These are the Christmas cards the ladies made the other night.  Everyone made 3 of each design so they are 12 cards closer to making their Christmas goal!!  Yeah!

The next Christmas card class will be Thursday, August 19th.  Hope you can join us!  Class fee is $25 for the 12 cards plus envelopes.  Or $30 for the cards, envelopes, and a package of Antique brads.  Please RSVP by August 8th.  Thank you!

Stamp Sets Used:

A Cardinal Christmas
Tree Trimmings
Big on Christmas
Dasher
Many Merry Messages

Supplies Used:

Big Shot
   Petals a Plenty embossing folder
   Top Note die

Punches
   large oval
   modern label punch
   scallop edge

Colors Featured:

Rich Razzleberry (it stayed!  yeah!)
Pear Pizazz
Crumb Cake
Marina Mist
Chocolate Chip
Real Red

(Originally posted November 11, 2008)

I love looking around me and finding new and different color combinations.  You’ve seen me participate in Kristina’s color challenges a few times.  Well, I recently joined the PCP (www.papercraftplanet.com) community (and you should too!) and am now in charge of setting up a new color challenge every Wednesday!   I started my first one today (a day early, but it’s a holiday, and holidays are fun and color challenges are fun!)  and can’t wait to see what the other PCP members come up with.  Of course, it’s a totally optional thing and there are no prizes awarded but it’s great fun to challenge yourself, perhaps use colors you’re not used to using, and just get a little stamping time in for yourself.

So, all my wonderful blog followers will benefit from the challenges I’m doing over at PCP because I’ll post my inspirations and creations here each week as well!  Hope you enjoy.  And hope to see you over at PCP!

INSPIRATION PIECE
(from Ty Pennington’s collection from a Sears catalog)

Colors in the above photo: Really Rust, Riding Hood Red, Basic Gray, and Whisper White

MY CREATION

Isn’t that Always stamp set just so pretty and versatile???

Okay, so this afternoon another card stamped, another mess to clean up (including sticky fingers from the hubba bubba he managed to get out of the little machine, a dum dum pop he found – oh ya, he was proud of himself for that!, and fingers covered in chocolate chip ink – yes, my 13 month old knows how to open up our stamp pads, and popcorn pieces all over my freshly mopped floor.  You get the idea, I’ll stop there.)

Anyway, Kristina’s Color Challenge was almost exactly the same as the last one so it was again colors I’m not used to using all together as I usually stick with 2 – 3 colors plus a neutral.  But, I like what I came up with and I hope you agree!  Let me know with a comment on here if you have a second.

I changed out the Wild Wasabi for a current Stampin’ Up! color, Old Olive.  I used the new small Felt Flurries.  They are so pretty and fun and I’ve used them a few times now, but hadn’t used the Real Red ones yet.  I mean, who’s ever seen a red snowflake?  Anyway, I decided to emboss the red snowflake with Iridescent Ice EP and Whisper White Craft ink.  This gives the snowflake more of a Rose Red color (to go along with the color challenge) and a little icy and snowy.  The wide grosgrain ribbon is Old Olive and then I added the Bashful Blue color with an Ice Circle Rhinestone brad.  The cardinal is watercolored with Rose Red ink, So Saffron (like how I snuck that color in there? LOL), and Old Olive with my aquapainter.  The cardinal and the sentiment came from A Cardinal Christmas stamp set and the snowflakes (the only way I could figure out how to work Bashful Blue in with a cardinal!) came from the lovely Snow Swirled stamp set.  Enjoy!

Again, I apologize that my pictures aren’t as good as they could be.  I still haven’t figured out the best way to take a picture of my work!  I’ll keep trying and hopefully you can envision how much better they look IRL!

Do you like this card???  I hope so because I do!  And I made a video tutorial on how to make it!  Just keep scrolling to see the two video options.  Enjoy and leave me a comment here to let me know what you think, please?

Here is a list of supplies used on this card – all Stampin’ Up! of course.

Base: Kraft (8.5" x 5.5”)
o2nd layer: Real Red (2.5" x 5.25”)
o3rd layer: Old Olive (coluzzle circle)
4th layer: Ski Slope DSP (eight 1-3/8" circles)
Stamp Set: A Cardinal Christmas 
Inks: craft: Old Olive, classic: Chocolate Chip 
Accessories: 1-3/8" circle punch, dimensionals, Coluzzle, Bone Folder, Anywhere Hole Punch w/ Hammer, Crystal Clear EP, Embossing Heat Gun, Scallop Edge Punch, stamp-a-ma-jig
Embellishments: Rhinestone Brad from Pretties Kit, Wide Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon

 OKAY!  I got it!  Here are the videos. The first is how to do create just the poinsettia.  The second video gives step by step instructions to create the rest of the card. (To see the first video in high quality click here and then click "watch in high quality" to the bottom right of the video screen; and to see the second video in high quality click here.)