a themed adventure

I needed two more quick Christmas cards and I told myself I *HAD* to cut up more of the Holly Berry Bouquet specialty designer series paper.  I bought it because I *LOVE* it, but it will not be available after January 4, so if I don't show it to you, you won't know whether you love it and have to have it.  I saved myself some samples to get me going - here, here, and here - but mine came out a little different:

stamp set - Pines & Poinsettias; ink - Wild Wasabi, Real Red; card stock - Very Vanilla, Real Red, Wild Wasabi; specialty designer series paper - Holly Berry Bouquet; punch - lace ribbon border; stamping sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals

 
stamp set - Pines & Poinsettias; ink - Real Red; Stampin' Write markers - Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip; card stock - Very Vanilla, Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip; specialty designer series paper - Holly Berry Bouquet; punches - 1-3/8" circle, 1-3/4" scallop circle, dotted scallop ribbon border, word window, modern label; Big Shot with Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder; Stampin' Dimensionals

stamp set - Pines & Poinsettias; ink - Versamark with gold Stampin' Emboss powder; card stock - Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip; specialty designer series paper - Holly Berry Bouquet; punch - 1-1/4" circle; Big Shot with Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder; Stampin' Dimensionals

Are you seeing the theme here? Wouldn't they make a great gift set in a decorated folder or pizza-style box?  It's so easy to do something like that using designer series paper that coordinates with ink, card stock, and stamp sets!  That's not what I tried next, though, since I plan to mail these out to family, friends, and customers.  What I did next was grab a bite of lunch, return a superfluous purchase, put gas in my car, and browse the internet a bit, where I found Freshly Made Sketch #14 and a prompt to "Put on the Ritz" for Pals Paper Arts.  Notice that "what I did next" didn't include "clean off my stamping area"?  So, here's what happened:

stamp set - Pines & Poinsettias; ink - Versamark with gold Stampin' Emboss powder; Stampin' Write markers - Real Red, Wild Wasabi; card stock - Real Red, Brushed Gold, Wild Wasabi, Chocolate Chip; specialty designer series paper - Holly Berry Bouquet; punches - 1/2" circle, 3/4" circle; Stampin' Dimensionals


This one doesn't have an inside yet, and it's already a lot of layers - I think 9 may be a personal record!