Christmas Cards

 One last reminder about the Designer Paper sale.  Tomorrow is the last day!!

I have several Christmas cards to share with you today.  Yes .... Christmas - it won't be long before we need to get these in the mail!!

I think this is my favorite!  So simple but I love, love, love polka dots!  This paper is not Stampin' Up.  It is some from a local stamp store that closed down a few years ago that I sure do miss!  The stamp is a Hostess set (A Merry Hello) and can be found on page 81 of the Holiday Mini.  It is only $10 with a $150 order.  The Real Red frame is die cut and embossed with Heritage Frames (retired).

This is a fun fold card.  The cardstock is 11" x 4 1/4"; scored at 4 1/4" and 7".  The DSP is my favorite Plaid Tidings.  I stamped the cute trees using Tree Angle ($17, pg  22).

Another card using the Plaid Tidings DSP.  I die cut JOY with Penny Black dies that I have had a couple of years and don't think I ever used them!  I cut the dies with gold foil paper.

I just got the Old World Paper 3D embossing folder and I love it!  I used it on this piece of Whisper White for texture.  The stockings are from the hostess set A Merry Hello and colored with SU Blends.  I die cut Merry Christmas from retired SU thinlits

Designer Paper Sale + Christmas Cards

 Well, I did receive my package on Saturday!!  Hooray!!

Here are a few Christmas cards I have made this week.

This card is a fancy fold and a gift card holder.  It seems like that's what is the #1 thing people like to receive these days (gift cards) so you might want to make a few for the upcoming holidays.

This is the gift card holder closed.  I used a piece of the designer paper from the Plaid Tidings 6x6 stack.

Another simple fun fold card using Shaded Spruce, Real Red and retired designer paper.

I made this card using some of the supplies that came with the package from Michael Diehl that I was waiting for.  I didn't think I'd like the Toile Tidings designer paper but I really do like it on this card.  It's really old fashioned and reminds me of my grandmother's wallpaper!  The bell die is in the Holiday Catalog on page 33 - Sounds of the Season.

Don't forger about the Designer Paper Sale!  

Both of the designer papers that I used in the cards above (Toile Tidings and Plaid Tidings) are ON SALE until October 31!  

Celebrate - the Season and Fall!

Well,  almost a week later since my last post and I have no excuse!!  Just laziness.  I am addicted to a card game on-line (Hand and Foot) and it seems like I play it all the time!  I have even gotten my sister, Marianne, addicted to it too!  I did play cards with real people on Monday and Tuesday though.  Hand and Foot Canasta on Monday and bridge on Tuesday.  During this pandemic, I have played Hand and Foot with the same 3 gals every week.  We started in May and we are still going strong and look forward to it every week.  We take turns going to each others homes.  We all bring our own lunch and the hostess prepares a dessert for us.  It's been fun trying out new dessert recipes.  (Maybe that is why I have put on a few extra pounds!)

I have made a few cards lately and have some new stamp sets that I haven't opened yet.  Here are a couple I made this week.

I used the blender brushes to blend Highland Heather and Pool Party in the middle of the card and stamped the trees from Winter Woods in Memento Black ink.

A lot of stamp sets went into making this card.  I stamped the daisies (Daisy Lane) with Pretty Peacock on Mint Macaron cardstock and punched them out with the Daisy Punch.  The center is stamped with Bumblebee ink.  The leaves in the background are done a different way.  I used Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Bumblebee cardstock and the dies from Gather Together and Rooted in Nature.  The Cajun leaf was stamped with Cajun ink and die cut.  For the Bumblebee and Old Olive leaves, I pressed the dies into the ink and onto the cardstock.  Then I die cut them.  The Crumb Cake leaves are from Bouquet Bunch framelits (retired).  The sentiment is from Celebrate Sunflowers.  I adhered all the flowers, leaves, etc onto a circle from Stitched Shapes.  I adhered a 1 1/2" piece of Plaid Tidings across the bottom of the card.  I added a bit of bling using the 2019-2021 Faceted Dots.

