Goodbye 2011!!

I have to say I've never been so happy to see a year end. This has been a difficult year for my family. Things are looking better for 2012, so bring it on!
Apologies for the long break in blog posts. I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with family :)
I have a few Christmas projects to share that I didn't get a chance to post yet...

I have some very lucky customers whose family members contacted me for gift certificates. Of course I had to wrap them all pretty :)
The first two are actually Crumb Cake envelopes that I added DSP, ribbon, punched pieces, etc. to decorate. The last picture is a small white lunch sack that I covered with some (retired) DSP and added some ribbon, ornaments, and punched tag to finish it off.

As I said earlier, 2011 was a yucky year for my family, which really dampened my mood for sending out Christmas cards. I received so many nice cards in the mail, which made each day a little brighter, but I just couldn't get into the "swing" of things to get mine done. I did make a handful, and managed to get pictures of three cards :)  Doesn't Cherry Cobbler make the most wonderful cards??!!

I hope all of you had a nice Christmas spent with family and friends. Best wishes to everyone for a fabulous 2012!!

December team meeting

I love getting together with "my girls" for an evening of stamping! It's a great way to share ideas  :)
For our crafting time, I chose a "hybrid" project. I designed the image using My Digital Studio. Then the image was printed, trimmed to 8"x10", and framed (without the glass).

Actually, before framing, I added a long strip of Sticky Strip at the bottom, and pressed Mica Flakes into the adhesive. I also tied on some Cherry Cobbler 3/8" Quilted Satin Ribbon.
To add some finishing touches, I adhered several Basic Rhinestones to his antlers and the snowflakes. The sentiment from the Grateful Greetings stamp set is stamped in VersaMark® and heat embossed with Pewter Stampin' Emboss Powder.

Speaking of my team... yesterday I shared the news about Cassie's new baby boy, as well as the digital part of the "hybrid" card I'm sending to her. Would you like to see the finished card??? Of course you would!  :)

After printing and trimming, I added a layer of Old Olive card stock, and a little strip of Baja Breeze card stock punched using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch. Before attaching that layer with Dimensionals, I tied on some Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine, which holds the "merry" sentiment (from Tiny Tags). I really like how it turned out!!  :)

a little Christmas miracle

Congratulations to one of my "girls" - Cassie - on the birth of her son Aaron. I guess he just couldn't wait to celebrate his first Christmas  ;)  Every time I see a new baby, I am reminded of what a gift life is, and what a miracle children are.
Aaron arrived early, so he's pretty little. He had some troubles at the beginning, but gets stronger every day. The proud Mom and Dad are happy to report that the tests keep coming back with positive results. Isn't he a cute little peanut???

I thought I would share with you part of the card front I am sending to Cassie. I designed the main part of the card front using My Digital Studio. In the end, I will end up with a hybrid card  :)

This is basically the digital version of "punch art." I added some digital stamps to make the wreath above the fireplace, and I added a photobox to create a "framed" picture of Aaron on the mantle. I just love all of the amazing things you can do with My Digital Studio!

Tag... you're it :)

Have you started wrapping your Christmas presents yet? I have!!  :P 
If you haven't yet, grab your favorite Christmas CD (wait, does anyone besides me still use their CDs anymore???) and get crackin'. Here are some cute tags to get get you in the mood:

I used my Big Shot and Two Tags Bigz Die to cut the Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler card stock.  Both tags are on the same die, so I just put a piece of each color on the die and cut once :)

Left tag:
After adhering a small chocolate bar inside, I wrapped a piece of Cherry Cobbler 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon around the folded tag, slipping the end that's in front under the slit cut by the die. Then I tied on some Garden Green 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon to keep it closed. The snowflake image from the Dear Santa stamp set is stamped in Marina Mist and punched out with the 1" Circle punch, then layered over more punched circles. After I took the picture, I decided to add a bit of Dazzling Details to the center of the snowflake, which looked pretty cute  :)

Right tag:
I stamped the "merry" sentiment from the Tiny Tags stamp set in both Garden Green and Cherry Cobbler, then punched them out with the Jewelry Tag punch. After piercing a tiny hole in each tag, I tied them to the "m" (die cut using a die from Alphabet Simple Letters) with Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine. I added a little twine to the Garden Green button, too. The Early Espresso 3/8" Quilted Satin Ribbon adds a nice touch to tie the tag to the perfect gift  :)

Have fun wrapping all of your presents... and don't forget the hand-stamped tags!!

Clearance Rack Blitz!!

 From December 15, 2011, through January 5, 2012, nearly 200 products are being added to the Clearance Rack in the Online Store -- with some discounted up to 80 percent! Visit my online store to get these deals while they last  :)

Fancy Favor Tealight

Just a quick post tonight, as it is getting late...

