Come Seek Him

Good morning, everyone!  Well...now that December is finally here...can you believe it...the crunch is on to get those Christmas cards finished, and even though I've done pretty well on working on mine all year long, I still have quite a few to do...which means that you will probably be seeing a lot of Christmas cards this month for the Sweet Stop Sketch!  And here's the first sketch of the month over at The Sweet Stop!

Creative Nugget:  For some reason I struggled with this one, and even now I'm not sure I like the final product.  I could not find a sentiment I liked that would fit the circle element, but it is what it is, and I hope you find something inspirational about it!  The music score from the "Joy to the World Hymn," by Our Daily Bread Designs, was lightly stamped using Old Paper Distress Ink on a piece of Vintage Cream card stock.  The "Seek Him Still" image, by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, was embossed using Fine Detail Gold over the music score.  This panel was torn around the edges to mimic the border around the wise men.  A piece of Twig and Berry DP by KaiserCraft was matted on Scarlet Jewel card stock for the second layer. The Music Score impression plate was used on another piece of Vintage Cream and the edges embossed with gold.  A circle punch and Splendid Circle die were used to create the circle element.  Everything was mounted on a Scarlet Jewel card base.  Gold ribbon and a few gold pearls were added, and now that I'm looking at it again, a few more gold pearls scattered around, may be what is missing to finish the card...Hmmmmm...think I'll go do that now!

Even though I struggled with this one, the other Sugar Babies did not, as you will see.  Don't forget to check them out and welcome Sephanie Serrano to the Sugar Baby Team before joining us at The Sweet Stop this week!

Sugar Babies

Monika Davis

Janice Melton

Robin Parker

Faye Wynn-Jones
Melissa Shultz

 Ceal Pritchett

  Marlena Peduzzi

                                                         Stephanie Serrano

Hope you have a wonderful weekend...thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Cathymac

Card Recipe

Stamps: Seek Him Still (Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps), Joy to the World Hymn (Our Daily Bread Designs)

Ink: VeraMark (Tsukineko), Old Paper Distress Ink (Ranger), Scarlet Jewel (PTI)

Paper: Vintage Cream, Scarlet Jewel (PTI), Twigs and Berries DP (KaiserKraft)

Accessories: Splendid Circle Die (Spellbinders), Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder, Circle Punch (SU!), Music Score Impression Plate, Gold Ribbon (PTI), Kaiser Pearls

October Release Blog Hop

Hello dear friends and Happy Release Day to you!!  The SNSS DT has been busy preparing for today's fabulous blog hop and virtual stamp day and we hope you will join us in celebrating our newest stamp sets--this month we are focusing on Christmas! 

If you've just arrived from the very talented Jessica Flick, you are on the right track.  If not, you'll want to head on over to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog to start the hop at the beginning.  We've got lots of eye candy to share that will certainly put you in the holiday mood. :)  Be sure not to miss a single stop along the way because we'll be drawing one lucky commenter from a random DT blog to win a $25 credit to the store!!

Here's the list of stops along the hop today:

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog

Makiko Jones

Monika Davis

Jessica Fick

Cathy McCauley<---You are here!

Mary Faus

Kim Singdahlsen

Bridget Finlay

Dina Kowal

Gloria Stengel

Kim Schofield

Ceal Pritchett

Giovana Smith

Jennie Harper

Korin Sutherland

I'll be sharing projects from two of the wonderful Christmas sets being released.

Creative Nugget:  The Seek Him Still clear stamp set includes one collage image, one star, and five sentiments perfect for sharing the true meaning of Christmas.  I know this set will get a lot of use.  The patterned papers from the Festive Collection by Authentique were matted on True Black and stitched to a Vintage Cream panel.  This was adhered to a Kraft card base. To make the main image panel, some Frayed Burlap, Faded Jeans, and Dusty Concord Distress Inks were swiped on a craft sheet.  This was spritzed with water and a scrap piece of Vintage Cream card stock was dabbed onto the beaded inks and dried with a heat gun.  The wise men image was stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink.  A rectangle Nestie was used to cut out the image.  This panel was scrunched into a ball and opened up.  A Walnut Stain Distress pad was swiped across the folds to create an aged look.  The panel was ironed before mounting it onto the card with Dimensionals.  The sentiment was stamped on the bottom, a Kraft bow and a rhinestone sticker were added to finish the card!

Creative Nugget:  My second sample is from the Holiday Baubles clear stamp set.  This set includes twenty-three whopping images and four Christmas greetings, providing endless design possibilities!  The Quatrefoil Cutting Plate Die by Taylored Expressions was stitched to a piece of patterned paper from the Very Merry Christmas paper pad by Echo Park. This was adhered to a Vintage Cream card base that had the edges taped and glittered.  The Floral Oval Die by Spellbinders was  cut from Riding Hood Red card stock.  Since I needed a large sentiment, I used the Merry Christmas from the Christmas Sentiments clear stamp set, also being released today!  The sentiment was curved on the acrylic block making it rounded to fit the contours of the die.  The ornaments were added to the string of bows with Always Artichoke, Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, and Creamy Caramel ink.  Some Baker's Twine bows, Rhinestone Stickers, and Stickles finish the card.

I hope you've enjoyed my samples!  Are you getting in the mood for Christmas yet?  The fun has just begun...there's a lot more inspiration to come.  Hop on over to the very sweet and talented, Mary Faus for another taste of Christmas!

After you're done hopping we invite you to join us for a fun day of challenges during our Virtual Stamp Day in our Splitcoaststampers Member Company Forum.  We're giving away more fun prizes so you won't want to miss it!

Enjoy the hop and happy stamping!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs,

Cathymac