Fanc-ify with Christmas Labels

November 12, 2024November 12, 2024Leave a comment

Perhaps it’s the reader in me, but I am a typophile (someone who appreciates a pretty FONT). Stampin’ Up! combined lovely label dies with the gorgeous typography in the Christmas Labels stamp set, and it was a must-have BUNDLE for me.

The way a label can elevate a simple card or gift is what I wanted to demonstrate in a video tutorial:

These were the projects made during the video. The first card features the Season of Green & Gold Specialty Designer Series Paper, and the shiny gold accents aren’t as visible in the picture, but can be seen in the video:

Next is another simple card layout spotlighting a piece of the Sentimental Christmas Designer Series Paper, and showed how to create a contrasting matte behind the label by cutting a second label in half:

I’m sharing easy cards to encourage you to keep your holiday crafting attainable! No need to overthink it, or add stress.

Layer a color over the center of the larger label for a striking contrast, add a coordinating ribbon and the tag makes a basic box beautiful:

When bundles (stamps + dies -OR- stamps + punches) are introduced to my Stampin’ Store, they are 10% off the price of purchasing each product individually. CLARIFICATION: In the video, we thought the Christmas Label bundle and Christmas DSP would be in Seasonal Sale that begins tomorrow (11/13/24), however we learned that only bundles and patterned paper in the Annual catalog are included in the Seasonal sale, along with most ink and card stock:

Peppermint Gift Crate

November 7, 2024Leave a comment

As you begin to think about gifting, don’t overlook the supplies you already have! Pair your stamps and patterned paper with a small wooden crate (found at 💲🌳) and create packaging so sweet:

The Take a Bow Designer Series Paper has candy cane vibes, and a few thin strips can be attached with a good coating of Liquid Glue to the slats on the box, then add a label with a sentiment. Finish it off with stamped adornments and embellishments (the tiny Peppermints will be back in stock mid-November) and fill your crate!

The More than Autumn bundle has truly been scrumptious to play with! Filled with mouth-watering treats for Fall AND BEYOND, you’d regret not having it in your stamping studio.

Here’s a treat for you: Download the .pdf tutorial for this project today 👇🏼

Peppermint Crate Tutorial

Did you know I also send exclusive tutorials in my email newsletters to customers? PLUS my Paper Pumpkin subscribers get their own special “Pumpkin Patch” email at the end of each month.

Diagonal-Lock Fun-Fold Card

November 4, 2024November 4, 2024Leave a comment

Fans of fun-fold cards, you’ll love the simplicity of this idea, which I call a Diagonal-Lock card, because of the way the front of the card locks into the back of the card. Don’t miss the video tutorial in this post!

For this first version, I paired a muted piece of the Sweet Days of Autumn Designer Series Paper pattern that I could write a message on for the INSIDE of the card, while using the fun forest friends on the front of the card. The leaves and sentiment adorning the front are from the Changing Leaves bundle.

The recipient will “unlock” the card to open and this is what the inside looks like:

Basic card instructions:

Start with an 11″ x 4.25″ card, scored in half at 5.5″.
Adhere a 5.5″ x 4.25″ piece of Designer Series Paper to the front AND inside of the card.
Make a small mark in the center of the front and BACK of the card (at 3.5″ for this A2 card size).
Cut diagonally from opposite corners of the open card in to the mark.

The next version for any holiday celebration (this would be a sweet December birthday card) has a 5.25″ x 4″ Designer Series Paper layer for the front, and a diagonally cut HALF piece for the inside, which leaves a mat around the card which frames it nicely. This time I used my beloved More Than Autumn bundle with the Take A Bow patterned paper:

By using half a sheet on the inside, there is still room to write, even when the pattern is bold. PLUS, you can use the other half for a second card:

Grab a sheet of card stock and paper trimmer to craft along with this video tutorial to make a template for this card to keep in your “fun-fold” file:

Finally, since the Nests of Winter paper was sitting on my table, I used the Winterly Tree Top Dies to die cut the bird duo and fussy cut the small bird to craft this version:

Click any link to order supplies and create cards of your own!

I love hearing from you~ scroll to top to leave me a comment.

Don’t forget a Paper Trimmer, which also makes a wonderful gift for a teacher, a budding crafter or a student:

Counting Blessings Book Box Favor

October 29, 2024October 28, 2024Leave a comment

A great DIY is one that is prepared for you to put the finishing touches on, and these darling little book treat box accordion albums double as precious keepsakes, once you add photos and journaling of which blessings you are most grateful for.

The Book Treat Boxes give you the canvas to embellish, and I chose to use the back side of the lovely Splendid Autumn Designer Series Paper to cover my boxes, because it looks like colored leather or parchment, perfect for my vision of classic books:

Embossing the sentiment on the piece cut from the frame in the Splendid Autumn bundle adds a old-fashioned title to the album, and the Mini Alphabet dies personalizes the book.

