Happy New Year!

Several Christmas cards didn't make it out the door this year.  Instead of just saying "oh well, better luck next year", I decided to make a few Happy New Years cards and send those instead. I used the Large Medallion Background stamp, heat embossed with silver embossing powder.  Seeing the powder melt into shinny beautifulness when I heat it up never gets old.  I made the numbers with my big shot die cutting machine and the Timeless Type die cuts. The paper is Basic Black and Brushed Silver.  I used a silver sharpie to write on the inside of the card.  I often use a layer of a lighter color of card stock when my card base is dark, too dark to write a greeting on, but since the card was black and silver, I thought the silver sharpie worked very nicely.  
A quick reminder, the Holiday Mini Catalog ends in just a few short days, so if there is anything you had your eye on, you should get it now.  And, I have learned from Stampin' Up! that they will not be carrying the Stocking builder punch and matching stamp set in the next big catalog that comes out in July.  Bummed for sure, I love punches! so if you wanted that one, you best get it asap.

I'm off to movie night!  We rented a movie for the kids and we're going to have pizza and popcorn.  Then we're off to Iowa to visit grandma.  See you in the new year!

Angel Wings

I made a fun project with my daughter Jillian.  We turned my little angels tiny hands into Angel Wings.  We used White Craft Ink on Night of Navy paper, and added a Glimmer paper halo.  She loved getting her hands inky.

Super short post today! I have to make some money holder cards for my nieces and nephews.  Nothing like the last minute!

Cookie Day!

No paper projects today!  I spent my day  making cookies with my friend Jackie.  We do it every year.  We make so many cookies, in many varieties.  My kitchen was a flour and sprinkles disaster a few short hours ago, and now it is all put back together again.  Poor Frosty the cookie, he is not going to get put back together again.  My melted snowman cookie is now in my sons tummy.  I saw these melting snowmen on "Pinterest" and just had to make them. I'm not so good at piping frosting, but I think they turned out adorable.

My husband asked why they had happy faces if they were melting, so I made a grumpy one for him.

We also made sugar cookies, spritz cookies, smore cookies, turtle cookies, haystacks, gingerbread, souvaroffs, and chocolate dipped sugar.  It was a very tasty day, but I think I will not make another cookie for a while!

Christmas Collage

Look!!  My computer is working again!!  I'm so happy about it!  And I have made some really cute Christmas projects over the last few weeks, but unfortunately they have been sent away to those who are supposed to receive them for Christmas.  Here is one I  made for myself!  I saw some beautiful Christmas collages last year on the blog of  a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  She makes them for many occasions.  There were some cute Halloween ones, as well as personalized collages for weddings.  I really wanted one, and lucky for me she sells them!   I just love it and thought it would make a nice class project.  December was a bit crazy though, so it never made it to class, but I did make some of my own for my friends and family.  The one on the left is my version.  It uses all Stampin' Up! products.  I really like how it turned out. 

Here is the one I bought from Connie Tumm.  You can find her blog and collages here http://connietumm1.typepad.com/blog/

I hope you all have a great day!  Its great to be blogging again!

beth

Clearance Rack Blitz

Hey everyone!  I am still without the use of my computer :(    i am using the very old computer that we let the kids play on.  I cant seem to upload photos from my camera, so I can not share some of the projects that I'm working on.  The good news today though, is that Stampin' Up! has added A LOT of new things to the Clearance Rack.  These are retired items, but many are just repackaged or restyled, like the punch design.  The old style punches are great and there are a lot of great shapes on sale.  There are also lots of embellishments for sale, buttons, ribbon, rub-ons and chip board to name a few.  If you click on the "shop stampin up now" tab under my header, you will be directed to my stampin up website.  From there you will see the Clearance Rack Blitz sign under promotions, or click shop now in the upper right hand corner.  As always, please feel free to contact me to place the order for you if you dont like to deal with online ordering (I take paypal), or you can order right from my website yourself.
I just received a lot of new Stampin' Up! goodies from the new mini catalog and sale-a-bration catalog, so I've been trying them all out.  As soon as I can I'll show you some great new big shot products! I love them! and the new Sale-a-Bration papers!

ARGH!

