Sunday, November 23, 2014

Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza!


The Stampin' Up! On-Line Extravaganza Sale starts this Monday!
 
Preview items HERE

Get your wish lists ready!



Stampin' Up! is having a WEEK LONG BLACK FRIDAY sale!
 
  • There are SOME items ONLY available on Monday, Nov. 24
  • There are SOME items ONLY available on Monday, Dec. 1
  • EVERYTHING else will be available the entire 9 days, from Nov. 24 to Dec. 2.
  • Everything is "while supplies last", so don't delay!
 
All week long there are incredible deals on the things YOU want, some up to a 50% savings!  Don't miss out!




Do you know the best way to save money on Stampin' Up! products? 
From November 24th – December 2nd you'll get to take advantage of a two fold special offer:
  • The Starter Kit will be 25% off the already discounted price! That means that you’ll pay just $74.25 +tax (it SHIPS FREE! Another savings!) for $125 worth of Stampin’ Up! Product of YOUR CHOICE!!!!
  • You will get a 5% CASH BACK BONUS when you join during this week for ALL ORDERS you enter in December!!!! This is amazing! Normally, you get 30% off your 1st Order Placed in the first 45 days, but this means that if you place that order in December, you’ll get 30% off right away and an additional 5% back in CASH at the beginning of January! That ends up saving you 35% on that order!

Get your kit through me, right HERE and you'll become part of the Stampin' Up! family as well as my wonderful Stamp US Silly team.

This would make an excellent Christmas gift if you've ever thought about giving it a try.




New Online Class - Envelope Punch Board Class
Create 5 boxes! Not envelopes!  Using the EPB!


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Friday, November 21, 2014

Blended Bloom - a dramatic feel


I have a love for my Blendabilities markers.  And I'm really liking the look of them on Crumb Cake cardstock - especially with the white embossing powder.  

This was a card we created in one of my Blendies classes.  It gives such a striking look - rather dramatic.  We also colored the rhinestones to match.


We left the sentiment off of this one on purpose - because it works for anything - birthday, sympathy, anniversary, wedding.....it's an overall great card.  

Welp - that's all I've got for ya today....I've got some extra boys here for a sleepover, and it's 8:30, and I'm the one that is ready for bed!  Will I be able to sleep in tomorrow....prob. not!

Hope to check in with ya tomorrow!


Learn to create your own embossing paste, make your own stencils, and lots more!


New Online Class - Envelope Punch Board Class
Create 5 boxes! Not envelopes!  Using the EPB!


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Thursday, November 20, 2014

Cheerful Christmas


Heeeyyyy!  Check it!  I'm back, and it hasn't been a full month.  It hasn't even been a week!  

Ahhh....I'm feeling like there's a light at the end of the tunnel.  'Cept I haven't come to reality yet that Christmas is right around the corner....ugh!  If I avoid it, will it go away?  Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas - the meaning of it, the time spent with family and the Christmas music.  I DON'T like the commercialization of it.  I do like to give - I just don't like the overspending that some feel they must do.  I'm too frugal.  I appreciate those heartfelt (and handmade) gifts.  Like the scarf my mom has been knitting for me - one that I picked the pattern out for - a not so easy pattern.  It's taken her a long time to do it - like the better half of a year! (she has Parkinson's, so some days I think it's difficult for her) - but all of that makes it mean so much more to me.  It's a gift that I won't ever part with.  THAT is what I think Christmas is about.  

Alright - I'll jump off that bandwagon.....and let's talk about Cheerful Christmas!  I used the larger image for the card above.  I really wanted that Nordic feel, so stuck with that white and red combo.  I heat embossed the image so that it would really pop.  Love it!  FYI - I did mark the centers (horizontal and vertical) of my cardstock panel first so I could line up my stamp perfectly.  If you do this really lightly with a pencil, you can erase the marks easily and will never know they were there.  I put the panel on a Soft Sky card base, stamped the sentiment on white and added some buttons from the Nordic Noel suite.  

And that was that!

Next up - 
This time of year I create (and personally sell) a TON of pillow boxes.  They are great for all kinds of small gifts - jewelry, money, gift cards, cocoa packets.....you get the jist!  Plus, I just like to make em'!  They are stinking cute and I usually come up with some adorable ones.....and I kinda like this one!


For this one - I stamped the I Love Lace background stamp over the entire pillow box (cut with my Silhouette) using versamark.  Then, wrapped a piece of burlap ribbon around it along with some Real Red and White ribbon then tied those up tight with some linen thread, added a jingle bell.  Lastly, I stamped the image on Real Read and heat embossed with White EP, die cut it and added it to the front with dimensionals.  Easy, and cute!  Ready to gift with something fun inside....a small hand cream maybe?

Well.....will I make it back tomorrow?  Let's cross our fingers and hope so!  Gotta group of 7 year old boys coming over for a sleepover tomorrow.  Here's the funny - keep in mind we live on a farm, and are outdoor people.....
Tonight, we went to Aubrie's preschool program.  We were approached by one of the boys' dad.  He said, "Jen, Mike has told me that he needs to bring his b-b gun over tomorrow night."  I had quite a chuckle....I'm not sure what the boys have been discussing at school...but I'd love to have heard the conversation!  I told the father that his son could just borrow one of our b-b guns!

Good night folks....let's hope for tomorrow!


Learn to create your own embossing paste, make your own stencils, and lots more!


New Online Class - Envelope Punch Board Class
Create 5 boxes! Not envelopes!  Using the EPB!


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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Letterpress Winter - How to add interest with Blendabilities



Ever feel like you are stuck in a rut?  

Me?  Yes - In more ways than one lately!  I've been a quiet blogger - or how about a non-existent one.....Honestly, I typically did most of my blogging after the kids went to bed at night.  And lately, as soon as I sit down at the end of the day, I might start up the laptop, and I'm soon falling asleep.  YES!  I can fall asleep in the middle of typing a blog post....it's happened several times!  So, I'm going to try out a new little schedule and see if that works a little better.  

Afterall....I do miss interacting with everyone out in blogland and miss hearing your comments.  Most of all tho - I miss inspiring you!

But I'm back with a card that breaks the mold - hopefully!  

Speaking of ruts....while I really like this Letterpress Winter set, there isn't a LOT you can do with it.  Maybe it's just me?  I find it kind of limited.  

Here's something out of the ordinary tho that I came up with.  (We did this several months ago at one of my Blendabilities classes)


While the snowflake itself isn't your typical line art made for coloring, I decided to treat it as tho it was. 
I heat embossed the snowflake image in Whisper White and then colored in and around the nooks and crannies with the lightest of the Coastal Cabana Blendies.  Then I took the darkest shade and went just a teensy bit around the edges....barely at all.  I followed that with the medium shade, and again, just a teensy bit, and only pulled it away from the dark shade slightly.  One bit of warning when coloring on colored cardstock (as opposed to Whisper White or Very Vanilla).  You'll want to let each color really dry before adding the next shade.  This cardstock tends to bleed easier than WW.  I finished up with my lightest shade again and blended the two darker shades together.
I felt like this really added some dimension and, well. Color. to the snowflake.  

What do you think?  Does it pop?



Online Class - Envelope Punch Board Class
Create 5 boxes! Not envelopes!  Using the EPB!


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Sunday, November 2, 2014

Creation Station: Gift Cards!



Happy Sunday everyone!  It's time for some great inspiration from the Creation Station Design Team.  This week we're focusing on the Seasonally Scattered Stamp Set, and all things regarding the giving of Gift Cards.

I'm focusing on Gift Cards today.  While I personally love a good gift card, they do seem a tad impersonal.  Therefore, I really like to dress up a package that I'll be gifting the card in.  It helps "jazz" up the gift.  

I always love to decorate these tins - I believe they are technically cd tins, without the cd holder inside....  I've got a stash of them that I've ordered from some webstore that I wish I could remember the name of.  :) 

I used All is Calm DSP.  I simply trace the tin onto the back of the paper I'm going to use and cut it out.  I adhere it with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.  For the front, I cut the paper in two to add some contrast, then I use a ribbon as a sort of belly band.  (the recipient just needs to slide the ribbon off to get to the goods)  For this one, I added some jingle bells and extra strands of Lost Lagoon ribbon.

The star was stamped and heat embossed in silver with a Bright & Beautiful stamp.

It's important to complete the inside of these tins.  I've kept this one rather simple:



I cut an envelope with our Gift Card Envelope die, and adhered it to the inside.  Added a button and a little Joy.... was enough for me!


I was going to create a gift card holder using our Gift Card Enclosure envies, but it just took on a mind of it's own, and this is what I did instead! 

Can you say PERFECT for teacher gifts or neighbor gifts.....loving this idea!  I'll be making a ton of these bad boys!

My last project today is something that my Stamp Club gals made.  A fun Gift Card holder - shaker card.  This uses our Gift Card Die too.  



I stamped the images from White Christmas, coloring in the cardinal and snowman - it helped add a pop of color.  I used an aqua painter filled with rubbing alcohol and a Soft Sky ink pad to create a sky.  The rubbing alcohol helps that ink dry faster and then your paper doesn't warp so bad.

I hope that I've helped get your creative juices flowing.  And just so you'll be further inspired, you'll want to continue on our hop using the buttons below!  

Enjoy your Sunday!



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