Stamps, Paper, and Ink

Need a quick gift idea?

At this time of year, we all need an idea for an easy way to dress up a small gift!  Here's a little gift that I gave one of my workshop hostesses this month. If you have the Big Shot, this gift is super easy and super quick.

The real red card stock is cut here with the Big Shot and the Box #2 die, and layered with the beautiful flocked Christmas Cocoa Specialty Paper. I trimmed the box top and enclosed two votive candles ~ they are a perfect fit!  The 5 Petal Punch was used to make the poinsettias that have a jumbo brad dipped in glitter for the centers. The Top Note die was trimmed to fit in the back of the box and it's all wrapped up with Mistletoe ribbon.

Do I sound - well, let's say - not like my usual bright and bubbly self?  You're right, I am tired! I am excited to share this project with you, just keeping it short and to the point. As I am sure is true for all of us - life has been incredibly busy lately, so I will be posting a bit less in the days to come. You know what that means! I'll come back and stamp up a storm when life gets back to normal (or  what-ev-uh) again.

I love the holidays and every year I tell myself this is the last year that I will push myself to the max trying to get everything done! If I get that time management thing figured out, I'll bottle it to sell to the world  ***wink***

Petals A Plenty for Christmas

I know I'll have a few months to celebrate spring and new products, so my share for today is back to Christmas and I've pulled out all the stops for today's card. I  used the Shimmer Paint and Petals A Plenty embossing folder. These fabulous items are only available until January 4, so don't miss out if you haven't ordered them yet!

I tried a fun new technique of sponging a thin, even layer of Platinum Shimmer Paint on the debossed side of the folder before inserting the card stock and running it through the Big Shot. You'll find the debbossed side - the one with indentations instead a raised design - by running your hand over the inside of the folder. The result of this technique is a silvery shimmer in the background that makes the red flowers stand out. I wish the photo did it justice, but trust me - it's a beautiful effect.

I am busy with Christmas preparations - wrapping LOTS of gifts - so I'll keep this short today. See you tomorrow!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Christmas Cocoa Specialty Paper, real red, pretty in pink, whisper white
and Ink: real red

Accessories: silver elastic cord, brushed silver brads, clear circle rhinestone, snowflake punch, Lots of Tags die, Big Shot, Eyelet Border punch, Petals A Plenty, Shimmer paint

Any order placed through me (click HERE) or my online store of $150 and up entitles you to FREE supplies and shopping dollars! Team up with a friend to place your order and it's a winning combination!

Happy Christmas colors!

The Color Combo challenge last week suggested the colors of Pretty in Pink, Bermuda bay and Old Olive. This is the second card I made for the challenge. I'm not going to show you the first right now because I really didn't like how it turned out. But I love this one!  I discovered the key to this color combo is to use LOTS of white. We had the option of using plaid paper too, so I found this cute plaid in the Pawsitively Prints series. Sponging on the edges adds a bit of depth to the circle layout which uses the Scallop Circle #2 die. I sponged the white punched snowflake with Pretty in Pink ink.

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Patterned Pines, Season of Joy
Paper: whisper white, pretty in pink, bermuda bay, Pawsitively Prints DSP
and Ink: pretty in pink, old olive, bermuda bay

Accessories:Scallop Circle #2 die, snowflake punch, Button Latte collection, 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

Last Minute Holiday Blog Tour: Day 1

Welcome to the RemARKable Blog Tour, you're in the right place to get great ideas for your holiday celebrations! Make sure to hop around to each of the blogs, and there's more! We'll be posting fresh ideas daily for the next four days. So come back tomorrow and visit again often.

Presentation is everything, especially for us papercrafters! I want to show you how to use your stamps, paper and ink to dress up a simple holiday gift. I took a metal tin (my son received a gift in it last year) and dressed it up for the holidays using the Berry Christmas set  and a belly band with the Merry Moments Designer Series Paper.

Here's a step up ~ add a cute 3x3 card and envie to match! A gift ensemble makes a huge impact. That's my idea for you today - you figure out what to put IN the tin!

