12 Weeks of Christmas 2022

Fall is here! And that means we’re heading into the holiday season. Starting with Thanksgiving, then Hallowe’en, Hanukkah and of course Christmas. We also have a bunch of birthdays sprinkled in there too. So it’s a busy time of year! And to help make having a handmade Christmas easier I’m kicking off my 12 Weeks of Christmas 2022 later this week!

Each week I send out a newsletter filled with project ideas, stamping tip and first chance at my upcoming classes and events. And one of the perks of being on my mailing list is that you’ll automatically get my 12 Weeks of Christmas emails.

Every week from September 30th til December 16th you’ll get a Christmas project idea complete with pictures, measurements, step by step instructions and of course a list of everything you’ll need to make them. I’ll be starting off with cards to make sure you’ve got plenty of time to mail them no matter where they need to get to. Next up is gifts and then I’ll wrap it up (lol) with tags, bags and wraps. I love adding a little something special to my gifts!

You won’t find these projects anywhere else! So make sure to sign up for my 12 Weeks of Christmas 2022 before Friday! And if you know anyone who might enjoy these projects, please share this post with them.

Here’s the link to sign up for my mailing list. And here’s one of the projects I shared as part of one of my previous 12 Weeks of Christmas…

Contact Me - 12 Weeks of Christmas

Want more info? You can find that here. The countdown to Christmas is on! It’s less than 3 months away, so let me help you with your holiday crafting.

Handmade Card for Dog Lovers

In our house we’re more about cats. But we have many family and friends with dogs… and every once in a while my munchkins do ask me if we can get a dog. So when I saw the Christmas Scottie bundle I had to craft a handmade card for dog lovers. This is a nice, simple card. It’s my first one with this bundle and I wanted the Scottie to be the focus.

To start I chose my colours for my dog and their bow. I love the colours and patterns in the Lights Aglow 6 x 6 Specialty Designer Series Paper and thought it would work great. It also worked really well as the card mat. A nice bit of colour, but the pattern is simple enough not to take away from my furry friend. Plus with Basic Black as the card base and other pieces, the Cherry Cobbler from the DSP really pops.

The phrase comes from the Christmas Scottie stamp set. I stamped it with Cherry Cobbler ink and then used the Layering Circles dies to frame it before I popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I did the same thing with the Scottie dog I punched out, just using a couple of the larger Layering Circles dies.

To finish it off I added an extra Basic Black bow. Then a few Pearl Basic Jewels to the Lights Aglow card mat. Here it is…

Dogs totally hold a special place in our hearts! And I hope this handmade card for dog lovers shows that.

You can find the Christmas Scottie bundle in my online shop here. And you can check out one of my other card designs featuring one of my other favourite animals here.

September #SimpleStamping

Today I’m sharing my card for Stampin’ Up!s September #SimpleStamping challenge. This month we’re making a “thinking of you” card using ONLY stamps, ink and paper. I really enjoy these challenges because I sometimes find it a bit more challenging when we don’t have an extra little something to work with like Designer Series Paper or ribbon. You don’t realize how used to using these things you’ve gotten until you’re challenged to NOT use them.

For my design I started with my stamp set. I wanted something that had nice images that I could layer. The Bottled Happiness stamp set I think works well for this kind of card in a lot of different ways. The images and how they are supposed to layer on top of each other… and the phrases are great too.

From here I picked my colours. Since this is a “thinking of you card” I wanted more subtle colours. I used Crumb Cake for my card base partly because of this and partly because I can pair almost any other colour with it. The other colours I picked are Soft Succulent and Fresh Freesia; both colours from the 2021-2023 In Colour collection. So pretty and not too much either.

The phrase also came from the Bottled Happiness stamp set. I stamped that with Soft Succulent ink and then framed it with some Crumb Cake cardstock. Then to finish it off I popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

September #SimpleStamping

If we would have been able to add a little something to the September #SimpleStamping challenge I would have voted for some Designer Series Paper. Or maybe even a punch and then I could have used the coordinating Vintage Bottle Punch. Either way I’m happy with how this card turned out. Check out another recent card I made for another #SimpleStamping challenge here.

And you can always stock up on stamps, ink and paper in my online card shop here!

Triple Floating Diamond Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

The Fancy Folds Design team is back for another blog hop! And this month we’re making a Triple Floating Diamond card. It’s a little bit of a bigger card than I usually make so I’ll need to find or make my own envelope, but it’s such a pretty card. You can check out Amanda’s video here. She’s the Scrimpingmommy, from the UK and give you the measurements and steps so you can follow along if you need to.

