Christmas in July… Yes, the heat might be getting to me! This week the Paper Craft Crew has another theme challenge. The challenge is “New to You” and believe it or not, I have NOT used my Christmas Pines stamp set! I actually purchased it after Christmas when I found out Stampin’ Up! was going to carry the set over in this years 2017-2018 Annual Catalog. I’ve also played with some other new products such as the Texture Paste. Now, we know it is Wednesday, and that means… I’m over at the Paper Craft Crew for the Weekly Challenge! Come on over and check out the Design Team submissions for the “New to You” Challenge. The challenge starts today and ends on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 @ 1:00 PM EST.

Christmas In July with Christmas Pines

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #251

My mom had surgery this past Friday, July 7th to remove a tumor from her right middle lobe on her lung. Well, actually, the doctor just removed the right middle lobe completely. Surgery was a huge success and it went great unlike the surgery she had back in February. We were all concerned about how well this surgery would go since the surgery in February to remove her kidney experienced some serious setbacks. Thankfully, the surgery was quick with minimal blood loss and the doctor didn’t need to break or shave a rib. Dr. Jacque was able to access the lung to remove by easily going between her ribs. He also feels that the tumor is benign although it would eventually turn into a malignant tumor based on the type of tumor. My family is just thrilled that we caught the tumor early and before it did become a malignant, cancerous tumor. Now my mom is recovering.

Christmas Pines

Welcome to Christmas In July as I feature the Christmas Pines Stamp Set today. The Christmas Pines Stamp Set features pinecones, pine needles and some really great Christmas Sentiments. I love the uniqueness of this stamp set with the pine cones. This stamp set also has a coordinating thinlits die called the Pretty Pines.

Today’s card has a definite vintage or shabby chic feel to it. The background features the NEW Sheet Music background stamp. I’ve also used another fun product called Embossing Paste which is totally amazing! So, in a nutshell, the “New to ME” products I used are the Christmas Pines Stamp Set, Pretty Pines Thinlits, Sheet Music background stamp and the Embossing Paste.

Quick Card Details

The card features a Very Vanilla card base along with a Cherry Cobbler base layer. The Sheet Music background stamp was used with Sahara Sand ink to create the background. Next, I mixed a small amount of the embossing paste with Wild Wasabi Classic Reinker then used the Palette Knives to spread over a Mask I made using the Pretty Pines Thinlits which coordinate with the Christmas Pines Stamp Set. Let me just say this… the embossing paste is SO COOL! It really adds nice texture to the card.

Around the edges of the card, I used versamark then heat embossed with Copper Embossing Powder which really stepped up the detail on the card. A cool embossing technique I used was to also splatter water on the card, add the copper embossing powder then heat embossed until the water evaporated leaving splotches of copper embossing on the card front.

Paper Craft Crew Challenge

What a fun theme challenge we have this week! We want you to use a “New to You” product. Something you bought and haven’t used yet! There are so many options. Theme challenges are a great way to help you grow with your stamping. A Theme gives you a starting place… It is a suggestion creating a pathway to creativity. Let your mind go and your creativity loose! Join the challenge. Make a project inspired by this weeks theme, post it to your blog or on any of your social media venues then add it to our InLinkz link provided on the Paper Craft Crew Challenge blog.

Now that I’ve built up the excitement, here is this weeks Card Sketch #247 with the Paper Craft Crew. For additional inspiration, go visit the Paper Craft Crew blog. Check out the Design Team Samples. I challenge you to create a card, scrapbook page or 3D project inspired by this weeks challenge.

Shop Now!
- To purchase products used today, visit my 24/7 Stampin’ Up! store by clicking HERE! For your convenience, I’ve also included a supply list at the end of this blog post – just click on any of the items to be taken directly to my 24/7 Stampin’ Up! store to purchase the products used. Don’t forget, if your order is less than $150.00 then make certain to use the monthly Hostess Code: