Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas!!! Hope you have had a joyous and wonderful celebration today!

Wanted to pop in and share our Christmas card with you today.  I created our cards in My Digital Studio, using portrait images for which we had a copyright license from the portrait studio.  The front cover is mostly designed by the portrait studio, I just added the greeting, using My Digital Studio's color-matching feature for the text color, since we wanted the text to be golden like the background.

Here are the two inside pages, which I designed using various stamps and papers from My Digital Studio:

And, the back cover:

For those who are interested, here is my supply list from My Digital Studio:

Page 1 Supply List

Photos

    E:\ImageFiles\E4

Page 2 Supply List

Background

     Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Year to Remember 2012 Calendar\Year to Remember - pattern 11

Stamps

    Wishes & Greetings\Wishes & Greetings - scallop circle, Color = WHISPER WHITE 255,255,255

    _Designer Kits\Christmas Jingle - stamps\All Holidays\All Holidays - peace love joy, Color = 84,59,44

Photos

    E:\ImageFiles\P13

    E:\ImageFiles\P7

Page 3 Supply List

Stamps

    Tags Til Christmas\Tags til Christmas - holly

    Jolly Bingo Bits\Jolly Bingo Bits - star, Color = SO SAFFRON 253,215,130

    Jolly Bingo Bits\Jolly Bingo Bits - star, Color = SO SAFFRON 253,215,130

    Jolly Bingo Bits\Jolly Bingo Bits - star, Color = SO SAFFRON 253,215,130

Photos

    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Attic Boutique - designer series paper\Attic Boutique - 2

    my embellishments\Whisper White - Stitching Straight

Page 4 Supply List

Background

     Color = 158,22,28

Embellishments

          (re-colored)

     (re-colored)

Photos

    Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Christmas Cocoa II - designer series paper\Christmas Cocoa II - pattern 2

    E:\ImageFiles\P16

Thanks for visiting my blog!!!

- Michelle

The CASE of A Peaceful Christmas Deer

I love Pinterest, and browsing and pinning all kinds of fun and wonderful ideas and projects there, but must confess that sometimes I forget about all the lovely ideas I have waiting there for me when I need to create a card or other project.  Well, in this case, I did not forget!  Last year, I had spotted and pinned a gorgeous card, with a reindeer on a fabulous brayered background, by Kathy at Stamping Still.  Here's the link to her blog post with the card that inspired me.  I loved the colors Kathy used on her card, and decided to use the same colors to create a special Christmas tag, and instead of the deer stamp she used, to use the new Christmas Deer stamp set.

Here is the tag I created:  

The deer is embossed on Whisper White Card Stock using Early Espresso embossing powder.    I applied the background color using sponges, and while it didn't turn out quite as much like Kathy's as I would have liked, I still do like the color combo!  I used Baja Breeze and then Not Quite Navy on the bottom part of the card, and for the sky, I used More Mustard, followed by Cherry Cobbler. Then, I embossed the small snowflakes (cut out from the Snowflake Party wheel) using white embossing powder.

I layered my stamped piece onto a piece of Silver Glimmer Paper, and then onto another piece of Whisper White Card Stock.  For the greeting, I cut a small strip of Whisper White, embossed the "Peace on Earth" from the Greetings of the Season Stamp Set, and used my Big Shot and the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder to emboss just a small part of the strip of Whisper White.  I sponged on Baja Breeze ink.  For the finishing touch, I added dots of Silver Sparkle Dazzling Details in the centers of some of the embossed snowflakes.  The ribbon is Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon.

After I was finished with the tag, I decided to use the same basic idea to create a card.  Here is how that turned out:

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Oh, Christmas Trees!

Have been a little quiet lately, as I've been busy with lots of projects, but I also have lots to share with you!  So, I thought I'd pop in and show you a couple of Christmas trees I've created recently.  Here's the first one:

This started as a foam tree base, and I covered it with almost 80 rolled roses.  To create the roses, I started with 1-3/4" circles of Real Red Card Stock, cut spirals in them, and rolled them up.  They are attached to the foam tree using hot glue.

