Easy-peasey Christmas Trees!

Sometimes you need to whip up something in a hurry with a minimal amount of fuss. What are one of the best go-to solutions? Punches!  Punches are fast and friendly especially when you need to make more than one of anything.  Here's a perfect card to show off some punches and celebrate Christmas !

I used our tree punch with some Designer Series Paper and then some glimmer paper to create the snow ( I free-hand cut that). I used some diamonds for my tree tops but you could easily punch out some stars.  This card came together in no time and is a great way to use up some scraps... scrap paper, scrap bling, scrap washi tape!

We are a week away from Christmas Eve!  With a fresh batch of alot of snow here in Montana, things look pretty Christmas-y! I hope you are enjoying your days during this wonderful season...
Happy Stampin,
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Tri-fold Winter sports birthday!

I have another card for you today from my recent class last week!  We really had fun with this one and bonus, used every single stamp in a stamp set. My frugal spirit loves when I get the most for my money !!  Here's the card :

It's a little hard to photograph a tri-fold card and do it justice, but I hope you get the idea!  The first picture is the front flap, 2nd one is the first inside flap and 3rd one is the inside of the card. We stuck with very traditional colors, 2 shades of brown and a great evergreen color.  We made this a birthday card, but any type of sentiment would be appropriate.  We also used a little bit of stiff twine for our rope on the front, just for interest. Sorry bling fans, no bling here!

In case your are interested in the specifics, the card paper dimension was 11 x 5-1/2" overall. I scored  (from the left) at 3" and 8".   You can get one card out of a regular 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper or two cards out of a 12 x 12 sheet of paper.

See below for specific details on products used!  This stamp set is only available through January 4th so if you like it, get it now!! ;)

Happy  Stampin,
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

And lo, there were shepherds....

Have you ever thought about what that first Christmas would have been like for all the different participants, from their perspective? I have a very favorite Christmas CD, probably almost 20 years old now, that is by Michael Card and each song is sung from the perspective of a different participant, i.e. Joseph, Mary, the angels, the shepherds, Simeon, etc.  It's such a meaningful way to contemplate the birth of Jesus and all that it means.  Like music, art is from a perspective too and even rubber stamps!  Stampin'Up! came up with a great stamp this year featuring the shepherds. I love the simplicity of the silhouette style and the holy and reverent posture of the shepherds as they are told the good news of great joy.   Here's my card:

I did something sneaky on this design. The original stamp comes with a different, smaller star on it. I cut that part of the rubber away so I could use the shepherd part without the star. I then searched through my stamps for the most spectacular star-like image I could find and found it with this starburst from the Kinda Eclectic stamp set. I heat embossed gold glitter on there and loved the much bigger statement it made. I have to remind myself it's okay to adapt things and switch them up to fit my style. Contrary to how some of us joke about it, there are no "stampin' police", at least in Montana!

Have a great weekend!
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Up on the Housetop...

How many of you remember the Christmas song that starts  with "Up on the Housetop..."  It's a favorite of young kids and as a funny aside, it was one of the first Christmas songs my youngest piano students could play! It's cheery, whimsical and fun.  I recently made a card that reminded me of that song:

I used alot of Big Shot product to make this, plus some old fashioned scissors to fussy cut the Santa. You might be wondering about the icicles/snow... it's our Dazzling Details glitter glue!  I've listed the rest of the products below to make this very fun card. Note: The snowflake background and "be very merry" stamp are retired products and no longer available.

Also, a bunch more products landed in the Clearance Rack, now officially known as the "Year End Sale". Be sure to check it out and shop early as items are only available while supplies last!  Here's a link:

SU Year End Sale

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas prep and season so far!  I know it's busy but there are also moments of cheer, magic, joy and fun!
Happy Stampin!
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Another sneak peek... "Peace"

I wanted to show another sneak peek from my card class coming up next week. We will be making a great card which features a very simple color palette... white, silver and Mint Macaron.  I wanted this card to really sparkle so I used some Iridescent Ice embossing powder on the window scene and adhered it with a craft spray after I had stamped my trees. I loved the effect. There's still room at the table if you would like to make this card and two others. Contact me for all the details!

Overall, this is a hopeful card for something we all wish for... peace in our world, our lives and our hearts.

Have a great weekend!
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

O Come All Ye Faithful

I've been in a big cleaning-out-the room mode for the last week or so and am finding lots of things... things I forgot I had, things I thought were lost, things I thought I finished and things I have no clue how they got there. I'm sure you can relate with at least one closet or drawer in your home, if not a whole room!  Happily, I came across a card from a class a while back that I forgot to post about, so it's today's feature card!  A while back a centered a whole class around the theme of Black, Gold and White, featuring the Wonderland suite in the Holiday catalog. Here's another card from that class:

I cheated a bit and used some purple as well. We have a color called "Elegant Eggplant" that rarely gets any attention, so I pulled it out for this card.  I used the Designer Series Paper as a background, gold glitter embossing and glimmer paper and the Wonderland Vellum stack. This was another fun card to make and have to send!  Details are below!

Yay, it's Wednesday!
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Saving the best for last!

When I first saw the new Holiday catalog back in August, two bundles immediately stood out as my "favorites"!  I had to have them and couldn't wait to start creating cards with them. As it turns out, they were my favorites!  I have made several cards, but have saved the best for my December card classes.  I am never sure whether it is a good thing to give you a sneak peek or surprise you on the day of the class, but I decided to go with the sneak peeks this time. Here's today's card:

This card features the Sleigh Ride Edgelits and is so fun to make!   I really like any type is silhouette image whether through cutting or stamping. Leaves more to the imagination, I think!  We will be making this card and you will have some options for the sentiment, such as "Merry Christmas" or "Silent Night" besides what I used.

My classes will be next week and will be the last ones for the year. If you need a break from the holiday bustle, I hope you can stop by! Times and dates:

Tuesday, Dec 8th    6:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec 11th     9:00 a.m.
Saturday, Dec 12th     9:30 a.m.

Please RSVP so I can plan on you!  You can comment on this post or email me at scade403@hotmail.com

Hope your week is off to a great start!
Sarah

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog