Convention Swap Post: Day Three

This is my third day of posting swap cards.  I hope that by posting the products below each of the cards it will help you out, should you decide to re-create any of these great designs.  Well let's get started then with card #21:

Card Twenty-One:  This is a really simple but cute card I traded Linda Madsen for.  It uses the Perfect Blend Stamp set which is very popular right now.  I love the Burnt Brown Sugar 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon wrapped around the sentiment piece.  Because the straight edge of this ribbon is a stretchy elastic, it makes it easy to shape around the oval punched sentiment.  I like the way Linda added texture to the Burnt Brown Sugar coffee wrap with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  The base of this card is in Rose Red from the Regals Collection.  She's also used a small piece of Rose Red for the straw that's inserted through the cup lid.  Linda stamped the coffee cup onto the Very Vanilla card stock with Crumb Cake ink and then cut the cup out.  She then embossed the Very Vanilla piece with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder before mounting this piece to the card base and then popping the cup into place with dimensionals.  This is a really cool touch.  Thanks Linda for a great card.

Card Twenty-Two:  Diane Ison, a good friend from Richmond BC designed this gorgeous flower card using Betsy's Blossoms.  This card has a very clean and simple design starting with the card base in Early Espresso. It's quite effective in it's simplicity.  The giant blossom is stamped in the top center of the Whisper White card stock in Primrose Petals ink.  I like the way Diane stamped the leaf in Pistachio Pudding ink on such a jaunty angle. The sentiment is from the 6-piece Itty Bitty Banners stamp set on page 30 of the catalogue.  Diane just recently started a new blog called Teach To Stamp and she featured this card for her recent card class. 

Card Twenty-Three: This card was created by Rosemarrie Gonzalez.  This beautifully crafted card is made with a base of Cherry Cobbler card stock.  A layer of Very Vanilla that has been embossed with the new Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder follows.  Rosemarrie cut a series of banners in different widths from the Birthday Basics DSP on page 153, and layered them onto a 1/4" x 4" strip of very vanilla card stock and then glued them to the front of the card.  She then added a piece of 1" x 4" Very Vanilla card stock with dimensionals over top of the 1/4" strip.  I really liked this additional piece of card stock as it adds a lot of dimension to the card.  She stamped the "happy birthday" sentiment from the "Express Yourself" hostess stamp set on page 205 of the catalogue. This 12-piece stamp set has beautifully written sentiments for every occasion.   Three small basic rhinestone jewels are centered below the sentiment.  The last feature of this card that is really cute is the paperclip ribbon.  Rosemarie simply tied a small strip of the Gumball Green Double Stitched ribbon onto a paper clip and then added it to the top of the card.  Very nice touch.

Card Twenty-Four:  Debbie Prante came up with this uniquely designed card for the 64+1 New Catalogue Stamp Set swap. Debbie has stamped the mosaic pattern and the sentiment from the Lovely Romance stamp set on page 63 of the catalogue.  This set also coordinates with the Chalk Talk framelit dies that are oh so popular this year.  Debbie has used a combination of Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White card stock.  The Mosaic images were stamped on the Whisper White background piece in Basic Black ink before this piece was embossed with the new Beautifully Baroque textured embossing folder. Small basic rhinestone jewels were added to the center of each mosaic and to the "a" in Amazing on the sentiment piece.  Debbie finished off her card with a strip of 3/8" White Taffeta ribbon.  This card really is "amazing". 

Card Twenty-Five:  Talk about be in the right place at the right time.  I was feeling sorry for myself because not all the players in the New Catalogue Card Swap showed up at the same time as I did, leaving me with 15 cards left over to swap on the last day of Convention  and now it's lunch time.  But not all was lost, because not three minutes after we sat down to lunch some gals at the next table asked us if we had anything left to swap, and yes you guessed it, this is one of the fabulous cards I swapped for.  Isn't it a stunner?  This card was created by ChrisAnn Tomasso. Here's a picture that ChrisAnn took with all her supplies and the card.

