Santa's Sleigh Swap

This was a card I made for a recent swap. Now that I know everyone has received theirs, I can show you! I thought I would keep it clean and simple....well, I got the clean part down, anyway. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought wrapping the Copper Thread around each tree FOUR times was going to be simple. Stamping and die cutting was a piece o' cake, though!

The angled shot really shows how pretty that Copper Foil is. I used scraps in the Confetti Stars Punch to make the little star embellishments. It just needed something, and they were the perfect "something"! And no one outside Tennessee will get the symbolism, heehee!

Here's the "How To"
 Tree: Garden Green 2-1/4" x 4"
 Stars: Scraps of Copper Foil Sheet
 DSP mat: Warmth & Cheer 1-3/4" x 3-3/4"
 Mat: Copper Foil Sheet 2" x 4"
 Greeting banner: Crumb Cake 1/4" x 4"
 Embossed background: Fancy Frost Specialty DSP 3-7/8" x 5-1/8"
 Mat: Garden Green 4" x 5-1/4"
 Card base: Whisper White Thick 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" scored and folded at 4-1/4"

1. Adhere Fancy Frost DSP to Garden Green mat, and then to card base.
2. Adhere Warmth & Cheer DSP to Copper Foil mat, and then to card. (I left about a half inch margin at the top and left side of the copper mat.)
3. Stamp tree image in Garden Green ink on Garden Green cardstock and die cut with tree from Santa's Sleigh Framelits. Wrap with Copper Thread (four times!), adhering ends to back. Attach to card with a strip of Tear & Tape adhesive down the middle.
4. Stamp greeting in Garden Green ink on banner, cut ends into a banner, fold and adhere with liquid glue.
5. Use foil sheet scraps to punch stars with Confetti Stars Punch. Adhere with liquid glue.

Product List

Santa's Sleigh Photopolymer Stamp Set

Santa's Sleigh Photopolymer Bundle

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

Garden Green 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Warmth & Cheer Designer Series Paper Stack

Fancy Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper

Copper Foil Sheets

Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad

Big Shot

Big Shot Magnetic Platform

Santa's Sleigh Dies Thinlits

Confetti Stars Punch

Copper Metallic Thread

Tear & Tape Adhesive

Liquid Multipurpose Glue

BIG DAY TODAY (As in HUGE!)

Today is the start of the Stampin' Up! 2016 Holiday Catalog, which you have been getting sneak peeks of over the past few weeks. But that's not all that is starting today.....Stampin' Up! is starting three weeks of Special Offers, with new deals each week for the three weeks!

Today's card is a CAS (clean and simple) card using the Totally Trees photopolymer set on page 48 of the Holiday Catalog. This barely even needs a "How To" because it's so simple! Just cut a square in Whisper White Thick (4" x 5-1/4") using the largest Layering Squares die. Stamp the tree three times in Emerald Envy on the Sahara Sand card base, and the greeting from Santa's Sleigh underneath. Pop the Whisper White up on Dimensionals, and add a star from the Metallic Enamel Shapes. Boom, you're done!

Product List

Totally Trees Photopolymer Stamp Set

Santa's Sleigh Photopolymer Stamp Set

Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock

Emerald Envy Classic Stampin' Pad

Big Shot

Big Shot Magnetic Platform

Layering Squares Framelits Dies

Stampin' Dimensionals

Metallic Enamel Shapes

Finally Starting Christmas!

STAMPS: Wonderland, Greetings of the Season (ret.)  INK: Mossy Meadow, VersaMark  CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Red Foil Sheets  ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Circles Framelits Dies, Circles Nestabilities Dies, Embossalicious folder, Heat Tool, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Embossing Buddy, Real Red Woven Satin Ribbon (ret.), Stampin' Dimensionals

Making Christmas cards is one of my favorite things about this time of year. Well, that and all the yummy baked goods, and the pretty lights, and the peace on earth and goodwill.  It's right up there with "Jingle Bells." You know, Santa Claus and ho-ho-ho, and mistletoe and presents to pretty girls. (Name that Christmas special!)

I am finally getting started on making my cards, after way too many delays. All of them legitimate, of course, but still causing me too much "last minute" stress!

This one is from the first batch. I plan on making 10-12 of each style, unless I hit on a great design that's easy to duplicate. Then I may make more. I'm thrilled that the Red Foil Sheets will be returning in the new Occasions Catalog that starts January 5th - you know how I love the shiny stuff!

And now I have to admit to using a SOB embossing folder (some other brand than Stampin' Up!). The combination of the two textures in one folder made the job much simpler. Trying to emboss one half of the cardstock with one folder, and the other half with a different folder is fine if you're only making one card, but gets tedious when making multiples.

