Easy Christmas Pines

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christmas-pines-0916I designed this card for my first Card Buffet class a few weeks ago where you could come and make as many cards of any design as you like.  It’s a simple card but it’s one of my favorites of all the Christmas cards I’ve designed this fall.

The Presents & Pinecones Designer Series Paper works perfectly for the card.  There is a holly design that works too.  Designer paper, sentiment, ribbon and layers.  That’s all you need to whip up this beautiful and simple card.

The Cherry Cobbler layer is popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals to give the card a little added dimension.  Have you started (finished?) your Christmas cards yet?  If not this one will take you no time at all.  You can check out the products I used below.  Last night and this morning I had my Christmas Tags class so while my guests were working on their tags I was working on Christmas cards.  I didn’t design a special card to send out.  I just cut extra cards from all of my Christmas card classes this fall and now I’m stamping them and putting them together.  I’m off to a good start.  How about you?

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Last Day!

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Today’s the last day!  Don’t miss out!  There are some really great deals out there!  Since it’s the last day of the sale there are some new items that are only available today!  Check out the picture below:onlineex_flash-shareable_nov2816_na

flurry-of-wishes-1116Here’s a gorgeous card that’s made using the Snow Flurry Bundle (stamp set and COORDINATING punch!) that’s on sale TODAY!  Get on over to my Online Store and get these products while they’re on sale!  If you’d like to recreate this card just check out the supplies below.

I’ve got my order all ready to put in today.  Do you?

Happy Cyber Monday!  Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Seasonal Bells

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seasonal-bells1-1116Silver Bells….Silver Bells….It’s Christmas time in the city…..

Sorry…I’m one of those people who will start singing a song when they hear words that can be lyrics to songs.  I can’t help myself.  I love to sing!

But I digress….I wanted to tell you about this beautiful Christmas card.  It’s made with the Seasonal Bells stamp set and the COORDINATING Bell Punch!  Woo Hoo!  COORDINATION!  My favorite word when it comes to crafting!

All of the stamped images you see on the card are from the Seasonal Bells stamp set.  I love all the swirly designs.  There are actually four different bell images in the stamp set.  There are even sentiments/images to make wedding cards!  Versatility!  My second favorite word when it comes to crafting!

So what are your favorite words when it comes to crafting?  Leave a comment and let me know!

I’m off to get ready for our annual Thanksgiving Leftover Night.  We usually do it on the Saturday evening following Thanksgiving but a few of our regulars had plans so we moved it to Sunday this year.  We’ll eat early enough so that we can watch the Denver Broncos football game on Sunday Night Football.  I can’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday evening.  Can you?

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Jolly Friends Christmas Moose

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jolly-friends-swapThanksgiving is over.  Black Friday is over and I guess it’s time to really start thinking about Christmas.

If you need a smile this moose will do it.  He’s so stinkin’ cute!  I bought the Jolly Friends stamp set just for the moose….really, I did!  Then you put the Santa hat on him and you’ve got ADORABLE!  🙂

I CASEd the idea for this card from the internet.  The original was a regular size card but I made mine into a 4 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ card.

jolly-friends-swap-2First you die cut the scallop circle in the designer series paper.  Adhere it to the front of the card and then you die cut the circle in the front of the card.  This way everything is all lined up.

I adhered a piece of Whisper White card stock to the inside of the card and then, with the card closed, I stamped the moose onto the white card stock through the die cut circle.  I used my blender pen and So Saffron ink to color the antlers.  Then I stamped another moose on Crumb Cake card stock, cut it out (no antlers) and adhered it over the stamped image inside jolly-friends-swap-3the card.

Punch out a hat with the Jolly Hat Builder Punch, put it together and put it on your little moose head.  Ta Da!  You have an adorable card!  🙂

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Black Friday

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It’s Black Friday.  Are you shopping?  I refuse to set foot out of my house on Black Friday.  Shopping with gazillions of people just doesn’t sound like fun to me.  Of course I have no idea what to get anyone for Christmas yet so there’s no reason to go shopping.

onlineex_shareable-2_nov2116_naNow, online shopping is a whole different story.  I can sit at my computer in my comfy clothes and shop away all day!  Speaking of….have you taken advantage of Stampin’ Up!’s Online Extravaganza?  There are some really sweet deals that you won’t want to miss!  The sale only goes through Monday so don’t miss out!

stitched-from-the-heartDon’t forget about Stitched From the Heart promotion going on too!  Stampin’ Up! has about 9 fabulous stamp sets on sale that coordinate perfectly with the new Stitched Shapes Framelits.  Now…you need to know that the framelits themselves were so popular that Stampin’ Up! ran out of them.  You can’t currently purchase the framelits but there are still a few days left to purchase the stamp sets that are on sale.

