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Simply Adorned Ornaments

Now that Christmas is over and presents are opened, I can show off the Simply Adorned Ornaments I made for a few people this year.  I used the larger sized 1 1/2 x 2 size charms.  I had them decorating my small white Christmas tree before I wrapped them…they looked so pretty, I may have to do up some more!

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! 

HO HO HO coaster sign

You might remember the post about the HO³ signs I made for my husband's direct reports.  You can see it HERE.  I had a ton of the smaller Ho's left, so I made up this little display sign using three of them.  I still have TONS more to use up.  I think these will be gifts for next year when I have more time to make them!

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!

HO to the 3

lol…do you like that title?  I love the retired stamp image that Stampin' Up! used to sell that said Ho³ on it.  Keeping that in mind, when I saw the Ho Ho Ho Glittered On Board Chipboard on the Clearance Rack, I grabbed up several packages of it to make some gifts for my husband's direct reports.  I always make them a little something.  One year it was tumbled coasters, another time a Happy Holidays frame, a Jingle All The Way glass block and last year it was Simply Adorned ornaments.  Here is what I did this year!

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! 

Pines & Poinsettias

Well, as you can tell, I've been on the CRAZY busy train lately and my poor blog is suffering!  It is not that I'm not creating…I am…just not things that I can post on my blog!

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!

November Tour de Freaks!

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!

Santa Gift Box

The last of the Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition challenges is to design a Gift Box or Bag with matching tag!  I knew immediately that I wanted to make one of the hexagon boxes from the Milk Carton Die, using a Santa Suit motif!  I haven't seen one done like this!  When making it for this challenge, I had the "brainstorm" to use it for my Clubs this month, too!  I think it turned out CUTE…and my Clubs like it!

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!!!!

October 2011 Tour de Freaks

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!

September 2011 Tour de Freaks

It's TIME again!  The September 2011 Tour de Freaks, brought to you by the Control Freak Swappers!  We have a few less people this month, but still have the same awesome projects from the ones that were able to fit into their busy schedules!  Our theme is "Fall into Step" this month…projects for Autumn, Halloween and Thanksgiving!  You've just come from Wendy Weixler's blog...great projects!  

My first project is a cardstock and Spice Cake Fabric Purse Clutch that was originally intended for another project, but I decided that I'd use it for the September Tour de Freaks instead.  I know you will love this idea!  The inside is quite spacious…enough for a nice sized package of homemade goodies or a small gift!  Now…I KNOW you will want the tutorial…and I PROMISE I have one for you on Friday of this week (Sept 23) in a CHRISTMAS version!  So make sure you stop back on Friday to get it!  I loved using the Spice Cake Fabric to make ruffles on this little clutch purse!  And…the designer button…SO much fun!

And here is the inside…like I said…big enough for a nice sized treat or gift and it looks like a little clutch purse!  Hmmm, it really would hold a travel tissue, cellphone, lipstick, mints…

There is NO sewing on this.  The base is More Mustard cardstock.  I used strips of the Spice Cake fabric on the front.  I added Early Espresso trim across the top.  I punched two Decorative Label Punches from More Mustard for the clasps, embossed with the Square Lattice Impressions Folder.  The 1/2 velcro dots hold the clasps closed.  I added a BIG designer button on the front with glue dots…added Linen Thread in the center.  Again, I'll have a FREE TUTORIAL for you on Friday with the Christmas version, so stop back!

The second item is a Top Note Nugget Holder that I made for participants of my Class the other night.

I cut the Top Note from Soft Suede and Spice Cake Designer Paper, then cut off the edge of the designer paper one and adhered it over the Soft Suede.  I scored 1/4" from the center point on each side for the spine.  I wrapped it with a Belly Band of Pool Party, embossed with the Herringbone Folder, then added a Big Designer Button tied with Spice Cake Fabric in the holes.  I added the Large Oval with Grateful stamped from the Always Thankful stamp set.  The belly band slides off to show off the nuggets inside:

I wrapped the nuggets with more Spice Cake Designer Paper and adhered them to the bottom of the Top Note.  It makes a FUN project and little gift for a friend or co-worker!  I think I'll make these for the place settings at Thanksgiving this year!

Even though neither project involved stamping, I think I showed how versatile the Designer Fabric and Designer Papers can be!

Next stop is the FABULOUS Mary Brown!  I know you will love her projects…take a look! 

CCM – Trio of Treats Tote!

BLOG CANDY ALERT!!!

EARLY BIRD PRICE ENDS SATURDAY!!!

