Beautiful Season

I wanted to share our family's holiday card with you. This year I find myself thinking a lot about the importance of quality time spent with family. This past week I have been focusing on spending time with Emma and preparing for the holiday ahead of time so we can really enjoy our time together on Christmas Day. As both a parent and a teacher, I am still having a little trouble wrapping my brain around the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook. I can't stop thinking about all those poor families spending the holiday without their children, and the children who were looking forward to this holiday season and the magic that Christmas brings. I am so grateful for the gift of my family every day. I know there are many teachers out there who question if they would be brave enough to lay down their own lives to protect the children they teach. I suspect that most probably would do it without a second thought. One thing I do know is that we will each hold our family just a little closer this Christmas. So from my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas and hold your little ones tight :)

Holiday Houses

Have you visited Stampin' Up!'s Clearance Rack? I just checked and the sweet little houses are still there for only $2.39 each. I've really enjoyed decorating them this year with Emma and I'm seriously considering ordering a few more to tuck away for next year. For now, I'll share this year's fabulous creations:

This one came out so cute, we used lots from our stash and dipped some holiday berries into Mica Flakes from last year's catalog - I think this is my favorite part of this house!

On this second house, I used the Scalloped Tulle Ribbon in Cherry Cobbler to trim the roof. We used lots more from our stash. I still love this holiday paper!

Here's one Emma made to give her Dad for Christmas...shhh don't tell him!

A Little More Shabby-Chic

Have I mentioned that I love the look of Shabby-Chic? I think I am going to make it my stamping goal to be better at creating in this style for 2013. I just love the softness of the look, with surprise pops of bright color. While I decorate in traditional colors of red and green for the holidays, my daughter has chosen to decorate (at least for this year) her home in more neutral colors. This is her first holiday in her own apartment and I think these will look great on her tree!

As a parent you treasure the time spent watching your children grow, and do what you can to make sure they turn into well adjusted, successful adults, and wish them every success. But I have to say, it sure is bitter sweet to watch them go off on their own. This past year has not been the easiest for our family in so many ways. We are looking ahead to 2013, but in the meantime I am looking forward to the next few days of quality time with family, and we are truly grateful for the blessings we have!

Cute Christmas Cards

I know everyone's starting to think about Valentine's at this point, but I wanted to share this cute holiday card that I created for my daughter to give her co-workers and staff. I did once again use the retired Stocking Accents die to cut out the candy cane, and a sentiment from a retired stamp set, but once again I was able to use my new paper piercing pack to outline the label I cut out. This was a quick and easy card to mass produce. Who couldn't use a little quick and easy in the days leading up to Christmas, right?

Ornament Keepsake Card

I'm just about finished with all my holiday projects and thought I would share this monotone Christmas Card I recently made using my Holiday Ornament Die, and the coordinating Festive Paper Piercing Pack, both available in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini. I began by cutting my Very Vanilla Cardstock down the 11 x 4 1/4" and folding it in half. Next I centered an Ornament Die over the front (careful to open your card before cutting!)and ran it through my Big Shot. Next I used my paper piercer to outline the cut out - can you believe this is the first time I opened this piercing pack? Lastly I ran a scrap of Very Vanilla though my Norther Flurry Embossing Folder and used Dimensionals to attach it to the back of the cut out ornament. Easy Peasy and quick! Thanks for stopping by today! I'm off to make some Gingerbread Men!

Handmade Holiday Gifts

I have to admit that I'm kind of partial to handmade gifts. I love giving them away, but think that receiving one is fabulous too! When I'm giving one away, I can't think of anything better than putting it into a hand made gift bag, or in this case - box!

