Christmas Cards: April

It's Christmas card time again! I am kind of liking a little bit of Christmas every month. How about you? And I now have just over 60 cards completed, which is awesome!



This month features a variety of cards. You can see the 4 styles pictured below.

The first one is a single card - an extra I found from last year's Christmas cards. I copied this design from another demonstrator for the last of my cards last year. It was quick and easy, just what I needed in December! The stamp set will be returning in this year's Annual Catalog, so you will probably be seeing it again.

The next card is one I did for a stamp class last fall. I had extras to make up, so that made up the next 7 cards. This stamp set is one of my favorites, and it is also returning! Yay!

The final two designs use the Springtime Foils Specialty Paper from this year's Sale-a-bration. Maybe you still have some of it laying around too. For the striped card, I used my Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker to color the paper. Everything outside of the Springtime Foils paper is a current product.

This last one is a CASE of a card I did earlier this year, in Night of Navy. I LOVE how it turned out, and I may use more of my paper to make some more. The coloring is a little time-consuming, but I find it relaxing and the finished product is so gorgeous! Just like with the previous card, everything outside of the Springtime Foils paper is a current product.

If you have specific questions about a product used on any of the cards, please leave me a comment and ask. How are your Christmas cards coming this year? Have you started yet? I think I've finally found the perfect way to get all of mine done, a little at a time!

Happy Stamping!

Rachel

Always Here for You

I'm back today with a fun color combo for you - Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay, and Lemon Lime Twist, with a little Basic Gray thrown in. Almost all of the products used on today's card are retiring.

I used the Heart Happiness stamp set for all of the hearts. You might think of this set as being for Valentine's Day, and while it's great for that, it can be used for so much more! This is one of my favorite stamp sets in the Occasions Catalog, and it will be staying on my shelf. Right along with it are the coordinating Sweet & Sassy Framelits. Out of all the products retiring, this is the one I can't believe! I am so sad that they are getting rid of these dies!

The Lemon Lime Twist Mini Striped Ribbon is another favorite. I was on the fence about this color for a long time, but now that it's been around for a year I'm starting to like it. This ribbon is retiring too, but watch for some new colors in a slightly different size in the new catalog!

Finally, the sentiment comes from the Ronald McDonald House Charity stamp set, Sharing Sweet Thoughts. I've had this set for almost a year and this was the first time I inked it up. Oops! It is punched out with the Classic Label Punch, which is sticking around.


Stay tuned later this week for a post about this month's Christmas cards!


Stamps: Heart Happiness, Sharing Sweet Thoughts
Ink: Basic Gray, Bermuda Bay, Lemon Lime Twist, Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Gray
Accessories & Tools: Sweet & Sassy Framelits, Big Shot, Classic Label Punch, Lemon Lime Twist 3/8" Mini Striped Ribbon, Tutti Frutti Sequins

Happy Stamping!

Rachel

Stamp 'n' Hop April: Message in a Bottle

Welcome to April's Stamp 'n' Hop blog hop! We are a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators from around the world, coming together to share our creativity with you. I am coming to you from Gilbert, Arizona, USA. This month we are featuring some of our favorite products from the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog.


If you are a fan of Stampin' Up!, you know that at this time of year, Stampin' Up! announces which products will not be returning in the new Annual Catalog that's coming in June. I decided to use a mixture of retiring and returning favorites. And really, I loved so much in this catalog that it was hard to pick a favorite! Here's what I came up with:

Now let me tell you, this card did not come about easily. Pregnancy hormones have been making me crazy this time around, and the last few weeks have been kind of rough. If you are a regular follower of my blog, you may have noticed an absence of posts this week. I just had to let something go, and this was it. But I really wanted to participate in the blog hop, and so I picked a favorite stamp set that I hadn't used yet: Message in a Bottle. I've had this set for almost a YEAR, and it has been sitting on my shelf. I do have a project in mind for it, but I've been procrastinating on that.


