A Quick and Easy Christmas Card

Aloha, all!

     I first have to tell you that my card for today was inspired by terrifically artistic fellow Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, Mary Brown.  Mary is the "Mary" of Create With Connie and Mary, and has a fabulously unique ability to make clean and simple cards that make me say, "Wow!" then I first see them.  I really like her style – can you tell?

     When Mary made a similar card she used the Pool Party color as the accent for the Whisper White Card Stock and Silver Glimmer Paper.  Somewhere along the way between then and now, I saw another card that used Island Indigo for an accent, and that caught my eye, too.  So why not combine the two ideas!

     The Christmas Tree is one of the die cuts that you can make with the new Sizzix Die, Stocking Accents, which is in the Stampin' Up! 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog.  I initially decided not to purchase this die, but now I'm in love with all the little pieces – that aren't really so little!  There's a Candy Cane, some Ornaments and Holly pieces that are all just perfect for CARD accents – the heck with stocking accents!  The greeting is from the new stamp set, Petite Pairs, and there is a second part to this greeting that you can stamp inside the card – thus the "Pairs" part of the stamp set's name.  Every one of those has two stamps that go together so you can put one on the outside and one on the inside – or both of them on different elements on the front – of your card.  Pretty neat!!

     Now here's the fun part for those of you who have been waiting for my new 2011 Greeting Card Layout eBook!  I'm making a card with these very same colors to include in the card and layout collection using one of the layouts I shared with you here earlier in the year.  And I'm going to be doing that with a dozen or so of the early layouts!  I'm going to show you how easy it is to use different products with the same layouts – which is why a book of layout suggestions is so helpful to have when you need some inspiration to get something done!  Last night in no time at all I had 5 brand new cards made and ready to photograph!

     The best part?  I'll only be sharing the photos of those cards with those of you who purchase a copy of the new eBook!  I'm well into its preparation and I only have to make a few more cards and do what amounts to a couple of days worth of editing.  So it's going to be available in time to have it for your Christmas Cards – or for giving as a Christmas gift!

     Now back to getting those last few cards made – and for preparing for Saturday's class!  I hope you'll have as much fun with whatever you're doing this week as I'm planning to have with my projects!