Monthly Archives: December 2014

New Year’s Eve Party Hats Card

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New Year's Eve Party Hats Card

It’s New Year’s Eve, December 31!  Can you believe it??  What happened to Christmas?  For that matter, what happened to April or October?!  Time flies when you are having fun I guess!  Are you celebrating tonight?  Having a party at your house or going out?  My mother always wished she could be at Times Square on New Years Eve, so I always think of her when I see that crowd. I wish I could be there too, just without the hassle! I’m sure it is the experience of a lifetime! But instead we will be taking kids to the airport earlier in the evening (sad!) and then watching whatever New Year’s Eve shows are on TV and having a little toast and snacks at midnight.

One of my fondest New Year’s Eve memories was when I was about 16 and my mother started calling up people and inviting them over to her parents’ house. It turned out no one had plans and everyone came over for a very impromptu party! My grandma always had plenty of food in the house, I suppose we took some things over, and we always loved being at her house! There were kids and my parents’ friends and probably my grandparents neighbors. Just spur of the moment and a really good time. I think we always assume “everybody else” is out having a fantastic time at a big party but it probably isn’t always true.

So for my New Year’s Eve card, I thought of two party top hats made with Basic Black squares and a strip for the hat brim on top of a layer of Whisper White criss-crossed with Watercolor Wonder Designer Washi Tape.  I used strips of Gold Sequin Trim on the hat bands because what says New Year’s Eve more than sequins! The greeting is from Good Greetings (no longer available). Of course I added as much bling as possible with the Frosted Sequins (and a few snowflake sequins just in case it is cold and snowy where you are!) and the In Color Sequin Assortment.

I hope you will have a fun New Year’s Eve whether you are out and about or enjoying a quiet evening at home!  If you are staying in, maybe tonight will be a good time to scrap some of those holiday photos, especially with Project Life! Or at least get things prepared to start when Sale-A-Bration arrives January 6th!

Stampin’ Up! Bargains! Get Them Today!

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Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Dec 30 2014

The bargains aren’t just at the mall, you can find bargains at Stampin’ Up! in the Weekly Deals and the Year-End Closeouts! And you don’t even have to get out in the traffic or the crowds! In the Weekly Deals this week, until next Monday night, you have a very cute birthday stamp set, several accessories for the Big Shot, a punch, embellishments and a photobook download for My Digital Studio (or whatever design software you own). Click the picture above or the link HERE.

Don’t forget the Year-End Closeouts, good through January 5, 2015.
Year-End Closeouts Banner

 

Shop for anything you want at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Finishing a Houston Marathon Squash Book Photo Album

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Houston Marathon Squash Book Cover

Back in January 2004 (uh, yes, that would be almost 11 years ago! ) my son Eric ran in the Houston Marathon. I immediately made this “squash book” photo album as it was called, very popular back in my earlier days of Stampin’ Up! I made the album, put the photos in it, and I see now never did any journaling in it!  There’s not one date in it! Very bad! I also never got a cover made. But for 11 years, “any minute now” I was going to finish that album by making a cover (and presumably doing some journaling inside!). So it laid around here all these years, probably got dusted a few times, and finally landed who knows where. But this Christmas it resurfaced and by golly, I was going to decorate the cover! I didn’t know exactly what I would use, but immediately I spied a new Sale-A-Bration stamp set, coming January 6, called, appropriately, Best Day Ever. I thought that saying was so right for this project and stamped that on the top layer. As I’ve always said, stars are great for so many occasions, so I used the Many Merry Stars Stamp Set, which is still available in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Supplement on page 8 and is discounted on the Year-End Closeouts Clearance Rack (while supplies last!).  (If you missed out on the Many Merry Stars Simply Created Kit that was so popular, at this moment it is available too at a discount!  You can still make the kit and save the stars for next Christmas – or use them for another occasion with different greetings.)  I also used Glimmer Paper and the Star Framelits Dies to decorate the cover of the squash book.

I don’t have any directions at my fingertips for making the squash book, but I did use 12 x 12 card stock. You can make it as long as you want.  I put photos on both sides. The trick is getting it to fold correctly, but once you do that, you’ve got it made.  I’m sure you can google “Squash book” and find some details if you need them. Here are some photos of the inside so you can get an idea of how it is assembled and folded. I see I should add some dates and journaling before I let him take it home!

