Christmas Money Holders

Here are some of the money or check holders that I gave for Christmas.  You know, money is always the right color and just what young families need so I felt I couldn't go wrong!  lol!  I had fun making these because I love all the colors and I got to use that beautiful & sparkly Candy Cane Christmas Designer Paper which everyone else loved too (we know because it totally sold out!!)

Strips of white cardstock were treated with the Scallop Edge Punch then adhered underneath the edge of the front flap to dress up these holders and make them more festive.  Then a strip of the Candy Cane Christmas DSP was adhered to the top of the flap; the red stripes in this paper are glittery which adds so much to the project!

I also got to "play" some more with that wonderful new Northern Frost snowflake Decorative Strip Die for the Big Shot die cut machine!  In just one pass through the Big Shot, it produces eight various sized perfect and beautiful snowflakes!  Love them!  I layered them on a Scallop Circle punch out in a coordinating color to emphasize them, then centered them with nice red rhinestones left from other crafts I had done.  This was adhered to a belly band of cardstock to keep them closed.

The size of the cardstock for the folders is 8" x 6-3/4".  I scored it at 3" and 6-1/4".  I then punch half a circle in the center of the 3" portion, folded it up and adhered it, forming the pocket with a circular "notch" which aids in retrieving the money or check in the pocket.  (Sorry, I didn't think to take a picture of that!)  I cut a strip from the remnants of  each sheet of cardstock 1" wide and long enough to wrap around the folder to make the belly band, adhered it then added the snowflake embellishment I described above.  I stamped the "Merry Christmas" greeting from the A Cardinal Christmas set in the lower right corner of each folder. 

Here are some individual pictures of the folders:

The snowflake die used is found in the Holiday 2010 Mini Catalog (which ends January 3) will be carried over to the next quarter so it will be available for purchase the next few months also!  You may order it from my Stampin' Up! website here  or contact me to order!  Also, don't forget the Filled with Love promotion from now until January 24 for your free package of Bitty Buttons!  (see the promotion information on the upper right corner of the screen).

 

Thanks for visiting today!  I hope you're having a joyous holiday season and will enjoy the New Year festivities this evening and tomorrow!  Be careful out there tonight!  I hope to watch the Rose Parade tomorrow before football takes over the television for the rest of the day!  Lol!!

Margaret

Love Letter DSP Book

Love this Love Letter Designer Series Paper!!  I bought it soon after the catalog came out but haven't really used it yet until now, but I do love it!!  The color scheme of Riding Hood Red, Basic Black and Vanilla combined with some ornate and classic designs certainly lends itself to some fun vintage and collage-y (is that a word?) looks.

I cut the chipboard out with the large Scalloped Square die and my Big Shot, covered it with Crumb Cake cardstock then stamped the flourish from Baroque Motifs in White Craft Ink.  Using my Crop-A-Dile, I punched holes and attached the Jumbo Brass Eyelets for the binding rings to go through.  As you can see I used several different paper  prints, solid colors, punches and embossing folders.  I also used stamps from the Charming set and the initial from the Lovely Letters Alphabet on the tag.  A variety of ribbons in black, Riding Hood Red and Vanilla were tied onto the rings for decoration.  A little book like this can be carried in one's purse to show pictures or for jotting notes, records or appointments, or even sketching ideas when they hit!

This picture is a little more close up; you can see the embellishments such as the Antique Brad in the center of the flower and Basic stick-on Pearls and Rhinestones.  I love the Raven (black) lace with this paper; however, it will retire at the end of the Holiday Mini on January 4th, so if you want some to add charm to your romantic or vintage Valentines, you'll need to order it before then!!  Hmm, I think I'll get another roll myself!  It's really a favorite of mine with this DSP!

I apologize for the color being rather washed-out in these photos; I was at a friend's house when I took these photos and she has a new (to me anyway) type of light bulbs.  I just couldn't figure out a proper setting on my camera!  Anyway, I do hope you get the idea!  I'm making another one, similar but different, and hopefully I can get a better take with my camera this next time!

Thanks for visiting today!  Hope you get all your holiday tasks accomplished in time!  And remember, Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Warmly,
Margaret

Bells and Boughs

I took advantage of the recent Stampin' Up! special and purchased the lovely vintage set Bells and Boughs.  I'm so glad I did; it makes such pretty cards.  It is also well-suited to heat embossing which is what was done on this card.  

