Still Shinnin'

I just can't seem to get enough of these little rhinestones. Plus they go SO well with the Baroque Motif set by Stampin' Up!

I was doing some experimenting with this set. I wanted to try to mix Old Olive and Bravo Burgundy. Well, Bravo Burgundy looks black on top of the decorative paper. SO my second choice was the Purely Pomegranate. I could have gone with a couple of the other regular colors but I thought I'd just work in one of the "in" colors. The flair part of the stamp was done using black Staz On as were the words. After I stamped the flowers I added the cute little rhinestones. It's amazing how far a little block of dollar rhinestones will go. And I still have more. Do you think they'll show up on my next card????? LOL

Tomorrow is the December DIVA event. Again Sue will be spoiling us. I just LOVE to be spoiled! And Sue spoils us SO well. I can't wait to see what is in store for us!

I am now off to work on our Christmas cards. My goal was to have them done by December 1st. Um, that would be tomorrow. NOT going to happen!!!! I have TONS of card stock to cut tonight and just a bit of stamping to do and then I can assemble them. Once I get them done I'll post the one I chose for our 2006 Christmas card. I do know that our card for next year will be a lot easier and quicker than this one!!! I think I said that last year!! LOL

I am also working on some fun projects that are almost ready to post on here too. Some fun things for the kiddies to either make for them or for them to help make!!! But you have to be patient!!! Tis the time of year for testing your patience, isn't it??? LOL

And lastly the blog candy winner did come forward so now you just need to keep your eye on the counter. It's getting close. I'm going to guess that it will happen in a little over 3 days. That depends on how many hits the blog gets over the weekend. Weekends usually bring more! You'll just have to keep checking in!

Again I thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

How Small is Too Small?

I'm still making Thank You cards!!!! I would like to make up a bunch to have some extra on hand. Wishful thinking!!!

I had this tiny piece of striped decorative paper left and wasn't sure if it was big enough to keep or too small and it should be tossed. TOSSED??? Did I actually type that??? LOL This little piece was only 1-1/4" wide and it was 6" long (trimmed down to 5-1/8"). Do you keep it or toss it? Or do you ponder over what to do with it, sit down and make it work on a card???? Guess which one I chose??? LOL

For this one I used the Baroque Motif large background stamp. I stamped the image on the white card stock twice. I used the Vanilla craft ink pad and clear embossing powder. I liked how it turned out. It would be VERY fun to have a pearl ink pad. Can you imagine what that would look like with clear embossing powder???? Pearl powder would work too but I don't have either of those!!! Anyway, after embossing I stamped on the flowers in Purely Pomegranate. Some of the one flower stamped over the embossed area. The ink beads up on the embossed image. Take a paper towel, set it on top of the card and press down gently to absorb it. I then added the decorative paper strip and the ribbon. I added the tiny little rhinestones. I should have done this after I added the sentiment but I didn't. It would have made it easier to place the layered words. I think I was just too excited to see what those tiny little rhinestones would look like on the card. They did add a nice touch! I got them in the dollar bin at Joann's Etc. They have these little designs in rhinestones (mine was a light blue and clear). I didn't like the design but I did want cheap rhinestones. I just cut them off the plastic they are stuck to and added them to my card. Very simple and extremely cheap. I still have a lot of them left. You can really make some quick and easy cards with this set.

I'm not sure if this card will pass the surcharge test at the post office so I think I'm just going to add a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" piece of white card stock over the top of the card before I put it in the envelope. It will still be thin enough to mail and the card stock will cover the rhinestones so they don't get caught up in the machinery at the post office. That's the plan anyway. I'll let you know if it works!!! I'm mailing the card out on Saturday!!!

I have some fun holiday projects coming up next week so please check back!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!!!

It's time to announce who the lucky Blog Candy winner is. PLEASE, PLEASE email me with your snail mail address so I can get the package mailed out. I will be going to the post office on Tuesday to mail the package. Because of it's size I will be sending it out the cheapest way I can so it may take a few days to get to you. If you are from Canada or out of the Continental United States it will take longer than that.

I LOVED reading your comments. Some of the guesses were just hilarious. Chocolate covered olives???? EWWWW LOL And one of you actually did guess it. That was ljs, she guessed it was a close-up of a cat!!! That's exactly what it is. I was on my knees taking pictures of some of my card samples and the cat came by and had to check out the camera. I didn't notice it right away because I kept snapping away. I thought I caught her before she got too far in the way. That's one quick cat!!! LOL It wasn't until I got the pictures loaded on to my computer that I saw it. I thought it was funny and was going to delete it but then when I ran across it again I thought it would make a great guessing game!!! SO ljs, I have a small gift for you, please email me your snail mail address too and I will pop your gift in the mail as soon as I get your address.

I check my Gmail in the evening and I respond the same day I read them. If you do not hear from me that evening that you email me, please try again and you can also send a comment to a post and I will get that in my email that is registered with Blogger. I promise I won't post it!!!

SO onto the Random Drawing winner . . . . . . .

The lucky winner is: CAKVD (Cheryl)
I'm going to guess dinner rolls. Oh, and I always check to see if I'm a winner or not!!!Thanks!Cheryl KVD

Cheryl, please email me with your snail mail address.

Thank you all for playing. There is more Blog Candy up for grabs. It's the Eye on the Counter blog candy to celebrate my 200,000 hits!!! And if there is no winner I will put the candy up in a random drawing. 199,999 or 200,001 do not count!!! LOL Good luck to you!

Split Coast Sketch Challenge 152

You guessed it!!!! It's Wednesday and that means it's the Sketch Challenge over at Split Coast Stampers.

I just LOVE this Jolliest Time of the Year set. And I got to use the Ho Ho Ho wheel too!!! Oh and I used this Liquid Applique that I bought about 4 or 5 years ago. I never used it and I actually thought it would be dried up but it wasn't!!! It was as fresh as it was the day I bought it! I put it on the snowflakes and on Santa's hat, cuffs and coat bottom. While it was wet I sprinkled the Dazzling Diamonds glitter over it and then I let it dry. That was when I decided it was time to go to bed!!! I had my email open at the time the Sketch came in and I opened it. Something I shouldn't have done because I knew I had to work on it. And I did. I got it almost done and then just ran out of steam!!! This was a very fun and I think versatile sketch. I can't wait to see the what other people did with it on SplitCoast. I'm heading over there later tonight to have a look see. I am in awe of some of the entries.

I like doing the sketches. The gal Roxy that is head of this one sends out the link and I print them out. They print out in the exact 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" that a card is. I print out two, one for my folder and one to use in front of me. I cut the pieces and just work on top of the printout. I don't measure much, I usually just set the card stock up to the sketch and mark with a pencil where I need to cut. SO simple!!!

It was fun and I think I'm going to go back and add a bit of glitter in the few snowflakes at the top of the card. It just needs a little sparkle up there too!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Sparkling Notes Tutorial!

