IT'S HERE!!! THE BRAND NEW 2009-2010 CATALOG!

From noon MT today you can start placing your orders from this fabulous new catalog - and check back later this afternoon for details of my brand new Shares for Ribbons, Papers and the new In Color items :-)

Stampin' Up! are also introducing a Deal of the Week which will run from Monday mornings at 10 am through Sunday...this week it starts today and features that amazing Scallop Edge Punch...the regular price of this punch is $15.95 - but this week only it is on sale for just $10.99!!!

This is my favorite punch and it is so versatile - you can create beautiful edges, combine it with a Paper Piercing tool* to add beautiful holes in the scallops - which you can see on my scrapbook page in the post below - and you can also create a ribbon effect from cardstock...see the piccy below:

The order code details are: 112091 Scallop Edge Punch pg 187 Sale Price $10.99 - you can place your order directly on line after noon by clicking on the 24 hr logo on the right - on that page, click 'Shop Now' in the top right corner and you are on your way...if you have any questions or would rather email your order to me, you can do so by clicking here

*Paper Piercing Tool - is on pg 191 - item no. 116631 - $3.50 - this is an invaluable tool that I use all the time to make holes for stitching on cardstock, to make holes for brads and to make holes in this cute border :-)

Sweet Girl...

I love playing with glitter...it's one of my favorite things to use...and it works perfectly with the Sticky Cuts line of products...this is a page I created using both of those items and more of my favorite things...rub-ons.

On this page I wanted to create some dimension so decided to try putting the flower rub-ons onto a piece of acetate window sheet, cut them out and attach them to the page using Dimensionals in the center of each - it worked SO well - I was delighted with the effect and there is a close-up photo of those flowers at the bottom of this post :-)

I used a piece of Textured Pink Pirouette cardstock for the base and cut a piece of DSP from Flock Together to mat onto it.

I took the rub-ons from the Planter Box pack (pg 173) and rubbed the stems onto the piece of DSP. I then attached a piece of Whisper White Taffeta around the page and secured it with tape to the back - I tied two pieces at the base of each stem to highlight them. I matted my 5" x 7" photograph onto a piece of Shimmery White cardstock and adhered it to the page using Dimensionals.

I rubbed the flowers onto a piece of acetate - also known as Window Sheets - that you can find on pg 10 of the Occasions Mini Catalog - and cut them out using Paper Snips. I then attached a Dimensional to the center of each on the back and adhered them to the page for a clean look. I attached a flower button from Button Latte (pg 176) into the center of each using a glue dot - I love the 3-d look to them :-)

I took the word 'sweet' from Sticky Cuts Sweet and removed the top side of the backing paper onto which I sprinkled pink glitter - I left the white backing on each letter as I find it gives more depth of color when you add glitter to these sticky items - and I attached each letter to the page using Tombow Mono Glue.

At the bottom of the page, I attached a strip of DSP and onto it a piece of Shimmery White cardstock that I had printed my wording on using my PC - I shaped the bottom edge using my Scallop Edge Punch and a Paper Piercing Tool. Finally I added a pink button from Button Bouquet - isn't it cute? :-)

Bright Delights...

I decided to make an acrylic and chipboard album using Bright Delights Rub-ons and some Designer Series Papers along with co-ordinating embellishments...these products work so well together to create a fun and vibrant look :-)

I love the Bright Delights Rub-ons as they are so fun to work with and contain lots of wording that is just perfect for scrapbooking - and they are still available right now on the Last Chance Accessories List which you can find by clicking HERE - they are on sale at just $8.96 a package which makes them a fab deal (they are on pg 172 of the catalog) - I also used DSP that works well with them from the Raspberry Tart, Candy Lane and Good Morning Sunshine packs, all of which are still available on that list also and one is on sale at a fab price too - if you want some, order them fast as the Last Chance Accessories are quickly becoming sold out...you can place your order online by clicking here

The acrylic album is from the Bo Bunny Edgy Album line - I used the Cascading Clear Album - and I also added interspersing chipboard sheets from the Bo Bunny Cascading Naked Album - you can find these products at stores such as Scrapbook Express by clicking here

On my cover piece of acrylic I rubbed on various images and took a piece of DSP from the Candy Lane DSP pack (on sale right now for just $7.46) to cover the chipboard sheet I placed below it to give a nice background onto which the rub-ons stand out well.

I covered the remaining chipboard sheets using various DSPs and then onto the acrylic pages I was sure to place my photos and embellishments carefully so that the reverse sides had a photo or embellie that looked good in the exact same place - and I added sentiments to the chipboard sheets that can also be seen through the acrylic page above along with some felt flowers - there are also lots of sentiments in this pack of Rub-ons that I used and they are just perfect for a fun summer album - you can see photographs of some of these pages below.

Onto the edges of the acrylic pages I added bright buttons and flowers from Flower Fusion using mini glue dots and tied on ribbons - 1/4" Pretty in Pink, Rose Red and Old Olive Grosgrains. Finally I added the binding rings and I took the photograph before I added the finishing touches but I also tied on the same ribbons onto those rings which gives it a really nice look.

These papers, rub-ons and embellisments worked really well together to create a fun mini scrapbook that is perfect to give to a Grandma - guaranteed to make her smile everytime she looks at it :-)

List of Stampin' Up products that I used - a * denotes those products on the Last Chance Accessories List which you can find here - get 'em while they are still available :-)

• Bright Delights Rub-ons* - pg 172 - on sale right now for just $8.96
• Candy Lane DSP* - pg 159 - on sale right now for just $7.46
• Good Morning Sunshine DSP* - pg 160
• Raspberry Tart DSP* - pg 160
• Cardstocks - So Saffron, Old Olive - pgs 154-55
• 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbons - Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Rose Red - pg 179
• Flower Fusion & Flower Fusion Too* - pg 177
• Button Bouquet* - pg 176
• Brads - pg 174
• Mini Glue Dots - pg 191

Just Beachy...

This is a card I made that was featured on Stampers Showcase - it is part of the Stampin Up website that is accessible by Demonstrators only and they showcase 6 cards daily...I was delighted to see my little fishy card on there - I love those fish :-)

It uses the set Just Beachy which is currently available in the Occasions Mini until June 30th - you can order this stamp set for another week only - after then, it is no longer available... I wanted my card to look like you were peeking through a port hole on a ship...

For the base of the card I used Pacific Point Textured cardstock onto it, using Dimensionals, layered a piece of DSP from Urban Garden onto which I attached a piece of Pacific Point Striped Grosgrain.

I used my Circle Scissors Plus and the Glass Mat to cut a circle out of Pacific Point Textured cardstock and created my undersea picture onto it - I used So Saffron cardstock and made a stippled sandy effect (hard to see in the photo) using the Spritzer Tool and a So Saffron Marker. I cut a rock out of Bronze Metallic cardstock (from the Taste of Textiles pack on pg 156) cut seaweed shapes out of Kiwi Kiss cardstock and covered them with green Stampin' Glitter. I stamped my fish using Stazon Black onto Whisper White and colored them with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and my Blender Pen. I used blogs of Crystal Effects on their eyes to make them bulge (again, hard to see from the photo) and I adhered this layer onto the card base.

Using my Circle Scissors Plus I cut a piece of Shimmery White and attached Jumbo Eyelets (pg 174) using my Crop-o-dile. I cut a piece of Window Sheet (acetate sheet that you can find on pg 10 of the Occasions Mini catalog) and glued it to the back of the circle - I then adhered this circular port hole window to the base using Dimensionals.

Finally I stamped the sentiment from the set Stem Sayings, cut it out in a wavy style to continue the sea theme and attached it using a green Library Clip (pg 176) - I tied a piece of Linen Thread around it for a little finishing touch :-)

You can find this set on pg 14 of the Occasions Mini which you can view online by clicking here - if you want to order one, hurry as this adorable set is gone on July 1st! You can place your order directly online by clicking HERE - once on that page, click on Shop Now in the top right corner and you can place your order - it will ship directly to you...

If you have any questions, please contact me by clicking here and I will be very happy to help - these are the stamps contained in this fabulous stamp set - I love the flip flops too :-)

Beautiful Boho Girl...

I absolutely LOVE the stamp set True Friend - the flowers are just gorgeous and when I was planning a scrapbook page around my little girl who was wearing a cowgirl hat, I knew that those boho flowers would be just perfect...

The page is Riding Hood Red Textured cardstock (you could use Ruby Red as it has a very similar look) - I took some letters from On Board Loads of Letters and colored them using my Chocolate Chip marker - I then sprinkled Chocolate Glitter onto the letters from the Fine Supernova Stampin Glitter pack (pg 180) - this glitter is just beautiful and gives a wonderful uniform coverage to items. I then adhered the letters in place using Tombow Multi Glue.

I stamped a bunch of flowers from the sets True Friend and Priceless in Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red and Close to Cocoa onto Very Vanilla cardstock - I then cut them out using Paper Snips and layered the pieces of the large flowers using Dimensionals.

I matted my 5" x 7" photograph onto a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock that I ran through the Big Shot and dry embossed using a plate from Stampin Up Backgrounds 1 (pg 203) - I then distressed the edges using my Paper Snips and mounted this layer onto a piece of red Bella Rose DSP and tore one edge to continue my distressed theme. I then matted this onto a brown piece of Bella Rose - I used my Eyelet Border Punch on one edge and tied around a piece of Chocolate Taffeta Ribbon finishing in a knot. I finally matted them onto a piece of Very Vanilla and adhered the layers to my scrapbook page.

I attached the flowers using Mini Glue Dots and stamped a sentiment from Define Your Life - I clipped on a brown Library Clip with Linen Thread tied around it and used Dimensionals to adhere it to my photograph.

I love how the boho flowers, choice of papers, colors and distressed edges work with my cowgirl themed page :-)

Baby Blanket in a Tin...

This is a baby girl gift I came up with a couple of months ago - it is a receiving blanket folded up inside an empty Pretties Kit tin - the tin is a perfect size to hold one of these and because there is a window in the lid of this tin, I decided to stitch some felt flowers onto the blanket that would show through the window...I love these Flower Fusion Flowers and have stocked up with a couple of tins of Flower Fusion Too before it is gone for good as I just love those pinks and browns :-)


I cut out a piece of DSP from Candy Lane* to cover the top of the tin and adhered it in place using Sticky Strip. I used my craft knife and self healing mat along with a metal ruler to cut out the window section and I cut bands of the same paper to adhere to the sides of the tin to give a uniform appearance. I then took a piece of Pink Pirouette 1" Grosgrain Ribbon* and attached this on top.

For the word Baby I took letters from On Board Loads of Letters and used a Chocolate Chip Marker to color the edges. I traced each letter onto a piece of Chocolate Chip Prints DSP, cut them out and adhered them using Tombow Multi Glue to the chipboard - I then glued the letters onto the ribbon.

I stamped 'for' onto a piece of Shimmery White in Chocolate Chip Ink using letters from ABC Alphabet Lower* and then attached it to the ribbon with a piece of Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware to frame it. For finishing touches, I used flowers from Flower Fusion and Flower Fusion Too* and a Vanilla Brad with Dazzling Diamonds on it along with a button from Button Bouquet* and embroidery floss to finish my tin off.

I then folded the receiving blanket so that it would fit into the tin and worked out the placement of the flowers so that they would show through the window - I stitched each flower in place and used a button from Button Bouquet* or Button Latte on each - I cut up the petals from some Old Olive flowers to use as leaves and finally I stitched the stems into place - I think it turned out super cute :-)

* denotes items that are on the Last Chance Lists - you can find these lists by clicking HERE where you will find them on the left side of that page - the accessories are only available whilst stocks last and the stamp sets will be retired on June 30th.

Goodbye Bella Blossoms...

I absolutely adore the stamp set Bella Blossoms - it is so beautiful and you can achieve some gorgeous effects with it using inks and glitters - I am sooo sad to see it on the Last Chance List - once June 30th rolls around it will be gone for good...I also love the versatility of this set - included are 3 sentiments making it usable for many different occasions - I love versatility and value for money :-)

Here is card that I made using it - it uses some of my favorite colors - Browns, Vanilla and Old Olive - and I added some sparkle using Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and the Pretties Kit...


This is a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" sized card - the base is Old Olive Cardstock onto which I matted a piece of brown textured DSP from the Parisian Breeze Specialty pack.

I took a piece of Whisper White and stamped onto it the flower stem in Old Olive. I then took another piece of white cardstock and stamped on the flower three times in three different inks - Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel and Close to Cocoa - I then cut them out to layer them. The Chocolate Chip flower is the base part and I cut it out and adhered it to the top of the green stem. I then cut out the other two layers and adhered them using Dimensionals to make the flower pop off of the page. I then added Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the dots of the flower to make it sparkle.

I used my Ticket Corner Punch to shape the corners and then matted this piece of white cardstock onto a piece of DSP from Bella Rose. I then took a piece of Very Vanilla Textured Cardstock and cut it to size - I used my Eyelet Border Punch to shape one edge and distressed the other 3 edges using my Paper Snips. I then adhered all layers together and onto the card base.

I tied around some Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon and I took a hat pin from the Pretties Kit and threaded on some beads - I then tied around a piece of the Chocolate ribbon in the center of the hat pin and I attached this to my card using glue dots. I then stamped my sentiment and punched it out using my Large Oval Punch, finally matting this onto a piece of Old Olive punched out with my Scallop Oval Punch.

Bella Blossoms is currently on the Dormant List - if you want this fabulous set, you can order it directly online by clicking HERE - once there, simply click 'Shop Now' in the top right corner - in the search box type in the set name and it will find it for you - what a beautiful set :-)

And the Bon Voyage Blog Hop Candy winner...

has been chosen using a random number generator - the winning comment is number 28 - a big congrats to Jill - she commented:

"I loved the mini scrapbook in a tin. what a great gift!! I am going to try my hand at one. The flower pot card is very creative Jill - stamperjf@xxxxxx.xxx"

June 14, 2009 10:51 AM

Congrats Jill - your baby tin scrapbook and some other goodies will be on their way to you very shortly :-)

A big thanks to everyone for visiting my blog during the hop - I hope you had fun - we'll be doing another soon I am sure - they are such fun :-)

Welcome to the Bon Voyage Blog Hop!

The stamp set that I have chosen to work with is Just B - I love this set and am very sorry to see it go - it is sooo versatile and can be used for almost any occasion - I decided to make one 3-d item which is a cute scrapbook contained in a tin, one regular sized birthday card and one pull out card that is a little different...I can only add 4 photographs to this post so please check back on Wednesday when there will be further photos and instructions along with the announcement of the winner of my Blog Candy :-)

Please read on to see my little creations and leave me a comment to let me know which you like the best and you will be entered into a drawing for the chance to win some yummy blog candy...at the end of my post you will find the link to the next blog that you hop on to...

The first card is a birthday card - I decided to use some sentiments from Just B but really wanted to use some cupcakes as I love using them on birthday cards and the decision was made for me especially when I chose my card colors which are red, brown and pink...they really reminded me of chocolate cake, frosting and cherries :-)


The card base is Chocolate Chip and the red piece of Designer Series Paper is from Bella Rose - I stamped the sentiment from Just B and the cupcakes from the set Crazy for Cupcakes using Stazon Black onto Very Vanilla Cardstock and colored in the cakes using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and my Blender Pen. It's hard to see from the photo but the cake stand is covered in Dazzling Diamonds Glitter that really makes it sparkle and shine :-)

I matted this onto a piece of Chocolate Chip and then this was attached to the card base using Dimensionals...underneath I attached a piece of Double Stitched Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon with a knot tied to the side as a finishing touch - the result is a yummy, good enough to eat birthday cake card :-)

Next, I decided to make a fun and different card - I have seen lots of flower pot cards on many websites and decided that this is a great set to use to create my own version...the bit with the flowers and the B on it is a pull out section and the sentiment is stamped onto that piece of cardstock, cleverly hidden within the flower pot...


The flower pot is made of DSP from Sweet Always and Bella Rose - you will be able to find a link to the template and instructions for this card to the right that I will post on Sunday morning - I finished the pot off by tying around a piece of Pretty in Pink Tafetta Ribbon with a knot tied to the front.

The insert uses a pink piece of Bella Rose mounted onto Chocolate Chip cardstock - I used my beloved Just B stamp set to stamp the flowers and the letter B and adhered them using Sticky Strip and Dimensionals and used brads and half pearls in the flower centers to finish them off. The pull out section has the sentiment stamped onto it - you can see a photograph of that insert back here on Wednesday morning or by following the link to the template.

My final project is a mini scrapbook contained in a tin - the tin is CD sized and the pages within it fold out concertina style. In total there are 7 pages to decorate and it makes a fabulous brag book for Grandma...below is a photo of the front of the tin and below it is one side of the scrapbook insert...I will add more photos on Wednesday :-)


The top of the tin is decorated with a piece of DSP from Sweet Slumber - I stamped the sentiment using Chocolate Chip Ink along with my Stamp-a-majig to ensure perfect placement. I stamped the B using Versamark onto Pink Pirouette Cardstock and sprinkled on Heat and Stick Powder - I heated this to melt it and then applied brown sparkly Stampin' Glitter - I cut out the B and used Dimensionals to stick it onto the DSP.

The insert you can see below - the base is Chocolate Chip and I used various Designer Series Papers and embellishments to decorate them. The cute little flowers you can see on the first page are made using the flower stamp from Just B - I will upload close up photos later in the week...

And now for the Blog Candy - leave me a comment telling me which project you enjoyed the most and you will entered into a draw to receive the item you liked the most along with some delicious blog candy treats :-)

Thank you for visiting my blog - I hope you enjoyed your stay :-)

Bella Rose Quilt Card...

My wonderful mother-in-law is a big quilter and so I was inspired to make a quilt card for her recently - it uses my favorite Bella Rose Designer Series Paper which lends itself so well to this design as lots of the papers have a fabric-like pattern to them...and I used the stamp set Quilt Quips (pg 53)...

Bella Rose is still available right now but is on the Last Chance Accessories List and once it is sold out, it is gone for good - if you want to stock up, you can order it by clicking HERE

The base of the card is Riding Hood Red which is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" - I took a piece of pink patterned paper from Bella Rose and cut it to size and used my Paper Piercing Tool and a ruler to make the holes for my stitching - I then hand stitched it using brown embroidery floss. I made a border for the quilt using a brown polka dotted piece of DSP.

I used Chocolate Chip Ink to stamp my images and colored them in with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a Blender Pen. I cut them to size and mounted them onto little pieces of Chocolate Chip cardstock. I then cut other squares to size from other papers from Bella Rose and adhered them all in place.

I made a band across the center using Chocolate Chip and Riding Hood Red cardstocks onto which I added a piece of Chocolate Chip 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon. I stamped my sentiment using a stamp from Bella Blossoms (on the Last Chance Stamp Sets List) onto a piece of Textured Pink Pirouette cardstock and adhered it to the ribbon, adding a Jumbo Grommet and piece of ribbon from Ribbon Originals (also on the Last Chance Accessories List) in the center - I love how that ribbon co-ordinates with the quilt border.

Finally I added a few finishing touches - some buttons from Button Bouquet, a brown flower rub-on from Planter Box and a Pink Micro Bead...I love how it turned out - I hope she likes it :-)

You can view the Last Chance Accessories List and the Last Chance Stamp Sets List by looking at the top right of my blog where you will see the 'going going' logos...click on them and they will take you to the Lists...

THE LAST CHANCE RETIRING LISTS ARE HERE...

I can't believe it is that time of year already - Stampin' Up! have just released the lists of Stamp Sets and Accessories that are officially retiring with the Spring Summer Catalog on June 30th...you can find these lists by clicking on the links to the right of this post...

ALL items on the Last Chance Accessories List are WHILST STOCKS LAST - once they are out of stock, they are gone for good - this list includes ALL of the In Color ink pads, refills, ribbons cardstocks, embellishments, DSPs - anything that contains the current In Colors - if you want to stock up on these you need to do so quickly as traditionally the In Color items SELL OUT FAST. Also on this list are other DSPs, rub-ons, Wheels and ribbons...including the fabulous Urban Garden DSP...I'll be sad to see it go...check out the elegant card I made using it below...

This card has a base of Basic Gray onto which I attached a piece of Whisper White 5/8" Satin Ribbon from the Occasions Mini Catalog. I then matted a piece of *Baha Breeze Textured Cardstock onto it using Dimensionals.

I cut a piece of paper from the *Urban Garden DSP pack to make 3 panels and adhered them to the base. I stamped my sentiment from Define Your Life (pg 147) in Versamark Ink onto Vellum Cardstock (pg 156) and sprinkled on White Embossing Powder that I set using my Heat Tool. I cut it to size and using a glue dot on the end to be covered by a grommet, adhered it to the card.

I took a White Jumbo Grommet from the Occasions Mini Catalog and pushed the legs on the back down using my Bone Folder - I adhered it to the card using glue dots and finally took a little piece of Satin Ribbon, tied a knot and adhered it to the grommet center using a glue dot.

By switching the sentiment you can make this card suitable for any occasion - isnt it elegant? I need to stock up on this fabulous paper before it goes for good...

You can place your order directly online and pay via debit or credit card by clicking HERE -click 'shop now' in the top right corner of that page...or if you prefer to pay via Paypal you can email your order to me by clicking here - either way, your order will ship directly to your home address :-)

*these items are on the Last Chance Accessories List

Good Morning Sunshine...

Good morning and happy weekend...this morning here in Texas it is a bright, sunny and glorious day - and as such, I thought I would show you an altered clipboard that I made that reflects this beautiful day so well...I wanted to make a bright and cheery place to put my weekly schedule up during the school summer vacation and I think it turned out great...

It uses papers from the Good Morning Sunshine and Birds of a Feather Designer Series Paper (DSP) packs - right now Stampin' Up! have a sale on them - when you buy 3 packs you get 1 pack for FREE - and I also have my own promo running where you can get another free pack of paper too...you can see more details about these promos by clicking HERE - but hurry, these promotions end tomorrow May 31st...


I measured and cut a piece from Birds of a Feather DSP to fit my clipboard and rounded the corners using my Corner Rounder Punch - I love that this paper features whimsical feathers - it suits my owl theme so well...

I then choose some pieces of chipboard from the package On Board So Tweet (pg 183) and painted the stems brown and covered the leaves using papers from Good Morning Sunshine DSP. I adhered them to my clipboard using Tombow Multipurpose Glue and added some flower buttons from Button Latte (pg 176) through which I threaded Linen Thread (pg 179) for a finishing touch.

I covered the owl with paper from Good Morning Sunshine, painted his feet yellow and added a Tangerine Tango orange nose - for his eyes, I used more buttons from Button Latte and using a Glue Dot added a small piece of 1/4" Chocolate Chip - I then attached him to my clipboard using Dimensionals so that he looks like he is sitting on the branch...

It was so very easy and fun to make and came out looking fab - so summery - I need to stock up on those cute papers so that I can make one each for my kids - they are going to LOVE them :-)

U Rock Guitar Card...

Well I thought I would show you more fun ways to use the fabulous Designer Series Papers - this card was inspired by my little girl who LOVES the guitar - her Kindergarten teacher plays the guitar and she is just desperate for lessons...I came across a template for a guitar one day and just had to make a card using it...

You can find the template for the guitar on the right - and you can find a list of materials I used at the end of this post. And don't forget that all Designer Series Papers are on sale right now - buy 3 and get 1 free - this sale ends on May 31st - you can find out more details about this fab promotion by clicking HERE

I traced and cut out the body of the guitar from Bronze Metallic cardstock which you can find in the Taste of Textiles pack - I then cut out a larger body and the other guitar parts from Textured Basic Black cardstock. I used black Brads on the bridge and end of the guitar and adhered these pieces using dimensionals to give them a lift from the guitar body. I used a black Jumbo Grommet to create the soundhole - doesn't it look fab?

I then took a piece of black paper from Rockabilly Specialty and cut out circles of Designer Series Papers using my Circle Scissors Plus - I adhered the two larger circles to the base and the yellow one I adhered using Dimensionals. Using my Big Shot and the Billboard Alphabet Die I cut the letters Rock out of Bronze Metallic cardstock and attach them to the yellow circle. I took a Basic Small Grommit and used it to highlight a small piece of DSP.

I then matted the black paper onto a layer of Bronze Metallic and onto the card base of Textured Kiwi Kiss.

