Silent Night

If I had to choose one set from the Holiday Catalog that I thought was a must have, surprisingly it would be the Wonderland set.  This set wasn't even on my radar for the first month or so of the catalog, then I saw sample after sample with it and now I love it!  Don't know what I'll do when it's gone :(  It's on the Holiday Catalog retiring list, don't miss out on getting this set!  It's a keeper!!!  I have yet to make a card I don't love!  This card is no exception, and it couldn't be more simple!!!! 

The trees are stamped in White Craft Ink and the greeting is embossed on vellum.  To add just a little more 'wow' to it, I simply added a strip of Silver Glimmer paper and the card is done!  It's that easy!!!!  When in doubt add glitter....seriously....it will  make all the difference! 
Today is the last day of the Online Extravaganza!!!  Don't miss the amazing sales today!!! 
Hurry supplies are limited!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Daisy Duck

I told you yesterday that I made only 2 punch art creations, here's the second.  A cute Daisy Duck!  This was actually a special request for my friend Michelle, she asked for one, I ended up making two because it turned out pretty cute!!!  The beak is the largest oval framelit (except for the scalloped one).  Do you recognize the bow???  It's the butterfly framelits.  It turned out sooooooo cute!!!  
Don't forget to shop the Online Extravaganza going on right now!  Hurry supplies are limited!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Fox...

I've kind of made a reputation for myself at these craft weekends where I make crazy elaborate punch art.  This time I really didn't make much punch art at all, in fact this little fox is only one of two punch art creations.  I saw this card on Pintrest and laughed out loud when I read it.  I had to make it.  I had also pinned this fox punch art and I just put the two together :)

The fox was really easy, just a combination of triangles and ovals.  He's so cute though!  Little glitter nose is just over the top cute!!!!!  
Don't forget to shop the Online Extravaganza going on right now!  Hurry supplies are limited!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Watercolor Wishes

At the craft weekend I spent Saturday night working on the Watercolor Wishes Card Kit.  It's so pretty and I love all the cards!!  This kit is complete with everything you need stamps, ink, a block, dimensionals.  It has everything!!!  While I loved their card designs I decided to add some glitter, rhinestones, bakers twine, and a few other accessories to my cards.  Of course this is optional, the cards would be beautiful made as is. 

 Even with the additions the cards are still pretty simple and straight forward. 

I'll be donating all these cards to my daughters school for their auction.  A fun kit and a great way to give back! 

This kit is $35 and is so affordable for all you get.  The kit makes 20 cards and remember it includes the stamp set, ink and so much more!!

Don't forget to shop the Online Extravaganza going on right now!  Hurry supplies are limited!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Rain Makes The Sunshine Brighter

I have lots of projects to share with you over the next couple of weeks that I made at craft weekend.  I decided to start with my only non-card item.  I do love it!!!!  I started with some DSP (not SU, borrowed from a friend) but it worked so well with this I had to go with it!  I just wrapped it around a canvas.  The umbrella I just hand cut out of the Bohemian DSP.  I used a circle punch to punch the bottom.  Then it was lightly sponged.  The rain drops are from a retired petal punch, but you can also make a similar shape with any circle punch.  I covered the raindrops in some Wink of Stella Glitter---brace yourself----Stampin' Up! will begin selling it in January (December for demos!!!!).  When I found this out I was jumping and singing, I couldn't be more thrilled.  I'm soooooo excited!!!!!!!  After the drops were covered in glitter I covered them in Crystal Effects for the shine. 

The letters were all cut out with the Little Letters Framelits and I also added Wink of Stella to the word 'sunshine' to make it sparkle more!!  So pretty!!!  I'm not sure where in my house this will go but I love it!

Don't forget to shop the Online Extravaganza going on right now!  Hurry supplies are limited!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!
 