I ran across the instructions for this fun notepad holder. I think the original pattern came from Lisa Sommerville's blog. I've had the finished notebook for so long I forgot about it until I opened it up and saw I had the score lines written on the pad inside. I like this pattern because it allows you to reuse the holder when the paper is used up. As long as it has a cardboard back to the pad you can replace it!!! Such a wonderful idea.

To make this I took a piece of Blue Bayou card stock and on the 8-1/2" side at 2-1/2" and at 5-3/4". Turn the card stock and score it on the 11" sice at 5-1/4" and at 5-3/4". Cut away the two side rectangles. Make sure you cut about 1/8" below the 5-3/4" score line. You need to give a little leaway for the cardboard backing to the notepad. Click on the photo to see it close up. You will see how much was cut off on the top edge of each side. It's just below the two center score marks. I drew the score lines in with a pencil so you can see them better.

Then I glued the bottom edges and the flaps shut. I figured if the glue distored the paper it wouldn't show because the notepad would hide the seams. Insert your notepad and decorate the front as desired.

For this one I used the Barouqe Motif's set and the Linen background stamp. I wanted to keep it simple and this set allows you to give it that touch of elegance at the same time.

This notepad holder was VERY fun to make. I am going to make some to sell at the next year's craft fairs. They would also make wonderful Christmas Gifts, Hostess Gifts, Customer Appreciation Gifts and even a Stamp Camp item.

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Eye On the Counter!

It's getting pretty close here so I thought I'd run the Blog Candy for the 200,000 hits now. And yes, I do have two blog candies running at the same time. The one for the Embossing System and this one.

To get the Blog Candy here on this post you need to be the one who sends me a screen print of my blog when the counter is at 200,000.

Here is how you get a copy of the screen. This is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get). What you see on your screen is exactly what will be copied. Make sure the counter is visible on the screen. On the upper right side of your keyboard (most keyboards) is the PrtSC key. Print Screen. Press that key. The screen is now on your clipboard and you need to past it. Open up Paint. It comes with all IBM compatiable computeres. To find it go to start, All Programs, Accessories and scroll over to Paint. Once paint is open just click on the upper left "edit" button and past it on. Once it's pasted you can save it to a file, your desktop or wherever you want to save it to. Then you can email the picture to me. And you will win the Blog Candy.

Now if no one comes forward with the print screen picture then I will do a new post and I'll hold a random drawing for the Blog Candy!

SO, keep your eye on the counter. It rolls by quickly these days!!! I'm thinking it will happen in about 3 to 4 days. It all depends on how many hits the blog gets!!! Just keep your eye on it!

Good luck to you!
Wanda

I am just loving this "Season of Joy" set. I wonder if my sister remembers I borrowed it from her??? LOL

Here is another card I made using that set and the tree. Yes, there are other stamps in the set and I will be playing with a few of those before I give this set back to my sister. Along with the cards I made from it!! Lucky her!!

The technique here is direct to rubber. I used markers to color in the tree, star and trunk. The star could have been left off, the jeweled brad hides it. I got it all put together and thought the tree could use a bit more finesse so I added some tiny rhinestones to it and it was exactly what it needed. The striped paper is the designer paper from the fall mini catalog and the top dots are handmade. I used the Dotted background stamp on Always Artichoke card stock and embossed the dots in white. This was another quick and simple card to make.

I did use dimensionals under the tree layers. The green velvet ribbon stuck up just enough to not allow the layers to stick to the background. Dimensionals fixed the problem and the card looks much better with it.

I have an update on my cat. He seems to be doing better. I let him out of the bedroom today. He seemed more energetic and he actually wanted to eat. I was informed a cat can go anorexic pretty quick so I had to make sure he ate. If he was going to die I'd rather see him go via the bladder problem than by starvation. I have a blanket on the bed and he even jumped up on the bed to lay on the blanket. So from this alone he's improving. DH and I had to give him a bath yesterday. We only washed the lower half of him. Boy to they have tiny little rat tails when they are wet!!! LOL He did let us wash him. He's such a nice kitty and SO mellow. He didn't like the blow dryer so we had to let him air dry. But he did smell much better. He may need another one tomorrow and I'm sure that one won't be as easy as the first one was!!! I'll be sure to let you know!!! I can just see it now. A half sopping wet cat flings from my arms and runs through the house leaving a trail of soapy water.

Ok, back to the card. If you have this set (or are getting this set) I do highly recommend it. It is very easy to work with. It has 8 stamps in the set and there is a LOT you can do with it. I will post a couple more cards later this week. I actually have more time this week to play!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

I Know, I Know!!

I know, I know. If I just make one Thank You card and repeat the design the ones receiving them wouldn't know the difference. And I've done that before but not a big scale. And the "scale" this time is REALLY big!!! I think for me right now it's that part where you get bored making the same card over and over. Like I'm doing with our Christmas card. And when I get done with this post I will be back at working on them. The goal is to be done with them so I can get them out in the mail on the first of December. Wish me luck!!! LOL

There's SO much to do this time of year. I did get the tree up on Saturday and the house decorated (inside) so I'm done with that. I still have baking to do and those Christmas cards!!! I have not told you which one I chose for "the" card this year. I will post it when I'm done with them all.

On to the featured card. I made it using the "Baroque Motifs" set by Stampin' Up! It's difficult to see the details in the photo (I think you may see the details better if you click on the photo). I used the Linen background stamp and Soft Sky ink and card stock. Then I used the larger round flower in the set, I stamped off using Soft Sky ink and then I added the small flower using the same ink and stamping off. I then stamped with the large swirl stamp using Blue Bayou ink. I sponged the edges with Soft Sky. I attached it to a piece of Blue Bayou card stock. I added the thank you words from Sincere Salutations. I looked at the card and then I looked at it again and didn't like what I saw. SO I thought I'd add some corners to it. They were ok until I used the Mat Pack and the White Gel Pen. It looked out of place so I took the little flower stamp and add some white flowers using the white craft ink. They were so light you could hardly see them. SO I took the card over to the counter and added white embossing powder and heated it up. They tied the white faux stitching in and I liked it much better but it still wasn't enough. I then added the rhinestones to the center of the flowers and I was finally satisfied with it!!

Adding the Linen and then the flowers from the stamp set was like making my own decorative background paper. I hope you are able to view the detail.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,

Wanda

Free Holiday Printables

I was at Just Having Fun Stampin' in Tn's website and she had something fun listed. If you go to Ten Two Studios beginning December 1st you can download free printables. It's a 25 day countdown to Christmas. Every day from December 1st through Christmas, she'll post a new image on the calendar. There's a catch though: you must post a link to the countdown on a blog, web site, group or message board before you begin downloading. Just post your link here and just sit back and wait until December 1st. Then if you're like me you'll miss most of them because the month is SO busy and you'll forget!!! LOL

I'm not sure what the printables are but I bet they will be lots of fun!!!

Wanda

More Blog Candy to Come!!!

Just giving you a heads up here. My blog will soon be hitting the 200,000 mark. I will be playing another "Keep Your Eye on the Counter" game. I will post more information on that blog candy tomorrow. SO stay tuned.

Blog Candy Again!!

BLOG CANDY!

Blog Candy winners not claiming their prize is pretty common among those who find the Blog Candy sites through Allison's blog. She posts the blogs that are offering candy and people head on over to those blogs and leave their comment. They must forget to check back. That's the whole point of the Blog Candy, checking back!

Anyway, this Blog Candy is up for grabs again. I ran across a photo and to be entered in the Blog Candy drawing you just have to tell me what you think the photo is. PLEASE keep it clean!!! This one has potential to get a bit bad, but it's not. LOL You don't have to have the correct answer to win the candy. Your name will be drawn without using the Random Number Generator. That software misses numbers and duplicats some too. Not very fair, is it. So it will be done the old fashioned way!! And I will draw a name on Thursday the evening of November 29th. Please do not include your email address with your comment. You do need to check back to see if you are a winner.

Please leave your comment on this post only and only one post per person.
What on earth is this????

Thanks for playing and have fun!
Wanda

Tags, Tags and More Tags!

Tag you're it!!! I found this adorable tin at Michael's right at the checkout for only $1.00. They are suppose to be used for gift cards. It's even got a plastic insert that holds the card nicely. Like I'm going to conform to something like that!!! LOL

Ok, I do have to admit that the minute I saw the tin I HAD to have it and only because it had a snowman on the outside of it!!! Ok, I not only bought one, I bought two. Gosh how you can make me confess things here!!! LOL I have plans for the other one too and I'll post that in a couple of days!!! And not the second one is not going to be used to hold a gift card either!!!

I made these cute tags using the Stampin' Up! "Tags for All" set. I had a lot of trouble with these tags. Making them was not the trouble. My trouble was in the coloring field. Did I want to color something I KNEW was going to be tossed out with the wrapping paper???? No, not really. So what I did was stamped the images using colored ink. Well, that just looked too blah. Now what to do??? Then I thought I should just stamp some in black ink on colored card stock. That would give the contents of the tin a LOT of color and it did. SO here I have a tin full of gift tags just in time for the holidays. I think I will pass this tin onto my older sister who was kind enough to lend me a brand new stamp set of hers. I've had it for a LONG time now and it's not only a "thank you" type gift but an "I'm sorry I kept your set so long" gift too!!! LOL Do you think she'll use one of the tags on a Christmas present to me??? Do you think that present will be a Stampin' Up! stamp set??? Do you think I'll even get a present from her??? LOL

I also stamped on the cover of the tin using Black Staz On ink. I colored in the snowman (see, I did color one tag!!!) using Sharpie Markers and a light blue Copic marker. I can't believe it. I've had these Copic markers for at least 5 years. I got 7 of them when they first came out. I used them when I taught stamping at a local shop. And to know that I actually have something that is still "in" is a shocker to me!!! LOL And the big shocker was that they were not dried out at all!! Hmm, they must be good markers!!! When I got them I just thought they were a nice marker in such vivid colors. Little did I know I was at the tip of something big!!! And I put them back in the pencil holder box along with the Sharpie markers and back on the shelf. LOL See how special they are??? LOL

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

You Are NOT Going to Believe This!!!

The blog candy winner did not come forward and I even gave them an extra day too!!!! SO tomorrow I will be putting the blog candy back out there! I will have a fun guessing game for you to play tomorrow. Come back and play!!

Baby it's Cold Outside!

It's a chilly day here in central Minnesota. We had some snow flurries yesterday but not enough to cover the grass. I'm still waiting patiently!!! I do love the snow and am anxiously looking forward to it's arrival. Oh and FYI, I have had my head examined and get this, I'm ok!!! LOL

I did not get to my tree today. That is two years in a row now that it has not gone up the day after Thanksgiving!!! Shocker! But it is going up tomorrow. I did not go shopping either. I just had too many things to tend to today. I did run across some beautiful Amethyst beads and I strung a bracelet today. Actually I made two, one for me and one for a gift or to sell, depends on which comes first!! LOL Among one of the things to tend to today was my sick cat. Poor guy. He's not doing well and may have to be put down. I will miss him. He's the nicest friendliest cat I've ever seen or owned. He's nice to other cats too. He's just an all around friendly cat. A typical light grey striped tabby. And my favorite thing about him that runs a close second to the color of his eyes is his "kiss." I hold him and say, "give me a kiss" and he will rub his whiskers across my nose. Then I say to him, "a nice kiss" and he does it slower and longer. He has done this for a few other people but not many and not often, just mostly for me. He likes to lay on my lap when I watch tv and he's usually in whatever room I am in. I will miss him SO much.

Ok, onto my card for tonight. In light of the tiny amount of snow, not even enough to make a snowball I thought I'd make a snowman card. I am still loving' the "Cold Play" set by Stampin' Up!. It's such a fun set and the snowman face is adorable. I stamped the face and nose and then I punched out the head with a 1" round punch. Talk about easy. It's the easiest way I know to get a round snowman head and to get it centered too!! I cut the hat out and colored it. I did use the Snowflake Cuddlebug folder in my Sizzix machine for the background. And I used a brayer and Bashful Blue ink pad and ran over the snowflakes 5 or 6 times until I got the color coverage I wanted. I don't use the brayer very often only because I'm SO lazy and don't like to clean it. Pretty sad, huh?? LOL

I cut and layered the pieces in the foreground and before I taped them together I stamped the wording on. After layering I used the Crop-a-dial to make the holes and set my white brads. I REALLY like that tool. No more hammering!!! I put the card all together and kept looking at it. The corners needed something so I added black brads and it pretty much finished the card off!

It was a fun and fairly quick card to make. It won't pass the 41 cent postage rate so I'll just slap on the 17 cent surcharge stamp and send it off. Oh well, they all can't be 41 cents, right??? Well they can if you don't add any raised embellishments!

I thank you SO much for stopping by,

Wanda

Thank You's Abound!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Visiting with family and friends. The big dinner and ALL those dishes!!! UGH!!! And some of you may have put your Christmas tree up after dinner (lucky you!!!). Mine goes up tomorrow. DH won't allow it to go up any sooner! I'm ready for it. After I get up and have some coffee tomorrow morning the decorating will begin. It takes the better part of the day to put the tree up and decorate the house. But it's SO worth it. The beautiful reds and greens of the holiday season. And the lights. I am amazed at how drab and dull the living room looks once the tree comes down. Hmmm, maybe it should just stay up!!! LOL What I thought would be great is to have a bowed window installed in the living room. And have the floor be one like on a stage that is raised and lowered. Set the tree up there and then after Christmas just hit the button and the tree is lowered to the next level of the home and kept there until next Christmas. Do you think that would take the fun out of decorating the tree??? I'd sure like to be able to find out. My luck the hydraulics would fail and the tree would only be lifted half way up!! LOL

Anyway, back to the card. Once again I find myself in dire need of Thank You cards. I use them up about as fast as I make them!!! And here I find myself making more but yet I know it won't be enough!!! But I LOVE making and sending cards!!!

