Pretty Pines Sparkle & Shine

Hi Stampers,

Even though temps are still in the 80's here, I was thinking about how beautiful an evergreen tree looks after a heavy snowfall - that's what this card reminds me of.

I used a mixture of old and new products in this design.  The pines are from Lovely as a Tree (and incidentally, the first Stampin' Up set I ever purchased!) and the sentiment is from Wondrous Wreath. The die-cuts are the fun Pretty Pines Thinlits (#141851) in the new holiday catalog, as is the Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper (#141986).  I love the way the sentiment is framed in the Layering Ovals Framelits (#141706).  

I'm all about glitter and the dryer sheet technique on this card is right up my alley.  You've seen the t-shirt that says "I craft so hard I sweat glitter"?  That's me.  There are a lot of You Tube videos available on the dryer sheet technique if you don't know how it's done.  It's really pretty simple-start by stamping your image.  I used Early Espresso to stamp the pine from Lovely as a Tree.  The darkest images are stamped full strength then I stamped off once more before re-inking.

Next you'll need a well-used dryer sheet, preferably one that has gone through 2-3 loads of laundry. What most of the videos don't show you, and this is Very Important, is iron the wrinkles out of the dryer sheet using the low setting on your clothes iron.  It only takes a few seconds and it's so much easier than trying to work the wrinkles out after you place it on the card!  With your nice, flat, used dryer sheet ready, spray the stamped image thoroughly with spray adhesive - I like one made by 3M.  Place the dryer sheet on the card and smooth it with your hand or a brayer.

Trim the excess dryer sheet from the edges of the card.  If you're only going to use the tops of the trees like I did, trim the card front to the size you want it.  I did this so I could incorporate some beautiful Designer Paper into my card.  You may want to use the entire piece for even more sparkle!

Finally, and this is so much fun, give the card one more very light coat of spray adhesive.  Sprinkle Dazzling Diamonds glitter over the entire piece and prepare to "ooh" and "ahh"!  

Can you see all that glittery goodness?  Ooh!  Aah!  I almost forgot to mention that I embossed the sentiment with Emerald Envy Glitter Stampin' Emboss Powder (of course).  

Another pine finishes off the inside.  This sentiment is part of the Wondrous Wreath set, too.

I made so much fun with the dryer sheet technique that I made more...many more!

I hope you're inspired by my ideas!  If you would like to purchase any of the products mentioned here, please visit my online store here.  

Happy stamping,

Pat

A Merry Little Christmas

Hi Stampers,

Even though it's 90 degrees outside, it's not too early to start your holiday cards!  The twenty-fifth of every month is Christmas for my stamp class.  Here's one of the cards we made this month:

Kind of makes you feel cooler just looking at that little penguin standing on the snowbank, doesn't it?
I love the crisp combination of Whisper White & Pool Party together.

Here are the details:
Stars Framelits - use the second largest size to cut the white card front, then run it through your Big Shot using the Softly Falling Embossing Folder.  Mount it to an A2 size card base made out of Pool Party cardstock.  The snowbank is from the new Thoughtful Branches stamp set, stamped in Pool Party ink then outlined with liquid Tombow glue and sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  The cool penguin dude is from the Snow Place stamp set.  He's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, and his feet & beak are colored with Peekaboo Peach on a Blender Pen.  The scarf and earmuffs are stamped in Pool Party and all 3 pieces are die-cut with the matching Snow Friends Framelits.  The greeting I used is from a retired set called Cozy Christmas.  I stamped it on a 4" square piece of Pool Party cardstock using Whisper White craft ink and embossed with White Stampin' Emboss Powder. Then simply die-cut it with the same Star Framelit and it will fit perfectly inside the cut-out on the card front.  Smaller stars punched from Dazzling Diamonds and Silver Glimmer Paper complete this card.

Don't forget to use your Bonus Days coupons when placing your August order!  Also, Thoughtful Branches is available beginning August 2.  Take a close look at this set - it would be a wonderful addition to your collection!

Have a great week & thanks for stopping by,

Pat