Embossed Petals-a-Plenty Christmas Wishes...

Kim's beautiful card uses the Petals-a-Plenty textured embossing folder for the Big Shot, along with the Christmas Wishes stamp set.

Kim cut an oval through the folder. She put the 4" x 10-1/2" Whisper White card stock inside and the entire card was embossed with the flowers.

Then she inked up the dove stamp with Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and Brocade Blue markers and stamped it in the middle of the oval.

After adding the Mistletoe Ribbon Originals, Kim layered the white card on a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of Elegant Eggplant.

Holly's Snow Buddies snowglobe card...

By far, the most popular swap at our latest demonstrator gathering was this snowglobe card by Holly. It's absolutely stunning.

Holly got the idea off the back of the Holiday Mini Catalog, but all of the hard work is hers. The globe is Bashful Blue, with snowflakes and swirls from Snow Buddies (Level 2 hostess set in Holiday Mini) stamped and then glittered.

The base is Soft Suede, with a knot of Soft Suede polka-dotted ribbon. The sentiment is from the stamp set Best Wishes & More.

To check out more of Holly's great work, visit here.

Modern Sparkly & Bright...

Kim earned a prize for this card contest entry at my Christmas Spectacular. The Rose Red card uses four punches, Thoroughly Modern designer series paper, and the Sparkly & Bright stamp set.

There's glitter on the stocking, reindeer and the letter "i" in the word "bright." The knot of Bermuda Bay polka-dotted ribbon adds to the bright cheeriness of this card.

Snow Swirled...

This Snow Swirled card is simple and pretty. The tree stamp has been heat embossed in silver, with the Tag Corner Punch used on the top corners of the Whisper White and Garden Green layers.

This was a swap at our last demonstrator gathering. We get together once a month (December is our annual Christmas party - hooray!).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is truly a day to reflect on how many blessings we have in our lives. Even when things don't seem to be going our way, there's always something to be grateful for.

Here's my Grateful List:

• A loving and healthy family
• Terrific friends & downline
• Wonderful SU! customers
• A roof over our heads
• Working transportation
• The opportunity to help others
• Being alive and able to appreciate the little things that are so easy to overlook

I wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving. I hope you'll pause to say thanks for all of the blessings in your life, no matter how small. God bless you!

Now for the card details. This is a swap from one of my downline, Brandy. She's got a lot of things going on in her life with family and full-time job and such, and took the time to cut out and color the details on this Voila card. Thanks, Brandy!

Night & Day Herringbone Technique card...

This Night & Day Specialty paper is so fun to play with. Here, I used strips on a shipping label in what is called the Herringbone Technique for my Technique Lover's Class this month.

To do the Herringbone Technique: Lay a strip at an angle across the entire sticky surface. Then lay strips on either side of that one at a 90-degree angle, which make triangles. Keep laying additional strips at 90-degree angles to the last, filling up every space. Trim off the strips and layer and create your card. It's that easy!

The FYI stamped sentiment is stamped in Basic Black ink and punched using the Word Window Punch, then layered on a Modern Label punched piece of Basic Black card stock.

I used a knot of 1/4" Basic Black grosgrain in keeping with the black and white look, then stamped and cut out the butterfly from Great Friend, adhering it with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Bea's pink Christmas Classics card...

Bea brought this lovely swap to our downline gathering. It uses So Saffron, Brocade Blue and Pretty in Pink card stock, as well as pink taffeta ribbon.

The ornament and sentiment are both from the Christmas Classics stamp set. There's lots of Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the ornament.

My favorite thing about this card is the use of non-traditional Christmas colors. Love it!

Pearl's Delightful Decorations card...

Pearl swapped this Delightful Decorations card at our demonstrator gathering.

It's a Sahara Sand card with snowflakes in the same color ink, a strip of Holiday Lounge designer paper down the middle, and three punched ornaments from the Delightful Decorations stamp set in the Holiday Mini Catalog. She added Chocolate Chip strips of card stock from which the ornaments hang.

Only one month 'til Christmas is here!

Dasher...

This Whisper White card features our terrific flocked designer paper in the Christmas Cocoa pack.

I like monotone cards. They're clean and simple.

