Loads of Love...

Again I apologize for being so quiet this month. I've been super lazy and really enjoying the Christmas is over! We have been tearing down our decorations bit by bit and I hope to have more done today before my Thank You card class tomorrow morning.

This is a card I made quite a while ago with the Loads of Love stamp set. I think it's the only non-Christmas card I have left to show.

I did pack away all my Christmas stamps and accessories and I am super excited to start using all the other stuff I have. My other stamps were starting to feel neglected. Hopefully I can get a card or two done today so that I have something to post in the next week!

I received my Occasions Mini in my mailbox this past week so I am hoping all of you have your too. If you don't have it by the end of the week please let me know and I will be sure to get one to you. Don't forget the Holiday Mini ends on January 3rd and the last order I will be placing out of it is going in tomorrow evening. If there is anything you want after tomorrow you will need to order it online through my Stampin Up Website.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very happy Merry Christmas Day!

Thank You Card Class

Today I posted one of the 5 cards we will be making at my Thank You Card Class on Thursday December 30th. I thought it would be nice to end this year with a thank you card class. The cards in this class will be note card size (3 1/2" x 5") and of course some cards will have different sentiments to choose from. This class will be 20 card class (4 each of 5 designs) Class fee will be $25. This class is on THURSDAY December 30th at 9:30 am and there are still a few spaces available. Call or e-mail me to sign up!

My last order out of the Holiday Mini will be going in on the 30th. If there is anything you would like out of the mini before it ends on January 3rd please get your order to me before then.

My January class will be my Eat Chocolate class which will be on Saturday January 22. This will be a 10 project class (2 each of 5 designs) and will include the stamp set Eat Chocolate out of the new Occasions Mini which should hit all your mailboxes by the end of the year! The cost for this class will be $40 for a Clear Mount stamp set or $45 for Wood Mount stamp set. Deadline for payment will be January 9th so I have the stamp sets here in time for the class. I hope to have a project posted on my blog from this class in the next week!

Snow Swirled Christmas

I know I have been super quiet this month but to be honest I am kind of enjoying a little break. In fact I spent most of the week just sitting in front of the tv watching The West Wing on DVD and doing absolutely nothing. Of course I am now paying the price for that because now my house is a mess, my parents are coming for dinner and I get to spend today cleaning and doing laundry!

Todays card was made with the Snow Swirled stamp set and Curly Cute. A perfect combination! I also used the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Jolly Christmas Designer Paper, Pearl Jewels and Old Olive Taffeta ribbon.

I hope you are all ready for Christmas. I am 99% done and it feels great! I am hoping this week will be almost as relaxing as last! Unlikely though since Mary is out of school...LOL!

Tags Til Christmas...

Well hopefully by now everyone has their cards done and hopefully in the mail ((I'm still addressing mine!!) but there is still some time to make some cute last minute projects.

This is a quick little gift I made with the Fancy Favour Sizzix die, Tags til Christmas stamp set and Jolly Holiday Designer Paper. I finished it off with Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding and gold brads. I filled this one with candy but it also fits a gift card! I was planning on getting a few more done today but since it's a snow day I am now making a Gingerbread House village instead!

Thanks to all of you who placed orders this past two weeks. I added a few prizes so that everyone gets something so below is a list of who won what prize:

• Peaceful Season Stamp Set - Ann B and Janet K
• Northern Hearts Stamp Set - Diane G, Gisele B and Helene L
• Punched Posies Stamp Set - Jill S
• Dusty Durango kit - Nancy W
• Adhesive Package - CeeJay
• Bermuda Bay Package - Lonna M
• White Staz On - Irene L
• Fresh Cut Notes - Debbie W

A Cute Christmas...

I know I have been very quiet this month but I have been SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO busy as I am sure all of you are! Today was my last Christmas class and today's Cards for Charity class was a HUGE success! Thanks to all of you who came and brought all of those great donations! You all gave so much (boxes and boxes full....it really is so wonderful!)and I can't wait to bring all your donations in this week!

Today's cards is from the A Cute Christmas stamp set in the Holiday Mini (ending on January 3rd) I just love this little snowman and have used him quite a bit thsi year but I don't think I have posted any cards with him on my blog. The colours I used were Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery and Wild Wasabi. I finished off the card with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and a Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon.

Tomorrow my last order before Christmas is going in so if there is anything you need please let me know before tomorrow evening. I will be Expressing this order as well so it will be here before the end of the week. Today is you last chance to order $40 and get a ballot to win one of the fabulous prizes in the post below!

Contempo Christmas...

I know black is an unusual colour for Christmas but I just love it this year so I have made a few black Christmas cards. For this card I kept it simple and just used Basic Black, Brushed Gold and Very Vanilla and you may notice, absolutely no embellishments. This is the perfect card to make if you need to make a lot really quick! Although it's hard to tell on here, the tree is embossed with gold embossing powder.For the snowflakes (from Serene Snowflakes) I used a sponge dauber to pick up some Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint and sponged the ink onto the stamp before stamping.

Contempo Christmas is still on sale as a bundle with Jolly Holiday Designer Paper. Buy both and save 20% (Sale price is $25.96 if you want Wood Mount stamp set, $21.96 if you want Clear Mount stamp set) .

Congratulations to Irene, who won my draw in my class yesterday so she will get my sample fabric bag I posted on my blog the other day!

