1 Day 'Til Christmas

This is our 2010 Christmas card and was made using the My Digital Studio program from Stampin' Up! The professional printing is just amazing and don't get me started on the quality of the paper. Its nice,  heavyweight, and just wonderful! The best part is that it's 100% customizable. I chose to use a simple design template, re-sized it to my liking, then clicked to share my project, and chose to send it to the professional printers. But you can print your projects on your own printer at home too.

Thanks for stopping by. I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday.

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2 Days 'Til Christmas

Today's a simple share in decorating your gifts. I love ribbon like no other but I thought I'd try making a paper bow.

 

I've created an ornament from Stampin' Up! products, why not a gift wrapped up from all Stampin' Up! products?! You can get the directions for the paper bow from Jessica Crawford on Splitcoaststampers.

Remember my Bird House Decorations? My kids wanted to make their own, so I thought I'd share their creations as well. Its been a fun filled crafting Christmas this year!

{Project Details}
Stamp: none
Ink: none
Paper: Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper
Accessories: 1/16" Circle Punch and Brads.




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3 Days 'Til Christmas

I wanted to share a My Digital Project with you.

These are the gift tags that I made using Stampin' Up's program. This program allows me to create the way that I want to but then allows me to easily duplicate it many, many, many times!
Here's what I did:

Clicked on making a card (6x6) and chose a blank template.

 Chose my background paper (Christmas Jingle Designer Paper)

 Added a layer of Whisper White card stock for the center

To get the red frame, clicked on the Mat button and changed the color.

Clicked on the Berry Christmas Stamp Set and changed the color. (Just like you would if you were actually stamping, you choose your stamp set, the color, and place on your project.)

Then, I saved it as a JPEG file and copied it onto a Word document. So that I could maximize my pages, the image was re-sized into 3"x 3" and copied to fill one whole page. Finally, I printed on Whisper White card stock for tags and then on 8-1/2" x 11" shipping labels. Cut them to size and voilà!

If you are interested in this digital program or have it and want to learn how to fully utilize it, please contact me for class and tutorial information.

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4 Days 'til Christmas

Holidays bring lots of parties and Christmas is one of the busiest and most fun for our family.

When I first saw the Candy Countdown Calendar Kit in our Holiday Mini catalog,

I needed to have it. I made up the boxes and was ready to put it up just as is. But then, I decided to use the different components separately for my various projects. The rope for my thankful banner, the clothes pin for my card holder, and the boxes will be used for our party favors.

The party favors contain homemade "toffee" bars, a recipe I learned from a friend of mine. (And I know she wouldn't mind me sharing them here.)

"Toffee" Bar Recipe:

Ingredients:

• Saltine crackers
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 12 oz chocolate chips
• Chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. On a cookie sheet, arrange saltines in single layer (salt side down) on parchment paper.
3. Combine the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and stir until mixture thickens and starts to boil. (Make sure that the sugar and butter are totally combined.)
4. Pour the mixture over the saltines and spread out evenly.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until bubbly & golden brown.
6. Pull out of the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the crackers.
7. Let it sit for a few minutes until it melts and smooth out the chocolate over the crackers. (I usually put it back into the oven just for a little bit to help speed up the process.)
8. Sprinkle nuts on top of chocolate.
9. Freeze or refrigerate for a couple of hours until completely cooled and hard. Then, break into pieces.

{Project Recipe}
Stamp: Tags 'Til Christmas (120847-W/121169-C)
Ink: Early Espresso and Real Red Classic Ink Pads.
Paper: Garden Green, Whisper White, and Wild Wasabi Card Stock; Candy Cane Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper.
Accessories: Candy Calendar Countdown Kit; 1/2" Circle, 3/4" Circle, and Scallop Square Punches.

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5 Days 'til Christmas (Occasions Mini Sneak Peak)

Have you made any projects using Stampin' Up! fabric? Stampin' Up! has manufactured the most adorable prints, and they are larger than a regular fat quarter.

I've seen aprons and fabric rolls with sleeves for crayons and activity books, so I decided that I would make one as a stocking stuffer for Riley (my youngest) using of course, Stampin' Up!'s own fabric.  

 

 

(You can find directions from Skip to My Lou.)

What do you think of this print? (There's even more fabric in the new Occasions Mini Catalog--products available January 4th.)

I'm hoping that this will deter her from writing or drawing on other places like my fireplace. (If you know how to get crayon off stone, I'd love your advice.)

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment.

{Project Details}
Sweet Stitches Designer Fabric (121818)--available January 4th.

