Desire, Passion, Motivation

Well it is New Years Eve Day and I thought I would post another card that says love. I had to cover the brads on the inside of the card and rather that stick a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of card stock I thought I would jazz up the inside a little. I am going to try to carry the theme of the card from the outside through to the inside on cards I make starting in 2009. I think it looks good.

Speaking of love, it has been 7 months since I became a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and I have enjoyed every moment. I consider myself priviledged to be able to stamp almost everyday and I have my own blog (something I never thought about doing or even considered). I love stamping and Stampin' Up! products and now enjoy the benefits of being a demonstrator.

My extremely talented upline Heather gave me some advise this year that she received at convention and I want to share it with you. "It would be so selfish of me to NOT share the Stampin' Up! opportunity with those around me." I cannot imagine my life without Stampin' Up!
I can't stress enough that I did not start with Stampin' Up! to make money or create a business, I did it to get a discount and maybe some free stuff! If you have ever thought about getting some free product, or product at a discount, or making some extra income or wondered what Stampin' Up! has to offer this opportunity could be for you! Worst case scenario you get lots of great stamping stuff at a BIG discounted price on the starter kit! You establish relationships and friendships that will last a life time (and maybe some free stamps!) If you live in the Tillsonburg/London area, I invite you attend a meeting at my upline Heather or her upline Alicia's with me to check out what Stampin' Up! has to offer.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post today and for taking the time out of your busy life to learn a little bit more about myself and Stampin' Up!

Wishing you a Blessed & Happy New Year.

Cosmic Valentine

While I wait for my Love You Much Bundle I will post some new Valentine Cards with a few well loved stamp sets.

Recipe:

Stamps: Loving Hearts, Happy Harmony

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, White Craft

Embellishments: Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Sticky Cut Letters, Fine Cosmic Glitter, scallop punch, square punch

You: The One and Only

I got a new camera for Christmas from my husband - a Canon Rebel XS EOS Digital and I am loveing the crisp, clear quality of my photos. I love photography. When I was a lot younger, I had a RICOH SLR which was totally manual and when I had children who became mobile I needed something fast focusing. I up graded to a Canon EOS (I still have it) which I could set manual or auto focus and went through a lot of film. I was told film would become a thing of the past and thought I would try digital and purchased a Canon Power Shot which is small, compact and takes pretty good photos. I have always prefered a SLR camera and to my surprise I unwrapped my new camera. So I have solved my clearity problem with my posts. Adding the "comment" feature to my blog is still a mystery to me. I am so frustrated by not being able to add this feature. My settings as far as I can tell are correct, I have gone into the Help section of Blogger and everything I have done seems just as it should be but still no comments. So until I get this figured out I will have to live with out your opinions.

So for todays post...

Recipe:

Stamps: Define Your Life (I used the x-o-x-o definition)

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Bella Rose DP, On Board Simon Upper Chip Board Hearts

Ink: Riding Hood Red, White Craft for sponging the edges, Versa Mark

Embellishments: Earth Elements Brads, small & large oval punch, white embossing powder, top note die

Valentine Thoughts

I was able to squeeze in some stamping this morning before we went to my brother's home for Christmas dinner (Dec. 26/08). My sister-in-law is a good cook and it was our first turkey dinner with all the trimmings...it was so good. Thanks Murray & Lori.
This card was quick and easy to make. Now that I am in the Valentines spirit, I need to work on the Valentines Accordian Class I am having on January 26, 2009 at 7:00pm. More details will follow but if you are not able to make the class I will have kits available.
Back to this card.
Recipe:
Stamps: Simply Said
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Bella Rose Designer Paper, Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Embellishments: Red Eyelets, Pink Pirouette Ribbon, Scallop Chipboard

Simply said

I hope you had a great Christmas with family and friends and had a day to relax.

I almost made it through the day without stamping.

After all the Christmas posts I am ready to change gears and think about Valentines Day.

I am not completely happy with this card but I am sure the more I play and think about Valentines I will do better.

Recipe:

Stamps: Sprinkles, Simply Said

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Versa Mark

Embellishments: Hodgepode, Clear Embossing Power, ribbon (not Stampin Up!), scallop edge punch

Merry Christmas from Our Home to Yours

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Christmas Classics Card

I ran short on Christmas cards and had to quickly make a few extra and this is what I came up with.
Recipe:
Stamps: Christmas Classics
Paper: Real Red, Ski Slope, Whisper White
Ink: Versa Mark, Stampin' Write Markers in Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Embellishments: white embossing powder, Old Olive 5/8 grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

Take time to relax and enjoy the CHristmas Season.

