Botanical Gardens DSP

I absolutely LOVE the new Botanical Gardens Designer Series Paper on page 27 of the Occasions Catalog!  The colors are so rich and bold it just takes my breath away.  The coordinating stamp set, Botanical Blooms has fabulous images to build any garden you wish.  Since the paper is so bold, you do have to be careful not to overwhelm your project with too much.  Here I chose to accent the bold paper with a simple Hello Honey Striped Satin Ribbon (retired).  On the left side of the ribbon I added one Hello Honey flower and two Whisper White flowers along with a few leaves; all cut out from the Botanical Builder Framelits Dies.  The Hello Honey flower has a Gold Wink of Stella shimmer on the outer edges of the petals and the Whisper White flowers have shimmery petals dressed in Clear Wink of Stella.  It's so easy to add just a touch of glimmer or a lot to your projects using the new Wink of Stella Glitter Brushes! 

You can get all three products:  The stamp set, DSP, and dies together as a bundle and save 15%.  I highly recommend adding these items to your crafting supplies.  They offer unlimited possibilities!

This is a gift certificate folder I made for one of my customers.  I love to deliver gift certificates in special packaging and I think this paper truly fits the bill.  It is such a pretty way to present a gift certificate for Stampin' Up! supplies.  I have used several different designs of gift certificate folders, and this one is very classy, but simple.  The inside has a neat little pocket holding the Whisper White gift certificate that is layered on Basic Black card stock, then Hello Honey card stock.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of all three of these great new products!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year!  With the new year comes Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration and the new Occasions Catalog.  If you do not yet have these catalogs, and would like one, please contact me.  They are FREE with an order in January or $1 each without an order.  Not familiar with Sale-A-Bration?  It's a fantastic bonus time where Stampin' Up! gives you a FREE item from the Sale-A-Bration catalog with each $50 increment on an order.  (You also earn Smiley Rewards for those orders as well.)  That's a win-win for sure!  For those who host a party, you receive an additional $25 in FREE products with party sales of $250 or more in addition to your regular Stampin' Rewards.  It's the perfect time to be the host!  

These items are only available for a limited time, so be sure to get your favorites soon!  Please note the special Limited-Time Products on pages 16-19 only available through February 15, 2016.  Plan to make those items a priority on your list.  The other items will be available through March 31st, but don't wait until the last moment to order yours!  Sale-A-Bration items DO NOT RETURN in the Annual Catalog, so this is your only chance to get them!

Products in the Occasions Catalog will be available until May 31, but don't wait until the very end, especially on accessories and dies.  

Congratulations to the Mystery Hostess winner Susan Sherrod!  She received $66 in FREE products when I drew her name.  What a fun way to kick off the new year--with a FREE shopping spree!  

UPCOMING EVENTS - 

Stamp Club (O'Fallon), January 8, 6:30 p.m.

Simple Stamping Class (O'Fallon), January 16, 1:00 p.m.  This is a very small class limited to 6 people where we will focus on basic skills to make beautiful, quality cards that are lovely, but simple.  Each person gets individual attention and will learn how to develop excellent stamping skills, color coordinating and design.  There is currently only 1 opening left in the class.  Class fee is $10.

Stamp Class (Union), January 19, 5:30 p.m.

Stamp A Stack (O'Fallon), January 30, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.  Register Today--time is running out!  Make 4 each of 4 different card designs to help replenish your supply of cards that are ready to mail.  You will walk out the door with 16 cards ready to mail!  Fee is $30 (non-refundable) and includes all supplies.  Please make payment by January 15th.  If you haven't already registered, please contact me ASAP to reserve your spot!  Registration closes January 15th.

If you would like to join us for any of the above events, please contact me today!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!
Enjoy the time with your family and remember the true reason for the season--to celebrate the birth of our Savior!  Giving gifts is a wonderful way to remember the greatest gift of all:  That tiny baby in a manger so very long ago who came to pay the price for all our sins that we may have eternal life.

Here is one more Christmas card to share with you.  This blissful winter scene is done in all neutrals with a tiny smattering of silver glitter icing the trees.  It absolutely takes my breath away!  The very delicate snowflake is from the Snowflake Elements (I added a bit of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to it so it would have an iridescent quality) and the stamp set is Wonderland.  This is definitely a hand-deliver card, as the snowflake is much too fragile to mail.  I did hand-deliver quite of few of these cards to special friends and family.

