Red, white and blue for Christmas? I like it!

 

This morning I have a 20-card Christmas class using a mix of old and new Stampin' Up! product. I love this snowman from the retired set Snow Much Fun, and just used a few markers to add color.

 

I started with a Whisper White card and added a 3" x 4-1/4" piece of Real Red card stock that's been embossed with the Alphabet Press folder (item 130916, $7.95), just for fun. The Marina Mist banner was embossed with the Northern Flurry folder (item 120902, $7.95) before adding the 1-3/4" circle with the stamped image.

 

Finally at the bottom, I added a sentiment from the stamp set in Jet Black StazOn. I used an old sketch from my friend Lesley's Merry Monday challenges. As I've said before, sketches are a great way to get your creative juices flowing! Enjoy your day. As usual, if you'd like to order anything, please visit my Online Store at http://therubberroom.stampinup.net and you'll be automatically entered into my drawing for free SU! stuff of your choosing on November 1. Thanks!

Creating framed art with stamps and punches

 

Temperatures are dropping here, so a penguin in hat and scarf doesn't seem so far fetched! I paper pieced the little guy's clothing for a special project I made for my American Ink team Christmas party gift exchange.

 



Here's the finished project. I've seen so many framed art pieces and have been wanting to make one. I used Candlelight Christmas Specialty dsp, along with a handful of punches (scallop square, 1-3/8" square, wide oval, 1-3/8" circle, mitten builder, and tag), and the Scallop Squares Duo die for the Big Shot. The colors are pulled from the dsp - Early Espresso, Red Red and Old Olive. Stamp sets used include Joyous Celebrations, No Peeking, Tags til Christmas, Word Play, Delightful Decorations, and Snow Much Fun. To add some bling, there are Brights glimmer brads on the mittens, a rhinestone on the Noel ornament, and Dazzling Diamonds glitter on several of the images.

I'll share photos of the party tomorrow! You'll love the gifts (and probably want to make them for yourself!).

Stocking Stuffer idea #4: A gift card holder (or two)

 

Gift cards will never go out of style. So why not create special gift card holders for them? I used a Crumb Cake envelope, scored it in half and cut the flap on the score line, and ran it through the Northern Flurry embossing folder.

 

 

The left side of the flap is sealed. I used a label framelit stamped with a More Merry Messages for inside. There's room for the recipient's name and yours! Open the flap on the right to insert the gift card.

 

 

All of these gift card holders use the mitten punch, Festival of Prints pad, and Cherry Cobber/Whisper White baker's twine. I made a few "Happy Birthday," and "thinking of you" holders too. All of the stamps are from Teeny, Tiny Wishes and punched with the Word Window.

 

 

This Crumb Cake and Cherry Cobbler gift card holder is a blast from the past. I used it as a project last year and still had a few cut in my scrap box! It uses the Snow Much Fun stamp set, along with a few punches.

 

 

Inside, there's a Whisper White envelope that's been sealed shut and the ends cut off. The envelope ends hold two cards - one for the gift card (not shown in front), and the other one stamped, with space for a short note.

 

Today, I'm grateful for our rescued pets. They provide us with unconditional love, funny antics, and even aggravation. But it's all worth it. I was talking to my Dad last night. He lives in a college town and rural farming area. Every summer and winter a few students "drop off" their pets in the country and return home. My Dad now has 7 dogs and at least 11 cats/kittens at his home. He said this past summer someone dropped off 7 cats. They live outside (though they can go into the detached garage to get relief from the cold temperatures). One of the seven was pregnant and had kittens recently, so they were moved into the house until the kittens are old enough to be spayed/neutered and fend for themselves. Fortunately, my Dad's girlfriend works at a vet clinic and gets reduced fees for services. Cindy takes the cats in to the clinic to get neutered or spayed as she can catch them. So please take time to spay and neuter your pets. And remember to love them as much as they love you.

 

 

Barb's winning entry uses Snow Much Fun

Happy Monday! For me, that means laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning. And I plan on having lunch with a friend, along with a little stamping.

I'd love to take credit for the card below, but it was made by my friend and downline, Barb. She entered this in my Merry Winter Spectacular Card Contest, taking home top honors. The jingle bells on the ribbon are adorable!

Here's what the card looks like closed. The sentiment is from the stamp set Many Merry Messages.

As you pull the ribbon to the right, the snowman panel on the left appears. Those Snow Much Fun stamps are so cute, and well-colored. It's definitely a "Wow" card.

Snow Much Fun and Timeless Portrait dsp

I broke open my pack of Timeless Portrait dsp so I could play with new colors for my Snow Much Fun Christmas card. This card is Island Indigo, which is a first for me. Using a sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, I made this card for my American Ink team meeting swap. The sentiment is from Short & Sweet.

How are you doing on your Christmas cards? I've got a 10-card class on Thursday at 6 p.m. if you need more. Email me by Tuesday at ericandterry@comcast.net. Thanks!

