Merry Christmas

 I want to wish all my readers and customers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your support in 2021 and here's hoping 2022 is a vast improvement! So far it's not looking good, but let's stay optimistic!

This was a card a made during my Cardathon on Dec. 4. It uses the Poinsettia Petals stamp set and the coordinating Poinsettia Dies. The background paper is the Ever Eden Specialty Designer Series Paper.

Old Meets New: Poinsettia Dies with Love You Always Paper

 Though I'm getting a bit jaded with Christmas cards, I thought some new materials might inject a little inspiration into the creative process and a marriage was born! Old meets new: the Poinsettia Dies working with some of the new paper in the up coming 2021 Jan/Jun Mini Catalogue! The paper I used included the *Love You Always Foil Sheets, *Love You Always Specialty Designer Series Paper, and *Pearlescent Specialty Paper.

*These products are from the upcoming 2021 Jan/June Mini Catalogue and will be available to order until Jan. 5, 2021.

I worked with a palette of Blushing Bride, Soft Sea Foam, Sahara Sand and Silver.

Blushing Bride

Soft Sea Foam

Sahara Sand

Silver Foil

I love the non-traditional, soft pastel palette, yet with the foil, it gives a festive look along with the poinsettia theme.

Looking more closely, you can see the details:

• On a Sahara Sand base, the background paper is *Love You Always Specialty Designer Series Paper, so beautiful with foil accent designs in Blushing Bride, Rococo Rose and Sahara Sand. Shown here is the Blushing Bride.
• The Stitched Nested Label Die cut is cut from *Pearlescent Specialty Paper. It provides a background for the beautiful poinsettia.
• The *Love You Always Blushing Bride Foil Sheets were used to die cut the poinsettia petals with the Poinsettia Dies, which emboss and die cut at the same time. The leaves were cut from Soft Sea Foam, while the berries were also cut from the *Love You Always Blushing Bride Foil Sheets.
• The center is Silver Foil Sheets. The sentiment, from the retiring Cherish the Season stamp set, is heat embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder. The sentiment strip was punched into a banner end using the Banners Pick a Punch.

*These products are from the upcoming 2021 Jan/June Mini Catalogue and will be available to order until Jan. 5, 2021.

It's time to subscribe to the January Paper Pumpkin kit, but there is an add on you can get as well, but only if you are a subscriber:

To subscribe, click HERE.

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List

Cherish The Season Cling Stamp Set [153417] $24.00	Cherish The Season Bundle [155154] $47.50	Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $6.75	Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121043] $12.00	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101650] $13.25
Soft Sea Foam 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146988] $12.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $13.00	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131] $8.25	Banners Pick A Punch [153608] $31.00	Poinsettia Dies [153522] $49.00
Stitched Nested Labels Dies [149638] $48.00	Heat Tool (Us And Canada) [129053] $41.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Stampin' Seal [152813] $11.00	Mini Glue Dots [103683] $7.25
Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $5.50

*Love You Always Specialty Designer Series Paper, *Love You Always Foil Sheets, *Pearlescent Specialty Paper

*These products are from the upcoming 2021 Jan/June Mini Catalogue and will be available to order until Jan. 5, 2021.

Pretty in Pink Poinsettia

 I love Christmas cards in non-traditional colours! How about you? Today I'm going for pink, silver and Gray Granite with Sahara Sand. The pink is my favourite Petal Pink which goes so well with those neutrals, and I think the overall effect is quite elegant. I used the Poinsettia Dies, which bundle with the Poinsettia Petals stamp set, a gorgeous bundle which I think is one of the must haves of the Aug/Dec Mini Catalogue, if you don't yet have it! Honestly, you can whip up a poinsettia flower in minutes and it looks amazing, even without any ink at all, with those poinsettia embossing plates that you use at the same time as you die cut the layer of petals. And you can die cut all three layers in the same turn of the Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine.

Here are some instructions:

• On a Sahara Sand base I mounted a Silver Foil layer and a piece of Peony Garden Designer Series Paper in a subtle Gray Granite design, on top of that.
• The sentiment, from the For Unto Us stamp set, is stamped in Sahara Sand ink, on Whisper White cardstock, then die cut with a Stitched Rectangle Die and backed with Silver Foil, die cut using a scalloped rectangle from the Stitched So Sweetly dies. Both are mounted flat using Stampin' Seal.
• The poinsettia petals are die cut and embossed with the Poinsettia Dies from Petal Pink cardstock then shaped using a bone folder and layered using Glue Dots as the adhesive. 
• Silver Foil is die cut for the center of the flower and the sprigs of berries layered behind the flower with the Whisper White berries. These are all dies from the Poinsettia Dies set. 
• The sprigs of berries are added to the card front with strong adhesive such at Stampin' Seal+ placed behind where the flower will go and only a short length of the adhesive is needed to hold them.