Finally I took a chipboard U from On Board Loads of Letters and colored it using Riding Hood Red Ink. I used Tombow Multi Glue to adhere the red glitter onto it and attached it and the guitar to the card - and there you have a card suitable for a boy or a girl for any occasion - it is one of my most favorite cards I have ever made :-)

Supplies:

Kiwi Kiss Textured Cardstock, Basic Black Textured Cardstock, Bronze Metallic from Taste of Textiles (pg 156), Rockabilly Specialty DSP, Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Bella Rose DSP

Billboard Alphabet Die (pg 198), On Board Loads of Letters (pg 182), Riding Hood Red Ink, Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter (pg 180), Jumbo Basic Grommets & Small Basic Grommets (Occasions Mini Catalog pg 19), Vintage Brads (pg 174), Dimensionals

Using DSP to make Card Candy...

This month's challenge for my monthly swap club was to come up with some card candy...mmm...I have not made card candy before so had to put my thinking cap on. For those of you who don't know what card candy is, it is little embellishments that you make to give to someone who can then use those embellishments on their cards or scrapbook pages - they are alot of fun to make :-)

After much thought, I decided to make my card candy using Designer Series Papers to highlight another way in which you can use these wonderful papers - they are so versatile and are not just for scrapbooking pages...and what about this - AS A THANK YOU GIFT I WILL BE MAILING ONE OF THESE CUTE CARD CANDY GIFTS TO EVERYONE WHO PLACES AN ORDER FOR MERCHANDISE THROUGH ME FROM NOW UNTIL MAY 31st - so place an order today and you will receive one of these in the mail very soon...if you scroll down you will see one of these complete and ready to mail in it's packaging with a bag topper - didn't they turn out cute? :-)

I decided to use the Bella Rose DSP pack as it works so well with butterflies and flowers - I cut a base of acetate and each candy is attached to it with a glue dot - the recipient can peel off the candy and use it as she wants. I will package my candies in a clear envelope with a topper made of more cute DSP. Now for the details of how I made my candies...

Just for You tag - uses the Scallop Oval Punch along with a stamp from the co-ordinating Oval All set, both of which you can find in the Occasions Mini Catalog on pg 8 - I also used the Large Oval Punch to punch out the sentiment which is stamped with Chocolate Chip Ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock, so that I could layer it using Dimensionals onto the Chocolate Chip Scallop Oval base.

Butterfly - is die cut using the Beautiful Butterflies Bigz Die (pg 196) - you can't see the detail but I actually cut a red butterfly which is layered underneath the top pink one - I joined them using glue at the center seam and the top pink wings are folded slightly upwards to give a 3-D effect. I used Pink Duo Beads (pg 180) for the body of the butterfly.

Flower - is made using the Scallop Circle Punch and the 1 3/8" Circle Punch - I used Dimensionals to attach the green circle to the base and used my Paper Piercing Tool to make little holes in the scallop edge.

Circle with flower - I took a Clear Button (pg 176) and cut out a brown circle using my 1" Circle Punch and then used a glue dot in the center of it and attached the button on top. I then took a flower from Flower Fusion Too (pg 177) and inserted a Vintage Brad (pg 174) and used a glue dot to attach it to the button.

Tag - I used my Large Tag Punch to cut the tag and made a hole in the top and threaded through a piece of 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain. I cut a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock using my Word Window Punch and attached it to the tag using a glue dot and a Vintage Brad. I then used a rub-on from Planter Box (pg 173) and stamped Thanks using a stamp from Trendy Trees (pg 91). Finally I used my Paper Piercing Tool to add a little something to the bottom edge.

You can place your order directly online by clicking on my Online Shopping link at the top right of this Blog right or you can email your order to me by clicking here

ALL orders for merchandise received by me this week will qualify for free card candy - as well as being entered for my Monthly Prize draw, details of which you can find to the right - AND if you place an order through me for merchandise of *$100+ before May 31st you will get to choose one package of Designer Series Papers for FREE! You can find out more about this promotion and other specials offers by visiting my website at http://www.sarahsinkspot.com/

*$100 in merchandise before S&H and sales taxes are applied on top of this

Please note that the DSP and cardstock that I use to make the Card Candy might vary from the photograph above due to availability of DSP that I have to hand - what you receive might be made with different papers but the designs will be the same as shown above :-)

Baha Breeze...

Happy Holiday weekend!

Well what a busy week it has been...huge apologies for the lack of posting this week...the end of the school year is almost here and with it comes lots of kiddie events. And thinking of the fast approaching summer vacation makes me think of a color that I absolutely love that makes me think of summer days...just the name of it makes me day dream of the beach...Baha Breeze...aahhhh... :-)

This is one of this years In Colors and sadly it will be retired on June 30th along with the set containing that adorable cute felt flower - what will I do without this fab color? It is perfect for anytime of year and makes fabulous holiday cards alongside summery ones...this is a card I came up that uses this and my other favorite color - Chocolate Chip...and you can change the sentiment to use it for any occasion. It also uses some Designer Series Papers - the Scrapbooking Promotion is running right now through May 31st whereby you can receive a FREE pack of DSP, details of which you can find by clicking HERE

Take a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and cut it in half so that you have two pieces measuring 4.25” x 11”. Take one of those pieces and score it at 5 ½” and fold to make your card. Trim 3” off of one of the ends to give you your basic card. Use your Scallop Edge punch to make the scalloped edge.

Cut pieces of Baha Breeze to fit the card base – I also put a piece on the inside of the little flap to give a nice continuous look when the card is opened. Cut a piece of patterned paper to size and then stamp your image onto Whisper White and trim to size – shape the corners using the Ticket Corner Punch and attached to the patterned paper using dimensionals to lift it from the card. Attach to the card base using Snail adhesive.

Cut a piece of ribbon and wrap around the flap – attach to the flap with adhesive. I put the join on the front of the flap where it will be covered by the sentiment so that the ribbon looks seamless. Stamp your sentiment and attach to a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock – attach the brads and adhere to the ribbon. Place a brad through the center of the Flower Fusion Too flower and again, attach to the ribbon – I used a glue dot to stick it in place - and there you have a cute card suitable for any occasion :-)

The retiring lists are coming out on June 1st - be sure to stock up now on your In Color cardstocks and inks and accessories containing them such as the Flower Fusion Too felt flowers as they will only be available whilst stocks last and usually sell out fast - once they are sold out, they are gone for good...

And don't forget my own current promotion - place an order through me for merchandise of *$100+ before May 31st and you will get to choose one package of Designer Series Papers for FREE! You can find out more about this promotion and other specials offers by visiting my website at www.sarahsinkspot.com - if you have any questions please Contact Me - have a wonderful weekend :-)

*$100 in merchandise before S&H and sales taxes are applied on top of this

Walk in the Park Wedding...

'Tis the season of weddings upon us and today I decided to pull out my 'To Have & To Hold' stamp set and make an elegant silver, gray and white themed card to showcase another fab piece of Designer Series Paper.

I also decided to use some items from the Occasions Mini Catalog - the beautiful Whisper White Satin Ribbon and a piece of paper from the Walk in the Park DSP pack which lends itself perfectly to this card...the photo isn't the best as today the light just wasn't co-operating...


I stamped my bride and groom image onto Whisper White cardstock using Stazon Black Ink and colored it using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and my Blender Pen - I wanted just a splash of color on the bride and groom. I then matted this onto a piece of Brushed Silver Cardstock.

I cut a piece of Textured White cardstock to size and used my Eyelet Border punch to create the edge - I then distressed the remaining edges using my scissors and matted the other layers onto it. I took a stamp from the Hostess set 'Sweet Little Sentiments' and stamped it onto Basic Gray cardstock using Versamark Ink - I sprinkled on Silver Embossing Powder and used my Heat Tool to set it. I then punched it out using the Curly Label Punch and made slits using the Horizontal Slit Punch .

The card base is Whisper White cardstock onto which I layered a piece from Walk in the Park DSP - I placed my top layers onto it and adhered them using Dimensionals. I threaded a piece of Whisper White 5/8" Satin Ribbon through the slits - I attached the Curly Label onto the card base again using Dimensionals.

Finally I got my Pretties Kit out and threaded some pretty beads onto the hat pin - I tied a piece of ribbon around it and adhered it to the card front using glue dots - and there you have a very elegant wedding card :-)

You can view the Occasions Mini Catalog online by clicking HERE - and right now there is a sale on Designer Series Paper packs - BUY 3 AND GET 1 FREE! Additionally if you place an order of $100+ through me, I will give you a pack of DSP of your choice for free - please click HERE for details of this fabulous promotion...

Fabulous Backpack in Designer Series Papers...

I love Designer Series Papers and continuing the theme of showing you lots of fun and different things you can make with them, I made an adorable Backpack which would be just perfect for end of year teacher appreciation gifts, bridal party or shower gifts, baby shower favors and even for Fathers Day - you could fill it with candies, a gift card, miniature toiletries, have a theme such as a nail pampering kit with nail polish and accessories...with imagination and using the right papers it would be perfect for any occasion...

And it gets even better - right now in the Scrapbooking Promotion you can buy 3 packs of this fabulous paper and get 1 pack for FREE - how cool is that? And there's even more - right now for all orders placed through me of $100+ I will give you a pack of DSP of your choice for FREE - you can find details of these fab promotions by clicking HERE

And don't forget about my Corduroy Buttons & Brads Share and May's Card Kit - this is the last day to get your orders in for both of these - PLUS with every Card Kit purchase I will mail you the template and pre-cut papers to make one of these adorable Backpacks for free -what a great deal - you can find out more about my Share and Card Kit by clicking HERE - but hurry - today is that last day I can take orders for them...

Stampin' Up!'s Specialty Designer Series Papers are just perfect for this project - they are more rigid than the regular DSPs and you can find them on pg 158 of the Spring Summer Catalog - the papers I used are from the Sweet Slumber Specialty Pack - you could use To the Nines or Rockabilly to make Fathers Day Backpacks...and Parisian Breeze would be just perfect for bridal themed Backpacks...

You can find the template and instructions for making this adorable Backpack by clicking HERE - there is also a link to the right - and you can find other photos of it below.

The base of my Backpack uses paper from Sweet Slumber DSP and also Chocolate Chip cardstock - the straps are 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, the buttons are from Button Bouquet and I used Metallic Eyelets. You need to use very strong adhesive for this project such as Sticky Strip which holds very well and you can also use magnetic closures that you can find in craft stores to secure the flaps so that they can easily be opened and closed.

Isn't it adorable? It was sooo fun to make and much easier and straightforward than I thought it would be - I am going to make them for end of year teacher gifts and I think I will make my little girls one each too as a Kindergarten Graduation gift :-)

To place your order directly online please click HERE - and click 'Shop Now' in the top right corner of that page - If you have any questions please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help - enjoy :-)

And the Parade of Papers Blog Hop Candy Winner is...

Comment number 53 - the lucky Becky G who said "the pouch card is my favorite! How can you look at that and not be happy! But you've done a great job with all of your items - gorgeous!"

Congrats Becky G - please email me by clicking HERE with your mailing address and I will get your prize package out to you :-)

Simple Hidden Garden Window Card

I am in a monthly swap club and for the last card front we had to come up with a 4 x 4 card - I decided to create a card with a simple and clean look and used a bold color accent and one of my most favorite embellishments - Rub-ons - I think they look fabulous when used on Window Sheets...they have a very elegant look about them...

I cut a piece of DSP to size - 4 x 4 - I chose a piece from the Bella Rose pack that had white in it that would co-ordinate with the rub-on and ribbon. I cut a piece of Riding Hood Red Cardstock to layer onto this whilst leaving a nice border around it and to give it some dimension, I ran it through my Big Shot using a Texturz Plate from the Backgrounds no. 1 pack that you can find on pg 203 of the Catalog. I then cut a square in the center using my Hobby Blade and Cutting Mat.

I took my Hidden Garden Rub-ons and applied one of them to a Window Sheet - you can find these window sheets in the Occasions Mini Catalog - I cut it to size and adhered it to the back of the Riding Hood Red Cardstock. I then cut a piece of brown patterned DSP from Bella Rose to create a background for the rub-on and adhered it to the card base being sure to line it up so that it would be beneath the window.

I then stamped my sentiment onto a piece of Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon using Chocolate Chip Ink and attached it to the back of the red cardstock and tied a knot in front for a finishing touch. I used dimensionals to attach the red layer to the card base to give it a lift and give a real 'window' look and voila - a very simple, clean looking card that is perfect for any occasion :-)

You can find the wonderful Window Sheets on pg 10 of the Occasions Mini Catalog - the link to which is on the right - and there you will also find the fabulous printed Window Sheets called Clearly Thanks - I love them and you can see a card I made using them if you scroll down to my dandelion card...

