MERRY CHRISTMAS

The tradition of sending Christmas cards begun in 1843 in England.  Oh, how they would have been inspired by our Stampin' Up greeting cards!

I hope you and your family have a peaceful, happy Christmas season.  I will be taking about a week off to spend "quality time" with my family and enjoy my college kids being home on break. 

Until then, make some time to stamp away,

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Krafty Ornament Card

This card can be a Christmas card or a holiday thank you note.   Here's how you can make this pretty card:

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

cs:  Kraft card,  red

Stamp sets:  Christmas punch, Berry Christmas, Forever Flowers Stampin' Around Wheel

Inks:  Stazon White, Stampin' Up Classic Stampin' Pads - Basic Black & Real Red

punches:  Corner rounder, 1 3/4" circle

Other:  Stampin' Around Handle, sponges

First, stamp snowflakes (from the Christmas Punch Level One Hostess Stamp Set in the big catty) in Stazon White ink onto the card, stamping off the card for an even "flow".

Round the corners on the card, and then sponge red ink lightly around all edges of the card.  Stamp the bow in Basic Black ink.

Next, roll a Stampin' Around wheel across the red cs (you could also use any stamp or pattern stamp instead of a wheel).  Punch out a 1 3/4" circle from the red patterned cs.  Stamp "merry" from the Berry Christmas Stamp Set in white ink onto the "ornament".  Sponge white ink onto the red circle edges.    Last, adhere the "ornament" with dimensionals.

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Holiday Reds

Tuesday Tip for this week:

Mix muted shades and bright shades of red to add interest to a card.  Here I have mixed Real Red, Ruby Red & Riding Hood Red inks & cs.  Depending on the card stock color that you stamp on, you'll get even more shades of red.  This "shading" can give depth to your card.  This card gets almost a vintage look.

Card:  Ruby Red cs

Inkpad:  Riding Hoood Red, Real Red, Stazon White

Stamp Set:  Berry Christmas, Holiday Best Level One Hostess Set

Punches:  Eyelet border punch,  1 3/4" circle

Other:  mat pack, dimensionals

Map It Monday - Snowy Holly Bird

I just have a hard time believing this week is Christmas week already!  What will I do when I cannot make Christmas cards any longer?  Don't worry........I'm already thinking ahead to Valentine's Day, birthdays, & even on to Spring!  But, for now, it's Christmas cards.  Remember that you can take any of my recent holiday ideas, styles, and color combinations, or really any card at all, and change it  into a greeting card for a totally different occasion.  For instance, this winter bird could be changed into a Spring bird like a bluebird & little flowers could be stamped instead of snowflakes, with any message you want to stamp!

Today's kraft card is stamped with snowflakes from the Christmas Punch stamp set in Stazon White ink & Ruby Red ink for the bigger snowflakes from the Berry Christmas stamp set.  The bird & holly leaf & berries, and even the message are also from the Berry Christmas set.  The red snowflakes are stamped in first and second generation stamping.  The bird is stamped in Ruby Red onto kraft scrap cs, cut out,  & then sponged with Stazon White around the edges.

The message is stamped on Mellow Moss cs & the holly leaf is inked with Mellow Moss ink.  Berries are stamped with Ruby Red ink directly onto the card.  The bird is adhered with dimensionals for a lift. Oh, I almost forgot - I corner rounded the corners!

Merry week before Christmas!

Linda

Fast Friday - Antique Santa Gift Tag

Another favorite holiday stamp set this year is Christmas Punch.  The antique Santa stamp from that stamp set is stamped in Real Red & punched with the scallop square punch. 

Next, punch out two 1 3/4" Real Red circles, scoring & folding one of them.  The score line doesn't need to be exactly at the half point.  Adhere the folded circle over the edge of a Whisper White cs rectangle.  Punch a hole & slip some pretty ribbon through.

Then, stamp a "to/from" message in Basic Black ink & adhere the other Real Red circle, extending it beyond the bottom edge of the tag.  Layer the antique Santa on top of that circle & you are done with this tag.  It's fast & fun!

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Kraft, Ballet Blue, Old Olive, Real Red & Basic Brown

The Think About Color Combination for this week happened sort of by accident.  I was putting away some extra cs pieces that I had cut for a recent stamp camp & decided to make a card with some of them.  I pulled some of the precut pieces aside & went to town on a kraft card!

The colors in this combo are:

Kraft, Ballet Blue, Old Olive, Real Red & Basic Brown

Oh, and I used a brand new punch that Stampin' Up will have available beginning in January!  Stay tuned!

Linda :)

Whatever Wednesday - Berry & Borders

Are you wondering how I created this beautiful scalloped edge?  Stampin' Up has a new line of paper punches that will premiere in the Sale-a-Bration and Occasions Mini catalogs in January.   This card uses one of the punches & you can get it free with a $50 order during Sale-a-Bration!

The bird from the Berry Christmas stamp set is stamped on designer paper.  Ribbon is fed through one of the scallops on the cs, so I didn't even need to punch a hole for the ribbon!

I hope you like the card & might want to try it yourself!  You might try it with the eyelet border punch if you have that one.

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Dress Up a Bag

The Tip for this week is:

Dress up a plain paper bag with designer series paper and/or cs to make it a festive holiday giftbag!  We made this gift bag & tag at one of my stamp camps.  The Old Olive cs is punched with a border punch.  You could omit that step if you want to giftwrap in a hurry.

Then, make a gift tag with the same papers and colors.  This tag is created with a metal-edged tag, matching papers & paper punches.  A matching Stampin' Up ribbon "ties it all together" onto the giftbag.

You needn't spend a lot of money on giftwrap & gift tags when you can create your own with your stamping supplies!

Have fun!

Linda

Map It Monday - Perfect Bermuda Orchid

 

The card map this week sure has lots of interesting shaped layers.  I think this card is pretty, though I must admit that I was feeling a little confused figuring out which layer to adhere next!  I must have been fatigued when I designed this map a few weeks ago!  lol

What do you think of the color combination here?  The Orchid Opulence is toned down by the Perfect Plum and the Bermuda Bay is toned down by the Mellow Moss.  It's an unlikely combination.  The designer series paper is an Orchid Opulence print pattern sheet included in the Cottage Wall dsp package.

So, today may be "Map It Monday", however, you are getting a "Think About Color Thursday" color combination, plus a "Tuesday Tip" ahead of time.  Here's my tip:  most designer series paper packages have at least one sheet of paper with a monochromatic print.  That print dsp can often be used interchangeably with solid cs of the same color or used in conjunction with the solid cs of the same color.  The pairing of Orchid Opulence solid cs and Orchid Opulence print dsp add unity to this card.

The Filigree Designer Brads add a unique decoration to an already attractive card.  I just love these 2-piece brad designs!

Linda

Fast Friday - Ruby Trendy Tree

I can't seem to go more than a few weeks without pulling out this Trendy Trees stamp set!  I absolutely adore it.

You can make this quick & simple card with Naturals White cs stamped with either Ruby Red or Riding Hood Red ink.  The tree trunk is stamped directly onto the card front.   The tree top is stamped onto polka dotted dsp.  Mellow Moss cs would also be a good cs color choice for stamping the tree top.

Dimensionals give the "leaves" a lift.  Some pretty ribbon finishes it off.

Have a great weekend & I hope you make progress preparing for Christmas!

Linda

12 Days of Christmas Sale!

Beginning tomorrow (Friday, December 11), Stampin' Up is having a 12 Days of Christmas Sale!

It's a big secret as to what will be on sale, so even I will be surprised!  Stampin' Up has told demonstrators that there will be sale items that have never been discounted before! The sale will last for 12 days!  So, check on the Stampin' Up website daily! 

I have a funny feeling that some of us might be treating ourselves to "Christmas gifts"!
 
Linda :)

Think About Color Thursday - Green & Red, What Else?

I had to do it - red & green.  It finally feels like the Christmas season around here. 

The red & green I've used on these beautiful tags are Real Red and a bright green former "In Color" from a couple years ago called "Wild Wasabi".

The Wild Wasabi cs I used are just scraps that are punched with the scallop border punch.  The scalloped cs is adhered under the tag.

The tags are die cut/embossed with the Merry Embosslit that is shown on page 21 of the Holiday Mini Catalog.  This little embosslit makes an entire tag - even a hole is cut into the tag for the ribbon to slide through!  It is incredible.  If I just had one style of tag to make for years, this could be it!  I could use different papers & just adorn, add onto, or use this tag as a small part of a bigger tag. 

I stamped the poinsettia from the Berry Christmas stamp set (on the same page in the Holiday Mini Catty), but I stamped it only partially.  I added buttons and blingy brads to the center of the poinsettias.

I guess maybe I should've saved this tag for Fast Friday - it truly was a quick project!  These are some of the gift tags that we made at our Christmas Express Stamp Camp last week!

Linda :)

Whatever Wednesday - Hand Delivered Envelopes? Decorate Them!

 

Are you hand delivering any Christmas cards?  Do you personally give out gift cards or monetary gifts as a Christmas gratuity?  You can stamp & decorate the envelopes!

Look how cute they are!  Just use a to/from stamp & some of the latest stamps in Christmasy colors.  Some of the stamps on these two envelopes are from the Berry Christmas Stamp set in the Holiday Mini Catty. 

You might want to take one last look through the Holiday Mini Catty one more time!  We only have until January 4th, 2010 to place orders from this catty.  All, or most, of the items in this catty will only be available to us during this limited time.

Linda :)

Tuesday Tips - Punched Velum

Cute card/poor quality photo.  One day I will master this photography thing.

Today's Tuesday Tip:  Punch through velum card stock to add a pretty, transparent element to a card

For this card, I have stamped the antique Santa onto velum, as well as punched stars with velum.

The card is Riding Hood Red cs layered with some dsp.  I have stamped "be merry" a few times on the dsp & adhered it with dimensionals so the entire dsp layer is "popped up".

The Santa velum is layered onto Riding Hood Red cs, brads are added to the corners & depth is given to the Santa with dimensionals.

I have punched a hole through both stars & simply slipped them over the corner brad on the Santa, rotating the top star.  I added a touch of Mono Adhesive under each star surrounding the brad, leaving the star points free of adhesive and free of that "glue showing through"  look.

I finished off this card with hemp twine tied in a bow. 

Linda

Map It Monday - Hearts & A Little Bling

Tempting Turquoise today! For this card map, I created the map intending to make a little row of leaves, but the hearts & little flower kind of took over.

I punched Tempting Turquoise hearts & adhered them to form a border across a piece of Tempting Turquoise Designer Series Patterns Paper. Then, I adhered the dsp with dimensionals to give it a lift - kind of like a canopy. The hearts aren't really touching the card itself since they are on the "canopy".

Punch the bottom of the card with the scallop border punch.

Add some bling in the form of chipboard. You can add some Dazzling Diamonds to a piece of chipboard or use any little embellishment, such as a button or Stampin' Memories sticker that you might have leftover from a kit. My embellishment is a double layer of glittery chipboard flowers!

I liked the look of this card without a message on the front, so I didn't stamp anything on it.  If you want to stamp a message, stamp it below the "canopy".

What fun!

Linda

Fast Friday - Pomegranate Punch

Today's Fast Friday card is made from some retired Pink Pomegranate" cs (an "In Color" of a couple years ago).

If you want to make a similar card, here's how!

I have used the Season of Joy stamp set (in the big catty).  The multi-message stamp is stamped across the top section of the card twice, side by side.

I stamped the same image onto white cs & punched out only a small part of it with the large oval punch (the "Deck the Halls" part).  After it is punched out, I added a few more flowers using the tiny poinsettia stamp in this same set.  "Merry Christmas" is stamped inside the card.

Now for the punching.....Punch the wide oval punch into the card & also into white cs.  Punch a scalloped oval into Pink Pomegranate cs.  Line them up & adere, adding dimensionals underneath the "Deck the Halls" oval.

Finish it off with white grosgrain ribbon!

We sure had a fun Christmas Express stamp camp last night!   I had so many ideas to share!  Several ladies, and you know who you are, were like energizer bunnies!  Here's just a few of the things you missed!

 

 

Have a great weekend! I will be getting ready for the Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack for Monday evening!   Can't wait!

Linda :)

Think About Color Thursday - Ruby Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Kraft, More Mustard

This week's color combination has five colors, count 'em, five!

I absolutely love the unusual combination!  Ruby Red, Old Olive, Taken with Teal, Kraft, More Mustard

I punched 1/2" circles & created an interesting Taken with Teal square in the bottom left corner.  I used the 1/2" circle punch and the scallop square punch for the upper left and bottom right squares.

The top right square was made with a punched 1 3/4" circle and a 1/2" punched circle.  Can't remember the stamp set - I think it may be retired.  You could stamp any message really - "happy birthday", "hello", etc.

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Tall Gift Box

Here's a  tall, beautiful gift box that I created.  I really wanted to do these at my Christmas Express Camp, however, it's not really "express" material.  It took awhile to make & seemed a  little complicated.  We wouldn't have been able to do too much else at that camp if we made these.  Now that I've made one, it'll be easier the second time around.

The lip around the box has a very professional appearance.  The eyelet punched trim gives the gift box polished detail.

Here's a view from the inside of the box.

I adhered wide Stampin' Up Old Olive striped ribbon on the underside of the box lid so the ribbon stays put, no matter how many times the box is re-used.  Isn't that awesome?  It just seems that when you put this much love and time into a creation, it should be used more than once!

Here's a closeup of the lid.  If you want to learn how to make this box, let me know & I'll design a camp around it!

Linda :)

Tuesday Tips - Wheel Stamped Image

TUESDAY TIP:  Use a Stampin' Around wheel.......but only use a part of it as your main image.  What do I mean?  Well, a Stampin' Around stamp wheel is often used for rolling across a card or scrapbook page.  How about rolling the image across a scrap piece of cs & cutting out only a part of the image?  The wheel I have used today is called Neighborhood.  Here I decided I wanted this one little house on the front of this card.  I colored the house with Stampin' Write Markers & inkpads with a blender pen.

A great reason to own a wheel is the affordability!  You can browse the different wheels in the back of the Stampin' Up catalog or  in the online catalog!

Linda

Map It Monday - Lots of Dimensionals

I had the 3-heart punch out today, so I went to work & sure had fun.  You might be seeing other upcoming creations with hearts!   Here's what I came up with today, using the card map below. 

Lots of Stampin' Dimensionals are used on this card.  Each little punched heart has either one or two dimensionals underneath to give the card lots of depth.  I mixed several stamp sets here - why not give this map a try?!

Linda

Scrapbook Saturday - Grommit Family

Here's a layout that the ladies made at Scrapbook Club this month. 

We had a lovely color palette and incorporated elements such as chipboard, grommit hardware, and the Jumble Alphabet into the design. 

Join us some time!  Just send me a message & I will give you the deets!

Linda

Fast Friday - Marker Tipped Flowers

I almost forgot to post this card that I created for a stampers group a few weeks ago.  It really is a quick card and can be duplicated even faster if you omit the border punching.

Choose your color combination from scraps of designer series paper that you may have on hand.  All you need are two coordinating prints that are 4 1/4" long.  Any width will do.  The dsp shown here on this card is from a package of Autumn Traditions designer series paper (in the current catalog).  I cut one wide and one thin strip.  I paper punched one of the strips with the eyelet border punch.

Stamping:  An Upsy Daisy message is stamped in the lower right corner.  The daisies stamp is inked onto a  Ruby Red inkpad.  Before impressing the stamp onto the card, I brushed Elegant Eggplant marker onto the flower tips.

That's it!  A pretty card that looks elegant, yet is quick & easy!

Linda

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I ran across a story recently that I saved. I would like to share it with you on this Thanksgiving Day!

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

It was great, Dad."

Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.



Oh yeah," said the son.

So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one's perspective. Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for all the bounty we have, instead of worrying about wanting more.

Giving thanks for the blessings in my life,
and Happy Thanksgiving,

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Another Mini Pumpkin !

Remember the little tab punch pumpkin I posted last week? Well, lookie here! You can make a tiny pumpkin out of scallop circle punches or oval punches too! Who knew?


What you need:


Orange cs (Dusty Durango, Only Orange, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust - any shade)

Ribbon – brown or green

Scallop Circle Punch


2-way glue pen

Follow the tab punch pumpkin instructions (here).  You'll need to add one last step at the end so your pumpkin doesn't roll off the table - trim a little snip off the bottom edge of the pumpkin with sharp scissors.  You only need to cut enough off so the little guy doesn't roll.
 
Give it a try!  You could set one pumpkin on each plate or napkin at the Thanksgiving table! Creating these shouldn't take much time.  I bet the kids might like to make these decorations.  Even young children can do the punching while you prepare the food!

Have fun!

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Border Punches Are Not Just for Borders

Tip for this week:
Border punches, like the Eyelet Border Punch & Scallop Border Punch, look great on the edges of a card or a strip adhered across a scrapbook page.  But one thing I hardly ever think to do is to use the eyelet border punch within the card front intead of only on the edges.

On this card, I have simply eyelet-border punched the message on the ends,  It gives the message a little extra attention, especially with the Yo Yo Yellow cs showing through the eyelets.

It's time for you to pretty up your card messages using an eyelet border punch!  Try it!

Linda :)

Map It Monday - Tiny Hearts

This week's card map has a message, 3 little embellishments, and a main image.  For my main image, I punched a heart out of Perfect Plum cs and adhered it to a square of cs.  The embellishments down the right side are merely punched tiny hearts.

Linda

Fast Friday - Stamping Happiness

Today's Fast Friday card requires cutting two thin strips of cs & adhering them to your card.  Next, stamp some flowers onto your Yo Yo Yellow card in second generation stamping.  Then, stamp a message right over those flowers & stamp some tiny butterflies. 

The butterflies are stamped in Only Orange ink and everything else is stamped in Riding Hood Red (retired color).  You could also use Real Red or Ruby Red instead of RHR.

The right edge of the card looks so pretty with the eyelet border punching!

Have a great weekend!

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Only Orange, Real Red, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Yo-Yo Yellow

This week's Color Combination card is created by stamping several patterns, one on top of another, using the color palette of Only Orange, Real Red, & Riding Hood Red.

To complete the pattern, I colored in the centers of the circles with a YoYo Yellow Stampin' Write marker & then used a Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen to add white dots & outline the tiny flowered centers of the circles.

Two stamp sets are used here:  Simply Circles and Charming (current set from the Holiday Mini catty).  Although Simply Circles is a retired stamp set, some great alternatives would be Priceless, Wanted, True Friend, Circle Circus, or Baroque Motifs.  Any circular stamp sets that have both simple circle shapes and more intricate patterns could be used together to create patterns such as the one on this card.  Circles are stamped atop each other on the card stock - just make sure the varied sizes are centered over each other.

For the Real Red cs strip at the bottom of the card, I ran the cs through my diecutting machine with an argyle embossing folder & topped it with a button.

The message is created by using the eyelet border punch around all 4 sides of a small piece of Whisper White cs.  The corners sure didn't come out looking good, so I hand cut them, cutting little curves to match the curves that were punched.  The background of the white cs is stamped in Only Orange ink using the Charming stamp set's "inspire/create" stamp, though I stamped it just once in second generation.  That is, I stamped it once on scrap paper, then stamped it a second time on my cs without re-inking.  The "hello" is stamped in Only Orange as well, but not in 2nd generation stamping. 

The stamped white "hello bubble" is then tucked under a strip of plaid ribbon.  I added a happy birthday message in the inside of this card.

Have a great day & hope to see you on December 3 and December 7th at the holiday stamp camps!

Linda :)

Whatever Wednesday - Tiny Thanksgiving Pumpkin Favor Decorations

Here’s what you’ll need:
Dusty Durango cs
Chocolate Chip ribbon scraps
2-way glue pen adhesive

Here's how I made this little pumpkin decoration:
1.  Punch a dozen tabs with the tab punch. If you want to add extra dimension to the finished pumpkin, you can sponge the edges of one side of each piece.

2.  Fold each tab in half (if you sponged the edges of the pieces with ink, make sure the sponged sides are on the inside).

3.  Adhere tabs back to back, applying adhesive to non-sponged sides, one at a time.

4.  You will have a chain of linked  folded tabs. You can insert a stem at this point onto the last link.  Ribbon scraps or cs can be used -- I used a scrap of chocolate chip ribbon.

5.  Now, adhere the first & last tab links together, hold together until it is adhered well. 

6.  Fan the pumpkin out evenly.  You can tuck embellishments in between the tabs or into the center.  You can experiment with stems & leaves - roll a stem from scrap cs that has been distressed, wrap a skinny cs strip around a pencil to make a curly-q, or stamp a tiny leaf & hand cut it.

Cute, isn't it?

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Holiday Gift Tag Bag

Tip for today: 

Get going on your gift tag stamping for the holidays!

 If you have the Christmas Punch stamp set, your work will be easy.  Whether you do or don't, why not attend my Christmas Express stamp camp & we'll make all of your gift tags.  Here is a rather easy gift tag style - using the Christmas Punch stamp set & the wide oval punch.  It couldn't get much simpler! 

Pop some tags into a cellophane bag & add a topper of designer paper & you have a great little gift for a friend or a hostess gift for Thanksgiving!

Linda

Map It Monday - Blue Memories

Today's map is one that can be used with those strips of designer paper you have left over. 

Here's the map:

Hope you like it!

I've been working on my Holiday Express Stamp Camp items - there are so many awesome things to make!  I hope you can be there - both the Stamp-a-Stack Christmas card camp & the Holiday Express Stamp Camp have been rescheduled - Holiday Express Stamp Camp on December 3rd & Christmas Card Stamp-a-Stack on December 7th!

Linda