There's a knot of 5/8" Real Red grosgrain just around the flocked layer, with a Whisper White Top Note on top that's been stamped with Dasher and Merriment stamps (merry & bright) in Real Red.

To add the final touch of glitz, I used my 2-way glue pen with Dazzling Diamonds glitter on Dasher's antlers.

Cheryl's Petals-a-Plenty Christmas card...

Cheryl contributed this swap to our latest demonstrator gathering. She's one of our newest American Ink group members and I love the fresh ideas she brings with her!

This swap reminded me of a few things - adding glitter to our fabulous designer paper really makes a difference, edge punches can be used at an angle, and a little bit of texture is nice - it doesn't have to be the whole card.

Cheryl used several different designs from the Merry Moments designer series paper pack. The only stamping is the "thank you" that was punched out and layered.

The Petals-a-Plenty textured embossing folder for the Big Shot was used on the white corner of the card, as well as the oval scallop punched behind the greeting, and the strip at the top corner.

Even with those things going on, what really stands out when you hold the card is the glitter on the ornaments. You feel it, see it and it's amazing! So try something different on your own cards.

New images available for My Digital Studio...

There are seven new digital downloads for My Digital Studio available, including several holiday-themed kits that will make your Christmas projects a breeze!

Item 118117 - Berry Christmas stamp brush set - $5.95
Item 118118 - Friend by Definition stamp brush set - $1.95
Item 118119 - Just Perfect Alphabet stamp brush set - $9.95
Item 120880 - Christmas Cocoa II digital kit - $9.95
Item 120881 - Write Stuff II digital kit - $9.95
Item 120882 - Icicle digital photo card kit - $3.95
Item 120883 - Merry Moments digital photo card kit - $3.95

If you'd like to order any or all of these downloads, please email me OR you can just visit my online store here: http://therubberroom.stampinup.net/ and click on SHOP NOW.

Michelle's Serene Snowflakes & Holiday Best...

A photo can't do this card justice, because there's shimmer paint all over it, including some of the snowflakes that were stamped in it!

Michelle W. brought this as a make & take to our recent demonstrator gathering. We used the paper trimmer with scoring blade to score a few lines at the bottom of the Very Vanilla card.

The Serene Snowflakes were stamped in Chocolate Chip, Not Quite Navy and Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, then layered on Chocolate Chip before being adhered to the card.

The sentiment is from the Level 1 hostess set, Holiday Best. We used the Wide Oval Punch to punch it out, then sponged around it in blue and added it to the card with dimensionals. It's also covered with shimmer paint for a dazzling sparkle.

Delightful Decorations & Elegant Bouquet...

Sherry brought this beautiful card as a swap to our recent demonstrator gathering. It uses the Elegant Bouquet Textured Impressions Die and Holiday Windows Movers & Shapers Die for the Big Shot.

The card is Whisper White with a 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" piece of Real Red card stock behind it.

Then one of the ornaments from Delightful Decorations (Holiday Mini) is stamped in Real Red, with a "middle" stamped and punched and layered with a brad in the center.

The knot of 3/4" Real Red Polka-Dotted Ribbon is just around the front white flap.

The greeting is from the Christmas Greetings stamp set.

Ornament punch Four the Holidays...

This Whisper White card uses a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Christmas Cocoa paper, a Whisper White Top Note cut with the Big Shot, and two punched ornaments from the same paper pack.

I put adhesive on the back of one punched ornament after adding a bit of silver cord. Then with the second punched ornament, I folded it in half and attached it to the middle of the first with a few mini glue dots. The half pearl from the Pretties Kit was also adhered with a mini glue dot.

The "Merry Christmas" is from the Four the Holidays stamp set and it's stamped in Always Artichoke ink.

I CASE'd this idea from here.

Winter Post filmstrip technique card...

Filmstrip Technique is fun to use when you have lots of great images in a stamp set, as in Winter Post.

I stamped the images in Close to Cocoa, Brocade Blue and Old Olive, then punched them out with the 1-3/8" square punch and layered them on a Chocolate Chip strip 2-1/4" wide that had been punched on each side with the Spiral Punch.

