Quarter Fold Snowflake Thank You

  Only 2 days left!  Do you have all your shopping done?  Do you have all the presents wrapped?  Are you all ready for the hoard of relatives that are coming to visit?  Nope on all 3 for me!  Usually I'm pretty organized but this year I'm just feeling behind for some reason!  Maybe I shouldn't be on the blog writing a post?  Well I've got laundry going so at least I'm on the right track of getting ready.  The guest rooms will be cleaned and made up today, one last stop at the grocery store today for the Christmas morning breakfast items that I forgot yesterday when I did my big shopping and the rest of the gifts will get wrapped tonight after little eyes are fast asleep.  

  Here is a card that took me forever to finish.  I think I started it right after we came home from Thanksgiving and just finished it last week.  It was a Creative Crew challenge on Splitcoaststampers for November and I had the idea in my head and just never had the time to put it all together.  I would work on it for a minute or 2 at a time but it's finally done and while it doesn't match the idea I had in my head I still think it's a fun winter card.

   I got a catalog in the mail from Tiny Prints; a photo card company where you just insert your photos to their templates and they print up your cards for you.  This one color combination jumped out at me and I thought I would use it for this Quarter Fold card I was attempting.  I used the closest Stampin' Up! colors that I could...Poppy Parade, Tempting Turquoise and Not Quite Navy.

   Looking at it now I should have centered all my snowflakes but at the time I was wanting them to be all off set like snowflakes falling randomly down from the sky.  Oh well!  This card is neat because it folds together like you do to the top of a cardboard box, one flap tucked under another alternating all the way around.

  For my 3 white panels I ran them through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dot embossing folder.  For the snowflakes I stamped the Simple Snowflake on the colored cardstock with White Craft ink and then punched it out with the snowflake punch.  They are each mounted to their panel with a white brad in the center.

  For the white snowflake on the Poppy Parade panel I used one of the old assortments Real Red brad that matches really well to Poppy Parade and added a white baker's twine bow and a little Thank You circle.  The "Thank U" stamp is from the Pennant Parade stamp set.  I figured I had enough Christmas cards when I made this one that I better start stocking up on thank yous for after Christmas.

  Here it is opened up:

  If you want to learn how to make a Quarter Fold card check out Jana's blog HERE for the measurements and scoring details.  Basically your 2 base cardstock pieces form a cross or plus and make the flaps that you fold together. 

  I probably won't have time to post another project until after Christmas so I wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas!! 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Simple Snowflake, Pennant Parade

Ink: White Craft


Paper: Poppy Parade, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: brads, baker's twine, Snowflake punch, small circle punch, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Treat

  I wanted to share this project before it was too late!  Christmas is only a few days away and then we'll be needing to think about Valentine's Day!  This project is also appropriate today as late yesterday Stampin' Up! announced that the Stocking Builder Punch will not be carried over to the new catalog in the summer.  In the past punches carried over so you always had a second chance if you didn't get it during the mini catalog.  Right now the Stocking punch will be available while supplies last and will not be available after January 4 when the Holiday Mini sales period is over.  So if you were thinking about getting the Stocking Builder punch (or if you bought the coordinating Stitched Stockings stamp set and were waiting to get the matching punch) do not wait....order it today before it's gone for good.  Stampin' Up! did soften this blow a little bit by teasing they were working on new holiday items for next year! 

 

  Hello Rudolph!  Yes, this little cutie was made with the Stocking Builder punch!  The head and the ear are from the Stocking punch, the antlers are the snowflake punch and the eyes and nose are from the owl punch. Cute isn't he?

   The head and ear are Crumb Cake with Chocolate Chip sponged lightly on the edges.  The antlers are Chocolate Chip.  The nose is made from the awesome red Glimmer Paper.  The eyes are Whisper White and Basic Black.  I added a little Real Red 1/8" taffeta bow to get him dressed up for the occasion.

  I made a whole herd of these guys to tuck into my stamping ladies November orders.  I ended up having extra pieces punched so I put those together to give to the ladies that work in the elementary school office.  I just adhered the heads to top of the candy cane wrapper.

