It's almost midnight and I am still working on a set (a rather large set) of Thank You cards for my sister-in-law. I promised to have them ready for her when we get to Houston tomorrow and I am only half done :-( ! I knew that I should have started on them earlier but I always do my best work under pressure. Plus, I couldn't pick just one design. While making one, I would think of another design that might be good. And then another... So in the end, my SIL will get several different Thank You's to send. I will try to get a photo of them and post it when we return. I am looking forward to seeing my whole family all together again. It's been too many years. We will be celebrating my brother's 70th birthday (and, yes, there is a VERY huge age difference between the two of us - smile) and we are hoping that it's still a surprise to him. I am also working on a mini scrapbook album of his years growing up to give to him on Saturday but I'll be bringing it back home so I can add the photos of his party to it. It's going to be a long night!

I wanted to post a photo of the birthday card that I made for my brother before I left. This is a technique that my upline showed me (thanks, Ellen) last year and I am just getting around to doing it. I ordered this stamp, which is retired now, just to do this. It is called the Soot Technique and it is done with glossy paper and a candle flame! The outcome is so cool and so different.

 

I hope that you enjoy it. Have a great weekend!

Hello everyone. I really need to be making a birthday card for my big brother who is turning 70 today - Happy Birthday! - (wow, that is so hard to believe, and, yes I know that I am late), but I can't stop making Christmas cards! I will be having a Christmas card class soon and I thought that I had all the cards that I needed for the class designed and ready to go. But then I think of another idea and then another and then another and then... Well, you know. Anyway, I wanted to share one of the Christmas cards with you.

This one is made with the new set from the Holiday Mini Catalog that just came out this week. I used colors to make it have a little retro feel. The set is called Delightful Decorations (#116517) and the exciting part is that there is a punch that coordinates with it - the Ornament Punch (#116794)! I must admit that I was a little worried about getting a punch that was just for Christmas, BUT, I have found that this is a very versatile tool and I will be posting more samples of projects that use this punch in the future. Thanks for looking and Happy Stampin'

The New Holiday Mini is here!

Here it is - the new 2009 Holiday Mini Catalog! There are some GREAT things in this mini. Check out the Sweet Treat Cups and the new Sweet Centers stamp set to go with it. Can you image the possibilities! Not just for Halloween but for any and every occasion. Hey, all of you teachers out there, this would be a wonderful project for your kids to do or just something that you can give to the class!
There is something for everyone and every holiday - Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (check out the Holy Family stamp set on page 23!). The new Designer Series Papers are so lovely and unique. And Stampin' Up! has teamed up with Build-A-Bear to offer a wonderful line of BAB stamping and scraping products - everything from stamps to specialty paper and dies for the Big Shot.
I couldn't resist the new Shimmer Paints offered in the Mini and I was anxious to try them out. So here is a simple card where I just die cut the snowflakes and used a dauber to add the Frost White Shimmer Paint to Whisper White cardstock and the Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint to Melon Mambo cardstock. I hope you can see the effect in the photo. It adds the perfect amount of shimmer.

 

See, a Holiday card doesn't need to be in the traditional colors. Try something a little different! Here I used Whisper White, Melon Mambo (new In-Color), and Bashful Blue. Are you having trouble coming up with new color combinations? Try the Color Combo Chart on the right. Just click, pick a color or two that you want to try and the Color Combo will do the rest and show you all of the color combinations that you can use. Give it a try!
I'll have more tomorrow - Happy Stampin'

Good morning all. Before I get any thing else done today, I wanted to let you know that there is a new card project & gift project up and available. You can find the link here on the right. I challenge everyone to make at least one of these and email me and let me know (with a photo if possible). Come on - let's get creative!
There is also a new Hostess promotion starting today! Have a workshop totaling $250 or more (so easy to do) and receive one item from the 2009 Holiday Mini for only $10!!! (Offer excludes hostess sets & My Digital Studio). So I know that this is just what some of you need to get motivated and book that workshop:-)! What could be easier - an afternoon with a few friends and FREE stuff! Call or email me today.
Later today, I will put up the link to the new Holiday Mini and post a photo of one of my holiday projects (No, it's not too early & Yes, I really do have some holiday projects already made!)