Since I'm in LOVE with the Everyday Enchantment Sale-A-Bration Designer Paper, I took my colors from the floral print.  The base of the gift certificate cover is Peach Parfait, cut 5 1/2 x 7, and scored at 4 1/4.  I used Sticky Strip to close up the sides.  I stamped Celebrate from Outlined Occasions in Black Stazon, then used my Versamarker to color in the letters…it gives a really neat tone-on-tone look.  I stamped the Fresh Vintage floral image in Peach Parfait in the corner and on the envelope.

I cut a piece of the floral DSP and used the Adorning Accents Edgelit Die to cut the front and back edges.  I used a piece of Pear Pizzazz cardstock to line underneath the DSP for more stability and used the Edgelit die and embossing folder along the front edge.

Inside, the pocket holds the gift certificate.  The corner of the certificate is also stamped with the Fresh Vintage image.

It's not too late to join!  Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition 2012 has just started Week 3!  You get daily step-by-step tutorials, challenges and PRIZES and haven't missed a thing!  Our website stays up to a year after the edition is over, too…so you can refer back to our projects 24/7!  At $34.95 for over 36 project ideas…that is less than $1 per tutorial!

I used the Valentine M&Ms, so I need to find some designer paper that would work with those colors.  Nope…we don't have any.  So…I went back to the basics and made my own!  Remember Doubletime stamping?  I used the flowers and centers from Stampin' Up!'s Mixed Bunch stamp set and the colors of Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Basic Black and Real Red on Whisper White cardstock and made up my own "designer paper". 

Can you tell what the bodies of the dragonflies are made from?  If you guessed a clothespin…you are right!  I covered both sides with silvers of the DSP I made, after I textured it with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder.

The body of the dragonfly is the Mixed Bunch flower that I cut off the bottom petal and trimmed the top petal so only two antenna remained.  I colored them in with my Basic Black marker.  I punched the 1/2 & 3/8" Circles from Basic Black, then added two small pearls for the eyes.  I used the small cello bag, filled it with M&Ms, taped it shut, then wrapped some Bakers Twine around the center to hold it in shape of wings.  The clothespin is holding it, too.

These were TONS of fun to make!  Hope you like them!

We're almost at the end of Week 1 of Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition 2012...but it's not too late to join!  You'll be the first to see the new projects AND still have access to the ones we've already shown!  Sign up today!

Yeah…it is FINALLY my time to share my FREE Tutorial for Preview Week over on Create with Connie and Mary AND to give away Blog Candy!  Tomorrow (Saturday) is the LAST DAY to take advantage of Early Bird Savings for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions 2012 Edition!  Save $5 of the regular $34.95 US price for 6 weeks of daily step-by-step tutorials and challenges on Saturdays!  That is over 36 tutorials for only $29.95!  But…hurry…you need to sign up now! Only our subscribers will get to see these fabulous projects…no sneak peeks.

Leave a comment on my blog today to be entered in the drawing for BLOG CANDY…a free subscription to the Occasions 2012 Edition!  We'll announce the winners on Sunday.  But…don't worry if you sign up to take advantage of the Early Bird pricing…we'll either apply it to the Summer 2012 Edition or refund your money!  The Occasions 2012 Edition starts SUNDAY!

I've seen several of these signs done in wood with vinyl lettering.  I just knew that I could recreate it with Stampin' Up! products!  It came together pretty easily!  Instead of numbers, I used the hearts from Stampin' Up!'s Candy Conversations single stamp set to decorate the bottoms of the Hershey Kisses.  Yummy…they are the pink ones with Caramel inside!  Start the countdown to Valentine's Day on February 1st…there are 14 sweet treats for you to enjoy!

The full step-by-step photo tutorial is available for you over on Create with Connie and Mary!  But…before you go…remember to leave me a comment HERE on Friday for the BLOG CANDY…how do you like this project?  I think it turned out darling!  And…if you haven't signed up to join us…do it NOW so you don't forget!

