Tiny Treat Boxes

I am preparing for this weekend's card classes and the little box on the right is one of the items we will be making.  (I actually copied from the Occasions Mini.) The Tiny Treat boxes are in the Occasions Mini on page 5.  They measure 2"x2"x2" and are just adorable.  I did not purchase any Valentine sets this year, which works well when making these.  Both boxes are embellished with paper from the DSP Stacked With Love Paper Stack in the Occasions Mini and  1/4" red Cotton Ribbon in the Annual Catalog.  I did use framelits for the banners on both boxes.  That being said, if you don't have banner framelits, you can easily make banners.  Just cut a strip of paper the width you need and make a tail at one end.  There is a variety of hearts on the boxes and the Hershey Hugs & Kisses are the perfect little surprise inside.    If you are going out tonight, be careful!  Have a great day and Happy New Year!

Love Is Kindness

The image and saying is a single stamp in the Occasions Mini, Love Is Kindness.  I stamped the image thinking I would use my Melon Mambo Blendabilities.  Well, one of them was dry!  So, I reached for my Marvelous Markers and colored the tulips red,  shading the newspaper with Smokey Slate ink and a blender pen and then using my oval framelits.  The DSP is a pattern in the Stacked With Love DSP Paper Stack.  This could be a Valentine card or a thank you card.  Whichever it turns out to be,  I think it is pretty.  The bitter cold is here so stay warm and have a great day!

New Year Favor

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.  We had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We really are so blessed with our family and friends.  On Friday I went down to the basement to put a few things away and oh boy!  What a disaster area.  So I started cleaning and organizing the big storage closets.  The Good Will donation center will be happy to see me pull up with the goodies I have found for them.  Then I went into my scraproom.  Between Friday and Saturday, I got all the Christmas craft things put away until next year, my scrap cardstock drawer straightened out a bit and even had time to play with my Cricut on Sunday.  My Close To My Heart demonstrator, Morgan Vogt, had created this really cute Valentine box.   I wanted to create this box but I created a "happy new year" favor box.  I used some cardstock that I had purchased at Archivers~~a long time ago! It fits 6 hugs and kisses easily.  The box is from the Artiste cartridge, page 44.  The sentiment is from the Good Greeting stamp set and the stars are also Stampin' Up!  And my island is once again a mess!!  Have a great day. 

Merry Christmas...

...from our house to yours!  

Merry Christmas Eve!

We have been busy around here as have many of you.  Today I am sharing photos of favors made by others in the midst of Christmas hustle and bustle.  The Hershey kisses favor was made by Kathy Z and she made 60 of these!  She always does such a good job and this is a  reminder to use the Top Note die.   The penguins were made by Cherie.  She used the Curvy Keepsakes box and made 80 of these!!  They are adorable and I can only imagine how much time she spent on the penguins.  Changing the subject, Stampin' Up added new items to the End of the Year Closeout.  Included is the Good Greetings stamp set that you earned with a $300 workshop/order.  Well, it is now available as are a few of the current items in the Holiday Mini at very nice discounts.    Have a great day and a wonderful Christmas Eve.

That's The Ticket Valentine

This card turned out just like I pictured.  The card could probably use a little bit more grunge, but maybe not.  The "xoxoxoxox" DSP square is from the new Stacked With Love Paper Stack.  The paper stack has some nice prints/patterns and include the colors black, Calypso Coral, Crisp Cantaloupe, Red and Whisper White.  Once again I used the hearts from the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set.  I then used current items:  That's the Ticket stamp set, embossed heart from Fashionable Hearts sizzlet and Scallop Border punch.  The little black hearts are from a handheld punch, not SU. We will for sure be making this one at card class in January.  Have a great day!

A Little Grunge

Over the weekend, between wrapping presents and finishing up Christmas cards, I did take a break and think about Valentine's Day.  And that came about because I wanted to use the little stream of hearts from the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set with the splatter stamp from Gorgeous Grunge.  I also used two framelits from the Mini Treat Bag framelit set~~the hearts strip and the "torn tape" shape~~on which I stamped the sentiment.   I have not purchased a new Valentine set so for now I am using  stamps from sets I already have.  This sentiment "I heart you" is from the And Many More set in the Annual Catalog. Today's card is cute; I like tomorrow's better!  So check back and in the meantime have a great day!

Perpetual Birthday Calendar

I have thought about making a perpetual calendar a few times over the years, but then I never did.  When I saw that Stampin' Up! had a perpetual calendar kit in the Occasions Mini, I jumped on it.  The photo on the left shows the first 3 months that I completed.  The calendar kit includes printed calendar pages to embellish, die cut little banners and shapes, alphabet stickers,  glitter, sequins and more.  The photo on the right shows just a few of the embellishments included together with the coordinating stamp set that is sold separately.  I will be using it for much more than just the calendar.  I saw the little images and thought how cute these would be when used with the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set~~"themed grunge"!  I just gave myself an idea for the next card!  Have a great Friday and wonderful last weekend before Christmas.  And to  my Jewish friends~~Happy Hanukkah.

