...ok...so what happend to the week???

I think I have a problem.  I seem to be losing long stretches of time.  I could swear it was just Sunday night and now here it is Friday already!  Not that I'm complaining...I love it when the work week flies by; but I am a little concerned over just how quickly time is passing these days.  Tomorrow is October first, for goodness sake!!  How the heck did that happen??  Tomorrow is also World Card-making Day and though I am not holding an event to mark the occasion, I will most certainly be busy making cards!  I have exactly one week to get my booth ready for my debut at the Rockton World's Fair.  Talk about a ton to get done!  My To-Do list is literally a page and a half long!!  Tomorrow is all about getting my display projects done, so the rubber will be burning in my house tomorrow!  For now I have a cute little giftcard holder I created for a recent class.  Check this out:

Giftcard holder featuring the Snow Much Fun set and the Top Note die.

Cute, huh?  I love this Snow Much Fun set!  That chubby little snowman is the cutest!!  I designed this project for a class on watercolouring with aquapainters I did earlier in the month.  My ladies loved it!  This is certainly one of those lots-of-bang-for-not-much-effort projects.  I used the top note die to cut the base, and was able to cut all the layers at once...gotta love the Big Shot!  I used lots of new product too:  Dazzling Details on the hat and buttons, a mini jingle bell as the pompom on the hat and the new snowburst embossing folder on the inside pocket to add some texture and interest to the inside of the card.  The whole thing pivots on the brad that holds it together at the top.  Such a simple design, yet so cute! 
I am going to try really hard to be more consistent in my posting this next week, but I honestly can't make any promises.  I have SO much to do to get ready for the fair I almost need to take the week off work to get it all done!  I will try to keep you updated on my progress and post photos of projects as I complete them.  In the meantime, enjoy the weekend!

What happened to the weekend???

How is it Sunday night already??  I'm not sure how, but the weekend somehow escaped me.  I had my Valley Girls Club meeting today and it went a wee bit long...they like to chat!  Then I stopped by for a little auntie time with my new nephew on my way home and here it is, 9:30 pm!  How can time go so fast on the weekend yet so slowly during the week?  I am not ready for Monday yet!  Since I have a ton to do before I can sleep tonight, this post will be a quick one.  This card is one that I designed for my Christmas Club which is meeting this week on Thursday.  We are focusing on the Sounding Joy set from the mini, since everyone loves it!  See what you think...

Holiday card featuring the Sounding Joy set from the holiday mini.

I went with a cool colour scheme of marina mist, night of navy and whisper white on this card. I embossed a third of the background using the snowburst embossing folder, which is also in the mini and then die cut a snowflake using the snowflake #2 die.  It is peeking out from behind the stamped focal image.  I kept this one simple because we'll be making 12 cards on Thursday night and I don't want to be at it all night!  I hope my club members enjoy this one!  Right now I'm off to get ready for my Inky Paws class tomorrow after school.  That is my monthly group of colleagues who meet to stamp after school in the staff room.  It is a fun social time for us all!

A Stamping-filled day!

Today I attend "Stampin' Sparks", a demonstrator event hosted by my upline, Jamilla Ivits.  It was a jam-packed day that just flew by!  We did so many projects I honestly can't even remember them all at the moment!  Suffice to say it was well worth the registration fee.  We got a TON of product included in our kits and did terrific projects that highlight many items from the Holiday Mini.  My head is still spinning a little, but I did want to post the final card I designed for my club meeting tomorrow.  For this one I used the Dasher A La Carte stamp.  This little guy is very popular and perfect for holiday cards.  I know several of my club members own this one too, so I knew it would be a good one to use.  The layout for this card was inspired by one done by Mary Fish a while back.

CAS Holiday card using the Dasher stamp and greeting from the Snow Swirled set.

So I finally resorted to a more traditional Christmas colour scheme for this one.  I knew my ladies wouldn't be satisfied if I did everything in non-traditional colours!  I used cherry cobbler, brushed gold and whisper white for a clean, modern, yet classic look.  I used my Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder on the strip of cherry cobbler cardstock to add a bit of texture.  I stamped Dasher in versamark and then heat embossed him in gold.  The sentiment is stamped right on the card base in cherry cobbler ink.  I finally found a way to use all those gold brads I have in my stash!  They contrast just enough with the brushed gold cardstock to stand out without drawing the eye away from the focal image.  I also need to point out that yet again, I refrained from adding ribbon!!!  My club ladies will love me because they hate messing around with ribbon...all three cards we are doing are 100% ribbon free!  I can honestly say that this is the first time that has ever happened!  I can't wait to see their reaction...I'll report back tomorrow night.  Till then, enjoy your weekend!

