Category Archives: Christmas

Celebrate With Tags

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Stampin Up Celebrate With Tags

One thing I love about the cardmaking world is everyone is so willing to share their ideas.  You can get so many ideas from Pinterest, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, blogs and other online platforms.  Some people watermark their images and others do not.  If I can figure out who gave me the ideas, I always give them credit but if they don’t then there is no way to know.  It is called CASEing which means Copy And Share Everything.   I was watching a video on the technique I used on this card and then my internet went out so I lost who was doing this particular video.

In any case, the video showed different ways to add color to your embossing.   For my card, I took a piece of Blushing Bride ink and embossed it using one of the Wintry 3D embossing folders.  There are two to the pack and I used the snowflake one.  After I embossed it, I took a retired Silvery Shimmer Delicata ink pad and rubbed it lightly over the embossed areas.  It made all the snowflakes silver which added some sparkle to the card.   You could do this with any ink pad you have.  Just use a light touch so you only get ink on the raised sections.   I adhered a small piece of Silver Foil to one side and glued it to a Basic White card base.

Then, I stamped the mitten using the stamp set called Celebrate With Tags in Blushing Bride ink and cut it out using one of the coordinating dies from the Celebrations Tags.  This bundle is in the July – December Mini Catalog.  The stamp set is being carried over but for some unknown reason, the dies are not.  You still have a couple more weeks to order them before they sell out or get retired.  After cutting it out, I decided to add a little shimmer to the mitten so I used a Clear Wink Of Stella pen to add some sparkle.

Next, I made a bow using the Simply Elegant Trim in silver and attached that to my card using a piece of Foam Adhesive Sheets.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark Ink and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder.

It was a fairly simple card to make and did not take a lot of time but I love how it came out.  There is nothing better than a little sparkle added to your Holiday cards.

If you like the Celebrate With Tags bundle, be sure to order it soon because once it is gone or retired, it is gone for good.

Product List

Celebrate With Tags Bundle (English)

$55.75

Wintry 3 D Embossing Folders

$10.00

Silver Foil Sheets

$5.00

Simply Elegant Trim

$7.50

Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush

$8.00

Metallics Embossing Powders

$18.00
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Christmas Season

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Stampin Up Christmas Season

Are you done your Holiday shopping yet?  I am entirely done except for one son.  He is impossible and I don’t even have a single idea of what to get him.  Do you have someone in your family like that?  In any case, all my presents are made or purchased, wrapped and mailed.  Even my Christmas cards are done.  It feels great to be able to just relax and enjoy the rest of the season without running around like a crazy person.  Now, if I can only come up with a present for my son.

This card was not the one I sent this year, although I think it is one of my favorites.  I used this stamp set and dies last year so I figured I should probably do something different this year.  Still, I love this one even better than the one I sent!  It uses the stamp set called Christmas Season.  This stamp set has coordinating dies called Seasonal Labels.  The die set cuts out the stamped images and has a lot of label dies to cut out various sentiments.  Both of these are in the Stampin’ Up!® 2022/2023 Annual Catalog so they are not retiring when the Mini Catalog ends in January.  I am pretty sure that it will retire at the end of the Annual Catalog though.

One of the things I love about this set is that it is a two-step stamp set.  This means that it can take two or more stamps to make one image.  In this case, the pinecone was made using two different stamps.  I stamped the outside in Crumb Cake ink and the inside in Soft Suede.  Then, I stamped the berries in Real Red and the leaves in Mossy Meadow ink.  Then, I cut them out using the coordinating dies.

I cut the center rectangle out using the Deckled Rectangle Dies and layered it onto a Crumb Cake card base.  Then I adhered all the leaves, berries and pine cones on top.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set called Cottage Wreaths in Real Red ink.

Crumb Cake
Soft Suede
Real Red
Mossy Meadow

Product List

Christmas Season Photopolymer Stamp Set

$22.00

Seasonal Labels Dies

$38.00

Deckled Rectangles Dies

$30.00

Cottage Wreaths Bundle (English)

$52.00
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Spruced Up

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Stampin Up Spruced Up

We just returned from traveling to Northern New York to spend a few days with my eldest son, David and his family to celebrate Madison’s first birthday.  Madison is our 6th grandchild!  I know I say this all the time, but time sure flies.  It just doesn’t seem like a year since she was born.  Her birthday is actually today but David works every other weekend so we wanted to go when he was available to spend some time with us too.  The weather was amazingly warm.  We were expecting it to be in the 40s but it was actually in the ’70s all weekend.  It was nice to be able to spend some time outside.  I’ll post some photos below.

