Look what Kellie made for me!!
Am I spoiled or what???
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Category Archives: Birthdays
Smoochin’ Santa
I’m determined to get my personal Christmas cards done early this year. (OK, STOP IT! I hear you laughing. Get off the floor and back up onto your chair!!) I have excellent intentions but seldom seem to accomplish getting things finished ahead of schedule, and I’ve set a personal goal to make this one happen.
As a result, you’re going to see a LOT of Christmas card designs as I work through my options. This one is actually one of Crystal’s designs, and we offered it last weekend at Anne and Crystal’s Annual Christmas Card Extravaganza (ACACCE). This was a popular card, as everyone loved painting Santa’s beard with Stampin’ Up!’s new Smooch® Illuminate Top Coat Pearlized Accent Ink (wow – say that 3 times really quickly!!):
- Holiday Hoopla and Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets
- Very Vanilla, Old Olive, and Cherry Cobbler card stock
- Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper
- Chocolate Chip, River Rock and Cherry Cobbler Classic ink pads
- Blush Blossom Stampin’ Write marker
- Smooch® Illuminate Top Coat Pearlized Accent Ink
- Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding
I’m very fond of the little whirly-deal on the top of Santa’s hat – I think it’s just the right touch.
Kellie’s Halloween Treats
Kellie was here this week and shared these fabulous Halloween treat holders. She told me that she made over 30 of them with her mom and her daughter for her daughter to share at school, and they had a great time together. Her mom commented that the 9 year old recipients might not appreciate all the time and effort that went into the making, but her daughter responded  “But I’m having a GREAT time!!” Doesn’t that make your heart melt?
- Wicked Cool Stamp set
- Basic Black Classic ink pad; Whisper White Craft ink pad
- Basic Black, Whisper White and Pumpkin Pie card stock
- Wicked Fun Specialty paper
- Circle and Scallop Circle punches
- XL Two Step Owl punch
- Big Shot and Candy Wrapper Bigz die
I don’t have the exact list of supplies from Kellie, so I’m improvising here. My photo barely picks up the cob webs running along the side of the black cardstock but they are the perfect touch.
Do you recognize the ghost? Kellie saw it on Stampers’ Showcase, the Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator creative sharing site. It’s the XL Two Step owl, standing on his head with his feet cut off. Doesn’t that crack you up? I guess I’m easily entertained, but it gives me the giggles.
So what’s keeping you from making a few treat holders – and some memories – with your family??
Letterpress for Christmas
Even though it’s still September, it’s time to have a little Christmas Speak Peek. After all, there are some pretty fabulous Christmas goodies in that Holiday Mini Catalog – wouldn’t you agree?? There are so many choices but there was no question in my mind regarding where to start for Christmas. Have you seen the Letterpress plates??
- Big Shot and Joyful Season Letterpress Plate
- Watercolor paper; Real Red and Old Olive cardstock
- Real Red and Old Olive Craft Ink Spots
- Frost White Shimmer Paint and the Aquapainter
- Paper Piercing Tool, Template and Mat
- Scallop Trim Border punch
- Real Red 1/8 inch taffeta ribbon
Can I get an Ooooo and an Aaahhh?? The heart-breaker here is that my photography doesn’t begin to do this technique justice. The images aren’t just inked into the paper, they are truly pressed. If you flip the paper over you can clearly see the reverse image, and that deep impression gives this card a very luxe look when you hold it in your hand. The Frost White Shimmer paint was applied directly onto the image full strength with the Aquapainter for a little extra bling on the stockings – you can just see it at the tops of the two outside stockings, but it’s also on the stripes of the middle one. (Dang. I am going to have to spend good stamp money on a camera. Double Dang.)
By the way, the dimensions for this card are 3 1/4 by 6 1/2 inches as you see it, and yes we do have envelopes for that size (#107286, $7.50 for 20, page 171 in the IBC). This is a Christmas card that will truly turn heads!
And now for something a little different:
- Northern Hearts Level I Hostess Set (Holiday Mini)
- Big Shot and Northern Trim Letterpress Plate
- Watercolor Paper; Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise Classic ink pads
- Melon Mambo and Tempting Turquoise Craft ink spots
- Scallop Border Trim and Ornament punches
- 1 and 1 1/4 inch circle punches
- Basic rhinestone jewels and Linen Thread
I’ll be mailing Christmas gifts to my oldest daughter in Australia this year. It’s gonna be tough – this is the first time one of my keiki will not be home on Christmas morning. In case you haven’t checked, postage overseas is kind of expensive, so our gifts to her will be of the “Good Things Come In Small Packages” sort. This flat little box will ship very nicely, and I have a pretty good idea of what I’m putting inside. Can’t say, of course – she does check the blog, although I suspect both she and her sister check in just to see if I’ve said anything about them 🙂
I love all the bling on this package. Those Basic Rhinestone Jewels and Pearls are such fun to use, and I swear that for every two I pull off the sheet, one grows back in their place. These aren’t exactly your traditional Christmas colors, but I was inspired to go really bright with this project. Hmmm…since this will be an Aussie package, I guess they are non-traditional Christmas Colours.
