Up, up and away we go!

 

Today is the day!  We leave for Disney this morning just after 10!  I don't know who is more excited, Max or his mom and dad!!  We'll be gone for 6 days, so I won't be posting much.  I do have one project to show you next week, but the rest will have to wait until I get back.  Tonight we'll be hitting the Magic Kingdom for dinner, the Main St. Electrical Parade and the fireworks...can't wait!!

Itty Bitties Birthday

One of the best perks of being a Stampin' Up demonstrator is that I receive free product rewards for achieving certain career milestones.  As a Counselor, I receive a free pre-selected bundle of products each time a new catalogue comes out!  Talk about a fantastic bonus!!  One of the products I received in my bundle from the Spring Catalogue is the Itty Bitties stamp set.  Now, I have to admit, I wasn't sure I would use such tiny images  very much...boy was I wrong!  I had great fun playing with this set...check out my first project below:

CAS Birthday card featuring the Itty Bitties stamp set with sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

Fun, huh?  I thought this card would work for either a man or a woman, and so kept the embellishments to a minimum.  I also had fun with the colour scheme of Pool Party, Summer Starfruit and Rich Razzleberry.  Not a trio of colours I would have thought to use together, but I was inspired by the gorgeous DSP in the Sale-a-bration flyer.  In fact, the strip of DSP I used on this card is from that Sycamore Street pack.  I can't believe how well Summer Starfruit works with just about everything...the trick, I have found, is to think of it as a neutral rather than a yellow.  Try it and suddenly you'll find tons of combinations you just love!

Now, tomorrow my family and I leave for Orlando and Disney!!!  We are all so excited because none of us have ever been!!  My husband and I both grew up in families for whom this kind of trip was just out of reach, so we are almost as excited as Max is.  I am going to pre-post some projects for you to enjoy while I'm gone, but know that I will be away until January 3rd, so if you've got Christmas Cash burning a hole in your pocket and you just HAVE to order from the Spring Catty the day it goes live (Jan 3rd), you can either order through my online store or email with your wish list.  I will check email when I get home and put any orders in first thing on the 4th.  Also, don't forget to check out the deals in the Online Clearance Rack...a great way to make your Christmas Cash go further!

FINALLY!! Time to stamp!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by loved ones.  We had a fantastic celebration, pretty much perfect in every way.  My only regret is that I didn't get any stamping time in on Christmas Day...too busy preparing a 22 lb turkey!  I did, however, find time to get down to play with my Spring Catalogue goodies yesterday afternoon.  I have to admit it did take a while to get my Mojo working again after such a long time away from creating so I turned to one of my favourite online challenge sites for inspiration.  I'm actually just in under the wire to enter over at Pals Paper Arts, so I'd better get this post done!  Here is the sketch:


And here is my take on it:

Thank you card for PPA149 featuring the Daydream Medallions and Blooming With Kindness stamp sets as well as the Sycamore Street DSP (available FREE beginning Jan. 22nd)

I really didn't think Stampin' Up would be able to top last year's fabulous DSP offering for Sale-a-bration, but this year's is even better!  It has both vintage and modern images in a terrific combination of colours.  Here, I combined two of the more vintage patterns with the geometric hexagons and I love the way they work together.  The other new product I absolutely love is the new large rhinestones.  They are just awesome and I couldn't resist adding one to the centre of my bow for just a hint of bling!
Stay tuned...I'll be back tomorrow with more projects featuring new products.

You missed me?

 I'm still here and I'm ok!  I've had several emails from my faithful reader asking if everything is ok because it has been so long since my last post.  First of all, let me say thanks for worrying about me!  I am ok...just crazy busy with the last week of school and getting ready for Christmas.  Last weekend I baked 20 dozen cookies and squares to give away as gifts and then had to actually start my Christmas shopping!!  This week has been a blur of baking cupcakes for Christmas parties, attending school concerts and running around picking up last minute supplies.  On top of that, my son has come down with a double ear infection...just in time to fly to Disney on the 29th!  Here's hoping the anitbiotics he's taking work fast! I haven't been down to my stamp room AT ALL!!  I have a whole box of Spring Catty goodies waiting to be played with and haven't had a spare second to even put it all away yet!  That said, I know this is an incredibly busy time for everyone, so I'm not complaining.  In fact, I am so thankful that I have a wonderful family and am blessed with the means to provide a holiday filled with surprises and treats to delight them all.  The events of the past week have really brought home the importance of hugging my loved ones each and every day and not sweating the small stuff.

