I went to my first official class as member of the Bellevue Stampers! I am so excited about being a part of the club. We have a nice small group of six people and everyone is so nice. They might be a bit older than me, but they're lovely ladies. This week we made another three cards. First up was a pretty fallish card with falling leaves. I am so bad when it comes to ideas that I didn't even think of using a simple stencil to make the circles of colors. It's such a nice, clean design. I'm thinking about using this idea for Christmas cards (ornaments?). Second, we made a cute Halloween card. Unfortunately, I don't send cards for Halloween (or haven't in the past), so I don't know if I'll be making this again. But I do like the layering of paper and patterns. You can't really tell from the photo, but the black paper is embossed with a spider web. Very cute effect up close. Finally, we tackled our technic card. The background card is embossed with grass. The white piece was then embossed clear with a grass and butterfly stamp. We then mixed ink into a swirly design in a layer of shaving cream, plopped the card facedown, and then wiped the excess off. Of all the cards, mine had the darkest colors. But I love it all the more for it! It created a beautiful tie dye pattern under the grass and butterfly. To finish we add a vellum punched out butterfly with small beads. I love this card! We all remarked that while it was messy to do one, we could fill a shallow baking sheet with shaving cream and do many at one time. This card could work well for birthdays, sympathy, Mother's Day, thank yous, or get well. I love how versatile it is.

I made my first order through Stampin' Up. It's due to arrive sometime early next week. I'm thinking that I should start thinking about Christmas cards. What colors do I want? Any particular stamps/designs I want? What about techniques? So many possibilities...