Friday, November 28, 2014

Lovely as A Sparkly Tree in Winter for As You See It Challenges


We had our first major snowfall two days ago, and the snow was so wet and heavy that it downed power lines and broke the branches off of many trees, which is sad, because normally it looks so beautiful on the bare tree branches, especially when it sparkles in the sun! I tried to recreate that look using the stamp set, Lovely As A Tree, and some sponging/masking techniques and lots of Dazzling Details! It was created for As You See It Challenges #064 this week:




  • Hopefully, you can see all the lovely sparkle on the trees and in the sky from the Dazzling Details and the rhinestones. It looks so pretty in real life.
  • Another victory for Lovely as a Tree, the longest surviving stamp set from Stampin' Up! It's been around for years!
  • I used my oval framelits to cut out an oval from some scrap cardstock and placed the cardstock I cut the oval from over my Whisper White to act as a mask while I sponged the background with Pool Party, Coastal Cabana and Island Indigo. 
  • When I went to stamp the trees in the background, the stamp was wider than the oval, but I didn't want to use the cardstock mask again because of it's thickness and the way that creates a "stamp shadow" at the edges of the oval. So I used a piece of a Post It Note. I stuck it on the edge of the actual oval that I die cut previously and adjusted it so that the Post It Note reached the edge of the paper, then trimmed it around the oval so that I had a mask for the edge of the paper next to the sponged oval on the Whisper White. I was then able to stamp the image without worrying that it would go over the edges of the oval.
  • I stamped the fir tree on a separate piece of Whisper White and hand-snipped it out, then added Dazzling Details and White Gel ink with my White Signo Uni-Ball Gel Pen. I let it dry thoroughly before adding it to the card using Stampin' Dimensionals.

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


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Thursday, November 27, 2014


I want to wish all my American readers a very happy Thanksgiving! Gobble 'til you wobble!!  And here's a little flashback from October and our Canadian Thanksgiving to help you celebrate!


You can find out how I made it here. He's made from the Curvy Keepsake Box!  Creations made with that little sucker are all over the internet.  It's one thinlit you really need!


The Many Merry Stars Simply Created Kit is one you really need, too!  I've only made about 9 of the the 26 possible stars and they are a big part of my mantle display and my table display for Christmas dinner.  And you get a mountain of materials and all the instructions for only $31.95!


You see above a few of the other stars, but mostly I wanted you to notice the little Santa design Gift Certificates.  These are available for any amount $15 and over and are the perfect gift for the crafter on your gift list.  (And in case you are wondering, the Christmas card in this picture is always our first Christmas card each year and comes from our realtors from over 20 years ago! Now that is persistence and consistency!)

The other suggestion is Paper Pumpkin, a subscription service that delivers a pure delight of creative crafting right to the door of the recipient once a month.  I would recommend them for anyone, but would make a really cool gift for a grandchild, child, busy mom, or someone with little space to store supplies.  Everything they need except for adhesive is supplied.  You can prepay in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months subscriptions.  Contact me for more details.


I will be putting in another order by the end of the week, so if you are interested in taking advantage of these amazing deals, click on the banner above to get a look at the sale prices, up to 50% OFF!! You can shop online yourself or email your order to me and I will submit it for you! Don't wait too long and miss out on the best prices of the year!



Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Winter Joy for The Paper Players and The Colour Throwdown


I really enjoyed making this card for The Paper Players Challenge #223 and The Colour Throwdown Swatch Challenge #320. It kind of exudes a quiet Joy! The best kind, in my humble opinion. This could be a Christmas card, but it could also be a winter all occasion or birthday card, any occasion that merits joy! I've been wanting to use the word framelits from the Wonderful Wreath Framelits for a long time now. This was the perfect layout for it.


And I've been loving the Soft Sky, Real Red and Whisper White palette, so adding some Crumb Cake was a natural.