Sooo...I do have one little project for you.  This little guy is not my own design, I totally CASE'd it from fellow demonstrator Melissa Davies.  I did this as one of the make-n-takes at my team meeting this month and my son loved it so much he asked me to make one for each of his 17 classmates!  Thankfully this is a REALLY easy one to put together.  Have a look:

Rudolph Tealight Ornament

Here he is lit!

 This guy is SO easy to put together. Thank goodness, or I never would have had time to get 17 of them made for my son's class!  I did have to make a couple of changes from Melissa's design...adding the "chin" because my tealights were a touch too big and were peeking out at the bottomw of Rudy's face!  I also wanted a bit of contrast for the antlers, so I chose to do them in Crumb Cake instead of Chocolate Chip.  The final change I made was the way I coloured the "flame".  Melissa used Dazzling Details, but the drying time on that was too long for my needs, so I simply coloured the flame with a red sharpie.  Quick and easy!

I will do my best to get some projects done to show you this week...no promises though...I still have to finish my Christmas shopping...and then there's the wrapping!!

CLEARANCE RACK BLITZ IS ON!!

Stampin' Up has just added more than 300 items to the online Clearance Rack!  There are fantastic deals to be had (can you say ink pads for just $2.89 and Stampin' Write Markers for $0.99??) but only while supplies last.  Many items are priced at as much as 80% off the catalogue price.  There are also stamp sets listed at 40% off.  So what are you waiting for??  Click HERE to visit my website then click SHOP NOW to place your order.  Don't wait because deals like these will not last!

*Note:  All Clearance Rack orders must be placed through my online store and may not be placed through email or phone orders. 

Ready for Spring?

I know spring is a long way off, but I am all about fresh colours and flowers these days!  My Spring Catalogue and Sale-a-bration pre-order arrived this week and I finally had a bit of time last night to play with some of the new products.  Oh, I am soooo in love!  Check out this card and  gift tag ensemble I put together:

Card and tag ensemble featuring sneak peek products from the upcoming Spring and Sale-a-bration Catalogues

Gift tag featuring the Pop-up Posies Designer Kit - available January  3rd, 2013!

Any-occasion card featuring the Feel Goods stamp set (available January 3rd, 2013)

What's no to love, right??  I used a bunch of fabulous new products on these projects, but so far my favourite is the Pop-up Posies Designer Kit.  It contains enough supplies to make 9 tags and 3D flowers as well as the Just For You stamp I used on the tag.  The best part?  Its only $15.95!!!  I love it!
Other new products I used include the Honeycomb TIEF, as well as the absolutely fabulous DSP available for free during Sale-a-bration this year.  Its called Sycamore Street and has so many bright, fun colours and patterns its hard to know which ones to use first!  I also used some of the gorgeous ribbon that will also be available for free during SAB.  It is shiny and satiny and SO pretty!  On the tag I cut the layered ovals with new Ovals Collection Framelits..FINALLY  a set of nesting ovals!! So excited for these ones!  All of these fantastic new products will be available starting January 3rd, for the Spring Catalogue, or January 22nd for Sale-a-bration.  If you would like a copy of either of these fantastic new catties, drop me a line and I'll send them to you absolutely free. 
In the meantime, I'll keep playing with my new goodies in between wrapping Christmas presents and baking cookies.  Stay tuned for more sneak peeks and have a great weekend!!

M is for Merry

Today I want to show you the little treats I made to give the members of my Tri-city Stampers Team at our December meeting.  I wanted to use up some of the surplus fabric I had on hand so I used it to cover cardboard to create these little boxes...have a look:

Christmas treat holder featuring sentiment from Occasions Alphabet.

