Gift bag

I came across these Kraft bags which are perfect for wine/liquor bottle gifts. A little DSP, ribbon and a coordinating gift card dresses up the bag and let's your host or hostess know you appreciate his/her hospitality. This is one of the items we will be making during one of the November 12th classes.

I am posting from my new iPad and there is definitely a learning curve here! I have to figure out how to add a photo and blog just as I am able to do from my computer. I am not able to size the photo and place it where I want using the iPad. So if you don't hear from me for a while, it is because I am reading the iPad User's Guide and trying to figure this out--LOL!!!

Back Home From Phoenix

I spent the last week in Phoenix visiting family and enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. As much as I like taking vacations, it sure is nice to get back home and in my scrap room. Knowing that tomorrow is Halloween, I should be posting a Halloween card, but to be honest, I am "Halloweened-out", if there is such a thing--LOL! This afternoon I used two patterns from the Well Worn DSP to make this card together with Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake cardstock. A little tearing of the DSP and cardstock strips added texture. When tearing the DSP, the edges were white, so I sponged those edges with Soft Suede ink. I am not sure if I mentioend this before, but when I open my packages of DSP, I write the colors that coordinate in each particular pack on the cardboard insert that is included. This way I have that information at hand and know just what colors of cardstock and ink to pull when I am creating projects using a particular DSP pack. That information is included on the DSP pages in both the Idea Book & Catalog and in mini catalogs when a new DSP series is released. And now that I have had a little fun in my scrap room, it is time to head off to the laundry room--ugh! Enjoy the rest of your day!

Wedding Card

My little brother got married recently and I needed a wedding card. I used my favorite retired wedding stamp set, Blissful Bride. As his bride wore a dark blue dress, I decided the card would be white with Night of Navy. I used a silver gel pen to fill in the flowers after the cake image was stamped with Night of Navy ink. I should have used my Dazzling Details, but I wasn't thinking at the time!! Punched the two corners with my scallop trim border punch, wrapped the card with some pretty Navy ribbon I had and there you go~~an elegant card for the happy couple.

Pink Thank You Cards

I wanted to make a little gift for a special someone who is undergoing breast cancer treatment. So the other day I thought about thank you cards. I am sure she has people helping her out, so thank you cards would be useful. And then I knew pink would be the perfect color. After embossing Pink Pirouette using the Elegant Bouquet embossing folder, I adhered it to a white card base. The thank you sentiment is from my Short & Sweet stamp set and stamped on white cardstock. I punched that using my large oval punch and adhered it to a punched Pink Pirouette scallop oval. In order for the sentiment to stand out a bit, I adhered it to the card front using dimensionals. The card was very pretty, but needed a little something more. And that little something was a little white butterfly. I included eight cards and envelopes in the cellophane bag and tied it with a pretty pink ribbon. I hope that Tina enjoys receiving this little gift which I made with love just for her.

Halloween Checks

Just when I thought I created enough Halloween cards, I stopped in at a local craft store last week. And guess what? The craft store had paper on sale at 4/$1.00. As hard as I try to refrain from buying scrap paper as I already have so much of it, I saw these papers and knew they would be perfect for a cute little Halloween card. Sure enough, a little punching, a spider from my Cricut and a little bling all came together for a very cute card. I also like the layout of this card, so I am sure you will be seeing others I make using this layout. And actually, I think this could be a great scrapbook page, too! Have a wonderful day.

Little Halloween Favors

Quick and easy, I purchased the orange bags at the craft store. They measure approximately 2 1/2" by

4 1/2" and fit two Hershey miniatures perfectly. I did wrap each mini candy prior to placing them in the bag using strips of Halloween DSP cut at 1 3/8" by 3". I cut the carry-out box using my Cricut and the Art Philosophy cartridge. The spider is from my often-used cartridge, Doodlecharms. The box was cut at 5 3/4" and will handle some kisses or M&M's or jellybeans--whatever you choose. Have a nice day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Folded Paper Frame

This is another Thanksgiving card made with the Spice Cake paper and one we will be making in class on November 12th. (I am sure I mentioned this before, but I do really like this particular DSP.) The leaf was cut at 1 1/4" using my Cricut and at that size fit perfectly in the folded picture frame. As I embossed the Soft Suede background using one of SU's texture plates, I recalled how unimpressed I was when I first used one of the texture plates. And since then, I use them very often--lol! The word "gratitude" is from the Fabulous Phrases set and I wrapped the Soft Suede cardstock with some raffia. Have a wonderful day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

November 12, 2011

Mark your calendars for November 12th! I have decided that I will be doing back-to-back classes on that day, with a bite to eat in between. One class session will be devoted to Thanksgiving cards and a little something. The other class will be all about Christmas and the holidays. In my earlier "Perfect Fit for Ghirardelli" post, I mentioned I was making the chocolate box a little bigger. The favor in this photo uses the same box, cut big enough to fit four or five 3x3 gift cards and envelopes. One of the Christmas projects for that day will be a similar box and the cards needed to fill it. Please rsvp and don't forget the adhesive! Have a great day.

