WCC03 --- Watercooler Sketch challenge

Sometimes a card can satisfy the parameters of two challenges.  This one, serendipitously, does.  I designed it specifically for the Watercooler Challenge and its sketch challenge

I had agreed to make a baby boy card and this design lent itself to that beautifully.  I got a chance to use that great background stamp, Handcarved, as well as the Zoo Babies stamp set.  For my sentiment I turned to the Baby We've Grown stamp set.  Since the baby's room has been decorated in a "zoo" style, I think the card is perfect.

For more about this challenge, check out the Watercooler Challenge Blog.

The card also works perfectly for the Around the World Stampin' Up! Challenge.  This time the cards are supposed to feature squares and that is exactly what my card features as well.

CTS82 --Feel Better!

Sometimes you can see a sketch and know immediately what you want to do for it.  This is one of those times.  The challenge, for CAS(E) This Sketch, is so deceptively simple:

Cute, right?  There is a lot of white space on this sketch, but that's part of its charm.  It's what you put together that will make or break this card.

I ordered the Hostess stamp set, Life's Adventure, simply because the art and sentiments are so darned cute.  I knew immediately upon seeing this sketch that I wanted to use the adorable little fox out of the set.  As for the sentiment, what could be better than something from the Sassy Salutations stamp set?

For the fox, I was able to use my Blendabilities and loved the shading I achieved.  

And that's my card for the CAS(E) This Sketch #82 Challenge.  

PPA209 -- Wetlands meets Handcarved (Paper Artists Pick)

So excited to be a Paper Artist Pick!  Yay!

You know how it is.  You see something and you're just not entirely sure you like it enough to have it.  Then you wind up buying it.  Now, what are you going to do with it?  In my case, I really wasn't sure whether I liked the Handcarved background stamp.  I didn't hate it but I didn't see it and fall in love.  But I wound up buying the stamp anyway.  I couldn't say exactly what brought me to that decision but I'm so glad I have it.  It adds so much character to a card.

For my card I've used it with the Baked Brown Sugar ink but off-stamped it once to lighten the effect.  That made it match the Burlap Ribbon more closely and I had plans for the Burlap Ribbon.  For my complimentary colour I decided to use the Coastal Cabana.  I off-stamped that twice when I used it with the Work of Art stamp just as I off-stamped the Baked Brown Sugar twice for the Work of Art stamp.  Together they made the basis for the seashore onto which I stamped the Wetlands stamp using Early Espresso ink.

For the Burlap Ribbon to work as one solid broad piece I took the stitching out of one side of each of the two pieces I would be using.  Then I cut a rectangular piece of the new Transfer Adhesive Sheets and mounted the ribbon closely together, matching the unstitched sides as carefully as possible.

I decided that the circles with my image looked a bit plain and added loops of Coastal Cabana Thick Baker's Twine.  That seemed to be the touch I was looking for.  A sentiment from the Losts of Thanks stamp set stamped in Early Espresso ink onto vellum finished it off.

You can see more wonderful cards made using this sketch at the Pals Paper Arts blog.

Getting in on the ground level.

This is so exciting!  I'm entering the Creative Challenge Club's very first challenge!  I hope it's the first of many more to come.

This very first challenge is a sketch challenge:

I really wanted to use the Traveler stamp set and the World Map for a black and white card and thought this sketch would suit it perfectly.  With a base of Basic Black and a pennant cut from Basic Grey after running it through the Big Shot using my Decorative Dots embossing folder, I thought I had a good start.  I decided to tear the edges of the stamped Whisper White cardstock to give the card more of a vintage look since the images for the Traveler stamp set are definitely vintage.

For my circle I first cut a Basic Black circle as my backing and then stamped the camera image onto Whisper White cardstock and then cut that out with the next size smaller of the Circle Collection Framelits.  For the finishing touch, I added a banner  with the sentiment from the Project Life Remember This stamp set.

A bit of sponging around the edges, some dimensionals, and the card is done.

CMCC#26 -- Adventure Bound!

I found a weekly creative challenge for colour lovers!  How sweet is that?  Stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new colour combinations is a good workout for me.  I'm looking forward to it.  This week's challenge has an interesting array of colours

For this card I chose to use the Traveler stamp set because I really wanted to use the train image.  The background stamp, World Map, was the perfect backdrop.  All I had to do was to make a mask of the train so that I could stamp the map over it without ruining the image.  The train looked fine coloured in Chocolate Chip while the map just cried out to be coloured with the Tempting Turquoise, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz.  