She used Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding, Crisp Cranberry, Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar to sponge and stamp on this card.  She used two stamp sets.  The first is the By The Tide featured on page 77 of the catalogue.  If you love the sea then this 7-piece set is a definite "must have".  The second set which was used for the sentiment is Chalk Talk.  I love the way ChrisAnn used little basic rhinestones to depict bubbles coming out of the fishes mouth.  Really cool card Chris Ann! 

Card Twenty-Six:  This beautiful floral card was made by Jessica McComish of Dalton MA.  Jessica's card is made with a combination of Rose Red, Basic Black and Whisper White card stocks.  The featured stamp set for the New Card Swap is the Banner Greetings hostess stamp set, which she has cleverly embossed with black embossing powder.  Jessica also used the Daydream jumbo stamping wheel to produce the mosaic pattern for the center of the card. 

Card Twenty-Seven:   This delightful masculine card was made by Laureen Hages of West Branch, MI.  Laureen has used the stamp set Rev Up the Fun for this cute birthday card.  You can find this 6-piece two-step stamp set on page 51 of the catalogue.  Its a great testosterone stamp set for that little boy or man in your life.  Laureen used Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie and Whisper White card stocks, generally a Halloween combination of colours, but let me tell you it works effectively with this card.  She stamped the images with Stazon Black Ink.  A little piece of Pumpkin Pie 1/8"Taffeta Ribbon ties this card together.  I also like that she embossed the Pumpkin Pie layer of card stock with the Houndstooth Embossing Folder and sponged it with black ink.  It really gives the impression of tire treads in the background.  Great card Laureen, one that I'll be happy to show my customers, who are looking for masculine card ideas. 

Card Twenty-Eight:  Pamela Wu created this Plain and Simple card using Coastal Cabana and Whisper White card stock.  She has used small strips of In Colour DSP for her banners and stamped the sentiment "Thank You" in Coastal Cabana ink. This sentiment is from the Four You 4 piece sentiment stamp set on page 22 of the catalogue.  This sentiment stamp is a very good buy at $14.95 CDN.   The only other embellishment on this card is one of the silver 1/8" mini brads which are sold on page 170 of the catalogue.  You get 200 of these eye popping little brads that can instantly dress up any project. 

Card Twenty-Nine:  Donna Lane from Windsor California created this cheery little card using the Perfect Blend stamp set for the New Catalogue Stamp Set 64+1 swap. I'm in love with her bold colour combination - Baked Brown Sugar, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White and Strawberry Slush.  These colours really rock.  Thanks Donna great card! 

Card Thirty:  Donna Lane also created this card which features the sentiment from the "Lots of Thanks" stamp set on page 29 of the catalogue.  If you're looking to build your selection of sentiment stamps then this is another of the "must have" stamp sets.  It includes 9 stamps and is available in English, French and German.   This simple card also features designer series paper from the Soho Subway DSP series.  I love the way the patterns blend so perfectly.  Thanks Donna for your two beautiful cards!

Card Thirty-One:   I'm so happy that the World Map stamp on page 23 of the catalogue is available again.  It got off to a bit of a rocky start, but this 4 1/2 x 5 1/2" background stamp is going to be a really hot number.  This card created by Jessica Lewis uses a combination of the World Map stamp with the Around the World Stamp set for a fun and moving card.  Although you probably can't see it from this photo, Jessica has stamped the background stamp on photocopy paper then splattered it with old olive ink, crumpled it up and then flattened it again and drawn a border this layer with Early Espresso Ink........... it looks like card stock but it's not.  She's also added details like stamping the plane in Summer Starfruit.  Wish you could see how absolutely amazing this card is, in real life.  Thanks Jessica for this well thought out card. 