My next order is going in this afternoon but my final order before Christmas will be going in this coming weekend. Don't forget that for every $40 you spend on Stampin Up stuff you get entered into a draw to win one of the fabulous items below:

• 1 of 2 Peaceful Seasons Hostess stamp sets
• Northern Hearts Hostess Set
• Punches Posies Hostess Set
• Dusty Durango Classic Ink, Ink Refill and cardstock
• Adhesive Pack (Snail Adhesive, Tombow Glue, 2 Way Glue Pen)
• Bermuda Bay Classic Ink and Refill
• White Staz On ink pad

This includes online orders as well as order through me but your order must be in by December 12th to be entered into the draw. I will post the winners on my blog on December 13th.

Peaceful Season....

A favourite of many, the words in Peaceful Season are so elegant they look nice in any combination of colours. Here I stamped it with Chocolate Chip Craft ink and embossed it with Iridescent Ice (so it's sparkly, you just can't see it in this scan of the card). I paired this stamp with stamps from Season of Joy, Jolly Holiday Designer Paper and the Dottted Scallop Ribbon Border.

Don't forget that for every $40 you spend with me before December 12th will enter you into a draw to win the Peaceful Season stamp set. I will be adding some second, third etc place prizes so watch my blog this week to see more details. My next order will be going in this Sunday and I will upgrade it to expedited shipping so it should be in next week sometime!

I Made This!

Ok, I know it's not absolutely the most fabulous thing you ever saw but given that I am a total dope when it comes to working with fabric this is quite impressive! I bought the Candy Cane Christmas fabric and Big Shot Fabric Adhesive Roll out of the Holiday Mini to make this. The flower was super easy to make, those of you at my "It's Not a Card Class" Christmas Class will get to see this first hand because this is one of the gift bags we will be making this Saturday. There are still 2 spaces left if there is anyone out there who still wants to sign up, contact me soon! I will do draw at this class for one person to win my sample bag!

My next order will be going in this weekend. As an added bonus, for every $40 you spend with me (Gift Certificates NOT included) until December 12th, I will enter you into a draw for a brand new Wood Mount Peaceful Season stamp set. This is the hostess stamp set on page 5 that EVERYONE has been asking me about. I will NOT be auctioning off my set in July so this may be your only chance to win it (other than hostessing a workshop before January 3rd)

Jolliest Time of the Year.

Of all the display cards I have out when I have a class or club this is Mary's favourite of the year. I stamped the Santa image from the Jolliest Time of the Year stamp set with black Staz On, coloured him with Stampin Write markers and then I pressed a Versamark Watermark ink pad all over and heat embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. I then paired the image with the sentiment from the Just Believe stamp set which I think works perfectly with a Santa image. I then added a few snowflakes from the Northern Frost Decorative Strip and embossed the card with the Northern Flurry embossing folder, both in the Holiday Mini!

Congratulations to Helene who has won the draw for the Champagne glass glitter.

Tags Til Christmas....

I so love all my ornament stamps, I bought all the sets that have an image that can be used with the ornament punch (Delightful Decorations, Contempo Christmas and Tags Til Christmas) because I just can't get enough. This card is a more elegant card where I paired the Tags Til Christmas ornament with the Holly Jolly image (from the Bright Christmas stamp set in the Holiday Mini), the Deck the Halls Designer Paper and the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. The Gold brads and Vanilla Taffeta ribbon embellish this card perfectly.

I will be placing my next order, next weekend (Sunday the 5th) so if there is anything you want please be sure to get your orders in before then. I will be paying extra to expedite this order for you all so it should be in before/by December 10th.

I have been brainstorming some super Christmas gift idea's for the people in your life. Don't forget to buy yourself something for under the tree (I do this every year, complete with wrapping and a Love Santa gift tag! I love getting stamping stuff for Christmas). Let me know if any items you order are for Christmas gifts and I will gift wrap those items for you!

Gift idea's for Crafty Girls:

• Build A Bear stamps (page 85)
• Friends Rock stamp set (page 86) I'm getting Mary this and I know she will love it!
• Stampin Spots (page 194)
• Notecards (page 71)

Gift idea's for Crafty Boys:

• Greetings Earthling stamp set (page 81)
• Make a Monster (Page 95)
• Stampin Spots (Page 194)
• Notecards (page 71)

Teacher Gifts:

• Simply Sent notecard kits (page 182 to 183) Make them for your teacher! I especially love Sweet Hello!
• Teachers Pet stamp set (page 95) and a Classic ink pad

Crafty Friends and Family:

• Simply Scrappin Love Birds (page 178) I LOVE the samples on this page and anyone who makes cards or scrapbooks would have fun with this!
• Embellishments (page 186 and 187) Package some buttons or Antique brads in pillow box to make a super cute giftie!
• Getting Started Stampin Spots with Matching paper (Page 165) A new stamper would love this!

The non Crafty:

• From the Kitchen of (page 134) Anyone who love to share there recipe's would love this....and it's practically user proof. Throw in a Black Staz on and a package of Index cards and this makes a cute gift. Instead of giving away the stamp set, make several packs as gifts for several people.
• Simply Adorned (page 189) Make someone a custom piece of jewellery
• Calendars (page 170) There is still time to order one of the fabulous calendars and decorate it for someone.