I needed a sentiment but really didn't wish to use the "miss you already" again.  It's a great sentiment but I was ready for something else.  That "something else" came in the new Project Life Remember This stamp set.  I knew that "adventure bound" was the sentiment I was looking for.  Stamped in Chocolate Chip ink and mounted over a backing of Chocolate Chip cardstock, it was exactly what I wanted.

Check out the other cards made for this challenge at Colour Me....!

MOJO351 --- Just for You

I had some fun with the Blendabilities, colouring the rhinestones for this card.  Bling is fun but bling that actually compliments a colour in a card is even better.  In this case, the rhinestones match the Petite Petals flower.

The Hello Honey in both the patterned side and the solid side of the card is such a happy yellow.  It really makes me think of summer---which we're enjoying at the moment.  The Mossy Meadow, too, is the green of the grass and shrubs outside.

This is my interpretation of this week's MOJO Monday challenge.  I kept it simple for a change.

SUO 99 --- Kinda Eclectic Adventure

I am really enjoying my adventures through the various challenges.  It is definitely a lot of fun trying to figure out a way to make my own design fall into the parameters of a challenge.

For this card, which is supposed to be all about summertime, I've decided to turn to my favourite new stamp set, Work of Art again, along with another really fun and versatile stamp set, Kinda Eclectic.   I've also added a third stamp set to the mix with the Hostess set, Life's Adventure.  The bicycle in the set just begged to be coloured with the Blendabilities, so of course I had to use them.  The Silver Stampin' Dazzle marker made it possible to shine up the handlebars and other metal portions.  It's a fun card and just makes me think of the simple pleasures of summer.

For more inspiration from others in this challenge, go to the SUO Challenges.

CTS81 -- Wedding Card

For the CAS(E) this sketch challenge this week, I decided to make a wedding card that I'm going to need this month.  It's a simple, elegant card but the Gold Foil and Silver Foil take it to another level as do the silver and gold embossed butterflies.  I chose a base cardstock of Basic Black so that nothing would take away from the gorgeous metallics.

The sentiment, too, is simple.  I've heat embossed it in Black onto the Silver Foil banner.  The beautiful flourish is from the Everything Eleanor stamp set and it, too, is heat embossed in Black onto the Gold Foil layer.

So what do you think?  Did I meet the challenge?

Smile!

I love the new stamp set, A Little Smile.  One of the reasons, of course, is the cheeriness of the art and another reason is that my daughter and I belong to a group called SMILE.  As soon as I saw the stamp in the catalogue, I knew I would have to own it.  It's a single stamp but it says a great deal.

I chose colours that I felt really brought out the cheery thought.  For me the primary colours are happy colours.  So, of course, red, blue and yellow play a large part in the card.

I've used a base of Hello Honey, then a layer of Chocolate Chip, and then three strips of cardstock: one Cherry Cobbler, the next Marina Mist and the last one Cherry Cobbler again.  On top of that I've mounted the stamped piece of Whisper White.  I coloured the design with my Blendabilities.  I really love the way they blend so seamlessly.  For the face and tummies of the hedge hogs, I used two shades of the skin tone Blendabilities.  For the spiky portion and back I used the darkest of the skin tones.  The colour is closest to Chocolate Chip, which is the reason I chose a layer of Chocolate Chip cardstock to tie the colours together.

This card makes me smile.  I trust it will make my daughter smile as well, because I made it just for her.  Smile, hon.

SCCC30 -- Layers of glitz and glimmer.

I am really enjoying this Christmas Card Challenge.  I think what I enjoy most is trying to come up with current products for Christmas cards when Stampin' Up! doesn't launch its Holiday Mini Catalogue until September.  This time the challenge is a little more ambiguous.  There is a photo from which one is supposed to get inspiration.

 

What I decided to do is to make my own background by using stencils and the Gold and Silver Encore inks.  This is what I wound up with after using the circles stencil with the Gold Encore ink and the stars stencil with the Silver Encore ink on Very Vanilla.

I wanted the images to be softer and less defined and so I spritzed it with the Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz.  That definitely softened the image and added a lot of glitz.

Then I used the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set to stamp three ornaments using the Versamark and Gold Embossing Powder.  I'm so glad that the Ornament Keepsakes have been carried over into Augues.  It's such a versatile stamp set, especially with the matching Framelits.

