SA Occasions Mini Blog Hop

Welcome to stop #9 of the Stampin' Addicts Occasions Mini-Catalog Blog Hop! All the featured products will be available for sale in the NEW Occasions Mini Catalog which begins on January 4th.

You may be starting here with my blog or perhaps have come from Lisa's Blog, Add Ink and Stamp. She is featuring the set Easter Blossoms, her projects are very pretty. There are 23 other stops, so read through my post, go to the next stop, then keep going until you have visited all the stops.

This stop features the set, BRING ON THE CAKE and the BUILD-A-CUPCAKE punch. I have created 4 projects using this stamp set, and one card features the punch. ENJOY!

Vintage Birthday Card using Love Letter DSP, and a stamped image from the Bring on the Cake Stamp Set.


Happy Birthday Cupcakes - I used the Build-A-Cupcake Punch to create the cupcakes and a stamped image from the Bring on the Cake Stamp Set, I also used more of the Play Date DSP.


What better way to remember a birthday than on a 8" x 8" Scrapbook Page. This one matches the above card with the Play Date DSP. I added the various shapes of punches to layer the stamped images from the Bring on the Cake Stamp Set, all you need to do is add a photo.


My final project is a Birthday Party Favor using the Petal Cone Die and a stamped image from the Bring on the Cake Stamp Set. I am loving the Play Date DSP can't you tell!! I filled it with Hershey Kisses!!


I am so glad you stopped by my blog today. If you like what you see, please leave a comment and let me know your favorite project. I will post the full recipes for each project on Monday, so be sure to check back.

Now it is time to go to the next stop, Carmen's Blog, Stamping Addiction, where she features the Create A Cupcake Stamp Set which coordinates with the Build-A-Cupcake punch that I used. You'll love her fabulous projects!

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

weSTAMP Christmas Party

I enjoyed a wonderful evening with 23 other stampers on Tuesday, December 7th at the home of Lorri Heiling. Everyone brought something delicious to eat and Rachele created an awesome Make & Take project for us to make. Lorri read a story that she wrote entitled "Twas the Day Before My Stampin' Up! Preorder Came", you can see her blog post HERE for the entire poem. So cute!! She read this story during our gift exchange.

Here is the Make & Take project Rachele designed....isn't this the most adorable house!!


Below is the gift I made for the gift exchange, it is a 8 x 8 framed Christmas collage using Stampin' Up! stamps, cardstock, DSP, and accessories.


Here is the wonderful gift I received, made by Patti, a candle tray with 3 candles wrapped in embossed metal sheeting.


I gave one of these to each weSTAMPer that attended the party, inside I put some candy and placed a hand-stamped tag on the top. (The little favor boxes were from Target. I found them in my Christmas stash)


These homemade cookies were from Lorri & Nancy for each of the weSTAMPer's, they were so yummy!! Lorri got the recipe for these Homemade Oreo Cookies HERE.


And finally, here is Lorri (she is so adorable to pose for a picture) at the end of the party modeling her apron and cupcake oven mitt, a gift to her made by Terri, using the Candy Cane Fabric from Stampin' Up! Isn't this the cutest idea!


I am so glad you stopped by today. I will continue to post things from the month of December until I get caught up.

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Gifts from Dazzling Divas Exchange

As promised yesterday, today I want to share with you the gifts that were made by the other gals in the Dazzling Divas group for our Christmas Gift Exchange.

Linda made this beautiful JOY banner:


Pam made an awesome wooden stand that holds calendar pages for the entire year and each page is embellished for the theme of the month. Here is January:

Here is February - love the details!


Diane gave each of us this beautiful decorated bag with one her awesome sculpted flowers and an insulated Starbucks tumbler (she hurt her wrist and was not able to stamp very much), love how the SU! DSP matches the tumbler.


Vicki made this beautifully decorated box (inspired by Diane from our November meeting make & take) for each of us:

And look what is inside...bunches of gift tags!!


Anita made each of us a set of 6 tile coasters:


Grace gave each of us this wonderful glittered box and inside was a little anti-bac hand gel and a scent clip for the car:


Jane made each of us this cute little reindeer pouch with goodies stuffed inside:


You can see my gift that I exchanged in this POST! Thanks so much for stopping by! Tomorrow I will show you highlights from the weSTAMP group Christmas Party.

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Dazzling Divas Christmas Dinner Party

I was excited to get the house all decorated and prepare for my stamping group Christmas Dinner Party. The Dazzling Divas gathered at my home on Thursday December 2nd. First we enjoyed appetizers and some girl talk in the kitchen.....

Above: Pam, Linda, Diane enjoying appetizers


Above (sorry it is blurry): Linda, Diane, Barbara, Grace

...then we went into the Dining Room where the table was set for dinner. We all sat together for dinner and dessert, then exchanged gifts.


Before saying goodnight, we all posed for a picture on the stairs.........


after several takes, we all got SILLY!!


Here is the gift that I made for the Gift Exchange: A 2011 Planner




I used Retired or Discontinued Stampin' Up! products for these gifts. We all decided ahead of time that since these were gifts it would be okay to use up some of the products we had that we can no longer use in our SU! business.
I covered the front and back covers with DSP, added some ribbon. I used the Big Shot to die cut the Butterflies and Embossing Folders to add some details. I also used Rhinestones to add a little sparkle. I am really happy with the way they turned out.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, check back tomorrow and I will show you the gifts the other gals made for the exchange.

