A Little Dash of Joy for PPA214

If you have followed my blog for a while, then you already know that I love to make Christmas cards with non-traditional colors.  Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE greens and reds for the Holidays.  I also love blues and silvers for the Holidays.  Every once in a while, though, a color combination strikes me as “Holidays-able” and I just go with it.  That was the case with this week’s [very NOT] Christmasy color challenge at The Pals Paper Arts: Island Indigo, Crisp Cantaloupe and Wild Wasabi.  Here’s my card:

Endless Wishes, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA214

And here’s the color challenge banner for this week’s challenge:08-7Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Iiiiiiit’s Baaaa-aaack.  If you haven’t received your 2014 Holiday Catalog, you might not know that Endless Wishes is back.  This set was introduced last year as a non-catalog photopolymer stamp set (those are generally offered until they sell out).  With an immediate buzz around the set, it sold out after a couple of weeks.  It’s popularity was not unnoticed by Stampin’ Up! as they are bringing it back in the upcoming Holiday Catalog.  Yippee!
  • Inspired by the Holiday Catalog.  The layout of this card was inspired (but not really CASE’d) from a card in the Holiday Catalog that uses this same stamp set.  I knew I wanted to make blue and pink snowflakes.  After seeing the card in the catalog that has Lost Lagoon, Pool Party and Pear Pizzazz snowflakes, I was sold on the fact that my snowflakes, too, would be blue and green.  I also mimicked the slanted sentiment of one of the cards in my design but switched it up a bit.
  • Large-to-Small.  When creating a background with stamps, I suggest starting with the largest images and working your way to the smallest images.  That allows you to fill-in the spaces with the smaller pieces.  For my design, I stamped the largest snowflake with in Island Indigo, I stamped the second largest in Wild Wasabi and I filled-in the remaining spaces with Island Indigo (stamped off on a piece of scrap paper first).  I intended to add Crisp Cantaloupe sequins but felt my design was busy enough as it was.

Stamp Sets:  Endless Wishes  Papers:  Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi, Crisp Cantaloupe  Inks:  Island Indigo, Wild Wasabi  Accessories:  Sweet Sadie Designer Series Washi Tape, 1-3/8″ Circle punch, 1-1/4″ Circle punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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RETIRED STAMPS SALE IN ATLANTA

stamp sale

Do you want lots of stampin’ supplies but want to pay very little?  Deb Cozzone, Pam Morris and I are hosting a Retired Stamp Sale at Deb’s home in Roswell, Georgia.  We’ll have food, make-and-takes, and lots of entertainment.  BUT…the real reason for the event is to get together with you (and to load our retired stamp sets and supplies into your car at bargain basement prices).  I hope you will join us!

The event will be Tuesday night, August 12 from 7:00 – 9:00 in Roswell, Georgia (just north of Atlanta).  If you are in the Atlanta area, please email me at [email protected] if you’d like to join us, and I’ll send over Deb’s address.  Between the three of us, we have hundreds of stamp sets that date back to the 1990’s, so there’s a little bit here for everyone.  My goal is to sell everything Tuesday night.  Won’t you join us?

Awesome Promotions.  Stampin’ Up! is offering some really great promotions in August – from Big Shots to great bundles, check them all out here.

Buy a Big Shot and get a free bundle. 15% discounts for everyone else! Get your free bundle.

Weekly Deals.  They’re here!  They’re here!  Click on the image below to check out the weekly deals – current products discounted for just one week.weekly deal snapshot

32 Comments

  1. Very interesting colours for a christmas card – but YOU can do it !

  2. I love your Christmas take in the colors this week! They look awesome. The diagonal stripe reminds me of all the candy cane colors they pull out each year! Well done!

  3. What a pretty card. I like the idea that you made the Island Indigo a little lighter to go with the other colors better. It doesn’t overwhelm them that way. Beautiful!

