Celebrate the Miracle

In less than one week Chanukah starts! We celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas in our house so December is a busy month for us. It also means I make Chanukah AND Christmas cards to send out this time of year. Finding Chanukah themed stamp sets can be tricky. But I was super excited when Stampin’ Up! launched the Celebrate the Miracle stamp set! This online exclusive stamp set has a great variety of images and sentiments. Up until now I’ve had to mix and match with the bits and pieces I’ve collected over the years.

One of the things my munchkins love about Chanukah is playing dreidel… even Leo enjoys it, lol! We don’t play for money, but we do have a lot of fun. So I couldn’t resist making a card featuring the dreidel images. And blue is one of the colours you see a lot of at Chanukah so I used that for my card base… Balmy Blue to be exact. Balmy Blue is also my main ink colour with a bit of Misty Moonlight.

I stamped the dreidels and coins in Balmy Blue ink and “spin” in Misty Moonlight. There’s also a “Happy Chanukah” in Misty Moonlight on the inside. I like how easy the dreidels are to fussy cut! Before I popped them up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals I put a bit of the silver Simply Elegant Trim behind them. And behind that is a strip of patterned paper from the A Walk in the Forest Designer Series Paper pack.

Celebrate the Miracle

I can’t wait to do some silver heat embossing with the Celebrate the Miracle stamp set! Sadly it’ll have to. 2 dozen cards are a lot to heat emboss and I need to get my Chanukah cards done and in the mail.

I’ll share what I do end up sending out next week. In the meantime, check out this card I made with the A Walk in the Forest Designer Series Paper.

If you like this pack of patterned paper, you’ll need to add some to your stash sooner rather than later. As of January 4th it’ll no longer be available… along with a number of other products that are retiring from the September – December mini catalogue. You can get all the most up to date information on what’s still available in my online shop!

Wedding Cards with Abundant Beauty

This weekend’s going to be a busy one for us! We’ve got two birthdays and a wedding to celebrate. I usually have a decent stash of birthday cards. But when it comes to weddings I try to get some inkspiration from the couple’s invitation. And as soon as I saw this one I’ve had a picture in my head of what I wanted to do! I knew I just had to make wedding cards with Abundant Beauty Decorative masks…. specifically the sunflower masks.

The invitation was full of flowers and deeper colours. So for the card base I’m using Basic Black, which was also one of the colours they used. On top of that I layered some Wild Wheat cardstock and another piece of Basic Black. The next layer is a stamped piece of Very Vanilla. I stamped the large flower from the Quiet Meadow stamp set with Crushed Curry. And a few smaller ones with Cajun Craze.

I also used these colours for my sunflowers. Starting with Crushed Curry and then adding a little Cajun Craze to the centre of my petals. Then I used Wild Wheat and Early Espresso for the centres. For the leaves I used Old Olive ink. I made a whole bunch because my mother-in-law asked if I could also make her a card to give to the couple. Thankfully it wasn’t too time consuming to fussy cut them all out!

Wedding Cards with Abundant Beauty

I switched it up a little bit for my mother-in-law’s card. The colours are the same, but I embossed a piece of Wild Wheat cardstock with the 3D Painted Texture embossing folder. I also used a sentiment from the Something Fancy stamp set which I die cut with one of the coordinating dies. The sunflowers on both cards are popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. But the sentiment on my card wasn’t.

Wedding Cards with Abundant Beauty

I just love how both of these wedding cards with Abundant Beauty turned out! These decorative masks will definitely be staying in my craft stash for a while after they retire.

Check out another card I made using the Abundant Beauty Decorative Masks here.

If you want to add these masks to your craft stash, don’t wait too long! These are on the list of retiring products and won’t be available after January 3rd… if they last that long. Find them and the other retiring products in my online shop.

September to December Catalogue Retiring List

A couple times a year Stampin’ Up! has to make room for new catalogues and products. The big one is in the Spring when the Annual Catalogue retires. But right now is the other. The September to December Catalogue retiring list is out! See what’s sticking around and what’s not.

Starting today, until January 3rd, or until supplies run out, grab these retiring products before they’re gone! Some of the retiring products are up to 60% off. The list includes packs of patterned paper, stamp sets, dies, embellishments, etc. There are also products that are carrying over, so you won’t have to worry about those just yet. And then there are some products that are part of a bundle, but they won’t be a bundle after January 3rd. A bundle gets you 10% a coordinating stamp set and punch/dies. So once the new catalogues launch you’ll have to buy them separately and at full price… unless you’re a demonstrator like me.

