Merry Christmas Eve!

I have a couple more Christmas cards to share with you today. I made this one using the Home set from Artistic Outpost. The image is stamped in Fired Brick and the edges were sponged with Vintage Photo. For the greeting I used Walnut Stain. I tried to make the barn look like it was covered in a blanket of snow by adding some Diamond Dust. For the finishing touch I wrapped some Ecru floss around the card and added a button and some punched branches.

The second card is a 4 1/4 inch square card with no dimensionals because I wanted to make something that would go through the mail easily and not cost extra postage. I will just use a regular invitation size envelope.

I'm glad that I did my grocery shopping last night before the blizzard hit. We don't have too much snow on the ground yet but they're forecasting snow all day today and 6-8 more inches tomorrow with really high winds so at least I don't have to worry about getting to the store.

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you all have safe travels! Thanks so much for stopping.


Supplies (top card):

• Stamps: Artistic Outpost
• Paper: Kraft, Vanilla, Creative Imaginations Winter Woodland
• Ink: Distress Inks Fired brick, Vintage photo, Walnut stain
• Misc: Edge distresser, Embroidery floss, Button, Martha Stewart branch punch, Diamond dust
  

Supplies (second card):

• Stamps: SU Bud Basics, Papertrey Ink sentiment
• Paper: Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Creative Imaginations Winter Woodland
• Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, Distress Ink Vintage photo
• Misc: Circle punch, Paper piercer, Twinklette clear
  

Paper Stockings

All of the older nieces and nephews get money for Christmas so each year I try to come up with a way to package the money other than just putting it in a card. This year I tried making paper stockings. I cut out two stocking shapes, sewed them together and then added a faux fur top. The create the faux fur top I cut white cardstock to 2 x 4, ran it through my cuttlebug with an embossing folder, rounded the corners and then attached it to the stocking with scor-tape.

For my assistant I went with an iTunes card and a chocolate Santa. To accommodate them I had to make the stocking a little wider.

These went together pretty quickly which is great because I still have 8 more to make. Happy Holidays!

More birthdays

One of my dearest friends had a birthday this week and when I saw this adorable image with the huge bottle of wine/champange I knew I had to use it for her birthday card. She is a huge lover of wine so I'm sure this will make her smile.

My girlfriend is in Vegas at the Lady Gaga concert celebrating her birthday. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Supplies:

• Digital image: GoMakeSomething.com
• Paper: Kraft, K&Co Ancestry collection
• Misc: Slit punch (to create scalloped border), Ribbon, Flower, Button, Tracing wheel
  

Bacon & Eggs

Yesterday I came across this blog post on Lick The Bowl Good and it inspired me to make some bacon and eggs this morning. All you need are pretzel sticks, almond bark, and yellow M&M's.

Happy Friday!

Feeling Stressed?

 I decided to take a break from Christmas cards and just make a couple of fun cards. I love these ladies from American Art Stamp. They were stamped on Neenah white and colored with Copics. The layouts are the same so they went together pretty quickly. 

Hope you're all having a wonderful week and not getting too stressed with holiday prep. If so, maybe a glass of wine is in order. Happy Stamping!

Supplies:

• Stamps: American Art Stamp (Emerson Quillin line)
  
• Paper: Neenah white, Stampin Up Rich Razzleberry, K&Co Black & Ivory Fusion
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
• Misc: Copics, Pop dots
  

Holiday Thank you cards

Last night I made a set of 12 holiday thank you cards for a friend. The Be Merry paper collection from My Mind's Eye was perfect for this project. I punched 2 inch circles from 4 of the different papers and adhered them across the bottom of the cards. Next I cut out trees from another sheet in the collection and mounted them to the cards with pop dots. Finally I stamped thank you in Memento Rich Cocoa just above the circles.

I'm really happy with the way they turned out. I hope my friend likes them. Now if I could just get motivated to finish my Christmas cards and get them in the mail. Maybe I should just start making New Year's cards and send those out instead. Happy Stamping!

