Welcome Christmas!

Well, now that Halloween is over, it's time to start really focusing on Thanksgiving and (really just) Christmas!



This card started out using the Mojo Monday sketch from last week, but I ended up not really following the sketch much :-) Oh well, I guess that's the whole point of a sketch, right?



I used Teresa Kline's example (she is one of the Mojo Monday contributors) for the starting idea for my card. I loved how she stitched her little piece of paper on the left, but I don't have a sewing machine. No worries! There is almost always a "faux" method for everything in stamping :-) Using my Mat Pack and Paper Piercer, I pierced zig-zagging holes, then I used my Old Olive Stampin' Write Marker to draw "faux thread." I think it turned out pretty well. Even in real life, it looks like I stitched the card with Old Olive thread and a sewing machine!



I used the Top Note Die and the Stamp-a-Ma-Jig to stamp the sentiment. I also made my own green and white snowflake patterned paper using Whisper White craft ink and Whisper White embossing powder. Again, I think it turned out really well!

It's always nice when a card that takes an hour to make turns out looking pretty good! Hope you're all having a great week! Thanks for reading!

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To Order Stampin' Up! Products Online 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamp Sets: Heard from the Heart (111644—pictured below), Snow Swirled (111690—pictured below)
Paper: Kraft, Old Olive, Bashful Blue
Ink: Old Olive, Whisper White
Cool Tools: Mat Pack (105826), Paper Piercing Tool (116631), Heat Tool (100005), Big Shot, Top Note Big Shot Die
The Little Something Extra: Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon, Whisper White Embossing Powder (109032)

O Christmas Tree!

I love the fall! Do you know why? Because every day creeps closer to CHRISTMAS! Whoo hoo!

I honestly think one of the best things about stamping is that I get to begin my Christmas celebrations in October! I mean, if you're making your own Christmas cards, you have to start early, right? :-)

Here's some Christmas Cheer for you today:



I basically copied this card from page 5 in the SU! Holiday Mini Catalog (click here to see the catalog). I love the circles and generally the whole design. I used Blender Pens with my Classic ink (Old Olive, Real Red, Chocolate Chip) to shade the tree--super simple!

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To Order Stampin' Up! Products Online 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamp Sets: Fun & Fast Notes (113500—pictured below), Season of Joy (110384—pictured below)
Paper: Certainly Celery (105125), Real Red (102482), Chocolate Chip (102128), Kraft (102125)
Ink: Old Olive (102277), Real Red (103133), Chocolate Chip (100908)
Cool Tools: Circle Scissor Plus (112530), Mat Pack (105826), Paper Piercing Tool (116631), Heat Tool (100005)
Punches: 1-3/8” Circle Punch (104401), 1-1/4” Circle Punch (104403), 1” Circle Punch (109046), 3/4” Circle Punch (107217)
The Little Something Extra: Old Olive 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109054), Whisper White Embossing Powder (109032)

Deal of the Week #4

It's party time! Check out this week's deal:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
116214	174	Princess Party Kit	$15.95	$9.99
116213	175	Pirate Party Kit	$15.95	$9.99

October Weekly Deal Announcements:

• Deal #1: Thursday, October 1, 2009; 12:01 AM (MT)
• Deal #2: Monday, October 12, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #3: Monday, October 19, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #4: Monday, October 26, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)

These deals will automatically be announced on my Stampin' Up! website, and I will do my best to announce them here as soon as I can.

Happy Stamping!
Cari

You're on My Mind

This was a quick and easy card made with Old Olive Designer Series Paper and the Upsy Daisy set. The purple "thread" in the button is actually just a thin piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock adhered to the back of the button with a glue dot. Super easy and super perfect!

