"MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

I had planned to put up my new blog banner tomorrow, but I decided at the last minute to go ahead and give you something extra to look at today.  I have to admit that I'm not exactly in love with my "future's so bright you gotta wear shades" theme, but it's such an optimistic outlook that I decided to go with it.  It was 100% designed using Stampin' Up!'s MDS 2 software!

And now for today's MISM project.  This is a card that is going in the mail to my grandmother.  What you can't see about this card is that I wrote my note to her on Post-It Notes that she can remove from the card and then have a clean card to send to someone.  When I visited with her last week, I arranged a fairly large stack of cards in a big basket.  All of those cards were from me, and it occurred to me that although she enjoys getting the cards, she likes to keep them and, once you get a bunch of cards, it's not easy to keep them.  I'll find out when I visit this week how she feels about my new way of sending them.

I used a few new Stampin' Up! products on this card . . . Petite Curly Label punch, "Pretty Petites" stamp set, Bitty Butterfly punch, and "Tea for Two" designer paper.  Other Stampin' Up! products used include Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Elegant Butterfly punch, pearl jewels, Curly Label punch, and Gumball Green stitched ribbon.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!!!!

 

MINI FUN-FOLD CARDS & BOX

Have you ever noticed how so many things look cuter when they are little?  Here’s a quick and easy box and three different fun fold cards scaled down to 3" x 3" size!  Included are a Free-Standing Card, Twisted Easel Card, and a Crisscross Pocket Card.  Put them all in the adorable little box that is so cute you won’t want to give it away, but instead will want to keep it for yourself.  This project is a fun class project to kick off your new year!

Sharon Burkert designed this bonus project for Craft Project Central, and the cards are so adorable!  Just like she said . . . many things look cuter when they are little!  I can think of a few people who would love to get this box and cards! 

FREESTYLE FRIDAYS

It's time for a Freestyle Fridays post, and this textural, glittery goodness is the sneak peek that Julie sent to me.  That is truly a sparkly dimensional center on that flower, and I am anxious to see more!  We'll have to hop on over to Julie's blog to see the entire project and learn more about it.  Of course, while we're there, we might as well leave a little comment love, don't you think?  Have a wonderful day, a fabulous weekend, and a blessed New Year! 

SPRING CATALOG ACCESSORIES SAMPLER

Stampin' Up!'s Spring catalog is full of exciting and fun products, including some really awesome accessories!  I am offering a product sampler that includes the following:

• Lace Tape (approximately 8" of each tape design)  see sample HERE
• 5/8" Flower Trim (approximately 1/2 yard)   see sample HERE
• Tea Lace Paper Doilies (6)  see sample in this post and HERE
• White Creped Filter Paper (2 round, 2 square)
• Large Rhinestone Basic Jewels (10)  see sample in this post
• Designer Builder Brads (4 brads, 4 epoxy bubbles)
• Silver Basics Designer Buttons (2 large, 2 small)  see sample HERE
• Natural 7/16" Trim Ribbon (approximately 1 yard)  see sample in this post
• White Canvas Creations (one 6" x 6" sheet)
• Silver Soda Pop Tops (2 large, 2 small)  see sample in this post (bottle cap was flattened using the Big Shot machine)
• "Elements" Cute Clips (6 - two each of three designs)
• "Hung Up" Cute Clips (6 - two each of three designs)  see sample in this post and HERE
• 24 sheets of 6" x 6" designer paper - six sheets from each of the following new designer paper collections:  Tea for Two, More Amore, Parker's Patterns, and Sunshine Sprinkles  (the sample in this blog post uses designer paper from "Tea for Two")
• Print Poetry Designer Paper Stack - 12 sheets of 4-1/2" x 6-1/2" papers
• BONUS:  each participant in the Accessories Sampler will receive four 6" x 6" sheets from each of the following Core'dinations card stock:  Pool Party, Primrose Petals, and Real Red.  This bonus card stock is a FREE GIFT from me!

If you would like more information about my Accessories Sampler and/or how to participate, send me an email!  The deadline to sign up is January 2nd.

Stampin' Up! products used to create today's card (other than the products mentioned in red above) include:  That's the Ticket and Collage Curios stamp sets, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1" Circle punch, Ticket punch, and pearl jewel.

MDS 2 - CHRISTMAS GIFT TAG

I think it's always exciting to start seeing holiday projects, but I have to admit that I usually feel overloaded with "holiday-ness" long before Christmas arrives and start yearning to see a variety of projects and colors once again.  Sometimes it seems that Christmas has already come and gone before it even arrives because I've been seeing Christmas projects and using new holiday products for what seems like a long time.  The simple project that I'm sharing today is a quick one that I whipped up for my son.  Unfortunately, Windows had an update and restarted my computer, so I no longer have the two tags open in MDS2 and can't tell you which Stampin' Up! products were used, but I can tell you that they were oh, so quick to make.  The brown tag was shaped, so I used scissors to cut it out, but I used the 1" Circle punch and 1-1/4" Scallop Circle punch for the mitten tag.  Other Stampin' Up! products used include satin ribbon and Baker's twine.  If I find pictures of other holiday projects, I'll post them soon and then close out Christmas.  FYI . . . I'm not a scrooge--Christmas is really my favorite holiday, but it's such a busy one that has to get started so early.

