Celebrate Today!

Today certainly is a day to celebrate...saying goodbye to 2014 & hello to 2015! And, I just happen to have the perfect card for the occasion...using the new Celebrate Today stamp set!

This was the first stamp set that caught my eye in the new Occasions Catalog...and of course the coordinating Balloon Framelits made it even more irresistible! I love the little pennant banner die and the tassel die...here's a little closer look at that detail...

You can also see the new Bermuda Bay Sequin Trim...how fun is that!? I also added some loose sequins to the background to look like confetti.

The color combo I used here is: Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Pear Pizzazz & Tangerine Tango.

Wishing you all a very HAPPY, HEALTHY & CREATIVE New Year!!!

Painted Petals With Butterfly Basics

I finally got my stampin' room clean enough to feel I deserved a little break to play with my favorite new items from my Occasions pre-order. Here's my first creation...

I managed to include many favorite new things...the Painted Petals and Butterfly Basics stamp sets, along with the Spring Flowers Embossing Folder and even a strip of the gorgeous new DSP...Painted Blooms. The Painted Blooms DSP has lots of purple in it! WOO HOO! I just love it!

The large butterfly here was cut with the smallest of the new Butterfly Thinlits...those are awesome as well! I really like the little honeycomb style background stamp included in the Butterfly Basics stamp set...I used it here repeated over the main image, the sentiment circle and even on the DSP...all inked in Crumb Cake.

Other colors I used here are: Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo & Wild Wasabi.

Thanks for visiting!

Shimmering Festival of Trees

Since they were mailed out last week, it's pretty safe to say that everyone should have received my Christmas cards by now...so it's OK for me to share here. This was the main card I sent out (the rest were cards I have been making & sharing here previously.) I tried to come up with a fairly simple design since I was making quite a few of them...but I later figured out that it took 5 passes through the Big Shot per card to complete...so I got my bicep workout at the same time!

The first few had the Northern Flurry embossed backgound....

Then I wondered how it would look with the Tiny Triangle embossed backgound...

I ended up liking that version a bit more, so I went with it for the remaining cards.The embossed circle was punched using the 2 1/2" Circle Punch. Then another circle was cut from the Silver Foil Sheets using a little larger Circle Nestability die. I added some Silver Dazzling Details to the snowflakes. Some of the silver embossed trees also got decorated with rhinestones...until that got too tedious and I decided the trees looked pretty enough without them! Here's a closer look...

Here's a look at most of them ready to mail...

I ran out of Lost Lagoon Satin Ribbon, so some had to be sent without the bow. (honestly, it was a relief, because I was tired of making bows at that point!) I doubt anyone will know...well, unless they read my blog! lol

A little Christmas gift to me (from me!) is expected to arrive here today...a box of SU! goodies containing my Occasions Catalog preorder & Sale-a-Bration!!! I'll be looking forward to having time to stamp after the holidays!

Have a WONDERFUL Christmas!!!

Wisteria Bloom

I took a welcome break from Christmas cookie baking to stamp a birthday card. Recently it seems everything I have been stamping has been for Christmas as well, so I chose a pretty flower from the Bloom With Hope hostess set to color with my Wisteria Wonder set of Blendies...(with a touch of Rich Razzleberry)

The background was stamped in Crumb Cake using the leafy branch image. I also used the rough line image from Gorgeous Grunge to add a little texture to the "happy birthday" strip. The chevron design is from Work of Art and is stamped in Blackberry Bliss.

Thanks for visiting!

Snowman Canvas

I had my nieces over yesterday afternoon for a little crafting time. We had so much fun visiting while we created these little snowman canvases.

We started with blank 8x8 canvases and painted them with acrylic paint. Before painting the details we used an iridescent paint over the snowman...that makes him shimmer & shine just like real snow. The snowflakes are cut from Dazzling Diamonds & Silver Shimmer paper using my Big Shot and the retired Snow Flurry Die. They are held in place with rhinestone brads. A couple buttons and some wired ribbon for the scarf finishes him off.

Here are my beautiful nieces with their finished creations.

Flippin' Fridays - A Merry Little Wish

What a week! So much to do...and unfortunately I spent several days sick in bed. :-( Right now I'm feeling better, but very far behind with everything I need to get done before Christmas. So, I actually really am flippin' out this Friday!