Finally Friday!

TGIF!!!  What a long, busy week this has been!  I am so thankful that Friday is finally here so that I can catch my breath for a minute or two.  It is a rainy, gloomy day today and it just makes me want to curl up in my jammies and watch a video tonight...that is if I can stay awake long enough to make it to the end!
Tonight's card is the second one I designed for my club that is meeting on Sunday.  It also happens to work for this week's technique challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Like yesterday's, it also uses the Snow Swirled stamp set, but is a completely different look.

Elegant Holiday card for HSS85 using the Snow Swirled stamp set and featuring Mocha Morning DSP.

For this card I again used a rather non-traditional colour scheme.  I pulled my palette from the Mocha Morning DSP (LOVE IT!) and used soft suede, brushed gold and very vanilla cardstock.  The tree is stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed in gold.  Instead of ribbon I used some brushed gold cardstock cut using my Tasteful Trim die and my Big Shot (how did I ever get by without that die?!?)  The sentiment, from Teeny Tiny Wishes, is stamped in soft suede, punched out with the word window and then layered on a decorative label in brushed gold.  The pearls add just the right touch of elegance.  So, have you noticed this is two cards in a row with NO RIBBON!!!  I don't think that's ever happened in the history of this little blog!  Could this be a trend?  Stay tuned and find out!
Tomorrow I am off to Stampin' Sparks for the day.  This is a demostrator event my upline is hosting.  I am looking forward to some stamping fun with members of my team and some fellow demonstrators from the area.  I'm sure I'll have lots to share when I get home!  Happy Weekend, everyone!

FINALLY Stamping Again!

Well, tonight I finally got down to my stamping corner and inked up some rubber.  It sure felt good to be creative again!  My life has just been WAY too hectic lately...it can't be healthy to not have time to stamp, can it?  In any case, tonight I sat down to design the projects for one of my monthly clubs which is meeting this Sunday afternoon.  They requested that I do Christmas cards using stamp sets and punches that they already own.  Since they are relatively new stampers, that really limited my options, so this was a challenge!  Knowing that the Snow Swirled set is in the stash of several of the ladies, I decided to focus my energy on that set.  I designed two cards using it, but am only showing you one tonight...I have to save the other for tomorrow...who knows when I'll get to stamp again!  So, here, without further excuses, is today's card:

CAS Holiday card using the Snow Swirled set.

Inside of card with sentiment from the Christmas Greetings set.

Could this get any simpler??  I tried to keep my embellishments to a minimum on this one, but couldn't resist adding those glimmer brads...they just add such a nice touch of sparkle!  The colour combo is one of my new favourites and is inspired by the holiday decorations (yes, its true) that are popping up in stores about now.  These bold, bright colours are just fabulous together and really pop against the white background.  In case you're wondering, the colours are: rich razzleberry, marina mist and lucky limeade.  On the inside of the card I punched the sentiment out with the 1 3/4" scalloped circle punch (one I know my club members own) and then notched every other scallop with my paper snips.  I then punched a 1/16" hole in the un-notched scallops in an attempt to make the circle look a bit snowflake-ish.  I think it works, especially with the snowflake images stamped behind it. 
I hope my ladies like this card...they're pretty traditional green and red Christmas gals, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to show them something a little bit off the wall.  Tomorrow I'll have my second Snow Swirled card for you...and best of all...its FRIDAY!

Oh my goodness...

...it has been a long time since I posted!!  I am SOOOO completely swamped...I have a To-Do list that is literally a full page long!  The problem is, there is this new little person who is just irresistible!  Here is what I was doing Sunday morning instead of prepping for my classes this week:

Me with my gorgeous little nephew Benjamin.  (Could I be any paler??  That's what happens when you spend your summer stamping instead of sun bathing!)

...and here is a close-up of the little man himself:

Is this not the second cutest child ever?  (My son, Max is, of course the cutest child who ever walked the earth...but Ben is a close second!)

As you can probably tell from the photos, Ben and his mommy are at home and are settling in quite nicely.  It sure has been a hectic first week of his life, though!  I promise to try really hard to post more consistently this week, but can't make any promises.  Life is just crazy and I'm so busy prepping for classes and keeping my family going that I haven't had time to stamp anything new.  Hang in there with me, though, this won't last forever!

Something old for someone new...

Today's project is the invitation I designed for my new nephew's baby shower.  We are throwing a party to celebrate his arrival and so that the whole family can meet him.  I used stamps from two retired sets:  Big on Spring and Blissful Bride.  See what you think:

Baby shower invitation using Big on Spring and Blissful Bride sets (both retired)

So, along with the retired images, I used a bunch of new product as well.  The colour scheme uses three of the new In-colours:  island indigo, calypso coral and pool party (kinda makes you want to book a trip down south, doesn't it?).  I used this same colour scheme for the Save the Date cards I did in July...you can see those HERE.  I chose it because it was fairly gender-neutral.  I figured if it was a girl I could play up the coral, but since Benjamin is all boy, I emphasized the island indigo.  I had to keep this fairly CAS so that I could get them done in a hurry and get them in the mail.  Young Benjamin decided to keep us all waiting for an extra week, so the shower is only a month away!  I finished them all tonight and now need to get them in the mail!
My crazy week continues tomorrow with the arrival of my parents.  They are coming to see the baby, but are staying with us, which means more chaos in my household...and less time to tackle my to-do list!  Argh!

Crazy!

What a week this has been..and its only Wednesday!  First of all, let me announce that my new nephew arrived safe and sound on Monday night.  His name is Benjamin Rudy Bruckner and we weighed in at a whopping NINE pounds!!  He is one little bruiser...my poor SIL is completely done in!  For you moms out there, think about this:  his head circumference was 31 cm (that 12 inches for our US friends)!!!  I've never seen such a perfectly round melon on a baby!  Both mommy and baby are doing well and are heading home from the hospital tomorrow...which will make my life even busier! 
Tonight I have a quick Thanksgiving card for you...have a look:

Thank you card using Day of Gratitude set.

Inside of card

This card is another one that used a bunch of odds and ends from my desk.  I tend not to clean up very often, so there is usually a lot laying around.  The weave is just a bunch of scrap strips I had and thought I'd try making use of.  I don't have time to give you a how-to, so if you need instructions, send me an email and I'll help you out.  Right now I'm being summoned by my four-year-old to come and sleep with him...AGAIN!!  I'll try to post tomorrow, but don't know if I'll be home...things may be a little hit and miss for a while.  I hope you'll hang in there with me!

Its Labour Day!

I know, the holiday was last week, but my SIL is actually IN labour!!!  As I type this, my brother' wife is working on bringing my new neice or nephew into the world!  SOOOO exciting!  We don't know whether its a boy or girl...they wouldn't even give us a hint on names, so the suspense is KILLING us!!  She's well past 12 hours of labour at this point, so it should be soon (at least I hope so for her sake!).
Today's post will be a quickie.  Yesterday I was working on items for the display for my booth at the Rockton Fair in October. Here is one of the things I came up with:

Bowl of paper pumpkins made using Spice Cake DSP from the Holiday Mini.

Tag uses sentiment from Fabulous Phrases

I saw lots of these little pumpkins last year around this time but never actually tried to make some myself.  I decided to include some in my fair display and am glad I did...they're REALLY easy to make!  Here's the how-to:
For the large pumpkins start with 6 1"x12" strips of DSP.  Punch holes in the centre and at either end of each strip.  Using a large-headed brad, push the prongs of the brad through the holes in the middle of each strip.  Fan strips out evenly.  Then, taking a second brad, poke the prongs through each hole in the ends of the strips, forming a sphere.  Open the brad to hold it in place.  Add a bit of ribbon and/or a die cut leaf and you're done!  How easy is that?!?
Now I need to get back to my pacing...

There are no words...

I had trouble sleeping last night.  Thoughts of out of control airplanes striking towering buildings, images of people jumping to their deaths rather than being burned alive, twisted wreckage and massive clouds of dust filled my mind, keeping sleep at bay.  This morning we remember though we could never ever possibly forget.  The events of that fateful day ten years ago is never far from our consciousness.  Simply hearing the date "September 11th" triggers a knot in the stomach.  For those who came looking for inspiration today, find it in the sacrifice and bravery of those who lost their lives trying to save others. 
I will never forget where I was when I first heard the news:  teaching a class of grade nines how to navigate the piano keyboard.  Talk about trivial as compared to the magnitude of what was going on in the world.  A colleague kept coming to my classroom to give me updates, reminding me to stay calm and not let on to the students that anything was wrong.  It was the longest class of my life.  At lunch time our entire staff gathered in the library to watch live coverage of the events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.  Some were crying, others cursed, we all were stunned.  As Canadians, we were removed from the immediacy of it all, but we were horrified nonetheless.  The afternoon was spent trying to reassure scared students as they feared for their own and their families' safety.  Some parents came and picked their kids up from school at lunch time, wanting to have their family all together as they digested the events of the day and its aftermath. 
I just want to take this moment and acknowledge the magnitude of this date and say to any American who may read this that we will never forget the day that changed your country for ever.  It changed us too.  We will not forget.  Ever.