I’m always a little sad when this happens. I just get into a creative groove with some of these products and then it’s time to say goodbye. Be sure to check your wishlist and see if anything from the September to December catalogue retiring list matches up. If it does I wouldn’t wait too long. Things have been known to sell out before we get to the end of the sale.

For the full list, you can contact me. I’m happy to answer any questions you have and to send you the list!

And you can check out my online shop before things start to sell out here.

September to December Mini Retiring List

A Walk in the Forest

Can you believe there’s only about 5 weeks left until Christmas?! I feel like I’m only just starting to get into my Christmas crafting groove. Thankfully I think I finally figured out my designs for the card I’ll be sending to my friends and family. And while this isn’t it, it is using this pack of Designer Series Paper… A Walk in the Forest.

For this card I’m pairing up the Joy of Noel and More Wishes stamp sets. I think the holly leaf image from the Joy of Noel stamp set goes nicely with the design I chose. And to play up the pine cones in this design I’m using Pecan Pie for my card base and as a frame for the DSP and sentiment.

I stamped the holly leaves in Garden Green. And I stamped the “Merry Christmas” from the More Wishes stamp set in Pecan Pie. Then I popped up the sentiment with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. And then to finish it off I added a few of the green Adhesive-Backed Glitter Sequins.

A Walk in the Forest

Stay tuned for the designs I use for my family and friends!

In the meantime, check out another Christmas card I made using the Snowflake Magic Specialty Designer Series Paper here.

You can find both packs of patterned paper in my online shop. And when you buy the A Walk in the Forest DSP pack Stampin’ Up! will donate $4 to support organizations dedicated to spreading cheer and providing support to those who need it.

Bee Mine

On Saturday I got a peek at some of the new products from the upcoming new catalogues. OnStage is always a lot of fun! As a demonstrator you get to see some of the new products, you get to see project demonstrations AND you get to do some crafting. With this being a virtual event we were given the chance to order the Bee Mine suite in advance. That way we could craft along on Saturday. Now usually I don’t order an entire suite, I prefer to pick and choose from different suites of products. But I love this suite so much that I couldn’t not.

Shannon West shared two cards for us to craft at OnStage and walked us through them step by step. The first card uses Daffodil Delight for the card base with another piece of Daffodil Delight cardstock that I stamped using Daffodil Delight ink. Then we layered on a couple of the different designs from the Bee Mine Designer Series Paper pack on top. And of course we added a bee using the Bee builder punch. To finish it off I decided to add one of the adhesive back flowers that also comes with this suite.

Bee Mine

Then for the second card we used a Basic White card base. This worked really well to show off two different designs from the DSP pack. And we did a little more tone on tone stamping with Pool Party to create a flight path for our bee. My favourite thing about this card was the watercolouring we did on the bee’s wings. It really gives a nice effect! I’m going to have to remember this when I get back to using this suite again in a few weeks.

Bee Mine

I hope you love these cute cards using the Bee Mine suite as much as I do! I can’t wait to get to some of the other products that come with this suite… we didn’t even use the Sweet Sorbet ribbon or the square pillow boxes.

To learn more about OnStage and what it’s all about you can check out this post I shared about the 2018 OnStage.

Want to see more sneak peeks? Or add your name to my list of people to send catalogues to? Then you’ll want to sign up for my weekly newsletter! You can do that here.

Lost Lagoon Christmas Card

I don’t remember liking Lost Lagoon this much last time Stampin’ Up! had it. But since the colour refresh, it’s become one of my favourite colours! So much so that I decided to make a Lost Lagoon Christmas card. It’s definitely not a traditional Christmas colour, but I do like to try some non-traditional colours every once in a while.

For this card I’m using Lost Lagoon for the card base and ink colour. I stamped some holly and berries from the Joy of Noel stamp set on a piece of Basic White cardstock. Next to that I layered in two of the designs from the Snowflake Magic Specialty Designer Series Paper pack. Then on top of that I added a sentiment that I sponged the edges of the cardstock with using more Lost Lagoon ink. And behind that I put a little bit of silver Simple Elegant trim.