 

After the image was embossed in gold, color was added with Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke Stampin' Write Markers then layered onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  Hard to see in the picture but a tiny Pearl was added to the bell clapper.

Over a Cherry Cobbler card is a layer Whisper White cardstock, the top half of which was dry embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.  The Christmas greeting was heat embossed in gold on the lower right side.  A strip of Deck the Halls Designer Paper which was treated with the Scallop Border Punch plus a sash of Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding center the card, then the focal image is layered on top.

I was inspired by a lovely card made by Selene Kempton.  Thanks, Selene!

I hope you are making progress toward your Christmas celebrations!!  


Thanks for dropping by!  Have a joyful holiday!

Margaret

Christmas Frame II, in Red

I've made several more of the Peace Joy Love & Cheer frames since I posted Tuesday evening!  Five, in fact!  I had a request for one in red so here it is.  I think that was a good idea; I'm liking it!  What do you think?

I changed out the Baja Breeze background DSP for this Real Red DSP print from the retired 2009 Christmas Cocoa DSP and used Wild Wasabi for the mid-sized punched snowflakes.  I used Early Espresso cardstock for the words die cut (Join in the Cheer #113452, $21.95) and changed the three small snowflakes to Real Red.

I wish you could see how sparkly this is in real life!!  The white snowflakes are solid with Dazzling Diamonds glitter and they are totally eye-catching!!  The three small snowflakes punched out with the circle punch are covered with Dazzling Diamonds, too, making it so, well, umm, dazzling, for lack of a better word!  lol! 

You can see Tuesday's frame here for more details.  Which one do you favor?

Thanks for dropping by today!  Hope to see you again soon!

Margaret

Christmas Frame

It's been awhile since I've made any "name frames", as they are often called but I saw one Saturday at our demo group gift exchange that inspired me (I believe it was made by Pam Jones).  I had to make one because I knew I had just the spot for it on my kitchen window ledge and the colors are just great!  I changed it up slightly (as we always do!) and was delighted that it went together pretty fast!) 

 The Big Shot is a must-have for this project and makes it go pretty quickly!  The words are cut from Chocolate Chip Textured Cardstock with the "Join in the Cheer" Decorative Strip die.  The large snowflake is cut with the Snowflake #2 Die.  The medium size snowflakes are punched out with the Snowflake Extra Large Punch.

 This Snowflake was diecut from Whisper White cardstock then coated with glue (Two-Way Glue Pen) then covered with Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  A punched red snowflake is layered on and is high lighted with a large sparkling self-adhesive Rhinestone.

Another snowflake is formed by layering a white over a red snowflake, adding Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the white one, then adding another Rhinestone to the center.  The small snowflakes were stamped, glitter added with glue pen and punched out with a 3/4" Circle Punch before adding Rhinestones to their centers.  This picture was taken without the glass in the frame to avoid glare in the photos, but the glass was reinserted for display.

The Candy Cane Christmas Designer Paper was used for the background and also the stripe across the bottom.  It has been extremely popular for Christmas projects!  Regrettably it is out of stock and no longer available but Stampin' Up! has many other beautiful papers!

I also made one in predominately red; it is posted here.

Thanks for visiting today and hope you visit again soon!

Margaret

Celebrations "Squash" Book!

I just love making these "squash" books!  They are so much fun!  The Celebrations Designer Series Paper and Celebrations Quick Accents are just the perfect products for making one as they already coordinate with each other and Stampin' Up!'s cardstock colors.  Another huge plus is that the Quick Accents are already cut out and are adhesive-backed so no taking time to adhere glue and no glue mess!  Both products are 12" x 12".

The cover (above), featuring a stamp from Party Hearty, "Celebrate You" in matching cardstock and ink, and adhesive accents.

The entire book, opened.  You can see that there ten squares for adding pictures; some of those have a fold in the center, so you can either cut your pictures or use smaller pictures on each side.

Closer view of the left side (above)

Closer view of the right side. (above)

One of the larger circle adhesive diecuts, cut in halves.  These would be perfect areas for smaller pictures or journaling about the nearby pictures.

 A close-up showing a the placement of two of the strips of Quick Accents, cut to fit the squares.  They quickly add so much with so little effort!