What a week!

TGIF!!!
The first week back to school is always crazy and this year was no different.  I don't know why I haven't learned over my 16 year career that the first week is just plain nutty, no matter how well you plan and prepare.  I am SO tired...summer holidays seems like months ago!  I did have some news that kinda made my day, though...

I just checked this week's challenge and discovered that I'd been chosen as the Rock Star for last week's challenge with this card.  Who knew that such a tough challenge would produce a winning card???  Anyhow, it was an honour to be chosen and a terrific way to end an otherwise crazy week.  Thanks to all the ladies over at the Mashup for choosing my card.
Since I've been so busy I haven't been down to my stamping corner much this week.  But that doesn't mean I don't have something for you!  Today's post is a Christmas card I did a while ago and never got around to posting.  So, without further complaining, here it is:

Christmas card using The Sounding Joy stamp set from the Holiday Mini

This layout is a CASE of someone I saw online somewhere, but I have NO idea where!  If this is your design please let me know so that I can give you credit.  I changed the colour combo and added the ribbon, which wasn't on the original card.  I do love this colour combo for Christmas...so rich and elegant looking.
This card is really  simple in design and execution...the hardest (and by that I mean tedious) part is poking all of the little bits out of the snowflakes after die cutting them with the Big Shot.  There are an awful lot of little bits to poke!!  I had originally thought I might do this with my Christmas Club this month, but after spending so much time poking all those little bits I figured my club members would likely poke ME...HARD..if I made them make four of these cards!  So, its back to the drawing board in terms of designs for this month's class, but I DO like this card.  I'll just send it to someone special this Christmas!

Feeling like Fall...

The weather this week has certainly started to feel like fall here in Southern Ontario.  Its almost like the first day of school was the first day of fall, with cooler temperatures, chilly nights and cloudy skies.  I'm not complaining because, quite frankly, I LIKE cool weather when I'm at work.  The lack of air conditioning makes my room unbearably hot when the mercury climbs.  Add to that a bunch of sweaty teenagers and it isn't a fun place to be!  So these cooler temps have been most appreciated by yours truly!  All this fall weather has me in the mood to create fall-themed cards (like I haven't done enough already!) and for today's post I pulled out the hostess set from the Holiday Mini.  We got this set free at convention and, sadly, it was forgotten as soon as I got home and saw all my goodies from the the new catty.  Well, since the new mini is now LIVE, I figured I should dust off this cute hostess set and give it some love.  Here is the card I made:

Thanksgiving'ish card using Warmest of Wishes hostess set from the new Holiday Mini with sentiment from Fabulous Phrases.

Inside of card using sentiment from Day of Gratitude

One of the things I like most about this set is the variety of images it contains.  There is something for fall, Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day all in one little set!  For this card I used the wreath of leaves, stamping it cajun craze and colouring it with my markers in more mustard and peach parfait.  The wreath was layered on one of the scalloped circles from the Perfect Pennants die cut from always artichoke cardstock.  The rest is pretty straightforward, though I will give you the colour palette as sometimes it is hard to tell from a photo:  cajun craze, peach parfait, more mustard, always artichoke.  On the inside of the card I stamped the wreath along the right edge only allowing half of the image on the page.  The result was a swirling line of leaves running down the edge of the card.  I think I'm going to play with this set some more...I see lots of possibilities.  Stay tuned!

Simple Sympathy

Recently a colleague at school lost her dad.  It is so hard to know  what to say to someone who loses someone they love and so I let my card do my talking for me.  Here is the one I sent her:

Sympathy card for a colleague using the Sweet Floral background stamp and the sentiment from Thanks For Caring (retired) set.

Inside of card using sentiment from Thoughts and Prayers set.