So, I hope you are inspired to make a few Christmas cards, if you haven't already started.But if it gets down to crunch time and you have to send store-bought cards, don't beat yourself up about it. The important thing is staying in touch with loved ones and dear friends, and remembering the reason for the season.

Make It Mailable 13-12

Hello, stampers, and welcome to another Monday. Can you believe Christmas is ONE MONTH FROM TODAY?!  Eeeeek, I have to get my cards in the mail next week! I have about 50 done and need about 30 more.  How many do you send out each year?  Today's card is another one that I will be making in quantity. It was inspired by this card on SCS.

One of the ways to keep the weight down on your cards, if you are making multiple layers, is to cut the centers out of the mats, leaving just a frame.  I did that on this card, and used the cut out piece as the mat for the image. The Stampin' Trimmer makes it so easy!  Just determine how wide you want the 'frame' sides to be.  I made them 5/8" on this one, which left plenty of room for the adhesive holding the brushed gold panel.

I love the Endless Wishes stamp set that was used on the brushed gold, but unfortunately, it was sooo popular that it's sold out already!

Stamps: Evergreen, Endless Wishes
Cardstock: Whisper White, Early Espresso, Brushed Gold
Ink: VersaMark
Accessories: Stampin' Trimmer, Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder, Heat Tool, Embossing Buddy, Linen Thread

Christmas in July

Every time Stampin' Up! releases a new catalog, I rush through it a few times checking the new stamp sets, and then settle down and pore over it slowly, trying to absorb all the other wonderful things.  Not only the new tools (particularly anything Big Shot-related), but also the projects that the SU design team created. Gawd, what a dream job that must be....can you imagine?!

Today's card was inspired by the sweet little Christmas decor frame on page 18 of the Holiday catalog. It looked to me like the text from the Evergreen stamp set was stamped on vellum, so that's what I did. Since vellum doesn't absorb ink like regular cardstock, the new Heat Tool was used to dry it.  Yep, there's a "Low" setting specifically for drying ink - it's awesome!

The crisp, clean details of the script just amaze me. Here's a close-up, so you can see what I mean. You can see the loops in the letter e! To get a perspective of how small the script is, look at the "Peace" on the tag attached to the bow. :-)

Stamp: Evergreen
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations, White Cardstock Vellum, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Ink: Gumball Green, Early Espresso (pad & marker)
Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Framelits Collection, Lacy Brocade embossing folder, Jewelry Tag Punch, Merry Minis Punch Pack, Stampin' Sanding Block, Gumball Green 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, Vintage Trinkets, Stampin' Dimensionals

Swap Card

Last Saturday was the monthly stamp club with my upline. It's the end of the swapping year, and I won't be continuing next year, so this is my last swap card for the club.  I liked the pink Christmas card layout, and wanted to see how it looked in green. Turned out pretty cute, I think! Since I didn't have any green Scallop Dots ribbon, a button was substituted for the rosette. The addition of a sliver of silver Glimmer Paper added just the right amount of bling.


Stamp: Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Garden Green, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Garden Green Classic 
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Stocking Accents Die, Perfect Polka-Dots Embossing Folder, Houndstooth Embossing Folder, Certainly Celery Twill Ribbon, Certainly Celery Button, Silver Elastic Cord, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Stampin' Sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

First of all, I want to wish my baby boy a happy birthday! You can stop getting older now. Thirty-five is a good place to stop. No, really....I can't be the  mother of a middle-aged man! Love you, Sweetie!

In yesterday's post I mentioned seeing a lot of pink this Christmas. Pink seems to be the "in" color this year, as far as the holiday goes, so I wanted to make a card the really made me break out of my comfortable rut. I could have gone with blue....it would have been soooo easy to do something in blue! Liking the layers and textures from yesterday's card, I made another, and here is what resulted (and another entry for Our Creative Corner's Christmas tree challenge!):

It's got some hot-diggity bling-blingity! Seriously, I wish there was a way for the camera to show just how sparkly the Silver Glimmer Paper is in real life. I love it so much, I'm not even hoarding it! (I know, can you believe it?!) I'm also not throwing away even the teeniest scrap, because I know I'll use it someday.

Lest you think I wasted a whole bunch under the embossed Top Note, that is actually the leftovers from a Glimmer Top Note I had cut previously. I just inlaid the embossed white into the opening! See? Nothing will be wasted!

Stamps: Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pink Pirouette, Pink Pirouette Textured, Silver Glimmer Paper
Ink: Rose Red Classic
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, Stocking Accents Die, (can you see where I'm going here?) Perfect Polka-Dots Embossing Folder, Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder, Pretty in Pink Scallop Dots Ribbon, Basic Jewels Rhinestones, Stampin' Sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals