As Promised...

In yesterday's post, I promised I would try to post some pictures of the free Make N Takes the girls did at my Annual Holiday party.

I went with a "Christmas" theme on these - even though it's a bit early to be thinking Christmas (for me anyways). ;)

The first is a card, made with the Scensational Season stamp set in the Holiday Catalog:


I just LOVE the colors of the Be Of Good Cheer dsp, so that's what I took my inspiration from (polka dotted designer paper you see behind the tree). :)

The card base is Cherry Cobbler, then a layer of our new In Color - Gumball Green (LOVE that color!), then a layer of Very Vanilla.

Next, we've got a textured panel of Cherry Cobbler - LOVE that texture! I made it using the Big Shot and Chevron Embossing Folder.

A scallop circle and circle punch, and then the tree - stamped in Gumball Green and up on dimensionals (of course - wink).

Oh my, cutting out the tree every time would be kind of a pain. NOPE!!!  Not if you have the coordinating Holiday Collection Framelits Dies!!  Even better, when you purchase the stamp set and die set together as a bundle, you save 15%!  I'm all about saving money - how about you?

(*NOTE - some of the links are sending you to wood mount stamp sets - clear mount is also available for a lower price)

I added a bit of Gumball Green Stitched Satin ribbon below it. Stamped "Merry Christmas" in Cherry Cobbler ink at the bottom from another new set in the Holiday Catalog - Greetings of The Season.

And now, on to the next Make n Take: this one is a gift card holder!
I used many of the same colors and materials - matchy matchy! :)

The sleeve is made of Crumb Cake cardstock, and the red striped strip wrapped around is from the Be Of Good Cheer dsp. Same circle punch, and again...the tree from Scentsational Season stamped in Gumball Green, again cut with the coordinating Holiday Collection Framelits!

See that beautiful glittery star on top of the tree? It's also cut out with the same framelit set...but this is no designer paper - it's the gorgeous Champagne Glimmer paper in the Holiday catalog!

The ribbon bits you see at top is Gumball Green stitched satin, tied with Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.


Would you like to see the inside?
Ok. :)


The inside is our Cherry Cobbler cardstock cut with the Two Tags die and Big Shot. :)

(and a faux AMEX card for picture effect)







Well, what do you think?

It feels SOOOOO goood to be stampin' again!!  It was sure fun to create these projects for the ladies to make. Stay tuned for more items made with this same set, as well as MORE from the Holiday catalog (and IB&C). :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Messy, Messy, Messy!

Ha ha ha...I can totally hear my little neice saying that. She's 3 1/2 now, but I think it was when she was 18months - 2yrs, she used to always say "Messy, Messy, Messy!"  She definitely would've said that about my stamping space these days.

It started with an empty room.

Then came moving day. BOXES, some furniture. All in the center of the room.

Then "Oh boy, I'm going to have to do my Annual Stampin' Up Holiday Party for sure - I'm in pending status! But HOW will I do that with no samples made up, no stamping stuff out AT ALL."

Even though I had hoped to leave things in boxes for painting (and build work done by my dad & hubby!), I finally decided that I would have to unpack the boxes and have somewhat of an organized chaos going on to be able to make cards/samples/figure out M&Ts for my party.

I hadn't stamped in over FIVE MONTHS. LONG months, lol.

It was SO nice to get stampin' again...it's kinda like riding a bicycle - a rusty one, but it did come back. :) I did CASE some stuff, but I also made a lot of my own items, which means I can share it HERE!! WOO HOO!!!  I need to take a few pics, but in the meantime...

Here's a couple pictures of the room post-party prep:

This is looking from the door into the room. See my lovely light? ha ha

This is turning to the left. If turned to left a bit more, would see the door.


See the two little blue rectangles next to the bookcase? I *think* those are the two color possibilities I have it narrowed down to, lol.













SEE?!!  MESSY, MESSY, MESSY!!!! :)

Hoping to have a post tomorrow of the M&T's the gals did at my party! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

SINGLE stamps???

Stampin' Up lovers...watch out!

Ever LOVED one, maybe two, three stamp sets out of a whole set and wish you could just purchase those instead of the whole set? WELL...your wish has been granted (in part). :)

Stampin' Up is giving you the option via trial-run.  From now until January 2, 2013, you can purchase individual stamps from the following THREE stamp sets:

WORD PLAY
PERFECTLY PENNED
SEASONAL SAYINGS

Click on any one of those set names above to see a closer look at each set.
Here's a preview:

Some details to be aware of:

•You must use the stamp item numbers on the flyers.

•The single stamps can be ordered in the online store.

•These won't be sent to you in our typical cases or packaging; they'll be packaged in cello bags. If you'd like a case for your stamp, you can buy our Clear-Mount Stamp Cases that come in packs of four (item 119105).

•This offer is available for clear-mount stamps only.

•The stamps won't come with a Clear-Mount Block, and you'll need to buy a block separately if you don't already have one. The recommended block sizes can be found on the flyers.

•There's no limit on how many pieces you can buy.

•This offer is not available in Quebec.

•Remember that this is a pilot program, so take advantage of it while you can!

WOW, how cool is that??!!

