Stampin' Up!

CCMC124 – Come to Bethlehem

November 11, 2010 By Connie | 4 Comments

Today is the Thursday Challenge over on Create with Connie and Mary! The challenge this week is a color combination of Basic Black, Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake…oh…each of the Challenge Team Members have really different cards! You are going to want to check them out over on Create with Connie and Mary! Here is the fabric sample where we got our inspiration!

And here is the card I made using Stampin' Up!'s Come to Bethlehem stamp set. I love the solid image in this set…and I truly WISH you could see how this card sparkles! I stamped the image in Black CRAFT Ink and then applied Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder! SO pretty!

The base of the card is Crumb Cake cardstock. I layered on Basic Black. On the Black cardstock I added the herringbone pattern from Love Letter Designer Paper in three 1" strips. The Bethlehem Very Vanilla layer is placed on Crumb Cake cardstock. I stamped the greeting in Basic Black on Crumb Cake and punched it with the Modern Label Punch. I added one of the large Rhinestone Jewels to the center of the star, too.

Another pretty quick card to make for your Christmas cards this year…and there is so much depth because of the sparkle!

Run on over to Create with Connie and Mary to see what the rest of the Challenge Team has done this week. Some great variety!

Owl Easel Calendar with Box

November 10, 2010 By Connie | 25 Comments

OK…I know…that's a lengthy title, but I couldn't think of what else to call it! This is a project my Stamp Clubs did last month! I always like to do a calendar this time of year. This is also my Thrifty 3D Wednesday project over on Stamping 411 today! I wanted to share a project that would be a great gift for someone at Christmas! Something they can enjoy throughout the coming year! This Calendar Box could sit on a co-workers desk…or in someone's home office!

Isn't that Punch Owl just TOO cute? I love it! The pull out drawer could hold post-it notes or sheets of scratch paper, or fill it with candy for a special treat!

I've seen this project from several different sources, and combined their ideas with some of my own. It really is quite easy…decorating takes the longest, of course!

The base is So Saffron cardstock and I used Real Red cardstock for layers behind the calendar and the Scallop Trim Borders. I used the floral pattern from Play Date Designer Paper on the top easel portion and the green leaf print in that same DSP for the front of the drawer and the top of the box. The owl is punched from Early Espresso and his vest from a scrap piece of Play Date DSP, too. The pupils in the eyes are Black Mini Brads and I added a little red heart. Hello from Tiny Teacup a la cart stamp is stamped with Early Espresso on Whisper White and punched with the Small Oval, then layered on Real Red Large Oval punch. I punched the branch from Two Step Bird Punch from Old Olive and placed the Owl on it. Then put the entire owl piece on a 2 3/8 Scallop Circle of So Saffron. Last I added the calendar, layered onto Real Red that holds the easel top standing open.

Here is a downloadable step by step tutorial on how to make the Easel Calendar with Box! Enjoy!

DESKTOP CALENDAR BOX TUTORIAL

Rejoicing in Christmas

November 9, 2010 By Connie | 2 Comments

I originally purchased Stampin' Up!'s Rejoicing in Christmas set to make a few Christmas cards for my in-laws and to use with Create with Connie and Mary Holiday Edition. They always use the nativity on their Christmas cards and I thought I'd make up a set of cards for them. I guess that will wait until NEXT year now! lol! It is a pretty set. I like it much better without coloring, just simple stamping. Here is the card my Stamp Clubs made last month. It was perfect for the Easel Card!

I like the blue tones on this card. The base is one of the new In-Colors, Concord Crush cardstock…a dark purple. The next layer is Marina Mist and I ran it thru the Big Shot with the Vintage Wallpaper Impressions Folder. The Rejoicing in Christmas image is stamped with Versamark on Very Vanilla and then embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. I layered the Very Vanilla on Concord Crush cardstock, then ran Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon around and tied with a knot. I stamped the Star with Marina Mist and punched with the 1 1/4 circle, and layered it on 1 3/8 circle of Concord Crush. A Rhinestone Jewel is in the center. It is also FUN inside! You open it up and can display it on its' own easel stand!

The Rejoicing in Christmas greeting is stamped with Concord Crush Ink on Very Vanilla and punched with the Decorative Label Punch. Hard to see, but I also stamped off the star again in Marina Mist Ink over top the greeting. It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensions. That is what helps to hold the top flap open in the Easel stand. I added a strip of Concord Crush Patterns Designer Paper along the inside edge.

Hope you have a WONDERFUL day!

Jolly Old Saint Nick CCMC-HM6

November 6, 2010 By Connie | 1 Comment

NOTE: The Folded Tree directions are now posted on my Blog post from yesterday. Scroll down to see the diagram.