Not sure if you can tell in the photo, but the box is filled with yummy Lindt chocolate truffles...soooo good!  To make the box, I used the backing cardboard that comes with packs of DSP.  I used some Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive sheets, covered the entire piece of cardboard and then adhered the fabric to the cardboard.  I then ran it through the Big Shot using the Box #2 die (retired).  The cool thing is that it cuts both the cardboard and the fabric with no frayed edges!  I then assembled the box, wrapped some Early Espresso tulle around it and tied a bow.  I put the whole thing in a large cello bag and tied it shut with more tulle, this time in Cherry Cobbler.  The tag is stamped in Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler, punched with the scalloped oval punch and then layered on a die-cut label of Candlelight Christmas DSP.  So quick and easy but really pretty!  My husband was so impressed he asked me to make some for his colleagues at work...good thing I have a TON of fabric!!

One More Circle Circus card!

Ok, I know I promised last week that I was done with the Circle Circus cards for a while, but I have one more to show you.  I actually much prefer it to one I showed you here, even though it is the same basic layout.  See what you think:

Thank you card featuring the Circle Circus stamp set with sentiment from Sassy Salutations

Inside view

So, which card do you prefer?  I have to say I like this one much better.  I focused more on the Rich Razzleberry shade in this one, using the Pool Party and Lucky Limeade more as accents.  I also really like the little hits of bling. 
On another note, I just received my box of goodies from my Spring Catalogue and Sale-a-bration pre-order...can't wait to put ink to paper and play with my new toys!  Stay tuned for some sneak peeks later this week!

Heartfelt Thanks

Today I want to show you the card I designed to thank the parents and volunteers who helped my colleague at school and I stage our last-minute concert last Friday.  Those of you who have children in school in Ontario know that things are a bit of a mess right now so we were forced to move the date of our Christmas concert up almost a week.  The show was wonderful and we have many parents to thank for their help behind the scenes.  Here is the card we'll send to each one:

Thank you card featuring the Festival of Prints DSP and sentiment from Perfectly Penned

 Because we have almost as many men as women helping us out I wanted the cards to have a masculine flavour.  I chose to use the woodgrain TIEF with the Core'dinations card stock in Early Espresso.  I die cut a heart from the music notes pattern in the Natural Compositions in honour of my students who performed beautifully on Friday evening.  The sentiment is die cut using the Apothecary Accents Framelits and adhered with dimensionals.  A simple card to express so much gratitude!

Last Circle Circus

Today I have the last in the series of cards I created for a custom kit using the Circle Circus stamp set.  Have a look:

Thank you card featuring the Circle Circus stamp set with sentiment from Sassy Salutations

Whaddya think?  Kinda funky, huh?  I used a bit of DSP from the Summer Smooches pack...love those chevrons!  The colour scheme is Lucky Limeade, Pool Party and Rich Razzleberry with a bit of silver Glimmer paper thrown in for some sparkle.  The more I work with this stamp set the more I like it!  Watch for a new Kit-to-Go featuring it in the new year.  In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Circle Circus #2

My apologies to those of you looking for inspiration for Christmas projects.  I am SO tired of Christmas crafting!  I've been doing Christmas since the Holiday catalogue pre-order started in July, so you can imagine that 6 months of Christmas crafting has pretty much done me in!  Our Occasions catalogue pre-order started this week and I am anxiously awaiting my box of new goodies.  In the meantime, I have another card I designed using the Circle Circus set.  Have a look!

Birthday card featuring the Circle Circus stamp set with sentiment from Sassy Salutations

This is another sample I created for a custom kit one of my customers ordered.  I think it is my favourite of the bunch!  I like the little hits of sparkle, the unexpected colour scheme and the sense of motion created by the circles moving across and down the card front.  I also like the negative space, giving a CAS look to a card that really isn't all that CAS! 