SO here is my Thank You card. I used the Baroque Motifs set and embossed it in gold. Then I stamped on the flower in Purely Pomegranate. If you do this, make sure you take a paper towel and lay it across the top to absorb any ink that my be beading up on the embossed part. Then I stamped the words. Once I got that done I sponged the edges, tied the ribbon around the Very Vanilla piece and taped it in place on top of the Brushed Gold card stock.

For the card itself I stamped the Aida Cloth background stamp on it using the Purely Pomegranate ink pad. I used my Mat Pack and lined up the holes in the template and punched the holes for the brads. I got the card assembled and felt the bottom area needed something more. I thought about going with the photo corners but then brads came to mind. And of course they would since they make the card cost 17 cents more to mail!!! LOL Oh well, you can't put a price on being thankful.

All in all it was a quick card to make. It has an elegant look to it and the Baroque Motifs and the Sincere Salutations sets seem to mesh so well together.

Thank you all for stopping by,
Wanda

RAK Cards

Here is a card I received from Sara over at Sara's Studio. It's a cute congratulations card for reaching #50 in the Stamping Top 50. That was SO sweet of her to send me a card. She's such a nice person!!!

Thanks SO much Sara you're such a sweetie!!
Wanda

Split Coast Sketch Challenge 151

First of all I'd like to wish you all a Wonderful Thanksgiving. Since I post later in the evening I figure many of you don't get to the blog until the next day. And being it's a holiday tomorrow and many of you will be busy preparing that fabulous meal for your families I will say "Happy Belated Thanksgiving" to you!!! I am cooking dinner but I seem to have that all under control (if you can believe that - I'm a bit shocked by it myself!!!).

I haven't even gotten to last weeks sketch. But I figure I can always catch up. It's a game I've been playing a lot lately. LOL I decided to just head right in to today's sketch. I had time to play this morning so I thought I'd do the sketch today and not let this one slip by. I just can't believe how fast the time is flying. Wasn't it just Halloween???? Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and then Christmas will be here before I know it. How do you slow down time????

Ok, onto my card. I used the "Lovely as a Tree" set and the snowflake from "Holiday Tag Team." I used Versa Mark on glossy card stock and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I added the color in with a sponge. I started out with Bashful Blue and then came in with some Brilliant Blue. I stayed away from the center. There I came in with some Pretty in Pink. I came back in with a little Bashful Blue over the pink, just lightly I didn't want it to overtake the pink.

The next layer is just Bashful Blue card stock with the edges sponged in Bashful Blue. The final layer is another piece of glossy card stock and I embossed the snowflakes in clear embossing powder and again I sponged the blues on. I added the brads and then assembled the card. The photo was taken at an angle and it makes the card look like it's put together crooked.

This was a very fun sketch. I really look forward to the new sketch each Wednesday. I like having a variety of layouts for my cards. Some I just LOVE and use them over and over on a lot of my cards.

Thank you all SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

RAK Cards

RAK (Random Acts of Kindness)

With a little nudge from my friend Sara over at Sara's Studio, I joined the RAK group at Splitcoaststampers. I have received a few cards and would like to share them all with you.

Once this week is over I will be sending these wonderful gals a card back. I'm new to this RAK thing at SCS so I can't fill you in on it. Sara is thrilled with it so it must be a good thing!!! LOL

The plum one is from Kathy K, welcoming me to the RAK group.

The orange and brown card is from Kimberly K. welcoming me to the RAK group.

Another card welcoming me to the RAK group is the "Hello" card from Kristen M.

And this last one, Happy Holidays I just got in the mail today from Sara D.

Aren't all of these cards just fabulous???? And it's fun to see what states they come from. All across the country here!!

I feel SO lucky to have received them. When I figure out what this RAK group is all about I will let you know. Until then I'll share the wonderful cards I receive. And of course I'll post the cards I will be sending on off to them too!!!

Thanks for looking,

Wanda

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

My Dear, Sweet, Wonderful (hope she reads this) sister borrowed me her brand new "Season of Joy" set by Stampin' Up! Wasn't that sweet of her???? I put the set together for her. Not much work to it since all the sets in the mini catalog were die cut so you just removed them from the rubber and mounted them on the wood block. How simple is that??? I've had the set for a while and thought I'd better make some cards with it so I can get it back to her. I will give her some cards too. I am making extra ones so she can have some for letting me borrow her new set.

I wanted to make a simple card. This one was just that. A little sponging, some clear embossing on glossy card stock and a piece of decorative paper to go on the card stock. I would have to say the glossy card stock was the piece that took the most time. You emboss your image in clear embossing powder and then sponge on the color (Always Artichoke is what I used here). It doesn't take long to do but in the scheme of things it was the part of the card that took the longest. I wish I would have designed this card to use for our Christmas card. FAR less pieces to it than the one I picked.

I was out of the Always Artichoke card stock but I did find some scraps. Kind of hard to make a card when you aren't fully stocked!!!

I added a bit of twinkle on this card. I used a detailed Metallic Gelly Roll pen. I think the Dazzling Diamonds glitter would have been prettier. Besides I haven't worn any of that in a while!!! LOL

Well, it's off to work on those Christmas cards. I have 130 of them to make and I'd like to have them done by Friday evening so I can sit in front of the tv and play a Christmas movie while I address them!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Making Some Christmas Gifts

Some of my Christmas gifts are handmade. I am SO loving these Hemp Bound Notebooks. This one was made using a single 12" x 12" sheet of decorative paper from Michael's. This paper had the burgundy trim on each side. I cut the paper in half and was able to get that same edge on the front and back.

This notebook used a little more hemp than the other one I had made because I added more holes. I don't really like it as well as the one with only four holes. But it's still eye catching. After I got it all together I was looking at it trying to decide what I wanted to add to the front to decorate it. The more I looked at it the more I realized it didn't need a thing. The paper alone had an elegant look to it and I decided to just add the "Notes" stamp on the bottom and leave it as it was.

One gift down TONS to go!!! LOL

The instructions for the Hemp Bound Notebooks can be found here.

Have fun making them. They are VERY quick to make and they really do make wonderful gifts. Who can't use a notebook????

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Stamping Top 50 Blog Candy Winner!

WOW, there are a lot of REAL wishes out there. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to grant them all to you??? A read a couple of other wishes out there that I would like too. That new (and totally organized) stamping room would be ideal. I think the Nestibilities would be fun too!!! I just think I want it all. LOL

Here's something funny I have to share with you. I am always seeing "stuff" and saying that I want it. Well, DH sometimes takes me seriously, especially during the holidays. But he doesn't understand that I just want it. I don't want to own it. I just want to want it and he just doesn't understand that, bless his heart!!! LOL If I actually got everything I wanted, where would I put it all??? But actually I do enjoy just wanting to want things. I came to this reality once when I wanted a knitting machine SO bad. And DH, being the sweet person he is took me out a couple of days after a HUGE blizzard here. We drove for over an hour on partially icy roads to get me this knitting machine. I do like to use it but I must say, it was WAY more fun wanting it than having it.