Dear Santa

A while back I had picked up these cute jars from the dollar store knowing they would come in handy during the Christmas Season.
While thinking about Christmas dinner at my brothers, I thought I should make table favours.
So by adding "Old Saint Nick" Rub-Ons by Stampin' Up! to the jars and filling with everyones favourite candy I am sure they will be a hit.
The Kraft tag was made using the Sissix Tag Die (not from Stampin' Up!), adding a sentiment, jumbo eyelet, and a little sponging on the edges with white craft ink. I attached to the lid using the natural rope twine (I love this stuff) from the mini and VOILA.
I have a few jars to show you with the different rub-ons as well as the different treats in each jar.
My son has a few friends over and Jake suggested selling them, which would make a great gift for teacher, bus driver, hostess gift, paper boy, letter carrier, or anyone else you can think of.
I hope you like it.

Love You Much Bundle

Did you know next to Christmas, Valentines Day is the next biggest day to send cards to friends, family and love ones!
So to help you get started Stampin' Up! has announced another fabulous promotion that starts on December 23, 2008 until January 31, 2009.

The Love You Much promotion starts on the same day that the Free Shipping and Handling ($100 orders) promotion ends so on December 23 you can combine the two specials!

To place your order for the Love You Much bundle and other Stampin' Up! products, e-mail me at dale.livingston@sympatico.ca

Another Christmas Past

Well late Friday afternoon our winter storm subsided. The sun peeked out and burned away a lot of the cloud cover. There is another system coming into our area again on Sunday. It looks like we will have a white Christmas. I love snow and love it even more at Christmas time.

This is another favourite card I made a few years ago. When I first started stamping, I limit myself to one Christmas stamp and a wheel (if needed) per year and made all 80 Christmas cards the same.

Now that I have become a demonstrator (this is my first Christmas as a demo) I have purchased six Christmas stamp sets and have made several different cards.

I love snowflakes and snowmen. From Mr. Twigster to this chubby little guy, I love them all.

Saving a Christmas card from each year would make an aweesome addition to my scrapbook page as a momento of that particular Christmas.

Recipe:

Stamps: Holiday Woodcuts, Swirly Stars jumbo wheel

Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White

Ink: Night of Navy

Embellishments: Silver Cording, navy eyelets

Today is A Good Day to Look Back....

I have to apologize for my phoography quality; my phoos have not been crisp and clear as I like. I was playing with the settings and now am going to have to get my manual out.

Southern Ontario is experiencing a "snowmagedin"at least this is the word the weather people have referred this storm as. Buses has been cancelled and my children have started their Christmas Break early and my husband is home. I am ready for Christmas and have time to pull out previous Stampin' Up! catalogues and browse- it's a good day for this.

I have mentioned before that I am a paper/card collector and I realizing that I have to send more cards and not save them. While I was going through my card box I came across some cards I made in Christmases past. So I will post some of these cards this week to show you.

I really liked this card becasue it allowed me to use most of all the stamps in the set at once becasue I couldn't decide which one to use. The stamp set is "Holiday Blocks" and "Wishes Awash" from the Holiday Mini 2005. I stamped the image with craft white on coloured card stock and punched out the squares.

I keep my past catalogues and minis so I can go back and look at the stamping trend. Stampin' Up! has always had great stamp sets and put out products that are top quality; Stampin' Up! is the best.

So Easy and Oh So Cute

I was plying with stamps, Big Shot Die's and embossing folders at my friend Barb's home a few weeks ago and she brought out this cute Christmas ornament embossing folder which I naturally had to try. I used a piece of Kraft card stock as it was cut and sitting at my fingertips but didn't do anything with it until I got home. This card was so simple to make and fast too.

Recipe: Stamps: Deer Friends
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Kraft, Ski Slope Designer Paper

Embellishments: Chocolate CHip Grosgrain Ribbon, scallop circle, 1 3/8 inch circle punch, 1 inch circle punch, Red Dew Drops

Big On Christmas

I missed my hair appointment last night due to wintery conditions but I am so lucky to have my friend JoAnne accomodate me and cut my hair tonight. When I left home the weather is great however an hour and ten minutes north is a different story. I love snow except when I have to drive in it.

When I decorate our home for Christmas I tend to have a lot of snowmen; I can leave them out for the entire winter and they are so adorable.

This card was made using the "Big On Christmas" stamped with Black stazon ink onto Whisper White card stock. The bashful blue cardstock is embossed with the snowflake embossing folder. I love the finished look of this card and it was so easy to make.

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Can You Believe it?

Click here to see the List

Just in time for Christmas gift giving or upcoming Birthdays, Stampin' Up! has released the stamp sets that are retiring.
Stampin' Up! is sending the savings on to you from December 9 to 23, 2008 by offering you 10% off the following stamp sets.
Don't be disappointed, get stamp sets from your wish list for 10% off the regualr price only until December 23, 2008.
www.stampinup.com/ca/documents/CAN_10percent_off.pdf

Wishing You Cheer...

My husband has been in France for the past three weeks (just came home Sunday) and we did some Christmas shopping today before he flies to Denver tomorrow until Friday.

I wanted to show you this card I made from a layout challenge and becasue I was in a hurry to get out the door this morning, the photo is not as crisp as I would like so I apologize for that. Next time I will take my time. None the less I was pleased with how this card turned out.

