NMBS Challenge 26

Good Sunday Morning everyone. I have been stamping my Christmas thank you cards and getting them ready to mail. This card is for the NMBS challenge which I host each Sunday on the NMBS group blog here.
This week's challenge is to make a Thank You card using a Monogram on your card.



















RECIPE:
Stamps: Thank You Kindly, Together Forever, Lovely Letters Alphabet
Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Holiday Treasures DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
Access: Old Olive Twill, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: Scallop Circle Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!
~~Barbara

Christmas Gift from Melissa Davies

I love getting mail and today was the best.
I received the most awesome hand-stamped gift today in the mail from my best friend (and also one of my downline) Melissa Davies. She sent me a desk calendar that she made using the Season of Friendship Stamp Set. When the first 6 months are over, you untie the ribbon and flip it, re-thread the ribbon and the next 6 months are visible. Way cute, I love it. She is so talented and comes up with some of the cutest ideas. Thank you so much Melissa.
January - March














April - June














July -September














October - December














Gift Tag she made for the package



















Christmas Card from Melissa and her family. Yes, that is hand stitching around the snowman. Pale Plum cardstock is the back and left side fold-over and it attaches to acetate which is stamped with snowflakes and then layered with Baja Breeze stitched snowman. Isn't this so cute?















Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day.

~Barbara

Merry Christmas

Here is the Christmas card I designed for our family to send this year.














Recipe:
Stamps: Snow Swirled, Heard from the Heart
Paper: Kraft, Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Whisper White
Ink: Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, White Craft
Access: Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon, Old Olive 1/4" twill ribbon, Rhinestone brads, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: Scallop edge punch, 1/16" Hole Punch


I included a letter summarizing our year and a photo of our kids and our dog taken in the desert near our home.















The finished size of the card is 4-1/2" x 6-1/4"



















Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day.
Barbara

It's Christmas Eve and

I am totally loving today. I am so happy to have both of the kids home tonight so they can help with the cookie baking!! I went out for an early dinner with my daughter and my best friend Vicki. We enjoyed a great dinner and then came back home where we all pitched in and finished the baking and wrapping presents. My son arrived home around 8 pm and was ready to help. I kept telling the kids how happy it made me to have them both home. My husband got home from work at 10 pm and then we all sat and watched a movie and then played Wii Bowling.

I decided that today I would post some of the pictures from around our home which is decorated for Christmas.
The first picture is of our main tree in the living room, it is decorated with various ornaments that we have collected, some were gifts, and some are even 25 years old. Each ornament has a story or a reason it is on our tree.



















The tree below is our snowman tree in the family room. All of the ornaments on this tree are snowmen, or snow-themed. I love snowmen and this tree is so much fun.



















Two shelves decorated with snowmen in my kitchen.



















I hope you enjoyed seeing this peek into my home decorated for Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day.

Barbara

Downline Group Christmas Party

I am trying to catch up on posting all my fun events from the Christmas season. I had to finish all the shopping, cleaning, and wrapping before I could devote time to posting on my blog. I still have some baking to do, but that will be later today.

We had our Sassy Stampin' Sisters Christmas Dinner Party and Gift Exchange on Dec. 11th. We gathered for a fun evening at the home of Jean Stayton. She had a make & take project prepared for us, these adorable snowmen candy wrappers which you can see in this post. Everyone brought a dish to share. We had a wonderful evening. Here is a picture of everyone that attended.














Back Row: Vicki, Anita, Michele, Grace, Jean, Barbara, Pam B.
Front Row: Pam H, Cheri, Diane, Chat, Susan, Tammy
and Heidi is taking the photo.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creativie day.

~~Barbara

Three Additional Season's

For the members of my direct downline, I made these additional three season displays for their plates (see post below) as an added gift from me. I loved how they turned out, and I think they liked them as well.











SPRING:
Stamps: Garden Whimsy, Sweet Serendipity
Paper: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Georgia Peach DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Regal Rose
Access: So Saffron Brads, Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Glue Dots, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: 1/16" Hole Punch, Designer Label Punch

SUMMER:
Stamps: Celebrate Everything, To You & Yours, Starring You
Paper: Kraft, Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White
Ink: White Craft, Real Red Classic
Access: Star Eyelets, Real Red Grosgrain Striped Ribbon
Tools: Star & Large Star Punch, Crop-A-Dile

FALL:
Stamps: Season of Friendship, Happiness Always
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Autumn Vine DSP
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, More Mustard, Really Rust, Riding Hood Red
Access: EE Buttons, Glue Dots, Dimensional Adhesive, Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon
Tools: Paper Snips

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Christmas Giftables

I have been waiting for so long to share this with all of my blogger friends. We had our group Christmas party on Dec. 11th and we all made giftables to exchange. I still had to deliver a few of my gifts after that. Well today, I finally made all my deliveries. So I can now show you what I made to exchange with the group. I made two different color themes due to the amount of DSP I needed.