Do you like traditionally coloured or non-traditionally coloured Christmas cards?

Tomorrow you will be able to start ordering the products from the Curvy Celebrations Promotion. Have you been seeing lots of projects using them? Did you know that the Quite Curvy stamp set and the Curvy Dies will be available in the up coming Jan/June Mini Catalogue, but the Curvy Christmas stamp set and the Classic Christmas 6 x 6 DSP is only available now until January 3? So, while some of the products are an Early Release, others are a Limited Time Offer that you need to get while they are around! Here's what you can order:

If you need more convincing, check out my Pinterest Board with more samples on it. You can purchase it at my Online Store, starting tomorrow, Tues., November 3.

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List 

For Unto Us Cling Stamp Set [153335] $29.00	Silver Foil Sheets [132178] $6.75	Peony Garden Designer Series Paper [152483] $15.75	Sahara Sand 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [121043] $12.00	Petal Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [146985] $12.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25	Sahara Sand Classic Stampin' Pad [147117] $10.25	Poinsettia Dies [153522] $49.00	Stitched Rectangles Dies [151820] $48.00	Stitched So Sweetly Dies [151690] $44.00
Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Stampin' Seal [152813] $11.00	Stampin' Seal+ [149699] $16.25	Mini Glue Dots [103683] $7.25

My YouTube Tutorials on Making Custom-Sized Gift Boxes & Bags

 

I completed my Stampin' Up! Holiday Solutions event on Saturday and it was an interesting experience. It was the first time I had tried something like that online and I had everything planned out down to the wire. However, just because it is all planned out, does not mean it's going to go smoothly! I decided that I would introduce myself and the event using Facebook Live at the beginning of the event and sign off by Facebook Live at the end of the event, but instead of doing the demos by Facebook Live as well, all the while trying to monitor comments and posting photos and games, which would be too overwhelming, I decided it would be better to film them ahead of time and post the videos on the group page during the event.

I spent a lot of time filming and editing the videos, only to find out that most of them were too big for Facebook. I didn't realize that because I've only ever done Facebook Lives and they have been long, so I didn't think there would be a difference. Once the event was over, I was able to split a couple of the videos and then post them quickly within the hour, so most of the attendees saw them anyway, but it was stressful during the event.

Since I edited these videos, I uploaded them to YouTube, so I thought I would share them with you today:

The first one is how to make custom boxes for gift giving:

          

Here is the calculation to make the box:

Custom Sized Boxes

Bottom

______________ + ______________ + ______________ = ______________

    Side                         Length                     Side               Total Length of paper

______________ + ______________ + ______________ = ______________

    Side                         Width                       Side                Total Width of paper

Top

______________ + ______________ + ______________ = ______________

    Side                         Length                     Side               Total Length of paper

______________ + ______________ + ______________ = ______________

    Side                         Width                      Side                Total Width of paper

This video is the sequel to the first, actually the second half of the first video when I had to cut it in half to be able to be able to post it:

            

And here's the calculation you need to figure out your paper size for this one:

Custom Sized Bags

___½”_____ + ____________ + ____________ + ____________ + 

    Flap                Width                    Length                Width

____________ = ____________ 

Length                Total Length of Paper

______________ + ______________ = ______________

        Width                Height  of Item    Total  Width of Paper                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                I hope these are helpful to you in wrapping up some of those awkward presents this Holiday Season!     

And in order to make those boxes and bags, you can stock up now! This is the LAST WEEK of the DSP sale with Stampin' Up!    

                                                                                                                               Contact me or go to my Online Store to order.

If you live in Canada, and don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the right side bar at the top of the page. You can shop with me from anywhere in Canada by clicking on the SHOP NOW button in the top menu or clicking on any of products below from my Online Store.

Product List 

Poinsettia Place Designer Series Paper [153487] $15.75	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100702] $12.00	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100730] $13.25	Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [101650] $13.25	Gold Foil Sheets [132622] $6.75
Brushed Metallic Cardstock [153524] $20.00	Mossy Meadow 3/8" (1 Cm) Diagonal Stripe Ribbon [153542] $10.25	Forever Greenery Trim Combo Pack [152475] $12.25	Beaded Pearls [153534] $11.00	Metallic Pearls [146282] $9.50
Poinsettia Dies [153522] $49.00	Scalloped Tag Topper Punch [133324] $31.00	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653] $163.00	Stampin' Seal [152813] $11.00	Stampin' Seal+ [149699] $16.25
Paper Snips [103579] $13.50	Simply Scored [122334] $41.00