Festival of Trees Card

I know Christmas is just about over but I cannot help posting a card I made around the holidays. I used the Festival of Trees Stamp Set , Soft Suede card stock and the Circles Thinlitts Die. I hope you like it and Happy Holidays!!
Christa

Cute Gift Bags(Curvy Keepsake Box Die)

I have been seeing many of these on the interest and decided to give it a try...they are so easy and made using the Stampin' Up! Big Shot die Curvy Keepsakes Box. I added a few punch embellishments,and some Hershey's Kisses inside and there you have it. I think I sold about 30 of these at 2 of our local craft fairs. I hope everyone enjoyed them.  Christa

Curled Paper Christmas Trees

 I had seen an idea of a curled paper tree, so I gave it a shot. Here I used Calm Christmas DSP by Stampin' Up!. It took about 7 sheets for both trees. I adhered them using straight pins and styrofoam trees that I bought at ACMoore.

I then thought it needed something on the top so I used my coordinating Seam Binding Ribbon in Soft Sky and made 2 bows with I pinned to the top!

I hope you like them, since they were one of a kind and I sold them at the local craft fair that I was a vendor at! 

Christa

Santa Gift Card Holders

I needed a quick and easy gift card holder for some gift cards that were donated to us for our annual Adopt A Family program at our local school. Here is what I cam up with courtesy of Pinterest and Sheila Dunkin via YouTube. I hope you enjoy. Christa

Yippee-Skippee!!

Here is the invitation I made Nicholas to give to his friends for his 8th birthday celebration. I used the Boys will be Boys clear mounted stamp set with Marina Mist as my card base. I then added a layer for Real Red and then stamped my images with Stazon Ink on Whisper White card stock and colored them in using an aqua painter and ink by "kissing the ink pad". I then cut another strip of real red and Old Olive and used my Banner Punch for the ends to make them pointed. Nicholas LOVED them and so did his friends!! He had a great birthday celebration with 2 of his friends, one stayed the night. They had popcorn, watched a movie, played with some birthday toys and just ran around the house! BOYS MUST BE BOYS! LOL

Enjoy, thank you for stopping in.

Christa

Happy Birthday

Here is a card that I made for my sister's birthday. She loves the antique feeling of cards and I thought I could incorporate that into my card. I used some retired DSP that I had on hand. I used the new Blackberry Bliss Ink and card stock on top of the DSP. I also used the Bloom with Hope Hostess Stamp Set with Memento Ink. Colored it in with the Blendabilities Markers. The background leaves are from the stamp set Betsy's Blossoms Stamp Set.  I hope you like it! Thank you for stopping in. Christa

50th Anniversary Card

Today's card is one I made for my parents 50th Anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been 50 years! I cut the card base as a 5x7  Gold card stock so it just stood out more and gave it that extra pop on all my layers.  Then of course I added Very Vanilla card stock for my next layer and topped that with Crumb Cake card stock. I used my Labels framelitts die, polka dot folder and my letters die which is retired. I stamped my image using the Apothecary Stamp Set, then cut the image out using the framelitts die as well. I added Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon, pearls and some roses I had from a kit from last year. I hope you like it! Thank you for stopping in! Christa

3x3 Teacher Halloween Cards

So the kids wanted to give their teachers a cute card to go with their mini coffee cups. This us what I came up with in a pinch,. It's made using the Bootiful Occasions stamp set from the big catalog. There are so many cute boots got so many different occasions in that set and of course I added the cute little bat too. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Halloween Mini Coffee Cups

As promised here is another post...
I thought in the spirit of All Hallows Eve I would show you some cute mini coffee cups that I made for my kids teachers. Inside I have a Dunkin Donuts k-cup. Don't you just love the bat punch? It us a retired Stampin' Up! Punch that I just couldn't part without! Enjoy and thanks for stopping in.
Christa

Halloween Decor

Okay folks, it's been a while since I have posted here to my blog! I am truly sorry....it has been a crazy busy August through October. I am working full time now and have been trying to get into a routine with the kids, work, cub scouts, girl scouts, soccer and soccer practice, house cleaning on the side and everything else that goes with it. I thought what a better way to get back into things was to show you door decor from Kathryn's bedroom door. She is so creative! She had a vision and just sat at her desk one day and created! I am so proud if her! I hope you enjoy seeing it.

