"Christmas in July" Day 5!

Today's post features 2 tags using the "PUNCH PALS" set from Stampin Up! This is one of my favorite holiday sets because it is so versatile... not to mention the snowman is super cute! I think the snowman is my favorite Christmas icon.... I have MANY snowman stamps! These tags are a bit on the large side and there's plenty of room to include a message. My friend Bobbie made these and they will be available for purchase on the website starting Monday!



Ingredients:
Cardstock- Glorious Green, Real Red, Whisper White and Kraft
Real Red gingham ribbon
Markers- Glorious Green, Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Only Orange and Summer Sun
(all from Stampin Up!)

That concludes the "Christmas in July" postings. I hope you've enjoyed them and maybe you even found some inspiration to make your own Christmas cards this year!

Be sure to check out www.thecardkitchen.com in the next few weeks as I will be adding more Christmas cards for sale AND a place where you can special order larger quantities at a discounted price!

"Christmas in July" Day 4!

I know it's a day late, but here it is... day 4! This was a card that my kids and I made last Christmas. We had an assembly line going in an attempt to make 100 cards to send out to all our friends and family. I made about 10 different cards and then we all got together and voted on which one we wanted to send out. I must say this was the "cutest!" But, after making about 10 of them, it was beginning to look a little LESS cute! It ended up being way too much work so we went on to make something else. Come to think of it, we never did finish all our cards and decided to just send out New Year's cards instead. Wait a minute... we never finished those either! Well, I guess we have a huge head start for this year!

Anyway, enjoy the card...




I used a sizzix die and the Big Shot machine to cut out the reindeer and the santa suit. To make the the "fur" trim I cut the santa suit again with white felt. I still wanted more texture so I added brown chenille stems for the antlers and a red rhinestone for his nose!

"Christmas in July" Day 3!

Today's card is a "NO-STAMP" card. Yes, you heard me right... no stamping! I used pieces from a retired Stampin Up! accessory set. The snowman greeting and striped pieces are actually cardstock stickers. This card came together quick and easy and I really like it's simplicity.



Ingredients:
Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss and Kraft cardstock
Riding Hood Red ribbon
(all from Stampin Up!)

Sorry for the short post...
Tune in tomorrow for DAY 4 of Christmas in July!

"Christmas in July" Day 2!

Wow! 2 days in a row... looks like I am on a roll!
Here is a very simple card thats easy to make. I made this one for a swap I did with the other Stampin Up! demonstrators in my group. This time I used our new Hostess Set, CHRISTMAS PUNCH. It's a level 2 set and I absolutely had to have it the minute I saw it in the new catalog. Everyone knows I HATE to cut stuff out(almost as much as I hate to watercolor!). The great thing about this set is that all 7 images coordinate with one or more of the Stampin Up! punches... which means... NO CUTTING WITH SCISSORS... Hooray! Just stamp, punch and adhere to your card! See... I told you it was easy!




Ingredients:
Stampin Up! Stamp Sets: Christmas Punch (Hostess level 2)
Stampin Up! Cardstock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue
Stampin up! Ink: Bashful Blue, Basic Black
Stampin up! Ribbon: Bashful Blue 1/4" Grosgrain
Stampin Up! Tools: Wide Oval punch
Misc: rhinestones, glitter

Tune in tomorrow for DAY 3 of my "Christmas in July!"

"Christmas in July" begins today!

That's right, as promised I have the frist cards for my "Christmas in July" 5 days of posting. This is a set of mini cards made using the new SPARKLY & BRIGHT set from Stampin Up! I just LOVE the retro feel of this cute little set. The greeting stamped inside also comes with the set: "may your season be Sparkly & Bright!" Because of their size I think these would be fun to use as gift tags too!

The cards are 3" X 3" and use the following ingredients:
Stampin Up! Stamp Sets: Sparkly & Bright
Stampin Up! Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red
Stampin up! Ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive
Stampin Up! Tools: 1 1/4" square punch, 1 3/8" square punch
Misc: red rhinestones, red glitter, patterned paper (Heidi Grace)

Tune in tomorrow for DAY 2 of my "Christmas in July"

Just the latest update from moi!

Well hello everyone! It sure has been a long time since I posted, hasn't it! I thought I got my blog up and running at just the right time... meaning that school was coming to an end and SURELY I would have lots of time to post... HA! Was I ever mistaken!!! I'm wondering now if I will EVER have "lot's of time to post!"

So the week after school got out the kids were involved in VBS and soccer camp. The following week we left for our family vacation to the beautiful island of Maui! We spent a week there (will try to post some pictures) and then went to Ohau for a few days. We returned home 24 hours later dropped the kids with my parents so that Jim and I could celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary in VEGAS BABY! We had a blast! I had a fabulous day at the spa and we went to see "Love," the Beatles Cirque de Soleil show. We've seen a few of the Cirque shows and this one definitely tops the list. We also attended the Regeneration Tour! Now don't go making fun... if you're a product of the 80's you know you would've went too! We had fourth row seats to 4 concerts in one: Missing Persons, The Cutting Crew, Wang Chung and ABC. We danced the night away for sure!!!

Maybe a little too much dancing though, because the next day I developed a pretty severe backache and had to lay down with seat ALL the way back during the long drive home. It didn't help that I was developing a cough either (which later turned out to be bronchitis) so after a week and a half of visiting the chiropracter every day, I decided to see my orthopedist who took a bunch of xrays and sent me in for an MRI. I won't get the results til Wednesday. BUT, since he put me on muscle relaxers and steroids, I am feeling better... I am even starting to walk upright again! For those who know me well, I have had back pain on and off for the last 15-20 years. This time it felt different. This time I felt completely incompacitated. This was a pain I've never experienced before. My doctor thinks I herniated or ruptured a disc. I have no idea what that means, and until I see him again on Wednesday I don't even want to think about it!

So, all that being said I had to cancel my plane trip to Wisconsin and miss my cousins wedding, cancel our trip to the ranch where we were FINALLY going to camp with our good friends the Sullivans, cancel my hair appointment because it's impossible for me to lean back and put my head under the bowl, and worst of all I had to cancel my training sessions... and with only three weeks left in my fitness challenge I am now going to be flabby AND gray haired for my final photo before the judging... I have a feeling that prize money is going to be just out of my reach!!!

Oh well, c'est la vie! At least with all of my "down time" I was able to work a bit on my website... YAY!!! I believe I have fixed a few of the bugs, worked out the shipping details, and I also added more cards. Be sure to check it out and see what I've been working on.

Now that we're all caught up I can keep future postings brief. Next up will be "Christmas in July"
I'm working on Christmas cards and will post a new card every day for the next 5 days... it's not too early to start thinking about the holidays you know!