  So if after seeing this and you need to get the Stocking punch before it's gone for good head over to my online store and click "shop now".  The Stocking Builder punch is item 124095.  Also, the Clearance Rack Blitz is still going on with a ton of greatly discounted products so you can order yourself a nice little Christmas gift!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: none

Ink: Chocolate Chip

Paper: Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Red Glimmer Paper, Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: Stocking Builder punch, Snowflake punch, Owl punch, 1/8" Real Red taffeta ribbon, mini candy canes

Rolled Designer Series Paper Ornament

  Well I'm back!  The last 2 weeks have been pretty hectic and I think I have finally gotten caught up with everything.  Sadly, in the middle of the fun of preparing for Christmas my aunt passed away after a long battle against cancer so I was out of state for a few days last week to attend her funeral and be with my grandparents, mom and other relatives.  We sure are going to miss her but know she is in a better place with God and is no longer in pain.  Once I got back home I was able to get all of my Christmas cards mailed out (Thank goodness I had them all made from doing the Christmas Card Challenge all year!), finish decorating the house, make my cookies for a cookie exchange and make the gifts for the boys teachers.  Wow!  That makes me tired just typing all that and leads me to what I'm showing today...A fast, easy gift to make!  We made these at my last stamp club of the year and I also made about 13 more for teacher gifts.  Rolled DSP ornaments!

  For the life of me I couldn't get a decent photo of these glass ornaments so you'll have to bear with me and use your imagination a bit to see how cute they are!  First get some of the empty clear glass ornament balls and take the metal cap off.  Cut thin strips from your DSP.  At stamp club we used strips between 1/4" & 3/4" wide.  Use a pencil to tightly wrap the paper strip and put it into the ornament opening and gently slip it off the pencil.  The paper roll will unravel slightly and that's OK.  Keep filling up your ornament until the paper strips are packed tight but not smooshing (yes, that's the technical term!) each other. 

  Next, using the Silver Glimmer paper and the Simple Alphabet dies cut out whatever initial you need for the person you're giving it too.  Some of my stamping ladies had a hard time deciding if they should use their own first name initial, their last name initial or make it to give to someone else.  I told them the ornaments were easy enough that they could make more at home!  I chose to make an "m" for "Mertz" and hang it on my own tree.  We punched a hole in the Glimmer Paper inital and punched a little tag with the jewelry tag punch and wrote the year on it.  We threaded some bakers twine and tied everything to the wire loop at the top of the ornament.  Next, take a few pinches of Champagne Glass Glitter and sprinkle it into the glass ball. To finish the ornament off put the metal hanger back on and use either seam binding ribbon or 5/8" satin ribbon to make the loop to hang on the tree.

  For club we used the Letters to Santa DSP and matched the ribbon and twine to it.  Some of my ladies even used some small scraps of Glimmer Paper to add to their ornaments and that looked really cool too.  The ornaments that I made for gifts I used the Frostwood Lodge DSP from the Holiday Mini and just changed out the ribbon colors.  This is a great personalized gift that you can make in no time at all while sipping hot chocolate and listening to Christmas music or watching your favorite Christmas movie.

  Thanks for sticking with me even though I haven't posted at all lately!  And thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?


Stamps: None

Ink: markers to match your DSP


Paper: Letters to Santa DSP, Whisper White (small tag), Silver Glimmer paper

Accessories: clear glass ornaments (non-SU), ribbon, baker's twine, Simple Alphabet die, jewelry tag punch, glass glitter

Clearance Rack Blitz!!!

I know I've been neglecting the blog terribly lately but I've had a ton of things going on and just haven't found the time to sit down and focus on it.  But I wanted to make sure that everyone knew about Stampin' Up's! Clearance Rack Blitz.  So many great items at HUGE discounts....paper, punches, ribbon, Big Shot items!

  Anyway check it out through my online store and have fun shopping!  I hope to be back with some projects in the next few days!

SHOP NOW!

Hidden Gift Card Holder

  Here is the second project we made last week at stamp club.  It's a hidden gift card hold and is so easy to make you won't believe it.  As a side note, I have a few hostess club spots left for next year.  If you're in the Richmond, VA area and are interested in joining me for some stamping fun in 2012 just let me know and I can get you all the details!

  The base of the card is Bashful Blue which I have sorely neglected since the color renovation 2 summers ago.  I had seen this color combination used on a Christmas card last year and liked it so much I made a note of it to try it myself this year.  So out came the Bashful Blue!

  Let me show you the inside of the card and the "hidden" part and then I'll explain how to make it.

  See how the gift card is tucked into the slot behind the ornament panel??  So cool huh?  To make this all you do is fold the front flap of your card base in half towards the inside of the card.  Then take your word window punch and put the "flap" part in as far as it will go...don't worry you can't go to far, the punch is only so deep!  Punch it just slightly off from center.  Then move your word window punch over just a bit along the first punch and just punch about 1/3 of another word window and that gives you the slot.  Now adhere the flap to the inside by using adhesive just along the top and the bottom.  If you put adhesive near the slot there won't be enough room for your gift card to slide in.

  Now to decorate the front.  I used a panel of Rich Razzleberry topped with a Whisper White panel embossed with the Northern Flurry embossing folder.  I stamped an ornament from Delightful Decorations in Rich Razzleberry and then punched it out.  I stamped the little Merry Christmas greetings in Bashful Blue and punched it out.  I adhered the little circle to the ornament and added a rhinestone to the center.  I adhered the ornament to the snowflake panel and then finished it off with some organza ribbon. 

  Make sure when you adhere your front panel to the flap that it is positioned so that it will cover the gift card in the slot. 

  I have to try to take a picture of the third project we did last week.  It's an ornament and is kind of hard to photograph.  It's another super cute and easy project to make.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Four the Holidays

Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Bashful Blue


Paper: Bashful Blue, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White


Accessories: Word Window punch, Ornament punch, circle punch, rhinestone, organza ribbon, Northern Flurry embossing folder

New Year's Pine

  I have been totally MIA lately!  So sorry!  I had stamp club earlier this past week and then we got some electrical work done and since the electricians needed to make some holes to run the wires we have to have a drywall guy come and patch things up and then paint so my house has been in a state of disruption since Tuesday night (even more so than usual with 2 little boys!!).  That doesn't even count starting to decorate for Christmas which is pretty hard when you have furniture piled up in the front hall, rugs rolled up and extra chairs stacked up in the dining room.  I hope I can get back to stamping this week.  In the meantime I'm going to share one of the cards my stamping ladies made at club last week.

  I got my original inspiration from this card by Rita Wright.  Isn't that fabulous??  As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to design something similar using the Crayon Resist technique and the pine tree from Lovely as a Tree.  I also wanted to incorporate the Simply Scored on for one of the elements.  This is what I came up with....what do you think?

  I used the color challenge from the Paper Players from a few weeks back.  The challenge was to use Riding Hood Red, Always Artichoke and River Rock.

  The card base is Always Artichoke.  Then I scored on the diagonal using my Simply Scored to get the cool diamond patterned background on the River Rock layer.  It's a bit hard to see on the photo but it's really cool in real life.  It's easy once you get into a rhythm.  If you look at your Simply Scored you will see a larger diamond pattern across the whole surface.  Just line up your cardstock with one of these diagonal lines and then start scoring...for this larger diamond pattern we scored every fourth line.  Once you score across the cardstock turn it the opposite way along one of the diagonal lines and score every fourth line again.  Super easy once you get started and you can make a smaller pattern just by scoring more often.

  Next, I stamped the pine tree in Always Artichoke ink on Naturals White cardstock.  Then using a white crayon drew some "snow" on the tree branches and under the tree.  Next, River Rock ink was sponged right over the tree.  To get the snow to stand out just buff over the whole image with a tissue or paper towel.  How cool is that?  The tree image was then mounted on a layer of Riding Hood Red.

    Finally for the accessories and finishing touches...I inked up the sentiment from Petite Pairs with a Riding Hood Red marker to omit the "and" and then stamped on White Naturals and punched it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch.  I did a bit of sponging as well with River Rock.  It was then layered with a 1 3/8" circle punched from Always Artichoke.  I poked a Vintage Trinket safety pin through the circles and added a knot of linen thread.  The whole thing is then adhered with a dimensional.

