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

Thoughtful Branches Hydrangea

Hi Stampers,

I'm so excited to share with you today a sneak peek at the new, limited edition Thoughtful Branches Bundle!  You can purchase it beginning August 2 through August 31, while supplies last.  As a demonstrator, I was able to order it early and begin using it right away.  Did I mention how awesome it is to have early access to new products and catalogs?  One of the many perks of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.  I love my job!

As soon as I saw this stamp set, all I could think of was using it to create beautiful hydrangeas (one of my favorites)!

I love these colors together.  The background cardstock is Smoky Slate with some random Gorgeous Grunge dots stamped in Smoky Slate.  I always reach for Gorgeous Grunge whenever I feel like there's something missing from a card.  I hope that set never retires - I would be so sad!  My hydrangea is mounted on a 4" square of Shimmery White cardstock that has a light watercolor wash of Sweet Sugarplum.  The squiggly frame is one of the design elements from Tin of Cards.  The leaves are die-cut from Pear Pizzazz, my favorite go-to green.  The star of the show is in 2 layers - I stamped it  first using Sweet Sugarplum ink on Sweet Sugarplum cardstock.  Then I die-cut it and cut a second one (not stamped) from Rich Razzleberry which I mounted behind the stamped layer to give it depth.  It doesn't show in the photo (darn!) but the entire flower head is covered in a beautiful, shimmery coat of clear Wink of Stella.

Almost as lovely as the real thing...

Don't forget about Bonus Days - just under two weeks left to earn discounts!  For every $50 of Stampin' Up products you purchase by July 31, get a $5 off coupon to use in August.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I would be honored if you choose me as your Stampin' Up demonstrator.  

Happy stamping,

Pat

From Land to Sea Shaker Card

Hi Stampers!

I had a request this week to create a special "under the sea" themed card for a 40th birthday.  I love special requests - gets the creative juices flowing!  I designed this shaker card using only three colors but five different stamp sets, what fun I had making it!

Can you name the five stamp sets I used?  (Answer at the end of this post!)

The three colors are Bermuda Bay, Soft Sky and Perfect Plum!  The front of the card is created from Soft Sky cardstock, although it photographed much lighter than it actually is.  The two lighter colored sea turtles are stamped in Soft Sky and the spatters are Bermuda Bay.  The sea fan is stamped in Versamark & heat set with clear embossing powder.  Then I sponged Bermuda Bay & Perfect Plum over top of it - this technique is called "emboss resist" because the embossing powder resists picking up the ink.  The main sea turtle is stamped in Perfect Plum on Bermuda Bay cardstock.

I found some iridescent sequins at my local craft store that I really like because they pick up the other colors.  In addition to those I separated some from my reel of Bermuda Bay sequin trim and also found some matching seed beads at the craft store.

I hope you like this!  Everyone loves shaker cards - they're as much fun to make as they are to receive!

Here are the five stamp sets:  From Land to Sea, Gorgeous Grunge, Time of Year (hostess only), By the Tide (retired), and Mixed Borders.  OK, it was a trick question because Mixed Borders is on the inside of the card for the greeting!  Even though By the Tide is retired, the sea fan could be replaced by the jellyfish that's included with the From Land to Sea set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pat