Supplies:

• Cardstock: Stampin Up Very Vanilla
• Designer Paper: My Mind's Eye Be Merry
• Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps
• Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
• Misc: 2 inch circle punch, pop dots

with Sympathy

I was in need of a sympathy card the other day so I pulled out the K & Company Black & Ivory Fusion paper pack that I bought a couple of weeks ago and Anna Wight's Wildflower Silhouette set from Whipper Snapper Designs and put this card together. I love how it turned out.

I'm totally not ready for the holidays. Thankfully my family and friends will understand when their card is late and I don't bring a big tray of cookies to each gathering to share. I did manage to do some shopping for myself. I was in need of a new printer so I asked around and decided to go with an Epson Artisan 810 and since it qualified for free shipping from Amazon I had to place an order. According to FedEx it's on the way!

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're all having a great week and things aren't too hectic.

Supplies:

• Stamps: Whipper Snapper Designs Wildflower Silhouette
• Paper: SU Vanilla, Black; K&Company Black & Ivory Fusion
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Vintage Photo (sponged on edges)
• Misc: SU Scallop edge punch, Flower, Gem
  

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad's 70th Birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

CSS Designer of the Month

I have the honor of being the Designer of the Month for Clear & Simple Stamps. You can see my interview here. For my project I was inspired by the Beary Well set to create a Get Well Party in a Box. I envisioned bringing this to the hospital as a gift for a child who is recovering. My thought was to fill the box with things to help curb boredom while being in the hospital. I filled the box with crayons and a set of cards to color, a card game, some bandage stickers, a box of tissues, a box of bandages, and a small tin with jelly beans.

Box Directions


Start with an 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of cardstock. Score all four sides at 2 ½ inches. Cut corners, assemble box and secure with scor-tape.

To create the decorative flaps on the box, select a complementary designer paper and cut two pieces to 6 x 2 ½ and score along the 6 inch side at 1 inch. Next cut two pieces to 3 ½ x 2 ½ and score along the 3½ inch side at 1 inch. Round the corners of the 1 ½ inch sides. Apply scor-tape to the reverse sides of the 1 inch flap and attach over the sides of the box. Wrap twine or ribbon around box to hold down the outside flaps of the box. Decorate as desired.
 

To create the Get Well Beary Soon banner cut 1 inch square pieces of designer paper and fold in half. Note: I folded them slightly off center to expose a little of the pattern on the reverse side of the paper. Stamp one letter on each piece from the Alpha Modern set and stamp the bear image on white cardstock, color with Copics and cut out. Next stamp the word beary from the Beary Well set and cut out also. Attached the pieces to the string with scor-tape to create the banner. Finally attach the string to the chopsticks and add bows.
 

I also created a 4 pack of thank you  cards that the child could color and  present to their Doctors and Nurses.
 
For the card game, crayons and bandages I just wrapped the boxes with designer paper and decorated them.
 

The bandage stickers were created by stamping the bandage stamp several times, cutting them out and then running them through my Xyron machine. Everyone loves stickers and what's more fitting than bandage stickers. I created a little holder to store them in. Cut designer cardstock to 4 1/4 by 4 3/4. Score the 4 3/4 side at 2 1/4 and 2 1/2. Attach scor-tape to sides and fold in half. Round top corners with corner chomper and use the oval punch to partially punch out the top. Stamp bear image on white cardstock, color with Copics and punch out with circle punch. Adhere bear circle to front of holder.
 

I think my favorite item is the tissue holder. The directions for it can be found here.
 
Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you've enjoyed my Party in a Box. Please be sure to visit my fellow Clear & Simple Stamps design team members to see what they've been doing and check out the Clear & Simple Stamps new website with lots of fun updates.

