Welcome to Day 1 of the September Countdown! This officially marks the start of our holiday releases for 2011 and we couldn't possibly be more excited for all of the amazing products we have to introduce to you over the next few months!
To begin today we are focusing on a few traditional Christmas icons!
First up is candy canes! The traditional Christmas treat! I think just about everyone eats some form of candy canes during the holiday season each year, which makes it a true Christmas tradition. Just for fun, I thought I would share this video I stumbled upon from the Discovery Channel showing how candy canes are made... it is really interesting if you haven't seen it before!
Candy canes really represent the holidays in true style...
They can be made from a variety of different materials and textures...
or even a variety of patterns outside of the standard stripes...
They can be used for holidays other than Christmas too!
Of course there are always the unconventional color schemes...
and the special treats that can be made from them...
Their traditional patterns & colors can be used in festive home decor...
Capturing candy canes & peppermint sticks perfectly is Dawn McVey' s latest set, Candy Cane Christmas. This set includes a candy cane and peppermint stick that can be used in a variety of ways to create your own holiday focal points. One of my favorite images is the mug which can be used by itself, or easily filled with the candy cane or peppermint stick. You will adore all of the elements this set contains once you see them in action!
The details.
- Candy Cane Christmas will be available for purchase on September 15th.
- It will retail for $15.
- Candy Cane Christmas contains a total of 11 stamps (1 candy cane, 1 peppermint stick, 1 mug, 1 string of steam, 1 large peppermint disk, 1 large peppermint disk, 1 ornament topper, 1 striped circular tag frame, 1 striped background strip and 2 sentiments).
- A coordinating die collection will also be made available for purchase separately, retailing for $8. The collection includes shapes to coordinate with the candy cane, peppermint stick & mug. Approximate measurements: 2-3/4" x 1-1/4" (A), 2" x 1-3/4" (B).
To coordinate with this set, Dawn also created a new pad of patterned paper that features several different color combinations of candy cane stripes! These bold and classic colors serve as a fabulous jumping point for so many different kinds of projects! You won't be able to put it down!
The details.
- The Candy Cane Prints patterned paper pad will be available for sale on September 15th.
- It will retail for $8.
- The Candy Cane Prints patterned paper pad contains a total of 36 (8x8) sheets, 6 sheets each of 6 patterns. The color combos contained in this pad are: Berry Sorbet, Pure Poppy, New Leaf, Ripe Avocado, Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Spring Moss
The next Christmas classic we are covering today are the traditional holiday lights!
They sparkle & twinkle...
and make everything look magical!
The colors can be bold...
or classic.
They can add a special touch to nearly everything.
And really make the world a more beautiful place.
From the soft shadows they create...
to the bright, colorful impression they leave at night...
They are magic in the purest form.
Dawn McVey's second set for this month is a fabulous set of images dedicated to those beautiful, twinkling lights that almost all of us use to adorn our homes every year! It features a string of lights with interchangeable bulbs of different styles & shapes making it easy to create multi-color strands!
The details.
- Holiday Lights will be available for sale on September 15th.
- It will retail for $15.
- Holiday Lights contains a total of 14 stamps (1 light string, 4 interchangeable bulbs, 1 circular tag image and 8 sentiments).
I have another stamp set to introduce you to today. A special new sentiment set just for the holidays! I have been having so much fun experimenting with different font combinations lately and stacking them on top of one another. This new set offers my latest efforts to you in the form of extra special holiday greetings. With unique sayings that will make your projects stand out from the crowd, you won't want to miss out on this amazing set!
The details.
- Stylish Sentiments: Holiday will be available for sale on September 15th.
- It will retail for $24.
- Stylish Sentiments: Holiday contains a total of 12 stamps (8 stacked sentiments, 3 single line sentiments and one star image).
Every once in a while as space allows we like to introduce a die for a previously released set. This month we are doing just that for Holly Jolly. Having dies for these holly images will be a dream come true and I personally can hardly wait to use the dies with felt!
The details.
- The Holly Jolly die collection will be available for sale on September 15th.
- It will retail for $5.
- The Holly Jolly die collection includes shapes to coordinate with the single holly leaves, the separate holly berry cluster and both assembled holly sprigs. Approximate measurements: 1-1/2" x 1" (A), 2" x 1" (B).
Now that we have all of the details out of the way, let's get into some fun projects!
This is one of my favorite projects from today. All that red & white together just seems so festive!
For a unique twist on a background, I alternated between the two background strips, stamping one above the other. It used the candy cane stripes from Candy Cane Christmas and the smallest polka dots from Polka Dot Basics II.
For the candy cane , I die-cut the shape from white cardstock and stamped the coordinating image with Pure Poppy ink. I added a small sprig of holly cut from Simply Chartreuse felt and embellished with red rhinestones.
This amazing sentiment comes from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday, and is stamped with True Black onto kraft cardstock that has been cut with the Spiral Notebook Page die.
This Royal Velvet card is bright & festive! It's fun to branch out once in a while and experiment with non-traditional clothing.
First, stamp the candy cane strips in Fresh Snow. Next, a sentiment from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday is added in between the rows. I added the glitter with Scor-tape.
The tag focal point is from Candy Cane Christmas and it is stamped onto white cardstock and punched out with a scalloped circle punch and adhered in place with foam dimensionals.
This project would look fabulous in other colors as well!
This festive striped paper is what I used as the jumping point for my next project!
The mug die that is sold as part of the Candy Cane Christmas die collection has a fun little feature that I thought I would show you. There is an interior cut that creates a slit perfect for tucking things into the mug, especially candy canes and peppermint sticks!
Here I have added a peppermint stick to the mug! So easy to do when you have the right tools!
