Christmas in August

This is what we made for this month's Christmas Club. You should have been here! We had Christmas music playing on Pandora to get us in the holiday mood (despite the heat and humidity outside), cookies and cold spiced cider (because hot spiced cider didn't sound like such a terrific idea, lol).

This is a fun-fold card, inspired by a swap I got from Cris McCarthy at Convention. It is so cool, and it was quick and easy to do, too! (Measurements given below.) The belly band slides off to reveal an accordion folded card. There are all kinds of possibilities for finishing the inside, with lots of room to write a personal note, as well.

The Christmas Club meets the second Monday of the month at 2:00 PM and again at 7:00 PM for the people who have daytime jobs. The card du jour is emailed out in advance (ideally) so people can decide how many they want to make before they get here. Here's the other two options:

There's always room for more, so let me know if you want to be added to the class email list. Time's a-wasting to get those cards made; the holidays will be here before you know it!


Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, Petite Pairs
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Pacific Point DSP, Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP, Red Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Real Red, Early Espresso, Midnight Muse
Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Ornaments Framelits Dies, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, 1" Square Punch (banner ends), Merry Minis Punch Pack, Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Very Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon, Whisper White 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon (retired), Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Here are the measurements for the basic card, just decorate as desired! 
     Card base: 5½ x 12, scored at 2,4,7, and 9
     Belly band: 1¼ x 8½, scored at 2¼ and 6 ⅜
     DSP: 2¾ x 5¼ (x2) and 1¼ x 5¼ (x1) for card base
     DSP: 1 x 3 ⅞ for belly band

Some Convention Pics and Swaps

Here are a couple of the Stampin' Addicts organized swap cards I took to the Stampin' Up! convention, along a few of the display boards. Oh, momma, there was some uh-MAZing creativity displayed there, worth the price of admission even without all the freebies we received (more on that later).

The Champagne Glimmer ornament was cut with the Holiday Ornaments Framelits die, and the E.E. heat embossed ornament was fussy-cut, leaving the lovely glimmer paper border showing.

Christmas Card
Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes, More Merry Messages
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Champagne Glimmer Paper, Soft Suede DSP
Ink: VersaMark, Early Espresso
Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Ornaments Framelits, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, Heat Tool, Early Espresso Stampin' Emboss Powder, Boho Blossoms Punch, Itty Biity Shapes Punch Pack, Pearls Basic Jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals

Butterfly Card
Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Papillon Potpourri, Pursuit of Happiness
Cardstock: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Tangerine Tango DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Elegant Butterfly Punch, Modern Label Punch, 2-1/2" Circle Punch (mask), Early Espresso Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Dazzling Details, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals

I'll be posting more of the swaps and display boards in the days ahead. And pictures of some of the lovely people I met, as well. (Justin Wilson, You Crew member, you made my day!!!)

Christmas in July and a SNEAKY PEEK!

Mr. Brown delivered a box full of fabulous, amazing, wonderful, awesome, and neat-o goodies from the upcoming Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog yesterday. So today, taking a break from making swap cards, I made this card so you could get a preview of coming distractions (tee hee)!  Oh, baby, when I say SU outdid themselves, I'm not kidding. Shown here are four items from the Holiday catty.

First thing you may notice is the Champagne Glimmer Paper. The photo just does NOT do it justice. It is much brighter and sparkly than my rotten camera can depict.

Next is the Holiday Ornament Framelits. There are eight Framelits, which match the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set (nine stamps). They are uh-MAZING!

Now take a closer look at that ornament.  If you can see past the sparkly stuff, you may notice the ornament was heat embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder! It's hard to tell with the glare of the light reflection, but you can see it better near the bottom of the ornament. In the new catalog there is also Gumball Green EP, as well as a couple of new scented ones!

And lastly, you may have noticed the embossing folder. There are three new folders!  This one is called Lacy Brocade and it is soooo elegant.

Okay, enough previews.....I gotta get back to work on my swaps!


Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes (avail. 8/1), More Merry Messages
Cardstock: Champagne Glimmer Paper (avail. 8/1), Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Soft Suede DSP
Ink: VersaMark, Early Espresso
Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Ornaments Framelits (avail. 8/1), Gold and Early Espresso embossing powder (E.E. avail. 8/1), Heat Tool, Lacy Brocade embossing folder (8/1), Large Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin' Sponges, Stampin' Dimensionals