With the unbelievable value of the current $25 Demonstrator Starter Kit Deal (which is only available until October 21st!), I've been thinking about what would I purchase for my $25 if I was signing up as a new demonstrator this month?

I know when I started as a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator is November of 2002, I was very interested in the value of the kit (over $250 to purchase at that time, if I remember correctly) and how to recoup my initial expense. As I chose the stamps for my kit, I considered which stamps would be the most versatile, ones I could use for more than one occasion.

Today's card is an example of using a current stamp set in a different way to get more value out of your stamps. I created a Christmas card with the new floral set from the Annual Catalog, Flower Shop.

First, here's what the set looks like in the catalog:

Flower Shop #130139 Wood-mount $23.95

                                                             Flower Shop #130942 Clear-mount $17.95

There's even a coordinating punch to go with it and a bundle price when you purchase the stamps and the punch together, so it's a great value to begin with!

Here's my Christmas card using this set:

I heat-embossed the flowers with White embossing powder on Real Red cardstock, then punched them with the coordinating Pansy Punch #130698 $15.95. I stamped one of the flowers on the Whisper White layer with Garden Green ink to give the look of flower leaves. The Real Red flowers are adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals, and the Vintage Faceted Buttons in the centers are adhered with Glue Dots.

The greeting is from Many Merry Messages stamped in Garden Green ink, which coordinates beautifully with the Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon tied in a bow!

 Inside I stamped two of the flowers on the Whisper White layer with Real Red ink, then stamped the phrase from Christmas Messages with Garden Green ink.

Well, what do you think? Did I do a good job using this floral set in a non-traditional way? Leave me a comment and this card could arrive in your mailbox before you know it!

I'm diggin' this card so much it's likely to be one we make at my November Christmas Card Class, what do you think?

That's all for now! Thanks for stopping by today. Until tomorrow, have a Stampingrox! day!