The back of the squash book with a Celebrations DSP print layered onto Real Red cardstock and a strip of the Quick Accents.

In addition to the Celebrations Paper and Quick Accents, I used 8-1/2" squares of coordinating Pear Pizzazz layered with Pacific Point or Real Red cardstock, yielding a book that is 4-1/4" x 4-1/4".  This is a great size to carry in your purse to show pictures of your family, pets, child's soccer team, trips or whatever you wish!  You may adjust the size of the book by using larger squares of cardstock.  These books also make great gifts and can be done for any holiday or theme!  I'm thinking Valentine's next...

Thanks for visiting today!  I appreciate your comments and hope you come back soon!

Margaret

Party Cupcake Picks

I recently was a co-hostess for a friend's baby shower.  Cupcakes were the cake of choice so I volunteered to make some baby-themed picks to decorate some of them!  I used the shower napkin for the color scheme and made three designs, ten of each.  I got to use lots of my punches, designer papers that I had on hand, and cardstocks.  I had so much fun doing these!

Some of the cupcakes had the pics and some had real pansies on them (they are edible, you know!)  Here's the serving tray on the table.

The above stamp is from the current Level 3 Hostess set Occasional Quotes!  Love it!

This is one of my favorite stamps; it is from a retired set.  I applied the toothpicks to the back of the front layer with double-stick tape, then added the back.  The double-stick tape worked great and the picks were decorated both front and back.

Our expectant mom is having a girl (you probably have already figured that out since the cupcakes are iced in pale pink, lol!)

This is how a party plate could look; we had a yummy menu!  : )  Umm, I may be getting hungry now, lol!

I just love how versatile stamping is!  We saved a lot purchasing plain iced cupcakes over the decorated ones and decorating them ourselves!  Plus it was fun to do and personalized!

Thanks for visiting today; I appreciate you dropping by!  Come back again soon!

Margaret

Contempo Christmas Cards III

Oops, it took longer to get these posted than I expected!  So sorry!

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I joined a Mystery Image Challenge where the hostess sent materials for us to use, and we were to send a card to another challenge participant.  I received this card from Tiffany Thorpe using these fun products.

Didn't she come up with a darling card?  At the top is the "Merry Christmas" from the set punched with the Large Oval Punch and layered over a Decorative Label punchie of Cherry Cobbler.

She used two of the stripes from the Jolly Holiday Designer Paper and cut out and added the tree from the Contempo Christmas set on the lower right.    BUT there is more!

When I opened the card, what to my eyes did appear but these charming ornaments with the greeting!  Isn't this just wonderful?!!  What a special card!  Thank you so much, Tiffany!  Love it!

Here is another card I made yesterday from the challenge packet!  Wow, our hostess Rose was so generous with the goodies that I can make at least six cards from all this, and decorate a few more!  Thanks, Rose!

Anyway, this is a simple card of Cherry Cobbler cardstock and a striped piece of the Jolly Holiday Designer Paper with trims cut with the Tasteful Trims XL Die for the Big Shot.  I ran the background paper through the Big Shot in the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder (twice) and it kind of cracked it, revealing the white core of the paper and giving it this really interesting look!  How cool!  I applied the greeting with Dimensionals and to it, I added a "poinsettia" flower punched with the BoHo Blossoms Punch with a Rhinestone center.  In my stash on my desk I found the Old Olive swirls cut with the Big Shot and the Swirls Scribbles Sizzlet (can you say that fast three times, lol?!) which I thought was a great touch!  A happy happenstance!

I hope you are enjoying this series of cards with this set!  Another happy "happenstance" is that this Contempo Christmas set and a package of Jolly Holiday Designer Paper are on sale in the ABCs Holiday Bundle sale!  Buy a bundle and Save a Bundle!! 

Contempo Christmas Card Bundle* 

Contempo Christmas Set (p. 45) and Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper (p. 174) 

Wood Mount: #124071,  $20.72 Clear Mount:  #124072,  $17.52

You can also add them an online order to help qualify for Free Shipping during the Online Spectacular which ends tomorrow night!

Thanks for visiting today!  Hope your day is great!

Margaret

More Contempo Christmas Cards

Here are two more cards today using the Mystery Image Challenge Swap packet ingredients featuring images from the Contempo Christmas stamp set and the Jolly Holiday Designer Paper.  (see yesterdays' post for more details on the packet).

