I know I was inspired to make this gift by several different stampers.  It seemed like such a cute and novel gift idea.

And of course I already had the paint cans in my closet!  I just loved making the Smore guy at my recent stamp camp so it was fun to use him again!  I packaged up some marshmallows, graham crackers,  and chocolate candy bars plus toothpicks and a tealight for roasting the marshmallows!  I don’t know that it would actually work very well, but it sure made a cute gift!

Here is the outside of the can.  So easy just using Designer Paper.                                                                                                           

Whew!  Everyday there has been so much to do to get ready for Christmas and now it has flown by already!  I’ll try to do a little catching up on some of my Christmas stamping projects.

Remember those cute little mailboxes that appeared early last year in the Target Dollar Spot?  I used the white ones for Valentine stamp camp projects last February, but of course I had also picked up many red mailboxes with the idea of doing something with them for Christmas.  So now it was Christmas time and what to do with them?  Well, I needed several gifts for my demo and non-demo friends for our little Christmas party.  After browsing the Splitcoaststampers Gallery I decided to copy the design by Diane Pappas for these gifts.  She embossed the "snow" on top of her mailbox but I just used the Two-way Glue Pen and Dazzling Diamonds.  It was beautiful and glittery!  I enclosed a little treat bag of candy and made a little glass marble magnet to put inside.

I still had red mailboxes left in my closet so what better way to get rid of eight more than to make some for my little nieces and nephews! My brother and his wife have adopted eight beautiful children internationally over just a few short years!  It’s always a fun challenge to come up with gifts for the kids and I thought these red mailboxes would fit the bill!  Again I made the snow cover with Dazzling Diamonds (glitter, glitter everywhere!) and decided this was an opportunity to pay respects to Frosty, who is retiring in just a few days!  Frosty was one of the first stamp sets I ordered after becoming a Demo to use at my first workshop!  He fit perfectly on the mailbox flap!  On the sides I stamped each of their names on white cardstock using the retired, but my favorite, Whimsical Alphabet.  Inside the mailboxes I put the kids’ gifts…necklaces for the girls and watches for the boys!  A perfect fit!  And maybe next year they can use their mailboxes for  letters to Santa!

Today Stampin’ Up! announced their list of retiring accessories and wheels.  Since Stampin’ Up! does not manufacture these products, the accessories will only be available while supplies last.  If you "need" any of these items before they are gone, be sure to contact me as soon as possible.

Not available:  Liquid Glue; Pastel Refills Neutrals; and Post Extenders

Item #  Product Description

109198  Accents & Elements Borders & Blossoms

109199  Accents & Elements Little Reminders 2

109197  Accents & Elements Tagged

100700  Album Leather Post Black 8-1/2×11

105385  Album Linen Post Mellow Moss 8-1/2×11

104520  Album Linen Post Natural 8-1/2×11

104517  Album Linen Post Navy 8-1/2×11

105382  Album Linen Post Real Red 8-1/2×11

105392  Album Linen Ring Mellow Moss 8-1/2×11

104510  Album Linen Ring Natural 8-1/2×11

104513  Album Linen Ring Navy 8-1/2×11

105388  Album Linen Ring Real Red 8-1/2×11

105067  Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment I

105068  Boxes & Tags Pockets & Pieces Assortment II

108798  Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Confetti White

107246  Boxes & Tags Tiny Takeout Kraft

105747  Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large

105748  Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Large Divided

105744  Boxes Stamp & Supply Extra Small

105749  Boxes Stamp & Supply Jumbo

105734  Boxes Stamp & Supply Large

105746  Boxes Stamp & Supply Medium

105745  Boxes Stamp & Supply Small

101052  Brayer Attachment Foam

107293  Cards & Envelopes Greeting Very Vanilla Medium

109149  Designer Series Paper Brocade Background

109161  Designer Series Paper Cerise

109162  Designer Series Paper Charbon

109155  Designer Series Paper Creepy Crawley

109152  Designer Series Paper Darling Doodles

109150  Designer Series Paper Dashing

108503  Designer Series Paper Petals & Paisleys

109156  Designer Series Paper Linen Prints

109147  Designer Series Paper Notations No. 2

109148  Designer Series Paper Outlaw

109158  Designer Series Paper Uptown

109157  Designer Series Paper Wintergreen

107285  Envelopes Open End Very Vanilla Large

107284  Envelopes Open End Whisper White Large

107296  Envelopes Shimmery White Medium

107287  Envelopes Square Vellum Large

107310  Envelopes Square Very Vanilla Mini

107294  Envelopes Vellum Medium

107290  Envelopes Very Vanilla Large

107291  Envelopes Whisper White Large

101016  Eyelet Tool Kit

105317  Eyelets Bold Brights II

105379  Eyelets Silver

105315  Eyelets Soft Subtles II

107282  Fancy Fibers Bella

107283  Fancy Fibers Elizabeth

103352  Stampin’ Glitter Romantic Red

103349  Stampin’ Glitter Silver Shine

106650  Greeting Glue

102620  Liquid Glue

103145  Page Protectors Post 8-1/2×11

104523  Page Protectors Ring 8-1/2×11

103598  Paper Vellum 12×12

105543  Pastel Refills Bold Brights

105544  Pastel Refills Earth Elements

105547  Pastel Refills Neutrals

105545  Pastel Refills Rich Regals

105546  Pastel Refills Soft Subtles

105962  Perfect Layers Tool

104184  Post Extenders 

106522  Punch Spring Bouquet Flower

109722  Simply Scrappin’ Creative License Hostess Level 1

109611  Simply Scrappin’ Happy Me Hostess Level 3

109596  Simply Scrappin’ Out & About

109626  Simply Scrappin’ Primary Colors

109649  Simply Scrappin’ Round Up

109635  Simply Scrappin’ Secret Garden

109663  Simply Scrappin’ Winter Bright

107415  Simply Sent Friendship Shapes

109230  Simply Sent Happy Day

105580  Spectrum Pad Blue Frost

101492  Spectrum Pad Celebration

105579  Spectrum Pad Cotton Candy

101336  Spectrum Pad Pumpkin Patch

100000  Spectrum Pad Un-inked

103953  Stamp-a-ma-jig Imaging Sheets Refill

104432  Stampin’ Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Clear Embossing

101460  Stampin’ Around Cartridge & Ink Refill Whisper White

102391  Stampin’ Around Ink Refill Clear Embossing

103017  Stampin’ Around Ink Refill Whisper White

103151  Stampin’ Emboss Powder Hologram Highlights

105677  Stampin’ Kids Pad Bear Brown

105676  Stampin’ Kids Pad Beetle Black

105675  Stampin’ Kids Pad Boxcar Blue

105674  Stampin’ Kids Pad Gumball Green

105673  Stampin’ Kids Pad Poppin’ Purple

105672  Stampin’ Kids Pad Princess Pink

105671  Stampin’ Kids Pad Robin Red

105670  Stampin’ Kids Pad Yahoo Yellow

103174  Stampin’ Pastel Applicators

100852  Stampin’ Pastel Erasers

100081  Stampin’ Write Marker Going Gray

100945  StazOn Ink Refill Timber Brown

103088  StazOn Pad Timber Brown

107235  Tag Sheets Bold Brights

107239  Tag Sheets Confetti White & Kraft

107236  Tag Sheets Earth Elements

107240  Tag Sheets Kraft

107237  Tag Sheets Rich Regals

107238  Tag Sheets Soft Subtles

100894  Watercolor Brush Flat

101551  Watercolor Brush Medium

101331  Watercolor Brush Small

105395  Wire Works Metallic

105652  Wrapping Paper Whisper White

Stampin’ Around wheels 

100360  Acorns

109812  All about Birthdays*

109690  All about Christmas*

109812  All about Gratitude*

109676  Autumn Dots

104070  Bloomin’

107466  Bodacious* 

105750 Bouquet*

107481 Butterflies & Blossoms

104065 Fishy

100267 Happy Jacks

107563 Ho Ho Ho

104312 Hot to Dot

104279 Leaf Prints

106062 Leaves Awash* 

107479 Rough around the Edges*

101927 Snowman Fun

107465 Speckled* 

105521 Spooky Skyline* 

108979 Spotted* 

107480 True Hearts

105033 Wings & Things

* Jumbo Stampin’ Around wheels

Yesterday was my Holiday Stamp Camp where we made several different projects.  We finished a little bit early, and everyone was still game for one more project so we all made this "Smore Man" using the retiring "Cold Play" stamp set and stuck him on a small Hershey Bar.  One lady decided to add a little something to her guy, and put a little hat on him using the Tab Punch on Always Artichoke cardstock folded in half, outlined it, and took a scrap piece of Wintergreen Designer Paper for a little decoration on his hat!  We all thought he turned out so cute and deserved a spot on my blog!  Florence, you win for creativity of the day!  I think he has an Alpine look to him!

