Holiday Catalog Party Make and Takes and More

Hi!  Apologies for the long absence from blogging!  I'm back now as we get more settled into our school routine and am hopeful I'll be back into the routine of blogging regularly, too!  I'm actually getting very close to my 1000th blog post, so will need to figure out a special way to celebrate that!  (Maybe some special blog candy?  What do you think?)  

Anyway, about a week ago, I had a Holiday Catalog Party, and prepared three different make and takes for that!  The first was the most involved and featured the Painted Harvest Stamp Set, which is definitely one of my favorites from the Holiday Catalog, and coordinating Leaf Punch (you can get them together in this Bundle and save 10%!).  We stamped the flowers and leaves on Watercolor Paper, then spritzed and stamped more, in a faux watercoloring technique.  Here are two versions of the card:

The colors used on the flowers are Peekaboo Peach and Pumpkin Pie.  For the centers and the greeting, we used Soft Suede, and Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide for the leaves.  The greeting is cut using just the center of the Everyday Label Punch.  For embellishments behind the greeting, we used a piece of a gold Foil Snowflake, a faux bow made with Linen Thread, and a bit of Gold Foil cut with the Leaf Punch.

The paper in the background I created using Kim Jolley's Not Your Mother's Shaving Cream Technique with Lemon Lime Twist and Tranquil Tide ink on Whisper White Card Stock.  I love the soft watercolor-like look the technique creates!

For the second make and take, we created either a Christmas or Halloween tag using the Seasonal Chums Bundle, plus some coloring with Watercolor Pencils and Blender Pens.  Here's the front of my sample snowman:

And, the back:

Last, but not least, we created a 3x3" note card using a bit of the Quilted Christmas Designer Paper, plus stamps and dies from the Christmas Quilt Bundle.  Here's my original sample:

That's a Clear Faceted Gem in the center of the die cut flower (made with two of the die cuts in the Christmas Quilt Bundle!)

Here's another version, made with the other side of the designer paper piece:

And, here are two versions made with the designer paper piece embossed using the Quilt Top Textured Impressions Embossing Folder:

Which version is your favorite?

Here's a peek at the goodies (Rustic Apple Tart, Pumpkin Spice Cookies and Marble Pumpkin Brownie Bars, plus some Spiced Cider in the background . . . mostly from TJ's!):

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!!!

- Michelle

P.S.  Stampin' Up! has some amazing specials going on right now!  Don't miss out on select Cardmaking Essentials at 15% off for World Cardmaking Day or on the Buy 3 Get 1 Free on Designer Paper!  (Please click the links to go to my online store and see what is included in the specials).