Thank You Ever So Much

Good morning friends.  Lately I've been seeing a lot of "10 minute or less" card challenges out there, and while I understand we all have time constraints, some of these cards really do look like they took 10 minutes or less to create!  I'm really not trying to be snobby here, but if you're going to take the time to make a card to send to someone, take the time to show that person you really do care about them!  That being said, the card I want to share with you today really could be made in about 10 minutes, but is so simply elegant, it looks like more instead of less!  I can't take credit for this card, as the idea came from Sylvia-Anne of Poppy's Papercraft Patch.  Here's my take on it:

This card started with a simple white card base, and then I stamped the largest flourish from SU!'s "Flowering Flourishes" in black ink on a smaller white layer of cardstock (5 x 3 1/2).  The sentiment is from PTI's "Boutique Borders: Thanks" stamp set.  I rounded 2 of the corners and then pop dotted this layer onto the card base.  I used some POW Silver Glitter Paper that I colored with a Copic marker (RV06) and punched out a butterfly (Martha Stewart) and 3 small circles to add tiny pops of color.  Very simple and pretty! :0)  You could easily change the color of the glitter paper and the sentiment to make all different cards using this design...quick but still looks like you took time! :0)

I have the words "This is the day the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." on my kitchen bulkhead, and it's been there a number of years.  Unfortunately I tend to not look up too often anymore, and I miss the beauty and truth of those words that are meant to start each and every day out knowing the Lord has created this day specifically for us to enjoy!  Not worry, but JOY!  Keep looking up friends, and experience all the joy today holds!  Thanks for stopping by today and have a joy filled Tuesday! :0)   
  

PINK - Take #2 on FFC#13

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Mine was very wet and quiet, so you know what that means...yep, I had time to play in my craft room again! :0)  And I hope you're not sick of "pink" Christmas cards yet, because I am loving them and getting all kinds of great ideas over at the Festive Friday blog! 

 
These colors together just scream elegance to me and I had so much fun putting another card together with the pink, white, & silver.  Take a look at card number 2:

I started with a 5 x 5 white card base and added a layer of pink and white dotted BoBunny cardstock.  The backside of the dotted cardstock was a plain pink, and I used a smaller piece to emboss with silver using SU!'s "Script" background stamp.  I matted this layer with a layer of white cardstock and added a sheer white ribbon before securing this layer down.  I used a PTI die for the Christmas tree and just used scraps from my stash, and then pop dotted it to the silver embossed layer.  I used a Cheery Lynne die for the snowflake, added glitter around the edges (enlarge picture and you'll be better able to see the glitter), and then positioned it on the card.  I added a vellum banner at the top and embossed in silver the "Merry Christmas" (PTI's "Christmas Blessings" stamp set).  If you look closely, you can see I did a little faux stitching on the left edge of the banner.  I also added silver stars (POW Glitter Paper) to the top of the Christmas tree and the bow.  I just love how this card turned out and may have to make a few more to send to those "someone special" friends on my list! :0)

Have a wonderful Monday friends and thanks for stopping by to share a part of your day with me...I love it when you do! :0)

Also going to enter this in Merry Monday's "Anything Goes" July contest!

Chalk Talk Fun

Good morning friends and happy Friday!  Just a quick post today to share a fun and easy card I made yesterday using SU!'s new "Chalk Talk" stamp set. (And to think when I first started noticing the chalk trend, I wasn't too impressed...what was I thinking?!!!)  Take a look:

This was such a quick card to put together!  The design paper is "The Paper Studio" from Hobby Lobby, and I layered those with SU!'s Pixie Pink (retired) card stock and a white card base.  I stamped the tag from Chalk Talk with Momento black ink on white cs and then fussy cut it out (wish I had been able to afford the framelits that match this set, but maybe down the road...).  I stamped the tag again onto Pixie Pink cs and then cut out the "SOMETHING" banner and pop dotted it to the tag.  I layered the tag onto more Pixie Pink cs, and then attached with more pop dots to my card.  If you enlarge the photo, you'll be better able to see the little diamond bling I added to the corners of the tag, where I also used my pink marker to color in the flower leaves.  I added a little bow (seam binding ribbon that I colored with the chisel tip of my Copic marker (RV06) - this works even quicker than the re-inker and plastic baggie tip I told you about the other day!) and a heart in the upper right hand corner to finish off the card.  Quick, fun, and very bright...I love it! :0)

I also have a WINNER for my Kraft or Old Olive contest, and the lucky lady is Benzi!  (Please contact me Benzi so I know where to mail your card to.)  Thanks so much for playing in my little contest, and Old Olive was definitely the winner!
 

