Monthly Archives: November 2013

Is It Now ‘On To Christmas’?

Christmas tree clip art

Thanksgiving is over so I guess the Christmas season is officially underway! I can never quite believe it until I get our house decorated for Christmas, then it seems perfectly natural! I hope you had as nice a Thanksgiving as I did. My boys are home plus one girlfriend, who was quite helpful in the kitchen all day as we prepared the many side dishes with the turkey. Then she got my son to help her hand wash everything that didn’t fit in the dishwasher and I got to sit down!!!  What a welcome treat!

Stampin’ Up! has the Holiday Sale going on and just the other day announced they would have a few 24-hour specials on Cyber Monday (December 2). On that day you can go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and check in the ’24-hour’ category in the left sidebar to find the specials. You’ll also be able to purchase the final “Best of 25 Years” stamp set as well.

I’ve been cleaning up my craft room (although I stamp at the kitchen table!) and found some old papers with stamping Christmas songs!  Here’s one to get you in the mood! Since it has been a wintery weekend in many places, here is one to the tune of “Winter Wonderland“!

Brayers roll…..are you listening?

On the card….ink is glistening.

A beautiful sight…we’re happy tonight,

Stamping in a winter wonderland!

In the kitchen we can stamp a snowman.

Then add color to his carrot nose.

You’ll say, “Are you finished?”

I’ll say, “No ma’am,

I need to add some glitter to the snow!”

When we stamp……isn’t it thrilling?

Even when…..the powders spilling.

We’ll create and we’ll play….the art stamper way,

Stamping in a winter wonderland.

 

 

 

 

 

On Thanksgiving Day

Ceramic Turkey Flower Holder

Years ago I bought a flower arrangement in this ceramic turkey for my Thanksgiving table. The next year I didn’t see one as cute, so I brought this one back and had them put fresh flowers in it. I’ve been doing that every year for our Thanksgiving centerpiece. Lately I’ve just been buying a bunch of flowers and putting them in the turkey myself, but as you can see, flower arranging is not one of my talents!!  But I still love my little Thanksgiving turkey with some pretty fresh flowers!

I’m sure your family has its special traditions for Thanksgiving.  I hope you are enjoying them today and building those memories!

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

No Mistakes in Stamping!

Turkey FavorsThere are no mistakes in stamping.  There are no mistakes in stamping.  Well, maybe not in stamping, but sometimes in pasting!!  This was my project with the Circle Treat Cups that I had to rip apart because I realized I hadn’t put the treat cups in the punched out circle yet!

But it all worked out!  Just cut out my Chocolate Chip paper and redid it! Do you like all my cute turkeys for my Thanksgiving table today?!

Turkey Favors for Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals November 26 – December 2

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Nov. 26

Images (c) Stampin’ Up! 2013

Here are the new Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals starting today and running through Monday, December 2!

Put these on your order with some of the Holiday Sales!  And on Cyber Monday, December 2, (the Monday after Thanksgiving!) check the Holiday Sale page for new 24-hour specials!!!! Just announced today!! We can all be surprised together!

Circle Treat Cup Thanksgiving Dinner Favor

Circle Treat Cup Thanksgiving Dinner Favor

My little turkey favor looks a little spaced out, I think!  Maybe I need to do his eyes better! This is a fun favor to make for your Thanksgiving table with the Circle Treat Cups. It’s actually  a little card 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ that can stand open on the table at each person’s plate. Use a 1 3/4″ Circle Punch to punch a hole for the Circle Treat Cup. I used Mini Glue Dots to attach the front edge of the treat cup to the inside of the card. Rather than just cover up the back of the treat up after the candy was inside, I cut a slightly smaller piece of card stock to fit on the back and punched a hole in that to line up with the treat cup. I only put a thin line of glue on three sides of that card stock so one side would be open. Next I cut another smaller piece of card stock to slide inside to cover the hole.  You can see the little tab I cut out so the person can pull that piece out and retrieve the candy easily ( I meant to put it on the opposite side, but it’s fine!).

