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Rejoice and be glad!

Rejoice and be glad! published on No Comments on Rejoice and be glad!

I am sitting here at home on Christmas Eve and you can touch the excitement in my house.  The elf (Peyton is his name) is sitting in a wreath.  The presents are starting to show up under the tree and the children are ready to watch The Polar Express later today.  We look forward to the “Children’s” Mass later today at church since it is always a beautiful service.  My husband and I are both home for Christmas…truly a Christmas miracle, it seems!  Christmas Wow - Angel

I thought this was the perfect card to share with you today since it expresses the sentiment of the season.  “Rejoice” and “be glad”!!  Our world is an imperfect place but how wonderful to take time to celebrate the Light and Hope that came to Earth in the form of a baby boy.  In our house, the first thing we do on Christmas morning is rush to the nativity and place the baby Jesus in the scene and sing “Happy Birthday”.  It is one of my favorite moments of the year.  I hope that your Christmas is blessed and filled with joy.

Stamp:  Rejoicing with You; Paper:  Storytime DSP, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories:  Early Espresso Baker’s Twine, Bronze Buttons, Jewelry Tag Punch

Freshly Made Sketches #66

Freshly Made Sketches #66 published on 8 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #66

FMS66

 

I hope you are having a good week.  One of my favorite days is Wednesday and Freshly Made Sketches is the reason!  The fabulous Tui Nathan has created this week’s sketch and it is another fun one to use!

FMS66 - Deck the HallsI went around for a bit on this one…mostly deciding what to use for the circle element.  Finally I started just putting it together and the circle came on its own.  I used the retired Deck the Halls DSP (one of the best papers EVER).  Other than the sentiment, all the work is done by the paper.  I used my 2-1/2″ Circle Punch for the circle and then fussy cut that beautiful flower out of the same design piece.  Once I had the flower on the card, I thought it was missing something so I added a few colored Basic Pearls to the center.  It really make the flower coordinate with the berry paper, don’t you think?

I believe that this might be the last Christmas card of the year for me.  I am done (I hope)…finally.  I must admit that I have struggled to create anything over the last few days.  With the tragedy of the school shooting in CT, my heart hasn’t been in crafting.  I am the mother of a 1st grader and a 4th grader and this simply hit too close to home.  When I look at their sweet faces, I am overwhelmed with love, pride and the feeling of being amazingly blessed.  I generally do this anyway but you can expect minimum postings over the next couple of weeks.  I plan to spend as much time as possible with my family enjoying the laughs and smiles of Christmas (and maybe flying some of you to do the same).

The design team has some fabulous examples for this sketch and you are sure to be inspired.  The team is taking some down time, too, and this sketch will be open for two weeks, instead of one.  If you have some extra time to craft, we will enjoy seeing what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping in today.  I wish you a safe and happy week!

Stamp:  Bright Hopes (ret); Paper:  Deck the Halls DSP (ret), Crumb Cake; Ink:  Early Espresso; Accessories: 2-1/2″ Circle Punch, Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Die, Basic Pearls

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Freshly Made Sketches #65

Freshly Made Sketches #65 published on 10 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #65

FMS Final 65-001Just take a look at the fabulous sketch we have at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  It is courtesy of the extraordinarily talented Linda Callahan.  Don’t you love it??!!  It is perfect for this busy time of year…no muss, no fuss, just a great layout!

FMS65 - Two 4 YouI have to confess that I still have about 15 Christmas cards to make but I needed a bit of a rest from them.  And there was this little preorder sitting on the table begging to be used!!!  Oh yes…the Spring Catalog preorder has arrived and there is so much to celebrate in it.  Today, I am previewing some DSP called Tea for Two.  I am already completely in love with it!!  Such pretty prints!  I did add just a little bit of distressing with the Stampin’ Distress Tool.  A fun, fast way to add the vintage look!  The flower here is made with another new product called Creped Filter Paper.  I cut it out using my Fun Flowers Die and layered the flowers together (after crumpling them).  I sewed on a Vintage Faceted Button with some Linen Thread to keep the whole stack together.  Finally a little tag with a sentiment from Tiny Tags.  I have some December birthdays in my family and I always like to make sure that the cards have a decidedly non-Christmas look to them.  I think this one is perfect for the job!

The design team has more spectacular inspiration for you so click right over to check it out.  I think I’ll be using some of their ideas to CASE the last of my cards!

