Category Archives: 3-D, Gifts & Things

Valentine Sweetheart Treat Bags–Last Day!

Stampin' Up! Sweetheart Treat Bag

Late afternoon update from Stampin’ Up!  

While supplies last, these Valentine products are still available until February 14th! Great idea, Stampin’ Up!

Stampin' Up! Valentine Products

Today is the last day to purchase the cute Stampin’ Up! Valentine products. These Sweetheart Treat Bags are so handy to have on hand for occasions other than Valentine’s Day. Just stick a little treat inside or a note or gift card, do a little decorating on the outside and you’ve got something cute and simple! It’s a kit, with the Baker’s Twine, 12 little sacks, and 12 die-cut labels (the striped banner).  I added the Whisper White piece stamped with a saying from the Love You More stamp set.

After putting the treat inside, I just folded the top of the sack to the back, attached my little banner piece and tied the pre-cut Baker’s Twine around a few times and tied with a bow! Couldn’t be easier!

Get your Valentine products, including the cute Monster Hugs, at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store today before time runs out!

Stampin’ Up! Sale-A-Bration Heartfelt Banner

Sale-A-Bration Heartfelt Banner

You’ll be hearing the word “Sale-A-Bration” a lot from now on!  Sale-A-Bration is the famous promotion from Stampin’ Up! that everyone looks forward to. Just purchase $50 in Stampin’ Up! products, then choose a FREE product from the Sale-A-Bration brochure, no limits! On display at the Stampin’ Up! Leadership Conference last week was this Heartfelt Banner Kit, one of the choices of free items for Sale-A-Bration. Get all the pieces and put your banner together exactly like the instructions or make up your own design. Or even frame the pieces like Stampin’ Up! does! Cute and easy home decor!

Sale-A-Bration begins January 28th and lasts through March 31st.  Circle that date on your calendar! If you don’t have a Demonstrator, contact me if you need a Sale-A-Bration catalog.

Start shopping at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Spiral Flower Originals Die…Lovely to Own!

Spiral Flower Originals Die

At Stampin’ Up! Leadership 2014 last week, I was able to see the Spiral Flower Originals Die in person and see the flowers made with it. Now I want to order it! They were showing the die and a ton of flowers made with it for demonstrators to see up close and personal. The Stampin’ Up! employee I was talking with said each flower will turn out different according to who made it and how tightly or loosely you roll it up. It is suggested you use your Bone Folder after cutting out the flower to loosen up the paper fibers to make it roll easier.  The die, like other dies of this kind, are not just for paper either!  You can use other materials, such as fabric, so think of the possibilities! Just roll it with your fingers or around a pencil or skewer, however you want to do it.  You can leave the center as it comes out or push it down and put a button inside or rhinestone or something.

After Leadership there was a public event and some Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators were ‘demonstrating’ at booths. One was doing these paper flowers so here are some photos and ideas:

Spiral Flower Die Rose Tin

Spiral Flower Die Rose Lollipop

Spiral Flower Rose Heart Wreath

To add the Spiral Flower Die #129379 to your next order, just go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!  You could have a table full of flowers in no time for spring!

One More Christmas Present to Wrap!

Winter Frost Gift Box

Last night I had one more gift to wrap even though it was after Christmas. But the Extra-Large Gift Box made it easy to be creative quickly! I just cut out some of the beautiful Winter Frost Specialty Designer Series Paper to fit on the sides and top of the box. The box comes flat so great for storage to have on hand and then all you do is crease the score lines and make it into a nice box! I tied a piece of Pool Party Seam Binding Ribbon around the sides with a bow in front. And for the great finish, one of the ornaments I had already made from the Festive Flurry Ornament Kit went on top! I only attached it with a Stampin’ Dimensional so the recipient can take it off and hang it on the tree next year or save it for another package. Easy peasy elegant gift-wrapping!

Don’t forget to check the current Weekly Deals which end on Monday night December 30 and the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack with some new items while supplies last — or take a chance and wait until Tuesday and see if there are new Weekly Deals you are interested in!

Go shopping online right now!