I used the stamp set, Bells & Boughs, and stamped on Shimmery White with Black Stazon, then colored with my Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Always Artichoke  Stampin'  Write Markers and AquaPainter.  I tore the bottom and added Real Red cardstaock.  I colored one of the tiny Silver Mini Brads with a Red Sharpie to change the color and adhered the Old Olive Jewelry Tag with Merry stamped on it.  The Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon was on the Clearance Rack the last time I checked, I LOVE that ribbon!  I added tiny Pearls in the center of each poinsettia.

Did you see?  Create with Connie and Mary has opened up their EARLY BIRD PRICING of $29.95 for the next Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition 2012!!!  Check out our new look and details HERE!  Then…go ahead and sign up!  You don't want to miss out on the savings! 

I used four 4×4 regular sized square coasters and covered three of them with retired Stampin' Up! designer paper on both sides.  I adhered the paper to the coasters with Tombow Multipurpose Glue (green bottle).  I rounded the corners with the Corner Rounder Punch.  The fourth one I covered with Real Red cardstock, then made my Santa face by using Whisper White for his hat, mustache and beard, Blushing Bride for the face and nose and Basic Black for his eyes.  The mustache is two bird body punches.  I ran thru the mustache and beard thru the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines Impressions Folder, too, for some texture.  The nose and mouth are the Small Oval punch.  The holly and berry is Old Olive cardstock and Red Glimmer paper cut with the Stocking Accents Die and textured with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder.  I used a little Blushing Bride Ink on his cheeks to make them rosy and the White Gel Pen on his eyes and nose for highlights.

I punched holes with the Crop A Dile on the sides and thread thru retired Red Taffeta Ribbon thru and tied them together.  Finally I added the Silver Glimmer Ho Ho Ho letters with Stampin' Dimensionals and Tombow Multipurpose Glue.

I love my Santa and it is such a cute display!  Hope you like it, too!  Well…I'm on the countdown to finishing up everything.  Still have some wrapping to do and finish making some tags.  Then a few things to bake.  I'm sure it will all get done…lol!

Merry Christmas!

Since I wanted to stay with traditional Christmas colors, I had some non-SU designer paper that I used for the background.  The black frames are 10×10 in size, I had to take out the glass because of the thickness of the Ho Ho Ho chipboard.  I used Tombow Multipurpose Glue to adhere the glittered Ho letters to the paper.  I wrapped around some retired Wild Wasabi Striped Ribbon on the letter H.  I used the Stocking Accents Die to cut out the holly from Wild Wasabi and ran thru the Big Shot again with the Square Lattice Impressions Tie to texture the leaves.  The berries are from the Red Glitter Paper, so they sparkle, too!  I punched a 2 1/2" Circle from Wild Wasabi and did the Square Lattice Impressions on it.  Then used my Simple Numbers Alphabet Dies for the #3 from Red Glimmer Paper.

These really are SO pretty and sparkly in person!  Here is a group shot after they were done.  I made a total of 12 of them.  I was able to get 3 Ho³ frames from each package.  Check back to see what I did with a few of the smaller Ho Ho Ho's in the glitter onboard package that I had left over!  There are still some on the Clearance Rack…and check out the rest of the SALE items that Stampin' Up! just added!  Some GREAT bargains…up to 80% off!  Check out my WEBSITE here!

Oh, stay tuned on December 20th for the Control Freaks Blog Tour!!!  I need to get working on MY projects for it! 

But, here is one project that my Stamp Clubs did a couple months ago, inspired by a Becky Roberts project.  Ferrero Rocher candies are my FAVORITE this time of year (well…truthfully, ANY time of year is good for them!  lol!)  I love how this box is adapted to hold a trio of them!  This would be a nice little office gift or school teachers gift…tuck in a gift card for Starbucks or the movies!  Fun!

