Rubber stamping is a wonderful outlet for the creative and the non-creative! You will be surprised how fun and easy it is to create awesome cards, scrapbook pages, and gift items. With Stampin' Up!, there is something for everyone. Join me for a class or have a workshop with your friends and discover the world of stamping!
While walking through Target yesterday, a very cute Holiday plate jumped out at me! I immediately thought the layout would make a very nice card without needing many supplies. I wish I could share a photo of the plate, but I don't have the ability to send photos with my cell phone (I save my money for stamping supplies...LOL!). Using a very basic layout I created two cards.
This card features the Snow Buddies level two hostess set. Besides the stamp set, I used Very Vanilla Card Stock, Brocade Blue Classic ink pad, and a Brocade Blue Stampin' Write Marker. All edges are sponged and the main image is adhered with Dimensionals to give the card some depth. To make the snowflakes lighter, I stamped the image onto scrap paper once before stamping onto my card stock.
This Season of Joy card was created the same way, except an additional layer of Dusy Durango card stock was added. Both cards have a warm, country feel, which is exactly how I felt when I saw the plate in Target. I guess my interpretation was successful!
I'm sure many of you know being a stay-at-home mom is hard work! Working with Stampin' Up! has really brought me back to the 'sane' category. I still felt like needed to leave the house part of the day, so I took a part time job at Blue Tiger, a very unique gift shop in downtown Apex. I REALLY love working there (I promise I'm not sucking up). They have lots of fabulous gifts that spark my creativity. I work some hours during the day and come home all excited at night, ready for the kids to go to bed so I can stamp!
Yesterday at Blue Tiger, we got in these fabulous bugs, Bah Humbugs! They are made of tin and are vibrant, shiny, and glittery...all things I love! I think the concept of Bah Humbugs is hilarious, and they are inexpensive, $4 ea. I'm guessing you need to give this gift to a Scrooge with a sense of humor. I brought a few home with me and made some cute explosion boxes and tags. Knowing Bah Humbugs aren't for everyone, I created a Love Bug tag too! (click on the photo to enlarge)
I love to finish off my gifts with a nice ribbon, a cute bag, or even a small tag. Pillow Boxes make a nice presentation too. Check out these Holiday style pillow boxes!
These Christmas tree pillow boxes would be a great way to give a small piece of jewelry. Tie them to the top of a package for a little extra pizazz. They can double duty as ornaments! Wouldn't it be a fun way to draw names each year at Thanksgiving?
These boxes are about 4 inches high and 5 inches wide. The size can easily be manipulated. I will put up a tutorial and a template for the Christmas tree boxes soon.
Good Monday morning! It's a new week, and a bit closer to the Holidays...eek! I've got lots of stamping to get done, as well as outdoor decorations that I plan on making for my life size gingerbread house (aka my home). I can't wait to share those projects with you.
This morning I have for you just a simple Christmas sample, with a very versatile layout.
Stamp Set: Season of Joy (110384)
Card Stock Color Combo: Old Olive (100702), Very Vanilla (101650), Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (115672)
Ink: Old Olive Classic stampin' pad (102277)
Adornments: 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon (109054)
Join us Tuesday evening, November 17 at 7:00pm, for my final Christmas Card Crank. We will be making 15 cards, 3 each of these 5 designs. All materials will be cut and ready for you to stamp and assemble! Cost is $25, or $20 for those who are in my Pampered Stampers Card Club. Please RSVP by Sunday, November 15.
The Holidays are drawing near, and even though I haven't been able to stamp the last several days (life happens), gift ideas have been swirling in my head! Last night I was finally able to spend an hour in my stamp room, and I honestly didn't want to stop. Here is one of the little gift ideas I came up with.
This wood clipboard was a great find for only $1 at my local craft store. Lucky for me the hardware is screwed on so I was able to remove it to cover the wood, easy peazy! After removing the hardware, I painted the edges white. Then I cut a piece of Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper the size of the board and glued it on using liquid Tombo adhesive, liberally. I used my brayer to prevent air bubbles, then trimmed my corners with paper snips.
After reattaching my hardware, I added a silver embellishment to the metal using my Charming stamp set, a Versamark Pad, and Silver Embossing Powder. Be careful, the metal gets hot!
Of course the paper pad and pen needed to match the clipboard. I stamped the same image onto the paper pad, and covered a pen with coordinating Cottage Wall DSP (using Sticky Strip). I glued magnets to the backside of mine so it can be kept on a refrigerator. This clipboard also came with a removable stand so it can stand up on a counter top.
I love to kick my gifts up a notch with the presentation. I created a belly band, added ribbon and a tag to bring the whole thing together.
