A quick gift idea

This mug is perfect when you need something quick! I found the snowflake mug at Dollar Tree and knew right away that the SU Snowflakes stamp set would work perfectly. I covered a mini composition notebook with stamped kraft cardstock, made a matching ink pen and a festive tag. Voila! Just tuck a hot chocolate packet behind the notebook and it's good to go.

happy stampin'

Susan

edited: The mug is not stamped. Thankfully it came this way ... I saw some different snowflake mugs at DT this week. They were blue & white.

Sharing Steph's work today

My friend Stephanie brought 2 cards to share at stamp camp last week. They were so pretty, I asked if I could take a picture and share them here! The top card is absolutely gorgeous in person. It is a bit more burgundy than my photo indicates and the flower really makes it pop! The swirled paper has a beautiful sheen to it that doesn't show up either. Don't you LOVE the dotted ribbon in the center of the flower??

I loved this card for the bling! That's a huge rhinestone on the notch up there. Who wouldn't love to receive this card in the mail? I was surprised when I opened the card ... see how Steph finished the inside with ribbons? Love it! I think she did an excellent job on both cards.

Sorry, I forgot to ask her the supplies, so I don't know where the stamps or paper came from {other than the LSS}. Thank you Stephanie for letting me share your cards today!!

happy stampin'

Susan

seeing stars

stars by Pottery Barn

Ok, I went to the Pottery Barn online catalog today - btw, I LUV Pottery Barn stuff. There was a thread online about making stars, which is easy, and this item in PB. So, of course, I had to check it out for myself. WOW! PB is selling 3 paper stars for $24. Now, granted they are glittered and stitched, some are punched, so I know they are beautiful ... but it appears to be a challenge by Pottery Barn to all us papercrafters who know we can make stars too!

So, throwdown time! I'm making stars today, see what you think:

I made 5, 6 and 12 point stars out of SU! Wintergreen Designer Papers. Here are close up photos of each:

This 5 point star was the most difficult for me to fold. On the one above I cut the edges with scallop scissors. I really like that effect.

The 6 point above is easy, but I made a mistake and put adhesive in the wrong place ... see where I ripped it apart? Oops. It's not so obvious hanging up as it is in this photo.

The 12 point star is my favorite, I think. It is simply two 6 points put together. Hmmm .... looks like this one is just begging for a rhinestone in the center, don't you think so ? Guess I'll have to cut him {or her} loose and perform cosmetic surgery.

This last one is another 6 point star that I was just playing around with. I made it out of regular printer paper. I wanted to see how a hole punch would work. I think it turned out nicely. If I make another I am going to add glitter, but no stitching ... after all, I can't be just like the great designers at Pottery Barn!!

I estimate that a set of 4 six pointed stars cost me less than $1.00. They are 6 inches across and the perfect size to hang over the table from my dinning room light.

happy stampin'

Susan

Lots to share today

Oh, I have so much to share! I have photos from stamp camp, my brother's place, and a card share. I think I should pace myself and allow for more than one post this week. So ... what first?

How about the planner we made at stamp camp? That's a cool one. The planner is made from a double pocket file folder using Stampin' Up Designer paper and cardstock. We stamped a little bit, but mostly the planner is cutting and adhering papers, plus a bit of wide grosgrain ribbon.

This is the front:

Opened once:

Opened up all the way:

Cute huh? You can spiff it up anyway you like, we did the basics, but I'm sure there is much more bling and fluff that can be added.




We also made stars, which I have only gotten fuzzy photos of ... gotta work on that before I post them. And we made a candy treat tin. The tin makes a perfect add-on gift, or teacher gift. Someone also suggested putting a gift card under the candy to make it a complete gift in a tin. Great idea! Here is the tin:

and the contents:

I'd love to see any Christmas giftable ideas that you have. If you have posted pics of projects you're working on for the holidays, leave me a comment w/ the site. I'll hop over and check you out!

happy stampin'


Susan

another awesome share

designed by Stacey King

I can't believe what this resourceful stamper has come up with. It's a stamp pad holder made of foamcore! Wow-wee!! Stacey has all the instructions in pdf format on her BLOG. It only takes 2 sheets to make it. I'm so impressed, I might have to try it for myself even though I have the stamp pad caddy {with extender} ... I'm still running out of room for my stamp pads.

happy stampin'
Susan

awesome share of the day

samples from Red-Castle.com by Darla Copmann

Today's awesome share is a free software download that allows you to print calendars of practically any size! I was looking for this website for two days before someone on SCS pointed me in the right direction. It's one of those things that I only use about 2 - 3 times a year and I can never remember where I found it.

The site is Red Castle and is owned by Phil Schloss. He's a fellow crafter & stampers and he is also pretty awesome about sharing programs he's written. There are a ton of templates on the Red Castle site, and they sell rubber stamps too. But this week, I've been working on a stamp club project and really needed his calendar program to customize holiday calendars. So ... hop on over to Phil's site and get his calendar software. You'll find lots of other cool stuff to play with too.

I'll share my project once it's complete ... which I hope will be in plenty of time for tonight's stamp camp!

happy stampin,
Susan

yay! I made something!

{click on photo to enlarge}

Sounds funny, but I made a card yesterday! I've been trying to clean up my craftimess, so I have been putting away instead of dragging out. Yesterday I found some scraps of paper left over from another project {from 2 years ago, no less} and thought .... hmmmm ... this is just enough to make a card. So off to work I went.

While making the card ... I goofed big time, so I photographed the process, more for fun than anything since there is nothing revolutionary about this card, but I thought I'd share it anyway. It makes for a more fun blogging experience -- ok, maybe for me, not necessarily you.

I started out with a scrap of paper that was 8" x 8". I meant to score it in half ... but happy accident time ... I scored it at 4 1/4" because I usually work with 8 1/2" paper. Old habits die hard, right?

To score, I used the Scor-Pal. This is my new favorite tool. It scores so beautifully, and if you pay attention to what you are doing, you don't even have to measure to score paper. Plus, you don't need to move your paper if you're scoring more than one line. So, had I paid attention to what I was doing, I would have a perfectly scored line down the middle of my paper ...

So when I folded the paper, it looked like this ... oops:

Ok, not a real problem. I could cut the extra blue edge off, or work with it. I decided to work with it. I'm loving scallop edges right now, so I thought - HEY, I'll add a scallop! Pulling out my trusty slit edge punch from Stampin' Up! I went to work cutting another scrap.

When finished, you have a nice scalloped edge piece. Just adhere it to the inside of your card. I don't do anything to the inside edge ... just leave it alone. If you wanted, you could run a ribbon over the section where the two pieces meet.

This is the front of the card so far:

And the inside -- I love coordinating double sided paper, don't you?

Next, I want to finish the front by adding a sentiment of some sort. I wanted a general saying so I could use it for a variety of needs, so I settled on Polka Dots and Paisley set from Stampin' Up. The typeography worked well with the paper too. But - since the sentiment was too wide for the tag I had selected, I needed to make an adjustment.

Grabbing the handy-dandy Stampamajig, I quickly set to work inking up only the words in the phrase that I needed for each line. It went something like this:

1. Stamp image on Stampamajig clear imaging sheet
2. Determine placement by placing the imaging sheet over the tag
3. Ink up the words I need for each line seperately and stamp, cleaning stamp between each line

See how the original phrase was too wide for the tag? I just adjusted the words so that they fit on my tag below. Cool beans, huh?

I added 2 pretties from the SU Pretties kit, dyed blue, and a rhinestone brad with double stitched ribbon. Finally, finished! It really took me longer to type up directions that it did to make the card. What do you think?? Not too bad for a person who can't score on the correct line, right?

happy stampin'
Susan

bonanza!

Two posts in one day -- what a bonanza! I just found this online and wanted to share it NOW! This snowflake is on the cover of a current magazine. Isn't it delightful?
E-mail me for directions and supplies if you want to make one.

a riddle for you

Today I have a riddle for you, but don't worry, it's an easy one -- especially if you have kids. Ready?

What's worse than a college student during midterm exams?





TWO college students with midterm exams!

