Penguin Playmates

 One of the designer papers that is offered in the SU's summer Sale-a-Bration catalog is this fun set of papers called Penguin Playmates.  The colors are cheery and bright and Penguin and his friends are SO cute!  I love whimsical images from Stampin Up.

All of the cards in this set are not made with stamping, but with images cut out from the designer papers.  One night I sat and cut out several images while watching TV.  Then I was all ready to put the cards together.  

For this card, I cut the snowbanks out of the blue paper in the package.  I used the die cut from last year's Frosty Friends.  

Then I cut out some trees using the green dsp from the set with the cut outs from last year's In the Pines die cuts.  The snowflakes are from So Many Snowflakes die set.  

Then I just added a couple of Penguin friends and a saying!  So easy and so much fun.  

The snow friends are all interchangeable on the cards.  This card idea is from Christine Trimble.

For my next card, I used Just Jade for the cardstock and cut out a green snowbank for the polar bear to sit on.  If the snow was white, he wouldn't show up as well.  I also tucked a green tree behind his head to make him stand out better.  A piece of designer paper, a snowflake and a saying.  

The fun thing about these cards is that you can use any saying that you'd like.  I chose this saying from the Snowflake Wishes stamp set.  I cut out a couple of little trees from the paper and added them, as well.

Although you can't see it in the photos, I also added Wink of Stella glitter to their clothing items.  It really makes the cards shine!

For the Foxy card, I used the Stitched So Sweetly dies for the saying.  I cut out more trees from the dsp and added them as well as the snowflakes.  I got the idea for this card from Kath, a card that I found on Facebook.  

The card would also have been fun to use Cinnamon Cider as the cardstock to match the fox.  Maybe I'll make another Foxy card using that color.

Were these card fun to make?  Oh, yes!  Cut out your playmates and then add them to your cards using the pretty designer paper and coordinating colors.  And guess what else?  You don't even have to make them Christmas cards.  They can be for birthdays and all sorts of other occasions just by changing the sayings.  

I can't wait to make more.  

Color & Contour

 For my cards this week, I chose the stamp set, Color & Contour.  I had seen some pretty samples using it, especially with black and white contrast.  I selected the new designer paper from Sale-a-Bration called Beautifully Penned to pair it with.

I also used the die cuts that coordinate with this stamp set, called Scalloped Contour Dies.  The flowers on the stem cut out well using the die, but the daisy-looking flower is hard to match up so I cut them out by hand.  

I copied the idea of using a jar to put the flowers in from Tammy Capone.  I think they look really sweet in the jar.  

For the two pink cards, I used the new color Polished Pink.  The pink card idea is from Stampin Pretty and the Happy for You card idea is from The Stamp Doc on Pinterest.  I especially like the cards with the gray papers on them the best.

I enjoyed using this set, and may have gotten a bit carried away.  I wanted to try the gray papers with some of the newer colors.  For these two cards, I used Soft Succulent as the main color.  I copied the two-panel card from Stampin Pretty.  

Next up are two cards using the Pale Papaya color in them.  The gingham paper is from the Pansy Petals paper collection.  

Here are the two cards using the Fresh Freesha color.  Which color scheme do you like the best?  

I had so much fun making these cards that I didn't want to stop.  There are so many pretty ways to use them with their coordinating dies.  Have you tried this set yet?

For my stamp class, I will let the ladies choose which 4 cards that they want to make.  I hope that goes well.  LOL