A Really Big Deal
I have been cranking in the stamp room the past week or two. I had a new catalog Open House last weekend, two classes this week, and a sack full of swaps to get ready for the Stampin’ Up! convention this week in Salt Lake City. Imagine throngs of stampers, mostly women but accompanied by a few brave men, sharing inspiration, laughter, and swaps – for four days! I leave tonight on the red-eye and I am pumped up. Packed? Well, no, not yet…
Isn’t this fabulous?? My dear friend Kellie made it for me. Since I’m not packed, you’ll have to forgive me but the list of supplies will have to be an addendum later on.
Better than wallpaper
We built our home 11 years ago, and when it was time to paint we chose a gorgeous, soothing shade called Antique Linen.  We have a lot of windows and beautiful tropical light and we wanted a wall color that would allow our environment to take center stage. My husband and I loved it, but our children complained that it was boring. One of my daughters gave me a cartoon of a sad little man saying “Beige sucks the life out of you”.  A couple of years ago, we finally painted one wall in the master bedroom and the kids applauded. We even did a wall in the living room, but I have to admit that I still love Antique Linen.
There’s a tiny little powder room on the first floor that I kept thinking about. I considered wallpaper, but my husband and I have wallpapered in the past. (Translation: I chose the paper and he put it up. He’s an engineer and if things like that aren’t done well, it drives him crazy.) Wallpapering is not Life Giving in terms of our relationship, if you get my drift. I thought about paint but couldn’t settle on a color. Then I got the new Stampin’ Up! Decor Elements catalog.
This is the largest size of Wildflower Bouquet. To say I love it would be an understatement. It’s nearly four feet tall and it fits this space so perfectly you would think it was a custom design. This Chocolate Chip vinyl is a deep, rich tone and it has the perfect amount of sheen. My photo doesn’t do it justice!
I will admit that this largest size takes some patience to install. It comes in four pieces, and there are very clear and specific installation instructions. One of the instructions is to take your time, and I took that to heart. You do have to be patient when you are matching up all the pieces, but the application went smoothly and I am very pleased with the final result.
These vinyl pieces are designed to stay securely on the wall until you are ready to remove them. When it’s time for a change of scenery, so to speak, you just peel them off and your wall is ready for the next adventure. If you’ve ever peeled wallpaper from a wall (and scraped, and scrubbed, and washed, and said naughty words) you’ll appreciate the way Decor Elements come right off without leaving any marks. They’re perfect for a rental or a dorm room too.
Time to go shopping! Visit my Online Store and click on Shop Now to view the complete line of Home Decor items.
Embossing Boxes
You won’t believe how simple this is. The WOW factor is huge – at least I think so!
- I {Heart} Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes, You and Moi stamp sets
- Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery and Whisper White card stock
- Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery Classic ink pads
- Bashful Blue, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie striped grosgrain ribbon
- Medium Jewelry Tag punch
- Big Shot, Matchbox die and Vintage Wallpaper Textured Embossing Folder
Check out that ribbon! It won’t be available much longer – and for sure it won’t be available after June 30 – so if you like it, order it now! That Embossing Folder is a 2010-2011 Stampin’ Up! Idea Book and catalog Sneak Peak and it is very, very cool. Every embossing folder that comes along is more awesome than the last one and this Vintage Wallpaper is no exception.
These little boxes are perfect favors – you almost don’t need the ribbon. The depth of the embossing folder is enough embellishment, so these would go together very quickly. I’ve only embossed the band that wraps around the box base. A few quick tips:
- crease the fold lines heavily BEFORE embossing
- insert the band with the wider of the two end pieces in first
- apply adhesive to the narrower end which remains outside the embossing folder
The box base doesn’t need any adhesive, and the white panel is cut to fit inside. You could cut all these pieces and then have an assembly line to make a lot of little favors in a very short time.
The envelopes are the best part
Today’s project is brought to you by the Letter E…for Envelope!