I also used a whole bunch of layers.  My base is the Naturals Ivory to which I adhered a layer of Cherry Cobbler.  Than I adhered the stamped and spritzed Very Vanilla to some Gold Foil.  I mounted that layer to the others using dimensionals.  Before I mounted that layer, however, I used some Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon to tie it up like a present.

Finally I mounted all the ornaments using dimensionals and stuck on my little sentiment using a couple of Glue dots.

And that's the card for this week's Christmas Card Challenge.

It's a World of Dreams

One of the things that I like to include in my make-n-takes for the Annual Catalogue Open House is a project that includes all the brand new In-Colors.  That wasn't hard to do this year, considering how well the new In-Colors work together.

My card showcases two gorgeous new sets, the World of Dreams which is all about silhouettes and the Work of Art which I'm using more since I bought it than I would ever have guessed.  For my base cardstock and silhouette, I chose to go another route than the usual black.  The Blackberry Bliss is a deep enough purple to do a magnificent job of stamping a silhouette.  And it also allows me to include all the new In-Colors.  How great is that?

It's a simple card.  The "Love ya" from the Just Sayin' stamp set is raised on dimensionals but otherwise this card is simply about stamping, the new In-Colors, and two great new stamp sets.

Stars, stars----I see stars!

And that is what the people at my Open House were feeling, too.  Stars, stars, stars!  With the brand new Stars Collection Framelits they are so easy to make.

This is the first of two cards that we made for the Open House.  You may recognize the design.  I made one similar back in February but that one had a Basic Black base and no stars.  This one, well, it's bright and happy and makes me think of summer.  It is, after all, the first day of Summer today so why not celebrate?

I used a base cardstock of Pistachio Pudding and then added a strip of that luscious new Specialty Designer Paper, Gold Soiree.  Yes, there's gold in the scallops.  Also in the scallops is Garden Green and Tangerine Tango.  So I added a strip of Tangerine Tango scallops and a star in Garden Green.  Inside the star, I added a tiny star punched out of that gorgeous new Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.  (You almost need sunglasses when working with it!)

At the bottom, I stamped my sentiment using the Sassy Salutations stamp set and Garden Green ink.  The final touch is a Dazzling Diamonds arrow, punched with that terrific new What's Up punch.

And that's the card.  Simple but really dazzling.  It was a good warm-up for the second card.  I'll show you that one tomorrow.

CMCC25 --- You are a Fabulous Work of Art!

This challenge called for a mix of colours that immediately brought "baby" to mind.  Of course I didn't want to go with the obvious.  This was the challenge:

I don't normally use such pastel tones together, so of course my mind kept going back to "baby".  And then I just forced the issue and took out the Work of Art stamp set.  That got me on track.  Without a real pattern in mind, I just let myself play with several of the stamps and the colours.  And I liked the result.  Then I thought to myself, why not add one of those Spiral Flowers?  I have the In-Color Designer Paper Stack so using the polka dot patterned sheet in the Strawberry Slush was a given.  I really crumpled up the cut out spiral before rolling it and gluing it.  The effect was so much less stiff and added a lot of charm.  A couple of leaf stems cut with the Bird Builder punch and outlined with my Stampin' Chalk Marker finished it off.

The card doesn't look a bit "baby" to me.  I'm so glad!  For more of the cards made for this challenge, check out Colour Me...!

MOJO Monday 350 ---Another look at the Wetlands set

For my last challenge I used the Wetlands set and kept it simple.  For this challenge, I'm revisiting the Wetlands set and am also using the same colours.  Even the centre window is the same as is the Burlap Ribbon that I used.  Despite all this "sameness" the result is very, very different.  The key is the sketch.

For the sides, I decided to use the Banner framelits but cut them in half and mounted each half on a side.  For my base, I decided to use Lost Lagoon and then layered it with Naturals White stamped with the Gorgeous Grunge set and Baked Brown Sugar ink.  

I didn't want such a large piece of Burlap Ribbon and therefore cut it in half lengthwise.  I frayed it right up to the stitching.  The lengths of twine that I removed when fraying, I used to make a "flower" and attached it with an Antique Brad.

For more samples of cards using this sketch, check out the Mojo Monday Blog.

PP61 -- The Paper Players 200th Challenge

I was picked for "A Cut Above" and received a badge for this card.  So exciting!

