Holiday gifts

I love making 3 x 3 cards. I found an old pattern and put together these boxes so the cards and envelopes fit in there perfectly. Do you recognize the colors? In Colors from 'o8. The adhesive die cuts were sold in little tins and I had a bunch on hand, hence the gift below. The two boxes hold 5 cards and envelopes. One box loads from the top and the other loads from the side. I know... stinkin' cute aren't they? If you like, I can track down a pattern I'm sure. I'm so excited that December is almost here... time for more and more Christmas stamping ideas! Sera

Exciting News!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun Decor Elements

I recently got a new laptop (love it!!) and of course I had to jazz it up a little with some of our awesome Definitely Decorative Decor Elements. Shown here is the small Flower Garden set. These fun flowers come on 3 sheets. Certainly Celery stems on one page, Pretty in Pink/So Saffron flower elements on one page and the Rose Red elements on another. You have to build your garden as you go, so it is totally customizable to fit your project. Just another great way to use those Decor Elements - they are absolutely not just for your walls. ~Heidi

Festive Favors

Aside from the quality of this photo (too much flash), these festive favors were a real hit! The directions are here if you want to give it a try! Becky and I cranked out a whole bunch of these for the craft fair a few short weeks ago. They were fun to make. The DSP on the right is from last year's Christmas scrappin' kit, darned if I know the name at this time. The other, Christmas Cocoa. I cheated and didn't make the red shred (love saying that), just had some on hand from who knows what. I love this time of year! Sera

Christmas favor

I made this cute favor with the Big Shot Two Tags Die. You have probably seen the stick of gum in the favor on many blogs, but the credit goes to Becky Roberts. I believe I saw it on her blog first at one point. Awesome! At any rate... the reindeer is from the set Sparkly and Bright, as is the sentiment. Thanks, Becky for the idea! I used the modern label punch, the designer label punch and the small circle (as opposed to the big circle or the mega circle as I call them) punch too. The red nose is a rhinestone brad from the fire circles bunch. Very Fun! Sera

Traditional Christmas Colors

This one came to me around 11:30 one night - not usually an hour that I'm stamping, but it just so happened that I had a class the next day! How do you spell PROCRASTINATION?! Anyhow ... turned out good and here are the details: Stamp sets: Baroque Motifs, All Holidays; Ink: Garden Green, Real Red; Cardstock: Whisper White, Garden Green, Real Red; Accessories: Big Shot, Petals A Plenty folder, top note die, ornament punch, 3/4" circle punch, real red 3/4" polka dot grosgrain, fire circle brads, silver elastic cord, dimensionals. I am SOOO in the holiday mood! Thanks for looking ~ Angie

Craft Fair

This past Saturday I had a spot at the Mayo craft show. Carmen came to sit with me for "a few hours" and stayed the whole day :) The turnout was fantastic and we sold out of almost everything!! Needless to say we were very happy and plan to have a table again next year. I snapped a few pictures before the doors opened and we were swamped with customers. The Noel and Peace frames were very popular and I think Carmen sold all of the pumpkin and Rudolph baskets she brought. The Santa candies were also a huge hit. Thanks for your help and keeping me company all day Carmen! Sarah

Delightful Deco

This was the first card I made with the Delightful Decorations, the punch and all of the new things in the Holiday Mini Catalog... love that! Have I mentioned that? When I went on my massive card making day I had a whole bunch of these at one time! If you look closely at the ornament you'll see "merry" on the oval and that is an embossed image from the embosslit, Merry in the Holiday Mini Catalog. It's actually a tag! I wasn't too sure about it at the start... but you all know how things "grow" on you after a while! Off to stamp for my expo! I'm having a great time creating some unique gift sets! More to come! Sera

1 layout, 2 sets, 3 colors and 3 cards

The cards below are made using the Delightful Decorations set from the Holiday Mini Catalog and the Many Merry Messages set from the catalog. The first is Real Red and Whisper White. The ornament is stamped using the new Platinum Shimmer paint. It was punched out with the ornament punch and then mounted back in the same spot using Dimensionals. I also punched out the dots on this ornament using the hand held 1/16" punch.

This version uses the same two stamps sets, but also Baroque Motifs as a background image. Colors on this card are Always Artichoke and Mellow Moss.

And finally this version (which is my favorite) uses Many Merry Messages for the greeting and the level 2 Hostess set, Christmas Punch, for the background. The snowflake punch was used for the focal point. Colors on this card are Night of Navy and Brocade Blue. Each of these cards has a white layer inside too so the inside greeting can be stamped in the coordinating color and easily read. Three super quick and easy cards - love it! ~Heidi

Re-inker Technique!

This technique is a wow everytime. I used rubbing alcohol and re-inkers on glossy cardstock, smeared it all over with wax paper and my brayer and voila! Some serene snowflakes over the top and... instant card. This is a great one-sheet-wonder technique because it drys so fast and you're never quite sure what you'll get! I haven't made a card with three strips and a simple sentiment for a long time... love the good ole techniques and card layouts from long ago! Sera

Black & White Christmas Thanks

This card was a little wild for me when I made it a few weeks ago. I was super excited to use the DSP, Night and Day Specialty, but realized it was pretty Halloweenish for Christmas, but I made it work. The stampers in our club loved it! The smaller picture shows that the last ornament is on the inside of the card with the rhinestone brad. If you have your eye on this DSP, give it a try. Included in the pack of DSP you will find some window sheets too. How fun! Thanks sistas for blogging recently! Awesome creations, thank you! Sera

Fall Pillow Box Basket

I think it was on Beate's BLOG where I first saw the tutorial for this great little basket. Now they seem to be everywhere and in many other designs (santa, holiday, birthday, etc.) Here is my first attempt at it. This basket was given to a great hostess who loves all things Big Shot and loves little gift packaging things. To make this, you start with the Pillow Box die and cut out 3 shapes. Adhere them together end to end and then do some creative trimming (free hand) to make the top and bottom edges. 3 strips of paper, 1" x 5", are used to reinforce the bottom. Each strip is scored 1/2" from both ends. Two 4" circles are then added - one on top of the strips, one underneath the strips. Use lots of Sticky Strip to be sure it all stays together. Watch Beate's tutorial - it makes perfect sense. The leaves on the front are from the Leaves #2 Die. Stamp set used is hostess level 1, Holiday Best. Colors are More Mustard, Soft Suede, Garden Green and Ruby Red. Thanks for looking! ~Heidi

Holiday Promotion!

Dates: November 1, 2009-January 4, 2010! You'll love the convenience of our Holiday Gift-Giving Guide! With gift ideas for kids, teens, neighbors, and more, it's your one-stop shop for all your holiday needs. Plus, when you spend $50 on products in the guide, you'll get a Décor Elements for FREE (up to a $16.95 value)! Click the link to the right for more details!

Season of thanks ...

I've had this decor element since I saw it shown at convention and today was the day. I put this together for my sisters birthday gift. Shadow box and fall leaf vine from local craft store, background fabric from my stash and decor element on front after I cleaned the glass. Happy Fall y'all! Angie