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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Merry Christmas from StampMom!

"... and I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight, 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!'"

As we head into a flurry of busy pre & post Christmas activity, I'll be taking a pause in my blogging but will be back next week gearing up for the New Year. Wishing you a blessed Christmas and all good things in 2008 for you and yours!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

A Little Treat


Made this cute treat bag for my son's school Christmas party from a coffee filter, a technique I saw on Splitcoast Stampers. A little Chex Mix and M&Ms in the middle and we're good to go! The stamps are from Tags on Board from the Fall/Winter 07 mini catalogue.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Chipboard Altered Picture Frame


This present is for my mother-in-law and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. Sometimes being interrupted by my 3 year old in the middle of a project actually improves things! :-) I just kept layering and layering until I was satisfied. I continue to find Holiday Harmony paper utterly charming and it's amazing how designer paper and staggered chipboard can completely transform a simple $1 frame. It's hard to see in the closeup but I added Crystal Effects to the circle to bring out the pattern in the paper. The neat thing is that the picture can easily be replaced by others when she feels like it.

RECIPE:
Stamps: Sidekick Sayings, Warm Words
Paper: Holiday Harmony DP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Always Artichoke, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Rich Regals brads, silver brads, Crystal Effects, chipboard
Tools: 5-Petal Punch, Spring Flower Bouquet Punch, Large & Small Oval Punch

Thank you Mr. Mailman!

My Spring/Summer 2008 Stampin' Up! Catalog is finally here in all its gorgeousness! There are all sorts of new card, scrapbook & project designs to spark your creativity. All spring and summer workshop hostesses receive one *free* from me. And of course it will be available online after January 2nd. Call me if you want a sneak preview!

Monday, December 17, 2007

2007 Ornament Case

I took advantage of SU!s Wrapping Up the Holidays special (going on until Dec. 31) to purchase a 3-pack of tins. Holiday DP and Purely Pomegranate satin ribbon transformed them into elegant ornament holders. I used a rub-on transfer from Making Memories. I'm so excited that Stampin' Up! is now producing rub-on transfers too. Can't wait until my new Spring/Summer catalog arrives any day now...

2007 Chipboard Ornaments


No Christmas is complete without making something crafty that includes pictures of my boys. These chipboard ornaments from the mini catalog were perfect. I colored them with my Real Red & Old Olive ink spots, using my white pen to add dots between the scallops, and added silver glittered snowflakes from Holiday Tag Team. I adhered the black and white pictures to the back of the colored ornaments with a few little drops of Crystal Effects. Dashing DP and Real Red and Very Vanilla cardstock are the background for my "joy" sentiment. A little rhinestone adds some bling. I used my Crop-a-Dile to make holes in them and added Real Red & Always Artichoke ribbon. I hope they're a big hit!

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Joy Colorburst Card

I love the "wow" factor of the paper used on this card. It's from my scrapbooking stash and I got it at Target a year or two ago. It goes perfectly with Elegant Eggplant, which is the background cs, ink and ribbon that I used. The alphabet stamps are Whimsical (retired). A pretty Christmas card for my folks to send out.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

StampMom Gift Certificate

I made the envelope out of Purely Pomegranate cardstock, with scallopped circle layers of Holiday Harmony DP. I added Crystal Effects to the top circle for shine. That beautiful satin Purely Pomegranate ribbon (and a decently tied bow for once!) wraps one end.
Here's my gift certificate form all spiffed up.
Can't get enough of this little snowman. And my mat pack -- no stamper's supply is complete without one in my opinion!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Uptown Candle


Found these inexpensive jar candles at A.C. Moore and am in the process of making Christmas gifts. This one is for my sister-in-law Kathy, who loves the color purple. SU!s snazzy Uptown Designer Paper to the rescue! The flower stamp is from the Spring/Summer '08 hostess set "Time Well Spent" that Stampin' Up! sent their demonstrators for free. I colored it with lilac and green glitter pens (non-SU!). The ribbon is from my wedding 9 years ago, believe it or not -- and guess who picked it out? My sister-in-law!! What goes around comes around. :-) I think she's really going to love this.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Sparkle Reverse Mask Ornament

I saw a version of this card on SCS that was done on white cs with a light blue ornament, so I thought I'd try reversing the color scheme and use silver on Night of Navy. I love how it turned out!
After cutting a hole in cs with my Creative Memories plastic circles (the official name escapes me at the moment), I laid the open hole over my card and used a cotton ball to dab silver Encore ink over the circle. Then I added white snowflakes randomly from The Snowflake Spot and Holiday Tag Team and my white craft ink pad. I made the hook with a silver glitter pen and also added glitter to the centers of my snowflakes.