Right now the packs of DSP (Designer Series Papers) are on sale - buy 3 and get 1 FREE - you can find further details of this promotion to the right. If you have any questions please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help.

Happy Monday :-)

Parade of Papers Blog Hop is Here!

The was my Parage of Papers Blog Hop project - a group of 24 Demonstrators got together and we each chose a pack of DSP to create 4-6 items from - I chose Washington Apple and it is one of my favorites from this catalog as it is sooo versatile - as you will see from my projects I have used just this one package of DSP to create different looks - from elegant and feminine to bright, bold & fun and on to soft & subtle - what a wide variety of things you can make from one little pack of paper - and I have leftovers too :-)

Elegant, Floral & Feminine...

The first item I would like to show you is the cute Flappy Scrappy Scrapbook - this wonderful book is made from just 3 sheets of 12x12 cardstock and 5 sheets of Designer Series Paper which makes it a very inexpensive scrapbook to make - it opens out and out again several times until it lays flat and holds lots of photographs - it is perfect for family and end of year teacher gifts and makes one very compact, easy to travel with cute album and it is sooo easy and fun to make...

I chose So Saffron Textured Cardstock for the base and chose the red, orange and saffron floral patterned papers to give an elegant and feminine look that would be a perfect gift for Grandma, Mom or a teacher. The securing ribbon is Riding Hood Red Taffeta - you could add extra embellishments as you like - you really can make this album suitable for any occasion.

To save space on my blog, I have a link to the tutorial for the Flappy Scrappy Scrapbook which you can find by clicking here

Here are some more photos of the inner layers...behind the flaps are large areas to put photos and you can also put them on and behind the doors...

My next project continues the elegant and feminine theme...it is a Pouch Card that is perfect for housing a surprise such as a sachet of cocoa or you could adapt it to become a get well soon card and put a chicken cup-a-soup sachet in it instead...or a herbal tea bag would be another idea...

I chose Riding hood Red Textured Cardstock for the card base and again the red, orange and saffron floral paper - I cut out some orange flowers from scrap sheets and adhered them onto the matching papers on the paper using a dimensional and sprinkled red glitter onto the centers of them to give a little feature that lifts from the page. I stamped the sentiment from a stamp in the set Oval All in Tangerine Tango Ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock and layered it onto the Scalloped Oval that I punched out of Tangerine Tango Cardstock - I tied around a piece of 5/8" Satin Whisper White Ribbon, all of which you can find in the Occasions Mini, and tied a knot in front to finish it off - below you can see photographs of it holding the sachet of cocoa...

Bold, Bright & Fun...

For my next project, I decided to change the look - I decided to go bold and bright and created a fun Art Journal that would be perfect for a little girl who loves to draw and color...and Washington Apple contains papers that make it easy for you to do this....

I chose to use the fabulous spiral bound On Board Art Journal as my base book onto which I adhered strips of Riding Hood Red Textured Cardstock down each side and a bold floral patterned paper between them - to get the perfect top edge to fit into the spirals, I used my Spiral Punch on the floral paper and the punched edge fits just perfectly :-)

I took a piece of Tangerine Tango Cardstock and cut it to fit the front - I used my Spiral Punch to give the edges some texture. I made the word My by taking some letters from On Board Loads of Letters and painting them with blue acrylic paint - I made the word Art by using some Sticky Cuts Letters and sprinkled on red glitter. I finished my book off by tying ribbons onto the spirals - I used 5/8" Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain, Riding Hood Red Taffeta and 1/4" Grosgrains in Bashful Blue and So Saffron...isnt it cute? Those sparkly letters really shimmer and shine :-)

To continue with the bold and bright theme, I decided to make a cute Punch Art Birthday Card incorporating some of those adorable Sesame Street characters...perfect for a toddler who loves the characters and those bright colors...

The character faces are made using punches - the Scallop Circle and various Circle and Oval Punches that you just snip to size. They are attached to squares of Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Blue, Riding Hood Red and Tangerine Tango with dimensionals to give them a lift from the card. They are matted onto a piece of Basic Black and then onto a piece of paper that has brightly colored squares from Washington Apple - I used this paper to create a frame around the central image - and then matted it onto another piece of Basic Black and a piece of Riding Hood Red with some Striped Grosgrain Ribbon for a finishing touch - isnt it cute?

Soft, Subtle & all about Baby...

And onto my final items where I am changing the theme again to a soft and subtle look that I used to create a shower gift for a new mommy - a decorated Metal Tin containing a Stack of Thank You Cards for her to use...

The Tin is an empty Flower Fusion Tin that I had and I cut a piece of blue patterned paper from Washington Apple to fit the lid of it - I adhered strips to the sides also. The letters are from On Board Loads of Letters and I coated them with Whisper White Craft Ink Refill onto which I sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. I attached 5/8" Satin Whisper White and 1/4" Bashful Blue to the top onto which I adhered buttons from Button Latte.

The Card uses a base of Bashful Blue with layers of Shimmery White and DSP - the giraffe is from the Wild About You stamp set and is stamped using Bashful Blue Ink - the edge is created using the Eyelet Border Punch. A piece of Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware holds the sentiment and the ribbon is threaded through it...what a cute and perfect new baby or baby shower gift which you could easily adapt to become a baby girl or bridal shower gift by using different DSP :-)

Clearly Thanks with Corduroy Buttons & Brads...

I decided to make a card today using the wonderful printed window sheets from Clearly Thanks that you can find in the Occasions Mini catalog and also to incorporate the beautiful Corduroy Buttons & Brads which add a very elegant finishing touch to any project - this is what I came up with...aren't those dandelions gorgeous?

Firstly I trimmed and then positioned my window sheet with the Dandelions over a piece of DSP from the Good Morning Sunshine pack to see where I needed to place the sentiment - it is a rub-on from the Chit Chat Rub-ons pack - once it was where I wanted it, I rubbed it onto the piece of DSP.

To secure the window sheet onto the paper without using adhesive that would show through the clear sheet, I made a hole in the window sheet and the DSP in the center of the small dandelion using my paper piercing tool and pushed the small brad through. I then placed a glue dot in the center of the large dandelion and attached the button to it, through which I had threaded linen thread and tied a knot as a finishing touch. On the reverse side of this dandelion I put another glue dot and pushed it onto the paper to secure the window sheet securely in place.

I then attached a piece of Kraft Taffeta and tied a knot to finish it off. I matted these layers onto a piece of Old Olive cardstock and then onto a base of Kraft cardstock - and voila - there you have a very elegant card with the beautiful textured accents of the Corduroy Buttons & Brads...

CORDUROY BUTTON & BRAD SAMPLER SHARE

Right now you have the opportunity to take part in my Corduroy Button & Brad Share - these beautiful items are available in 8 colors - Baha Breeze, Basic Gray, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun - as you can see they give a stunning luxurious finishing touch to your projects.

One share will give you 3 buttons & brads in each of the eight colors - you will receive a total of 24 of these absolutely beautiful buttons & brads. And you can purchase more than one share if you would like to receive more buttons & brads :-)

I will place the order for this share on May 10th - once I receive the order, I will package up your purchase and send them out the same day, via First Class Mail - so you will receive your goodies fast :-)

This share is a fabulous price - at just $11.95 you get to sample the entire collection - to buy the entire collection would cost you $80 - this is a great way to get a sampling of them all :-)

To purchase your spot(s) in this share, please go to my Store that you can find by clicking HERE - if you have any questions, please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help.

Mothers Day...

Mothers Day is fast approaching and I decided to make a special card - this is a tri-fold card that uses the beautiful stamp set Dream a Little along with some beautiful designer series papers...

The base of the card uses Chocolate Chip Cardstock - for the front page I attached a card front that I made a few weeks ago - you can find the instructions on how to make it further down this blog in a post titled 'Dream a Little in Chocolate and Pink'.

The second page uses a piece of pink DSP from Bella Rose onto which I stamped the leaves and flowers in Kiwi Kiss ink using my Stamp-a-majig to ensure perfect placement. I colored in the images using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and tied a piece of Very Vanilla/Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon around, using a ribbon slide from Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware as a finishing touch.

The last page uses DSP from Bella Rose and Candy Lane and the pocket contains a pull-out piece of paper onto which I will write my note.

The sentiments are all rub-ons from the Chit Chat pack that you can find on pg 173 of the Spring Summer Catalog - I love these rub-ons and you can use them on paper, cardstock, ribbons, twill tape, acrylic, glass...there is a sentiment for every occasion which makes them fabulous value for money.

I love how this card turned out - a very beautiful look for a very special person :-)

Mothers & Fathers...

So sorry for my absence the last couple of weeks...I had some sick kiddies at home but now all are well and back to school :-)

Well in the next couple of months we have both Mothers Day and Fathers Day coming up and I figured I need to come up with some ideas for both to share. I received a fabulous card in a recent swap and decided that I just had to make one for myself - it uses the stamp set 'And Many Mower' from the Occasions Mini Catalog which is just perfect for Fathers Day cards - and don't forget that right now for every $40 you spend on merchandise from the Occasions Mini you get to choose one item from the 'Under $10' section on pg 208 of the Spring Summer Catalog for FREE :-)

This card has a Chocolate Chip cardstock base. I took a piece of Sage Shadow cardstock and dry embossed it using my Big Shot and the Texturz Background Plates 1 which you can find on pg 203 of the Spring Summer Catalog - and I distressed the edges using my scissors and adhered it to the card base.

I stamped my image from 'And Many Mower' using Stazon Black Ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and colored it using Markers and a Blender Pen. I matted this image onto a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock. I then took a piece of Designer Series Paper from the To The Nines pack and tied around a piece of 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain ribbon securing a white tee in the knot to continue the golf theme. I then adhered this and the image onto the card base.

Finally I stamped the sentiment in Chocolate Chip Ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock and used my Large Oval Punch to cut it out. I then layered this onto a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock that I punched out using the brand new Scallop Oval Punch that you can find in the Occasions Mini Catalog and adhered it to the card base using Dimensionals - a voila - a fabulous Father's Day card :-)

If you purchase the 'And Many Mower' stamp set along with the Scallop Oval Punch - both of which are featured in the Occasions Mini Catalog - you would qualify to choose an item from the 'Under $10' section in the Spring Summer Catalog for FREE - BUT HURRY - this offer ends on April 30th...

Beautiful Soft Summer...

I recently participated in a swap with fellow demonstrators to get different samples using products available in the brand new Occasions Mini Catalog - you can view this Catalog online by clicking HERE - if you would prefer a paper copy, please contact me by clicking here and I will be very happy to mail one out to you. Right now there is the Get Connected Promotion running - for every $40 that you spend on Occasions Mini products you will choose an item for free from the 'Under $10' section on pg 208 of the Spring Summer Catalog - please click HERE for further details...

The card below is absolutely beautiful - it is made by Kelly Spivey and immediately stood out to me - I love the flowers and the colors and the way that the ribbon is tied into the grommet which really finishes the card off - you can find the stamp set, grommet and designer series paper in the Occasions Mini and you can order them now :-)

The base of the card is So Saffron and a piece of Textured Chocolate Chip is layered on to it. The beautiful flowers are stamped onto Whisper White using Old Olive, Cameo Coral and Chocolate Chip and this is layered onto a piece of DSP from the new Walk in the Park pack and attached to the card base.

The decorative strip is made using the Eyelet Border Punch - attached to this is a strip of Cameo Coral cardstock and on the top is layered a piece of dotted brown ribbon from Valet Ribbon Originals. The White Grommet is attached on top and another piece of ribbon has been tied in a knot with the ends cut in a V shape and has been attached to the center of the grommet.

What a beautiful card to receive - this is a perfect card design for many occasions - you could make a batch to have on hand so that you always have a beautiful card to send for birthdays and thank yous - and it would make a wonderful Mother's Day card too :-)

To place your order online click on the link on the right side of this page where you can place your order 24 hours a day - and all orders placed during the month of April will be entered into a prize draw to win the beautiful Level 2 Hostess Set Echoes of Kindness that you can also see on the right :-)

Occasions Mini Catalog is Here!

The fabulous Occasions Mini Catalog is here - you can place orders from it from today :-)

It is a beautiful collection of Stamp Sets, papers and brand new products...and you can view it online by clicking HERE

There are beautiful brand new Stamps Sets in it - one of my favorites is Versatile Verses which has sentiments perfect for 8 occasions including weddings - colorful Rub-ons, the brand new Scallop Oval Punch and co-ordinating Stamp Set, Designer Series Papers...