  So thanks to Rita for a wonderful inspiration card and to the Paper Players for a great color combination.  I made a few extra of these for myself as there is always someone who sends us a Christmas card that I didn't send one to (oops!).  How does that happen?  My Christmas card list has about 100 names on it!  That's like everyone I know so I don't know how some people don't get one!  I like to send Happy New Year's cards to those people so I always like to have a few ready to go right after Christmas!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Petite Pairs

Ink: Always Artichoke, River Rock, Riding Hood Red- marker


Paper: Always Artichoke, River Rock, Riding Hood Red, Naturals White

Accessories: Simply Scored, 1 1/4" & 1 3/8" circle punches, Vintage Trinket, linen thread, dimensional, white crayon (non-Stampin' Up!)

Vintage Bookmark

  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and enjoyed the time with family and friends.  We enjoyed ours for sure.  It was nice to see all the family in Connecticut and get to visit with them for a few days.  Now we're back to the grindstone gearing up for Christmas.

  Today's project is one that I made quite a while ago and never shared.  I was involved in a bookmark swap organized by my friend Patti a long time ago.   I thought now might be good time to show it as it could be paired with a book as a Christmas gift...if anyone still reads actual books out there! 

  First I stamped my flowers from Vintage Vogue in Rich Razzleberry onto Very Vanilla cardstock.  Then I carefully cut them out with my paper snips (the best!!).  Next I covered each flower with a healthy layer of Crystal Effects and let dry overnight.

  I punched a scallop circle and a smaller circle from textured Old Olive and crumpled them up a few times to give them a worn look. 

  I cut a length of satin ribbon and trimmed the ends up nicely.  I just grabbed a larger hard backed book I had laying around to make sure the ribbon was a good length.  Next, I sandwiched the textured cardstock scalloped circle behind the ribbon and layered the flower on top.  I used my piercing tool to poke a hole all the way through the layers and adhered them with a vintage brad.  This was repeated with the smaller circle and small flower at the bottom of the bookmark.

   It's kind of hard to see in the photo but the Crystal Effects gives the flowers a nice shine and thickens them up quite a bit to help them withstand the wear and tear of being dragged around in a book. 

  Off to cook and clean in preparation for stamp club tonight and tomorrow night!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Vintage Vogue

Ink: Rich Razzleberry


Paper: Very Vanilla, Old Olive textured

Accessories: Scallop Circle punch, circle punch, satin ribbon, vintage brads, Crystal Effects

The Real Reason for Christmas

  If you can believe it people are already decorated for Christmas around here!!  It's not even Thanksgiving yet people!!  There are 2 houses on our way to my sons preschool that are all decked out with the blow up decorations, light up deer, candy canes and lights.  And they've been that way for 2 weeks!!  I saw someone's Christmas tree inside all lit up.  Are there even real Christmas trees for sale yet??  Anyway, I see all this stuff and feel like we're being rushed onto the next season or holiday before we've even had a chance to celebrate the current one.  I don't know if it's the marketing media that is causing this or what but I solidly refuse to even think about Christmas (besides cards!) until I've had a chance to celebrate and give thanks on Thanksgiving.  Next year, people will have their Halloween and Christmas decorations out at the same time!  Come on people!  =)

  Since the only Christmas spirit that I'm willing to get into yet is making cards I'm going to share this one.  I'm embarrassed to say that I've had this set since July and this is the first card I've made with it.  I didn't even have the stickers on the rubber until I sat down to make this card.  It's a beautiful set and perfect for watercoloring (which I am not terribly good at but I'm trying!).  Over on Splitcoaststampers there is a group of demos called the Creative Crew which issues challenges every month.  All are welcome to play along so I decided to make this card for one of the challenges.  This one was to make an easel card using the Letters to Santa DSP or the colors that are in this DSP.  I went with the colors since I wanted the focus to be on the Holy Family.

  The base of the card is Early Espresso with a layer of Marina Mist.  I stamped the image with Stazon on watercolor paper.  I used all the colors from the Letters to Santa DSP to watercolor with an Aquapainter and inkpads.  Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, and Blushing Bride.  I did use a bit of Soft Suede to color in the cow since the Early Espresso kept turning pink (!!) on me.  I guess EE is a red based brown and for some reason I kept getting a pink hue.  I had to layer it on thick for the donkey and you can still kind of see some red in him.  I knew a red cow just wasn't going to make this an attractive card so for the sake of everyone's eyes I used a little bit of Soft Suede.  Also to add a bit of detail I outlined the whole image with a very light layer of Crumb Cake.

