Christmas Wish List Program

I would imagine that some of you are "back from the hunt" on this Black Friday. I've heard that there are some awesome deals out there, but I'm not brave enough to witness the crowds myself.

If you happen to have people in your family who are also reluctant to hit the mall, I've got a way for them to get you just what you want without having to leave the house. Click on the picture of Santa and his list (on the right) and print out the form. Fill in your choices and leave in a strategic spot--under a cell phone, a set of keys, or in a favorite reading spot, perhaps? Could we make it any easier?? Double Bonus!! Have Santa get his order in by December 1st and you can take advantage of the Holiday Extravaganza sale!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this day especially set aside for us to count our blessings, high on my list are all the friends that I have gained through the art of rubber stamping. I hope that you are all having a wonderful day with family and friends. We usually seem to be away for Thanksgiving, but this year we're enjoying a relaxing day at home with the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and a mid-afternoon dinner for just the four of us.

I have one last fall-themed card to share with you, one that I saved just for today. Designed by Jennifer Strauss, I received it in a swap I participated in earlier this fall. I really like the layout. It allows for lots of possibilities for usage of scraps and can easily be translated into a card for any occasion. The ribbon is also added to the card in a little different way. (see photo below for details) I really like this card too, because of the sentiment: "Happy Thanksgiving, happy fall, happy blessings to one and all!"

Stamp set: Happy Blessings, Sanded Background. Cardstock: Kraft, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red. Ink: Basic Brown (waterproof), Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie. Other: Watercolor paper, Watercolor crayons, Aquapainter, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon, Horizontal Slot punch, Dimensionals.

Happy blessings one and all! (And let those blessings include help with the dishes!!)

Nancy

Holiday Extravaganza Sale

Wow! Stampin' Up! just announced 14 different product "bundles" that are on sale (20-50% off!) until December 1st. I like the titles they gave to some of the bundles: "The Manly Man's Bundle" (4 sports stamp sets for 50% off!), "Seasonal Stamper's Bundle" (4 stamp sets to use all through the year for 40% off), "Bags & Tags" (with stamps, a punch, ink, notecards, DSP, and gift bags for 30% off), and "Scrapbooker's Dream" (with an album, die cuts, DSP and lots of other stuff for 25% off). I think I'm going to need at least one of these, plus maybe "Santa's Stocking Stuffer" (rhinestone brads, eyelets and buttons for 30% off) to make some holiday shopping super-easy! (You're not reading this, right, Mom?)

Check out the rest of the offerings by clicking on the shopping cart picture to the right. You can order any of these by using the online ordering feature (also at the right) or by emailing or calling me by December 1st.

We Interrupt This Blog for a Date With the Snowblower. . .

So, yes, this is what was waiting for us just outside the window when we opened the blinds this morning! Instant winter wonderland! May have to spend a little time outside clearing it away today--or I may just wait to see if it gets a little warmer and takes care of itself. Haven't decided just yet.

It's interesting how everyone in the family had a different take on the white stuff this morning. My husband was surprised that the weatherman actually was right. Erik's first reaction was, "Let's go build a snowman!," said in his best toddler voice, (which I loved because it took me right back to when he was 2 and would get so excited about a few white flakes.) But then I think he started thinking about his last driver's ed. session tomorrow, and how maybe he didn't really want to see this stuff. Melissa couldn't wait to get to the bus stop because there's always that excitement that comes with late buses on snowy days. Crazy kid. Snowblower time, testing out the 4-wheel drive on my new car, and wondering if the new tires I just got for the minivan (that Erik will drive) will be as good in the snow as they say they are were my first thoughts. After the winter we had last year, I don't know if I'm ready to see snow stick around quite this early, but it is sort of neat how the change of seasons adds some excitement to the day.

On another subject, over the weekend my friend, Ann, called me to ask if it was too late to get going on stamping her Christmas cards. She had ordered some supplies earlier in the fall, but hadn't decided on the exact design yet. Naturally, I emphatically said, " Of course not!" We got together, looked through some samples and Ann picked out a sample that she liked, but she wanted to use a different Christmas tree stamp. That's the beautiful thing about stamping your own cards!! You get to choose what they will look like!!

This is the sample we used for inspiration. It uses the "Lovely As A Tree" and "Heard from the Heart" stamp sets, Handsome Hunter, Ruby Red, Brushed Gold and Whisper White cardstock, and Handsome Hunter, Ruby Red and Encore Gold ink.

And this is Ann's end result. She switched out both stamp sets, using the tree from"Snow Swirled" and the "Merry Christmas from "Season of Joy". The card's simplicity is beautifully elegant--and made it a snap for her to get 50 cards and envelopes stamped in just a couple of hours. She was so excited and can't wait to mail out her cards to family and friends.

(If you're still thinking that you'd like to stamp some holiday cards, give me a call and we can get you headed in the right direction. It's not too late.)

Well, unfortunately, it might be time for me to go out and decide what method I'm going to use to clean up the driveway. Doesn't look like "melt" is going to be one of my options today.

"Talk" to you tomorrow!

P.S. SPECIAL thanks to Laurie for the use of her battery charger! You're a lifesaver!

So, What Do You Think I Did With My Battery Charger??

I've said it before--we just have a few too many gadgets, gizmoes and what-nots around here! All of the cords, cables, chargers and power packs look the same, although my son could give me a long recitation on all the differences, to which I would respond, in my best teenage-impression, "WHATEVER!" I just want the stuff to work, and when it's not, I want a quick fix!