Card Thirty-Two:  Here's a very cheery "thinking of you" type card, in Strawberry Slush and Whisper White card stock.  This card front was made by Cathy Tucker of Mattoon, Illinois.   Cathy stamped the flower from  the 7-piece two-step stamp set "Too Kind" in Strawberry Slush and then added the stems and sentiment in Coastal Cabana.  This is a really pretty combination of colours.  I love the little Coastal Cabana striped banner on the right hand side of the card. This little embellishment simply pulls the card together, and what a great way to use up your scrap paper.  It was cut from the 2013-2014 In Colour Designer Series Paper and topped up with a Coastal Cabana flower punched out with the Itty Bitty Shapes punch. She also used a 3 x 4 3/4 piece of Strawberry Slush DSP for one of her layers. Great card Cathy!

Card Thirty-Three:  Beth Schreiber designed this gorgeous card using the Beautifully Baroque stamp and embossing folder.  Her card background is in the new neutral colour, Smokey Slate. For the Basic Gray layer she dry embossed it with the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder and added a strip of 5/8" Whisper White organza ribbon.The so saffron layer is die cut using the Deco Label Framelits and then embossed with the Beautifully Baroque embossing folder.   She's stamped the Beautifully Baroque impression in Jet Black Stazon Ink on Whisper White card stock and topped it with two butterflies punched from DSP with the Bitty Butterfly and Elegant Butterfly punches. The oval sentiment is from the Chalk Talk stamp set and cut out with the  large oval punch. Lots of layers and fancy stamping on this beautiful card.  Thanks Beth!  

Convention Highlights: Riverton Tour

Wow it's been a week since Convention officially opened at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.   We arrived on Wednesday July 17th and took the Shuttle Express to our beautiful hotel the Little American just after 4:30pm SLC time.  It was a great trip with little or no fuss and everyone meeting up at the airport as expected. 
 

Here's Debby and Ethel waiting for the Airport Shuttle in Vancouver.

No trip to a Stampin' Up Convention would be complete without a dinner at the Olive Garden, and that's where we chose to go for our first meal in SLC.  As luck would have it we met two of our friends Diane Ison and Joni Metras while we were walking to the restaurant for supper and although we didn't join up with them, we were able to exchange phone numbers and hotel information.  What's that saying about "six degrees of separation"? So true!

Serena Marsh, Debby Evoy and Ethel DeTemple

First night Margaritas and a wonderful Olive Garden Dinner!  Let the fun begin! 

 
We had 9:30 am bus reservations for our tour of Riverton, so we were up early for breakfast on Thursday and then off to the convention center to participate in the tour.  It's hard to believe that was just a week ago!   Here are some highlights of that day:

Here we are in line-up ready to board the bus to Riverton and start the tour.  We are so excited.  From left to right my companions are Debby Evoy,  Ethel DeTemple (my downline), Serena Marsh and of course me holding up the end of the line. 

What a thrill to drive up to the front of the Riverton site.  Of course we had to have our pictures taken at the famous Stampin' Up! rock, but those will come later.

Statement of the Heart and Model

A self-guided tour map of the Atrium, Legacy Museum, Distribution Center, Demonstrator Support, Idea Room and Kitchen. 

The upper landing in the Atrium.  The lineup for the Legacy Museum spanned the entire walk about, but it was worth it to see some of the changes since last year.

It was easy to keep up with our group we just kept looking for Serena's cute hat!

Here are the banners featured on the front of this years catalogue and for the Convention - Be The Difference!  Below is the beautiful Atrium.

Why don't my bookshelves look like this?

Simple loops but very impressive wall art done in the 2012-13 In Colours.

There is just so much to see at Riverton.  Everyone was impressed and happy with the tour.  Stampin' Up! staff are simply the best and so eager to talk about their jobs and share information, that it really does give you the impression of being an extension of a big family. 

We returned to the Salt Palace and after a brief return to our hotel had an early supper at the Macaroni Grill.  Bar none I had the best Lasagna I've ever eaten.  Yum!  

Doors opened for the general session at 5:00pm and when we returned to the Salt Palace the place was abuzz with activity and people.  So many women!  We were in a general session until 7:00 where we received our beautiful silver tote bags filled with stamp sets and goodies.  We also got our wrist bands for Prize Patrol.  Once those were on the excitement just kept increasing.  My wristband was Primrose Petals. 