The coming of the new Stampin’ Up! catalog in January 2008 means new Hostess stamp sets!  We demonstrators are so fortunate to be associated with such a fine company that appreciates us SO MUCH that they sent us all FREE STAMPS!  Yes, Shelli Gardner herself sent each demonstrator a brand new Level 3 Hostess Set that will be in the new catalog in January!  These stamp sets are always the most prized because they come with the higher workshop totals.  This stamp set is called “Time Well Spent” and even came complete with a note from Shelli expressing her appreciation for us and reasons why she chose this particular stamp set.  First of all, she knows we would all love a gift stamp set.  She also loved these particular images and greetings.  It is a very cute set, with flowers, a heart, a butterfly and two great greetings.  Stampin’ Up! has already provided us with some ideas for using these stamps so here is one of their examples I have stamped.  It is so easy to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator because you don’t have to have an ounce of your own creativity, you can always find easy samples to duplicate.
If being a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator might appeal to you, click here to read more about it or contact me!

Here are some examples of easy scrapbook pages to make for Christmas and how to tailor them to the size of scrapbook you want to use.   These are called Progressive scrapbook pages and really designed for a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator to show a group of people examples of scrapbook pages regardless of what size page they might want to make in the end.  However, if you are new to scrapbooking, this also is a rather easy way to start small and work up to a larger page.

Actually, this 2-page spread started as a 6×6 card using a 6×12 piece of Real Red cardstock with a fold at the top.  It really could be used as a card to give or mail with a photo enclosed on one or both pages.  In my demo, I cut the card apart at the top fold and… voila!…you have a 6×6 scrapbook layout!  I used the Season of Joy stamp set from the Holiday Mini along with the Dashing Designer Paper which is so popular right now in the Fall/Winter 2007 Collection.

Next I added one of the 6×6 pages to a piece of 8.5 x 11 cardstock.  I added another photo mat and stamped some embellishments for the side.  You can modify this layout different ways, just play with it!  Now the extra space can be used for journaling or more photos.

If I wanted a 12×12 scrapbook page, I could lay the 8.5 x 11 page on top of a 12×12 page.  This leaves some space on the side, so I wheeled a strip of Whisper White with the Stampin’ Around Jumbo Snowflakes Wheel.  I could also have used an alphabet set to stamp a title along this strip.  Very easily you have a great scrapbook page layout for your Christmas photos!

I think this is a good method to use even when you know you are trying to design a 12×12 page because it breaks it all down into smaller steps.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!  This is a fun card I made with Stampin’ Up! punches!  I was inspired from lots of different demos’ versions of making a turkey with punches.  I think my only original contribution was using the Scallop Circle Punch for the body!  He was fun to make!  You can click on the photo to make it larger.  I only wish I would have mailed it out to someone to enjoy for Thanksgiving!  Obviously a lot of Oval punches were used for the tail feathers and head, which I did the dotted outline with a marker.  You can either punch the hearts or cut out freehand for the waddle and the feet.  The hat can be a square punch with a little scrap for the brim.

Here is another Thanksgiving card I made and then didn’t send!  It is pretty much entirely copied from another wonderful demonstrator whose name I do not have handy at the moment.  I used the Carved and Candlelit stamp set for the pumpkins of course.  I love the new designer paper, Apple Cider, in the new Holiday Mini catalog.  You can click on any of the highlighted words for a link to the catalog.  Remember, the Holiday Mini is only good until the end of November!  It has beautiful things in it for the holidays.  I also used the beautiful Wild Wasabi Double-Stitched Ribbon available in the Fall/Winter 2007  Collection catalog.

Happy Halloween!  The big day is finally here!  It feels a little different to celebrate Halloween in my "empty nest" with all the kids gone, but I’m hoping to have a lot of Trick-or-Treaters at my door tonight.  Since the little neighborhood carnival is just down the street from us, we usually get quite a few trick-or-treaters who come to the door after they leave the carnival.  I always enjoy that.  Our neighborhood in southwest Houston has held this carnival for 30 years I think.  We spent many years taking our kids there, from our first year when our daughter was only five months old up through the years that we helped man the Cub Scout booth.  I should try to scrapbook some of those old Halloween photos of the kids in their wonderful costumes!

For your Halloween greeting I have posted some of the Halloween projects I have stamped over the last month or so.  Some we would have done at my Halloween Stamp Camp had I not had to cancel due to my college freshman’s broken bones from spontaneously trying to jump over a culvert while walking back to his dorm over Parents Weekend.  Fortunately, we were already there and able to tend to him for a week, instead of a weekend, for doctor visits, surgery, and getting him set up as independently as possible to continue his semester at college.  Just goes to show that even if your nest is "empty" you really never are finished with parenting.  I was sad to miss out on stamping Halloween things with my customers, but we’ll just move on to the next holiday!