You could fill these boxes with treats, but I chose to make a Gratitude album. Open it up and pull out the pages to add photos of who or what you are thankful for, and journal why they matter to you. You can add at least TWO strips of 3.25″ x 12″ card stock (scored every 2.5″) end-to-end to make long accordion pages, though this is just one strip:

Watch the video for tips and how to assemble, then add the supplies to your cart below:

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These albums look so cute lined up, too:

3 Stampin' Up! Sentimental Wishes Tags for Christmas

New at SU!- Sketches are for Tags, Too

October 16, 2024October 16, 20245 Comments

Sketches are a Stamper’s secret design tool, and not only do they work for greeting cards and scrapbook pages, sketches also help you master a GIFT TAG…and a beautiful tag will level up any gift!

For our October New at SU! blog hop, I selected 3 tag sketches from page 16 of the September-December Mini catalog and combined those sketches with a set of products that evoke classic Christmas vibes.

The sketches gave me a starting point for my creativity, and a suite of Stampin’ Up! products helped limit my options, which actually makes it easier to be artistic. All supplies are listed at the end of this post.

The Joy/Candle tag mostly features stamping the images from the stamp set:

The stocking tag shows how you can cut some of the images from the Designer Series Paper with the dies, which also match the stamped images:

Finally, the Very Merry tag puts the focus on the sentiment:

The wonderful thing about tags is that they dress up any gift, along with a bit beautiful ribbon ~ see how they make a Kit Collection box fancy? Remember that all the kits are ON SALE this month (see below).

But that’s not all! Tags are adorable on a greeting card, as well:

Not only are tags a miniature piece of art, they are also a terrific way to use up scraps! Try cutting some of your smaller pieces of card stock into tag shapes, and have them ready to pair with a sketch.

Tell me what you think of these tags- leave a comment link at the top of the post!

Visit all the other posts to see how a sketch inspired their projects:

October 2024 New at SU! Hop: Sketches-Crafter’s Secret Design Tool

1.Creative Juice by Loni (US) – Sketches Are for Tags, Too

2.The Joy of Stampin’ with Rachael (US)- Playful Ghosts Triple Panel La

3.Furry Cat Designs (UK) – Cute Snowy Scenes card

4.Playing with Papercrafting (CA) – Shepherd’s Care for New at SU

5.Stamping Flair (AU) – Humble Home Sketch Card

6.Stampinxime by Ximena Morales (DE) – Sketch Challenge

7.Tricia’s Stamping Creations (US) – Sketches Surfing Santa

8.De Kijkkast (NL)- Peaceful Trees and a Sketch

9.247 Inkspiration (US) – More Than Autumn

10.iHeartCards2 (US) – Sketches & Mix & Match Ephemera

11.Nature’s INKspirations (US) – Golden Greenery Sketch

12.Studio Shabaz (AU) – Regal Winter

When you purchase the Sentimental Christmas patterned paper, Stampin’ Up! donates $3 to support children’s literacy in each of it’s markets. In the U.S. the donation benefits First Book.

Snag some kits for Christmas, while they are on sale up to 30% off during October, and add a tag to the top for thoughtful and creative Christmas gifts:

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Autumn Decor Using Scrapbook Supplies

October 15, 2024Leave a comment

Being a paper crafter means always having supplies on hand to create anything you can dream of: From greeting cards to memory albums, or gifts to seasonal decorations, you’re prepared to MAKE IT!

Rummaging through my crafty closet, I found a few chargers left over from a previous project. I know my Creative Juice community has a lot of Halloween decor, but if you have a void between October 31st and Christmas, this may be a project to embrace:

I used the NEW Autumn to Remember Scrapbooking Workshop kit (and a few miscellaneous embellishments), though you can just use the Sweet Days of Autumn 12×12 Designer Series Paper and Stickers Pack.

Yes, I did fussy cut all the woodland creatures from the patterned paper, but I wanted to group them together, and I think it’s pretty adorable.

Watch how easy this project really is:

I appreciate your support of my small business, and when you purchase from my Stampin’ Store, watch for happy mail in your post!

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Plus: A 13″ charger (found at Dollar Tree or a craft store near you!)

Hey Pumpkin card, Stampin' Up! Warms My Heart

Warms My Heart- Choose Your Own Adventure

September 30, 2024Leave a comment

A stamp set that covers multiple seasons and occasions is a good investment, and when it’s as cute as the Warms My Heart images & sentiments, there are so many stories to tell with it!

Do you remember the “Choose Your Own Adventure” book series? That’s what we did today during my Monday LIVE video on my Facebook Page & YouTube! I let those who were watching in real time CHOOSE the season, the background, the colors and the label shape for the card we created, and THIS is the result:

If you want to watch us make this card, here’s the video, and if you want to see some alternate options, keep reading:

This style of card would be just as cute with Designer Series Paper for the background, and created for Christmas!

