What is a Cloche?

 A cloche is a little dome that you put over something.  In the fall SU catalog, there are 2 new cloche sets to chose from.  They both use the same dome and cut out.  This set, called Classic Cloche, has a house stamp and some cute birds.  Even though the birds on my cards are not inside of the dome, I still like this look.  I copied the idea for these cards from Kerry Timms.  

Look how sweet the birds are sitting on a little branch!  I used the new sponge brush on the dome to shade it in and the flowers are from the Hand Penned stamp set.  

 This is pretty much the same card, only with a Soft Succulent background.  I love how these cards came out.  

Next up is this cards using the "book fold" at the side.  Here I featured the houses from the stamp set.  Then I tucked a little bird in the corner.  The roofs of the houses have Wink of Stella on them to give them a bit of a sparkle.  I cut out some little trees from the die cuts to finish the scene.  

Here is a sample of how to use the Cloche set for a Christmas card.  I put the little houses under the dome and added some snowflakes and sequins for a winter shaker card.  The paper is Beautifully Penned from the summer Sale-a-Bration selections.  I got this idea from Cheri's Cards.

Which one do you like the best?  It's nice to be able to use your stamp sets through many seasons, don't you think?

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