So Grateful....

As the year comes to a close and I reflect back on 2011, I am grateful for many things. Some things, not so much, but part of life is living through the painful, tough times. So I will thank God for all he has graced me with.

That was not the reason I made this card but the sentiment fits how I am feeling today.

This card features a number of new things from the upcoming Occasions Mini ~ Apothecary Art stamp set, Twitterpated designer series paper, Labels Collection Framelits. Which reminds me...January 3rd is the last day to order from the Holiday Mini, and January 4th starts the sales period for the Occasions Mini. And in just a few short weeks (January 24th) Sale-A-Bration starts! Busy month!!

Supplies Used: Early Espresso, Baja Breeze, Whisper White card stock; Early Espresso Craft Ink & Clear Embossing Powder (Flower stamp); Baja Breeze, Pear Pizazz Blushing Bride markers; Labels Framelits; Baja Breeze seam binding; Dazzling Detail; Striped Embossing Folder & Vanilla Smooch Spritz (on the Baja Breeze card stock)

Wedding Card

Our son is in town for the Holidays and is going to a wedding tomorrow. Of course he needed a hand made card for the event! The Designer Cuts cards on page 9 are perfect for those special occasions! The real beauty of the card is in the laser cut heart. I adhered some of the Everyday Enchantment designer series paper from Sale-A-Bration behind the heart and added some pearls. I tied some Calypso Coral organdy ribbon (also from Sale-A-Bration) and tied on the love charm from Trinket Hearts. The greeting is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Sneak Peek!

This card features some items from the Occasions Mini Catalog - the Adorning Accent Embossing folder and the Hearts Collection Framelits and the Sale-a-Bration catalog - Fresh Vintage stamp set and Everyday Enchantment DSP. The Flower image from the stamp set is embossed on a piece of the designer series paper, then die cut with the smallest heart Framelit. This piece is matted on another piece of designer series paper die cut with a larger heart Framelit.

Gnome Peeking!!

One of the new stamp sets in the upcoming Occasions Mini is Gnome, Sweet Gnome. He makes the perfect little Santa! The greeting is from the coordinating stamp set, Gnomenclature and the gifts are from this year's Ronald McDonald House stamp set, Turtle & Co.

Santa's beard is embellished with Dazzling Detail the polka dots on the middle gift are dotted with the Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Detail.

Snow Much Fun!

This was one of the Hostess Club projects we made this month. After embossing the images with Black embossing powder, use a paint brush or cotton tip swap to apply bleach to the desired areas. It may take a few minutes to see the effect. You will want to experiment with different colors of card stock to get the look you want. We used Crumb Cake for this card.

And here is the inside of the card...

Supplies: Snow Much Fun stamp set; Bravo Burgundy and Crumb Cake card stock; Versamark Ink and Black Stampin' Emboss Powder; Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler and Garden Green markers; Very Vanillia Velvet Stitched Ribbon; Dazzling Details (used on the shade areas of the Snow Man)

Christmas Card 2011

One of my personal goals this year was to become more familiar with Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio. I keep telling myself "baby steps, baby steps..." so I thought I would start with using one of the card templates that are available.

I didn't make any changes to the card front but did customize the inside with a photo of seven of our grandchildren, along with a customized message. It's hard to see in the photo but I did embellish the berries with some of the new Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Detail that is in the upcoming Occasions Mini Catalog.

Pulled Pastels

Every once in a while, I pull out a technique that I haven't done in awhile. I decided this would be a fun technique for my monthly "Technique Tuesday" classed. We make one or two technique cards, then a project using that technique. This is quick and easy to make!

Supplies: Whisper White & Night of Navy card stock; Versamark Ink; White Stampin' Emboss Powder; Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz; Christmas Lodge and Bells & Boughs stamp sets

• Burnish Night of Navy card stock with White Stampin' Pastel.
  
• Ink up the tree from Christmas Lodge with Versamark, stamp it over the pastel & lift up.
• Emboss the greeting from Bells & Boughs in the upper right corner.
• Lightly spritz the card with Vanilla (or Gold) Smooch Spritz.
• When dry, adhere to Whisper White card.
  

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

I saw this project in our monthly Stampin' Success magazine and loved it! So here is my version. Along with our Paper Daisies and Fleurettes II, I punched and die cut flowers out of Whisper White and Silver Glimmer Paper, layered them and embellished with Rhinestones, Pearls, Buttons. I am going to make two more, one larger and one smaller, for our Mantle but thought I would post this one now.