Create with Connie and Mary Challenge

I have been reading the Create with Connie and Mary blog for quite some time and finally decided to join one of their challenges this week.

The color combo is:

Since we evidently live in a snowdome here (meaning every county but ours gets snow!!!), I decided to make my wishful snowman using my Button Buddies stamp set!

Now, if you’re looking very closely, you might just spy some Sale-a-Bration sneak peeks here! 

I spy a patterned paper, a button, and stamp!  Less than a month away until the fun begins!!!

P.S. – If you would like to book a party or make an order of $150 or more, you might just be able to get a free pack of  that gorgeous glimmer paper!

Stamps:  Button Buddies, Vintage Verses (SAB)

Ink:  Pool Party, Basic Grey

Paper:  Whisper White, Silver Glimmer, Pool Party, Sycamore Street DSP (SAB)

Accessories:  Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Sycamore Street Button Pack (SAB)

December club scrapbook layout

Today I have another club scrapbook layout for you.  I kept this one simple to keep the focus on the pictures.

I focused on Affection Collection for my stamp set – I liked that it was literally male or female oriented – not too girly or too grungy.

I used the shaving cream technique to create the swirly strips of paper on each page.

Shaving Cream Technique

Supplies: Glossy cardstock works best

Shaving Cream

Re-inkers in various colors

1. Fill a container with shaving cream.

2. Drop 3-4 colors of re-inker around the top of the shaving cream.

3. Swirl with a stick or toothpick.

4. Dip paper into the shaving cream.

5. Wipe off with paper towels.

6. Repeat until desired look is achieved!

Here I actually cut apart my 6X6 paper and inked the edges to allow for more pictures to be used.

Stamps:  Affection Collection

Ink:  Pool Party, Soft Suede

Paper:  Whisper White, Pool Party, Glossy Cardstock

Accessories:  Basic Rhinestone, Modern Label punch, corner rounder punch, Shaving Cream, Big plastic tub, paper towels, trash can!

November club scrapbook layout

I have finally made it home from family and friends’ homes after Christmas.  Miracle of all miracles, I even MADE a scrapbook layout last night!  Wow….it has been crazy busy lately.  When I sat down, I realized that I haven’t made a scrapbook layout with my pictures since November!  I got stuck on a set of pictures and couldn’t get the mojo going….plus we had my daughter’s birthday party, Thanksgiving, Christmas…you name it! 

I am finally getting around to posting a picture of this layout we created in November during our club meeting. 

Since we are keeping the Comfort Café theme for this scrapbook, I used the stamp set You Are Loved for the focus of the layout. 

I colored most of my images with markers to get the multi colored look that you see – even though it is only one layer, I think it adds a lot of depth to the page.

Stamps:  You Are Loved

Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Summer Starfruit, Midnight Muse

Paper:  Very Vanilla, Midnight Muse, Comfort Café DSP

Accessories:  Hearts framelits, Decorative label punch, Large oval punch

Christmas Treats

Halleigh and I worked hard last night getting all of her presents ready for her teachers at school.

I used the Snow Festival printed tags to label each present. I love that these tags are large enough to write a note to the teacher!
For the gym teacher, we gave him a 6-pack of Mountain Dew and wrote on the note, "Thanks for all you DEW."
Her teacher got a set of cookie stamps and some fresh cookies!
For the special area teachers and aides, we gave them a whisk filled with Hershey's kisses. Halleigh was so delighted to sing "We WHISK you a Merry KISS-mas" to them!
Finally, for our office staff and janitors we made cookies and wrapped them in the cookie envelopes.
I must say- if you haven't tried one of these kits from Stampin' Up, you simply must! They are so easy a 6 year old can make them!
All you have to do is drop the cookie into a cello bag and drop that inside the envelope.
Everything else was a sticker, so Halleigh signed her name and decorated the tags herself while I mixed cookies! I love letting her have so much ownership in the finished product! She was so excited to hand them out this morning!