I’m so glad you stopped by today.  I hope you like this little preview of the new products!  They will be available on January 3rd.  Now…back to Christmas cards.  I hope to have some to share with you over the next week.  Until then, have a great week!

Stamp:  Tiny Tags; Paper:  Tea for Two DSP(new), Crumb Cake, Naturals Ivory; Ink:  Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake; Accessories:  Stampin’ Distress Tool (new), Creped Filter Paper (new), Big Shot, Fun Flowers Die, Linen Thread, Vintage Faceted Button, Jewelry Tag Punch

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SUOC60 – All that Glitters…

SUOC60 – All that Glitters… published on 7 Comments on SUOC60 – All that Glitters…

…must be from Stampin’ Up!!  Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING that glitters but there sure are a lot of things from SU that do!!  So it seems like the perfect time for SUO Challenges to do this theme – Glitter Galore.

What better to use for a sparkly theme than the Glimmer Paper??!!  I love this paper!  It is so amazing in person!  I cut out some snowflakes using the Snow Flurry Die.  Then I simply mixed a couple drop of Not Quite Navy reinker and a few drops of water, using that to color the bigger snowflakes.  You can play around with the color until it is what you like (I used a small scrap first).  After it dried, I layered a “plain” silver snowflake on top (not really very plain, after all).  I love the effect!  A Basic Rhinestone was the perfect thing to add to the centers.  Now for the sentiment.  With all the sparkle I couldn’t just use any old thing to stamp the sentiment.  I pulled out my Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder.  To get a little color behind the sparkle, stamp your sentiment onto a Versamark Pad and then onto a Basic Gray pad.  This will make your ink sticky and the embossing powder will stick perfectly (don’t forget to use your Embossing Buddy first).

The team has made some spectacular projects…you might consider some sunglasses for all the sparkle!  *smile*  We can’t wait for you to show us your glitter and glam!!

So glad you dropped by today.  I am still madly working on my Christmas cards but will be back tomorrow with another Freshly Made Sketches card.  Until then, have a great day!

Stamp:  More Merry Messages; Paper:  Silver Glimmer Paper, Whisper White; Ink:  Versamark, Basic Gray, Not Quite Navy Reinker;  Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Flurry Die, Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Basic Rhinestones, Heat Tool, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #64

Freshly Made Sketches #64 published on 10 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #64

It is my favorite stamping day of the week….Wednesday!  Time for a new sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and time for loads of inspiration from the amazing design team!  Our sketch hostess this week is fabulous Cindy Hall and her sketch this week is such fun!

I knew immediately that I wanted to use a tag as the “shape” for this and the Joyous Celebrations continues to be my go-to choice.  I love the size of the images and they are perfect for tags!  Then I started digging around in my stash of retired paper.  I seem to have too much of the Christmas variety (I really need to learn not to hoard it when I get it).  I came across this Frostwood Lodge DSP and knew it would be perfect!  Once I chose the two patterns, I got to work on the tag.  I created the tag corners first and then realized that a straight bottom wasn’t working for me so I cut the little pennant bottom by hand.  I stamped the oval and “JOY”, the punched them with the Extra-Large Oval Punch.  I cut out the little holly sprig and added a few Basic Pearls (colored with a Sharpie).  Finally I tied on some Tulle Ribbon with a bit of Linen Thread.

Can you believe that it is three weeks until Christmas??  Me neither!  My kids joyously announced this yesterday on the way to school and I started to panic that my cards aren’t done.  I did order a bunch that I created in My Digital Studio but I still have a lot on my list that will get handmade cards.  I think I will be reproducing a number of my cards this week so that I can get them done.  

I hope that you are having a great week.  Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I look forward to seeing what you create this week!

Stamp:  Joyous Celebrations; Paper:  Frostwood Lodge DSP, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Whisper White; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories:  Extra-Large Oval Punch, Early Espresso 3-1/2″ Tulle Ribbon, Linen Thread, Eyelet Border Punch

Christmas Snowflakes

Christmas Snowflakes published on 10 Comments on Christmas Snowflakes

Happy Friday!!  I hope your week has been wonderful!  As we finish up November and enter December, I thought it would be nice to post a card that we made yesterday in my Christmas Wow Class.

