Happy Valentine's Day!

Have some 3-D items to share with you today. Of course, it may have been nicer if I had gotten my act together and put at least one of these up last Saturday so you could have used this idea this week, but, oh well, it's me we're talking about here! LOL "Works great under pressure," that's me! The good news is that these concepts would also be great for other little occasions, or as favors for wedding or showers, so I'm letting myself off the hook!

This first item is actually the project that my stamp clubs tackled this month. While Valentine's Day isn't a huge gift-giving occasion for friends or office mates, it's fun to have a little something to slip in the mail or put on a desk. I incorporated our "technique of the month: faux suede" into each of these little treat folders, giving the hearts and the elephant some texture.

They're sort of a variation of a "matchbook" folder. When you open the flap, you find a little wrapped treat waiting inside.

Even though each of the folders is decorated a little bit differently, they all started out as a strip of cardstock 3" X 10" that is scored at 3", 3-1/2", 6-1/2" and 7". Fold on the score lines and use the scallop circle punch to make a hole in one of the ends to accommodate the treat. Two little Mini Glue Dots, placed where you see the little black x's on the sample below, are the only adhesive necessary to keep the folder insides together, and a 12" piece of ribbon tied below the punch out will work to keep the flap closed when your project is ready to give. The treat is adhered with 2-3 more Mini Glue Dots.

This next project is one that I wanted to keep under wraps until today because it is the little valentine that I included in each of my stamp club member's bags when I delivered their orders this week. It uses the new toy I got for myself for Valentine's Day--like I really ever need an excuse!--the "Bag with Scallops" die for the Big Shot.

When finished, this little bag measures 2-3/8" X 3-3/4" X 1-5/8", a pretty nice size to hold a little gift or treat. Can you guess what I put in the bags I made for the club gals?

This die is one of the "Bigz XL" dies and requires the Extended Cutting Pads, but other than that little thing, this die is a dream! Love it!! I love how the front and back of the bag are both part of that one long strip. Makes stamping/rolling so easy, and it would also be so easy to modify the bag, adding a "window" on the front with a punch of some sort. The scallop flap could also be trimmed away, making the flap shorter or a different shape if you wanted it that way. The die marks all the score/fold lines and cuts all the edges and that scalloped flap all in a couple twists of the Big Shot handle! I folded the score lines on those smaller side pieces in the above picture so you could see them better. (It's a really cool die, but it hasn't figured out the folding thing yet!) A little adhesive on the flaps on those two smaller pieces and the project's finished. My die arrived on the same day as all the club orders and I was able to get all the bags I needed done and ready for delivery in just two hours! Love it! Hey! I guess that fits the "Valentine" theme perfectly!

Hope you have a good day!

The New Catalog Frenzy is Starting!!

First, a few announcements. . .

I continue to update the availability of the retired accessories on the list below and will do so each afternoon at 4:30 until January 18th, the last day to order from the Fall/Winter catalog.

New stamp club rounds start in February and I have two spots available in my first-Thursday-of-the-month Morning Club that meets from 9:30-11:30 AM. If you'd like to learn new techniques, stamp and swap with a fun bunch of ladies, get your new catalog FREE, and a whole bunch of other extras, let me know ASAP that you're interested!!

Now back to regularly-scheduled programming. . .

The "where in the world are the new catalogs" frenzy is beginning, as some Canadian demonstrators received their new catalog shipments yesterday, and we're anxiously hoping that some of us will be lucky today! We demos all drive each other nuts on Splitcoaststampers, hoping that someone who lives near us will post saying she received her shipment, increasing the possibility that we'll see our boxes soon.

Those of you who have reserved copies of the Spring/Summer catalog, I will email you as soon as I see the UPS man pull the dolly out of his truck to bring my boxes to the door! I will only have 4 copies of the catalog that are NOT spoken for from this first shipment. I have another shipment coming, but it will not be here until after the new catalog takes effect January 19th. (Who knew I'd have this many pre-orders without even advertising??) Let me know if you want a catalog. From now until January 31st, I am selling them for $5, half the cover price.

I'm spending this snowy Friday doing design work for a few upcoming projects. Here are a couple of simple Valentines that will be part of an upcoming church-group stamp camp:

Stamp sets--Think Happy Thoughts, Holiday Blitz (heart), Sanded background, All Holidays (for you); Paper--Riding Hood Red, Very Vanilla, Pirouette Pink, Candy Lane Designer paper; Ink--Riding Hood Red & Basic Gray ink pads; Other--Scallop, 3/4", 1-1/4",1-3/8" circle punches, Vanilla Taffeta ribbon, paper piercing tool, Dimensionals.

Stamp sets--Priceless & Holiday Wishes; Paper--Real Red, Pretty in Pink & Whisper White cardstock; Ink--Real Red ink pad; Other--Big Shot Top Note die, 2-Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Dimensionals.

Have a great weekend!

Love You Much #3

Back again with another of the samples I received from the Love You Much swap I participated in. Unfortunately the artist did not give herself credit on the swap nor upload her card on the website where we post our work, so I can't give her her due credit, but I really like the combination of elements she used in her design.


The large cut-out is, of course, the Top Note die cut, cut from Pirouette Pink card stock. Then another Top Note is cut from the Candy Lane Designer Paper, cut in half, with the narrow perforated edge removed. The hearts were punched with the new triple heart punch, again from the Designer Paper. The "hugs & kisses" design was stamped 3 times: once on Riding Hood Red cardstock with Riding Hood Red ink and punched out with the Scallop punch; once on Close to Cocoa with Close to Cocoa ink, punched out with the 1-1/4" punch; and finally on Pirouette Pink with Close to Cocoa ink, cut out with scissors, and topped with pink seed beads from the Pink Duo Bead Duo collection (p. 190 in the SU catalog). Crystal Effects or the Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive (in the green and white tube--that I sometimes just call "green glue!") can be used to easily adhere the beads. The ribbon on the card is the Pink Pirouette 1-1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon. At first this ribbon might seem overly-wide, but just a few inches tied once turns into that nice "bow" detail. It can be added to the front of the card with a few Mini Glue Dots or a 1/2" piece of Sticky Strip.

I was having a hard time catching the beaded detail on the little pink heart, but you'll get the idea.

Hope you have something fun to fill your Saturday!

Another "Love You Much" Design

Whoa! It's Friday! That "really long" Christmas break that the kids have is nearly over!! Now how does that happen??? Before it starts it seems as if there'll be all sorts of time for games or movies or whatever--and then, poof! I guess it's because in those grand plans, I always forget that there will need to be time allotted for clearing the driveway, laundry, meals, and all those other everyday things that really don't stop just because it's Christmas vacation. Darn!

Oh well, let's just forget about that for now and take a look at another card made with the Love You Much bundle: This card, designed by Toni Tessler, a talented stamper in one of my swap groups, uses 2 other stamps that are included in the Love You Much set, and another design from the Candy Lane Designer paper. The hearts on the Pirouette Pink paper at the top of the card are stamped with the stamp that coordinates with the triple Heart-to-Heart punch that also comes in the bundle. I love the zig-zag design on the Designer paper. Somehow that is "just so Valentine's Day." Guess I must've used a lot of my mom's rick rack on valentines when I was a kid or something!!

If you'd like to get going on some valentines like these, you can email me to place your order for the Love You Much Bundle - or shop 24/7 via my website.

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.