Not What I Had Imagined!

I often read on other's blogs that the card they have created was JUST what they imagined it to look like.  Really?  Do people really have the ability to "imagine" a card and then make it?  That's a gift I just don't have.
So when I decided to participate in the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week, I should have known that the card I "imagined" would never happen.  But truth be told, I'm not unhappy with the outcome...
Here is the sketch:

I started out planning to highlight Designer Series Paper from the new Occasions Catalog.  Birthday Bash Specialty DSP is fantastic!  Great colors and two sheets have actual embossed gold foil images.  Such pretty and fun paper.  But could I get it to work with this sketch?  NO!  So quick detour in plans...

I chose the #Hello Stamp set as a FREE gift from Stampin' UP! for having met a challenge.  It wasn't a set I originally wanted (I'm not into social media) but I got to thinking of my nieces and nephews who love Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, and figured it would give me a whole year of card-making for their special occasions.

I embossed the @ using Crushed Curry Embossing Powder.  I then cut it out with the Starburst Framelits, and adhered it to a Whisper White circle cut with the 2" Circle punch.

My card base is Basic Grey, after a run through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  A narrow layer of Crushed Curry is topped with Bermuda Bay (also embossed, using the Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder).  Then I laid down a piece of Tangelo Twist, topped with two pieces of Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper (often overlooked and way underused!), and then my @ is popped up on Dimensionals.

#birthdaysrock is stamped in Bermuda Bay; the end was flagged with the Banner Punch (a must-have if you like flagged tips!) and adhered atop a slightly larger piece of Bermuda Bay.

The card had a masculine feel and will be perfect for my nephew's birthday in January--woot woot!  Head start on 2015 cards!

How prepared are you for card-giving in the new year?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know if you prepare in advance or last minute?

All products can be purchased here.

What have you created today?

(Hashtag) Hello Wood-Mount Stamp Set

$24.95

(Hashtag) Hello Clear-Mount Stamp Set

$17.95

Crushed Curry Stampin' Emboss Powder

$4.95

Starburst Framelits Die

$26.95

Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$8.50

2" Circle Punch

$16.95

Basic Gray 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Big Shot

$99.95

Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$7.95

Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

$7.95

Crushed Curry 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Bermuda Bay 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock

$6.95

Tangelo Twist 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock

$6.95

Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper

$10.95

Stampin' Dimensionals

$3.95

Banner Punch

$12.95

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

Weekly Deals

Amazing Birthday is on sale this week.  One of my favorite sets from the new catalog, here is a card I made with it.  And another one here.  Now you can get it for an Amazing price!

Take a look at the great prices on these Weekly Deals items:

	Fun Flower Punch Item # 133785 Regular Price: $16.95 US/$22.95 CAN Discounted Price: $12.71 US/$17.21 CAN
	Amazing Birthday Wood-Mount Stamp Set Item # 134225 Regular Price: $28.95 US/$35.95 CAN Discounted Price: $21.71 US/$26.96 CAN
	Finishing Touches Edgelits Die Item # 127010 Regular Price: $9.95 US/$11.95 CAN Discounted Price: $7.46 US/$8.96 CAN
	Clips Essentials Hardware Item # 129964 Regular Price: $5.95 US/$7.95 CAN Discounted Price: $4.46 US/$5.96 CAN
	Hearts A Flutter Framelits Die Item # 130159 Regular Price: $24.95 US/$30.95 CAN Discounted Price: $18.71 US/$23.21 CAN
	Marina Mist 3/4" Chevron Ribbon Item # 130016 Regular Price: $8.95 US/$12.50 CAN Discounted Price: $6.71 US/$9.38 CAN
	Party Pennants Bigz L Die Item # 133732 Regular Price: $32.95 US/$40.95 CAN Discounted Price: $24.71 US/$30.71 CAN
	Top 10 Photobook Template - Digital Download Item # 125161 Regular Price: $14.95 US/$16.50 CAN Discounted Price: $8.97 US/$9.90 CAN

Prices good through Monday, 1/5.
All products can be ordered here.

