Hello everyone! As we gear up for Christmas preparations, gift-giving and card-making, I'm going to be sharing something new with you throughout the coming weeks. I've received so many beautiful sample SWAP cards from my Go-Divas and ControlFreaks friends recently that I'm going to share them with you as set samplers! A few times each week, I'll be selecting one Christmas Stamp set and sharing card and craft 
ideas -- some that I've created and some that other's have made. I hope you enjoy this new feature as we head into this joyous, but busy, time of year. Today's set sample features the Level One Hostess Set from the Holiday Mini Catalog -- Patterned Pines. Here's the card that I made for the recent Go-Divas Christmas SWAP! I used some pretty non-traditional colors for this one -- Lavender Lace and Brilliant Blue! Layer Two is embossed with the Petals-a-Plenty Impressions folder and then spritzed with Shimmer Spray (Recipe -- 2 oz. rubbing alcohol and 6 drops of Champaign Mist Shimmer Paint, poured into a small misting spray bottle. Shake well before and during use.) I know it doesn't show up so well on the photograph, but trust me, in real life the shimmer is gorgeous -- quite 
a WOW factor! I also cut down the Scallop Square Die so it is 6x9 scallops to make the rectangular mat for the stamped image -- find out more about this HERE. The sentiment is from A Cardinal Christmas and I used 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon and the Large Oval and Scallop Oval Punches. The Patterned Pines set also comes with a little corner scroll stamp which is perfect for dressing up the inside of the card!
Okay -- are you ready to see what my friends made? It seems we all choose some non-traditional colors for this darling little stamp set. Here is Selene Kempton's card using Bashful Blue, Rich Razzleberry and Whisper White. She used the Finial Press Impressions folder for her background and just a tiny bit of Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot ribbon for the little tab on the upper right. The really cool thing she did with this card was to ink up the tree stamp in Bashful Blue ink and then to ink up a Jumbo Wheel in Rich Razzleberry ink (it doesn't really matter which wheel image you use) and run it across the tree stamp to get this lovely variegated look. Brilliant, Selene!
Kimberley Morris, a ControlFreaks friend, used Old Olive, Rich Razzlberry and Orchid Opulence for her beautiful card! The Designer Series Paper is Cottage Wall (I'll bet you never thought about that for a Christmas Card). She also used the Petals-a-Plenty Impressions Folder on the Rich Razzleberry layer. She stamped the beautiful snowflake that comes with the stamp set on the Orchid Opulence layer as a background pattern and used the Modern Label and Word Window Punches, along with the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set, for the sentiment. Beautiful, Kimberley! Thanks so much for sharing your great card.
And last, but not least, a beautiful card from Alice Erickson, another ControlFreaks friend. Alice choose Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver and Whisper White for this beauty! She stamped the snowflake image on the top half of the card using White Craft Ink and then put a Eyelet Border of Whisper White in the middle, tying it up with 3/8" Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon and Silver Metallic Cord. She cut out the tree images and layered them, using Stampin' Dimensionals. She added a some very cool, wavy stitched lines, using a shimmery thread and embossed the sentiment from Short & Sweet with Versamark Ink and Silver Embossing Powder. The detail on Alice's card is just amazing! Thanks so much, Alice!
So there you go ... four fabulous ways to use the new Patterned Pines stamp set for some gorgeous Christmas cards! You can earn this set for FREE by hosting a workshop of just $150 dollars. Contact me today for more information or to get started with this! I would love to show you how you can earn this set and so much more from Stampin' Up!
The Frankie & Friends Halloween Treet bag Kits are still available. Any Kits orderd this week will be shipped to you by Saturday, October 17th, guaranteeing you will receive them well in advance of Halloween. And of course, you can order the Tutorial anytime! You can order or find out more information on THIS post! 
Thanks for visiting today!