Wrapping Up The Vineyard Weekend

Finally I have my post going over the Vineyard weekend.  I already seems like it happened so long ago, it was really just a week ago!  The first few pictures are taken with my phone because I forgot my real camera.  I'm sure it wouldn't have seemed like I forgot anything but I did :(  We had a little bit of a later start on Friday because of room issues with the hotel but once we got in, it was a quick set up!  Here's my spot before anything happened.  I've brought an extra, smaller table the last few times I've gone and I love it.  My working table is less cluttered and I feel I can do more....don't know if I do but I feel I can.

 My table was all the way on the left side of the room.  I do admit I lite being in the corner though :)  I was the first one down on Sunday morning so I snapped a quick shot of the whole room.  There's 28 spots total and LOTS of crafting going on!!! 

The theme of this weekend was a Vineyard so of course we had a wine tasting drinking station set up.  I think the final count of wine consumed was 22 bottles plus a few bottles that were half finished.  That was just on Saturday....no wonder no one was down early on Sunday ;) 

Saturday night was also the night of the big Holly Holm v. Ronda Rousey fight. Holly Holm is from Albuquerque, so everyone was interested in seeing what happened.  A lot of the girls ended up crowding around Hope's phone to see the fight.  It was hilarious, and so much screaming!  LOL!!!  

Again we were spoiled by Michelle.  Every detail is always thought out and planned perfectly!  Our first night we had a tag swap, the tags are all so fun and cute, there's lots of Christmas so they'll be used this year! We got a huge bag for one of the make and takes.  There's so many other fun things there too, the Tree Builder Punch-everyone got one!! There's a roll of Burlap ribbon, gift card holders, a frame, chalk marker, sequins, bakers twine and more!!!!!!  Of course I don't attend these weekends for all the fun gifts, they're fun but not the reason I go.  I love spending time with friends, some who I just meet or don't get to see much.  It's a nice weekend get away for a busy mom, they're so relaxing, and worry free!!!  Plus I get unlimited and uninterrupted crafting time which you simply cannot put a price tag on.  Huge thanks again to Michelle for all her hard work and dedication!!  She's an incredible planner, it all shines through on these weekends!!!     

The dates for the next weekend haven't been announced yet.  Michelle is still working with the hotel on that, but the theme will be Disney and I couldn't be more excited!!!!!   I'll have all my projects that I made to share over the next couple weeks, they're really cute, you don't want to miss them!!!
Thanks for looking see you soon!!!

Wine Tag

 Finally the last project I made prior to the weekend.  Michelle asked me as well as her downline to all create a wine tag for everyone.  This is a tag that you can put over the neck of a bottle and give it as a gift.  I just love this one!!! 

I made mine themed for New Years, but we could have done any occasion.  I pulled out my framelits and put Logan to work :)  From the beginning I wanted to add a little chocolate to mine somehow so I created a little box, just big enough to fit 1 Ghirardelli square.  Isn't it the cutest on there!!!!!  If you want to make your own box here's the dimensions:  2 1/4 x 4 3/4 cardstock.  On the 2 1/4 inch side score at 1/4", on the 4 3/4 side score at 2, 2 1/4, 4 1/4, 4 1/2.  Then it's just trimming and assembling.  I used a circle punch on the front to make the candy easier to get out :)

Here's my favorite part of the tag, the brad at the top makes the front swing to the side and there's a fun greeting inside.  Truth be told I found this saying on Pintrest but thought it was sooooooooo cute and there's probably plenty of people out there who can relate :)  But there's also room to write a personal message if you wanted :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Envelope Gift Card Holders

Michelle also asked me to make some gift card holders from the Envelope Liners Framelits.  I've made them before and turned them into snowmen you can see that here.  I used the directions from Patty Bennett here.  We used some retired DSP for these but any DSP or cardstock would work.  I have one more project to share with you from the weekend. Then on Monday I'll do a full wrap up like I always do after a weekend and start sharing all the projects I've made after that!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Corks And More Corks

 Since this was a Vineyard themed weekend we had lots of projects with corks.  I made all of these prior to the weekend for varies things.  The first is a photo or card holder.  Very simple, a little hot glue some ribbon, a super cute and quick decoration.  The next is a bottle stopper, when you just can finish that wine :)  We used these for the door prize.  Very cute!!! 