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6 Days 'Til Christmas

One of my favorite things about Christmas is receiving all the Holiday Cards from family and friends. I love to see pictures of how much everyone has grown and blossomed over the year or what creation they were going to come up with for this year's celebration!

The one dilemma I have is where I will put them to showcase these beautiful cards. My solution was to create this:

Using the Jolly Bingo Bits, my girls and I stamped the images onto Whisper White Card Stock. Punched them out with the 1-1/4" Circle Punch. Next, we punched out 1-3/8" Chocolate Chip Card Stock to frame the stamped images. Then, we punched Real Red Scallops using the 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punch and adhered the framed images onto the center. Finally, we attached the whole thing onto clothes pins.

Love how this turned out. It solved my problem and added more holiday spirit into my decor.

{Project Details}: 
Stamp: Jolly Bingo Bits (120857-W/121187-C)
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Real Red, Regal Rose, Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede, and Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink Pads; Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, Sahara Sand, and Tempting Turquoise Stampin' Write Markers.
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Real Red, and Whisper White Card Stocks.
Accessories:1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, and 1-3/4" Scallop Circle Punches; Clothespins (Candy Calendar Countdown Kit), and Silver Tinsel.


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7 Days 'til Christmas

Since I shared with you an ornament gift yesterday, I thought I'd share with you decorations from one of my own trees.

While shopping at Nordstrom (one of my favorite department stores), I saw the most beautiful decorations based on birds. And if you've been following my blog or just from looking at my blog header, you know that I LOVE birds. I first asked if I could buy the decorations, but I was informed that it's not for retail and when it does go on sale (up to 5 year waiting period), the employees get first dibs. So then, I decided that I was going to make my own version.

All the chubby birds, nests, and twigs were found. But the birdhouses, I knew I had to decorate myself. So, I used our Stampin' Up! Designer Series Papers and paint colors to match.

 

 {Project Details}: Love Letter Designer Series Paper; Not Quite Navy and Cherry Cobbler Card Stock.

 

 {Project Details}: Vintage Labels (SAB 2010 Set); Garden Green and Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pads; Woodland Walk Designer Series Paper; Wild Wasabi and Very Vanilla Card Stocks.

 

 

 {Project Details}: Cherry Cobbler Card Stock; Fire and Ice Circle Rhinestones.  

 

 

 {Project Details}: Pedaling Past (retired) and Style Beautiful (116984-W/120483-C) Stamp Sets; Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, and Not Quite Navy Classic Ink Pads; Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla Card Stocks. 

I love how the bird houses turned out. I can't help but smile every time I see them.

Thanks for stopping by!
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8 Days 'Til Christmas

Ian's class was asked by the room mom to bring in a handmade ornament or a store bought one to give to his teacher as part of a class gift. So guess what we did? Of course, we chose to make a handmade ornament. We decided to make one similar to the one that I made last year.

Really easy and fun. But because Stampin' Up! no longer carries the Pretties Kit, you could substitute the hat pin with ribbon and add the Simply Adorned charms or baubles to the bottom for extra pizzazz. The possibilites are endless.

To personalize it, (you cannot see it here in the picture) we stamped with the Tiny Tags and punched the image out with the Jewelry Tag Punch. Wrote in the Date and who had crafted it. All done and ready for delivery!

{Project Details}
Stamp: Tiny Tags (11091-W/118592-C)
Ink: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad.
Paper: Very Vanilla card stock and Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper.
Accessories: Pretties Kit (retired) and Brights Glimmer Brad; 5/8" Crochet Trim Victoria and Clear Tinsel Trim; and Jewelry Tag Punch.

To order on-line 24/7 click here.

9 Days 'til Christmas

I thought I'd share another gift item that we made for the Ronald McDonald House. It is actually taken directly from the Holiday Bundle Promotion.

What could be more perfect than the use of Gifted Stamp Set for this delectable gift? A quick and simple project that is perfect for this gift giving holiday.

1. Cut a 2" x 6" strip of Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper.
2. Open the bag and adhere one edge of the strip to the bottom of the bag.
3. Fill the bag with your goodies and fold down the top about 1-1/2".
4. Adhere the other end of the Designer Paper to the top edge (you may need to trim the strip to fit the height of your bag).
5. Wrap the Whisper White or Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon and tie a bow.
6. Stamp two images onto Very Vanilla card stock with Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke.
7. Using the 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, cut out one piece from Early Espresso card stock.
8. Punch out the stamped images with the 1-3/4" Circle Punch and adhere the Cherry Cobbler piece onto the Early Espresso scallop circle.
9. Trim the Always Artichoke "Noel" and adhere to Cherry Cobbler image with stampin' dimensionals.
10. Punch a hole into one of the scallops and thread the hemp twine through. Attach to the grosgrain ribbon and voilà!

