Just Us Girls gift box challenge

Over at Just Us Girls they raised the challenge of creating a set of cards and matching holder ... and I thought what an awesome way to showcase our Kraft Gift Boxes and the Holiday Bouquet Designer Series Paper!

So I made a Poinsettia adorned offering with the Kraft Gift boxes from the Holiday Mini and than created 12 matching 3x3 gift cards with envelopes!

 Featuring the Ornament punch and Delightful Decorations ...

 As well as the Tree Trimmings stamp set and an ornament made with the Blossoms Punch...

 Stop on by the Just for Girls challenge blog and check out the offerings from the Design team and other stampers offerings!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Doing the Monkey Mash ....

Having fun this week combining The Friday Mash Up color challenge of Aqua, Chocolate and White...

With the A La Card Monkey Challenge layout below ....

And coming up with the following Tempting Turquoise, Early Espresso and Whisper White / Silver offering!

 

 I used the branch from the 2 Step Bird Builder punch to create the Glimmer wreath and than I created my own Tempting Turquoise glitter for the berries on it ... how cool is that?

All you need to create your own glimmer paper is some Versamark,  Heat and stick powder and glitter of your choice - I made up a 2x2 square of this and than punched out my berries as well as a tag for my sentiment!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

On Dasher ...

Keeping with the theme of Christmas ornaments this weekend - this is another technique that was popular last year and well when  the glass bulbs were on sale at Micheal's this past weekend I just had to give it a go!

The first attempt I stamped with versamark and than double inked just the body with Chocolate Chip ink onto the shiny side of the overhead projector paper and embossed with clear ink - but the Chocolate did not cover enough.

I tried to 'fix it' by coloring with a Stamp Write marker but you can see the marker lines through it - so while it was cute and I added the red nose to make it even cuter .. I wanted to try again! 

So this time I versamarked up Dasher and stamped onto the 2 1/2 inch circle of overhead paper and than embossed with the Silver embossing powder ... it turned out cool as well and the Micca flakes are just perfect for the snow in the bottom of the globe!

I like them both now - they are so easy to make I am thinking I might make some with the crew for their trees this Christmas!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

Glittering Gift Ornaments

I saw the tutorial for these over on Created by You website and just had to make some for myself - gorgeous, glimmer rich Gift-box ornaments using the Stampin' Up Bitty Box and Envelope die!

I tweaked the design a little bit to make it my own first by making use of some really pretty Chrystal's I found on sale at Micheal's for a few of them as seen in this one here.

A couple of them I added the pearl accent from our Stampin' Up Simply Adorned Jewellery collection to showcase how you can use the 'gift box' ornament to house the Simply Adorned jewellery!  

The accent piece features our paper daisies which were smooch sprayed with Vanilla Smooch and a Cherry Cobbler scallop circle tucked in behind it and accented with a 3/4 inch red glimmer circle and a darling Vintage Brad to hold it together!

These are just amazing on the Christmas tree and the ornament still  works as a gift box and will hold the Simple Adorned jewellery, some some specially chocolates or other Lottery tickets or some other fun gift you come up with!

If you love the look of this and would like a chance to make one in time for Christmas just make sure to RSVP to December's Stamp A Stack on Saturday December 17th from 1-4. A Holiday Stamp a Stack which will be featuring paper crafting ornaments for your tree and personalized gift bags for your loved ones!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

Clean & Simple Wreath

Cased this gorgeous little wreath idea using the Pocket Silhouettes from my upline mentor Liz's  - so pretty and elegant in real life and QUICK and well perfect for this weeks challenge over at Clean & Simple! 

I used the Certainly Celery and Old Olive inks for my wreath, red glitter paper for the berries punched from the Cupcake builder and finished it with some real red grosgrain for the bow and the sentiment from Many Merry Messages.

Pop on over to the Design Team at Clean and Simple and check out their inspirations from this sketch along with the other entries!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Cardinal Bliss ...

Just loved this inspiration over at JUST add INK ... the minute I saw it a Bird Builder Punch Cardinal popped into my head flying over some Pine trees this time of year!

I also just loved this one over at Stampin' Royalty blog and wanted to play along with this one with visions of glittery paper coming to mind at the back and the above sketch incorporated into the circle on this one!

And well being that I am preparing for Christmas the traditional color inspiration over at Just Us Girls was still in my head ... 

