Impressions by Day

Beanie Hats

With the cold weather (at least those in colder climes), a beanie hat is most appropriate to keep us warm.

Are these not the most adorable little beanies?   But wait . . .

Look at what they are used for - gift card holders!

For the Red Beanie, I used Real Red and Whisper White card stock and the red and white ribbon from Mistletoe Ribbon Originals (p. 33, #116702, $16.95) featured in the Holiday Mini, a pewter Build a Brad, image from Bella's Blossom, 1/2" circle punch and a red rhinestone brad from the Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads.

For the Pink Beanie, I used To the Nines specialty DSP, Pretty in Pink cardstock, 5/8" Chocolate grosgrain Ribbon, Pink Brads and the felts that are retired from last year's catalogue.  The gift card is a Tim Horton's gc.

This sweet pattern was created by Carolina and can be viewed here.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

 
 

 
 

The Holiday Helper is Coming!

The holidays are here and the Holiday Helper 2009 is coming! It is 12 remarkable newsletters to be delivered for 12 days (one each day) and filled with beautiful, holiday fun-filled projects and ideas. Truly a blessing and I look forward to it each year. I want to share them with you!

If you have not signed up, click here to join my mailing list. If you are already a subscriber, you can again enter your email address and update your profile to include the new Holiday Helper list.  Or, feel free to email me and I wil manually add you to the Holiday Helper mailing list - no problem!  

Thank you! You're gonna love them!

NOTE: If you are a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, please contact Debbie McNeill, www.CraftyPerson.com, to order your Holiday Helper!

Crimped Square

I was inpired by Tami White's crimped card that I saw the other day.  Jan Farring, also an SU demo, tried it as a square card and it further inspired me to try it in a smaller square card and I came up with this 4" x 4" card.

With the focus on Christmas and holiday projects, I wanted to take a break from that and use something other than snowflakes, trees and ornaments and remembered that I have not used this beautiful Level 1 Hostess set, Of the Earth. 

The black card stock is cut 4" x 8" and scored to make a 4" x 4" card.  The white card stock is cut 3 3/4" x 3 3/4".  I measured half way on all four sides 1 7/8" and scored the card stock at these points in a diagonal.  Fold at the score lines and then place the folded card stock in the crimper and run it through.

The black centre card stock is cut at 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" and the white is 2" x 2".  The image from the set is inked up with Yoyo Yellow, Pink Passion and Green Galore markers.  On the inside of the card is a 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" piece of white with a yellow butterfly stamped on the bottom right corner.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

Scalloped Christmas Cocoa

From yesterday's Christmas Cocoa Collection post, here are two of the items with a larger view.

To get the scallop ruffle, punch out 5 pieces of the DSP with the Scallop Circle Punch and fold them in half.  Adhere them to each other.  I punched a 1 3/4" circle at the top of the Whisper White double embossed card stock which is cut at 3 3/4" x 5".  Place the scallop on the Real Red card stock adhering each side onto the card stock with SNAIL adhesive and position the Whisper White piece over it.  I placed dimensionals on the corners of the embossed Whisper White card stock to adhere to the Real Red.

The "noel" sentiment is from Many Merry Messages and I placed a post it note on each side of the Whisper White to shorten the tails of the sentiment and stamped it with Real Red classic ink.

For the wrapped chocolate bar, cut a piece of DSP 8" x 6" and wrap around the bar, adhering the ends and middle with SNAIL adhesive.  Then place each end in the crimper and give it a few turns to securely seal in the ends and it gives it a completed look.  I wrapped a belly band of Real Red card stock  (1 1/2" by 6")around the middle and tied a bow with the White Organza ribbon.

The chocolate bar used, is an Aero bar that is milk chocolate filled with little air bubbles and just melts in your mouth.  You can use whatever kind of chocolate bar to make a simple and affordable gift.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

Christmas Cocoa Collection

I've been making lots of different items with the flocked red and white paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP and thought I'd group a few together for you to take a peek.

I really must find a better backdrop to take my pictures rather than on the top of my ceramic stove top - lol.  So please forgive the background.

The collection includes a card, lip balm holder, gift wrapped chocolate bar and a tin filled with the chocolate nuggets.

Just a very short post today as I need to work on a few cards for a session my daughter, Alannah, and I will be doing at a school in a few weeks.  I'll be back tomorrow with close-ups of the various items in this post.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope its warmer where you are than it is here today - very cold and damp.

Happy stamping!

 

Sparkly Dasher

I've been raving about the Christmas Cocoa DSP and here's another Specialty Paper that I'm equally excited about - on page 158 of the catalogue, there is the Bride (White), Groom (Black) and Bridesmade (Very Vanilla) foiled specialty paper  and oh so elegant.  There are 5 sheets of two designs, striped and damask, of 12" x 12" paper. 

As the name denotes, they are ideal for wedding planning from invitations to favour bags.  Let your creativity take you to designing many other projects using this beautiful paper.

For one of the Holiday Stamp a Stack cards, I used the Bride paper for this card.

The primary card stock is Elegant Eggplant layered with a piece of Brushed Silver card stock.  I cut a strip of the Bride DSP 2" x 5 1/4" and brayered it with Elegant Eggplant classic ink - isn't it beautiful?