Well, that's not to happen this morning! I was all excited! I found a way to use Tangerine Tango on a card! A card that used the beautiful mums that I found in the "3 for $10" bucket at the grocery story as inspiration! And when I go to take a picture, the screen says, "Change Battery Pack." Okay, um, yeah. Where might I have put that?" I have NO IDEA! I don't think I've had to charge the battery since we were on vacation this summer!

So, in order to share my mum-inspired, Tangerine Tango creation, I had to rely on the ol' stand-by (not so hot) camera and the scanner, neither of which are doing my creation, or the mums for that matter, any justice. I'll just have to wait until the teens get home and then maybe I will be able to take a decent picture. If not, I might have to bother my good stamping friend, Laurie, 'cuz she just happens to have the same camera I have! Maybe I can barter some cardstock for a battery charge!

Anyway, I arranged the mums in my turkey "vase" with hopes that they last until Thanksgiving. The colors that came together in one package were just incredible. So I decided to "save" them on a card. Let me tell you, my first idea was WAY too involved--punched flowers, scalloped edges, too much stuff. What a mess I made in four short minutes. Time for a different idea. I scaled it back and went with super simple.

The card uses the "Poppin' Pastels" technique with the large stamp from the "Upsy Daisy" stamp set. Stamp the image with Versamark ink and add colored chalk ("pastels") with a q-tip or sponge-tipped eye shadow applicator. The colors seem to blend themselves as you add more color. Any stray chalk can be removed with a clean, soft eraser. I used the Earth Elements family of chalk, mostly Summer Sun, Ruby Red, Really Rust and Garden Green. I threw a little of the Bravo Burgundy (from the Rich Regals family) in there because my mums had a few of a deep, deep red variety.

I matted the image (that was stamped on Very Vanilla) onto some Old Olive and a stray piece (oops!) of Purely Pomegranate (thought it was Riding Hood Red at the time!). The card base is Tangerine Tango that has been stamped with the Sanded background in Versamark.

On to the project du jour: carpet cleaning. yippee. . . I'd so much rather be stamping!!

I will be back later, however, when I can get a decent picture posted. Hope you have a great day!

Not really stamping--but we used cardstock!

Okay, so yesterday I mentioned that we finished repainting the downstairs bathroom, but I didn't really think about posting pictures. This morning I'm hearing about that! So here is what kept us busy last week.

I must warn you--the "after" pictures don't really look like much because 1) long, narrow rooms are really hard to photograph, and 2) I neglected to take "before" pictures, so there's nothing to compare to. Just believe me when I say it looks MUCH better. Erik (the main inhabitant of this room) must think so too, because when I went down there this morning to take these pictures, it was amazingly neat 'n' tidy! Now, I know, it's only been a few days. . . I'm not getting my hopes up. . . but moms have to enjoy these victories, no matter how tiny!

This first picture give sort of an overview of the whole project--the new green walls, the white wall with the mirrors and painted circles, the new towel hooks that started the whole project!

Melissa loves how her mirrors turned out. There's another set hanging just to the left of the shower.

Oh, and I mentioned that this project used cardstock. So, here's how. . .

We mapped out where each mirror (and corresponding painted circle) should go with circles of Green Galore, Ballet Blue, and Gable Green! It helped us choose our paint colors and allowed for perfect circle placement. Melissa then used a compass to draw the circle on the wall before we painted.

I promise to use cardstock to make a card tomorrow!

Oh, wow!

Has it really been almost a week since I've been here??? As the ol' saying goes, time flies when you're having fun! And now that I look back, (with the help of my trusty calendar!), it has been a busy but productive week! Hubby's traveling and meals have been coming from the crock pot, allowing some projects to be moved from the "to-do" list over to "DONE!!!!"

Melissa and I made progress with our bathroom re-do, taking plenty of time along the way to admire our handiwork, :-) the minivan finally has some new tires, I layered on warm clothes and plugged away at yard cleanup, and I got to "work" in my craft room, puttering away on some swaps, prep for last weekend's stamp camp, and a little surprise for my stamp club members. Can't show you the surprise just yet, because there are a couple gals who don't have theirs yet, but I'll try to remember to show you later this week.

What I can show you is the other project the Stamp Clubs did at their November meeting. Each month we focus on a different technique and everyone in Stamp Club takes home a "technique card" that can be used later to recall just how to do what was learned. This month the technique was "Markers on Vellum." We used the "A Christmas Cardinal" stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog, embossed the cardinal on a piece of vellum (that was cut with the "Top Note" Big Shot die), and colored the image on the reverse side using markers, thus the highly-technical technique name!!! Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red, two of this year's "In" colors gave this Christmas card an up-to-date look.



A reminder that if you'd like to start YOUR collection of technique cards, new stamp clubs will start up in February with the launch of the Spring/Summer catalog. I'd love to have you join one of my clubs, so let me know if this interests you and I can fill you in on the details.

One other thing that I puttered with this week isn't really stamping-related, but I'll share anyway. I was intrigued by a local news story last week that featured a website showcasing handmade crafts and I had to check it out. Etsy.com allows crafters of all kinds to offer their products for sale. I've often had people tell me that I should sell the caramels I make, but I'd never taken the time to try it--until today. I put together a listing, calling it "CaramelsToDieFor". We'll see what happens. The kids were just excited because I had to make a batch in order to take the pictures--they told me they would have no trouble taking care of the "used" caramels for me!

Have a great week!