 The key chains are probably my favorite.  Again really simple.  I used and eye screw and screwed it in the top of the cork and added a few beads to jazz it up a little.  So quick and easy though! 

Finally, because I had an excessive amount of corks I used some for some Christmas ornaments for some gifts for my friends who also attended the weekend.  Again I just screwed a eye screw in the cork added the ornament.  I have lots of corks left.  I'll probably do more with them for Christmas :)

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!! 

Snow Tags

 In addition to the grape tags from yesterday I also made these tags.  There was an organized tag swap at the weekend.  So I made 20 something of one tag and then I swapped them all for different tags.  This was the cute tag I made.  He's so cute!!!  Such a simple snowman but so cute!!! 

There's only 2 pieces to this snowman, a circle and a triangle.  The circle is the 2" circle (I think).  I attached it to my tag that I stamped with the Dots for Days background.  After it was attached to the tag I followed the tag shape and trimmed off any of the circle the hung off.  I hand cut the triangle carrot noses and attached them.  I added some glitter ribbon and bakers twine and gave the snowman a smile to finish him.  I'll have the rest of the tags from the tag swap to share soon!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Grape Tags

Over the weekend I was so blessed to be able to attend the Vineyard Craft Weekend.  My downline, and really good friend, Michelle hosts these weekends and organizes everything beautifully.  Of course I helped her out this weekend as I've done the past few weekends.  I love helping her, her ideas are always fun and exciting like this tag!!!  Since the theme was a Vineyard Weekend there was lots of grapes, wine, burlap, wine, corks, wine, more corks and a little more wine.  Did I mention wine?  I made 28 of these adorable grape tags for one of her gifts.  Aren't they adorable!!!?!?

I used the new tree punch for the stem of the grapes then lots and lots of punched circles, these I believe are about 1/4" circles.  I used the circle from the Itty Bitty Punch Pack (retired).  It was the perfect size.  Originally the plan was to sponge each of the circles to give them texture, well once they were punched and I saw how tiny and how many (there were a lot of Perfect Plum circles in my stamp room) I decided to forget the sponging and add dimension in another way.  With a simple addition of a darker 'grape' or circle the grapes took on a whole new look, more realistic and it added that depth I needed.  In addition to Perfect Plum I also used Elegant Eggplant for the grapes.  These tags are adorable!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!! 

All Packed

While I was packing earlier this week for our Vineyard Craft Weekend I decided to snap a few photos of the packing {overpacking} process.  I don't have any specific projects planned like I have in the past.  I have a few things jotted down in a notebook that would be fun to do but if I don't do them this time no biggie. I have a few ideas and techniques that I want to try but no real plans.  So I need to prepare for everything!  The first things I ALWAYS pack are the essentials: paper, stamps, ink.  In that order.  Paper first.  I take 10 sheets of almost every color.  Colors I know I won't use I pack 4 or 6 sheets of each.  Even though I know I won't use them I still have to take them, because what IF?  (I have to pack in even numbers...because......doesn't everyone do that???)  I pack LOTS of white, Crumb Cake, Vanilla, etc. colors I know I'll use lots of.  Here's the stack of paper.......obviously that's more paper then I'll ever need for 2 days, but I have no idea what colors I'll need or how much, it's better to be prepared.....for everyone....apparently.

In the past I used to label every color with post it notes, this time I'm going with just labeling the color groups.  I feel I know the colors well enough not to need to label them.  All my 8.5 x 11 cardstock fits perfectly in this bag and it zips so it stays nice and clean :)  At the craft weekend this bag sits nicely on the floor next to me and I can easily grab any color I need.  Paper: CHECK! 