I've been busy today working on my Christmas cards..hopefully I'll get them in the mail early next week. I'm taking a little break and thought I'd share a Christmas flip card with you using..

surprise!!!... the Festival of Trees stamp set & All Is Calm DSP & All Is Calm Washi Tape! I guess if you are a regular visitor of my blog, by now I'm sure you have figured out what my favorite items from the Holiday Catalog are, and hopefully you are not sick of seeing my many projects made with them.

I just love these colors together along with the shimmer & shine from the Silver Embossing Powder used on the  tree and the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.

I came up with this card as I was working out my design for my Christmas cards this year. I'll share those once they are mailed.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Celebrate the Season

I just love this cute little washi tree created with the All Is Calm Washi Tape and the Tree Punch!

There is so much sparkle & shimmer on this card, that the photo just doesn't do it justice...from the pretty Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper - which adds the prefect snow-like sparkle for the background to the soft & satiny 5/8" Silver Satin Ribbon layered with the 1/8" Silver Ribbon which blends nicely with the silver metallic washi tape. I also used some of my favorite pattern of paper from the All is Calm DSP...wish I could buy a whole bunch of this one pattern!

Have you checked out the Clearance Rack for new year end closeouts yet? It's been updated today with lots of new great items just in time for Christmas!

I don't know about you...but I still have a LOT of things to do before the holidays are here! I'm heading out to do some Christmas shopping today and going to put up the tree later. Once our tree is decorated, I'll be done as far as decking the halls.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Lovely Lace Fun Framed Flower

I took a welcome break from my Christmas crafting yesterday to create a fun card using some new goodies dropped off by UPS earlier in the day.

As you can see I chose non-Christmassy colors and one of my go to stamp sets...Mixed Bunch to create a quick card.

Can you believe I didn't already have the Lovely Lace or the Fun Frames embossing folders in my collection? I was happy they were part of last weeks doorbuster special!

I used these colors to create this card: Pistachio Pudding, Crumb Cake, Blushing Bride &  Crisp Cantaloupe.

Update: I will have more All Is Calm 6 x 6 Pocket Album Kits ready to ship out the middle of next week. I'll have a few extras...so please contact me to reserve your kit.

Thankful Cone-nucopias

I came across this idea of creating little cornucopias from ice cream cones on Pinterest a few years ago and thought they were adorable. That year, I forgot to make them  for Thanksgiving...but came across my forgotten pin again recently and decided to make them this year...with a Stampin' Up! spin of course!

The instructions I found online were kind of vague but I used that for my guide to start with. What I found worked out best for me is as follows...

First, gather up your supplies.

You are going to need a cup of very warm/hot water. I just used from the tap...so not boiling or anything. 

1. Dip the pointed end of the cone into the water and submerge the entire bottom... leaving about the top 3 inches or so dry. Hold in water for approximately 20 seconds. 
2. Place the dampened cone onto a microwave safe plate and place in microwave on high for 30 seconds. Since microwaves vary, you might have to adjust this time. I started with 20 seconds and that just wasn't enough time.
3. Remove plate with cone from microwave and place the seam side of cone down. 
4. Use a wooden spoon handle to carefully flatten the cone from the middle on down to the tip. 
5. Once you are at the tip, curl the tip upwards around the handle of the spoon. Note: You need to work rather quickly with the warm cone once removing from microwave.
6. Hold cone in desired shape for a minute or so to cool and hold its shape
7. Place onto foil lined cookie sheet and proceed until you have shaped all your cones.

After finishing shaping all 12 of my cones they were still a little sticky where they had been dampened. So to speed up the drying time I popped them in the oven set at 325 degrees. Luckily I checked on them after just a few minutes, and noticed that the ends were starting to uncurl a bit with the heat. So I pulled them out, turned off the oven and turned the cones so they were all standing up on their circular base with curls pointing down. I then stuck them back in the warm oven. When I checked about 1/2 hour later they were all dry and no longer sticky. 

After they were thoroughly cooled I spooned in a mixture of salted peanuts, Dark Chocolate M&M's and Peanut Butter M&M's. (luckily nobody in my family has peanut allergies!) then I covered the end with a small square of plastic wrap - secured with a rubber band. You could use candy corn or whatever mixture your family enjoys.

They were cute just like that...but thanks to SU! I made them cuter!

I started by covering the rubber band with some Autumn colored ribbon. I wanted to use up some retired ribbon I had on hand, so I went with grosgrain in Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip & More Mustard...mmm kind of sounds like Thanksgiving! I used a bit of double sided adhesive on bottom of rubber band so the ribbon wouldn't slide on the plastic wrap.I could have stopped with just the ribbon...but got busy in my rubber room and whipped up some cute tags as well.