Get shopping!  Have a relaxing day and don’t miss out on these fabulous promotions!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Thankful, Grateful & Blessed

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thanksgiving-paper-pumpkin-1116Happy Thanksgiving!  It’s fairly early in the morning and I need to sit down and make my to-do list.  But first I want to let you know that I am truly Thankful, Grateful and Blessed for you, my friends and customers, as well as for everything I have in my life including my Stampin’ Up! business.

This fun little treat holder is from the September Paper Pumpkin Kit!  Yep!  I fell in love with those fun, little test tubes and I had to use them for something.  I didn’t have enough to fill with Halloween treats for the munchkins but I thought I might be able to use them for my Thanksgiving table.

The “grateful” stamp is a very old Stampin’ Up! stamp that I’ve been hanging to for a quite a while.  It sure did come in handy for my Thanksgiving treats.  The M & M’s fit perfectly in the test tubes.  I stocked up the fall M & M’s when they first came out.  When I bought them I had no idea what I would do with them.  I bought about 6 bags and have tons left over as we have a small group of only 18 people joining us for Thanksgiving dinner.  Oh, well.  Better safe than sorry, right?  🙂

I wish you all a wonderful, blessed, thankful holiday!

Cookie Cutter Halloween for Fall!

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cookie-cutter-halloween-treat-1116When I saw this cute treat holder online I wanted to try to recreate it for my Thanksgiving table.  The original (from the talented Lori Heiling) was a Christmas design.  I searched my stamp sets for something that said Thanksgiving or Fall and finally decided on the adorable little scarecrow from the Cookie Cutter Halloween stamp set.

The little treat holder is SO simple.  Just start with a piece of card stock that is 2″ x 8″.  Score at 3 1/4″ and 4 3/4″ and then punch the ends with your Scallop Tag Topper Punch.  Fold along the score lines and add some ribbon to keep it closed!  That’s it!!! So simple.  So cute!  🙂

I wrapped my Hershey nuggets with the Petals & Paisley Designer Series Paper.  I put down a little strip of Tear & Tape and then placed two Hershey Nuggets side by side on the bottom of the treat holder (vertically).  Then I put a little piece of Tear & Tape on the bottom of a third Nugget and placed on top of the other two going in the other direction (horizontally).

To tie my wrapped Nuggets in with the focal point I punched out a 1 3/4″ circle of the same designer paper and adhered it to the front of my treat holder.  Then it was time to stamp, color and punch out my adorable little scarecrow with the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch.  The little crow finishes the project off perfectly, although I did have to fussy cut him!  🙂

So not that I’ve shared this adorable little treat holder with you I have to confess that I’m not using him on my Thanksgiving table.  I’ll show you that tomorrow.

cookie-cutter-halloween-1116But look!  I used the same design on a card!  I sent this card to some of my team members who helped with Stamp Camp last month.  Simple and cute!  My favorite type of card to mass produce!

Have you checked out Stampin’ Up!’s Online Extravaganza yet!  Oh my!  So many fabulous products on sale and so little time!  You better get that order in soon so you don’t miss out!  🙂

Have a great day!  Be Thankful!

 

 

Stampin’ Up!’s Online Extravaganza!

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onlineex_shareable-2_nov2116_naIt’s that time of year!  It’s time for Stampin’ Up!’s Online Extravaganza!  It’s your chance to get some really great deals from Stampin’ Up!  You’re NOT going to want to miss it!  Check out all of the great deals here or go to my online store to see photos of the actual products and to place your order.

Some items are available only while supplies last so don’t miss out!  Also…you don’t want to miss out on the 24-hour sales.  The first 24-hour sale is TODAY!  onlineex_flash-shareable_nov2116_naCheck out the fabulous items that are on sale TODAY ONLY!  The bundle of Enamel Shapes (one package of each) is only $27.95 (35% off!).  A bundle of Ombre Ink Pads (5 ink pads) is only $31.50 (30% off!).  The Embellished Ornaments Bundle in wood ($45.60) or clear ($39.20) are great deals at 20% off!  Last but not least you can get the Gift Bag Punch Board or the Gift Box Punch Board for only $14 each which is a savings of 30%!  Woo Hoo!

Guess what?  Not only can you save big during this sale but you can possibly get FREE stuff if you place your order on my Mystery Hostess Workshop!  Place your order in my online store and use Hostess Code XNUBBQ2Q at the bottom left of the “shopping bag” page.  All orders $50 or more will be in a drawing for hostess.  To be included in the Mystery Hostess drawing you must have your order placed by 12 pm on Sunday November 27th.  I will draw the hostess name by 8 pm on the 27th and will need to close out the workshop by 8 pm on the 28th.  That means that if your name is drawn as hostess you will need to get me the list of items you’d like by 8 pm on the 28th.  Start that wish list!  If your order is $150 or more you do not want to use the Hostess Code as you can be your own hostess and earn the rewards.  Contact me with any questions you may have.

