Free Shipping for Cyber Monday and In Praise of Stampin' Blends

Well, if you snoozed, you loozed out on the great deals from Online Extravaganza, which ended yesterday. The last order went in last night! But good news! All is not lost, because today, Stampin' Up! has announced FREE SHIPPING all day long, Cyber Monday! That's like 10% off everything in the catalogues! WAIT!! That's more than 10%, because our tax is calculated on the shipping as well as the product, so BONUS! But don't snooze again! Get your orders in to me today by 7:30 pm at the latest. Order will go in at 8:00 pm. But because there are no minimum orders on this, you could submit your own order online and not worry about that high flat rate shipping charge because - IT WON'T BE THERE! Just head over to my On-Line Store and shop to your heart's content. Just be done by 10:55 pm.!!  If your order is less than $200, please use the Hostess Code:    Q2CT33CB when placing your order online. If you do, I will include a package of Rhinestone Basic Jewels with your order, free from me as a thank you! And who doesn't need a little extra bling over the holidays??

Today, I want to share a card with you that I made to show you more of the benefits of the Stampin' Blends alcohol markers. This card has a layout that follows a sketch that I love from Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #314:

I took a swirl that I had die cut from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper using the Swirly Scribbles Thinlits and I coloured it using the darker shade of my Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends marker. Because it's an alcohol marker, and permanent, you can colour all sorts of things, Glimmer Paper included. You just don't want to do it a lot with the same marker, because it has the potential to ruin the brush nib of the pen. Conversely, you could purchase an alcohol marker of each colour eventually just for the purpose of colouring other objects. Let's see if you can find anything else that I coloured with my Stampin' Blends:

• I started with a fairly clean look with lots of Whisper White space on a base of Cherry Cobbler. I added a narrow strip of Merry Music Specialty Designer Series Paper for the bottom-most element of the sketch, then added the Glimmer Paper swirl. I had added a Multipurpose Adhesive sheet to the back before die-cutting, so after colouring it with my Stampin' Blends, I just had to remove the backing and stick it to my project.
• Next was the "Sentiment/Strip" from the sketch. I found this NOEL edgelit in the Christmas Stocking Thinlit Dies. It was the perfect thing for this element. I tried it in Cherry Cobbler, too, but it needed the black to make it pop!
• The smaller shape in front is represented by the detailed star here. This was die cut from Silver Glimmer Paper using one of the dies from the Starlight Thinlit Dies. It was also backed with the Multipurpose Adhesive sheet, so was easy to stick down.
• That brings us to something else coloured by the Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Blends marker - some small and medium Clear Faceted Gems. I added them to the card front to balance things, then added a couple of rhinestones to complete the balance. The Cherry Cobbler faceted gem in the middle of the star really helps it to show up better.

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

Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper [135315]	Silver Glimmer Paper [135314]	Merry Music Specialty Designer Series Paper [144623]	Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119685]	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045]
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Cherry Cobbler Dark Stampin' Blends Marker [144575]	Clear Faceted Gems [144142]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220]	Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies [141497]
Starlight Thinlits Dies [141840]	Christmas Stockings Thinlits Dies [141841]	Big Shot [143263]	Big Shot Die Brush - New Configuration [144262]	Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets [144106]
Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Fast Fuse Adhesive [129026]

Pretty Pines for The Paper Players

I'm always so happy to be able to play with The Paper Players, because I don't always get the chance, but from the moment I saw LeAnne's Holiday Pines theme challenge I was dying to take part and I had a germ of an idea about what I wanted to do. Here's the challenge banner:

That looks right up my alley doesn't it! I wanted to use the Pretty Pine thinlits (even though they drive me crazy because I can't easily get the paper out of the pine branch thinlits) and some embossing paste to make snow! I also was thinking of this card that I made last year and I was hoping for something of the same vibe.

                                       

Here's what happened:

• I used Crumb Cake instead of white for the top layer of the card as it helps with a more rustic feel to it. I wanted some white splatters on it, but stamped splatters with Craft Ink were too contrived looking. In the end, I pulled the nib off the refill of a white gel pen and blew through the other end to get these more random dots of pure white.
• I cut pine branches (actually fir branches) in Lemon Lime Twist, Emerald Envy and Tranquil Tide. I added Embossing Paste to them and sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds glitter in it for the snowy look. Glue dots do the trick adhering them to the card front.
• The sentiment is from the Cheers for the Year stamp set and it's stamped right on the card front in Early Espresso.
• The Swirly Scribbles Thinlits provided the die for the wreath cut from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper backed with a Multipurpose Adhesive Sheet to make it easier to adhere to the card front.
• I added some extra fir branches and some other die cuts from Pretty Pines in Early Espresso and Basic Black cardstock for the finishing touch.

The weekend is upon us, so take some time to enjoy yourselves. We've been having snow, snow, snow and we're kind of hoping it takes a break over the weekend so we can get outside a bit. I was hoping I'd be able to be in Salt Lake City for OnStage Convention, but it wasn't to be this year! I'm kind of sulking at home a bit, thinking about all the fun I'm missing!

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

Cheers To The Year Wood-Mount Stamp Set [144925]	Cheers To The Year Clear-Mount Stamp Set [144928]	Tranquil Tide 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144246]	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730]	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953]
Emerald Envy 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [141415]	Lemon Lime Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144245]	Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [121045]	Early Espresso 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119686]	Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper [135315]
Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974]	White Signo Uni-Ball Gel Pen [105021]	Embossing Paste [141979]	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751]	Palette Knives [142808]
Silicone Craft Sheet [127853]	Pretty Pines Thinlits Dies [141851]	Swirly Scribbles Thinlits Dies [141497]	Big Shot [143263]	Big Shot Die Brush - New Configuration [144262]
Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets [144106]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Glue Dots [103683]