First I used the Autumn Accent Bigz Die and cut out 24 acorns...12 in Cajun Craze & another 12 in Crumb Cake. I cut the Crumb Cake colored shape down into just the cap for the acorns and sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink. The now retired Square Lattice Embossing Folder gives the perfect texture to the cap of the acorn...so loaded all 12 caps in the folder and with one pass through the Big Shot they were done.

For the tags I knew I wanted to use the "thankful for you" sentiment from the Good Greetings stamp set, but couldn't decide which background pattern I liked better. So I used both the striped design from Gorgeous Grunge shown above, and the chevron design from Work of Art, shown below, to add a little texture. 

To finish the little tags I just adhered the stamped strip to the back of the acorn and punched a hole in the stem. Using a small bit of Linen Thread, I attached the tag by sliding thread under the grosgrain ribbon (using a large needle helped with this) and knotting it. With the first few I made a little bow with the Linen Thread, but that was a little too tedious...so the rest just got plain knot.

Here's a look at all of them...

They were pretty easy to make, and surprisingly I didn't crack any of the cones...until I was finished and had placed them all in a large tupperware container for "safe keeping". Upon letting the air out to seal the lid, I heard a "crunch"...DOH! Luckily, the couple that got cracked are still holding together, so that's good! I think they will be a cute addition to our Thanksgiving table. 

Wishing all my American readers a very HAPPY Thanksgiving Day tomorrow!

Tutorial for All Is Calm 6 x 6 Pocket Album

It took me much longer than anticipated, but I have finally finished the tutorial for my All Is Calm 6 x 6 Pocket Album!

This is a a very detailed 14 page tutorial loaded with photographs and step by step instructions to complete the cover with its fun shaker detail, plus all 14 inside pages of this beautiful keepsake album.
Note: Pages consist of three two page layouts, which equal 6 pages plus an additional 4 double sided pocket pages for a total of 14 pages. Once you learn how to create this fabulous little album, you will want to create more for all different occasions!

If you would like to purchase my All Is Calm 6 x 6 Pocket Album Tutorial for only $5.99, just click on PayPal button below. After receiving payment, I will send the PDF file to the email provided with your payment. I usually check my email a few times daily, but please allow up to 24 hours for delivery to your inbox.

Each kit includes the full tutorial with an additional bonus card, pre-cut supplies...including all cardstock, twelve 6x6 sheets of All Is Calm DSP, die cuts, embellishments and even a set of 6 shaker frames. You will need to provide adhesive, stamps & inks along with washi tape if desired. Kits will be shipped to you for only $32.99 (shipped inside US only)

Read more info, including full supply list  here.

If you would like to purchase my All Is Calm 6 x 6 Pocket Album Kit for only $32.99, please contact me as I only have a couple kits left.

Thank you so much for the positive response I've received for this project so far.

Online Extravaganza!

Ready for some HOT DEALS? Today is the start of the Online Extravaganza Sale!

There are great savings like embossing folders for only $5! Or the Gift Box Punch Board for only $13.96! But hurry...those are DOORBUSTERS for today only!

There are also a lot of items at 50% off! I picked up a few punches I didn't already have plus some pretty ribbons. Check out the 1/2 Off Specials

You don't already have the Magnetic Platform for your Big Shot yet? Well, now is the time to get it...for 40% off! What about In Color Marker Sets...those are also...wait for it...40% OFF!

There are several great bundles right now for 30% OFF! Along with some accessories too...all are 30% OFF!

Make sure to check out the 20% Off items for some stamp sets & framelits that are on your wish list...along with some other goodies too...all at 20% OFF!

Want to download the entire Online Extravaganza Sale PDF? Here it is.

There will be another 24 HOUR SALE to finish out the Extravaganza on Monday, December 1st. There will be an awesome Project Life Bundle available as well as the entire set of Blendabilities Markers!

Remember...the sale is good only while supplies lasts.

Very Merry Mosaics

I've been busy working hard on my tutorial for my All Is Calm 6x6 Pocket Album Kits. I'm so happy with the nice response to this project. As a "thank you" bonus to all that have ordered my kit so far...and to the next 6 who also order one of my kits, I will include the supplies & instructions to complete this adorable shaker card with your kit order.

I've been using the All Is Calm DSP with it's soothing color combo of Soft Sky, Pear Pizzazz and Lost Lagoon a lot...so to change it up a bit I swapped the Lost Lagoon for Real Red. The Mosaic Madness set with coordinating punch is perfect for creating the ornaments. The Pear Pizzazz ornament features a fun shaker element filled with sparkling snow.