Circle Treat Cup Thanksgiving Dinner Favor Inside

Once you have that basic treat cup construction finished, you can work on your turkey on the front! Just use a circle punch for the head and oval punches for the tail feathers.  I used the Sweater Weather Designer Series Paper but you could also just use card stock, perhaps embossed or stamped. Instead of putting the Thanksgiving greeting at the bottom, you could write the person’s name there and use it for a place card. I might even add a little turkey hand holding a sign on which I can write the person’s name on black card stock with my Chalk Marker!

I seemed to get a lot of blue M&M’s in my Treat Cup! You can pick out the fall colors and put those in there or even some nuts or something that goes with Thanksgiving! I think a little party favor for everyone is always a nice touch at the table!

Don’t forget the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Sale going on right now! Just go to my Online Store or you are always welcome to contact me with your order!

SUPPLIES USED

Punch Art Turkey Thanksgiving Card

Punch Art Turkey Thanksgiving Card

Punch art is the term given to using our Stampin’ Up! punches to make an image of some kind. This punch art turkey is easy to make with some ovals and circles and goes great on a Thanksgiving card.  You could also make a punch art turkey like this and use on place cards or decorations on your Thanksgiving table.

I’ve been cleaning out my craft room and going through all the pages I printed out of card ideas, etc. Some are so old and out of date, plus with ideas so prolific on the internet I seldom print things out any more.  But when I came across this cute turkey idea I’d printed many years ago I had to set it aside to make!

The Sweater  Weather Designer Series Paper is perfect to use for this card! The coordinating colors that go with the paper are Tangerine Tango and Chocolate Chip so I used those for the card base and layer and parts of the turkey. Then I just punched a body for the turkey with the 2 1/2″ Circle Punch, the head with the 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, the feathers with the Oval Punch and Scallop Oval Punch. Of course for the eyes and feet the Owl Punch came in handy! The waddle is the Small Heart Punch upside down. The Thanksgiving greeting is from one of my favorite stamp sets Teeny Tiny Wishes, punched out with the ever-popular Word Window Punch.

Supplies Used

Here is the inside of the card.  I added a Whisper White layer since the card is too dark to write on. I inked up the Magnificent Maple stamp in Crushed Curry (the lighter color first) and then “rock ‘n rolled” the stamp on the edges in the Tangerine Tango to get the two-toned effect.  The greeting is from the Four You stamp set.

Thanksgiving Card Inside

Be sure to check out all the Holiday Sale items at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store as well as the Weekly Deals. You can use the categories on the left side of the store website to find all the products! You might also like the Festive Flurry Ornament Kit!  Mine is on the way!

Stampin’ Up! Holiday Sale Starts Today

Stampin' Up! Holiday Sale

It’s time for online holiday shopping with Stampin’ Up! You can get incredible discounts-up to 50 percent-on some of your favorite products! This is the perfect time to stock up on some of your favorite items or for a new stamper to give Stampin’ Up! a try.

The Holiday Sale begins with some 24-hour-only DOORBUSTERS today only!!

The 24-hour sales period on these three products ends at 11:50 PM (MT), November 20.

All the other products are on sale from November 20 – December 2. Check out the full list HERE.

  • Hostesses who have earned a 50%-off item may not apply that discount to an already-discounted product.
  • There’s no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion. Sale on!
  • For product bundles, you need to use the bundle item numbers provided. If you use individual item numbers, you won’t get the discount-bummer.
  • You can buy additional products from any of our current catalogs on the same order.

Time to SHOP here at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store or if you prefer, you can contact me to put in your order for you!

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

New Tuesday Weekly Deals from Stampin Up!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals Nov. 19

It’s Tuesday so here are the new Weekly Deals from Stampin’ Up! Take advantage of the sale on these items to save yourself a little money to spend on more stamping supplies! If you are a ribbon freak, the Chevron ribbons are lovely.

But don’t order anything today!!  The Stampin’ Up! Online Holiday Sale (formerly known as the Online Extravaganza) will begin tomorrow, November 20 and run through December 2. It will start with a 24-hour Doorbuster Sale so be sure to check it out TOMORROW!

Today is the last day for the Tag It Bundles:  Holiday Tag It Decorative Box Bundle and the Holiday Tag It Extra-Large Box Bundle.

And keep in mind the gorgeous Festive Flurry Ornament Kit!  You’ve GOT to have one of these kits for your holiday packaging or for hanging on your Christmas tree or other home decor.  All you need is a hot glue gun!

Visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store for all these wonderful Stampin’ Up! products!

PS:  If you’re not on my Mailing List, subscribe NOW in order to receive my special 12 Weeks of Christmas email with a new holiday project idea coming out every Wednesday.  Tomorrow we will be on Week 8! I can’t believe it!!

Fun Making Christmas Gift Boxes

Extra-Large Kraft Gift Box with Gift Bow and Tag

‘Tis the season (or almost!) for making pretty gift wrap boxes for the holiday gifts we have shopped for or handmade for our friends and family. Why not get a head start with the Stampin’ Up! Extra-Large Gift Boxes?  They come three in a package and are one of the Weekly Deals, if you order by tonight. Just fold them up into their box shape and start decorating!  It needn’t be elaborate, unless you want it to be. Here I have just adhered pieces of the Season of Style Designer Series Paper to the top and sides of the box.  On the top, I layered it on a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock but the sides are just the designer paper.  And before I put the Christmas tag on, the decorated box could be for any other occasion, not just Christmas! Also on the Weekly Deal, ending Monday November 18, is the Gift Bow Bigz L Die. Grab it for a discount today and you can easily make the double bow like on the top of this box. It probably only took me about ten minutes to decorate this box!  Nothing could be simpler!

For the little tag in the corner of the gift box, I used one of the MANY tags in the Season of Style Designer Journaling Tags package in the Holiday Catalog. I chose one and made a little card to layer it on and stuck it on the top of the box.  Now all I have to do is write the “to” and “from” inside when I see what gift is going in the box! Of course I had to add a little bling with two small Rhinestone Jewels on the snowflakes. You can use these die-cut printed tags for scrapbooks, photo albums, even cards.  You’ll enjoy playing with them!

Don’t delay, check out the Weekly Deals ending today! You’ll probably want all the items! But even if you miss the sale, they are still good values to have.

Go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and get your order in!  Let me know if you have any questions! From the Home Page of my store, be sure to check all the categories in the left sidebar. Don’t forget the Clearance Rack either!

Extra-Large Kraft Gift Box with Gift Bow

Decorate Your Kraft Gift Box with Daydream Medallions

Daydream Medallions Kraft Gift Box

The Christmas season is just about upon us, and soon it will be time to wrap all those gifts!  Get a head start by purchasing the Extra-Large Gift Box #132147 (3 in a package) in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog and then decorating to your heart’s content.  Make it simple or make it fancy! If you order by Monday November 18 you can get a discount on the kraft gift boxes and also the Gift Bow Bigz L Die #129977 during the Weekly Deals!  The Gift Boxes are food safe, so you can fill them up with homemade goodies if you like! They come flat and then you fold and assemble.  You will be surprised how large they are! They measure 4 3/8″ x 6″ x 6″. And of course you can use kraft gift boxes any time of year so they aren’t just for Christmas!

I chose to decorate my gift box with a series of stamps in the Daydream Medallions Stamp Set. I stamped each stamp in alternating colors and cut out with the Floral Frames Framelits DiesI also cut out the matching color card stock with the dies for a layer. The largest framelit (which doesn’t have a matching stamp) I used to cut out the Champagne Glimmer PaperThere’s also a little bit of Glimmer Paper punched with a small scallop punch under the smallest layer.  And then I had to top the design with a Large Pearl Basic Jewel!  Just perfect! The ribbon is the Cherry Cobbler 1″ Grosgrain Stitched Edge Ribbon in the Holiday Catalog. I thought the box still needed “something” so I stamped some vine images from the Forever With You Stamp Set in Soft Suede.

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals which end Monday night! Order your Extra-Large Gift Boxes and Gift Bow Bigz L Die. Might as well get the Burlap Ribbon as well!

Daydream Medallions Kraft Gift Box Top

Daydream Medallions Topper

 

 

New Ikat Photopolymer Stamp Set in November

Ikat Photopolymer Stamp Set

Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 2013

Almost forgot!  There is a new photopolymer stamp set from Stampin’ Up! this month! You’ll find it under “New Arrivals” in my Online Store.  It’s called Eye-Catching Ikat Photopolymer Stamp Set. When I first saw this set, I wasn’t too interested, to be honest. Not my type of design.  But now that I have a done a little research, since I wasn’t familiar with “ikat” it is a lot more appealing! First of all, “ikat” is pronounced “ee-kot”, not i-kat. Ikat is a fabric where the yarns have been bound in places (much like tie-dye) to resist the dye and then woven together. That’s how they get the interesting patterns. This ikat trend is popular in fashion and in home decorating right now so you’ll be right in style with your papercrafting and stamping as well!