For my card I decided to not make a holiday card this time. I’m not quite in full holiday crafting mode yet. Instead I’m using the Hues of Happiness Designer Series Paper. It’s so pretty! And I decided to make a sort of thank you card using the coordinating Happiness Abounds stamp set. The colour combination I chose came from the DSP, of course. I used Gorgeous Grape cardstock for the card base. Then I used 2 different designs from the DSP pack for my diamonds. For my ink colours I used Gorgeous Grape and Melon Mambo.

I used a simpler design for my outer diamonds and a darker one in the centre. That way I could have my phrase and stamped flowers stand out. I cut out the flowers using one of the Layering Circles dies and my phrase with one of the Stitched Rectangles dies. Plus I popped these up using some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then to add a little something more to the outer diamonds I used the Blossoming Happiness dies to cut out a couple of the larger flowers from one of the other designs.

Triple Floating Diamond Card

The Triple Floating Diamond card is such a cool looking card right?!

Make sure to keep hopping so you can see all the cards! Up next is Gina Conner and you can see her card here.

And if you want to check out last month’s blog hop where we made a Curvy Pop-Up card, you can start that hop here.

World Card Making Day 2022

The first Saturday of October is a special day for us crafters… it’s World Card Making Day! And for World Card Making Day 2022 Stampin’ Up! is hosting a FREE online crafting event! Starting at 4pm EST on Saturday October 1st you can join and learn new stamping techniques, make great projects and have lots of fun. And the crafting fun doesn’t stop until 7pm EST!

World Card Making Day 2022

You can “bring your own projects to work on or you can craft along with Stampin’ Up! If you want to craft along there are 3 bundles you can choose from. The Cottage Rose bundle is from the Annual catalogue and Cozy Wreaths is from the July-December mini catalogue. And the third bundle is a sneak peek from the upcoming mini catalogue that starts in January 2023; Warm Welcome. Plus when you order one of these bundles you’ll get a FREE pack of Iridescent Pearl Basic Jewels! Just remember to add the code to your order (158987). Stampin’ Up! also has a list of other supplies you might want to have on had if you’re going to craft along. I’ll post that at the end of this post.

You don’t have to register in advance for this online event. But if you want to hear about what’s going to happen before the day arrives then click here to register.

I’m also going to be having an in-person event to celebrate World Card Making Day 2022! So if you live in, or near Halton, then check out what I’ve got going on over on my upcoming classes and events page here.

And as promised here’s the full list of what you’ll want to have to craft along…

Summer Themed Birthday Card

Yes September is here. And yes Fall is less than two weeks away. But I’m still enjoying the warm summer weather. I think that’s where the inkspiration came from for today’s card. Plus I wanted to do some colouring! So that’s where I started… with the stamped image I wanted to colour. The In the Moment works great for this summer themed birthday card. I love all the images in this stamp set, but to keep with a summer theme there was only one choice.

Then I picked my colour combination. I love blues and browns together and they’re a great combo for summer too! I used Crumb Cake as my base colour; the card base and the specs of sand behind all the other elements. Then I have 3 different blues. The blues are Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana and Pool Party. I liked the idea of the shades going from dark to light and so I simply used some strips of the different shades.

The image in the centre is stamped with Crumb Cake and then coloured with the Watercolour Pencils. I used Early Espresso from the first assortment. And Coastal Cabana and Cherry Cobbler from the second. I added a Pool Party scalloped circle behind it (using the Layering Circles dies) and popped them up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. The phrase is from the Happiness Abounds stamp set and I stamped in with Pool Party ink. Before I popped it up I die cut it using the Stitched Rectangles dies. And to finish it off I added a few of the blue-green Faux Sea Glass Shapes.

Summer Themed Birthday Card

I really like how this summer themed birthday card turned out! And I might need to add to my cardstock stash so I can do something similar with some Fall colours.

Check out one of the first cards I made with the In the Moment stamp set here. And you can find it here in my online shop.

