My Advanced Card class this month made the two cards shown above. For my advanced class I try to design more involved, not necessarily difficult cards. We generally stamp the inside and/or emboss the envelope. The fall card was made using Paisley Prints and the sentiment from Grateful Greetings. We used Peach Parfait; Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla. We accented the layers with Early Espresso Waffle paper. The picture doesn't really show but we took a negative image from the Leaves die cut as a stencil to create a background image on the card base. The leaves were cut by hand, popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals and tied with Linen Thread.

For the second card I used Greeting Card Kids stamped in Stazon Black ink on Watercolor paper. We used blender pens and ink pads in Blushing Bride, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Baja Breeze to color in the design. This was my first time using Watercolor Paper and I must say I love the stuff. We used Candy Candy Christmas Designer Series Paper for the background. The Candy Cane Big Designer Button finished off the Real Red Satin Ribbon. The sentiment from Jolly Old Saint Nick is stamped in Real Red on Blushing Bride punched out with the Scallop Oval. Every layer of this card was shaded around the outside edge in a coordinating color. I was very pleased with how the card turned out.

At my October Cards, Cards, Cards class we made these three cards, two of each design. I finally met my goal of keeping them quick and easy; one huge challenge for me. We used Aviary, Word Play and French Foliage for the cards. The Aviary card was made using Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White. We topped the adorable bird cage off with an adorable rhinestone. For the Word Play card we used Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White. The Designer Series Paper came from the Paper Stack in Brights. I'm am really loving this new Designer Series Paper. The final card is done in River Rock, Early Espresso and Very Vanilla. The card is simple but elegant and taken straight from my Stampin' Success magazine. I was very happy with how they all turned out. This class is held the last Tuesday of every month try and join us some time.

My downline hosts a Stamp til you Cramp! event at least annually. At event this year we had five raffle baskets for attendees to win. Each raffle basket had a theme and my dear friend Martie won the "subtles" feminine basket. She was kind enough to give me this beautiful frame created by my sideline Heidi King. Heidi is the most amazing and creative woman I know; I aspire to have 1/10th of her creative abilities some day; you can view Heidi's work on her blog located at http://stampinking.blogspot.com. I embellished the picture with felt flowers and more of Stampin' Up!'s fabulous pearls. The beauty in the picture is my daughter Emma. The frame was created with Baja Breeze DSP; the stencil was completed using Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso inks.

This coming Saturday I will be hosting a Fall Stamp Camp. We will be making this banner; frame and luminaria. I'm very pleased with how they turned out and how they all coordinate. If you live in the Thousand Oaks area and would like to join please drop me a note to RSVP @ sandycreates@verizon.net.