Sorry for the wonky picture, it is a little hard to get the full dimension of the holder!  I used a base of Real Red cardstock and Holly Berry Designer Paper Glimmer Stripe and Holly Pattern for decorating it.  I used my Stampin' Write markers to ink up the Pinecone image from Stampin' Up!'s Pines & Poinsettias stamp set.  It was punched with 1 3/8" Circle and layered on a Red Glimmer Paper Scallop Circle.  I added a Garden Green Designer Button tied with White Bakers Twine.  At the top I wrapped Early Espresso Quilted Ribbon around the flap and tied a knot.

The tag pulls out and I put the Grateful Greetings message inside!  LOVE that greeting!  I used a Garden Green Round Tab Punch at the top for the pullout.

Another busy week getting ready for my Tags Stamp a Stack and my husband's holiday party on Friday!  Still need to make gifts for them, too!  Anyone have ideas on using the Ho Ho Ho On Board besides the garland?  I bought a bunch of them on Clearance Rack and thought they would be FUN to use!

It's time for the November Tour de Freaks…brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers!  We have quite a few members who have joined recently…a couple are on the tour today!  We have a total of 13 stops for you.  You can start here and go around the entire tour until you end back here!  You've probably just come from the FABULOUS Wendy Weixler's blog!  Didn't you love her projects?  Our theme this month is Keep it Simple Stampers!  The cards and projects that have minimal layers and are easily to duplicate!

Now…I don't think I normally make "hard" projects…but, I also don't think the majority of my projects are "simple", either!  Either way, this Tour was a little bit of a stretch for me!  I hope you enjoy my "Keep it Simple Stampers" projects!  I have a snowman theme going on with Stampin' Up!'s Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set!

First up is a card that has been in my head for a while!  It really was pretty simple and came together quickly.  The hardest part was figuring out the layout of the circles…now I've done that for you!

I started with a base of Pool Party cardstock.  I stamped the little Snowman from Jolly Bingo Bits with Basic Black on Whisper White and punched them with the 1" Circle.  I colored their scarves with Real Red and Pool Party and the nose added with Pumpkin Pie markers.  I also punched 8 plain Whisper White 1" Circles, four of them I used the Naturally Serif Strip Die and cut out the letters of SNOW with Pool Party cardstock, they are popped up on the card with Stampin' Dimensionals.  Then I used the Northern Frost Strip Die and cut out five of the smallest snowflakes with the Silver Glimmer Paper and adhered them!  Finally, I punched out 3 of the Itty Bitty 3/8" Circles from the Silver Glimmer Paper.

OK…this one is even simpler, but the Red Glimmer Paper packs a lot of WOW into it!  I used Whisper White for my base card.  I ran the front thru the Big Shot with the Snow Burst Impressions Folder.  I added a strip of Red Glimmer Paper across the front.  Then I stamped the snowman from Jolly Bingo Bits in Basic Black and colored the scarf and face again with Real Red and Pool Party Markers…and nose with Pumpkin Pie.  I punched with the 1" Circle, layered it on the 1 1/4" circle of Real Red and a 1 3/8" Circle of Pool Party, then placed it with Stampin' Dimensionals on the Red Glimmer strip.  I stamped Merry Christmas from Petite Pairs in Basic Black on Pool Party and punched with the Curly Label Punch, then cut it in half and tucked it in the top of the Red Glimmer Paper!  That's it!  Pretty simple, huh?

But wait…I had to have a matching box, right?  So, I pulled out my faithful Box #2 Die.  I cut it using Pool Party cardstock, then stamped all over it with the snowflake from Jolly Bingo Bits.  I punched out the center with the Decorative Label Punch, then used that as a base for my tag!  I used the Northern Frost Strip Die again and cut out one of the larger snowflakes with the Silver Glimmer Paper.  I added another one of the snowmen punched with the 1" Circle punch and layered on 1 1/4" Real Red, then placed over the Silver Glimmer Snowflake with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I added the snowflake to the front of the Decorative Label tag, punched a hole at the top with the Crop a Dile and attached it to the Real Red Satin Ribbon Bow with Cherry Cobbler Bakers Twine!

