Stampin' Up!

Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2010 By Connie | 207 Comments

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I wish for you peace and happiness

at Christmas

and throughout the New Year!

"For unto you a child is born,

unto us a son is given…"

Isaiah 9:6

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The layout for my card is from the Stamping 411 Sketch for today. Please check out the Stamping 411 website to see the other Operator's cards! Each Operator also has Blog Candy available! You'll need to leave a comment on EACH Operator's personal blogs…8 operators equals 8 chances to win!

For your comment on my blog, please share your favorite holiday song! You may leave comments up til 8:00 AM Eastern Time on Thursday, December 30th. Winners will be randomly chosen announced next Friday evening with my Stamping 411 post!

I have a new, unmounted Hostess Only Level 2 SNOW BUDDIES stamp set for you to win PLUS, 6×6 Hostess Level 1 Designer Paper Pack Patterns III.

Good luck!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Punch Art!

December 24, 2010 By Connie | 6 Comments

I saw this reindeer on some packaging and thought I could recreate it with Stampin' Up! punches! I think it turned out CUTE! Also appropriate for Christmas Eve…leading the way for Santa's arrival tonight!

I hope you are ready…Christmas is almost here! I think I finally have things under control. Did I get everything done? No…not quite. But…what didn't get done, won't be missed, I'm sure. I have lots of cooking and baking over the next few days with my son and his wife in town and the rest of our family over for Christmas dinner!

The base of the card is a 6×6 Cherry Cobbler piece of cardstock, folded in half to make a 3×6 card. I added a couple strips of Jolly Holiday Designer Paper. Then I stamped Happy Holidays from Holiday Happiness in Early Espresso in the bottom corner.

For the reindeer, I punched the body with the 2 1/2 Circle from Crumb Cake cardstock. The head is a 1 3/8 circle and I trimmed off each side to make it rectangular. I sponged around the edges of both with Early Espresso Classic Ink. The eyes are Black Mini Brads. The red nose is a Red Glimmer Brad! I used the small heart from the Heart to Heart punch for the ears out of Early Espresso cardstock. The antlers are made from the Snowflake Punch, just cut off two of them. I hand drew the spots and muzzle. The legs are just trimmed pieces of Crumb Cake cardstock and the hooves are Early Espresso punched with the 1/2 circle and cut in half. Finally, I popped up the head off the body with Stampin' Dimensionals and I tied a small bow from the 1/8 Real Red Taffeta Ribbon for his neck!

To you and yours, I wish a VERY Merry Christmas! I will have a post tomorrow for the sketch challenge on Stamping 411 and sporadically over the next week! Stop back to see!

Create with Connie and Mary Sketch Challenge

December 23, 2010 By Connie | 6 Comments

Time again for a sketch challenge on Create with Connie and Mary! I know it is a BUSY week, but hopefully you can find a few minutes to sneak away and make a card for the challenge! It is fun to see how each of us intrepreted the sketch this week!

And here is my card! Love the soft colors with this set!

I think Stampin' Up!'s set, Greeting Card Kids is just DARLING. I wanted to use this little winter girl one more time before I put her away for the holidays…although, really, she could be used for a winter birthday! Hmmm, cut her out and pull something else in the little wagon! OK…my mind is going now!

I started with a base of Marina Mist cardstock. Then I used the Vintage Wallpaper Impressions Folder and inked up the inside with my White Craft Ink (on the raised side). I placed the Blushing Bride cardstock inside and ran it thru the Big Shot. It gives a really cool look to the cardstock, doesn't it? I thought it looked very vintage. I stamped the image on Very Vanilla with Black Stazon and carefully watercolored with my Stampin' Write Markers in Blushing Bride, Marina Mist, Garden Green, Daffodil Delight and Blush Blossom. I layered it on Basic Gray cardstock and placed it on the front of the card. I wrapped the Marina Mist 1 1/4 Striped Ribbon around to the back and adhered. Then I gather the ribbon and tied a bow with Linen Thread.

See the adhesive Pearls in the circle on the background! It really shows up MUCH better in real life. I stamped the greeting from a new set in the Occasions Mini called Bring on the Cake in Basic Black on Blushing Bride, punched with the 1 1/4 circle and layered on a 1 3/8 circle of Marina Mist. It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals and a few more Pearls added to the front.

Make sure to check out the rest of the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge Team to see what they did this week! Each card is SO different! Play along and upload your card on Inlinkz!

Hope you have a VERY, Merry Christmas!

December Tour de Freaks!

December 19, 2010 By Connie | 12 Comments

It's time for the December Tour de Freaks, brought to you by your Control Freak Swappers! You've probably just arrived from the fabulous blog of Liz Shultz! We have 11 stops this month filled with ideas from the new Occasions Mini and Sale-A-Bration catalogs!

In the case of my first project, you could still easily make these for last minute Christmas gifts! Can you tell what the plastic sleeve is made from? If you guessed a 6×6 page protector…you are right! I made some similar to this one for roommate gifts at Convention MANY years ago. My upline reminded me and we did one for a project at our Holiday Stamping Festival a couple months ago. I updated it again using the new Fun Flowers Bigz Die, Baby Blossom Stamp Set and Springtime Vintage Designer Paper!

The Rose Red cardstock back slides down into the 6×6 page protector (cut off the excess tab on the side first) and is held in place with a couple mini glue dots in the top corners on the back. The cardstock measures 6 x 10" and scored at 6 1/8 & 6 3/8 on the long side. I rounded the bottom front corners of the flap with the Small Corner Rounder. I added a layer of Very Vanilla cardstock on the front flap. Then I used the Tasteful Trim die to cut a piece of the Springtime Vintage Designer Paper in the curvy wave pattern. On top I layered two of the large Rose Red flowers, then one Blushing Bride medium flower and the small Rose Red flower from the Fun Flowers Bigz Die. The leaves are cut from the smaller flower of Always Artichoke cardstock. I punched a 1" Circle and then added a Small Crumb Cake Big Designer Button with a bow of Linen Thread in the center. The greeting from Afterthoughts Hostess Set is stamped in Rose Red.

Inside there is enough room to hold a small spiral notebook that I covered with Very Vanilla cardstock and more Springtime Vintage Designer Paper. On the notebook, I added some Crochet Trim before I adhered the DSP. I stamped the label from Baby Blossoms in Very Vanilla with Always Artichoke Classic Ink and cut it out. Then I layered it on Always Artichoke cardstock and trimmed around the outline to make a matted layer. I stamped the small flowers from Baby Blossoms on scrap Very Vanilla with Rose Red and Always Artichoke, cut them out and placed them in the upper left and lower right corners with Stampin' Dimensionals. The initial C is from Monogram Sweet Alphabet Set, stamped in Rose Red in the center of the oval. I added tiny adhesive pearls in the remaining space of the oval around the initial.

I also decorated a RSVP pen by cutting a 3/4 x 3 1/4 piece of the same pattern Springtime Vintage Designer Paper and wrapping it inside the tube of the pen. I added two Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares in the extra room of the package…because face it…who DOESN'T love a little chocolate? (Sorry, I only had one White Mint green one left…I would color coordinate better if it were going to be a gift! lol! I wasn't going to fight the stores today to pick up more of the White Mint ones.)

If you didn't want to put in the elements that I do, it will also hold four regular sized cards easily!

I used the same Springtime Vintage Designer Paper for my next card. A simple layout, but looks great, even though it didn't take a lot of time to make! I used the new Baby Blossoms two step stamp for this card, too!

I started with a base of Rose Red cardstock. I used the reverse side of the print I used above and added an edge of the Always Artichoke Dotted Ribbon Punch along the left side. I stamped off the background flower of Rose Red on Very Vanilla, then the top two-step in full strength Rose Red to get the two-tone look to the flowers. I did the same with the Always Artichoke leaves. The words A Gift For You are from the new stamp set, Bring on the Cake, and stamped in Basic Black. I added a Very Vanilla Taffeta Bow with Vintage Brad to the corner. The Very Vanilla was layered on Always Artichoke and popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. I used the 2 1/2 circle punched from Crumb Cake in the background with a few adhesive Pearls.

Next stop is the fantastic Jan Tinklenberg…I'm sure she has some amazing projects! Make sure to go all around the 11 stops of the tour until you get back here…you won't be disappointed!

Stamping 411- Lots of Love Letterpress

December 17, 2010 By Connie | 10 Comments

Time again for Stamping 411's Sketch Challenge! I've been really wanting to try the Letterpress debossed image plates, but hadn't time to sit down and figure it out! So…I pulled one out for this week's challenge!

Here is my card!

I started with the base of Real Red cardstock. Then I layered on the Letterpress Lots of Love layer, run thru the Big Shot with Pretty in Pink Craft Ink on Whisper White cardstock. I love how this plate debosses AND inks it up at the same time! I used Stampin' Up's Filled with Love Stamp Set and two of the patterns (one Real Red, one Pretty in Pink) in the Love Patterns Designer Paper…available as the current Stampin' Up! special bundle (purchase both stamp set and designer paper and get a free container of Itty Bitty Buttons!)

I wrapped some 1/8 Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon around the red polka dot in Love Patterns Designer Paper and tied with a bow. I stamped the Heart from Filled with Love with Pretty in Pink on Whisper White, then punched with the Full Heart punch. It is layered on a Real Red Scalloped Heart of Hearts Embosslits Die. It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals. Finally, I punched the Small Heart from the new Red Glitter paper that will be in the Occasions Mini Catalog! LOVE that paper…no mess, but LOTS of sparkly BLING! It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals, too!

What a FUN card! I love the square 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 size, too! Make sure to check out what the rest of the Stamping 411 Operators did this week with the sketch!

Create with Connie and Mary Snowflake

December 16, 2010 By Connie | 11 Comments

This week's Thursday Challenge over on Create with Connie and Mary was to use this YUMMY looking cake as our inspiration! Wow…so many things…snowflakes, stripes, pearls, bows…tons of items to use on a card! Plus, I think Topsy-Turvy cakes are SO much fun. One day, I'd like to have a big decorated cake like this for my birthday!

So here is my card based on the cake inspiration!

I knew right away I wanted to use the BIG Snowflake #2 die on my card. I ended up using BOTH the snowflake and the Northern Frost Strip die for the small one under the Blue Glimmer Brad. I also used the Snowflake Punch behind the bow! Lots of snowflakes going on!

The base is Marina Mist cardstock, then I layered on Whisper White that I ran thru the Big Shot with the FInial Press Impressions Folder. I made the Snowflake #2 out of Marina Mist, then added Tombow Adhesive Glue on the edges and sprinkled on White Chunky Glitter. I added the Whisper White punched snowflake over the big one. I made a bow out of the length of Marina Mist Satin Ribbon, then used the Subtles Glimmer Brad and the smallest snowflake in the center to hold the bow tied. I placed the bow with a Stampin' Dimensional in the center of the snowflakes.

Finally, I stamped Winter Wonderland from Stampin' Up!'s Bright Christmas in Marina Mist Classic Ink, then free-hand cut it along the curve. It is attached to the front with Stampin' Dimensionals, too.

Lots of sparkle on this card! I love how it turned out! Make sure to check out what the rest of the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge Team did with the cake inspiration! All our cards are totally different…I think you'll love them! And, since you have LOTS of inspiration, we want to see what YOU create! Post it over on inlinkz so we can see!

Just Believe and NEW LOOK!

December 14, 2010 By Connie | 7 Comments

Woohoo! Michelle Laycock has given me a NEW look! I wanted to keep the general outline of my blog banner, but have it be a little more seasonal. Aren't the snowflakes gorgeous? THANKS, Michelle!

Here is a treat for you…I love how this card turned out. My Technique Class did this card this month, the technique is called Distressed Stripes, a fun way to make background paper in the colors you need! I used Tempting Turquoise and Soft Suede to get the wood feel in the background of this card.

The base of the card is Soft Suede and I layered on Baja Breeze cardstock. I did the Distressed Stripes technique on Very Vanilla cardstock and layered that over the Baja Breeze. I used the Scallop Edge Punch with Very Vanilla and placed across the top.

For the focal piece, I used my Stampin' Write Markers in Soft Suede and Baja Breeze and inked up the floral image from Just Believe Stamp Set, then stamped it on the medium oval cut from the Ovals Die. I added the little pearls to the centers for an accent. It is popped up with Stampin' Dimensionals on the front.

I stamped the vine box image from Just Believe, too, in Baja Breeze, stamped the greeting in the center with Soft Suede them punched it with the Decorative Label Punch. I needed a little more bling, so I made a bow with the Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon, and added a Neutrals Glimmer Brad in the center. I added it to the card with Mini Glue Dots.

I love the elegance of this card! Hope you enjoy it, too!

Stamping 411 – Filled with Love again

December 10, 2010 By Connie | 11 Comments

Yes, time again for Stamping 411's sketch challenge! Don't the weeks go by FAST?

I love this set in the Holiday Mini. It almost gets overlooked in the back because Valentine's Day seems so far away! I'm secretly hoping that Stampin' Up! keeps it on the carryover list, but it doesn't appear that they will.

I started with a base of Pretty in Pink cardstock and layered on Whisper White. Then I adhered some Sweet & Sour Specialty Designer Paper on the bottom of Rose Red cardstock. I made a bow from the Pretty in Pink Satin Ribbon to hide the seam. Then I used my Stampin' Write Markers in Rose Red and Pear Pizzazz to ink up the flower in Stampin' Up!'s Filled with Love stamp set and stamped it on Whisper White. I punched it out with the Decoratiive Label Punch. To make the mat behind it, I punched two more Decorative Labels out of Pretty in Pink and trimmed them to fit as layer behind the Whisper White. I stamped Feb 14 in Rose Red on Whisper White, then punched with the 3/4" circle punch and layered on a 1" circle of Pretty in Pink. I popped these up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

Finally, I added a couple Rhinestone Jewels to the tops of the flowers and decided that the area above the bow looked empty, so added the greeting from Filled with Love in Basic Black.

I think it made a pretty, feminine card and I think I'll save it for my mom!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Make sure to check out what the rest of the Stamping 411 Operators did this week!