Happy 2009!

Happy New Year! Hope you had a fun celebration--but not too fun!! For the first time in maybe ten years I actually saw the ball drop at midnight--but that's only because I woke up about 11:54 after about a three hour nap on the couch!! I'm such a party animal!!

I'll blame needing a nap on my husband! He doesn't cook much, but the few things he does make are AWESOME--and we were treated to two of his signature creations last night. We traditionally have fondue for dinner on New Year's Eve and Mike's cheese fondue has us watching the clock, counting the minutes until dinner's ready! Mmmmm!! We topped that off (a little later in the evening) with his Crème Brulee for dessert. That recipe, a rich vanilla custard with a baked brown sugar topping, has had more than a few people wanting to lick their plate clean. I'll keep making the mundane, everyday stuff, Honey, if you'll keep making the ABSOLUTELY AWESOME stuff!!

Uh, okay. I need to come out of my yummy food-induced euphoria and remember that this is a stamping blog, not a cooking blog!! I've actually gotten quite a bit of stamping done in the days between Christmas and now, but I'm not sure if getting a few extra Christmas cards done AFTER Christmas should really be reported! I also got a good number of birthday cards out too, but I can't show those because the surprise'd be ruined for the recipients!!

What I can show you (finally) is a swap that I made using the new "Love You Much" stamp set and Candy Lane Designer Series paper that is included in the special "Love You Much" product bundle that Stampin' Up! is offering right now. The "bundle" includes the 6 pc. Love You Much stamp set, a really neat triple heart punch and the Designer paper and until January 31st, it's going for $41.48, 20% off the retail price. Click on the picture at the top of the page for more details.

So if anyone's wondering why in the world a SU demo would NEED to be stamping Christmas cards after Christmas, it's because she's cranking out valentines in the weeks BEFORE Christmas! This little square card uses 2 of the designs from the pack of paper and the "hugs & kisses" stamp that fits in the scallop punch. The stamped image is actually peeking out from inside:

I used Riding Hood Red cardstock to make the "frame" for the stamped image, added Crystal Effects to the heart after I colored it, and "cheated" with the brads on the front of the card. Whenever I add brads to ribbon, invariably I end up snagging the ribbon. So to avoid that this time, especially with this nice Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, I snipped off the "arms" of the brad and adhered the brad head to the ribbon with a Mini Glue Dot that I "smushed" on the back of the brad. The glue dot is a bit bigger than the brad head, thus requiring the "smushing."

Enjoy the parade, taking down the tree, or whatever might fill your New Year's Day, and come back tomorrow to see another card made with this set.