Dry embossing...

Dry embossing on shimmery card stock is so pretty, though hard to see here. The big flourishes from the Priceless brass template are on either side of the snowflake.

The snowflake is from Season of Joy, which is only available till Nov. 30 (Friday) in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

The colors on the card are Purely Pomegranate and Bashful Blue with a square ice rhinestone.

Keep Christmas...

Cracked glass technique with the candle proves to be a winning combination. The designer paper is from Brocade Background, while the Plaid background stamp is inked in Ruby Red and stamped on Ruby Red card stock.

The image was colored in with Earth Elements watercolor crayons and an aqua painter on Confetti Cream card stock.

Once the image is colored, ink the entire image with a VersaMark pad then add Glassy Glaze embossing powder. Repeat the VersaMark ink and powder a few more times to build up a nice clear coat, then bend the image when it cools to make the cracks.

Trivia: After "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens wrote several other Christmas stories, one each year, but none was as successful as the original. (Source: www.corsinet.com/braincandy/xmastrivia.html)

Time Well Spent...

Here's a sneak peek at a Level 3 hostess set coming out in the Spring-Summer Collection 2008 January 1st.

Stampin' Up! sent this set to every demonstrator! Can you imagine sending out 50,000+ stamp sets? Crazy!

In a letter that came with the set, SU! CEO and co-founder Shelli Gardner said, "Although I appreciate you every single day - and I hope you know that - I don't always get an opportunity to share that appreciation with you. So I decided a gift stamp set was a great way to express those feelings."

The colors in this card are Tempting Turquoise, Apricot Appeal and Cameo Coral. It's really soft and pretty in person. The watercoloring doesn't show up as intense as it is.

If you've been on the fence about signing up, why not take the plunge? It's great fun. The product is of the highest quality, and you'll get so many ideas and techniques!

Moose You...

Who can resist a red-nosed reindeer? This deer is out of the Moose You set. It's stamped in Close to Cocoa on Very Vanilla card stock.

The designer paper comes from the Dashing pack and is adhered to Real Red card stock.

It only takes a couple inches of 5/8" red grosgrain to add a little pop of color, along with Rudolph's pom-pom nose.

Trivia: Santa's Reindeers are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen.

Baby Jesus is Born...

I love the simplicity of this set. The background is Sanded stamped in Sahara Sand on Sahara Sand card stock.

The words and main image are stamped in Basic Gray and colored in with Stampin' Write markers.

I love the two jumbo eyelets on the left, with Night of Navy grosgrain tied in knot between them.

This card makes me happy!

Season of Joy...

The Season of Joy stamp set, this wrapping paper, and the chocolate satin ribbon will only be available till Nov. 30, which is coming up fast.

This card came together quickly with Stampin' Up!'s two oval punches and the ticket corner punch, a 2-way glue pen and some Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

5-Petal Flower punch...

Louise came up with this card, which requires NO stamping! What's the fun? Well, you get to play with designer paper, elastic gold cord, the 5-petal flower punch (which, when you cut a petal off, gives you a leaf!), and rhinestone brads.

A sneak peek...

A Beautiful Thing stamp set was handed out at Founder's Circle in September. We made a couple of make & takes (see the post below) with this set at the Stampin' Up! facility in Kanab, UT.

This set will be in the Spring-Summer Collection 2008, which is coming out Jan. 1, 2008.

This Kraft note has a 3/4" circle punched through the front of it so you can view life though the flower. The front is stamped with the Canvas background stamp in Close to Cocoa.

The 5/8" Old Olive grosgrain acts as a belly band holding the Very Vanilla note in place.

Don't forget to embellish the envelope!

A Beautiful Thing...

This card is 3" x 6" and uses chipboard covered with designer paper. The scalloped edges of the chipboard was distressed and smoothed with a sanding block.

The flower was stamped in Classic Rose Red ink and cut out of Whisper White card stock. The smallest flower from the set was stamped (the inside is part of another stamp in the set), punched out with a 1/2" circle punch and mounted in a build-a-brad.

The chipboard is only attached to the Rose Red belly band, which holds the card closed.

The Snowflake Spot...

This card was inspired by a swap that didn't have a name on it. It uses The Snowflake Spot, a white craft pad and white embossing powder.

The ribbon is SU!'s white taffeta, and the half pearl is from the Pretties Kit.

Trivia: An average household in America will mail out 28 Christmas cards each year and see 28 eight cards return in their place. (Source: www.corsinet.com/braincandy/xmastrivia.html)

Do you have your Christmas cards made yet?

All in the Family...

These little people make me happy!

Stampin' Up! is donating 100 percent of the sales from All in the Family to the family of the late general manager of SU! Australia. If you order one or more of these stamp sets, I'll give you the catalog price - no shipping or sales tax. The deadline: Nov. 30, 2007. See details here.

I also want to call to your attention the designer paper Cutie Pie. The doodle-like art on many of the 12" x 12" sheets paired with this stamp set would make many adorable birthday cards. See the paper special.

The scallop-punched wreath is from Glorious Garlands. Some of the little flowers are stamped in Groovy Guava and Purely Pomegranate and punched out with the 1/4" circle punch. The green is Wild Wasabi.

Trivia: The modern Christmas custom of displaying a wreath on the front door of one's house, is borrowed from ancient Rome's New Year's celebrations. Romans wished each other "good health" by exchanging branches of evergreens. They called these gifts strenae after Strenia, the goddess of health. It became the custom to bend these branches into a ring and display them on doorways. (Source: http://www.corsinet.com/braincandy/xmastrivia.html)

Love and Joy...

This is a card "wrapped up" like a present with the greeting as a tag of sorts.

The card stock and ink colors is Purely Pomegranate, with satin ribbon from the Holiday Mini Catalog. The ticket corner punch accents all the corners, and silver elastic cord attaches the tag to the ribbon.

The Friends Forever And Ever circle is punched out with a 3/4" circle punch and stuck inside the "O" with a Stampin' Dimensional.

Peace to the World...

I think it's sweet to see a lion with a lamb. The image is stamped in Basic Gray and watercolored with crayons and an aqua painter on Confetti White card stock.

The card and button are So Saffron, with Not Quite Navy. Linen thread holds the button on.

It don't mean a thing...

if you ain't got that bling! This birthday card uses Year after Year, Happy Thoughts, Define Your Life, and Aida Cloth background.

For bling, there's a build-a-brad and some clear rhinestone brads (from the Pretties Kit).

The sentiment was punch out with the Key Tag punch, and double-stitched River Rock ribbon was used. An aqua painter was used to drag some Purely Pomegranate from the flower outline into the petals.

Big on Christmas...

This is a quick and easy card for a workshop.

It uses one stamp set (Big on Christmas), one punch (Ticket Corner), one embellishment (double-stitched Wild Wasabi ribbon), designer paper (from the Cutie Pie pack), a Rose Red marker and an aqua painter with the Wild Wasabi ink pad.

Trivia: The word "Noel" is French for Christmas.