Heartfelt Snow Spot

Another card from this past weekend's workshop, preparing for post-Christmas thank you notes. This was cased from this card by stampngokaren on SCS. The snowflake is from "The Snowflake Spot" and the sentiment is from "Heartfelt Thanks". Using my favorite Wintergreen DP (retiring... sniff, sniff...), Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Soft Sky and Whisper White. The ribbon is Certainly Celery -- someone posted the trick of tying the knot before wrapping the ribbon around the card -- lightbulb moment, duh. The snowflake is stamped with Versamark and has a dusting of Dazzling Diamond glitter on it. You could easily add brads to the corners of the square, but I was running low on them so opted out for the workshop.

Pretty! Now if only I could figure out how to mount my paper *straight*, grrrr...

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Not So Homemade Fudge

I found a version of the Not So Homemade Fudge poem/song on the Stampin' Up! demo site and changed it a bit -- once a musician, always a musician! I gave this giant chocolate bar (10 for $10 at our local grocery store, you can't beat that!) to my workshop hostess this weekend. And yes, much to my embarrassment, I even sang it. I used Dashing DP (retiring this month so buy it if you love it as much as I do), my scallop circle punch and the "Deck the Halls" is from Season of Joy in the mini-catalog. Three ribbons at the top make it extra festive.

Not So Homemade Fudge
(sung to the tune of “Jingle Bells”)

Dashing through the mall,
With some groceries yet to buy
Work, cleaning, kids, and all...
Life’s so crazy! Why?
Bells on our phone ring
Machine will take the call,
We haven’t time for fam or friends
It drives me up the wall.
Ohhhhhhh

How are you, how’s your life?
We really want to know!
Hope you’re up for Christmas
Now maybe it will snow—oh

How are you, how’s your life?
How’s the family??
Time for happy holidays,
Now where’d I leave my keys??

A day or two ago,
I thought I’d make a treat
For all our special friends -
A Christmas gift to eat!
My intentions were with love
But schedules would not budge,
So here’s this year’s edition of my
Famous homemade fudge!

Monday, December 10, 2007

Wintergreen Votive Candle


I made this votive candle for my workshop yesterday and it was a big hit. The Wintergreen DP is so gorgeous all layered together like this. I used my 5-petal flower punch to put 2 layers of DP plus Sage Shadow and Certainly Celery together, used my Crop-A-Dile to make a hole, and added 3 brads to the center (green, blue & silver). The paper is adhered with Crystal Effects for a tight hold. Always Artichoke ribbon adds a nice touch too.

Not bad for a .99 cent votive from Michael's, eh? :-)

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Time Well Spent card


I found the original design for this card on the Paper Pleasing Ideas blog. I really wanted to use my Uptown DP that I just got, so that set the whole color scheme. I also used Almost Amethyst and So Saffron DP and cardstock, with a Wild Wasabi textured cs base and ribbon. The flower is popped up.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Noel Christmas tree


Another Christmas card using Lovely as A Tree -- I adore this stamp set. I used non-SU red cardstock and some holly paper I had from my scrapbooking stash. The brads are Always Artichoke as is the ink. I used my Mat Pack & Always Artichoke marker to add a little depth to the upper left corner. The sentiment is from Many Merry Messages.

Friday, December 7, 2007

SU! January Hostess Special

The new Spring/Summer preview brochure just arrived and wow, are there some great things in it, including cute Valentine's Day stamps, gorgeous Designer Paper, and a really sweet baby stamp set for new arrivals! A special Valentine's Day bundle allows you to buy a stamp set, two colors of grosgrain ribbon, and treat bags for only $33.40. Perfect for classroom treats...

