Snowmen Trio from Christmas Punch

This little trio of snowmen is from the ‘Tis the Season tag from the Hostess Level 2 Set, Christmas Punch. This little guy just wanted to parade around in his winter finery, despite the fact it is July! Since I am a pushover for snowmen, who was I to tell him, “No!” So I paired him up with the new Holiday Lounge Designer Paper, which is a sampler of non-traditional holiday colors, such as Taken with Teal and Sahara Sand. I happen to be a fan of teal for winter, so it is no wonder that I pulled out this particular pattern. The only regret that I have is that you cannot clearly see the Iridescent Ice embossed snowflakes that I added. But you know how difficult it is to photograph bling! At least you can see an imprint of them! What a better way to enjoy July than with a recipe for snowmen, using this week’s Splitcoast Sketch 238.

  • Prepare a standard card base from Whisper White, and score at the top. Layer with a teal selection from Holiday Lounge Designer Series Paper.

  • Cut a 5-1/4″ by 1-5/8″ strip from a contrasting pattern from Holiday Lounge and mat onto Whisper White followed by Taken with Teal.

  • Ink the “Tis the Season” image from Christmas Punch with Basic Black and stamp onto Whisper White. Repeat two more times. Cut out just the Snowmen with Paper Snips. (Tip: Paper Snips are perfect for snipping into hard to reach places, since they are sharp to the very tip!) Color the carrot noses with a Dusty Durango Stampin‘ Write Marker! Use a Blender Pen and the following inks to color the hats: Rose Red, Basic Gray, and Old Olive.

  • Punch three 1-1/4″ squares from Taken with Teal using the 1-1/4″ Square Punch. Add snippets of the following 1/4″ Grosgrain Ribbons to serve as the snowmen’s scarves: Rose Red, White, and Old Olive. (Tip: These scarves are actually made from two pieces of ribbon—one piece is vertical to serve as the ends of the scarves, which is layered underneath the horizontal piece. A Mini-Glue Dot is perfect for holding the vertical piece in place. Trust me, it was too difficult to try and tie them!)

  • Adhere the snowmen to the Taken with Teal squares and pop onto Kraft squares which have been punched with the 1-3/8″ Square Punch. Stampin‘ Dimensionals are perfect for adding dimension for this task. Adhere your double matted snowmen squares to the card base as illustrated.

  • My snowmen cried out for a little bling, so two small and one large Turquoise Square Ice Brads did just the trick. (Tip: For perfect brad placement, use the template from the Mat Pack!) And, of course, a few Iridescent Ice snowflakes were added by simply inking the Mini-Snowflake image from the Holiday Blitz stamp set with VersaMark ink and heat embossing.
I never know from one day to the next what set I will ink up. I really was going to try for Halloween, but then I got sidetracked by the Splitcoast sketch, which did not fit my Halloween sets. To quote Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day.”
As always, I love reading your comments and emails. Please feel free to leave me a comment, or if you have questions about any card, please feel free to email me. Until next time…
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Stamp Sets: Christmas Punch (Hostess Level 2—115366), Holiday Blitz (114982)
Inks: Basic Black (101179), Rose Red (101778), Basic Gray (109120), Old Olive (102277), Dusty Durango Stampin’ Write Marker (116329—In-Color Set)
Designer Series Paper: Holiday Lounge (115676)
Card Stock: Taken with Teal (101584), Kraft (102125), Whisper White (100730)
Tools: 1-1/4” Square Punch (104400), 1-3/8” Square Punch (103375), Paper Snips (103579), Heat Tool (100005), Mat Pack (105826), Blender Pens (102845)
Embellishments: Rose Red ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon (111366), Whisper White ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon (109025), Old Olive ¼” Grosgrain Ribbon (111368), Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder (101930), Square Ice Brads (109113)

Time for Thyme

The Herb Expressions stamp set and Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper go together like a hand in a glove. Since I do not have an herb garden, I did a little research about the color of thyme, and found that a viable color (among several) was a lovely lilac-purple, just perfect for pairing up with Cottage Wall. Have you got time for a little thyme?

