New Idea Book and Catalog Mega Blog Hop 2011

Whoo! Hoo! It's here, have you seen it? What? You haven't? Well, join me on the Stampin' Addicts blog hop of amazing blogs featuring projects with brand new stamp sets from the 2011-2012 Idea Book and Catalog.

You may have just come from Rhonda's blog featuring Polar Party--aren't they sweet?. Or, perhaps you are going backwards and came from Heidi's blog featuring Under the Big Top. Or, you may start here with me featuring Easy Events. Any way you got here is fine with me. Stay to see my projects and then head on over to Heidi's blog or continue backwards with Rhonda's. It doesn't matter, we are all in one big loop!

Any stamp set with EASY in the title seems like a good idea to me! What I love about this set is the variety--you can stamp all year with this one AND get different results each time. See that little Island Indigo (new in color) pouch? It holds...

four 3x3 cards! Easy to stamp (in Basic Black), watercolor (with aquapainter and ink pads) and add a few cutesy details (bitty buttons, baker's twine in white, and the new Lace Ribbon Border Punch). I used the 5 new In Colors. These are colors that will be around for 2 years, so get used to them--vibrant and fun! I used Island Indigo, Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Coral, and Pool Party for my main colors and watercolored a bit with Lucky Limemade.

To show off some versatility- I went Ho Ho Ho with the next one:

I stole the background idea from a card I got in a swap with Tonya from Tinkerin' with Ink and a stop on this hop with Dinoroar. Both the poinsettia and the top right rectangle are Bravo Burgundy, but the lighting is weird. Sorry. Kim B. (Stampin' and Stitchin' on Paper) gave me the idea to add those little creases in my flower to make it pop. Cute, huh?

Finally, I have a card that opens in a fun way, but you'll have to come back on Monday for the Tutorial on the 3x3 pouch and the Measurements of my card. Not enough room for it all!

I was going for a fall look, but in the end, I think the birdhouse just looks like the background. To do the background, add a layer of smudged Whisper White to your Early Espresso paper, wipe off excess, and then sponge some Early Espresso Classic Ink on top. Kind of gives the BRAND NEW Stripes Embossing Folder a cool look. Dontcha think?

Anyway, my time is over (until Monday), so click on her name to go to the next blog--Heidi's Running with Scissors Stamper or go backward to Rhonda's the Stampin Bunny Blog. You can also see the whole list at this post on Stampin' Addicts, a positive forum for Stampin' Up! Addicts including a knock out gallery, challenges, and tutorials. Or, you can use these great buttons made with My Digital Studio:

Happy Stamping!