Stampin' Up! is having a special for all January workshop hostesses -- host a workshop of at least $350 between January 2-31 and choose one of the sets in the Preview brochure -- free!! This is *in addition to* regular hostess benefits, which include all new hostess stamp sets. Pretty nice deal if you ask me! I'm putting together my January calendar so if you'd like to book a workshop with me and get in on this terrific special, give me a call at 384-9276 or e-mail me so we can find a date that works well with both our schedules.


FYI -- for all you eager beavers, the new Spring/Summer Collection online catalog will be available to customers on January 2 at noon (MT) from the Customer Web Site.

It's A Girl!!


My friend Grayson just found out she is having a little girl this spring so I whipped this little card up for her. She tells me it's now above the baby's Christmas stocking hanging on the fireplace. I feel so honored! :-) I don't know if you can tell, but I used the "sweet pea" image from a Fall/Winter hostess set in Versamark on the left. I am loving my scalloped circle punch!

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Udderly Awesome Folder




Made this for my friend Gretchen who has a little baby girl Gracen, hence the "G" monogram. She works at (and is a graduate of) a college which has pink & green as its school colors and has the unofficial mascot of a cow. The design of the folder is from Stampin' Up! I used a plain white folder from Staples, scrapbook papers I had from several years ago (got them at Target), and a chipboard letter which I colored with Garden Green marker. The cow stamp is from Very Punny (retired) and the alphabet stamps are Whimsy (also retired). Used the SU! scalloped circle, large and small tag and 5-petal flower punches. What do you think -- will she like it??

Season of Joy card

This card features the Holiday Harmony DP from the mini catalog. I stamped the swirl in Versamark on non-SU textured cs, adding the little poinsettias colored with my pink glitter marker. Then I triple -matted the DP, using my two SU oval punches for "joy". I stamped the tree in Always Artichoke on Whisper White cs (nicked the corners with my ticket corner punch) and added a little DP to the left side. A tidbit of Purely Pomegranate double-stitched ribbon finishes it off.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Nugget Crazy





After seeing how easy it is to decorate chocolate nuggets for the holidays from Wanda's blog, I had to try my hand at it. I used a variety of stamp sets including Perfect Presentation (hostess set, Fall/Winter 2007), Holiday Tag Team (cutest snowman ever, retiring THIS MONTH), and Ornamassortment (retired) to stamp images on white mailing labels. I hand colored some of them with SU! markers and American Craft glitter pens I got at AC Moore ("Hi, my name is StampMom and I'm a glitter pen addict", LOL). Now I don't know if I can stand to give them away...

Happy Anniversary Peter & Kathy!

Just popped this card in the mail for my brother and his wife who are celebrating their 11th anniversary on Friday. The beautiful DP is Brocade Background, the stamp is from "Love and Joy" (mini catalog) and "always" is from Small Script (retired). I stamped the sentiments in Cranberry Crisp, using my Mat Pack to pierce around "always". A basic knot of Always Artichoke wraps the love image. The card base is non SU textured cardstock. A simple way to let the designer paper play a major role.

How cute are these Elves??


My little sister managed to upload pics of the boys, DH and me on the Elf Yourself website that's been floating around. I love this!

Snowman Soup Mugs

After finding a cute template for Snowman Soup mugs on Splitcoast Stampers (which I of course can't find right now, but here's another one), I decided to make these for little cousins and neighborhood friends. I traced the template onto the large cardboard piece that came with my Designer Papers and cut it out. Then I retraced it on Whisper White cardstock in pencil and cut it out with my fabulous Paper Snips scissors. Instead of wrestling with the inside of the handle, I just used my large oval punch to cut it out, which worked great. I'm still not happy with the smoothness of the edges, but what are ya gonna do?!

I stamped the mug all over with Itty Bitty Backgrounds in silver. The snowman from Holiday Tag Team (which is retiring this month!) is stamped in black Staz-On ink and colored with markers (Only Orange, Really Red, Tempting Turquoise). The snowflakes come from The Snowflake Spot and Holiday Tag Team. They are stamped in Bordering Blue, Silver, and a sparkly blue marker I found at AC Moore (by American Craft I think).