This cute little tealight holder is from my November Technique Tuesday class, "Glimmer, Shimmer, and Shine." The Cherry Cobbler card stock is cut on the Big Shot with the Fancy Favor Bigz XL die. Before assembling, I used the Snowflake punch to create the opening in the front, and I attached a piece of Vellum Paper to the inside behind the punched area. I added a Basic Rhinestone to the center for a little bit of "bling." Then I dropped in a battery-operated tealight, and now it's a pretty decoration on the shelf in my dining room  :)

Simply Scored background

While making a card using the Faux Tile technique a while ago, I thought it might be nice to score a plain piece of card stock to use as a background. I played around with a few things, and this is what I came up with:

 Card Stock: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, Whisper White

DSP: Frostwood Lodge                 Ribbon: Early Espresso 1/4" Grosgrain

Stamp Sets: Stitched Stockings, Christmas Greetings

Punch: Stocking Builder

I stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso ink before scoring the Garden Green card stock. To get the scored lines at an angle, I made a template. First I cut a chipboard square, and then I cut it in half on the diagonal.

With the  template in the corner of my Simply Scored, I scored every 1/2 inch. Since the card stock edge is not up against the ruler, you have to count the grooves - every fourth line. After scoring the card stock from side to side, I rotated it 90 degrees and scored again.

That's it- pretty simple! It kind of reminds me of a warm quilted jacket, which (in my mind) goes nicely then with the Frostwood Lodge DSP... every time I use that DSP on a project, I want to grab some warm flannel PJs and stamp the night away  :)  Hmmm... maybe that's what I'll do tonight!

White Christmas

I have a quick post for you this morning. This is one of the cards from my November team meeting.

Please excuse the odd angle... I was having trouble getting the details to show up in a photograph  :P

The base of the card, as well as the 4 x 5-1/4" layer, are Whisper White card stock. The sentiment from Hand-Penned Holidays is stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed with Pewter Embossing Powder. Above the sentiment are three horizontal scored lines, which I made using the Simply Scored, 1/8" apart. The "snowflake" is punched from Silver Glimmer Paper using the Doily Triple Layer punch. I attached it to the card stock with a white brad from the Neutrals Collection of brads. To finish, I used Dimensionals to attach the layer to the card base.
While I would appreciate a LIGHT dusting of snow for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, this is about as much of a White Christmas as I am hoping for  ;)  Have a great day!

Candy Jar

For the Scrapbook Club December project, I chose a cute little candy jar. It looks cute on your desk at work, or makes a nice little gift for a co-worker, teacher, mail carrier, etc.

You might recognize the shape of this jar... maybe you have a few in your fridge??  :)   I save the empty jars and have my husband clean off the "goo" left behind when I peel off the labels. Then I run the jars and caps through the dishwasher.
For this jar filled with peppermint candies, I wrapped a strip (8-1/2"x1-3/4") of Frostwood Lodge DSP around the jar, and secured the end with Sticky Strip. I stamped the From Santa À la Carte stamp in Garden Green ink onto Garden Green card stock, punched that out with the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle punch, and attached that piece with Dimensionals. I cleaned the stamp, and then inked it in Cherry Cobbler. Before I stamped it onto Whisper White card stock, I colored the words with the Early Espresso marker. I punched out the center of the image with the 1-3/4" Circle punch, and attached that piece with more Dimensionals. Then I added Dazzling Details to Santa's hat.

To cover the logo on the cap-
I inked the words from one of the stamps in Easy Events with the Early Espresso marker and stamped onto Cherry Cobbler card stock. Then I punched that out with the 1-3/4" Circle punch, and attached that piece to the cap using Sticky Strip. (How nice of that coffee company to make their caps the same size as one of my punches!!) Next I stamped three candies from Jolly Bingo Bits in Cherry Cobbler and snipped them out. One is attached flat, and two are attached with Dimensionals.

So that's one gift done... on to the rest!  :)

Shelli's TODAY Show appearance

One of the reasons I love being part of the Stampin' Up! family are the generous hearts.
Since 2005, Stampin' Up! has been honored to participate in the TODAY Show's Holiday Toy Drive. This year, Stampin' Up! will be donating over $500,000 worth of stamping and paper crafting products to the following organizations:

• Action for Boston Community Development Inc.
• Alliance for Children's Rights
• Boys & Girls Clubs Harford County
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York
• Community Partners of Dallas - Rainbow Room
• Diocese of Saint Augustine
• Friendship Project
• Help USA
• Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN)
• Kids In Need Foundation
• National Council of Jewish Women, Cleveland Section - The Dignity Project
• Operation Homefront
• Puerto Rican Family Institute
• St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital
• Stephen Siller Foundation/Katrina Fund
• Welcome House
• Youthbuild USA

It makes me so happy to work with people who participate in this annual holiday tradition of giving back and making a difference!
You can click the link below to watch the clip of Shelli's TODAY show appearance:
http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45568467#45568467