Scrapbook pages using Comfort Cafe

I have a few 8X8” layouts that I have created for our club meetings that I’ll finally try and post this week.  The last few months have literally been so exhausting and busy that I just simply haven’t had much time to do anything other than work, clean house (when I’m lucky), do laundry, fix meals, and take care of the family…….I have a feeling some of you know what that’s like! 

Anyway, I had a few free moments this weekend, so I finally got around to taking pictures of all of those layouts.  One of these days I’ll actually get some of my real scrapbooking done, too!  I’m more than a little behind on that, too!!!

Ugh…life just gets in the way, doesn’t it?!  I wouldn’t trade it for the world, though.

Here’s a layout I made a few club meetings ago – fairly simple.  We mostly focused on the Core-dinations paper and the paper piercing pack.

There at the top is part of an Apothecary Accents frame that I diecut.  I love how all of the new paper piercing packs match the framelits.  It makes all of your projects so cohesive!

The image in this right corner is just stamped with rhinestones to accent – very simple.

A word to the wise….there is a reason for the new sanding system….sanding all of that cardstock looks super cool and rustic, but I went through an entire piece of my old cheap sandpaper I had in my desk storage doing this.  I left a huge mess, too!  The new sanding blocks are really inexpensive and well worth the few dollars you are going to pay for them!  By the way, there are some great new colors in the spring catalogue coming in January!!!

Baby Jesus

I made this card for my club the other day.  I really love the idea of the baby Jesus under the star that shone so brightly.  I love great nativity sets, but often I forget to order them or I don’t like the look of the sets.  I loved the elegant look of this First Christmas stamp set and I wanted to make it look like Jesus was being illuminated by the light from the star. 

This is a non-traditional color combo, but I love the look of the More Mustard here.

Just for my mom, I tried another version of the same card.  I used Baja Breeze and Night of Navy for this version.  I stamped in versamark and added Irridescent Ice EP on top.  I like the stark look of this as well. 

I still want to try some more of these cards out…..I just need to actually make it down to the stamp cave to get something done!!!!  Snow day anyone?! 

Stamps:  First Christmas

Ink:  More Mustard, Night of Navy, VersaMark

Paper:  More Mustard, Baja Breeze, Night of Navy, Whisper White

Accessories:  Irridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Basic Rhinestones, Chevron and Houndstooth Textured Embossing Folders, Sponges

Petite Pocket Gift Card Holder

If you don’t own the Petite Pocket die, you are missing out on a great and useful diecut!  This die is just perfect for creating so many things – envelopes for journaling or small notes and more.  They are even the perfect size for gift cards! 

This really was a super duper, easy peasy gift card holder. 

1.  Cut a 4 1/4 X 11” sheet of cardstock and die cut the petite pocket.

2.  Stamp an image in Illuminate Glimmer Watermark ink all around the die cut. (Let dry or speed dry with heat gun).

3.  Adhere the sides of the petite pocket together with Sticky Strip.

4.  Wrap a Snow Festival Designer Printed Tag around the pocket and adhere with Sticky Strip. 

5.  Wrap a ribbon around the tag and insert gift card.

That’s really how easy it is – you can make this in just 5 easy steps!!!  Now all you need is some Christmas spirit! 

Happy Holidays from Stampin’ Up!

The Papercrafters 12 Days of Christmas!!!! LOVE IT!!!!

Guest Designer: Charlotte Keeney

I am proud to welcome another guest designer today!  Charlotte Keeney, has been a friend of mine for many years.  She is a fabulous woman who gives of her time not only as the head librarian, but also volunteers in Love on a Leash, teaching card classes, quilting, and even manages to sell Scentsy in her spare time.  Amazing lady, eh?!

Charlotte sent me these cards that she made for an upcoming card class she was having at her church.  I thought you might enjoy seeing some of her creations!

You’ll notice a few cards we have made in recent club meetings.  Two that I really love are the stocking card – I love the shimmer on those stockings! 

