A Friendly Birthday Gift

Last weekend, my kids and I had made plans to go out to eat with another deployed family. Our date had been set for a couple weeks. Through the magic of Facebook, I discovered that it would be my friend's birthday the day before our dinner date. Knowing how she must feel without her hubby on her birthday, I decided to make her a special gift. Here it is!

I took a simple junior legal pad and an RSVP pen and decorated them!


If these stamped images look new to you, YOU'RE RIGHT! THEY ARE NEW! The set is called Vintage Vogue and it is a sneak peek from the upcoming Occasions Mini! This set happens to be clear-mount... a new option coming in January! The stamps are still made of our high quality, deeply etched rubber & foam... the additional option of the clear-mount sets just come with a repositionable backing that can be used with clear blocks (instead of wood), making it easier to see where you're stamping! It also cuts down on the space it takes to store the stamps. These sets come in a DVD style case. Oh, and another key advantage... they cost less! I can't wait for you to see them up close and personal, once the new mini catalog goes live on January 5!

Here's a close up of the card:

The 5/8" satin ribbon is new too! It comes in 9 colors!

Of course, you can't give a pretty gift without pretty packaging...

The bag was repeatedly stamped with a single 1" x 2" (approx) flower & vine image to create a climbing vine. I rotated the stamp to give it a meandering "vine-y" feel.

I hope y'all are finding time to relax and enjoy yourself during the holiday season. Sorry I've been lax in posting lately. Now that my Christmas cards are signed, sealed & delivered and most of my crafting projects are done or I've sent an IOU and am very close to completing them... I promise I'll be back to post some more projects before Christmas.

Happy Stampin!

Huge Holiday Sale--up to 50% off select products!

Check out the awesome deals on the SHOP NOW page at my website

Lots to be Thankful for...

It's raining outside (with a rumbling of thunder in the distance)... a good day to snuggle up with a cup of coffee and listen to some holiday music... I'm thinking about doing that and then pulling out the stampin' supplies to get working on my Christmas cards. I've already stamped today... but that's not going to stop me! I had my Give Thanks Card Class this morning. Would you like to see the cards we made? Whether you do or not, here they are (cover your eyes if you don't want to see them): :)

This one may look familiar. I used the layout of another card I made for a class awhile back--changing up the colors and adding twine.

Supplies: Nature's Nest, Fundamental Phrases, Bermuda Bay Textured CS & ink, Soft Suede CS & ink, Naturals White CS, sponge, blender pen, tearing edge and dimensionals.

I dusted off a stamp set that I haven't used in awhile to make this card...
Supplies: Pick A Petal, Sincere Salutations, Basic Black CS & ink, Whisper White CS, Melon Mambo Ink, Crushed Curry Textured CS, grosgrain ribbon, piercing tool, mat pack & Hodgepodge Hardware (genuine brad).

Pick A Petal is such a fun and versatile set. If you have it, have you used it lately?

This last card is perfect for Thanksgiving! Gotta love the wheels!

Supplies: Best Wishes & More, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Bright Blessing Jumbo Wheel, Kraft CS, Always Artichoke CS & ink, More Mustard CS & ink, Ruby Rose CS & ink, jumbo handle & cartridge, Rich Regals & Earth Elements Brads, 1/16" hole punch and dimensionals.

So, with Thanksgiving less than a week away, I'll share some of the things that I am thankful for.

First and most importantly, I am thankful for my family (near and far). I wish we could all be together, but knowing we are together in spirit means the world to me. I pray for everyone to stay safe (especially my hubby who is in the Middle East) throughout the holidays. I am also thankful for my craft-abilities. I can't imagine my life without crafts--especially stampin' & knittin'! I have met so many wonderful people IRL and online because of my love of crafts. If you are reading this, I am thankful for you too--whether you are a customer, friend, fellow demonstrator, someone who just happened upon my blog... I want to say Thanks! Seeing my counter continue to raise lets me know you're out there and perhaps slightly interested in what I have to say and enjoy seeing my creations.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the gloomy weather in the comforts of my home (yup, thankful for that too!) ... stampin' and knittin' all the way!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brenda

Holiday Tags Class Projects

Take a look at the tags we made at my Holiday Tags Class last week:


Here's a close up look at the different tags we made.

This first group of tags are not my original design. They were a make-n-take at Stampin' Up!'s Convention this year. The tags were cut out using the Two Tags Biz Die & Big Shot. The scallop circle punch coordinates perfectly with the scallops on one of the tags. That is one of the reasons why I LOVE using Stampin' Up!'s products--coordinating colors, shapes, images, etc. could not be easier!

Stamp Sets: Tree Trimmings & Sweet Seasons

Here's a super simple tag. We used the marker to stamp technique to highlight the poinsettia.

Stamp Set: Holiday Punch (Hostess Set)


This is another super simple tag that is stamped in White Craft Ink and heat embossed with Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.