Snow Much Fun Christmas card with Frostwood Lodge dsp

This Snow Much Fun card was one of my recent 10-card class projects. The snowman is stamped on a 2" circle I punched. The Christmas banner comes from the Pines & Poinsettias stamp set. We cut off some detail above the word. I pulled the Marina Mist and Cherry Cobbler colors from the Frostwood Lodge dsp, adding scallop dotted Marina Mist ribbon too. After coloring the image and putting the card together, I added Dazzling Details. I'm really diggin' that stuff. Squirt it exactly where you want it and let it dry for about 15 minutes and it adds glitter and dimension! Love it!!!

I want to say "Hi" to all the terrific people I met yesterday at the Eagles Holiday Bazaar. Hopefully some of you will be finding your way to my classes sometime soon! Have a wonderful Sunday. I'll be at the studio this afternoon for my Merry Winter Spectacular. I'm expecting a lot of people, so it should be fun!

American Ink make & takes range from Halloween treat to Snow Much Fun

Barb brought this yummy polka-dotted Pumpkin Pie Top Note treat holder as a make & take to our American Ink team meeting. Unfortunately, the Hershey Nuggets inside (3 of them) didn't last long enough for this photo! We used the Out on a Limb stamp set and scallop circle punch with dimensionals.

Heather, one of our adopted demos, brought this elegant Contempo Christmas make & take, embossed with the Northern Flurry folder and Big Shot, and some rhinestones for bling.

Kim's make & take makes good use of Spice Cake dsp and punches. The only thing stamped is the Sincere Salutation thanks.

I believe another guest demo, Joelle, brought this make & take. It uses the Snow Much Fun stamp set and Dazzling Details.

Christmas cards and more...

Today are the Christmas and other cards that were entered into my Card Contest at my Scaredy Cat Spectacular. Yesterday, you saw the Halloween cards.

Karen (aka Puddin') - Snow Much Fun stamp set



Marcia - Christmas Lodge stamp set



Marcia - Field Flowers and French Foliage stamp sets



Marcia - Trendy Trees stamp set



Mary Ann

Snow Much Fun for Technostamper challenge 192

Edited to add: I was one of the Top 3 picks of the week! Hooray! Here's the badge:

Mary Jo's sketch challenges are a lot of fun. Check out http://technostamper.com/ every Monday for a new sketch!

Yes, I'm back to using Snow Much Fun with Domestic Goddess dsp. I love it! And the words come from the Occasions Alphabet. It's a fun set. I started with a Pool Party card, then added a Whisper White layer that's been run through the Northern Flurry embossing folder. I used Calypso Coral for an accent color - the designer brad, the scallop trim border-punched layer, and a little color on the snowman. Hope you like it! Here's the Technostamper sketch I followed:



5 quick cards: From Christmas Lodge to Button Buddies

These are the cards from my most recent 10-card class. I hope you like them!

For this first card, I used Christmas Lodge with Frostwood Lodge dsp. Both items are in the Holiday Mini Catalog. I CASE'd the idea, though I changed the card body to Whisper White, used different punches, and added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the tree with a 2-way glue pen.

This Snow Much Fun card uses Domestic Goddess dsp, so the card body is Pool Party card stock and the ribbon is ruffled Calypso Coral. The "window" is from a new Holiday Mini die called Peekaboo Frames. I used the Northern Frost decorative strip die on silver glimmer paper for the snowflake.

This Winter Post card uses Well Worn dsp, the music wheel and Four Greetings. I CASE'd the idea from LeAnne at Wee Inklings.

This Pear Pizzazz card features the Holiday Mini stamp set Bright Hopes, along with Letters to Santa dsp and Pretty in Pink scallop dotted ribbon. I used the Scallop Oval die for the main image, adding the sentiment in Early Espresso ink, along with a few rhinestones.

And Button Buddies and Brights dsp was used for the final card, along with a sentiment from Teeny, Tiny Wishes. I used the Buttons sizzlet to make matching buttons out of Pacific Point card stock for everybody, threading white Baker's Twine in each and adhering it with a dimensional.



Beautiful Season and Snow Much Fun Christmas cards

Here are two of the five cards we made at a Christmas 10-card class. The top one is a much simpler case of a Diane Vander Galien card. The word stamps were used inside. It uses the Beautiful Season stamp set. Below, is a Pool Party card featuring Snow Much Fun stamps and Domestic Goddess dsp, along with a strip of ruffled Calypso Coral ribbon.

I'll be posting the five cards from tonight's 10-card class over the weekend, so be sure to check back.

Snow Much Fun for Christmas Monkey Challenge 72

After spending a marvelous week on the beach with my family, it seems oddly refreshing to think of a cool, sparkling Christmas card like this one I've made with the Snow Much Fun stamp set. The brightest shine comes from the silver glimmer paper I ran through the Big Shot with the Northern Frost decorative strip die, then I added a bit of dimension and sparkle with Dazzling Details (new in the Holiday Mini Catalog) on the snowman's hat band and snowball.

The card is Pool Party card stock, with a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Domestic Goddess dsp on top. I used the A La Card Monkey sketch challenge this week:

Stamps: Snow Much Fun;

Ink: Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Jet Black StazOn;

Paper: Whisper White, Pool Party, Calypso Coral, Domestic Goddess dsp;

Accessories: Dazzling Detail, Pool Party ruffled ribbon, dimensionals, Northern Frost decorative strip die, Big Shot, Modern Label Punch, Snowflake Punch, Designer Brads, mat and paper piercer.