Boo! Banner -- the Big Reveal!

For those of you who have been waiting patiently to see Jana's Boo! Banner, which we'll be making at the World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza this Saturday, in its entirety here it is at last:

Didn't this turn out cute?!  I can't wait to make one of my own! 

Have one more big reveal for you tomorrow -- the final version of the Thanksgiving basket of cards we will be making.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Tote-ally Awesome Opportunity

Preparations are underway here (i.e. my paper cutter is getting a great work out!!!) for the World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza this Saturday, October 2nd -- I hope you'll join me for it if you are in the San Jose area!  If you haven't checked out the projects for it yet, please click here to see them.

Have you heard about the Tote-ally Awesome Opportunity Stampin' Up! is offering now through October 18th?  Get this fabulous craft tote FREE when you join Stampin’ Up! Start your own business, get a 20 percent discount on all Stampin’ Up! products, and get this gorgeous tote, when you purchase the Starter Kit for only $175 us (it’s valued at over $300 us)! Why don’t you give it a try? Leave me a comment or contact me for more details. 

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza -- Final Sneak Peek -- Monogram Charm Ornaments

Here's the final sneak peek at projects for my upcoming World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza.  This one was inspired by a project by Dustin Nakamura -- however, again, I am embarassed to admit I have only a clipping from the publication-- I think it was the 'Tis the Season Idea Book published by Northridge Media a year or so ago.

Here's my version:

My favorite part of this project is the snowflake charm on the ornament with my little guys' photos and the year on the back!  In preparing for this project, I also had an excuse to create some mini photo collages in digital studio and finally print off some photos to finish off the boys' Scrapbook in a Tin Christmas albums.  The boys are pretty excited about that, but hopefully we can wait until after the Extravaganza next Saturday to finish those up! 

By the way, there's a new page on my blog with registration information for the Extravaganza -- be sure to check it out and call or email me to register for the projects you want to make before this Weds., September 29th! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

- Michelle

World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza Sneak Peek -- "Stocking Stuffer" Card

I've been crafting away this week -- finished creating a scrapbook for Daniel's class in My Digital Studio last night, and just need to print it off so it will be ready to auction off at his school's Walkaround fundraiser.  Hopefully will be a big hit with the parents and kid in his class!   I have also been finalizing the last two projects for the World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza which is only a week from tomorrow!!!  I'm getting very excited for it -- if you are in the San Jose area, please email me or leave me a comment -- would love to have you come join the fun!

Okay, now on to the project I want to show you.  This one is inspired by a card I saw in Cards magazine, which was created by Jennifer Gallacher.  Her card was a happy holidays card to a teacher, which had a 3D stitched stocking on the front that held pencils with cute little tages on it.  I liked the card and idea so much I took out the page out of the magazine (it's page 170, if that helps!).  Unfortunately, now I have no idea which issue it came from and haven't been able to find it on the internet to link to it!  My apologies about that!

Anyway, I reworked the card using Stampin' Up! products and a new template I created for the stocking -- I wanted it to be wide enough to fit a gift card, some candies, some pens or pencils, or other little trinkets -- so still great for a teacher card, but versatile enough to be given to anyone you want to surprise with a little holiday treat!  Really happy with how it turned out -- may need to use it to stitch up some fabric stockings, too.  So without further ado, here's my card:

The fun trim on the stocking is real fabric -- Stampin' Up!'s beautiful new Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric!  I cut it with the new Tasteful Trim Bigz XL die, also from the Holiday Mini catalog, and my Big Shot.  The stitching on my paper stocking is done with a white Uniball Signo gel pen -- quick and easy.  And, I discovered the gel pen even worked on the fabric.  Fun!

Hope you like this project -- come make it at the Extravaganza, or if you can't do that, be sure to let me know if you'd like a kit for it!

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza -- Sneak Peek 3 -- Basket of Thanksgiving Cards

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a terrific weekend.  This was a busy stamping weekend for me, and I had a lot of fun with stamping friends old and new.  One of the projects I created was so much fun to make, that I decided it really should be the Thanksgiving project for the World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza.  Here are the little notecard baskets I made for this weekend:

These baskets are made using the Baskets & Blooms Bigz xl die with the Big Shot.  However, instead of assembling to create a circular basket, another piece of cardstock is inserted in between the two basket die cuts to create the rectangular-shaped basket.  I first saw the idea for making baskets this way on Gretchen Barron's blog, but designed my own template for the center of the baskets I created. 

Here are some of the 3 x 3" notecards that I created to put inside the basket:

and another of the sets:

I also cut some of the designer paper, and inserted it into the barrel of a Pentel RSVP pen -- so fun to be able to personalize the pen to match the note set!  I used Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper for three of the sets, and Newsprint Designer Series Paper for the fourth.

The flowers on the baskets were created using die cuts from the Birds & Blooms Sizzlit, with one of the sparkly new Glimmer Brads in the center.

For World Cardmaking Day, I plan to change the color of the basket to Crumb Cake, and use some of the beautiful new Autumn Spice Designer Series Paper from the Holiday Mini! You'll want to make some for yourself and some to give away as thank yous!  For more information or to register for the Extravaganza, please leave me a comment or send me an email (using the button on the side bar).

Thank you for stopping by!

Michelle

World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza -- Sneak Peek Part 2 -- Boo Banner!

Here's another of the projects that will be available to make at the World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza that I will be having on October 2nd!  This one is a "Boo" banner designed by my amazing and talented friend Jana Weaver.  Here's the sneak peek of the first part (I know, I'm such a tease!):

We got the idea for the technique to add the sparkle to the embossed spider web background from this beautiful card by Kathie Rotti that I received in a recent swap.

In addition to the Spider Web Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Kathie's card also uses the adorable Fang-tastic set from the Holiday Mini.

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks!  Please leave a comment or email me (using the button on the side of the blog) for more information about or to register for the Extravaganza!  Would love to have you come create some wonderful projects with us!

Thanks for stopping by!

-- Michelle

World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza -- Project Sneak Peek Part 1

I am very excited for the World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza I am planning with some help from my good friend Jana for October 2nd!  If you are in the area, I hope you will come join the fun.

One of the projects that will be available to make at the Extravaganza is a set of 30 Christmas cards using the Christmas Cheer Simply Scrappin' Kit.  This project is a great way to get a head start on this year's Christmas cards!!!  Here are a few of the sample cards I have created:

I had great fun creating these with the pieces from the Simply Scrappin' Kit, some of which I cut using two new Big Shot dies from the Holiday Mini catalog -- the Tasteful Trim die and the Northern Frost Decorative Strip die.  I couldn't resist adding some Rhinestone Jewels to each card, too.  The greeting on the first card is from the new Bells & Boughs stamp set, also from the Holiday Mini.  

If you are interested in making these at the Extravaganza, please send me an email or leave me a comment, and I'll get more information about the class right to you!  Also, if you are not able to make the Extravaganza, but are interested in a class kit, please let me know.

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Holiday Mini is Here!!!

Have you seen the new Holiday Mini yet?  There is so much fun new stuff in there!  If you haven't seen it yet, click on through to this link or leave me a comment and let me know you need a copy, and I'll be happy to get one to you!

It is hard to pick my favorites from the Holiday Mini -- I love everything!  So far, I've mostly played with the new Build a Bear stamp set (Season of Hugs), as I made two sets of swaps with that.  Still waiting for one of those swaps to wrap up, but here is my card for the other one:

In addition to Season of Hugs, for which the Stamp-a-ma-Jig came in really handy, I also used the lovely new Deck the Halls designer series paper, the Marina Mist taffeta ribbon (love this color!!!), and the little flowers were punched with the four petal flower from the Itty Bitty Punch Trio and I added new Champagne Glass Glitter in the center.  I couldn't resist adding some of that on the star the little boy bear is placing atop the tree as well.  I watercolored the scene using a combination of ink from the ink pads and my Watercolor Wonder Crayons (can't wait for the new colors of those!)  And, added some Smooch for a little extra sparkle on the heart ornaments and the little girl bear's dress. The happy holiday scene is stamped onto a piece of Very Vanilla Card Stock that was die cut using the Top Note Bigz Die, and the greeting is on a piece of Very Vanilla that was punched out using the Modern Label Punch.

Hope you like the card!  I have more cards to show you soon that I've been busily creating for my World Cardmaking Day Extravaganza, coming up on Saturday, October 2nd.  If you are in the San Jose area, you won't want to miss it!  More details and sneak peeks of projects coming soon!

- Michelle