Here's the Salt Palace Convention Center - it held all 5800 of us Stampin Convention Attendees................. very impressive!

Once the General Session was over we were free to go to the Opening Social in the Gathering Place where we were invited to participate in a Service Project for Sick Children's Hospital; Set a World Record for most cards mailed in a single mailing; attend Momento Mall; visit the Information and Demonstrators Booths, Resource Center and the Recognition Room. We saw a lot of awesome demonstrations with new products, and I'll be sharing that information with you over the coming weeks.  Well that's it for Day One, hope you enjoyed the tour!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convention Swap Posts Day Two:

It's Day Two of my posting and here's the next round of swap cards I'd like to share with you starting with card # 12:

Card Twelve:  Here's another beautiful card done with the "Wetlands" stamp set.  This one is by Geri Grinstead of Augusta Georgia.  The colouring of the shore birds is exquisite.  I love Geri's choice of card stock too.  The Cajun Craze and Daffodil Delight are blend beautifully for the background on this card.  And how about those banners? She used the square punch to achieve those perfect points. Geri punched out the oval with the Ovals Collection Framelit Dies.   Thanks Geri for swapping with me, I luv this card!

Card Thirteen:  On Wednesday night we met two nice gals, Jan and Diane from Colorado Springs while we were waiting for our table at the Olive Garden.  I happened to run into them again on Saturday in the lunch area at the convention center and luckily for me was able to exchange a card with Jan Lambert. Isn't this a beauty?  I wish you could see this in real life because the Silver Glimmer Paper and the Dazzling details on the flower just bring it to life.  Jan stamped the flowers from the "Flower Shop" stamp set on page 94 of the catalogue in Daffodil onto Whisper White cardstock. She then stamped a single flower in Cherry Cobbler onto Daffodil Delight cardstock and punched it out with the coordinating Pansy Punch.  The final detail about this card that really makes it, is the fan shaped embossing on the Cherry Cobbler cardstock .  Wow is it every lovely!  This effect was achieved with the Delicate Designs Embossing folders for card edges and the Big Shot, and it's just stunning!  Thanks Jan and hope to run into you and Diane again.

Card Fourteen:  This is another "no name" card so I can't give credit to anyone, but I wanted you to see what a lovely card this is.  Someone went to a lot of work fussy cutting the beautiful shells from the "By The Seashore" stamp set on Crumb Cake and Baked Brown Sugar card stocks for a great monochromatic effect. I also like the way the first layer of cardstock was embossed with the Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder, as it gives the feeling of sand under the shells.  Nicely done! 

Card Fifteen:  This absolutely stunning card was created by Cheryl Lefore from La Quinta, California.  Cheryl, who won the Stampin' Up! Artisan Award in 2011, does absolutely amazing card work.  Everything is so precisely placed and her colour coordination always impresses me. This card is no exception.  She has used Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe card stocks for the card base and first layer and then topped that with a layer of Whisper White card stock that was coloured with the Beautifully Baroque Embossing Folder and Strawberry Slush and Crisp Cantaloupe inks. The three perfectly placed pansies on this birthday card are from the 6 piece Flower Shop stamp set and are punched out with the coordinating Pansy Punch.  They look beautiful in Strawberry Slush ink with Crisp Cantaloupe centers that are popped up on dimensionals.  Cheryl added leaf clusters from the Stippled Blossoms stamp set that are stamped in Pistachio Pudding one of the new Incolours.  A Tea Lace Paper Doily was sponged with Crisp Cantaloupe ink and is tucked beneath the flowers and the Whisper White label cut with one of the Labels Collection Framelit dies.  The label has been paper pierced around the edges with the Festive Paper Piercing Pack.  The birthday sentiment from the Remembering Your Birthday stamp set on page 16 of the catalogue is stamped in Crisp Cantaloupe and the You on the small banner is stamped in Strawberry Slush.   Cheryl I`m absolutely thrilled that I was able to meet up with you again at Convention, albeit for a very short visit.  Look forward to seeing you this fall in LaQuinta and taking another of your amazing classes.  See you then!