Yeah!  It is FINALLY my turn to share my Preview Session FREE TUTORIAL Project for Create with Connie and Mary!  We've had a fabulous two weeks of sample FREE TUTORIALS from each member of our Design Team.  We've introduced all of our Special Guest Designers…except ONE…she will be announced tomorrow! 

Speaking of tomorrow (Saturday), it is the LAST DAY to take advantage of EARLY BIRD SAVINGS…$5 off the regular $34.95 US price for 6 weeks of the subscription!  You pay only $29.95 US for over 36 step-by-step Photo Tutorials!  That's less than $1 per tutorial, featuring products from the Holiday Mini!  But…most of the ideas could easily be adapted with other stamp sets and papers!  These projects are EXCLUSIVE to Create with Connie and Mary!  You will not see them previewed ANYWHERE before or after the subscription…they will only be viewed by our subscribers!

So…here is my fun project!  I call it a Trio of Treats Tote!  I dressed mine up for the Christmas holidays, but it would be fun for Halloween, Thanksgiving or even as a hostess gift with any of our designer papers!  Isn't it cute?  I love to give little treats to family and friends at the holidays. 

The front I decorated with a pleated lolly cut in half to surround the Decorative Label Punch.  A medallion from the Merry Medley On Board was traced onto Wild Wasabi cardstock, cut out and embossed with the Snow Burst Impressions Folder.  A couple Designer Buttons tied with Linen Thread on the sides…and that GORGEOUS Quilted Early Espresso Ribbon has SO much shimmer to it.  But…look what's inside!  Unwrap the ribbon and the front folds down!

Can you tell what the containers are?  Yes!  I recycled three of the empty brad/button containers to hold candy treats!  I made a little pocket inside to hold the three containers from sliding out…and decorated the tops of each one!  Now, I wish they were actually Christmas candy…fun to do a trio of different kinds…but it is a little early for Christmas type candy to be out on the shelves!  I used Starlight Mints!  This really is a FUN and EASY project!  Go check out my STEP BY STEP TUTORIAL over on Create with Connie and Mary…and sign up for the Holiday Edition of Create with Connie and Mary!  You will be SO glad you did!  Password information will be sent out on Saturday!

Oh!  Don't forget!  I have BLOG CANDY today…leave a comment for me on THIS BLOG POST and you will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE subscription to the Holiday Edition 2011 of Create with Connie and Mary.  Don't worry, if you have already joined, we can refund your $ or apply it towards the next session of Create with Connie and Mary!

Hope you enjoyed my PREVIEW PROJECT!

Gift Givers and Special Announcement

I always get excited when it is Preview Session time for Create with Connie and Mary.  This year it really is like Christmas!  We have a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT or a PROJECT TUTORIAL almost every day of the Preview Session!  How exciting is that?  Today we are announcing a VERY special Guest Designer…but I'm not telling you here…you have to go to Create with Connie and Mary to find out all about her!  And…while you are there…have you subscribed yet?  Early Bird Pricing will be ending soon…don't be late!  You'll get SIX full tutorials EVERY week for SIX weeks!  That is over 36 tutorials for $29.95 US…less than $1 per day and you can play along with challenges on the seventh day to win prizes!  What are you waiting for?

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One of the sets we are featuring during the Preview Session is Stampin' Up!'s Gift Giver's stamp set!  You may remember the little candy wrapper favors that I did for my son's wedding.  Well, we made 220 the first day, forgot that we had made an extra 20, and made 20 more later on!  So I had 240 of these candy wrapper favors and we only used about 210!  Since I had some left, I revamped them for my downline meeting and used them as swaps.  Of course, I had to remove the wedding information and looked around for a new set that I could use.  The little girl in Gift Givers was PERFECT to go with the Melon Mambo wrapper!

The Melon Mambo Candy Wrapper was embossed with the Elegant Lines Impressions Folder.  I wrapped around Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon.  I stamped the little girl on Whisper White with Black Stazon and watercolored her with Baja Breeze, Blush Blossom and Melon Mambo Markers.  I used the new Dazzling Details glitter on the snowflakes and the snow line.  I LOVE that we finally came out with this project!  I punched her out with the 1 3/4 Scallop Circle and layered her on the 1 3/4 punched circle of Baja Breeze.  I punched a hole in the top with the Crop A Dile so I could add it to the Baja Breeze Ribbon.

Isn't she CUTE!  For my swap, I filled them with small packages of M&Ms!  Yummy!

Again, don't forget to check out our Special Guest Designer over on Create with Connie and Mary!  I know you'll enjoy getting to know her!