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Thursday, December 31, 2009

My Talented Downline

Rae Anne and her sister, Becky, made this Christmas ornament for me. Can you figure out what it is made out of? If you guessed a Diet Sunkist soda can, you are right! After cutting the can so that it can be run through the Big Shot with the snowflake die, they simply attached two with a rhinestone brad. How cool is that? They even made my ornament out of my favorite soda. Talk about personalized gifts!
During Sale-a-Bration is a great time to sign up to be a demonstrator.  Please visit my website if you would like some information about joining my awesome team of Inkredible Inkers!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Dormant Sets retiring soon!

There are several stamp sets that are currently on the dormant list that will no longer be available after January 4, 2010:

113407 Back Woods
114492 Beautiful Baby
114486 Birthday Wish
113200 Branch Out
114496 Celebrations
113732 Central Park
113206 Classic Sketches
113226 Classy & Fabulous
114498 Flowers in Silhouette
113405 Font of You
113216 For the Bride
114494 Forever
109425 Friend by Definition
114488 Fun Flowers
113716 Garden Greetings
114490 Glad Friends
111580 Grand Soiree
113242 Hit the Road
113710 Lexicon of Leaves
113236 Man's Best Friend
114423 Ocean Commotion
113728 Playful Petals
109276 Polka Dot
111544 Putt Putt
113240 Quilt Quips
113754 Really Retro
113403 Sip by Sip
113726 Sweet Stems
113250 That's Funny
113688 Wonderful Watercolors
114028 Para la novia
114032 Acuarelas Maravillosas

It happens every year to make room for some great new stamp sets, but there is often one I am sorry to see go. Those of you who attend a lot of my events probably aren't surprised to read that Branch Out is the one I will miss most. Here are a couple of samples made with that set.



Visit my Stampin' Up! website if you would like to purchase Branch Out or any other retiring set.  And be watching your mailbox for the new Occasions Mini Catalog and the Sale-a-Bration catalog to arrive any day!

Monday, December 28, 2009

Simply Said Birthday Card


Here is one more card from that bundle I gave at Christmas. Simply Said is an oldie but a goodie, but I love it with this Bashful Blue, Real Red and Whisper White combination. In fact, now that I think about it, I did a few Christmas cards with this exact same color combination and snowmen stamps! This one is especially easy as you use the jumbo wheel to roll up the side and then a simple stamped image in the center.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Game Night birthday card


This is one of the cards in the bundle I gave as a Christmas gift.  I tried to include a variety of birthday, thank you, wedding, sympathy and blank notes.  I was sure to include this because it would be good for a man's birthday.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas! Since I started blogging, I have been posting mostly Christmas cards. Well after today, that will have to change even though I have some more great holiday cards to share. Today I thought I would post my family Christmas gift exchange gift. Add a book of stamps to this bundle of handmade cards, and someone in my family will be set for any major gift giving occasion for the next few months!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Simple Christmas Card


This is one of the make-n-takes we did at convention this year.  I like this set a lot, but as some of you know, it is hard to line up the ornaments and strings without using the Stamp-a-ma-jig.  Well here's the solution for that!  Cut out the ornaments and mount them on a pop dot.  Hide the end of the strings under the ribbon, and they don't have to be even either.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Christmas Swap


I'll admit it...I watch Survivor. So what better to do while watching the 3 hour finale than stamp? I worked on swap cards for the new Occasions Mini Catalog and Sale-a-Bration Catalog. Both should be arriving in your mailboxes soon and will be available starting January 5. I will share those cards with you another day, but here's one that I made several months ago for our Occasions Mini Catalog swap. That's one of the great things about being a part of my Stampin' Up! family. I am sending off 30 cards today and will have 30 great samples made by my demonstrator friends to share with you in a couple of weeks!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Lovely As a Tree Crayon Resist

This is one of my favorite stamp sets because it is so versatile, but I must admit, I think I like doing Christmas cards with it the most.  This is the crayon resist technique, and it is a great way to create a simple effect.  Stamp you image on glossy cardstock with black StazOn, then with a white crayon, draw a line where you want the color to "resist".  On this card, it would be anywhere you want there to be snow.  Then roll your ink color (here it is Bashful Blue) over the image with a brayer.  It's impossible to goof this up because you keep rolling and changing directions until the color is even and smooth.  Finish the card with craft white ink for the greeting.


Saturday, December 19, 2009

The More the Merrier in Soft Subtles



This is a color combination that doesn't shout Christmas, but I find that I usually make at least one snowman card a year with Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue.  This particular card has been well loved.  I did a few of these for my convention swap and have done them at some of my events.  Those snowmen are just great for coloring and making them your own.  Add some Dazzling Diamonds with your Two-way glue pen and instant snow!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Ornament Spinner Card


The ornament on the front of the card is 3-D. Simply punch 3 ornaments, fold them in half and stick them together on the back sides. They even lay flat for mailing.  On the inside, create a pop-up by cutting a circle in the green using a Coluzzle or your Circle Scissors Plus and stringing a piece of dental floss from top to bottom. Attach 2 ornaments and you've created a spinner card!

Monday, December 14, 2009

The More the Merrier


We made this card in stamp club this month. It could be a Christmas card or just about anything else! We used the Top Note die and the Big Shot to create the blue piece. With the large oval punch, we punched an oval in the center and put a piece of clear, packing tape, sticky side up (so the sticky is coming through the hole) on the bottom. After dipping the sticky side in Dazzling Diamonds glitter, we stuck the snowmen on the back.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Mystery Treat Can



It is so much fun to give these treat cans to friends. They don't want to "ruin" the can by opening it.













