12 Days of Christmas--Day 1--Tree Frame

Well it's been fun but crazy past couple weeks!  I've had Stamp-A-Stack classes, a class at my church, a craft bazaar at my daughter's preschool, and my regular Stamper's Club--a whirlwind of stamping.  :-)  So that means I have been stamping a lot and have lots of projects to share with you!  Most of what I've been doing is Christmas-related, so I thought it would be fun to do a '12 Days of Christmas' series on my blog.  So for the next 12 days I'm going to schedule a post with a Christmas project.  Just in case any of you are last minute crafters and need ideas--or for those who like to plan ahead for next year! 

 
The idea for this tree frame actually came from the Holiday Catalog--the gift bag on page 7.  I thought that was such a cute idea, although I figured if I went to that much work I wanted it to be framed, instead of on a bag that would probably be tossed.  :-)   I simplified a little and changed things up just a bit. 

These frames actually ended up being quite simple to make, and I made them with a group of ladies who have never stamped before--they were pleasantly surprised at how easy these were to put together. 

A couple notes of notes. . . When punching the 'wreath' and the star out of the middle of the scallop circle, start with the inside (smallest punch) first and then punch the outside (largest) second.  It is much easier to line up that way!  And, all of the Cherry Cobbler was sprayed with a mix of Frost White Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol. 

See you tomorrow for the 2nd Day of Christmas! 

Stamps:  More Merry Messages
Ink:  Early Espresso
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Be of Good Cheer DSP
Accessories:  1 1/4" Scallop Circle Punch and Merry Minis Punch Pack (both new in the Holiday Mini Catalog), 3/4" Circle punch, Circles #2 Origionals die (for the larger Early Espresso Circle), Big Shot, Naturals Designer Buttons, Hemp Twine, Certainly Celery button (discontinued), Cherry Cobbler ribbon (discontinued), glue dots, dimensionals, 8X10 frame

Quint-Essentially Made

This past weekend I hosted a Stamp-A-Stack class.  We made 8 different cards that all highlighted new product from the catalog, and this was one of the cards that we made.  After my first look through the catalog, one of the stamps sets at the very top of my wish list was the set Made for You.  It's only 3 sentiment stamps, but I'm always on the look out for cute words and this set definitely fit that criteria for me! 

To get the two words on different banners, I used a marker to highlight and stamp one word at a time.  I used the Bitty Banners framelits die to cut out the words and my Primrose Petals marker around the edges of the banners. 

The other stamp this card uses is the Quint-Essential Flower (single stamp).  This is a cool stamp because it is designed to coordinate with at least 5 different punches.  So for example, for this card the same flower image was stamped 3 times with different colors and then I used the 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch (Primrose Petals layer), the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punch (So Saffron layer), and then the 1" Circle punch (Baja Breeze layer).  You could keep going and also use the 3/4" and 1/2" circle punches to add more layers. 

Instead of more layers for the center of the flower I opted to use one of the new Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons tied with White Baker's Twine.  This card also uses the new Chevron Embossing Folder.

A view from the side:

Stamps:  Quint-Essential Flower, Made for You

Ink:  Primrose Petals, So Saffron, Baja Breeze, Primrose Petals marker

Paper:  Baja Breeze, Whisper White

Accessories:  Bitty Banners framelits die, Chevron Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, White Baker's Twine, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle punch, 1" Circle punch, 3/16" Corner punch, dimensionals

Baby and Button Buddies

Well, first I want to thank anyone who is still reading/subscribing to my blog during my long absence!  I did have my baby--and she is already 7 months old!  It really is hard to believe how fast time goes.  :-)  

Here is a picture of my little cutie:   

So she's one of my excuses for not blogging. :-)  I've also been struggling with some post-pregnancy health complications, although I think I'm hopefully almost out of woods with all that now too. So, my goal is to get back into the habit of posting on my blog.  I have been stamping a little here and there--thanks to my clubs who keep my stamping!  

So here's a card for today:  

This is a card I made up to put as a 'thank you' into customer orders.  The flower image is from the set Button Buddies.  I inked with Daffodil Delight and then carefully rolled the edges of the stamp in Pumpkin Pie ink before stamping onto Whisper White paper.   I punched out with the 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch and then added the Pumpkin Pie Designer Button and Lined Thread bow.  The flower is also up on dimensionals.  

The other two flowers were stamped with Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry.  I distressed the edges of the Whisper White layer with my Cutter Kit and mounted it on a 3" by 3" Rich Razzleberry base.  

See you again soon!  

Stamps:  Button Buddies

Ink:  Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Paper:  Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories:  1 3/4" Circle Punch, Linen Thread, Brights Designer Buttons

Party Treat

June is passing quickly, and soon we will have a brand new catalog!  But for now, you still have the opportunity to purchase Last Chance items from the current catalog.  If you haven't seen the pdf list of Last Chance Stamps (ie soon to be discontinued stamp sets) you can see it by clicking HERE.   To view all of the Last Chance items (stamps, accessories, decor elements) in the online store click HERE. 