I have taken a second photo close up to show you some of the lovely detail that really isn't visible in the first photo.  Please leave comments to let me know what you think of this card.

More Christmas Projects

I have lots of projects to share with you, but all the Christmas preparations have overwhelmed me (again).  I say I will get it all together every year and then it sneaks up on me and I go round in circles.  Well here are some more of the projects I have made.  While it may be a bit late to make any of these this year, you can always save an idea for next year.  Enjoy!

Off to make a set of cards for a gift, bake some pumpkin bread, and make a pot of chili!

Oh What Fun with Fancy Foil!

Here is a lovely card that is easy to make but shimmers with holiday color.  I used the Holidays Fancy Foil Designer Vellum layered over Whisper White card stock, alternating with layers of Red Foil and Silver Foil Paper.  A bit of 1/8" Silver Ribbon ties off the package just perfectly!  I found the inspiration for this card from Jari Francis here.  You can see I added a few touches of red to spice things up a bit.  I just love shimmery red on Christmas cards!  The sentiment is from the Oh What Fun stamp set.

I had so much fun with this look that I made tags to coordinate.  One of my very favorite new sets is the Peaceful Pines stamp set with matching Perfect Pines Framelits!  Oh the possibilities with this combination are endless!!  This is one set I made.  Note the Red Foil "lights" peeking out of the tree branches.  This is done with one of the included dies to poke holes in your tree so the light can shine through!  The Scalloped Tag Topper Punch was used on the long tag and the Lots of Labels Framelits were used for the smaller one.

Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of my creations.

Christmas Event and Woodland Embossing Folder

Hello again!  I know that I have been lax in getting my posts up for you lately because I am elbow deep in card stock, glitter and adhesive!  In between paper projects, I am baking a few cookies.  I hope to finish cards and make tags tonight so I can wrap gifts.

Here is a picture of a few of the ladies who attended the annual Christmas Boxes, Bags & Tags Event on December 5th.  We had an excellent time and everyone made 14 projects to take home.  After stamping for 5 hours, we shared a potluck meal of holiday favorites.  I look forward to that event every year!

Mary showing Loki how to make the project as he listens intently.

Christmas fun with boxes, bags & tags.

Below is a picture of one of the Christmas cards I sent out this year.  I had so many great designs that I made several different cards this year instead of them all being the same.  I hope to get more Christmas cards and projects posted here for you to see.  The biggest issue is getting them photographed and then moved into a file so I can post them.  I'm not very efficient at that.

This card used the ever-so-popular Woodland Embossing Folder and Wonderland stamp set.  Amazing what a little ink, embossing folder and glitter can produce!  The photograph really does not do justice to this stunning card.  The entire card shimmers with little bits of glitter in all the trees and glittery piles of melting snow dripping off some of the embossed tree branches.  The Fine Tip Glue Pen is great for creating this effect with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  The word "Peace" was made using the Christmas Greetings Thinlits Dies and Silver Foil Paper.  The shadow behind the silver "Peace" is Mossy Meadow card stock.  What do you think?

Year-End Clearance Sale Up to 60% off!!

It's the end of the year, so Stampin' Up! is cleaning up inventory and making room for new products--and they're offering you some great savings while they do it!  More products have been added to the Clearance Rack and select items from the holiday catalog have been discounted.  (Products on the Holiday Retiring List  are now discounted up to 40%!!)  During the Year-End Sale, you can find ALL discounted products in one location in the online store under the Year-End Sale category.  So don't panic if you don't see the category "Clearance Rack" in my online store right now--it has been integrated into the Year-End Sale.  Click HERE to begin shopping now!  Use Host Code 44SJB2G3 when shopping for even more great benefits!

New Year Mystery Hostess
You can win lots of FREE products just by placing an order between now and December 31st.  Everyone who uses Host Code 44SJB2G3 with an order of $20 or more will have their name entered into a drawing to be the Mystery Hostess.  I will contact the winner just after the new year to select her FREE products!  That's it!  You don't have to do anything else.  When you have finished shopping, click "view shopping bag" and you will see a box in the lower left corner for a host code.  Paste Code 44SJB2G3 in the box and click "apply" and your name will be entered into the drawing to be the New Year Mystery Hostess.  What a great way to start 2016!  Orders must be at least $20 and you must choose to allow Demonstrator contact or I won't know who you are to enter your name in the drawing.  If your order is $150 or more, you will earn FREE Stampin' Rewards immediately if you do not use the host code.

Good luck and enjoy the bargains!