Card Sixteen:  I was thrilled to get this gorgeous card made by Patti Hargrove in the New Card Swap.  Patti used the Fabulous is What You Are from the Million and One stamp set for the sentiment.  I love how she has added basic rhinestones to the flourishes on the word Fabulous and then mounted the sentiment piece to Island Indigo card stock.  It gives the card a very sophisticated and rich look.  She`s also created an awesome background by repeatedly stamping the large flower image from Betsy`s Blossoms on page 87, in Island Indigo Ink onto Whisper White card stock.  This is a very effective background.  Thanks Patti, I luv your card!

Card Seventeen:  Julie Coyle has created a really fun friendship card using the Cycle Celebration 6 piece stamp set on page 10 of the catalogue to stamp the wonderful antique bicycle and sentiment.  Her base card is Summer Starfruit to which she has added a layer of Raspberry Ripple card stock.  This is topped with a strip of Birthday Basics DSP and Whisper White card stock that has been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing folder. Julie used a strip of Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon to separate the DSP and Whisper White sections of the card.  Another really cool feature of this card is the little banners or flags stamped with the words "Wheely" and "Sweet Friend".  Julie used markers in Raspberry Ripple and Bermuda Bay to stamp these images.  Finally, she's added a small piece of 1/8" Bermuda Bay Taffeta Ribbon to the little flag pole for extra pizzazz!   Amazing card Julie, I luv it and so do my friends! Thanks for sharing.

Card Eighteen:   I love getting post cards in the mail from exotic places.  This post card was no exception. It has a whole lot of stamping on it and is simply stunning.  The card was created by Susan Timchuck of Wilkes-Barre, PA.  Susan's card base is in Baked Brown Sugar cardstock.  What a yummy color and I love that name!  She stamped the image from the Post Card background stamp onto Very Vanilla Cardstock and then stamped the bicycle image from the Postage Due stamp set over that image.  Susan used Crisp Cantaloupe, Pistachio Pudding and Starfruit markers on this stamp.  She also stamped a portion of the En Francais background stamp onto the post card in Baked Brown Sugar Ink.  Wow that looks fantastic.  Other elements she added were a butterfly punched out with the Elegant Butterfly Punch, the date stamped with the Remember rotary stamp that coordinates with the This and That date products,  and a small paper clip from the Hung Up Cute Clips set.  Thanks so much Susan for such an exciting card!  Well done.

Card Nineteen:  Trisha Sheehan of Mukwonago, WI created this fun birthday card using the Birthday Cake single stamp on page 16 of the catalogue.  This is a great stamp for $10.95.  Susan made a tag from Whisper White card stock and stamped the cake image in Midnight Muse on this piece.  She has a strip of Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine tied in a bow at the top of the tag.  The card base is in Wild Wasabi card stock and the face of the card was embossed with the Chevron Embossing Textures folder.  The sentiment "Carbs, Schmarbs! {Eat the Cake} is from the Yippee Skippee stamp set on page 37.  This was another FREE stamp set we received at convention so it was nice to see a sample of the sentiments on this card.  Thanks Trisha great birthday card!

Card Twenty:  This very pretty Basic Gray, Basic Black and Daffodil Delight card created by  Deb Andrews is such an awesome friend card. Deb has used the Butterfly Collection Wheel in Basic Gray ink on her Basic Gray layer.  A 2 x 3" piece of Whisper White card stock was stamped with the s En Francais background stamp in Basic Gray.  This is topped by a butterfly stamped in Basic Gray on Daffodil Delight with the Papilion Potpourri on page 90, and cut out with the Elegant Butterfly Punch.  The Yellow border strips are made with the Scallop Trim Border punch.   Great card.

I hope you'll leave a comment regarding this cards.  Thanks for visiting!

Convention Swap Card Share: Day One

As promised, today I'll begin featuring a selection of cards I received for participating in the 64+1 New Catalog Stamp Set Card Swap@ Convention,  as well as some cards I swapped along the way to various events.  