I discovered the Paper Players just in time.  They're having their 200th challenge and so they've brought out some of their previous challenges again.  I chose to do PP61 just because it fits in nicely with the Wetlands stamp set marathon I seem to be on.  It just goes to show how many different looks you can get with the one stamp set.  This is the challenge sketch.

I chose to do the sketch sideways.  I've been doing so many vertical cards that it felt right doing this one horizontally.  I used the Lost Lagoon cardstock as my base and from there built up with a layer of Naturals White and then a layer of the Baked Brown Sugar pattern from the In-Color Designer Stack.  Then I added layered rectangles, first Naturals White and then Baked Brown Sugar which I ran through the Big Shot in my  Woodgrain embossing folder.  Then I mounted a set of three circles on dimensionals.  The centre circle of Whisper White was stamped first with one of the Work of Art stamps and then with the stamp from Wetlands.

The ribbon is the new In-Color Lost Lagoon Stitched Satin Ribbon and has a cluster of threads from the Burlap Ribbon tied inside.  Finally, I stamped "just for you" from the Teeny Tiny Wishes on two lines and then cut it out using the little Banner punch.

If you want to see more of the creations made for the 200th Celebration Challenge, just pop on over to the Paper Players.

CAS(E) this Sketch #80 - a clean and simple challenge

I'm enjoying challenges.  But then I guess you've noticed that, haven't you?  I like trying my hand at creating something along the parameters of another person's design because it forces me to think outside my nice, comfy little "box".  This was the design for the challenge.

My base is Naturals White cardstock.  Then I've adhered a length of frayed Burlap Ribbon vertically down the centre.  On top of that I've mounted a window shape on dimensionals.  It's a double window with the base having been cut from the new In-Color, Lost Lagoon, and the next layer having been cut from Whisper White.  On the Whisper White I've stamped a shape from the Work of Art stamp set in Baked Brown Sugar and Lost Lagoon.  I off-stamped twice with each to give the background a more subtle look.

On that I stamped a portion of the sandpipers from the Wetlands stamp set and at the sides, stamped the bullrushes.  I finished by stamping "Thinking of You" using Lost Lagoon and sponging the edges with Baked Brown Sugar ink.

To finish I took the bits left over from fraying the Burlap Ribbon and mounted clusters using glue dots and topped them with Candy Dots.

For more great designs that have been submitted for this challenge, go to Case This Sketch. 

SCCC29 --- Weekly Christmas Card Challenge

Yes, I decided to enter another one of the weekly Christmas card challenges.  This one has everyone using at least three patterned papers.  Well that really is a challenge at the moment because I only wish to use current products from Stampin' Up! and so far there are simply no Christmas Designer Papers available.  But then there is no rule saying that all Christmas cards must use Christmas paper, right?  And really, staying with what some people would consider classic Christmas colours is not necessary either.  Well, that left me with a few more choices.

Right now the only current patterned Stampin' Up! paper that I have on hand is the Moonlight Designer Series Paper Stack and the Backgrounds Designer Series Paper Stack for the 2013-2015 In-Colors.  But that's enough to make a card that uses three patterned papers.

Two of the patterns in the card are from the Moonlight paper stack while one, the larger layer, is a Baked Brown Sugar polka-dot pattern from the backgrounds stack.  My base cardstock for the card is Naturals White.  As an accent colour, since it appears in the Moonlight paper stack patterns, I've used Blackberry Bliss cardstock.  I've also use some Gold Foil both for framing and to make the Christmas Tree.  The dotted pattern on the piece of Blackberry Bliss is hand drawn with my White Uniball Signo pen and my Stampin' Dazzle Gold Marker.

I also used the Blackberry Bliss for my banner and heat embossed the gold Merry Christmas, which is from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.

And that is my rather modern looking Christmas Card.  The Challenge can be found at the Weekly Christmas Card Challenges blog.

WCC02 -- The Watercooler Challenge is CASE from the new catalogue!

When I saw that the new Watercooler Challenge was to CASE from a sample in the new catalogue, I thought "easy-peasy".  Well, it wasn't!  Easy-peasy, I mean---it wasn't at all!  Have you gone through the new catalogue and checked out the samples inside?  There are a lot.  And when I say there are a lot, I mean that they seem endless.  Try choosing which one to CASE when there are so many great ideas!