I promise to post more in the next few says and look for my Christmas Card Class coming soon!

Thanks for stopping in.

Christa

Kind Koala, Thinking of You!

Today's card is a card from my class last week. We made a cute box to hold 8-10 cards with envelopes. I will post another picture of that and the dimensions to make it sometime within the week. Anyway, isn't he so stinkin' cute.....(I know, I never say that, but I really couldn't help myself!). I started out with a card base of Whisper White, than a layer of Stampin' Up!'s DSP called Lullaby. My next layer I pulled a color from the DSP called Lost Lagoon, then my very top where I stamped my Koala, is our Water Color Paper. It is fantastic when used with our Aquapainters and that is what I did here. I inked up my "Kind Koala" in Staz-On ink, then kissed my Baked Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chip(for the tips of his ears and nose), Hello Honey and Lost Lagoon. When you "kiss" the ink pad the color pools in the top and you can lift the color with your aqua painter and start coloring! I waited for the flower to dry, added some 2 way glue and some Dazzling Diamonds for a little shimmer. Then my final touch was the 2 little Candy Dots at the bottom from our Candy Dots Collections. I hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping in.

Christa

Tomato's! Yah!

This year I decided to grown my tomato plants in a planter on my side deck because every year they do great for a few weeks, then get yellow leaves and produce yucky looking and rotten fruit. My Mom always does hers on her deck in a planter too and she always has an abundance of fruit and her plants are always so healthy.............

 Well, here we are!! I started out with 3 plants, Red Beefsteak, Cherokee Purple and Husky Cherry Red that I bought at Lowes on sale. I bought fresh new pots, pretty large, added some rocks at the bottom of the pot for drainage, then added a good Miracle Grow Potting Mix soil, the plants and a little organic powdered fertilizer, water, put on my desk on the side of the house(it gets morning shade and afternoon blazing sun) and waited..waited...waited..........watered every other day, fertilized once a week with Miracle Grow.......

And here you are! They are the best, greenest and most lush plants I have ever had!! Now I water them every day with a gallon of water.

 Yesterday, when the kids got out of the pool they noticed way inside the Husky Cherry Red, these 2 little juicy guys!! They are the best tomatoes I have ever grown! We cannot wait for the rest and I would highly recommend growing this way, there are no bugs, mites and soil fungus to deal with.......

Enjoy and thanks for stopping in!

Christa

Hello Honey, Thank You!

I am giving you a sneak peak at what my class members will be making for tonight's "Card Box" class. I don't normally give it away, but, oh well!! LOL I used Whisper White as my card base, then layered Hello Honey and Blackberry Bliss(a new in-color in the new catalog for 2014-2015). Those 2 colors are so crisp and dark, not a normal new in-color collection. I then used whisper white for my stamping background using the Work of Art stamp set and Hello Honey. The circle fromt he set was great to create the dots(I did not stamp off, see how rich the color is?)I then used the chevron stamp and stamped off once for the darker effect and lined it up using my Stamp-A-Majig, then stamped off again 2 times for the lighter effect. I used Blackberry Bliss for my Thank You(it looks like black, but if you look close you can see the dark berry color. I then used the Something to Say stamp set for the flower in Blackberry Bliss on the Hello Honey cardstock and punched it out using the new Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack in the new catalog to punch out the flower, added a bow using the Blackberry Bliss 3/8" Stitched Satin Ribbon with my glue dots and for my final step and a bit of a WOW factor I added a jewel from the Basic Jewels and colored them with my new Blendabilities marker. I hope everyone in class likes it and enjoys making my card.