You can find basic instructions on how to create a box here at Splitcoast Stampers. I created this 7 x 7 box using a piece of 11 7/8" x 11 7/8" Cherry Cobbler Card Stock for the base, and a piece of 12x12 Candlelight DSP. Both the top and the bottom are scored at 2 1/2". With all the rush of getting ready for the upcoming holidays I know that writing and photographing a tutorial is a little more than I can handle today, but hope the measurements and attached link would be helpful. Thanks for stopping by today, and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Shabby Chic

I have always said that one extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas would be so welcome! It's hard to believe the holiday is less than 2 weeks away. I haven't even finished making our Christmas Cards yet - I sure hope I can get them in the mail in time! Never mind all the baking, shopping and wrapping left to do!I have put the baking on hold since Emma and I have been sick for no less than 3 weeks - I hope we have a healthy holiday this year! Tonight I am meeting with my Stamp A Stack Card Club for our last 2012 meeting. I find that I am continually amazed by some of the shabby chic projects I find online, but I am never truly satisfied with my own attempts to re-create what I see. This morning I dug into my stash to find some old papers that might fit the bill, and went to work designing a couple of cards for my Stamp A Stack Club that meets tonight.

Here I used my Bingo Background Stamp inked with Soft Suede. I used the star from Jolly Bingo Bits inked in Lucky Limeade to fill in a few of the squares - how am I going to continue when this color retires?? Then I embellished with some pieces from retired Stocking Accents die, Silver Tinsel, Hat Pins and Ruffled Ribbon in Blushing Bride.

For this card I really dug deep into my stash, using some very old papers from My Mind's Eye, and various products from Stampin' Up! Not too bad for a rough attempt at this style, but I think I definitely need to add some more lace ribbon and chipboard pieces to really get the look I'm seeking.I think I may have found it with the color combinations though!

Snow Much Fun!

Being a regular customer definitely has it's perks! I've been working on planning this class for some time, and I'm excited to be offering it to my customers as a Thank You for a great year and to appreciate the new friends I've made through my Stampin' Up! business. This class takes place on Saturday December 1st @ 1:00. I am offering free shipping on orders over $50, so if you would like to get in a purchase to create more in time for the holiday, here's your opportunity! First up is a set of gift tags packaged to give away as a gift, and a coordinating gift box. Wouldn't this make a fun hostess gift to bring to your holiday party? The box is perfect for homemade goodies or small gifts.

Next we'll be making a set of holiday - or just winter - cards:

Snowmen are just about my favorite part of winter - second to snow days, of course! If you think you'd like to join this class next weekend, send me an email by Thursday and I'll give you the details and save your space! Hope to see you then!

Playing With MDS2

I recently purchased the latest edition of My Digital Studio, and have not been able to figure out where to start. Emma decided that she wanted to create a Christmas Card. so here's what she came up with. We will be ordering these from Stampin' Up! and embellishing them with glitter and ribbons as soon as they arrive! Now I'm feeling a little more confident about using this program and can't wait to start a new project. I'm thinking a swatch book of Emma's past year will make a great grandparents gift!

Fun Fall Treat Holders

We have a picky eater at my house and lately I've been unpacking lunch boxes in the evenings that are still full of lunch :( I'm trying a new route - packing lunches that are fun. Today's lunch held a granola bar inside of this cute little acorn. It was quick and easy using my Top Note Die. I'm thinking fun place setting favors at Thanksgiving here!

I Think I've Found My Mojo

...but I'll let you know sooner if I lose it again - maybe someone out there will be able to help!?! Seriously fellow stampers, things have been a little busy - as always with the start of a new school year! I have finally been able to spend 3 evenings in the past week working in my studio to come up with some fresh new ideas and projects for my upcoming classes. The card I'm sharing today is one that I made for my daughter's coworker who is getting married this weekend. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to say "no" to a request for a handmade card when it's accompanied by the words "we could just buy one, but your are so much prettier than anything at the store". I think we did a pretty good job raising a daughter who is so smart - I'll share more about her in a post in the very near future! But until then, here is the card I created for her:

Mono-chromatic cards for a wedding are so elegant, don't you think? This card was made with all Stampin' Up! products, including: ~Very Vanilla Card Stock ~ Vintage Brads ~ Fashionable Hearts Embosslit ~ Delicate Designs Embossing Folder ~ 1" Square Punch (this punch makes perfect banner bottoms!) ~ Basic Pearls ~ 1/8" Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon ~ Mini Glue Dots & Stampin' Dimensionals - because Wedding Cards should hold up for many years! Thanks for stopping by today. I promise another post soon!