For Yourself:

• A Big Shot die like Two Tags (page 206) or Scallop Square (page 207)
• I Heart Hearts stamp set (Just in time to use for Valentine's Day!)
• Stampin Write Markers (page 194) I don't know if I could survive without mine!
• A stamp set or product out of the Holiday Mini you have been wanting (it ends January 3rd)

Snow Swirled...

Snow Swirled might be an older stamp set but every card I make with it always turns out beautiful. This is a quick card I made by embossing the tree with silver and although they are hard to see in this scan, there are tiny pearls on each of the snowflakes in the tree. The corners were punched with the ticket corner punch and I used the Northern Flurry embossing folder on the wite background. The cardstock colours I used on this card were Night of Navy, Whisper White and Brushed Silver.

Post a comment (don't forget to leave your name) letting me know which stamp sets you are using to create your Christmas cards and I will do a draw on Monday morning for a jar of Champagne Glass Glitter in the Holiday Mini!

A Cute Christmas....

Aren't little animals cute at Christmas! If you love cute sets and you love to colour than this is the set for you. It's in the Holiday Mini and it's on page 39. Don't forget the Holiday Mini s DONE on January 3rd. Through the rush of Christmas , don't forget to order your favourites before they are gone. Some sets might make it into the new catalogue in July but some will be gone for good! Alos on this card is a snowflake cut from the Sizzix Northern Frost Decorative Strip (page 38 in the Holiday Mini), Candy Cane Christmas Designer Paper (page 33 in the Holiday Mini) and a Rhinestone Jewel.

I tried to post infor about the Holiday Online Spectacular but I couldn't get onto Blogger this morning so I am sorry this is late. There is a fabulous sale online right now! Click HERE to see everything on sale. If you place an online order through my website and your order is over $200 you get free shipping! You also get a Level 1 Hostess set and $20 in Free merchandise as hostess benefits.

I can order the sale item if you prefer not to order online or do not have a credit card. I will place orders for this sale on Friday so if you wish to order please get your order and payment to me before then. If you would like me to send you a PDF of sale items send me a quick e-mail at s-pdavid@sympatico.ca

Some of my favourite sale items right now are:

• 50% off Designer Fabrics
• 40 % off Simply Said Bundle
• 30% off Matchbox Bigz XL die
• 30% off Hodgepodge Hardware

"It's Not a Card Class" Christmas Class

To the left is one of the Gift card holders we will be making at my next class. You just pull up on Rudolph to slide out a pocket where you insert the gift card.

There are only a few spaces left so sign up soon. I am changing the starting time to 9 am because I know people have lots of stuff to do. If you were planning on coming at 10 that is still ok too! This class will take approximately three hours to do because there is so much involved so please be sure you have enough time to finish the class before you sign up.

"It's Not a Card Class" Christmas Class
Saturday December 4th, 9 a.m.

At this class we will be making basically anything but a card. We will be making:

• Tin of gift tags x2
• 4 Gift Card Holders
• Notecards and a box (perfect gift for teachers!) x2
• Gift Bags x 2
• Treat Holders x 4

The cost for this class is $35 (free with a $65 purchase that day!)

Tomorrow is the beginning of the Online Spectacular. So far the only details they have posted is that there will be free shipping on Online Orders over $200, 50% off fabric and 50% off My Digital Studio. The rest of the sale will be posted tomorrow. Be sure to check out my Stampin Up Website tomorrow for all the details (I will also be posting the details here and mailing out the details to all the customers on my mailing list!)

Day of Gratitude...

Sometimes it's fun to take a stamp set that has nothing to do with Christmas and use it to make a Christmas card. In this instance I used the large medallian image from the Days of Gratitude stamp set in the Holiday Mini to create a Christmas wreath.

To make the wreath I stamped the image with Versamark Watermark and gold embossed the image on Olive and Vanilla Cardstock respectively. I then punched the center with a 1" Circle punch. I then used the 2 3/4 Scallop Circle punch to complete the wreath. Topping each wreath off with a Real Red Taffeta ribbon bow completes that "Wreath" look.

Be sure to check out my blog on Monday for news on the Online Extravaganza. Last year there were fabulous, fabulous deals to be had while supplies last. So far I have no details on the sale so you will all have to wait until Monday. Those of you on my e-mail list will get an e-mail about it Monday morning because I don't want you to miss out on it.

Home for Christmas

Unless you LOVE colouring I know this may not be everyone's cup of tea for a stamp set but this "Home for Christmas" image is so wonderful I think it's worth the time to make a couple of cards with this set each year. I love the classic old fashioned look this image has and of course it pairs wonderfully with my favourite "Seasons Greetings" stamp from the Curly Cute stamp set and the Deck the Halls Designer Paper. I am pretty sure I posted this before but the easiest way to colour and not make it feel time consuming is when you are doing something else, like watching tv (not driving though :0)

There is still room in this Saturdays Christmas Vacation card class. You don't want to miss this class...it is FABULOUS and FUN (if I do say so myself!)

I had Mary draw a name this morning to win the free pack of Pearl Jewels and the winner is Alice! Congratulations! Thanks to everyone who shared their favourite embellishments!

Curly Cute Christmas

Since this "Seasons Greetings" stamp from the Curly Cute stamp set is my favourite right now, I have used it on a lot of cards I post on my blog. For this card I kept it super simple. I used the Baja and Real red glitter cardstock from Candy Cane Christmas Designer Paper. I also used one of my many already cut out snowflakes (from The Northern Frost Decorative Strip) I covered the snowflake with Dazzling Diamonds glitter and placed a rhinestone jewel in the middle. I then wrapped pearl jewels around the rhinestone (hard to see in the picture) This is also my sample for my Stampers Club homework which I hope my Sunday club has done! Hint Hint!