Clear & Simple Stamps Well Wishes Collection

Clear & Simple Stamps is releasing their Well Wishes Collection today and I am happy to announce that I was selected to be the Designer of the Month and showcase one set. All of the sets being released this month are really fun but I decided to showcase the Beary Well set and create a get well package for a child. Please stop back in a bit for more details on my project and in the meantime be sure to check out the rest of the design team members for samples with the new releases.

WELL WISHES COLLECTION

Cup of Cocoa 

Get Well Darling

Get Well Gent

Beary Well

Love

Believe in Words IV

Bubble Talk

Month to Month I

Month to Month II

SOTM TEMPLATE:

Cup of Cocoa

ADDITIONAL TEMPLATE:

Calendar of Cards 

Yes that's correct we have an additional freebie to giveaway this month - a fabulous calendar template.  It fits perfectly on the front of a standard card.  You can trim it down to be smaller or mat it to make it larger - this little calendar has tons of possibilities and works wonderfully with the new Month-to-Month sets releasing with the collection.

Vintage Santas for Christmas

Have you ever been to the Go Make Something site? They have a wonderful selection of printable images. One of my favorites are the Vintage Santa's in the postcard sheets section. Here are a couple of the cards I created with the vintage Santas.

Both cards use a kraft base with a mat from the K&Co Ancestry collection. Then some green and red prints from the Creative Imaginations Winter Woodlands collection. The edges of the red pieces were sponged with Vintage photo after using my edge distresser on them. The green pieces were matted with vanilla cardstock and also sponged with Vintage photo ink. For the top card I went a little crazy and tied some twigs together with thread then coated them in glossy accents and diamond dust. Once they were dry I wrapped a ribbon around them and adherred them to the card along with some flowers and a button. This card is very dimensional and not postal friendly so it will have to be hand delivered or maybe tied to a package.

 

For this one I decided to just go with an ivory ribbon, a flower and button in hopes that it could be mailed.

Thanks so much for stopping by and please come back tomorrow. The next release from Clear & Simple Stamps happens tomorrow (December 10th) and I have a fun special project to share with the Beary Well set that will be released. Happy Stamping!

Take The Challenge: Holiday Decor

It's the last TTC of the year, can you believe it! Please join us over on Paper Craft Planet for our year-end Take the Challenge.

With the winter holidays upon us, we challenge you to create something fun and festive for December. Create a holiday decoration for the table, a fun wreath, or an ornament. Anything that is inspired by your holiday spirit. Share your holiday decor with us on our forum over at Paper Craft Planet.

Click here to view samples or to play along, select the TTC Holiday Decor Forum.

I decided to try making a couple of ornaments for the challenge. For the first one I used my Nestabilities Labels 3 and Circles to create a frame and then stamped the Cup of Cocoa in Palette New Canvas on a transparency and colored the image with Copics. I sandwiched the layers together with scor-tape and added a ribbon to the top for the finishing touch.

For the second ornament I used the Taste of Christmas set and stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah cardstock then colored it with Copics. Next I pulled out a Tim Holtz Frangments Charm and some Rnager Glossy accents and adhered the image to the backside of the charm.  The cord was added along with a button and bow.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're having a great day!

SOTM Set and Template: Clear and Simple Stamps

Happy December 1st! Hard to believe it's December already. Sorry I've been MIA for a bit but I ended up in the hospital having my appendix removed and then spent a quiet week at home recovering. I'm happy to say everything went well and I'm feeling great. Now, let's get on with the crafty stuff. . .

It's time again for a new Stamp of the Month set and free template from Clear and Simple Stamps. This month is the adorable Cup of Cocoa set. From December 1st through the 31st (2009) you can receive $1 off the set by entering DTBlog1209. There is also a new Copic Trio Bundle: Earth 6 featuring E71, E74 and E79. The trio set of Copic Markers has been paired with the SOTM to create the December SOTM Bundle Set for $26. You will receive the Cup of Cocoa stamp set and three Copic Markers - a main color, a highlight and a shadow. This is an economical and fun way to build your inventory of CSS and Copics all at the same time! (Save an extra dollar using the SOTM discount code supplied above and you will be able to purchase the bundle for $25.) 

