Door Prize from January Downline Meeting

Each month at our Downline meeting, the person that won the door prize the previous month brings the door prize for the next month's drawing. Jean brought the door prize.
Guess what? I won the door prize. She did an adorable Valentine's Day gift box set. It contained a stamped vertical garland that said "I LOVE YOU", scent diffuser, sachet, photo clip, and candle all in a cute cardboard box. She stamped the front of the gift bag (kind of hard to see in this pic).



















Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

~~Barbara

Make & Take from Downline Meeting

I provided a make & take project for everyone. It was a 4-sided 2009 desktop calendar (similar to the one Melissa Davies gave me for Christmas). But since the Season of Friendship stamp set is no longer going to be available, I wanted to use a current set.

For all sides I used:
A Flower for All Seasons stamp set, Basic Black Classic Ink, Big Shot & Top Note Die, Jumbo Pewter Eyelets, Crop-A-Dile, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip, Vanilla Grosgrain Ribbon, Sahara Sand & Whisper White Cardstock














Winter:
Paper: Real Red, Not Quite Navy, Ski Slope DSP
Ink: Baja Breeze & Real Red (for watercoloring)
Access: Aqua Painter, Markers: Garden Green & YoYo Yellow; 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon















Spring:
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery DSP Prints
Access: Markers: Creamy Caramel, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery; 5/8" Regal Rose Grosgrain Ribbon















Summer:
Paper: Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Rainbow Sherbert DSP
Access: Markers: Green Galore, Going Gray, Apricot Appeal; 5/8" Celery Grosgrain Ribbon















Fall:
Paper: Really Rust, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Haiku DSP
Access: Markers: Really Rust, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa; 5/8" Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon

The calendars were printed from www.printfree.com/yearly calendar. Reduce to 80% to fit on the card front.

All sides are assembled first, then cut the Sahara Sand cardstock to 8-1/2" x 5-1/2", this will serve as the base for which all fronts will be adhered to. Use Sticky Strip across the top only of each side and use Snail adhesive on the other three sides. Leave 1/4" space on the bottom to have enough room for the holes that the ribbon goes through.

Use the first six months, then untie the ribbon and flip it over, retie the ribbon and enjoy the next six months.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

~~Barbara

Preview Sets Swap Cards

I participated in a Preview Set Swap with the NMBS group and the swap cards arrived back to me today. I want to share the cards I made for the swap with you. I was in 2 different groups and I used the Love You Much Bundle for both. I absolutely adore this stamp set and DSP.














Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Kraft, Candy Lane DSP, Whisper White
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink
Access: Markers, Kraft Taffeta Ribbon, Dimensional Adhesive, Rhinestone
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Circle Die, Coluzzle, 3/4" Circle Punch



















Stamps: Love You Much, Holidays & Wishes
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue
Access: White Taffeta Ribbon, Aqua Painter, More Mustard Marker, Dimensional Adhesive
Tools: Big Shot, Scallop Circle #2 Die, Heart to Heart Punch, Rectangle Punch, 1-3/4" Circle Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

New Catalogs Arrived Today

YEAH!!! THEY'RE HERE...
Hello everyone, Yes that is right...UPS finally brought my NEW Spring/Summer 2009 Stampin' Up! catalogs along with a box and two packages with all my back-ordered items and left them on my front porch this afternoon.


















Of course I opened the box of catalogs first...















WOW, I love it...the cover is beautiful. If you would like to get your own copy of this hot new release, please contact me TODAY! I live in Northeast Phoenix. If you don't have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator and would like a catalog, please let me know. I will be happy to get one to you ASAP.

Kelsey can't leave me alone until she takes all the critical pictures for my blog and scrapbook.


















Okay, I am going to sit with my cup of hot tea and enjoy looking at my new catalog. No more photos for now.



















Thanks for stopping by, contact me right away to get your copy of the catalog.

Ribbon Bow Tutorial

Do you want to learn how to make this fluffy ribbon embellishment! I have created this tutorial to show you how I make them.