Other brand new products include Window Sheets - some are offered with beautiful prints on them - and the wonderful Matchbox Bigz Die for the Big Shot along with a co-ordinating Stamp Set that is sized perfectly for adding sentiments to the matchboxes that you make - these boxes would be perfect to contain wedding, shower and party favors...also featured are different colors of the lovely Corduroy Buttons, some very elegant Satin Ribbon and brand new Designer Hardware...

If you would like a paper copy of this beautiful Mini Catalog please contact me by clicking HERE and I will be very happy to mail one out to you along with some new product samples.

You can place your order directly online at: http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/sarahsinkspot

Simply click 'Shop Now' in the top right corner and you can shop, checkout and pay using a debit or credit card - your order will be delivered direct to your door - it's as easy as that :-)

Easter Bunny Basket using the Big Shot

I was shopping in Target this week and came across an Easter Bunny basket that was the same shape as the Baskets & Blooms Big Shot Die - I was delighted and snapped a photograph of it and decided to make one today - it turned out very cute :-)

The store one was constructed of felt fabric - I decided to use cardstock but you can use felt in the Big Shot and the Baskets & Blooms Bigz Die will cut through it very easily - I filled it with peppermint patties covered with scalloped flowers - it makes a very cute container to carry Easter treats :-)

I cut my basket from Pretty in Pink cardstock using my Big Shot and the Baskets & Blooms Bigz Die - I put the basket together using Sticky Strip to secure the sides which gives a very strong bond and I used Tombow Multi Glue to adhere the bottom in place.

I took Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa cardstocks and used my Large & Small Oval Punches to make the ears and my 1", 3/4" and 1/2" Circle Punches to make the cheeks, eyes and nose. I trimmed strips to make the whiskers - all are adhered in place using Tombow Multi Glue.

To fill the Basket, I shredded some pink tissue paper with my paper trimmer to put in the bottom of the basket and then I took my Scallop Circle Punch and 1 3/8" Circle Punch and cut shapes out of pastel cardstocks and Designer Series Papers to make flowers to attach to Peppermint Patties. You could also use Hershey Kisses or Nuggets covered with pretty papers to fill it - and voila - a very cute Easter Basket filled with yummy treats - perfect for gifts for teachers, co-workers, friends and kids :-)

I have a special offer running until March 31st for the Big Shot - you can find details about it on my website by clicking HERE - in addition to the Sale-a-bration and Hostess Benefits you would receive when purchasing this amazing addition to your crafting supplies - it can cut through at least 50 different materials - I absolutely love mine and have created baskets for every occasion using my Baskets & Blooms Die and cardstocks/fabrics - if you have any questions about the Big Shot please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help :-)

Tea Bag Holder Card...

I picked up some very delicious Herbal Tea yesterday (my favorite Tazo brand) whilst out and about, and as I was running my errands I was thinking about a design for a card to send to my wonderful downline who have been working so hard during Sale-a-bration - and to also send to my own fabulous and extremely supportive upline :-)

So this morning I realised that I could incorporate a tea bag into a card design which makes a unique little card to give and will hopefully bring a smile to the recipient...it is a very simple card to make and uses three folds to house the tea bag inside it. It is Spring Break here next week and I definitely have spring on my mind as I can't stop using flowers - I think I might make a couple of these cards to give to teachers to wish them a happy Spring Break :-)

I took a piece of Pumpkin Pie Cardstock and cut it in half lengthways to give me a piece that measures 11" x 4 1/2". I then scored it at 5", 5 1/2" and 6" - fold the center score line up and the others down to give you a W shape.

I took my True Friend stamp set and stamped the flower image using Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive Inks onto Very Vanilla cardstock - I used my Glue Pen on the flower and sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to give some sparkle. I then took a sentiment stamp from the hostess set Sweet Little Sentiments and stamped it in Chocolate Chip Ink - I then tied a piece of 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon around it and matted it onto Old Olive.

I then took a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot using a Texturz Backgrounds #1 plate to give the embossed background - it is sooo easy to create fabulous effects using these plates - I shaped the corners using my Ticket Corner Punch and then matted this onto a piece of Close to Cocoa - I finally adhered this to the Pumpkin Pie base and attached the stamped image using Dimensionals to give it a lift. I have my own promotion running right now for the wonderful Big Shot - please click HERE for details...

For the inside of the card, a photo of which you can see below, I adhered two more pieces of Chocolate Chip cardstock that I embossed and onto one I attached a tea bag. On the other I stamped another flower from True Friend onto Very Vanilla cardstock and left it blank to write my message.

To secure the card at the top, I wanted to use a 1/2" Library Clip (pg 176 of the catalog) but my order containing them doesnt arrive until tomorrow so I made do for today and used a clip I found in my stash - I cant wait for my order to arrive with my new toys later this week :-)

I love how this card turned out and will probably make it for my monthly swap club too - it is quick and easy to make and houses a fabulous little surprise for the recipient inside :-)

Dream a Little in Chocolate and Pink...

My favorite colors to work with are browns and pinks...and as it is starting to feel Spring-like here in Texas, I decided to use the hostess set Dream a Little to come up with a card perfect for this time of year which also incorporates my favorite colors...


I used Very Vanilla for my card base - I took a piece of Close to Cocoa cardstock and using a flourish stamp from the stamp set Priceless I stamped it randomly across in Close to Cocoa Ink. Using a craft knife, metal ruler and self-healing mat, I cut out a rectangle in the center and I used my Scallop Edge Punch and Piercing Tool to make a cute border. I tied a piece of Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon around this and then a piece of 1/4" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain on the top, tied in a knot. I stamped the bird onto a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and cut it out - making sure to make cuts down into the wings and tail to make a feathered effect - and attached it to the front.

On a piece of pink paper from Bella Rose DSP I stamped the flower using Kiwi Kiss Ink for the stem and Rose Red Ink for the flower. I colored this in using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a Blender Pen (I used Old Olive, Regal Rose and Rose Red Crayons).

To assemble the card, I cut and attached a piece of stamped Close to Cocoa along with a piece of patterned paper from Candy Lane DSP to the vanilla base - I adhered the pink paper with the flower stamped on it onto the Vanilla base being sure to line it up so that the flower would show through the window. I then attached the piece of Close to Cocoa stamped cardstock to the base using Dimensionals to give it a lift.

Finally, I took a piece of Twill Tape and stamped 'Dream a little' onto it in Chocolate Chip Ink and wrapped it around the Vanilla base and secured it with Glue Dots.

And there you have a sweet, elegant card that you could use for any occasion by changing the sentiment - I think it would make a lovely Mother's Day card too :-)

Dream a Little is a Level 2 Hostess Set and is absolutely beautiful to work with - I love the stamps in it - and don't forget that until March 31st you receive Hostess Benefits which give you free stamps and free merchandise PLUS Sale-a-bration freebies on your order - it is the best promotion of the year - if you have any questions please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help :-)

Fusion of Flowers

It is very unusual for me to choose bright colors for scrapbook pages - I am more of a pastels and earthy tones kind of person - but because this photograph was taken in low light, it needed something bright to compliment it - and I found the perfect embellishments in these gorgeous felt flowers from Flower Fusion and added some sparkle by using Rhinestone Brads...

It is a 12" x 12" scrapbook page - for the base I used Textured Basic Black cardstock. Using the brand new Circle Scissor Plus I cut a circle out of Rose Red cardstock and then cut a smaller circle from my photograph to layer on the top.

I then used various flowers from my Flower Fusion tin and in the middle of each I used Rhinestone Brads for some sparkle and also used Brads from the Earth Elements and Rich Regals collections.

I just love this photograph - it captures a little girl's utter delight and joy on her birthday :-)

Supplies I used can all be found in the Spring Summer Catalog as follows:

Circle Scissor Plus & Glass Mat - pg 188
Flower Fusion - pg 177
Rhinestone Brads - Circle Fire & Circle Ice - pg 174
Earth Elements & Rich Regals brads - pg 174
Textured Black Cardstock - pg 153

Trendy Trees are in!

I am loving so many of the new products in the Spring Summer Catalog - my favorite Designer Series Paper pack right now is Good Morning Sunshine - it works so well with one of my favorite new stamp sets, Trendy Trees - used together you can create some fabulous projects :-)

I received this card in a recent swap and it was made by a very talented demonstrator called Barbara - it showcases the papers and stamps so beautifully that I couldn't resist showing it to you - the base is one of this year's In Colors, Kiwi Kiss - a piece of paper from Good Morning Sunshine has been cut and adhered to a piece of Pacific Point, a piece of Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain is tied around and these layers have been adhered to the base. The sentiment from Trendy Trees - 'thanks so much' - has been stamped in Kiwi Kiss ink onto the base.

The 'Trendy Trees' have been stamped onto a piece of Whisper White cardstock using Chocolate Chip, Pacific Point, Summer Sun and Kiwi Kiss inks - to make positioning the trees accurate and easy, the Stamp-a-majig is a very useful tool and can be found on pg 189 of the Catalog. Brown thread was used in a sewing machine to make a cute border around the trees.

The Whisper White piece was layered onto Chocolate Chip and then Summer Sun cardstocks and all were adhered to the base using Dimensionals to give a 3-d effect - and there you have a fun card using colors that are perfect for the warm seasons ahead :-)

To sample the brand new Designer Series Papers and Ribbons without spending alot of money, you can take part in my Ribbon and Paper Shares that are brand new for this Catalog - please read the posts below for details of these and if you have any questions please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help :-)

Got Pretty Papers?

There are some absolutely gorgeous new Designer Series Papers in the new Spring Summer Catalog including some textured and glossy ones - they are sized 12" x 12" and are perfect for scrapbooking, card making and all sorts of paper projects...

I have introduced Paper and Ribbon Shares with the arrival of the new Catalog which give you the opportunity to get your hands on the new products without spending alot of money...you can see my stacks Papers below - aren't they pretty? :-)

My Shares offer a very affordable way to be able to sample all of the papers available to see what you love without spending alot of money on buying the full packs - for example, to buy all 20 packages of Designer Series Papers would cost you $210 - to purchase a spot in my Paper share where you would receive a piece of each of the Papers would cost you just $29.95 - you will receive 120 pieces of 6" x 6" paper - this is a great deal! And you can purchase any number of spots that you would like.

I have two Paper Shares currently open - to find them, please click HERE

This will take you to my Store where you will find them and my Grosgrain and Ribbon Shares - again, a very affordable way to purchase all of the ribbons in without spending alot of money :-)

Please Contact Me if you have any questions...

Got Ribbon?

Check out these stacks of gorgeous Stampin' Up! Ribbons...below are 19 colors of 1/4" Grosgrain and 9 colors of the beautiful Taffeta Ribbons, all available in the Spring Summer Catalog - and the best bit is that you can sample all of these ribbons at a very low cost by taking part in one of my Ribbon Shares that I am currently running...read on for details :-)

This is a very affordable way to be able to sample all of the ribbons available to see what you love without spending alot of money on buying the full spools - for example, to buy all 19 spools of 1/4" Grosgrain would cost you almost $100 - to purchase a spot in my ribbon share where you would receive 1 yard (3 feet) of each of the 19 ribbons available would cost you just $6.95 - this is a great deal! And you can purchase any number of spots that you would like.

To find my Ribbon Shares, please click HERE

This will take you to my Store where you will find them and my Designer Series Paper Shares - again, a very affordable way to purchase all of the papers in the new paper packs and there are some gorgeous ones available :-)

Please Contact Me if you have any questions...

Love You Much...again :-)

I can hardly believe we are almost into February and Valentine's Day is fast approaching! I recently participated in a Love You Much Bundle swap with some extremely talented fellow demonstrators and I thought I would show you the wonderful cards that were made to give you lots of ideas for your very own Valentine projects...think of this as my virtual display board :-)

All cards were made using products from the Love You Much Bundle that is currently on sale at 20% off - please click HERE for more details about this Promotion - included is the adorable stamp set Love You Much, Candy Lane Designer Series Papers and the Heart to Heart Punch that features three different sized hearts that co-ordinate beautifully with one of the stamps in the set...there are lots of different designs and ways to use this bundle for other occasions throughout the year such as Fathers Day and St Patricks Day...check out the gorgeous cards below - to see details of each card, simply click on the photo and it will be enlarged:

I just love the first card above which has a base and the card part stands up - and the Shirt & Tie card would work so well for Fathers Day - if you would like any card 'recipes' or how tos please Contact Me and I will be very happy to email you instructions. On to more fabulous creations below...