I’ve seen a number of projects recently where the crafter ran the envelope flap through the Big Shot with an embossing folder. I finally gave it a try, and I have to tell you it’s really easy and a real wow:
I’ll try to get some photos of my technique. I only embossed the back flap, and it was simple to line it up in the Impressions folder and run it through the Big Shot. The trick is to put the folder through sideways, sending the body of the envelope through the Big Shot first (and outside of the folder). I know, sorry, I’m visual too – I’ll set up my Very Sophisticated Photographic Equipment (point-and-shoot) and take some photos for you.
Here’s the rest of the project:
- Baroque Border Stampin’ Around Wheel
- Always Artichoke Classic ink cartridge
- Whisper White and Lovely Lilac, Almost Amethyst, Sage Shadow, Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue card stock
- Big Shot and Beautiful Wings Embosslit
- Tombo Multi-purpose Adhesive; Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint
- Envelope:Â Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder
These go together really quickly and only use a quarter sheet of cardstock each of color and Whisper White for the note card. I have a stash of “extra” butterflies made with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit – it cuts five at a time, and if you only need the little itty bitty one, you have four left over. The smaller ones make fun confetti, but this is the largest one and it’s almost perfect. It will be really perfect when the new 2010-2011 Idea Book and Catalog merchandise is available and a Certain Product can be added…but I’ll have to save that news for later.
All spritzed up and nowhere to go
Someone may have to pry the Smooch Spritz out of my hands…I think I’ve become dangerous. A definite case of “More is More”, and I’m not convinced it’s a good thing:
- Vintage Vogue and Medallion Stamp sets; Very Vintage Wheel
- Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Close to Cocoa card stock
- Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo and Close to Cocoa Classic ink pads; Whisper White Craft ink pad
- Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write marker, Vanilla Smooch Spritz
- Scallop Trim Border punch, Rhinestone brad, Whisper White taffeta ribbon
- 1/4″ circle punch and a teeny scrap of DSP – I think from SAB but don’t quote me
A couple of days ago I went on a rant about challenges that wouldn’t cooperate. This card uses the survivors from that challenge – a lot of pieces went into the round file (trash) in my craft room. I have to admit, my concept was good but it just wouldn’t tolerate being forced into a sketch that I disliked. You can see I’m still playing with the same colors I used yesterday for the Inkspiration Challenge – it’s getting pretty girly around here. Maybe tomorrow I’ll go Rasta for a change!
Sweet home for a cardinal
Cardinals are nest builders, not house dwellers, but if your imagination can tolerate a little stretching I think you’ll enjoy this:
- Vintage Vogue and I {Heart Hearts} stamp sets
- Naturals White, Soft Suede, Real Red, Mellow Moss, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie and Always Artichoke card stock
- Real Red, Soft Suede and Always Artichoke Classic ink pads
- Black Stampin’ Write Journaler and White Gel pen
- Big Shot and Bigz L Milk Carton die
- Two Step Bird, Heart to Heart and Scallop Edge punches
- Stampin Sponges, Sponge Daubers, Tombo adhesive and Stampin’ Dimensionals
I need to send you to see two special ladies to thank them for their part in this project. The first is the Amazing Kim Bolzenthal, who generously sent me a RAK of pre-cut milk cartons. If you know Kim at all, you’ll know she is a thoughtful, giving person who has a passion for stamping and stampers. Please leave her a comment and tell her how fabulous she is!
The second person I’d like you to visit is Marie whose charming Goldfinch Birdhouses were my direct inspiration for this project. I loved her concept and tweaked it just a little to suit my purposes, but she’s the genius behind the design and she deserves the credit. Please leave her a comment and let her know how brilliant she is!
The cardinal and the little heart are both attached with Stampin’ Dimensionals, but the heart is so small I snipped off a little piece from the strip around the edge of the dimensionals.
Here’s the 411 on the cardinal’s face: It’s a pain in the, um, tailfeathers but I think it makes a big difference. After you punch the bird’s body in Real Red, go back and insert a right angle corner of black cardstock into the face portion of the punch at the beak. The farther in you insert that black corner, the bigger your mask will be. Punch it and set it someplace you can find it, because it’s not very big. Do the same thing with a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock, but only insert that corner in to the point where it makes a tiny diamond shape with the beak. Punch this very carefully, because as soon as you punch it is so small it will disappear into the litter on your workspace. Take a pair of tweezers (yep, I really did that) and use a teeny tiny dot of Tombo to put the Pumpkin Pie beak on the Black mask. Use a tiny dot of Tombo to attach the mask to the cardinal’s face and use a white gel pen to add an eye.
Go ahead – give it a try – you can do it!
The Maui Stamper 