Recipe:

Stamps: Wishing You Cheer, Christmas Classics

Paper: Kraft, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Ski Slope (love this DP)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red

Embellishments: Blender Pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Riding Hood Red Ribbon, Baja Breeze Ribbon, Paper Piercer and Mat Pack

Hostess Gift Tag

While my husband has been in France, my two children and I were invited to dinner at a friends home.
During this Christmas Season, there may be many times you will need a little hostess gift. We decided to take these hazelnut clusters which I always think are so pretty in the foil and very yummy. Rather than wrap them in paper, I made a belly band attached a top note die wrapped with ribbon and it looked perfect.
Recipe:
Stamp: Define Your Life, Winter Post
Paper: Ski Slope, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
Embellishments: Chocolate Chip 5/8 Grosgrain Ribbon, top note die

Snowman Soup From Barb

My friend Barb and I stamp together once a month and this is the Snowman Soup she made me using her Top Note Die. The real red snowflakes really pop on the whisper white card stock. Inside the adorable snowman mug was a hot chocolate packet, marshamallows, a candy cane and hershey kisses.

Thanks Barb for the delicious treat.

Packages wrapped with Care

Each year I say I am going to make my own gift tags and don't. Perhaps it is becasue they end up being tedius or I just run out of time becsue I left it too late.


This year I have them finished. The Top Note and Winter Post has made it so quick and easy.


I have applied double sised tape on the back to apply to the gift. After Christmas the tag may kept by the idividual to make a scrapbook page focusing on that family Christmas.


Recipe:


Stamps: Winter Post


Paper: Kraft, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White


Ink: Chocolate , Riding Hood Red, Craft White


I cut out the "Do not open until Dec. 25th" and popped it up with a dimional and added a little green and red using the Stampin' Write Markers and sponged thehocolate chip on the edges of the kraft c/s. If you are running out of time just eliminate the sponging and/or the popped up sentiment. Have fun with it.

Punch It Out

I remember seeing a tutorial on making a conifurous tree using the scallop circle punch and (I am sorry I' don't know who it is) it was so cute. I am waiting for "Lovely As A Tree" stamp set to arrive but in the mean time this will be perfect.

Recipe:

Stamps: Christmas Classics, Winter Post, Merry & Bright

Paper: Pacific Point, Confetti White, Old Always, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green

Ink: Real Red, White Craft, Versa Mark

Embellishments: White Embossing Powder

Each tree was made using one scallop circle and sponging the edges with white craft ink. By marking the center with a pencil or paper piercer and from the edge to the centre 5 scallops, 4 scallops, and 2 scallops. The trunk was made by using the word window punch. I ripped two layers of confetti white to from the snow hills.

I would love it if you sent me an e-mail to tell what you think as I have still not figured out why the "comment" function is not working.

If anyone out there can help me with this technical problem I would be so grateful.

Thanks for dropping in to see what I have been up to.

Holiday Card Challenge

One of the fun challenges Heather gave us at our Demo Christmas Dinner last Friday was to make a Holiday Card using only the cardstock she had sent us. We could add any neutral card stock and other embellishments besides the red grosgrain ribbon that was sent and our choice of stamp.

It was amazing how each card was so different yet using the same product.

This is the card I made using "Christmas Classics". The stamped image and sentiment was heat embossed using clear embossing powder .

Time for some Fun...

I will post a little later this morning but for now I just wanted to let all my readers know that Heather Summers will be on Achannel Morning (London) this coming Thursday at 7:20am. Heather shines in front of the camera especially when she is demonstrating and talking about Stampin' Up! projects for the Christmas Season. This will be Heather's third appearance on Achannel Morning. So remember to tune in or set your PVR/VCR.

Our daughter Nicole loves to help me bake especially at Christmas time (she gets to wear the apron she bought at Old Navy a few years ago) and so we thought it would be nice to host a cookie party with some of her friends. Tied to the invitation using Chocolate Chip 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon is a gingerbread cookie cutter. The invitation was made using the Top Note Die in Kraft c/s and the sentiment is from the stamp set "All Year Cheer II" and the gingerbread man is not from Stampin' Up!

I will post photos of the event on Sunday. Have a great day.

Flurries

Well it is a slushy morning here in the
"Banana Belt". We were fortunate and missed the storm; we did get rain & snow last night and so buses are running as usual. I must say it was very pretty when the huge snowflakes were gently falling last night.
Every morning I have coffee with so many stamping/blog friends and while ready Kimberly's blog I knew I had to case her card. This card is so simple and so pretty. The snowflake and Ski Slope Designer paper is from the Holiday Mini which you can still order from up until January 18, 2009.
Recipe:
Stamps: Heard from the Heart, Polka Dot BG
Paper: Kraft, Whisper White, Ski Slope DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip,
Assessories: Felt Flurries, Gemstone Brad, Scallop Punch

Just a reminder, today is the last day to order from Stampin' Up! Holiday Bundle Sale.