What have you created today?

Big Day

Sale-A-Bration, Stampin' UP!'s annual give-away of FREE stamps is coming soon!  This is one of my favorite times of the SU year, when every $50 order gets you a FREE item.  And who doesn't love FREE?

One of the first sets I had to have is Big Day.  I loved the sayings and the cake, and since we also have (spoiler alert!) Chalkboard Paper and Colorbox Chalk Ink Pads in the new Occasions Catalog (squeal!) I wanted this set even more.  It's absolutely perfect for the chalkboard technique (stamping on black paper and making it look like a blackboard).  So take a look at the card I cased from the catalog for my daughter-in-law's birthday:

Love it!  This uses three of the five included stamps, stacked on top of each other.  I stamped the sentiment using Yellow Citrus ink, then re-stamped it on a scrap piece of chalkboard paper using Versamark ink.  This piece was heat embossed using White Embossing Powder, and paper-snipped by hand.

The cake was stamped in Rose Coral ink, then the candle was added using the Yellow Citrus pad.  Next the "celebrate" banner was popped up with Dimensionals.

I also went totally nutso over the fabulous Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper; I used the Bermuda Bay striped piece for the background of my card and my envelope liner.

The card base is Basic Black.  The striped DSP is adhered using SNAIL adhesive, and the Chalkboard paper is popped up with Dimensionals.

And inside?  What could be more perfect than one of the other two stamps in the set:

Stamped in Bermuda Bay and with an added heart punched with Melon Mambo and the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack, my card is ready for a birthday wish.

Which Sale-a-Bration stamps are on your wish list?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know?

What have you created today?

Big Day Clear Stamp Set

Big Day Wood Stamp Set

Birthday Bash Specialty Designer Series Paper

Chalkboard Paper

Rose Coral Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad

Yellow Citrus Colorbox Chalk Ink Pad

Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack

White Stampin' Emboss Powder

Snail Permanent Adhesive

Stampin' Dimensionals

Versamark Pad

Table by StampinBuddy. Try it FREE.

New Toys!

Gee, you'd think it was Christmas!  I have a whole pile of new toys to play with (and share--yes,  I CAN share!).  Being a Stampin' UP! demonstrator definitely has its perks, and one of them is that I get to pre-order new stamps, papers and accessories before my customers.

So today, I thought I would share one of the new stamps, Guy Greetings, (#137178, $25.95) from the new Occasions Catalog, going live on January 6th!  This wonderful set will help me with so many of my "guy cards" this year--there are 22 stamps for lots of occasions. 

My hubby's birthday is the day after Christmas!  Can you believe anyone is THAT unlucky?   LOL!
That means that I'm usually not thinking of making a birthday card, but then the night before (yes, Christmas night!) there I am slaving away in my craft cave trying to make myself look good the next day...
This year we were in San Diego for the holiday, and didn't come home until his birthday.  So...(and I should at least get points for this) I actually had a gift AND had made a gift box (using the Gift Box Punch Board (#135863, $19.95), which happily carries over into the new catalog...whew!)  But I had not had time to make a card, so on his birthday, after we drive 10+ hours home (and he's snoring away in bed) I get out some new toys and create this:

Love it!  And to my credit (if anyone is giving that out), the card WAS completed on his birthday--he just didn't see it until he came down for coffee this morning. 

Lots of new goodies here:  first the stamp set:

I took the banner and the shoes and heat-embossed them with Early Espresso embossing powder (#128980, $4.95).  AND fussy-cut them out (yes, I did!).  My Very Vanilla cardstock (#101650, $8.50) was stamped with "husband" in Lost Lagoon (#133644, $5.95), and the sentiment in Early Espresso (#126974, $4.95).  (I also embossed just the top and bottom edges with a vintage Houndstooth Embossing Folder).