Baby Shower Favor

Wanted to make some really cute baby shower favors and my Cricut made some fabulous boxes! I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cartridge to cut the square box at 6 inches. I then cut 1 1/2" squares of white cardstock and embossed them with my polka dot embossing folder. The letters were all cut at 1 1/4" and spell "Baby" around the box. I made a little tag that says "Welcome Baby" and tied a bow around the box top only. I will fill the box with hugs and kisses and hopefully the mommy-to-be will think they are just as cute as I do--lol! Have a nice rest of the day!

Night of Navy Birthday Card

We are having absolutely gorgeous Fall weather here in the Chicago area. The outdoor colors change every single day and that has inspired me to change the colors I normally use on my cards and proejcts. The colors in the Well Worn DSP include Not Quite Navy and Cajun Craze. Well I was playing with the paper the other day and decided that I liked using Night of Navy with the DSP and Cajun Craze--a color combination that I definitely do not normally use. This is a very easy card to make and once again the Stripes embossing folder adds great texture. The greeting is from the Petite Pairs stamp set on page 164 of the IB&C. Enjoy your day and hopefully you are having the same beautiful weather we are here!

Perfect Ghirardelli Fit!

I am always looking for new little favor ideas. I was playing with the Art Philosophy cartridge, my Cricut and Fall colored cardstock and made these cute little boxes. Cut at 4 3/4" inches, a Ghirardelli chocolate square fits perfectly! The flower was made using 7 scalloped circles cut at 1 1/4". Next time, I would cut the circles at 1 1/2", but it works this way, too. I am working on a couple of other uses for this box when cut larger and when I make it just right, I will post it here on my blog. Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time!

Christmas Already?

As I was walking around the store the other day, I saw Christmas items already on display! I am not even ready for Halloween or Thanksgiving. But none the less, I made a couple of little 3x3 cards for a future Christmas class. I used the pennant and stocking punches for these cards and usual Christmas colors. But this was as far as I got with making anything Christmas! I am still not ready to give up summer--lol! I will say that the Stocking Builder Punch together with the Stitched Stockings stamp set in the Holiday mini are going to make some really cute cards, tags, favors and more! So watch my calendar for this year's Tags Class in November--tentatively November 12th. Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

Simple Sympathy Card

We all need a sympathy card every now and then and for me, this particular card is one that expresses something I dreamed about after my sister's unexpected death. We were very close and I just couldn't get beyond my grief. One night Christine came to me in a dream. She hugged me and I told her I missed her and then my children came running in (they were grown up at the time, but in the dream they were young). They were yelling "Auntie Chrissy is back! Auntie Chrissy is back and she told us she would never really leave us! She would be in our hearts forever." I remember that dream as vividly as the night I had it. So when the new IB&C was released a few months ago and I read the words in the Love & Sympathy stamp set, it spoke to me. I made this card hoping that the simplicity of the card allowed for the words to speak to the recipient. I miss my sister every single day, but as she told the kids, she is in my heart forever. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the Fall sunshine!

October Specials

Stampin' Up has two great special offers during the month of October. If you have been thinking about becoming a demonstrator, now would be a great time to do so. If you sign up during October, you will get a free Big Shot or $100 in free stamps. Have you been looking at the Simply Sent card kits, but decided against purchasing one or two of the sets? Well, October is the month in which to make your purchase of Simply Sent Card Kits. Buy two card kits and get a coordinating stamp set free! To learn more about these two offers, head over to my Stampin' Up website and click on promotions: www.stampintimesomewhere.stampinup.net

If you need more information or have questions, give me a call and I will help you out. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Those Candy Corn M&Ms

So aren't these cute? Last night I just had to play with those M&Ms that I mentioned in earlier posts. I found this candy corn paper at the local scrapbooking store which was perfect for the candies. What do I think of the candy corn M&Ms? Well, first off the colors are so perfect for the Halloween season. The candies themselves are much fatter than regular M&Ms. They actually just fit into the 1x8 cellophane sleeves that Stampin' Up sells. And lastly, they are awfully sweet! I prefer real candy corn to the taste of these M&Ms. The Walmart up in Algonquin had these M&M's for $2.48 per bag. I had looked them up on ebay.com the other day and they were going for about $5 per bag plus $6 for shipping. By the way, I did buy a couple of extra bags so that my card class attendees do not have to go on a wild goose chase! Have a wonderful day and find yourself a little stampin" time!