Along with the new SOTM set also comes a new template created by fellow design team member Sue Berker and this month she's created a wonderful Cup of Cocoa Template to share. 

 

I filled my cup with Cocoa mix and an almond bark covered pretzel rod. For the cocoa bag I filled Wilton Pretzel bags with some cocoa mix, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows then secured the top with a ribbon. To pair with the cocoa mix, I found some Andes mint chips at the store and thought they would be great sprinkled on pretzel rods so I got out some almond bark and pretzel rods and got to work. After the pretzels had cooled I packaged them in the Wilton bags and then tucked one in the cup with the bag of cocoa.

The design on the cup was drawn with my Copic Multiliner and then colored in with Copics. I carried that pattern over to the cup on the card. The cup stamp in the Cup of Cocoa set would also be fun to paper piece.

Thanks so much for stopping by and don't forget to check out the other design team members for more samples with the Cup of Cocoa template.

Reindeer Noses

Are you looking for a cute little stocking stuffer or small gift for the kids in the neighborhood or classmates? Well, how about some Reindeer Noses.

A friend brought me a page torn out of her Current Catalog and asked me if I could make her some packets of Rudolf Noses. After more thought and discussion we decided on Reindeer noses instead of strickly Rudolf noses. Here's what I came up with. . .

8 whoppers per pack for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. And 1 cherry sour for Rudolf.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday! Please let me know if you make any packets of noses and leave me a link if you post them on-line.
Happy Stamping!

Supplies:

• Stamps: Hero Arts (frame and reindeer), Snap Stamps (words)
• Paper: Kraft, Vanilla, Riding Hood Red
• Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Cocoa
• Misc: Lollipop bags, Candy, Crystals

Winter Days Collection Release

The Winter Days Collection from Clear and Simple Stamps is now available!

Peaceful Pines / Winter / New Year
Winter Sentiments / Ski Darling / Hockey

______________________________

CSS Stamp of the Month

Fall Studio

Build your collection of Clear and Simple Stamps
and Copic Sketch Markers at the same time each
month with the SOTM Copic Bundle Package.

SOTM Copic Bundle

Add Copic Trio Yellow Green 1 and save $4
Valid thru Nov 30th.
______________________________

NEW BackgroundsWall Flower

This set contains three background images:
Snazzy swirls, a bold fan and a simple flower motif pattern.

______________________________

Want it all?
Click here to order the
entire collection in one single click.
This is a package valued at $120, including all
{8} newly released stamp sets.

Sneak Peak: Ski Darling part 2

I hope you're ready for more samples with the Ski Darling set that will release tomorrow. Today's cards were totally inspired by Michelle Wooderson's blog post found here. Her blog (Mish Mash) is filled with crafty inspiration. 

I love to use my scor-pal to create a grid for easy placement of images to create backgrounds. I scored my white cardstock every 1/2 inch in both directions to create my grid. On the first card I stamped the snowflake image in the center of the squares and on the second card I stamped the snowflake on the grid lines.

 

Hope to "see" you back here tomorrow for the latest release from Clear and Simple Stamps.

Supplies:

• Stamps: Ski Darling from Clear and Simple Stamps (releasing November 15)
• Paper: Neenah White, Kraft, SU Riding Hood Red
• Ink: SU Ruby Red, Distress Ink Antique Linen
• Misc: Scor-pal (to create the grid for the background), White gel pen, Snowflake punch, Tag punch, Ribbon, Button, Corner Chomper
  

Sneak Peak: Ski Darling

Clear and Simple Stamps will be having it's latest release on Sunday, November 15th so how about a sneak peak of the Ski Darling set that will be released on Sunday.

Isn't she just adorable?! And I love all of the extra stamps like her skis and boots and ski poles. So fun! After making the card I thought I should try making an ornament with the set so I pulled out some small tins that I had and got to work.

