12 days of Christmas: day 11

Lots of very subtle details on this card that you might not be able to see clearly from the photo - the card was dry embossed using the tulip border folder, then a double frame ripped out of the centre with a pink pirhouette frame poking through the rose red. Three shades of pinks were used to ink the "Something for Christmas" stamp, then I've used glitter to create a shimmer effect over the top. A nice girly Christmas card in some non-traditional colours - and another way to use this great stamp :-)

12 days of Christmas: day 10

Whoops! Time completely got away with me and I missed posting the last 3 days of Christmas! Never mind ... they'll give you some extra ideas for next year :-) This card uses the christmas tree stamp from "Season of Joy" and a monochromatic colour scheme of old olive and whisper white. I was really into monochromatic cards this year - maybe you'd noticed? I think they have a classic, elegant and simple look to them - and it's much easier to have things matching!

12 days of Christmas: day 9

Just as there are days where everything comes together, there are days when things just don't, and with this card, they just don't! Saying that, I do love the "Dasher" stamp, and think it came up really nicely when embossed in the Cherry Cobbler embossing powder. I was also keen to try this ripped window effect, but feel that something is just ... missing. Never mind! Today's mistake is tomorrows inspiration for further creativity :-) I'll keep trying and see what I come up with!

12 days of Christmas: day 8

This bright and cheerful card has been done in quite traditional Christmas colours - garden green and real red. It has been stamped with good ol' reliable "Season of Joy" - so versatile! - with the different colours added using Stampin' Write markers instead of inkpads. Nice, quick and easy - winner!

12 days of Christmas: day 7

Some days, despite your best attempts, your cards just don't turn out the way you'd envisioned, while other days, everything goes acccording to plan and you're left satisfied with the end result. Today, I'm glad to report, is one of the latter days! I'm just so pleased with how these nativity cards turned out! They both use the "Tidings of Joy" stamp set, with greetings from "Season of Joy" and "Short & Sweet". One had a background dry embossed on Very Vanilla cardstock using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder, while the other used "Petals-a-Plenty". I coloured the images using Chocolate Chip ink and a blender pen and accessorised with hemp twine and Vintage Trinkets. Both are on a base of Chocolate Chip cardstock. I hope you like them as much as I do :-)

12 days of Christmas: day 6

Welcome back! Today's post is my spin on the card we made at Kirrily's launch party back in September. I've still used the "Something for Christmas" stamp, but have inked it onto some cutouts using the Top Note die and the BigShot. It really helps the image pop out, and I just love it!

12 days of Christmas: day 5

Today's card comes curtesy of my upline Kirrily, who demonstrated this layout at her recent launch of the new Stampin' Up! Idea book & catalogue. It uses one of my favourite "a la carte" stamps (stamps that you can buy individually), "Something for Christmas". The "a la carte" stamps are perfect for people new to card making or scrapbooking, who want to give it a try without spending a great deal of money to get started. We used the Stampin' Write markers to ink the different colours on the stamp, and finished off the design with some Chocolate Chip scallop dot ribbon. So pretty! Come back tomorrow to see my spin on this great design!