I love the Snowman in Stampin' Up!'s Jolly Old Saint Nick set and have used him a lot…in fact, he is featured on my Christmas Card this year! However, the Santa face stamp is really nice and I wanted to feature him on today's Create with Connie and Mary's Saturday Challenge! If you are a subscriber and play along, you are entered into a drawing to win one of two $75 gift certificates or a chance to win a free subscription to the next edition of Create with Connie and Mary! It's not too late to join! We have a sketch challenge for you today that was lots of fun!

And here is my card:

I took my colors from Jolly Holiday Designer Paper, so the base of the card is Old Olive. I layered the circle pattern onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock. I also used the stripe pattern and layered it on Old Olive for some contrast against the circles. I wrapped around the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon and tied a bow. In the center, I used Merry Christmas from Stampin' Up!'s Delightful Decorations stamp set and stamped it in Basic Black on Old Olive, then punched with the 3/4 Circle Punch. In the center is an Old Olive Glimmer Brad, too!

Then I stamped the Santa face on Very Vanilla with Black Stazon Ink. I used the Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Write Marker and AquaPainter to watercolor his hat. I used the Blush Blossom Marker to color his face, then added a little Pretty in Pink color for his checks and tongue. I accented the beard and hat band with some watercolored Sahara Sand Marker. On his hat pom-pom, I placed a Very Vanilla Button. He is cut out and popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals on the front of a 2 1/2 circle of Cherry Cobbler cardstock!

Check out what the rest of the Create with Connie and Mary Design Team has done this week with the sketch!

Mary Brown – StamperCamper's Corner

Cristena Bagne – Gettin' Crafty

Rochelle Gould – I stamp, I create, I have fun!

Jenn Picard – A New Ink on Life

If you haven't checked out the Create with Connie and Mary site yet, It's not too late! We feature new Holiday Mini products every week. There is a new project posted every day and there will be an average of two fabulous tutorials each and every week. NEW is a project sheet for every project not having a tutorial! We like to have lots of fun so we have challenges and prizes for our subscribers. Our sites stay up long after the session is done, so you will always have access to the site and the tutorials. For more information and to see our Preview Week projects please visit at Create with Connie and Mary!

Stamping 411 – Folded Christmas tree

November 5, 2010 By Connie | 95 Comments

UPDATE: 11/24/15: It amazes and blesses me that so many people still visit this post on my blog to see this card! I made this card FIVE years ago! Thank you for stopping by!

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Time again for the Stamping 411 sketch challenge! When I saw the sketch, I started thinking about things that could go outside the rectangle panel to frame it. Although flowers would work, I wanted to do Christmas. I remembered seeing a folded Christmas tree and I thought the size would be perfect! I adapted the sketch slightly since I didn’t use the curly label under the front panel, but it still works! Just be inspired!

And here is my card:

EDIT: The circle is 5 1/4, then cut in half. Use the score lines on the template as a GUIDELINE on where to fold before you press in the score lines. If you look at the card, I think it is pretty easy to figure out how to fold, but the short side is Mountain, then Valley, then Mountain again as you are looking at the right side of your DSP (larger polka dot in my sample).

This is a Word Doc…converting it to PDF caused it to lose the shape.

https://inkspiredtreasures.com/wp-content/uploads/Folded Tree Diagram.doc

Several have asked for a PDF, so here it is, however, the size may not be the same.

https://inkspiredtreasures.com/wp-content/uploads/Folded Tree Diagram.pdf

Not a lot of stamping on it…mostly bling! I started by folding half of a 5 1/4″ circle of Jolly Holiday Designer Paper into the Christmas Tree shape. I like how the folds make it stand out away from the card a little! I pierced a hole in the top and added a Gold Glimmer Brad and a small rectangle of Early Espresso cardstock for the tree trunk. The base card is Old Olive and I ran Very Vanilla cardstock thru the Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty Impressions Folder. I wrapped Old Olive 1 1/4 Stripe Ribbon (LOVE that ribbon!) around and secured on the back.

I stamped the greeting from Christmas Greetings in Cherry Cobbler on Very Vanilla cardstock and layered it on Cherry Cobbler. I added some Rhinestone Jewels in the upper right corner for a little bling. I tucked this panel under the Old Olive Ribbon, then tied some Linen Thread around the ribbon to gather it. Finally I added the folded tree with a couple Stampin’ Dimensionals!

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CCMC123 Merry Crittermas

November 4, 2010 By Connie | 5 Comments

Today is the Thursday Challenge over on Create with Connie and Mary! We've started a new round of Challenge Team Members and have a couple NEW faces for you and I KNOW you will enjoy their work! So, here is the sketch we are using this week!

When I first saw the Merry Crittermas set, I was so-so about it…but…since I have it and have been watercoloring the little critters, I am having SO much fun! Their little faces are SO sweet! Here is the card I made using the sketch!