Open a small, pop-top fruit can (this one is 8oz.) from the bottom with a safety can opener - the kind that leaves a smooth edge. Fill the can with wrapped treats, and reseal with Crystal Effects. While you have the Crystal Effects out, why not add some dimension to the snowman tag? It creates a smooth, glossy dimension. Wouldn't these be great treats for friends for the holiday?

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Christmas Moonlighting Technique

This is a technique I have been wanting to try for awhile. We talked about some good stamp sets for the moonlighting technique in stamp club a few months ago. I couldn't resist this oldie but goodie from Lovely As a Tree. I started by embossing with black on glossy white cardstock. Simply punch a circle with a Post-it note and place it where you would like your moon. Use a brayer to brayer ink over the image. The great thing about using a brayer on glossy is there is no way to mess it up. Just keep rolling and move the brayer around - perfect every time. For an added touch, I misted the Ballet Blue cardstock with a mixture of shimmer paint and rubbing alcohol.

This same card could be a man's birthday, sympathy or thinking of you.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Mover and Shapers Christmas Card



This card was made using the Movers and Shapers Die. The combination of Whisper White snowflakes, Ballet Blue and Kraft gives it a wintery look.
When open, the holly jolly remains on the inside of the card for the greeting.





Supplies: Christmas Punch Stamp Set, Movers & Shapers Die, Big Shot, Kraft, Whisper White and Ballet Blue cardstock, Craft White and Ballet Blue ink, 3/4" punch and silver brad.

Monday, December 7, 2009

O Christmas Tree


This is the card I made with the awesome O Christmas Tree Pop-Up Big Shot Die. There is also a Sizzlits Die with tree decorations. I ordered the tree earlier and just recently ordered the Sizzlits Die of the tree decorations. So check back and I can post it decorated! I thought a more subdued outside would make the tree popping out even more of a surprise to the recipient. This was by far the most time consuming Big Shot Club project this month, but I think everyone really liked their finished card!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Even More Christmas Tags


Here's one more set of tags. I like using the Snowfall Printed Window Sheet from the Holiday Mini Catalog for the top layer of the snowman card. The glue dots hardly even show with the snowflakes. We used 2 Way Glue on the snowflake punch before covering it with Dazzling Diamonds.


My family has gotten used to giving me their tags back - who wants to risk not getting a gift next year! But I have a nice new supply for Christmas 2009.

More Christmas Tags





I just love the shimmer paint. I used the silver for the snowflakes on white and used the shimmer white on the kraft. It is so easy to use a sponge dauber in the lid of the bottle and then I store the daubler and paint together for the next time.


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Christmas Gift Tags


I had my monthly Stamp-a-Stack last night. Instead of making cards, we made gift tags. We did 18 different tags, two of each. It was a fun night! Please contact me if you would like to join us next month.


Sunday, November 29, 2009

Another gift card holder


I liked the first gift card holder so much, I decided to try another. This one is for a man's birthday, so I had to keep the frills to a minimum.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Christmas gift card holder














One of the many great things about being in the wonderful demonstrator groups that I am a part of is the swapping. I found directions on Michelle's blog for this awesome gift card holder. I made this for a "Wow" swap and liked it so much we made it in stamp club the next month.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving


Here is that great chef from the Voila stamp set. This was another stamp club project. We used the Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper to paper piece his outfit. Enjoy your pumpkin pie with your families today!





Monday, November 23, 2009

Side Step Christmas Card



Here is my version of the side step card that my friend, Julie Davison, created for a make-n-take at our Impeckable Stampers meeting. I wasn't able to attend the meeting but had to try one out for myself. I changed her colors and did this one with my stamp club. It's another great way to use the ornament punch. Both the punch and Delightful Decorations are available in the Holiday Mini Catalog through January 4.

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Delightful Decorations 3x3 cards


I just love the Delightful Decorations stamp set and coordinating punch. They make great cards of all sizes. These are 3 x 3 cards that I put together for a hostess thank-you gift. It's just a little something extra for my great workshop hostesses.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

My Digital Studio

Our new My Digital Studio™ is so easy to use. I created an 8 x 8 bound scrapbook of my trip to the Stampin' Up! convention with no troubles. And it does oh so much more than scrapbook pages! You can design cards, calendar pages and even multimedia creations.

I have also found it helpful when I am creating a traditional cardstock scrapbook page to use My Digital Studio first for design, and then it's a cinch to sit down and create the pages with cardstock and stamps.

I recently went through the online training to become My Digital Studio Certified, so I will be glad to help you with your projects.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Holiday Shimmer


My photography doesn't do this card justice. The Very Vanilla cardstock has been misted with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and shimmer paint. Add that to one of my favorite color combinations of Night of Navy and Silver for an elegant holiday card.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Snow Buddies Christmas Card




This card uses the cute Level 2 hostess set, Snow Buddies, available in the Holiday Mini Catalog. Because I used kraft cardstock this time, I resisted the temptation to use shimmer paint. This is another of our Stamp-a-Stack cards this month.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Christmas comes on Halloween?


Though it's Halloween, I am getting ready for my Christmas stamp-a-stack next week. Here is one of the cards we will be doing. I used the shimmer paint from the mini catalog to stamp the background snowflakes. It's a subtle shimmer, but looks great in person.