The Old Olive Scallop Square was run through the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder to give it some great background texture behind the heat embossed Contempo Christmas ornament.  Two pattterns of the Jolly Holiday Designer Papers are used to bring color and pattern to the card.  Notice the Old Olive cardstock "rick-rack" right above the red polka-dot scallop; this was cut with the Tasteful Trims die and the Big Shot machine.  

This card features three of the "faux" cardstock buttons cut with the Sizzix die and the Big Shot.  I threaded them onto Vanilla 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon and placed them down the right side of the cardfront.   The greeting was punched out with the Modern Label Punch and layered onto Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  Again, Jolly Holiday Designer Paper was used on the background and scalloped trim and Old Olive cardstock "rick-rack" accents the scallop trim.

The heat embossed Christmas tree was cut out, the edges sponged with Cherry Cobbler ink, yellow added with a Daffodil Delight Marker, and then adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals.  I added some of our beautiful self-adhesive Pearls to the tree for emphasis.

You must enjoy stamping since you are reading this!  Have you ever thought about signing up with Stampin' Up!?  The beauty of this is that you can run your business as it works in YOUR life and make it fit your needs!  Do you want to do this full time?  You can do that!  Do you want to do a party or two a month?  That's fine too!  Do you want the discount and meet your low quarterly minimum with your own personal orders and perhaps those of a couple of friends or family?  That is great also!  Stampin' Up! and I support all these goals.  

There has NEVER been a better time to sign up; from now until Nov. 30, you can received the Starter Kit for half-price, just $87.50, for $310. worth of customized merchandise!!  WOW!! Just read about it here, contact me here for more information and/or go to my Stampin' Up! website and sign up there.  The password is "ellagrace".   PLEASE DONT MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY to earn money and free stamps too!  One good party and you can recoup your investment for your kit!  I'm here to help you do it!

I have a couple more cards that I want to share tomorrow, but it may be afternoon before I can get them posted.  : )

Thanks for visiting my blog!  I always love to hear from you, my stampin' friends!  Have a great day!

Margaret

Contempo Christmas Cards

I recently participated in a Mystery Image Challenge Swap with an online stampers group to which I belong.  The hostess sent everyone a duplicate packet containing a bonanza of supplies including cardstocks, Designer Papers, trims cut with the Big Shot and the Tasteful Trims Die, die cut buttons, rhinestones, punched cardstock and embossed images which were made using the Contempo Christmas set (Idea Book & Catalog p. 45).  What a wonderful assortment to create with!

 

What a treat to just sit down and create with all the work done for me already!  lol! Here are two of the cards I created:

The only thing I added on this card that didn't come in the packet is the Victorian Lace Ribbon and a Square Rhinestone from the Square Ice collection.  I did emboss the red scallop square with the Petals a Plenty Embossing Folder for texture and depth.  The pattern papers are from the Jolly Holly Designer Series Paper.

The second card features Old Olive diecut cardstock buttons of various shapes and sizes over the Cherry Cobbler Designer Paper.  Both the top and bottom trims are cut with the Tasteful Trim die, as was the large polka dot scallop in the first card.  The "Merry Christmas" greeting was heat embossed and then punched with the Large Oval punch; a small white button over a red circle with a knot of 1/8" taffeta ribbon enhances it.  A bow of 1/8" taffeta ribbon finishes the lower trim.

All of these great products can be purchased in my online Stampin' Up! store here.   Don't forget the fabulous product specials Stampin' Up! is currently offering also!  You can access the information on these by clicking on the Holiday Spectacular and the Holiday Bundle pictures in the upper right column of this blog.  What a great opportunity to save money while purchasing wonderful current supplies for your stamping and scrapbooking!

Thanks for visiting!  I'll have the other two cards posted tomorrow!

Margaret

Deck the Halls Candy Wrapper Boxes!

Today I have two Candy Wrapper Boxes decorated with the Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper for Christmas giving or decorating!  These are so easy to make with the Big Shot and the Candy Wrapper Die... I just cranked out a dozen in no time at all!  It also is so much fun to decorate them in so many ways...whatever your occasion and ideas can come up with!  On the box in the foreground, I decorated it with the Baroque Wheel in Always Artichoke ink just on the ends that twist.