That's right, both of our kids are dealing with midterms, and I'm feeling the stress too! Right down to the headaches, munchies, and sleepless nights. Yes, I realize it's their burden. And, really I'm not even helping them study ... but the air is thick with tension, and it has an effect on us all. But, I have to say, they are doing well and handling it as best they can. The best part is that midterms mean the semester is half over!! Yay. I can see the lights ahead. Christmas is just around the corner and we'll all be able to realax and enjoy the holidays.

Yesterday I spent the day, seriously - the whole day, cleaning up my bedroom/craft space. It looks SO much better. I'm not finished, but I put items back in their places and found new places for homeless items too. It makes me feel better and I think now I can start working on stamp club projects .... well, not today, because I have to work ... but soon ... 'cause we're stampin' Friday night!

happy stampin,
Susan

beep...beep...beep....

That's what we hear every day now.

The photo was taken from my backyard ... just feet away there is construction going on. Not for anything really cool ... but a strip mall, ugh. Thankfully, the actual stores will not be directly behind us. They are up on the main road. But the trucks and diggers spend their day spreading lots of dust on us and they dig out the pasture for fill dirt. It's a real mess. One day, the site plans do call for construction behind our house ... but we pray that never happens. That would be phase 3 of the development, any many years away we hope.

See how the dump truck is almost hidden by the mound of dirt in the photo? That's how deep the hole is!! They dig out a big hole, like 9 feet deep, then the trucks can drive in it and the scooper sits on top dumping the dirt in. Eventually all the dirt is removed and they start with another big hole somewhere else.

Well ... no crafting today. I took a nap yesterday and woke up with a headache that has persisted through to this morning. Naps are not always a good idea!

Stamp club is this Friday. I'm working on our projects this week for a Christmas Giftables class - or at least that is my plan!! If I get something good, I'll post it here early.

happy stampin'

Susan

Beating a dead horse ... and a winner!

{scroll to the end of this post for the blog candy winner}

Ok, so maybe I am beating a dead horse with these banners ... whadyathink? My best bud brought them back today, so I hung them up and took a picture. I just didn't feel finished until I posted the final results here.

Thankful hangs on my hutch:

Noel hangs on my front door - with inadequate lighting for a picture, hence the flash glare ...

Joy stands on a table ... but Joy may hang later in the season.

Now for the winner of blog candy .....

The winner was randomly chosen from all entries. There were entries on the main post, and on the reminder post, so I included everyone!

Also, thank you all for the comments. It's so wonderful to read each one. I think the best thing about offering blog candy is that I discover so many new blogs to read! There were a lot of truly awesome blogs linked in those comments. You can browse through them too and click on the links. And, I think I am going to need to add a lot of those links to my site. Thanks again everyone for playing!!!

The winner is:

Cheryl!!!!

You can check out Cheryl's blog at Never Enough Stamps.

Cheryl, I need you to email me your address, ok? I'll get your goodies in the mail asap.

This concludes our broadcast. Banners are officially finished, never to return to blogdom again.

happy stampin'

Susan

Candy!!

Keep posting for the blog candy !! I won't draw a name until Tuesday.
Happy Columbus Day!!

Holiday Banners and Blog Candy

As promised, here are the holiday banners I've been working on. I took the pictures this afternoon just before leaving for work. The ribbon arrived, and when I got home tonight I ran the ribbon through the letters. But the photos here show no ribbons.

Noel is going to hang vertically. I used the 5/8" Celery Grosgrain ribbon from Stampin' Up! I love the extra width, it adds more body and proportionately balances the look. Maybe I'll photograph it again hanging during the holidays ... who knows? Noel is made using the Designer Wintergreen paper.

Joy is going to stand ... at least I hope it's going to stand! I ran ribbon behind the chipboard to tie it together, but not to hang. I'm not sure I like it that way ... I may have to re-do the ribbon so Joy can hang like the other banners. Joy is made using the Designer papers from the Simply Scrappin' Christmas kit (and I'm diggin' the pink).

Anyway, as I said in my last post, I was able to make Thankful, Noel and Joy from the chipboard package ... and I still have bunches of letters, shapes and cool things to play with.
Both of these banners have lots of glitter. Holidays should sparkle, right? The glitter doesn't really show up in the pictures, but just imagine ...