This is one of many of the new background stamps that I fell in love with on seeing the new catalogue.  It is so detailed and such a beautiful image I just HAD to own it!  Ironically, this is the first time I've used it!  It was another victim of "Too-Many-New-Stamps-All-At-Once" syndrome.  I am so glad that I did finally pull it out because it really is a beautiful image.  I stamped it in concord crush on wisteria wonder cardstock, sponged the edges and then layered it on always artichoke.  Those three colours compliment eachother so nicely!  The sentiment is embossed using the new pewter embossing powder from the Holiday Mini.  If you haven't tried this stuff yet you MUST!  It can look silver or gold depending on what colours you surround it with.  On this card it has a more golden tinge.  The sentiment on the inside is from Thoughts and Prayers and is again stamped in concord crush but this time on very vanilla.  I stamped a portion of the floral image again, stamping off first to give a faded look.  This simple card meant a great deal to its recipient which in turn meant a great deal to me.  That is what I love most about this hobby:  being able to create something beautiful to make someone else feel special.

Too Late...

...that's me!  I created today's card for the monochromatic challenge over at Handstamped Sentiments but was a couple of hours too late to enter!  That'll teach me to read the fine print next time!  Ah well, I still like this card and thought you might like to see it too!  It a holiday card without a  stitch of red or green!  See what you think...

 

Monochromatic holiday card using the Winter Post stamp set and Mocha Morning DSP.

Inside of card with sentiment from the Christmas Lodge set from the Holiday Mini.

So, not your typical holiday colour scheme but I actually like this look.  I used several different shades of brown:  crumb cake, soft suede and early espresso as well as very vanilla for my neutral.  I drew my colour palette from the Mocha Morning DSP...loving that stuff more everytime I use it!  The stamped images are all from the Winter Post set in the main catalogue with the exception of the music notes.  Those are courtesy of the wheel of the same name.  This card features lots of sponging and shading with the various shades of brown for depth and texture as well as some watercolouring of the skaters using the same ink colours and my aquapainter.  The antique brad and crumb cake seam binding ribbon are the perfect finishing touch for this vintage-looking Christmas card.   Now if only I'd gotten it in in time for the challenge! 
Speaking of challenges, I just received word that my card was an Artist's Pick over at Pals Paper Arts this week.  Its kind of ironic that a challenge I found really difficult earned me this honour!  I guess the difficulty of it forced me to step it up a notch!  Thanks so much to the ladies for Pals Paper Arts for choosing my card...I am humbled!

Last day of summer...

...I know the calendar doesn't officially turn to fall for another couple of weeks, but as far as I'm concerned, summer is over.  Tomorrow I start back to work and go back to the craziness of my school-year-life.  I have to say that I am not looking forward to the 5:00 am alarms and long days in the classroom.  Ah well, only 10 months till next summer!

Today I have a card I did for another online challenge.  This one's for this week's sketch challenge at Just Add Ink.  I added an extra challenge for myself to use only materials that were sitting on my desk when I started designing the card....lucky for me my desk was a mess at the time, so I had lots to work with!  First of all, let me show you the sketch:

...now here is my version of it...

Holiday card for JAI83 using scraps and odds and ends from my desk!

So, for starters, I rotated the sketch for a horizontal orientation...it just worked better for where I was heading.  The stocking is one I had put together for another project...one that didn't end up working.  I couldn't bear to waste a perfectly good stocking so I had it sitting, adhesive and all, waiting for a new home.  The medallion was leftover from the wreath I did a while back.  The glitter paper was the negative cut left over from using my Tasteful Trim die for this card.  The little snowflake was leftover from another card I am going to post later this week.  The buttons and jingle bell were sitting in their containers still, not having found a permanent home.  Put it all together and this is what you get:  a hodgepodge of a holiday card!  I actually had fun putting this together...its good to challenge oneself now and then, don't you think?!?
Now I am off to put together my lunch for tomorrow and figure out what I am going to wear...gotta love the first day of school!

A tough one...

