Denami Challenge

I rarely use green and red for my Christmas cards. But, since I do not have any Denami Christmas stamps, I thought that using red and green would definitely say Christmas. For this card I used a Denami stamp, Denami ribbon and rhinestones from Denami. And of course the cardstock, ink and embossing folder is Stampin' Up. Have a great day.

Involve The children

The more I learn about Operation Write Home, the more I feel a need to share OWH's mission to support our troops--not just during the holidays but all year. Today I am sharing a flyer inviting children to participate. What a great way to teach your child to share a small part of himself/herself with one of our heroes. Just double click on the picture, print the flyer and then share it with your school, church group or scout troop. If you have any questions, please send me an email. I will be more than happy to send your letters to OWH for you. Have a wonderful day and happy stampin'.

Little Trick or Treat Bag

Halloween is only a week away and I still need to make some treat holders for special little trick or treaters in my life. While looking for ideas, I found these on the website of Chic n Scratch. Easy to make, this will be one of the favors we will complete in a Thanksgiving/Christmas "Favors & Tags Class" scheduled for November 13th. I am still working on my November calendar, so watch for more details to be coming soon. In the meantime, find yourself a little stampin' and scrappin' time. Have a great weekend.

A Thanksgiving Card

The cards for Operation Write Home are in the mail, so now it is time to think about Thanksgiving. I used a Close To My Heart stamp set for this card and SU's Cajun Craze is the color. I stamped the images on Confetti White cardstock which adds some texture to this rather simple card. I used raffia as an accent--raffia which I have had for I don't know how long and only use at this time of the year--but twine would be perfect on this card also. Have a nice day and find yourself some stampin' time.

Stampin' Up's Holiday Bundles Special

Thru December 16th, SU is offering a 20% discount on select products when purchased in the bundles as shown. Just click on the picture above for details. You can shop online thru my website 24/7 but you need to use the product numbers as shown in order to receive the discounted price. In addition, depending on your order amount, by shopping directly thru my website, you are also eligible for hostess items. Questions? Don't hesitate to give me a call. Have a great day.

Yesterday the Cricut girls were here for our fun-filled Cricut afternoon. The group project was a skeleton card, but what really made the whole thing was this--orange rhinestones for the eyes! I never would have thought of using orange rhinestones for eyes--not even for a skeleton! But, they look so cool that I will be using orange rhinestones on future Halloween cards be it eyes for cats, witches or skeletons! Can you guess what I have been working on these past few days? More holiday cards for Operation Write Home. I made Christmas cards, Hanukkah cards and cards for kids. When you think about all our troops who won't be home for the holidays, my cards won't even make a dent in the need. But I am happy knowing that a few people will be surprised and happy when they get a special card from their mom, dad, son, daughter--a card that was made from my heart with gratitude for all of our troops.

Operation Write Home

Since I make a lot of cards and I cannot possibly use them all, I have been sending many of the extras to "cards for soldiers". The

other day I was reading http://www.creationsbychristie.blogspot.com/ and she announced her first card challenge: a Christmas/Holiday card for Operation Write Home. Operation Write Home is an organization that collects blank handmade cards, packages and sends them to our troops to help them keep in touch with their families and friends. Check out OWH at http://www.operationwritehome.org/ and see if there is anything you can do to help support our troops and their families. Here is my entry in Christie's challenge, which by the way, was made with all Stampin Up supplies, including the Northern Flurry embossing folder. Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

More Crumb Cake

This time I am using a combination of Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla. When I cut the Crumb cardstock for this card, I cut it 1/4 inch too short. I had already embossed the Cherry Cobbler, so I knew how to take care of the card size--just cut another piece of Cherry Cobbler cardstock at 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" and center and adhere the too-short card base to it. The Very Vanilla adds a little dimension to the card while the retired Kraft ribbon adds a little bit of pretty. Simple card that can be made over and over using different colors, different embossing folders and different greetings from the Sincere Salutations stamp set. And now that I am thinking about it, these colors and the "Four The Holidays" stamp set on page 154 of the IB&C would make the perfect Christmas cards. This one stamp set will cover the sentiments for everyone you send Christmas cards to: family, friends, business associates and those who celebrate holidays and the season, but not particularly Christmas. I think I have just talked myself into getting the set!

Scrap Pages

This two-page layout was made using a CTMH packet I had purchased a while back. This particular promotion was the Felicity Collection and what drew me to it were the colors and the precut shapes of some of the papers. I used Marina Mist and Soft Suede ink to stamp and sponge the edges of the off white cardstock. And the two-step bird punch added a little dimension to the pages. I really like the fact that I can use my SU products together with CTMH products. They may not be perfect matches, but they are very close. And once again, I have succeeded in using what I have rather than purchasing new. Have a great day.

