer Button tied up with a bit of Whisper White Baker's Twine finish this card off nicely.

Most of the time I don't like to take the time to fussy cut, but I will when the card calls for it. How about you? I think some people enjoy the process, are you one of them? Won't you leave me a comment and lt me know? Thanks and have a creative day!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Zoo Babies (130456), Itty Bitty Banners (126257)

Paper: Sahara Sand (121043), Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Sweather Weather (132184) Designer Series Paper; Neutrals (130132), Subtles (130135) Designer Series Paper Stacks

Ink: Crushed Curry (131173) Classic Stampin' Pad; Brights (131262), Neutrals (131261) Stampin' Write Markers

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Bitty Banners Framelits (129267), Stampin' Trimmer (126889), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Embellishments: Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons (127555), Subtles (130933) Candy Cots

Thanks for stopping by! 

Perfect Plum Birthday Wishes

Today's card is for a very special person in my life. She makes me beautiful every two weeks and is one of the hardest working and cheerful people I know.

Inspiration is a funny thing. Annie usually chooses my toe nail polish for me so when I asked for purple this week, she picked out just the perfect shade. I looked at it and thought "Perfect Plum"! (I do that a lot now, see things in Stampin' Up! shades, just ask my husband) and voila!, the perfect inspiration for her card! I know she will get a chuckle out of it :)

Annie is a sparkly person and she wears more bling than any person I know, so I just had to bling her card up! I'm not sure if it comes through in the photography, but there are rhinestones and glimmer paper galore on her card! Just like her :)

Happy Birthday Annie!

...on a closing note, have you noticed the envelopes in today's post as well as Saturday's post? Do you really think I trimmed that envelope liner out by hand?!? I think I spot a sneak peek of a new product in the holiday catalog! Woot! And a wonderful product it is indeed! The 2013 Holiday Catalog will be live on August 1st so if you haven't received one, please feel free to email me and I will get one right out to you!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Flowering Florishes (126367), Remembering Your Birthday (131347)

Paper: Whisper White (100730), Perfect Plum (101889), Silver Glimmer Paper (124005)

Ink: Perfect Plum (126963) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Stampin' Trimmer (126889)

Embellishments: Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246), Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels (129324)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Pistachio Pudding Love - PPA165 Sketch Challenge

It is so nice to be back creating with the wonderful Pals Paper Arts Design Team! Nicole Watt has turned out a delightful sketch this week which made this card come together very easily...

And here is my interpretation of this sketch:

Do you like it? I really love how the colors and textures came together for a soft, feminine card. There are lots of details so let's start with paper (I just lovveee paper!)...

I love clean and simple but I also love, love layers of detail. Subtle detail. And that's what we have here. I layered Pistachio Pudding Core'dinations cardstock on top of a Very Vanilla base. The Core'dinations cardstock is white in the core so that it can be sanded down and the white core exposed, which makes for wonderful texture. But...for this card, I am very happy with just the texture of the cardstock itself.

Next I used the wonderful patterns of the Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper to add a bit of softness and visual interest. I wanted the pattern of the butterfly to be the focus so I kept the other papers muted. I used my bone folder to flip the edges of the banners up a bit for more interest. Next comes the butterfly...isn't it just adorable? I used the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die to die cut the butterfly out of this AMAZING patterned paper. Once the butterfly was die cut, I realized that just layering it on top of all that Pistachio Pudding cardstock would just wash the butterfly out so I sponged the edges with Baked Brown Sugar ink. Well, I actually sponged it with Pistachio Pudding but it was too...green, so then I sponged it with Soft Suede and it was too...brown, so I finally sponged it with Baked Brown Sugar...just right! Whew!

I layered the butterfly onto a circle punched out with my 2 1/2" circle punch and run through the Big Shot with the new Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder which will be available in the 2013 Holiday Catalog, available August 1st. I sponged the edges of the circle with Pistachio Pudding ink to add some contrast.

Next...the jewelry! One Very Vintage Designer button with a Linen Thread bow in the center is the perfect finishing touch...at least in my humble opinion.

I left the sentiment until the end. Once the card came together I decided it would be perfect to send to my mother to let her know I am thinking about her :)

I would love it if you left me a comment with your thoughts on my card today!

Stampin Supplies:

Stamps: Express Yourself (130339-Hostess)

Paper: Very Vanilla (101650) Cardstock; Pistachio Pudding (130136) Core'dinations Cardstock; Venetian Romance (130144) Designer Series Paper

Ink: Baked Brown Sugar (131174) Classic Stampin' Pad

Tools: Big Shot (113439), Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die (114507), 2 1/2" Circle Punch (120906), Stampin' Trimmer (126889)

Embellishments: Very Vintage Designer Buttons (129327), Linen Thread (104199)

Thanks for stopping by!