{Project Details}
Stamp: Gifted (116982-W/120480-C)
Ink: Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink Pads.
Paper: Early Espresso and Very Vanilla Card Stock; Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper.
Accessories: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, and 1-3/4" Circle Punches; Mini Lunch Sacks, Hemp Twine, and Whisper White Grosgrain Ribbon.


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10 Days 'til Christmas

On the 10th day before Christmas, Stamp Ink Diva gave to me . . .

a chocolate reindeer.

It was one of the gift projects we made for the Ronald McDonald House Charity.

1. We just wrapped a regular sized candy bar with Crumb Cake card stock.
2. Punched the eyes using the 1" circle punch from Very Vanilla card stock.
3. Punched the pupil of the eye using a regular hole punch from Early Espresso.
4. Early Espresso antlers were cut using the Tulipe Bigz Die (now on clearance rack) and attached to the top with sticky strip.
5. Then using a pop up glue dot, sprinkled red chunky glitter for the nose. (Crystal Effects would be a great alternative for the glue dot.)
6. Drew in the mouth.
7. Finally, wrapped the bottom with 1-1/4" Striped Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon for added pizzazz.

Its a simple, cute, and fun project. Great for party favors for kids and adults alike.

{Project Details}
Stamp: (none)
Ink: Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker.
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, and Very Vanilla Card Stock.
Accessories: Big Shot, Tulipe Bigz Die, 1" Circle Punch, Red Chunky Glitter, and 1-1/4" Striped Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon.

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11 Days 'til Christmas

Here's a fun little card that I made for the Ronald McDonald House Charity. I used my favorite Big Shot and the fun Joyful Season Letterpress plate to create this simple Christmas Card.

The letterpress plates create an ink debossed impression that makes your projects pop with sophistication and adds dimension. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture it but trust me...it looks unbelievable in person!

TIP: Use Watercolor Paper and Craft Ink when doing these projects for a much cleaner and "crisper" look.

{Project Details}
Stamp: (none)
Ink: Real Red Craft Ink
Paper: Chocolate Chip and Garden Green Card Stock; Watercolor Paper.
Accessories: Big Shot, Joyful Season Letterpress Plate, Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons, and Linen Thread.


To order on-line 24/7 click here.

12 Days 'Til Christmas

Can you believe it? We are less than 2 weeks a way 'til Christmas. We just got back from a wonderful ski trip to Park City, UT. We have made it a yearly vacation now that the kids are older and are able to attend ski school. I have to say that it was quite fun to challenge myself with snowboarding! I was terrified that I would injure myself because I have a rather weak back but as you can see...I'm alive and well!

So, would you like to see my project for today?

I decided to take the advent calendar and make it into a banner. And since we've been gone, my kids will be counting down 12 days. I tried to put "holiday words" together to make a word count of 12 (peace, joy, & noel) and behind each letter is a special little treat. When I originally thought of this, I wanted to put lollipops with it but since I don't have any in the house, chocolates it shall be.

I just love the holidays but it would help more if this weather in southern California wasn't 85 degrees. Don't hate me, I'm not complaining. But a little frosty weather to go with all the holiday music and decorations, would truly make it merry!

Stop by again tomorrow for more Christmas projects.

{Project Details}
Stamp: A Cute Christmas (120825-W/121133-C), Broadsheet Alphabet (118724-W/120585-C), and Dot-Dot-Dot (115332-W)
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, and Real Red Classic Ink; Certainly Celery, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, and Real Red Stampin' Write Markers.
Paper: Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Real Red and Very Vanilla Card Stock.
Accessories: Big Shot, Polka-Dot Embossing Folder, Table Setting XL Bigz Die; Clear Tinsel.

To order on-line 24/7 click here.

Filled With Love Promotion

Did you know that Valentine's Day is the second biggest holiday for sending cards? During the Filled with Love promotion, you can get an exclusive package of Designer Series Paper perfect for creating cards for family, friends, classmates, and more!

From December 17, 2010 through January 24, 2011, get a FREE package of Bitty Buttons--a $4.95 value--when you purchase an exclusive Filled with Love Bundle. See details below and click on the pictures for an enlarged view.

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it!

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