Merry & Type

I have a confession to make.  I love stamps.  (Maybe you already knew that?)  But not just any old stamps, but Christmas stamps.  I have a lot of them.   And every year I swear I am NOT going to buy a single new Christmas stamp set because I already have more than I can show during one holiday period.

This year was no different.  Stampin' Up didn't retire a lot of Christmas stamps last year so I still have several current, perfectly nice Christmas images.  But when I started planning for my Christmas card class, I just couldn't bring myself to use the same stamps I've had for years.  I wanted NEW and I wanted it NOW!

Thank goodness for FREE rubbah!!!  Through a few fortunate turns of events, I won Christmas Lodge at convention, then got Snow Much Fun for the So Shelli challenge and Polar Party for a focus group.  So three new Christmas stamp sets should be enough, right?

WRONG!!!  On my order for supplies, I had hostess dollars to spend (yep, demonstrators get hostess benefits too.  I love this company).  I debated what to do with them and looked at a lot of other non-Christmas stamp sets that are still on my wish list.  But guess what I ended up with instead  -- another Christmas set:  Merry & Type.  And I'm so glad that I did because I just LOVE it.

Here are two cards we'll be making with it at my Christmas Card and Gift Crank next weekend:

Colors: Very Vanilla, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red.  Stamps: Merry & Type.  Accessories: Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper, Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon, Pearl Jewels.

 You probably notice that this isn't a regular cut card.  It is a modified kick stand card.  Kind of a fun design that is simple to make but adds just a bit of "wow" to the card.

Colors: Whisper White, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red.  Stamps: Merry & Type.  Big Shot: Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder.  Punches: Postage Stamp and 1-1/4" square.  Accessories: Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper, brads, markers.

For this one, I just wanted a simple card that would be fast to produce.  I love the stamp that looks like a postage stamp.  And it matches the paper so wonderfully.


Also, November 11 is a big day in my family.  This would have been my grandfather's 94th birthday but he isn't here to celebrate with us any more.  But it is also the 15th anniversary of me becoming and aunt for the first time. So Happy Birthday wishes to my cute niece Emma today too.

And of course, a big thank you to the men and women who have served our country so valiantly over the years, and to their families as well.  Not a day goes by when I am not amazed by the sacrifices of so many on my behalf.  Happy Veterans Day.