The NEW Occasions Mini is LIVE today!!!

...and it is full of amazing new crafting goodness!! Here's a link!
Some of my favourites in this year's mini are:
- the twitterpated dsp...don't you love that word 'twitterpated'!!
- new FRAMELIT dies for your bigshot
- new EDGELIT dies for your bigshot
- see that lovely bid image with the elegant wing...that's a new die too for your bigshot
- PLEATED ribbon!
- a vintage stampset called Rue des Fleur....sigh....
- Tea Shoppe stampset...teacups and all;)
- stampsets to coordinate with the framelit dies!
- embossing folders to coordinate with the edgelit dies...AND a coordinating stampset too!

...and that is just a sampling of what's there, so what are you waiting for...click here to see the mini now...and click here and select 'shop now' to place an order...OR contact me to book a workshop and/or get your own copy of the mini!:)))

Card Keeper

It's just wrong! ...in the Holiday Mini which ends tomorrow, there are these cute (and reasonable) card keepers you can get to decorate (item # 124107). I ordered 2 when the mini came out and then got so busy making Christmas cards and gifts that I didn't get to decorating my card keepers til today... well, I decorated one of them today:) And oh, I'm in love with these card boxes, so I was sure they would be on the carry over list to carry over after the Holiday Mini ends, so I checked the demonstrator site today and alas, they are not there, so there is basically only 24 hours to get a card keeper if you like me had intended to do one before and then ran out of time!

I was even thinking of doing a class on decorating these if they were a carry over item, but since they are gone when the mini goes tomorrow, I can't guarantee I'll have enough to carry a class, so there is only a faint hope of this if SU has extra stock that they offer to demonstrators to purchase in a future period (I am emailing demonstrator support though to double check).

If you do order one of these card keepers today or tomorrow, just click on my website (see icon on the right bar), click shop now and select the item number above. Also, if you email me after you order, I'll email you instructions for what I did on mine. Here's a quick summary of supplies I used (all SU:)

- new framelit dies from the upcoming Occasion Mini

- fun flower die for the Big SHot

- trinket crown

- vintage brad

- boho blossoms punch

- lace ribbon borderpunch

- bird builder punch (for the leaves)

- cherry cobbler, island indigo and limeade cardstock

- timeless portrait dsp

- island indigo ruffled ribbon

Ribbon/Hair Elastic(?!) Bookmark

These are super simple to make and could be a make and take at your next workshop if you contact me in January (we can very the colours, ribbon and stamps though:)

This one I made for my daughter and her new journal for the new year. She's loving purple these days so I used a colour scheme of elegant eggplant, wisteria wonder and pretty in pink (and a touch of lucky limeade since there are dabs of it in the circles on the journal:)

ALSO... you will notice some new products from the upcoming Occasions mini that I used in this project: the stamps are from Apothecary art and the stamped image has been cutout with the coordinating framelits die for the bigshot and then mounted on a coordinating framelit the next size up. That's right, I said 'coordinating'...and that means that you can easly stamp your image and cut it out for a perfect finish (there are also heart shaped framelits and a coordinating stampset in the mini too!!)

Also, I don't think you can clearly see it in the size of the image on this blog post, but the finished project is sprayed with smooch spritz and there is a new one of those in the Occasions mini (which starts January 4th!) too!!

The ribbon base of the bookmark is the elegant eggplant scallop dotted ribbon and the ribbon on the button is the free ribbon you can earn as part of the button and brad pack in the SAB mini later this month!. I also used pearls from the jewel pack and butterfly embosslets...oh, and a hair elastic to put it together... if you want to see how, book your next workshop and I'll design one for you as either a demonstration or a make and take at your workshop using more fun products from the upcoming minis!:))

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

This being new year's day, I thought I'd share another calendar/dayplanner with you today... AND everything I've used on this project comes from the upcoming (Jan 24th) SALE-A-Bration (SAB) mini! That's right... the stamps are from Elementary Elegance, the dsp is from an exclusive pack called Everyday Enchantment and the brads are from the Everyday Enchantment ribbon & brad pack! OK there is one thing I've used that is from the regular catalog...the pool party ruffle ribbon (...gotta luv ruffled ribbon, right?!)

So as I said yesterday, be sure to contact me to get your SAB mini and either book your SAB workshop or prepare your qualifying order! This year's SAB flyer if full of amazing free goodies!!

Happy Birthday Tea-friend!

Today is my friend, Alana's birthday, so no Christmas creations for you today... Instead here is Alana's birthday card which was made with the spice cake dsp and some new goodies from the upcoming Occasions Mini which starts January 3rd. Alana is a tea-girl like me, so I couldn't resist using the new Tea Shoppe stampset for her card:)

If you haven't received your copy of the Occasions Mini, contact me and I'll get you one as soon as I can!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer

A bookmark is always a good idea. This style is made with a hair elastic. Dawn has a video on how to make something similar. I used products and stamps that I had handy based on treats and cards I've been making and posting the last few weeks.

Are you all ready for Christmas now?!:)

Cookie Boxes

These are just a couple of quick boxes I decorated for some neighbour gifts. I used the kraft gift boxes in the Holiday Mini (and the good news is, they will be available again in the Occasions Mini).

