Done!

I gotta tell ya . . .my least favorite thing about the end of the year is inventory . . . but with the help of my dear, sweet, darling husband, I think we finished inventory in record time this year!

YAHOO!! We had everything counted and tallied in just over four hours!

Now that I'm home, I'm going to have some lunch . . .take a nap . . .and then start stamping . . .got lots of projects in the works . . .and I have two whole days off, so I can get lots of stamping done!

BTW . . .those NEW Valentine Penguins & Polar Bears from Memory Box are on the way! Sooooooooooo cute! Click here to see them.

ta ta for now . . .

Happy Birthday Tin

A while back, a client had asked if I could order some Band-Aid Tins for her . . . she said she saw an article in the Aug/Sept issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts magazine and wanted to make a few for Christmas gifts.

Well . . . she brought them in (all 20!) to show me what she did . . . and OH my! They were EVER so cute! I just had to try one out for myself.

Sooooo . . . here's the tin I made:

What I used:

White Band-Aid Tin
Reef Journey 6x6 Paper by 7 Gypsies
Stylish Sentiments Stamp Set by Inkadinkado
Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance Ink Pad
Grungeboard (Alphabet & Elements)
Distress Crackle Paint
Chocolate Grosgrain Ribbon
Flower
Button
Glue Dots
Wonder Tape
Zip Dry Glue

How to:

Paint Grungeboard with Distress Crackle Paint . . .the thicker you apply the paint, the more it cracks. Set aside to dry.
Cut patterned paper to 3 1/4" x 6"
From the left over piece of paper, cut a second piece measuring 3 1/4" x 3" (Since the patterned paper wasn't long enough to fit around the entire tin, I created a seam on the back and side of the tin.)
Adhere smaller piece of patterned paper to tin using Zip Dry glue
Stamp sentiment on larger piece of patterned paper. (I placed the paper over the tin and "pinched" the edges where the paper would wrap around and used my pinch marks as a guide to stamp the sentiment.)
Adhere larger piece of patterned paper to tin.
Wrap 1/8" Wonder Tape around the lid of the tin and attach ribbon.
Use Glue Dots to adhere the button to the flower and the flower to the tin.
Use Glue Dots to adhere Grungeboard to tin.

Viola! A decorated Band-Aid Tin!

**Tip: If using paper larger than 6x6, cut it to measure 3 1/4" x 7 3/4"

Another Holiday Song

To the tune of "Jingle Bells" . . .ready? Everybody sing!

Dashing through the snow
To the stamp store here we go.
O'er the streets we pass
Anxious to spend cash!

Stamps on store shelves call
Making spirits bright.
Oh what fun it is to sing,
The stamping song tonight!

Stamping art, stamping art,
Stamping all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to stamp
In the good old fashion way!

Stamping art, stamping art,
Stamping's here to stay!
Oh, what fun it is to stamp
All the gifts you give today!

Happy holidays! May you have a blessed holiday season!

ps: I didn't come up with these songs . . .they were sent to me a llllllooooonnnnggg time ago by my upline way back when I was an SU! demonstrator. :D

Create a Votive Candle Holder . . .

. . . help a furry friend!

Come on over for Make-N-Takes on Saturday, December 22 to create a Votive Candle Holder* from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm.

No RSVP necessary, just stop by any time between 5 - 8. See you there!

$5.00 donation*

*Proceeds from the Make-N-Takes will be donated to the Escondido Humane Society.

A Few More . . .

. . . nope . . .still haven't made one Christmas card . . .guess I'll be doing Happy New Year cards this year . . .

In the meantime, here are a few more thank you cards:

Cathy over at St. Clair Stamps was my inspiration for the above card. She does such beautiful stuff!

What I used:

Mega Thanks stamp set by Stampendous

Graphite Black Brilliance Ink

Rocket Red Gold Brilliance Ink

Patterned cardstock by Fancy Pants (I think . . found it in my stash)

Green Cardstock and White Cardstock by Prism

This Giraffe is so stinkin' cute I couldn't stand it! Again I saw a sample done by Cathy using this set . . .and of course, I had to have a set for me!

What I used:

Mindy's Zoo by Autumn Leaves

Thanks by Lockhart Stamp Co.

Jumbo Java VersaMagic Ink

Patterned Cardstock . . .from my stash . . .not sure of the manufacturer.

Light Green and Husk Cardstock by Prism

PrismaColor Pencils

Thanks for looking!

Just a Few Cards

Wow! I can't believe Christmas is less than a week away! I haven't even thought about (much less started) making my cards yet! I better get on it!

In the meantime, I've been busy making thank you cards. Here are few:

What I used for Floral Thank You:

Two Steppin' in the Garden stamp set by Technique Tuesday
Stylish Sentiments stamp set by Inkadinkado
Red Pepper Adirondack Ink
Salmon Adirondack Ink
Graphite Black Brilliance Ink
Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink
Stipple Brush
Fabriano card

What I used for Flower Trio:

Flower Trio stamp by Gina K.