The second tree was inspired by some beautiful trees I had seen in Stampin Success a year or so ago.  I die cut a number of flowers out of Very Vanilla Card Stock and also punched out some pieces from Champagne Glimmer Paper.  I embossed some of the flowers, and layered the different pieces together.  Then, I added gold brads and pearl jewels to the centers:

Then, I hot glued these onto another foam tree base, to create this tree:

What do you think?  Which one do you like best?

Hope you are finding some time for some fun holiday crafting!  

- Michelle

Super-Shimmery Christmas Photo Ornaments

Here are some Christmas ornaments I created recently, using my boys' school photos and a favorite photo of my boys with their cousins on our summer vacation.  The idea for these ornaments came from the Nov/Dec Stampin' Success (the bimonthly magazine Stampin' Up! publishes, with wonderful ideas and inspiration for  demonstrators!) 

Before printing, I recolored my photos to sepia tones.  They are cut with the Labels Framelits, and mounted on Very Vanilla Card Stock.  (I was just looking at the ingredient list and realized the samples I used for inspiration were actually on Whisper White, which looks great, too).  The Champagne Glimmer Paper frames on the ornaments add just the perfect amount of sparkle.  And, the accents are images from the Bells and Boughs Stamp Set, stamped in Early Espresso and watercolored with Real Red and Always Artichoke inks.  The images are carefully cut out.   For the date, I added a piece of Very Vanilla, die cut using one of the Bitty Banner Framelits.  The hanger is a length of Bakers' Twine (Whisper White for the top two ornaments, and Whisper White/Early Espresso on the bottom ornament).

  

I have left the backs of these plain at the moment, but I think that would be the perfect place to add a handwritten message for giving these to someone special!

What do you think?

- Michelle

Lacy, Glittery Keepsake Ornament Tag

Here's another fancy gift tag I created recently that could also be used as an ornament:  

And, here's the back, with space to add a special note or a small photo for the recipient:

Supplies used:

Paper:  Candlelight Christmas Designer Specialty Paper, Old Olive and Very Vanilla Cardstock, Champagne Glimmer Paper
Ink:  Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint
Accessories:  Holiday Ornament Framelits, Snow Flurry Bigz Die, Delicate Doilies Sizzlits, 1-3/4" Circle, Raspberry Ripple 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon, In Color Dahlia, and Champagne Glass Stampin' Glitter (adhered with Tombo Multi Adhesive, could also use Crystal Effects)

Hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Gingerbread Twist Card

Here's another fun twist card -- created this for a recent swap with my amazingly talented friend Marlene, and this was so fun and easy to make, it will also be one of the projects at a class I have coming up this Friday!  Here it is:

The card base for this card is Old Olive.  The designer paper is from the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack.  The Cherry Cobbler background piece on the front is die cut with one of the Labels Framelits, and then I used the template from teh Festive Paper Piercing Pack to add the piercing around the die cut.  The Whisper White doily piece is die cut using the Delicate Doilies Sizzlits.  The tree and gingerbread men images are from the Scensational Season Stamp Set, and they and the Champagne Glimmer Paper Star are die cut using the coordinating Holiday Collection Framelits Dies.  The greeting is an image from the Fabulous Phrases Stamp Set, stamped in Soft Suede (like the gingerbread men), and die cut using the Bitty Banners Framelits.  The "candies" on the gingerbread man on the card front are 3/16" Regals Brads (in Cherry Cobbler).

I also made this card using Crumb Cake instead of Whisper White Card Stock for the gingerbread men.  Here's how that turned out:

Which version do you like best?

Thanks for stopping by!

- Michelle

Elegant Candlelight Christmas Treat Holder

Another quick post today!   In October, the amazing Heather Summers had an adorable treat container on her blog, made using an empty Stampin' Up! embellishment container.  (You can see her original post, along with a video for how to create these treat holders by clicking here.) I loved the idea, and thought it would be fun to make one with the flocked window sheet from the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper.  So, here's what came out of that idea:

I used Cherry Cobbler card stock, along Old Olive Seam Binding Ribbon (which I just discovered Stampin' Up! no longer carries -- but the Always Artichoke Seam Binding, which is current, would be just as pretty!)