Three Step Stamping!

Here is the card I mentioned yesterday.  I feel that I have more than enough flower stamps, so I was going to take a pass on this one.  But when I saw the pretty cards created using Lotus Blossom, I needed another flower--hahaha!!!  Anyway, you stamp first with the dark color, then stamp off using the same color and finally stamp in the lightest color.  On the taller flower, I started with Melon Mambo, stamped off once before stamping the second image.  I then stamped off twice before stamping the third image.   For the shorter flower I started with Melon Mambo, then stamped off before stamping the second image and finished using Crisp Cantaloupe.  The stamp set, Lotus Blossom, is one of the items you can earn for free when you spend $50 during Sale-a-bration.  The sentiment is one of two sentiments included in the stamp set.  We will be making a card using Lotus Blossom in the January classes.  Have a great day!

Butterfly Thinlets

There are so many new items in the Occasions Mini that it was tough to prioritize.  But when it came to the new set of butterfly thinlets, there was no question that would be on the first order.  The card on the left is monochromatic using Perfect Plum.  Two stamp sets were used for the background of the card~~Gorgeous Grunge and Summer Silhouettes.  I then added the lovely die cut butterfly and the sentiment (And Many More) to finish the card.  The card on the right includes a butterfly cut using the large butterfly thinlet included in the set.  The sentiment is from a Sale-a-bration stamp set,  Lotus Blossom.  I will show you a card I created using that new set tomorrow.  Have a great day!

Making Progress

I have mentioned that I need to work on my Christmas cards and yesterday I finally made a little progress! Many of you will notice that we made these cards in previous classes.  I had bits and pieces of all of these cards.  Rather than pitch the bits and pieces, I got to work cutting and organizing the bits, pieces and card bases I needed to make complete cards.  Today I plan on working on the remaining cards I need to create.  I pretty much have an idea as to what I want the finished product to look like.  They will be simple and pretty.  Have a great day!

Peace and Harmony

Christmas cards are arriving and on Saturday we received our daughter's card.  Jen used one of my favorite retired hostess sets together with Pool Party ink and cardstock.  She mentioned that after a while removing the ink off the bird's hat and recoloring it red got to be a little much.  The card is very cute.  Even cuter than the card is the photo of our granddaughter with her bird, Harmony.  The sentiment inside of the card "May peace and harmony be yours. . ."~~very clever, Jen!  Have a great day!

Thanks Thinlet

I went down to my scraproom yesterday to work on Christmas cards.  As usual, I got distracted!  In the new Occasions Mini, there is a set of thinlets that I needed.  I just had to roll the words thru the Big Shot once and then I had to use one of the words. The "thanks" on today's card is one of the four thinlets in the set.  The other words include: happy, you and hello. Besides retired DSP, I pulled out the retired Fabulous Phrases stamp set knowing there would be a word or phrase I could add to "thanks".  Sure enough, "heartfelt" is perfect!  That being said, there is a coordinating stamp set (Crazy About You) of 33 stamps of words or phrases that can be used with the thinlets or by themselves.  As of today I do not need Crazy About You, but that might change soon.  Now this weekend, I do have to create my Christmas cards.  Have a great weekend and find yourself a little stampin' time!

New MIni Treat Bag

So the other day I was able to get a look at the Occasions Mini and the SAB catalogs which go live on January 6th.  They are both filled with some great products.  Needless to say, I purchased a few things on the demonstrator preorder and the order arrived yesterday.  I really need to start working on my Christmas cards, but this treat bag die begged to be used!!!  Out came retired DSP for the first bags and retired red satin ribbon.   The little red hearts on the Crumb Cake bag and the large heart are dies that also come with the set.  Actually, the little hearts is a die that creates a row of hearts.  I just used the hearts to embellish the white polka dots.  The white pennant, the row of red circles and the "for you" on the green bag are also dies that come with the set.  The size of the finished bag is approximately 3-3/4" x 5-1/4".   This mini treat bag will get put to good use.   I look forward to sharing more sneak peeks.  And again, if you are a current customer of mine, I did order minis to be mailed to you from Stampin' Up!    Have a great day!

A Little Winter Favor

In the Spring I posted the favors I was making for Easter using the Scallop Tag Topper punch.  When I was at Target the other day, I saw and purchased these little Lindt chocolate snowmen, similar to the Springtime bunnies I used previously.  The first winter favor I made using an old retired color cardstock, Brilliant Blue.  It matched the snowman's hat perfectly! I embellished it with metallic ribbon (Walmart) and the little snowflakes included in the Frosted Sequins embellishments in the Holiday Mini.  I also added the "sparkle" diecut using the Itty Bitty framelits.  I wish Target had Lindt Santas!! They would look really cute in the red favor.  Tomorrow I will post the first sneak peek from the Occasions Mini which goes live January 6th.   Have a great day!

