Christmas in July Blog Hop

Happy Sunday! I hope you are having a good weekend. I held my quarterly team training event yesterday and it was SO much fun! I absolutely LOVE spending time with my Stamping Symphony family. One of the things we enjoy doing is swapping card ideas. This month our theme was Christmas in July to get us all in the mood as we await the release of the new Holiday Catalogue. There were some AMAZING designs and we decided that this month's blog hop should feature some of them. So, here is our monthly hop...

I have been playing with the Follow Your Dreams bundle recently and decided it would make a beautiful Christmas card...

Now, I actually used several different products on this card. I began by die-cutting the Whisper White background layer using the Chase Your Dreams Framelits. I love that I can cut a peek-through window in my card front with it. After die-cutting I embossed the panel using the Subtle TIEF...that one is fast becoming a favourite! I added a bit of gold foil behind my window and then added a die-cut gold circle using the same die, but this time adding the circle die to cut it out fully from the foil sheet. The result is a kinda cool reverse image of the window. The "poinsettia" is from the Eastern Beauty stamp set. I heat embossed the image in gold on Real Red card stock and then sponged  bit of Real Red ink in the centre of the flower for shadow. I also added some Wink of Stella to make it sparkle.

The sentiment is from the Christmas Pines stamp set and is heat embossing in gold. I used the label die from the Petals & More thinlits to die-cut the sentiment and then layered it on a gold foil filigree label, also cut with the same thinlits. The only embellishments on this card are some gold pearls and gold metallic thread. I love how delicate and subtle that stuff is!

 On the inside of the card I added another sentiment from the Christmas Pines stamp set and some little flourishes from the Eastern Beauty set stamped in Real Red and Soft Suede inks respectively.

I love thinking outside the box and coming up with uses for stamps and products beyond the obvious. It makes my products so much more versatile and helps me see them in a whole new light. For more Christmas in July inspiration, check out the projects on these blogs below. There are some super-talented stampers in the Stamping Symphony!

1. Leena (You are here)

2. Sandy

3. Barb

4. Jennifer

5. Steph

Product List

Eastern Beauty Photopolymer Stamp Set [143675] $27.00	Christmas Pines Photopolymer Stamp Set [142049] $44.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $10.50
Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [102482] $11.50	Gold Foil Sheets [132622] $5.50	Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [147084] $10.25	Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad [147115] $10.25
Versamark Pad [102283] $11.25	Embossing Buddy [103083] $8.00	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder [109129] $6.75	Heat Tool [129053] $40.00
Big Shot [143263] $150.00	Subtle Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143706] $14.00	Chase Your Dreams Framelits Dies [146826] $33.00	Eastern Medallions Thinlits Dies [143725] $45.00
Petals & More Thinlits Dies [145655] $46.00	Gold Metallic Thread [138401] $4.75	Metallic Pearls [146282] $9.50