I am such a dork!!

UGh! I had a great project to show you today. It was one of the projects I worked on as last minute gifts for friends and family. I took pictures of them and when I went to upload them to my photo editing program today guess what I did? I deleted them from the camera card! Of course I didn't have them saved on my desktop either. I am so upset at myself now. I have nothing to show you today now. :0( Sorry!

I guess I can tell you what it was. I had made some beautiful Christmas trees using Styrofoam trees and some of the designer series paper strips. They turned out so beautiful and even though I loved them when they were done, I didn't keep one for myself. You can see some samples that other creative ladies have made HERE, HERE, and HERE. Enjoy!

Happy Stamping~

Holidays and Stampin' Up! Special

Hi Stampers! I hope you and your family had a wonderful Holiday this past week. This is a time where you can really see just how blessed we are. Even though I still am unemployed from my regular day job, I owe a huge thanks to my loyal customers and Stamp Club ladies. Thanks to you, my Stampin' Up! business has never been better and it is because of you that my life is so blessed this holiday season. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Due to all the last minute preparations, baking and shopping I have not had time to stamp in weeks! I can feel the withdrawal symptoms starting to set in and I will need to find some time soon to get rid of that feeling. :0) I will be showing you another project or two that I was working on as last minute gifts for family and friends. I should have the photos edited and uploaded for you tomorrow. I know Christmas is over, but perhaps these will inspire you to get a jump start on your crafting gifts for next year.

Now on to some fun stuff! Can you believe that the new year will soon be upon us and that Valentine's Day is right around the corner? From December 23rd, 2008 (yeah I know I am late in posting this but it couldn't be helped!!!) through January 31st, 2009 Stampin' Up! is offering the Love You Much Bundle to it's customers. By ordering this bundle of items you will save 20% off the regular prices if you were to purchase them separately. The bundle is on sale for just $41.48. Here is what is included in the bundle along with prices if you were to purchase the separately:

~ Currently the Candy Cane DSP is out of stock so in order to place an order for this item you must contact me directly either via phone or email to take advantage of the 20% price. Due to part of this bundle being on back order status you will not be able to place an order directly online using my Stampin' Up! website. Sorry for the inconvenience!~

**Remember that there is still time to take advantage of the retiring stamp sets at the discounted rate as well. Some of the sets have sold out and are no longer avavilable. Please contact me if you are interetsted in seeing this list. In the next few weeks I will also be posting several Stamping specials and blog candy to show my appreciation for my loyal customers. Keep checking back for more details!

Happy Stamping~

Pink Snowflakes

Hi Stampers! Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner? Wow did that sneak up on me fast! I am still not done with my holiday shopping or baking!!! Guess I better get a move on it. :0) Today's card is an old favorite. I love the colors of Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip together. This is a quick and easy card to mass produce in a hurry. The various snowflakes were stamped randomly in Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip on a piece of white card stock. This was then added to a piece of Regal Rose with a piece of 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain Ribbon wrapped around the panel. Then it was all attached to a chocolate chip card base. The sentiment was stamped on a scratch piece of card stock in chocolate chip, punched out using the large oval punch and then layered onto a piece of chocolate chip CS. I then cut a border out by hand since I did not have a larger oval punch at the time. Quick- Easy- Beautiful!

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: Snow Burst, Season of Joy
Ink: Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip
Card stock: Regal Rose, WW, Chocolate Chip
Other: Oval Punch, 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon

Homemade Desk Calendar

Hi Stampers! Isn't this the cutest desk calendar? Sometimes I amaze myself at what I can create under pressure. (It seems that I tend to do my best work when under pressure.) I made this using the 4" heavy weight coasters I bought from HERE. I printed out a 2009 calendar that I had downloaded from someone on SCS. I'm sorry but I can't remember which thread it was from. If you go into the forums and type calendar template I am sure you can find it. :0) I adhered another piece of the Maine Blueberry DSP to both sides of 2 heavy weight coasters. I ten sanded the edges with my sanding block. After printing out my calendar and cutting it to size, I layered it onto a piece of Ballet blue card stock and used 2 of my Brocade Blue Brads to hold it all together. This will allow the recipient of the gift to be able to just tear off the month as it passes.

To make the calendar stand up I put to coasters back to back and punched 3 holes in the top using my crop-a-dile. I was overjoyed to find that it went through both layers of coaster at once! You gotta love a tool that makes life easy! I then threaded pieces of the 5/8" Certain Celery Ribbon through the holes and tied in a knot on top. I made sure to leave enough room so the pieces can rotate and this can fold semi-flat when need be. The last thing I did was to attach some of the chipboard letters I had in my stash collecting dust to spell out her name. (wondering if my sister is going to read this before her gift arrives- Oh well Jen you'll just have to act surprised!!!)

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: N/A

Ink: N/A

Card stock: Ballet Blue , Maine Blueberry DSP

Other: 5/8" Certain Celery Grosgrain Ribbon, Crop-a-dile, Sanding Blocks, Brads, Heavy weight 4" coasters, Computer to print calendar

Post it Note Holder with Pen

Hi Stampers! Today's project coordinates with the altered clipboard project I showed you yesterday. This is made out of a clear standing photo frame. (I bought mine last year at Wal*Mart) It was another easy project. I layered a piece of the Maine Blueberry DSP onto a piece of Ballet Blue CS. Then I adhered an initial chipboard letter that I had lying around. I inserted the piece into the frame (make sure you have your frame rotated so the stand part on the top back portion). I added a stack of post-it notes to the front and set one of my matching beaded pens on top.

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: N/A
Ink: N/A
Card stock: Ballet Blue, Maine Blueberry DSP
Other: Chipboard Letter, Acrylic Frame, RSVP Pen, Sticky Strip, Micro Beads, Post-It Note

Quick reminder...

Hi stampers! Just a quick reminder that all orders received to Stampin' Up! by December 16th (today) will be picked, packaged, and delivered to our courier in plenty of time to arrive by December 24. As you know, we cannot control delivery times when holiday mail volumes are high so this is not a guarantee.

In addition the retiring stamp sets are still 10% off and there is FREE shipping on all orders of $70 (before taxes/shipping) or more. Orders can be placed directly with me using a major credit card or on my Stampin' Up! website HERE. (note: you must place an order through my website or another demos website to receive the free shipping. Placing an order directly with Stampin' up! and just selecting a demonstrator will not give you the same shipping specials.) Once the retiring sets sell out they will no longer be available so get your favorite set today!

Happy Stamping~

Altered Clipboard

Hi Stampers! Here is the adorable altered clipboard that I made in my desk set ensemble. I love how it turned out and was amazed at how quickly it came together. I started out my painting the upper portion of my clipboard a green similar to certain celery. I let it dry and then used the clipboard as a template to trace onto my designer series paper. I chose to use the paper called Maine Blueberry. I love it! Green has always been my favorite color and I love it even more paired with blue. To give the clipboard some interest, I cut my piece of DSP about 1/3 of the way down and used the reverse side to give some contrast. Using Modge Podge I covered the clipboard with a thin layer and then added the upper portion of DSP. I let that dry and then applied another layer of modge podge (covering the upper layer this time) and adhered my bottom layer. I coated that layer with Modge Podge and set aside to dry. Once dry I added yet another coat and applied the ribbon to cover the seam. Another coat of Modge Podge, some decorative ribbons tied around the clip and I was done. I definitely need to make me some more of these. I don't know why I waited so long. :0)

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: N/A
Ink: N/A
Card stock: Maine Blueberry Designer Series Paper
Other: Clipboard, Modge Podge, Paint brushes, 5/8" Certain celery Grosgrain Ribbon, 5/8" Brocade Blue Grosgrain Ribbon

Altered Desk Set

Hi Stampers! Just a quick post today to show you what I have been working on. This is one of the altered desk sets that I have been busy making for Christmas gifts. I just love how this turned out. I will show close up pictures and supplies of each project in the days to follow. I bought all the supplies for the clipboards and post it note holders a long time ago with good intentions of making them. I got intimidated. I finally got up the courage to dig them out and make them and now I am kicking myself for taking so long. These project were rather quick and super easy to create. I hope the receiver of these enjoys them.

Happy Stamping~

Stampin' Up! Retirement List is Here!

Hi Stampers! Today is the BIG day that Stampin' UP! announces it's retirement list for this catalog season. Dozens of stamp sets from the Fall-Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog are retiring. Now's the last chance for you to get them--these sets are only available through January 18, 2009. And they're 10 percent off from December 9-23, so don't wait to order! In addition to this great savings you will also receive FREE shipping on any order of $70 or more from December 9th through December 23, 2008. In order to have your orders before Christmas, Stampin' Up! is encouraging all orders to be placed by December 16th to allow for delivery. Orders can be placed online on my Stampin' Up! website or you can contact me via email or phone to place a direct order if you prefer.
Click here to view the retiring list

Happy Stamping~

Stampin' Up! Retirement List

It's that time of the year again! The retiring stamp sets from the Fall & Winter 2008 Idea Book and Catalog will be announced tomorrow, December 9th. I will be sending out emails to all of those on my mailing list to let you know. In addition I will be posting a complete list here and you will also be able to see the complete list on my Stampin' UP! website as well. Remember, once the retirement list is announced the items will be only be available while supplies last. To ensure that you get the items you want please feel free to place an order online through my Stampin' Up! website.

Stamp club members remember all club orders are due by 5pm on Friday December 12th.

Happy Stamping~

Frosty Friends

Hi Stampers! Today's card is another card made using the set Holiday Line Up. I chose to use the cute snowmen image today instead of the elves or the naughty reindeer (from yesterdays post). This card is based on one I saw featured on Dawn Griffith's Blog HERE. I love the colors of bashful blue and black together. It's hard to tell in the picture, but there are white snowflakes stamped onto the background layer of the bashful blue card stock.

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: Holiday Lineup, SnowBurst
Ink: Basic Black, Stampin' Write Markers, WW Craft Ink
Card stock: Bashful Blue Basic Black, WW, Frosty Day DSP
Other: Scallop Edge Punch

Santa's Mischevious Reindeer

Hi Stampers! Can you believe that it is December already? Where has the time gone? It seems like it was just Valentine's Day! Today's card makes me laugh. When I saw this set in the catalog, I knew I had to have it. If you look close at the image you can find why I find it so hilarious. Notice the smirk on the reindeer with the red nose. Doesn't it look like he is up to something? In my opinion it looks like he passed gas- heheheheheheehhehee!

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: Holiday Lines Up, Snow Burst
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black
Card stock: Riding Hood Red, chocolate Chip, WW, Close to Cocoa
Other: Chocolate Chip Ribbon, Scallop Edge Punch, Stampin' Write Markers

Beaded Pens

Hi Stampers! Today's share is another project I made for the craft fairs and will also be making as some Christmas gifts this year too. You may have seen them posted on various blogs and on SCS. They are fairly easy to make and make a big "Wow" with the person receiving them.

I decided to make several different styles of them this year. Some of the pens I just made "swirls" around the pen and then beaded that part. Some of them have pieces of various designer series paper inside the barrel to give it an even more glamorous look.

On the other batch of them I covered the entire outside of the barrel of the pen. Some of them have the DSP on the outside and then are rolled in the beads, others have the DSP rolled up inside the barrel and the outside is rolled in beads. I found that the ones that have the paper inside the barrels are not as brightly colored as the others. They are all beautiful though.

Happy Stamping~

Stamp set: None

Ink: None

Card stock: Various Designer Series Paper

Other: Red Line Tape, Micro Beads, RSVP pens