Ok for the moment you've all been waiting for. WHO gets the Blog Candy????? The lucky winner is debby (her name was spelled using a small "d") and here is her comment:

Congrats on hitting the big 50 mark on your blog.What I really really want is to win the lottery tonight. Then hubby could quit work. Debby

Debby, please email me with your snail mail address by Friday and I will get the package out in the mail to you. If you are not in the continental United States I will not be able to mail it until late next week.

Thank you all for leaving your comments. Hang in there though, should Debby not contact me by Friday I will be offering it up again on a second chance drawing.

Thank you all for playing!
Wanda

Holiday Jewelry! And Directions Too!!!

I had a wonderful FUN time at our monthly DIVA Day! Sue, you are the best!!! I LOVED all the cards we got to make. The fun card and scrapbook page swaps. There was an altered gift exchange, the meeting and just chatting. Oh and that clip challenge. I'm not even going to tell you what the next challenge is. I'll post it when I'm done!!! The WHOLE afternoon was fun!!! Thanks Sue!!! You are SO good to us!

I thought it was time for a holiday pin. I am just LOVING this "Jolliest Time" set and of course the snowman is my favorite. Do you find that hard to believe??? LOL

Here is another pin we made last year at a Stamp Camp. This one is done much like the one I'm posting tonight.

Materials needed:

Watercolor paper, white card stock will work too

Black Staz On ink pad

Markers

Blender Pen

Bottle cap

Clear Embossing Powder

Crystal Effects

Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Pin Back

Sticky Strip

I stamped the image on watercolor paper using Staz On Black ink. I colored it in with markers and a blender pen. I then lined it up in the 1" circle punch and punched it out. It fits perfectly inside the bottle cap. I did use just a tiny touch of double stick tape to hold the paper in place on the bottle cap. Add the crystal Effects and place it in a toaster oven on a foil lined metal sheet. Heat at 300 degrees Fahrenheit until it melts, which is about 30 seconds on a hot oven. A bit longer if the oven is cold. You'll be able to see it melt. Once it's melted carefully remove it from the oven and set it aside to cool. Once it is cool you will be adding the pin back to it. Take the sticky strip and add a little strip of it to the back of the pin. Remove the red protective tape and affix it to the back of the bottle cap. Take the cap and add a thin layer of Crystal Effect around the edge and immediately dip it the glitter. Set it aside to dry. It takes about 20 minutes for this to set up. Once it's dry you can find a piece of card stock you like for a background, punch two holes in it where the pin back tops and bottoms are. I like the circle at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. This will allow the closed pin back to be pushed through enough to make the bottle cap lay flush against the card stock.

For those of you who do not have a toaster oven you can use your embossing tool. You will heat up the bottle cap and little by little add the embossing powder until it's about 1/8" thick. Thicker is ok too, just don't overflow it. You now have an adorable (easy to make) pin to give as gifts, keep for yourself or to sell. Be sure to add the Stampin' Up! copyright to the items you sell!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Designed by Leah!!!

This is a notebook one of my stampers Leah made last Monday. She's such a creative and talented stamper. The notebook measures 5-1/2" x 4-1/4".

She used Chocolate Chip card stock for the main part of the book. Complimenting the Chocolate Chip is the new "in" color Wild Wasabi. The decorative paper was from some she had purchased and the stamp is from the hostess set Sidekick Sayings. She added brads to the corners for a wonderful touch!

I think she did a FABULOUS job on it!!!

Thanks Leah for letting me post your notebook on my blog!

To Clip or Not to Clip? NOT!!!!

The challenge my upline (SUE!!!) gave us this time was to alter one of those huge paper clip things. These have been around for a while and as you can see on my blog I don't have any posts showing these clips. Hmmmm, I wonder why??? They are not something I found to be of interest to me so of course this was a BIG challenge for me.

I've had this "thing" (as I so respectfully have referred to it since I got it) for about a month. Well, since our last monthly meeting anyway. I have looked at it now and then and looked at the samples that were clipped to it. Still not impressed or inspired.

Well, today I had a few stampers here and a few things to do and then I thought I'd better get that "thing" done for tomorrow. Yes, it's due tomorrow!!! This is all I could come up with. To me it's extremely UUUUUGLY!!!! But it's done!!! Maybe if they came about 2-1/2" or 3" wide they would be easier to work with. But then again if I had one that big it still would have sat for a month until I HAD to finish it!!! LOL

So here it is in all of it's ugliness!!! One good thing about it was I only had to make one!!! LOL


And now I can move on to something more fun!!

Don't forget to leave your TRUE Christmas wish here for a chance to be entered in the Blog Candy drawing. I have enjoyed reading your wishes!!

Thank you for stopping by.
Wanda

Santa on the Tree

Here is a bulb I made using the tissue paper technique.

I stamped the image on tissue paper and then colored it in with colored pencils. I took a clean clear bulb and brushed a coat of Crystal Effects over one side. I set the image in place and starting from the center I brushed outward until the tissue paper was covered with Crystal Effects. I let it dry. Then I ran a circle of Crystal Effects around the image and added micro mini beads. I let that dry and then I added more Crystal Effects to the image and then sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds. You can add bows or ribbons or whatever embellishments you'd like. I haven't added anything yet to this bulb.

I couldn't get a good picture of it to show where the micro beads stop and the glitter begins. It's a VERY pretty glassy effect.

Once the Crystal Effects is dry you can add a single layer of it on top of the glitter and beads to keep it from coming off.

These make wonderful and inexpensive gifts to give. Add the year or your name to the back of the ornament to personalize it even more for the one you're giving it too. You can do this on tissue paper as well and follow the same directions using the Dazzling Diamonds and beads.

Be sure to leave your REAL Christmas wish here and you'll be entered in the drawing for the Shape Boss.

Thank you for stopping by,
Wanda

Blog Candy - Reaching Stamping Top 50!!!

Reaching #50 in the Stamping Top 50 is a VERY big deal to me. And to celebrate this auspicious event I am giving away VERY big Blog Candy!!! This is a Brand New Fiskars ShapeBoss. It's the "Ultimate Embossing System" It comes with three embossing stencils and I am also including two more brand new ones.

This is great for card making and scrapbooking. These stencils have so many shapes and borders on them for dry embossing on your cards and pages.

I will not be shipping it in the box for two reasons. The shop I got it at had it discounted because the box was damaged and it will help save on postage. Retail value of this Blog Candy is around $50.00. Fifty dollars for hitting number fifty!!! I'm still SO thrilled to have made it.