I decided it was time to start making some Christmas cards because the way time is flying, it will be here soon!  I used a bundle in the July – December Mini Catalog called Spruced Up.  Yes, both the stamp set and the dies have the same name making it so much easier to remember.  I wanted to use non-traditional colors so I used some of the 2021-2023 InColors (Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide and Parakeet Party).

To make this card I first stamped the trees in Parakeet Party ink and cut them out using the coordinating dies.  The fun thing about these dies is they cut out the trees but they also cut out a border outlining the trees.  I stamped the presents in Tahitian Tide ink and cut them out too.  I used the Stitched Rectangles dies in Tahitian Tide, Parakeet Party and 2021-2023 InColor Glimmer Paper.  This glimmer paper comes in all five InColors and the colors graduate from lighter to darker.  It is very pretty in person.  I layered everything on a Sweet Sorbet card stock.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in Sweet Sorbet ink

Here are some photos of Madison and Oliva from this past weekend.

Happy birthday, sweet Madison.

Sweet Sorbet
Tahitian Tide
Parakeet Party

Product List

Spruced Up Bundle (English)

$45.00

Stitched Rectangles Dies

$35.00

2022–2024 In Color 6" X 6" (15.2 X 15.2 Cm) Glimmer Paper

$12.00
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Cottage Wreaths

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Stampin Up Cottage Wreath

It has been a couple of busy weeks for us and will probably continue for a while.  As you know, we left the cottage and we are now in Nashville.  Then Rob left for a week for a conference in Austin.  I spent the week putting our belongings away and setting up my stamp room.   Last weekend was my grandson’s (Jackson’s) second birthday.  My son and his family live in Montgomery, Alabama so we went there to celebrate. This week my other grandson, Nolan, has no school so he has been spending his time with me (which has been a lot of fun).  Then this coming weekend is Nolan’s fifth birthday.  I did manage to make a couple of cards in between all of that.

I made this card using the stamp set called Cottage Wreaths.  This stamp set is in the July – December Mini Catalog and there is a set of coordinating dies called Country Wreaths.  If you use the bundle item number when ordering you can save 10%.  I first stamped the wreath in Evening Evergreen Ink and cut it out using the coordinating die.  Then I used the Dots & Spots die to cut out the berries and the bow in Real Red card stock.  I used the Split Textures dies set to cut out a 3.75″ x 5″ piece of Basic White card stock.  This is one of my favorite background dies because it adds so much interest to your card.  I layered everything on top of a 4″ x 5.25″ piece of Soft Succulent card stock and an Evening Evergreen card base.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in Real Red ink.

Evening Evergreen
Soft Succulent
Real Red

Product List

Cottage Wreaths Bundle (English)

$52.00

Split Card Textures Dies

$28.00

 

Christmas Season

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Stampin Up Christmas Season

I know it is only September but Christmas is not that far away.  You need to start thinking about your Christmas cards.  I have yet to design the card I will send this year but one of my favorite holiday stamp sets is called Christmas Season.   This stamp set has many two-step stamps included with it.  A two-step stamp is when two or more stamps are used to make one image.   For example, the pinecones are made using one stamp for the outside of the pinecones and one for the inside.  This stamp set has coordinating dies called Seasonal Labels (although I did not use them on this card).  The dies cut out many of the shapes in the stamp set and also include some very nice dies to make labels with.

To make this card, I first stamped the pinecones using Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink in the center of a 3.5″ x 4.75″ piece of Basic White card stock.  Then I stamped the leaves in Evening Evergreen ink and the pine needles in Soft Succulent ink.  Next, I stamped the berries in Cherry Cobbler ink.  The sentiment is from the stamp set called Spruced Up.  I stamped the word “Merry” in Cherry Cobbler ink and the word “Christmas” in Evening Evergreen ink onto a .5″ x 4.75″ piece of Basic White cardstock.  I backed both of these onto Cherry Cobbler card stock.  The Designer Series Paper I used is called Tiding Of Christmas (retired).

Take this post as a reminder to start thinking about your Christmas cards.  You will need the time to decide what products to use, order them, design them and finally, make them.

Soft Suede
Crumb Cake
Cherry Cobbler
Evening Evergreen
Soft Succulent

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Product List

Christmas Season Photopolymer Stamp Set

$22.00

Seasonal Labels Dies

$38.00

Spruced Up Bundle (English)

$45.00

 

Christmas Season

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Hello everyone!  Today is our last Stamp Off Challenge for a while.  Buffy, Jackie and I have been doing our challenges for almost six years.  It is hard to believe it has been that long.  I have enjoyed every single one of our challenges but, as a group, we have decided to take a break from regularly scheduled bi-weekly challenges and just do them when time permits.  I have to say that working with Buffy and Jackie has been one of the highlights of my stamping career.  They are both so talented and I have learned so much from them.  The good part is we will always be good friends.  We just aren’t going to do a bi-weekly challenge.

