I sat down yesterday afternoon and decided to experiment a little. Here's the card that I created. The jury is still out on what I think of the entire card, but here's a little of what I did while playing with the new products.
First, I started with a layout that I'm caseing off of one of my customers (Suzie). You'll hear more about her inspiration in tomorrow's post. She made a card using this layout for a friend of hers. I thought it was fun! It uses the clear Scallop Square Big Shot die. (Oh, and I scored it using the BEST scoring tool on the market - The Simply Scored Tool by Stampin' Up!)
Second, I just signed up to participate in a swap and I'm using the new stamp set Stitched Stockings from the Holiday Mini. I figured I should start playing with it if I have to make some swaps. This stamp set is awesome because it has its own coordinating Stocking Builder Punch!!! While I'm talking about the stocking, I'll explain what I did to it. I'm not sure you can tell in the photo, but I also hand-cut the toe, heel, and cuff and glued a second layer on top to add dimension. I'm not sure the effect is worth the effort!!! I then added a bit of glitter to the stocking using the new Dazzling Details. It's CHEAP (as in affordable not bad quality) and easy to use! It's like a little tube of glitter glue. You need it. Seriously. It's like $2.50 or something like that! Really. Buy a half dozen!!! You're gonna love it. So, that's the stocking.
Third, I wanted to check out more of the DSP. I'd completely forgotten that the new Holly Berry Bouquet is SPECIALTY paper!!! Two of the patterns are GLITTERY!!! And its the kind of GLITTERY that doesn't make a mess!!! There's this Real Red Polka Dot glittery sheet and there's a Real Red Stripe that's also glittery. While we're talking about paper, I'd been wondering how Lucky Limeade would work for Christmas. What do you think? I've paired it here with the Real Red. It's a brighter version of Old Olive. I think I'd prefer Old Olive. But, I won't give up on it quite yet.
Fourth, as I was putting the card together, I realized the background looked boring. So, I walked back over to my stamp set shelves and discovered the holly from the new Dear Santa stamp set. It worked perfectly in the corners stamped in Versamark.
Fifth....Ugh...my hands are cramping. I needed to do something with the inside. When making the card base, I cut a strip of the card base off because I thought I'd like it. Well, I didn't like the fact that you could see the Real Red layer that's on the inside. So, I took some Very Vanilla Card Stock and cut a scallop border using my Big Shot and Tasteful Trim Die. But, I wasn't done. It needed more. I took another strip of Real Red Card Stock and adhered it next to my Very Vanilla Scallop strip. BUT, that wasn't enough. I decided to draw some faux stitching down both sides using my White Gel Pen to make it look like....well, stitching. I figured if the name of the Stocking Stamp Set is Stitched Stockings, it should have stitching!!!
Sixth, it needed a "latch". I found a Real Red Button, tied on some Whisper White Baker's Twine, and glued the guy on the front of the card using Glue Dots to hold it closed.
OH...where'd the sentiment come from - Petite Pairs. Are you surprised? OH...and are you wondering if I drew the hanger from the stocking? NO! It's part of the Stitched Stockings Stamp Set. When I was putting it together I couldn't figure out what it was. THEN when I was trying to make my stocking NOT look like it was floating in mid-air, I remembered the loop! Stampin' Up! thought of everything!!!
So there you have it - my use of an embellishment, two new Stamp Sets, two new tools, and new DSP all from the Holiday Mini (not to mention the large assortment of regular catalog stuff I used).