There's a Brocade Blue layer under the "filmstrip" on the Very Vanilla card, and a knot of Chocolate Chip taffeta at the fold.

For the greeting, I inked the stamp in Brocade Blue then used a blender pen to remove the blue ink from "Dec. 25" and inked it with an Old Olive marker. I punched it with the Designer Label Punch and adhered it with dimensionals.

Vintage Ornament stencil and Shimmer Paint...

With all of the great products in the catalog and mini catalog right now, it's easy to overlook something cool like Stampin' Up!'s Vintage Ornament stencils 1 and 2.

I started with a Very Vanilla card and some foliage from Le Jardin Botanique stamped in Handsome Hunter.
I used a sponge dauber in Night of Navy ink and stencil for the ornament, then used the flourish stencil (in the same packet) for the inside of the ornament in Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint.
The sentiment is from Four the Holidays (Holiday Mini). I rounded the corners on the right side, sponged around it with Night of Navy ink, and adhered it with dimensionals. A navy button was added with a mini glue dot.
The bottom photo shows the shimmer paint a little better.

Shimmery Sparkly & Bright reindeer...

Here's another card from my Christmas Spectacular, featuring the Sparkly & Bright stamp set.

Can't have Christmas without a red-nosed reindeer! This one was stamped in Close to Cocoa on Very Vanilla card stock, then adhered to a small metal-edge tag.

I dipped a sponge dauber into the lid of Champagne Shimmer Paint and dabbed it all over the reindeer layer and the rim of the tag.

After adding a little red pom pom with a mini glue dot for the nose, the tag was stuck on with dimensionals.

The red designer paper is from the Christmas Cocoa pack. It's layered on Old Olive card stock, which has been scalloped at the bottom with a punch. Add a strip of ribbon with all of the colors in it, and the greeting and that's it!

Sparkly & Bright shaker card...

I hosted my annual Christmas Spectacular today. The star of the event was the Sparkly & Bright stamp set. All five projects used stamps from that set.

Here's the first card. It's a shaker card using a Sweet Treat Cup and coarse white glitter.

The card is Bermuda Bay, with a knot of polka-dotted ribbon. I added a quarter sheet of snowflake vellum (available in the Holiday Mini Catalog), using two mini glue dots under two snowflakes and hidden by the ribbon.

I punched the 1-3/4" circle first in the window sheet, then stamped the sentiment in Basic Black on Soft Suede card stock, positioning that piece in the center of the window.

I used Crushed Curry, Bermuda Bay and Soft Suede markers to ink up the tree image, which was then adhered through the window to the Soft Suede layer.

To finish the card, I added coarse glitter to the cup, removed the adhesive around the rim and placed it on the Soft Suede layer. I love those Sweet Treat Cups!!!

Dasher decor element...

I am happy with the way this framed Dasher decor element turned out when framed.

Dasher is a Level 2 hostess item (free with a $300 order/party).

I added some Christmas Cocoa designer paper inside the frame, with a strip of double-stitched Real Red ribbon in the middle. For a final touch, I added two red buttons (from the Playground pack) with mini glue dots to the middle of the two snowflakes.

Big Shot Joy wall hanging...

The Holiday Bazaar is today. I want to show everyone how many different kinds of things you can make with Stampin' Up! products - including cute wall hangings like this one.

I'm only asking $5, so I'm selling "U-Build" kits. There's everything a person needs to put the wall hanging together in the kit.

I used the Big Shot for the Scallop Squares (out of chipboard and card stock - Always Artichoke, Real Red and Soft Suede), and for the big alphabet (Serif Essentials Bigz Alphabet die set).

I've added 3-1/2" squares of Christmas Cocoa paper, along with some red gingham, a Playground button, Chocolate Chip corduroy button (for the loop at the top), and a Whisper White snowflake I punched out with a Ruby Red brad in the center.

It's hard to see, but the bottom square behind the "Y" has flocked snowflake paper that feels so yummy! This is a cute and simple gift anybody can feel good about giving.

Give Thanks home decor...

I'm hosting Thanksgiving this year for my in-laws and a niece and her new hubby, so I'm trying to make the house a bit more festive.

