Cutie Patootie Cards...By the Inch!

Oh.My.Word. I'm pretty sure I've never been so excited by a Hostess set as I am by the one I'm going to share with you today. It's called Cute by the Inch, and it's a Level 2 Hostess set in the forthcoming 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog.

This set of "inchies" gives you nine images in a variety of styles. I pulled out three of the new colors that have been added to the Core Collections to use as my palette. They are: Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, and Daffodil Delight. I added Wild Wasabi, a former InColor that has also been incorporated into the reorganized group of colors as part of the Subtles Collection.

The cards are 4"x4". I think this is the best size to accentuate the 1" square designs. As part of the Color Renovation, SU! sent all demonstrators a complimentary sheet of each of the new Core Colors so that we could experiment with them before they were available through the catalog pre-order. Just another perk of being a representative of this wonderful company!


I kept the design of each fairly simple. I used direct to rubber coloring--with the complementary SU! Stampin' Write Markers that each of these colors has!--on the first one and matted it with two of the colors and a Whisper White border punched using the Scallop Trim Border Punch. See how it doesn't take much to make a statement with these?

The second card was a little more involved, requiring the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, even though I ordered the clear mount stamps. Just wanted to make sure I was getting the tile image just where I wanted it! I was amazed how much detail the designer packed into such a small space. This really came to light when I colored it with markers. WOW! And it really wasn't hard. The brush tip made it easy, although I needed some good direct light to help my aging eyes! This is so elegant it didn't even need a sentiment.

I was delighted when the idea for the third card worked out like I thought it would! I omitted the word "friends" when I colored the stamp in each of the four colors of my palette, then added it when I used all the colors for the focal image. And this Cherry Cobbler color is such a deep, rich RED. I'm already sure I'm going to be using it for my Christmas cards!

The last card just makes me smile because it evokes memories of grade school and learning to write my letters. I had some Designer Series Paper that mimics like notebook paper (retired Loop to Loop), so I capitalized on that look and kept it really simple. The ribbon is left over from when WW was an InColor and the three hearts were punched with the Heart to Heart Punch to serve as an accent. I matted the DSP with a very tight mat of Basic Black.

There are FIVE more images I haven't experimented with yet, but I trust you've caught my excitement about this set. You can only get it FREE by being a hostess with workshop sales of $300 or more in merchandise (before shipping and handling and taxes). There are SOOOOO many cool new things in the 2010-2011 Big Idea Book & Catalog that you and your friends will want to have that I urge you to get out your calendar, choose a date, and put out the word that you're going to have a stamping event! We'll make 1 of these cards of your choosing and I'll highlight as many of the new things as I can. Contact me through the comments or email me at jenn@nahrstadt.com.

The first hostess to partner with me to host an event will receive the Purse-onlly Yours Paper Purse and 4 cards I featured here on my blog! Contact me today! The new catalog will be available to order from beginning July 1st!