Friday, December 28, 2012

Stampin' Addicts' Spring Catalog Blog Hop


Hello, and welcome to another fabulous Stampin' Addicts blog hop, where we will be showing off the new goodies coming in the Stampin' Up! Spring Catalog. There are fourteen blogs linked together, each featuring a different item. If you started at the beginning, and are following in order, you just arrived from Holly's blog, Rubber Redneck, using the adorable Hearts a Flutter set.

Today I'm showcasing the Ciao, Baby stamp set. It's so versatile, it's a must-have item! Especially since it coordinates with the new 7/8" Scallop Circle punch (and a new one coming in Sale-A-Bration). But today it's all about the Spring Catalog. Stampin' Up! is launching it's year-long celebration of 25 years in business with this catalog, and it is something special!


We're starting with a birthday card for a son, using just the center portion of the Ciao, Baby "#1" stamp. I was going to make it #1 Dad, but the circle fit better in an O, so the son won!


Up next is a sweetheart of a card that uses several different items from the new catalog. I adore the vintage feel, don't you? For this one, I just inked up the "Love" because I didn't want to use the Petite Curly frame around it. The heart doily is from the More Amore Specialty Designer Series Paper, and the lace can be found in the Artisan Embellishments Kit. See the brad? (Yes that IS a brad!) There's a bit of More Amore DSP under the epoxy bubble. Just a hint of what's in that pack!


For the final project, there's a treat box, filled with love notes and a sweet surprise under the lid! Took me a little while to figure out how to do it, but it finally worked on the third try.


Each little note has a matching envelope, and they all peek out of the oval window in the box. Did I mention the oval? No? There are Oval Framelits in the new catalog, too!!!

So, there you have it, a little taste of good things to come! Your next stop on the hop is Rhonda Griffin, The Stamping Bunny. She's going to wow you with the Secret Garden Bundle (stamps and matching Framelits).









Thanks so much for stopping by today. This hop is put on by The Stampin' Addicts, a wonderful group of folks who love all things Stampin' Up! When you have a chance, drop in and say Hi. We'd love to meet you! And be sure to check out the gallery for lots of stamping inspiration.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

SUOC61 - Think Blue!


This week's challenge is True Blue! Just make a card or other project that incorporates some Stampin' Up! blue in it, and share it with us at SUO Challenges!


I decided a thank you card was in order, since it is Christmas Day and I've already sent my Christmas cards. However, I DO have a bunch of thank you cards to send now, so this is a good beginning!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas; I sure did! In fact, I'm too worn out from the festivities to post the recipe for the card, lol.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Last Call for the New Year



Here's the final New Year's card....you can't see how purdy and sparkly it really is, unfortunately, because my camera just can't capture the glimmer paper in all its glory. And I'm pretty sure Santa isn't bringing me a new camera, because he brought me the new BBQ grill w/ smoker that I wanted. The old one finally died after almost 20 years, so it was time for a new one.


Now I know all you people in the frozen north can't wrap your head around it, but we grill year-round here in Southern California. It's a beautiful thing. We may not ever have a white Christmas, but we can throw some meat on the barbie whenever we want!

Northern folks: From Millan.Net

Me: From Millan.Net

Okay, now I gotta run to finish the cookie baking and candy making. Be sure to check back tomorrow for the SUO Challenges theme for this week. Ta!!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Another New Year


Here's one of the other (much brighter) cards I made on Sunday. The tiny pearls from our Pearls Basic Jewels fit the champagne bubbles perfectly!


The lime wedge is popped up on a bit of a Stampin' Dimensional.

Stamps: Cheers To You
Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, International Bazaar DSP
Ink: VersaMark, plus Tempting Turquoise, Pool Party, River Rock, Lucky Limeade, Old Olive, and Real Red markers
Accessories: Heat Tool, Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Summer Starfruit Stitched Satin Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Stampin Dimensionals

Monday, December 17, 2012

Is It The New Year, Yet?


I'm about ready for 2013, how about you? Of course, I'm not even ready for Christmas yet, but I am already looking forward to the new year. It's got to be better than this one, right?

I think so because for one thing, right after the new year starts, the Spring Catalog starts (Jan 3), and then on January 27th Sale-A-Bration begins. And then right after that is my birthday, when I will officially be pushing a milestone birthday I'd rather forget. Let's just say it will begin my last year of the nifty fifties, and leave it at that, okay?


Today I made several New Year's cards, which is a first for me! Yup, can you believe it? As many hundreds of cards as I've made, not a single one one of them was specifically for New Years! And today I made THREE. I saw a card that had a year ticking over, and thought that was a clever idea, so I tried it. The Silver Glimmer paper really doesn't show up well in the photo, but IRL it looks snazzy.

I love picking out the colors in our Designer Series Paper for card making. It's so easy to coordinate things!