I love the shamrock made using the Heart to Heart Punch and the basket made using the Baskets & Blooms Bigz Die - and that Candy Lane striped paper used with Riding Hood Red Taffeta is gorgeous...aren't they fab cards? And here are some more...

I just love the card above made using the Top Note Bigz Die - the little birds are covered in glitter which is a very cute touch - and two cards above use 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon which adds a real feature to them... and the last card has a very different spin on using this set - check out this cool St Patrick's Day card below using greens and the Naturally Serif alphabet die for the Big Shot - this die is a fabulous value - at just $19.95 it gives you a full alphabet of perfect card making sized letters :-) To order your Love You Much Bundle simply click HERE - this promotion is only available for 10 more days!

Season of Friendship meets Love You Much...

I am loving playing with these two stamp sets - they complement each other so beautifully - and I also love using red and brown together for Valentine's projects - the brown makes me think of chocolate...mmm...one of my favorite things to eat :-)

This card uses my favorite tree from the Season of Friendship stamp set that you can find in the Holiday Mini Catalog and stamps and paper from the Love You Much Bundle which is available for order right now, just in time for your Valentine's projects...


I stamped the tree using Chocolate Chip ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock. I then used the Stamp-a-majig to position and stamp the birds, again using Chocolate Chip ink. Using my Heart to Heart Punch (as featured in the Love You Much Bundle) I punched the hearts out of Riding Hood Red cardstock and used the Scoring Blade in my Paper Trimmer to make a score down the center of each heart so that I could fold them, to make them look like leaves. I adhered the bottom of each heart leaf to the tree using Tombow Multi Adhesive. I then stamped the birds onto pieces of Candy Lane DSP (from the Love You Much Bundle) and cut them out - I then adhered these onto the birds I had stamped on the card base. I took a strip of Mellow Moss cardstock and scored it lengthways, half way down. I cut slits down to the score line to to make the 'grass' and adhered this to the card base.

I used my Scallop Edge Punch to decorate the edge of a piece of Close to Cocoa cardstock - I then trimmed this to size in order to layer the Vanilla piece on top. I took a piece of Chocolate Chip Tafetta Ribbon and tied this around the 'grass' being sure to cover the score line but leave some green showing below it to give a nice, balanced effect - I tied a knot to finish it off. Using Chocolate Chip ink I stamped the sentiment from the Season of Friendship set onto Very Vanilla and then layered this onto a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. I used Dimensionals to attach it to the card base and as a finishing touch, put a clip from the Clips Assortment onto it.

Finally, I cut a piece of DSP from Candy Lane and layered my card onto it - I was sure to leave a nice border so that some of the patterns of this beautiful paper show around the card - and finally I matted this onto a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock...and voila - an elegant but fun little card, perfect for Valentine's Day :-)

Details for the Love You Much Bundle Promotion can be found on the right - the products in this Bundle are currently on sale at a 20% discount through this month - and the Season of Friendship can be found in the Holiday Mini Catalog which can be found in the Catalogs section to the right of this page - this Mini Catalog ends on January 18th. For ordering or further information, please Contact Me and I will be very happy to help.

Season of Friendship, Spring Style...

I am beginning to feel like Spring is just around the corner and it made me want to make a spring-like card. Today I have used the fabulous Season of Friendship stamp set which is currently available in the Holiday Mini Catalog - this is a wonderfully versatile set that can be used for many occasions all year round and for creating framed projects for your home. This set is only available until January 18th at which time it is no longer available for purchase - if you want one, order it while you still can - you can find the link to this catalog to the right in the Catalogs section :-)

I chose the colors on this card after receiving a baby shower invitation for a friend who is having a baby girl - the colors she specified for her nursery are green and brown and I decided to add in a bit of pink - these colors work so well together and I think I will be using them to make her baby cards...

I stamped the tree image from Season of Friendship onto Very Vanilla cardstock using Chocolate Chip Ink. I also stamped the Flowers using Pretty in Pink Ink onto a separate piece of Very Vanilla and cut them out using my Paper Snips - I adhered the center of each flower to the card base using Mini Glue Dots. I used my Stamp-a-majig to make positioning the leaf stamp very easy and stamped the leaves using Mellow Moss Ink.

I then layered this onto a piece of Mellow Moss cardstock and tied around Mellow Moss 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon and finished with a simple knot. I layered this onto a piece of DSP taken from the gorgeous brand new Candy Lane package of papers (which is available as part of the Love You Much Bundle - details and the flyer of which you can find on the right) and finally layered all onto a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock. For the finishing touch I added a sentiment on top of the ribbon - you could leave the card without a sentiment or add any of your choice to make an any occasion card. You could also add clear rhinestones or Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to the center of the flowers to give it a bit of bling - and voila, a very simple yet fresh looking card using one of my favorite stamp sets :-)

Love You Much Bundle...

Stampin' Up! have released an adorable new bundle of products as a 'sneak peak' from the upcoming Spring Summer Catalog that will be released on January 19th - it is called the Love You Much Bundle and is available for purchase now :-)

Included in this bundle is a cute stamp set called Love You Much, a pack of Candy Lane Designer Series Papers and a gorgeous punch called Heart to Heart...I will detail the products below but I just had to get them out and play with them today to create a cute card...

The main card base is Very Vanilla cardstock - I then took a piece of Bashful Blue and trimmed it to layer onto the base. I took a piece of Mellow Moss cardstock and cut 'grass' using my Paper Snips all along the top edge of it; I drew the tree shape onto a piece of Designer Series Paper from the Candy Lane package and used my Heart to Heart Punch to cut the leaves from a piece of Sage Shadow cardstock to give a little bit of a contrast to the grass - I then adhered all pieces to the blue piece.

I used my Stamp-a-majig to stamp the birds onto the blue cardstock using Stazon Brown ink. I then stamped the birds onto pieces of Candy Lane papers and cut them out, again using my Paper Snips (I love these scissors as they make fine detail cutting sooo easy) and adhered them to the bird shapes on the base. I made my flower using Sage Shadow for the stem and I scored the leaf so that I could adhere one part to the base and the other would fold up a little to give some dimension. I used the Candy Lane papers and Heart Punch to make the petals and made the flower center using my 1/4" Circle Punch and a piece of Close to Cocoa cardstock.

I cut a slit using my Word Window Punch at the top of the card and then punched out the Heart shapes from Pink Pirouette - I pushed the hearts onto my Versamark Ink Pad and sprinkled on Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder and set it using my Heat Tool to give some shimmer and glitter to the card - I adhered the little heart using Snail adhesive but used a Dimensional to adhere the big heart to give it a lift.

I then stamped my sentiment onto a piece of Close to Cocoa cardstock and adhered it to the Vanilla base being careful to make sure it lined up with the Word Window. I tied a piece of Pretty in Pink Tafetta Ribbon around the blue card base and then used Dimensionals to adhere this layer to the Vanilla layer and voila - and cute card perfect for the upcoming Spring season :-)

You can find details of the Love You Much Bundle Promotion and view the Flyer to the right of this post or by clicking HERE - it is available for order now at a 20% discount which is a great deal and wonderful value for money - you get the 6 piece Love You Much stamp set, a very versatile Heart to Heart Punch that gives you three different heart shapes in one and these shapes co-ordinate beautifully with one of the stamps from the stamp set and you also get the gorgeous Candy Lane Designer Series Paper Package that contains 12 sheets of 12x12 double sided papers - it is my favorite pack of papers to date and the papers in it co-ordinate with the colors Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa and Very Vanilla. This promotion runs through January 31st - so snap yours up today :-)

Lip Balm Holder Holiday Card...

This card houses a seasonal Lip Balm that is a perfect way to give teachers, co-workers and girlfriends a little extra gift this Holiday season...the Lip Balm has a cute Snowman on it and I purchased it from Avon...isn't it cute? :-)

The outer piece is Real Red cardstock - I cut a piece to measure 5 3/4" x 3 1/2" and scored it at 2 1/2" and 3 1/4" and fold.

To make the inner piece I used Very Vanilla cardstock - I cut a piece to measure 5 5/8" x 3 1/4" and score at 2 3/8" and 3 1/4". I then stamped my sentiment in Real Red Ink and the snowflakes in Baha Breeze Ink using stamps from the Wishing You Cheer set.

To make the band to hold the lip balm, I measured 1 3/8" down from the top of my Vanilla cardstock and made a mark on the first score line - then I measured 1 3/8" across from this line and drew a line as a guide for the first cut. Then I measured 1 3/8" up from the bottom and did the same as above for the second cut. Using a craft knife and self healing mat, I then cut along these two lines. You should have a band that is 1/2" wide and this will pop out and provide the band to go around your lip balm.

Next I took my Slit Punch and made two slits - both at 1/4" from the top and bottom edges of the cardstock - these will hold the top and bottom of the lip balm so that it doesn't slide out of the card.

I then adhered the inner Vanilla piece to the outer Red piece using strong adhesive, taking care not to stick down the little slit flap and the band - these need to be able to move out from the base.

I stamped my image for the front of the card - I used the Snowman and Snowflakes from Wishing You Cheer set - and attached them to the base. I then used my 1/4" Circle Punch to cut holes in the front and back and finished my card off by threading through a piece of 1/4" Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon to hold the card together - isn't it cute? :-)

You can see photographs of the inside of the card below...for a closer view click on the photograph...you can find the templates on my website at www.sarahsinkspot.com in the Information - Techniques - Lip Balm Card section...

Snowflakes, a Tree and All in the Family...

I am loving my All in the Family set and that gorgeous tree from the Season of Friendship set that is currently featured in the Holiday Mini...

I decided to make a Christmas 'Spinner' card using stamps from both sets and it came out cute - if you don't know what a Spinner card is, details of the technique are below :-)

The tree and snowflake stamps are both from the Season of Friendship set - I stamped the tree using Chocolate Chip ink onto Whisper White cardstock. I then stamped the snowflakes using Baha Breeze ink. The dog and little girl stamps are from the All in the Family set* and I stamped them using my Stamp-a-majig and Brown Stazon Ink so that I could use my Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a Blender Pen to color them in (the Stamp-a-majig is a must-have tool for using this set - you can find it on pg 192 of the Fall Winter Catalog).

I then took a piece of Baha Breeze Cardstock and stamped 4 snowflakes onto it using Versamark Ink - I then sprinkled on White Stampin' Emboss Powder and used my Heat Tool to set it. I used my 3/4" Circle Punch to punch out the snowflakes and used Dimensionals to put 3 of them in place on the card.

I then used my Word Window Punch to make the 'track' for the spinning snowflake - I matted the snowflake that I used for this onto a 1" Circle of Riding Hood Red Cardstock - you can see how to make Spinner Cards by following this wonderful tutorial here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/spinner_card/

I cut a Close to Cocoa cardstock mat for my lower layer and using the track that I cut with my word window punch as a guide, stamped my sentiment onto it using Chocolate Chip Ink (the sentiment stamp is from the stamp set Baby Jesus is Born). I attached the Whisper White top layer onto the Close to Cocoa layer using Dimensionals and put my spinning snowflake in place on the track. I then matted this onto my card base which is a piece of Baha Breeze Cardstock and voila - a very cute Holiday card with a fun spinning feature :-)

*All in the Family was part of the Holiday Extravaganza Bundle promotion - although the All in the Family Bundle has sold out, you can still purchase the stamp set individually (you can find it on pg 78 of the Fall Winter Catalog) - it is such a cute and versatile set :-)

Holiday Extravaganza is still going strong through December 1st - you can find lots more information about this promotion at www.sarahsinkspot.com

Sparkling Snow Swirled...in Green...

I decided to use some greens in my card today and chose to use my Snow Swirled set as I figured what could be a better color to use for a Holiday tree?

This card also has some sparkle on it - I used both Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and Clear Embossing Powder to make it shimmer...

I chose greens that would give an elegant look - Always Artichoke and Sage Shadow - these work really well together.

I stamped the tree from Snow Swirled onto Whisper White cardstock using Always Artichoke Ink. I then used my Stamp-a-majig* to re-stamp over the top of this image using Versamark Ink and then sprinkled on Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder and used my Heat Tool to set it - it gives a clear shine and makes the stamped image appear a deeper, richer color. I then cut my cardstock to size and used my Ticket Corner Punch to shape the corners. I matted this image onto a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock using Dimensionals to 'lift' it from the base.