Inside is a packet of hot chocolate, chocolate kisses, and a mini candy cane. The Snowman Soup poem is printed from the computer on Confetti White cardstock, I clipped all 4 corners with my tag punch and I used my Double Circle punch to add ribbon (Real Red and Bashful Blue) to the top. Here's what it says:

When it’s so cold outside
that you holler and whoop,
it’s time to bring out some
Snowman Soup.
Pour your packet of cocoa
in a fun winter mug...
add some yummy snowballs &
find a place to get snug.
Now pour in hot water,
stir with the cane a time or two,
take a nibble of chocolate,
the Snowman Soup is
ready for you!

Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Sparkly Snowflake

I've been watching a thread on Splitcoast Stampers about simple one layer cards and came across these by SCS member tigeriss. I was inspired to create this one for my mother-in-law to send out.

The large snowflake from The Snowflake Spot was stamped on whisper white cardstock in Bordering Blue ink, with "noel" from Small Script (retired stamp set) stamped below. I added a 3-D snowflake from Michael's in the middle for a little extra bling.

I think she'll really like it -- hope so, I made 5 of them!!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Five Fantastic Gifts Under $25


Just in time for holiday gift giving, Stampin' Up! is featuring five of their favorite crafting essentials. These items make ideal gifts, and best of all, they're perfectly priced for this season of giving!

Paper Cutter, $24.95
Whether you have a passion for scrapbooking, card making, or paper crafts in general, this portable and lightweight cutter is a must. It cuts paper up to 12" wide and has easy-to-read grid lines. Use item number 104152 to order this from me.

Big Flowers, $22.95
With eight fun images, this stamp set is great for year-round card making and scrapbooking. It also coordinates perfectly with our Circle punches and Little Flowers stamp set. This is item number 109405 when ordering from me.

Home Again Simply Scrappin', $19.95
Simply Scrappin' kits make scrapbooking and card making easy and fast. Kits include Designer Series paper, coordinating card stock and self-adhesive die cuts, ensuring your project will coordinate perfectly while saving you time. Order this from me using item number 109597.

Simple Serif Mini Alphabet & Numbers, $20.95
Alphabet sets are a core product when scrapbooking and card making. This set includes both alphabets and numbers! Give me item number 109429 to order this set.

Earth Elements Classic Stampin' Spots, $22.50
These 1" square ink pads are an affordable way to sample all the colors in a color family! Use item number 105551 to order these ink pads.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

The Retired List is Here!


Stampin' Up!'s first semiannual retired stamp set list is here just in time for the holidays! Contact me today to purchase your favorite retiring sets as a gift to yourself or someone else on your list today before they're gone forever. Here's the timeline to purchase stamp sets that are retiring.

Stamp Sets: December 1, 2007 through January 1, 2008
Wheels & Accessories: December 10 until supplies run out

Retiring Stamps Details
* The retired list includes stamp sets that will retire as of January 1, 2008.
* There is no limit to the number of retired stamps you can purchase.

Retiring Wheels and Accessories Details
* The retiring wheels and accessories list is available online beginning December 10. You can order items from this list through January 1, 2008 or until supplies run out.

Dormant List Details:
* dormant list posts December 1, 2007 and includes stamp sets from the Fall-Winter Collection 2007 that are not included in the upcoming Spring-Summer Collection 2008. These sets can be found online and are considered current Stampin' Up! products. Items from the Holiday Mini will not appear on the dormant list, but they are not retired.
* Stamp sets and wheels from mini catalogs will not be included on the dormant list.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Di Hickman Card Sketch



Here's another fabulous card sketch from Di Hickman for you to play with!

What's Your Elf Name??




Your Elf Name Is...



Ditzy Mc Mini


Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Elegant Angel


I have been having such fun using Designer Papers since Stampin' Up! has their DP bundle on special this month (psst -- only 2 more days left, buy 3 paper sets and get a 4th free!)

This pretty Christmas card uses the angel and the sentiment from "On Angel Wings", a retired SU! set, and two different DPs (Rose Red and Brocade Backgrounds). I stamped the angel on Very Vanilla cardstock in StazOn black and used Watercolor Wonder crayon to color in the angel's dress. White craft ink on the wings sprinkled with Dazzling Diamond glitter makes them very lustrous. The card is Elegant Eggplant cardstock.

All Wrapped Up!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Give Thanks


I am thankful for...

