Mark the Date--Way In Advance

I've been busy stamping today but unfortunately, I can't share most of what I've done just quite yet. Here's one card I made today using Mercy's sketch challenge. I altered the sketch a little bit--I kinda "smooshed" it down to a standard sized card, but I think it still keeps the general idea.

I used the calendar from Mark the Date and the Full Calendar sets for the stamped images. This is such a versatile stamp set! I really like it for masculine cards, which is what I envisioned when I was making this card. I wanted to be sure I could use the card so I decided to select a recipient who doesn't view my blog to keep some element of surprise when I give the card. I ended up using my dad's birthdate for the card--I know he doesn't check in here unless my mom is pointing something out to him. And, since his birthday's not until the fall, there's the reason for the "way in advance" in my post title.

The panel on the cardfront is made from retired Wintergreen designer paper. I really like the colors and patterns in this package, so I ordered a bunch before it retired. Even though there's no navy in the paper, I like the way navy looks with the colors.

As I said before, I'm working on lots of stuff to share with you soon. Some of it is coming from the kitchen--Kitchen Sink Stamps, that is! If you want a sneak peek at the 8 (yes, 8!) stamp sets that will be available on June 2 and a chance to win one of the new releases, be sure to stop by Maria's blog. She'll be posting a sneak peek featuring one of the new sets every day up until the release day. The sets are amazing--I can't wait to share them with you!

And, one last thing--if you stopped by yesterday, I mentioned that I was going to see Rick Springfield in concert last night at the annual Memorial Day celebration in my community. The concert was fantastic! Rick played for over an hour and a half and sang all of his familiar hit songs, like Jessie's Girl and Don't Talk to Strangers. He sounded great, especially considering the venue was a makeshift stage in the middle of a movie theater parking lot. He even ventured out into the audience a little--nowhere near us, of course, since we were in the non-VIP section, but it didn't matter to me. I took some photos, but most of them didn't turn out too well (I guess I need a new camera . . .). Here's one that looked okay.

Materials Used:

Mark the Date and Full Calendar stamp sets, Night of Navy and Always Artichoke Classic inks, Night of Navy, Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla, and Kraft cardstock, Wintergreen designer paper, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, photo corner punch, dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); khaki twill (Martha Stewart); copper brads (Making Memories)