I hope you'll enjoy these selections as much as I am and will leave a comment. I've been smiling ever since I received this exciting selection of cards.   And, if you recognize your card please leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you.  

I'll provide links to the card creator and products used as much as possible, but unfortunately some of the cards did not have any information accompanying them. Again, if one of these "unnamed" cards is yours, I'd loe to hear from you and amend my post with your name and link.  Okay so here we go!

Card One:

Our first card was created by Beth Martin using the Wildflower Meadow Background Stamp (pg 83) and Wildflower Meadow Embossing Folder (pg 191).  The background stamp measures  5 5/8" x 4 1/8". In case you didn't know, the Wildflower Meadow Embossing Folder also coordinates with the Gingham Garden Suite. You can buy this fantastic background stamp and coordinating folder as a bundle and save 15% (wood mount bundle #132735 and clear mount bundle #132985).   Beth has done a fantastic job of stamping this card.  The card base is Baked Brown Sugar and the 1st layer is Strawberry Slush card stock.  She's stamped her images on Very Vanilla in Strawberry Slush Ink, and the polka dots are from inking up her Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  The little "thankful for you" sentiment is from the hostess set Banner Greetings on page 202.  Ask me how you could earn this last stamp set for free.  Great card Beth!

Card Two:   Susan Gardner created this really enchanting welcome baby card using the Zoo Babies 10 piece stamp set on page 54 of the catalogue. Every character in this marvellous set is adorable.  Susan incorporated three characters from the stamp set with So Ho Subway Designer Series Paper in a real thrifty but cute way.  I also like how she added the smallest of the Basic Pearl Jewels for eyes on the elephant and rhino.  Super cute!  Any new mom would be thrilled to get this card.  Thanks Susan for sharing.

Card Three:  Kris Kok has created a super cute welcome baby card using the single stamp "Worth The Wait".   This wood mount only stamp offers terrific value at just $11.95 CDN.  It coordinates with the 1 3/4" circle punch and the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch to give a very sweet layered look.  Kris has paper pieced the little turtles shell by stamping the image onto some Subtles DSP and then fussy cutting it out.  The shell is mounted onto the stamped image with dimensionals.  Kris has also added a cute touch by incorporating a small piece of the Crushed Curry Chevron Ribbon at the top of the card.  The Whisper White Layer of the card is embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and the Soft Sky layer was cut out with the Apothecary Accents Framelit and then embossed with the Stripes Embossing Folder.  Great card Kris............. loved it!

Card Four was created by Lynn Zautner (www.lynnspirations.com - Pinterest site).  Laura has used my now favourite colour combination Crisp Cantaloupe, Soft Skye and Crumb Cake for this lovely friendship card. Lynn has also used a strip of the Natural Composition Specialty DSP, which features shiny raised patterns that appear brown and glossy, for her banner.  The increasingly popular stamp set "Perfect Blend" was used for the coffee cup image and sentiment.  This three piece, two-step stamp set is economically priced at $13.95.The next detail I found really appealing was the way Lynn punched out the top corner of the Very Vanilla layer with the Scallop Trim Border punch and then added a circle of the 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon in Crisp Cantaloupe.  Wow nice touch Lynn!

Card Five:  Barbara Dykhouse created a beautiful card using the 3-piece Background Builders stamps on pg 119 of the catalogue along with one of the doilies from the Delicate Doilies 4-piece stamp set on pg 122.  Great combination!  I also love how Barbara used the new InColours - Crisp Cantaloupe, Baked Brown Sugar and Coastal Cabana for her card stock ink  and ribbon choices.  Love it.  Another cool thing that works for this card is the first layer which is embossed with the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder.  This element just seems to pull the whole card together. Thanks Barbara for this very appealing any occasion card.