Stylish Sentiments stamp by Inkadinkado

Graphite Black Brilliance Ink

Eggplant Adirondack Ink

PrismaColor Colored Pencils

Frosted Cobalt, Brilliant White, and Black Prismatics Cardstock by Prism

Fine Tip Black Pen

Ribbon

Watercolor brush (to color the vase using the Eggplant ink)

What I used for Cappuccino Thank You:

Cappuccino stamp by Inkadinkado

Ring stamp by Inkadinkado

Stylish Sentiments by Inkadinkado

Sand Beige Versacolor Ink

Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance Ink

3-D Crystal Lacquer (for the foam on the cappuccino)

Fabriano Card

There are the details . . .the stamping is pretty straight forward . . . but if you have any questions about any of the cards, feel free to email me. :D

Another Gift Packaging Idea

Here's a little pail perfect for just a "little something."

Side View--------------->

Top View --------->

What I used:

Pail from Stampendous
Red Scroll Felt Fusion
Classic Red Cardstock from Prism
White Cardstock from Prism
Swirl Tree from Rosie's Roadshow
Sentiment Stamp from American Art Stamp
Diamond Dots from Stampendous
Mega Circle Punch
Giga Scalloped Circle Punch
Zip Dry Glue
Two-sided Tape
Circle Cutter
Sheer Red & White Polka Dot Ribbon
Tag Punch
Onyx Black Versafine Ink
Rocket Red Brilliance Ink
Colored Pencils
Fine Black Pen


How to:
Cut Felt Fusion to wrap around the bottom of the Pail
Carefully remove adhesive backing from Felt Fusion and adhere to Pail

Cut a 3 1/2" circle from white cardstock using circle cutter and edge with Rocket Red ink
Punch Scalloped Circle from Red Cardstock and doodle border with fine tip pen

Stamp Swirl Tree using Onyx Black ink, color with pencils and embellish with Diamond Dots
Use Fine Tip Black pen to "ground" the Tree
Punch out using Mega Circle Punch and adhere to Red Scalloped Circle
Adhere Red Scalloped Circle to white 3 1/2" circle
Adhere white circle to Pail lid using Zip Dry glue

Punch tag from white cardstock
Stamp sentiment using Onyx Black ink
Doodle border using fine tip pen
Adhere to Classic Red scrap and trim to create a border around white tag
Tie tag to Pail handle with ribbon

Ta-da! All done!

Make an Ornament . . .

. . . help a furry friend!

We'll be hosting Make-N-Takes this evening at our retail location from 5:00 - 8:00. No RSVP necessary . . .just stop by and make an Ornament using Luminarte's Primary Elements.

The cost is $5.00 donation. All proceeds will be donated to the Escondido Humane Society.

See you tonight!

Easy Gift Card Tins

Sooooo . . .I had about five minutes to spare last night, so I whipped up these Gift Card Tins.

What I used:

Large Hinge Top Candy Tin (fits a gift card perfectly!)
Patterned Paper from Daisy D's
Happy Holidays Stamp from American Art Stamp
Onyx Black Versafine Ink
Felt Flower & Button from Noteworthy Embellishment Jar
Mini Glue Dots
Grosgrain Ribbon
Zip-Dry Adhesive
Xyron Create-a-Sticker
Corner Rounder Punch

How to:

Cut patterned paper to 2 1/8" x 3 1/2"
Round corners with punch
Adhere to top of Candy tin using Zip-Dry glue
Adhere Button to Felt Flower with a Glue Dot
Adhere Felt Flower & Button to Tin with a Glue Dot
Run Grosgrain ribbon through Xyron and attach to Tin
Stamp sentiment, if desired

Done! See . . .told ya it was a quick and easy project!

Hero Arts 2008 Catalog Debut!

Silly me! I've been so busy making treats I forgot to post that I took part in the Hero Arts 2008 Catalog Debut!

Select images from the NEW catalog have arrived! Click here to see what's new!

And . . .if you want to see the enitre catty . . .stop by and take a looksee . . . they've got some pretty cute new stamps!

Remember all those Snowmen?

Well . . . here's the finished project!


These are packets of "Snowman Soup" that I gave out during our Open House last Saturday. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!


What I used:


Frosted Cobalt Cardstock by Prism
Majestic Purple Light Cardstock by Prism
Brilliant White Cardstock by Prism
Snowman Stamp by Great Impressions
Snowflake Stamp by Inkadinkado
Eggplant Adirondack Ink
Cool Peri Adirondack Ink
Mega Circle Punch
Giga Scalloped Circle Punch
Hot Cocoa
Candy Cane
Poem printed out from computer (see below for poem)


How to:


Cut Frosted Cobalt cardstock to 4.25" x 11"
Randomly stamp Snowflake with Cool Peri Adirondack ink
Score at 5.25", 5.5", and 5.75"


Cut Majestic Purple cardstock to 4.25" x 2.75"
Randomly stamp Snowflake with Cool Peri Ink
Fold in half


Stamp Snowmen with Eggplant Adirondack Ink on Brilliant White
Punch out using Mega Circle Punch (To do this, turn the punch around to line up the snowmen within the circle.)
Punch out Giga Scalloped Circle from Majestic Purple cardstock

Adhere Snowmen to purple scalloped circle.
Fold the Frosted Cobalt cardstock on the score lines to make a "w"
Adhere Snowmen to the Frosted Cobalt cardstock. . . kinda towards the bottom.
On the inside of the Cobalt stock, using a small piece of two-sided tape, adhere Hot Chocolate packet. Then, adhere the candy cane on the Hot Chocolate Packet.
Place the snowflake stamped piece of cardstock over the top of the cobalt cardstock and staple each side.