I am computerless :(   My laptop completely crashed I have no idea how.  I did  not drop it or spill coffee on it or anything.   I hope to have a computer soon!  I have to use my husbands computer for a few minutes when he gets home from work.  I think mine will get fixed later this week.  I've been told I will get a time frame on Monday.  On the positive side, I've gotten some great customer service from Sony, so I'm confident all will be well.  I'm hoping I haven't lost all my photos and digital downloads! And, I have learned a very valuable lesson about backing up your data!  Hope you are all having a great week!

Hot Chocolate!

YUMMY!  Nice and warm Hot Chocolate on a cold winter night.  I plan to give these to the crossing guards who stand at the corners on our way to school.  One of them, Miss Ruth, has been at my corner for 12 years now.   The kids all love to tell her what they did at school that day.  She has been greeting my children since befor they even were old enough for school, calling David  "Baby Choo-Choo" when we would go out for walks to see the train.

I started out by measuring the hot chocolate packet.  In this case, I cut my paper at 6 3/4 by 7 inches.  I used sticky strip to close the bottom and sides of the pouch, making the seem in the middle of the back.  I rolled it like a tube and then flattened it.  Next, I punched a  hole in the top for the ribbon, going through both the front and the back.   The hot chocolate pops up when you pull on the ribbon, so you need a lenght of ribbon that is long enough to go all the way around the hot chocolate pouch, with enough left to go through the holes and tie a bow. 

Next you need to stuff the hot chocolate into your pouch, bringing the ribbon through your punched holes.  Then tie your ribbon.  Now you just need to decorate your pouch.  I used the ornaments from the Tree Trimmings stamp set, and the sentiment from the Merry Winter.   The sentiment reads "snowy days, frosty nights, warm hearts".  I added some glitter for a touch of sparkle.

This pouch is great for gift cards too!

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you enjoy todays projects.

Reindeer food!

Don't just leave cookies for Santa, put out a treat for his reindeer, too!  I've made "Reindeer Food" for my kids for a few years now.  They seem to get a kick out of it.  This year I used the little 1 x 8 cello bags from Stampin' Up!  These bags worked like a charm!  In the past I've used sandwich bags or other clear bags, but the little cello bags are nice because you don't need as much "Reindeer Food" to fill them up :)
I bought wild bird seed for the food.  I'm sure this is not what real reindeer would like to eat.  You need use something that the outdoor critters in your area will eat, or the kids will be upset if it doesn't seem to have been eaten.   I made the reindeer with the owl punch, just cut off the little feet.  The antlers are made from the Swirls Scribbles Die.  The red glimmer paper is great for a Rudolph nose! 

I printed off the poem on my computer.  There are several versions online, this one is one of the shorter versions, so I think it works nicely on a tag.  I added a scallop trim on the tag, as well as some red ribbon and a jingle bell, just for fun.

Just a few simple changes make this a nice gift for the bird lovers you may know.  You can turn Stampin' Up's Bird Builder punch in to just about any type of bird.  I made it into a cardinal by adding a point to its head and some black to it's face.  I like to glue my little flower (from the boho blossom punch) directly to the red paper and then punch out the bird.  I used an extra wing for the point on the head.

Thanks for stopping by!

Online Extravaganza going on Now

                                                              click here to shop now!
This post will stay at the top of the blog until the sale ends on Nov. 30th.  scroll down to see new posts.

Grandma's Christmas Gift

I  have been working on finishing up a photo book for my grandmother.  I put together lots of old family photos that my mother compiled for Grandma's  90th birthday, as well as new photos of the Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren.  I am using Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio software.  There is so much in this software.  It has photo editing and tons of Stampin' Up! stamp art work and Designer Series Paper.  Almost too much to choose from.  On my first attempt at this  project I added just about everything but the kitchen sink.  This time around I choose just a few colors and stamp brush sets, as well as a select few embellishments.  This is going to be the cover page.  It is my favorite of  the old black and white photos.  That is my Grandpa and Grandma. 

This is another page.  I used the same colors and stamp brush set as on the cover.  This is my Great-Grandparents on my mothers side.  You have to love that picture of Anne Gibson in all her finery, just come from Ireland.

Here is another page.  Grandma is the little flower girl on the right.  My finished book has 24 pages.

I really enjoy looking at these old photos.  I have to admit, at first I was reluctant to try the digital scrapbooking.  I wanted REAL paper, REAL textures.  I still do love all that!  And I still do make real pages, but digital scrapbooking has helped me to do bigger projects, and in a shorter amount of time.  You can add a stamp or delete a stamp with the click of a button.  And, I am going to  have the book professionally printed with a nice hard photo cover.  

Hope you got some inspriration from todays project. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Snow is coming!

Snow is going to get here soon, but not as soon as my son would like.  Every day he asks me if it will snow today.   The sky looked like it might snow today, but we just got rain.  Both my boys really like winter and enjoy making snowmen.  I have to admit that I do to!  I think I may actually invest in snow pants for myself this year!  They are sort of pricey for adults, but I think it will be worth it in the end. Anyway, onto the card!  I made this card for a challenge at www.splitcoaststampers.com .  The challenge was to make a card to fit the open end envelops from the catalog, these are long and skinny.  We were also supposed to find a card from the Stampin' Up! catalog to inspire us, but change it up a bit.  I chose the card at the top of page 37, and I changed the stamp set and trim.  To color the images, I used my Blender Pens.  Blender pens are great to color with, and you get subtle highlights that you just can't get with plain makers.  A blender pen is clear, and you dip the tip into your ink and color.  In between colors you clean you tip off by running it across a scrap piece of paper until the color runs clear again.

I added a bit of glitter for some sparkle!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Santa Claus is coming to town!

I took my two youngest to visit the mall Santa.  Zachary had been asking when he would get to go tell Santa what he wanted this year.  He is very concerned that Santa knows just the right toy that he wants.  Jillian was unsure about the whole thing. She did not talk to Santa at all, but later told me that she wants a cat.  Not sure about the whole cat thing right now, maybe once we're all done with potty training. 
This scrapbook page is 6 x 6 and it is part of my goal to make at least one 5 minute page a week.  I will still make more involved pages, and paper pages, but I want to make sure to make a quick and simple page every week to guarantee I don't get too far behind.  These images were part of  a free digital download from Stampin' Up! during national scrapbooking day!  Stampin' Up gave out 5 free downloads.  YEA!  They also come out with new downloads every Tuesday.  Stampin' Up! also hosts a website for all you digital scrapbookers!  The site is for customers and Stampin' Up! demonstrators, and it is full of tips and tricks, samples and ideas.  Here is the link: http://mydigitalstudio.net/
Thanks for stopping by!! Im off to make some pumpkin pie for tomorrow!  Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Masculine Card Swap

The demonstrator group that I belong to holds a monthly card swap.  I try to participate as much as I can, and this month I knew I just had to. The theme this month is masculine cards, and I have a hard time  making masculine cards.  We were allowed to  make masculine cards for any age group.  I was going to go with the easiest boy age for cards - baby boy.  I like to make cute cards and baby boy cards are no problem.  Then I thought that I should choose teen, since that is probably the hardest age.  So, to challenge myself I went with Teenage masculine as my theme.  I choose Basic Black and River Rock as my colors.  The stamp set is called Grunge Rock.  I bought this set a while back during a sale.  I thought it would be a good one to have since I have a son with an interest in rock bands, and several of his friends play guitar. I also thought I might use it for scrapbooking. 

 I wanted a sort of grungy look, so I inked up my paper by rubbing it directly on the ink pad.  I then took my middle layer and sprayed it with water and rolled it up into a ball.   I used the harlequin background stamp to ink up the background in a tone on tone effect that didn't show up well in my photos.  I also added some dimension by stamping other images in versamark ink and embossing with clear embossing powder.   I stamped the guitar in Basic Black ink onto River Rock card stock, and cut them out.  I stuck the guitar on with a dimensional so it stands a bit off the paper.

There are 8 participants in the swap, so that was a lot of cutting.  I once was in a swap with 30 people, and the card I came up with had embossing and cutting and layers and ribbon.  I really loved the card so I decided to stick with it, but wow that was a lot to do!  30 cards is not bad, but 30 of the same card with multiple steps, a bit crazy :) 
I hope you liked today's project!  I'll most likely be in full Christmas mode after today! 
Thanks for stopping by!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

Sale prices show up when you click on an item.

Today only, the new Simply Scored Board is on Sale 20% off!