I cut the card base from Always Artichoke cardstock and cut a piece of Sage Shadow to mat onto it. I then cut a piece of Whisper White to size to mat onto that and stamped onto it the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled set using Always Artichoke Ink - then on the larger snowflakes I used my Two-Way Glue Pen and sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds Glitter to give a lovely sparkle to them (it's hard to capture this in my photograph!) - they really shimmer and shine :-)

To put it all together, I took my cardstock that I stamped the snowflakes onto and adhered it to the Sage Shadow mat - I then tied a piece of Whisper White Tafetta around and tied a knot onto it. I adhered this to the card base and finally attached the Holiday tree into place on the top.

And there you have a very elegant Holiday card that shimmers and shines in the light :-)

*You can find a tutorial on using the Stamp-a-majig on my website at www.sarahsinkspot.com - look in the 'Information' section under 'Techniques' - I promise that once you have used this fabulous tool you will wonder how you managed so long without it - you can also find it on pg 192 of the Fall Winter Catalog - it makes placing all those little stamped images and sentiments in the perfect place super easy :-)

Top Note Photograph Frame Card...

I am LOVING my Top Note Bigz Die - I love that you get the die cut curly label AND the outer frame from one cut* - it is the best die I have in my collection :-)

Today I thought I would show you how you can make a very quick and easy sparkling Holiday card using this fabulous die...it literally took me 5 minutes to make this card...perfect for making lots of to mail to family and friends :-)

For the base I used a piece of Brushed Silver - I cut the frame using my Top Note Bigz Die and a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock.

I used the snowflake stamp from the Season of Friendship stamp set that you can find in the Holiday Mini Catalog - I stamped it in Versamark Ink randomly across the frame and then sprinkled on Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder that I then set using my Heat Tool.

I cut the photograph to size and used Dimensionals to mount the frame onto it, to give it a real 'framed' look. I matted this onto a piece of Always Artichoke cardstock and then attached it to the Brushed Silver card base.

There you have it - a super easy Holiday card that combines a photograph as it's main feature along with a bit of bling and sparkle :-)

* To see the two shapes that you get when you cut a piece of cardstock using this die, please visit www.sarahsinkspot.com and look under 'Top Note Holiday Card' section on the side menu.

Home for Christmas Top Note Card...

I love the brand new set 'Home for Christmas' - for me, this is a timeless set that I know I will be using year after year - it is featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog and it just makes it so easy to produce wonderful cards. This card also uses a frame made using the Big Shot and the Top Note Bigz Die - I love this die as you literally get two fabulous images each time you use it - an inner shape and the outer frame - I have used this die for making bag toppers, frames for photographs, on cards...this die is the best value for money :-)

Another idea would be to simply stamp the doorway image onto a piece of Kraft cardstock using Stazon Brown ink - you wouldn't even need to color the image in and if you frame it using the Top Note frame it looks fabulous and rustic and it is oh so easy to produce lots of beautiful cards in a very short space of time - I have stamped an example of this at the bottom of this post for you to see :-)

I stamped my image using Stazon Brown Ink onto Very Vanilla cardstock and colored it in using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and my Blender Pen. Then I die cut the frame using my Top Note Bigz Die and trimmed the piece of Very Vanilla to fit beneath it. I used Dimensionals to attach the frame to the cardstock to give it a 'lift' and make it look more 'frame-like'.

I then attached a piece of ribbon from the Alpine Originals pack that you can find in the Holiday Mini to the back of the Very Vanilla cardstock and tied a knot. I then adhered this to the Close to Cocoa cardbase and voila - what an easy but beautiful looking Holiday card which would be easy to 'mass produce' to give to your family and friends - you can also add a sentiment if you wish to on the outside or inside (included in this set are the sentiments 'a Christmas Wish...' and 'Though far and wide on earth we roam, at Christmastime our hearts come home' - how perfect :-)

Of course if you wanted to add some bling, some Dazzling Diamonds Glitter would look fabulous on the snow to give it a real sparkle :-)

Here is an example of simply stamping the image in Stazon Brown Ink onto a piece of Kraft cardstock (for a closer view, please click on the photograph) - as you can see, you don't need to color it in and it looks very rustic - to make it look even more rustic, you could tear the paper on one edge, or tear a mat underneath the stamped image...you could use Hemp Twine...very easy, very fast and what a great look :-)

I LOVE the Top Note Bigz die - it is so versatile - you could use it on a Holiday card to frame your family photograph - how cute would that look? :-)

You can find the link to the Holiday Mini Catalog on the top right side of this page - I have my very own Special Offer on the Big Shot which is running through November 24th - you can find details of it at http://www.sarahsinkspot.com/

Cocoa Pouch Holiday Card...

I saw a cute idea to put a sachet of hot chocolate into a card and decided to come up with my own one...I decided that it should have a cold and frosty theme to give the idea that the hot chocolate will warm you up :-)

This card is very easy to put together and again, is another that you can make lots of very quickly - I have used my favorite holiday colors this year - blue, white and silver...

Take a piece of Baha Breeze cardstock and cut lengthways in half to give 2 pieces that each measure 4 1/4" x 11". Score at 5 1/2" and again at 10" and fold along the score lines. Tape the little flap down and tie around a piece of ribbon, finishing with a knot - I used Whisper White Tafetta to give a shimmery elegant look. I used Sticky Strip down the sides of the card to make the pouch.

I then stamped my images using Stazon Black ink onto Shimmery White cardstock and colored in the little snowman using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and my Blender Pen. The stamps are from Wishing You Cheer. I then matted the snowman onto a piece of Brushed Silver cardstock and then used Dimensionals to attach him to a piece of DSP from the Ski Slope package which is featured in the current Holiday Mini Catalog. I attached the sentiment to the same DSP using adhesive. I then matted them onto a piece of Shimmery White and then onto another piece of Brushed Silver which I adhered to the card base.

I finished my card with a snowflake that I had die cut from a piece of Brushed Silver using my Big Shot and Snowflakes die set that you can also find at the back of the Holiday Mini - the link to this catalog is at the top right of this page. Put your sachet of Hot Chocolate into the card and voila - what a cute and different Holiday card :-)

Let it Snow...

To carry on the easy-to-make Holiday cards that I am showing you this week, I created a card using a blue and white theme which works fabulously well with snowflakes...brrrr...

This card is perfect for making lots of, and works for either a Christmas or Holiday card...it uses simple stamping and embossing and is a fun one to work on :-)

The card base is Shimmery White which is beautiful for holiday cards as it has a beautiful sheen to it. I used my Polka Dot Background stamp and Whisper White Craft Ink to stamp the background onto Baha Breeze Cardstock to give a 'falling snow' effect - I then attached this to the card base.

I then took a stamp from the Big on Christmas stamp set and inked it up using Black Stazon and stamped the image onto Shimmery White. I used my Baha Breeze Ink and a Blender Pen to color in the letters. I then took a snowflake stamp from the Season of Joy stamp set and using my Versamark pad stamped the image onto a piece of Baha Breeze. I then sprinkled on White Stampin' Emboss Powder and used the Heat Tool to set it. I used a Circle Punch to cut it out and attached it to the card using Dimensionals to 'lift' it from the paper.

I used my Ticket Corner Punch on the corners and then matted it onto a piece of Baha Breeze using Dimensionals. I then mounted this onto a mat of Shimmery White and adhered this to the card base. I attached a piece of Whisper White Tafetta, tied a knot and voila - a very cute Holiday card that is very easy to mass produce...let it snow... :-)

Simple Faux Postage Christmas Card...

As much as I love making intricate cards, they are time consuming and not really suitable for mass production, which is what you need to be able to do when you make Holiday cards. With the Holidays just around the corner, I decided to show you some simple cards that are easy and fun to make and are suitable for making lots of using very few materials and time :-)

With this in mind, today I decided to show you how to make a simple card using the Faux Postage technique. This is a fun little technique and very easy to do and looks fabulous...

This card uses just 3 colors of cardstock, 1 piece of ribbon and 2 stamps - it is a great value for money card and is a fun one to make...the base of the card is Riding Hood Red onto which I stamped the sentiment using Chocolate Chip ink using a stamp from the Home for Christmas set which is featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog. I tied a piece of ribbon around the card which is from Alpine Ribbon Originals, also featured in the mini.

Now for the faux fun part - there is a wonderful tutorial for this technique that you can find here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/faux_postage/ where you will also be able to download (for free!) the faux postage sheet that you print out onto your white cardstock. You need to choose a small stamp for your 'postage stamps' - I used the cute little snowman from the Wishing you Cheer set and stamped him onto my Whisper White cardstock using Black Stazon ink - I colored in the images using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and my Blender Pen. I used a Dauber and Baha Breeze ink to make the 'sky' around him. You then cut around the postage stamps using some decorative edge scissors - I used the Fiskars Stamp Paper Edgers. I then attached this to a piece of Old Olive cardstock and then using Dimensionals, onto a base of Chocolate Chip cardstock that I adhered to the card base.

There you have it - a cute, easy and fun to make card design that is suitable for making lots of. All supplies are featured in the current Catalogs, the links to which you can find on the top right of this page.

Photo Christmas Card...

I have had several customers ask me for ideas on how they can incorporate a photograph into a handmade Holiday card and so I have come up with several ideas that I will showcase over the coming days, the first idea being below.

I designed this card to be simple for mass-production and to accomodate a full 4"x 6" photograph. It has a 2" opening flap under which you can stamp or hand-write your sentiment or greeting.

I cut a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock at 10 3/8" x 4 3/8" and scored it 2" from one end to make the flap - I used my Bone Folder to make a crisp fold. I then cut a piece of Riding Hood Red cardstock to fit the base of the card; I matted my photograph onto a piece of Chocolate Chip and then adhered this to the base. I used my Photo Corners Punch to add a finishing touch to the photo.

I took a piece of paper from the Holiday Treasures Designer Series Papers pack and cut it to fit on the front of the flap. I took a piece of Stitched Felt Ribbon from Alpine Ribbon Originals featured in the current Holiday Mini (you can find this online catalog on the right of this page) and attached 3 Brads to it - two Silver brads and one Rhinestone Circle brad from the Fire set. I attached the ribbon to the flap ensuring that the cut ends were secured to the front of the flap underneath where the sentiment will be, to give a smooth clean finish.

I then used a stamp and the punch from the Curly Label Punch Bundle featured on pg 189 of the Fall Winter Catalog - I stamped my image in versamark onto Riding Hood Red cardstock and sprinkled on Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder - I then set it using my Heat Tool and punched out the image using the co-ordinating Curly Label Punch. I adhered this to the ribbon and voila - a quick and easy Holiday photo card using a full 4" x 6" photograph :-) You could use any embellishments on it - the Felt Flurries would be cute as would die cut Snowflakes using the Big Shot...

This card will fit into the Extra Large Whisper White Envelope. All supplies used are available in the current Fall Winter and Holiday Mini Catalogs - you can find the online links for both of these Catalogs at the top right of this page.

Chocolate Monochromatic Card...

Well I had a challenge to produce a monochromatic card using browns for a card swap that I entered into...

Browns are amongst my most favorite colors to use so I had quite a selection of materials to choose from in my stash - I got out my Upsy Daisy stamp set, assortment of brown Cardstocks and Designer Series Papers, my trusty Punches and beautiful Tafetta Ribbon, and this is what I came up with...

I took a piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock and cut it to the standard card size (5 1/2" x 4 1/4") - I cut a piece of Close to Cocoa and used my Scallop Edge Punch to shape the bottom edge. I cut a piece of DSP from the Chocolate Chip Prints pack to fit as a band across this and adhered both pieces to the base. I used my Photo Corners Punch to add a feature to the top corner.

I stamped the image using a stamp from Upsy Daisy and Chocolate Chip ink - I stamped the first image onto Kraft and then moved the stamp over and up about 1" and stamped again to give the background effect. I matted this piece of cardstock onto Close to Cocoa cardstock and tied around a piece of Kraft Tafetta. I then attached this to the card base using dimensionals, to give a 3-d effect.

A perfect Fall card suitable for birthdays, thank you's and thinking of you cards - and all items are currently available for purchase from the Stampin' Up! Fall Winter Catalog - you can find the link to this catalog on the right :-)

Thanksgiving Punch Turkey...

Well I decided to get those punches out again and make a Thanksgiving Turkey - I was inspired from a Pottery Barn Holiday Catalog that came in the mail on Friday which featured a turkey that looked like it had been paper pieced...

