Hung Up on Christmas

 

When I first began stamping in 2007, it was November, right around Christmas time and I knew I just had to make my own cards.  I was still learning the basics and quite overwhelmed, but gosh darnit, I was going to make it happen. I had figured out that I wouldn't have to color in solid images--which was a good thing as I didn't have any markers yet--and I thought the stamp set "Hung up on the Holidays" was the cutest thing EVER. :o)  

I purchased it, I made some cards, and I let it sit unused for the next two years as I used other "fancier" stamps to make my Christmas cards. What was I thinking?!? This is a darling set!

I don't know about you, but I will lie in bed at night and card ideas will flit through my head.  This one kept coming to me and I got in the studio and had to make it.  Initially, I was unimpressed.  Somehow, it didn't quite meet up to the vision in my head.  Okay, more to the point, it wasn't this card I made.  I initially used Very Vanilla instead of the Whisper White and instead used only the ornaments.  It was a bust.  It was too symmetrical (is there such a thing?), and too yellow. I changed the paper and added the gingerbread man, and was somewhat pleased with the results, but still not sure. 

That led to this card:

After putting it together, I realized I actually liked both cards and will be making them both this year. (Yes, I know the string is a little off from that red ornament, remember, these are just mock-ups.)

In other exciting news, I picked up some VersaMark Dazzle to use on the snowflake cards.  It has a hint of shimmer that it adds to the watermarking.  I also picked up...drum roll please...red and green copics.  Oh my.  Oh my oh my.  I found two colors that are so close to Old Olive and Cherry Cobbler and my plan is to use them on the Noel cards. :o) I still need to play around with them--a LOT--but I'm getting the feel for them, and they're pretty nice. :o)

As for this card, it uses:
Stamp Sets: "Hung up on the Holidays"(retired), PTI's "Signature Christmas"
Papers: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Whisper White
Inks: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Brilliance's Starlite Silver

I'll be out of town this weekend, so no stamping for me.  And then, we're having a church retreat from 7-8 Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday--during my typical stamping time--so I don't know if I'll have anything new to post until next Friday.  Maybe Lissie can pick up the slack? ;o)

--Rach