Thank You

As promised, in today's post I am sharing two more beautiful cards created out of friendship and concern. The Rich Razzleberry card was made by my friend, Kathy W.  I can only imagine the time she put into this card.   The heart card was made by my friend, Nancy.  The sentiment inside the heart really is very sentimental to me.  You see, many years ago after my sister's death, my sister visited me.  In that visit/dream Jen and Matt were little kids and they came running to me and said, "Chrissy is back!  She said she would never leave us.  She will always be in our hearts".  At that point, my sister faded away.  I remember that visit/dream as clear as if it just happened.   Nancy's card is the perfect reminder that my Mom, too, will never really leave me.  She lives on in my heart forever.  I want to say that each and every card and email that I received means very much to me and my family.  Your support, friendship and love surely helped me before and after my Mom's death and will continue to help in the future.  Again, I am blessed to have so many caring friends.  THANK YOU!

Friends

 Today would have been my Mom's 84th birthday and it is also the 9th anniversary of my sister's death.  So while it is sad for me, my Mom and sister are together again.  They were the best of friends.  And friends are so very important.  I am blessed with wonderful friends.  In fact today's cards are "made with love" sympathy cards created by caring friends for me and my family.  The Praying for You card is from Kathy Z and the Sending Love and Sympathy card is from Cherie.  They are such good friends that they even used Stampin' Up products!  Come back tomorrow and see two more pretty handmade cards made by friends.  Have a great day.

Navy Holiday Home

The little blue Christmas house has been sitting on my counter for probably two months.  After coloring it in using the Night of Navy Blendabilities, I was not sure what I would do with it.  I finally put it to good use as you can see in today's photo.  Not traditional Christmas colors, the little wreath (from Holiday Home) with Red Dazzling Details together with the sentiment (also from Holiday Home) leaves no doubt that this is a Christmas card.  The Labels framelits together with the Night of Navy DSP adds a cozy feeling to the card.  As a matter of fact, the more I look at the card, the more I like it!  Have a great day and a great weekend. 

End of Year Clearance!

Check out the year end closeouts announced by Stampin' Up this morning.  Below is a direct link to my online store and the closeout items.  As usual, this sale is "as supplies last". 

 

http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ItemList.aspx?categoryid=493&dbwsdemoid=2031833

 

 



Happy Wonderful Christmas

I made Halloween wreath cards and Fall wreath cards, but had not yet stamped a Christmas wreath using the Wondrous Wreath set.  So last night I did just that.  I pulled out the stamp set and matching framelits, two shades of green ink and red ink and in no time the card was done.  Both the wreath and the bow were adhered to the card front using dimensionals.  And once again I colored a few of our rhinestones using alcohol markers and added those to the wreath.  Today we will be putting up our Christmas tree~~yeah!  Have a great day!

Fry Box Two Ways

One of the items we made on Sunday was the Christmas fry box favor pictured on the left.  Whenever I spend a little time on Pinterest, I see some of the cutest things created with the fry box die.  Yesterday I was on Pinterest and saw a  version of the fry box in which you need two die cuts of the fry box, removing the shorter section on both and then attaching the two larger ends.  That version is on the right~~looks like a miniature tote.  I used the same paper and ribbon for both fry box favors although the tote needs a pretty little tag, maybe a star or a little tree.    In my mind I already see  how elegant one of these favors can be all decked out with silver or gold on white.  You will be seeing one of those in the very near future.  Have a great day and find yourself a little stampin' time. 

Christmas Mingle

I have had a bit of a creative block for the past few weeks.  It was very easy to just chose an item from one of my Close To My Heart cartridges and let my Explore do the work.  Last night I decided that I really needed to make a Christmas card~~without the Explore!  So I sat at my island for a while, finally deciding on the Mingle All The Way stamp set and some retired DSP.  Today's post is the finished product and it is cute.  As I am sitting here looking at it, this stamp could be a great sentiment for a holiday party invitation.  The 2" circle layers very nicely on
the 2-3/8" scallop circle.  I used the Stylish Stripes embossing folder and added a little color and bling using Stampin' Up rhinestones and my alcohol markers to color them.  Success for me!  Have a great day!

Yesterday was our Christmas Craft afternoon.  It was more than enjoyable and it was good to be with friends.  I am quite excited to share this wine glass tea light which was given to me and created by my friend, Kathy W.  Talk about cute!  The wine glass has a battery-operated tea light inside and is topped off with a Vellum cardstock lampshade.  Kathy stamped the images on one side of the vellum and then colored in the images on the opposite side using SU's Marvelous Markers.  The Holiday Home stamp set and the pretty red ribbon  from the Holiday Mini look perfect together.  Thank you, Kathy!  Something tells me I will be making a few of these.  Have a great day!