Ros Davidson, Independent Stampin' Up!® demonstrator, Melbourne, Australia

Making Merry Monday #1 2020

It's been a long time since I've done a Making Merry Monday post, (I did them weekly for a long time from 2009 - 2013) and since I can't teach in person classes currently (thanks to the lockdown situation in Melbourne, Australia at the moment) my Christmas card stash is looking rather sad for this time of year. I've decided to bring back Making Merry Monday for the foreseeable future to make myself create Christmas cards for my stash. 

Here is today's card.


I've used the stunning Heartwarming Hugs designer series paper which is on the DSP sale this month in a chevron fold along with the peace and joy bundle. I hope today's card inspires you to create a Christmas card this week.

Close up


Inside card - I did another chevron fold for the inside but I cut it a little short! Opps (as I didn't want it to take up a lot of space inside the card, possibly should have used another sentiment also!)


If you want to grab any of the products I have mentioned in this post, I have included a shopping list at the end of the post. 


Shop now in my online store and don't forget to use this months hostess code for a free gift next month (if your order is under $250. If your order is over $250 don't use the hostess code as you earn hostess benefits on your own.)
FAQ regarding hostess code?

Live in Australia? Click on the products below to purchase them today! 

Peace & Joy Bundle [155167] $78.25	Peaceful Boughs Cling Stamp Set (En) [150541] $40.00	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock [121685] $15.25	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad [147116] $13.00
Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad [147111] $13.00	Card Stock A4 Pear Pizzazz [131290] $15.25	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad [147104] $13.00	Real Red A4 Card Stock [106578] $15.25
Real Red Classic Stampin' Pad [147084] $13.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $209.00

Colour Creations #17 - Garden Green

Our seventeenth colour we are focusing on for the colour collections blog hop is "garden green" from the regals collection. I have chosen garden green, melon mambo and coastal cabana from the colour coach to work with today for my creation. 
Here is my garden green card from 2018. 

I am calling my card today my not so garden green card as it started out greener in my head! I started with a misty moonlight sponged background that I added water droplets to (some a little larger than I intended and not exactly where I wanted!) and some Wink of Stella droplets (again larger and not where I wanted but moving on...)
I used 3 of the 4 houses from Coming Home stamp set, stacked to look like one house and I coloured main portion of the house with the melon mambo stampin' blend. I added a coastal cabana door using the woodgrain paper from the brights designer series paper stack and coloured the windows in with pool party stampin' blend. I finished the house with colouring the roof in with a smoky slate stampin' blends.
The trees are garden green sponged cardstock fussy cut with the trunks coloured with soft suede stampin' write marker and finished on whisper white die cut cardstock.
I hand cut a path from smoky slate cardstock and finished the card front off with a Merry Christmas embossed sentiment from Christmas Gleaming stamp set and some of my homemade faux resin dots in garden green. 


Close up view


Inside card - I used the 4th house from the Coming Home stamp set to decorate the inside of the card and the sentiment is from the Tree Angle stamp set


Catherine is hosting the colour creations blog hop each week and she has links for all the other ladies participating. 

Live in Australia? Click on the products below to purchase them today!  

Coming Home Bundle [155144] $81.00	Tree Angle Photopolymer Stamp Set [153442] $30.00	Christmas Gleaming Cling Stamp Set (En) [150464] $37.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $10.00
Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate [131291] $15.25	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad [147113] $13.00	Smoky Slate Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [154904] $15.50	Garden Green A4 Card Stock [108605] $15.25
Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [147089] $13.00	Misty Moonlight Classic Stampin' Pad [153118] $13.00	Pool Party Stampin' Blends Markers Combo Pack [144605] $15.50	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock [119980] $15.25
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [147051] $13.00	Melon Mambo Stampin' Blends Combo Pack [153112] $15.50	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00	Brights 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [152487] $20.00
Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers [147158] $52.50	Regals Stampin' Write Markers [147155] $52.50	Versamark Pad [102283] $16.50	Heat Tool [129056] $50.00
Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131] $10.50	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] $11.50	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $209.00

Colour Creations #15 - Early Espresso

Our fifteenth colour we are focusing on for the colour collections blog hop is "early espresso" from the neutrals collection. I have chosen early espresso, cherry cobbler and so saffron from the colour coach to work with today for my creation. 
Here is my early espresso card from 2018. 