I was reading a forum on SCS and many were inquiring of how to make a ribbon embellishment like this. I used to make these years (15 - 17 years) ago for my daughter's hair, shoes, clothing - anywhere I wanted a "fluffy" bow. I learned to make these at a small town craft store in West Virginia where we lived when our children were small. The lady that worked there was always showing how to make things, and she knew Kelsey and how I loved to always make her hair bows and shoe bows to match. I would go there to buy the ribbons.

Supplies you will need:
Stampin' Up! Grid Paper or Flat Ruler
2 yds of 3 different Ribbons or Scraps of Ribbons
12" piece DMC Floss
Sharp scissors for cutting ribbon

Here is a close-up of the Ribbon Bow

















Step 1
Lay ribbon on grid paper or flat ruler. Cut 6 pieces of each ribbon design in 3" pieces. Cut all ends at an angle to prevent fraying.










Step 2
Cut 6 pieces of each ribbon design in 2" pieces.
Cut 6 pieces of each ribbon design in 2-1/2" pieces. Cut ends at an angle to prevent fraying.










Step 3
Lay a 12" piece of DMC floss on grid paper or flat surface. Start layering your ribbon pieces on top of floss, beginning with 2" pieces, then add 2-1/2" pieces and the top layer will be 3" pieces.









Step 4
Bring up ends of the DMC floss and tie around all layers of the ribbons. Tie very tight so the ribbons will not slip out.










Step 5
Hold the ribbons in one hand and fluff the other side with the other hand, separating the layers as you go.










Step 6
This is after fluffy both sides, tie tightly around the bow again with the remaining ends of the DMC floss. Trim ends of floss close to the knot.











Step 7
With the ribbons in your hand, hold the bottom of the bow and push the top portion down toward the center. The smallest pieces of ribbon will be in the center and this will help form the fluffy bow.
Trim the ends of the ribbons, if needed, with scissors to form the shape you desire.






I hope this helps you to make these adorable fluffy bows. You can use them on cards, presents, gift bags, frames, and for children's hair as I used to do many, many years ago.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

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

Tutorial - Top Note Purse

TOP NOTE PURSE TUTORIAL
I know you will want the instructions on how to make the adorable little purse I posted HERE and HERE using the Top Note Die from SU!, so I have created this tutorial for you. They are simple to make and can be used for any occasion.

Here are the supplies you will need:














Ink Pads
Stamps
Wide Oval Punch
Scallop Circle Punch
1-1/4" Circle Punch
Paper Snips
Adhesives: Snail, Dimensionals, Sticky Strip
Bone Folder
Big Shot & Top Note Die
Ribbon
Cardstock

Step 1
Cut two Top Notes using the Big Shot and the Top Note Die.












Step 2
Use the Wide Oval Punch and punch 1/4" below the top edge of the Top Note, one at a time.
I turn the punch upside down to make it easier to see the placement.









Step 3
This is what your Top Note should look like after you punch the handle.













Step 4
Cut a piece of cardstock for the base (I used Kraft) 4" x 5-1/2. Using the bone folder, score at 1" on all sides. Cut sides to form a 1" tab.
Place sticky strip on all four tabs.









Step 5
Fold and adhere the tabs to form the base of the purse.
Finished size of base is 2" x 3-1/2".








Step 6
Pinch the two sides together making a fold in the center of each short side of the base.
Place two lines of sticky strip on both long sides of the base.







Step 7
Stamp and decorate the Top Notes before proceeding to the next step. I used:
Stamps: Love You Much
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Pretty in Pink
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Tools: Scallop Circle Punch, 1-14" Circle Punch







Step 8
Adhere the base to each side of a Top Note making sure the top and bottom are aligned and that the handles are matched up.








Step 9
Tie Ribbon on top of handle.












Did you like this tutorial? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

~~Barbara

Top Note Purse for NMBS Challenge

NMBS Challenge #27
This week's Challenge on the NMBS group blog HERE is a Ways to Use It Challenge...show a way to use the Top Note Die from SU!
I made this adorable little purse using the Top Note Die.














Recipe:
Stamps: Love You Much
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Riding Hood Red
Access: Dimensional Adhesive, Riding Hood Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Sticky Strip
Tools: Top Note Die, Big Shot, Scallop Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch

Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!

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.