Lost Lagoon Christmas Card

This Lost Lagoon Christmas card is what I made for my large team’s September to December Mini Catalogue card swap. I just love doing card swaps with my team! The cards I get are so pretty and such a great way to see samples with products I don’t have.

Check out another Christmas card I made using the Joy of Noel stamp set here.

And check out my online shop to stock up on all your Christmas card making supplies!

Christmas Card with Winter Meadow

Patterned paper can make it so easy to create beautiful handmade cards! And the Winter Meadow Designer Series Paper pack is no exception. The colours and designs are so pretty. And one thing I really like about this pack is that it’s not your typical Christmas patterned paper. I really didn’t need to add much to craft this beautiful Christmas card with Winter Meadow DSP.

I started with choosing the design from the pack of patterned paper. And this one is great just on it’s own. So I decided to use it as my card mat. For the card base I went neutral… Crumb Cake. The other colours came from the patterned paper; Misty Moonlight and Garden Green.

I paired it with the Joy of Noel bundle. The pines branches are Misty Moonlight cardstock. And the berries I stamped in Garden Green. Then for NOEL I used Crumb Cake. To make it easy to pop all this up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals I punched out a Basic White circle and layered them on. And to finish it off I added some Wink of Stella to the NOEL, along with a few Rhinestone Basic Jewels.

Christmas Card with Winter Meadow

I really like this Christmas card with Winter Meadow DSP. And I can’t wait to craft some more!

Check out a fun fold card I made using the Joy of Noel bundle here.

And if you want to see all the different designs in the Winter Meadow DSP pack, then head over to my online shop.

Corner Box Card

Fancy Folds Design Team

This month the Fancy Folds Design team is making a Corner Box card. It’s such a simple card to make and it’ll fit in a typical envelope… which is always nice! For my card design I’m taking advantage of the upcoming holiday season for my inkspiration. Plus I recently got the Winter Meadow Designer Series Paper pack and am excited to get crafting with it!

I started with choosing my patterned paper. I wanted one design that was fairly simple, so I can write a little note on it. And I wanted the other to have a bit more to it. I chose a Misty Moonlight design from the pack. And what was perfect is that this sheet of DSP worked for both! So for the card base I used Misty Moonlight cardstock.

To make the card base, I used a piece that was 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ and scored along the long side at 2 1/8″, 4 1/4″ and 6 3/8″. Then I also needed a strip that was 1″ x 5 1/2″ and 2 1″ circles. And both of these needed to be scored in half. The strip holds the card base together so that it stands up. I used Tear & Tape Adhesive to hold it all together. Then the 2 circles held up my image and sentiment.

I used the Joy to Noel stamps and dies bundle for my image and sentiment. I stamped both with Misty Moonlight ink. And then used the coordinating dies to cut them out. Once I got them all stuck to my card base I added some Wink of Stella to my “NOEL”.

Here’s the front and back of my Corner Box card…

Remember to keep hopping to see all the Corner Box card designs! Up next is Mette Nordling Shaw and you can check out her card here.

And if you want to check out last month’s hop you can do that here. Last month we made a Pop Out Fun Fold card.

Season of Chic

I love the versatility of the Season of Chic stamps and dies! I’ve only been crafting with these for a little bit. And so I feel like I’m only starting to scratch the surface of what I can do with them. So far I’ve mostly been using the stamps. This time I want the dies to be more of a focus.

The newest In Colours are great fall like colours. And so I used those as the inkspiration for my colour combination. I used Wild Wheat for the card base. But decided not to have a card mat. Instead I used a piece of Basic White that I stamped with some leaves using Copper Clay ink and splatter with Wild Wheat ink.

On top of that I added a strip of Designer Series Paper from the Fresh as a Daisy pack. This pack uses a lot of the 2023-2025 In Colours. I really wanted to add lots of layers for this card, so on top of that I added the mesh die cut using Wild Wheat cardstock. Then on top of that I added some more leaves using a couple other designs from the same pack of patterned paper. One design is Copper Clay and the other is Garden Green.

While I love the sentiments in the Season of Chic stamp set, I wanted something different for this card. Fall is all about letting go, slowing down and getting ready for winter. So this sentiment from the In the Moment stamp set is perfect. I stamped it with Wild Wheat ink. Then I die cut it with one of the Something Fancy dies and popped it up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. To finish it off I added a few of the 2023-2025 In Colour Dots.