So, all three of my projects would be easily duplicated for Stamp Clubs, Workshops or Classes!  Hope you enjoyed seeing them!  Next stop is the AWESOME Mary Brown's blog!!  She is the queen of Clean & Simple style, so I'm sure you will love her cards!  Have fun taking the Tour de Freaks!

Putting the two Milk Carton die containers together isn't hard…the most difficult part is learning how to fold the top.  Once you make one, the rest would go very quickly.  I love how the 1/8" Basic Black taffeta is tied thru the top.  I used the Crop a Dile to punch the holes.  Although you can't appreciate it in the photo, the Silver Glimmer Paper looks great on the belt buckle and with the Postage Punch behind the stamped Tags Til Chrismtas greeting (punched with the 1" Square Punch)!  I also used the Dotted Ribbon Punch with Whisper White for the fur trim on the front.  CUTE, cute, cute!!! 

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition Design Team did with the challenge this week!!!  We are sad to come to the end of the Holiday Edition…but it is not too late to sign up!  You still need great ideas for the holiday gift giving season, right?  We have them for you!!!!

It's time!!!  It is the monthly Tour de Freaks brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers!  As usual, we have a wonderful lineup of blogs for you to tour…only 11 stops this month, so it won't take you long at all!  This month's theme is Wrap it Up!  Boxes, bags & bows for your holiday gift giving.  You've probably arrived from Lisa Martz's blog…weren't her projects FUN…love that elegant stocking! 

I have two boxes for you to see…both are complete different!  First the more "elegant" one!

This one reminds me of a wine box, but…of course…much smaller.  It might fit a small personal sized bottle of wine or Bailey's, though!  lol!  It is quick and easy to put together, too.  I took a regular 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock, score it at 2 1/2, 5, 7 1/2 & 10 on the long side and 2 1/2 on the short side.  Cut slits up on the score lines to the cross line and remove the small tab.  Add Sticky Strip Adhesive to the long tab and put it together.  Fold up the bottom and adhere.  Oh, before you put it together, I added the Holly Berry Designer Paper on each of the sides.

The lid is the Scallop Square, scored at 7/8" all around.  I embossed it with the Snow Burst Impressions Folder.  Again, cut up the score lines on opposite sides, fold in the tabs to form the lid.  I punched holes in the sides of the box with the Crop A Dile, then fed the ribbon thru the sides and up around the top of the lid to tie a knot.  You'd have to untie and pull out the ribbon to get to the goodies inside, but that just makes it a little more special…takes more time to savor the anticipation of what is inside!  lol!  The tag I made with the Oval Frame Folder out of Wild Wasabi and cut it out.  I inked up the stamp from Pines & Poinsettias with my Stampin' Write Markers, stamped on Very Vanilla, then punched with the Extra Large Oval and adhered it inside the frame.  I stamped Christmas with Early Espresso on Real Red and cut out the banner, the placed it at the bottom of the oval.  I used the Crop a Dile to punch a hole at the top, then tied it on the bow with Bakers Twine.

My next one is whimsical…I hope you can tell that it is a ELF hat…and not a Jester Hat.  I added the Jingle Bells because they just seemed like SO much fun on this little box made from the Petal Cone and Perfect Pennants Dies!  It was REALLY easy to put together, too.  I had the idea in my head for a while…I'm amazed that it worked out like I thought it would!  lol!

I used the Petal Cone Die, one in Poppy Parade and one in Lucky Limeade and put them together, folding the bottom flaps together to hold anything inside (see photo below.)  Then I cut six of the medium size pennants from Perfect Pennants Die, three in Poppy Parade and three in Lucky Limeade.  I adhered them with Sticky Strip to the base of the Petal Cone, curling the tops outward.  I added the Jingle Bells with Mini Glue Dots.  Here is the bottom of the Petal Cone Elf Hat box.

I think they would be FUN party favors sitting at everyone's place setting for the holidays!

Hope you enjoyed my two box projects today!  Continue on the Blog Tour with the FABULOUS Mary Brown at StamperCamper's Corner!  I know you will LOVE her projects using the Winter Wishes Stitched Felt!