WANNA SEE SOMETHING CUTE?

This little guy is a pin made from a bottle cap. Not just any bottle cap . . . it had to be an unused one. If you have all the supplies needed, this is really an easy project. I began by using the heat tool to heat the cap so I could easily remove the rubber ring from inside the cap. Then, I ran the cap through the Wizard die cut and embossing machine to "mash" it. I stamped the snowman image from "Wishing You Cheer" with black StazOn ink and used Stampin' Up! markers to color it. The stamped and colored image was punched with a 1" circle punch, adhered to the inside of the bottle cap, and then Crystal Effects was poured on top. Waiting for the Crystal Effects to dry is the hardest part! I still need to put the pin on the back, but these bottle cap creations could just as easily be made into refrigerator magnets. The possibilities are about as limited as your imagination!

MORE "TIME WELL SPENT"

For many people, the daunting task of holiday shopping began today . . . really early! I think I joined the "day after Thanksgiving" shopping warriors once before, and it's just not for me. I don't like crowds, and I especially don't like for other shoppers' rush to ruin my day. It can be really cut-throat at malls and department stores, you know? But I will say this . . . it's a GORGEOUS day to be parking a mile away from a store and having to carry heavy bags all the way back to the car, sometimes to unload and go back for more. If you're among the shopping troops today, more power to you!

The real purpose of this post was to share with you another "Time Well Spent" card that I made this week. I am LOVING this stamp set!!! This card, like the other one, is a gate fold, and the two front stamped layers are adhered to opposite "gate doors." This is a really fun card design, and I think my club members will be making a gate fold card soon. I seem to be addicted to them! BTW, can you see the jumbo eyelets on this card? If you haven't tried them yet, you MUST! They are quite awesome! I was afraid they may seem too heavy for this card design, but they added a fair amount of charm.

Whatever you're doing today, I hope things are going your way! I must step away from the computer now and clean out the pantry. Chadrick reminded me last night that the pantry was on my list of things to do yesterday, and we all know that children promptly complete their list of daily chores . . . daily. Right? Watch out for lightening!

SO VERY . . . SORRY

I've been busy with chores today, but I had to take a moment to make a sympathy card. It's hard to tell from the picture, but I used the "rock & roll" technique with Soft Sky and River Rock Classic inks on the main stamped image. Layered on top of that is a Soft Sky accent punched with the Snow Blossom punch and embellished with one of those gorgeous little rhinestone brads. Card stock colors are Soft Sky, River Rock, and Whisper White.

TIME WITH SU IS TIME WELL SPENT!

If you're going to spend time representing a company, you should really like the company, right? Well, I REALLY like SU!! Granted, there are many companies that offer products which could possibly cater to my stamping addiction, but I can honestly say that SU treats me better than any of them! Last Thursday, I received a FREE stamp set . . . delivered to my front door. As a way of letting Demonstrators know that they are appreciated, SU sent us this awesome stamp set . . . "Time Well Spent" . . . which is a Level 3 Hostess set in the Spring/Summer Collection (new catalog) which will debut in January. The "happiness" sentiment is from a current Level 2 hostess set (Word on Word). My sister's birthday is on 11/22, so I made this card for her. Shhh . . . don't tell her that it's on my blog! I watercolored the stamped images on this gate fold card using watercolor pencils, Classic ink, a blender pen, and an aqua painter. The faux stitching was created with SU's white gel pen.

FALL FLOWERS

It seems like I've been working on Christmas projects for quite a while now and skipped the Fall season. Of course, Mother Nature tried to skip it, too. I have to remind myself that Thanksgiving hasn't even come yet! So, to celebrate Fall, I created this assortment of flowers. I doubt if birds actually build nests in flower pots, but this pot has two nests. ;-)

These flowers were made from SU's "Fall Flowers" designer paper, which is just gorgeous! The flower centers were created with a mix of products . . . punches, designer paper, chipboard, etc. I had a lot of fun making this project! The flowers are made like the paper stars except you don't make any cuts to the top and bottom of the accordion-folded paper.

REMINDER: SU is having a Paper Party, and you're invited!!! When you purchase three packs of designer paper, SU will let you choose a fourth pack FREE! That's a pretty nice party favor, huh?

LOOK WHAT LAURA SENT TO ME!!!

If you attend my workshops, classes, and other events, then you've probably often heard me mention "my friend, Laura." Well, Laura is a very talented stamper and fellow Demonstrator, and she sent me the above decoration which she made from coasters. Isn't it just great???? It's rich with coordinating colors and textures, and I just love it. She even made a coordinating birthday card! What a special friend, huh?

CITY OF DAVID

The other day, I needed a card for a swap and didn't have any idea what I wanted to make, so I just reached for City of David and the Holiday Harmony designer paper. Once I completed this card, I thought it might be a good design for one of my personal holiday cards. Features of this card are the gold-embossed image, designer paper used as "filler" on the card, and elastic gold cord.

Designer paper really comes to the rescue when your card needs just a little something OR when you're short on design ideas. Designer paper can enhance a design or it can BE the design! Now is a great time to try several of SU's designer papers because during the month of November, you'll get a FREE pack of designer paper when you order three packs.

NON-STAMPIN' UP! PROJECTS

When I bought this tree stamp, I was planning to ink it, stamp it, and then add some Swarovsky Hot-Fix Crystals to it. Once that was complete, I decided to add some gold Stickles to the ribbons of garland. I think "garland" is the wrong word but, for the life of me, I can't remember what the decoration is called . . . when you wrap ribbon around a tree. Sorry! Anyway, this card actually looks very nice and sparkly in person; however, it does NOT photo well. And the sun won't be up for a few more hours, so I can't open the blinds and let in natural light. The card stock is by SU . . . Forest Foliage, Ruby Red, and Whisper White.


And now for the second non-SU card. I got some fun things for my birthday . . . some Spellbinders' dies (scallop ovals, classic ovals, and Sleigh Ride) that I couldn't wait to play with! The sleigh on this card was cut (from aluminum) and embossed with the Wizard. It's such a pretty sleigh! The packages and bows were also cut and embossed with the Wizard, although the designer paper and card stock are by SU.