I embellished the mug with the new Holy Jolly die. The holly sprig was die-cut from Ripe Avocado cardstock and then stamped with Mehndi Medallion with Ripe Avocado ink. Red rhinestones were added as well.
This sentiment from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday balances out everything perfectly, added to this Kraft strip with Ripe Avocado ink.
The upper portion of the Kraft strip is stamped with Polka Dot Basics using Vintage Cream ink. I also swiped the ink pad around the edges of the strip for definition.
This next project using a very untraditional holiday color scheme, but is definitely not lacking in holiday cheer!
The sentiment (also from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday) is stamped onto Hibiscus Burst cardstock with VersaMark and heat embossed with White Filigree Embossing Powder.
The strands of lights from Holiday Lights are stamped in Smokey Shadow above and below the sentiment. The bulbs are stamped with Hibiscus Burst, Aqua Mist and Sumer Sunrise. As a finishing touch I added appropriately colored rhinestones to the center of each bulb. So easy and so fun to create!
In addition to the candy cane & peppermint stick images found in Candy Cane Christmas, there is also an adorable large peppermint candy.
To make side extensions for the image to help it looked like wrapped candy, I die-cut this one shape from Raspberry Fizz cardstock and cut & scored it like my Lazy Stamper's Medallion (CLICK HERE to read more about this technique in case you missed it the first time around). Cut the piece in half to create even pieces for each side.
You can see here how they fit perfectly with the peppermint candy to help it look more realistic.
This card features another one of the sentiments from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday. Here it is stamped in Scarlet Jewel ink, with sheet music being added beside it to help reinforce the theme.
Love the color scheme on this particular project and will definitely be using it again!
Do you happen to remember our Christmas Tree die from last year? It works beautifully with the new Holiday Lights set.
The tree id die-cut from Simply Chartreuse cardstock. I heat embossed the light strings only with Silver Filigree Embossing Powder and then added rhinestones of various sizes to the strings. LOVE this look!
The sentiment (also from Stylish Sentiments: Holiday) was heat embossed as well on Hawaiian Shores cardstock placed under the tree.
I added a little star to the top of the tree and balanced out the bottom of the card with a little pinked edge. You could definitely recreate this card in a variety of colors!
I hope you have enjoyed the projects I have created for you today. These sets really embrace everything festive that I love about Christmas. What are some of your favorite new products from today's post? What are your first impressions of everything shared today? We would love to hear your thoughts! You could have a chance at winning an amazing prize package just for leaving a comment today!
- Candy Cane Christmas stamp set
- Candy Cane Christmas die collection
- Candy Cane Prints patterned paper pad
- Holiday Lights stamp set
- Stylish Sentiments: Holiday stamp set
- Holly Jolly stamp set
- Holly Jolly die collection
- Christmas Tree die
You have until 7am EST, Sunday, September 11th to leave your comment and be eligible to win. Only one comment per person please. One randomly selected winner will be announced no later than noon EST the same day on our September 2011 Release Winners page. Thanks for stopping by today and best of luck with the contest!
Betsy Veldman has more creations using Holiday Lights & Stylish Sentiments: Holiday.
Danielle Flanders is showcasing Candy Cane Christmas.
Dawn McVey is sharing projects using a variety of her new products this month.
Tiffany Pastor has a few things to share using her new set, Winter Cheer.
Lisa Johnson has put together some amazing projects using Christmas Blessings & Christmas Labels.
Heather Nichols is showcasing some of her new stamp sets for this month.
Melissa Bickford has some fantastic things to show you using Flower Fusion #8.
Maile Belles is sharing some projects using her new set, Bells & Boughs.
HOLIDAY CANDY CANE CARD
- STAMPS: Candy Cane Christmas, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (available September 15th) Polka Dot Basics II
- INK: True Black, Pure Poppy
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Pure Poppy, Kraft
- OTHER: Candy Cane Christmas die collection, Holly Jolly die, red rhinestones (KaiserCraft), Simply Chartreuse felt, Spiral Notebook die
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
GLITTER STRIPES CARD
- STAMPS: Candy Cane Christmas, Holiday Lights, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (available September 15th)
- INK: VersaMark, Fresh Snow, Eggplant Envy (SU!)
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Royal Velvet
- OTHER: scalloped circle punch (EK Success), chunky glitter (Making Memories) , 1/8" Scor-tape
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
WARMTH & JOY CARD
- STAMPS: Candy Cane Christmas, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (available September 15th) Polka Dot Basics
- INK: Ripe Avocado, Vintage Cream
- PAPER: Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy, Kraft, Ripe Avocado, Candy Cane Prints paper collection
- OTHER: Candy Cane Christmas die collection, Holly Jolly die collection, red rhinestones (KaiserCraft)
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
HAPPINESS & JOY CARD
- STAMPS: Holiday Lights, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (available September 15th)
- INK: Summer Sunrise, Aqua Mist, Hibiscus BUrst, Smokey Shadow, VersaMark
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Hibiscus Burst
- OTHER: Filigree White Embossing Powder, rhinestones (KaiserCraft)
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
SPREAD CHRISTMAS CHEER CARD
- STAMPS: Candy Cane Christmas, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (available September 15th) Background Basics: Sheet Music
- INK: Scarlet Jewel, Raspberry Fizz
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Raspberry Fizz, Sweet Blush, Scarlet Jewel
- OTHER: Limitless Layers 1.75" Circle die collection
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
CHRISTMAS JOY & CHEER CARD
- STAMPS: Holiday Lights, Stylish Sentiments: Holiday (available September 15th)
- INK: VersaMark
- PAPER: Stamper's Select White, Simply Chartreuse, Hawaiian Shores
- OTHER: Christmas Tree die, Silver Filigree Embossing powder, rhinestones (KaiserCraft), pinking shears (DMC)
- FINISHED SIZE: 4.25" x 5.5"
