Christmas… in March?

Well stranger things have happened, right?  Like 80 degrees in NH in March!  Yup, that's how our weather has been lately.  I'll take it!

Tonight was the first meeting of my Christmas Card club, so yes, we made Christmas cards on the first day of Spring!  Ahead of the game this year…. that's my mantra… we'll see if I can stick to it and maybe, just maybe, apply that mantra to other parts of my life.

Here's one of the cards they made tonight…

This one has a nice vintage, oh-so-me, feel to it!  I wish I could take a lot of credit for it but I really can't.  Here's why…

The layout came from Mojomonday.blogspot.com… it was sketch #227.  I loved the sketch so went searching for fun samples.  There were plenty to choose from but the one below caught my eye.

So as you can see I didn't change too much.  The color scheme of course is different completely.  Where this stamper used Calypso Coral, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Pool Party, I used Read Red, Early Espresso, Confetti Cream and the Berry Bouquet DSP from the last Holiday mini.  I also used Very Vanilla seam binding instead of the Crumb Cake one.  I believe this stamper has another oval punch and put on the designer frame where I just stamped inside the designer frame.  But clearly, the inspiration lies here and I'm so grateful because I really love both cards!  Hope you do too.

My Baby is Turning THREE!

I know everyone says it but seriously, where does the time go?  I remember so clearly trying to have our first baby and now my youngest is three?!?!  Crazy!

Anywhooo… he requested a Monsters, Inc party and immediately I thought of our Make a Monster stamp set.  Of course I didn't have this set (sigh) but Tracy was kind enough to let me christen hers!  Thanks Tracy!  I thought I could for sure make a pretty believable Mike Wazowski (my son's favorite character from the movie).  And my thoughts were affirmed when I showed him the card and he blurted out "Mike Wazowski!".  Success!! 

Here's Mike Wazowski…

(C) Disney

And here are his invites…

 Supplies Used:
Pool Party CS and ink
Lucky Limeade CS and ink
Basic Black CS
Jet Black Stazon ink
Everyday Enchantment DSP (From Sale A Bration brochure)  I love how the blue dots look like eyes!
Star Punch – I punched out a Pool Party star, stamped the letters on the points, trimmed the points of the star and glued them to the
White Baker's twine and voila~ a party banner.
silver brads
Blender pen
Circle punch
Make a Monster stamp set

And to give credit where credit is due… I was certainly inspired by this great card I found on the Stampin' UP! demonstrator web site…

Bordering on Romance in Peach…

The more I use the Peach Parfait color the more I love it!  I love warm autumn colors and this Peach Parfait can certainly be that.  But it can also be a fun, bright spring color or a subtle yet playful color.  It's quite versatile!  And of course pairing it with Soft Suede is a no brainer!

Supplies Used:

Bordering on Romance stamp set (Occasions mini)
Everyday Enchantment DSP (Sale a Bration)
Labels Collection Framelits
Adorning Accents Edgelit and Embossing Folder
Stampin' Sponge
Peach Parfait card stock
Soft Suede card stock
Jet Black Stazon ink
Pumpkin Pie ink (to watercolor in the flowers)
Old  Olive ink
Aqua painter
Smooch Illuminate Top Coat

Bordering on Romance

Here's another example (albeit VERY subtle) of changing up a card…

This card is actually something I did NOT CASE!  It seems for a long time now I haven't had a lot of time to stamp; or when I do have the time to sit and stamp I don't have energy left to create a card totally from scratch.  So, imagine my surprise when I came up with something myself the other day!  Now granted, it's not a difficult card or over the top by any stretch.  But it uses some new stuff that I'm SUPER excited about.

Here's the card…

See that key stamp?  Isn't it cute?  It's another one from an upcoming Sale A Bration stamp set.  The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is from the same set! The one that is SO me that I referred to a few days ago.  It's called "Elementary Elegance" – you'll have to look it up once Sale A Bration starts on the 24th!
Other new things here… "Bordering on Romance" stamp set and the Adorning Accents embossing folder (See the hearts on the bottom of the Real Red CS?).  Both of these items can be found in the current Occasions mini.  And what about that shape?  The frames?!  Did those jump out at you?  Those are also in the Occasions mini and called "Labels Collection Framelits." They are SUPER easy to use with your Big Shot.  They come in a set of 6 and are $26.95.  So, if you purchased the "Labels Collection Framelits" ($26.95) and the clear mount "Bordering on Romance" stamp set ($21.95) and the Adorning Accents Embossing Folders (it's a set of 3 for $8.95)  you'd qualify for the Sale A Bration freebie "Elementary Elegance"!!!  PERFECT!!!  (Your total spent would be $57.85 plus s/h for two stamp sets, 6 framelits and 3 embossing folders!

If you want to get these items be sure to check out a class or club of mine or schedule a workshop or come to my Sale A Bration Open House (to be scheduled)!!!

I should also mention I watercolored these images with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons on Shimmery White cs and then added a touch of Smooch Illuminate Top Coat (love that subtle sparkle!).

Raining Black and White

I often tell stampers that not every card they make has to be completely different.  Here is a sample of what I mean.

This card was CASEd from the Stampin' Up! demonstrator web site and we used it for Technique Club the other night…

I loved the sharp contrast of the Riding Hood Red ink and the Jet Black Stazon. 
It uses the new Twitterpated Designer Series paper, a jumbo Neutral brad, and of course a "gem" (self adhesive jewel rhinestone).  The stamp set is "Raining Flowers" and the butterfly comes from a Sale A Bration stamp set that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (the set is SO me it's not funny) called "Elementary Elegance."  The saying comes from "You're a Gem" stamp set.

Now, as sometimes happens, a happy mistake comes along!  One of my card club members messed up the "cloud" with the sentiment.  I don't remember what happened, crooked? smeared?  I don't know.  Doesn't matter.  But, we made the best of it and she stamped another "cloud" on a scrap piece of white and attached it to the card with a dimensional.  I loved it so much I had to make one myself.  It perfectly illustrates how changing up just one aspect of a card (subtly at that) can totally change the look and feel of a card!

What do you think?

To see them side by side…

Fun, right?

I urge you to go find a card you have made already and find one element to change.  See what happens!