 
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do! :0) 

Papertrey July Blog Hop Challenge

Good morning friends.  Back with a card for this months blog hop challenge over at Papertrey Ink.  The challenge was to pick one of the pictures featuring the fruits of summer, and I chose #4:

I love watermelon, so that's the reasoning behind choosing this particular color combo.  Other than the "Strawberry Patch" stamp set though, I really don't have any fruity stamps, so I ended up using PTI's "Funky Florals" stamp set.  My card doesn't make me think watermelon with this color combo, but I do like how it turned out...nice and bright and summery!  Take a look:

I think if maybe I had used a little more green, it would have looked a little more like watermelon colors, but hey, artistic license and all that, right?! :0)  It was a simple card to put together, and I had fun adding all the little diamond bling to the centers of the little starbursts.  I love the sentiment that comes with this stamp set too, so I'm sure between that and the bright summery colors, this card will surely brighten up someone's day! :0)

Make sure you check out all the other great entries over at Nicole's blog (http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/)

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a terrific Thursday! :0)

FFC#13 - Color Challenge

Good morning friends.  I'm back with a Christmas card for the new Festive Friday challenge, which is a color challenge this time around:

Don't you just LOVE those colors together?!!  The wheels started turning immediately when I saw this challenge, and I think they did for everyone else too...some amazing entries already!  I am still kind of stuck on watercoloring, so that and the colors were my starting point for this card:

Have you noticed all the colors poinsettia's are available in lately?  When I was growing up, it was red or white and that was it!  Today there are so many pretty colors to choose from, and I love the pink ones!  So anyways, this challenge seemed the perfect place to showcase that!  I started with using a background stamp (SU!'s French Script) and Going Grey ink and then used PTI's die to make a negative cut towards the bottom with the "holiday" die.  I also used the die to cut out a pink "holiday" to use underneath the top layer, and if you click to enlarge the photo, you can see better the depth there.  Next I embossed my flower image (Gina K's "Year of Flowers") with silver embossing powder and then watercolored the image with my aquapen and Pretty in Pink re-inker.  I didn't have any ribbon to match, so I dyed some cream colored seam binding ribbon with my Pretty in Pink re-inker (very easy to do with just a few drops of ink and a plastic baggie).  I also added a little silver cord and silver ball to the center of my ribbon to dress it up a bit.  I used pop dots on the back of this layer before attaching it to my card base so you could see the negative die cut better.

I've still got another idea floating around in my head with this color scheme, but we'll see if time is there to get another one done. 

That's all for today and it's cool enough this morning that I think I'm going to turn the oven on and try out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe!  Don't forget to check out my post from Monday and leave me a comment if you'd like a chance to win one of the cards I posted.  Have a wonderful Wednesday and I'll be back again tomorrow with another card I made for the PTI's monthly blog hop.  Thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do! :0)
    

Kraft or Old Olive???

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Still a little too warm here for my liking, but better than snow anytime!!  Started to do some cleaning in my craft room, and got a little distracted with the window dies and brick embossing folder that were still laying out from last weeks "Calm Seas" card.  Needless to say that my desk is still a mess, but good things do come out of messes sometimes...like more Christmas cards! :0)  Figured this would be a good one to enter into Merry Monday's July "Anything Goes" challenge:

I actually came up with 2 cards that are exactly alike except for the color of the Cheery Lynne "Holly" die that I used, because I couldn't decide what color I liked best.  I'll let you guys decide at the end of this post with my very first giveaway, so make sure you read till the end! :0)  Take a look at the first one:

I sponged the brick part with SU!'s Cranberry Crisp ink first, and then added Cherry Cobbler ink on top of that.  The top part was embossed with SU!'s striped ef and sponged with Crumb Cake ink.  The pine trees (SU!'s "Lovely as a Tree") were embossed with white embossing powder, and then I sponged Old Olive ink around them.  I traced the window die around the tree image and then glued the two together.  The "winter wishes" is from PTI's Fillable Frames #9 and stamped on a Spellbinders frame die cut from kraft cs and again sponged with Crumb Cake ink.  I stamped a piece a scrap kraft cs with SU!'s "Weathered" background stamp (retired) and then used my Cheery Lynne "Holly" die to cut it out and place on the card.  Then came the part where I couldn't decide if it blended in too much with the card, so I added some very small red half backed pearls, but.....are you feeling my dilemma here yet?  Soooooooo, on to card #2:

The Old Olive green definitely pops a bit more doesn't it?  I definitely thought this was going to be the one, but I kept straying back to the kraft holly die one!  Which one do you like better?

I can't decide, so I thought I'd have a little contest here to see what my readers think.  Leave me a comment here on my blog (NOT a facebook comment please) about which one you like better, and Friday morning (26th) I'll pick a random winner to receive that card. (I know it's not much compared to some of the "blog candy" that some bloggers post, but hey, start small and work your way up, right?!!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you all have a wonderful Monday.  And if you're interested in getting a head start on your Christmas cards, don't forget to check out Merry Mondays July challenge site, as there's LOTS of inspiration there!  ( http://alwaysplayingwithpaper.blogspot.com/)
   

Make it Monday #125 - Defined Watercolors

Good morning friends.  I'm sure you can tell by my title today that I'm not continuing on with my "manly" series, although I have to say that I'm thrilled I came up with 3 totally different cards from just one stamp set!  I think that's the mark of a great stamp set, that it can be used so many ways!  "Calm Seas" may be a retired set, but I know I'll still get lots of mileage out of it! :0)

Make it Monday over at Papertrey Ink had a great video tutorial this week by Erin Lincoln on defining your stamps with watercolor, and since watercolor seems to be a medium that I'm really drawn to lately, I had to give it a try!  Take a look:

Nothing like a really BRIGHT card to wake you up in the morning right?!!  I used PTI's "Simple Sunflower" stamp set and blocked off the top and bottom 1 1/4" of my white card base, so my stamping would only be in the middle 3" of the card.  I watercolored my sunflowers and leaves first by using my Aquapen and ink that I had pressed into the inside cover of the stamp pad cover.  I used SU!'s Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, & Crumb Cake.  The next step to define the flowers and leaves was to roll the edges of the stamp directly onto the stamp pad and then stamp over the flowers and leaves...definitely defines them by sorta outlining them.  Fun technique and I love the outcome!  I finished the card by adding a strip of 1 1/4" Melon Mambo cs to the top (I also used the eraser end of a pencil and my ink pad to add some dots to this layer to give it a little definition too!), and then also added the chevron stripe (PTI die) in Melon Mambo to balance out the top half of the card.  I added a few iridescent sequins here and there, and the sentiment is also from the "Simple Sunflower" set.  (GREAT set for only $5 and also very versatile!!)

Lots of really pretty cards for this challenge over on Nichole's blog, so make sure you check it out! (http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/) 

Hope to have another Christmas card for you tomorrow, but we'll see if my mojo's working today!  It's one of those cards I was so excited about when I started, and now it still needs something, and I just can't figure out what it is!  Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Anyway, thanks so much for stopping by today and have a terrific Thursday. :0)

Manly Cards - Day 3

Good morning friends.  Back with Day 3 of my "manly" card series (I'm not sure there is going to be a Day 4 or 5 in this series....too much fun playing with bright colors and Christmas again!! We'll see if I get inspired today....).  Anyways, my card today started with a new embossing folder from The Paper Studio and a window die cut that my friend Judy (Thanks Judy!!!) had given to me last Christmas and I'd forgotten I had until I went looking for something else.  Don't ya love surprises like that?!  I'm also using SU!'s "Calm Seas" (retired) stamp set again on this card.  Take a look:

I started by embossing my white cs with my new "brick" embossing folder, and then sponging it with SU!'s Going Grey (retired) ink.  I matted this layer with a darker gray cs (local ss) and then again with a white card base.  I stamped the lighthouse and sailboat image from the "Calm Seas" set, and then colored in with my Copics (R29, C1, C3, and B000).  I used the window die cut to trace around my image and then cut it out and glued the window over the top of the image.  Before securing it to the brick layer, I added a thin black ribbon and a star shape (PTI Tiny Tags die & stamp set).  It all came together really easily and I just love the finished look! :0)

Because Judy had given me so many of the window die cuts, and I had them laying out from making this card, I got to thinking about Christmas again, and well the wheels started turning...so stay tuned! :0)  Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Manly Cards - Day 2

Good morning friends.  Back with day 2 of my "manly" cards.  This card was CASE'd and inspired by a very talented SU demonstrator - Lisa Young.  Happened to stumble on her blog quite a while back, and I just love everything she does, but especially her watercolor scenes.  They are always very clean and simple, and that style just really appeals to me lately!  While this particular card is not actually watercolored, it mimics it using sponging.  Take a look:

I used SU!'s "Calm Seas" stamp set again for the birds (don't ya love the one seagull that's looking back while all the others are going forward?!!), and then I used SU!'s "Autumn Days" set for the grass.  I started with Crumb Cake ink and sponged lightly across my cs towards the bottom.  Then I sponged again using Cool Caribbean on the very bottom and above the Crumb Cake, and then again very lightly above that for the sky.  After stamping the birds and grass, I used my 1" circle punch to punch out half circles, and then tied some hemp around the layer.  I finished by mounting to a card base of Soft Suede, and then added a couple gold nailheads (Gina K) inside the cut out half circles.  I had thought about adding a sentiment to the outside because the upper right of the card looked bare to me, but after looking at it a while, I decided I liked it just the way it was! :0)

That's it for today, but I'll be back tomorrow or Thursday with another card I made using the "Calm Seas" set that I really, REALLY like how it turned out! So stay tuned and have a terrific Tuesday.  Thanks for stopping by! :0) 

CAS Manly

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Very warm here in my neck of the woods, and anyone who knows me, knows I'm not a big fan of hot & humid.....BUT, what better excuse to stay inside and stamp?!! :0)  In July and especially August, my family has quite a few "guy" birthdays, so I figured I'd better get started on my "manly" stash.  I pulled out an older SU! set called "Calm Seas" and made 3 cards that I'd like to share with you for my "manly" week!  Here's day one:

I started by making a template using my 1" square punch, and then sponged in the center of my 4" x 5 1/4" piece of white cs with SU!'s Crumb Cake ink and the template.  After repeating that on either side of the center square, I used SU!'s Soft Suede ink to stamp the 3 images inside each of the sponged squares.  I added the "happy" to the outside, and the "birthday" on the inside, and then finished with some bakers twine (The Twinery) and gold nailheads (Gina K).  Very CAS, easy, and I love how it turned out! :0)  This would also be an easy card to mass produce if you needed a few, and would also look great in shades of blue.

That's all for today, but I'll be back tomorrow with another quick and easy card using the same stamp set.  Thanks for stopping by today and have a wonderful Monday! :0) 

MIM#124 Dressed Up Envelopes

Good morning friends.  I'm playing along with Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge this week, which is to dress up an envelope to match along with your card.  On Monday this week I posted a card I had made for my girlfriends birthday using PTI's "Strawberry Patch" stamp set, and today I'd like to show you the envelope I made to go with the card.  Take a look:

Since I am going to hand deliver the card, I figured I could decorate the envelope as much as I wanted and not have to worry about it going through the mail!  I started by computer generating my girlfriends name, and then used PTI's "Boutique Borders: Thanks" stamp set to stamp the border around her name (SU!'s Regal Rose ink).  Since I didn't buy the coordinating die, I did have to fussy cut the label out.  Next I used PTI's "Strawberry Patch" stamp set to decorate the envelope to match the card.

My ink colors used were SU!'s Pool Party, Regal Rose, & Primrose Petals.  I also added a little bling and the birthday sentiment banner (SU!) to dress it up even a little more.  I love how it all turned out and know my girlfriend will really like it too! 