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #484

I find inkspiration in a lot of different places. Sometimes by something I see in nature, sometimes by another crafter’s design and sometimes when I’m simply looking at my craft stash. That last one doesn’t happen too often, so I’m excited when it does. Today’s card was inkspired by Paper Craft Crew Challenge #484 (PCC484). It’s a Tic Tac Toe challenge which means you can choose any 3 boxes in the grid for your design as long as they create a line. Here’s the grid…

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #484

For my design I choose a diagonal line; ribbon, leaves and watercolour. And I decided to go with some more fall like colours since it is September. I just love Fall colours! And to help these colours pop I’m using a Basic Black card base along with some Black & White 1/4″ Gingham ribbon. The phrase and images come from the Happiness Abounds stamp set. I used a combination of Pear Pizzazz and Tuxedo Black Memento ink for my leaves. And just Memento ink for the flowers and phrase. To watercolour my leaves and flowers I used Pear Pizzazz, Crushed Curry and Calypso Coral.

Behind the leaves and flowers I embossed piece of Basic White cardstock with the Painted Texture 3D Embossing folder. It adds a nice little something in the background and doesn’t take away from the other elements. Then I cut out the centre piece Basic White cardstock using one of the Stitched Rectangles dies and framed it with a piece of Basic Black. From here I popped up the centre rectangle with some Stampin’ Dimensionals and then layered my leaves and flowers on top.

Paper Craft Crew Challenge #484

Check out the other entries for the Paper Craft Crew Challenge #484 here. And check out a card I designed for one of the previous Tic Tac Toe challenges here.

Classic Handmade Masculine Birthday Card

Just a couple of weekends ago was my father-in-laws birthday. He’s big into classic cars and so the He’s All That bundle is perfect for this classic handmade masculine birthday card. And to step it up a bit there were a few things I wanted to pair it with for this card design.

For the card base I used Night of Navy and then layered a few different things on top. The first layer is a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that I stamped with the paint splatter image from the Quiet Meadow stamp set. Next I embossed it using the Timber 3D embossing folder. Then I tore a piece of the Vellum 12 x 12 Layering Designs. To hide the adhesive I placed it in the centre so I could cover it up with the phrase.

The phrase came from the He’s All That stamp set. Of course I went with the one with the classic card! Then I cut it out with one of the coordinating dies. I popped it up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals and then added a bit of Crumb Cake twine behind it. To top it all off I added a few Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots.

Classic Handmade Masculine Birthday Card

I really like how this classic handmade masculine birthday card turned out. And I hope my father-in-law enjoys it!

Since I got the He’s All That bundle, making masculine cards has been so much easier! I know I’m not the only one that finds these kinds of cards trickier to design. To help spark some more inkspiration, check out this other card I made with this great set of stamps and dies here. And make sure to head over to my online shop where you’ll find the Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots on sale as part of Stampin’ Up!s Weekly Deals!

Floating Element Technique

I found a new technique recently and I’m excited to share it with you! It’s the floating element technique. So basically you make certain elements of your card look like they’re floating. This one I’m sharing today is a great one to use when you don’t know what to do with your scraps of Designer Series Paper. So I’m using some of the scraps from my Sale-a-bration Silver & Gold DSP.

To go with the Silver & Gold DSP I’m using a Night of Navy card base. For the image and phrase I’m using the Penguin Place bundle. I love these penguins! They’re super cute! And this time I decided to make a penguin using the Penguin Builder Punch. The cardstock I used for the penguin is, of course, Basic Black and Basic White. For the feet I used Pale Papaya. I just love this colour for my penguins. Then for the face I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink for the eyes and Pale Papaya for the beak.

Behind my penguin are my scraps of Silver & Gold DSP. To create this effect I started by lining up all my scraps, alternating between silver and gold. Then I made the circle using one of the Layering Circles dies. Once I had my circle, I added it to my Basic White card front using Stampin’ Dimensionals making sure to leave a little bit of a gap between each strip.

From here I layered my penguin and phrase on top. I stamped the phrase using Night of Navy ink and used some scrap paper to layer the words on top of each other instead of leaving them in a straight line. Then I used the smallest Stitched Rectangles die to cut it out. To finish it off I added a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Floating Element Technique

Super cute right! I love the floating element technique and definitely be making more like this!

Don’t forget that tomorrow is the last day of Sale-a-bration! After August 31st the Silver & Gold DSP won’t be available, along with the other great free and exclusive products. Head over to my online shop before they’re gone! And you can check out one of the other projects I made using the Hippest Hippos which are also from the Sale-a-bration catalogue here.