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To Order Stampin' Up! Products Online 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamp Sets: Upsy Daisy (111710—pictured below)
Paper: Elegant Eggplant (105126), Very Vanilla (101650), Old Olive Designer Series Paper (112160)
Ink: Old Olive (102277), Elegant Eggplant (105210)
Punches: Scallop Edge Punch (112091)
The Little Something Extra: Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (111368), Old Olive buttons (retired, but a great substitute would be the Playground Designer Buttons (116313))

Deal of the Week #3

Grommets and clips and brads, oh my! Check out this week's deal:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
114348	179	Basic Jumbo Grommets	$6.95	$4.49
109857	179	Mini Library Clips	$12.95	$8.99
122571	179	Circle Designer Brads	$5.95	$3.99
112581	179	1/2” Library Clips	$5.95	$3.99

October Weekly Deal Announcements:

• Deal #1: Thursday, October 1, 2009; 12:01 AM (MT)
• Deal #2: Monday, October 12, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #3: Monday, October 19, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #4: Monday, October 26, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)

These deals will automatically be announced on my Stampin' Up! website, and I will do my best to announce them here as soon as I can.

Happy Stamping!
Cari

Deal of the Week #2

Wow! What a deal! Get out that Big Shot and prepare for a sale to “die” for!

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
115961	200	Prefect Setting Bigz XL Die	$42.95	$25.99
114515	195	Flower Burst Embosslit Die	$11.95	$5.99
116760	201	Bigz XL Cake 3 Tier Die	$39.95	$25.49

October Weekly Deal Announcements:

• Deal #1: Thursday, October 1, 2009; 12:01 AM (MT)
• Deal #2: Monday, October 12, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #3: Monday, October 19, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #4: Monday, October 26, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)

These deals will automatically be announced on my Stampin' Up! website, and I will do my best to announce them here as soon as I can.

Happy Stamping!
Cari

Deals of the Week are BACK!

I'm sorry to say that I've dropped the ball a little on this announcement. Stampin’ Up! has returned with the Deals of the Week! Whoo hoo! This week’s deal is only good through 9:50a on Monday, so hurry!



This week, October 1-12, receive each of these punches for at least 25% off! No purchase necessary, and no limitations! Check it out:

October Weekly Deal Announcements:

• Deal #1: Thursday, October 1, 2009; 12:01 AM (MT)
• Deal #2: Monday, October 12, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #3: Monday, October 19, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)
• Deal #4: Monday, October 26, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)

These deals will automatically be announced on my Stampin' Up! website, and I will do my best to announce them here as soon as I can.

Happy Stamping!
Cari

Wow...it sure has been a while! I apologize for being MIA for the past month and a half. Things got a little busy as I got a job and started working full time. Working full time is hard work! But anyway, back to stamping!

My husband's uncle got married a few weeks ago, so I made up this quick little card for the new couple:


I used Teri's card for inspiration. I didn't have any textured card stock in the colors I wanted to use, so I pulled out Old Faithful (a.k.a. the Big Shot) to make my own texture :-) The white flowers are actually a retired rub-on, but you could get approximately the same look using the same image from Eastern Blooms and embossing with white embossing powder. The "Together Forever" stamp appeared in the Spring-Summer 2009 Catalog & Idea Book, and is currently on the Dormant list (meaning that you can still purchase the stamp set even though it is not pictured in the current catalog).

I'm sorry for the somewhat short post today, but I've got to be off to bed! My goal is to post at least every other day...we'll see how that goes :-)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I LOVE Christmas! ...but most of you probably already know that! It is 132 days until Christmas :-) I got some of my Christmas Decor out on Saturday for my Open House (including my Christmas Countdown...which I why I know the number of days 'til Christmas!), and I begged Ben to let me keep it up, but he denied my request :-( So instead I made this card to boost my holiday spirit:



...based off the Mojo Monday #98 Sketch:



I hope I've spread some Christmas spirit to you today!

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To Order Stampin' Up! Products Online 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamp Sets: Season of Joy (110384—pictured below)
Paper: Bermuda Bay (115317), Real Red (102482), Whisper White (100730)
Ink: Bermuda Bay (115655), Real Red (103133)
Punches: Scallop Edge Punch (112091), 1/16" Circle Punch (101227)
Cool Tools: Circle Scissor Plus (112530)
The Little Something Extra: Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109052)

Open House

Today was my Open House. It was a huge success, and I want to thank everyone who came. You made it so much fun! Here are the two make-and-take projects we completed.

