Our newest challenge at Fusion will have you thinking of standing in line for a lovely cup of coffee!  I don't have a lot of coffee stamps so I decided I would be better off using the sketch this week.  I did incorporate some of the brown shades from the inspiration photo which, happily, coincided with the color challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown.

One thing going on my stamping shopping list is a decent stag head die.  The one I have is so inadequate.  I remember seeing several on cards leading up to the holiday season but I don't know where I saw them or who might make them so I have to start searching.  If you have a fave, drop me a line or leave a comment!

Thanks for stopping by!  Stop on by Fusion to check out our newest challenge and play along.  Our design team has made some terrific cards to inspire you to play along with us!

Supplies
Stamps:  Sketchy Christmas (Precious Remembrance)
Paper:  Kraft (Papertrey Ink); Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Taste of Textiles Specialty Paper (Stampin' Up!); glitter paper (Recollections)
Ink:  Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Lindemon Snowflake die (Memory Box); Hampton Art stag die; Burlap ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

We've got another great challenge for you at Tag You're It.  This fortnight our tag design is brought to you by Emily Midgett.


I based my tag on the colors that Emily used and also managed to incorporate an animal, a deer to her bear.  I didn't have a stamp that mimiced the pinebough swag at the top of her tag so I improvised with some washi tape (so I could play along with the Stamp Ink Paper challenge), some pine tree die cuts, and a sentiment that is generally in the shape of some swag.  I added some sequins to take up some of that white space.   I'm also adding this at the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.


The stamp and die cut combo that I used here is an inexpensive set that I got at my local Michael's store last year and this is the first time I inked it up.  I can only imagine that I had a coupon or it was on sale for a price that couldn't be beat because I don't usually buy my stamping supplies there.  So long story short, the deer die cut does not match the deer stamped image.  Say what???????  Isn't that the point of having a stamp and die set!  [You might be able to see in the image that the lines of the stamp don't match the lines of the die]  The company that makes these images is a well-established company in the crafting industry and I would have expected that their quality control was a bit better than it is. 

Anyway all this in a way to say how important it is to support the smaller "mom-and-pop" shops that are the backbone of the paper crafting industry that we love so much.  I don't have to mention them by name - you know who they are!  Their quality is impeccable and, in my experience, if there is a problem (and those are rare) they are more than happy to rectify it at their own expense.

Ok.  I'm done with my high horse!  It's time to get back to our latest challenge at Tag You're It.  We'd love to see you play along with us so please check out the inspiration from our design team and join us in the gallery!

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps:  Hampton Art
Paper:  Cloud White (Reverse Confetti); Pool Party (Stampin' Up!)
Ink:  Soft Suede (Stampin Up!); Versamark
Accessories:  Hampton Art die; Tag Sale Quilted die (Papertrey Ink); sequins (Verve); washi tape; seam binding ribbon; crochet thread