Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Whew - where did the time go?

As with everything - time slips away so quickly that before you know it - - It's a NEW YEAR!!!  Life has been a bit hectic - Bobby and I got sick with the flu AGAIN over the Thanksgiving holiday which pushed us back a bit with getting ready for Christmas, but we survived and had a wonderful Christmas.  We hope all of you enjoyed a blessed Christmas too.  The New Year is right around the corner and hopefully new postings will be on the way soon as well. 

Stampin' Up! has so many new and exciting things coming our way with the New Occasions Mini Catalog which starts on January 4, 2012.  And .... our greatest time of the year ... SALE-A-BRATION starts January 24, 2012 where with every $50 order you earn a FREE product from Sale-A-Bration mini catalog.  Can't wait to get back to classes and using all the new "toys" that are coming in January. 

Wishing a very Happy New Year with many blessings for each and every one of you!  Thanks for all you have done to bless me with your friendships, encouragement and business throughout 2011.  Hope to see you again very soon in 2012. 

Hugs to all - Linda

Fall Weaving Card

We recently made this card at class using the Pear Pizazz cardstock with the Spice Cake Designer Paper and the Gently Falling stamp set.  We colored the leaf with the Stampin' Up! pencils and on one we used the extra large buttons and on one we used the Buttons Sizzlit to cut out a few buttons and added Crystal Effects to them to make them look more like true buttons. 

Everyone loved the effect of having the small strips of DP together to make a weaved blanket background for our focal point of the leaf. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Stamping - Linda

Christmas Slider Gift Card Holders

We made some cute slider gift card holders using the Two Tags Die at our last class.  I wanted to pass on the instructions to you so that you can make some for your friends and family during this Holiday season.  Made this one using some retired DP from last year, but made several others using the new DP from Letters from Santa also.

1)      Base = Cardstock 4 x 5-1/2” – score at 2-1/2 and 5”

2)      Cut coordinating mat from cardstock at 2-1/4” x 3-3/4”

3)      Cut a piece of Designer Series Paper to 2-1/8” x 3-5/8”

4)      Adhere the DP to card mat of coordinating color leaving 1/8” border

5)      Use 1-1/4” circle punch to punch a half circle from the end of the DP/mat piece

6)      Now adhere the DP piece & mat to the card base – use the 1” circle punch to punch a half circle in the right edge of the sleeve so it is just inside the half circle of the Designer Paper.

7)      Put a piece of sticky strip along the inside left edge of sleeve as close to the edge as you can get. Also put a piece of sticky strip along the small flap as well.

8)      Remove the protective backing from sticky strip and adhere the sleeve together.

9)      Cut a piece of coordinating card stock for the gift tag holder tag loop to 2-1/4” x 11” – score and fold in half at 5-1/2”.

10)  Place the folded piece of card stock on the Two Tags Die so the folded edge is just below the cutting edge along the flat side of the scallop-ended tag.  You don’t want the die to cut your card stock on this end.

11)  Put a small piece of sticky strip on the inside of the scalloped end as close to the outside edge as you can get.  Adhere the two ends together (I use a gift card as my spacer to make sure I don’t get it taped down too far).

12)  Punch a scallop circle from a scrap of card stock using the 1-3/4”scallop circle punch.

13)  Adhere the right side only of the scallop circle punch out to the scallop on the end of the tag loop with dimensionals.  Make sure the left side of scallop circle punch out is not adhered down so that it can slide over the top of the sleeve as the tag loop is inserted.

14)  Finish decorating as desired. 

We also made a cute Santa Owl one that everyone seemed to love - hope you will too.

Some other ones we made using this template - these are simple but really nice looking.

Thanks for visiting and good luck with your projects. 
Happy Stamping -
Linda

Revisiting Christmas in July Class

We made 2 of each of the 4 designs shown to get our collection of Christmas cards started.  The first one used the Serene Snowflakes set with some Pacific Point Blue ink and designer paper.  Added some bling & ribbon to finish it off.

Next, was our fun card made with the cute gingerbread man from the Got Treats set.  Using the zigzag border from the Tasteful Trim die, some Espresso Baker's Twine and some pearls for the buttons on our gingerbread men to dress them up a bit made this card complete.

One of my favorite Christmas stamp sets is the Come to Bethlehem set.  It looks so rich and elegant when stamped in Soft Suede and added to Cherry Cobbler card stock, layered with Soft Suede card stock using the Petals a Plenty impression folder.  We even added a little surprise inside by adding the impression folder on just the end of the inside vanilla cardstock to dress it up a bit for our sentiment.

The last project was a card using the circle scallop die with the Big Shot to create a folded scallop card making it look somewhat like an ornament.  We used the Delightful Decorations stamp set and some retired Christmas designer paper from last year to finish them off. 

Friday night group working on their cards and having a good time (Missy, Kristine, Lily, Tara, Leslie and Gloribi). 

Door prizes for the the Christmas in July classes - one for Friday night and one for Saturday night class.    A perfect thermal cup for crafting with a lid and straw included filled with various embellishments, etc. Leslie won the Friday night prize.