Stamp: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Cardstock: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Basic Black, International Bazaar DSP
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Fan folder, Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Sizzlets (retired), Decorative Label Punch

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Another Holiday Ornament


I wanted to try something different with the Stampin' Up! holiday ornament this time....NO stamps and NO designer paper! This one relies entirely on the texture from embossing folders. I was going to use this as my sample for the SUO Challenges Design Team, but since I used (non-SU) white tulle on it, it didn't really qualify.


Nevertheless, it is gorgeous in real life, and I want to make more of them to adorn my tree.  The tree that we haven't even purchased, yet. Yes, we are seriously lagging in the Christmas department this year, but in my defense, I have been dealing with Dad's estate stuff, so I haven't had the time I normally would have to devote to all things crafty.


I do wish my camera took better pictures of the details. Maybe that's what I should ask Santa for Christmas. That old point-and-shoot camera just doesn't cut the mustard! There's a sneak peek of the new LARGE rhinestones that are coming in the Spring Catalog. They're the same size as the large pearls (8 mm).

And now, for your holiday enjoyment, here's a cute and funny video from Stampin' Up! wishing us all a merry Christmas: 12 Days of Christmas, SU style
From Millan.Net
Stamps: None
Cardstock: Whisper White, White Cardstock Vellum
Ink: None
Accessories: Big Shot, Holiday Ornaments Framelits dies, Lacy Brocade and Fancy Fan embossing folders, Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Silver Glass Stampin' Glitter, Crystal Effects, Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons, Large Rhinestones Basic Jewels, 5/8" Organza Ribbon, Silver Tinsel (retired), white tulle (non-SU)

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

SUOC60 - Glitter! (And a Sneak Peek)


If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know how much I love shiny, glittery things, so this week's challenge at SUO Challenges was a thrill for me. Especially since I got to use some new items from the Spring Catalog pre-order! Oh my, are you all in for a treat when you see it!!!


The first thing that got me excited was the Honeycomb embossing folder....woohoo, we have hexagons which are fashionable now! We don't have a punch that matches, so how did I get all those little hexagons to match? Easy! I put the Champagne Glimmer paper through Mr. Big with the Honeycomb folder. That made it super easy to cut the size and shape needed with my Paper Snips, just by following the lines. It was all short straight cuts, and went quickly.

You may have noticed the Very Vanilla oval behind the stamped image. That was cut using the new Framelits Ovals collection. There are 7 ovals Framelits, the largest being a scalloped oval!

The embossed tag that the tree is stamped upon is from the Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit. The kit has tags, fabric covered brads, pre-cut paper flowers and a stamp, but I just wanted to use one of the embossed tags for this project.

Well, there you have it - my sample for this week's challenge, which uses the Champagne Glimmer Paper, and it's soooo sparkly in real life! I hope you will participate in our challenge this week and create something glittery to share.

Stamps: Evergreen
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Natural Composition Specialty DSP, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Accessories: Big Shot, Honeycomb and Square Lattice folders, Pop-Up Posies Designer Kit, Sponge Dauber, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Snowman Tea Light Ornament


I saw the most aDORable snowman tea light on Becky Roberts' blog, but wanted to turn it into an ornament to give to my team at our meeting last week. These are so quick and fun to make; all you need is some cardstock scraps, a battery-operated tea light (I found them at the dollar store), and some rhinestones or pearls. I assume you already have basic tools like adhesives, punches, and a Big Shot. (What? You don't? Well call me and let me help get you started with the necessary tools!)

SNOWMAN WITH LIGHT TURNED OFF
You can find the instructions for making it on Becky's blog here. The only thing I did differently was add a flower on the brim, and double punched the ball for the cap to enclose the ends of the gold braid for the hanger. Hot-glued that sucker so it would hold!

YOOUUU LIGHT UP MY LIFE (TELL ME YOU WEREN'T SINGING THAT IN YOUR HEAD, LOL)
I found that my tea light was a little bigger than the 1-3/8" punch, so I had to use a (non-SU) 1-1/2" punch. That put the hole for the nose off-center when I used the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch, so I trimmed off a bit of the top of the face before I punched the hole for the nose. Voila, dead center! The trimmed part was going to be hidden by the hat brim anyway.


Becky used a Sharpie to color the pearls for the eyes and mouth. I happened to have black rhinestones left over from a SU Halloween swirl that retired a couple years ago. Never did use the swirl, but the individual rhinestones sure came in handy!












That sweet little box is also from Becky. I think it's the perfect size for sweet treats, if you don't feel like making a snowman. Chocolate is always a good idea! (BTW, 12 wrapped Hershey's Nuggets fit just right. You're welcome.)
From Millan.Net
Stamps: None
Cardstock: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Gumball Green, Be of Good Cheer DSP, Window Sheets
Ink: None
Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice folder, Decorative Label Punch, Extra Large Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Rhinestones Basic Jewels, Black Rhinestones (retired), Multipurpose Adhesive, hot glue gun (non-SU),1-1/2" circle punch (non-SU), tea light (non-SU)