Mixing Old and New Stampin’ Up! at Christmas

Ghirardelli Chocolate Holders Ornaments

It’s been a busy few days getting ready for Christmas and my work isn’t done yet! But I did take time the other day to make these cute little Ghirardelli chocolate holders mixing old and new Stampin’ Up! products! Can you guess what is what? The holder is made out of the brand new, upcoming Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, which will be in the new Occasions Catalog beginning January 3, 2014. The old is the bit of designer paper I used on the tag.  It is left over from the pretty Christmas box I finally made last Christmas, which, for awhile was on the Clearance Rack. The kit started as some kind of incentive from Stampin’ Up!, then was sold, and then the remaining ones were in the Clearance Rack.  Shelli Gardner and her daughter Sara even made a video as they assembled their own boxes.

Decorated Christmas BoxI got the idea for the chocolate holders from another demonstrator, Mary Fish, although I used a different punch. There is another one with an angled top! Of course I also used the Christmas Ornament Punch in the Holiday Catalog to punch my stamped ornaments from the Christmas Collectibles Stamp Set.

To make the Ghirardelli Chocolate Holders, cut a piece of card stock 5 1/2″ x 2″.  Score at 2 5/8″ and 2 7/8″. I stuck each end of my paper into the new tag punch to get the fancy scallop and then folded on the scored lines.  I folded back the Ghirardelli Chocolate foil and adhered with a Mini Glue Dot on each side to hold it onto the tag. Then I folded up the front part of the tag and tied with Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine.  And then I decorated the front with the old designer paper (can’t think of the name right now!). Of course you could use any scrap paper and for any season or occasion.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Holders Ornaments

 And this is what the inside looks like:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Holder

And here are some matching tags I made. All these things plus a store-bought ornament went inside the box I was sending someone.

Scalloped Tag Topper Punch Christmas Tags

You can visit my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. Be on the lookout, my regular customers, for your copy of the new Occasions Catalog and the Sale-A-Bration catalog coming in your mail!  Don’t let them get lost amongst the Christmas mail and hubbub!

Christmas Fudge Candy Wrapper Poem

Christmas Fudge Candy Wrapper Poem

This is an oldie but goodie for Christmas Fudge that I came across in my stash of past projects. I thought as things get even more hectic closer to Christmas, perhaps you can make use of this idea for a gift! Just type up this poem and adhere it to a big chocolate bar which is already wrapped. You could do it with one of those gigantic chocolate bars that might feed a few people!  It makes a fun gag gift! (Or maybe it’s not so much of a gag?!)  And who wouldn’t enjoy a big chocolate candy bar even if it has a silly poem attached!  Keep your holiday sane!

Be of Good Cheer Curly Paper Wreath

Be of Good Cheer Curly Paper Wreath

I’m sure you have seen these curly paper wreaths made out of designer paper all over the internet. I finally made one, but just in case it didn’t go well, I made this first one with some retired paper, Be of Good Cheer, from last year I believe. This paper, as I write this, is on the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack, so if you like it, you can get some!

I need not have worried because there is nothing to making this wreath! I used a 10″ styrofoam wreath. It would be a good idea to start with making a hanger out of some string or ribbon for the top of your wreath – I forgot! I didn’t keep track of how many sheets of paper I used since some were probably partly used so maybe I used parts of many sheets.  I’ve heard that it takes about 4 sheets of  12″ x 12″ designer paper cut into 1/2″ strips. Then all you do is curl the paper using your Bone Folder. You actually do not have to make it that curly with your bone folder.  Just get the paper slightly curled and then you can wind the strip up better and tighter with your fingers. Then just take a straight pin and insert into the center part of that strip and pin onto the wreath!  If you are putting on a decorative rosette or big bow or something, you might want to attach that first to the bare wreath. My bow is made from the Cherry Cobbler 1″ Grosgrain Stitched Edge Ribbon in the Holiday Catalog.

When you first start pinning on the curled strips of paper, it may seem like a daunting task and not really look that great. You might even think “this isn’t going to turn out to be anything good”, but don’t despair!  Just keep working, pinning on those curled strips.  Maybe you want some tighter and some looser. There’s no need for perfection on this wreath!  Just keep pinning on the strips all over the front and around the sides.  No need to put any on the back since that part is not going to show. Just keep going until you feel it is quite full enough and you don’t have any bare spots.  Be sure to look toward the inside of the wreath and make sure that is all filled in.  It’s a project you can do while watching TV.