Have fun shopping!  Don’t miss out on those 24-hour sales (the 21st and the 28th) or on those items that are available while supplies last.  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Simple Joy

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joyful-nativity-1016Are you still looking for ideas for this year’s Christmas card?  Here’s a simple card perfect for the season.

I designed this card a while ago.  It’s quick, it’s easy and it describes the season perfectly.  It’s the season of joy!  We all need to remember that while we’re rushing around getting ready for the holidays.  Stop.  Breathe.  Remember that this is suppose to be the season of joy.  Don’t stress.  If that batch of cookies don’t get made or you’re a few minutes late for something just remember that life will go on.

I’ve barely thought about Thanksgiving (which is in just a few days!  Yikes!) and I know everything will be fine.  I don’t need to impress anyone.  The people that will be joining me are friends and family and I’m pretty sure they’ll love me even if I forget to put something on the table or make it at all!  OMG!  That reminds me of a funny story….my dear friend passed away this fall and after the service we all gathered at the house.  One of the things I brought was spinach dip….not one person bothered mentioning that I had forgotten to actually put the spinach in the spinach dip!  Yikes!  I didn’t even realize it until I got home and was putting the leftovers in the refrigerator.  Too funny!

So, just remember that this is the Season of Joy!  Keep things simple like this card I made using the Joyful Nativity stamp set.   A couple layers and some blue ink was all I needed.  OK….I’ll admit it….I needed to spice it up a little so I went over the stamped images with my Wink of Stella Glitter pen! 😉

Have a wonderfully simple day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Christmas is Coming

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greeting-from-santa-0816Yep.  Even though it still doesn’t feel like it here in Colorado I do believe that Christmas is on it’s way.  Since it’s coming despite what the thermometer says I guess I need to start sharing more Christmas projects!  🙂

This is a fun and easy card using Greetings from Santa stamp set and the Detailed Santa Thinlits.  Isn’t this intricate Santa gorgeous?  He’s really easy to cut out…especially if you’re using the correct “sandwich” on your Big Shot.

You definitely want to use the Precision Base Plate when using intricate dies like this one.  When you use the Precision Base Plate you exchange it for the bottom clear Standard Cutting Pad.  So your “sandwich” would be:  platform, Precision Base Plate, paper, intricate thinlit, clear Standard Cutting Pad.

I think that the hardest part of using the Big Shot is figuring out what your “sandwich” should be.  I had a class a few weeks ago and on every card we used the Big Shot at least once and I swear that each time someone came up to use the Big Shot it was a different “sandwich”.  I definitely had to supervise the Big Shot on that day.  It was a little crazy.  Of course the cards were all fabulous!  🙂

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

A Fun Weekend With Family

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It was a busy and fun weekend.  Lots of visiting and site-seeing.  My cousin flew in this weekend to visit her daughter who lives here in Denver.  One of my sisters thought that sounded fun so she and her daughter flew in to visit me and we all hung out together.

I picked up my sister Lori and her daughter Allison from the airport late Friday afternoon.  We had a nice dinner before heading to a place called Upstairs Circus.  Have you ever been to those painting places where you paint the project and drink wine?  This is a similar concept except they have all sorts of craft projects you can make instead of just the painting.  It was really fun.  My sister made a beaded bracelet and my niece and I did string art projects where you hammer nails into a board in a pattern and then thread string around the nails to fill in the pattern.  (I’ll post a picture of my project tomorrow.)  I’d definitely go back again.  🙂

botanicgardensSaturday was a busy day.  We started at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  I’m going to admit that the middle of November isn’t exactly the best time to visit a garden but it’s been so warm there were still some flowers blooming.  It was a free day there and there was a craft fair going on so we did enjoy ourselves.  In the picture, starting at the left you have my sister Lori, myself, my cousin’s daughter Julie, my cousin Sally and my niece Allison.

starwarsAfter the gardens and craft fair we had a nice little lunch and then headed to the Denver Art Museum.  We had tickets to see the exhibit “Star Wars and the Power of Costume”.  The exhibit was fabulous….especially for those of us who love Star Wars and SciFi.  You used headphones while taking the tour so not only did you see the costumes, you heard the stories behind them.  It was quite interesting.

We spent a lovely afternoon on Sunday at a downtown winery doing a little wine tasting and just visiting.  Wild Women Winery.  We really enjoyed ourselves and the gals helping us were great.  That’s another thing I’d definitely do again.

wildwomenwineIt was a wonderful weekend getting a little culture and visiting together.  It’s great to have visitors.  Of course now I need to get ready for the two workshops I have this week and I hear that Thanksgiving is next week so I should definitely start thinking about that!  🙂

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

It’s Time to Color!

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dragonfly-dreams-onstageYep!  Stampin’ Up! has finally got on the coloring bandwagon!  One of the new Sale-a-bration items that you’ll be able to earn for FREE with a $50 order during Sale-a-bration is the fun Inside the Lines Designer Series Paper!

And guess what?!  You need something to color with so why not try Stampin’ Up!’s new Watercolor Pencils!  Yep!  Watercolor pencils!  Woo Hoo!  You’ll be able to find them in the new 2017 Occasions Catalog.  I was able to bring a set of these pencils home from the On Stage event so I can’t wait to sit down and play with them some more!

If you haven’t been able to tell over the past few days I’m a little excited about all of the fabulous new products in the upcoming new catalogs!  I love new stuff!  I know you will too!  January will be here sooner than we think.  (Yikes!)

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Balloon Adventures!

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balloon-adventures-onstage-1You can never have enough birthday cards or birthday stamp sets on hand.  Someone you know is always having a birthday.

Balloon Adventures is a birthday stamp set that you’re going to want to add to your collection.  There are 8 fabulous sayings as well as balloon and banner images.

How many new items do you see on this card?  Besides the stamp set there is the Party Animal Designer Paper, the Party Animal Embellishments (little hats and balloons) and the Emerald Envy 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon.

Of course, don’t forget the wonderful Balloon Pop-Up balloon-adventures-onstage-2Thinlits Dies!  Too fun!  Who doesn’t love a pop-up?!

You’ll definitely want to put the Party Animal Suite of products from the upcoming 2017 Occasions Catalog on your wish list!

Don’t forget to email me your street address if you’d like to receive a copy of the 2017 Occasions Catalog in the mail.  I’d be happy to send you one!

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

Sealed With Love Mini Cards

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sealed-with-love-onstageAre you tired of Christmas already?

What?  Who am I kidding?  I just freaked out yesterday when I realized that Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away.  Yikes!  I can’t be tired of Christmas yet because I haven’t even begun to think about it!

These fun little 3″ x 3″ cared are made with a brand new stamp set called Sealed With Love that will be premiering in the 2017 Occasions Catalog.  We made these cards at the On Stage event in Phoenix on Saturday.  Guess what?  This stamp set has coordinating Framelits!  Yep!  The Love Note Framelits coordinate perfectly with the Sealed With Love stamp set.

Check out the adorable little glassine envelope on the card in the upper right.  It’s SO cute!  You can even die cut the little insert that fits perfectly in the envelope.  Too fun!  Yep!  The Sending Love Suite in the 2017 Occasions Catalog is pretty darn cute and I know you’re going to love it!

The bases of the cards are made with the fun red & white Sending Love Designer Series Paper Stack.  There are all sorts of different designs in this pack.  Some with hearts and some not so that you can use it for occasions other than Valentines Day.

Would you like to receive a hard copy of the new 2017 Occasions Catalog and the 2017 Sale-a-bration Brochure?  Send me your street address and I’ll get you on my list.  I know you’ll want your own copies of these fabulous new publications.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!

On Stage Local in Phoenix

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phoenix-1Here we are…..ready for On Stage to begin.  They had this fun balloon prop to pose with.  Yes, there is a very fun hot air balloon stamp set in the new Occasions Catalog.  🙂

From left to right you see me, Lisa, Janet and Jan.  What’s funny in this picture is that I’m concentrating on standing tall and Lisa is crouched down….she’s over 6′ tall!

We had a fun day swapping cards with other demonstrators, meeting new friends, listening to new ideas and of course, stamping!

sunshinesayingsswapHere’s a picture of the card I swapped.  I like to go with a valentine feel this late in the year.  I figure that most of the people swapping have had enough Christmas ideas so I go back to the Annual Catalog for my card.

Speaking of cards, we got to make four really cute projects on Saturday with the new products.  This next picture is of the centerpieces on each of the tables.  I love how phoenix-2they decorated the supply box.  It’s a little hard to read but below the word supplies it says “Super Secret * Do Not Open!”  How fun!

After some recognition and watching some stamping presentations we were finally able to do some stamping ourselves and there were plenty of new supplies in the box for us to play with.  Stay tuned in the next few days to see some of the fun projects we made.

Have a great day!  Take care and Happy Stamping!