Punches need sharpening????

You have got to see this video if your punches need sharpening! Linda does a "Myth Busters" for the stamping world, and she did an episode on how to sharpen your punches. I haven't actually tried this yet, but I'm going to do it over the Thanksgiving weekend. See for yourself, and if you're brave you might want to give it a try!

Ornamental Snowflakes

I got the idea for this card from Jill who has so many amazing cards and projects on her blog! I just loved her card and made just a few changes to it. I used different colors, and I also made a little awning for the top of the card (it looks sort of like a window cornice or valance). It's really easy, and the only think that took any time at all was embossing the snowflakes, and tying the little bows on the ornaments. This one would be really easy to mass produce and would be a great card to WOW your Christmas card recipients with!

To make the awning, I cut the cardstock 2 1/2 x 4 1/4 and then used the scallop edge punch. After the scallop edge has been punched, score with the FLAT side of the paper at 7/8 and again at 1 1/16. To secure the awning closed I used Pop Up Glue dots.

Recipe: Stamp Set: Snow Burst; Cardstock: Old Olive, Eggplant Envy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White; Ink: White craft, Baja Breeze; Accessories: Circle Punches - 1 3/4, 1 3/8, 1 1/4, White Embossing powder, Gold Cord, Pop Up Glue Dots, Scallop Edge Punch.

Another Christmas Card

Here's another card that was quick and easy to make! I saw so many blogs with people who used these party hats from the Party Hearty stamp set as Christmas trees. I don't know who the first person who did it was, but it was brilliant! Again, the Designer Series Paper does most of the work on this card, which I love! And the little Felt Flurry with the Rhinestone brad is like icing on the cake. Recipe:

Stamp Set: Party Hearty; Cardstock: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Confetti White; Ink: Old Olive Craft; Accessories: 5/8" Chocolate Grosgrain, Little Felt Flurries, Pretties kit (rhinestone brad), Iridescent Ice Embossing powder, DSP Ski Slope.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas......

I usually hate the fact that the stores start pulling out their Christmas Decorations the day after Halloween. Whatever happened to the Harvest Season, Thanksgiving and just fall decorations? This year I wasn't as upset seeing all of the Christmas Decor on Nov. 1st. I think that with everything that's been going on in this world, we can all use a little Christmas Spirit in our hearts. Making the cards for my stamp camp really got me in the mood, plus I even made a few Christmas cookies for my Campers to snack on while they were working. Baking Christmas cookies DEFINITELY put me in the Christmas spirit!!

The first card we made is one of my own designs, and I just love the Christmas Cardinal stamp set with it's amazing detail. The color is a bit off in my phot, but here's the recipe so you can tell what the paper colors are: Stamp Set: Christmas Cardinal; Ink: Red Riding Hood, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Staz On Black; Cardstock: Certainley Celery, Red Riding Hood, watercolor paper; Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool and Template, Aqua Painter, White Gel Pen, Scallop Edge Punch, Holiday Treasures DSP, Red Riding Hood Taffeta Ribbon, Olive Olive Wide Grosgrain.

The second card is a gift card holder. The card base was taken from Cami's blog, and I just love the Holiday Treasures paper on this card! Recipe: Stamp Set: Punches Three (Level 1 Hostess Set); Ink: Old Olive; Cardstock: Old Olive, Red Riding Hood, Confetti White; Accessories: Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Scallop Square Punch, Holiday Treasures DSP.

This 3rd card was a CASE from my friend Robin. Isn't this scene through the window just amazing? What a brilliant idea! The snow and ice on the windows really make the card pop, and the curtains with their draped look add so much dimension. I just love it!

Recipe: Stamp Set: Sleigh Bells Ring: Ink: Brocard Blue, Garden Green, Ruby Red, Basic Gray, Close to Cocoa; Cardstock: Kraft, Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip; Accessories: Paper Crimper, Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, 1 1/4 square punch, watercolor paper, Natural Hemp, Key Tag Punch, DSP Ski Slope.

Sorry about the less than stellar pictures.....my camera is acting hooey and I used my son's, which is quite different than mine!

