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!!

R is for Retire

...boy do I wish that applied to me!  Sadly I still have another 14 years to go before I can enjoy the freedom retirement brings.  Lucky for a colleague of mine, freedom is her reality.  She recently retired after more than 30 years at our school.  She is an institution there and her absence is already being felt!  It is only fitting that I create a special card to honour someone who has done so much to enrich the life of the countless students who have walked the halls of our high school.  This is the card I designed for her...

Retirement card featuring the Broadsheet and Occasions Alphabet stamp sets .

Inside detail with stamped images from the Vintage Vogue stamp set

I have to say I quite like this colour combo.  I took it from the Attic Boutique DSP:  pool party, daffodil delight and soft suede.  It is hard to tell in the photo, but I heat embossed the R using a long-retired embossing powder called Gold Glory.  I sure wish SU would bring that one back...it works perfectly with soft suede for an aged, vintage look.  I created the 3D flowers by punching them out with my boho blossoms punch and then burnishing them with my stylus on the foam mat from my mat pack.  They curl right up, making them easy to layer for pretty three dimensional flowers.  This card took a while to put together but was worth the effort.  I know my colleague appreciated the details I added and it was fun creating a fussy card after all the CAS ones I've been doing lately! 
This is the Family Day long weekend here in Ontario and I am SO excited to have nothing planned at all.  I have an intro to My Digital Studio class tonight and then I have the whole weekend to stamp and spend with my family.  I can't wait!!!

Another Hectic week in the books...

TGIF!!  This week has been SOOOO long!  I hate the first week back to work after a vacation...it is always a shock to the system and this week was extra-busy with my team meeting on Monday night, a parent meeting and an open house at school on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Whew... I have worked some long hours this week!  So I'll say it again...THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY!!  (In fact, tonight at dinner while saying grace I did...thank God, that is). 
So...tonight I have the final card from my One-Sheet-Wonder class.  Today is the deadline to register and there is still room, so call or email to reserve your spot if you haven't already done so.  And now, without further ado, here is the card...

Card #6 in my One-Sheet-Wonder series using Fresh Vintage stamp set and sentiment from Occasions Alphabet.

I saved my favourite card for last.  I'm not sure why, but something about this one appeals to me.  It is really simple to put together...I actually CASE'd myself for a shoebox swap I did at our last team meeting, so it must be easy! 
I've been so busy this week I forgot to mention that I am a guest designer for this weeks challenge over at A La Card Monkey.  I will post my card for you tomorrow but you can get a sneak peek by checking out the challenge later tonight.  I also found out that I was one of the Artist Picks over at Hand Stamped Sentiments for last week's challenge...

for THIS CARD.  If you get a chance this weekend, why not try an online challenge?  They are fun and a great way to ignite your creativity.  Have a great weekend, everybody....TGIF!!

H is for Happy

I bet you've been wondering where I've been all weekend!  I've been up to my eyeballs in junk!  I've been busy purging my house of stuff...we have too much of it!  I got rid of bins of my son's baby clothes (yay for having a new nephew who is growing out of his newborn clothes), sorted out toys, setting aside some for said nephew and others to donate.  This was a tough one for my son as he had trouble letting go of some treasured baby toys, but when I explained that Baby Ben (his cousin) needed them he was a bit more receptive to "donating" them.  Anyhow, I didn't do any stamping this weekend, but I do have the next card in my One-Sheet-Wonder class series for you.  Today's is another birthday card because...well, today is my mom's 69th birthday!  Its hard to celebrate when one's parents live 4 hours away but we did chat on the phone and she had a great day with my Dad and some good friends.  So, here is a birthday card in honour of my mom...

Birthday card using a sentiment from the Occasions Alphabet set.

Now I have to issue a correction...for days now I've been calling this DSP Everyday Elegance when, in fact, it is called Everyday Enchantment!!  Guess I should have my SAB catalogue out when I type these blog posts!  My apologies for the misnomer and any confusion I may have caused!
I do like this layout...it is quite different from anything I've ever done, but I think I'll be using it again!  Don't you just love to CASE yourself??  Just a reminder that the date for this class has changed to Friday, January 20th at 7:00 pm...register by the this Friday.
Tomorrow I am back to work...I can't believe how quickly my two weeks have flown...of course it didn't help that I was sick for most of it!  Ah well, time to go earn some money to cover all those Christmas bills that are filling my mailbox!

Something for the Monkey...

It truly has been ages since  I've had time to participate in the A La Card  Monkey challenge!  I've just been SO busy these last few months with my Stampin' Up business and  conducting holiday concerts for my day job as a high school music department head that I had absolutely no time to stamp for pleasure at all.  Thankfully the past few days have been much quieter and I had a chance to just sit and play with some of the new products from the Occasions Mini.  Today's card is one I designed using the this week's sketch:

 

Here is my version...

Sympathy card for Monkey89 using the new Bordering on Romance set and Twitterpated DSP from the Occasions Mini with sentiment from Petite Pairs.

I know the challenge was to do something "fresh" and what could be fresher than a new  mini with brand new products, right?  I just was dying to use this set and paper and a  baby card just didn't seem appropriate.  Anyhow, I really enjoyed watercolouring this one using my markers and blender pen...there's something so relaxing about colouring.  The design of this card is a little different...but it is still 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" in total height, though, so it still fits in a standard envelope (no extra postage required!).

Yesterday I promised I would  show you one of the cards from my One-Sheet-Wonder class each day this week, and I haven't forgotten!  So, here is card #2:

OSW Card #2 - for BABY!

Ok, now this one IS a baby card!  I love this colour combo for either a boy or a girl.  In fact, it is the same one I used for my nephew's shower invitations and favours.  Again, this uses the same sheet of DSP as yesterday's card...and the next 4 I'll show you!  If you'd like  to learn how to make this card and the other five as well as the pretty box to put them in check out my Upcoming Classes and Events page for details.