"COUNTRY HOME" . . . HOLIDAY CATALOG PREVIEW

Have I got something to show today?!?!  You bet, I do!  

These two cards feature the Country Home stamp set from Stampin' Up!'s upcoming Holiday catalog.  This set was on my second pre-order.  Life has gotten in the way of playing creating with most of the new products, but this stamp set didn't just keep calling my name . . . it was screaming!  Paired with the second assortment of Watercolor Pencils and an Aqua Painter, these two gems fell into place:

It's difficult to tell from the photo, but the "Hello" sentiment was heat-embossed with Copper Embossing Powder, and the die-cut leaf (from Seasonal Layers Thinlits) was cut from a gorgeous piece of Joyous Noel Glimmer Paper, also from the Holiday catalog.  Pencils were used to give a light color wash to the background, which actually shows up better in real life.

My second card features the Tin Tile Dynamic embossing folder, and you're gonna want this one near the top of your wish list.  It. is. gorgeous.  

The stamped images on both cards were colored with the Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2, and I think every stamper needs them!  When Stampin' Up! brought watercolor pencils back to the main catalog, I bought them and added them to the ones that I had from a few years ago.  The oldest ones work well, but the new pencils (the ones in the main catalog and the second assortment) seem to be even creamier and easier to blend.  They are fantastic!

It may sound a bit crazy but, if you zoom in on the cards, you might notice that I added a wee bit of a brown color to the puffs of cotton.  The cotton looked good when colored with a white pencil, but I think it looked more real once I added just a bit of Early Espresso to shadow around the edges of the cotton blooms.

So . . . are you already in love with the Country Home stamp set?  There's actually SO MUCH to love about the new Holiday catalog!  Just when I think that I've purchased all that I "need", I start wanting more!  As a matter of fact, I'll be entering my third pre-order tonight.  Ohhhhhh, my poor (literally) bank account!