It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....

I can't really bring myself to think about Christmas yet. Fall is just arriving here in GA, and it's my favorite season. Christmas is, however, getting closer every day, and I have a Stamp-A-Stack in November that my hostess wants pictures of the cards we're going to be making by next Friday. She's going to send them out to further entice those uncommitted to firm up their RSVPs for her event. Wise lady!

That meant, though, that I had to get in the mood and begin humming Christmas carols so that I could create samples! Today's efforts aren't final--in fact, they're waiting for some elements that I ordered today that will not arrive until sometime late next week. Letting ideas percolate is good, and getting feedback from fellow stampers is helpful.

So, here's what I came up with today:

This one is the most complete, so I'll start here. I like this color combo of Kraft, Chocolate Chip, and Baja Breeze. It's non-traditional and clean lined. That 1" double-stitched chocolate chip ribbon is just THE BEST! There is, though, an alternative ribbon selection in my order. It's made with FELT, which will introduce a great tactile feature to this card. Do you like the 2 on top, 3 on bottom present circles? The main image is from Season of Joy, which was stamped entirely with BB and then a CC marker selectively colored some elements. The present image is from Party Hearty, punched with a 3/4" circle punch.

This card is a re-do of the splattered image I posted about yesterday. I've added the ribbon, and now I'm not sure if there should be a greeting on the front of it, or if it should go inside. The colors in play here are Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Real Red, and Chocolate Chip. The set is Party Hearty, and the swirls are from Season of Joy. Do you think this could benefit from some DP? I do, and I have some on order. I also have another ribbon choice I'm toying with here. It uses three of the four colors and is quite yummy, in my opinion. Any other suggestions would be welcomed.

This third card is the least complete, and is a CASE from Debbie Olson. As I was downloading this from my camera, I turned it so that the scalloped edge was at the bottom, and I got a whole new perspective on this card. The colors used here are Real Red, Sahara Sand, and Whisper White.

I'm waiting for a new stamp set of snowflakes called Snow Burst to arrive so that I can decorate the front panel with various sizes of flakes in Sahara Sand and Whisper White inks. I also think that wide red ribbon would look great, but I'll wait to see how it looks with the striped one I ordered. Sort of wished I'd expedited shipping so that I'd have it in 2 days after it is picked, and not 6! Can you tell that there is glitter on the center snowflake? That image is from Season of Joy, and the Scallop Square Punch got a good workout, as well as the Scalloped Edge Punch, the Paper Piercing Mat Pack, Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, and my heat tool. I'd love feedback on the orientation issue. Vertical or horizontal?

Thanks for weighing in. I really appreciate your comments!

Christmas Card Expo Project #1

My husband Bob was perplexed yesterday when he woke up from a nap and heard Christmas music playing. He knew I was having gals over to stamp, but he was unaware what the theme of the get-together was. September is NOT too early to begin thinking about Christmas, and this card was designed to give my guests a taste of some of the items in the SU! Holiday mini catalog and the Fall-Winter Collection. This card was very well received, and I have to give a nod to Jan Tinklenberg at Stamps, Paper, Scissors for the idea.

What I like most about this card is that it uses every stamp from the set, Season of Joy. I didn't photograph the interior of the card, but I used the Christmas tree and the Merry Christmas sentiment there. There's even a "hand stamped" stamp included, so folks will know you cared enough to make them a card! Here's the link to see the entire set. If you aren't able to make it to the open house this evening, that doesn't mean I'm not available to help you design your Christmas card or to take an order for this stamp set! There are many more sets available than I can highlight here, but I can get you a catalog if you'll just contact me by leaving a comment.

I'm working every day this week at Starbucks, hosting the open house this evening, traveling to Roswell for a workshop Friday evening, and hosting the Anything BUT A Card workshop here Saturday morning. Needless to say, the postings might be fewer than daily this week! Hope you have a good week like I'm planning to.