Below is a picture of what a pack of Pearl Jewels look like. You get A LOT of pearls for only $6.50. I think they are the funnest thing in the catalogue and have been using the pearls and the rhinestones on everything! Tell me what your favourite accessory is in the catalogue (or Holiday Mini) and I will enter you into a draw to win a new pack of Pearl Jewels! You have until Tuesday morning!

Greeting Card Kids....

Greeting Card kids is such a great stamp set if you love to colour (even if you don't this card only took a couple of minutes to colour) I think colouring is intimidating to a lot of people but it's super easy with Stampin Write Markers because of the two tips on the markers, fine and brush.

If you are planning on mass creating a card that needs colouring, what I do is first cut out cardstock the size I will need for the stamp. I then mass stamp the image. Next I sit in front of the tv with a tray and colour each image, doing one colour at a time. For example I would take the Marina Mist marker and colour the hat and coat on each image. I find it easier to do that kind of work when I am watching tv!

Supplies used on this Card:

• Greeting Card Kids stamp set
• Curly Cute stamp set
• Northern Frost Decorative Strip (page 38, Holiday Mini)
• Dotted Scallop ribbon Border Punch
• Marina Mist, Bashful Blue and Whisper White Cardstock
• Black Staz On
• Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron, Blush Blossom and Poppy Parade Stampin Write Markers
• Rhinestone brad
• Rhinestone Jewel
• Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Dasher....

Dasher is a favourite and no matter what you do with him I think he makes a card look good! Last year Dasher was easily my best selling stamp, followed by the Snow Swirled stamp set. This year my best selling stamp set has been Bells and Boughs, from the Holiday mini catalogue (followed by Snow Swirled yet again...is there anyone who doesn't have this set yet?)

I think my favourite part of this card is the Seasons Greetings sentiment from the Curly Cute stamp set (click HERE to see the whole set). I can't believe I overlooked this stamp set in the catalogue until recently. It's so fabulous and I know I will get a lot of use out of it all year!

Supplies Used on This Card:

• Dasher Stamp
• Curly Cute Stamp Set
• Jolly Holiday Designer Paper
• Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Early Espresso cardstock
• Early Espresso Classic In
• Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding (Mini Catalogue, page 21)
• Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder

A Night of Navy Card

I promised a blue card yesterday so I made this quick card yesterday to fulfill that promise. I used the Sweet Snowglobe stamp for the main image, colouring the tree and the house inside with a Always Artichoke and Night of Navy Marker before stamping. I added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter for the snow.

Also used on this card were the Ticket Corner Punch, Northern Frost embossing folder, Bright Christmas stamp set ("Winter Wonderland), White Craft ink and White embossing powder.

Embossing with white embossing powder is about the only way to get a true white image on darker cardstock. When embossing words it is important to use a light touch when inking and stamping. Too much pressure will cause the ink to smoosh out, making the words run together and smaller letter like "o" to come out as a solid circle.

I had Mary do a draw for the Sweet Treat cups and the winner is Debbie. Congratulations Debbie.

Contempo Christmas

I think you all may begin to notice a trend in most of the Christmas cards that I will be posting. Almost all of them seem to include the colour Cherry Cobbler which is now my favourite go to colour for Christmas (it use to be Real Red, which I still enjoy but has lost some of it's magic now that a new colour has caught my eye!) Of course it helps that Jolly Holiday and Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper has this colour in it. I think I am going to have to spend some time this week making cards without this colour...it will be a challange for me. I will try to post something blue tomorrow!

I made this card using the Contempo Christmas bundle on sale right now. This bundle includes the Contempo Christmas stamp set and Jolly Holiday Designer Paper. The price for the Clear Mount Bundle is $21.96, for Wood mount Bundle it is $25.96. To finish off the card I used the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and Old Olive Grosgrain ribbon.

Thanks for all the comments on Sunday's card. To answer your questions we will be making a Treat Cup shaker card in my Christmas Vacation card class on Saturday November 20th. The two I posted were my "rejects" for the class even though I think they are super cute.

Sweet Snowglobe

I am loving my Sweet Snowglobe stamp from the Holiday Mini, especially because the size of the snowglobe is the perfect fit for our Sweet Treat cups. Together they make the cutest little shaker card filled with glitter and beads. What I did was replace the image inside the snowglobe with the snowman from a Cute Christmas stamp set the Holiday Mini. These cards were both made with the colours of Whisper White, Baja Breeze and Real Red. To finish off the cards I used a snowflake from Sizzix Northern Frost die and a Real Red Glimmer brad (all in the Holiday Mini)

Post a comment and you could win a package of Treat Cups and 1/4 oz package of Dazzling Diamonds glitter to help you get started in making your own shaker cards. Post your comments before Thursday morning and I will post the winner.

Bells and Boughs

I know it's Halloween but I am all out of Halloween projects to show! I hope you all have a happy Halloween. This is going to be the coldest Halloween I can remember so it looks like it's going to be winter coats over halloween costumes tonight!