I trimmed these in a Victorian look using Deck the Halls Designer Paper and Cherry Cobbler cardstock "rick rack" which was also die cut with the Big Shot using the new Tasteful Trims XL Die found in the current Holiday Mini Catalog.  This is only one of four designs on the Tasteful Trims die; isn't it adorable on this paper?!

The "Thanks" stamp from the Perfect Punches set was used for the greeting stamped in Cherry Cobbler, then punched out with the Scalloped Oval punch... Stampin' Up! punches make it so easy!  An Antique Brass mini brad holds a bit of Victorian crochet trim and a self-adhesive rhinestone is the final touch!  These are ready to be filled with chocolates, treats or special gifts for a special someone!

Edited 10-21-2014  This die is on sale on by Stampin' Up! in my online store for 40% off!!  Get it now before it's gone forever!  Click here:  www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=120890&dbwsdemoid=58016

U.S. Customers only; it will be shipped directly to you from Stampin' Up!

Sorry I haven't posted more lately!  I'm in the midst of some home improvement projects as well as having been out of town for almost two weeks.  I have more things to post soon however, so come back and visit!  Thanks for your patience!

Have a stampin' happy day!!

Margaret

Candy Wrapper Treat Boxes for Christmas!

Here are two more Candy Wrapper Treat Boxes done up for the Christmas season!  These little boxes would be adorable used in so many ways, not only for gifts but also home decor!  How cute would these be for table favors for a Christmas party or dinner (they could also be used for place cards with a name tag added)?!  They could also be hung with pretty ribbon on the Christmas tree hiding cash, a check or small gifts inside!  What about making different colors and using them on a garland for the mantle?  I'm sure you can come up with even more fun and creative ideas yourself!!

The festive Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper and coordinating Old Olive cardstock was used for these boxes.  Each of these candy wrapper boxes uses just one-half sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock so you can get two from one sheet!!

 

The giant "rick-rack" trim on this box was cut with the Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die and wrapped around the box over a layer of a different pattern from the same Jolly Holiday DSP.  It is simple but so effective!  

 

This box is also made from a Jolly Holiday DSP pattern.  Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon encircles the box and Victorian lace trim is tucked into the bow.

 

The tag is stamped with a stamp from the Got Treats set which has a number of versatile and adorable stamps, perfect for gifting!  The tag was punched out with the lovely new Decorative Label XL Punch!

This Bigz L Die Candy Wrapper #120890, $32.95 is from the Holiday 2010 Holiday Mini and was used for both the boxes.  You may purchase it from my online Stampin' Up! website here and just click on the Shop Now button in the upper right hand corner! 

Edited 10-21-2014  This die is on sale on by Stampin' Up! in my online store for 40% off!!  Get it now before it's gone forever!  Click here:  www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=120890&dbwsdemoid=58016

U.S. Customers only; it will be shipped directly to you from Stampin' Up!

 

The cool thing is that this candy wrapper isn't limited just to Halloween or Christmas, but can be used for occasions year-round!! Tuck little notes into it for someone special or fill one with treats just to say "hello or "I'm thinking of you" for someone!  You'll really brighten someone's day!

Thanks for visiting!  Hope to see you soon!

Margaret

Peaceful Season Card

Peaceful Season is a new Hostess Set in the Holiday Mini which can be a free bonus to you when you hostess a Stampin' Up! Workshop for a fun night with your friends!  It has eight beautiful stamps, two of which are gorgeous script sentiments!

I used two patterns of the Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper, Gold Embossing on the sentiment, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, and cut out the dove that was stamped on Artichoke cardstock then Smooch Spritzed with the gold.

The snowflakes are punched from SU's Brushed Gold cardstock, such elegant paper!  Tiny pearls from the Basic Pearls are self-adhered to the card.

Have you considered having your friends over for stamping and refreshments?  It's a fun and creative girls time, and you can earn some great FREE Stampin' Up! products too!

Thanks for visiting today!  Hope to see you soon!

Margaret

Sample Boards: Day of Gratitude

Today's share is some pictures I took of the Day of Gratitude sample boards at the Fort Worth Stampin' Up! Regional Seminar.  Enjoy the artwork!

Board 1

Board 2

Board 3, Scrapbook page and cards

I hope this will give you even more ideas for using this lovely set!

Thanks for visiting! 

Margaret