Here are the tiny Library Clips and the Gold Elastic cord in the Holiday Mini!  The clips are very cute, much tinier than you can imagine!  The cord is very fine and shiny!  I was excited to see the glistening roll of it!

Here is the new holiday Designer Wrapping Paper.  Two rolls are included in each assortment.  Besides wrapping beautiful gifts, this paper can also be used like designer paper on other stamping projects!  I chose this pattern, Celebration, because it can be used for other occasions besides Christmas.  I also love the plain white wrapping paper in the Fall/Winter Collection 2007.  It can be stamped or rolled with a wheel to suit any gift-giving occasion!

The Apple Cider Designer Paper in the Holiday Mini is also fabulous!  The colors and designs can be used for much more than just the fall season!

This is the Dashing Designer Double-sided Paper in the regular catalog.  It will look fantastic for lots of Christmas projects.  However, it can also be used for other occasions as well.

Here is a cute little box to make for any occasion, called the 2-5-7-10 box on Splitcoaststampers.  Click here for the tutorial on their site.  It really was easy to make.  Again I used the Booglie Eyes stamp set, first to stamp tone on tone on the Pumpkin Pie cardstock to make the box, and then used the witch on the front piece of cardstock.  To make the scalloped edge, I used the corner rounder punch.  To make the scalloped edge show up, I decided t just stick a strip of black cardstock underneath it.  Really fun to make!  Try it!

This was a fun and easy card I actually made after seeing a photo of it from the Stampin’ Up!(R) Louisville Regional meeting.  I just used an Old Olive cardstock base, then tore strips of Whisper White paper to form the strips.  Our punches made this card SO easy!  The eyes were made with circle punches and the tongue with the large oval punch!  What a fun card to send to someone for Halloween!

I have often seen stand-up pop-up cards like this one but this is my first try.  The card actually folds flat (as you will see in the second photo) to fit into an envelope but when you pull on the greeting, it stands up on its own base.  And it is very easy to make!

This one is made with the fun Booglie Eyes stamp set, colored in with Stampin’ Write Markers, along with the always useful Itty Bitty Backgrounds stamp set.  On the top of the base, I stamped some circles from the stamp set Priceless and used a strip of Creepy Crawly Designer Paper for a little interest on the side of the base.  The ribbon colors are retired but were the most Halloweeny I had on hand at the moment.

Here is the same card folded down into the base.

Remember, you can click on any of the photos for a larger image.

Here is another one I made!  I used the Home is Where the Haunt Is stamp set.  The words at the bottom are from the Creepy Crawly Designer Series Paper.  I have to admit I had a “Duh!” moment when I realized words I saw on a similar project were from the paper, not from the jumbo Batty wheel!  I kept looking at the words on that wheel in the catalog and wondering where these other Halloween words came from, if they were on the backside of the wheel or if I was forgetting about some other wheel!  But no, they are printed on the Creepy Crawly paper and you have a large assortment of different size words to choose from!

Now that the children are all back in school, we know it is time to start thinking about the upcoming holidays.  I always find that once I get past September the fall season is just a blur all the way into Christmas.  School activities get into full-swing, there are craft shows to go see, some fall birthdays thrown in and before you know it  Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all come in close succession.

Ever since I ordered the Stampin’ Up!® Creepy Crawly Designer Paper  I have been in the mood to stamp some Halloween projects!   This week on Splitcoaststampers the tutorial was about making Criss-Cross cards.  I decided to try it and this is what I came up with using several different stamp sets plus the new Creepy Crawly DS Paper.  For the pumpkin, I used the new Year After Year set and colored it in with my Aquapainter and Stampin’ Write Markers.  On the inside card, I used Party Punch and  Booglie Eyes .  I just love the Booglie Eyes set!  And of course to make the little tab at the top, I used the Round Tab Punch.

Wouldn’t you know all my photos of my cute little Love Notes that I made with my new Punch Box awhile back all came out blurry?!  This one is slightly decent, enough to give you an idea.

Stampin’ Up!® has announced a new special running from now until Sept. 30th.  Wish you could choose your own family sometimes??  Well, now you can…..family of ink pads, anyway!

Purchase the Starter Kit between August 10 and September 30, and you’ll get to pick the family of your choice!  Yes, you can pick the color family of Classic Stampin’ Pads® FREE. That’s a $57.95  value!

Click here to read all about it!  If you have ever wanted to be a Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator with all the benefits and fun, now is the time!

New recruits may choose between our four color families (Bold Brights, Earth Elements, Rich Regals, and Soft Subtles) or choose a pack of our 2007 In Color pads. Color family packs include 12 ink pads, and the In Color selection includes six ink pads.