Stamp Sets: Snow Swirled & Holiday Punch

These next tags were a hit with the ladies who came to my classes.

They are made with 3" circles (cut out with the Circle Scissor Plus). The top of the ornaments are Round Tab Punches. The snowflakes are stamped in Frost White Shimmery Paint and some additional shimmery paint is sponged on around the edges.

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And the final tag:

The poinsettia flower is made using three 5-Petal Flower punches (2 in Ruby Red & 1 in Old Olive). They are rotated slightly and then held together by a 5/16" Jumbo Brad.

Consider making your own holiday tags--even the most simple handmade tags will brighten any package. This would be a great project to use up some of your scraps leftover from other projects. Cut 2" x 2 1/2" pieces of card stock, punch the corners with the tag corner punch, decorate with your favorite stamped images and you have an instant tag!

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The next class I have coming up is Give Thanks Card Class on November 20, 10am-noon. We can never have too many thank you cards in our greeting cards stash. If your stash is running low, give me a call and sign up for my class! Check the events calendar on my official Stampin' Up! website for my complete class schedule.

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Happy Stampin!
Brenda

Is it really November already???

Oh my! How time flies! Did y'all miss me? :) I did not intend on ignoring my blog for so long. I guess it's the same old excuse... life got away with me. I do have some projects to share with you. We made these at my Christmas Card Stamp-A-Stack class last week:

Stamp Sets: Pattern Pines (hostess) & Teeny Tiny Wishes
Accessories: Top Note Bigz Die, Big Shot, Modern Label Punch, 1/16" circle punch, Silver Encore Ink, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Heat Tool & Silver Elastic Cord



Stamp Sets: Holiday Best (Hostess) & Baroque Motif
Accessories: Scallop Edge, Wide Oval, Scallop Oval & Double Rectangle Punches; Sanding Block; Sleigh Bells Ribbon (Holiday Mini); Texturz Plate; Big Shot & Stampin' Write Markers.


This last card was inspired by a make-n-take project we did at the Stampin' Up! Convention last summer.

Stamp Sets: Tree Trimmings & Sweet Season
Accessories: Silver Brad, Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon & Merry Moments Designer Series Paper.

I didn't have the same ribbon we used for our make-n-take, so I changed it up for some Designer Series Paper and narrower ribbon. I also used a silver brad, instead of the rhinestone brad we used on the original project. These are simple changes you could make to any project you see in a magazine, the Idea Book & Catalog or online that you'd like to use as inspiration. The same goes with stamps. For the ornament card, you could easily use another style of ornament stamp. Or how about just punching a couple circles or ovals out of holiday colored papers to use as ornaments? You could also use real string or simply draw a string. The possibilities are endless!

Check out the holiday themed classes I have coming up at the events calendar on my Stampin' Up! website.

Happy Stampin!

Deals of the Week 3

Check out this week's deals!

1/2" Library Clips
Regular Price: $5.95
Sale Price: $3.99

Basic Jumbo Grommets
Regular Price: $6.95
Sale Price: $4.49

Circle Designer Brads
Regular Price: $5.95
Sale Price: $3.99

Mini Library Clips
Regular Price: $12.95
Sale Price: $8.99

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Shop online through my website (click on SHOP NOW) or contact me directly... but don't wait! These awesome deals are only good through Sunday!

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Happy Stampin!

Brenda

Handcrafts + High Tech = Happy Birthday Boy!

My son, Nicholas turned 13 years old today. Thankfully he still enjoys receiving my handmade goodies... meaning, he doesn't think they're not cool... or sick... or whatever slang they use these days. Here are the party favors I made:

Stamp Set: Just Perfect Alphabet

Accessories: 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Crimper, Crop-A-Dile, brads (retired), large cello bags

and his birthday card...

Stamp Sets: Nature's Nest & Celebrate Everything

Accessories: 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1/16" Circle Punch, Slit Punch, Designer Circle Brad, Large Polka Dot Texturz Plate, Big Shot, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Versamark Marker & Basic Black Craft Ink

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I was so excited that Stampin' Up! came out with a new turtle stamp in the 2009-10 catalog! Nick LOVES turtles! I didn't want to go with the traditional colors with this birthday turtle, so I decided to use some bright cheery colors. First, I stamped the turtle in black craft ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I colored him in with our Stampin' Write Markers and let him dry a little... I got impatient, so I dabbed off the excess ink before I used a Versamark marker to color over the entire turtle to be able to emboss him with more clear powder. Had I not dabbed off the excess color from the markers, I would have smeared my work of art. Then I cut him out and attached him to the card front with dimensionals.

Here's a closer look:

As I said before, Nick LOVES TURTLES! So when he requested that the laptop he gets for his birthday be different from the rest of our laptops (yes, we're a laptop family), I immediately thought...

A DECOR ELEMENTS TURTLE!

What a fun day!

Happy Stampin!