A Wintry Blog Hop!

Happy Saturday! Are you surprised to see me today? I normally post every Monday, but make an exception when the 15th of the month falls on a different day of the week; which means it must be time for another Stamping Symphony Blog Hop!

This week my Product of the Week has been the Beautiful Blizzard bundle from the soon-to-be retired Holiday Catalogue. I've been posting projects featuring this bundle on Instagram and Facebook all week...if you missed them you NEED to follow me so you don't miss a thing! I also featured the bundle in my Tuesday Live @ Five video where I demonstrated how to make this project...

Now, at first glance this one isn't anything all that special UNTIL you realize that those white sparkly snowflakes in the lower left corner are done with embossing paste using the Blizzard Thinlit die as a mask! This technique is so easy and so much fun I couldn't wait to demonstrate it in my live video last week. You can watch it below or check it out on my YouTube channel.

The sentiment I used on this card is actually from one of the host stamp sets in the Holiday Catalogue, called Warm Hearted. It is lots of great sentiments for many occasions, but I thought a New Year's card might fit the bill for anyone who (like me) hasn't got their Christmas cards in the mail yet! I've provided the complete supply list below...be sure to pick up that Beautiful Blizzard bundle before it is gone for good on January 2nd!

Now, I also used a little sneak peek product on this project...did you catch it? Those stitched rectangles are coming in the Occasions Catalogue on January 3rd and they are THE BOMB!!! I am already completely addicted to them...honestly, how have I lived this long without them??? They are going to be a HOT ITEM in this new catalogue. Speaking of the new catalogue, if you don't currently have a demonstrator and are in Canada, I would be happy to send you copies of the new Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues. Just drop my a quick note and I will get it in the mail to you in time for it to go live on January 3rd.

In the meantime, be sure to hop on over to Sandy's blog and see what she has been up to...

1. Leena (You are here)

2. Sandy

3. Barb

4. Jennifer

5. Steph

Have a Super Saturday and a fabulous weekend!

Product List

Beautiful Blizzard Clear-Mount Bundle [149921] $62.00	Warm Hearted Photopolymer Stamp Set [147777] $13.50	Tranquil Tide Classic Stampin' Pad [147146] $10.25	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $13.25
Tranquil Tide 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144246] $11.50	Smoky Slate 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [131202] $11.50	Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $5.50	Sparkle Glimmer Paper [146957] $6.75
Shimmery White Embossing Paste [145645] $12.25	Palette Knives [142808] $6.75	Silicone Craft Sheet [127853] $8.25	Big Shot [143263] $150.00
Rectangle Stitched Framelits Dies [148551] $48.00	Silver 3/8" Metallic-Edge Ribbon [144213] $9.50	Silver Mini Sequin Trim [144230] $8.25	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220] $6.75

One card, two Holidays

If you're anything like me, you have great intentions to get your Christmas cards out early each year, only to find yourself up until the wee hours just days before Christmas trying to get them in the mail. Sound familiar? Today's card my be the solution. It is one that could easily work for BOTH Christmas and New Year's! Check it out...

I used the Year of Cheer Suite, which, I have to say, has been my most-used suite in this year's Holiday catalogue. I began with a peace of the gorgeous specialty DSP and then layered both gold and silver metallics: silver 1/8" metallic ribbon, a gold foil snowflake and then heat embossed images from the Cheers to the Year stamp set. Here's a clost look...

I used the starburst image in silver and the sentiment in gold. I used the 2" and 1-3/8" circle punches to punch out each image. The gold mat behind the sentiment is punched from gold foil using the 1-1/2" circle punch. as much as I love my Big Shot, I love even more how quick and easy it is to layer circles using punches. I finished the focal image off with some silver mini sequin trim and a Year of Cheer embellishment.

On the inside I stamped one of the sentiments from the Snowflake Sentiments stamp set in Soft Suede and then the starburst image in Smokey Slate ink. I added some small Soft Suede snowflakes as well. This is a pretty quick and easy card to make to send in time for Christmas or to mail after the Holidays to brighten someone's January.

Now for some news about BIG improvements to the Stamparatus reservation process!!
The next (and FINAL) window opens TODAY- December 5th, and will STAY open until December 30th. Unlike last time when there were only 27,000 units available for reservation, there will be no limits to the number of units available for this window. There is, however, a limit of one Stamparatus per person.
This will be the LAST opportunity to grab one before the next Annual Catalogue (June 2018).
Stamparati (that's the plural, right?!) reserved during this time will ship on a "first in, first out" basis, and may not all be shipped by March 19th, depending on manufacturing lead time, HOWEVER, everyone can reserve one during this reservation window, no matter how many are ordered world wide. (So that last image on the picture will not happen unless you try to reserve yours on December 31st(; ).

Go to my webstore at https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/default.aspx… to make sure you have an account set up, and get ready to reserve starting at 2:00 pm Mountain Time TODAY (that's 4:00 pm Eastern).

If you still aren't convinced that you NEED this tool, check out this video:

Now...go reserve yours so you get in the queue...you can thank me later ;)

Shake up the new year

Well, just a few days remain in 2016...can you believe it? In honour of the new year, I have a shaker card for you today...

This is such a quick and easy one to put together, I actually offered it at an recent card buffet! I used a 4" x 6" cello bag to contain my shaker, inserting a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Pop of Pink Specialty DSP for the background and then adding sequins from the Metallic Assortment. I also added some punched confetti I made using gold glimmer paper and the Sprinkles punch. I sealed the cello bag with some Washi tape at the back and voila...instant shaker! Before adhering the shaker to my Basic Black card front, I added a strip of Pop of Pink Washi tape to the front.