The photopolymer stamps are the clear ones that you can see through that you use with the clear blocks. They are super sticky so stay on the blocks well. Just another option for those who are interested.

If you would like to try out this trendy ikat design, you can purchase these stamps in my Stampin’ Up! Online Store.

My Digital Studio New Downloads & More!

Every Tuesday there are new digital downloads for the Stampin’ Up! digital design software called My Digital Studio. These are extra designs you can purchase to add to your content on My Digital Studio or even other kinds of design software. This week Stampin’ Up! has added a new twist:  some of the downloads include an online class to show you how to use My Digital Studio!

Stampin’ Up! will continue to release new classes and coordinating exclusive digital downloads every month, on the last Tuesday of the month. You can go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store to view the projects and techniques to see what is included in the content.

Each class includes an exclusive digital download and instructional project-based video training that will guide users through a number of different techniques as they create a variety of projects in MDS. My Digital Class prices will vary depending on the content included.

MDS Downloads1 Nov 12 2013

MDS Downloads2 Nov 12 2013

MDS Downloads3 Nov 12 2013

MDS Downloads4 Nov 12 2013

You can order any of these downloads and past ones at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for the Week of Nov. 12

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deals Nov. 12

Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 2013

Here are the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for the week beginning November 12 through November 18:

1 1/4″ Burlap Ribbon

Extra-Large Gift Box

Gift Bow Bigz L Die

Mini Muslin Bags

Orchard Harvest Swatchbook Template

Pumpkin Pie Goodie Gear Simply Created Kit

Real Red Goodie Gear Simply Created Kit

Witches’ Brew Designer Series Paper

I’m happy to help you with your order if you email me or use my Stampin’ Up! Online Store at your convenience!  Let me know if you have any questions!

***Also, remember that the Holiday Tag It Bundles are only available through November 19!

Holiday Tag It Bundles

Stampin’ Up! Copyright 2013

Make Beautiful Festive Flurry Ornaments with an Easy Kit

Festive Flurry Ornament Kit

Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 2013

A new kit from Stampin’ Up! and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Add a little festive flare to your holiday decorating with the new Festive Flurry Ornament Kit! Top presents, embellish cards, create a wintery garland, or trim the tree. How you use them is up to you!

The kit includes everything you need (minus adhesive) to create 10 snowflakes, including
* 10 feet of Soft Sky Ribbon
* Printed cardstock – die cut and scored, ready to be assembled (Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Whisper White Cardstock and Silver Glimmer Paper)
* Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels (40)

Order this kit from my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Watch the video below!  All you have to do is punch out the snowflakes, fold where scored and glue together with a glue gun! Then let your imagination run and decide how you will use them!

 

 

We Thank and Honor Our Veterans Today

Veterans Day

Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 2013

Veterans Day honors all those who have served in the armed forces for the United States of America. November 11th was made a legal holiday back in 1938, called “Armistice Day”, as a day to honor those who had served in World War I because hostilities had ceased between the Allied Forces and Germany in 1918 in the eleventh hour in the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Later on, the word Armistice was taken out and Veterans Day became a holiday to honor veterans of all wars.

To read more about the history of Veterans Day, please click HERE to go to the US Department of Veterans Affairs website.

I loved this story the first time I saw it online the other day. Someone notified the USO that a group of Marines were on their way home from Afghanistan on a plane from Baltimore bound for Chicago. Quickly it was arranged for their plane to be met by a corridor of Chicago police, firemen, airport workers and USO volunteers as they deplaned after their plane taxied under a water salute. Once they started boarding their next flight to San Diego, they found out American Airlines has a policy to upgrade military in uniform when possible.  They had six first class seats available. At that, seven other first class passengers jumped up to give up their seats so the soldiers could sit together! If that is not a heart-warming story throughout, I don’t know what is!