I also love the ornament card in the upper right hand corner – she stamped and die cut a few of them to create that 3-dimensional look!

Here you can get a closer look at that ornament card – isn’t it lovely?

I also think that Santa card is just absolutely darling – love that candy cane paper behind it! 

Thanks, Charlotte for sharing your lovely creations with us! 

I can’t wait to see who has some more fun cards or projects to share with us. 

Quick and Easy Snow Festival Tag Cards

Last night I was super tired, but I wanted to get my cards ready for my orders for my club gals.  Anyway, with a half-fried brain and these snow festival tags, quick and easy was the name of the game!  I just found a few card bases and DSP scraps and went to work.  I used the same Greeting for each card and added a little bling or something of that nature to each card. 

Here I used some Lucky Limeade scraps and Irridescent Smooch to accent a few pieces.

A few Basic Rhinestones on each side made it simple and sweet!

More Gumball Green – I just added a Dahlia this time!

Finally – this one is embossed with the Northern Flurry embossing folder – how easy can these get?

Stamps:  Greetings of the Season

Ink:  Cherry Cobbler

Paper:  Gumball Green, Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso, Candlelight DSP

Accessories:  Basic Rhinestones, Snow Festival Designer Printed Tags, Smooch, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Dazzling Details

Christmas Blessings Card CASE

I made this card recently at our November club meeting.  I saw a version nearly exactly like this card on the Papercrafter’s Library and just had to duplicate it using the materials I had!  I loved the sparkle paper and the elegant look from the scalloped tulle ribbon.

The base is Early Espresso and the Very Vanilla mat is embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  I used the Apothecary Accents framelit for the main piece and just put all of the pieces together to create the focal point. 

Stamps:  More Merry Messages

Ink:  Early Espresso

Paper:  Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Gold Shimmer paper, Candlelight DSP

Accessories:  Vintage Wallpaper, Apothecary Accents, Scallop trim border punch, Scallop tulle ribbon (Cherry Cobbler)

Guest Designer: Carolyn Manning

Carol, my creative Stampin’ Up demonstrator downline in Williamsburg, Kentucky, sent me this lovely picture of her winter version of her printer’s tray a week or so ago……so I am just now getting around to getting any blog posts done, so I thought today was a great day to share her lovely creation! 

I love the way this version of her printer’s tray can last through February!  By the way, that Snowman set is on sale right now for 50% off!  I love the glittery snowflakes adding just a hint of bling to the tray and the bright and cheerful wintery colors!  It almost makes me hope for some snow….except it’s not December yet, so I’m still enjoying this little bit of warm weather!!!!

Lovely job once again, Carol!  We can’t wait to see your next creations!  Hopefully I won’t be swamped with a birthday party next time! 

Blessings Treat Bags

 

My daughter and I made these little treat bags for the children in her classroom Monday night.  Well, mostly she helped eat the m & m’s! 

I made two batches of the mix and scooped it out with a ladle.  I used the gusseted treat bags for this set of treats.  There were 25 bags, so that was just enough for her class.  I made the cards for this in My Digital Studio and printed them out on Kraft paper.  I tied a Chocolate Chip ribbon around the top and it made the whole process very simple! 

Here is a picture of the card so you can see what it says:

For my recipe I used:

2 cups Bugles

2 cups Pretzels

1 package Candy Corn

1/2 jar of sunflower seeds

1 package dried cranberries

1 package M & M’s

Greetings of the Seasons Class

It is always so much fun giving all of your loved ones hand stamped Christmas cards. The beautiful ornaments found in the Ornament Keepsakes stamp set stand alone to create these amazing festive Christmas cards! 