  4. Love it! Pinned!

  5. What a beautiful card. The colors remind me of a childhood friends grandmothers Christmas tree every year decorated in a similar color scheme. I was lucky to get my hands on Endless Wishes last year. I fell in love with it and it sold out but after Stampin’ Up! Told me they would get more in stock one more time I stocked their website and was ready to order as soon as it showed up. Can’t wait to see samples in the new catalog!!

  6. Love it. And I love that stamp set. I was lucky enough to get it last year. A favorite for sure.

  7. GREAT color combo! I am with you….I love the non-traditionals….just adds a new spark!
    Thanks for the inspiration.

  8. Love the hint about stamping the largest image first! You are the smart one!

  9. I confess that my stubborn brain has only recently accepted the idea of non-traditional color Christmas cards — last year I made some pink ones! — and I am in love with this card! The colors, the stripes, the snowflakes — gorgeous! I just got the snowflake set and can’t wait to use it!

  10. I think we can send “a little dash of joy” to someone any time of year and this card proves it. Love it!

  11. I LOVE the colors for a Christmas card! My husband likes me to use red/green but since I am the one making the cards….I pick!! LOL! Beautiful!

  12. Cute card, cute colors and cute layout! Nicely done.

  13. Lovely card, so delicate and soft, beautiful colors for Christmas too, a very sweet and wonderful change from the traditional. I love the way you placed the sentiment, it looks awesome like that.
    Thank you for sharing.

  14. Love the non-traditional Christmas colors! I was one of the lucky ones to get this stamp set the first time around. LOVE it!

  15. I love this card Brian, the snowflakes in blue and green remind me of frost in the trees. I’m really glad I’m not in front of you when I say this part, the color combination reminds me of the candy canes I would give to my students the last day before the winter break started. I think it is perfect. Great job

  16. This is stunning! Great color choices.

  17. Love your card. I really love the snowflakes being blue and green!!! I love this stampset and since I just started with SU, it might just be one of the first stampsets I get!! I just am waiting for my starter kit which should be here today so I can decide what I will need before I place my order.

  18. Love this card Brian! I had a bit of trouble using Wild Wasibi, but you handled it beautifully. It goes so well for the snowflakes, who knew?!

  19. Lovely card, Brian! I love that the lacy snowflakes were perfect for this PPA color challenge, it dilutes the strong colors. Great job!

  20. Really like the design of the card. Putting the sentiment at an angle is a great eye catcher. Although the trio of colors don’t do the “Holidays-able” for me. Especially Crisp Cantaloupe. I would love it for an ‘any occasion’ card. I’ll probably get a lot of bad feedback for my comment.

    • How dare you share an honest opinion, Lisa? :)~ Just kidding. I felt like I forced the colors onto this card and wouldn’t have normally paired them this way if I had a choice in the matter. 🙂 I appreciate your feedback.

  21. Brian, I love how you always think outside the box. Another great card.

  22. I love your card. I think the choice of non traditional colors for a Christmas card is fantastic. Love, love, love it!!

  23. HI Brian:

    I love to make the background for cards using stamps. The DSP’s are wonderful but once in a while it’s kind of fun to kick back and start stamping a background and see how it ends up. In your case, it ended up perfectly, as always!

  24. I agree with Grace that sometimes it is more fun to do your own stamped background . I like your idea of largest image stamped first then fill in with other smaller ones. Thank you for “Today`s Tip of The Day “.

  25. Beautiful card, Brian. I totally love the untraditional colors that you used, and that stamp set is fantastic. I missed out on it last year, but it was first on my pre-order! Will be casing this one for sure!

  26. You made a phenomenal card Brian! Yes, very unusual color pairing that turned out so beautifully.

  27. Brian,
    Good morning. I am a new demonstrator and find your blog and cards very helpful. Thank you!
    Sonja Knaisch

  28. That is a pretty card.
    Hg from CC, TX

  29. Winner! Winner! Winner! I’m loving these colors for this card, Brian. Just beautiful and so un-traditional for winter. Love, love, love. it!

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