Ok, so now you're wondering how you can have a shot at winning this Blog Candy! Well, since Christmas is just around the corner, tell me what you'd really like for Christmas. I mean REALLY like. World peace and all that other stuff aside, let's go to the other end of the spectrum. What is that one material gift that you'd REALLY like??? For me, I would LOVE to have a housekeeper and to be greedy here I'll take a cook and I want them to come in on a daily basis!!! That would give me SO much more time to stamp and do other things I want to do!!! I would also like fabulous lake home with an outdoor Sauna and and indoor Hot Tub. And if I can't have the lake home then I'd like one on the ocean. But it still has to have the Sauna and Hot Tub and the housekeeper and cook can tag along too!!! LOL

Ok, your turn!!!
Have fun. I will draw a name on Monday evening.



Thanks for playing!
Wanda

Christmas Card for the Sunday Swap!

I am going to our stamping groups monthly meeting on Sunday. I have my scrapbook pages done and ready to go and yesterday I finished up my "Holiday Card" for the swap. Don't be too excited over it, I think I may have cased it from a card I saw on SplitCoastStampers or someones blog. If I did case it please let me know who designed the card so I can give them credit and if I didn't case it well then, it's mine!!! LOL

Since this post I did get an email and I did case the card. I knew it looked familiar. The card I cased can be found here. It's by spandagirl74 (Maria). She did a fabulous job on her card. She stamped Merry Christmas on hers. Hey, I didn't say I was good at casing!!! LOL Check her card out and also her gallery of over 100 samples.

I REALLY liked the colors of this card and I was amazed at how adding only 2-1/8" piece of decorative paper not only adds a lot to the card but how far a 12" x 12" piece goes!!! I was able to make the cards for my swap and have some extra too! I don't know why I wanted extra, I have TONS of cards down here. I need to start boxing them up again for the soldiers. It all takes time and this time of the year is SO busy as it is. I've hardly touched my Christmas cards. I picked one with TOO many layers. But I know Katie will call me and tell me she will come over and help me with them!!! Right Katie?????

Back to the card. The adorable tree is from the Year After Year set. That is one fabulous set to own. There is a stamp in there for all the major events. The decorative paper is from the Stampin' Up! mini catalog and I used Always Artichoke for the main part of the card. When I finished it I felt the tree needed something so I added a little glue and glitter and it totally made the card!!!

This was a VERY fun and quick card to make and had I not cut all the card stock for my Christmas card I'd be making this one instead!!! I do have 39 days to make the cards before they are considered late!!! LOL

What is late is my Wednesday Sketch Challenge card. I'll be working on that tonight along with the last of the Santa Theme items. I do like Santa but I am a Snowman lover and to make these items into snowman stuff would be REAL simple. Just use white card stock and you're done!!! LOL Maybe a carrot nose now and then on a project!!! I do have a non-stamping snowman I'll put on the blog this weekend. He's a wonderful giftable item!!! Just teasing and tempting you here with all the new things coming up!!! You'll just have to come back to see them!

Thank you all for stopping by!
Wanda

Celebrate. Celebrate. Dance to the Music!!!

Ok, today is a BIG day for me. My blog has hit #50 in the Stamping Top 50!! I'm SO thrilled.

The day I decided to be a part of the Stamping Top 50 I made it my goal to be #50, even if it was just for one day!! And today is that day!!! I have some FABULOUS Blog Candy to put up tomorrow to commemorate this event!! I bought this (thing) the day I decided I was going to be in the Stamping Top 50, with the intention that I was going to use it as Blog Candy when I hit #50! I can't tell you what it is but I will write up the official post for it tomorrow and you can leave a comment or play some silly game (or not) to have your name entered in the drawing.

SO stay tuned tomorrow for all the details!!!

Thanks ever SO much!!!
Wanda

Feedblitz Subscription Problems?????

Some of you may have noticed you are not getting any notices in your email from Feedblitz telling you I have a new post. I also subscribe to my own blog to make sure Feedblitz sends out the emails. If you are not receiving the notices any more, please resubscribe. I will be checking into this further and perhaps considering changing to Feedburner for my subscriptions.

I did go into my Feedblitz area this morning and snooped around. I'm not very familiar with it since I don't usually find a need to go back into it once I had set it all up. I did go into My Dashboard and found the blogs I subscribe to and hunted around on how to reactivate them. I never deactivated them but somehow they were. GRRRR. Anyway, I found that if you click on the subscription a pop up window comes up and you click on the reactivate (I believe that is the word they use in the window). Sad thing is I had to do this to ALL of them. Again with the GRRRR! And trust me, I subscribe to a LOT of stamping blogs. I like to see what others are doing and I use them as a study guide. How else do you learn new things or get inspired to create something new without looking at what others are doing. And once in a while I get that coveting feeling and just have to CASE (Copy And Steal Everything) a card!!! I try not to do that too much and many times I start out casing but I end up with something entirely different, which is a GOOD thing!!! Anyway, for those of you who are not receiving my pretty much daily updates please go back into Feedblitz and reactivate your subscription or just subscribe again. I'm not sure if that will work but you'll know in the morning!!! LOL

Thanks SO much!

Wanda

I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Wanda

Canned Santa!!!

Here is a fruit (pop top) can made to fit the "Santa Theme" items. This one I think is one of the more useful items. I think I will make more and fill them with gift cards and some candies before I seal them up. For my niece I am going to put a little Beanie Baby in it before I seal it. These would be great for teachers too!!! They are quick to make and lots of fun to come up with ideas to fill it with! I don't think I'd give them to little children though because of the pop top and sharp edges. If you make these for a craft fair be sure to add some little disclaimer on the bottom letting people know it's not intended for children under whatever age you feel is necessary. And add this at the bottom of your disclaimer. Sharp edges. It's better to be safe than sorry.

To make this can I just took some red card stock and made sure it was the right size for the can and cut accordingly. The white strip was cut 2-1/2" and the edges were torn. The piece was set in place over the seam of the red card stock. Doing this you get a very nice smooth looking can.

I then cut a strip of black card stock and wrapped it around the can to see the fit. Cut off any excess and glue the strip in place. I did allow the black to overlap a little in the back. I cut a piece of brushed gold card stock and glued it in place. On top of that I used the 3/4" square punch and punched out a piece in black and glued it in place. Then you take the 1/2" round punch and punch out 3 black dots. Glue them in place and you're done. As quick and simple as that!!! The tough part will be eating all that fruit to get enough cans for all the people you want to make these for!! LOL

Aren't they fun??? This can fits right in with the Santa Theme items. Great for a holiday stamp camp. I have one more "Santa Theme" item coming and then I'm moving on to other fun projects that I will be sharing with you!

You can fill it with almost anything. Once you fill it you can glue it shut with crazy glue. I prefer to use Crystal Effects. It does not have a smell and it does not glue your fingers together!!!! Plus if you're putting any consumable items in the can you really don't want to use the crazy glue. Those fumes could seep into the good. NOT a good idea. And here are my favorite words on the bottle of Crystal Effects . . . NON TOXIC!!!! I LOVE those words when I'm working with things that could touch my skin or come in contact with food items!!! PLEASE keep that in mind when working with any glue products and food items.