Date:  Saturday, December 1, 2012
Time:  1:00 p.m.
Cost:  $12
Location:  My home

Please email me to sign up for this class: tvdurham @ me (dot) com

Supplies
• Stamps: Ornament Keepsakes and Greetings of the Season stamp sets
• Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red and Lucky Limeade Classic inks
• Paper: Early Espresso CS, Very Vanilla CS, Real Red CS, Lucky Limeade CS and Candlelight Christmas Specialty DP
• Accessories: Dazzling Dimonds glitter, Real Red 1/8” Taffeta ribbon, 3/4" Circle punch, Scallop Trim Border punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Holiday Ornaments - Framelits dies and the Big Shot

Bug Party Treats

As the children were leaving, we made sure to give each child a treat bag full of buggy goodness!  The treat bags were filled with bug tattoos, bug bands, a finger puppet bug, a bug ring, a bug notepad, and a ladybug paddle/ball.

Babies receieved a large finger puppet and 3 rubber bug duckies.

When they got their bag, they were allowed to pick a sucker and a treat cup as well.

I made 8 of each style - magnifying glasses and ladybugs.  The ladybugs were inspired by several different ideas I saw on Stampin' Connection.  The magnifying glasses were inspired by Becky Roberts.

And just so little brother didn't think he was forgotten, I made him an outfit, too!  I found a WiggleWorm iron on at Hobby Lobby for $1.43 and put it on a onesie I already had!

These little caterpillar pants were perfect to go with it! 

 

Bug Party Activity Stations

For this party, my daughter decided she wanted to have activity stations for all of our guests to participate in if they chose.  I thought it was a great idea, so my thoughts on her plans for birthday parties are pretty much - enjoy her great ideas while I can - she's only young once!  I know one of these days she won't want to have these fun parties!

Stations 1 & 2 were together - Create a bug jar to let a bug live in - I collected and washed the baby food jars her little brother has been eating for the last couple of months for the bug habitats!  (Hello, reusing and FREE!)

Design a bug bag to collect bugs in later on during the party.

And here you can see my daughter's bug jar and bug bag - oh, so lovely!

Notice the real live wooly worm behind that?!  Hmmm....wonder what it is telling us about our  upcoming winter?

Station 3 - Make a Caterpillar

You can see a few of the pom pom caterpillars here - NOTE:  Stampin' Up's adhesive googly eyes STICK TO these pom poms!!!!!  Praise the Lord for not having to glue those things on!  Yes!!!

Station 4 - Decorate a Butterfly

I used die cut butterflies that my mother in law purchased for this activity.  I used the shaving cream technique to decorate them.

 

Shaving Cream Technique

Supplies:  Die cut paper (cardstock works best - Whisper White is great for this!)

Shaving Cream

Re-inkers in various colors

 

1.  Fill a container with shaving cream.

2.  Drop 3-4 colors of re-inker around the top of the shaving cream.

3.  Swirl with a stick or toothpick.

4.  Dip die cut into the shaving cream.

5.  Wipe off with paper towels.

6.  Repeat until desired look is achieved!

Here are several of the children at the activity station making butterflies and caterpillars - notice the bug capes?  They were part of an exploration station below.  They loved chasing each other in those capes!!!  Ah, the joys of being a school teacher with tons of silly props in the closet!  ;)

5.  Exploration Station

In addition to the bug capes, there were several bug books (all from my daughter's library - yes, people, this is what she loves to read at night!)

More of the exploration station - There was a butterfly and a lightning bug jar also.  I found these on clearance - they move around like real bugs when you tap on the top!

6.  Tattoo Station

I believe one of our fearless leaders began receiving tattoos rather than giving them!  Hey, what better way to show off your manhood than with a big huge bug tattoo!??!?

And, at last, the bug hunt!  It was just like Easter here - except the kids got bugs to take home with them!  They LOVED it!!!!

They brought all of their bags back in and poured bugs out all over the table to look at their collection afterwards!  Too funny!

My daughter's bag of bugs.  Cute moment not to be forgotten:

As we were setting up for the party, she looked over at us and said, "I've got all a girl could ever want!"

You just remember that, sweet girl!  We may not have a ton of money to throw huge birthday bashes, but we have a family who loves each other and has fun together!  That is all we could ever ask for!