Next up is stamps. This is the biggest tote bag I own......I won't tell you how big it is but my 5 year old can sit in it.  I basically sit in front of my stamps and pull out stamps that I know I'll use, think I'll use or just like to have nearby.  I don't know how many stamps are in there.  I don't want to know because what if it's an uneven number, then I have to pick another set to bring or goodness forbid I have to put one back.  It's better not to know.  The rotary stamp HAS to go!  IF I do crazy animal punch art, I need a fun, silly pun to go with it.  My rotary stamp saves the day every time!  I also have lots of greetings, backgrounds, and everything in between.  Stamps: CHECK!    

Ink is next.  This square tote is perfect for my ink.  I take every ink pad....EVERY INK PAD.  Again probably excessive, but who knows what I'll make, in what color and what if I have the cardstock but not the coordinating ink.  I sleep better knowing it's all there.  I take every marker, and every refill.  Could you imagine the horror of finding the perfect project, stamping only to realize you need to re-ink your pad.  {shutter} It's better not to think about it if you ask me.  Oh and my sponge daubers are put in this bag too.  Ink: CHECK! 

I won't go through the rest of the bags, but I have nearly everything you could image packed.  I have a bag that has embossing essentials, I still pack some punches and dies (Michelle brings all of hers but I pack ones that she may or may not have, or framelits that coordinate with specific stamps that I'll need).  I have a bag with adhesives, kits, blocks, etc.  Then there's essentials like snacks and drinks and the last bag to be packed is my clothes and personal items.  All together I'm taking about 12 bags :)  Make sure to check my Facebook page all weekend, I'll be posting LOTS and might have some fun giveaways there :)  I'm sure I'll have plenty to share in the coming weeks from my adventures at the Vineyard Craft Weekend!!! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

Acorns and Butterflies

 I have the final two cards from my class and this sweet acorn one is a keeper!!!  First is a Gold Glimmer Paper acorn, so already it's a winner!  But when paired with the beautiful Into The Woods DSP from the Holiday catalog it's so pretty!!!  This card inspired my version.  I love the Rich Razzleberry with the gold!!!

Finally the last of the Thank You cards.  This one I dug into my Subtles for.  I love the softness of these colors especially when paired with the Smoky Slate.  We used Pink Pirouette, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder.  They look great together!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!! 

Two With Lost Lagoon

 Normally when I'm planning my classes I try not to overlap colors.  Mostly because I only have 1 ink pad of each color (except Memento and Versa Mark--You gotta have extras of those!).  This class however I failed!  Unknowingly to me I planned two cards that both used Lost Lagoon.  I really liked both of them and didn't want to change either so at my class we used a marker to color the trees from the Wonderland set instead of the ink pad :)  It worked out well and both cards were a hit!  I love the black embossing on the vellum!  Such a simple, pretty card!!!

This card was CASED from Pintrest. I wish I could find the link.  I love this giant (and boy is it GIANT!) Thank You from the Another Thank You set.  It fills the card completely!!!  I love the starbursts from the Kinda Eclectic set and of course some splatter from Gorgeous Grunge!  So pretty!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!  

A Week Of Thanks

 This week, today actually, I start packing for another fun weekend of crafting!  It's another Craft Weekend!!!  I couldn't be more excited!!  I'm so looking forward to it!!  I'll have lots of updates on my Facebook page, and lots of posts in the coming weeks with all the projects I'm going to make.  As of right now I have no plans for any specific projects.  I've jotted a few ideas down that would be fun, but we'll see what gets made :)  This week I have the cards from my class over the weekend.  It was such a fun class and I really love all the cards.  My guests made 6 Thank You cards and I made all of them to be simple, easily duplicated and just fun!!!  I think they were a hit!!  I love this one!  It's so bright and pretty!  The Flower Patch stamp set is a must have in my book!!! 

This card is probably my favorite, I love the Tempting Turquoise and Black together!  This It's Wild Stamp set was an impulse buy a few weeks ago when the stamps were on sale.  It's been on my wish list but I decided I HAD to have it while it was on sale and I just LOVE it!!!!   Over the next 2 days I'll share the other cards!  Time to get to packing!!!   