I started by selecting the little kitty from the set and watercolored her with Stampin' Write Markers the same as my own kitty, Bleach! She is Basic Gray with spots of Crumb Cake "bleach" marks…that's how she got her name! I layered the Whisper White on Garden Green. I used a piece of the glitter stripe pattern from Candy Cane Christmas Designer paper and placed it on a layer of Blushing Bride that I ran thru the Big Shot with the Petals A Plenty Impressions Folder. The base of the card is Baja Breeze.

I added a strip of Real Red Satin Ribbon across the front and two In Color Glimmer Brads in Blushing Bride color. The greeting from Merry Crittermas was stamped with Basic Black on Whisper White and punched with the Small Oval punch, then layered on Baja Breeze cardstock. Up in the right corner I added three large Rhinestone Jewels. Oh…and I added the cute little bird from Merry Crittermas next to my singing kitty cat! I think it turned out CUTE using some non-traditional colors!

Again, make sure to check out what the other Challenge Team Members did this week over on Create with Connie and Mary! And…grab your stamps and play along! We love to see what you do with the sketch! Make sure to label it CCMC123 and mention Create with Connie and Mary in your post!

It's not too late to join Create with Connie and Mary! We feature new Holiday Mini products every week. There is a new project posted every day and there will be an average of two fabulous tutorials each and every week. NEW is a project sheet for every project not having a tutorial! We like to have fun so we have challenges and prizes for our subscribers. Our sites stay up long after the session is done, so you will always have access to the site and the tutorials. For more information and to see our Preview Week projects please visit at Create with Connie and Mary!

French Foliage Poinsettia again!

November 3, 2010 By Connie | 6 Comments

I showed the stepped up version of a French Foliage Poinsettia card on my Saturday post HERE. I want to thank everyone for their nice comments…I enjoyed reading them! Now, I wanted to show you one that my Club members made last week. I showed how this could be their Christmas Card, even though it did require a little more cutting. It would be easily mailed since it doesn't have the bow and economical because I substituted home-made glitter paper for the pearls in case you need to make a LOT of them! Very demonstratable for demos…I've sold a lot of French Foliage stamp sets because of this card! I love using a predominantly fall stamp set to make a Christmas card!

I used many of the same elements. The base is Cherry Cobbler. I added a full layer of Jolly Holiday Designer Paper which would save time from cutting the panels like on the other version. I cut the Top Note from Old Olive and stamped Merry & Bright from the Bright Christmas stamp set in Basic Black.

I stamped 11 leaves from French Foliage with Cherry Cobbler on Real Red cardtock, then cut them out. I stamped two of the larger leaves in Old Olive on Old Olive cardstock and cut them out. (Great TV time activity for me!) I made the poinsettia by punching a 1 1/4 circle out of scrap paper and then adhering the leaf "petals" to it. Instead of the pearls for the centers, I made some glitter paper by inking up Daffodil Delight piece of cardstock with Versamark, then sprinkling on Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder and heat set it. Then I used a 1/4 circle punch to cut them out…it adds a little bling without the bulk! Or use the center of the Daisy die to make a bunch of circles at once!

I know I'll be making a few of these this Christmas! How about you?

Serene Snowflakes

November 2, 2010 By Connie | 2 Comments

Life is kind of crazy here…trying to get the initial planning done on the wedding. Since I'm in town I get to be more involved in the planning, which is FUN, but again time-consuming. We are sitting in pretty good shape now with reception location nailed down. Next up is Save the Dates to be designed and sent out!

So…onto my card! Here is a card that I made with my technique class last month. I got the idea from Dawn Olchefsky who calls it Clear Block Stamping. I love the subtle look of the block inked in the background! I switched up her fall card to a Christmas/Winter card!

The base card is Marina Mist cardstock and I layered on Night of Navy. The main layer is Whisper White. I inked up the square D Clear Mount Block with Marina Mist, then stamped off on scrap paper, then inked up the edges with Night of Navy ink and stamped on Whisper White. In the top left and lower right corners I stamped off with Marina Mist ink and the smallest snowflakes from Stampin' Up!'s Serene Snowflake stamp set. I stamped the largest snowflake full-strengh with Marina Mist and the next size snowflake full-stength with Night of Navy. Inside the large snowflake I placed a Silver Glimmer Brad for some sparkle! I added the greeting from Many Merry Messages with Night of Navy Ink.

I wrapped some Marina Mist Taffeta Ribbon around and tied a knot on the front. This is a pretty quick and easy holiday card to make! Not a lot of bulk on the front so it is easy to mail!

Well…I have to get in my Studio today and get some things done! Deadlines are creeping up on me! lol!

I have a couple spots left in my next Round of Ribbon Shares! Find more information HERE!

With the new catalog, Stampin' Up! has introduced a lot of new ribbon colors! So, I thought it was time for more Ribbon Shares. Each Group of Ribbon will be wrapped around 1-2 pieces of chipboard so your ribbon arrives wrinkle-free and organized.