Here are some photos of the inside so you can get an idea of how the squash book folds and looks.
Houston Marathon Squash Book Inside

Houston Marathon Squash Book Folding

Usually I finish all my stamping projects I start, which I consider one of the advantages of the rubber stamping craft, but this project just didn’t quite make it!  I’m glad I finally was able to finish this Houston Marathon Squash Book Photo Album for a Christmas gift, even if it was about eleven years overdue! Try your hand at making a small album for a special occasion!

Don’t forget, the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog is coming to an end January 5th! Even though we are excited about the new Occasions Catalog and Sale-A-Bration event  coming up, don’t miss out on anything you wanted from the Holiday Catalog or Holiday Supplement before they end! Lots of items are on the Year-End Closeouts as well, so you might get a bargain!

OK. Now It’s YOUR Turn!

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Stampin' Up! Year-End Closeouts

Ok. It’s your turn!  You’ve shopped, sent cards, wrapped packages, cleaned the house, cooked the meals, entertained the relatives, and didn’t get exactly what you wanted for Christmas. This is when you say, “I’m going to take care of myself!” and go pick out a few Stampin’ Up! items you want just for kicks. And if you like bargains, you can check out the Year-End Closeouts on the Clearance Rack or the Weekly Deals. Go ahead.  You deserve it. Just to tide you over until it’s time to order for Sale-A-Bration!

Bright & Beautiful Christmas Card for Christmas Eve

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Bright & Beautiful Christmas Card

 

Isn’t this Christmas card perfect for Christmas Eve with the Bright & Beautiful Stamp Set stars and the beautiful Glimmer Paper to add sparkle?! The coordinating Stars Framelits Dies are great to use rather than cutting out the star shapes yourself. She also has washi tape going across the card diagonally.

This card was made by my friend from years and years ago when I was dating my husband and when we were first married and lived in Oklahoma. We haven’t seen each other in over thirty years, yet we have always kept in touch with Christmas cards every year. A few years ago she mentioned she was interested in stamping so we re-connected with Stampin’ Up! on a “stamping level”. Even though we had kept in touch all those years, it’s been even more fun to do so with our common interest in stamping and cardmaking through phone calls, emails, and cards! Never underestimate the power of stamping which goes beyond paper, ink and stamps!

If you want to do some shopping for YOURSELF today or in the days after Christmas, remember that Stampin’ Up! added more items, even from the Holiday Catalog, to the Year-End Closeout Clearance Rack.

Do you open Christmas presents tonight or on Christmas Day? Growing up my family and grandparents always opened presents on Christmas Eve – basically the presents that were at our house we opened Christmas Eve. Christmas morning Santa had come and left presents, unwrapped, and a stocking (too bad my parents were so “poor” that they could only give us one little package to open on Christmas Eve!  Ha! Ha!). In the afternoon we would go to my grandparents’ house and open the presents at their house (from them). So we spread it out and I still like it best that way but nowadays we just open presents on Christmas Day, with a pretty late start!

I hope all of your family members who are traveling today have a safe journey as you look forward to their visit, or that you have a safe trip as you travel.

However you are celebrating Christmas, I hope you have a very merry one!!  And I hope that Santa is very good to you!

Top Note Package Chalkboard Tag

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Top Note Package Tag

I got this idea from one of the many store ads I have gotten in the mail recently, and I thought it was so cute! The chalkboard style is still “in”, which I love, so I made a package tag with the Top Note Die to look like a chalkboard! Hasn’t the Top Note Die been just about the most versatile die to ever use?! I wrapped the package in the Stampin’ Up! Festive Designer Kraft Paper Roll (on the Clearance Rack!) and tied the Cherry Cobbler 1″ Sheer Linen Ribbon around. Then I die cut the Top Note tag and wrote on it with my White Stampin’ Chalk Marker. Easy, fun, and works for anybody.  If you don’t own the Top Note Die, just use a piece of Basic Black Card Stock that’s not die cut! The kraft wrapping paper you can use any time.

