Holiday Hugs from Tampa!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! My kiddos and I spent Christmas Eve with my mom and Christmas Day at my BIL's. I even had a surprise visit from my sister Christmas morning. She and her son and new husband were in town just for the day from GA. (I can't believe how big my nephew has gotten, and I will be getting a new little niece or nephew in late June/early July. How exciting!) It was wonderful spending time with family!

I need to make some Happy New Year cards one of these days since I ran out of time to make Christmas cards for my co-workers. Yikes! LOL I'm hoping to get to them tomorrow afternoon. I have just been enjoying time off with my family these past few days, and I haven't even picked up a stamp. *gasp* ;)

I'll leave you with a pic of my kiddos that was taken on Sunday. Aren't they just the cutest?!!! (Yes, they are wearing shorts. It was in the 80s here on Christmas Day.)

I'll be back soon with something new to share!

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Love You Much Promotion begins today!

Stampin' Up!'s Valentine's Day Bundle is available to order today! If your order is $70 or more, you can still take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING! Today is the last day to get free shipping on your $70 order, and it's the last day to order retiring stamp sets at a 10% discount! Don't miss out on these fantastic deals!

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They are finally ready to go!

Well, almost! LOL All the cards are made and the envelopes are addressed. (All but one, and I hope to have the address soon!) I just need to pick up the picture of my kiddos and the dog at Walmart around 3 pm. Isn't it just so convenient to take a picture in your living room, upload it to a photo center and pick it up in an hour? I love it! Especially since I am such a procrastinator! They will all be in the mail tomorrow morning! :)

Today's post is one of the cards I'll be mailing. It's a do-over of the one from this post. :) I just changed the back layer to Riding Hood Red. I like this one better.

I have all the gifts wrapped and under the tree, and tomorrow all the cards will be mailed. Then I'll just have to make some candy, cookies and the cards for my co-workers. Whew! Thank goodness I have a vacation day on Tuesday! LOL

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- All Holidays. Paper- Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose DSP. Ink- Ruby Red. Accessories- Kiwi Kiss ribbon, Whisper White grosgrain, Crimper, Scalloped Edge punch.

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Are you ready...

for Valentine's Day? I know it isn't even Christmas yet, but Stampin' Up! is getting ready for Valentine's Day! Beginning December 23rd, you can order the Love You Much bundle! It's preview goodies that will be in the new catalog, and you can order them early! Guess what else?!! If you order on the 23rd, you can use it as part of a $70 order and receive FREE SHIPPING!! WooHoo! The retiring stamps will still be 10% off on the 23rd also! Take advantage of these fantastic savings, and be ready for all those Valentine's goodies you need to make for your kids' classes and your friends and co-workers!

Here's are the details!

Dates: December 23, 2008 - January 31, 2009

Promotion details:Get ready for Valentine's Day with the exclusive Love You Much Bundle (item 115405).

The Love You Much Bundle includes the following:

Love You Much stamp set $25.95
Candy Lane Designer Series paper (Close to Cocoa, Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla) $9.95
Heart To Heart punch $15.95

Bundle Retail Value $51.85
Love You Much Bundle (20% off; item 115405) $41.48


Happy Friday!



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Inspiration Challenge #22

Tomorrow my daughter has to do a How to... book report. She decided to do How to make Butter Pecan brownies. She has to give a presentation about how to make them, and then the class gets to eat the samples. They just came out of the oven and smell marvelous! I am hoping there are enough in the pan for us to have a taste test. We made them from scratch. I know...shocking! LOL

Anyway, while the brownies were baking, I made this ornament for the 22nd UDI Inspiration Challenge. I went literal with this picture. My ornament is filled with Holiday Harmony DSP (retired) strips and has a Sizzix snowflake made from contact paper on the outside. A piece of Very Vanilla taffeta is tied around the top for the hanger.

Have a terrific Thursday!

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- none. Paper- Holiday Harmony DSP (retired). Ink- none. Accessories- Big Shot, Snowflake #2 die, Very Vanilla taffeta. Misc.- glass ornament, contact paper.

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A bigger Scalloped Envelope from the same die!

Happy Wednesday! I hope you all are having a fantastic week!

Guess what?! See that Scalloped Envelope? It's made with SU!'s Exclusive Scalloped Envelope die! Guess what else?! It's big enough for a gift card! WooHoo! (Thanks, Lindsay!)

Here's how: Cut your paper to size. It should be 5" X 5" minimum. Fold it in half. Align the folded edge with the middle of the 4th scallop from the left. The rest of the paper should be on the right side of the die. Make sure your paper is straight. Run it through your Big Shot. Here's the sandwich I used...cutting pad, 2 plastic shims, die, cardstock, crease pad. It cut and scored beautifully. I love my Big Shot!