For the flower on top, I started with Very Vanilla Card Stock, which I die cut using the Fun Flowers die.  I then embossed it with the Lacy Brocade Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.  I sponged Cherry Cobbler ink around the edges of each flower.  Hard to see from my photos, but this flower really shimmers because I spritzed each flower with Vanilla Smooch Spritz (although I used the spritz solution in the Color Spritzer Tool, which gives more even coverage than the container the spritz comes in).  I scrunched up the flowers, and secured them together using an Antique Brad.

The "For You" tag I created on Old Olive card stock, stamped with an image from the Itty Bitty Banners stamp set and die cut using the coordinating Bitty Banners Framelit Die.

What do you think?  Isn't this a fun way to dress up some Christmas goodies?!

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Michelle

That's a Wrap!

Here's a recent project I made with the assistance of My Digital Studio!  It's a fun, poofy-bow topper and wrap to dress up a gift of chocolates.  I used the That's a Wrap Digital Download to create it.  The download comes with different punches you can fill with your choice of digital designer paper, and I chose paper from the Frosty Day Download.   I printed one page with the punch pieces, then printed the backside of the page with a "full sheet" of the designer paper, so the bow would have printing on both sides:

The band around the chocolates package is cut out from another full page of the Frosty Day paper that I printed:

I also created a tag, using the digital hexagon punch, plus images from the Frosty Day and Tag It downloads:

Here's a complete list of the supplies used:

Page 1 Supply ListPunches
    Extras\That's a Wrap - punches\That's a Wrap - bow 2 bottom,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Frosty Day II - designer series paper\Frosty Day II - 9
    Extras\That's a Wrap - punches\That's a Wrap - bow 2 middle,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Frosty Day II - designer series paper\Frosty Day II - 9
    Extras\That's a Wrap - punches\That's a Wrap - bow 2 middle,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Frosty Day II - designer series paper\Frosty Day II - 9
    Extras\That's a Wrap - punches\That's a Wrap - bow 2 wrap,  Filled with: Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Frosty Day II - designer series paper\Frosty Day II - 9

Page 2 Supply ListBackground
     Designer Series Paper\_Designer Kits\Frosty Day II - designer series paper\Frosty Day II - 9

Embellishments
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 3 blushing bride
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 3 blushing bride
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 4 blushing bride
    Soft Blooms - embellishments\Soft Blooms - 4 blushing bride
    Satin Ribbon\Satin Ribbon - Old Olive bow

Stamps
    _Designer Kits\Tag It\Tag It - tag hearts
    _Designer Kits\Frosty Day II\Frosty Day II - mittens flakes, Color = 236,60,114

Punches
    Basics\Hexagon Punch, Fill Color = 170,217,197    

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Spinning Penguin Tag!

Whew!  It's been a busy week . . . I've been doing a lot of digital designing in My Digital Studio in preparation for Christmas . . . trying to beat the December 6th deadline to order print products by regular shipping!  Speaking of My Digital Studio, there are some great new downloads today -- you can check them out in the online store here.  And, there is a Mega Massive My Digital Studio giveaway going on right now, too -- don't miss it! -- you can find out more information by clicking here.

I've also been working on some non-digital projects and have one of those to share with you today.  This is a special, spinner tag that could also be used as an ornament:

Supplies used:

Stamps:  No Peeking, Snowflake Party Builder Wheel (I unmounted and cut it to use the snowflake images separately), and Daydream Medallions Stamp Set

Ink:  Marina Mist Classic Ink Stamp Pad, Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Marina Mist, Basic Black, and Pumpkin Pie Stampin' Write Markers

Paper:  Bashful Blue and Whisper White Card Stock

Accessories:  Cherry Cobbler Bakers' Twine, Floral Frames Framelits, Scallop Circle Punch, Pearl Jewels, and Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz (sprayed through the Color Spritzer Tool)

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Fall Swap with Marlene

I was going through photos and posts yesterday and realized that I had not shared yet the wonderful projects I received in my fall swap with my amazingly talented friend Marlene Caravello.  I am sure you will agree when you see them, better late than not at all!!!  