The papers are from the beautiful Autumn Vine paper pack - these papers are full of Fall colors and are just gorgeous. You can find this pack of papers in the Holiday Mini which you can find online in the link to the right of this page...enjoy :-)

The card base is Really Rust and the mat is Chocolate Chip. All papers are from the Autumn Vine pack, except for the turkey's wings which I made from a paper found in the Pumpkin Pie Prints paper pack. I used my Coluzzle to cut the circle for the body of the turkey and I used my 1 3/8" Circle Punch for his head. I then used my Small and Large Oval Punches to create his wings and tail feathers. His feet and wattle are made from the Horizontal Slot Punch.

To assemble him, I cut a piece of blue paper and adhered the tail feathers to it. I then attached his body using dimensionals to give him a lift from the background. His head and wings are also attached using dimensionals to give a great 3-d effect. I cut a piece of Chocolate Chip to use as a mat and attached the turkey on his base to it. I then used my Round Tab Punch to make a tag out of More Mustard and cut a slot using my Word Window Punch at the base of the card. I used rub-ons for the sentiment from the Chit Chat package - I split the 'so thankful' sentiment in two and put 'so' on the punched tab and 'thankful' on the Really Rust base so that it shows through the window slot.

I finished off my card with some Chocolate Chip 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain and some Mustard Grosgrain - I love how it turned out and think I might frame it to use it for Thanksgiving decorations :-)

The package of Rub-ons that I used is part of the Rub-ons Promotion that is coming up on November 10th - check out www.sarahsinkspot.com for details :-)

Beautiful Bella Blossoms

This morning I decided to play with my brand new Bella Blossoms set - there is a beautiful large flower which is perfect for layering - and I added a little bling with some Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the flower and the ribbon slide :-)

The card base is Rose Red onto which I stamped a flourish pattern using Rose Red ink - the flourish stamp is from the Priceless stamp set.

I took a piece of Bella Rose Designer Series Paper and stamped the stem onto it using Kiwi Kiss ink. I then stamped the flower four times onto Whisper White cardstock - once using Rose Red ink, once using Regal Rose ink, and twice using Pink Pirouette ink. I then cut the flowers out and layered them using Dimensionals to give a beautiful 3D effect.

I attached the layered flowers onto the patterned paper and added some Kiwi Kiss/Vanilla Satin Ribbon secured with a Silver Hodgepodge Hardware Ribbon Slide - I added Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the white part of the flower and to the ribbon slide to give some glitz. I then adhered this to a mat of Kiwi Kiss cardstock using Dimensionals and used Snail adhesive to attach it to the card base.

What a beautiful card, perfect for a birthday or thank you :-)

Snow Swirled Faux Metal Style...

I got out my Snow Swirled set for the first time today and I have to say it has quickly become my favorite holiday set - it is sooo easy to get such beautiful results using it.

I decided to use Silver Embossing Powder and the Faux Metal technique to get some real glitz into it - the Faux Metal technique is amazing as it adds a real metal look to your projects without the weight of using actual metal embellishments which is a great thing for mailing!

The base of the card is a piece of Shimmery White. I took a piece of Designer Series Paper from the Ski Slope pack which is available in the Holiday Mini and adhered a piece of Whisper White Taffeta ribbon to it, onto which I tied a simple knot. I then adhered this onto the base.

I used my Versamark Pad to ink up my tree stamp and stamped it onto a piece of Baha Breeze cardstock - I then sprinkled on Stampin' Silver Emboss Powder and used my Heat Tool to melt it. I used my Ticket Corner Punch for the corners and attached it to a mat of Shimmery White using Dimensionals to give it a lift from the card base.

The Faux Metal technique uses the same items as you use for embossing - choose what stamp you wish to use and stamp it into the Versamark Pad and set to one side. Then simply take a piece of white cardstock and your Versamark Pad and stamp your pad all over the piece of paper. Sprinkle metallic embossing powder all over the paper, shake off the excess and heat it until it melts and goes shiny. Then quickly sprinkle more embossing powder onto this layer and heat again. Repeat this process two more times and then take the stamp that you put aside and push it gently but firmly into the melted layers - remove and you will see that this will give a good imprint of your image into your melted embossing powder.

You can then punch or cut out your image - I used the large and small snowflakes and used the 1/2" and 1 3/8" Circle Punches to cut them out - I then attached them to my card using Dimensionals.

What a fun to make, easy and elegant card :-)

Looking out of the Window...

I love the set Window Dressing - it is incredibly versatile and the characters in it are so adorable. I have used this set most recently to make holiday cards but today decided to use it to make something different...

I decided to make this a card looking from the inside of a room out into the garden. By not using a sentiment this card can be used for a birthday, thank you or thinking of you card - when I like a design, I usually make a batch of cards the same so that I always have a card on hand - and by not using a sentiment it makes it easy to use them for any occasion.

This card uses More Mustard cardstock as it's base, with a piece of Chocolate Chip on top and I used the Scallop Border Punch to edge it - the ribbon is a piece of Mustard Grosgrain tied in a simple knot.

I stamped a plant using Garden Green ink onto Baha Breeze cardstock and put a little piece of Garden Green cardstock at the bottom to make the 'grass'. The cat was stamped on a piece of white cardstock using Stazon Brown ink and I colored him in with Watercolor Wonder Crayons. I cut him out and attached him to the garden background using Dimensionals.

I stamped the window using Chocolate Chip ink and colored in the frame - I cut out the window panes and used a piece of acetate for the 'glass'. The window frame was then adhered onto a piece of Designer Series Paper from the beautiful Autumn Vine pack that is featured in the Holiday Mini. I painted a wooden skewer with brown paint and cut out the drapes from another sheet of Autumn Vine - both are attached to the DSP using Tombow Multi Adhesive. The mat underneath the DSP is also Garden Green.

It came out so cute - I think the recipient will love it :-)

Getting ready for Christmas!

Apologies for not posting the last few days - my hubby was digging a trench in the garden to put in a sprinkler pipe and found out that a pickaxe and internet cable dont enjoy each others company!!! So we've been without the internet for a few days...

Which gave me time to catch up on making some holiday cards. Today's card features the adorable set Baby Jesus is Born which I love - it's a great set for making teacher and kid cards and this was a very fun card to make as I got to play with micro beads and glitter :-)

I used Chocolate Chip cardstock as my base with a frame of Basic Black and then Ballet Blue as the mat on top. The image is stamped with Black Stazon and colored using Watercolor Wonder Crayons and a Blender Pen. I put Tombow Multi Adhesive on the sheep and sprinkled on Clear Micro Beads to give them a 3D look which also shimmers and looks silvery in the light - the sheep turned out very cute :-)

I made the stable using Kraft cardstock - I cut out a triangle for the roof which I then covered using strips of kraft and trimmed the edges to make them neat - I cut out the two sides and then used Dimensionals to adhere the stable over the stamped image to give the impression of looking into it. I took a strip of So Saffron onto which I put a piece of Sticky Strip and I then attached little strips of cardstock to make the straw effect - I attached this finished strip to the card using dimensionals in the center and glue dots on each end.

I stamped the sentiment using Chocolate Chip ink and used my Word Window Punch to cut it out and I used Dimensionals to attach it to the roof. I cut out the star using my Boho Blossoms Punch and covered it with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and finished off my card by placing this on the top of the stable and wrapping a piece of Silver Elastic Cord around the blue mat.

The star and sheep both shimmer and shine - I loved making this card and it put me in the holiday spirit so I'm off to make some more holiday cards this morning :-)

More Punch Critters!

I loved the punch spiders so much that I decided to create a few more critters to hold treats for Halloween...

They are sooo easy and fun to make and only use a little cardstock each but the results are fab - all of the oval critters have a Hershey Nugget inside and the little snake has a tube of Smarties underneath him - they are sure to bring smiles :-)

I used the new Wide Oval Punch to make the main bodies for the critters out of Basic Black cardstock - for the eyes I used the 1/2" and 1/4" Circle Punches and I used the 1/4" Square Punch to make the bird's beak and the snake's forked tongue.

I used my Horizontal Slot Punch to make the legs of the bugs and the tongue of the snake. The fly's wings are made of Vellum Cardstock and I used my favorite Scallop Border Punch to make the tail for the mouse and the wings of the bird. The other colors of cardstock that I used are Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Real Red and Whisper White.

I have just finished up some little spooky lollipop toppers which you can see here:

Again, these use punches of all different sizes. I found the lollipops at Party City - they are great as they have really long plastic sticks that you can cut down to make an arrangement - and they sell for 33c each so are a great price. If you want to skip the candy this halloween you could use the little characters to decorate the tops of pencils instead :-)

It is hard to capture the 'bandaging' detail of the white mummy character - I punched the oval body out of a piece of white cardstock and then cut out strips using my Word Window punch - I attached them in an overlapping way to the oval and then trimmed the edges to give a bandage effect.

Aren't they cute? :-)

Jar Full of Spiders for Halloween!

I found these adorable spiders in a gallery on Splitcoast - they were designed by Julie Case and I just had to make some of my own - they are such a perfect way to give halloween treats (each spider has a peppermint patty in it) and I am sure will bring smiles to the faces of all who will receive them - aren't they adorable? :-)

The big jar is a perfect size to contain them and I thought I would put a layer of Hershey Kisses in the bottom for the 'soil' for the spiders to crawl on - then I made lots more to creep around outside of the jar - they are going to be teacher gifts and I will package them in small glass jars secured with ribbons to keep 'em from crawling out before they get to school...but I thought I would photograph them in their natural environment, the garden, first :-)

They are so simple and fun to make - using your Scallop Circle Punch you make the body of the spider using Basic Black cardstock...then using the Photo Corners Punch you make the legs using Basic Black and whatever colors you would like - I used Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango and Elegant Eggplant...and you make the eyes and nose using 1/2" and 1/4" Circle Punches. You then attach the eyes and nose to the front of one of the scallops, put together the layers of the legs and attach them to the back of the front scallop...attach this to your peppermint patty and attach the remaining scallop to the back of the patty - and voila - what an adorable way to present a treat :-)

You could use different candies, for example chocolate discs would work great - or if you want a candy free option, you could use them as pencil toppers...or use them to decorate goodie bags...put a pin on the back to make badges...this cute idea has inspired me and I have come up with a few more little characters of my own which I will be posting tomorrow...you can find the punches that I used on pg 188 of the Fall Winter Catalog - they are a great fun way to make all sorts of embellishments for cards and scrapbook pages, and I will be compiling a collection of the fun things you can make with punches in the coming weeks...

Snowman Window Holiday Card

This is a card that I originally created for a swap - it turned out sooo cute that I just had to make some more for another swap - everyone seems to love it :-)It uses some fab new Designer Series Paper from the pack Holiday Treasures, and some of my current favorite colors - Riding Hood Red and Baja Breeze...and of course my old faithful, Chocolate Chip :-)

I used the Hostess Set Window Dressing - I stamped the parts of the window that I wanted to use with a Chocolate Chip marker, colored the frame with Watercolor Wonder Crayons and cut out the window panes using a craft knife - I then attached acetate to the back of the window to make it look like glass. I used Whisper White Craft ink to stamp the snow using the Polka Dot background stamp onto Baja Breeze cardstock and attached the snowmen, who were stamped onto Shimmery White cardstock to give them a little glitz :-)

I mounted the window frame onto the snow scene using dimensionals to give the lift.I cut a wooden skewer to size and used my Chocolate Chip Refill to color it. I then cut drapes and attached them to the skewer and window frame using Tombow Mono Adhesive which worked really well. I then cut the paper and cardstocks for matting, used my Scallop Edge Punch (which I love!) and added a piece of Riding Hood Red Taffeta to add the finishing touch - along with my sentiment, which is a rub-on from the Chit Chat package.Isn't it cute? :-)

Sesame Street Punch Fun!

Well today I have been playing with my Stampin' Up! punches - I LOVE punches - especially scallop punches - you can be sooo creative with them...

I was trying to think up some ideas for a toddlers birthday and came up with this fun card - I saw some fun punched faces whilst browsing the gallery at Splitcoaststampers and cased a few...then put my thinking hat on and designed a few more...aren't they adorable? :-)

The cardstock I used is all Stampin' Up! - real red, basic black, tempting turquoise, yo yo yellow - and some of this year's brand new In Colors too - pacific point, tangerine tango and kiwi kiss - I dont often use bold colors but this card just called for them and they all work really well together - I am going to be using them all alot more in the future

Then it got me to thinking about party favor ideas and how else I could use these cute faces and so I put some as toppers on lollipops...I think the kids will LOVE them...

The cool thing about these smiling faces is that they are so easy and so much fun to make :-)