Whatever Wednesday - Berry Nice Thank You Note

Yes, I am still alive and kicking.  I've just been doing other things besides stamping.  I actually am gearing up to start stamping again - I definitely miss it!

Did you get any gifts this Christmas?  If there's somebody you want to thank, here's a cute thank you note card that you can make!

The Berry Christmas stamp set takes center stage on this card.  I have stamped the bird, the leaf, and the "make merry".   I also have diecut the Poppy Parade cs with the scallop square Bigz clear die and punched the Always Artichoke cs using the scallop trim border punch on one side.

Colors are Poppy Parade, Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery.  Have you seen the Designer Series Paper In Color Pack in the Idea Book & Catalog?  It is a Hostess Level One item.  I have owned this item for quite some time and have not used it much until now.  It is awesome!  The papers are patterns of this year's current In Colors!  I've decorate this particular card with a striped Poppy Parade patterned paper.

Not sure whether I will post before the new year, so it'll be a surprise for both of us.  But, I will definitely be back in action in the new year!

Linda 

A Joyful Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve!

I guess time and holiday goodness moved me off-track with blogging.  I told you two weeks ago to "check back next week".  Oops.  It's been two weeks and I have not posted on my blog!  I hope you haven't missed me too much.  Be assured that there will be plenty of fun and creative ideas posted in 2011!  In the meantime, I may have sporadic postings before the end of the year.  We'll see.  For now, I have been focusing solely on holiday preparation peppered with many moments of relaxation and enjoyment of the family home all together!  Pure joy!  I love having all the birds in the nest, home from college and from out of town.

Christmas Eve is my favorite day of the year!  I am in the midst of last minute party preparations,, including the dipping of chocolate covered strawberries (yum!),  celebrating, and hoping that a few more snowflakes fall to add to the magic of the season!

I wish you a blessed, healthy, and memorable Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I hope you are surrounded by loved ones and, if you cannot be with those you love, I hope that treasured memories bring you comfort and peace. 

Joy to you at Christmas!

Linda

Map It Monday - Christmas prep

Here's my map for this week - not a card map - I've been mapping out my holiday to do list:

make lists
shopping for gifts
plan holiday events & menus
shopping for groceries
make favors for my party
prepare for & host holiday party
giftwrapping
stamp Christmas cards
write in Christmas cards
address, stamp & mail Christmas cards
make Christmas Eve party and Christmas Day food list
begin shopping for Christmas Eve party & Christmas Day
have a glass of wine
get my hair cut
make some handmade gifts
find a Christmas tree
lights on Christmas tree
decorate Christmas tree
Bake butter cookies
Bake Gingerbread cookies
decorate all cookies
Buy chocolate for dipped confections

and the list goes on and on and on and on......

I am taking a little break from posting on my blog.  Check back next week!

Happy Holiday Season!

Linda

Fast Friday - Merry Designer Label

I am having trouble believing that after today, there is only ONE MORE Friday before Christmas Eve!  If you haven't mailed your Christmas cards yet, perhaps you may want to stamp some fast and easy ones, like today's posting!

This Wild Wasabi card is wearing retired Ski Slope designer series paper.  Layered punched cs pieces are centered on the card and adhered with dimensionals.

Have a terrific weekend before Christmas!

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Poppy Parade, Always Artichoke, Pear Pizzazz

How did I forget Thursday?  I just realized that I forgot to post yesterday.  So much to do & so little memory.  So, if you were looking for my Think About Color Thursday post, here it is.  I suppose I could have moved on without it, but I was thinking the other day about color combinations that look nice for the Christmas holiday season.  The colors create a stunning holiday color palette!

Poppy Parade, Always Artichoke, Pear Pizzazz

This Pear Pizzazz card was diecut with the Scallop Square Bigz Clear Die, laying the card's folded side so it doesn't overlap the scallops.  As long as the fold is insde the square, that edge will not get cut. 

I then layered a square of Poppy Parade cs, Pear Pizzazz and Always Artichoke onto the card.    The striped dsp is a Level One Hostess Item from the current IB&C - In Color Designer Series Paper Pack.  The Berry Christmas Stamp Set is used with Poppy Parade classic ink.  The layered "merry bird" element is adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Such a cute little card!

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - brown box

First of all, I must apologize for the blurry photos recently.  I seem to have misplaced my camera & memory card, so I have been taking pics with my cell phone.  Not the best quality.

Here's a little gift box I made.  We made a similar item at a recent stamp camp. 

I began with a 12 x 12" Chocolate Chip cs and scored it on all four sides at 4 inches.  I cut slits into the scored cs that enable me to assemble it into a box. 

Now, use a bone folder to make sharp creases into each score line.  Apply adhesive to the flaps & fold up to assemble this box.

Then, decorate the box as desired.  I punched a Cherry Cobbler cs border for along the top of this box using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch.

For the box front decoration, I hand cut a Whisper White tag and rolled it through a crimper tool.  I used additional Whisper White cs to create the "merry" tag with the Stampin' Up Merry embosslit. 

The Cute Christmas stamp set (current 2010 Holiday Mini Catalog) is ideal to create great gift tags - I stamped the candy canes image with Cherry Cobbler classic ink onto the white tag.  I punched two Chocolate Chip scallop squares using the scallop square punch and layered then underneath the tag. 

I adhered another Dotted Scallop Ribbon border to tie the tag in to the box decor.  A few dimensionals, a punched hole and a splash of 1 1/4" wide striped Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon finish it off!

An unlidded box (yes, unlidded is a word - I looked it up because it just didn't sound right!) can be a quicker alternative than standard gift wrapping paper and bows.  Will you give a gift this year in a box like this?

Linda

Tuesday Tips - Easy Gift Card Holder

I made a gift card holder today using a standard A2 sized envelope.  I cut down the envelope's height and width so it was open on both the top and right side edge.

A strip of Real Red card stock is scored, folded, and adhered on both the front and back of the envelope over the open edge on the right side.  This little red cs strip secures the card so it doesn't slide out from the side of the envelope.  A few other score lines are added to that Real Red strip to give it detail. I made an angled cut on the upper right corner of the envelope so it's easier to grasp the gift card and so the gift card peeks out of the envelope.

I embellished the project with a curly label that had been cranked through a crimper and then cut in half.  A Real Red corduroy button is adhered with a glue dot onto the curly label.

Did you notice the little fluffy pom-pom on the end of Santa's hat?  It is a half pearl from a Stampin' Up Pretties Kit!  It fits perfectly!

This gift card holder is fairly quick to make, so if you want to give the postman or hairdresser something special, make a cup of tea & sit down to stamp!

Linda

Map It Monday - Cute Images

The card map layout this week allows me to fit several images onto one card front!  I suppose when you just cannot choose which cute stamp to use, use them all!

I stamped the Marina Mist cs top edge with the ornament stamp from the Cute Christmas stamp set.  I then matted that Marina Mist cs onto my Whisper White card.

I then cut three Whisper White rectangles - one huge one and two tiny ones.  I stamped some of the other images from the Cute Christmas stamp set.  I stamped in Pear Pizzazz, Real Red and Marina Mist classic inks.  I also stamped little snowflakes above the trees.  Stampin' Up offers several stamp sets with small snowflake images, in case you don't have any.  Take a look at the catalogs online!

The three rectangles are layered onto Real Red cs and adhered to the card front.  I layered a message onto some Marina Mist and Real Red scallop circles.  A dimensional gave it a lift off the card.

Linda

What Do You Think?

So, how do you like my new blog design?  I think it is beeeeautiful!   :)

Happy Weekend!

Linda

Fast Friday - Polka Dotty Gift Box

I made this adorable polka dotted gift box & the ladies at stamp camp got to make one too.   I started with a prescored, ready-to-assemble, white gift box.

I punched circles with the 1 3/4" circle punch.  I choose a color combination of Riding Hood Red and Old Olive, so I used a mix of solid cs and designer series papers in those colors.   The circles were adhered to the box on all four sides so they become polka dots!   Too cute!

I scrunched a puffy bow & adhered it with a glue dot on the top of the box.

Another 1 3/4" Riding Hood Red cs circle becomes a gift tag, with the slot punch used for a hole to slide some silver cording through.  The cording is slipped through the big red bow for the tag to hang.

This project literally took 5 minutes to make!

Linda

Think About Color Thursday - Real Red, Garden Green & Whisper White

Apparently the plan on this post was to include Garden Green as a color.......after the fact i am looking at this post & am enlightened to the fact that the Garden Green must be on the bottom of this project.  No need to squint to find what's green here......there is none.  :)
 

Think About Color Thursday's Color Combination.........  What else?   Real Red, Garden Green; Whisper White

We made this cute little set of gift tags in a box at last night's Stampin' For Christmas camp.  Isn't it sweet?

Linda

Whatever Wednesday - Ginger and Swirls

I found these gingerbread people that I had stamped a few years ago with some Christmas supplies.  Aren't they cute?  So, I decided to cut them out and place them on a card.

The Season of Joy stamp set's swirl stamp is stamped in both Old Olive and Real Red classic ink to coordinate with the clothing I created for the Mr. and Mrs. Ginger.

The Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch is punched through Real Red cs.  The strip adorns the bottom edge of the card.  The bottom edge of the Whisper White card is also punched with the Scallop Edge Border Punch. 

The message is created by stamping the Christmas stamp from the retired Holiday Best stamp set, and then cutting around the words in the rectangle.  It is then layered onto an Old Olive large oval.

I hope you like it!

Linda