... the never-ending love and support of my husband even when I'm driving him crazy, the house is a wreck, and we've run out of milk (again!).

... my two sons who never fail to surprise & delight me with their antics

... my wonderful parents, my older brother & his wife, my younger sister, and my in-laws, for their love and support

... surprise moments like this morning when the boys climb into bed with us and start a tickle fight at 6:30 am, or yesterday when my youngest, on the changing table, said with a huge grin, "Mommy, my poop came out and played on the playground of my butt!"

... the iVillage South Beach Diet board, where I am a Community Leader -- it's made my 40s better than any decade before!!! :-)

... finding glimmers of success with my new Stampin' Up! business, and the crafters I've discovered through blogs & websites -- an amazingly generous community of artists & teachers

... finally finding a *really great* hair stylist who gives me awesome haircuts & highlights EVERY TIME!!!

... foot rubs every Sunday night

... the Couch 2 5K podcast!!!!!

... USTA tennis leagues

... cappuccino Soy Slender

Di Hickman Card Sketch


Here is another creative card diagram from Di Hickman's blog. May need to play with this one later -- I'm thinking Thanksgiving leaves & acorns, or Christmas ornaments. Choices, choices, choices!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Be Merry!

I've been working on improving some of my techniques by using Splitcoaststampers tutorials, which are absolutely fabulous. I created this Christmas card by cutting out an oval mask (using my Creative Memories cutting tools) and laying the oval hole over navy card stock. Using white craft ink, I stamped several different snowflakes from the Snowflake Spot and the little poinsettia from Season of Joy, added sparkles to the centers, and stamped "Be Merry" from Warm Words in white craft ink. The 3-D snowflake is from Michael's.

Countdown to Turkey Day!

This is one of my Thanksgiving cards I put together for friends and family. I've become a little over-enamored with the crinkled paper & torn paper techniques, LOL. The quote is "In everything give thanks", the pumpkin and leaf images are stamped in Basic Brown from SU!'s Autumn Apparitions, and the swirl in the background is from Baroque Motifs, stamped in Always Artichoke. I colored the pumpkin with 3 different watercolor pencils & used the Blender Pens to mix the colors. The stem is colored in with a blend of green & brown watercolor pencils and blended. The pretty brown houndstooth ribbon is from Michael's. I used the Mat Pack to prick holes in the corner of the card.

Nostalgic T-Shirt

Link

My hubby is having fun designing t-shirts for the stamping diva community. Everyone should have one of these or the "Got Stamps?" shirt, don't you think?

Friday, November 16, 2007

Sneak Preview!


Nancy Morgan on her Paper Smiles blog posted a great pic of one of the new stamp sets from the Spring/Summer Collection Stampin' Up! catalog. Isn't it awesome! So versatile and clean looking, just my style. I can't wait to order it!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

The Wishlist is Here!

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to Santa again. If Stampin' Up! products are on your wish list, click on StampMom Stampin' Up! Wishlist to create a list for family and friends and let StampMom take care of the rest! The list of retiring stamp sets comes out December 1st, so be sure to order your favorite stamp sets before they are gone for good.

In order to allow for Christmas delivery, Christmas orders should be placed no later than December 10th.

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Card Sketch from Di Hickman




Here's a fun card sketch from designer Di Hickman for you to create. Let me know what you come up with!

Saturday, November 3, 2007

SCS Weekend Sketch Challenge


This is the challenge from Splitcoast Stampers for the weekend. I'll be trying my hand at it -- you should too. And go check out the gallery to see what other crafty ladies have done with it!

Friday, November 2, 2007

Pretty Papers Special



Stock up for all your upcoming projects with Stampin' Up!'s exclusive double-sided Designer Series paper. We've got so many pretty patterned papers to choose from; you're sure to find the perfect patterns to help you show off your unique crafting style. Best of all, you'll get a FREE pack of double-sided Designer Series paper ($9.95 value) for every three packs you buy-no limits, no restrictions! Visit pages 170-173 of the Fall--Winter Collection 2007 to view our beautiful double-sided Designer Series paper. And be sure to download the patterns and instructions for all of the festive projects featured on our home page!

Contact me today to take advantage of this fantastic offer, and don't forget to mention the Paper Party promo code 111878!