RECIPE:
Stamps: Two Cool Dudes, Best Wishes & More, Punches Three
Paper: Real Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Ski Slope DSP, Real Red DSP Prints, Basic Black
Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red, White Craft
Access: Black & Punpkin Pie Markers, Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Silver Brads, Dimensional Adhesive, Velcro, Clear Glass Dinner Plate, Decorative Plate Stand
Tools: Wide Oval Punch, 1/16" Hole Punch














RECIPE:
Stamps: Two Cool Dudes, Best Wishes & More, Punches Three
Paper: Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Frosty Day DSP, Basic Black
Ink: Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango White Craft
Access: Black & Pumpkin Pie Markers, Bashful Blue Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Brads, Dimensional Adhesive, Velcro, Clear Glass Dinner Plate, Decorative Plate Stand
Tools: Wide Oval Punch, 1/16" Hole Punch

I got the idea for these from Carrie Cudney (she is one of the awesome staff members at Stampin' Up!) while I was attending the Stampin' Up! Convention this past summer.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Snowmen a Plenty

We made these for our make & take at our Christmas Party last week. Jean shared this idea that she CASEd from someone on SCS. I loved them so much that I used the design as inspiration. My daughter said that the snowman I made at the party looked very sad...so I remade the design and made a happier version with a medallion on the hat with a sentiment.


















Recipe:
Stamps: Best Yet
Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red, Frosty Day DSP (nose)
Ink: Real Red
Access: White Gel Pen, Sticky Strip, Glue Dots, Snail Adhesive, Kit Kat Candy Bars
Tools: 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", 1-3/8" Circle Punches, Scallop Circle Punch

Here is a picture of many happy snowmen ready to give. I made these to give to the people I work with and some special friends at the dance studio where I work on Monday nights. I covered Kit Kat Candy bars, they came in packs of 6, so I made a total of 18. Wow, I love the way they turned out. I hope they will enjoy this sweet little treat.


















If you are curious about what Jean's snowman looks like take a look here. She said it was CASEd from someone on SCS, but I am not sure who to give credit for the original design.

Thanks for stopping by.
Have a creative day.

Barbara

Stamp A Stack Card Making Class

I have had many requests for another day of stamping. I have planned the following card making class and will offering two different times on the same day so more people can attend. Feel free to invite a friend to come with you. Space is limited so RSVP early to save your seat.
Email me at: cre8tivestamper@cox.net.

You will make a total of 12 cards with matching envelopes, 3 each of 4 designs. When you leave the class your cards will be ready to address and mail.

Stamp-A-Stack of Christmas Cards Fee: $25.00
Wednesday, Dec. 10th
10 am - Noon or 6:30pm to 8:30pm
At my home in Phoenix, AZ (directions will be given in a reply email once you RSVP)

I look forward to hearing from you.
If you are out of town, please contact me for more details about getting the card kit in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I am so thankful for all my blogging friends and thank you so much for always stopping by to have a look at what I created. I hope you and your family have a blessed day.






This is a banner I made and I also made for two of my friends as part of their birthday gift. I was inspired by the banners that Patty Bennett made.

My banner is 5-1/2" tall and each panel is scored at 4" (this is where the letter and embellishments are). The letters are cut using my Big Shot and the Serif Essentials alphabet.
I used Stampin' Up! cardstock, DSP, embellishments and Sizzix Leaves Die cut.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Holiday Extravaganza from Stampin' Up!

From Nov. 26th to Dec. 1st - Save 20% - 50% on bundled products. You can see what is on sale here .

Contact me if you would like to order any of the bundles, or you can place an order by going to my Stampin' Up! website to place your online order and it will be shipped directly to your home. My website for online ordering is here.

Barbara

Sketch for a Friend

Today's Sketch Challenge card is going to a dear friend who needs a lift. I made this card for her, using the Autumn Vine DSP. She loves the fall colors.















Recipe:
Stamps: All Holidays
Paper: Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Autumn Vine DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Access: Lg. Silver Eyelets, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: 1/8" Hole Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Color Challenge Snowman

Today's color combo for the challenge was to use Real Red, Kraft, and Basic Black. I love the way White Craft Ink looks on Kraft cardstock, so that is where I started for my card. Then added the Real Red and Basic Black. I stamped the snowman on Whisper White and cut it out then adhered it to the kraft panel.