Wonderful World

I can’t believe that summer vacation is almost over! And that back to school is in just 10 days! That also means that Sale-a-bration is almost over, boo! So I’m taking advantage of the time I have left to share another project featuring one of these great, free products… the Wonderful World Designer Series Paper. This gorgeous patterned paper is actually only half of what you get when you place an order of $120. The other half is a stamp set that has some beautiful floral images.

Anyway… for this card I wanted to show off the Designer Series Paper, because the designs go so well together and there are so many different things you can do with it. In this case I wanted to have some of the small floral images be the focus. And to make sure they stayed as the focus I used the simple, and pretty, Melon Mambo design. This way I got some nice colour in the background and it isn’t too plain.

Sticking with the floral focus I used Pear Pizzazz as my card base. Then I cut out the flowers using one of the smallest Stitched Rectangles dies and popped them up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. With this card you can add just about any phrase you want, but I needed something small to fit underneath the flowers. I pulled the “thinking of you” from the Quiet Meadow stamp set. And then cut it out using one of the coordinating Meadows dies.

To add a little something more I added some Basic White twine on either side of the phrase which I popped up with some more Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I added a couple Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Wonderful World

And here’s a card with both of the Wonderful World Sale-a-bration products…

Wonderful World

This card is one that I shared in my weekly email newsletter. To get in on the project ideas (complete with card making tutorials), stamping tips and sneak peeks contact me to join my mailing list!

The last day of Sale-a-bration is August 31st! So don’t wait to take advantage. This is a great chance to get free products while stocking up on what you need for your holiday crafting! Check out my online shop here.

Pretty Patterned Paper

I love pretty patterned paper! Sometimes I love it so much that I have trouble cutting it up and using it. Who’s with me?! Anyway… I think that’s why I love the two cards I’m sharing today from our larger team’s Annual Catalogue card swap. They really show off some great designs featuring two of my favourite Designer Series Paper packs!

This first card was made by Paulette Melanson. She uses the gorgeous Sunprints DSP and Fern 3D embossing on some Starry Sky cardstock to create something that looks like it comes from the same DSP pack. The stamped images come from the coordinating Nature’s Prints stamp set. And the phrase also comes from that set. She also added a few of the Starry Sky dots from the 2022-2024 In Colour Decorative Matte Dots and some of the Starry Sky Metallic Woven ribbon. So pretty!

Pretty Patterned Paper

The other card was made by Rosina Petrella. I love how she layers one of the more colourful designs from the Hues of Happiness DSP on top of one of the more simple designs. She uses a gatefold for this design and uses the more colourful design to keep the card closed. The phrase comes from the coordinating Happiness Abounds stamp set which she stamped using Orchid Oasis and cut out using one of the All That dies. And the die cut leaves are made using the Artistic dies.

Pretty Patterned Paper

I love my team! And I love all of Stampin’ Up!s pretty patterned paper! So of course these two cards are some of my favourites from our team Annual Catalogue card swap.

Check out my card for our Annual catalogue swap here. And if you want to get in on the fun… and the discount… then join my team here!

Curvy Pop-Up Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

This month the Fancy Folds Design Team is making a Curvy Pop-Up card. I saw this fun fold a while ago and am glad to finally get the chance to make one of my own. This is such a cute card and I love that it’s so easy to make! To make your own, check out the video I shared on my YouTube channel here. In that version I used the Penguin Place bundle from the July-December Mini and the Silver & Gold Designer Series Paper from the Sale-a-bration catalogues. It includes the measurements and you can follow along with me step by step.

In my first version I used the All Spruced Up bundle. It’s such a fun set of stamps and dies to craft with! Then to keep with the Christmas theme I decided to use the Painted Christmas Designer Series Paper. It’s so pretty and I used it to choose my colour combination for the card. I used Evening Evergreen as the main colour with a splash of Soft Succulent.

For the pop-up in the centre I used a combination of stamped images that I cut out using the coordinating dies along with some simple cardstock cut outs. The larger ones in the back I added using Stampin’ SEAL and the smaller ones with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The phrase I cut out using the Stitched Rectangles dies. Then added a few of the Festive Pearls to add a bit of bling. You can also add a little bit of Wink of Stella Glitterbrush to the die cut trees if you want a little more. To have somewhere to add a note, just add some Basic White cardstock on the back.

Such a cute fun fold card right?! Make sure to keep hopping around the world. Up next is the Curvy Pop-Up card from Mette Nordling-Shaw. Check that out here.

And check out last month’s hop here, where we made a Mirror Fold card.