The die-cut sentiment is cut from the gold foil sheets using the Hello You Thinlits. The stamped sentiment is from the It's a Celebration stamp set, which is only available for another week in the Holiday Catalogue.

On the iside I added a Whisper White panel on which I stamped the sentiment from the Frosted Medallions stamp set (also retiring!) in Basic Black ink, as well as some fireworks from the It's a Celebration set in Encore gold metallic ink (retired).

I love how quick and easy this card is...and if you're not into sending New Year's cards, it would be a snap to change out the sentiment for a birthday. So fun!


Product List

It's A Celebration Clear-Mount Stamp Set [142880] $22.00	Frosted Medallions Clear-Mount Stamp Set [142189] $27.00	Pop Of Pink Specialty Designer Series Paper [141648] $17.00	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045] $10.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $11.25	Gold Glimmer Paper [133719] $6.75	Cellophane 4" X 6" Bags [102757] $5.75	Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad [140931] $9.25
Metallic Gold Encore Pad [132141] $12.95	Pop Of Pink Designer Washi Tape [141649] $10.75	Big Shot [143263] $136.00	Hello You Thinlits Dies [137363] $33.00
Sprinkles Punch [141472] $23.50

Hello 2016!

Happy New Year! I hope you rang in 2016 with those you love and that the coming year holds much love, health and happiness for you.

In honour of the brand new year, I put together this project...

New Year's card featuring the Day-to-Day Project Life stamp set and Hello You Thinlits

I was going through leftover card kits from various events last fall and found a kit that contained all but the die-cut sentiment, so I re-purposed it from a Christmas card to a New Year's one. The numbers are from the Day-to-Day Project Life set...that one is a must-have for any scrapbooker! I heat embossed them in gold, punched them with my 1-3/4" circle punch and then layered it on a 2" circle punched from gold foil sheets. The sentiment is die-cut twice, once from Basic Black card stock and once from gold foil sheets, using the Hello You Thinlit dies. I layered the gold on the black to make it pop a little more against the white background. I used the Softly Falling TIEF to emboss the thick Whisper White card base.

The DSP is from the Winter Wonderland pack...which is on sale for four more days as part of the Year-End Closeout sale...be sure to pick some up before it's gone!  It is perfect for much more than Christmas...black and gold go with everything! I added some gold cording trim and a few metallic sequins by way of embellishment.

On the inside I stamped the sentiment from the Six Sayings host set in Basic Black ink and then highlighted it with a gold glimmer circle frame, punched using the 1-3/4" and 2" circle punches, and a teeny little gold glimmer star, punched with the Confetti Stars punch.

Have a fabulous first-day-of-2016!

Here are the products used to create this card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Happy New Year for Sunday Stamps

Wow, it's been a hectic week! It is the last Sunday before Christmas and we have a new sketch challenge for you over at Sunday Stamps. Check it out:

Here is my project for the Design Team...I figured some of us might need to abandon the idea of getting Christmas cards out in time and aim for sending New Year's cards instead!

New Year's card featuring the Six Sayings stamp set and Hello You Thinlits

I opted for a gold and silver colour scheme, which just seems right for a shiny new year. I used the new, soon-to-be-available Confetti TIEF to selectively emboss the Whisper White background panel. I used the Hello You Thinlits to cut the "happy" from silver foil sheets. "New Year" is heat embossed in gold on a piece of Winter Wonderland vellum, which I cut into a banner. The image is from the Six Sayings Host set.

I added lots of sparkle with strips of gold and silver sequin trim and a few little rhinestone champagne bubbles.

Inside view with sentiment from Versatile Christmas

On the inside I once again embossed the Whisper White panel with the Confetti TIEF and then heat embossed the sentiment from the Versatile Christmas set in gold. I think it is the perfect sentiment for a new year.

If you're anything like me, your To-Do list is a mile long...why not take a break from the craziness of Holiday preparations and give this sketch a try? We'd love for you to play along with us at Sunday Stamps!

Here are the currently-available products I used to create this project:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2015!!  I hope you rang in the new year with someone special last night!  Today I have a card made just for this occasion that just happens to work with this week's challenge over at Hand Stamped Sentiments...

New year's card featuring the new Hello You Thinlits and the Happy Hour stamp set.

I went with a monochromatic look, sticking with silver and gray for my colour scheme.  I stamped "New Year" from the sentiment in the Bright and Beautiful stamp set by inking just that phrase with my Basic Gray marker.  I used my Stamp-a-ma-Jig to position it just right.  The background panel is Silver Foil Vellum layered on a piece of Whisper White card stock.  I used Silver Foil card stock to mat the focal panel, which I trimmed with some All is Calm Washi Tape.  The word "happy" is die cut using the new Hello You Thinlits, available in just 5 short days in the Occasions catalogue.

The champagne glasses are from the Happy Hour stamp set.  I stamped them in Basic Black ink and then fussy cut them out.  I added some silver glimmer champagne in each glass.  Of course, I needed more bling, so I added a few rhinestone bubbles floating up from the glasses.

On the inside I used more Washi tape and stamped the sentiment from the Happy Hour stamp set in Smokey Slate ink.
I hope 2015 finds you filled with hope and anticipation for what is in store.  I wish you all the best the new year has to offer!