Christmas in July with a Twist!

Did you know that Stampin Up likes to give us a Twist twice a year as well. The July-December Mini Catalog just went live and with it we are given the Twist of Sale-A-Bration. For Every $50 or $100 you spend before tax and shipping you receive a FREE product from Sale-A-Bration. Now that is an Awesome Twist I can Always get behind! Who doesn’t love to shop for all the fun new Stampin goodies and then earn FREE product at the same time…Yes Please. Sign me up for that Fun. Click on the images of the catalogs above and start making your shopping list.

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My inspiration for these Fabulous cards started with these 2 products from the New Mini Catalog. I adore this new bottle set which coordinates with the Bottled Happiness set in the Annual Catalog. I highlighted the original bottle set last week in my Vintage card I made, so go back and check out that card as well. This new Bottle set is a Twist on the Classic Bottle that allows you to create Gorgeous New bottles that still work with the punch and give you a Christmas Twist as well. I also knew I had to have the Snowman Bundle because…Snowman! However, I could see a Twist with this set as well because you can create all the Fabulous Christmas, but look at those little sun hats and all the accessories that allow you to create so much more. I truly love stamp sets that can be used for so many different projects.

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Once I decided on the main stamp sets from the New Mini Catalog, I wanted to add in some fun with FREE Sale-A-Bration products. I am completely obsessed with these Hippos and plan to use them every chance I get for the next 2 months. The New Wonderful World stamp set with matching DSP is a FREE set when you spend $100 and it is So worth the purchase. These flower images are Gorgeous and so is the DSP. All of the FREE Sale-A-Bration items in this Catalog are so Great and they will add a Fabulous Twist to all of Your Projects. However, the time is limited, so you definitely want to jump on that Sale train.

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Everything I did this week seemed to have a Twist and I love it. It is good to find ways to use the same products but in different ways. It stretches your wallet, which we all love, while helping you to stretch your imagination. I love DSP and I love it even more when I can use it in multiple ways. Stampin Up does a great job of giving you Beautiful DSP that has some images that can be fussy cut out and used as stand alone images. I did not use the Candy Canes on this card, but stay tuned later this month to see how I will use them to create a fun new card. I did use the Amazing Flower Images from the Wonderful World DSP to create stand alone images of Flowers that definitely give my card a fun Twist.

I can not even with the cuteness of these Hippos. Don’t you love how the little accessories make all the difference. That Snowman Bundle really is so versatile and will be able to be used for so much more than Christmas. It allows you to create a cute Christmas Hippo with a little hat and scarf or give it a Twist and create a fun summer time Hippo with a little sun hat and pearls. I am not sure which one I love more. As you can see that bottle is truly Gorgeous no matter what color you choose to stamp it in and it looks lovely with any type of flower as well. I loved that I could choose to stamp a flower with the Wonderful World stamp set or I could fussy cut out image of a flower from the matching DSP. I think both of them are Fabulous. Do you have a Favorite?

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This type of card is called a Joy Fold and it is such a fun a versatile card that has a Twist as well. I combines 2 cards to create one unique design. The main card base is different on this card as well, which continues to go along with my Twist theme. You can see the Measurements listed in the picture above, but I also wanted to give you the measurements of the DSP I used. So here is a List of all the Measurements and the how to so you can make your own Joy Fold Cards.

• Main Card Base 8 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ score at 5 1/2″
• Mini Card Base 8″ x 3″ score at 4″
• DSP inside main card Base 5 1/4″ x 4″
• DSP on bottom flap of main card Base 4″ x 1″
• DSP on front flap of main card Base 4″ x 2 3/4″
• DSP in mini card Base 2 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ and a strip of 3 3/4″ x 1/2″
• You adhere the DSP to the main base and the bottom and front of the flap
• Then you stamp on the bottom of your main flap as well as inside the mini card
• Adhere the back of the mini card to the inside of the main base
• Then you use Dimensionals to adhere all your images to the front of the mini card

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Another fun Twist that I used for these cards was how I colored them. I am a Huge fan of the Stampin Blends and I adore coloring with them. Stampin Up announced that July was Watercolor month and that was big Twist for me. I don’t always branch out in my coloring and I wanted to challenge myself. I think that is definitely one of the benefits of adding Twists in our lives. Some Twists we can choose and we can find ways to have fun with them. Other Twists are hard and painful and we don’t get to choose them, but we do get to choose our attitude about them. For this Watercolor Twist I decided to use our Watercolor pencils with the Blender pen and create a soft Uber Cute look for my Hippo Friends. It is a very fun and easy technique, as you can see in the pictures. I also used the ink in the top of my ink pad with the Blender pen to color in the ears and nails of each of my Hippos as well as add a little color on their noses.