I will start by saying that this is one of those cards that has more “wow” in person.  Some cards are just like that, I guess.  I was inspired by the amazing and talented Sandi McIver and this card she made last December.  I changed the color to Very Vanilla and sponged the edges with Crumb Cake ink.  What is hard to see is that the snowflakes have sparkle on them.  Lots of sparkle!  After cutting them out from the Snow Flurry Die, they were spritzed with Shimmer Paint Spray created from rubbing alcohol (about 1.5 oz. of 70% store brand rubbing alcohol) and shimmer paint.  You combine these in a spray bottle and just spritz it on the snowflakes (best to use a paper towel under them).  They shimmer and shine in the light but, apparently, not for the camera.  I did get a close-up, though, that is  a little better (click on the photo):

The sentiment comes from More Merry Messages, a gorgeous and must-have word set for the holidays!  I embossed with the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder first and then cut the panel in 7/8″ strips (it started as 3-1/2″ wide).  Basic Pearls are the perfect finishing touch for those pretty little snowflakes.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as my stampers did!  Thanks so much for dropping by!  Have a great weekend!

Stamp:  More Merry Messages; Paper:  Very Vanilla; Ink:  Crumb Cake: Accessories:  Big Shot, Lacy Brocade EF, Snow Flurry Die, Sponge Daubers, 1-3/8″ Square Punch, Dimensionals

Freshly Made Sketches #63

Freshly Made Sketches #63 published on 8 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #63

Just look at what we have for you over at Freshly Made Sketches this week!  Rita Wright has given us this fantastic sketch to play with and I love it!  My card came together faster than one has in quite a while.  Thanks Rita!!

I really wanted to go with a vintage style and this sketch left lots of room for interpretation.  I embossed some Core’dinations Early Espresso Card Stock with the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder and then sanded with the Stampin’ Sanding System.  So easy, so cool looking!  Then I cut out an oval with my Ovals Die (retired) and embossed it with the Designer Frames Embossing Folder.  I sanded it too.  Love how the dots show up!  I stamped the tree from Joyous Celebrations and punched it with the Wide Oval Punch, the popped it up on a Dimensional in the frame.  The Victoria Crochet Lace and the Crumb Cake Seam Binding were attached with a little bit of Sticky Strip which holds the ruffles in place.  Finally, I attached the sentiments (individual words from the New Year’s stamp in Petite Pairs) with a little Vintage Trinkets safety pin.

I know it won’t surprise you but the design team has an amazing variety of cards over on the challenge site.  It never ceases to amaze me how different designers interpret a sketch!  Go take a peek and then join right in.  I hope you are having a great week so far.  Thanks so much for stopping in!!

Stamps:  Joyous Celebration, Petite Pairs; Paper:  Early Espresso, Core’dinations Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory; Ink:  Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler; Accessories:  Big Shot, Lacy Brocade EF, Ovals Die (ret), Designer Frames EF, Wide Oval Punch, Victoria Lace Ribbon, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Vintage Trinkets, Jewelry Punch, Sticky Strip, Dimensionals

SUOC59 – Fun Folds

SUOC59 – Fun Folds published on 4 Comments on SUOC59 – Fun Folds

Oh yes indeed…the theme this week at SUO Challenges is Fun Folds!  You know you love them…and when you try them, you remember how easy and “wow” they can be.  If you haven’t tried them, the design team will lead you in the right direction.  No time like the present to give it a try!

I thought it would be fun to re-visit the Joy Fold.  I just love this one and it always makes me so happy!  Let’s face it, the Designer Series Papers do most of the work.  I used this tutorial as a starting point.  The Basic Gray background pieces use the measurements given in the tutorial for DSP with a small exception.  It seems that there was an error on the measurements needed for the inner and outer panels on the small section.  My Basic Gray layers are 2 3/4″ x 3 3/4″ (since the inner card folded becomes 3″ x 4″).  I thought that the colors in the Storytime DSP would be fun with the snowflakes from Snowflake Soiree and they are great with this fold.  Here are some pictures with the stages of being opened:

I stamped the snowflakes in Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze, and the sentiment in Basic Gray.  The sentiment on the inside is from More Merry Messages (what a great set!!).  I used a little Sticky Strip to hold on the button since I know it will hold with the opening/closing.

I had a sneak peek of the design team’s card and I see new folds to try.  Make sure you go take a look and get some inspiration!!  I hope we’ll see you in the gallery too!