#SimpleStamping Birthday Card

For this month’s #SimpleStamping challenge Stampin’ Up! is looking for a #SimpleStamping birthday card using stamps, ink, paper and a Sale-a-bration item. I’ve been having a lot of fun crafting with some of the Sale-a-bration products so I’m excited for this challenge. Especially since it gives me the chance to use these super cute hippos again! Check out one of my other cards using the Hippest Hippos here.

For this card I’m using a nice bright colour for my card base, Coastal Cabana. And Smoky Slate for my hippos. Then to make this a birthday card I’m pairing the Hippest Hippos from the Sale-a-bration catalogue with the Penguin Place stamp set from the July-December Mini catalogue.

I wanted the hippo to be the main focus for the card so I framed it with some more Coastal Cabana cardstock and popped it up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. The “happy birthday” is also framed and popped up. Behind these I stamped a nice simple background. I used Coastal Cabana for the balloons and Smoky Slate for the presents.

#SimpleStamping Birthday Card

Both these stamp sets are super cute! And I love how they worked together to create this #SimpleStamping birthday card.

To step this card up you can add some Wink of Stella Glitterbrush to one or more of the balloons. And you could colour in the hippos using Stampin’ Blends or Watercolour pencils. Adding some bling is another easy way to step this card up and there are so many options to choose from.

Check out the Hippest Hippos and the other Sale-a-bration products over in my online shop. Sale-a-bration ends on August 31st, but don’t wait til then to put in your order things are already starting to sell out!

Handmade Masculine Cards

It’s going to be a little quiet around here this week. I’m taking some time off from my “9 to5” and going on a bit of a vacation with my family. Despite my husband’s eye-rolling I’ll be bringing along some crafting supplies, so check me out on social media for some sneak peeks. In the meantime I thought I’d share a few more cards from my team’s recent card swap. These are some great handmade masculine cards! I often struggle to make masculine cards and so I love these.

This first one is from Julie MacIssac. And she uses a few different things from the He’s the Man product suite. She uses Cajun Craze and Early Espresso for her colours which she got from the He’s the Man Designer Series Paper. I LOVE this pack of paper and I love the way she used some of the All That dies. She also used both the Timbre and Splatter Embossing folders.

Handmade Masculine Cards

The next card also uses the He’s All That bundle and DSP. Carolyn Matthews made this card using Soft Succulent and Early Espresso as her colours. It’s such a fun and easy card to make. And I really like the Faux Suede Trim that she added just above the phrase.

Handmade Masculine Cards

And the last card is by Pam Struwing. She paired the Brewed for You bundle (another great masculine themed stamp set and die combination) with a design from the Perfectly Penciled DSP pack. I really like how simple this card is. And I like the splash of Crushed Curry.

Handmade Masculine Cards

I hope this sparks some inkspiration! And if you need a little more check out one of the cards I made using the He’s All That bundle here.

You can also check out the full He’s the Man suite in my online shop. It’s become a fast favourite of mine and a great way to make handmade masculine cards easier to create!

Fun Fold Card

I saw a post from Jo Blackman a couple of weeks ago showing this cute fun fold card and I knew that I wanted to give it a try. My first thought was to use the Penguin Place stamp set for my design. For the other design that I used for my YouTube channel, I picked the Sale-a-bration stamp set Hippest Hippos. Check out my video here.

From here I needed to pick the Designer Series Paper I was using so I could get my colour combination. For the Penguin Place card design I paired it with the Sale-a-bration Silver & Gold Designer Series Paper, so I used a Pool Party card base. And for the Hippest Hippos card I used one of the designs from the Hues of Happiness pack of Designer Series Paper with a Petal Pink card base. This piece of patterned paper also helped me pick the hippo for my card!

On the inside of the card I stamped the full versions of my cute critters. Adding some of the cute accessories for my penguin and the Watercolour Pencils to colour my hippo. My critters and phrases were all die cut using the Layering Circles dies, even the scalloped cardstock. Then I popped up the framed phrases using Stampin’ Dimensionals. But my plain critters I kept on the same level as the DSP.

Fun Fold Card

I kept the outside of the cards simple. If you want you can add some Rhinestone Basic Jewels or Brushed Brass Butterflies. That would add a little something more to this fun fold card.

Fun Fold Card

You can check out another of my recent fun fold cards here. Each month I join the Fancy Folds Design team for a blog hop and earlier this month we made a Mirror Fold card.