Susan had been missing from classes for several months due to a hip replacement surgery.  We were excited to have her back to join in the festivities of making some Christmas cards.  Susan has great luck at winning - - she returned and WON the door prize again on her first night back to class.  :o)  Everyone likes to pick at her - but it is truly just LUCK and she definitely has GOOD LUCK on her side - no matter which way we draw for door prizes!  Love ya Susan!  

Hope you enjoyed our fun with Christmas in July.  

Stop back to visit soon.

Happy Stamping!

Linda

Special Birthday Card for Whitney

I created this card a few months back for my friend and upline/manager, Whitney's, birthday.  I love the way it turned out.  Added a little watercoloring to the Flower Garden Impression Folder (#123113 - $7.95) to put just a hint of color on the flowers, with a touch of Stickles to the centers of the flowers (SU! had not yet introduced Dazzling Details - #124117- $2.50).  I colored the pearls with a silver paint pen to help them accent the gray and pink coloring, tied my bow of 5/8" White Organza Ribbon (#114319 - $5.95) with a few tags from the Tiny Tags set (W-118091 - $22.95 / C-118592 - $16.95) punched out with the Jewelry Tag punch (#117190 - $10.95) pinned on to the ribbon using a safety pin from the Vintage Trinkets (#118764 - $5.95).

She loved the card and I hope you like it too.  Leave a comment to share your thoughts. 

Thanks for visiting - stop by again soon.

Happy Stamping!

Linda

Funky Folds

Since I have not posted in quite a while - I will be sharing some of the projects we have made in classes over the past few months.  First - I must say I am ever so grateful to the many "creative souls" that are Stampin' Up! demonstrators who share their ideas and creativity with all of us.  We have a wonderful website dedicated to demonstrators only to be able to review and get ideas to share with our classes, that we may not have been able to create without the help of our "Stampin' Up! family".  Sometimes I borrow their ideas and change them up some to make it work with what I have or like and sometimes I just LOVE the way it looks  just the way they created it - that I CASE (copy and share everything) exactly their color combinations, etc.  So - again I want to say THANK YOU to all my fellow demonstrators who make this business a joy and a little bit easier for me.

These cards are from a Funky Folds class in August:

Our first card was made using the On the Grow (retired) set from the Summer Mini, along with the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch.  We watercolored the flowers and jar and added some Crystal Effects to the jar to add dimension so it looked more realistic.  The designer paper was from Beyond the Garden together with Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi, and Daffodil Delight CS.  Add some bling and you are done.  A very cool card that can be left up and displayed by the recipient nicely.

Another version was made using the new Lace Ribbon Border Punch, which I just LOVE!

 Next - was an easel card using the Top Note Die and My Friend stamp set with an added bonus of the bird from our Bird Builder Punch. We added texture to the bird's wings by running it through the Big Shot using the Elegant Lines Impression Folder.  I created this card from the ideas of 2 separate cards found on Stampin' Connection and hope you like how it turned out.  

Of course, we add just a few extra touches here and there with the banner for our sentiment and the new "In Color" Designer Printed Brads to finish it off.  Inks used were Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo of the 2011-13 In Colors. 

And then - we did a cute Christmas Card:

These color combos were seen on several websites (Dawn Griffith and Connie Babbert) and I loved them. The stamp set used is Snow Much Fun. I colored the skinny snowman's scarf, hat band, carrot and birds and then added some Dazzling Details.  I LOVE this stuff - so much neater than glitter (my customer's know I like the look of glitter - but glitter is NOT my friend!  I don't like how it seems to get everywhere - I guess it's a phobia of some sort for me!) So Dazzling Details is GREAT for me!  Glitter look without the MESS!  :o)

Color combos are: Old olive CS and DP with Black & White and Pool Party, Blushing Bride and White - who would have thought we would make a Christmas card with a color named Pool Party??  Only in Florida!!  :o)

Hope you enjoyed the Funky Folds projects. 

Thanks for visiting and Happy Stamping!

Linda

Lily's 11th Birthday

Lily, is one of my youngest customer's (age 11) but she LOVES to create cards and projects and is very talented.  She is the daughter of one of my best friends, Kristine. She has a little pink scooter - so when I saw the stamp set On the Grow (now retired from Summer Mini) - I just knew what I would be making for sweet Lily's birthday.  She turned 11 in June and I had to create a special card for her.

I created a Funky Fold card for her that creates a side angle easel using Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, and Flower Garden DP. Watercolored the scooter and put a rhinestone brad to represent the headlight.  When opened, it had her name and a Ribbon Lace border with 1/8" ribbon strung through it, with a few extra rhinestones for some added bling.

She told me she keeps it displayed on her dresser and she really liked it.  Thanks for all your help in classes and with clean up - my Lily Bug!  Hope!you had a wonderful birthday!

Happy Stamping!

Linda

Halloween Treats for Austin's class

Today, Kristine, Lily & I worked on Halloween favors for Kristine's son to give out in his classroom at school.  I had seen this really cute idea on the LeeAnn Greff's website and thought it would be great.  Since the kids will be getting plenty of candy, why not give them cheese puffs as a treat instead?  LeeAnn used cheese balls, but I like the cheese puffs better, so I went with that for mine.  So, we set out to make about 20 for Austin's class, as well as I made a few extras to give to my co-workers.  