Card Six:  Sometimes the simpliest of cards pack the biggest punch.  I felt that way when I received Michele Robins-Keifer's perfect little wedding card.  Just the sweetest.  Michele stamped the flowers and sentiment using the "A Round Array" stamp set.  What a great value this set is, with a mixture of 8 sentiment and flower shapes for just $22.95 in wood mount and $17.95 in clear mount.  This stamp set is available in Spanish, French and English and coordinates with the 7/8" Scallop Circle Punch on page 182.  The card base is Wisteria Wonder followed by a layer of Whisper White that's been embossed with the Perfect Polka Dot Embossing Folder.   The sweet little banner sentiment is from the Banner Greetings Hostess Stamp Set, which you can earn for FREE with hostess dollars - ask me how.

Card Seven:  I was super excited to get this gorgeous swap card before the afternoon session on the final day of Convention.  It was created by Claire Ventre from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was sitting right behind us throughout the closing session.  Not only is this the first Christmas Card I've received this year, but it features this year's Ronald McDonald House stamp set "Tag It", which we received for FREE during Convention.  This beautiful stamp set coordinates with the Chalk Talk Framelit Dies (p. 187)and is available in English, Spanish, French and German.  Did you know that when you purchase the Tag It stamp set that Stampin' Up! donates $3.00 to the Ronald McDonald House Charities?  Such a great deal for everyone.  The Whisper White layer of this card is embossed with the Northern Flurry Textured Embossing Folder.  The last great feature I want to point out on this card is the super cute little bow. Did you notice it?   It's actually modeled after the bows on page 152 of the new catalogue, but this one is made with 1/4 inch Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon (retired).  Love, love, love it!  I can show you how these bows are made, just come to one of my classes............. so much fun!

Card Eight:  Snowflakes anyone?  My second Christmas card came in a hallway swap with Jennifer-Buchanan-Springer from Bremerton, Washington.  Jennifer is a very special gal who I've so enjoyed meeting on a couple of occasions. Her beautiful card features the Snowflake Soiree and More Merry Messages stamp sets which are both still available as carryover stamp sets from last years Holiday Mini. To find these sets you need to go to Stamps in the on-line catalogue and when you open that selection there will be another option called "online only stamps", click on this link to see all the carryover on-line only stamps.   The snowflakes have been stamped in Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi for a beautiful colour combination.  Awesome card Jennifer!

Card Nine:  Connie Bjork from Pennock, MN designed this very sweet little " Thanks so much" card.  Connie has featured the Simply Sketched Hostess Stamp set featured on page 205 for the bird and sentiments on this card.  What a beautiful job of water colouring the bird on a small piece of water colour paper.  She's used the InColours designer series paper for the Bermuda Bay strip of DSP across the bottom of the card.  Before layering and adhering this piece she added a small strip of the3/8" Ruffled Rib bon in the Baked Brown Sugar.  Wow!  What an awesome combination.  Connie also added one of the small Very Vintage Designer Buttons tied off with some Linen Thread.  

Card Ten:  Another simple card featuring the Modern Mosaic Embossing Folder and the coordinating stamp set Mosaic Madness.  This stamp set coordinates with the Mosaic Punch on pg. 180, and in fact, you can save 15% in discount by bundling the stamp set and punch.  How's that for a great deal?  Check out the details on page 123 of the catalogue. Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon and some small Basic Rhinestones add some sophistication to this beautiful card which is stamped in Night of Navy.  Unfortunately I can't give the owner credit as there was no identifying information in the swap envelope.  Too bad this card is awesome! 

Card Eleven:  My final card today is simply awesome.  It was created by Julie Link of Inver Grove Heights, MN.  Julie's card features the stamp set "Wetlands", which is a 6-piece stamp set featuring three sentiments that look awfully similar to the retired Sincere Salutations greetings, and three image stamps.  Julie has stamped the reeds and small shore birds on her card.  So beautifully made.  This card features my favourite colour combination again - Soft Sky, Crisp Cantaloupe and Crumb Cake.  There's also some Early Espresso going on which really compliments everything. The Square Lattice Textured Embossing folder was used on the Soft Sky layer and it really pulls the card together.  Julie simply awesome, you know how to capture nature!