BIRDHOUSE BOX & CARD

Christmas is over, but there are always special occasions when you have a little gift you want to give.  Make this simple, yet elegant birdhouse-style box for any type of small gift.  Fill it with sweets or just put a gift card inside.  It will be a great little box that can be used over and over again.  The matching greeting card finishes off the set and is a great addition to the gift.  Great as a favor for parties!  Monika Davis designed this adorable project for Craft Project Central, and her tutorial was posted today.

CHRISTMAS EVE & "MAKE-IT-SNAPPY-MONDAY"

Today's MISM project is a plain brown gift bag that was oh, so quick to decorate!  I purchased the roll of felt stars trim at a craft store and used a fabric adhesive to adhere it to the bag.  On the same aisle in the store, I found pretty red bells that I thought would look festive hanging on my gift bags.  I had four bags to decorate and, for each one, I used Stampin' Up!'s "Scentsational Season" stamp set and coordinating dies to decorate the Crumb Cake tags, which were finished with a heart punched from red glimmer paper.

I wish you all safe travels and a 

MERRY and BLESSED Christmas!

POP 'N CUTS: BIRTHDAY DRESS-UP CARD

I'm so excited to share my pop-up Dress Up card!!!  For the past two days, this card has been in the building stages as I tried to decide what to do next and how the front of the card would be decorated.  I think it goes without saying that this is the kind of card that I would send to someone who would--without a doubt--save the card and, possibly, leave it on display for days (weeks) beyond their birthday.  As a matter of fact, if I were to visit the person to whom I send this card, I would expect to find it on display even MONTHS after their birthday!  ;-)  And now for the details . . . several products used to create this card are from the upcoming Spring catalog and/or Sale-a-Bration brochure.  

Stamp Sets:  Perfectly Penned, Tiny Tags

Card Stock:  Chocolate Chip textured, Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso

Sizzix:  Dress Up Framelits dies, Dress Form Pop 'n Cuts Insert die, non-SU Pop 'n Cuts Card Base die, Honeycomb embossing folder

Punches:  Jewelry Tag, Bitty Butterfly, Petite Curly Label, Little Labels Punch Pack, non-SU corner rounder

Designer Paper:  First Edition, Sunshine & Sprinkles 

Accessories:  Cute Clips (hanger), Baker's twine, Antique brad, Vanilla 5/8" Flower Trim, Artisan Kit (vanilla and pink lace trim), pearl jewels, Stampin' Dimensionals, glue dots, glimmer brads, Tea Lace paper doilies

As you can see, I used paper doilies to create a curtain and valance, and I also used half of a paper doily to mimic a rug in front of the standing dress form.  The "ledge" behind the dress form was begging for some type of decoration, so I created two additional pop-up accents with the butterfly and framed heart, and both of these accents fold up perfectly with the card and then lie flat when the card is open.

I believe there are many decorative ways to work with Stampin' Up!'s dress-up products but, of course, you wouldn't want to put this much detail in each project unless you were making more than one card at one sitting.  Even though this project took a LOT of time, I'm fairly certain that making a second card like this one wouldn't take as long since all of the thinking and planning have been worked out.  In just a couple of days, most of the products used to create this card will be available for purchase, and I would appreciate your purchase from my web site.

DESK ORGANIZATION SET

This set is the kick-off to organizing your desk for the new year!  The acrylic calendar, pen, and Post-It Note set are a compact but mighty little set-up for your desktop. The set of twelve note cards and envelopes, with their coordinating stand-up box, will be handy when you need to send off a quick thank you!  The complete set will not only get you organized, but it is also a great gift to give someone for the start of their new year, too!

Julie Beltramo designed this project for Craft Project Central this month, and her tutorial was posted today.  It's not too late to subscribe so that you can get started making the awesome projects that have posted this month!

FESTIVE GIFT CARD HOLDERS

Last Saturday, we celebrated Christmas at my parents' house, and my sister and I needed gift card holders for part of the gift that her family and mine were giving to our parents.  Stampin' Up! products featured are the Cute Clips (arrow-shaped clips from the upcoming Spring catalog), "Pennant Parade" and "That's the Ticket" stamp sets, Mitten builder punch, Baker's twine, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details, and one of the Little Labels punches.  I loved how these gift card holders turned out, and I know that I'm going to really enjoy using the Cute Clips on many projects to hold dangling sentiments and other multi-layered embellishments.