Fine Feathered Case

This card has been cased from the card that can be found on page 79 of Stampin' Up!'s current catalog. I recently broke open a new container of Vintage Faceted Buttons to really dress this card up - I think these are my very favorite embellishment in this year's catalog. They can be dressed up with adhesive pearls and gems as well, and though I haven't tried this yet, I am fairly confident that they could be colored with a sharpie or alcohol marker too.

Well, we are getting ready for a beachy wedding this weekend, so I am off to Newport Beach - a little sad that I won't be making the S'U! Regional in Providence this weekend, so I hope all my stampin' sisters from Love at First Stamp enjoy their weekend there!!

Stampin' Addicts Holiday Blog Hop

Welcome to the Stampin' Addicts Holiday Blog Hop! You are sure to see some projects following these links that will delight and amaze you. If you have been following along you just arrived from Yapha's Rubber Stamping & Card Making where she featured the Jewish Celebrations Stamp Set in a series of cards. The glimmer paper she used sure packs a wallop - secret note to self - order some of that Champagne Glimmer Paper for my own fall and holiday cards! If you didn't arrive from Yapha's blog there are no worries, just follow the links on the hop and you'll arrive back there soon!

I am rolling the calendar back - or would that be ahead?? - a couple of months for some fun Halloween projects using the incredibly spooky Toxic Treats Stamp Set. The possibilities with the set are endless, and as I was working on these projects my head was swimming with tons of ideas, so be sure to come back now and then to see what else I made as ladies at Stampin' Addicts are limiting me to only a few projects on this post! Let's start with the sign:
I began by distressing my painted sign with some More Mustard and Early Espresso Classic Ink - I was going for Toxic Fog here! Next I used the Elegant Bird Die in an attempt to create a black crow - not sure if I succeeded, but with a snips to his wings and tail feathers, I think he looks a little less like and Elegant Bird and more like a crow. The Perfect Pennants Die creates coordinated pennant pieces for the sign, along with a 1 3/4" Circle Punch and the Decorative Label Punch, both also coordinating with this super stamp set.
Next up is my personal favorite. I spent hours last fall trying to find boxes such as this one to embellish last year and it never occurred to me that I could make my own! I created a Halloween Keepsake, or "Toxic Treat" box. This is going to be a fun addition to the top of my desk real soon. I can almost smell the chocolate inside of it. Does it look vaguely familiar? It was modeled after the Keepsake Box that S'U! was giving away last year to new Demonstrators. I used the Labels Collection Framelits and updated this treat box with some banners and a pinwheel that are found on so many projects everywhere right now. Emma was amazed that I knew how to make my own pinwheel, so I took a little break to create the individual one of the stick with her. We are planning to make a whole slew of these together over the coming weekend!And lastly, I am sharing a Totally Toxic Trick or Treat Card, just in case one of these 3D items happens to turn into a gift. Once again I used the Trick or Treat Stamp with Tangerine Tango, and the Crow on the Gate in StayzOn Jet Black. I punched out the image using the 2 1/2" Circle Punch and layered it on top of one of the doilies from the Perfect Pennants Die. I think they made a nice layered focus together, I can't believe I never thought of putting these two pieces together before this! All of my projects above used the Howlstooth and Scaringbone DSP that is also found in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

Thank you for stopping by today to take a peek. Your next stop on the hop is to Cindy's Heart's Delight Cards. Cindy has some more Halloween goodies for you to see, using the Monster Munchies Stamp Set. The projects on this hop are truly delightful, so I hope you are able to take the weekend to visit all the stops on the tour, which can also be found on the Stampin' Addicts website here. Happy Friday everyone!

It's Blog Hop!

I can't wait to see what all these fabulous ladies have created!!

