Scrapbook Boutique July blog hop and challenge

I have been busily making my cards, even preparing for Christmas nice and early by starting on those.  Quite a jump to start thinking about seasonal themes, but you can never prepare too early!  I have to admit, my projects are a lot better than they were last year, so that is an indication of how much I have learned so far this year.  As well, I have been following ABS - their Topical Tuesday tutorials are always interesting, and this week's was no exception.  Therese demonstrated background stamping with a nifty cut out sentiment which looked stunning, so I copied it (as usual, because I like to know how it will look before I start) and then I tried a couple of different looks.  I'm still working on those, but you can see my efforts so far in the pics below.

 This was the straight copy

 This one used different stamps, so a more delicate look

 One of my Christmas cards

Ditto - I love the detail of this little stamp - it shows up better without the embossing, which is good, because that is quicker!