Recipe:
Stamps: Two Cool Dudes, Best Yet
Paper: Real Red, Kraft, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: White Craft, Real Red Classic
Access: Real Red STriped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensional Adhesive, Basic Black Marker
Tools: 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Circle Punches, Paper Snips

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Triangle Fold Medallion

Today's challenge on SCS was Try a New Technique - make a triangle fold medallion. I love these challenges because they make me think outside my normal cardmaking. I used White Craft Ink to stamp the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled set. I used the Scallop Edge Punch to make the scallop border on the Whisper White cardstock.















Recipe:
Stamps: Snow Swirled
Paper: Ski Slope DSP, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: White Craft Ink, Basic Black Classic Ink
Access: Build-a-Brad, 1/2" Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, Bone Folder

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Snow Swirled Double Challenge

I have been so busy this week that I haven't had any stamping time until today. I combined the Color Combo Challenge from yesterday and the Sketch Challenge for today for my card. The colors for the challenge are Pacific Point, Certainly Celery, Basic Gray. I love this set so much and used the sponge dauber with Pacific Point to ink up the snowflakes on the tree stamp after I had inked the stamp with Certainly Celery. I love using Dazzling Diamonds glitter in the center of each snowflake on the tree.



















Recipe:
Stamps: Snow Swirled
Paper: Pacific Point, Certainly Celery, Basic Gray, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Gray, Certainly Celery, Pacific Point
Access: Pacific Point Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensional Adhesive, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter, Glue Pen, Sponge Dauber,
Tools: Square Punches, Paper Piecing Tool

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Holiday Peace

Today is the Limited Supplies Challenge over on SCS. The challenge was to create a card using both a rectangle and a circle in your design. Your card can be in any theme. Embellishments - Ribbon only!!!
I had this idea last night when I first saw the challenge posted, but then when I made the card this morning, I am not sure about it. Do you ever have an idea in your mind and then when you get it on paper it doesn't look like you want it to? Anyway, here is the card I created for the challenge.
I used the Faux Silk technique on the white layers. It is kind of hard to see in the photo.














Recipe:
Stamps: To You & Yours, Baroque Motifs
Paper: Night of Navy, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, White Tissue Paper
Ink: Night of Navy Classic Ink, White Craft Ink
Access: Baja Breeze Double Stitched 1" Grosgrain Ribbon, Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensional Adhesive, Anywhere Glue Stick
Tools: 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" Circle Punches, Scallop Circle Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Cutting Corners

The Ways to Use it Challenge for today on SCS is to find ways to use corner punches or other tools to dress up the corners of your card. Here is the card I created for the challenge.
I took a photo of a card being swapped at convention where these flowers were daisies. I do not know who you are, so I can't give you credit. But it was so sweet of you to let me take a photo. This was also a 3 minute demo presented at our downline meeting.



















Recipe:
Stamps: Best Yet, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Baja Breeze, Old Olive, Very Vanilla
Ink: Chocolate Chip, White Craft Ink, More Mustard
Access: Mellow Moss Taffeta Ribbon, Old Olive Brads, Dimensional Adhesive, Snail Adhesive
Tools: Paper Crimper, Scallop Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Small Oval Punch, Designer Label Punch, Paper Snips, Ticket Corner Punch, Paper Piercing Tool

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Tutorial for making Sunflowers & Leaves

Today I created a card for the Ways to Use It Challenge on SCS and used this technique to make the sunflowers. I thought I would share with you how I made them.
I took a photo of a card that someone was swapping at convention, they had made daisies instead of sunflowers. I wish I knew who you were so I could give you credit, you were so nice to let me take a picture of your card. Also this was a 3 minute demo presented at our downline meeting.
Supplies you will need:
Cardstock (Summer Sun, Choc. Chip, Old Olive)
1" Circle Punch
Small Oval Punch
Scallop Circle Punch
Paper Snips
Paper Crimper
Snail Adhesive
Craft White Ink Pad
Dot Background Stamp
More Mustard Classic Ink Pad
Sponge Dauber














Hold the Scallop Circle Punch upside down, and put in the Summer Sun Cardstock and punch.












Take a strip of copy paper, adhere the punched scallop circle to the end. This makes it easy to hold for the next step.











Place the punched scallop circle back into the punch aligning the points in the middle of each scallop, punch.














It will look like this.










