Christmas cards make my heart sing.

I am still having so much fun with my Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection.   I have 25 cards made so far so I'm halfway to the finish line.  I'm hoping this will be the first year where I make all 50 of them original designs.  No copy cats this year!  Let me tell you, I think I can do them all with this collection too.  The stamps and dies all coordinate so well together that the possibilities seem to be endless. 

For this card I just embossed my little heart out using only supplies from Holiday Magic.  First I stamped and embossed the wreath and sentiment with the Holiday Flourishes stamp set.  The sides of the card base were embossed using the Scenery: Holiday Trimmings border stamps.  I just love the detail in these stamp sets

This little tree from the Bright Baubles stamp set is a favorite of mine also.  I've seen some amazing cards using this twig.  LOL!  The background was embossed  by repeatedly using a border stamp from the Scenery: Holiday Trimmings set.  And that candy cane.....yeah I just want to put it on every card!

Yep, here it is again!  Sooo much fun!  I made a mask for the little snowdrifts in these cards by just cutting a piece of paper in an arch and then very lightly blending some distress ink along the edge.

Now this one...an absolute favorite card!  I just threw in a whole mix of supplies on this one.  I used the stencil from the first Stamp of Approval Friendship box to blend this awesome red distress ink.  I also used one of the tag dies from that set to hold the sentiment from the Snowy Sayings stamp set.  And how cool is that bow by The Ton!!  Red and green just screams Christmas on this card.

Head up!  If you're interested in purchasing Catherine Pooler's Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection just follow the link.  I've heard there is only a few left so you'd better hurry.  Once they're sold out, that's it.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic blog hop!   Can you believe there's only one more day??  Tomorrow, Thursday, October 15th this awesome Holiday Magic box will FINALLY go on sale!  Yay!!

I'm so thrilled to be part of this awesome event with Catherine Pooler and her Dream Team.  This is an amazing collection of holiday stamps and dies that were specifically designed for this Stamp of Approval box and won't be available for purchase on the market until next year.  So, if you really like what you see, head on over to the Stamp of Approval site for more information on how to get on the mailing list.   

 Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I've been dying to show off this card because I think it turned out so gorgeous!  I'm kind of a traditional gal when it comes to my Christmas cards so I usually don't stray far from the traditional colors.  The Ton's Holiday Fourishes stamp set has that traditional feel to me, with the scrolls, flourishes and holly.

For this card I made my own glitter paper by first stamping the white card front with The Ton's Holiday Flourishes stamp set.  Then I embossed over the whole stamped piece with some Wow clear sparkle embossing powder.  

And check out that awesome layered snowflake made with 

CAS-ual Fridays Funky Flakes Fri-Dies!  I topped it off with a beautiful CAS-ual Fridays sentiment and Winnie & Walter Holiday Trimmings border stamp.

And here it is...your chance to WIN a Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic box! 
TWO commenters will be chosen at random from all the comments on all the blogs, so the more blogs you comment on, the better your chance in winning!  Be sure to leave a comment here and then hop on over to Kay Miller's blog for some more Holiday Magic!  Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today.  Have an awesome day!

UPDATE:  Winners have been chosen!  Check in over at Catherine Pooler's blog to find out if it was you!  ;)   There are still a few more boxes left for purchase but you better hurry.  Once they're gone they're gone and I don't want you to miss out on all that Holiday Magic goodness!   

But before you go, feel free to leave a comment and if you haven't already, definitely check out the rest of these blogs for some awesome inspiration.

Catherine Pooler

Maureen Merritt

Kristie Goulet

Heather North

Allison Cope

Isha Gupta   

Laurel Beard

Lisa Harrolle <-----you are here!

up next ----> Kay Miller

Jessica Frost-Ballas
Lydia Evans
Vanessa Menhorn
Kelly Griglione
Heather Pulvirenti
Danielle Walls
Effie Cho

Happy Holidays from Stamp of Approval

Countdown......2 days to go!  Thursday is right around the corner and you still have so much more to see before you place your order for the Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection.  Today there are more awesome designers featuring new cards made with their Holiday Magic.

Before I direct your their way I wanted to throw in a couple more cards, this time using those fabulous Happy Holidays word dies by Neat & Tangled.  I am really loving the look of a big, bold, handwritten greeting on the front of my cards.

For this card I paired it with Winnie & Walter's Scenery: Holiday Trimmings.  Loving the nice arch you can achieve with these stamps and the Happy Holidays die really becomes the focal point.

 Speaking of focal point......... Happy Holidays can definitely hold it's own!