This card is big...it measures 8.5" X 5.5". I needed extra room for my daughter's classmates to sign. The gift card is her gift from the class. :) I used Ruby Red cardstock for the base. I layered Chocolate Chip and Holiday Treasures DSP. I punched the corners of both layers with the Ticket Corner punch. The pattern on the Scalloped Envelope is the other side of the Gingham piece. The button is threaded with Chocolate Chip cardstock. A velcro dot keeps the envelope closed. I made a faux bow with 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain. The sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Chip ink. I think it turned out beautifully! I hope Mrs. B likes it!

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- Heard from the Heart. Paper- Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Treasures DSP. Ink- Chocolate Chip. Accessories- Big Shot, Scalloped Envelope die, Ticket Corner punch, Earth Elements button, 5/8" Chocolate Chip grosgrain, stamp-a-ma-jig. Misc.- velcro dot.

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From ATC to Card!

This card started life as an ATC. I have a stack of them just waiting to become cards. ;) I need to get busy on them before it's too late! At the rate I'm going, they will be next year's Christmas cards. LOL

I layered the ATC on crimped Whisper White (I sure hope there are some Texturz plates in the new catalog!) and Kiwi Kiss cardstock. I'm thinking that maybe I should have used Riding Hood Red instead of Kiwi Kiss. I'll do that on the next one. Kiwi Kiss ribbon is wrapped around the cardstock. The ATC is Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White and Bella Rose DSP. The sentiment is from All Holidays.

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- All Holidays. Paper- Whisper White, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Bella Rose DSP. Ink- Ruby Red. Accessories- Kiwi Kiss ribbon, Whisper White grosgrain, Crimper, Scalloped Edge punch.

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A new use for old catalogs!

Happy Friday!

I spent part of yesterday and today in my daughter's 5th grade class. The kids made Christmas trees out of a Reader's Digest earlier this week, and they were supposed to paint them yesterday. They'll be waiting until next week since it rained all day yesterday and most of today. I helped them make origami wreath ornaments today. Here is a sample.


Anyway, I was browsing the message board of my online group, UDI, today, and came across a post using an old SU! catalog to make the same kind of tree the class made the other day. How fun! My daughter and I both made one from a couple of old SU! catalogs I had hanging around. All that folding was actually quite relaxing. I am thinking about getting some green spray paint, but I'm not sure because I really like the way it looks as is. :) What do you think?

If you've never made a tree from a magazine/catalog, here are the steps and some pictures. I've never done a tutorial before, so I hope this makes sense. (Don't rip the pages out, I'm just using one to show the folds! Once you fold the page, just turn it to the left and move on to the next page.)


1. Tear off the front and back covers.


2. Fold the right top corner of the first page down to the left side.






3. Fold the right side over to form a "tie" shape.





4. Fold up the bottom piece to even out the bottom.



5. Turn the folded page to the left side. Move on to the next page and start over with Step 2.

6. When all pages are folded, glue the first and last pages together to keep it together.

That's it. I hope my instructions are clear.

~The star is just 2 punches from the Large Star punch. I glued them together with a toothpick in the middle. I poked the toothpick in the top of the tree.

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- none. Paper- YoYo Yellow (star). Ink- none. Accessories- retired SU! catalog, Large Star punch, toothpick.

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Inspiration Challenge Thursday

Here is my take on today's Inspiration Challenge. I went with the winter trees theme. I am soooooo glad Lovely as a Tree was not on the retiring list! I used the Baby Wipe technique for the background. There are Dazzling Diamonds on the ground and the large tree in front. It is really sparkly IRL!

Check out the UDI blog to see what Maria and the rest of the team created!

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- Lovely as a Tree, All Holidays. Paper- Whisper White, Basic Black, Glossy White. Ink- Jet Black Stazon. Accessories- Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Soft Sky & Blue Bayou reinkers, Dazzling Diamonds, 2-way glue pen.

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Retiring Stamps 10% off and Free Shipping!

Stampin' Up! has released the Retiring Stamps list! Until December 23rd, you can get them at a 10% discount! Guess what else?! FREE shipping on orders over $70.00! What a great deal!

Here's a link to the stamps that are only available until January 18, 2009. Get your favorites before they are gone!