  • Prepare a 5-1/2″ by 5-1/2″ card base from Old Olive. Layer with a selection from Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper.

  • Select a darker contrasting paper from Cottage Wall, cut a wide strip. Use the Eyelet Border Punch. Layer onto the card base. Punch a second eyelet border from the same pattern as the base layer and adhere. The end result will be two eyelet borders layered on each other, with a narrow strip of the darker paper peaking through at the top.

  • Select a third pattern from Cottage Wall and mat onto Old Olive. Adhere to the card base.

  • Ink the “Thyme” image from Herb Expressions with Basic Gray and stamp onto Very Vanilla. Color the image using Blender Pens and the following inks: Lovely Lilac and Old Olive. Mat onto Orchid Opulence, followed by Old Olive. Add a snippet of Old Olive Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, and adhere to the card base as illustrated.

  • For a little bling, add two Clear Rhinestone Brads!

I knew from the moment I laid eyes on Cottage Wall that I was going to use it again and again. Purple is my favorite color, so how could I resist it! This Designer Paper coordinates with Old Olive, Orchid Opulence, and Rich Razzleberry, and is the perfect compliment to the Herb Expressions set!

So what will next time hold? I still have a few new sets that I have not inked up, including some cute Halloween sets. How about Halloween in July? The Cast-a-Spell Designer Series Paper is spookily adorable. I also have the beautiful Medallion stamp, too, which I can hardly wait to use! That’s my problem…Too many stamps and too little time before school starts again and I head back to the classroom!

As always, I love reading your comments and emails. Please feel free to leave me a comment, or if you have questions about any card, please feel free to email me. Until next time…

Order Your Stampin’ Up! Supplies Now
Stamp Set: Herb Expressions (113224)
Ink: Basic Gray (109120), Lovely Lilac (102874), Old Olive (102277)
Designer Series Paper: Cottage Wall (115671)
Card Stock: Old Olive (100702), Very Vanilla (101650), Orchid Opulence (100969)
Tools: Eyelet Border Punch (113692), Blender Pens (102845)
Embellishments: Clear Rhinestone Brads (113114), Old Olive ½” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (113883)

Mustard Cat Mojo

It’s’ Mojo Monday again! This Mustard Cat from Peace Within has me singing the Blues…Brocade and Bashful, that is! I am not a “blue” person, but I liked how the background and the ribbon popped out the Bashful Blue pillow. A Blender Pen lover’s delight, Peace Within is one of my favorite new sets. Here’s the Mojo-licious Mustard Cat recipe:

  • Prepare a 5-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ card base from textured Very Vanilla. Round the two lower corners using the Corner Rounder Punch.

  • Using the Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Mat, cut a 3-3/4″ circle from Chocolate Chip.

  • Ink the “Cat Nap” image from Peace Within with Basic Brown and stamp onto Very Vanilla. Set the Circle Scissors Plus at 3-1/2″ and cut out the image. Color using Blender Pens and inks as follow: Chair-Creamy Caramel; Pillow-Bashful Blue; Cat-More Mustard; Pot-Really Rust; Leaves-Garden Green; Flower-Cameo Coral; Butterfly-Bashful Blue; Gravel-Sahara Sand. Mat onto the Chocolate Chip circle.

  • Cut three 1-1/4″ strips from Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper and mat onto Chocolate Chip. Position and adhere these strips onto Bashful Blue. Add a snippet of Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon as shown in the photograph. Position and adhere the image circle, popping it up on Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Ah, what a life! Stretched out and basking in the sun! Peace Within is a fun, little set which should delight cat and basket lovers alike! As always, I love reading your comments and emails. Please feel free to leave me a comment, or if you have questions about any card, please feel free to email me. Until next time…

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