{be merry}

We did Beautiful Christmas cards a few weeks back in my classes. Here is one of them. I don't take much credit for this one. I searched through magazines and online and found a few of the most beautiful ones, and we did those for class. The original was done by AmyR and can be seen here http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/387594. I changed the size, a few colors, the sentiment stamp set, and did sponging and distressing. But this is gorgeous in either photo!! Just absolutely in love with the Peaceful Wishes set (http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/stampinup/index.aspx?pagename=moreinfo&fsid=6cfa8c77-03f7-4be8-9b6c-16f95a93bca2&storeid=1039381&uniqueid=9960440&circularid=10393), one that can be used all year round. The sentiment is from Warm Words, another set of tremendous value, one I use over and over and over.

{Good Things}

One last little sample using the Good Things set. I really like these stamps, particularly the tiny flowers. they make a great background. The words stamp in this set is also super versatile - you can use them in a line, as a background, or ink up one word at a time to use.

One really cool thing about how Stampin Up is marketed is we/they have ink to match all of their 56 exclusive colors. That means the images you stamp will match the cardstock, giving a truly professional finish. The ink pads' unique design allows you to easily watercolor with the same ink, again allowing for a perfect match. I've used the same ink color here as the card for the backgrounds, giving a quick tone on tone effect without the drying time of versamark. It also comes out a bit darker than versamark. To order any Stampin Up products, please email me at stamphappynz@hotmail.com.

{Wonderful Caring Sweet}

This is an overlooked stamp set in the catalog. It's found right at the front in the Simply Sent kits. Saturday is World Card Making Day, and these kits are 20% off until Oct 8th. These come in a very nice box, all ready for gift giving to that crafting friend or the difficult-to-buy for teenage girl. (I know I'd appreciate my girls getting a hands-on, quality time gift like this). I made up this Hidden Panel card using the supplies out of this kit. This is a very fast and easy project.

{Wonderful}

This is just sweet little sample I made up to show the Simply Sent kit Good Things in another color. Sometimes when we see something always done the same way, it's hard to visualize it done another. This took me about 20 minutes to do, including cutting and clean up. Very easy, yet effective. Which is sometimes the best kind of project.

{Both Way Blossoms Dream}

My friend and team member, Anne, showed me this card. I believe my other good friend, Kayoko, showed it to her. One wonderful thing about this business is the sharing and "making it your own" that goes on! What a wonderful way for us women to bond together. I do love my girlfriends. I love the support they give me and the oohs and ahhs Tui always (nearly always) graces me with. We women work hard; isn't it wonderful to have each other? I mean, how many of us have husbands who gasp when they see our cards?

Okay, so enough with the emotional. This was my first version of this card. I liked it, but decided on a different color scheme, which I will post next. I love this hydrangea stamp. Fun, but still gorgeous because hydrangeas are just that.

Used the French Script background on this one for a more sophisticated feel and did lots of sponging to add aging and visual depth. Also overstamped everything with the Linen background stamp. I'd say if you're going to get one background stamp, get Linen. Great for kissing technique, adding soft texture, and subtle aging, like shown here. The word is from Everyday Flexible Phrases, another essential set. It's a large outlay for the set, but one you'll use over and over and over. Price per image, it's actually quite reasonable.

{Happy Together}

This is my second version of Jacob's Ladder/Hidden Panel card. I like both, but this one strucky my fancy the most this week, so we did this one in my weekly class. The color combination is slightly unusual, but I like it. Stampin Up has their colors organized into four color families, and any combinations within those families are guaranteed to look great (makes it so easy!), but you get some really striking color combos when you mix colors from different families, as in this example. It's my own opinion, but "I" think that it's the colors that make the difference between a good project and a WOW project.

The flowers are from the fun set called Both Way Blossoms. We watercolored them in using our ink pads and a watercolor brush, very easy and fast. The Basic Black ink used here is waterproof when used on Whisper White card, so we didn't even have to emboss. Just stamp, swish on some quick ink from the lid of our ink pads, and done! Oh, well, we did add some Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Love the linen thread, my newest little fetish. Natural, fine, but a little distressed looking. cool.

{Like it a Latte Explosion Box}

What a fun class we had! I absolutely loved making this project because I LOVE chocolate and because I LOVE this stamp set! I admit there were about six trials that went right into the trash, but the end result was worth it. Stampin Up certainly has beautiful colors; the combinations are nearly foolproof. Chocolate Chip works will with anything! We had fun trying some new technqiues on this one - ribbon dying and liquid applique with microbeads. Love those microbeads! That red gingham ribbon is a real winner.

Like it a Latte is a gorgeous stamp set (even for those of us who don't drink coffee). It's only available until the end of November. It's a huge set of eleven stamps for just 58.95. You can view the set at http://catalogs.shoplocal.com/stampinup/index.aspx?pagename=moreinfo&circularid=11083&pagenumber=6&uniqueid=10691043&storeid=1039381.