My supplies are listed below.I appreciate your visit and I'd love to hear from you in my comments box. See you tomorrow!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Berry Christmas
Paper: very vanilla, Merry Moments Designer Series Paper, real red
and Ink: chocolate chip, real red

Accessories: Stampin' Write markers, rhinestone brad, 1-3/4" circle punch, Merry Details Sizzlet, Scallop Edge punch linen thread

Cold & Cuddly Buddies

I promised I'd be back to share about these Cold & Cuddly best buds. This card is a Twice is Nice entry   (it's a category in my sidebar) because it uses the same layout as THIS card that so many of you liked! I love showing with this feature how different two cards can look even though they have an element or layout in common.

Here's a bit more to note~

• I cut the circle four times - once with sahara sand card stock and three times with whisper white. I tore the white pieces and layered them to look like snow drifts.
• a mix of chunky and fine glitter makes the snow sparkle!
• brads embellish the lines of the circle, followed by a heart to tie in the sentiment
• The ribbon treatment was done by overlapping the ribbon ends and securing with a glue dot. Then I wrapped it up with cord threaded through the button.

Keeping this short today, so I can be on my way! Hope you have a great weekend!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Cold & Cuddly
Paper: Thoroughly Modern Designer Series Paper, whisper white, sahara sand, rose red, bermuda bay
and Ink: bermuda bay, soft suede, rose red

Accessories: Stampin' Write markers, Polka Dot ribbon, Rich Regals brads, Dazzling Diamonds and Chunky Essentials glitter, Lots of Tags die, silver cord, Fresh Favorites II buttons

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have! I'd love to help you with your crafting questions.

Pining

Well, this morning I was just wishing for a chance to create just for the fun of it. When I saw the SCS Color Challenge I decided to take a breather from the 'to do' list and here's the result, hot off my inky fingers! From me to you. <big smile>  First time to use my Patterned with Pines stamp set too, isn't it cute?

Now you know why I had to make this today - Melon Mambo!  I had something else ready to post too, but it so much fun doing and posting a challenge on the DAY OF, KWIM?

I love melon mambo all the time, but paired with kraft and black - that's the best! Hope you like my un-traditional Christmas card. I think this would also work well for just a winter note to a friend.Since I took the picture I've played with adding a thing or two to tweak it. Tell me I am NOT the only one who finishes a card and then just wants to add one more thing...do you do this too?

Have a great day!

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Patterned Pines, Short & Sweet
Paper: kraft, melon mambo, whisper white, Night & Day specialty paper
and Ink: melon mambo, basic black

Accessories: dotted grosgrain, tag and small tag punches, markers, Button Latte, hemp twine, piercing tool and mat

Order from me online anytime HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

My favorite winter set! Cold & Cuddly

Ok, so it's not exactly another Christmas card - I know I've made lots of those recently! Truly, I have a TON of Christmas sets - but not ONE too many , LOL!   Here's my new fav winter set, Cold & Cuddly from the Holiday mini.

Warning: if you haven't been crazy about this cute critters set yet, you will be after you see my DIORAMA card! It's one of those cards that came downstairs t o be on display  in my living room for a few days after I made it - just so I could look at it. In fact, it's still there on the piano. Come on, I know you must do that too! If you don't, you should, ' cuz we work hard on these cards, right?

This was ablsoutley the most fun card to make! I can't wait to use this set again! Here's a close up of the inside.

Just a bit more info here~

• all the animals were stamped, cut out and added with dimensionals
• there is an assortment of hats to mix and match with this set - so FUN!
• the dots on the front were punched with the 1/4" circle punch
• the dotted paper inside is from Thoroughly Modern DSP
• a diorama card folds flat to mail in a regular A2 envie
• the penguin's heart is cut from card stock. Wouldn't this be cute for Valentine's day?

Betcha you'll be seeing this set again from me. I made this for one of my upcoming classes, if you live in the sandhills of NC and are looking for a group of stampers, I'd love for you to join mine!

Want to order Stamps, Paper and Ink or other supplies?  Begin your shopping HERE or e-mail me HERE with any questions you have!

White Christmas

Happy, happy Monday to you! We're having a rainy day here and it's cozy because I can settle in - don't have to go anywhere today! I had been on such a good roll of posting several days a week for a little while - hope to start posting more often again this week.

