Texture and Colour for As You See It Challenges

Welcome to the next As You See It Challenge Design.  This week, Amanda has us digging to find our own inspiration the way we see it ourselves.  For me that means texture and colour, and since I am designing Christmas cards this week, I went looking for festive holiday decor for ideas. Here is what I found:

Pine branches, deep purple and white - these elements of this Christmas wreath became my muses this time.  Here's how that looks in a Christmas card:

• The major colours for this card are Blackberry Bliss, Whisper White and Always Artichoke.  I did add a little Early Espresso for the evergreen branch and the ornament hook, but that is the extent of the colours used.
• The Ornamental Pine stamp set was perfect for this challenge with the large scale pine bough and the beautifully engraved Christmas bauble that looks amazing in Blackberry Bliss.  It even has the sentiment which is stamped here in Blackberry Bliss.
• I love Whisper White cardstock embossed with the Woodgrain Embossing folder.  The texture is so appealing in the white colour.  Make sure that you first cut out the oval in the center using the Ovals Collection Framelits before running it through the Big Shot in the Woodgrain Embossing Folder, otherwise you'll remove the texture you added when you die cut the oval.
• I stamped the ornament and hook separately and hand snipped them out separately using paper snips, before mounting them with Stampin' Dimensionals, so they pop!

So easy to do, but really eye-catching because of the colours and textures!  Enjoy your weekend and thanks for dropping by.  Give this As You See It Challenge a try!  Really, anything goes!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today! 

Product List

Ornamental Pine Wood-Mount Stamp Set [135104]	Ornamental Pine Clear-Mount Stamp Set [135107]	2014-2016 In Color Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack [133705]	Blackberry Bliss 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133675]	Whisper White 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [100730]
Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad [133642]	Always Artichoke Classic Stampin' Pad [126972]	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974]	Ovals Collection Framelits Dies [129381]	Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [127821]
Big Shot Die-Cut Machine [113439]	Paper Snips [103579]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]

Hooray! The 2014 Holiday Catalogue is Here!

It's time to get your Christmas Mojo on! And Thanksgiving! And Halloween! And just plain Fall and Winter! Shake off the dust of Summer and get your imagination primed, because the Stampin' Up! 2014 Holiday catalogue is here! Are you excited? You should be! Here's the link: (Click on the photo)

I have already mailed out copies to my active customers, but if you didn't receive one in the mail, email me or call me and I will see that you get one.  If you want to be on my catalogue mailing list, all you need to do is to be an active customer in the 2 months preceding the catalogue's premiere.

And here's a bonus for you:

Any orders that come in from today, August 28 until Sunday, August 31, I will be paying the shipping for you!  

In order to take advantage of this offer, please email me your order and I will see that it is submitted with the others and I will deliver it to you!

*If you want more than your budget will allow (join the club), stay tuned for product shares!

 And here, in true hunting lodge colours, is a card featuring the new Ornamental Pine stamp set:

• The cool thing about the pine branch image is that you can ink up the needles and the branch in separate colours straight from the stamp pads quite easily because of how they are arranged. The pine cones are a separate stamp.
• Lots of texture here with the Woodgrain Embossing Folder used on the Chocolate Chip background, the Dazzling Diamonds glitter and the Linen Thread figure eight bow.  
• The glitter was added to the card after the 2 Way Glue Pen was applied to the top of the branch, a few needles and the pine cones.  For a better hold on the glitter, you could use the Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the same images in VersaMark ink, but just slightly offset.  Then you would cover the image in Heat and Stick powder and heat set it.  Add the Dazzling Diamonds glitter and reheat to set.  Or you could used Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder for a similar effect instead of the Heat and Stick and the glitter. (I did neither of these options because it is for a Christmas Stamper's Dozen and it would take way too long and require cleaning the stamps each time.)

• The main image was die cut using the Deco Label Framelits and the matte was die cut with the same size framelit, cut in half and added to the top and bottom, offset by about 1/8".  The Deco Label framelits have a little point in the middle of each side and I snipped that off before adhering it on the back because it would look a bit bizarre cut in half.
• The Designer Series Paper rectangle at the bottom of the card is from the Trim the Tree Designer Series Paper Stack.  This is a great value with forty-eight 4-1/2" x 6-1/2" sheets for $8.50.  You get 4 ea. of 12 double-sided designs.  These are great traditional designs, many of which are appropriate for designs other than Christmas cards.
• This card is entered in The Paper Player's Challenge #210:

                                              

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List

Ornamental Pine Wood-Mount Stamp Set [135104]	Ornamental Pine Clear-Mount Stamp Set [135107]	Trim The Tree Designer Series Paper Stack [135824]	Garden Green 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [102584]	Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [119685]
Chocolate Chip 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [102128]	Very Vanilla 8-1/2X11 Card Stock [101650]	Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Pad [126979]	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad [126966]	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [126973]
2-Way Glue Pen [100425]	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751]	Regals Designer Buttons [130029]	Linen Thread [104199]	Woodgrain Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [127821]
Deco Labels Collection Framelits Dies [130102]	Big Shot Die-Cut Machine [113439]	Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive [110755]	Mini Glue Dots [103683]	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430]