More Christmas in July

So I'm still sort of on a high from Convention but I promised you Christmas cards in July and July is almost over. I know, It's hard to believe isn't it? Well, I just had to share with you some of the cards that were on display at convention. These cards were made using stamp sets out of the new Holiday Mini Catalog. Once you see them I know you'll want to see the whole set, but unfortunately I can't show the actual product:( Sorry, but it's Stampin Up's policy.

Here is the first card:


Too cute, right? The sentiment is from "Hand Penned Holidays" and the Stockings were stamped using "Stitched Stockings" and then PUNCHED (yes, you read that right, punched) with the new Stocking Builder Punch. I'm way super excited about this new punch... the ideas are just spinning in my head!!!

Here's the next totally cute card:


This set is called "Forest Festivities." It has lots of cute little critters and really lends itself to the watercoloring technique.

And the last one for today:


I think I might be MOST excited about this new set called "Bright Hopes!" It also includes images of a snowflake, wreath, a decorative element and two sentiments. BUT, the BEST part is that it matches our brand new Personalized Name Stamp!!! So now I can be totally coordinated with my Christmas cards this year! I plan on getting the "Bright Hopes" set and also getting the Personalized Name Stamp with our address.... how fancy will I be?!!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's "Christmas in July" cards and I hope you come back to see more!
Leave a comment and let me know which one is your favorite!

Thanks for visiting!

Dazzling Dasher

I am so glad "Dasher" got to stick around for another catalog year... he is one of my most favorite single stamps! I'm calling him "Dazzling Dasher" because as you can tell by the photo I took a glitter pen to his antlers.....



I hope you like this first installment of my Christmas in July card posts!

Here's what I used:
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler
Stamp sets: Dasher, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Cherry cobbler
Ribbon: Victoria 5/8"
Other: Retired DSP, Word Window Punch, Jewelry Tag Punch, Glitter pen (not from Stampin Up)

If you would like to purchase the supplies to make this card, please visit my Stampin Up site HERE and then clicking on the "shop now" button

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back tomorrow for another Christmas card post!

Happy Stamping!

"Almost" Christmas in July...

So I am getting ready to start posting this year's cards for my "Christmas In July" but before I do I wanted to get your opinion... I was thinking about using this photo of my kids for my Christmas card this year, what do you think?



"FELIZ NAVIDAD!"

We just returned from our family vacation in Play Del Carmen, Mexico and this picture shows the kids having fun playing dress up in one of the gift shops!

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the REAL start of my "Christmas in July!"

Thanks for stopping by:)

Christmas Card No. 7 "Another Greeting Card Kid!"

Can you believe Christmas is only a week away? Are you ready for it? I can't wait! I only have a few more gifts to get and then I get to spend next week baking and just enjoying time with my kids and my husband! He's working from home and it will be so nice to have him around. We plan on going Christmas caroling, decorating gingerbread houses, delivering our cookie platters to friends and neighbors, playing games, and planning the festivities for the company that's coming to spend Christmas day at our house! It's also my oldest Daughter's birthday on December 25th so we make an extra effort to plan special birthday activities with her in mind!

Here's a quick look at another card I made using the "Greeting Card Kids" stamp set:



Blue and red aren't colors I normally use together (Unless it's patriotic), but in this case I think the color palette lends itself to the whimsy of this set. The silver ruffle ribbon is a great addition too. I can't remember where I got it..... but I can tell you that I've had it in my craft room since before I had kids so it's at least 14 years old.... probably closer to 20! Anyway, I hope you enjoy today's card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Card No. 6 "JOY"

Here is a very simple card to make and mass produce. Start by stamping the letters "J," "O," and "Y" all over a piece of cardstock. Then punch out with desired size circle punch. Go one size larger and punch out a bunch of circles in desired color for backing. Pick some fun and festive Designer Series Paper (I used a retired one from Stampin Up!) Add a scalloped edge piece, some ribbon and you're done!



See.... easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Sorry for the short post today... my kids are out at noon and I have lots to do before I go to pick them up!

Have a great weekend!

Vellum Tealight Tree

Earlier this month Maureen held a holiday party for her entire downline. It was so much fun and in addition to the great food and drink, we exchanged gifts to reveal our secret stamping sisters and did a "make & take." This is what we made:



There was a cone shaped template that we traced onto vellum and then embossed with gold swirls. After assembling the tree we got to embellish our trees with pearls and attach a star at the top. The base is a small box with a hole in the center that holds the battery operated tealight.

Wouln't it be great if there was a cone shaped sizzix die? It sure would save time not having to trace and cut. Well...... guess what???? THERE IS SUCH A DIE! And it will be available starting January 4th in the new Stampin Up! Mini Catalog... "Occasions"

As a demonstrator I get to order items before they become available to the general public (one of the MANY benefits of being a Stampin Up! demonstrator!) So of course I ordered that die right away, and let me just say I am LOVING it! The first project I'm doing is 80 Christmas tree candy holders. All three of my kids are Irish dancers and every year the teacher holds a party in her garage for all the students. It is the highlight of the year... the kids pick "Secret Santas" in advance and then bring a gift. They also have to bring a boxed food item that is collected and then given to our local food bank. All the parents sign up to bring something and every year my friend and I bring the candy cups. A few years ago we decided to kick it up a notch and do something different. So instead of buying plastic cups and filling them with candy, we made three tiered snowmen and put different types of candy in each tier. There are more dancers going this year so we had to do something a little easier... "Cone Shaped Sizzix Die to the rescue!!!" As soon as we get them made I will post pictures so be sure to check back!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Christmas Card No. 5 "Come to Bethlehem"

I really love silhouette images. Not only are they super easy to stamp, but they look so classy and elegant too! I was very excited to add this set to my collection this year. I knew it would make a beautiful Christmas card, but I had a really hard time trying to come up with something. After several attempts (and too much wasted cardstock) I decided to ditch the traditional red and green color scheme and look what I came up with....



