Welcome Christmas!

December is almost here! Are you ready?? I'm sure not... I have a lot to do still!
Here are three cards from my Christmas card class that I have not yet shared. They all come from the same stamp set. Its always nice to show how much you can create out of one stamp set. I really love the vintage, silhouette images found in this set.
This sledding children image must always be done with blue to show the cold, happy feeling, LOL! And the new quilted ribbon? Love!

Supplies:
Stamps: Welcome Christmas
Ink: Early Espresso
Paper: Baja Breeze, Whisper White, Early Espresso
Accessories: Espresso Quilted Satin Ribbon

These new Holly Berry buttons are fun. I love new buttons!

Supplies:
Stamps: Welcome Christmas (wreath), Come to Bethlehem (words)
Ink: Always Artichoke, Real Red Marker
Paper: Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke
Accessories: 1/8 inch Red Taffeta Ribbon, Holly Berry button, Glue Dots

This card is not my favorite. I liked the idea of this old-fashioned style DP*, but I think it overwhelmed the sweet stamp image - which I LOVE by the way. And I had my class attendees use a darker ink for the words than I used.
*want to hear something funny? I didn't love the Christmas DP Stampin' Up! offered this year so I didn't get it. But I used several other types of DP in my Christmas cards!

Supplies:
Stamps: Welcome Christmas, Heard from the Heart
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla card stock, Timeless Portrait DP

November Page

This page is for my in laws calendar, for the month of November. The best part? all of these photos were taken this month and three of them were taken this week, one was last night! Have you ever made a page with photos taken that quickly? Digital scrapbooking is so handy that way!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend, spent with lots of fun family and really great food. I hope you enjoyed yours as well. And if you want the My Digital Studio software for Christmas, you know how to get it! *grin*

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today will begin at my parents house, where my little family will enjoy Thanksgiving with two of my siblings, and most of my aunts family. Later we'll go to my niece's house and share pies and desserts with my husbands parents and sister and her family.

I am thankful to have such a large and truly wonderful family. I am thankful for my faith in God and the freedoms I have been blessed with. I am thankful for the little things that bless my life-warm home, enough for our needs, enough for some wants, and enough to share with others. I am thankful for a season that motivates us to remember the things we are thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Online Extravaganza!

Stampin' Up! kicked off their holiday shopping season with the Online Extravaganza, at midnight this morning. The 24-Hour exclusive deals only last until 11:59PM (tonight!) but there are bundles, various discount levels and even Digital Downloads you can get until November 30! The items listed at 20%-60% off can be ordered like always, get a check to me, let me know what you want, it'll be on its way. But the 24-hour deals and digital items will need to be ordered online. Simply go to http://www.stampinup.com/, click the "Shop Now" image and just before you are ready to pay for your order, there is a reminder that you can save a little more if you select a demonstrator! Pick my name and you save money and I earn commission, and your order is on its way!

Here's a quick digital calendar page to start your day!

Jolliest Time Of Year!

First of all, if you like online shopping deals or sales, make sure I have your email address so you can participate in Stampin' Up!'s weekend to celebrate Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all other holiday shopping times! The Online Extravaganza will last from Monday, November 21 and run until Wednesday November 30, but there will be some 24hour limited deals that you won't want to miss. Just select me as your demonstrator and place your holiday stamp order!
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My Christmas Card class was rescheduled from today to this coming Tuesday but here are two cards that we'll be making. They both use the stamp set Jolliest Time of Year, which I borrowed from my MIL. I chose not to buy any new holiday stamps this year since I had 5 sets carry over from years past, but I still wanted some new ideas and borrowing is a great way to do that!

On this first card, I added some Dazzling Details to the snowflakes, which is in the Holiday Mini. It hadn't dried by the time I decided to swipe that piece of card stock in Real Red ink, hence the smudging....

Supplies:
Stamps: Jolliest Time Of Year
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red
Paper: Whisper White & Real Red card stocks
Accessories: Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, Watercolor Pencils, Dazzling Details

This second card is very simple but I think perfect for winter.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jolliest Time of Year, Come to Bethlehem
Ink: Night of Navy
Paper: Bashful Blue & Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: White grosgrain ribbon, stapler

A Birthday!

Yep, I'm throwing a birthday card into all the holiday fun going on! A good friend of mine had a birthday this week and even tho I never seem to get to her house ON her birthday, I try to take her something every year. This year I had a cute little gift bag decorated with a paper cupcake so I made this card to go with it:

Supplies:
Stamps: Crazy for Cupcakes, Swirls & Curls (retired)
Ink: Basic Black, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, retired hostess pack

Another download!

From those free downloads I also made this page, but this set is for my inlaws calendar. 