The first project is this adorable scarecrow box:

Marlene used a Fancy Favor box as the base, and then the scarecrow's hat is made using pieces from two Top Note die cuts.  I love the fabric flower on the hat with the little bird tucked in, too.  Just charming!

The next project is an awesome Halloween card -- check out all the fabulous details from the front cover to the back!

Here's the front, where Marlene used the faux torn paper technique:

Then, it opens to this fabulously spooky artwork:

The Peek-a-Boo frame opens to reveal a hidden message, embossed in what looks like either Gumball Green or Wild Wasabi Stampin' Emboss Powder:

I love the texture on the wooden fence as well!  And, isn't the punch art face terrific?

On the back cover, Marlene stamped the Frightening Feline image in Whisper White, creating a great Halloween version of the Chalkboard Art look that is so popular everywhere right now:

And, last but not least is this beautiful Thanksgiving slider card:

So many great details on this card, too -- from the beautiful fall leaf die cut from the Autumn Accents die, the Woodgrain texture and beautiful fall colors in the background under the leaf, the embossing on the Orchard Harvest Designer Paper on the pull out piece, and the sponging on the 7/8" Cotton Ribbon Marlene used for the slider pull.

Aren't these fabulous?!  Thanks so much, Marlene!!!!

And, thank you for stopping by to check out my blog!

- Michelle

Thanksgiving Cards with a Twist

Have you checked out the Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza yet?  If not, be sure to head on over to my online store (from the main page, click the shop now button) and check out the great deals, after you finish reading this post!

I've seen some really neat cards with a twist lately -- including the one I received from my friend Agnes in our recent swap, and finally got around to trying some of these out myself.  I followed the instructions in this video tutorial by Kelly Gettelfinger -- and was amazed how quick, easy and fun these are to make!  I'll definitely be making more of these.

Here's how a couple of my Twisted Thanksgiving cards turned out:

Supplies used:

Stamps:  Full of Blessings
Ink:  Versamark, various colors of Stampin' Write Markers (including Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Gray, Marina Mist, Baja Breeze, and Cajun Craze), Basic Gray
Paper:  More Mustard, Basic Gray, Watercolor Paper, Howlstooth & Scaringbone
Accessories:  Label Framelits, Aquapainter

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Michelle

A Little Hot Chocolate for a Rainy Friday . . .

It's been a rainy Friday here in California, and I've actually enjoyed it!  It's perfect weather to be inside stamping, with a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate!  So, I thought this would be the perfect card to share with you today:

I created this card about a month ago for a party with some wonderful ladies!  I think they enjoyed making it, and it was fun to see the variations they came up, substituting different images from the Scentsational Season set.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Scentsational Season
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler Classic Ink Pad, Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker
Paper:  Note Card, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, and Lucky Limeade Card Stock, plus Festival of Prints Designer Paper Pack
Accessories:  Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Stampin' Pierce Mat and Paper-Piercing Tool, Rhinestone Jewel, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch


There's also lots of exciting news from Stampin' Up! right now:

• The Ink-credible Promotion is going on!  
• The Stampin' Trimmer is now available!  
• You can now include digital content on workshop orders!   
• The Simply Sent iPhone app, which allows you to create an e-card to send via email or post on Facebook, is now available for free!  You can download it from iTunes or the App store.
• Stampin' Up! has the Sizzix Texture Boutique Embossing Machine available now, while supplies last! 
• There's a new product called Talking Tag, that's now available!  
• The Online Extravaganza starts Monday!  

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

SUper Friends Holiday Swap Cards

It's been a busier week than planned, so I haven't been able to pop in here and post much, but saw an opportunity tonight, and have been anxious to share some beautiful cards I received from some of my SUper Friends!  We swapped cards at our October meeting, and without really planning it, most of the cards had a holiday theme!  

Here's Agnes' "Twisted Greeting Card" using the Polar Party stamp set:

Renate's card using the Ornament Keepsakes Bundle:

Motoe's card, also using the Ornament Keepsakes Bundle:

And, Nancy's punch-art Christmas tree card:

Aren't these all wonderful?!  I am so thankful for all my talented SUper Friends!!!  Hope you enjoyed seeing some of their recent creations.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Mojo-ed Congratulations!