For all those that have asked, yes, I do plan to sell just the tutorial for my All Is Calm 6x6 Pocket Album. My kits come with pre-cut product, embellishments and the complete tutorial as well. (and above bonus card) I will post when the tutorial is ready. For me, this is the hardest part...I for sure like the creating process so much better than sitting at the computer typing instructions & editing photos. Hopefully I'll be done soon! (Scroll down to see more on my kit.)

Thanks for visiting!

All Is Calm 6x6 Pocket Album Class & Kits

I'm excited to finally share a project I've been working on for a while.  This sparkly 6x6 pocket album uses many of my favorite products from the Holiday Catalog! I'm offering this as one of my upcoming classes in my home to those who live locally (Livingston County, Michigan) and for my blog readers...I am taking orders for kits in the mail!

The album features a fun shaker element on the cover and the inside contains 6 pages...four of which have pockets containing additional pages. That is a total of fourteen 6x6 pages! This little album would make a lovely keepsake gift holding treasured memories from the holiday season. Or maybe you have a new little one in the family? It would also make an adorable Baby's 1st Christmas album.

Here's a little peek of a couple pages showing details from inside the album...

Each kit contains the supplies to create the album and all pages, including twelve 6x6 sheets of All Is Calm Specialty Designer Paper (one sheet of each design), cardstock, die cuts and embellishments, along with a detailed PDF tutorial loaded with photos.

Once you learn how to make the basic album you can change the theme and fill with cherished photos to give as a thoughtful keepsake gift for any occasion!

You will need to provide your own adhesive, inks, stamp sets & some punches. In addition to my kit, here is a list of supplies you will need to provide to complete the book as shown:

• Envelope Punch Board (133774)
• Stamp Sets: Festival of Trees (135059) & Endless Wishes (136829)
• Inks: Soft Sky (131181), Pear Pizzazz (131180), Lost Lagoon (133644), Versamark (102283)
• All Is Calm Washi Tape (135844)
• Silver Embossing Powder (109131) & Heat Tool (129053)
• Dazzling Details Silver Sparkle - optional (124117)
• Punches: Tree (135859), 1/2" Circle (119869), 3/4"Circle (119873), 1" Circle (119868) & 1-1/4" Circle (119861)

If you do not have these supplies already, and would like to purchase them, please visit my Online Store. 

The All Is Calm 6x6 Pocket Album Kit will be shipped to you for only $32.99. (Additional postage will apply to those living outside the U.S., so please contact me prior to purchase.) Each kit includes the full tutorial with an additional bonus card, pre-cut supplies...including all cardstock, twelve 6x6 sheets of All Is Calm DSP, die cuts, embellishments and even a set of 6 shaker frames. You will need to provide adhesive, stamps & inks along with washi tape if desired. 

If you would like to purchase my All Is Calm 6 x 6 Pocket Album Kit for only $32.99, please contact me as I have only a couple kits left.

If you would just like to purchase just the tutorial for this project, I now have that available as well. It consists of 14 pages loaded with photos and step by step instructions to complete this album. 

Please click the button below if you wish to purchase just the All Is Calm 6x6 Pocket Album Tutorial for only $5.99.

Calm Festival of Trees

I just love the Festival of Trees set combined with the All Is Calm products! Here's another Christmas card using these items.

This one really has some shimmer & sparkle thanks to the Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper used for the snowy hill, the Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details used on each of the trees & the Basic Rhinestone Jewels on the Bitty Banner. Adding a bit of pretty silver metallic shine is the All Is Calm Washi Tape along the bottom and a bit of 1/8" Silver Ribbon added to the center of the bow.

The pretty snowflake patterned DSP is from the All Is Calm Specialty Pack.

For now, I am happy to only be seeing make believe snow...I'm not ready for the cold Winter weather yet! Today is going to be in the mid 50's and they are saying this will be the last we'll see the warmer temps for a while. ENJOY your day!

Color Me With Blooming Kindness

Here's a card I created using the Blooming With Kindness stamp set.

To add interest, the main panel was cut into 1 inch strips after stamping.

The color combo of Blackberry Bliss, Cajun Craze & Crushed Curry comes from the Color Me Autumn Washi Tape pack...which I used on both the inside of the card and on the front along with Blackberry Bliss Stitched Satin Ribbon.

If you have wondered why I have not posted in a while, scroll on down to see some photos of what has been keeping me busy.

Thanks for visiting!