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I have 2 more fun techniques that I want to share with you that will continue to add versatility to your products and give them a cute Twist. The first technique is using Stampin Write Markers to color directly on your stamp. I used this technique to create the Beautiful Rose image on my Christmas cards. I loved how I could take the all those colors and blend them on the stamp to create that Beautiful rose. You start with the lightest color, Blushing Bride, and color a small circle in the center of the flower. Then I used Sweet Sorbet to color around that circle and added Cherry Cobbler on the edge. Then I colored the leaves in Garden Green and the stem in Sahara Sand. It certainly gives you more versatility with your markers and your stamps and has a Stunningly Unique Result. The other technique allows you to create clothing from your DSP. You stamp the image of your hippo directly on the DSP and then I cut out her little Tutu to create Christmas or Summer time fun outfits. Don’t you love how these techniques brought a Beautiful Twist to my projects.

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I wanted to show you the full spectrum of colors I used to create this Joy Fold Card as well as few items that I might have forgotten to mention. I am going to give you a full list of supplies with item numbers so you that you can put together an order for yourself. You can always ask me questions and I will gladly help you figure out what to order to get you started on your own projects. Here is my shopping link so you can click it and shop for all the supplies listed below.

• pg 63{mini} Vintage Christmas 159781 $16
• pg 151 {AC} Vintage Bottle Punch 158689 $19
• pg 44 {mini} Snowman Magic Bundle 159818 $41.25
• pg 9 {mini} Sweetest Christmas DSP 159559 $12
• Hippest Hippos {Sale-A-Bration} FREE
• Wonderful World Bundle with stamps and DSP {Sale-A-Bration} FREE
• pg 31 Festive Pearls {mini} 159963 $7
• pg 122-123 Stamp Pads {AC} $8
• Classic pad colors… Starry Sky, Orchid Oasis, Rich Razzleberry, Shaded Spruce, Blushing Bride, Pool Party, Real Red
• pg 123 White Cardstock {AC} 159276 $10.25
• pg 126 Stampin Write Markers {AC} You can buy them in Color Family Bundles $30 for 10 markers. Colors I used…Cherry Cobbler, Sweet Sorbet, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Garden Green
• pg 126 Water Color Pencils {AC} Assortment 1 141709 $16 I used Basic Grey and Calypso Coral
• pg 127 Multipurpose Glue {AC} 110755$4
• pg 127 Dimensionals {AC} 150893 $6
• pg 129 Memento Black Ink Pad {AC} 132708 $6
• pg 129 Blender Pens {AC} 102845 $12 for a set of 3
• pg 147 Stamparatus {AC} 146276 $49
• pg 149 Assortment of Acrylic Blocks {AC}
• pg 149 Simple Shamy {AC} 147042 $8.50
• pg 155 Paper Snips {AC} 103579 $11
• pg 155 Bone Folder {AC} 102300 $7

Here is the last Group of Twist Cards. She might be my Favorite with her little tutu outfit and those adorable hats. I truly loved making all of the these cards and seeing how I could use a little Twist and get such Fabulous results. I hope you loved them all as well. I would love to hear which set is your Favorite in the comments.

I have truly loved coming up with Different Twists to use throughout this month to show you how fun and versatile your card making can be. However, sometimes there are Twists in this life that are so hard to navigate. I pray that you surround yourself with people that will sit with you in the dark places and love you back into the light. As Always I am here to listen and I would be honored to pray with you as well. This world is so full of turbulence right now, but we can be a Shining Light and lift each other up on the journey. I can not wait to show you My next set of Christmas in July cards with a Twist next week. Until I see you again My Friends…I bid you Adieu.

The content of this site is the sole responsibility and opinions of Rachel Markin as an Independent Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator and the use of its content, classes, services, and/or products offered is not endorsed by Stampin’ Up! Stamped images are copyright Stampin’ Up!