And Christmas begins

So this is Christmas… In August! What, no way you say but yes it is for these crafty ladies. I held a Stampin’ workshop this past Saturday and we continued our Christmas in July cards and tags I even threw in a cute Thanksgiving card we wouldn’t want to overlook any holidays.

It was really fun to get together with my stamp club and create a few projects together. I always enjoy teaching my classes there’s something about getting a group of creatives together that really reenergizes my creativity. I plan the projects and teach the class but everyone puts their own take on it and the fun and laughter that goes along with it cannot be beat. The first project we made was our Thanksgiving card. We used the Flourish Phrases bundle this month and I was amazed at the versatility of this set. The leaves we cut out and layered on a solid background, it’s Stamped with the beautiful rich Early Esspresso ink and we placed copper metallic thread behind the center leaf and it’s all highlighted with the new awesome Affectionatley Yours Designer washi tape. I think it looks festive with just enough glimmer and shine provided by the metallic washi tape. It’s funny, I really love washi and I know I’m not the only guilty one of hoarding the stuff but once I see it laid out on a card or scrapbook layout I wonder why I don’t use it more often. Maybe I just need to make a whole class around it to inspire me, the trick is to find a complementing color to place it on that way the washi designs stand out instead of getting lost in the background.

SO that brings us to our next project, the Christmas card. We all know That holiday sneaks up on us and then at the last minute we catch ourselves buying cards, oh the guilt!! This year I will make all my cards ahead of time and not allow the holiday bustle to catch up with me.  This beautiful simple layout was made with the Flourish Thinlets and the Flurry of Wishes stamp set then with the Copper Stampin’ Emboss Powder we made the snowflakes and sentiment shine. Can you tell I love a little sparkle, lol. The color combination on this card is so clean looking, Stampin’ Up did a really good job with the new Emerald Envy In Color ink, along with Real red they both just scream holidays, mistletoe and warm cider… Mmm now if only the weather would cool down but I guess I have to remind myself we are in August, hahaha. Now that I have one card made I can make the next fifty no problem, right. Once my cards are done I can work on my gift tags, and these tags are so cute and fun to make I have a feeling they will be done well before I even figure out the presents to put them on. To tell the truth I have about  60 tag bases already cut out, I find it therapeutic to precut pieces while I am chatting at my stamp club. Once I get stamping it goes quick and I can usually get most of them done while my son naps, or at least on the days he decides to nap. These tags were stamped with the Flurry of Wishes stamp set and the cutouts are the flowers from the Flourish Thinlets, so as you can see with a change in ink or paper color they can look like snowflakes or poinsettias. That is one of the fun things with these stamp sets your projects can be changed in so many ways. I really enjoyed making these projects and spending time with my stamp club, they motivated me to get in gear and make some samples with my brand new holiday Tin of Tags stamp set. If you all are fans of Stampin’ Up you’ll be happy to know that come September 1st our new holiday catalog comes out and with that a whole new set of fun goodies and I’m telling you it’s very exciting. If you love glitter there are some new glitter emboss powders that will make your projects shine. If your a Halloween fan you’ll love the new Goulish Grunge stamp set, don’t even get me going on the Christmas sets, kits, punches, 3D projects and beautiful designer papers but that will be a whole blog post in itself. Ok, ok I will leave you with a sneak peek of my tags, I used the new Tin of Tags stamp set….

So cute!! I know I’m excited too.

My next project will be all about Halloween I preordered the Goulish Grunge stamp set and I’m looking forward to sharing with you and my stamp club. If your in the SF Bay Area and would like to make some projects and host a workshop I would love to be your demonstrator and if you would like to make these projects visit my Stampin’ Up! website to complete these projects from your home. Thank you, and happy crafting!

Summer Vacation!

So this week we are on Vacation! It’s been so nice to get away from the daily grind and even more so it’s been fun to visit Great Grandma, my son doesn’t get to see her often since she lives out in the suburbs of Chicago and we’re in California but it was great to visit and watch my soon to be three year old interact with her, being as gentle as he could be while trying to teach her to throw a baseball. That being said I have no crafting supplies with me! I will consider going on vacation as a lesson learned.

It is nice to relax, but I need to remember to at least bring some finished cards along with me. We have met some very nice people on our trip and I would have loved to give them a nice card, I guess I will just have to mail them as soon as we get home. So note to self, when I go on vacation I will pack thank you cards and birthday cards.  On the other hand I can share a few of them with you, I don’t have any step by step tutorials prepared but I just want to share them maybe they will inspire you to get into the crafting mood.

Yes please! Let’s celebrate because why do we need an excuse to have a party. This card is a 3″ x 3″ card I made as a thank you to all my crafting ladies that joined me at the Stampin’ Up! catalog premier I hosted. I used all the new beautiful In Colors and the wonderful stamp set Confetti Celebration and Build a Birthday. I fussy cut the Let’s Celebrate on a separate paper in order make a mask and stamp the balloons and the cake stand was fussy cut and I placed some dimensionals to give it a little 3D effect.

Our wonderful Mini Treat Bag Thinlets made this fun little goodie bag pop, and the shaker hot air balloon was made easy with the Balloon Framelite dies that coordinated perfectly with the Celebrate Today stamp set. This goodie bag was almost as fun to make as it was to give away, full of beautiful Stampin’ Up! papers and embellishments. I hope the newly retired recipient will get to spend all her free moments Stamping and creating to her hearts content.

Lastly this beautiful card is one I wished I had on had to give to the nice folks that crossed our paths on our fun vacation.  I feel the B.Y.O.P stamp set is often overlooked and it is full of great sentiments. How often do we find ourselves buying a card and throwing in a gift card when really we could have a stock of handmade cards ready for any occasion. With this one stamp set we can make birthday, wedding, new baby, graduation, and thank you cards then all we have to narrow down is which store we would like to get the gift card to fill it. If you have thought to yourself ‘I would love to make my own cards’ or even if you think you are not creative enough know that you can be. Contact me today to host a workshop get all your friends together and make a ladies night of it. I hope you have a fun time crafting and I hope to hear from you soon.