  The star is filled in with Dazzling Details to make it sparkle and shine.  Baby Jesus' blue blanket has a very light layer of white shimmer paint that I brushed on with a dried Aquapainter.  I also added an Early Espresso fork bow to the right side. 

  To make this easel card stand up and display the image I used a strip of Marina Mist embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder on the inside.  I then cut out a half scallop circle from the Petal Cone die and stamped the sentiment with Stazon.  I popped the half scallop circle up on dimensionals to help keep the easel card open.

  Here's the side view of the card opened....

  I don't know if I'm going to be able to give this card away...maybe I'll make some more and keep one for myself so I can display it during Thanksgiving....oops I mean during Christmas!  =)

   Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Tidings of Joy

Ink: Stazon, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Paper: watercolor paper, Marina Mist, Early Espresso

Accessories: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Petal Cone die, satin ribbon, Dazzling Details, white Shimmer Paint

Welcome Baby Holly!

  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!  I didn't get much stamping in but I did cut all the paper and gathered the supplies needed for my clubs next week.  So at least I was productive in the stamp room, just didn't produce any cards!

  Today's card is one that I made for a new baby.  Our dear friends had a daughter at the end of September and while we've seen her several times since she was born we just gave a gift yesterday.  I like to give a personalized gift especially for second babies as the parents most of the time already have all the essentials and don't need duplicates.  Also, it's more fun to get something with the baby's name on it.  I ordered a personalized storybook so I had to wait a few weeks for it to be made.  That gave me plenty of time to make a card but I still waited until the end of last week to make it.  I guess I work better under pressure?  Who knows!

  I combined the Create with Connie & Mary sketch challenge shown HERE and the Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge 349 HERE.

  Not a typical baby card with pastels and such but I thought these colors would be fun anyway.

  The base is Calypso Coral and I embossed a panel of Whisper White with the Stripes embossing folder to layer on top.  The color blocked panels are Lucky Limeade polka dotted DSP, Baja Breeze cardstock stamped with the A to Z mini background stamp and Calypso Coral striped DSP.  I rounded the edges of some of these layers to soften the look a little.

  I punched a scallop oval and embossed it with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (are you getting the stripes and dots theme??).  Next I die cut 2 "h's" one in thin cardboard and the other in Calypso Coral.  I like mounted my die cut letters on a matching cardboard one to give it more dimension and make it look more substantial like chipboard.  I embossed the "h" with the Square Lattice embossing folder.  The "h" is popped up on dimesionals.

  I dressed up the letter with a Baja Breeze Itty Bitty punch pack flower and rhinestone.  At the top I stamped "welcome baby" from Petite Pairs in Lucky Limeade and punched it out with a small oval punch (I think this size is retired and I still can't figure out why...it's a great size).  I clipped it to the "h" with a mini clothespin (SO CUTE!!) with a white baker's twine bow.

  All in all a quick but sweet card for a sweetie pie of a baby.

  Some Stampin' Up! Sale News!


  There are some great deals on all kinds of great Stampin' Up! products from now until November 30th.  Order through my online store to get the savings on 2 specially priced items just for today!  The Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps and the Simply Scored are discounted just for today.  For my local ladies, you can add any of the sale items to your stamp club orders next Tuesday & Wednesday (except for the "today only" items and digital downloads which must be ordered online).  Online orders will not count towards your club commitment though...Sorry!  The sale prices will show when you add items to your shopping cart.  Just call or e-mail if you have any questions!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?


Stamps: A to Z, Petite Pairs

Ink: Lucky Limeade, Baja Breeze

Paper: Calypso Coral, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade DSP, Calypso Coral DSP

Accessories: Stripes e.f., Perfect Polka Dots e.f., Square Lattice e.f., Simple Alphabet die, mini clothespin, bakers twine, scallop circle punch, small oval punch, Itty Bitty punch flower, rhinestone, dimensionals, corner rounder