I've been working on some cards for my class tomorrow and playing with My Digital Studio. I'll be posting here to share with you! Just wanted you to know what I've been up to.

My White Christmas card features the Finial Press embossing folder with a twist. If you look closely, you'll see that there is a rectangular area inside that is NOT embossed. This idea is not original with me, but I tweaked it and used a chipboard rectangle and cut out a smaller rectangle with my hobby blade.

I had trouble getting a photo that shows how elegant this card really is IRL. You'll just have to trust me!

The texture of the Finial Press embossing folder makes this card so touchable! The sentiment was done using the Holiday Best hostess set and Stampin' Write markers.

I also made a shimmer mist with Frost White Shimmer Paint and added it to the embossed white panel. I have to say Shimmer Paint is one of my favorite new products - there's so much that you can do with it! Here's a glimpse of the detail for you. If you click to enlarge the photo, you'll see that shimmer!

Hope you're glad that you hopped by - I  sure am! See you tomorrow -

 

Supplies~  all supplies by Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Holiday Best
Paper: whisper white, real red
and Ink: real red

Accessories: Stampin' Write markers, silver elastic cord, Finial Press embossing folder, Square rhinestone brads 

To order any supplies click HERE  to begin shopping.

Give thanks

Gobble! Gobble! The turkey from the Gifts of the Earth set in the Holiday Mini is quite a realistic image. I found it hard to use at first, but was determined to make him look good enough for this terrific layout from the Sweet Sunday sketch. I tried different ways to color the image but decided that the details show up best with inking up the whole image using the stamp pad. I added the touch of red with a ruby red marker, over the soft suede ink. 

A bit more...

• I used the Circle Scissors plus to cut the concentric circles. Tip: I use SNAIL to adhere the card stock firmly to the cutter. It keeps the paper from sliding and the residue on the glass mat cleans off easily afterward with Stampin' Mist spray.
• The sentiment is stamped in Always Artichoke craft ink and embossed.
• Designer paper is from the Autumn Traditions series
• The sentiment is from the level 1 Hostess set called Holiday Best
  
• I gave a twist to my ribbon loop and button and discovered I liked it horizontally much better! The ribbon is from the Orchard Originals.

The colors are perfect for fall and we are actually having fall weather today! The air conditioning is OFF and the windows are open. Heavenly! I'm sipping my tea, thanks for sharing this time with me!

NEWS~

Fall is also the time for sales! SU! has opened a special shop of substantially reduced retired items called the Clearance Rack!  All sales must be online and are final, no returns. These items are only available while supplies last, and will be updated often, so you don't miss out! To see what is available each day and to order from me, Cindy Beach - check my website HERE. Don't forget my special offer on the Black and White Specialty Paper. Until October 15, with any online order of $40 or more, I'll send you a FREE   6" x 6" sample of each of the sheets, right to your mailbox. Just e-mail me with your name, order number and address.

Christmas Treat Cup surprise

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday, I got  some very needed organizing and planning for upcoming events done. I promise you won't be disappointed because I have a TWOfer for you today!

I got to thinking about using the Treat Cups from the Holiday mini as a snow globe. Sometimes, creativity can take you in a different direction. Midway, I thought, "OOH, wouldn't it be soooo... cute to make a Christmas ornament out if it?  That's exactly what I did!

Isn't it adorable?~

• inside the ornament is a small scene I built on a 1-3/4" piece of garden green DSP ( Merry Moments DSP) using The More the Merrier stamp set.
• I layered two pieces of whisper white with torn edges and added Dazzling Diamonds glitter for the snow.
• Attached is a circle of Melon Mambo Designer Prints paper on the back
• it's all wrapped up with silver elastic cord for hanging and white taffeta ribbon.
• the snowman is colored with In Color markers (don't you love those? ) cut out, and popped up on dimensionals

Now, I promised TWO projects so, here's another surprise! I thought it would be wonderful to incorporate the ornament onto a pocket card for easy giving! Here's the card!

It's a simple pocket card, folded at the bottom and held together with the band of designer paper (also from the Merry Moments series). When the bow is untied, the inside of the card is revealed, and the ornament can easily be taken off the ribbon.

How do you like it? I hope you are inspired for your own creativity today!