Also in this same "Santa Theme" we have the Santa Bag (a must for the following items!) The Santa Candy Pull with instructions, the "Poppin' Santa" tutorial. The "Santa Nugget Box." The "Santa Candy Cane" (with instructions). A Santa card. And last but not least, the "Santa Tissue Holder." (and it's REALLY not least!!!!) Plenty here to plan your own Santa Theme Stamp Camp!!! And I have a few more to come too in a few days!

I thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Santa Bag

I'm posting a bit early today. I am going to a Stamp-A-Stack this evening that is put on by my upline Sue. I'm SO excited to go, she always has such wonderful ideas and projects. And she's such a wonderful manager. Only one complaint though, she won't come here and do my housework while I just stamp!!! So she's not all that wonderful!!! LOL But seriously she's the best and I'm SO glad to be a part of her group.

Ok, for this post we have a Santa Bag. You're going to need something to put all these wonderful Santa items in now aren't you? I got this bag at Michaels. It was already red. For Stampin' Up demonstrators you can measure the front of the white Stampin' Up! bags and put a piece of red card stock there and you're ready to go!!

I measured the height of the bag and cut my white card stock accordingly. I cut it 3 inches wide so I had plenty of room to tear it on both sides. The belt is 1-3/4" wide and is the length of the bag front. I cut the buckle 1-3/4" x 1-3/4" and I added a 3/4" square piece of black card stock on the top of that. You can either cut the card stock or punch it. I had the punch so I used that. I used the 1" round circle cutter for the buttons and they were punched out of black card stock. I glued everything in place and now I have a bag for all of my fun Santa items I've been making. I have a couple more items in this Santa Theme left to come so stay tuned!!!

This bag is also great for a Make N Take. It's a cute bag to use to wrap a holiday gift in this season!!!

Also in this same theme we have the Santa Candy Pull with instructions, the "Poppin' Santa" tutorial. The "Santa Nugget Box." The "Santa Candy Cane" (with instructions). A Santa card. And last but not least, the "Santa Tissue Holder." (and it's REALLY not least!!!!) Plenty here to plan your own Santa Theme Stamp Camp!!! And I have a few more to come too in a few days!

Thank you all SO much for stopping by!
Wanda

Snowflake Soap Cover and Instructions

Here's a fun little inexpensive gift you can make in a short time. I got the bars of soap at Michael's in their dollar spot. There's red and green soaps too. I liked the blue because it smelled nicer and I just LOVE snowflakes!!!!

To make this I took a piece of card stock measuring 10-13/16" long and 3-9/16" wide. Score at 5/8", 1-3/16", 4", 4-5/8", 7-7/16", 8-1/16".

After scoring I rolled the snowflakes on using the the jumbo "Snowflake" wheel from Stampin' Up! I took the 1-1/4" punch and lined it up and punched out a square in the middle of one of the larger areas. I turned it over and punched the same area again. This made the square longer (I believe they call that a rectangle, don't they??? LOL). I wanted the snowflake on the soap to show up.

I used the snowman from the "Very Merry" set. I punched it out using the 1-3/8" punch and sponged the edges with Bashful Blue. I also colored the snowman in using a Bashful Blue marker. I then used the new Scalloped punch from Stampin' Up! Again in the Bashful Blue card stock. I glued them together and set them aside.

I then assembled the "box." The first two scores you made are the ones that wrap around the side and bottom of the soap. Wrap it around and only glue the side and close the "cover." Hold the area in place for a few minutes so the glue sets up.

Then I tied on a piece of Bashful Blue grosgrain ribbon and then glued the snowman in place.

It's such a quick and cute gift!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by!
Wanda

Santa Candy Pull & Instructions

Here's another item in the "Santa Theme" line. It's a Hershey bar wrapper with a ribbon pull. These are VERY simple and quick to make. I think it took longer to make my black brads than it did to all the other parts.

I bet you'd like to know how to make this??? Ok, I'll tell you, only because you asked!!! LOL

For this one I started out with a piece of red card stock cut 5-1/2" x 6-1/2". Score at 1-1/4", 1-1/2", 3-3/4" and 4". Fold the score lines in.

At 1-1/8" over and 1" down from the top make a dot. This is where your first button will go and where the ribbon will be attached on the backside of the wrapper.

Take a piece of white card stock measuring the length of the wrapper and 2" wide. I did trim my wrapper a bit to fit the candy bar better. This is something you will have to decide if you want to do that or not. Tear your white strip on one side and then turn it and tear it on the other. Tape or glue it in place. I used glue.

The belt was made using a die cut buckle and a piece of black card stock cut 1/2" wide by 5-1/2" long. You can cut it a bit longer and adjust it on the back. NO need to make a belly band here, it's not holding anything shut. Set it aside.

I used a 14" piece of black grosgrain ribbon. Tie a knot at one end and attach the other end of it to the backside of the wrapper. You will be going up about 1/4" on the ribbon and inserting the brad. Fold the ends of the brad down to secure it. Add your belt and you can eye where the other brads go. I used 1" brads from Office Depot. I wanted bigger ones and of course they only come in gold so I had to heat them up with the embossing tool and dip them in black embossing powder. I did cut the ends of the prongs a bit, they were much longer than I really needed. Don't use your favorite scissors to do this. Add your brads and set your candy bar inside. Glue the back shut. One side is a bit longer than the other. You will want to have the longer flap down first. You'll be able to see the difference when you fold them over and look before you glue. Once glued and the glue is set (about a minute or two) remove the candy bar. Pull the ribbon until the only part left inside is the part that is attached to the wrapper. Now set the wrapper down face up. Ribbon straight out of the top of the wrapper. Set your candy bar over the ribbon and slide it in. Your ribbon will slide in with the candy bar and a little (with the knot) will be sticking out the top. You are done! Isn't it cute??? These sell VERY well at craft fairs!! They are also a great gift for teachers, the mail carrier, paper delivery person, etc. An EXCELLENT "male" gift!!!

Also in this same theme we have the "Poppin' Santa" tutorial. The "Santa Nugget Box." The "Santa Candy Cane" (with instructions). A Santa card. And last but not least, the "Santa Tissue Holder." (and it's REALLY not least!!!!) Plenty here to plan your own Santa Theme Stamp Camp!!! And I have a few more to come too in a few days!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Finally!!!

So as the week has been going on I was taking a few minutes each day and adding a bit to the 6" x 6" Scrapbook pages. You remember the pages I did earlier this week? Just click here to be reminded of how awful they are!!! They are proof that what you picture in your mind can sometimes be difficult to see on paper. I set them aside and thought I'd just start fresh.

These were much easier to make and quicker too! I think I do much better without a plan! I need to stop listening to the pictures in my head!! LOL

These have room for photos and sentiment. I kept it simple too! Notice how I got the "joy" stamp SO perfectly centered??? I cheated. I stamped it on white card stock and cut it out on the paper cutter. I tried to stamp it and even with the Stamp-a-ma-jig I couldn't get it the way I wanted it. SO the next best thing was to "fake it!" Hey, it works for me!!! The "joy" and "tree" images are only taped in place on the dotted paper side This allows for a photo to be attached much easier. It can be taped down later or left as it is. If it's going in an album with sleeve protectors than it can just be left as it is.