Take paper snips, cut straight at each indention to form petals, be careful not to cut the line next to it.














It will look like this when all the petals are cut.










Using White Craft Ink, stamp the background on
Chocolate Chip Cardstock. Let dry.
Use 1" Circle Punch to punch a center for flower.











Use Snail Adhesive to adhere punched circle to center of flower. Take More Mustard Ink, & a sponge dauber, sponge the edges of flower for added dimension.
This is the completed flower.









For each leaf:

Use the Small Oval Punch and Old Olive Cardstock. Punch one for each leaf.














Fold each Small Oval in half lengthwise.













Place each folded piece in to the Paper Crimper at an angle. Roll through and unfold.












This is the finished leaf.










Here is my completed card.



















Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

SCS Sketch Challenge

Today's card for the Sketch Challenge on SCS was made to send to Alison Schmidlin, who is the daughter of Laurie (aka lauraly) on SCS and also a blogging friend. Alison is 12 years old (I think) and is in the Seattle Children's Hospital having some tests for a possible brain tumor. Her favorite colors are pink & green, this card is going in the mail today.



















Recipe:
Stamps: Window Dressing, Three for You
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Access: Markers, Pink Pirouette Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Prima Flowers, Pink Brad, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: 1/16" Hole Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Crazy for Cupcakes

Today I created this card for the Color Combo Challenge on SCS. The colors to use are Pretty in Pink, Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red. At first I didn't know about the color combo, but what doesn't go with Kiwi Kiss! I used the distressing tool on the edges of the Pretty in Pink layers.














Recipe:
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Basic Black
Access: Markers, Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Pink Brads, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: Large and Wide Oval Punches, Distressing Tool, 1/16" Hole Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Decorative Circle Medallion

Try a New Technique Challenge on SCS today was to make a decorative circle medallion, I thought I would give it a try and viola, I did it. It looks hard, but really isn't. A little time consuming but great result in the end. I love these colors together. I hope you like it.



















Recipe:
Stamps: Bloomin' Beautiful, Heard from the Heart, Itty Bitty Backgrounds
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
Access: Markers: Mellow Moss, Pretty in Pink, Agua Painter, Dimensional Adhesive, Gold Brads
Tools: Coluzzle Circle, Retired SU! Corner Punch, 1/16" Hole Punch, Small Corner Rounder, 1-3/4" Circle Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

The blog candy winner is....

Thanks to everyone that left a comment on my blog giving them a chance to win blog candy in honor of my birthday. Today random.org picked a winner out of the 28 comments left...

the winner is #8 Elizabeth (for2nately)

for2nately said...
Happy Birthday to you! happy birthday to you! Happy birthday awesome stamper! happy birthday to you! My fav set is Season of Friendship (though it can change with a glance at the catalog! ;) )I like the fall colors with it-Choc. chip, More Mustard, Really Rust. Thanks for the chance to win and I hope you had a terrific day!

Stampin' Hugs,
Elizabeth

October 28, 2008 8:30 PM

Congrats Elizabeth, please send me an email with your mailing address so I can get the blog candy on it's way to you.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge

It is so nice to have some time to stamp today. I am doing laundry and listening to music while I stamp the day away. I love looking at Beate's blog ( Fresh & Fun). I checked it out today to see her sketch challenge for this weekend. I loved it so much that I just had to create a card. You guessed it, I used Winter Post stamp set...again..I am loving this set.



Here is the card I created using her sketch:

Recipe:
Stamps: Winter Post, Best Yet
Paper: Ski Slope DSP, Real Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red, Basic Black
Access: Baja Breeze Grosgrain Ribbon, Close to Cocoa Marker, White Gel Pen, White Thread, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: Large Oval Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Big Shot Pennant Die, Big Shot, Paper Piercing Tool & Mat, Scallop Edge Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

Tear It Up...NMBS Challenge #19

Today I hosted the challenge on the NMBS group blog ( here ). The challenge was to use paper tearing on your card.

Here is the card I created for the challenge:















Recipe:
Stamps: Winter Post
Paper: Bashful Blue, Kiwi Kiss, Frosty Day DSP, Whisper White, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss
Access: Markers: Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, Gold Brads, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: 1/16" Hole Punch, Coluzzle

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

More Birthday RAK

I thought I would share a few more BRAK that I received for my birthday. These ladies are all so thoughtful to remember me on my special day.

This one is from Lorri Heiling, she is one of my downline


















This one is from Pam Hegarty, she is also one of my downline



















This one is from Joan (aka froglady on SCS)



















This one is from Amelia (aka msamelia on SCS)















Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!