This morning Stampin’ Up! added new items to the Year-End Closeout Clearance Rack so be sure to check those out!

Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack Year End Closeouts

And here are the new Stampin’ Up Weekly Deals for this week Dec. 23 – 29, 2014.

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Dec 23 2014

 GIFT CERTIFICATES

If you need last-minute help with your Christmas shopping (or better yet, your husband or family does for you!) I offer gift certificates that I can email and they can print out, wrap up beautifully for you, and you’ll be all set to order from the new Occasions Catalog coming January 6th!

Lovely As a Tree Classic Christmas Card

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Lovely As a Tree Classic Christmas Card

Here is a Stampin’ Up! Christmas card we received from my husband’s cousin! She used the stamp set Lovely As a Tree, a classic stamp set that I can’t imagine ever doing without! Notice how she stamped the center tree fully inked and then stamped each tree on the sides without reinking. For some pretty sparkle, she added a little glitter and a Silver Glimmer Star. She also added a little strip of Nordic Noel Designer Series Paper.

The Lovely As a Tree Stamp Set can be used for Christmas, for masculine cards, for many occasions. It’s just one of those stamp sets that your collection should not be without! It is timeless!

If you are interested in any of the Weekly Deals, remember tonight will be the deadline for ordering. New ones tomorrow! Don’t forget the Year-End Closeouts in the Clearance Rack. You can order the Christmas products on there and save them for next year!

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal Dec 16 2014

Christmas Fudge! It’s a Joke!

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Christmas-Fudge Poem

This is actually from a post from last year, but I thought “Christmas Fudge”  was appropriate at this point in time, so close to Christmas!  If you need a little funny something for somebody, this idea has been around for many years but is still good….and handy!  Just print it out and wrap some card stock or designer paper around one of those very large candy bars and you’ve got a gift! Of course once you read the words you will recognize it as a take-off of “Jingle Bells”!

You can read my previous post HERE.

Quick and Easy Tiny Christmas Tags

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Tiny Christmas Tags

We’re all rushed for time, but if you find yourself short on tags for wrapping presents, just make some quick and easy tiny Christmas tags like these! The Soft Sky card base is cut at 2″ x 4″ and scored at 2″. The Whisper White layer is cut at 1 3/4″ x 1 3/4″. Just find some small images to stamp easily. The first one is from the stamp set Many Merry Stars and the other two are from the Project Life stamp set December Wonder. The monochromatic look is easy and you don’t even have to think about colors!  Add a tiny rhinestone or pearl for a little something on your tag or gift card! Super simple to make!  At most it took five minutes!  And it was fun!  You won’t be able to buy such cute gift tags at the store!

How close are you to finishing your Christmas shopping and preparations?!

In all the holiday hubbub, don’t forget the Year-End Closeout on the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack! Everything is available while supplies last so products can change at any time. There are several Christmas products you could use now or put away for next year!

 

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Candy Treat Holder

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Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Candy Treat Holder

If you need a little candy treat holder for Christmas, try this Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Candy Treat Holder. It’s made with the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, but if you didn’t have that punch, you could also just make the card stock strip plain and punch holes in the top. The Tag Topper Punches make it easy!

I wanted to be able to enclose two Ghirardelli chocolates inside so I made the spacing for the bottom a little wider and the strip a little longer. I cut my cardstock for the candy holder 7″ x 2″.  It does need to be exactly 2″ or a tad narrower for the strip to fit inside the punch. Score at 3 1/8″ and 3 7/8″. Punch each end with the Tag Topper Punch. Fold on the score lines and decorate the treat holder! I put a little bit of SNAIL Adhesive inside just to help hold the candy. Tie with some ribbon at the top.

To decorate the candy treat holder, I cut a piece of Whisper White for a background layer and stamped with Soft Sky ink the very little snowflakes in Holiday Home. The tree is from Festival of Trees and punched with the Tree Punch. Of course I had to punch out a little star from the Glimmer Paper and I even had to add a little bit of bling with some Pearls and Rhinestones.

This is an easy and fun project to make!  Make it a little smaller if you want to just add one chocolate inside!

Shop Stampin’ Up! HERE.