Bells and Boughs has been an instant stamp hit as soon as the Holiday Mini was released This is a super simple card to make and easy to reproduce if you love to colour. This card was coloured with markers and make with the colours of Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke and Very Vanilla. To embellish I used Very Vanilla Satin ribbon (super elegant for Christmas cards) and some Champagne shimmer paint (page 195) for the centers of the Poinsettia. I also used a sponge dauber to add some crumb cake ink around the main image. The Merry and Bright sentiment is from the Bright Christmas stamp set in the Holiday mini.

Aviary...

Here is a card I made with the super cute Aviary stamp set. Although I bought this set over a month ago this is the first card I made with it because I have been so immersed in Fall, Halloween and Christmas. I think it will be an odd thing to see a card or project on here that isn't Christmas for the next two months because I have not even looked at any of my stamps that aren't for Christmas.

Products used on this card:

• Aviary Stamp set
• A Word for You stamp set
• Crumb Cake, Early Espresso and Blushing Bride Cardstock
• Crumb Cake and Early Espresso Classic Ink
• 1 1/4, 1 3/8 Circle Punch
• 1 3/4 Scallop Circle Punch
• In Colours Patterns Designer Paper
• Basic Pearls Jewels

Upcoming Classes

To the left is one of the cards we will be making in my Christmas Vacation class on November 20th. This card class is full of fun images and fun colours. There are only a few spaces left so please sign up soon! This card was made with the Cute Christmas stamp set and Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery colours.

Below is a list of my upcoming classes!

Christmas Vacation Card Class
Saturday November 20th, 10 am.

Cute and fun is the theme of this Christmas card class. Lots of cute images and fun colours will be used at this Christmas card class. This is a 10 card class (2 each of 5 design)

Class fee is $30 or FREE if you place a *$65 order the day of the class.
*before shipping and tax.

"It's Not a Card Class" Christmas Class
Saturday December 4th, 10am.

At this class we will be making basically anything but a card. We will be making:

• Tin of gift tags x2
• 4 gift card holders
• Notecards and a box (perfect gift for a teacher) x2
• giftbags x2
• treat holders x 4

The cost for this class is $35 (free with a $65 purchase that day!)

Last Minute Christmas Card Class

Saturday December 11th, 10am

This is a great card class for those of you who know already that you are going to need more cards then you have to time to design and make. Still lots of time to mail them out and there great to have when someone sends you a card and your forgot to mail them one (doesn't this happen every year to me! I'm so disorganzied come December) This will be a 10 card class (5 designs, 2 of each card)

COST: Instead of a the normal $25/$30 fee I would like all attendees to bring the following three items as class payment:

• a donation for the All Heart Pet Rescue ( dog food, toys, treats etc)
• a donation for the Food Bank
• one new unwrapped toy (not for Mary...to donate...LOL!)

Thank You Card Class

Thursday December 30th, 10 am.

I thought it would be nice to end this year with a thank you card class. The cards in this class will be notecard size and of course you can use different sentiments on your cards. This class will be 20 card class (4 each of 5 designs) Class fee will be $25.

Handmade Holiday - An Addition...

Because the Handmade holiday bundles have been so popular, Stampin Up is adding a second Tags Til Christmas Bundle. Since the original Tags Till Christmas Bundle includes the Decorative Label punch which is now on backorder they are offering a second bundle which inlcudes the Tags til Christmas stamp set (the ornament stamp being featured in todays cards) and the Ornament punch.

This Bundle # 2 will be offered at the same price, $49.52 for the wood mounted Tags Til Christmas stamp set and Ornament punch and $41.52 for the Clear Mount stamp set and ornament punch.

The original bundle with the Decorative Label punch is still available only the punch might now be shipped right aways (they are expecting several shipments of these punches in the next few weeks!)

• Here is a card I made in several colours so you can see how much a card can change depending on the colour. I find it more fun to stamp card like these because I get bored easily stamping the exact same things over and over again.
• 
  Supplies Used on these cards:
  Tags til Christmas stamp set
• Bright Christmas stamp set
• Baroque Motifs stamp set
• Old Olive Classic Ink
• Black Staz On
• Rhinestones
• Whisper White cardstock
• Old Olive Taffeta ribbon
• Sizzix Top Note die (Old Olive layer was hand cut!)
• Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy or Rich Razzleberry Classic ink/cardstock

Congratulations to Irene who came the closest to guessing the amount of candy in the jar. The correct # was 44.

Spooky Spider

This cute jar was made using the Decor Elements Spooky Spider in the Definitely Decorative Catalogue (click on my website and then onto products to view or ask me for a catalogue if you want to see them all) I took this $5 jar and sponged the inside with White Staz On ink to make it look more opaque. It took two minute to rub the Vinyl on and tie the black lace around the top and I was done! All that was left was filling it with CANDY!

Post a guess at how much candy is inside this jar and the person who gets the closest will win this jar and all the YUMMY candy inside. You have until Saturday morning to take a guess. To give you a little hint the number of pieces of candy inside the jar is in between 20 and 80!

How to Post: Click on the title of this post (Spooky Spiders) and it will take you to a new page. Scroll down and you will see a spot to post your comment. Don’t forget to post your name!

Handmade Holiday

It's hard to believe, but the holidays are right around the corner. The ABCs of the Perfect Handmade Holiday will help you prepare for the holidays without all the stress. From October 19-December 16, 2010, we'll be offering you holiday bundles perfect for creating Amazing cards, Beautiful packaging, and Cherished gifts--all at 20 percent off!

