Today I decided to make something with the Many Merry Stars Stamp Set and this is what turned out – Christmas trees punched with the Tree Punch rather than stars!  See, you never know when you start creating!  The one stamp in the set looked like it should be stamped on a tree shape so that’s where I got the idea. Maybe that’s not what it is really intended to be, but it doesn’t matter.  I stamped that shape with Versamark and embossed it with Gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder with the Stampin’ Up! Heat Tool. I used several shades of green colors (I think Wild Wasabi, Mossy Meadow, and Old Olive) and punched out with the Tree Punch. The one tree embossed with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder was just a scrap piece of paper in my bag of colors, and I thought why not use it?! Then for more variation, I stamped the snowflake in the Many Merry Stars Stamp Set all over a scrap of green, embossed with the Gold Powder and then punched out. The background paper is from the All Is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper. It is layered on Whisper White and the card base is Pear Pizzazz, one of the coordinating colors in the All Is Calm set. What are Christmas trees without a little layer of snow, so I tore some strips of Whisper White and added some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter with the 2-Way Glue Pen. And of course I had to punch some stars with the star in the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack from the Gold Glimmer Paper but one for each tree seemed a bit much. And the greeting is from Holiday Home.  I needed something really small and this was perfect!

Tonight Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators all across the country will be attending livestreaming events at certain movie theaters to watch Stampin’ Up! unveil the new Sale-A-Bration and Occasions catalogs! I’ll be watching the livestream from home, which will be so much fun, although I miss out on getting the catalogs and “swag” by not being at the theater in person. But those of us at home livestreaming are eligible for the door prizes!  Not that I will win, probably! It’s hard to believe that it is almost time for Sale-A-Bration and spring things when we are right in the midst of Christmas, but crafters always have to be working ahead of the game!

Now go make a Christmas card! It’s time to get going!

Stampin’ Up! sells these little sticky circles in lots of sizes called Shaker Frames, and here is a Christmas card I finally made using snowflakes and a Shaker Frame! Shaker Frames use punches and window sheets to make a dimensional shaker. (If you don’t have window sheets, you can use a scrap of plastic packaging you might have or a transparency.) They’re really fun to play with after you get the hang of it. And it’s also fun to fill them with something to shake around! In this case, I had a stack of tiny little Glimmer Paper stars from the Confetti Stars Punch that I wanted to use in a Shaker Frame.  I also added some snowflakes and sequins from the Frosted Sequins package. I probably could have added a bit more “stuff” in my Shaker Frame, but you can also add too much so I wanted to avoid that. The snowflake stamped in the background is from the Many Merry Stars Photopolymer Stamp Set. The scalloped Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper frame around the Shaker Frame is die cut with the framelit in the Circle Card Thinlits Die. The Soft Sky card layer is embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder and a hole was punched in the card stock to accomodate the shaker. Since I was going to pop up the Soft Sky layer, I decided to push the shaker frame into that layer. I tied some Silver 1/8″ Ribbon around the Soft Sky layer and added some of the Frosted Sequins and Rhinestones to the front of the card for some pizzazz.

This Shaker Frame started out to be a snowman! That’s what I was going to make when I began making this card.  So you don’t always know what you will end up with when you start your stamping project! And it’s good to let your creativity flow wherever it takes you!  Just have fun!

Reminders!

Last Day Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals

Don’t forget the 2014 Holiday Supplement!  (while supplies last)

Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog

Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack (add on to your order!)