Simple Peace - Stampin' Up! Alphabet a la Mode Dies

   I'm taking all the inspiration I can find to make the last few Christmas cards that I need.  I've combined 2 challenges to make the design process even faster.  The layout is from the Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge and the theme comes from Global Design Project where they want us to use "Letters".

  

  I thought the larger circle in the sketch would be a great place to highlight the "letters" from the theme.  A red, green and gold color scheme keep everything classic.

  I started with a Shaded Spruce base then added a layer of Joy of Christmas DSP in a red pattern.  The Stylish Shapes circle die was used to cut the green plaid pattern also from the Joy of Christmas DSP.

  The Alphabet a la Mode dies, Distressed Gold Specialty paper and foam sheets were used to spell out 'peace'.   And to balance out the heavier element on the bottom I cut a few gold snowflakes with the Wishes All Around dies and added some green sequins to the center for the upper part of the card.

 All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: none

Paper: Shaded Spruce, Joy of Christmas DSP, Distressed Gold Specialty paper

Accessories: Alphabet a la Mode dies, Stylish Shapes dies, foam sheets, Wishes All Around dies, sequins

Sweet Honey Bee - Stampin' Up! Bee My Valentine

   Today's card is a little sneak peek of an upcoming bundle that will be released on January 4 in the Stampin' Up! January - April 2024 mini catalog.  The Bee My Valentine bundle and the whole Bee Mine Suite is adorable and I can't wait to make stacks of Valentine's Day cards with it.  Demonstrators got the bundle extra early for a demo training event and this card is one that we made in the training.

  The Bee Mine DSP has a lot of really cute small patterns that are perfect for cards.  I used 2 of them on this card and they are great back drops to the fun black and white bee. The Bee Builder punch makes the bee body shape which could also be a word bubble, the wings (which can be a heart) and then the antennae (which is a smaller heart).

  On the Daffodil Delight background panel I stamped the honeycomb stamp in the same color ink and then stamped the sentiment straight across in Memento Black.  

  I added a Sweet Sorbet bordered ribbon knot as the embellishment as the final touch.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE. Items marked with a * will be available starting January 4, 2024.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Bee My Valentine*

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Memento Black

Paper: Daffodil Delight, Basic White, Bee Mine DSP*

Accessories: Bee Builder punch*, dimensionals, Sweet Sorbet bordered ribbon*

Oh What Fun Christmas - Stampin' Up! Merry & Bright

   I've been busy doing some Christmas decorating so I'm just getting around to posting today's card.  It's definitely not too late to make some cards to mail out for Christmas!  I know I still have to make some so I have enough for everyone on my list.  This design is a fun one that has a great layout to show off a few different Designer Series Paper patterns as well as the Merry & Bright bundle.

  

  I've loved using the fun Merry Bold & Bright DSP this season.  The colorful patterns are perfect for some playful Christmas cards but many are also not really "Christmas" so could be used for other occasions as well.  I definitely chose to highlight some of the Christmas designs on this card though.  I don't think you can beat a red and green design this time of year!

  

  This one starts with a Granny Apple Green base then then the Merry Bold & Bright DSP panels are layered with a piece of Shaded Spruce Textured Shimmer paper for some pop.  

 

  A Basic White Tailor Made Tag has the sentiment stamped in Memento black on it as well as the wire stamped in Shaded Spruce.  The tag has a Real Red ribbon tied through the end and is popped on dimensionals.

 

  The light bulbs are stamped in Lemon Lime Twist and Poppy Parade, the bases are die cut from Shaded Spruce and the fab More Dazzle Specialty paper makes for perfect filament die cuts.  Quick tip for these smaller more intricate dies is to use the Adhesive Sheets to turn the die cuts into stickers so you don't have to mess with glue.  

  The last piece to this card are a few green Adhesive-backed glitter sequins added to the card front.

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Merry & Bright

Ink: Memento Black, Lemon Lime Twist, Poppy Parade, Shaded Spruce

Paper: Granny Apple Green, Merry Bold & Bright DSP, Basic White, Shaded Spruce Textured Shimmer paper, Shaded Spruce, More Dazzle Specialty paper

Accessories: Merry & Bright dies, Tailor Made Tags dies, dimensionals, Real Red ribbon, Adhesive-backed glitter sequins

Bubble Bath Bulbs - Stampin' Up! Merry & Bright

   I'm super excited to be joining the Color Hues Challenge as a guest designer for their new challenge!  It will run for a whole month so there's no excuse to not play along!  And the colors are so awesome you won't want to miss out!  I can wait to see what you create!

  And now for the colors:

  Now if you are still working on your Christmas cards like I am I don't think you can go wrong with a Pink & Silver design for this time of year!  I went with a fun strand of pink Christmas lights but the possibilities are endless!

  I was inspired by one of my stampers who is doing a "stash busters" craft hop in 2024 to pull a few items from my stash to use to create this card.  The silver polka dot vellum, silver glimmer paper and Stitched Rectangle dies used to make the frame are all retired products but I've been holding onto to all of it so I might as well use it right??

  The Merry & Bright stamp set and dies have been really fun to use this holiday season and I think the fat bulbs are just too cute in Bubble Bath ink with silver glimmer paper heart shaped filaments in this design.  

  The sentiment from the Brightest Glow stamp set is stamped in Versamark and embossed in silver right on one of the bulbs.  Silver foil paper was used for the wire and the bulb bases.  

  I used my Bubble Bath light Stampin' Blends marker to color a bit of white baker's twine for the sweet bow and then a few iridescent adhesive-backed discs add just a bit more shine to the design.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Merry & Bright, Brightest Glow

Ink: Bubble Bath, Versamark

Blends: Bubble Bath light

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Silver foil, Silver Glimmer (retired), Silver printed vellum (retired)

Accessories: Merry & Bright dies, dimensionals, Bakers twine, dimensionals, silver embossing powder, iridescent adhesive-backed discs, Stitched Rectangle dies (retired)

Elegant Ornaments - Stampin' Up! All About Autumn DSP

  I designed today's card to show off the beautiful foil patterns on the All About Autumn DSP.  I was hoping that this paper would be available for a lot longer than it was but it's definiely too pretty not to use.  But for those of you lucky enough to have been able to order it you can CASE this one straight up and if you don't have this exact same paper it's a simple enough design that you can swap in whatever your favorite holiday DSP is.  I made these three cards with the Merry Bold & Bright DSP a few weeks ago.  The choice of paper changes the whole vibe!

  My stampers made this elegant design at my last class and some were planning to go home and make a few more Christmas cards with this design because it's so easy!

  We started with a Pretty Peacock base, then another piece of Pretty Peacock card stock is embossed with the Distressed Tile embossing folder for a gorgeous textured background.

  The 3 ornaments are die cut with 3 of the Stylish Shapes circle dies but any circle dies or punches would work too.  

  The "hangers" are the bulb base dies from the Merry & Bright die set.  We used the Oxidized Copper specialty paper to tie in with the copper patterns on the DSP.

  The 'merry' from the More Wishes stamp set is stamped in Pretty Peacock ink and then fussy cut and popped up on dimensionals.

 And finally the copper ribbon knots adhered with glue dots are the final details.  

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: More Wishes

Ink: Pretty Peacock

Paper: Pretty Peacock, Very Vanilla, All About Autumn DSP, Oxidized Copper specialty paper

Accessories: Distressed Tile embossing folder, Stylish Shapes dies, Merry & Bright dies, copper ribbon, dimensionals

Gold Star Christmas - Stampin' Up! Stars at Night

     I held my last class of the year yesterday and of course did Christmas cards so all of my stampers could get a bit more inspiration for products in the Sept.-Dec. mini catalog which will be ending in just about a month.  The first project we did used the Stars at Night bundle.

 A little bit of heat embossing, dry embossing and great gold shimmer make this classic blue and gold Christmas card.

  The base is Night of Navy, then a piece of Balmy Blue embossed with the Stars at Night hybrid embossing folder and stamped with little Balmy Blue stars.  Next are 2 pieces of the gorgeous Shining Brightly Specialty paper; one in a Very Vanilla/gold pattern and the other in a Night of Navy/gold pattern.

  The large star is stamped in Versamark onto Very Vanilla cardstock and then heat embossed in gold.  Once it was cut out a length of Night of Navy glittered ribbon is adhered to the back (I used glue dots) and then popped on the card front with dimensionals.

  The sentiment is stamped on a narrow piece of Very Vanilla and then popped with mini dimensionals across the front.

  You can't go wrong with stars or blue and gold for classic Christmas cards!

  All of the products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Stars at Night

Ink: Versamark, Night of Navy, Balmy Blue

Paper: Night of Navy, Balmy Blue, Very Vanilla, Shining Brightly Specialty DSP

Accessories: Stars at Night Hybrid embossing folder/dies, Night of Navy glittered ribbon, dimensionals

Gold & Red Wreath - Stampin' Up! Brightest Glow

   I'm back today with another wreath card.  This time in gold and red to play along with the Color Hues challenge.

  I just love layering the Wishes All Around sprig wreath.  Using 2 layers gives it a little more weight and using 2 different papers gives it more interest as well.  For this one I used Cherry Cobbler and Distressed gold paper.  I used a bit of Distressed Gold paper on the edges of the Basic White panel as well.

  The background is a piece of the Joy of Christmas DSP to carrying in some more red to the card.  Finally I embossed the joy from Brightest Glow stamps set on Real Red cardstock and cut it with a Stylish Shapes die.

  Gold cord and a few gold sequins finish the details.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Brightest Glow

Ink: Versamark

Paper: Joy of Christmas DSP, Basic White, Cherry Cobbler, Real Red, Distressed Gold specialty paper

Accessories: Wishes All Around dies, dimensionals, gold embossing powder, gold cord, gold sequins

Merry Wreath - Stampin' Up! Wishes All Around

   Hopefully you're not tired of seeing wreath cards!  The Wishes All Around dies are really great to work with and I need to keep cranking out cards so I'll be using the dies until I've reached my Christmas card goal.   I used the Freshly Made Sketches challenge for the layout but I think I kind of ran off the rails a bit with keeping it 'fresh'.

  I've finished all of my card designs for my last class of the year so now I don't have to hoard my DSP anymore so I used a full card front piece of the Shining Brightly DSP for the background.  Next I added a strip of Joy of Christmas DSP in a red plaid.  To continue to follow the sketch I added a panel of Very Vanilla down the center and popped it on dimensionals.

  I stamped the tree wreath in Shaded Spruce and cut it out and popped it up.  I stamped the sentiment in Cherry Cobbler in the center of the wreath.  And then another strip of plaid DSP to follow the sketch.  After looking at the card a bit the bottom panel under the plaid paper was just too sparse so I added a piece of Distressed Gold specialty paper to fill it in.

  Finally some gold sequins in the corners and a Shaded Spruce and gold fork bow finish off the details.

  All of the current products used to make this can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Wishes All Around

Ink: Shaded Spruce, Cherry Cobbler

Paper: Shining Brightly Specialty paper, Very Vanilla, Joy of Christmas DSP, Distressed Gold Specialty paper

Accessories: Wishes All Around dies, dimensionals, gold sequins,  Shaded Spruce/gold ribbon (retired)