...that's what I thought when I saw this week's colour challenge at Pals Paper Arts.  The challenge was to use basic grey, calypso coral and riding hood red on a card.  That is not a colour combo I would EVER choose to use myself, but since I'm always up for a good challenge I gave it the ol' college try.  I figured I'd kill two challenges with one card by creating a gate-fold card for the Friday Mash-up as well.  They not only wanted a gate-fold, but also to use numbers somewhere on the card as well!  Talk about a week of tough challenges!  Anyhoo...here's what I came up with:

Gate-fold card for MU22 and PPA109 using the Creative Elements stamp set

Inside of card

So, who'da thought this colour combo would be one I really like???  I discovered while watercolouring the flower that calypso coral and riding hood red blend really nicely together!  The basic grey provides a rich looking base made even lovelier with the vintage wallpaper embossing folder.  I also love the richness of the basic grey satin ribbon and the subtle bling of the rhinestones.  Conveniently, the Creative Elements set includes that No.3 stamp, so it was easy to include the required numbers element for the Mash-up.  The only thing this card is missing is a sentiment!  I  just couldn't come up with a place to put one that worked with the layout.  When I am ready to use it I will stamp an appropriate sentiment for the inside...in the meantime it remains sentimentless!  I actually really enjoyed both of these challenges...they both forced me to think outside of my stamping box and try new things which, really, is why I love playing along!

Back to Christmas stamping!

Well, I was able to take a bit of a break from Christmas cards over the last week or so but now I have to plan this month's Christmas Club projects, so I am back in holiday mode.  Today's card is one I did as I was searching for a way to use the Snow Much Fun set from the main catty in a way that didn't require watercolouring.  I need my projects for the Christmas Club to be fast and relatively simple so that we can get our 12 cards done in 3 hours!  Watercolouring, while not difficult can be time consuming, so I needed a design that could stand without it.  This is what I came up with:

Holiday card featuring the Snow Much Fun set and sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Inside of card

What do you think?  I am fairly happy with it, except I should have stamped the snowman on the front full strength, rather than stamped-off like I did.  He's a bit too pale!  I covered him with iridescent ice embossing powder to make him sparkle...looks kinda like he's in a snow storm!  The DSP I used is from the Frostwood Lodge suite in the new Holiday Mini and the scalloped circle I used to thread the ribbon through is from the Perfect Pennants die.  I used confetti white cardstock as the base for this card...I just like the little hints of colour and texture it adds.  I also used some of those adorable mini jingle bells from the mini...they ACTUALLY jingle!  Too cute!
Enjoy your long weekend...last one of the summer!  How the heck did that happen?!?  I am trying to psych myself up for Tuesday and the crazy schedule that goes with it...so far its not working!  Good thing I have two more days to go!

Cornflowers...

...that's what today's card remind me of.  I love the beautiful blue wildflowers that grow so profusely along country roads at this time of year...they are such a vivid splash of colour against the grass...dried, and dead after this summer's heat.   When one of my hostesses asked for a generic card for her workshop this week, I pulled out the Field Flowers set and put together this simple card.  See what you think...

Simple all-occasion card using the Field Flowers and Nature Walk sets and a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Inside of card

This card was so fast and easy to put together I don't think I need to give you any instructions.  I will tell you the colour combos for the two-step stamping on the flowers though:  marina mist and not quite navy for the blooms and so saffron and more mustard for the centres.  The stems are always artichoke.
My hostess and her guests were thrilled with this card and loved how easily it came together.  Two-step stamping is a great way to get multi-dimensional images without having to colour or shade.  This set is fast becoming my favourite two-step stamping set EVER!

The Holiday Mini is Here!!

WOOHOO!  My favourite mini of the year has arrived!  I just love holiday crafting and having new goodies to do it with just adds to the fun.  Each year I look forward to the start of the Holiday Mini because it means all sorts of new ideas and products to play with.  If you haven't received your own copy of this fabulous new catalogue drop me a line and I will get one to you for FREE!  If you just can't wait that long, click on the image of the mini in the left side-bar to view it online.
With the new month, I have also sent out my e-newsletter.  If you think you are on my mailing list but didn't get your newsletter, please let me know...I am having issues with things I send from my Stampin' Up site getting dumped in SPAM folders! I've also updated my events page for the new month...check it out!
Now on to some stamping!  In honour of the new mini, I have another Christmas card for you!  It uses one of my favourite sets:  The Sounding Joy.  This card is inspired by one by Mary Rindel...thanks, Mary for the gorgeous inspiration!

Holiday card using The Sounding Joy stamp set, Snow Burst embossing folder and pewter embossing powder from the new Holiday mini.

Isn't this set just beautiful???  I love the script and the star-shaped background text...so elegant!  It also helps that Joy the the World is my favourite Christmas carol!  This card came together very simply and quickly and will be one of the cards we do in this month's Christmas Club.  If you like this and would like to schedule a workshop to make it and other projects with new Holiday mini products, give me a call or email and we'll set a date!