With both of these cards (and the next) I colored the stamped images with Watercolor Pencils and blended them together with Wink of Stella, which is every crafters FAVORITE tool for adding a wash of SHIMMER & SHINE. However, it’s very difficult to capture in a photo! This one is as close as I could get: The texture you can see is really specks of sparkle!

Another option, still keeping it simple with the sentiment on a banner, but without the need to fussy cut (there are no coordinating dies for this set, FYI):

Just so we’ve used every piece of this set, here’s an autumn apple-picking version, in portrait:

When you purchase both the Warms My Heart stamp set and EITHER the Sketched Plaid background stamp – OR – the Forever Plaid 3-D Embossing Folder (back in stock the week of October 7th) during October 2024, I’ll email you a tutorial for another set of cards – one more for each season!

“Creating ART is an act of HOPE”

– Cody Spendlove (as explained in the video)

Supplies for the Choose Your Own Adventure “Hey, Pumpkin!” card:

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Additional supplies used on alternate cards:

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A Top-Flip Fun Fold Card

September 16, 2024Leave a comment

Simplifying an idea today with this flip-top fun-fold card! I wanted to use the “Warms My Heart” stamp set, which doesn’t have coordinating dies, so opted to use a panel I could stamp on as the focal point. The Everyday Details dies has these darling dots around the edge of the rectangles, and don’t need much dressing up. Plus, the beautiful pumpkin patch on the bottom of the patterned paper needs to be seen:

The top flap (with girl carrying pumpkins) flips up and there is a second message that matches the theme on the top of the card:

Finally, you open the card all the way and you can make a pocket with the other large piece of Designer Series Paper to slip a gift card in!

Here are the paper supplies you’ll need (with the ones I used for the card above in parentheses):

Card base: 8.5″ x 5.5″ scored at 4.25″ (Cajun Craze)
Flap for over top: 5.25″ x 2.75″, scored at 4.25″ (Cajun Craze)- watch video for paper-saving TIP!
Layer for inside card: 5.25″ x 4″ (B asic Beige)
Two rectangle “frames”: Largest die from Everyday Details (Basic Beige)
One rectangle matt: 2.5″ x 4″ (Pumpkin Pie)
Designer Series Paper: 5.25″ x 4″ and 5.25″ x 2″ (Splendid Autumn)

For the Pumpkin Spice drink layer, I used the More Than Autumn bundle (you’ll see more of that bundle on Wednesday!)

After this How-To video, you’ll find the Christmas version of this simple fun-fold card!

Here’s the same card pattern using the image of the woman with the holiday wreath:

While this version could also hold a gift card, I chose to make it a normal card and on the inside, and simply added a strip of the back side of the Designer Series Paper to the inside to make it fancy:

The Christmas Version features the Sentimental Christmas Designer Series Paper which is our “Craft & Give Back” product: For each package ordered, Stampin’ Up! donates $3 to Firstbook.org to support Children’s Literacy. (Outside the US? Check with your demonstrator to find out where the donation goes in your country)

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BREAKING NEWS: Wednesday, September 18th will be a FREE SHIPPING DAY on orders over $75 USD!

Gratitude- Key to Happiness

September 3, 2024Leave a comment

All the research agrees: Being grateful – and showing it – leads to a happier and healthier life.

We already know creating something with your own hands brings joy and satisfaction, so combine the two and crafters are the most joyful folks on the planet!

The Splendid Autumn suite (arriving September 4th) provides the tools to both create and send gorgeous gratitude notes:

This card took only slightly longer to make than the 60 seconds shown in this reel, and uses a full sheet of the 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper on the outside, inside and envelope.

The Splendid Autumn Designer Series Paper is one of 10 different collections that you would receive a sampling of with the September-December Mini Catalog Paper Share, but TODAY (Sept. 3) is the deadline to guarantee your spot!

Send me a Share!

Stampin' Up! Attention Shoppers, Pop Up Gift Card Sunburst card

Let’s Go Shopping

August 30, 2024Leave a comment

The theme for the TGIF Challenge #tgifc488 is retail therapy: What could make you feel better than new crafting supplies?

Did I throw you off by showing the inside of the card first? It’s one of my favorite gift card holders, and pops out to present a card or gift certificate. Did you know I offer gift certificates of any amount? My gift certificates are good for products OR classes/events!

Moving on to the FRONT of the card…

A sunburst is a terrific way to use up scraps of Designer Series Paper, and I know I’m always on the lookout for ways to bust my stash of scraps!

The shopping cart die cut with silver foil sheets just feels like the real experience of being on the hunt for the perfect item in store. I was going to fill it with little die cuts from the Crafting With You dies, but apparently it’s loaned out to a friend…the goodies in the Attention Shoppers bundle work just as well to give you the gist.