Crumb Cake (aka Kraft) Cards

I am still on my quest to use much of the "stuff" I already have before purchasing anything else. For the most part that is working out as I had hoped. Both of these cards have a Crumb Cake base, include images from the Itty Bitty stamp and punch sets and use thin strips of designers series paper along the edge. Crumb Cake (formerly known as Kraft) is very versatile and works with just about any color. The ribbon on the Pacific Point card is no longer available Kraft Taffeta. I will miss that particular color in ribbon. I combined Real Read and Marina Mist for the card on the right. I also used the scallop edge punch and then inked the edges of the card with Marina Mist ink. After I applied the ink, I wished I hadn't--lol! Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time.

What's the Occasion?

Today's card can be used for any occasion. I read about a technique using two colors of ink. After a couple of tries, I did get a multi-colored image, but not in the "plaid" pattern that I originally wanted to do. But that is okay as the card still looks nice. I am thinking that maybe if I used stamp spots instead of regular ink pads it would have worked better. I used the Upsy Daisy Stamp set, circle punches and the scallop trim border. The Rich Razzleberry works nicely with the Peach Parfait and Melon Mambo. I was going to tell you to find yourself a little stampin' time, but the weather has been so nice here in the Chicago area, I am ending this post with: Find yourself a little time to enjoy this perfect Autumn weather!

Happy Birthday, Matthew

Our son recently celebrated his 32nd birthday--doesn't seem possible that all these years have passed. On his actual birthday, he was camping in Maine and that became the theme for his card. The tree and the tent are part of an SVG image file that I was able to download when I purchased the SCAL program. Michelle at the Scrapping Table has some great theme sets that are easy to use. The best part is that the files are free to download when you purchase SCAL from her. And, no cartridge to store! These particular images, and many others, will be cut again when I start scrapping Matt's trip for him. He arrived home tonight and showed me some wonderful photos, so I am already planning how I will scrap the photos. By the way, when he opened the card, he mentioned that the tent looks like his!

SU Clearance Rack

Wanted to share with those who read my blog that SU is having a "Clearance Rack Blitz" thru October 18th. The items are all discontinued items but with huge discounts. The items can only be ordered online. You can get to the online store via my website--www.stampintimesomewhere.stampinup.net. Click on "Shop Now" and then on the Clearance Rack button in the left-hand column column. I have ordered a couple of things, and even though they are discontinued, the price is just too good to pass up. Just yesterday I posted a favor bag using the Big Shot scallop bag die. Well guess what? One of the items in the Clearance Rack is the Bag w/scallops die which is only $13.99. As a reminder, prices do not include tax and shipping. This is a great opportunity to start your Christmas shopping for the paper crafters in your life. Happy shopping.

Halloween Treats

Time to think about Halloween treats for your co-workers, your child's classmates and the neighborhood trick-or-treaters. The first treat was made using the Big Shot scalloped bag which unfortunately is no longer available thru SU. Many of you did purchase this particular Big Shot die, so I wanted to remind you that by using your retired SU products together with current paper still makes for a great little treat holder.

The Big Shot pillow box die is still one of my favorites and an often used die. Again combining new and old supplies, these treat holders can be filled with hugs and kisses, rolls of Smarties--or a variety of other candies. In order to get the pattern paper to fit the box, I cut another pillow box image and then trimmed it down for the two-tone look. If you look closely, you will see the black dotted paper on the orange pillow box doesn't match exactly. Well, I tried to trim off the end of that portion of the diecut. I shouldn't have done that. On the orange striped pillow box I left the diecut paper as it was on the end and adhered it to the black pillow box form. Much better idea and less work, too! (And now I am going to sponge lots of black ink on the edges of the not so perfect pillow box--a little ink works wonders!) Hope you can find yourself a little creative time so that you too, can work on your Halloween treats.

Wedding/Love Cards

Same card, two different looks. I used the Big Shot to emboss these cards and to cut the hearts. The card on the left was made using Very Vanilla and Rich Razzleberry, while the card on the right is more subtle using Whisper White and Very Vanilla. I tied the ribbon in a simple bow on the VV card and a fancy bow on the RR card. It's the little things that can make a card look totally different. So while you have your supplies out to make a card, change it around a bit and make two cards~~one for now and one for a future occasion. Have a great day.