Stamp Set Bundles

Bundle Description	Wood-Mount Bundle Item	Wood-Mount Bundle Sale Price	Clear-Mount Bundle Item	Clear-Mount Bundle Sale Price
Vintage Christmas Card Bundle Bells & Boughs Set Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper	124067	$29.96	124068	$24.36
Contempo Christmas Card Bundle Contempo Christmas Set Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper	124071	$25.96	124072	$21.96
Tags til Christmas Bundle Tags til Christmas Set Decorative Label Punch	124077	$49.52	124078	$41.52
Gift Packaging Bundle Gifted Set Mini Lunch Sacks	124083	$31.92	124084	$24.72
Simply Adorned Gift Bundle Charming Set Simply Adorned 1" x 1-1/4" Charm Simply Adorned 24" Chain	124076	$52.32	---	---

Non-Stamp Set Bundle

Bundle Description	Bundle Item	Bundle Sale Price
Frame Gift Bundle Definitely Decorative Chunky Frame Small Chocolate Chip Dotted Flourish Décor Elements	124075	$23.12

Leaf Lines....

Although there are no leaves left on any of the trees (isn't amazing how northern Ontario changes from full colour to absolutely nothing) I though I should post this card I made awhile ago since soon I will be posting Christmas, Christmas and more Christmas!

For this card I used the Leaf Lines stamp set and yes, I did carefully cut out the Oak Leaves! Fun stuff! You all know how I love to cut! The colours I used on this card were Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Very Vanilla. To finish the card off I used a 1/8 Taffeta ribbon in Earl Espresso.

I have been in full Christmas mode cutting all the cards and pieces pieces those of you coming to my Saturday and Monday "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas card classes will get to play with. I am so thrilled with the cards and I know you all will be too! Be sure to check my blog tomorrow for a new Holiday Promotion Bundles starting tomorrow and ending on December 16th!

Batty for You....

The Batty for you stamp set has been around for awhile but since I tend to go towards a more "fun" Halloween theme when I stamp it's absolutely perfect. The Spider Web embossing folder looks super cool when you use vellum instead of cardstock. Just remember that all adhesives show through vellum so I tend to just use brads to layer it to my card. I also uesed the spider web from the "Wicked Cool" stamp set to stamp the Old Olive with black ink to create an interesting background. The spider was layered using the 1 1/4 circle punch, the 1 3/8 circle punch and the scallop circle punch.

My next order will be going in on Monday October 25th. If there is anything you need please let me know then!

French Foliage again....

Here is another card I did with the French Foliage stamp set and the Rock and Roll technique. As much as I am looking forward to diving head first into Christmas I am kind of sad because I just got this stamp set and it's not very "Christmassy" and it will be a bit neglected soon. Colours I used on this card are Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Early Espresso and Old Olive. The card is finished off with an Early Espresso bow and I used the Square Lattice embossing folder to create the texture.

If there is anything you need my next two orders are going in on October 13th and October 25th. You can of course go to my Stampin Up website and place an order through my shopping cart day or night. Be sure to check out the VERY popular Clearance Sale going on right now!

Pun Fun Happy Bird-day

It's been a while since I played with Pun Fun so I pulled it out to make what I thought would be a quick little card. Of course I had to make it harder than usual and wanted a pattern on the red. So I took the little word stamp from the Birthday Bliss stamp, employed my wonderful stamp-a-ma-jig and stamped that stamp a zillion times to create this background. I coloured the bird with Daffodil Delight and Real Red.

Another fun thing I did with this card was make my own little glitter brads. They are kind of hard to see in this photo but all I did was cover a Daffodil Delight brad with a glue dot and dipped it into Dazzling Diamonds glitter. I can't wait to try this with other colours.

French Foliage...

Welcome to a card from my newest stamp set, French Foliage from the Holiday Mini! I LOVE THIS SET! Its so easy to use and no matter what colours you use it looks terrific. My stampers clubs will be using this stamp set this month as well as any non-Christmas card classes I am doing. For this card I used a Rock and Roll technique. Each stamp was first inked in More Mustard and then I rolled the edges of the stamp in a different colour ink pad (Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie.) I used a Vanilla Taffeta ribbon and one of the beautiful antique brads to finish it off.

The sentiment is from the Grateful Greetings stamp set, stamped in Chocolate Chip. Speaking of Grateful Greetings the winner of the brand new stamp set is CeeJay. Thanks so much for posting comments on my blog. You all will never know when I will randomly give things away!!!

Some things to remind you of:

• Check out the Clearance Rack on my website. It has been updated with all kinds of new stuff on deep discount. Remember that I can't order these for you and the orders must be placed online. To get there click on the "My Stampin Up Website" link to the right and then click "Shop Now"
• Only a few days left to get the fabulous Starter Kit deal. See my September 27th post for more details.
• Be sure to vote in my new poll to the right. I love to see what you are liking!
• There is still room to sign up for the It's a Wonderful Life Christmas Card Class(Monday class)
  

Big Shot Halloween Treats

I love my Big Shot for so many reasons but at this time of the year, when I am making treat holders I love it even more because it makes my life so much easier. Today I am posting three different treat holders I made using different Sizzix Box Dies. These boxes literally only took minutes to make. I stuck with my favourite Halloween colour combinations of Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie and Rich Razzleberry for all three projects.

