Here are a couple of cards I made using the Day of Gratitude stamp set along with the medallion background stamp. I saw something similar on splitcoaststampers but didn't note the original. I will be better about that in the future. Sad to say I made two other fun cards that I forgot to take pictures of before I used them.

Welcome Christmas

I absolutely love the "Welcome Christmas" stamp set. I have been having fun playing with it. Here are a couple of the cards I came up with. I have made a set of coasters using the kids and the sled that I will photograph and post later. The first card uses crumb cake, Not Quite Navy and Baja Breeze paper. I don't love this combination but wanted to try something different.

Come to Bethlehem stamp set cards

Here are a couple of cards I made with the "Come to Bethlehem" stamp set. I used shimmer paint on the second picture (although it doesn't photograph well.) I have redone these cards using my Night of Navy craft ink rather than the classic ink. I will post these later. The image is much more bold with the craft ink. The paper lace technique I got from here.

Fun with Punch Potpourri Hostess set

I have been playing around with the heart from the hostess level one Punch Potpourri set. The card designs are very similar but I made some slight changes. I think the one using the riding hood red is my favorite. I also used my Big Shot movers and shapers to cut the heart. For the embossing I used my brayer to roll crumb cake ink onto the Elegant Lines embossing folder. Then I ran it through the Big Shot using vanilla paper. I saw the technique on splitcoaststampers but I can't remember where. I will be using this technique more in the future.

More "Because I Care" Cards

I have enjoyed the level 1 hostess set "Because I Care" a lot. I think it is currently one of my most used stamp sets. Here are three more cards I came up with.

For the above card I used Espresso, Cherry and crumb cake paper. My favorite part of this card is the taffeta ribbon and safety pin from the vintage trinkets accessories. I also used the French Filigree background stamp set using crumb cake ink.

I cased this card from the latest issue of Stampin Success (a magazine for Stampin Up demonstrators). I embossed the flower and sentiment using versamark ink and gold embossing powder. I also used the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. This card is simple but elegant. It would also make a great anniversary, wedding, or sympathy card.

For the last card I used Marina mist paper and ink. The punch is one of my favorites and can be found on page 25 of the holiday mini catalog. I have been using the Vintage Wallpaper EF a lot but I have to admit that I think the Final Press EF used on this card is one of my favorites.

Cracked Glass Technique- Lovely as a Tree

For these two cards I used the cracked glass technique found here. This is one of my favorite stamps sets (Lovely as a Tree)- it is timeless and so versatile.

For the first card I used Espresso, Artichoke and Vanilla paper. I stamped the tree using the espresso ink. Then I used my woodgrain background stamp over it. If you double click on the picture you can enlarge it to see this better. Then I used the cracked glass technique. The hardest part was holding the paper and trying not to burn myself with the heat gun. I used my Vintage Wallpaper EF for the texture. I also sponged espresso ink on top to make it look more vintage.

This bottom card is very similar to the top one with a few minor changes. I used cajun and crumb cake paper instead of the artichoke. When I stamped the tree. I stamped it in cajun ink first then rolled my stamp in the espresso ink. I got to use some of my favorite accessores on this card - the espresso taffeta ribbon and the vintage trinkets. I also used the Tiny Tags stamp set and punch for the mini tags on the safety pin.

I have been having such a good time stamping lately. I think I have taken some of the pressure off myself when making a card and just having fun playing with my stuff.

TFL.

I have been wanting to try some new techniques and www.splitcoaststampers.com has some great tutorials and this was one of them. The tutorial can be found here. It is hard to see in the picture but I stamped one of the leaves from the Autumn Splendor set on the espresso paper using espresso ink. The I embossed it using my square lattace EF. The paper on the right of the card is actually gold paper that I stamped with the woodgrain background. I stamped the large leaf from the Autumn Spendor set using chocolate chip craft ink then embossed with clear embossing powder. I did this on the polished stone paper I made. Finally, I stamped the sentiment from the Day of Gratitude stamp set using versamark and gold embossing powder. Despite the above description it actually went together fairly quickly (which is good for me as it usually takes me a LONG time to come up with a layout.)