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Merry Christmas Everyone!

It is Christmas Day and here in Phoenix, the temperature is 72 and sunny. So there will be no white Christmas for us.

This year has been very busy for me and December was here before I was ready. I didn't get my hand stamped Christmas Cards made to send out to everyone. I did have good intentions and designed this card. For those that received one consider yourself very special as I didn't get very many finished.

Stamps: Dasher, Perfect Punches
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Whisper White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso
Access: 1-3/4" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Rhinestones,
Big Shot, Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, Dimensionals

So when time was running out, we decided to go with the Christmas Photo Cards. This year the photo is of Bryan, (holding Logan), and Kelsey standing next to their cars. Bryan has a 2006 Dodge Magnum, Black with white stripes and Kelsey has a 2007 Ford Mustang GT, Black with pink stripes...they love their cars and what better way to show them off. Kind of cool don't you think.


Merry Christmas to each of you and your families. Thanks for stopping by today!

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Christmas All Through the House

It is Christmas Eve and we are all ready for a fabulous evening with friends and family. I thought I would show you a look at all the decorations in the house. You can click on the photo to see a closer view.
The entryway


Logan is on guard in the living room (sitting on the couch he is not allowed on)


The largest of all the trees sits in the corner of the Living Room


The second largest tree is in the Family Room and is decorated with Snowman themed ornaments


The third tree is in the Dining Room and is decorated with Gingerbread/Sweets/Cooking Themed ornaments


The buffet in the dining room is decorated with all the past years framed Christmas Card photos, it is so fun to put them out each year and see how the kids have changed from year to year.


Even the kitchen has a few decorations


This little tree in the upstairs hallway, it is decorated with the Hallmark Miniature Ornaments.


The second tree in the upstairs hallway has some hand-stamped ornaments


I used a piece of chipboard, covered with cardstock and stamped the images. Some of the images are cut out. I added some glitter to the center of the stamped snowflake images.




I hope you have enjoyed a look into our home decorated for Chirstmas. Let the fun begin. I want to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Filled with Love Promotion

Click on any of the item numbers above to visit my online store. Thank you for hanging in there with me during my absence from updating my blog. Life has a way of getting in the way of things sometimes. Here is the latest promotion from Stampin' Up! A great way to get ready for Valentine's Day! Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP! ~~Barbara

Simply Amazing Offer to Join my Team

SIMPLY AMAZING PROMOTION and I am so excited to share it with you!
Stampin’ Up! just announced that the Starter Kit, Standard or Digital


It’s Simply Amazing that you can get $310 worth of awesome Stampin Up! products for only $87.50 when you sign up to be a demonstrator!

I would love to have you become part of my team. Contact me and we can discuss the details.

This offer is for a limited time - November 15th - 30th.


Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Jolly Old Saint Nick for SCCOLOR37

It's Wednesday and that means color challenge day over on Stampin' Connection.

Here is the card that I created using the colors Real Red, Marina Mist, Old Olive and Whisper White.

Stamp Set: Jolly Old Saint Nick
Paper: Marina Mist, Real Red, Old Olive, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas DSP
Ink: Basic Black; Markers Real Red, Blush Blossom
Access: Big Shot, Tasteful Trim Die, Sticky Strip, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Rhinestones, Two Way Glue Pen, Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope to see you back here soon for more creative ideas.

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

weSTAMP October Gathering

Each month I look forward to meeting with this awesome group of creative ladies. At our weSTAMP meetings we always have delicious snacks, great conversation and stamping. For Ocotber, the swap theme was anything with a Christmas/Winter theme.

We started the evening off with our Make & Take project that was provided by Linda Rodenberg. She had everything ready for us to make this adorable little Santa's Hat.

Then comes the Door Prize drawing.....if you win then you make the prize for the following month. Guess what??? I WON!!!! and look what Eileen made...isn't it gorgeous.

Swapping is always a favorite highlight of the evening.....Here is the 3D Candy Bar Favor I made to swap.......

Stamps: A Cute Christmas, Tiny Tags
Paper: Real Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas DSP
Ink: Basic Black, Bashful Blue; Markers: Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Gray
Access: Big Shot, Scallop Square Clear Die, Circle Punches, Jewelry Tag Punch, 1-1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (cut in half), Aqua Painter, mini safety pin, Dimensionals, Crop-A-Dile.

To see everyone's swaps from the October weSTAMP meeting, Lorri has them on her blog HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by and check back to see more creative ideas.
Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara

Birthday RAK from Linda

The birthDAY turns into birthday week......we are still celebrating. My good friend Linda took me out to BJ's for lunch Tuesday and look at what she brought.....not one, but two decorated gift bags with goodies inside and a beautiful matching card. So beautiful, creative, and a perfect gift! She had a nice bottle of wine in the tall bag and this adorable wine glass in the other bag. Thanks Linda!

close up of tall bag details

close up of other bag details

Card from Linda - love these colors!!


Thanks Linda for a wonderful day of lunch and shopping!!

Live, Laugh, Love and STAMP!
~~Barbara