Season of Chic

If you’re looking for a stamp set that will cover most of your stamping needs, I highly encourage you to check out the Season of Chic stamp set!

Check out another card I crafted using the Season of Chic stamp set here.

And if you want to see all the images and dies that come with this set, check out my online shop.

Halloween Sampler with Them Bones

Now I’m getting to what I usually do for my Halloween crafting… home decor. The Them Bones suite is such a great one for any Halloween project! This time I’m making a Halloween sampler with Them Bones Designer Series Paper.

I started with an 11″ x 11″ piece of Basic White cardstock. Then I cut up a few different sheets from the patterned paper pack. These designs are so great! You don’t really need to add a lot else. I used almost half a sheet just along the bottom. Then I chose 3 smaller designs from another sheet for up top.

Usually when I make a sampler I add some coordinating cardstock to frame each of the boxes. But instead I used another design in between all the boxes. Then to add another layer I fussy cut some of the skeletons and popped them up with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And to finish it off I added a few Glow in the Dark Bats & Ghosts.

Halloween Sampler Them Bones

I’ve made a few other samples with lots of stamping and die cut pieces. This Halloween sampler with Them Bones DSP is very simple!

Check out the matching Halloween cards and treat boxes I made using some different designs from the same pack of patterned paper here.

And you can check out the whole Them Bones suite over in my online shop!

World Card Making Day 2023

This past Saturday I celebrated World Card Making day 2023. It actually didn’t look much different than other Saturdays. Except for maybe a little extra crafting time when I joined Stampin’ Up!s free online event! It was a lot of fun. And they shared a sneak peek at some upcoming online exclusive products coming out next month.

Before the online event I shared this card over on my YouTube channel. It shows off the Crafting with You bundle which I thought was very fitting for the day. I’m just starting to craft with this bundle and can’t wait to make some more projects with it! For this card I used a Fresh Freesia card base. Then I layered a few strips of the Masterfully Made Designer Series Paper to create a kind of quilted background.

On top of that I have an easel that I stamped with Crumb Cake ink and decorated with a Fresh Freesia sentiment and flowers. Once I die cut that out, I popped it up with a few Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then I created a Smoky Slate paper trimmer. I added the ‘moving’ blade with a Mini Glue Dot and then popped that up too. To finish it off I added a few of the blue Pastel Adhesive-Backed Sequins.

World Card Making Day 2023

Check out the video I shared for World Card Making day 2023 here!

And if you’re looking for more ideas and stamping tips then sign up for my weekly newsletter! Every week I share project ideas, stamping tips, sneak peeks and much more. Plus right now, exclusively for my newsletter subscribers, I’m also sending holiday themed projects every week. Complete with a supply list and step by step instructions to help you have an awesome holiday season! Find more information here.

Matching Halloween Cards & Boxes

It’s Thanksgiving for us this weekend. So that means there’s only a couple more weeks until Halloween. My munchkins can’t wait to make the house look all spooky! In the meantime I’m enjoying some spooky crafting and thought I’d share some matching Halloween cards and boxes I made.

For the cards I used a Basic Black card base and a couple of different designs from the Them Bones Designer Series Paper pack. On top of the DSP I added a 2″ x 2″ piece of Basic White cardstock. I stamped that with the spider and “Boo!” from the Cottage Wreaths stamp set in Tuxedo Black Memento ink… of course. Then I layered some 1/2″ strips of Basic Black cardstock around it and trimmed off the extra.

Matching Halloween Cards & Boxes

The 2 matching boxes are mini explosion boxes. To make them I used more Basic Black cardstock for the box itself. And then I made lids with the same DSP designs. To keep them secure I added some Linen Thread. Then for the tag, I used the same stamps as the cards, but I die cut them using the Something Fancy dies.

Matching Halloween Cards & Boxes

I’ve never made matching Halloween cards and boxes before. But this was fun! I think I need to do this again next year.

Check out another Halloween card I made using the Them Bones DSP here.

And don’t forget to head to my online shop to grab your Halloween crafting supplies!

Monochromatic Halloween Card

I don’t usually make a lot of cards for Halloween. But I’ve been having so much fun crafting with the Them Bones Designer Series Paper that I couldn’t resist! This one is a monochromatic Halloween card. A lot of the time I pair black and orange for my Halloween crafting, but I thought I’d switch it up a little for this one.