For my card this week I decided long ago to make block of chocolate card as early espresso screams chocolate to me. When Kate  make her chocolate version a few weeks ago for crumb cake I was not going to be swayed in my decision. So if you think you are seeing a repeat, you kind of are. I'd also like to say thanks to Tina for the "chocolate" die cuts as I don't own the love you more than dies and she cut a whole stack for me and mailed them to me so I could finish me creation. 
My chocolate "squares" which aren't squares at all, LOL measure 2.5cm x 2cm and 2cm x 1.5cm on a 13.5cm x 9cm early espresso layer. I have used a layer of chipboard packaging between the two early espresso rectangles to give a more realistic look and depth to the chocolate blocks on the overall card.


I used 'Tis The Season DSP (and normal aluminium kitchen foil) to create the "packaging" for the chocolate bar and I love how many of the sheets from this DSP don't read Christmassy and can be used for other things (like this chocolate bar 😀.) I finished off the card with a label created from painted label dies and the chocolate word die from love you more than dies.
Did you know that if you ever get someone else to die cut dies for you, ask them to cut them in whisper white and you can make them any colour you like using the sponge brayers or daubers and ink pads. 

Close up


Inside card - as mentioned above I don't own the love you more than dies nor do I own the nothing better than stamp set so I improvised for the inside of the card. I typed the "I thought you might need some ____ today." and left a blank space for the die cut word chocolate. I used the font Andale Mono (size 14) and used the hex code (#64412C) for early espresso coloured font.   


Catherine is hosting the colour creations blog hop each week and she has links for all the other ladies participating. 

Live in Australia? Click on the products below to purchase them today! 

Early Espresso A4 Card Stock [121686] $15.25	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [147114] $13.00	Cherry Cobbler Classic Stampin' Pad [147083] $13.00	So Saffron A4 Card Stock [108611] $15.25
So Saffron Classic Stampin' Pad [147109] $13.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00	Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $8.75	‘Tis The Season 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [153489] $20.00
Painted Labels Dies [151605] $61.00	Love You More Than Dies [152698] $52.00

Colour Creations #11 - Coastal Cabana

Our eleventh colour we are focusing on for the colour collections blog hop is "coastal cabana" from the brights collection. I have chosen coastal cabana, melon mambo and gorgeous grape from the colour coach to work with today for my creation. 
Here is my coastal cabana card from 2018. 

For my card today, I have been heavily inspired and basically CASED this amazing card from Melissa Stout. I've used the same bundle, peace and joy and practically the same colours, only I have changed the orientation of the card to a horizontal card and also made my card into a shaker card.
I used the joy dies to die cut the word "bright" and stamped the words the two words "merry & and" from the peace & joy stamp set. I made a simple frame using the paper trimmer and finished it off with the window sheets and foam adhesive strips to create a shaker panel. This created the focal point for my card sitting on a sheet of coastal cabana designer series paper from the brights 6" x 6" designer series paper pack.


Close up


Inside card
 

Catherine is hosting the colour creations blog hop each week and she has links for all the other ladies participating. 

Live in Australia? Click on the products below to purchase them today! 

Peace & Joy Bundle [155167] $78.25	Perfectly Plaid Photopolymer Stamp Set (En) [149418] $30.00	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $10.00	Gorgeous Grape A4 Cardstock [147011] $15.25
Gorgeous Grape A4 Cardstock [147011] $15.25	Card Stock A4 Coastal Cabana [131302] $15.25	Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad [147097] $13.00	Melon Mambo A4 Card Stock [119980] $15.25
Melon Mambo Classic Stampin' Pad [147051] $13.00	Whisper White A4 Card Stock [106549] $17.00	Brights 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Designer Series Paper [152487] $20.00	Window Sheets [142314] $8.75
Foam Adhesive Strips [141825] $14.00