Stampin' Supplies:
Charming stamp set -Holiday Mini (116519)
Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper (115671)
Rich Razzleberry Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115613)
Embossing Buddy (103083)
Versamark Pad (102283)
Silver Embossing Powder (109131)
Heat Tool (100005)
Orchid Opulence Classic Ink Pad (101859)
Sticky Strip (104294)
Tombo Mulit-Purpose Adhesive (110755)
Curly Label Punch (112208)
Good Monday morning! I hope you all had a fabulous Halloween weekend. I can't believe we are into November now. I just wanted to leave you with a cheery card sample today. It is very basic so it's very easy for you to change up the colors, image, and greeting. Give it a try and email me a picture of your artwork. I would love to see it and share it with others. I have posted the card stock dimensions below to help you out.
Stamp Sets: Of the Earth (Level one Hostess Set - Book a workshop with me to earn yours!), Thank You Kindly (111700)
Card Stock Color Combo: Pumpkin Pie (105117), Whisper White (100730)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie
Stampin' Gadgets: 2-way Glue Pen (100425), Dimensionals - placed under the small orange layer (104430)
Adornments: Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (102023)
Card Dimensions from the base up:
Base: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 (folded in half)
White: 5 1/4 x 4
Pumpkin Pie: 3 x 4 1/4
White: 2 3/4 x 4
Have a great and wonderfully creative day!
My grandmother is the sweetest ever. Let me start off by first telling you that she is the mother of 7, and the grandmother of more than 50! Remarkably, she always recognizes my voice when I call...I love that. So, I'll get on with it. Each Halloween (and Valentines Day), she makes a bazillion sugar cookies (probably more like 600) and sends them to everyone in the family...I really mean everyone! She knows how much we love her cookies. Although we tell her she doesn't have to keep this up, she continues to anyway. She wraps them up, boxes them, then bubble wrap, then another box! They always come broken and we love them just the same. Thanks Grandma!
These are honestly the best ever sugar cookies! I don't think she would mind me sharing her recipe with you.
1 cup butterCream butter and sugar, add sour cream, vanilla, and lemon extract. Add eggs one at a time. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine dry and wet ingredients, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Roll out very thin (they rise when you bake them) and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer to cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 7 - 8 min, until edges are light brown.
Icing:
1 lb powdered sugarMix all ingredients together.
To let my grandma know how much I appreciate her, I made her a pumpkin card!
Stamp Sets: Baroque Motifs (113490), Grateful Greeting (116511)
Card Stock Colors: Pumpkin Pie (105117), Old Olive (100702), Chocolate Chip (102128), Very Vanilla (101650)
Ink: Pumpkin Pie (105216), Old Olive (102277), Chocolate Chip (100908)
Stampin' Gadgets: Wide Oval Punch (112082), Stamping Sponges (101610)
Tip: Punch three oval out and sponge the edges with Pumpkin Pie ink before assembling.
I LOVE stamping, but I have other things that I love too! I'm going to start sharing with you other pieces of my life; all of which are fun, yummy, and creative! Stamping will always be a big part of my blog (I'm addicted in a baaaaad way!). I thought since you have creative interests like me, you might enjoy some additional inspirational ideas. Also, I'm inviting you to share with me! I love to see and hear about your ideas.
With all that said, last night was a non-stamping night (gasp!). It was a great night too. My kids, their friends, and I pulled the fire pit out of the garage and put it smack in the middle of the driveway. We carved pumpkins, talked, laughed, and cooked hot dogs and S'mores...yum! These weren't just any S'mores, the chocolate bar was replaced with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I highly recommend that you try this substitution, it's heavenly! I took a couple of photos to show you the super-duper delicousness (is that a word?) of this fireside dessert.
Gift giving has been totally blown out of proportion over the years. The days of hand made gifts are fading away because no one has time to make them anymore. Presenting an inexpensive gift in nice hand made packaging is a great alternative to a hand made gift. I found this great little token at a gift shop; it has a very sweet message on it (I've blurred it out in case the receiver sees this post!). I keep small boxes I receive on hand to recycle for occasions just like this! Small pieces of Designer Series Paper, card stock, and maybe some ribbon are all you need to add some love to an ordinary box. I did include a stamped image on my box, but it's not necessary. I'm so excited to give this sweet little gift, and I'm sure the receiver will love the gift and the packaging!
Stamp Set: A Flower For All Seasons
Card Stock Color Combo: Very Vanilla (101650), Chocolate Chip (102128), Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (115672)
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (100908); Stampin' Write Markers: Real Red (100052), Old Olive (100079)
Stampin' Gadgets: Blender Pen (102845)
Adornments: 5/8" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon(109052)
