crafting Christmas spirit

This year I have such a head start on gift shopping there is time for extra crafting.  These are my favorite thing from the Stampin'UP! Holiday catalog.  The curvey keepsake framelet die.
You can fit three bite size chocolates in each.
I've been handing them out to helpful retail workers this weekend to hopefully make their black Friday a bit less miserable.

I love my big shot. My all time favorite thing in card making is embossed paper and the Big Shot does that perfectly. I also like adding fabric to cards and cutting out fabric elements for home decor projects. Again the Big Shot is great for that. Just go over to Pinterest and search for Big Shot for a information overload of what you can do with it.  Then come back here and click the picture to go get your own.

Order your very own Big Shot in August and get a free stamp set  plus a free framelit set.   Really. For free. 

Trite but true

It's trite but true. Christmas in July. If you plan on being an over-achiever and making your own Christmas cards you might as well get started now.  This is the newest holiday set available from Stampin'UP!.  Click the photo to get purchase details. and might I suggest this set of markers to really make the little bird look his best. Below is a very similar stamp I colored using these markers and you can see the shading is well done, I assure you it's much all due to the markers and not at all to my skill. if you can color inside the lines your will look just as good if not better.

Long time no craft

Well then, rather than make a long shame filled apology for my lack of posts, I'll just dive back in with some pictures of recent cards.  After all no one really scrolls through craft blogs for the witty commentary. We all just want to look at the pretties and be inspired to make something.

This little lovely was created using MDS digital design software and Blendabilities markers.  Blendabilities are my new great favorite. It puts the joy back in coloring. Its just like being 8 years old again and using a new box of crayons for the very first time.

Travel sets

Ooh La La! New travel stamps

Summer is coming to a close and scrapbookers everywhere are working on their vacation pages and mini books. These cute sets will make those pages Pop! They have a great vintage feel. Like they were pulled straight out of a 1950's travel brochure. 

Greetings From...   Set number 134621

Map It Out  Set number 134620

Quick little sale

Here is a quick note about a  limited time special. This bundle isn't listed in the catalog, it's  Until the end of the month you can save on this Stamp/ Punch combo

Click HERE to shop for it online

Bundle Item	Page in Catalog	Description	Retail Price	15% Savings Price	Amount Saved!
135311	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Clear-Mount) Papillion Potpourri Clear-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	$30.90	$26.27	$4.63
135312	90 183	Butterfly Bundle (Wood-Mount)  Papillion Potpourri Wood-Mount Stamp Set Bitty Butterfly Punch	$34.90	$29.67	$5.23

Fall in in the air

Like it or not Autumn is upon us. Kids are in school, mornings are turning crisp and I'm thinking about crafts in warm earth tones. It has come to my attention that I should post more photos of the process for my projects and not just the end result. With that in mind, here are some treat bags for a fall party I put together this week. the decorations are fabric cut using Autumn Accents die with the Big Shot die cutter. I have never tested to see just how many I could cut at once but for this project I easily cut four layers of fabric with one pass.

And here are instructions with photos

You will need two (2) sheets of paper 6X6 

First Score both sheets of paper in the same way.

 Score three sides at 1 1/2 inches and score the fourth side at 1 inch.

Now fold down the side scored at 1inch and cut out the squares across from the fold on one paper. On the other paper cut in from the sides but do not remove the squares. 

 Finallly glue your two papers together or you may prefer to use stick strip for a stronger hold but I found Towbow glue works fine for these little bags. 

 You can slide one side of the bag under the flap of the other for a really tidy finish to the porject. Now you are ready to decorate for any holiday or party theme you like.