Experimenting with Circle Circus

Circle Circus is one of the most versatile stamp sets in our catalogue, yet it is often overlooked.  I pulled it out a while back when I was designing samples for my Chrismtas card buffets this fall.  I had such fun playing with it I decided I would start working on ideas for a new Kit-To-Go featuring this set.  At about the same time a customer of mine requested that I put together a kit as a gift for someone special for Christmas.  This is one of the designs I came up with, based on her colour preferences.  Have a look:

Funky and bright Birthday card featuring the Circle Circus stamp set with sentiment from Sassy Salutations

Fun, huh?  I love the bright colours on this card!  I also really like the way the font of the greeting enhances the funkiness of the design.  The colours I used are:  Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight and Lucky Limeade.  It doesn't get much brighter than that!  I had to work within the parameters of the supplies this customer had, so even though the floral circle in this set is much larger (1-3/4"), I punched out part of it using the 1" circle punch.  It allowed me to use several of the same image to create the focal point of the design.  I embossed part of the background using the Perfect Polka Dots TIEF, leaving a portion smooth at the bottom for the sentiment.  The baker's twine adds texture without overwhelming the design.  I added the rhinestones at the bottom because, well, who doesn't like a little bling on their birthday?!?

Dazzling Snowflakes

Today I have another project we'll be creating in my monthly technqiues class this week.  It uses the Dazzling Diamond Dust technqiue and is perfectly pretty!  Check it out:

Non-traditional Christmas card featuring the Snowflake Soiree stamp set.

I am loving the combination of Rich Razzleberry and Pool Party lately!  Not sure what it is, but those colours just really like each other in my eye.  This photo really doesn't do this card justice, as it is so sparkly and pretty....like sunshine on fresh snow.  You'll have to take my word for it or come to my class on Thursday to see for yourself!

A Dryer Sheet Christmas?

This month my techniques class will be learning the dryer sheet technique.  It is a neat way to add soft sparkle to a design, perfect for Christmas cards.  Here is the card we'll be making at class this Thursday:

Holiday card featuring the Lovely as a Tree stamp set with sentiment from Greetings of the Season

For this card I pulled out the tried-and-true Lovely as a Tree stamp set.  Those images are classic and will never, ever get tired...what's not to love about trees??  The sentiment is from the Greetings of the Season set in the Holiday catalogue.  What the photo doesn't show very well is the sparkle all over the focal image.  This technqiue uses Dazzling Diamonds glitter, which means all of us will leave class on Thursday looking very pretty indeed!

Experimenting with Circle Circus

She's Alive!

Finally!  I am back among the living.  Wow...this one really knocked my entire family out for a whole week!  Not fun and certainly not something I'd wish on anybody!  Thankfully the worst of it seems to be behind us, though my DH is still feeling under the weather.  I am sniffly but certainly much better than I was.  So, that means I'm back to stamping!  Today I have a fun Christmas card I designed a while back for one of my events this season.  The layout is based on a sketch challenge over at Pals Paper Arts, but I am WAY late to enter the challenge!  Even so, I thought you might like to see what I did, so here is the sketch:



...and here is my take on it:

Holiday card featuring the Snow Much Fun stamp set with sentiment from More Merry Messages.

Don't you just love the Snow Much Fun stamp set?  Those images are just too cute and beg to be coloured!  I have to say I sold several copies of that set during the Online Extravaganza sale when it was 50% off! On this card I used only a portion of the tall snowman, stamping it with Staz-On and colouring with my Stampin' Write markers.  The DSP in the background is from the Snow Festival pack.  I embossed the bottom of the card base using the Delicate Designs TIEF and then sponged lightly using Whisper White Craft ink for a frosted look.  I also made use of some of the white sweater trim from the Holiday catalogue which gives a cozy warmth to the design.  I took some liberties with the sketch, adding the sentiment banner at the bottom, which I embellished with a bit of Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine. 
There are a lot of elements to this card...I just couldn't stop adding stuff!  Gotta love it when those creative juices get flowing!  Here's hoping they keep flowing...a week in bed has put be WAY behind on just about everything!  Time to get back to my stamping corner...enjoy your Sunday, everyone!