Fine Feathers

When I saw the new catalog, I knew right away that Fine Feathers was at the top of my wish list and going on my first order. I just can't believe it took me so long to break it out to play with! But here is one of my favorites from this set:



I inked this stamp with some Lucky Limeade and thumped the edges with my Gumball Green Stampin Write Marker for the outside, and on the inside of the feather I used my Midnight Muse and Island Indigo Markers. I cut the image out with one of my Framelit dies, and matted it on a Wysteria Wonder cut out and I embellished with my new Gumball Green Stitched Satin Ribbon, and one of the embossing folders from the Delicate Designs set.

Have a happy weekend!

The Invites Are In The Mail & I'm Back!

So sorry I've been away for so long! I recently started a new job and all the necessary lesson planning, along with a huge learning curve has been taking up a lot of my time lately - not to mention making all these wedding invites, and preparing for the shower we just held last weekend - I'll post pictures of that later this week. Even if it's a bit out of order, I thought I would share photographs of the actual wedding invites!




It was so much fun making these ~ I used my new set By The Seashore #126532 $16.95 in Crumb Cake and Marina Mist. The folder was made with Marina Mist Card Stock and natural twine (non-SU). I used My Digital Studio to print the actual invitations, and boy did that make it easy since I don't own a copy of the full version of word. I am really appreciating how easy MDS is making everything lately!

Thanks for stopping by today!

A Bit of Summer Fun!

We recently had Family Fun Night in the back yard. There were probably grilled hot dogs involved, and definitely sticky messy S'mores and roasted marshmallows over a fire. Later we captured some fireflies, though we released them back into the woods soon after - in the words of 4 year old Zoey "we put them back where they belong" kids can be so smart sometimes, don't you think? I just love our back yard campfires!



Owl always love owl of you...and here's a little something fun I cooked up this morning in honor of the elusive owls who live in the woods behind our house:
one day I just know we'll get a photo of the real thing!

July's Club Cards

Here they are - the cards we'll be making for July's Stamp A Stack Card Club. This Thursday at 6:30. Let me know if you would like me to reserve a spot for you!

I have to admit that when Betsy first arrived at my door, I was completely stumped. Having no idea how to use it, I browsed through the Stampin Up! gallery at Splitcoast Stampers and found this card by Sandi MacIver. She always puts a fun and creative twist on any stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Betsy Tags

This set of tags was made to showcase this year's In Colors together. I used a combination of Gumball Green, Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals and Summer Starfruit on these, along with my paper snips and the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch (#119275), the small flower from the Boho Blossoms Punch (#119858) and the circle from the Itty Bitty Shapes Pack (#118309). This is one of many ways you can use the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border - I also like to layer it from behind to create a teeny tiny scallop edge peeking out.

Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Monday!

Another from Betsy

On this card I kept to one of my favorite current color combinations once again, Gumball Green, Pool Party, So Saffron and Calypso Coral! This time I only used the branch image in combination with the Boho Blossom (#119858) and Blossom (#125603) Punches. I used my ink pad and a Whisper White scrap to get the So Saffron blossom. I made some of these Betsy cards at a family picnic while the kids went for a bike ride and had only packed a small container of supplies to take with me that day. Not bad, huh? We can always make do in a pinch with those scraps of paper!!

Making Betsy Beautiful

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I'll admit that this is my other favorite "Betsy". However, it was not my original idea. Lots of my Betsy inspirations came from other people I admire, such as this card designed by Paula Wright, that I recently - or maybe not so recently - received in a card swap.

I took Paula's card design, along with a recently released Finishing Touches Edgelit Die ( I love these surprise finds when the new catalogs come out!) and a color combination I hadn't seen yet - Early Espresso & Raspberry Ripple, think of it like a yummy Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cone! Isn't it Yummy?

Haha Paula! Betcha didn't see Betsy coming this time!

Betsy's Blossoms

I have a Love-Hate relationship going with Betsy. I really don't care for her very much, but everyone else seems to love her! I decided last week that I was going to work on making myself a better person, and try to find some beauty in Betsy. So I sat down one day and tried to see how many fabulous things I could create with a little inspiration... from none other than Betsy. I will be sharing some of those inspirations in the days to come, but here's one that I kinda like:



I began by stamping the dahlias in Calypso Coral in just a few spots on the front of the card. I have really come to love this color, and will be sad to see it retire next year, so I'm just warning you that it'll probably get a lot of use in the coming months!