I made a Season of Thanks shadow box with leaves in it last year for decoration. This year, it's a Give Thanks decor element on a frame, with Autumn Meadows designer series paper behind it.

In addition, I cut out some of the leaves from Autumn Splendor (stamped in Tempting Turquoise), and used the Big Shot to die cut a few More Mustard leaves with the Leaves die.

Animal Stories travel tin for kids...

My kids travel better when they have things to do, like draw or play games. So I used an old Hodgepodge Hardware tin and covered it with some Tall Tales designer paper to give it a second life.

Inside, I have many sheets of three different games (from a big box store in the cereal aisle) - Tic Tac Toe, Hangman, and Dot to Dot. I also added a mini pen and pencil that I found at the same store for only 50 cents.

The only embellishment I added is some 1/4" Chocolate Chip grograin around the lid. It's adhered with Sticky Strip.

I have a few of these tins I'm taking to the Holiday Bazaar this weekend and thought that other embellishments, such as buttons, would be easily pulled off and perhaps swallowed by a younger sibling.

Holy Family & Spotlighting with a Punch Technique...

I used one of my favorite techniques with this Christmas card - Spotlighting with a Punch. It's quick, easy, and makes short work of coloring a detailed image since you're only focusing on a small part of it.

First, I stamped the Holy Family image from the Holiday Mini on Confetti Cream card stock in Basic Brown ink, then again on a scrap piece of paper. I used the 1-1/4" circle punch on the image, then the 1-3/8" circle punch on a scrap of Rich Razzleberry card stock that layers perfectly behind it.

The "spotlighted" image was then colored with watercolor crayons and an aqua painter.

I used the Ticket Corner Punch on the top corners only, adding Vintage Brads.

Before adhering the top layers onto the Rich Razzleberry card, I ran the card through the Big Shot with a texturz plate, then sanded it so the image would be more pronounced.

I finished the card with some elastic gold cord knotted at the top.

Storybook Specialty paper for kids' cards...

Sometimes it's hard to wrap your brain around all of the products Stampin' Up! offers. I just used my first pack of Storybook Designer Series Specialty Paper and I loved it!

I've made coloring kits for kids for many years. These kits each have five cards, five envelopes and 24 crayons for $5. They make great gifts - and stocking stuffers.

What's great about the Storybook paper is there are images of animals, fairies, penguins and polar bears, robots and aliens, and more. I simply cut up the paper (giving a full 12" x 12" sheet to my daughter, of course) and adhered it to a card body. I think the kids are going to love all the details on the card fronts!
I made 10 kids' card kits out of one pack of paper, with lots of scraps leftover (and remember, I gave a full sheet to my daughter).

Serene Snowflakes & Merry Details...

I love a basic Whisper White card. Mix some Holiday Mini magic with it and it comes alive in a simple and elegant way.

There's Soft Suede ink, card stock and polka-dotted ribbon on this card, which uses a snowflake from Serene Snowflakes, a greeting from Grateful Greetings, and a bright Real Red bird from the sizzlet for the Big Shot, Merry Details.

This card was CASE'd from another blogger, though I don't think there was Crystal Effects and Dazzling Diamonds on the original as there is on this one.

Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit...

I made up a couple of these candy jars for the Holiday Bazaar Saturday.

They each have a "Jingle All The Way" decor element in Real Red on the side of the jar, as well as 3/4" Real Red polka-dotted ribbon, and chocolate inside.

For the lid, I used the Clear Cicle Die for the Big Shot to cut the Real Red circle, then the Scallop Die for the Old Olive layer, and the top layer is a self-adhesive diecut from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit.

I plan to sell these jars for $10 each.

Hollybeary Creations color challenge...

This is the first time I've tried a color challenge - and the first I've completed a card using My Digital Studio.

The stamps used are Winter Post and All Holidays.

For the color challenge, we were to use Melon Mambo, Basic Gray and Whisper White.

Want to play? Go here.

Icicle Rub-ons and glitter ornaments...

I enjoy making ornaments every year... and my kids love making these kind.

These small, glass ornaments are available at craft stores and some big box stores. I start by removing the tops, rinsing them all out with water, and leaving them upside down in the plastic tray they come in.