So I layered a black design from the Them Bones DSP pack onto my Basic Black card base. But not before I wrapped a bit of the Black & White 1/4″ Gingham ribbon from the Annual catalogue. On top of that I added some more Basic Black cardstock to frame my image. The spooky wreath and spider come from the Cottage Wreaths stamp set. I also stamped a spider on the inside of the card and added a string of webbing using my Dark Basic Black Stampin’ Blend. I popped this up using a few Stampin’ Dimensionals.

For a sentiment I simply added a “BOO!” Which I framed with some more Basic Black cardstock and popped up with some more Stampin’ Dimensionals on top of the gingham ribbon. I added a little more of the gingham ribbon with a simple knot next to the sentiment. And then to finish it off I added a few of the Glow in the Dark Bats.

Monochromatic Halloween Card

See how this monochromatic Halloween card came together over on my Facebook page here.

And you can check out another handmade Halloween card I made using the Them Bones DSP pack here!

Paper Pumpkin With Love & Gratitude

I quite like this month’s Paper Pumpkin “With Love & Gratitude”. The colours are so pretty. Totally not your typical Fall colours! And I have fallen in love with Lost Lagoon since Stampin’ Up! brought it back. But I also love that it’s a card AND bag kit… not just one or the other. These will be great to bring to any Thanksgiving celebrations next weekend!

I always make at least one of all of the original designs. And then it’s alternative projects with the rest of my supplies. It’s just a question of how quickly I go through all my supplies. Some months the inkspiration flows a lot faster than others! So far with this month’s kit I’ve made two alternatives.

The first one uses a Mossy Meadow card base. Next I cut up one of the bags to create a Designer Series Paper background. And then I layered on some more Mossy Meadow cardstock and a bit of Basic White that I stamped with Crumb Cake ink (foliage) and Mossy Meadow (pumpkin). To finish it off I added a few of the die cut pieces and some Linen Thread. The best part of this month’s kit is definitely the die cuts!

Paper Pumpkin With Love & Gratitude

For the second card I used Pebbled Path for my card base. Then I layered lots of foliage on top. I stamped some with Lost Lagoon ink. I cut up one of the envelopes to create a strip of patterned paper. And then I popped up one of the die cut pieces with some Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Paper Pumpkin With Love & Gratitude

I’ve seen some great alternatives with the Paper Pumpkin “With Love & Gratitude” kit! It’s definitely sparked some more ideas. I hope my designs have sparked some inkspiration for you. Post your alternative projects in the comments. I’d love to see them!

Check out the original designs that I made live over on my Facebook page here. And you can sign up for next month’s Christmas themed Paper Pumpkin kit here. This one comes with glitter glue!!!

If you want to see some of the other designs you can check out my post about the “Welcome Inn” Paper Pumpkin kit here.

Handmade Halloween Card

Can you believe that tomorrow is the first day of Fall? I definitely can’t! This year seems to just be flying by. Anyway… in our house we love Halloween! The munchkins LOVE to decorate the house and carve pumpkins and sadly my oldest probably won’t trick or treat to many more times. One thing I don’t really do though is make a handmade Halloween card. Usually I make more home decor pieces. But I couldn’t resist making at least one with the Them Bones Designer Series Paper!

This patterned paper pack has some great Fall designs too, but I think my favourites are the Halloween themed designs. They’re just so cute! And they make it SUPER easy to make Halloween cards. Other than the DSP itself I didn’t need to add a whole lot for this design.

The card base is Basic Black… of course! Then I used some of the same design on the inside and outside of the card. On the inside I just put a little strip, but on the outside it’s basically my card front. For the sentiment I simply used another of the Them Bones designs. This design is the perfect sheet for making a whole bunch of Halloween cards! I popped up the sentiment with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. And then to finish it off, instead of bling, I added a few of the Glow in the Dark bats. Can you spot them all?

Handmade Halloween Cards

The Them Bones pack of Designer Series Paper makes it so easy to make a handmade Halloween card right?!

Check out another card I made with one of the Fall designs from this pack of patterned paper here.

And you can find this fun pack of patterned paper in my online shop! Don’t forget to check out the Clearance Rack while you’re there… Stampin’ Up! just added a bunch more items and these are all available only while supplies last.