I just noticed I forgot to add the other two white brads to the left page. DUH!!! Once I'm done posting here I will be adding those. If you'd like to see what it looks like with the white brads you could just use a bit of white out on your screen in the proper places!!! LOL Just kidding, don't really do it!!! I'm not sure if that would come off your screen or not. I would have to say it wouldn't but I'm not going to try it to find out.

The brads are actually silver. I put then in a clothespin and heated it up and then dipped it in white embossing powder and heated it just a bit more. Simple as that!! Whatever color EP you have you can have a brad to match!!!

So here it is in al it's brightness! My pages for the scrapbook swap. Now all I need to do is duplicate them so I can swap them!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by!
Wanda

Poppin' Santa Tutorial

In sticking with the Santa Theme I have for you tonight a microwave popcorn cover. This is very simple and quick to make. It's an excellent non-candy gift!

Take a piece of red card stock and cut it 7-1/2" x 10".

Score it at 2-1/2", at 3-1/8", at 7-1/4" and 7-7/8"

Turn and score at 6-1/4" and 6-7/8"

Clip the bottom sides off as shown in the photograph. Fold all score lines.

Take a 2-1/2" by 6-1/4" piece of white card stock and tear the edge on the long side. Turn and tear the other edge. You do need to turn this or the tears will look different. You get one look when you tear the paper towards you and a smoother look when you tear it away from you. Either way just make sure you do both edges the same way.

Fold the flaps over on the red card stock and set the white in place. You want to center it. The white will overlap the red because the left flap is shorter. Glue it in place and set it aside to dry.

For the buckle, using the brushed gold card stock, take a 3/4" square punch and punch a square as far as you can go inside the piece. You want to have some edge to use the next punch to make the square with a hole in it. Now take a 1-1/4" punch and line it up over the 3/4" punched out area. Once centered punch it out. And there's your buckle. Pretty simple, huh??? If you don't have the punches, just cut out a 1-1/4" piece of gold card stock and a 3/4" piece of black card stock. Center and glue the black square on top of the gold square and set it aside to dry.

For the belt, cut a piece of black card stock 11" long by 1-1/4" wide. Score this piece at 3", at 3-5/8" at 7-3/4" and at 8-3/8". You may want to measure your red piece to make sure you have the black pieces scored in the right spots. If you went a little over on your scoring on the red card stock you will have to follow those same folds for the belt. You can just wrap the belt around the red card stock and mark where the scoring needs to be done. Once the scoring is done wrap the belt around the red card stock and glue in place. Glue the belt on top. It's a belly band buckle!

The buttons were made using a 1/2" round punch and gluing them in place. Insert your package of microwave popcorn and it's ready for gift giving!!!

This is a very quick project and SO much fun!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Anniversary Blog Candy Winner

Thank you all for entering the Blog Candy drawing. And I want to thank you too for all the nice comments of congratulations you left too. That was very sweet of you all. The past year has been a lot of fun and I can only see it still being fun, even more fun!!! I have enjoyed every minute of it and I have LOTS of new things coming up too!!! SO stay tuned!!!

Ok, onto the Blog Candy winner.

The winner of the Anniversary Blog Candy is Jennifer and here is her comment:

Well you have no problem keeping me interested! It shows in my bloglines as I now have almost 40 very inspirational posts of yours saved! And I haven't been with your blog from the beginning - it would probably be double! Congrats on 1 year! Looking forward to many more!

Congratulations Jennifer. Please email me with your snail mail address and I'll get the stamp set mailed out to you next week.

I have more Blog Candy to post in a day or two. While all of this celebrating went on my blog went over 170,000 hits! SO I do believe that is something to celebrate too, isn't it???

Thank you all SO much!
Wanda

A Bit Late for the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

I finishes my Sketch Challenge around midnight last night, posted it on SplitCoastStampers and shut the computer down. I was just too excited to post the Santa Nugget box that getting the challenge done in time and on the blog was secondary!!! I like the nugget box much better than I do this card. It was a VERY fun challenge and as I was looking at the submissions on SplitCoast today I can see a LOT of wonderful cards!!!

I did follow the sketch but I flipped it. I just felt the snowman (of course ANOTHER snowman card!!! LOL) should face the wording. And speaking of the wording, I did it on the computer and then punched it out using the 1-1/4" punch and for the black layer I used the 1-3/8" punch. That part was EXTREMELY easy to do.

I used the Cuddlebug snowflake folder for the background and the snowman is from the "Jolliest Time of the Year" set. I just LOVE that set. I used some white craft ink on a sponge on top of the snowflakes but it doesn't show up very well. And being it's a more oily ink the tape didn't want to stick so I had to glue the pieces in place. As I was gluing this I thought to myself, "No one will know." Now that I've told the world!!! LOL Ok, ok, ok, I GLUED THE PIECES!!!! But one thing is for sure, they're not going to fall off!!! LOL

So here it is in all it's glory, my Wednesday Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge!!

Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to leave your comment for the Anniversary Blog Candy or Blogiversary as it's been referred as!!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Wanda

Santa Theme Nugget Box

Hello all!!! This post is usually the Wednesday Sketch but I have not even looked at it yet today. It is something I'll be working on later tonight. I am still playing around with the Santa Theme stuff. Once I'm done with it you'll have a number of items to select from and gather together to create your own Stamp Camp!!!

Tonight I'm posting the nugget box. I got the patters on SplitCoastStampers. I downloaded them to my computer so I do not have a link to them. I download EVERYTHING I see that I think I might use someday!!! My computer desktop is as messy as my worktable!!! LOL Anyway to get the patterns, just click on "Forums" at the top of the screen. Then scroll down to "downloads" and you can do a search in there for nugget boxes. Someone put a bunch of them on there in various sizes. Of course I copied them all. You never know when you need one that holds more than three!!! This one holds six.

I ran out of the Hodge Podge Hardware buckles by Stampin' Up! so I had to use punched ones (from the die cut and the Sizzix). It gets the idea across anyway. Though I think if I were using these for Stamp Camp I'd probably use something else for the buckles. Cut a square piece of the brushed gold card stock and punch a square "dot" and glue them in place. But I probably would use the hardware buckle on the front of the box. But then again you could probably sell more punches than hardware kits. You know what your customers purchasing limits are so go with your gut feeling. Better yet, demo them both ways!!!

For the candies I used Nestle Treasures and I covered them with a white address label. SO quick and simple. I cut the black strips to fit inside the buckle and wrapped them around the candies and glued them in place. This was a very fun and fairly quick project. I think a number of my stampers will be making these!!! Wouldn't these be cute on the desks of your coworkers??? Or that little extra something under the tree from Santa??? Something for the mail carrier or your next door neighbor???

Thank you for stopping by and don't forget to enter in the Anniversary Blog Candy!

Wanda