What a beautiful Monday morning! The sun is shinning and it’s a nice crisp autumn day. I was out early to let my horse out and the sun was just peeking out in the east, I love that time of day. Being retired gives me the opportunity to enjoy leisurely mornings. But now I have to type quickly so that I can head off to yoga class. Yoga is something that I’m not very good at but is really helpful to quiet the squirrel brain in my head. I struggle to clear my mind and focus but the effort is a good exercise.

Now on to the fun critter card that I have to share with you today. As the title of this post suggests, it uses the Christmas Friends Bundle, which has become one of my favorites from the Holiday Catalog.

I just love this skating moose! He reminds me of a time when I was a teenager and we were driving on Highway 1 in northern Minnesota. My mom was driving and we were heading to a sled dog race in Thunder Bay Ontario, Canada. A huge moose came skating out on the highway and the only thing that saved us was that he fell on the ice before he hit our truck. Thank goodness that moose wasn’t a good skater!

This moose has been colored with Stampin’ Blend Markers. I LOVE COLORING WITH BLENDS! If you are afraid that you can’t do it right, toss that idea out the window! The more that you use the Blends, the more comfortable you will be with them and the better you will get. Start with just coloring with one color and then work in a darker color on the edges for shading.

The background is created with scrap strips of the Sentimental Christmas Designer Series Paper. You have to buy a pack of this stuff!! Not only is it awesome but for each pack sold Stampin’ Up! donates $3 to children’s literacy projects. I just used the scraps that I had, they are between 3/4″ and 1 1/4″ wide and I cut the ends at random angles.

The real red circle was die cut with one of the Stylish Shapes Dies, as was the greeting label. The moose and the greeting are popped up with dimensionals. To ground me moose, so HE doesn’t fall, I’ve added a piece of the Very Vanilla Checked Ribbon wrapped around the 3 3/4″ x 5″ piece of Basic White that is then layered onto the Basic White Thick card base. I like using the Thick Basic White for my bases because it stands up without warping.

Another scrap strip was added the inside for a bit more cheer. I hope that this card inspires you get the Christmas Friends Bundle! It’s also a great layout to use up those beautiful designer paper scraps using other themes as well.

November 13 – 15 is Seasonal Sale! It’s a great time to stock up on card stock, inks and bundles from the Annual Catalog. The Christmas Friends Bundle sadly isn’t included in this sale but with your savings on the ink and paper you can get the bundle, hehehe, see how my mind works?

Product List

Christmas Friends Bundle (English) [164088] $53.00	Stylish Shapes Dies [159183] $30.00	Sentimental Christmas 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper [164209] $12.50
Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Thick Cardstock [159229] $11.25	Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [159276] $13.00	Real Red 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [102482] $11.50
Black & Very Vanilla 3/8″ (1 Cm) Large Check Ribbon [161982] $8.00	Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430] $4.25	Cherry Cobbler & Pearl Adhesive Backed Berries [164119] $9.00
Pecan Pie Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [161674] $11.00	Real Red Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [154899] $11.00	Lemon Lolly Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [161673] $11.00
Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [154904] $11.00

I am way overstocked on cards! Come to November Card Class and bring a friend. Each of you can choose 10 cards from the card rack. Check out my classes on my Events page.