In any case our challenge this week is to showcase our own Christmas cards.

Stampin Up Christmas Season

I decided to use the stamp set called Christmas Season for my card.  This stamp set has coordinating dies called Seasonal Labels.  This bundle is in the July – December Mini Catalog but I am happy to know that it is not retiring and will be available after that catalog is over.  If you order it before January 4th, though, you can still get the 10% bundle discount.  That will go away once this Mini Catalog ends.  The things I love about this bundle are the pinecones and the different leaves in this set as well as all the different labels it includes.

To make this card I first embossed a 4″ x 5.25″ piece of Basic White card stock using the Merry Melody 3D embossing folder.  I am so happy because this folder is also being carried over.  Next I stamped the pinecones in Crumb Cake and Soft Suede ink and cut them out using the coordinating die.  These stamps are two-step stamps which means it takes two or more stamps to make one image.  Next I stamped the different leaves in Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen ink and cut them out using the dies too.  I layered them on the embossed piece of Basic White and then onto a Cherry Cobbler card base.

I do have to admit I had to change my original card a bit.  When I first designed it I had stamp the sentiment (from the stamp set called Heartfelt Wishes which will retire on January 3rd) in Cherry Cobbler ink and then embossed it with the Merry Melody embossing folder.  Then I began to mass produce my card and after I had embossed everything, I realized I had forgotten to stamp them first.  There was no way I was going to throw out 60 embossed pieces of card stock so I change the design up a bit.  I stamped the sentiment on a strip of Basic White card stock that I layered it on a strip of Cherry Cobbler card stock.

Lastly I added three Matte Decorative Dots around the images.

On another note, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year.  Thanks for all your kind comments on our challenges.  Each one made me smile.

Now let’s go see what Jackie and Buffy made for their Christmas cards.  I am sure they are going to be gorgeous! 

Product List

Christmas Season Bundle (English)

$54.00

Heartfelt Wishes Cling Stamp Set (English)

$21.00

Merry Melody 3 D Embossing Folder

$10.00

Decorative Matte Dots

$8.00

Mountain Air

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My eldest sister, Katherine, asked me to make her some Christmas cards for her to send to some friends. She lives in Vermont and loves nature and winter so designed this card for her.

To make it I first took some Whisper White ink and a Blending Brush and made the “snow” along the bottom of a piece of Crumb Cake card stock. Then I stamp the moon using the stamp set called Mountain Air. I dried the ink using my Heat Tool and then did both things a couple of more times to make the ink more opaque. After it was dry I stamped the trees randomly in Mossy Meadow and Old Olive ink. The sentiment is from a retired stamp set called Christmas Pines. I chose this sentiment because it has a special meaning to my sister. The last thing I did was put the snowflakes around using a white gel pen. I layered the stamped piece on a larger piece of Mossy Meadow card stock and a Crumb Cake card base.

I was reaching into my drawer of envelopes to pull some out for her when I saw some retired Crumb Cake (or maybe Kraft) envelopes that went well with this card. I added a piece of Beauty Of The Earth Designer Series Paper to the inside of the envelope which matched the card perfectly.

Product List
Mountain Air Photopolymer Stamp Set
[151610]
$20.00
Uninked Stampin’ Craft Pad & Whisper White Refill
[147277]
$9.50

Whimsical Trees

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Stampin Up Whimsical Trees

The things that help me make a decision on what I buy for crafting supplies are (1) if it catches my eye immediately, (2) I can come up with at least 5 ways to use it, and (3) I can mix and match it with other products.  The Whimsical Trees Bundle had all three of these requirements.  It immediately caught my eye as something I did not have before.  It can be used for Christmas as well as other occasions.  Trees can be used for year round.  It has a lot of Christmas images but one of the trees looks like it has lights on it or it could be snow.  I love the sentiments in this set because they are different.  The bad thing about this bundle is it is going to retire on January 3rd.

I decided to pair the Whimsical Trees bundle with the Stitched Greenery die for this card.  I love a little sparkle so I die cut a piece of the Silver Foil Specialty Pack for the background using that die.  I love how that die cuts little lines in the card stock but doesn’t cut anything out.  I also cut out the stars to go on top of the trees in the Silver Foil.

Then I stamped out the trees in Shaded Spruce ink and cut them out using the coordinating Christmas Trees Dies.  I layered them on top of a piece of Peaceful Place Designer Series Paper using Seal and Dimensionals.  This DSP has silver throughout many of the sheets.  I stamped the sentiment in Versamark Ink, sprinkled Silver Embossing Powder on it and heat set it with my Heat Tool.