So I decided that instead of a card, I would CASE a different type of project.  Well, that helped reduce the numbers, but there were still so very many from which to choose.  So I narrowed the parameters a bit more and decided it would have to be something I hadn't done for months, using a stamp set that I hadn't used for months.  Finally!  I found the project that I would CASE:  check out page 169 of the new catalogue.  Up on the left hand side---second from the top.  Those cute little Muslin bags have made it into the new catalogue.  I've had the For the Birds stamp set forever and seldom use it.  What could be better than to revive my interest in both?

According to the rules of the challenge, one may make changes.  That was a relief for me because I'm the Queen of changes.  Not only that but I haven't received a couple of the items I would need to make it a perfect copy.  So right off the bat, two instant changes would be using the little Mini Metallic Clothespins instead of the silver paper clip and the flower from the Soho Blossoms punch instead of the tiny heart punch.

I also didn't want to leave the Muslin bag, well, muslin-looking.  So I stamped that with one of my favourite new stamps from the Work of Art stamp set, using all five of the brand new In-Colors.  I did that on both sides of the bag with a piece of paper inside the bag to ensure that there would be no "bleeding" of colour from one side to the other.

I also threaded the new Mossy Meadow Stitched Satin ribbon through the top to replace the cotton cord and changed the tag from a "thank you" to a "Happy Birthday".The tag is also layered with the base being Mossy Meadow and the next layer being Hello Honey.  You'll see that I stamped the same pattern on the Hello Honey layer as on the Muslin bag.

Of course if you don't want to make any changes, that Muslin bag sample shown in the catalogue would make a pretty nice gift, especially filled with goodies.

I hope you've enjoyed my CASE-with-changes.  It was a fun challenge.  If you want to try your own hand at the challenge, check out what the other members of our core group did on the home page, Watercooler Challenges.  I'm sure you'll be amazed with the samples.

The June Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop---Introducing the new Annual Catalogue

         Oh yeah!  It's that time of year again!  

We are thrilled to be able to offer you projects made with all sorts of goodies from the brand new 2014/15 Annual Catalogue.  You saw some tantalizing glimpses in last month's Blog Hop when we showed off a few of the sneak-peek items we had been able to order early.  Well, this month's Blog Hop has no such limits.  Prepare to be amazed.

For those of you who are familiar with our Blog Hops, you'll remember that it's a circular one.  Whoever you begin with, whether you go backwards or forwards through the names, you will eventually wind up right where you bagan.  Of course you can "jump off" at any time.  For those of you that haven't experienced one of our Blog Hops before, you're in for a treat.

If you've worked your way through the Blog Hop from the beginning, you'll have come to my blogsite from the inimitable Marsha Reed's.  She certainly shared some wonderful projects, didn't she.

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For my first project I was excited to play with the brand new Blendabilities, Stampin' Up!'s answer to the Copics and other alcohol-based inks.  They're very smooth to blend and the colours are jewel-brilliant.  I really do love the way my coloured images just "pop".  I also love the Blooming With Kindness stamp set.  The flower in the set is perfect for colouring with the Blendabilities.  For this card, however, I didn't stop with just one.  I had an idea and didn't stop until I got it down on paper.  By masking my stamped images, I was able to give the illusion of a whole bouquet rather than just the one flower.

With the colourful flowers diagonally covering the paper, I knew I would have to put some bright layers underneath.  Over a base of Natural White, I layered Rich Razzleberry and Hello Honey.  I used the birthday greetings from the Memorable Moments stamp set, but it could so easily be for many other occasions, depending on the sentiment.

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It gets hard to think of something to give for a new little baby, especially when you don't know the people all that well, but well enough that you want to give them something.  Remember that cute little Pillow Box that I made a while back?  I even provided the template for it HERE.  I thought it would be great to make one up for the new baby and enclose a gift card as well as a cute little hair band.

I began with a sheet of the Shimmery White cardstock.  I traced the template onto it and then cut it out.  Then I had fun stamping my own "Designer Paper" pattern all over it using stamps from the Baby We've Grown set as well as the Work of Art and Petite Petals sets.  Even though the Pillow box does not require a belly band to keep it shut, I love the look of one around the centre of it and therefore I made one.  It just finishes it off so nicely, doesn't it?

For the tag I used the framelits that match the Something for Baby set.  Just make sure you leave the fold inside the framelit cutting line and you can make the same type of custom tag.