One by one, you grab an ornament, funnel some glitter into it and shake it up (with your thumb over the hole unless you really love glitter!). Tap out any excess.

Then I like to take rub-ons - this snowflake came from the Icicle Rub-Ons in the Holiday Mini - to add that extra somethin'. And since these ornaments never seem to come with hangers, I use silver cord.

Yuletide Christmas...

This Yuletide Christmas card is one we made at my Nov. 1 stamp-a-stack.

It uses Christmas Cocoa designer paper, 3/4" Real Red polka-dotted ribbon, Always Artichoke ink and card stock, and the Eyelet Border and Wide Oval punches.

We sponged Real Red ink around the "Merry Christmas" greeting and adhered it to the Whisper White card front with dimensionals.

We eyeballed the nutcrackers, which made this a quick and easy card.

Two Cool Dudes...

This Christmas card is very soft and pretty in person. The Bashful Blue and Sahara Sand colors look great together.

I stamped the snowflakes in Sahara Sand ink on the card front.

The sentiment from Two Cool Dudes is stamped in Bashful Blue on a strip that's had the corners rounded on the right, and a Bashful Blue brad inserted on the left. The saying is adhered to the card with dimensionals.

The snowman is stamped in Bashful Blue ink on Sahara Sand, sponged and distressed around the edges with the Cutter Kit, then adhered to the card. Dazzling Diamonds glitter was added with a 2-way glue pen.

Serene Snowflakes & Heard from the Heart...

For stamp-a-stacks, the idea is to get everyone stamping 10 cards in a couple of hours. The cards need to be pretty simple, attractive, and with an embellishment (those are my rules!).

I borrowed this idea from Holly Endress, my downline in Virginia. She does some great stuff. Look here.

This Bashful Blue card uses Serene Snowflakes and words from Heard from the Heart. I stamped different snowflakes in Bashful Blue and Bermuda Bay inks on Shimmery White card stock, tied some polka-dotted Bermuda Bay ribbon in a knot after distressing the edges with the Cutter Kit, then layered on a distressed piece of Bermuda Bay that's attached to the front of the card.

A Wish For Peace...

If I didn't already have a Big Shot, I'd ask for one this Christmas! It's the best.

Ask me how you can get the Big Shot on a payment plan and I'll hook you up!

One of my favorite dies is the Top Note. This card shows why - diecut it from a neutral card stock (Very Vanilla here), sponge around the outside, and stamp images from A Wish For Peace on it. It couldn't be simpler!

The dove is stamped in Handsome Hunter ink and cut out, then adhered with dimensionals.

A knot of Bravo Burgundy 1/4" grosgrain helps tie the Top Note images to the burgundy card.

This was a card I used in a recent stamp-a-stack.

Sweet Centers are red hot...

I love the Whisper White contrasting with the Real Red on this Sweet Centers card. It gives it a clean and simple look - my favorite!

I ran a 4" x 5-1/4" piece of Whisper White through the Big Shot with the Petals-A-Plenty textured embossing folder and adhered it to the Real Red card.

For the front, I punched the 1-3/4" circle first, then stamped the ornament hanger and sentiment.

To line up the Sweet Treats cup on the red layer, I used a pencil to trace where I wanted it, filled the cup with Red Hots and adhered it to the red layer. The white stamped layer went right over the top where I wanted it. I CASE'd this idea, but have no idea from where. If it's your idea, let me know and I'll give you credit!

VersaMark Resist Technique with Scenic Season...

My club members loved making this Versamark resist card with the Scenic Season stamp set.

To do the VersaMark Resist Technique (also called Ghosting): Stamp image in VersaMark ink, then use a rubber brayer covered with classic ink (here it's half Bashful Blue and half Brocade Blue) and roll it back and forth over the Glossy White card stock so there aren't any harsh lines or white spaces.

We used the Ticket Corner Punch on the Glossy White and Brocade Blue layers, tied a knot of Bashful Blue taffeta around them and adhered them to the Bashful Blue card.

The final step was adding glitter with a 2-way glue pen and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.
This card was CASE'd from my friend and fellow SU! demo Jennifer Cotton.