And well here is my challenge inspired offering ... A Christmas Cardinal using the Bird Builder and the Lovely as a Tree Stamp set with some 'berries' from the Cupcake Builder and well BLING from our red and silver glitter paper and a sentiment from the Many Merry Messages to tie it all together!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

A La Monkey JUG Challenge ...

Love that I had lots of time in the craft room this weekend to PLAY and therefore to play along with some of my favorite challenge blogs!

Over at A La Monkey Card they had this layout inspiration ...

 Over at JUG'S they had the following color inspiration ....

And here is my offering based on these inspirations .... Holiday Line Up Snow friends on a blanket of glittering snow with some half back pearl accents ... Seasons Greetings!

 Up close ... I love coloring ...these dudes they are so whimsical!

 Click the link below to get awesome savings on our Hot Holiday Deals including huge discounts on the Stampin' Score Board AND our Holiday Cookie Stamps .... both amazing products ... plus 20-60% off many more amazing products!

If online shopping is not your cup of tea - no worries you can still get the deals on these products just drop me a line or give me a call as I am placing an order this evening at 9pm!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Reduce, Reuse, Recylce ...

is the theme of this card and just goes to show that reusing and recycling can be gorgeous! 

After making the dazzling Snowflake ornament and card I was inspired to share them at my Stamp-a-Stack this month so with prepping even more for my workshop participants - I had all these wonderful 'tags' left over and needing to think up a creative use for  them ... and thought 'hmmm they kinda look like window panes - so what can I do with that'?  

Than stumbled across this weeks Stamping 411 Challenge and thought PERFECT ...

a layout idea to use up the tags ... so I inverted the sketch and lined up the tags in a grid to stamp a 'scenery image' on them and than create a window with a black back drop for the 'frame' ... what better scenery stamp than the Lovely as a Tree stamp set - one of my all time favorite staples!  

So whatchya think?

I think this would make an awesome Winter Birthday card for either gender or a Holiday wishes card? I just love the Quilted Cherry Cobble ribbon it is so striking in person against the brushed silver cardstock which was embossed with the Snowburst emboss folder! 

I added this card to my Stamp a Stack collection this month and left the top note inside blank so that we can choose its 'theme' when the occasion calls by adding an appropriate sentiment to the occasion!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

Online Extravaganza

Stampin' Up!' Online Extravaganza, our annual sale to kick off the holiday shopping season, will begin Monday, November 21, 2011, and run through Wednesday, November 30, 2011. 

This promotion is perfect for those would like to shop online during this especially busy time of year and avoid the store line ups or traffic -  however sale prices will be available on all order types so if you prefer the personal interaction of a demonstrator to help place your order please feel free to drop me a line and I can order your 'sale' items for you :)

So make sure to come back and click the above link to my Online Store on Monday November 21st to take advantage of great savings! Savings such as FREE digital downloads valued at $42 when you buy the My Digital Studio Express or 60 % off select Designer Fabrics - these are awesome in all sorts of paper crafting too for texture and embellishments and 30 % off an exclusive ribbon bundle! 

In the meantime here is a little Fall Centerpiece offering to enjoy before the reality of the snow arrives and brings us into Winter ... these are centre pieces I made recently for the AECEO when we helped to sponsor the Quality Child Care Project Mentorship Evening and Raising the Bar celebration.

I made 20 for the tables in a variety of designs but all featuring the Spice Cake Designer Series paper and our Bigz Fun Flowers die, the large scallop punch for the smaller rosettes and with the Petal Cone die inverted for the vase!

 Here are some up close of the flowers ... each one unique!

 I used My Digital Studio to create a coordinating verse for the vases ... Celebrating ECE Everywhere and than the Vintage Vogue floral image in coordination Pool Party, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Pear Pizzaz and some Pacific Point for fun!

 And how can we celebrate without a chance to be spoiled and pampered with a change to win DOOR PRIZES ... so I donated a couple of start sets with stamp, paper, markers, ink and some embellishments to make a few cards!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Bling Challenge

This months Gold Star Ink team challenge was BLING so imagine my delight to carve out some time this morning to get busy creating something to share with the team that features bling, glitter, smooch and well just WOW to anyone who gets this handmade card in their mailbox this upcoming season!

I was inspired to use the tag punches to create a snowflake I have seen making its rounds on the Internet to create an ornament.