And if you just aren't in the mood to make your own but think this idea would be perfect for little gifts, just check on page 198 of the brand new catalog(ue) and you will see that you can buy a set of ten that come with all the fixings.  All you have to do is assemble (and add your own touch, if you wish).

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My final project is a masculine card.  With a change of sentiment, it could easily be a Father's Day card, Graduation card or birthday card for someone who travels a lot.  I've used the new Traveler stamp set---a stamp set that is perfect for vintage cards or simply masculine, depending on the way you put the elements together.  My card would probably be a vintage masculine just because I've kept the colours more towards a vintage look.  The background starburst is probably the most modern looking portion of the card.  

For the starburst I used the World Map stamp and then cut it into pieces.  Yes, I made sure I had the pieces numbered because that map isn't easy to put together otherwise.  I wanted to sponge each pie-section with one of three colours:  Baked Brown Sugar, Hello Honey or Lost Lagoon.  All in all, I really like the final effect.  The old-fashioned camera has Crystal Effects on the lenses and then some silver where there is metal.  Along the bellows, I used some Baked Brown Sugar to give it the look of aged leather.

I managed to sneak one more of the new In-Colors into this card.  I layered a Mossy Meadow circle behind the images and also placed a layer of Mossy Meadow between the image layer and the Basic Black base.  The suitcase was coloured using the Old Olive Blendabilities.  The colours blend beautifully with the Mossy Meadow.  Finally the tickets are from the That's the Ticket stamp set and the sentiment is from the Just Sayin' stamp set.

To finish off I stamped the edge of the envelope with the ticket and inside the card with another image from the Traveler set.

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Well, that's it for my projects.  The "next" button will take you to Stefanie Pletscher's blogsite where she will have some amazing projects for you.

If you have a moment to leave a comment, it would be terrific.  Thanks so much.

Wetlands rocks a colour challenge--PPA206

I love colour challenges.  I love to try combinations of colours that I don't usually use together.  Sometimes I discover new combinations that really appeal to me that way.  It's a good way to stretch a bit and think outside the usual box.

This week's colour challenge at the Pals Paper Arts really appealed to me.  I had just finished another one of the projects for this week's Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop and got side-tracked doing the colour challenge.  Oh well, anything that gets the creative juices flowing, right?

Those are the colours for the challenge.  I really like all the colours but haven't used them in a card together---until today.  The stamp set that immediately came to mind was the Wetlands.  Don't you think that sand and water and sky are the natural things one would associate with the challenge colours?  I certainly do.

My card showcases the colours using the watercolour technique.  I thought it was perfect framed in the Polaroid Frame that is part of the On Film framelits.  My base cardstock is Naturals White and I've also used the 2013-15 In-Colors Designer Series Paper Stack which I layered over plain Baked Brown Sugar cardstock.

.Don't forget, we're having the Wacky Watercooler Blog Hop beginning this Thursday.  It's going to be awesome.  We're featuring the new Stampin' Up! Annual Catalogue. 

Christmas Card Challenge #28 - Optional Colour

Christmas cards?  Do you think you've suddenly arrived at an old post?  Nope, the challenge is for Christmas cards.  It makes sense, if you think about it.  After all, if you're going to be making your cards for Christmas, you really don't want to leave them for the last minute.  Mail isn't that fast.  Writing them and addressing them isn't that fast.  Yeah---it seems about right to begin thinking about Christmas cards now.

This week's challenge is for Christmas cards but it's all about the following colour palette.  You can use one or all of the colours.  I wonder how many I will wind up using.

As a matter of fact, I used them all.  I love the Work of Art stamp set because it lets you make such a striking background.  Since I didn't want the colours to be too saturated, I off-stamped them all once before stamping onto the Whisper White cardstock.  To make it more interesting, I off-stamped onto a paper towel and added some texture to the background as well.

On top of the background colours, I stamped the silhouette of a tree from the Evergreen stamp set using Island Indigo ink.  It's such a strong colour that it manages to show up even against the deepest colours of the background.  I had to wait until everything was fully dry because my next step would be to heat emboss the other image of the tree from that stamp set using my Silver embossing powder.  Now that made the tree "pop"!

To finish up, I mounted the stamped Whisper White onto a piece of Island Indigo cardstock and then onto a base of Naturals White cardstock.  A sparkling silver star and a cheery sentiment finished off the card.

To see the other Christmas cards that participants created for this challenge, just go to the Weekly Christmas Card Challenges.  You can even post your own version of a card.