Love Fall!

Sonny and I have been making little day trips for the past couple of weeks.  Last Saturday we drove to Ronda, NC to Raffaldini Vineyards.  Sonny is not a wine drinker so this was a big deal that he went without complaining!  Although, he did sneek a beer in while we were there!  We took our own chairs and sat outside enjoying the beautiful views of the vineyards.  It was a beautiful day and we were able to enjoy a nice lunch from a really good food truck.  Looks like these grapes are ready to be harvested!

Yesterday we drove up to Hendersonville hoping to get some apples.  Didn't see any for sale so I think we are a little early for the apples and the fall foliage - another couple of weeks.  We ended up having to make a little detour along the way.  We stopped at QT for a bathroom break and Sonny happened to look at the tires.  We had a screw in one of the tires so we found a Discount Tire store and got it fixed before heading west!  We had a great meal in Hendersonville at a German restaurant.  The restaurant is a favorite of Sonny's.

We found this brewery with chairs and table outside so we stopped off and enjoyed a beverage.  The last time we were in HendersonvilleI love ( a year or so ago), this was called Sanctuary Brewery!

Hendersonville is another town that has these painted bears!  They are going to be auctioned off later in the month.

I love fall!  So, I have been having fun making a few fall cards using the Gather Together stamps and dies.

I'm debating if I should color those pumpkins.  I sponged color lightly over the Very Vanilla cardstock and then used the "splatter" stamp in Soft Suede.  I also sponged Soft Suede on the edges of the piece.

I love using the Plaid Tidings 6"x6" designer paper.  I die cut the leaves in Copper Foil paper, Cajun Craze, Cinnamon Cider and Rich Razzleberry.

Again, a good use of the Plaid Tidings designer paper!  Leaves are die cut from Mossy Meadow, Cinnamon Cider and Cajun Craze.  I used Wink of Stella on them.

Swap Cards

 I have been working on some swaps for Stampin' Up's Onstage Convention which is usually held each November in Salt Lake City.  Unfortunately, with COVID that is not going to happen.  There will be a virtual event and one of the demonstrators is having a swap that I will be participating in.  I have been working on those swaps and they are now ready to put in the mail.  I signed up for Masculine, Artistic, Birthday, Holiday Catalog, and Fun Fold swaps!  Several of the swaps I was able to use the cards I had made for the NC Demo Quarterly that was supposed to happen last May but, again, COVID made that event impossible. 

Below are a couple of the swap cards I made.

I don't usually make many Halloween cards or buy Halloween stamp sets but I loved this designer paper from the mini catalog.  You can find Plaid Tidings 6"x6" designer paper on page 57.  The patterns can be used for holidays and well as all year long.  I love plaids!  I also bought the Festive Post stamp set (page 63, mini catalog) because I can use it for several holidays - Christmas, Halloween, and Valentines  The stamp set coordinates with the Rectangular Postage Punch.  When I can use a punch, I love it!  I dyed the white ribbon black using my Stampin' Blends!

This is my Holiday Catty swap. 

This next card is one I was able to use from the NC Demo Quarterly cards.  I stamped the tree root with Soft Suede that I stamped off first so it wouldn't be so dark (from Rooted in Nature) on Very Vanilla cardstock.  I stamped the tree on top of it with Early Espresso ink and the sentiment in Soft as Suede (full strength).  Next I ran the piece through the Big Shot embossing it with the Subtle 3D embossing folder and then matted it onto a piece of Early Espresso.  I ran another piece of Very Vanilla (5 1/4" x 4") through the Big Shot embossing it with Tin Tile 3D embossing folder and sponged Soft Suede ink lightly over top of the embossed areas.

Masculine Swap Card

This Rooted in Nature stamp set is a great one for those hard to make masculine cards!