The stamp set Party Hearty (a fun birthday set) is on the list of retiring stamps.  This fun Mini Milk Carton showcases the Party Hearty stamp set.  The milk carton was created by using the Mini Milk Carton Big Shot die.  After adhering that together, I wrapped around the Daffodil Delight grosgrain ribbon and then a thin strip of Melon Mambo card stock.  

The clip at the top is one of the Library Clips from the Clips Assortment pack and has a bit of 1/8" Daffodil Delight taffeta ribbon tied on.  For the main image, I stamped twice, once in Melon Mambo and once in Tempting Turquoise.  I used the 3/4" Circle punch to punch out just the center circle.  I added some sparkle with Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds glitter. 

Note:  In addition to the stamp set, the 5/8" Daffodil Delight grosgrain ribbon is being discontinued.  In fact, ALL of the 5/8" grosgrain ribbon is being discontinued.  In the new catalog this style of ribbon will no longer be available! 

Note:  By the way, this stamp set can be used for more than birthdays!  To see a graduation card I made using this stamp set click HERE. 

Stamps:  Party Hearty

Ink:  Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise

Paper:  Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Whisper White

Accessories:  Mini Milk Carton die, Big Shot, Library Clip, 1/8" Daffodil Delight Taffeta Ribbon, 5/8" Daffodil Delight Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Circle punch, 3/4" punch, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, dimensionals

Stampin' Celebration #17

What a fun birthday inspiration piece this week for the Stampin' Celebration Inspiration Challenge!  The cupcakes with the flowers caught my eye, so here's what I created:  

I chose the colors Perfect Plum, So Saffron, and Pretty in Pink.  I stamped the So Saffron layer with the Dot, Dot, Dot stamp, and spritzed all of the Pretty in Pink with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz.  The sentiment is from the new set Word Play.  I used my Illuminate Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink to add some sparkle to the star in "wish". 

For the base of the cupcake I hand cut the shape and then ran it through my crimper (now there's a tool I haven't used in awhile!).  The top of the cupcake is most of a 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch.  And last but not least the flower is from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. 

I've already used this card for one birthday party, and I'm planning to make up a few more just to have on hand since I always seem to be short on birthday cards.  :-) 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Make sure to head over to Stampin' Celebration to see what the other Design Team members have created this week!

Stamps:  Word Play and Dot, Dot, Dot

Ink:  So Saffron and Pretty in Pink and Perfect Plum markers
Paper:  Perfect Plum, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede, and Whisper White

Accessories:  2 3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, crimper, Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Illuminate Smooch Pearlized Accent Ink

Vintage Glassine

Today I'm excited to show you another project using the Glassine Bags from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I showed this simple project at both a Stamping 101 class and a recent workshop.

I love this project--because I am able to put it together in a matter of minutes! It took me much longer to bake the cookies to go inside the bag than to make the bag look pretty. :-) I also love that this project is so affordable. With less than $1 in consumable materials, I have a little something to give to a friend to let them know I thought of them and to brighten their day. I love being able to share my stamping with others in a way that brings a smile to their face. :-)

For the tag I used the Sale-A-Bration set Vintage Labels and Chocolate Chip ink. The ribbon is the gorgeous new Satin Ribbon that is also found in the Occasions Mini Catalog.

For this project I didn't decorate the bag at all, but there are so many options. For example, you can decorate these Glassine Bag with rub-ons or Stazon Ink (white or black), or you can run the bag through the Big Shot with a texture plate or embossing folder to add fun texture to your bag. (See the second to last picture HERE for example.)

Stamps: Vintage Labels

Ink: Chocolate Chip Ink

Paper: Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Linen Thread, Glassine Bag, Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Small Oval Punch, dimensionals

Way too long. . . .

Obviously it has been WAY too long since I've posted!! In an attempt to make it up at least a little, :-) I thought I would post some pictures of a couple of the things that have been keeping me busy over the last while.

This year I participated in two Holiday Boutiques--one at an elementary school and one private show. My overall best seller for this year were votive candles--the candles and glass are from Ikea. I first created these to fill a special order, and have since made quite a few more! I used the stamp set Deer Friends and lots of punches.


Stamps: Deer Friends
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue, Real Red, and Old Olive
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue, Real Red, and Old Olive, Whisper White
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Real Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Brocade Blue 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, and the 1" circle punch, 1/16" circle punch

Another project I did with the stamp set Deer Friends were some Martinelli bottles. I found these 'mini' bottles of sparkling apple juice at a local grocery store and knew they would be good for something. :-) I originally made these up for gifts for the members of my Stampers 25 Club, but made a few extra as well to sell. As you can see the tag part is almost the exact same as I did for the votive candles above.



