Tour de Freaks Occasions/SAB Sneak Peek!

Welcome to the December 2016 Tour de Freaks! We are giddy with excitement over the new Occasions catalog and Sale-A-Bration, both of which start in just 2-1/2 weeks! I'm the first stop on the tour this time, but you might have landed here from Dawn's blog, DOstamping With Dawn. (Aren't her projects to die for?! I may have squealed when I saw them!) To visit all nine stops on the tour, just click the links at the bottom of each blog post.

I'm focusing on the Special Reason bundle comprised of the fourteen piece Special Reason stamp set plus the eleven piece Stylish Stems Framelits Dies. Oh my gosh, there are so many ways to use them, and not only do I love the flowers and leaves, but all the sentiments are fabulous, too!

STAMPS: Special Reason CARDSTOCK: So Saffron, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Watermelon Wonder INK: Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Old Olive TOOLS: Big Shot, Stylish Stems Framelits Dies, Celebration T.I.E.F., Sponge Daubers, Sprinkles Embellishments, Fine-Tip Glue Pen

On the first card, I inked the larger flower stamp using a sponge dauber so the colors would blend. It was cut with the coordinating Framelit, then the overlay was cut with the Thinlit and Framelit. And the leaves....oh, those lovely leaves! You can stamp a whole leaf and die cut it, or stamp just leaf veins and die cut, and then you can die cut the leafy overlay to top it off or use alone! Notice that "celebrate"? It's embossed, or should I say debossed with one of the Celebrations Duo embossing folders. I inked the raised portion of the folder to add some color to the recessed part!

STAMPS: Special Reason, Gorgeous Grunge CARDSTOCK: Shimmery White, Watermelon Wonder, Gold Foil INK: VersaMark, Old Olive TOOLS: Big Shot, Stylish Stems Framelits Dies, Heat Tool, Gold E.P., Sponge Daubers, Linen Thread, Glue Dots, Fine-Tip Glue Pen

On the next card, I used the smaller flower Thinlits with Gold Foil, then cut it out with the coordinating Framelit die, which I also used on the top layer of the card so the card base would show through. The stem and leaves were reverse masked using the negative of the die-cut stem from the first card. (Like I said - lots of ways to use this bundle!)

STAMPS: Special Reason, So Very Much CARDSTOCK: Very Vanilla, Vellum INK: Marina Mist, Dapper Denim, Crumb Cake, VersaMark TOOLS: Heat Tool, Copper E.P., Sponge Daubers, Night of Navy Baker's Twine, 2016-2018 In Color Enamel Shapes, Stampin' Dimensionals, Glue Dots

For the last card, I used the negative of the smaller Thinlit flower to reverse mask using Marina Mist, the flower was stamped with Dapper Denim, and the smaller leaf stamped with Crumb Cake to create a patterned background. The copper embossed (on vellum) "Thank You" is from So Very Much, one of the free Sale-A-Bration products! I love the big, swirly script with the little block print add-ons.

That's all from me for now. I have so much more I want to share, so be sure to check back in the coming days and weeks! Up next is the ever-awesome Melissa Davies, over at Rubber FUNatics!