On a personal note:  Do you realize it's probably been over 5 months since I last created a "real" card?  Well... I just FINALLY stamped a real card tonight - YAY!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Merry Chistmas...a little early!

Happy October!  I don't know about you, but I am SO ready for Fall and all that it brings (though hopefully not too much rain - we've been spoiled!) (:

For me, it's too early to say "Merry Christmas," but at Stampin' Up, they know many of you are planning ahead, and want to get a jump start on preparing. Soooo, they're giving you a little special deal! :)

I don't know if you've seen the beautiful ornament on the front of the Holiday Catalog, but my, oh my! It's just that. Beautiful!  There's a bundle you can purchase to make it happen...and when you do, you get the paper piercing pack for FREE!

Go ahead, click on the picture and take a closer look. :)

Remember, you can order from me anytime, 24-7...online! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Whooooo's Turned 6?!!

My little Beth turned 6!

Once we (finally) decided on a theme, I had a few ideas up my sleeve.

I made this invitation postcard style, with info on the backside.

Front side is Chocolate Chip and Kiwi Kiss cardstocks,

with a computer generated image printed on our Whisper White cardstock.

For her class treats, she decided NOT to have cupcakes.

Instead, we did something else...but I still used the cupcake idea for her party. :)

Here are the class treats:

Here's the cupcakes I HAD to make for the kiddos...

(family party, both sides - 12 kiddos, 21 adults)

And finally...the part I'm pretty excited about:
We look forward to Costco Cake - 2 times a year (girls' birthdays). :)

I usually get one of the "standard" cakes you can choose from,
but this year I decided I really wanted the owl theme fully carried through.

NOOOO...Costco cannot make me an owl cake.
I didn't ask...I just know you have to choose what they have on the board.

So here's what I ordered from Costco:

And here's what I did after much praying, sighing, and overall fear of ruining the cake:

I decorated a cake! AAAACK!!!

It's not professional or perfect by any means,

I know that...but I'm still pretty proud of how it turned out. :)

My daughter was there through the process, as I deliberated

and quoted scripture. Yep - totally did.

"I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me"

We talked about that verse for awhile...

such a nice little heart learning moment, just me and my daughter.

Anyways...I'm really glad it's over...

we took the weekend to recouperate - after cleaning the huge mess, of course. ;)

It was so nice to do something creative again - makes me want to get to work on my craft room so I can get creative again!  It was a bit of a process to even find the items to make the invites! lol

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal



Back to Spool!

I'm a little sad this morning. You see, it's the first morning that BOTH of my babies got on the school bus and left me here alone at home!

Yeah, I know, I should be jumping up and down, chanting "Par-ty, Par-ty, Par-ty"! But I'm not.

Since my 3rd Grader has been getting on the bus a few years now, it's not hard for me, and old hat for her (though she still loves it).  But my baby, my Kindergartener, who will be turning 6 on Friday?!  Nope, not ready. Oh, she was ready, don't get me wrong - so excited to get on that bus! lol

We actually started last week, but I *MUST* bring my kids on their first day of school - it's a rule of mine. :) I have to bring them, take a pic with their teacher, etc. I wonder when they'll put the kabosh on the taking a pic with their teacher part? ;)

ANYWAYS...all this school talk reminds me that I came on here for a REASON, ha ha.

Back to SCHOOL = Back to SPOOL!!

Stampin' Up has released an AWESOME promo that I'm so excited about! It *almost* takes away my sadness about school starting! :)

Are you ready for this??

Hello - FREE RIBBON!

For every $40 you spend, you get a FREE pkg of the 3/8" stitched InColor Satin ribbon of your choice (no limit)! With 5 great colors to choose from, you're sure to find one (or more) that tickle your fancy. :)

<----- CLICK on the picture to bring you to the promotion details on my website.


REMEMBER YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE from me 24/7! 

Well, I'm off to clean, organize, unpack boxes, do laundry, maybe a little weeding too...all while daydreaming of ribbon. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

Checking In...

Wow, so the other day, I clicked on my blog...and couldn't believe my last post was so long ago! lol....that was back when I was besties with my tape gun and black marker! A stampin' friend was right...it changed to the box cutter after that. Well....and paint tools too. ;)

Moving is quite the process, I've found out. You DON'T have any clue how much goes into it, until you've done it. WOW. Add to that the fact that the place we've moved to needs work in many areas, and I just plain don't have any time leftover!

My stamp room is all boxes. STAMP ROOM? Yep. I'm so excited...I will have my own room to create in this new place!  I'm so excited, but a little overwhelmed at the same time. There are so many possibilities of how people put craft rooms together, and I have a limited budget, so I have a hard time deciding how to make it functional and still look ok, too. :)  Any advice??

First I have other rooms to finish, and more than enough weeds to pull...so I've got time to get advice from all 3 of my readers. ;)

The summer has flown by so quickly...I'm actually quite sad that the girls go to school next week already. It means getting back to a normal structured routine, but I'm gonna miss my girls!

I hope to update you with pictures sometime soon...as soon as I can get the ones my mom took (she's got an eye, took some nice pics!)...and yeah. Have time to put it all together. :)

Oops! ALMOST FORGOT!!!
Here's a link to the Holiday Mini catalog which started this month!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal