More Cute Christmas

Stamp sets and designer paper are to me a bit like clothes.  Have you noticed there are things in your clothes closet you wear time and again and then there are things that just hang there never quite right?  Either the item doesn't fit, doesn't match, is too dressy, too casual, or my typical - I don't have the right shoes for it.  And it is usually some top or jacket I just fell in love with in the store.  Yet, apparently it doesn't love me and all the other things in my closet.

I find that sometimes with designer paper and stamps, too.  I fall in love with a new kit or stamp set only to have to sit in a drawer because it is never quire right.

This most often happens when I deviate from my style.  I want to try new things.  It's more fun and it is good to stretch ourselves.  Yet there are drawbacks.

This fall I fell in love with Stampin' Up!'s Candy Cane Christmas designer paper in the fall mini catalog.  I'd never bought an entire pack of Christmas paper before but the patterns were so pretty and it has Baja in it.  I just had to have it.  Then I saw the Cute Christmas stamp set that matched.  Plus their were buttons that even matched.  So eventually I got it all.

The challenge for me is that those cute little stamps are -well - little.  And I'm not a cutesy sort of person.  I wanted stamps to color but these are so tiny, precision definitely counts.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, the paper patterns are great yet everything seems out of proportion - the stamps very small, the paper in various size prints and then those huge buttons.

But the big thing this collection had going for it was it is Christmas.  I ordered it to do my cards and if I wanted to get my money's worth, I had to make it work.  I kept the paper out on my table until I'd made enough cards. You've seen several cards already using this collection.  This week I'll show a couple more and that will wrap it up.  I am saving the cutest one for last.

I still have some paper left though I did a pretty good job of working through it.  I'll probably do some OWH cards later in 2011 and then this stamp set may go up for sale on E-bay.  It's cute but it just isn't me.

Ingredients:  Stamps:  Cute Christmas by SU!
Cardstock:  Real Red, Whisper White
DSP:  Candy Cane Christmas
Buttons:  Blushing Bride Stampin' Up!
Twine:  Martha Stewart