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!

Time For Change....

I started my blog in 2008, since then I have tried to post projects every weekday and when I don't post I feel horrible.  Usually it's not an issue.  However over the past few months I've struggled, especially with the Monday posts.  The weekend goes so quickly and boom it's Monday and no post.  The kids are busier and involved in more things, I'm busier too than I used to be.  All of these things together leave me less time to blog and just to stamp in general.  After much thought, and for my own sanity and stress level I've decided to cut back on blogging.  I won't be cutting back that much, I want to have a least 3 posts per week I'll be aiming for 4 per week, and some weeks I may still post 5 days a week.  I don't want to cut back so much that I get out of the habit of doing it but I need to cut back a little. 

There will be no schedule of when they'll happen, they'll fall somewhere in the Monday-Friday range, and will probably be different from week to week.  For those of you that have followed my blog for years, thank you so much, I do appreciate it and I read every single comment that comes my way.  I hope you'll continue to follow my blog. 

My biggest goal with this cut back is quality and not quantity.  Sometimes I feel that I'm just stamping for the post and it's often not my best work but it's something just because I need something to post.  So I'm hoping that even though it will be slightly less frequently that it will still inspire you to stamp and craft too!  Thanks for your understanding and I'll be back next week with some posts!   

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!

So Many Tags!

I really love our kits!  They're so much fun to put together and they're soooooo cute!!!!  I loved the Oh What Fun Christmas Tag Kit in the Holiday Catalog.  I'm so glad I finally broke down and bought it!! I just love these tags!!! You make 30 tags total,  3 each of 10 designs, they come with instructions and all the supplies you need (except scissors and adhesives).  I put these tags together in one night, just sitting and crafting.   

While I LOVE them all these are a few of my favorites!  I loved all the ones with jingle bells.  Who wouldn't!?!  Of course the ones with glitter were winners too and that snowflake is completely covered in glitter!!!!!  The gold bows were so cute on a few of the tags, I just loved them.  Finally the one with the silver snowflake by the ribbon was unique and so cute!  Love them all!!  It's not to late to order this fun kit, the stamp set is not included in the kit, make sure you add that on so that you can stamp all the fun greetings!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!!!

Bag and Pin

 Yesterday I showed you the cute tea invitation I made for my friend.  Today I'm sharing the gift bags that go along with them.  The bags are really cute and simple, I stamped directly onto our muslin bags.  Super super cute!!  So quick and fun!  The real highlight of the bag is the flower though.  But it's not permanently attached to the bag....

You can remove it and wear it as a pin, attach it to a bag, scarf, etc.  So cute!!!  I love our lace ribbons, they're perfect for these fun projects.  I started with a small circle of felt (probably about 1.5" circle), then with a hot glue gun you just add a dab of glue and ruffle the lace around sticking as you go.  When it was done I added an antique brad in the center and a pin back on the back of the felt.  So pretty!!!!

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!! 

Time For Tea

Where did October go?!!!  I'm not really sure, seems like we blinked and it was gone!!  I'll be working like a crazy person this week getting ready for my class this weekend, and craft weekend next weekend!!!  I still have stuff to do for both of them!  But onto today's card.  A friend asked me a couple weeks ago if I could make a tea party invitation.  She sent me some pictures of what she wanted this is what I came up with.  It's really cute and sweet!  Very country/vintage feel to it.  I wasn't sure what stamp sets I would be able to use for a tea party, but then thanks to Paper Pumpkin, I remembered I did have the cutest little tea set from this set of cards :)

The cup is stamped and cut out on Watermelon Wonder cardstock, then I sponged the sides for a little more dimension.  I finished the cup by brushing some of the Wink of Stella glitter pen on my cup.  The card is finished with the Dots for Days Background, doily and some ribbon.  Super cute!!!!  Check back tomorrow, I have a special gift that goes with this card! 

Thanks for looking, see you soon!!!!