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A Holiday Wreath for your Tree

Good Monday morning! I can say that because I am home today! WooHoo! ;)

I came across Gretchen Barron's tutorial for origami wreaths. How cute are they?! I now have one hanging on my tree! I think I will make some more. They are so cute and easy! (Easy is the key word for me this time of year. There is just so much going on right now!) Here is a link to Gretchen's tutorial. Leave me a link if you decide to try them!

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- none. Paper- Dashing DSP (retired). Ink- none. Accessories- Old Olive 1/4" grosgrain, bone folder, Crop-a-dile.

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A Holiday Gift Box

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I get an extra day off tomorrow. WooHoo!

I was checking out my favorite blogs tonight when I came across Andrea's adorable treat box. I just had to make it right away. Make sure you check out her blog for the directions and TONS of other great tutorials. She is amazing!

I only cut one window in my box instead of the 4 in Andrea's. I filled my box with Reese's mini peanut butter cups. (The ornaments I made the other day will also fit in the box.) I love how easy and fast this was to make. It would make a great little box to fill with treats for my daughter's teacher.

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- Deer Friends (Hostess Level 2). Paper- Old Olive, Whisper White, Holiday Treasures DSP. Ink- Ruby Red. Accessories- Coluzzle, Scallop Circle punch, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Circle punches, Riding Hood Red taffeta, mini glue dots, Sticky strip, acetate.

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Inspiration Challenge #20

Wow! I can't believe it's time for the 20th UDI Inspiration challenge already! I took today's picture pretty literally. I used the same theme, colors and layout. The card is pretty clean and simple, and I really like the finished product!

The snowflake is a Sizzlit die run through my Stampin' Up! Big Shot by Sizzix. Love that machine! It's attached to the Whisper White layer with a Silver brad. The Whisper White taffeta is tied in a knot and adhered around a crimped layer of Cool Caribbean (retired) cardstock. The bottom edge was made with the Scalloped Edge punch. The sentiment is from Jolliest Time of the Year and is stamped in Jet Black Stazon. If you'd like to play along, make sure you leave me a comment with a link to your creation!

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- Jolliest Time of the Year. Paper- Whisper White, Basic Black, Cool Caribbean (retired). Ink- Jet Black Stazon. Accessories- Big Shot, Snowflake sizzlit, Silver brad, Whisper White taffeta, Scalloped Edge punch, crimper.

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Loads of Love Thank You...the reject.

I started to make my son's birthday Thank You notes today. This is the version I wanted to make. My son took one look and said, "No way!" This one will go to my mom. I was so upset! LOL You should see what he did want. It's so sad, I can't even post it. It's the same sentiment stamp at the top of a notecard with an exclamation point made from Pick a Petal. Black and white and so blah. Perfect. I don't even want to send them. LOL Thank goodness I don't let him design much. ;)

Anyway, this is my effort at a scene. I had so much fun coloring with my Stampin' Pastels and blender pen. I need to get them out more often. The sky and grass are sponged with the Pastels. I stamped the truck first and then masked it to stamp the trees. The hubcaps, door handle and bumpers are colored with the retired Zig Painty pen.

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- Loads of Love, Loads of Love Accessories, Lovely as a Tree, Enjoy Every Moment (sentiment). Paper- SU! Notecards. Ink- Jet Black and Timber Brown (retired) Stazon. Accessories- Stampin' Pastels, blender pen, Zig Painty pen (retired).

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And the winner is...

Thank you to all my customers who placed orders during my Thanksgiving Weekend promotion! ;)

Random.org chose the number 4. That means the winner is Elizabeth B.! Congratulations! Let me know which $14.95 or less stamp set you would like!

Thanks again!

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Fun & Easy Ornaments!

I had fun, fun, fun with this project! They were really easy to make. I bought some clear glass ornaments at J's on Wednesday. Of course, they were on sale on Friday. Just my luck. LOL

Aren't they just adorable!? I love them! I can't believe I waited this long to try my hand at these!

First, I got my In Color reinkers and all my glitters out and ready. I squirted the reinker into the ornament so that there was a pool in the bottom. I swirled and turned the ornament until it was entirely coated. I let any extra drip out and then cleaned the rim. I funneled my glitter in right away and then shook the ornament like crazy with my finger on the opening. After the ornament was coated with glitter, I dumped the extra back out onto a piece of paper. If it was clean, I put it back in the container. Put the topper back on and you are finished! These would make great gifts for teachers or co-workers. Try it! You'll be surprised at how easy they are to create!

Supplies(all SU!): Stamps- none. Paper- none. Ink- Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette and Tangerine Tango reinkers. Accessories- Fine Cosmo glitter, Silver Chunky glitter, White Chunky glitter, Dazzling Diamonds.

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