OK so I know I've said this before...

...but this time I mean it. I NEED TO get back in the game!! Why? Because I am in L-O-V-E with everything in the new Stampin' Up! cattie, and ESPECIALLY with everything in the (upcoming) Holiday Mini catalogue and will therefore need to get my butt into high gear if I am to ever inspire enough people to support my habit ;o)

So I am stamping. And stamping, and stamping, and stamping. And sharing what I am stamping with people again so they can see how FUN and EASY it is to stamp and awe your friends and family with your paper creations LOL

Getting the mojo going again is the biggest hurdle, but I think I am getting there. Of course, getting my first load of new goodies was a HUGE inspiration this week, and I completed 16 swap cards tonight that look like this:

Isn't it pretty? I finally caved and bought the Beautiful Butterflies die for the Big Shot, and knew before I even received my order and had a chance to play with it that this is what I would be using for my swap card. I also knew I would be using this new embossing folder - isn't it sweet? I love how it only embosses part of the card front! As for the colour scheme, that came later. I have to admit, I was not immediately inspired by the new In Colors this year. The only one I could see myself using a lot was Bermuda Bay. So I resisted buying the whole lot, and only got the assorted cardstock and the markers (yay - MARKERS!!) to give myself a chance to try them out for size... and I realized that I like them a lot more than I first gave them credit for! This is Melon Mambo - I thought it would be really bright and Positively Pink-ish (or perhaps even - gasp! - the old Magenta we used to carry LOL), but it's actually got quite nice depth to it. Like a brighter Purely Pomegranate. And I decided to just keep things simple and clean, and use just the one colour with the white. Quite effective, I think? And then I got the idea of softening the card by layering one of the butterflies with vellum, and stamped that layer with white StazOn, using one of the images from the new Extreme Elements set. Totally NOT what the set was intended to complement (it goes with silhouettes of skateboarders and surfers and rockers), which is why I really like how it's used here LOL. Here is a close-up of the butterfly:

And the ribbon, well, I'm in love with the ribbon. Polka dots are da bomb. Oh and the sentiment was stamped with VersaMark and embossed with black embossing powder to give it glossy texture.

SO 16 of these babies will be going out in the mail tomorrow, and hopefully will soon find an appreciative audience. And I can't wait to see what I receive in exchange!

As for me, I will commit to posting at least once per week AND to reviving my short-lived weekly colour challenge... In fact, I will make this my colour challenge post and challenge you to create a card using only ONE of the new In Color colours (your choice!) with white. Remember to use the keyword AMCC4 if you post to Splitcoaststampers so that I can find your creation.

Happy Stampin!

A-M