This week I finally had a chance to play along with Mojo Monday again, and decided to use this week's fabulous sketch (#266, which you can see here), to create a congratulations card for one of my SUper Friends team members who just promoted to Supervisor!   Very proud of her!

Here's the card I created:

I used the Blue Ribbon stamp set for this card.  The "congrats" is actually from the "congrats GRAD" stamp, and I used my Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker to ink it up -- I was pleasantly surprised to see how nicely it worked, and that it came off my stamp just fine when I cleaned it right after stamping.  Here's a close up to give you a better view of how that came out:

I did a fair amount of sponging on this card -- you can see it on the "congrats" banner as well as on the #1 ribbon.  Here's the close up of that:

In this close up, you can also see that I used the Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker to do a little faux stitching as well.  

Here's a complete list of supplies used:

Stamps:  Blue Ribbon

Ink:  Midnight Muse, Chocolate Chip, and Early Espresso Classic Ink; Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker

Paper:  Midnight Muse Card Stock, Calypso Coral Card Stock, International Bazaar Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla Card Stock, Daffodil Delight (for the flowers), and Champagne Glimmer Paper

Accessories:  Stampin' Sponges, Bitty Banners Framelits, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Essentials Paper Piercing Pack, Paper-Piercing Tool, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Rhinestone Jewels

Thanks for visiting my blog!

- Michelle

Ornament Keepsakes Bonus Projects

Recently, I've enjoyed having a couple classes to teach friends how to create this beautiful ornament from the cover of the Holiday Catalog.  In addition to the ornament, I prepared a couple bonus projects to show my friends a few other ways to use the Ornament Keepsakes bundle.  And, now I want to share those here, too!  

Here's the first one:

This window-style card is relatively quick and easy to create because it starts with one of Stampin' Up!'s Note Cards.  It has a 4-1/2" x 3" layer of designer paper from the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper.  And, on top of that is a 4-3/4" x 3-1/4" piece of Whisper White, out of which the ornament is die cut, and which is embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder.  I drew the ornament hanger on the Whisper White using a Silver Stampin' Dazzle Marker.  For the ornament cap and part of the decoration, I used Silver Glimmer Paper. The cap is just a straight strip placed under the die cut Whisper White layer.  For the decoration, I punched a 1-1/4" Scallop Circle of the Glimmer Paper.  On top of that is an image from the Ornament Keepsakes set, stamped on Whisper White in Gumball Green, and die cut with one of the Holiday Ornaments Framelits.  For the finishing touches, there's a Gumball Green Stitched Ribbon bow on top of the ornament and a small Pearl Jewel in the center.  

I used the same stamp to decorate the edge of the envelope as well:

The second card is a variation on the first, and this was actually inspired in part by this card in Connie Stewart's Flash Cards Series:

Again, I started with one of the Note Cards.  This time I inked up the ornament stamp using Stampin' Write Markers (Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, and Gumball Green), and stamped it roughly in the center of a 4-3/4" x 3-1/4" piece of Whisper White Card Stock.  I die cut the stamped image, then set it aside, while I embossed the "frame" left behind by the die cut.  I used the Snowburst folder here, which I've since realized is actually retired; however, the Lacy Brocade or Vintage Wallpaper Folders would work beautifully, too.  This time I used a Gold Stampin' Dazzle Marker to draw the ornament hanger, and used three of the Pearl Jewels to dress up my ornament.  The "merry" is from the Tiny Tags stamp set, and is stamped in Gumball Green on Whisper White, then die cut with one of the Bitty Banners Framelits.

The final project for today is a mini-version of the larger ornament, created using die cut paper from the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper and one of the smaller Holiday Ornament Framelits.  The center is decorated with pieces of Very Vanilla die cut using the Snow Flurry Bigz Die, and finished with a Pearl Jewel:

Whew!  Hope you enjoyed these projects and that they inspire you to create something special, too!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

- Michelle