So first I tried notecards. I liked how they turned out, but they seemed too simple for a blog hop. I think this is a great stamp set for easy notecards, so I'll share them anyways. :)

Next, I think I colored that little mermaid 5 times before I found a color combination that I was ok with. I can't wait until we have more colors of Stampin' Blends to play with! (They're coming!!!)


Long story short, this card was a struggle. But in the end, I like how it turned out. I used one of my other favorite stamp sets, Happy Birthday, Gorgeous, for the greeting, along with Pool Party Shimmer Ribbon and Silver Mini Sequin Trim, plus the Stitched Shapes Framelits, which are all sticking around. The background for the mermaid is colored with the Light Pool Party Stampin' Blend Marker, and I used Stampin' Write Markers in Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, and So Saffron to color the mermaid herself. The greeting is punched with the Classic Label Punch (also returning), which is a staple to have in your craft room. A little sprinkling of Rhinestones, and the card is complete!


Please leave a comment and let me know what you think, and make sure to hop along to see what the rest of these talented demonstrators have to share with you!

Kayla Adams

Amy Grendel

Tracie Evans Langley

Cheryl Taylor

Linda Handford

Susan Simpson

Laurie Meier

Christina Walker

Britney Vander Laan

Lisa Kmiec

Melissa Kerman

Kirsten Aitchison

Tracey Gouraud

Rachel Traudt - you are here! 

Ilka Teschke

Danielle Kassing

Mo Rootes

Kim Smith

Courtenay Heuston

Jenn Charles

Idonna Miller

Terry Montgomery

Joanne Hodge

Sandra Roberts

Laura Mackie

Mikaela Titheridge

Karen Pearmain

Tracy Lewis

Stamps: Message in a Bottle, Happy Birthday Gorgeous
Ink: Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, So Saffron, Night of Navy, Basic Black, Pool Party
Paper: Whisper White, Myths & Magic Specialty DSP, Whisper White Note Cards & Envelopes
Accessories & Tools: Pool Party Shimmer Ribbon, Silver Mini Sequin Trim, Classic Label Punch, Rhinestones, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Big Shot

Happy Stamping!

Rachel

More Myths & Magic!

I have more Myths & Magic for you today, but this time I just used the washi tape. I love washi tape, but I find myself hoarding it and not using it! The Myths & Magic Specialty Washi Tape is so sparkly, it needed to be used on a special card. One of our nephews turned 10 this year, so I used the washi to create the numbers for the card.

This is a really easy technique that can be used with any die. Just line up your washi on cardstock, and then cut with the die. Easy peasy!

Stamps: Number of Years
Ink: Dapper Denim
Paper: Dapper Denim, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Accessories & Tools: Lots of Labels Framelits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Large Numbers Framelits, Big Shot, Myths & Magic Specialty Washi Tape, Glitter Enamel Dots, Metallic Sequin Assortment

Happy Stamping!

Rachel

Magical Dragon Birthday Card

We had quite a few birthdays in our family last week, so I have a few birthday cards to share with you this week. The first was for one of my nephews. The Myths & Magic Suite is perfect for kids' cards!

The dragon and the knight are fussy cut from the Myths & Magic Specialty DSP. You could also stamp and color them if you wanted to use stamps from the stamp set instead. I made the background using the Brick Wall embossing folder. I simply inked up one side of the folder before adding the paper and running it through the Big Shot.

I have been trying to remember to stamp the inside of my cards too. The 'Happy Birthday' comes from the Number of Years stamp set, and the little stars are from Magical Day.


And have you tried the Tutti Frutti Sequins yet? They already have the adhesive on the back, so they are super easy to use, and come in five fun colors!


Stamps: Magical Day, Number of Years
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Basic Gray
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Myths & Magic Specialty DSP, Myths & Magic Glimmer Paper
Accessories & Tools: Stitched Shapes Framelits, Brick Wall Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Tutti-Frutti Adhesive Backed Sequins, Silver Metallic Thread

Happy Stamping!

Rachel