Stamps: Deer Friends
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red Patterns Designer Series Paper
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, dimensionals, 1" Double-Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/4" Twill Tape, Alpine Ribbon Originals, 1 1/4" Riding Hood Red/Very Vanilla ribbon, Linen Thread, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, and the 1" circle punch, cutter kit

Another best seller this year were some jars that I decorated with the bulk Decor Elements. I got the taller jars (back row--hard to see in the picture) at Michael's and the smaller ones at Ikea. Sorry for the strange picture, but I can't take another one as I sold all of them. . . . :-) This will be a project I will definitely do again as they were so quick to make. We also made these jars at my Technique Club last month.

Accessories: Rose Red and Chocolate Chip Decor Elements, 1/4" Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Chocoloate Chip grosgrain ribbon, 1/4" Whisper White grosgrain ribbon

Bold Birthday

Can you tell my Big Shot has been getting a workout lately? :-) This is another project using the Top Note Die and the Big Shot. We made this at a workshop I did last Friday. We ran the So Saffron paper through the Big Shot and then scored and folded in half.

A really cool thing with the Top Note Die. . . . For this project we folded the short way and used the small cello bags. But, if you fold the other way (long way) you can use the medium cello bags. Don't you just love how everything works together so well. ;-)

So after we folded the Top Note and filled our bags with candy, we stapled it shut and tied around the Pacific Point grosgrain ribbon. Next we used the set Big Bold Birthday to stamp the bottom part of the cupcake. (This is one of the sets that is 20% off. . . see the flyer HERE.) The scallop circle punch was used to make the top part of the cupcake. The small flower was punched with the Boho Blossoms punch.

Stamps: Big Bold Birthday
Ink: Pacific Point
Paper: So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Boho Blossoms Punch, Big Shot, Top Note Bigz Die, small cellophane bag, stapler, Tempting Turquoise brad, Pacific Point 5/8" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/16" circle hand punch, dimensionals

Open House Projects

Well, the gift card holder tutorial is still in progress, so I thought I would post the two projects that we made at my New Catalog Open House in August. Neither of these projects was my idea, but I thought they were both just too cute to pass up. I just made couple minor changes here and there.

The first one shown above is one of the cute popsicle cards that a lot of people have been making. When I received one of these popsicle cards from LeeLa Smith as a convention swap, that's when I decided to used it for my open house. They are even cuter in person! The only change that I made from LeeLa's was that I added the Kiwi Kiss Designer button in the middle and the Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain ribbon on the stick. Here's a picture of the inside. Stamps: Think Happy Thoughts
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Corner Rounder, Horizontal Slot Punch, Designer Buttons, 5/8" Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, dimensionals, popsicle stick



The second project is my version of a project that was shown during Demonstrator Theater at Convention. I was glad to be reminded of the simple, yet pretty technique to sponge directly on your stamp to add a second (or third, as shown at convention) color.

This technique is very easy. All you do is first ink the stamp in the lighter color (here Pink Pirouette) and then use a sponge duaber to add a second darker color in select places. Here I added Rose Red. Then when you stamp the image you have a two-tone effect. I used the scallop edge punch along the bottom of the flowers and the top right side is just a 1 3/8" circle punch folded in half. I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch through all 4 layers of card stock and then tied the ribbon through. This layer is up on dimensionals. Oh, and the final size of this card is 5" by 4 1/4".

By the way, Upsy Daisy is one of the stamp sets that is on sale 15% off until the end of September! To see a flyer of all the sets on sale, click HERE. If you would like to order this or other sale sets, contact me or just click the button at the top right of this page to go to my demonstrator website where you can shop online.

Stamps: Upsy Daisy
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Crop-A-Dile, Pretty in Pink 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, sponge dauber, Dimensionals

Tic Tac Toe Anyone?

A while ago I was at Target and noticed that they had some fun travel games for kids that came in little tins. It got me thinking that it would be fun to make something similar, and this is what I came up with. I started with an empty Accents and Elements Tin (the larger kind that the Flower Fusion come in). I chose Real Red and Brilliant Blue since they seemed like perfect colors for a children's game, and I used the new stamp set Wow Flowers. After you slide off the belly band, you open it up and there's storage on the right side for all the pieces and the left side is where you play. I drew the lines with a Sharpie poster paint marker that just happened to be the perfect color.

Here is a side view of the game piece. I started by stamping the images in Brilliant Blue and Real Red on scrap Whisper White paper and then punching them out with the 1 3/8" circle punch. I put them face down in Xyron adhesive (I didn't use the Xyron machine, just the adhesive) and then stuck them to the flat side of the vase fillers (found at Target). Since the vase fillers aren't perfectly round, I trimmed where necessary around the edges. Then I attached the magnet with a large glue dot.

I think this would be a perfect gift idea for any child. Even though my son isn't quite old enough to understand the idea of Tic Tac Toe, he still loves playing with the magnets and having a little tin to carry them around in!

Stamps: Wow Flowers
Ink: Real Red, Brilliant Blue
Paper: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Accessories: A&E Tin, scallop circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, corner rounder, large vase fillers, large glue dots, magnets, Sharpie poster paint marker, Xyron adhesive