This is a sideways, close up shot of the O in NOEL made from a snowflake. There was an alphabet O available, but I thought the snowflake would add a nice touch ... plus I could bling it up with a rhinestone brad.

This is what I'm talking about ... now you can see some of the glitter in this picture. This is a close up of the O in JOY. I loved the berries and holly leaves. I just smooshed them in an ink pad for color and then glittered them up. The O was put through a xyron machine and then glitter added. Having a xyron makes things a lot simpler sometimes!

Finally, this is the snowflake at the end of JOY. You can see the letter Y is also very sparkly. The green cardstock is adhered to the back of the chipboard, so I just ran it through my xyron as well which allowed me to not only stick it to the chipboard, but sprinkle just the right amount of glitter all over it.


Well, that's all I have for today ... except a surprise Blog Candy package! It's stamp stuff ... but I think I'll keep it a secret for a few days. To enter all you have to do is refer a friend to my blog and post a comment by Sunday night letting me know that you recommended my blog to someone else. Easy-peasy. And, maybe, just maybe, I'll post a hint later about what the blog candy is. Stay tuned!

happy stampin'

Susan

Thankful share

I had hoped to have this banner completed before I shared here ... however, I am still
{im}patiently waiting on my ribbon order to arrive before I have to sprint off to work. So it looks like I need to share what I have, rather than wait for it to look all nicey-nicey.

This is the first banner I made from Stampin' Up's new On Board Holiday Greetings. There is so much chipboard in this pack!! I'm really excited over the different ways I can use up all the pieces. And, ahem, there is no stamping on this banner at all.

My plan is to run ribbon from the two top corners of each letter and let it hang over my fireplace or hutch. The papers are Designer Apple Cider {in the holiday mini} and are just delicious! The colors are yummie and I love the bolder designs.



Here is the first letter close-up so you can see the dimension of the leaf and button. I adhered the button with a mini glue dot and the leaf with dimensionals for height. I used my xyron 500 to adhere the papers to the chipboard.



The letters were simple to cut out. I used my craft knife and just went around the edges. It was actually painless ... and I'm not a big craft knife user either!

Tomorrow I hope to share the holiday banners I made. I just love them because they are ALL glittery and sparkly!!

happy stampin,
Susan

ps - watch for blog candy coming soon ... like maybe this weekend!

Holiday Card Kits

all images © SU! 1990-2007

{click here to see a better image of the cards}

This is a pretty cool offer from Stampin' Up! There is no limit to how many card sets you can order which makes it easy to plan your Christmas cards ... not to mention get a head start on making them.

Holiday Glitz Promotion
October 1 until supplies run out!
You can take advantage of this fantastic kit two different ways:

• Purchase one of holiday stamp sets (below) and get the Holiday Glitz card kit (110286) for the special price of $24.95 each, or


• Purchase the Holiday Glitz card kit (110286) for $28.95 each with no additional purchase required.

Each Holiday Glitz card kit makes 15 cards and includes:
Precut card stock and Designer Series paper (15)
Whisper White Envelopes (15)
Rhinestone brads (15)
Real Red pre-cut zigzag ribbon (15)
Full-color instruction sheet (1)



The qualifying stamp sets are:


109234 pg. 45 Snowfall $23.95



106786 pg. 36 The Snowflake Spot $20.95



109266 pg. 35 Big on Christmas $18.95



110359 pg. 5 {holiday mini} Love & Joy $23.95





Since this promotion is limited quantity, supplies could run out quickly. Please let me know if you're interested so we can order asap.

happy stampin'
Susan

my next project

all images © SU! 1990-2007

Aren't these ornaments adorable? This is going to be my next project. I have been working this weekend on a Thanksgiving banner from the Holiday mini catalog. As soon as the ribbon I ordered arrives {hopefully Wednesday}, it will be finished and ready for posting. Once I have those two under my belt, I am going to make the Joy banner - also in the mini - I may try to squeeze a few more letters out and actually make the banner read "Joyful." I think that would be a nice sentiment, and allow for a longer banner.

Both the Thanksgiving banner and these ornaments are made from On Board Garland Greetings chipboard available on pg. 9 of the current mini catalog. I love working with chipboard. It's very versatile and easy to dress up for "wow" projects.

happy stampin'
Susan