I know you're going to have to look very carefully to see that there is an embossed edge at the top and bottom of the poinsettia card below. In this case, we've used a heavier vellum which didn't crack when we embossed it. If you're using a lighter weight vellum, the trick is to sandwich it between a couple of sheets of computer paper before you put in into your embossing folder. When you protect your thinner vellum like this, you are less apt to have rips in your image. You'll want to experiment with your particular folder and how many sheets of protective paper you need on your vellum.

I love the intricate line design in this poinsettia from Penny Black. We were able to leave this without a lot of colouring, because the design is so complete on its own. These are the type of stamps that allow you to make quick yet elegant cards, which we all need this time of year. The embossing powder we used is called Moonstone from Stampendous. It is a lovely warm champagne colour. I hope you are starting to collect your thoughts about your Christmas card designs. It's never too early!

Paper Cuts has designed a great new die to create three windows in a flip card. If you are tired of trying to measure where your dies need to sit to create a three window look, you will love this new one piece die! The card designs below were made with printed paper and some simple stamping. Because the shape of th window is circular in the centre, your 1 and 1 1/8 inch round punches will work well to layer up on the tabs. The blue card is a good example of using up some of your printed paper, and she added a die-cut bee to the middle circle. The pink card has a stamped layer and then we used two small verses and a small die cut on the tabs.

Although both of these cards are missing verse panels, hopefully you can see what your 5 1/2 by 10 inch layout looks like. There are some great visual directions on the back of the die package showing the width of each panel, etc. I found the die very user friendly. The possibilities for this design are endless!

When you start designing this card, you'll find scads of small stamps and dies that you didn't remember that you had which are perfect for this card.

This beautiful dandelion card was made by Bev with two stamps from Northwoods. The cluster was stamped in Hero Arts Cerulean Blue onto white glossy cardstock. The left side and across the bottom of the panel was gently distressed with Broken China. Then, the large single head was stamped and embossed three times with Judikins white embossing powder. The cardstock is a light grey speckle which adds to the dandelion dots.

If you're very frustrated with all the white embossing powders you've tried, you'll need to break down and buy Judikins White. It is a lovely fine grained powder which allows for exquisite detail. It is one of the few powders that I have used that is truly 'white' and not off-white. They do not sell in smaller jars, only in a 2 oz. container, which presently sells for $9.95. If you're not ready to think about the impending fall, this might be the perfect summer card to whip up.

There is a cute fold on this wine card that Bev did. You may not be able to see it in the photo, but we have used the small semi-circle notch die to close this card. This set has a number of great interchangeable wine related stamps, allowing for lots of versatility. The bottle, glass and grapes were all coloured with Twinkling H2Os, so they have a nice shimmery finish.

Here is an open version of the card, showing the sloped cuts which overlap as in the top photo.

Here is a half-opened version of the card showing that the grape cluster is stamped 4 times, and the notched die which holds the front panels together when the card is closed.

Once you have finished making your wine cards, I hope you have time to put your feet up and enjoy some!