The letters across the bottom 1/3 of the page are part of the DP. I added the Pool Party ribbon, the red abc strip and the letters across the top and made a great September/back to school themed page that I love! ....I might just print a page of this off for myself!

MIA?

It isn't that I lack projects to share, its that I have about 960 commitments right now and hardly any time to blog and post them! Its that time of year, isn't it? I literally wrote out a map of my week just so I could keep track of everything and mark it off as I completed it. I actually have most of my Christmas Card Class projects still to share, since the first round of the class was this last weekend! I also have more calendar pages to share with you!
So, here are two cards that are similar and yet different. Colors and accessories make a difference! The first is more vintage and the second is more traditional/classic. I really like them both, which must be why they're sort of similar to last year's designs! LOL!

 and here's a detail shot to better see the fabulous new ribbon and buttons found in the Holiday Mini!

Supplies 1:
Stamps: Greeting Card Kids
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler & Very Vanilla card stocks
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Blender Pens, Victoria Lace, Vintage Trinkets

Supplies 2:
Stamps: Greeting Card Kids
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Real Red, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Whisper White
Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Blender Pens, Holly Berry Buttons, Early Espresso quilted ribbon

Another reason to love it!

You've seen plenty of scrapbook pages done with My Digital Studio on my blog. This week I made something new. Have you noticed the many types of signs you can hang in your home? Boutiques and home decor' shops are full of them and they're all everywhere online for purchase or for print. I love the idea but I don't have many yet. In the past when I have liked a sign, my husband suggests I find a way to make it work with stamps. I saw THIS sign on Jill's blog a few weeks ago and thought that quote would be sooo perfect for my son's room...but her sign was a little more girly than I would like. I was sure I could recreate it using My Digital Studio, so here's what I did with it:

And then I had seen a wooden/painted sign in an ad for a local bookstore a few months ago when I was going thru a struggling time. I wanted to run right out and purchase it, but couldn't right then, and for some reason I saved the ad, I guess to remind me on a small level, lol. But then I realized I could make it myself! Hooray for quotes, that can be used by anyone!

So here's just one more reason to love (and have!) My Digital Studio software! Christmas is a great time to get it- that's what I did!

A change-up!

Its been a few days since I've had a chance to create anything, and then I made up for it yesterday and today! Love that!
Here is a quick Christmas card for my upcoming classes that I designed today! The idea comes completely from HERE, except that I used Perfect Plum instead of Wisteria Wonder, and mine is a simpler version. That means we can make it quicker! hee hee! I really loved the soft purply color that makes it like a very cold winter day in the forest.

Supplies:
Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Come to Bethlehem
Ink: Perfect Plum
Paper: Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum card stocks

Digital Scrapbook Weekend!

One Stampin' Up! promotion I missed mentioning in my newsletter was this fun digital scrapbook weekend they have going on. You can read more about it HERE and find links for four FREE digital downloads!! Whether you have My Digital Studio software or not, these are fun additions to your digital collections.

Here are two digital pages (calendar pages, actually!) on which I used two of the new free downloads!
First you can see the words...these come from the So Typefelt download....

And here the little house, trees and snowman come from the Home for the Holidays Ensemble. This second page is not complete, I need to check my mom's photos for more pictures.... There are spots for two more square photos across the top row.

I'm always more excited to digi-scrap when I have a new download to play with! How about you??

Thankful!

November is a month full of gratitude! What are you grateful for? Today I am especially grateful for a warm house, a furnace, and coats and blankets, LOL! The power was out this morning for a few hours and our house only got down 4 degrees from where we normally keep it in the winter. Considering it was 30* outside, with snow on the ground when the power went off, I thought that was pretty darn good!

I put these autumny cards together to thank the other mom's who helped with the class party. I used Jen's October SFYTT to create the basic look, along with this favorite hostess set and my current favorite DP. All four cards use the same sheet of DP, so I used both sides. The pear is sponged with More Mustard ink, and the flower, stems and leaf were scribble-colored with the pen tip of the markers.

 Supplies:
Stamps: Faith in Nature
Ink: Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Pool Party Marker, Lucky Limeade Marker
Paper: More Mustard, Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla card stock, Spice Cake DP
Accessories: White grosgrain ribbon, In Color Patterned Brads, Regals Brads, Mat Pack, Stamping Sponges

Yes, you read that correctly, I used white ribbon! I was all out of Chocolate Chip (not to mention Early Espresso, which is actually the color on the DP!) so I dyed my white using the Chocolate Chip marker and ink pad. If I'd had an Espresso marker that would have been nicer, but I don't, and with the little pattern on the DP, chocolate chip was close enough!