Just a reminder, tomorrow is the big blog hop!  Catherine Pooler is giving away two...yes I said it  TWO Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic boxes.......TWO lucky winners!  So, be sure to leave a comment at every blog you visit to give you the best chance at winning this awesome box of goodies.

Now....on to some more sneak peaks from The Dream Team.  Click on their names below and get ready for some awesomeness!!

Catherine Pooler

Allison Cope

Kristie Goulet

Isha Gupta

Heather North

Have a great day everyone!  Meet me back here tomorrow at the hop!!  ;)

Stamp of Approval Candy Canes and Snowflakes

Only three more days until the Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection is released! Woohoo!
  

Are you getting excited?  If you were to ask me what my favorite thing in the box was I'd have to say it's the snowflakes.  Lots and lots of gorgeous, snowflakes!!  And that candy cane border.....yeah, that makes the very tippy top of my list!  I just can't stop stamping these yummy candy canes!!

You want more you say?  Well, the dream team is cranking out some beautiful sneak peaks for the next two days and then on Wednesday we're having a blog hop with a chance to win this awesome Holiday Magic collection so don't miss it!  

Check out these blog posts today.  All of them feature cards exclusively using the items from the new Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic collection which goes on sale this Thursday.  Just click on the links below!

Catherine Pooler

Maureen Merrit

Laurel Beard

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Heather North

Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic

Woohoo!  It's Stamp of Approval time again!

I'm so excited to be included in this awesome new release by Catherine Pooler.   Let me just start by saying the Holiday Magic box  is awesome!  There are so many things included in this box that will help you make every Christmas card unique and special this year.  The stamps and dies mix so well together that the possibilities are endless.  You're gonna wow the stockings off your family and friends!!

Check out the Holiday Magic in this shaker card I made.  I just stamped the candy cane stamp from Winnie & Walters Scenery: Holiday Trimmings stamp set to form a frame.  Then I use my craft knife to cut out the center to make a window for my shaker box.  

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:

Winnie & Walter Scenery: Holiday Trimmings (Stamp of Approval)

Cas-ual Friday's: Snowy Sayings (Stamp of Approval)

The Ton: Holiday Flourishes (Stamp of Approval) 

Dies:

Neat & Tangled: Little Bits (Stamp of Approval)

Ink:

Hero Arts Shadow Ink: Red Royal

Versafine: Onyx Black

Paper:

Neenah 110 lb white cardstock

Accessories:

WOW:  clear embossing powder

transparency film

Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens: Carmine Red, Mid Green

And surprise!  
There's also a little sneak peek of something I used on my card, that will be included in the first 25% of the Stamp of Approval orders placed.  So make sure you get your orders in quick my friends!!  For more information on how to order the Holiday Magic Stamp of Approval Box <----click here!!

If you haven't checked in with our designing friends Allison Cope,  Heather North and Kay Miller today, head on over to their blogs where they are offering up some more Holiday Magic fun!

Have a fantastic day!

This Week in Cards with an SOA sneak peek.

As guest designer over at Stamp Nation this month, I've been super busy getting ready for the release of the new Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic box.  It's just been so much fun!  I still managed to sneak into my craft room late at night to finish up a few cards for me so I would have a few to show you for This Week in Cards.

First, I made this Halloween card using my new favorite grid stencil  from My Favorite Things.   I didn't have any orange patterned paper on hand so I made my own to match perfectly with that cute little jack-o-lantern from Clearly Besotted's Boo To You stamp set.  

Shhhhhh if you look closely you'll see a sneak peek hiding in there from the new Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic box.  ;)

For this card I used The Ton's Round Diamond stamp set and did a little watercolor to add some fun dimension to the tag.  This tag die is actually one that came in the Stamp of Approval Friendship box back in August.

This card I made for a very special little girl who's having a birthday this month.  I think she'll like this pretty little Clearly Besotted bicycle and those cute little watercolored Lil' Inker balloons.  The Wishing sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp.  There's that Grid stencil again along with a chevron stamp from My Favorite Things Textile Background set.

Keep your eyes peeled for some fun sneak peeks into the new Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic box.  Catherine Pooler and all of the amazing designers from over at Stamp Nation are geared up and ready to share some fun projects.  And don't forget to get your name on that notification list so you don't miss out! 

Have an awesome day!!

Baby it's cold outside!

But thank goodness the weather is not frightful yet.  I've just been getting a head start on my Christmas cards this month.  Using my favorite color blue and an awesome new stamp set from the soon to be released Stamp of Approval Box: Holiday Magic by Catherine Pooler I made this cool blue beauty.  It makes my teeth chatter just looking at it.  LOL!   