I used my Nestabilities circles to make the My Mind's Eye piece for the background in the tin. Then I stamped the Darling, her poles, and her skis and colored them with Copics. These pieces were then cut out and mounted at different heights using pop dots. I added some Diamond Dust in the tin to make it a shaker ornament.  To attached the cord so it can be hung I wrapped scor-tape around the tin and applied the lavender ribbon to it and tied it in a bow at the top then threaded the cord under the bow and tied it.

 Thanks so much for stopping by. And don't forget to visit the rest of the CSS Design Team for more samples and sneak peaks.


Supplies for Ski Darling Card

• Stamps: Ski Darling from Clear and Simple Stamps (releasing November 15th)
• Paper: Kraft, Neenah White, My Mind's Eye
• Ink: Distress Ink Antique Linen, SU Orchid Opulence, Memento Tuxedo Black
• Misc: Nestabilities, Circle punch, Scallop border punch, Word Window punch, Copics

Supplies for the Ski Darling Ornament

• Stamps: Ski Darling from Clear and Simple Stamps (releasing November 15th)
• Paper: Neenah White, My Mind's Eye
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Antique Linen
• Misc: Tin, Nestabilities, Diamond Dust, Ribbon, Cord, Pop dots, Copics (E37, E00, E02, V0000, V01)
  

Take the Challenge: Fall Foliage

Today I have a fall card to share with you for Clear and Simple Stamps November Take The Challenge over on PaperCraftPlanet! This month it is a fall inspired color challenge.

 

The colors are (SU reference): Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Summer Sun, and Old Olive. Feel free to substitute with similar colors.

For my card I used the Fall Studio set from Clear and Simple Stamps. It is the stamp of the month and you can get $1 off the set by using the following discount code: DTBlog1109

Click here to view additional samples or to play along - select the TTC: Fall Foliage Forum.


We'd love for you to play along. Be sure to add the keyword tag: TTC11 to any challenge cards you upload to online galleries so we can find them.

Happy Stamping!

Supplies:

• Stamps - Fall Studio from Clear and Simple Stamps
• Inks - Close to Cocoa, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
• Paper - Kraft, Choc Chip, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive
• Misc - Nestabilities Labels 3 and Circles, Tracing Wheel, Pop dots

Fabric Flowers

The other day I stumbled upon some fabulous fabric flowers on Winter's blog who forwarded me to Courtney's blog for a great video tutorial on how to make them. Needless to say I spent some time this weekend making fabric flowers.

And I even manage to put together a card using one of the flowers. This card measures 5x7.

Here's a closeup of the flower on the card. I had a great time at the fabric store on Sunday morning. Looking at all of the different fabrics and trying to decide what would look good as a flower. I bought 3/8's of a yard of a few different fabrics that were on sale and then cut them into strips about 3 1/2 inches wide to make my flowers. Some of my flowers got pretty big so I think I'll try making some with a thinner strip of fabric. The burlap flower was fun to make but it's really bulky so I thinking it will end up on some type of altered project. . . gift box or bag or basket or barrette. . . . so many possibilities.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

p.s. If you make any fabric flowers, please leave me a link so I can check them out.

Friday Already?!

Wow, where did the week go? My apologies for my lack of posts. Somehow the week has managed to slip by. I have been doing some stamping but guess I've neglected my blog. I do have two cards to share with you today so I'll get to it . . .

My first card is for the Caardvarks: Circle of Friends challenge that was posted yesterday. The challenge is to create a round card. Clear & Simple Stamps is sponsoring the challenge this week and the winner will recieve a $15 gift certificate to Clear & Simple Stamps. You can find all of the details on the challenge here.