A length of Eggplant rick rack from the Orchard Ribbon Originals (p. 182, #116232, $14.95) is wrapped at the bottom edge of the Bride strip.  Dasher, one of those super buys in the Under $12 category on page 208 of the catalogue ($10.95, #116816) is stamped in Elegant Eggplant on Whisper White and layered onto Whisper White and Brushed Silver.  A bit of Dazzling Diamonds applied with the Two Way Glue pen gives Dasher a bit of sparkle.

The card is finished with the sentiment from Short and Sweet punched with the Large Oval Punch, sponged with a bit of Elegant Eggplant ink and layered onto a piece of Elegant Eggplant punched with the Scallop Oval Punch and placed on the card with dimensionals.

The Bride paper, #115669, Groom, #116478, Bridesmaid, #116479 are $18.50 each.  All these supplies may be ordered right here or email me. 

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

Serene Snowflakes

You know that beautiful Christmas Cocoa DSP I was talking about the other day?   Here's another card we made at my Holiday Stamp a Stack using another sheet from it.  I started with Real Red as the base card stock, then tried it with Chocolate Chip but somehow it didn't give me the vibe I wanted.  So I tried it with Soft Suede and, voila!, it all came together.

The Soft Suede is layered with a piece of the DSP and then a top note cut from Shimmery White.  The snowflakes from Serene Snowflakes are stamped with Soft Suede, with the darker snowflakes with full colour and the others stamped off to give them a lighter shade on the card stock.   I used the retired Gold cord to wrap around the top note several times and then added the sentiment from Cute and Curly (retired), punched out with the Curly Label punch and placed on the front with dimensionals. 

You can order the supplies to make this card right here or email me. 

• Soft Suede Card Stock, #115318
• Shimmery White Card Stock , 101910
• Christmas Cocoa DSP, #116770 (Holiday Mini)
• Serene Snowflakes stamp set, #115438 (Holiday Mini)
• Gold Elastic Cord, #109876 (Holiday Mini)
• Curly Label punch, #112208 - you can substitute another sentiment and still use the Curly Label punch
• Top Note Die, #113463
• Big Shot, #113439

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

Serene Water Globe

At my classes the images on my projects where an application is made by hand, we laugh about the light touch that I have on them - for some reason, try as I may, most of my sponging, colouring etc comes out quite light rather than bolder strokes.  When I was taking the picture of this project, I thought, hmmm, I was too timid even with the water!.  It can certainly hold a bit more but I was rather concerned that it would all come dripping out.  But here it is 3 days later and the water is holding tight.

I made a 4" x 4" card using the a treat cup for the globe.  I poured water into the cup and added some Dazzling Diamonds.  I peeled off the sticky backing on the cup and placed a square of window sheet over it, pressing around the edges to make sure the water was sealed in.  I stamped a snowflake from Serene Snowflakes using Bashful Blue on a piece of Shimmery White cardstock and then applied that behind the window sheet.

The Bashful Blue card stock is cut 4" x 8" and scored at 4".  I cut a piece of 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" Whisper White and ran it through the Big Shot using the Petals A Plenty Embossing Folder.  I punched the 1 3/4" Circle Punch slightly to the top of the 3 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bashful Blue so that I could stamp the ornament holder piece from the Sweet Centers set upside down to form the base of the snow globe.  This was coloured with a Night of Navy marker.

I used the paper piercer and mat pack to add some interest around the edges of the Bashful Blue.  The Merry Christmas image stamped with Bashful Blue on Whisper White and punched out with the Modern Label Punch is from A Cardinal Christmas set.

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

  

Christmas Cocoa

Have you ordered a package of the Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP from the Holiday Mini?  If not, you really want to have one when making your holiday cards and projects -  each sheet in the package is so unique.  You'll love the feel of the white flocking on two of the papers, the pairing up with Soft Suede and the traditional green and red.  

Here is another card that we made at the Stamp a Stack.

I just love the holly leaves on this paper - a simple card made using Always Artichoke, Real Red and Whisper White card stock with accents of red pointsettia flowers punched from the 5 Petal Flower punch and sentiment from Holiday Best, a Level 1 Hostess set.

You can order the supplies to make this card right here or email me. 

• Christmas Cocoa DSP, #116770, $15.95
• 5 Petal Flower Punch, #109041, $22.95
• Large Oval Punch, #107305, $22.95
• Wide Oval Punch, #112082, $22.95
• Word Window Punch, #105090, $22.95
• Real Red Card Stock, #102482, $7.25
• Always Artichoke Card Stock, #105119, $7.25
• Whisper White Card Stock, #100730, $9.95
• Always Artichoke Stamp Pad, #105219, $7.95
• Rich Regal Brads, #106953, $11.95

Thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

 

Wandering Words

Yesterday was my annual Holiday Stamp a Stack and there was a great turnout as I got to see friends that I haven't seen for a while and meet some new stampers.

From the Holiday Mini, this is one of the cards we made from Wandering Words (page 3, #116507, $33.95)  Don't you just love that Black and Vanilla striped grosgrain ribbon?  Its absolutely gorgeous and so easy to work with - and it comes in Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie too! 

Sandi was over one day and as I completed the bow remarked that a pearl stud in the centre of the bow would be a nice accessory.  We decided to add a pearl from the Pretties Kit and the final result is a rhinestone sandwiched between two pearls tied around the centre of the bow with silver cord.  The image is stamped in Black Stazon ink.

Thanks for stopping by this cold, crisp fall morning - brrrr - and happy stamping!