I am getting the ribbon bundle and the On Your Birthday stamp set.  Its a pricey set thats been on my wish list for a few years! Today its 50% off! There are some great digital downloads too!

Call me if you have any questions!

Attention Stampin' Up! shoppers!  Starting Monday the 21st, running through Wednesday the 30th, Stampin' Up! is having an ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA!  And on Monday only, two items will be at an additional savings!  Sale orders can be placed right from my online store, or I can place them for you if you have any trouble.  This is all the info I have right now.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions!! 

Blessing Mix

It is that time of year when we think about all we are grateful for.  Not only what we are grateful for, but who.  I was given this Blessing Mix a few Years back, not exactly sure if it was one or two years ago, by another stamper friend of mine (thanks Linda).  I have changed up the stamp set and embellishments a bit to make it fit the stamps that I have, but it is pretty much the same as hers.  I started by making a box out of the Fancy Favor box die and my Big Shot die cutter.  I then stamped my leaves randomly around the box.  The set I used is called French Foliage.  I used a technique called the Rock and Roll technique.  In this technique, you first stamp you image in one color ink, then roll the edges of the image in another color ink.  This is a great way to add more dimension to your stamped images, and its perfect for leaves.  








After I put my box together, I filled it with the items mentioned in the saying.  The Blessing Mix saying goes like this:   The bugles are a symbol of the cornucopia, a horn of plenty.  The pretzels represent arms folded in thanks and prayer.  The candy corn reminds us that during the first winter,the pilgrims were allowed only five kernels of corn per day because food was scarce. The fruit is a reminder that Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest.  The peanuts represent seeds, the potential of the bounteous harvest of the next season if they are planted and well tended.   There are probably a few other versions out there.  This one uses a bugle shaped corn chip type snack that was somewhat hard to find.  If you cant find it near you, you could search for another saying that doesn't use bugles.  I used sugared orange slices as my fruit.  I tied up my bag in a More Mustard scalloped ribbon, and added a few more stamped leaves that I cut out as further embellishment.  On the first box I made, I added the saying on a panel on the front of the box.  I later decided that the saying covered the leaves too much, so on the second box I added the saying as a tag. 

These boxes will be going out to some of the people I am thankful for. 

This is the version the children in my church class will make to give to someone special to them. They are 4 and 5, so I don't quite trust them with my stamps and ink :)

I hope you liked today's project.  If you have any questions please feel free to email, I am happy to help.  All products used are available from me, from Stampin' Up!

A Beautiful Fall Day!

I am messing around in the My Digital Studio software today.  My Digital Studio is software from Stampin' Up! that creates scrapbook pages, photobooks, individual pages, digital books and more.  I am trying to get bettter acquainted with all of the elements and tools and just the sheer quantity of options that the program comes with.  I was making pages that were taking me hours and then I decided to take a break from that and see if I could make a page in less than 5 minutes.  This is what I came up with.  I think it turned out pretty cute!  I think I was over thinking what I was working on before.  I am attempting a large project for my Grandmother.  It will be a full book, about 24 pages, full of pictures of her life from a very young girl.  My mom scanned the pictures a few years ago for her 90th birthday and they played on a digital frame during the party.  I thought my grandma would like a book that she could flip through.  Hopefully I can get it finished in a week, so that I can send it off to be printed!  I'll show you the results soon, I hope!
Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Punch Art

I have really been using my punches these last few months.  I admit that punches are my weakness, as soon as Stampin' Up! comes out with a new one, I have to have it.  The Angel is made the same way as the Angel from Saturdays post ( http://bethrush-bethspapercuts.blogspot.com/2011/11/punch-art-angel.html     ).  The Baby Jesus is made from several oval punches, including the XL Oval for the manger, the Scallop Oval for the hay, and the Large Oval for the blanket.  Below is a detail photo of how I made the blanket.

I sponged the edges of the blanket pieces so that the layers would show up better.  I made a halo for the Baby Jesus by making a really small piece of the Word Window punch.  The Christmas tree is made from the Petite Pennants Builder punch.   

close up of punches

I hope you like todays project!  Remember, all supplies I use are Stampin' Up!  Contact me if you have any questions, or would like to purchase some Great Stampin' Up! supplies!!