 So to start I cut some brush silver cardstock and punched out 16 small tags leaving space on the strip as shown. Than using the lag tag punch I carefully re-punched the strip of tags ... creating the 'window' at the bottom shown here ... 

Than you use a 4 x 4 piece of velum and using glue attach 4 tag windows snuggle together at the corner edges to the vellum as shown below.

Please note my first one I used the two way glue as this is what someone online had said they used - however I noted that it did not stick as well to the vellum once I started cutting later so on my second one I chose to use the Multi Purpose Tombo which worked better IMO however is messier - so to each her own on glue choices ;)

Repeat the pattern with a second layer slightly rotated to the right ... as shown here ...

Once you have your two pieces of vellum with the tag pattern glued on and dry - than you need to take your paper snips and carefully snip away the flat edges to  reveal the snowflake as shown here ....

 Snip both pieces as shown here ...

Than I used the Northern Frost snowflake die to cut out a snowflake focal point  - however you could use any alternative 'focal' piece in the middle here. I used the paper pierce to pierce the focal point and ONE snowflake and attached a silver glimmer brad through and using fishing wire I tied a loop around the brad before 'closing' the prongs to secure it in place for use as an ornament hanger. Than attach the top snowflake to the second layer at a slight angle as shown here - I chose to use a 'dimensional' to give it a little more depth.

Now you could just use this as an ornament on your tree or hang them from a window as a sun catcher throughout the winter season - it really is striking and I am very please with my first effort ... however when I was done I decided I wanted more BLING for this particular challenge ;)

 So I repeated the entire process using the new Stampin' Up Silver Glimmer paper ... and well can you say BLING - photos do not do this justice but  you might need some sunglasses to view this baby in person!

 And well I wanted to create a card to go with it ... so that it could serve as both a Christmas card and a small token of thanks for someone special this season - so here is the card i created to hold the ornament

 There was so much bling going on here I was afraid a sentiment would take away from the glimmer - so thank goodness for the Tiny Tags sentiments and Jewelery punch ... cause a little Merry sends the message of Holiday tidings while not taking away too much from the snowflake ornament!

 Side view to show the dimension on the card ... the Framed Tulips and Snow burst embossing folders both smooched with some Vanilla smooch  really add some additional glimmer to the card in person

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

National Digital Scrapbooking Day

Stampin' Up! is celebrating Digital Scrapbooking Day with four free (brand new) downloads seen here and for more detail description of all the wonderful things included click here for the PDF version!

The free downloads are available until November 7th for more information click here. There are two different file downloads - one for My Digital Studio and one for other programs (Photoshop Elements, Word, etc.).

All you need to do is fill out this quick and simply survey found here to help Stampin' Up with product research and than follow the commands to get your free downloads ... easy peasy!

Here is a sample of a quick and easy Xmas card I made with the Home for the Holiday and So Typefelt downloads ... quick 5 minute card that can be sent as an e-card or printed out and turned into a hybrid card by adding some bling and so forth!

Happy Stampin'
Margaret

Save the Date for this deal!

Saturday November 5th is National Digital Scrapbooking day and in honor of the celebration Stampin' Up is wanting to share its wonderful digital downloads for FREE to customers ... all you have to do is complete a quick research survey and than download the free graphics - and if you do not have the My Digital Studio program no worries our downloads work with any graphics program including PAINT or WORD you just need to choose the format you want to download for and whola - free downloads!

Stop by My Digital Studio website this weekend and check it out!

Also at anytime you can download My Digital Studio downloads from my online web store here .

Just to show you the wonderful creations you can make with Digital Scrapbooking options here are some of my favorites:

Coordinating layouts that capture a love story ....

Watercoloring and other cool digital embellishments that allow your creative juices to flow ...

 Vintage possibilities...

Not a scrapbook person - no worries you can also make cards, calendars and many other projects using My Digital Studio!

One of the things I love about working with digital creations is I can do it ANYWHERE I can take my laptop ... and clean up is a breeze! The other benefit is if your storage space for scrapbooks is limited you can create digital scrapbooks using a digital frame that only takes up a sliver of space on a desk or coffee table and make GREAT gifts for your loved ones!

Stop by tomorrow and I will have a sneak peek of a project using one or two of the free downloads available this weekend ;)

Happy Stampin'

Margaret