At the top I used the Baskets and Blooms die to make a super cute basket but before I assembled the basket I ran the front of the basket through the Big Shot with the Spider Web embossing folder. I then used a sponge dauber and white craft ink to add some ink to the web to make it really pop. Also used on the basket was the Batty for You stamp set, the 1 1/4", 1 3/8" circle punches, the scallop circle punch and Razzleberry grosgrain ribbon.

On the bottom to the right I used the Box #2 die only I cut off the top. I cut a strip of black paper and cut it with the Scallop Border punch to line the top of the box. Also used on this project were the Wicked Cool stam set, Rhinestone Jewels (for the shoes...hard to see) and Pumpkin Pie Grosgrain ribbon.

For the third project I used the Milk Carton die and cut the top off. It makes a super quick small box. I decorated the box using my favourite treat stamp set Got Treats and Pumpkin Pie ribbon.

My next order is going in this Thursday (the 7th) so if there is anything you need please be sure to get it to my by then!

It's a Wonderful Life Card Class....

Here is one of the cards we will be making at my "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas Card Class later this month. While it's hard to see the details in this picture I just love the tree from the Snow Swirled stamp set embossed with gold. The teeny tiny pearls decorating the tree add the perfect touch.

While the Saturday the 23rd class is FULL the Monday October 25th (10am) class still has room. The class is $30 for 10 cards (2 each of 5 designs) or FREE if you place a $65 order the day of the class. Contact me to sign up!

Stephanie
s-pdavid@sympatico.ca

Trendy Trees....

An oldie but a goodie...I love my Trendy Trees stamp set. I have never failed to make a super cute card with this set (if I do say so myself!) I used my favourite autumn colour combination of More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Early Espresso. The sentiment is from the Level 3 hostess set Occasional Quotes. I used a Early Espresso 1/8 ribbon to finish it off.

I still have room in my Monday October 25th "It's a Wonderful Life" Card class at 10am. The Saturday class is FULL with a waiting list now so if you want to move to the Monday class let me know. It's worth taking a day off work to do, I think anyways! LOL! I will be posting one of the cards we will be making at that class tomorrow so check it out.

Just a FYI on some totally useless but I find interesting information, when I was at my regional seminar last weekend they told us that last years #1 selling stamp set was the Medallion Background stamp on page 142. So far this year the #1 selling stamp set is Just Believe (page 109) I have them both and I know why they are #1.

I have to say I really really appreciate it when you comment on my cards or answer the little questions I ask on my blog. It's nice to know someone is reading and enjoying the work I put into it. So post a comment to todays card, telling me your favourite autumn colour combinations and the set you are using the most right now and I will enter you into a draw to win the fabulous Grateful Greeting stamp set on page 27. For everyone who has posted a comment on any post in September you will get a ballot for each of those comments as well (and no Irene, you can't go back and comment on all my September posts today because I already filled out ballots LOL!) I will do this draw on Tuesday morning so be sure to post a response by then!

The Greenhouse Gala Tote

I don’t usually talk a lot about recruiting on my blog but here is my second post in two days about signing up to be a demonstrator. I had some e-mail questions and I thought I would post the answers here since it isn’t something we all talk about that often.

One of the questions was whether or not you could sign up to become a demonstrator and never place an order. The answer is YES. I have had several people sign up to become a demonstrator just to get the starter kit, which at $215 (shipping is FREE and there is NO tax on a starter kit!) is a fabulous deal. If you just want the kit (and the Greenhouse Gallery Tote and the new not released yet Eat Chocolate stamp set) and don’t plan to ever place an order that is 100% ok! Your regular discount if you do place orders is 20% but the first order you place is 30% off.

The second question I got was what exactly is in the Starter kit. There is a ton of stuff including stamp sets, ink pads, cardstock and ribbon. The easiest way for you to see what is in the starter kit is to click on the photo below. The best thing about Starter kit is that it is totally customizable. You get to pick which stamp sets, which ink, what colours of cardstock you would like to get.

The third question was whether or not you could still be in my club or classes if you signed up and the answer is OF COURSE. My downline (demonstrators who have signed up through me) have been in my clubs and classes for the past few years so it’s not a problem at all.

As an added bonus, if you sign up to get your demonstrator kit BEFORE October 1st (like the fabulous tote and Eat Chocolate set isn’t enough) you will get to attend my November “Christmas Vacation” card class absolutely free.

How to sign up:
Go to my Stampin Up Website (HERE) and click on the “Start Your Own Business” link along the top of the page. Follow the instructions and see how you can customize your kit. It is NOT finalized until the end so if you want to go in there and play around go right ahead. The only thing you need is my password which is “chocolaterocks”

My Weekend....

I had such a fabulous weekend! Yesterday I attended a Stampin Up convention in Hamilton with Irene and it was a blast! It was so much fun to meet other demonstrators and to be able to sit and watch awesome demonstrations of some super cute techniques and projects. Those of you who are in my clubs and classes will get to see some of them really soon. Believe me, you won't be disappointed!

I posted three of the pictures I took of the display boards they had out. There were so many fabulous cards to look at. I have a whole box full of cards I swapped with other stampers for you all to check out when come to class and club this month. Believe me, you wish list is going to grow like crazy (mine has) when you see them! Start saving now.....LOL!

Thanks for all the fabulous ideas for what you would like to make in my final Christmas class of the year. Stay tuned this week because I will be posting it on my blog. Congratulations to Anne who's name Mary picked to with the Dasher paper and cardstock package!