I hope your Thanksgiving was fantastic (for those of you who celebrate)!  I was so lucky to go to a cousin’s house for the day.  They had the most wonderful turkey and sides.  All I had to do was bring pie and cranberry sauce (a recipe that my boys love!)  Lucky me!!  My mom has been here all week but she leaves today.  We did get some stamping time…so fun…and I got some more instruction on my sewing machine.  Yes, I really will get braver with using it!  I keep pinning ideas!  Back tomorrow with a fantastic sketch from Rita at Freshly Made Sketches.  Hope to see you then!

Stamps:  Snowflake Soiree, More Merry Messages; Paper:  Storytime DSP, Whisper White, Basic Gray; Ink:  Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray; Accessories:  Neutrals Buttons, White Baker’s Twine, Sticky Strip

 

Freshly Made Sketches #62

Freshly Made Sketches #62 published on 7 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #62

Happy Wednesday!!  I hope you are having a fantastic week!  For all of you in the U.S., I am sure you are deep in the preparation for Thanksgiving!  Just in time for the long weekend, we have another amazing sketch from Freshly Made Sketches!  This one comes from my talented friend, Jen Mitchell!  I love her clean and fabulous style and this sketch is perfect for so many things!

I thought it was appropriate for today to make a Thanksgiving themed card.  Day of Gratitude is such a perfect set for this, don’t you think??  I started with the Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP and chose this More Mustard pattern.  Then I dug out my burlap and decided I liked the two together.  I thought a Cajun Craze background would work well and then framed everything with Soft Suede.  I stamped the leaves in those same colors and cute them out.  The Bronze Button is simply perfect for this look and I tied on one of the threads of burlap that I had pulled to fray the edges. Finally, I stamped the sentiment on the Natural Cotton Ribbon.  I love how you can stamp on this ribbon and guess what??!!  It is carrying through to the Spring Catalog.  So happy about that!  I realized the background layer was still missing something so I ran it through the Stripes Embossing Folder.

I would like to take the time to tell you all how thankful I am for you, my readers, and all of the people I have met through stamping.  From the design teams, to my upline, to my extraordinary customers…I am truly blessed!  Thank you for all the support you give me and for allowing me to be a part of your lives!!

You will love the variety from the team this week.  As always you will find loads of inspiration.  I look forward to seeing what you create too!

For those who celebrate, have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!  Don’t forget that Stampin’ Up is having a huge Online Extravaganza.  Just click on the Shop with Jennifer button to see all the deals.

Stamp:  Day of Gratitude; Paper:  Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla; Ink:  Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Soft Suede; Accessories:  Big Shot, Stripes EF, 7/8″ Natural Cotton Ribbon, Bronze Button, burlap

Online Extravaganza!!

Online Extravaganza!! published on No Comments on Online Extravaganza!!

 

Well, we are coming up on the biggest shopping week of the year so naturally it is time for Stampin’ Up’s biggest sale of the year – Online Extravaganza!!  From November 19-28 you can get incredible discounts – up to 50% on some of the very best products!  I thought you would like a day to plan, so I am getting you all the information today.

Additionally, to celebrate the first and last days of the sale, Stampin’ Up is adding “one day only” specials on November 19th and November 28th.  WOW!!

November 19th Specials

Page

Item

Description

Retail Price

24-Hour
Sale Price

181

125586

Simply Scored Diagonal Plate

$11.95

$9.56

186

113439

Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine

$99.95

$79.96

186

113474

Big Shot Doctor’s Bag

$69.95

$55.96

November 28th Specials

Page

Item

Description

Retail Price

24-Hour
Sale Price

7

118941 Clear Block Bundle (Blocks A-I)

$66.95

$53.56

7

120279 Clear Block Storage Caddy

$16.95

$13.56

175

109127 Stack & Store Caddy

$34.95

$27.96

Now this is an online only sale so you will need to shop via my online store.  You can simply click here – Jennifer’s Online Store – or you can click on my “Shop With Me” button on my sidebar anytime.

I know that you want to see all the deals for yourself, don’t you??!!  You can see all the discounted items by clicking here – Online Extravaganza PDF.  As of November 19th, you will be able to see all of the deals directly in my online store as well.

I plan on doing some of my own shopping and the best part….I can do it on Monday and right from my home!  No crowds, no lines, and no stress!  I hope you have a great week.  As always, just let me know if you have any questions about this amazing special!

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