Next I stamped the branch in Gumball Green. Since I was going for more of a muted look here, I off-stamped the image on scrap paper first. I stamped the little bird in Pool Party (another of my favs!)

Then using some scraps of white (I seem to be a scrap hoarder - anyone else out there? tee-hee) I stamped the little blossoms in So Saffron and cut them out to layer on top of the dahlias.

Lastly I took another scrap-this time in Pool Party- and used my Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border to add a teeny bit of dimension to the bottom of my card. And since I really dislike throwing away anything that is the littlest bit usable, I even added the teeny leftover piece from the punch!

I just noticed that photo looks a little crooked and askew. Guess it kinda matches the lopsided ribbon at the bottom, hehe. Thanks for stopping by today. Be sure to visit again this week to see other ways I've been able to put Betsy to use!

Summer Camp Flyer

Today I used My Digital Studio and created a Sample Flyer for a Summer Camp that a friend of mine runs. MDS comes with so many stamp sets, papers, and accessories that I haven't even begun to use it. I think this summer I will be using it a ton to design scrapbook pages and other projects when we go away on vacations or weekends. It's just too easy to bring my Stamping Studio with me now!

...and as far as Summer Camps go, I think this could be a fun summer, don't you?

A Thank You In Color

I've been interviewing for jobs lately, and like to send thank you's to follow up - and keep me in mind! This is the card I sent out last week to a couple of schools I recently visited. It was inspired by another Demonstrator, Christena Bagne. You can see her original card here.

I really liked her combinations on Marina Mist and Pool Party. I wanted to update my card with some of the new In Colors, so I used a combination of Marina Mist, Pool Party, Gumball Green, and Midnight Muse. I think those little hills are really stinkin' cute!

Wedding Invites

I am planning to work on some wedding invitations next week, so I thought I would share a couple of samples here. This is a beach themed wedding, and I'm waiting for my new stamp set to come in, so these are pro to-types until the real things get here. This first sample uses the stamp inked in Crumb Cake with the images behind the poem:
This second example shows the main image stamped in Marina Mist in the bottom corner:



This last picture shows the inside of the folder, with the invitation on the right side, and the response card and envelope on the left:



Thanks for stopping by, hope you are inspired today!

411 Challenge

Today I used this week's Stamping 411 Sketch for this card, featuring Betsy's Blossoms. This little bird is just so stinkin' cute, and the flowers are pretty neat too. They stamp divinely with our newly reconfigured stamp pads - wait until you try one of these things, you'll want to buy all new stamp pads - they are that good!

I just love sneak peeks - it's kinda like Christmas!!

Keeping Calm Here!

Here is another Keep Calm card made with some new In Colors (June 2012) and Floral District DSP. I just love this stamp set, and isn't this new paper just the sweetest? The teeny banner is from the Bitty Banners Framelit Die - it's been a fun weekend playing with goodies from the soon to be released 2012 Catalog!

Happy Monday!

Mother's Day Tea

I made my Mom a card for Mother's Day using a sketch from A Sketch for You To Try. I thought that the Tea Shoppe stamps pair really well with the new Floral District DSP. And since this card had a tea shop theme, I thought what would go better with this kind of card, than a box to hold tea? So I brought out my Simply Scored and whipped up this little baby. This Simply Scored really makes creating your own boxes and 3-D items easy peasy!



I made a little belly band to wrap around it, and hid the ends with this 3-D flower, made with 5 flowers punched from the Blossom Punch, and sponged using Primrose Petals In Color Ink - gosh these new stamp pads are a dream to use - they even ink your sponges beautifully, giving you a much different look than the traditional ink pads! I think I'm in love...

Here's a close up of the rolled flowers on the front of my card. I simply punched a 1 3/4" Circle, cut a circular pattern from the outside in, held it together with a dab of hot glue. Next I smeared a little white craft paint onto the the edges and added a teeny pearl to the center when the paint dried!