For my card I used a Hot Hues Glitter Notecard for my base and stamped the larger snowflake from the Ski Darling set (scheduled to release on Nov 15th from Clear & Simple Stamps) with Cool Caribbean ink. The verse is from the Live Life set and also stamped in Cool Caribbean. Next I created the snowflake stack by using a large glittered snowflake ornament, a cuttlebug snowflake made from chipboard and covered with Ranger Snow Cap Paint Dabber and glitter and finally another stamped snowflake from the Ski Darling set. The verse was added to the bow and button combo for the finishing touch.

Next up I have a card for M's Sketch #3. Savitri Wilder's daughter Emma has started hosting her own sketch challenges and I've been wanting to play along so this week I took the time to put together a card for the challenge. Here's my entry for M's latest sketch.

I used the snowman family image from DigiStamp Boutique and the greeting is from Anna Wight's Winter Schminter set. Hopefully M won't mind too much that I flipped the sketch to work my snowman image in.

Thanks so much for stopping. I hope you all had a wonderful week. The  forecast for us this weekend is temps in the 60's so I'm hoping to take some nice long fall walks this weekend. I'll have to be sure to bring my camera along. Have a great weekend!

Supplies (top card):

• Stamps: Clear and Simple Stamps Live Life, Ski Darling (will release Nov 15)
• Paper: Hot Hues Glitter Notecard, Neenah white, Chipboard
• Ink: SU Cool Caribbean
• Misc: Snowflake ornament, Cuttlebug snowflake, Ribbon, Button, Glitter, Snow Cap Paint Dabber

Supplies (bottom card):

• Digital Image: DigiStamp Boutique Snow Friends
• Stamps: Whipper Snapper Anna Wight Cling Mount Set Winter Schminter
• Paper: Cool Caribbean, Neenah white, unmarked dp
• Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette New Canvas
• Misc: Copics, Glitter, Snowflake punch, Button, White gel pen

SOTM Set and Template: Clear and Simple Stamps

I have a lot to share with you today so grab a cup of your favorite drink and pull up a chair (there might be mention of a chance at candy so keep reading). The first of the month means it's time for a new Stamp of the Month set from Clear and Simple Stamps and this month the set is Fall Studio. It is filled with wonderful leaf images and a great quote stamp from Emily Bronte along with other verses. As the Stamp of the Month you can get $1 off the set by using the following discount code: DTBlog1109

In addition to offering the $1 off incentive, below is the Copic SOTM bundle and the monthly template:

COPIC BUNDLE:
For November the bundle will include the Copic Trio Set: Yellow Green 1 (YG01, YG03, YG07)

Copic Marker Bundle with the SOTM for the bargain price of $26 - that's a $15 stamp set and $15 Copic Marker Trio set combined at a $4 reduction in price - you won't find a better bundle anywhere! (HINT HINT...it will will be $25 if using the DTBlog $1 Discount too)

There is also a new template for the month of November. Below is a link to the template and my sample of the basket using the Fall Studio set.

TEMPLATE: Basket of Thanks

I made a card to go with my basket and filled the basket with chocolates.

I made the basket out of a plain piece of Kraft cardstock and then pulled out a variety of embossing powders, my Versamark pad, and heat gun and got to work decorating it. The ribbon on the top is threaded through the button hole and then attached with Scor-pal tape.

Now, if you're still with me you may remember I mentioned something about candy at the beginning of this post. Well, Clear and Simple Stamps will be giving away a free SOTM (Fall Studio). All you have to do is create a Basket of Thanks using the template and put a link to your project in the comment section of the CSS blog. A winner will be chosen at random Wednesday, November 4th. I hope you'll participate.

How about one more sample with the Fall Studio set using the Emily Bronte quote that I love.

Be sure to check out my fellow design team members blogs for more inspiration with the basket template and the Stamp of the Month.

• Jen Tapler
• Kim Howard
• Lori Tecler
• Maria Levine
• Neva McMullen
• Robyn Weatherspoon
• Sue Berker
• Clear & Simple Stamps Blog

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you all had a wonderful Hallowe'en! Happy Stamping!