Make a Gift Card Holder

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Gift Card HolderShopping time is about over before Christmas (not that I have barely started mine!) so gift cards might be an easy solution for your gift-giving at this point in time! Make a pretty gift card holder with some card stock and designer paper and maybe a stamp or punch or two! My friend and I made a bunch of gift card holders yesterday for her husband’s office, but that version was a little more complicated, although they turned out beautiful. This gift card holder is very easy to make and so versatile.

Cut a piece of card stock 10″ x 4 1/2″.  Score at 3″, 4″, 5″ and 8″. Fold and decorate.

That’s pretty much it!!

Here are the steps since you probably want the details!

Gift Card Holder Folds

Fold on all the score lines using a Bone Folder to crease them well. Make sure your folds are going like this.

Gift Card Holder Adhesive

Apply adhesive as seen in the photo above.  I used Sticky Strip (and took off the red liner before I took the picture! I like using adhesive on both sides that meet up so it holds well, just in case. In this case, put the adhesive very close to those fold lines because the gift card is going to be inserted in the top part, where the fold is now.

Gift Card Holder GluedPinch that fold together where you have put the Sticky Strip (or Mono Multipurpose Glue). You are eventually going to slice off the top fold to make an opening for the gift card, so don’t worry!

Gift Card Holder Greeting Inside

You can add a greeting to the inside and adhere some designer paper where you like. Using the Paper Trimmer, trim off just a slight bit of the top of that fold line where you will insert the gift card. You could use a framelit or punch that opens up that fold to fit the gift card. In the photo, you can barely see the opening I have after trimming off just about 1/8″ or whatever slight amount of the fold.

Gift Card Holder with Card

Insert the gift card (not a plug for Office Depot, I just grabbed a card that would fit in the slot!). Make a belly band (mine is 1 1/4″ wide) to fit around or tie a ribbon or whatever you like!

Easy gift card holder!  Unless you choose to make it more complicated!

Today may be the last day to order Stampin’ Up! products and have them arrive before Christmas. Of course it all depends on where you live and weather conditions and road conditions and all that! Did you know Stampin’ Up! offers Expedited Shipping?? Warning:  You can become addicted!  It does cost extra, on top of regular shipping, and you can get 1- or 2-day shipping.  There is a time deadline for it to ship out the same day.  But if you are in a hurry, it’s great! Like my Occasions Catalog pre-order that is arriving today!!!

Shop Stampin’ Up! HERE!

New Stamin’ Up! Weekly Deals

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Weekly Deal Dec 16 2014

Here are the new Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals for Tuesday, Dec. 16 through Monday, Dec. 22.

Don’t forget about the new photopolymer stamp set that came out last week, Snuggles and Smooches! You might want to put one on your order and get a head start on Valentine’s Day!  Not that it is just for Valentine’s Day!

Snuggles and Smooches Stamp Set

Stampin’ Up! suggests you order by tomorrow, Dec. 17th for delivery (hopefully) by Christmas!

Don’t forget, if you need, or SOMEONE needs a gift for YOU, I can make up a gift certificate for Stampin’ Up! merchandise in any amount, which might be especially useful starting January 6th when the new Occasions Catalog goes live and Sale-A-Bration begins!

Shop at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store any time!

Festival of Trees Christmas Tags

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Festival of Trees Christmas Tags

It is crunch time for sure so I plan to show you quick and easy Christmas projects you can make at the last minute this week! Here are some Festival of Trees Christmas Tags you can make with scraps and just a little bit of stamping and embellishing. I cut the tag 2 1/4″ x 4 1/4″ with the Whisper White layer 2″ x 4″. You can use any colors you like. I stamped the trees with the Festival of Trees Stamp Set and punched out with the Tree Punch. That punch is so handy! If you want, you can save 15% by buying the bundle with the stamp set and punch together. You don’t even need to stamp, you can punch out a tree from designer paper or Glimmer Paper! Super Simple!  And then if you like, but not necessary, you can embellish the trees with some bling, like rhinestones or pearls or Candy Dots!

Have fun making some easy Christmas tags!

Last day for Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals!  Order before midnight tonight!

Weekly Deal Dec 9 2014