This really was a lot of fun to create, and if you are hand delivering a card, why not dress up the envelope?!  One of my very first SU! demonstrators used to decorate all her envelopes with at least a small stamp in the corner, and told us that it's not cool to send a "naked envelope"!  I'm thinking if she's still stamping, she would have loved this tutorial!  Make sure you check out Melissa Phillips video and her stunning envelope, and all the rest of the great entries at http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a great weekend.   

Elegant Note Cards

Good morning friends.  Black, white, and pops of red seem to be all the rage in everything from home décor to even greeting cards today, so I decided to try my hand at a set of birthday/thank you cards for a good friend.  The original card came from Splitcoaststampers, and here's my take on it:

I made a set of four cards and these really went together so fast, even I was amazed!  Of course it helped that the card bases were from the $1 bins at Michael's, so all I really had to do was sit down and stamp! :0)  I started by making a template where I used my largest Spellbinder's circle  to cut out the center of the template, then placed that over the card base and stamped the background using SU!'s "French Script" background stamp with Going Grey (SU! - retired color) ink. I loved how when you take the template off you have this perfect circle with a subtle background!  Next I stamped one of the flourishes from SU!'s "Flowering Flourishes" set in Real Red (SU!) ink, and then stamped the sentiment using PTI's "Embroidered Blooms" set in black and red inks.  To finish I added a couple silver nailheads (Gina K) to the flourish (click to enlarge picture and you can see them better) and a strip of Real Red card stock to the bottom of the card.  All 4 cards took around 30 minutes to complete and I really like how elegant they turned out! 

That's all for today friends, but I'll be back tomorrow or Friday with an envelope I decorated for this weeks Make it Monday challenge.  Just to give you a hint, it matches the strawberry card I posted on Monday........

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Wednesday! :0)

Festive Friday Challenge #12

Good morning friends.  I'm back with another Christmas card to add to my growing collection, and the challenge this time at Festive Friday's is a trigger challenge:

SNOW  That means snowmen, snowflakes, snow villages, snow scenes.....the list could go on and on! :0)  I love snowflakes!  I'm one of those who loves folding up squares of paper every winter and making all those tiny cuts that when opened reveal a beautiful intricate snowflake! :0)  So anyways, I chose to do a "fun" snowflake card using my Spellbinder snowflake dies.  Take a look:

  
This is another one of those simple and quick cards that would be easy to mass produce and it's also relatively flat, so easy to mail too!  The idea originally came from a card on Splitcoaststampers, where they used the same colors, and then Christmas ornaments instead of the snowflakes.  It was the color combination that drew my eye in the original, and I loved the non traditional look!  Just a simple white card base with the bottom 2 corners rounded, the 3 die cut snowflakes (SU!'s Certainly Celery, Pink Passion, & Pool Party), and the sentiment from PTI's "Think Big Favorites #20".  I finished with an iridescent snowflake sequin, and a few diamond bling dots for some sparkle.  Easy peasy! :0)

Going to enter this in Merry Monday's "Anything Goes" Christmas card challenge too.  There's really no excuse not to get started on your cards now when there is SO much inspiration out there to get the juices flowing!  So what are you waiting for?!  Start looking right now at Festive Friday's site: http://www.festivefriday.blogspot.com/  or Merry Monday's site: http://alwaysplayingwithpaper.blogspot.com/   Actually there's even more Christmas card sites out there, but two challenges is enough for me to play along with right now. :0)

That's all for today, but I'll be back with some more inspiration tomorrow.  I made a set of birthday and thank you cards for one of my good friends birthday that turned out really nice and so hopefully I'll share those tomorrow.  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a terrific Tuesday!

The Strawberry Patch

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend.  Ours was pretty laid back, but we did get a few things done around the house, saw a couple movies (The Heat & Man of Steel), did see fireworks on the 4th, and I finally watch the first season of Downton Abbey, and I am hooked!  Been listening to friends tell me what a great series it is and so my hubby ordered the first season from the library for me.  If you haven't seen it, check it out...you will love it!  Now I just have to be patient until season 2 & 3 come in!! :0)

My card today is one I made a few weeks back, but I had so much trouble trying to get the colors to come out right when photographing, that I almost gave up!  Finally this weekend I tried photographing it right on my window ledge and it turned out much better...guess natural light really is the best.  Take a look:

The stamp set is PTI's "Strawberry Patch", and after having the set for over a year and never having used it, I think this is my fourth time using it in the past month...love it!  I went with some less traditional colors for this card and used SU!'s Pool Party, Regal Rose, & Primrose Petals.  The Regal Rose & Primrose Petals look SO good together, but when I was photographing them, the Regal Rose came out as this really bright peachy orange color that really clashed with the Primrose Petals...grrrrrrr!  Anyways, I'm glad I was able to get it to come out pretty close so you could see that the colors really do work together.  And the Pool Party just really adds another soft but eye drawing color to the mix. :0)  I also used SU!'s Honeycomb embossing folder for the background and sponged it a bit with Pool Party ink.  If you click on the image to enlarge it, you can see better that I used pop dots to make the strawberries stand out and the flag banner with the sentiment pop a bit too. 

That's all for today, but I'll be back with some more Christmas in non traditional colors (trying to think more outside the box!!) tomorrow.  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great Monday.  

Happy 4th!

Good morning friends and happy 4th!  Another quick post today and then on to getting some of my meal prep done.  I love the colors red, white, & blue together, and have seen quite a few cards recently that have caught my eye using those patriotic colors.  So anyways, had a little bit of time to play yesterday afternoon, and this is what I came up with:

Just a quick and simple card, and at first I thought I don't know who I would send it to, but then thought it really would make a perfect summer birthday card!  Other than the sentiment (Hero Arts), there's no stamping on this card.  I used the striped embossing folder on the white card base, and then a couple different star dies (Spellbinders) to cut out the red & blue stars.  I added some diamond bling to the centers of the stars and finished with a piece of red & white bakers twine (The Twinery).

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July celebrating with your families and friends.  Thanks for stopping by! :0)

A Tally Birthday

Good morning friends.  A quick post today, but wanted to share a card I made for my son in laws birthday this past weekend.  I had seen this idea using birthday candles as tally marks and really liked the idea, so here's my version of it:

A very simple idea using the candles from PTI's "Birthday Style" stamp set and my Cricut for the "x" and "4".  Can you guess how old Coleman turned last Saturday?  Yup, he's still a young one! :0)  I also added some stamped stars (Verve) and filled them in with glitter so there wasn't so much white space on the card.  Quick and easy, and something different! :0)

That's all for today, but hopefully if the sun comes out I can take some photographs and share some more inspiration with you later this week.  Thanks for stopping by...I love it when you do!

Merry Monday #69



 Good morning friends.  I am SO excited to share with you this morning the news that I was chosen by the wonderful team of talented ladies over at Merry Monday's to be their guest designer this week!  You all know by now how much I LOVE making Christmas cards, and then to actually win the challenge doing something I love was just the icing on the cake! :0)  Anyway, when you win the weekly challenge at Merry Monday's, they ask you to be their guest designer for the following week, so WOW...just color me happy!!!  The challenge for the month of July is to simply make a new Christmas card.  Here's the details:

 

How much easier can it be?!  I went digging through my supply of Christmas stamps and found one I completely forgot I had.  In fact, I'm not sure if I've even inked it up before, but I quickly took care of that!  Take a look:

 

 

 

It's a simple image (Stampendous), but that's what I loved about it, so I kept my coloring very simple.   I used a few Copics and then spritzed the image with some iridescent gold glitter mist (if you click to enlarge the photo you can see it a little better).  I layered the image with some of SU!'s Cherry Cobbler cs and then layered that onto some designer paper from The Paper Studio and the upper half is Coredinations cs that I embossed with a Cuttlebug ef and then sanded to distress a bit.  I also added a little bit of lace and some SU! Cherry Cobbler seam binding ribbon.  To finish I added a little star (PTI - Tiny Tags), some hemp, and a few pearls.                                                                                    

 

That's all from me today, but make sure you stop over at Merry Monday's (http://alwaysplayingwithpaper.blogspot.com/) and check out the rest of the design teams cards.  In fact, I encourage you all to visit regularly during the month of July for lots of inspiration, and maybe even play along and get a head start on your Christmas cards this year...come December you'll be glad you did!  Have a great Monday friends and thanks for stopping by! :0)