Adhere poem to the front and top it off with ribbon. There . . .all done! Hope you enjoy making your very own packets of Snowman Soup!


Here's the poem:

The weather's getting chilly
So listen, here's the scoop.
To warm up nice and quickly,
Have some Snowman Soup!


Just add hot water to the mix,
and stir it with a Peppermint Stick.
Sit back, relax, and sip it slow,
That should do the trick!

Oh Yummy!

I just opened a pack of that Metallic Cardstock from Prism . . .and it is luscious!

Click here to see.

A Holiday Song

To the tune of "Winter Wonderland" . . . ready? Everybody sing!

Brayers roll...are ya listening?
On the card...ink is glistening.
A beautiful sight...we're happy tonight,
Stamping in a winter wonderland.

In the kitchen we can build a snowman.
Then add color to his carrot nose.
You'll say: Are you finished?
I'll say: No ma'am,I need to add some glitter to the snow.

When we stamp...ain't it thrillin'?
Even when...the powder's spillin'.
We'll create and we'll play...the art stamper way,
Stamping in a winter wonderland.

And the Snowmen Winners Are . . .

Tracy
Jean
Jan

Congratulations ladies! Please email me using the link to the right so I can send you a Coupon Code.

The total number of Snowmen shown in the picture is: 60

Thanks to all who played along . . . shall we play another game of "How Many. . .?"



This snowman stamp is from Great Impressions. I've been busy this week finishing up goodies for our first Open House (which is this Saturday, from 5pm - 8pm). I'm so excited!

I do hope you'll be able to stop by! And there will be FREE Horse and Carriage rides from 5-9 . . .and it's also 2nd Saturday Art Walk, so the Galleries (and lots of other shops along Grand Ave.) will be open late. Come on down! It'll be fun!

In the meantime, can you guess how many snowmen there are? Three people who guess closest without going over the actual number will receive 10% off any online order!

**psst - just the number of times I stamped those guys**

Here are the guidelines for the game:

1. Guesses must be posted as a comment here on the Blog.
2. Guesses will be accepted through Sun., 12/09
3. Winners will be announced Mon., 12/10

Good Luck!

Need Mojo?

If you do, ya gotta head over to Poetic Artistry. Julee has a new sketch every Monday and calls it Mojo Monday. . . and she has prizes!

I was in a pinch and needed to crank out a few TY cards last night and was stuck . . .so off to Julee's blog I went and found the perfect layout to use.

Here's what I made:

The stamps are from Inkadinkado (Cappuccino & Stylish Sentiments), the background paper is from Daisy D's Snowflakes & Holly 6x6 paper pad, solid cardstock is Prism (of course!), inks are Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy, Crimson Red Versafine and Onyx Black Versafine. I also used my Mega Circle and Giga Scalloped Circle Punches. Quick & Easy!

Here's another quick and easy project that I did last night using Blank Board Blocks:

Sooooooooo easy! I used the Paisley Sugarplum 6x6 pad from Daisy D's. Super easy cutting since the blocks are 3" and the paper is 6"! Printed out NOEL on Classic Red Prism cardstock from the computer using an outline font and cut out the letters.

I used a smidge of double-sided tape to just adhere the paper on the blocks. Then I coated it with Modge-Podge, which I like because it dries pretty quickly. Once the Modge Podge was dry, I adhered the the letters and then did a second coat of Modge Podge. Done!

Well . . .pretty much done . . .could probably add a few Prima-type flowers and ribbon . . . anyway . . .thanks for looking!

And the Winners Are . . .

Cindy
Alma
Theresa
Vicki

Congratulations ladies! Please use the link to the right to email me so I can send you your Coupon Code.

The total number of Penguins shown in the picture is: 122

Stay tuned for another game of "How Many . . . "




This little guy is from The Cat's Pajamas . . .and he is ever so cute! I've been working on bag toppers for Jingle Bell Cruise (which is this Sat., December 1st) and thought it would be fun to play a game.


Can you guess how many penguins there are? The first three people who guess closest to the actual number without going over will receive 10% off any on-line purchase!


Ready? GO!

Save 10% on Tim Holtz Products

My goodness! Have you seen the stuff Mr. Holtz has been posting on his Blog? Sooooooooo cool!

Wanna implement some of those techniques? Here's your chance:

Save 10% on all Tim Holtz products now through Dec. 25th!

Just enter coupon code "TH12Days" during checkout. Click here to shop.

The fine print: Please note, Grungeboard is really hot right now, so it might take a bit longer to receive it.

Hey!

Tim Holtz is doing demos and giveaways on his blog! Check it out by clicking the link below:

Tim's Blog