TRASH TO TREASURE

If you've bought a box of tissues lately, you may recognize the artwork on this card.  I was about to toss an empty box that used to have tissues in it, but I couldn't throw the whole thing away . . . these flowers were going to make a pretty card!  And an easy card, too!  This is a gate fold, and I have a stamped layer adhered to both "gates," but you can't see the inside sentiment layer when the card is closed.  The stamped sentiments are from Stampin' Up!'s "Kind & Caring Thoughts" level 3 hostess set, and the stamped image is from "Pocket Silhouettes."

"COTTAGE WALL" MONEY HOLDER

It just so happens that I needed a money holder today, and I used Stampin' Up!'s "Cottage Wall" designer paper and Rich Razzleberry card stock for this one.  There aren't a lot of bells and whistles in the design, but that's one of the things that I love about this easy peasy project . . . it doesn't need a lot of hoopla!  Actually, if someone is giving you a cash gift, you probably don't care if it's even wrapped!  The sentiment on this project is from Stampin' Up!'s "Grateful Greetings" stamp set, and the oval layers were created with the Large, Wide, and Scallop Oval punches.

ANOTHER MONEY HOLDER

And another money holder, this time using all Stampin' Up! products . . . Christmas Cocoa designer paper, large and small tag punches, Round Tab punch, dotted Real Red grosgrain ribbon, gold cord, Scallop Edge punch, Circle Scissor Plus, Sizzix Scallop Circle die, and "Grateful Greetings" stamp set.

MONEY HOLDER

Looking for a quick and easy way to give a cash gift this Christmas?  I love this one!  I die-cut all of the pieces and then created an "envelope" by folding a piece of card stock in half and gluing the sides together.  Since my die cut had a "ready tab," I cut the envelope so it could be used as a pull tab, but you could just as easily use Stampin' Up!'s Round Tab punch for that.  Stampin' Up! products used for this project are all retired . . . True Thyme and Cranberry Crisp ink, and True Thyme Stitched grosgrain ribbon.  My intention was to add brads to the four corners of the stamped layer, but I glued it down and then remembered that I wanted brads!

MORE STORAGE STUFF!!!

So . . . I went to bed around 1:00 a.m. and got up at 3:45 (yesterday) to get ready for the big shopping day.  I don't remember ever taking on Black Friday (having a deficit of patience, I'm not much of a crowds person), but I braved the day--even with a twisted or pulled muscle in my back!  When Renee and I got home, I asked my husband and son to help bring in the loot!  Looking at these little storage morsels, my husband's only question was, "Where do you plan to put them?"  I hate it when he asks a reasonable question that causes me to look around and ask myself the same thing!  I suppose I'll have to move things around (again!!!!!) to find room for them, but aren't they awesome?  I already have 16 of these cubes in my room (6 of them still empty), but I now have two new styles to add to the mix!  My plan was to only purchase two of them, but I just couldn't help myself.  My husband doesn't know it, but I will ask him (later today--after a good night's rest) to get some Christmas trees and holiday decorations out of the attic (he never enjoys that) and to assemble my cubes.  I can't wait to start re-organizing my stamp room . . . for the umpteenth time!  I think I'll wait a while to show him the paint swatches that I picked up at Lowe's.

DIE-CUT NATIVITY SCENE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!  My husband is prepping the grill for marinated steak and chicken, and the potatoes are baking in the oven.  The vegetable dish is still being planned in my head and, so far, it looks like our dessert will be Oreo cookies.  Not a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but we three do not need a big turkey, nor do any of us really care for it.  Since my sister and I both celebrate November birthdays, our family doesn't get together for a Thanksgiving meal.  Christmas will be our next big thing!  I've been moving things around in the stamp room today, but I had to take a moment to play.  For some reason, I want to play with everything I pick up!  I hope you enjoy the holiday tunes that I added to my blog last night.  Some of them are the same as last year's, but I added a few new ones, too.  Drop me a line and let me know how you like the music and if there are any songs you think I should try to find!

DAZZLING "RAZZLE DAZZLE"

This afternoon, I used Stampin' Up!'s "Razzle Dazzle" stamp set to create this card for a swap.  The design was heavily inspired by a card that I saw online and loved, but I changed it up a bit.  I used black Craft ink to stamp the image and then sprinkled it with sparkly Iridescent Ice embossing powder.  The designer paper is from Stampin' Up!'s "Night and Day" collection.

DOES IT GET ANY BETTER THAN FRIENDS, CAKE, & STAMPIN'?

At my "3rd Friday" class, which was held last Thursday, we had a surprise birthday celebration for my sister, Renee.  My friend, Karin, made the colorful, whimsical cake (pictured above), and it was DELICIOUS!  You'll notice in the picture that we were all sporting a huge diamond ring.  Renee has a nice, big diamond so when I saw those party favors, they just seemed too perfect to ignore.  The only requirement during class was that everyone had to wear their diamond!  It was such a fun evening!  After the stamping was done, we enjoyed cake, pickles, chips, and ice cream.  Our special guest was Aiden.  Isn't he a doll????  He is such a sweet, sweet baby!  I doubt if we'll ever make a stamper out of him, but we can enjoy him before he starts resisting the ink.

"MY DIGITAL STUDIO" HOLIDAY LAYOUT

This is my first scrapbook layout created with Stampin' Up!'s "My Digital Studio" software.  As you can tell, I didn't crop the photos correctly, but I think I now know how to do it.  The main purpose, for me, was an exercise in designing a layout and taking some of the built-in tools and images for a spin.  Stampin' Up! has created an awesome product with "My Digital Studio."  It's a product that is easy enough for the inexperienced digital designer to pick up and run with, but it also has bells and whistles for the digital whiz to enjoy.

TRI-SHUTTER ALBUM IN THE WORKS

Recently, I saw a similar Tri-Shutter Album kit for sale and decided that I could "go to the drawing board" and figure out how to make one, and this is what I came up with! Of course, my prototype was created from copier paper, but I used it as a guide for this one. I even added a couple of extra photo panels which, I think, gives this album even more punch! My album, so far, is decorated with Stampin' Up!'s "Holiday Lounge" designer paper, "Tree Trimmings" stamp set, and Whisper White, Taken with Teal, and Sahara Sand card stock. There are so many areas for photos, journaling, embellishments, etc. I think it will be a lot of fun using some of the Stampin' Up! and Sizzix dies to complete this album, and I'll share a picture of the finished project after the holidays!