I tried to keep this card clean and simple.  The background turned out just beautiful and I really didn't want to distract attention away from those gorgeous embossed snowflakes.   I stamped them  with Versamark ink and embossed them in white.  Then I inked over the snowflakes with distress ink.  I achieved a nice glow by inking it a little darker in the center of each snow flake and then blending it out to a light haze.  A little bit of silver sparkle card stock was the perfect touch of "ice" this card needed.

For this card I used the following supplies:

Stamps:

Bring on the Snowflakes (Stamp of Approval Box/Cas-ual Fridays)

Holiday Lyrics (The Ton)

Dies:

Funky Flakes (Stamp of Approval Box/Cas-ual Fridays)

Textile Rectangle Frame (My Favorite Things)

Stitched Mats: Rectangles (Lil' Inker Designs)

Ink:

Peacock Feathers (Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Mini)

Onyx Black (Versafine)

Clear (Versamark)

Cardstock:

White 110 lb (Neenah)

Silver Sparkle Cardstock (My Favorite Things)

I also used:

Embossing powder: Opaque Bright White Superfine (WOW)

silver twine

3M dimensional tape

If you'd like more info on the Stamp of Approval Holiday Magic Collection<-----click here.  It's an awesome box of goodies!

Cards from around the world.

What a busy, fun, amazing weekend we had over at Stamp Nation celebrating World Card Making Day.  Wow!  I was so amazed at all of the awesome talent over there.  So many great cards were entered into these challenges.  Every few hours we were getting new inspiration from a new country.  It was so cool to see how different everyone's cards were working off of the same inspiration photos.

Along with the three cards I made as guest designer I also joined in the challenges and really had a great time.  I spent the whole day Sunday working on these challenge cards and got so much done.  So hold on to your hat, we're about to fly around the world!

France (damask)

Japan (floral kimonos)

Malaysia (Batik)

Scotland (plaid)

Switzerland (Edelweiss Flower)

United States of America (bandanna)

I also made these two extra cards to represent

 Canada (Hudson Bay blanket).

Wasn't that fun?  Which one do you like best?

If you're not a member of Stamp Nation yet, stop on over and check out some of the benefits.  All of the challenges for prizes are going to remain open for two week so there's still plenty of time to join in the fun.  My sneak peek cards are posted over there in their WCMD postings.  Hope to see you there!  

  

World Card Making Day #3

Yep, we're still going strong over at Stamp Nation, celebrating World Card Making Day.  The projects that are being posted by members over there are amazing. So many people are joining in on the fun this weekend.

I have one more sneak peek for you.......

A little hint....this card was inspired by a country that runs deep in my family's heritage.

And just to let you know, there is still plenty of time to sign up and and play along with these challenges.  New World Card Making  Day challenges will be posted through tomorrow (Sunday, Oct. 4th)  There is still a ton of fun and prizes to be had at Stamp Nation.  See you there!

  Thank you so much to Catherine Pooler for the opportunity to guest design for this cool event.  I've had a blast!  

Another Sneak Peek Into World Card Making Day - Day#2

 It's the second day of our World Card Making Day over at Stamp Nation.  I hope you've had a chance to make it over there to check out the fun.  Wow!  There are some awesome things going on and the cards that are being posted for this event have been amazing!!  So much talent!!

My second card has just been posted and I admit I'm a little nervous.  This one was  definitely a challenge for me. 

Here's a little sneak peak for you.....

I hope you'll stop on over to Stamp Nation and check out all of these amazing cards that are drawing inspiration from around the world.

There is still time to join in, have some fun and take advantage of all the discounts and prizes the World Card Making Day sponsors are offering.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy World Card Making Day!!

Today is the day!!  Stamp Nation is kicking off it's World Card Making Day! Woohoo!  I have to tell you I've been so excited about this day, ever since Catherine Pooler asked me to be a guest designer over at Stamp Nation for the month of October.        

Over the next three days, we'll be following our sistahs to 10 different countries to find our inspiration for making some awesome cards.  I've already made a few fun cards to share over at Stamp Nation that will be showcased both today and tomorrow.

Shhhhhh.......here's a little sneak peek for you.......

Can you tell which country inspired me for this card?

  

If you'd like to see more just click on the sneak peek photo (above) and it will take you right over to Stamp Nation where you can learn how to sign up and become a member just in time for World Card Making Day!

Did I mention there are some awesome sponsors for this World Card Making Day event?  Take a look.......

These companies are offering Stamp Nation members some great discounts at their online stores this weekend.  Plus there will be lots of challenges and giveaways so don't miss out, it's going to be a blast!   I hope you see you all over there!

Have a great Day!!