A card:


and a 6x6 scrapbook page:


This is my finished 6x6 scrapbook page:


...made into an 8-1/2x11 scrapbook page:


...and finally made into a 12x12 scrapbook page:

Wonderful

I know what you're thinking...oh boy, she's at it again with another crazy color combo! But hey! At least you're seeing something new, right? :-) I actually ended up LOVING this fun combo, although my husband didn't really like it so much. I always show him the cards that make every day. He always politely nods and says, "cute!" :-) I've trained him well! Today, he just politely nodded and smiled...never uttering the obligatory, "cute!" ...that's when I knew...he thinks I'm crazy! Well, I think he's actually known that for a while :-)

Anyway, I wanted to use a larger "W" to accentuate the greeting, but I had already used all my w's from my On Board Timeless Type, so I flipped the cardboard sheet of empty letters over and used the outline from the w for a template. I traced the letter onto my Bashful Blue card stock and cut it out with my snips. I then used Stampin' Dimensionals to make it stand out from the card. It almost looks like I used chipboard! Sneaky, sneaky!



For the circle around the sentiment, I used my circle scissor plus. And although you can't tell from the picture, I ran the circle through my Big Shot with the Small Dots Texturz Plate to emboss some small polka dots on the circle. I think it really looks nice (when you can see it!).

I hope you enjoyed this bright summery card as we're nearing the end of summer! Thanks for stopping by!

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To Order Stampin' Up! Products Online 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamp Sets: Warm Words (115108—pictured below), Circle Circus (115778—pictured below)
Paper: Green Galore (101768), Pumpkin Pie (105117), Bashful Blue (105120), Whisper White (100730)
Ink: Green Galore (102122), Pumpkin Pie (105216), Bashful Blue (105209)
Cool Tools: Circle Scissor Plus (112530), Big Shot (113439), Stampin' Up! Backgrounds 1 Texturz Plates (114512)
The Little Something Extra: Pumpkin Pie 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (109030), Stamping Sponges (101610)

Birthday Wishes

For this card, I wanted to try another new color combo: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Soft Suede, and Barely Banana. It was a fun card to make, as I LOVE embossing! The card measures 6-1/2" x 3-1/4" (perfect for the small open end envelopes).

• First, I cut my Old Olive card stock to 6-1/2 x 6-1/2, scoring at 3-1/4
• Using a corner rounder, I rounded the two bottom corners
• Stamping in Versamark ink, I randomly stamped the circle image from Circle Circus on the right-hand side of the card and lightly sprinkled Clear Embossing Powder over each image

*TIP* Versamark stays wet for a long time, so it's okay to stamp all your images, then cover them all with embossing powder at one time

• I heat set the circle images with my heat tool
• I then used the gift image from Holiday Blitz and stamped it twice (once in Pumpkin Pie, once in Old Olive) on the Barely Banana card stock
• Dimensionals make the gifts "pop" up from the card front
• Pumpkin Pie & Soft Suede make a nice double mat for the gifts
• The "birthday wishes" stamp is from the Wow Flower stamp set and is also stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with Clear Embossing Powder
• A piece of Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain ribbon on top of a strip of Barely Banana finishes off this fun card

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To Order Stampin' Up! Products Online 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Stamp Sets: Holiday Blitz (114982—pictured below), Circle Circus (115778—pictured below), Wow Flowers (111714—pictured below)
Paper: Soft Suede (115318), Old Olive (100702), Pumpkin Pie (105117), Barely Banana (102701)
Ink: Old Olive (102277), Pumpkin Pie (105216), Versamark (102283)
Cool Tools: Heat Tool (100005), Corner Rounder (109047)
The Little Something Extra: Clear Embossing Powder (109130), Soft Suede Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon (115612)

Family Reunion

I'm so excited to spend some time with extended family this weekend for a family reunion. We'll be gone until Sunday afternoon, so I'll be back on Monday with some more fun projects and cards. See you then!

Happ stamping!
Cari

It's an Open House...and you're invited!

That's right! You're invited to an Open House next Saturday, August 15 from 1-4p (come & go)! If you're in Chicago, be sure to stop by and invite your friends! There will be tons of fun activities:

• Giveaways--including gift sets, stamp sets, cards and more!
• FREE Make-and-Take Projects for card-makers and scrapbookers!
• Sign Up for my upcoming classes!

Don't miss out! I can't wait to see you here!

**Click here to see a Calendar of ALL my upcoming events!**