Yet another Christmas Keepsake Box

I *love* making these and each one is a little different though I've used the Holly Berry Bouquet Suite on all of them... This one I used more of the espresso papers from the kit and a bit more inking for a bit more depth in tone:)

If you want to make your own version, just a reminder about the Clearance Blitz at my online store right now. There are kits to make a similar keepsake box including the boxes on clearance. The kits don't include the stampsets used, but you can make this project with your favourite stampsets; however the kits include paper, glitter, ribbon, pearls and more, so hurry if you don't want to miss out.

...and even without this project kit, you'll want to check out the clearance rack there are some unbelievable deals on designer paper, punches, decor elements and even goodies for your big shot!

Let Earth Receive Her King!

I told you The Sounding Joy was my favourite Christmas stampset. I never tire of finding new ways to use it either. This card was made with it along with the medallion background stamp to create a wreath effect. I topped it off with some quilted satin cherry cobbler ribbon, a vintage brad and some rhinestone jewels and right now it's one of my favourite cards this year:)

Joy to the world...

I had to make at least one card this year with the Sounding Joy stampset and the music notes stampin wheel...these two stamps just belong together, don't you think?!;)

...lots of inking and vanilla smooch spritz on this card for an extra vintage-y feel...soft suede paper and inks work well for vintage:)

Stocking Giftcard Holder

One week til Christmas!! Today I finished most of my wrapping, which is a victory...it's no fun when it is left until the last minute.

Each year I seem to find that more and more people want giftcards instead of actual gifts so I'm always playing with new ways of making giftcard holders...

When I bought my stocking die for the Big Shot this year, I thought right away that it lended itself to a giftcard holder and this is one of the ones I came up with. It's hanging from the tree with some quilted satin ribbon (hence the angel).

Recipe (all SU):

Cardstcok - cherry cobbler

DSP - frostwood lodge & red glimmer paper

Ribbon - espresso quilted satin

Holly berry bouquet designer buttons

Stampsets - pines and poinsettias & short & sweet

Vintage-y Christmas Card

I took some inspiration for this card from Shelli's Today Show card:) I used the Holly Berry Bouquet Suite of products again along with some quilted satin ribbon in cherry cobbler, some striped grosgrain in chocolate chip and some victoria lace. I also used a couple of our pearls from the jewels sheets:)

Another Star...

...this time using frostwood lodge dsp...same basic recipe though as yesterdays post:)

Star Ornament

Could these be any more fun to make and adorable?! Here's a link to Dawn's tutorial (probably the easiest to follow out there on how to make these:)

I used the Holly Berry Bouquet paper for mine. You will need 5 - 3" squares and 2- 1 1/2" squares of the same dsp. For the 3" squares you fold them in half one way, then in half the other way and then turn them over and fold diagonally, then scrunch together to make these little cubes. I attached my cubes with sticky strip and then added a button and ribbon for opening and closing and voila!:)

More than 200 new items have been added to the clearance rack starting today and at great prices! You won't want to miss out...everything from punches to big shot dies to designer series paper and all sorts of accessories. So click here to go to my demonstrator website and then hit 'shop now' to view all the new items on the clearance rack.

Clearance rack orders can only be made through online orders on the demonstrator website. Quantities are limited so act quickly if there is something you want so you don't miss out!:)

More Tags

These super simple tags were made with the other tag from the two tags die, some more scraps my the holly berry bouquet dsp and the winter post stampset, one of my all time favourites:) ...oh and some glitter...I'm all about the glitter this year it seems;)

Holly Berry Bouquet Tags

As you can see, I'm loving making tags with the two tags die for the bigshot. Today's tags were made with scraps and such from the holly berry bouquet dsp along with the pines and poinsettias stampset:)

Christmas Open House

We went to a Christmas open house for former neighbours of ours at their new home yesterday afternoon and this was the card I made for in their gift.

Recipe (all SU):

-pines and poinsettias stampset

-real red, very vanilla cardstock

-holly berry bouquet dsp

-pearl jewel accents

-vanilla designer velvet

-real red, wild wasabi & early espresso SU markers

Repeat...The Sounding Joy

This is the other version of yesterday's card I've been making, but this time with an always artichoke cardstock base and the 'Joy' image from The Sounding Joy stampset embossed over the star. I also used a different embossing folder for the matt portion...this time the vintage wallpaper folder.

The Sounding Joy

My absolute favourite stampset this Christmas is a new set in the Holiday Mini..."The Sounding Joy'. I love the sentiment (the star includes all the words to 'Joy to the World'). And it just lends itself to simple vintage elegance. This is my take on the card in the mini. I used cherry cobbler cardstock and a bit of always artichoke. The ribbon is cherry seam binding. The star is stamped in more mustard and 'let earth receive her King' was embossed over that in new pewter embossing powder, also from the mini.

One other thing I would like to highlight is that the matt is the same colour as the cardbase, but to add dimension and texture I embossed it with the snowburst embossing folder and then inked the edges in cherry cobbler:)