I think this is such a sweet Christmas card with a lot of sparkle and shine.  What could be better?

Remember that the Whimsical Tree stamp set, the coordinating Christmas Trees Dies and the Peaceful Place Designer Series Paper are all retiring on January 3rd.  They are available while supplies last.

Product List

Whimsical Trees Bundle (English)

$51.25

Stitched Greenery Die

$32.00

Silver Foil 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Pack

$10.00

Versamark Pad

$9.50

Metallics Embossing Powders

$18.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

$30.00

Merry Snowflakes

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Stampin Up Merry Snowflakes

Merry Snowflakes is a stamp set that is in the Stampin’ Up!® July – December Mini Catalog (also known as the Holiday Catalog).  It has a set of coordinating dies called Stitched Snowflakes and you can save 10% by purchasing them in a Bundle.  The die set is is gorgeous.  There are 14 dies in all.  Some of them cut out the outside of a snowflake and some cut these beautiful snowflakes with stitches in them. There is also a die that cuts a bunch of snowflakes into cardstock without actually cutting the shapes.  These are great for a background.  Sadly, this set is retiring at the end of this catalog so if you like them, you need to purchase them quickly before they are gone for good.  Some of the products that are retiring may already be gone and once they are gone, they are gone for good.

I decided I wanted to make a non-traditional Holiday card using non-traditional colors.  That way I could use it for a variety of occasions such as Christmas, Hanukkah or even a birthday card.  Therefore, I went with Blushing Bride and Basic Black.

I first used a piece of the Pattern Party Designer Series Paper that is in the 2021/2022 Annual Catalog.  I colored it using a set of retired Blends (Pink Pirouette).  I apologize for this.  I thought they were Blushing Bride until I went to add the link below and realized then that there are no Blushing Bride Blends.  That certainly needs to change!  You could color your Designer Series Paper very easily with color of Blends because they don’t leave lines like markers might.

I decided I wanted to have a shiny snowflake so I pressed my Versamark Ink Pad on a piece of Basic Black card stock, sprinkled it with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it with my Heat Tool. I did this a couple of times so the snowflake would have a little more dimension to it and be even shinier.  Then I cut it out using one of the snowflake dies in the Stitched Snowflake die set.  It is hard to see in the photograph but it has a nice shine to it.  I then cut a circle using the Layering Circles dies around where I had cut out the snowflake  (so it was shiny too) and layered a Blushing Bride circle on top.  I adhered that to the Designer Series Paper using Dimensionals.

Then I stamped the sentiment twice from the Merry Snowflakes stamp set in Versamark, sprinkled them with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set them with my Heat Tool.  Then I cut them apart and adhered them to the card using Dimensionals.  Lastly I layered every thing on a Blushing Bride card base.

Remember there is not a lot of time left to order the retiring products from the July – December Mini Catalog.  Some of the items are even on sale!

Product List

Merry Snowflakes Bundle (English)

$49.50

Layering Circles Dies

$35.00

Pattern Party 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Host Designer Series Paper

$18.00

Versamark Pad

$9.50

Basics Embossing Powders

$18.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)

$30.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

$4.00

Merriest Moments

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Stampin Up Merriest Moments

Once again, I apologize for this post.  My computer is in the shop so I had to use my phone and it doesn’t quite work as well so things may not be lined up correctly or the colors may be off.  I figured something posted crazy like is better than no post (maybe).

I made this card using the stamp set called Merriest Moments.  This set is in the 2021 July – December MIni Catalog.  It has a coordinating die set and embossing folder called Merriest Frames (although I did not use them for this card) and you can save 10% by purchasing them in a bundle.

The colors I used are Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Fresh Freesia, Blushing Bride and Rich Razzleberry.  To make this card, I first drew a circle using a pencil which made it easier to lines things up where I wanted them.  Then I stamped the flowers and leaves over that circle.  When I was done, I erased it so you can’t see it.  Next I stamped the sentiment in Soft Succulent ink.  I felt like it needed something more so I randomly stamped some splatters in Rich Razzleberry ink.  Lastly I added some Elegant Faceted Gems in various places.

Thanks for being so patient while I wait for my laptop to be fixed.  It is a fairly new one and the battery was only lasting one to two hours before needing charging and it was running very hot.  Of course, they had to send it in for repairs because they could not fix it in the store.  Such is life.

Current Host Code is  9FVQE6MH

 

Product List

Merriest Moments Bundle (English)

$54.00

Elegant Faceted Gems

$7.50