If you have any questions about how the cards were made, or would like more information on ordering products, leave a comment and I'll be sure to help out.

Happy Stampin'!

Judy

Cutie Patootie Christmas Card....

My downline Robin made this card for a swap a few weeks ago and I just thought it was so cute. And because I have spent the last week making Christmas cards for my Christmas Card Camp, I've been too busy to post a card of my own! This card is made with the Level 2 Stampin' Up! Hostess Set "Deer Friends" and I just love the cute cut out at the top of the card. Thanks for the blog material Robin~

Scrapbooking!

Last night was my Scrapbooking class and it was great! We made 7 12x12 scrapbook pages using sketches, and the attendees got all of the elements to make an 8th page at home using a sketch (like homework, but more fun!). To give them incentive to do the homework I asked them to send me a picture of their finished pages and I will give them a 20% off coupon for any 1 item in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini-Catalog, PLUS I am going to publish their pages on my blog! I can't wait to see how their pages look.....all of them have the same materials, so it's going to be interesting to see how different the pages look. Here are the 7 that we made in class.....All of the pages are using current Stampin' Up! supplies!!

FALL pages recipe: Stamp Set: Autumn Harvest; Ink: Sage Shadow; Cardstock: Chocolate Chip Textured, Sage Shadow, More Mustard, Really Rust; Accessories: Autumn Vine DSP, Coluzzle, Sizzix Naturally Serif, Sizzix Leaves #2, 1/4 circle punch, scallop edge punch, Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker

SNOW page: Stamp Set: Scandanavian Season; Ink: Craft White; Cardstock: Real Red Textured, Old Olive, Real Red; Accessories: Ski Slope DSP, 1/4 circle punch, Felt Snowflakes, Lots of Letters Chipboard, heat and stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

HALLOWEEN PAGE: Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White; Ink: Black Craft, Pumpkin Pie Craft; Accessories: Ghostly Greeting DSP, Black Brad, Chipboard Frame, Heat and Stick, Dazzling Diamonds.

FAMILY PAGE: Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Gray, Confetti White; ink: Black Craft; Accessories: Urban Garden DSP, Loads of Letters Chipboard, Filigree Designer Brads, Tag corner punch.

WISH PAGE: Stamp Set: Wish Upon a Star; Ink: Tango Tangerine, Bashful Blue; Accessories: Large Star Punch, Star Punch, Frosty Day DSP, Scallop Edge Punch, Designer Star Brad, Loads of Letters Chipboard.

We finished the pages in just over 2 hours, which is great considering that we enjoyed great conversation while we were working.

My very favorite product that we used is Stampin' Up!'s double sided DSP. This really enabled each scrapbooker to make the page their own and it was fun to see how different people utilized this product. My second favorite is inking the chipboad letters and then covering it with Heat and Stick and Dazzling Diamonds. This really makes the page pop! The Sizzix die cuts were a hit too! The leaves were die cut in DSP, and then we also die cut chipboard with the Leaves #2 die and then glued the DSP leaf to the chipboard to add some dimension to the page. Gotta love that Big Shot and the Stampin' Up! Exclusive dies.

The hardest part for me was cutting all of the paper and keeping track of all of the little pieces that each person got. I didn't do too bad. The scrappers were only missing two pieces of paper

which I quickly cut. I love that in planning this class I also got a lot of my own scrapbooking done.

Whoo Hoo! Happy Stampin' and Scrappin'!

Judy

Merry and Bright!

I just love this cutie little stamp set! The images are so sweet and easy to use. To get the embossed snowflakes on the Chocolate Chip CS I used the Cuttlebug Snowflake folder. This is just about the easiest Christmas card that you can make, as the embossed snowflakes and the Ski Slope Designer Series paper do all of the work!

Recipe: Stamp Set: Merry and Bright; Ink: Baja Breeze, Red Riding Hood, Basic Black; CS: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Red Riding Hood, Whisper White; Accessories: 1 3/8 circle punch, 1 1/4 circle punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Real Red 5/8 Grosgrain, Cuttlebug Snowflake Embossing Folder, Ski Slope Designer Series Paper, White Gel Pen, Word Window Punch