First we placed a post-it note punched out with the 1-3/8" circle on a piece 2-3/4" x 2-3/4" white card stock and sponged Pumpkin Pie and Perfect Plum on it.  Then we removed the post-it note so that we had our "moon". We then stamped the single image - Haunted Forest (#123841 - $9.95) over that, added a bit of Dazzling Details to the trees, mounted it to a 3x3 piece of black card stock and attached them to the bags.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  Hope the kids (and my coworkers) like them. 

Kristine had just gotten the new set in the Holiday Mini - Out on a Limb and we decided to see what a different tag would look like using that cute little witch.   

Isn't she just too cute??!!?? 
Leave a comment and let me know what type of things you are creating for Halloween treats.

Thanks for stopping by - visit again soon.

Happy Stamping!

Linda

Get a FREE Big Shot!

Anyone who joins Stampin' Up! during October will get a FREE Big Shot!  And if you already have one, you'll get $100 in free merchandise of your choice instead.  Are you as excited about that offer as I am? 

I know there are some of you who have been considering joining Stampin' Up! but were just not quite sure if it was for you.  Well -  this should really help you decide; it sure would for me! And just in time for Christmas!  (WOO-HOO - Merry Christmas to YOU!)
In addition, the new-demonstrator Starter Kit--a steal at just $175--contains over $345 worth of stamp sets, card stock, ink, accessories, and business supplies-everything you need to start your new business.
There are so many benefits of being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, including:

• A 20 percent product discount!
• A free monthly issue of Stampin' Up!'s demonstrator-only magazine, Stampin' Success!
• Sneak peeks and pre-orders for brand-new products!
• Invitations to exclusive Stampin' Up! events!
• Regular get-togethers for demos only, at my studio.
• Free access to an online community of 30,000+ crafters/stampers and creative artists, as well as 160,000+ project samples!

Please read all the details below (before you join).
Dates: October 1-31, 2011

• Anyone that joins during the promotion period will receive a Sizzix Big Shot Machine or $100 in Stampin' Up! products of your choice from any of our current catalogs.
• New recruits who join online will be given access to the Promotional Product Bonus one hour after they complete their online IDA (they will be provided a link to the ordering page for this redemption via e-mail).
• In this order type, they will either enter the item number for the Big Shot (item 113439) or the item numbers for up to $100 in Stampin' Up! products.
• Products can be chosen from any current catalog and shipping is free!
• New Recruits should ensure that their free total comes as close as possible to $100 without going over since the Promotional Product Bonus order type will not allow items beyond $100 to be added to the order.
• Those who mail in their Independent Demonstrator Agreements can simply list the items they want for free on their accompanying order form.
• New recruits will have until November 30, 2011, to redeem their product bonus.

Here's what you get in the Starter Kits.  You have a choice of the standard stamping or the Digital and stamping kits.  They are both $175 but the value is over $440 with the free Big Shot (or substituted free merchandise).  What a steal!

The standard Starter Kit includes Four complete stamp sets (including a clear-mount set and clear-mount block) A Stampin' Around wheel, handle, and ink cartridge Assortment of Designer Series Paper and card stock White envelopes (40) Four Classic Stampin' Pads Two Stampin' Write markers VersaMark Pad Blender pen Whisper White 5/8" satin ribbon Textured embossing folder of choice One ink refill of your choice Adhesives Color Coach Cupcake Punch or one of your choice Stamping sponge Stampin' Mist Box of Idea Book & Catalogs Business forms and tools

The Digital+ Starter Kit includes My Digital Studio digital designing software His & Hers Digital Content Collection DVD One clear-mount stamp set (including a clear-mount block) Assortment of card stock Note cards and envelopes (20) Four Classic Stampin' Pads Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon Brights Designer Buttons Always Bird Décor Elements and applicator Adhesives Blender Pen Stampin' Mist Box of Idea Book & Catalogs Business forms and tools

If you are interested in joining Stampin' Up! and becoming a part of my team - contact me at lcart74@gmail.com.  Don't delay - this offer only lasts until October 31, 2011 and you don't want to miss out!

Happy Stamping!

Linda

I Messed Up Guys!! So Sorry!

Lordy - Lordy - - This is what I get for not posting in quite a while to keep me in practice.  Somehow - I oopsed and hit the wrong button, which deleted several of my most recent (although not too many) posts!  Yikes!  

So - anyway - - here we are again - I am once again going to try to get back on track.  I apologize for being out of the blogging loop for quite a while (almost a year), but so much has happened this year for me - moved, got married again to my "first love" - Bobby, work has been crazy, and I got sick with walking pneumonia.  But - I think I am now feeling better, have been  working on some projects and having classes (thanks to all my customers for their patience through all the crazies of my life) and am going to TRY to make a commitment to update my blog at least once a week!  (Please pray for me to find the time to keep that commitment).  

So - now I will try not to mess up and delete any more entries - so we can move forward.

Take care - thanks for stopping by and Happy Stamping!

Linda