Here is the backside of the wreath.  You can see the styrofoam wreath I used.

Be of Good Cheer Curly Paper Wreath Back

Look through your stash of designer paper and try one out.  And if you need more paper, there is the Clearance Rack on Stampin’ Up! for great deals or the current Stampin’ Up! catalogs for the newest papers!  The wreath looks quite lovely when you get it finished so I really encourage you to make at least one!  I can’t wait to get started on another!

Make a Paper Mache Star Christmas Ornament

Paper Mache Winter Frost Star

Make this easy paper mache star Christmas ornament for your tree or for a package decoration that the recipient can keep as an extra gift! Look in your stash or go to the craft store and get some of those paper mache ornaments like this star. Cover with designer series paper and embellish and you’ve got yourself a lovely Christmas ornament!

Paper Mache Winter Frost Star Ornament

I just traced around the star on a piece of Winter Frost Designer Series Paper.  This particular sheet has a shiny foil look to it so it is especially beautiful! If you pay attention to how you are tracing the paper and which direction you traced around the star you might get it to fit exactly right! Otherwise, place it so that it fits the best on your ornament and if there is any excess you can trim it off with your Paper Snips or retrace a little. Just get it as close as you can.  It doesn’t have to be perfect!  Adhere the paper to the ornament with some Tombow Multipurpose Glue making sure it sticks well along the edges.

Paper Mache Winter Frost Star Ornament Back

Put the same or another pattern of paper on the backside. Also adhere a narrow strip of designer paper around the side of the ornament.  Mine was about 1/2″.

Paper Mache Winter Frost Star Side

And then decorate to your heart’s content – or even leave it plain depending on your paper.  I made a rosette out of a 12″ strip of designer paper.  I think it was about 2″ wide and scored with my Simply Scored Tool every half inch. I glued the ends together and then scrunched it into the rosette shape and adhered with a blob of hot glue in the center. Then it was ready to go on the front of the ornament with another blob of hot glue. The finishing touch was the beautiful Frosted Finishes Embellishments.

Look in your stash and see what you have!  It’s cold and frosty across a big part of the country, including Houston – well, cold, not frosty (yet!) – so a good day to stay in and make Christmas ornaments, cards and crafts!  Enjoy!

Cyber Monday Specials at Stampin’ Up! and More!

The Stampin’ Up! Holiday Sale has been ongoing since November 20 and now will come to an end on Monday, December 2, 2013. Don’t miss it! But be sure to check back tomorrow, Cyber Monday, when Stampin’ Up! will have these products on a special Cyber Monday Sale!!

Stampin' Up! Holiday Sale Cyber Monday Specials

Here are the links to my Online Store where you can see the products. Keep in mind the sale price will not show today (Sunday, December 1st). Don’t try to order or even put on your list until tomorrow!

You can also add to your order (you won’t believe this!) Valentines!!  Well, you know it will pop up soon right after Christmas!  This way you will be ready with your supplies!

A Whole Lot of Love Stampin' Up! Valentines

Click to Read Flyer

A Whole Lot of Love Stamps

Click to Read Flyer

You can purchase these products beginning today, December 1st, at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE. On that page, click on the product and then you can read more about the details and also click the magnifying glass to enlarge.

And one more thing!  The last “Best of 25 Years” stamp set is released today. This stamp set is called “Best of Sale-A-Bration”. All of these stamp sets are available until March 31, 2013. You can see all of the stamp sets HERE.

Best of Sale-A-Bration Stamp Set

PS:  Don’t forget to check the Stampin’ Up! Clearance Rack every time before you order!  New things may have been added!

Absolutely tomorrow, Monday December 2 Cyber Monday, go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and check out the Cyber Monday specials and all the other items on the Holiday Sale, plus the items I mentioned in my post above!  Whew!  Happy Shopping!

Making Festive Flurry Ornaments

Festive Flurry Ornament Kit from Stampin' Up!