New Designer Series Paper:  For the first time ever, Stampin' UP! is offering a 4-1/2" x 6-1/2" paper stack called Adventure Bound (#137780, $6.95), with actual nature photos on one side and designs on the other.  They are so cool!  I chose the Early Espresso Houndstooth pattern (the back side is rope--really neat!) and trimmed it to 4" x 4-3/4".  Then I used the Deco Labels Framelits (#130102, $24.95) to cut out the label in the center.

I also used my Finishing Touches Edgelits (127010, $9.95) to create the sawtooth edges in Early Espresso and adhered the strips to the top and bottom of my DSP.  This was then popped up over the Very Vanilla, using Dimensionals (#104430, $3.95).  And it was all added to an Early Espresso (#119686, $6.95)base.  I also stuck three Early Espresso Candy Dots (130934, $5.95) in the middle to finish it off. 

Letting nothing go to waste, I used the cut out label for the inside of my card, and stamped Happy Birthday in Early Espresso on Very Vanilla; after flagging the ends using the Hexagon punch (#130919, $15.95), I just adhered it with SNAIL (#104332, #6.95) adhesive. 

Finally, an envelope:

Another strip of the DSP with a leftover edge of the edgelit saw-tooth strip was glued to my envelope.  Then I used another new item,  Sophisticated Serifs (#137161, $45.95), (an alphabet stamp with two sizes, perfect for creating monogrammed stationary!) to add his name.

Thanks for swinging by today; I hope you've enjoyed my first (of many) sample using my new toys!  Won't you leave a comment and tell me what you like best? 

What have you created today?

Closing out Christmas 2014

Thought I would share a few of the gift wrappings I created for holiday gifts.  I used a number of items from former Paper Pumpkin kits (if you're a subscriber, you can still purchase refills of these kits--a definite benefit for subscribing!) as well as items available in the current annual catalog and the almost-finished Holiday Catalog.  I had such a good time coming up with packaging, I almost wanted to buy some more gifts!

These are the Take Out Boxes (#135827, 6 boxes for $5.95), dressed up with Festive Designer Kraft Paper Rolls ($135828, $9.95 for two rolls) and All is Calm Designer Series Paper (#135823, $12.95) bows (Gift Bow Bigz L Die, #129977, $32.95) and Paper Pumpkin tags. 

Lost Lagoon 3/8" Stitched Ribbon (#133672, $8.95) ties them up, and a "Be Merry" tag (Holiday Invitation, #135074, $21.95) is slipped into the bow. 




Now this little cutie stole the show at a White Elephant gift exchange:

A Paper Pumpkin bag (with included letters for the "merry") was stamped with the Epic Alphabet (#133663, $25.95) in Real Red.  The Real Red polka dots behind the "merry" was stamped with a Paper Pumpkin stamp and mounted on Silver Glimmer Paper scalloped circles punched with the 1-3/4" Scallop Circle punch (#119854, $16.95). 

But catch this tiny bow!  Sneak Peek item--this Bow Builder Punch (#137414, $16.95) is coming next week in the Occasions Catalog, and is sure to be a top seller!  Need a new Occasions Catalog?  Contact me!


And finally, perfect for gift cards:

An alternate use for the October Paper Pumpkin (8 of these triangle boxes were included, to make a "pie"); I turned them into sweet gift boxes, using the Bright and Beautiful stamp set (#135026, $32.95, or #135029, $24.95), embossing the stars with Gold Embossing Powder (#109129, $4.95), and cutting them out with the Star Framelits (#133723, $26.95).  Good Greetings (check it out NOW in the Clearance Rack!) was also embossed with Gold, and it was all tied up with Cherry Cobbler 1" Sheer Linen Ribbon (#135839, $7.95). 

How do you present your holiday gifts?  Won't you leave me a comment and let me know? 

I hope your holidays were everything you wanted them to be.  I traveled to San Diego to be with my grandchildren, and had a wonderful time! 

Check back tomorrow, as I begin to show sneak peeks of the coming Occasions Catalog and
Sale-A-Bration items--not to be missed! 

All items can be purchased here.

What have you created today?