See! Who says red and green are the only Christmas colors?!!
After making a dozen or so sample cards with red and green colors, images of Santa, reindeer and snowmen, glitter and ribbon embellishments..... I asked my 8 year old son which one he liked best. Well, this is the one he picked! Hope you like it as much as we do!

Happy stamping!

Christmas Card No. 4 "Peace on Earth"

So here is card number 4. My friend Juliet asked me to make her Christmas cards this year and when I came across this card I knew she would like it. She LOVES the look of the embossed background! I completely cased this card from Laurie Zoellmer's blog. The only thing different is the sentiment (even though it is from the same set!)



All supplies from Stampin Up unless otherwise noted:
Stamp Set- "Peaceful Season" Hostess Set from Holiday Mini Catalog
Inks- Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Basic Black
Cardstock- Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Misc.- Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (LOVE THIS SUFF!!!)

Don't forget... you can ONLY order products from the Holiday Mini until January 3! There are so many great sets this year I think I ordered almost all of them! If you'd like to order any of the items listed above just
CLICK HERE and you'll be directed to my Stampin Up! Website.

Thanks for stopping by today. Come back soon to see more Christmas cards and also some great ideas for Holiday Treat Holders!

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Card No.3

Just a quick post today. I wanted to share another card I made with the Christmas Collage background stamp. I love the simplicity of monochromatic cards.... What do you think of this one? It's pretty flat and would be easy to mail since it is not heavily embellished!



Sorry this post is so short today... Busy day... lots to do! I'll be back soon with another Christmas card.

Happy stamping!

Christmas Card No. 2

Thanks for stopping by again! Here is the second card I made using the awesome background stamp "Christmas Collage" from Stampin Up! I went a little more vintage this time around adding one of the images from the "Greeting Card Kids" stamp set. Did I tell you how MUCH I love that set? I think I might even be starting to enjoy water coloring!!! To get the vintage look I started with Very Vanilla cardstock. (Whisper White seemed too bright) I knew the black ink would be too harsh so I went for the Early Espresso which looks great on the Very Vanilla by the way! I sponged the edges with early espresso and also used the color spritzer tool to make it look a little more aged. After everything was colored in, I took a white gel pen to the hat, scarf and coat on the little girl. It helps it to stand out, don't you think? Anyway, This was the card we made at my monthly stamp club meeting. The ladies in my club really liked it and I hope you do too!



Stampin Up Supplies:
Stamp Sets- Christmas Collage, Greeting Card Kids, Bells & Boughs
Cardstock- Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler
Ink- Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Pink Pirouette
Other- Blush Blossom and Early Espresso Stampin Write Markers, White gel pen, Gold Waffle Paper, color spritzer tool

If you want to see more samples with these sets come back to my blog in a few days... Or better yet, receive updates by email automatically! You can become a subscriber by clicking the link in the sidebar of my blog! I have two more samples with these sets, plus a few other Christmas cards to share as well as some Christmas projects!

Happy Stamping!

Christmas Card No.1

Here is the first Christmas card I want to share with you. It came together lickety split! I CASE'd it right out of the Holiday Mini Catalog from Stampin Up! The thing I love the most about our catalogs is that there are a ton of ideas and inspiration.



The Christmas Collage background stamp is stamped on a Crumb Cake base with Soft Suede ink. I tore a piece of Riding Hood Red CS, added a piece of striped grosgrain ribbon, punched some various snowflakes, added some pearls and a rhinestone brad, some die cut numbers and voila!

Hope you like it!
Check back soon for another card made with this awesome background stamp!

Christmas Projects Galore!

I don't know about you but I have been so busy with Christmas projects lately. I wonder why that is??? Hmmmmmm..... maybe it has something to do with the fact that Christmas is ONLY 15 DAYS AWAY!!!! YIKES!!! So I've been trying something new and I am really enjoying it. I've been hosting Stamp Camps for kids. They are 3 hour workshops where the kids get to create different projects. We ALWAYS do some sort of treat box with candy (because what kid doesn't want to have a treat box with candy!) and then usually a project or two thats nice enough they can use for a small gift and then ALWAYS a card (it is The Card Kitchen, you know!) Anyway, I just love it when the kids get as excited as I do about creating something with paper! Here are a few of the projects we made at one of the workshops:






And this is what we made at the last one:





Pretty cool, huh?!

Keep in mind that the kids range in age from 7 to 13. These photos are from my 7 and 10 year old... I think they get their craftiness from me... wouldn't you agree?

The Santa Pants bucket we filled with candy. Of course this photo is my son's bucket and he ate all his candy! But you could easily put some white fluff in the bottom, toss in a Starbucks card and you are good to go for a cute way to present a gift to your child's teacher or even a co-worker or neighbor! These "Santa Pants" Buckets will be available as a DIY kit on the Card Kitchen website soon.

Until my next post...
Stay warm & enjoy the holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by!

NEW! DIY Christmas Card Kits

Many people have told me they would love to make their own Christmas cards but don't know where to begin. You may have read an older blog post about my friend Cathy who bought a piece of paper and asked me to come up with a card kit for her. Well, since then I have had many others ask me to do the same! So I've decided to add a new item in The Card Kitchen Pantry ... you guessed it.... DIY "Kits"


This adorable "Jolly Snowman" card kit is now available for purchase along with others! If you want me to design a card kit for you just ask! I love coming up with unique creations for my customers. Send me an email or use the CONTACT US tab on the website and I'd be happy to cook up something special just for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

"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"