  • On the Crumb Cake card base, I added a background panel of All is Calm Specialty Designer Series Paper in Soft Sky. On to that, I added a small panel of some Nordic Noel DSP backed by Real Red cardstock.
  • I added a 1" wide piece of Red Glimmer paper to the top for some pizzazz, under which I placed two flags, one in Soft Sky and one in Real Red.
  • I used the "Joy" Framelit and cut one out in Soft Sky cardstock and one in Crumb Cake. When using these Thinlits or Framelits, be sure to place some waxed paper between the cardstock and the die.  It makes removing the cardstock from them so much easier!  I glued the Soft Sky Joy to the Crumb Cake Joy, offsetting them a bit for a shadow effect and so that the word would show up better on the Soft Sky background. The 2 Way Glue Pen is fabulous for gluing these thin lines on something. It works just like a pen. I used glue dots to attach it to the card,
  • A Neutral Designer button with a little bow made from Soft Sky 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon is the perfect finishing touch. I tied the bow and then used a glue dot to attach it to the button rather than threading it through.  Glue dots are very effective in adhering something like the button to the Red Glimmer Paper.

It continues until next Tuesday, Dec. 2, the last opportunity to purchase the Starter Kit at 25% off. There are so many reasons to join my team and become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator:

1. You get a 20% discount on all the products, plus the more you sell the better your returns become. 
2. As a new demonstrator, you get a one time only 30% discount on your first qualifying demo order to help you get any supplies and equipment you need for your business!
3. You get to make new friends and belong to an amazing group of women and men who love what you love!
4. You get access to the new catalogues and can order from them a month ahead of the public! 
5. You get to help others discover the creativity within - my favourite part!

These are just a few of the benefits!  Plus, if you sign up between now and December 2, you will have the added perk of a 5% Cash Back Bonus on all your December Sales! What is there to lose?

Contact me and I will lead you through the process or click on this link and follow the prompts.



Don't forget that the Online Extravaganza extends until next Tuesday, Dec. 2 with amazing deals up to 50% off.  Contact me, or go to my store and order online for yourself.  Don't wait until supplies are gone and miss out.



Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


Product List

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Ornamental Pine for Mojo Monday

I know, I know!  You're tired of Ornamental Pine. But it just worked so well with the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge this week. That little ornament was exactly the right size for that image square!                  
We just put up our Christmas tree yesterday, so that I would have it up for my last Christmas Stamper's Dozen of the year last night. I like having an artificial tree so that I can put it up early and enjoy it for longer, but I miss the tradition of going out and choosing a real tree and bringing it home with the lovely evergreen scent filling the house.  My hubby thought that a car deodorizer with a pine scent would take care of that.  Uh, no!  It smelled like Pinesol or disinfectant or after shave, not  an evergreen! Oh well!  Maybe someday we'll get a real tree again.


 Here's the tree and my mantle decor with the Many Merry Stars playing a 'starring' role!

















The Mojo Monday Challenge was a "Tall and Skinny" this week! I really like Julee Tilman's design with the diagonal element.  I made my card 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" so that it would fit in a regular envelope.


  • I used the Cherry Cobbler 1" Sheer Linen Ribbon for the diagonal element, but add an extra touch of elegance by backing it with a 1-1/4" wide strip of Brushed Gold cardstock. Don't those two colours coordinate well?
  • I used some of the Cherry Cobbler Designer Series Paper Stack for the long rectangular piece, also backing it, as I did everything with the Brushed Gold cardstock.
  • I inked up the pine branch image in Always Artichoke ink and stamped around the edges of the square, stamping a couple of times before reinking to get the feeling of depth. The ornament was stamped in Cherry Cobbler ink and a Rhinestone Basic Jewel added to the middle. I edged the sides of the square in Always Artichoke for a little more definition.
  • The sentiment is from Wondrous Wreath stamp set and fits just perfectly under the diagonal strip.
And it's Tuesday, so, in addition to the amazing Online Extravaganza Sale, there is a new set of weekly deals happening and on sale until Monday, Dec. 1.


And don't forget the OnLine Extravaganza on now until Tuesday, Dec. 2.  Click on the photo for the link to all the amazing details:

And here's your chance to get everything you want and make some money for doing it!  The Stampin' Up! Starter kit is 25% off until Dec. 2


In addition to all the other benefits of being a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, if you join my team during this period, you will be able to earn a 5% Cash Back Bonus for all your sales during December!  Whoop!  Click here and follow the prompts.


Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!


Product List