The last picture I posted is special because it features the brand new stamp set "Eat Chocolate" which will be available in the next mini! You can earn this set FREE if you sign up to be a demonstrator by October 10th. Whether you just want a discount on all your stamp supplies, just want the Starter Kit ($215) or think you might want to earn some extra money now is a great time to sign up. Not only will you get the fabulous free Eat Chocolate stamp set you will also receive a Free Craft Tote! Contact me if you have any questions!

Autumn Harvest Halloween

I used three stamp sets to make this card: Wicked Cool for the spider web, Grateful Greetings for, well, the greeting and Autumn Harvest for the pumpkins. What I love about the Autumn Harvest stamp set is that the faces for the pumpkins is a seperate stamp so you can just make a nice traditional fall scene with pumpkins, leaves and squash or you can add the faces for Halloween.

I used white craft ink to stamp the webs on black. It's the only way to get ink to show up on black cardstock unless you emboss in white. The pumpkins were stamped in black and then I used classic ink (More Mustard, Tangerine Tango) and an aqua painter to colour them. I used a sponge dauber and black ink to sponge around the white piece I stamped the sentiment on. I think it gives that instant Halloween look if you sponge things with black!

Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive

Just Believe is definitely my favourite set in the new catalogue. I always tend to love flower stamps, ever since I began stamping years ago. This set is so elegant and pretty I keep reaching for it even though I have lots of other new stamp sets I want to use.

I made this card with Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla and Old Olive which are absolutely gorgeous together. Not only are these colours super elegant with the Vanilla but they also make super cute Halloween colours if you exhange the vanilla for Basic Black and add some Pumpkin Pie.

It is embellished with an Olive Satin ribbon, the Finial Press embossing folder, the Ticket corner punch and a frame holder from the Styled Silver Hodgepodge kit. I used Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry Stampin Write markers to colour the image before stamping it.

I am planning a non-card Christmas class on December 4th and I am looking for some idea’s of things, other than cards, you would like to make for Christmas. Post a comment and I will enter you into a draw to win a retired pack of Dashing Designer Paper and 8 coordinating sheets of 8 ½ by 11 cardstock. This paper is so super cute with the beautiful Christmas colours of River Rock, Real Red and Old Olive! I will announce the winner of this on Monday so be sure to let me know your opinion before then.

***If you are not sure how to post a comment just click on the title of this post (Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive) and it will take you to a new page where you can let me know what you think!) Don't forget to sign your name to your comment!

My Saturday October 23rd "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas card class is now FULL but there is still room in the Monday October 25th class.

My next order is going in on Sunday the 26th so if there is anything you need please get your order to me before then!

Baby Bundle

I don't make a lot of baby cards because most of the people I know are done having babies (we're all way too old...LOL!) but I do know a few people having babies so I thought I would make this sweet little baby card.

I tend to always make baby cards in pink (probably because I have a girl) but the pink could easily be substituted for Bashful Blue in this card. This card was made with the Baby Bundle stamp set and the Short and Sweet stamp set. I used Very Vanilla, Pink Pirouette and Soft Suede as the colours. It is embellished with the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, the Modern Label Punch, A Paper flower, Antique brass brad and the ticket corner punch.

I totally forgot to do the draw for the card kit yesterday (my parents came for dinner) so the winner of the card kit is GISELE! Congratulations and thanks to all of you who post comments on my blog. I really love reading what you all write! I will be posting more contests in the next week!

Greeting Card Kids...

I don't normally make Halloween cards but this little girl is so cute I have to find lots of ways to use her this year! The Greeting Card Kids set is new in the catalogue and the images are just super darling...I hope SU makes another set using these kids! If you love to colour this stamp set is for you.

This card was made with Concord Crush and the main image was coloured by using Classic Ink and a watercolour brush. The Happy Halloween is from the All Holidays stamp set.

I will announce the winner to my last blog contest so you still have one more day to post a comment.

I have added a second date to my "It's a Wonderful Life" Christmas Card class because the Saturday filled up so fast. The class is now available on Monday October 25th, 10 am at my place so contact me to sign up. To see more details on the class click HERE.

Just Believe in Brights...

When I first started making this card I pulled out my typical autumn colours (Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso and More Mustard) mostly because I feel ""Just Believe is a very elegant stamp set and needed elegant colours. Of course I changed my mind and you can see the finished product here.

I stamped the circle stamp with every colour in the Brights colour family and then set them out to see which colours would pop together. In the end I chose Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise and Tangerine Tango. I punched the circles with a 1 3/8 circle punch and layered them onto circles I cut out with the Circles #2 Sizzix die. The card is finished with a sentiment (from the Level 3 Hostess set Simply Sent Cute as a Button) stamped in black and a corner rounder punch.

Let me know which colours you are reaching for when you go to stamp and I will enter you into a draw to win a kit to make 5 of the card shown (with lots of different bright colours!)

Elements of Style in Pretty in Pink

I’ve been very much into “Autumn “ mode that I thought a pink card would be a nice change of pace today. This card was made with the Elements of Style stamp set with Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery and Very Vanilla colours. As much as I love pink and bright colours I am finding it really hard to make cards with them at this time of year. I just want to use the rich colours of fall and I can hardly wait to get out all my Christmas stamps and start making cards with them!

Thanks to all who posted a comment below under my Got Treats post. I just did the draw and the winner of the treat kit is Gisele! Congratulations!