Mountain Air - Take 2

 Hi all.  Just a quick update.  When I shared the Mountain Air card the other day, I mentioned that I had used a 4 1/4" square of the Sale-a-bration Peaceful Prints Designer Series Paper.  And yes, it is free!  Anyway, I told you I had cut the DSP at an angle and used half on the card I shared.  Just wanted to share with you the other half of the DSP,  namely the backside of it, and the same card with a little change added.

See, basically the same card using the same stamps, cardstock, ink, etc.  It looks a little different using the snowflake-over-plaid Designer Series Paper, which I really like.  Maybe even more than the first version.

But I couldn't leave well enough alone.  I had the scraps left over from the black glitter paper that the center trees were die-cut from.  It was just too pretty to waste.  So I took the tiny star from the Christmas Trimmings Die set, and cut as many stars as possible from the scraps.  Now I have a tidy pile of stars for future use.  The Black Glitter Paper already had the Adhesive Sheets I had put on the back, so it was easy to peel and stick a few on.  Did I get carried away with the number of stars?  Not sure.  I keep going back and forth about that number, but they're on there now, so I guess they're staying.  

Here's a little more of a close-up of the Black Glitter Paper tree and stars.  The paper seems difficult to photograph and really show how pretty it is.  Guess it's just too subtle for my camera  As far as I can tell though, it does look gorgeous on the actual card, so I'll be using touches of it here and there quite often.  I usually go for the more subtle look on cards, so this is right up my creative alley!

Keep playing around with your stamping 'toys'.  It definitely is more fun than therapy!  I'll be back with more ideas shortly.  Stay tuned!

If you're placing an order yet this month to get those Sale-a-bration freebies, don't forget to please use the Host Code shown here.  I really appreciate you wonderful ladies.  I'm already working on goodies to send you next month as a thank you.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

Mountain Air Christmas

 Hi y'all!  Hope you're having a fabulous day today.  It's Monday here and it can't decide if it's really hot and all sunshiny, or cloudy and rainy.  It seems to swing back and forth between the two today so I have no idea what to expect when out running errands!  Leave when it's sunny and come back drenched - how crazy!  And even with all this crazy hot and wet weather, the card today is Christmas.  Guess I need to get used to a warmer winter than I was used to in Michigan!  Think cool!

I've always liked red and black for cards, so masculine.  And  the Mountain Air stamp set with it's coordinating Majestic Mountain dies was a big favorite of mine last year for fall and Christmas.  I'm so happy it's still in the current catalog so I can share this simple and classy Christmas card with you.

I started with a base of Basic White Thick cardstock cut at 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded at 4 1/4".  The cool plaid paper is from the traditional Peaceful Prints Designer Series Paper that is one of the free items during Sale-a-bration with a $50 order.  Each of the 12 prints in this DSP is great and will make up some great cards or Christmas themed scrapbook pages or 3D items.  This is one of the first items I chose because of the versatility.  

The plaid DSP was cut at 4 1/4" x 4 1/4".   It was then cut diagonally, about 1" up from the bottom left corner to about 1" down from the top right corner.  Since this basically cuts it in half, you can easily make two cards at a time when using both pieces.  For my 2nd card, I flipped the DSP over and used the other side which has white snowflakes over the plaid.  A real nice look with the black trees.

After attaching the DSP to the bottom of the card base, I added a 1/2" strip of Basic Black at the cut edge and attached with adhesive.  This strip really gave the card a nice finished look.  It's best to start with a longer strip than you think you'll need just to make sure that the ends both overlap the sides of the card and can be snipped off. (ask me why I know this.  Hmm...)

The sentiment comes from the Perfectly Plaid stamp set.  I love the beautiful font on these words and use it often.  This was stamped in Real Red ink.

Two of the trees were die-cut from Basic Black cardstock.  Actually I was only planning on using two, then I remembered I had ordered the Black Glitter Paper that is in the Halloween section of the Mini Catalog.  How would that look?  Oh my goodness!  I loved the look of two plain black trees and the center one have that awesome glitter.  Very understated and gorgeous.

Before die-cutting the trees, I adhered the cardstock pieces to the Adhesive Sheets.  This made it so easy to later just peel off the backing and attach them to my card.  Lastly, I added three Real Red Rhinestones for a bit of glitz.  So happy with how the cards turned out!  And two more cards finished for my Christmas Card Stash!  Woo hoo!

So glad you stopped by today.  Hope you like this very classy and clean idea today.  Of course you can take the idea and make it into any type of card you need.  That's why it's so fun to have basic card layouts that you can go back to time and again.  It takes some of the stress out of what to do on those days when your creative mojo just isn't doing too well.  You know, we all have those days. Just pull out a layout that you're comfortable with and add paper and stamps.  Easy Peasy.

If you're planning on placing an order this month so you can take advantage of Sale-a-bration, please use the host code listed below.  I really appreciate it.  And I'm so happy you've decided to shop with me!

August Host Code

WW9ZCZHH

Happy stamping and creating!

Sharon