No snow in Houston except on my kitchen table where I played with my Stampin’ Up! Festive Flurry Ornament Kit and made some of the beautiful ornaments. Once you assemble these ornaments you can use them as ornaments, as package toppers, on a super-fancy card, or string them together to make a garland. Lots of ways to use them which you will think of as you make them!

There are no written instructions in the kit but there is a good video from Stampin’ Up! you can watch. I would say be a little more patient with the hot glue as you “squish” your ornament together toward the center than on the video because I’m sure in the interest of time, they didn’t make you wait and watch the full time it takes for the hot glue to set up in the video. If you have the Stampin’ Up! Silicone Craft Sheet it makes it a little easier to work with the hot glue.

Let’s start at the beginning! You will receive ten sheets with die-cut pieces to make your ornament plus a stack of the glitter layer pieces. Just punch out the pieces. You will see two of the pieces, the blue snowflake and the glitter snowflake are pre-scored so that is helpful. Carefully fold on these score lines. Those narrow tips are a little delicate so take your time and remember nothing has to be perfect! I suggest doing the longest points with the fold lines so the fold is “up” and the smaller ones with the  fold “down”. It’s going to be almost like rosettes you have probably made in the past, one fold up, one fold down and so on. Check to make sure you have all the pre-scored lines folded around the ornament and then “practice” squishing them toward the center hole. Once you are sure they will all fold and work together correctly, it’s time to glue. You can put a puddle of hot glue on your silicone craft sheet and then place the snowflake so the center hole is in the glue and “squish” the ornament toward that center and hold until the glue sets and you can safely set it aside. Once you have the blue snowflake and the silver glitter one made in this fashion, you can layer all the ornament pieces together and that is the easy part! Don’t forget the beautiful large rhinestone in the center! Attach a piece of ribbon on to the back if you want to make a hanger.

I also tried, as another demonstrator suggested, just putting glue around the inside edges of the center hole and not using the big puddle of hot glue, and then squishing it to the center. This did seem to hold just as well and didn’t take as long to set up as the big puddle of hot glue.

And for my last try, I attached the snowflake to a small circle on the back as I was gluing it, punched or the center you punch out of the blue snowflake. I thought this worked the best, maybe gave it a little stability while the glue was setting up.

Once you discover what works easiest and best for you and what you want to make, I think you’ll be able to breeze through these ornaments just fine. You will find the Stampin’ Up! video on the sale page for the Festive Flurry Ornament KitThese are SO beautiful you MUST give them a try!!

Festive Flurry Ornament

No Mistakes in Stamping!

Turkey FavorsThere are no mistakes in stamping.  There are no mistakes in stamping.  Well, maybe not in stamping, but sometimes in pasting!!  This was my project with the Circle Treat Cups that I had to rip apart because I realized I hadn’t put the treat cups in the punched out circle yet!

But it all worked out!  Just cut out my Chocolate Chip paper and redid it! Do you like all my cute turkeys for my Thanksgiving table today?!

Turkey Favors for Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Fun Making Christmas Gift Boxes

Extra-Large Kraft Gift Box with Gift Bow and Tag

‘Tis the season (or almost!) for making pretty gift wrap boxes for the holiday gifts we have shopped for or handmade for our friends and family. Why not get a head start with the Stampin’ Up! Extra-Large Gift Boxes?  They come three in a package and are one of the Weekly Deals, if you order by tonight. Just fold them up into their box shape and start decorating!  It needn’t be elaborate, unless you want it to be. Here I have just adhered pieces of the Season of Style Designer Series Paper to the top and sides of the box.  On the top, I layered it on a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock but the sides are just the designer paper.  And before I put the Christmas tag on, the decorated box could be for any other occasion, not just Christmas! Also on the Weekly Deal, ending Monday November 18, is the Gift Bow Bigz L Die. Grab it for a discount today and you can easily make the double bow like on the top of this box. It probably only took me about ten minutes to decorate this box!  Nothing could be simpler!

For the little tag in the corner of the gift box, I used one of the MANY tags in the Season of Style Designer Journaling Tags package in the Holiday Catalog. I chose one and made a little card to layer it on and stuck it on the top of the box.  Now all I have to do is write the “to” and “from” inside when I see what gift is going in the box! Of course I had to add a little bling with two small Rhinestone Jewels on the snowflakes. You can use these die-cut printed tags for scrapbooks, photo albums, even cards.  You’ll enjoy playing with them!

Don’t delay, check out the Weekly Deals ending today! You’ll probably want all the items! But even if you miss the sale, they are still good values to have.

Go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store and get your order in!  Let me know if you have any questions! From the Home Page of my store, be sure to check all the categories in the left sidebar. Don’t forget the Clearance Rack either!

Extra-Large Kraft Gift Box with Gift Bow

Decorate Your Kraft Gift Box with Daydream Medallions

Daydream Medallions Kraft Gift Box

The Christmas season is just about upon us, and soon it will be time to wrap all those gifts!  Get a head start by purchasing the Extra-Large Gift Box #132147 (3 in a package) in the Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog and then decorating to your heart’s content.  Make it simple or make it fancy! If you order by Monday November 18 you can get a discount on the kraft gift boxes and also the Gift Bow Bigz L Die #129977 during the Weekly Deals!  The Gift Boxes are food safe, so you can fill them up with homemade goodies if you like! They come flat and then you fold and assemble.  You will be surprised how large they are! They measure 4 3/8″ x 6″ x 6″. And of course you can use kraft gift boxes any time of year so they aren’t just for Christmas!

I chose to decorate my gift box with a series of stamps in the Daydream Medallions Stamp Set. I stamped each stamp in alternating colors and cut out with the Floral Frames Framelits DiesI also cut out the matching color card stock with the dies for a layer. The largest framelit (which doesn’t have a matching stamp) I used to cut out the Champagne Glimmer PaperThere’s also a little bit of Glimmer Paper punched with a small scallop punch under the smallest layer.  And then I had to top the design with a Large Pearl Basic Jewel!  Just perfect! The ribbon is the Cherry Cobbler 1″ Grosgrain Stitched Edge Ribbon in the Holiday Catalog. I thought the box still needed “something” so I stamped some vine images from the Forever With You Stamp Set in Soft Suede.

Check out the Stampin’ Up! Weekly Deals which end Monday night! Order your Extra-Large Gift Boxes and Gift Bow Bigz L Die. Might as well get the Burlap Ribbon as well!

Daydream Medallions Kraft Gift Box Top

Daydream Medallions Topper

 

 

My Digital Studio New Downloads & More!

Every Tuesday there are new digital downloads for the Stampin’ Up! digital design software called My Digital Studio. These are extra designs you can purchase to add to your content on My Digital Studio or even other kinds of design software. This week Stampin’ Up! has added a new twist:  some of the downloads include an online class to show you how to use My Digital Studio!

Stampin’ Up! will continue to release new classes and coordinating exclusive digital downloads every month, on the last Tuesday of the month. You can go to my Stampin’ Up! Online Store to view the projects and techniques to see what is included in the content.

Each class includes an exclusive digital download and instructional project-based video training that will guide users through a number of different techniques as they create a variety of projects in MDS. My Digital Class prices will vary depending on the content included.

MDS Downloads1 Nov 12 2013

MDS Downloads2 Nov 12 2013

MDS Downloads3 Nov 12 2013

MDS Downloads4 Nov 12 2013

You can order any of these downloads and past ones at my Stampin’ Up! Online Store!

Make Beautiful Festive Flurry Ornaments with an Easy Kit

Festive Flurry Ornament Kit

Images copyright Stampin’ Up! 2013

A new kit from Stampin’ Up! and I can’t wait to get my hands on it!

Add a little festive flare to your holiday decorating with the new Festive Flurry Ornament Kit! Top presents, embellish cards, create a wintery garland, or trim the tree. How you use them is up to you!

The kit includes everything you need (minus adhesive) to create 10 snowflakes, including
* 10 feet of Soft Sky Ribbon
* Printed cardstock – die cut and scored, ready to be assembled (Soft Sky, Crumb Cake, Whisper White Cardstock and Silver Glimmer Paper)
* Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels (40)

Order this kit from my Stampin’ Up! Online Store HERE.

Watch the video below!  All you have to do is punch out the snowflakes, fold where scored and glue together with a glue gun! Then let your imagination run and decide how you will use them!