Thank you for stopping in. 

Christa 

Ombre Card

 Today I am showing you a card called the Ombre Effect. I started out with a card base or either Whisper White, Smokey Slate or Crumb Cake. I then used my new Fringe Scissors to cut a piece of 3 different shades in the same color family. Adhered them starting from bottom to top in the darkest to lightest color. I added a piece of Seam Binding Ribbon in a coordinating color. I used the stamp set called A fitting Occasion punched it out using the 3/4" Circle Punch and layered it on top of a coordinating 7/8" Scallop Circle popped it up using a dimensional and for the final step used my Pearls from the Basic Pearl Jewels.

On this card I used Bermuda Bay, Coastal Cabana and Soft Sky card stock along with the Four You stamp set on a Smokey Slate card base.....isn't this owl the cutest!?!

For this one I used Tangerine Tango, Calypso Coral and Pumpkin Pie card stock along with A Fitting Occasion Stamp Set and Four You Stamp set on a Crumb Cake card base..........

And on my last card I used Crushed Curry, Daffodil Delight and So Saffron card stock along with the Four You Stamp set and A Fitting Occasion Stamp Set. Those FRINGE SCISSORS are a must have!

Thank you for stopping in. Christa

Work of Art

This is a "Work of Art" card I created using the Work of Art stamp set in the new Stampin' Up! catalog. I started with a card base of Strawberry Slush(an In-Color from last year that is still available), then added a layer of Whisper White. On my whisper white piece, I used the circle stamp in Daffodil Delight(I needed a focal point for my flower), then I used the largest "blob" stamp from the set, stamped it in Strawberry slush. But before I stamped it, I stamped off twice on my grid paper(always stamp on grid paper-it is a must!) and went around the circle to create my flower. I also stamped off only once to "fill in" the thin areas. I did the same with the other flower in Pink Pirouette but only stamping off once and then re inking/stamping to create another flower. Then using the same stamp, I used Pear Pizzaz stamped off twice and filled in the white space on the entire card. I used the new Memento Ink(I just LOVE it) with the THANK you on a piece of scrap paper, cut them out in a square and popped them up with dimentionals. My final touch was a pearl from the Pear Basic Jewels. It was a fun, easy card that comes out different each time. 

Thank you for stopping in!

 Christa

The Sunset

Today I am sharing a few photos of the neighbors farm next door. I don't think the photos do the sunset justice and I always love how a silo on a farm looks in front of the beautiful red, orange and purple sky.......

 The horizon is dark with a touch of pinks and even some yellows......

my Mom used to always say "Red Sky at Night Sailors Delight, Red Sky in Morning, Sailor Take Warning!". I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.

Graduation Money Card

What a quick and simple card to make for a Graduation!  I received the directions from a fellow stamper, Rosanne Sammler, she was so sweet to share them with me...that's what Stampin' is all about!!! I have added the directions for you.

 I used The Pure Gumption retired Stamp Set, a retired brad, Baker's Twine and don't forget to put sticky strip on only 3 of the edges of the inside piece so you can create a "pocket".

 Begin with a piece of card stock that is 9 3/4" by 4 1/4".  With the regular score board (straight lines) place you card stock so that the 9 3/4" edge runs along the top of the score board.  Score from top to bottom at 5 1/2"   Now you will want to change your scoreboard to the diagonal board.  Again lay your card stock so that the 9 3/4" edge runs along the top of the score board.  Score from the 2 1/8" mark straight down until you are off the paper--this line will cross over the straight line you did before.  Flip the card stock over so that the opposite 9 3/4" edge runs along the top of the score board and do the same score from the 2 1/8" mark.  Now you will change your card stock so that the 4 1/4" edge is at the top of the card and score from the 2 1/8" mark again.  This line be from the center of the top and come down to meet the first score line.  Flip the card stock to get the same score on the opposite side. You card stock should now look like the image below.  You will cut out the grey areas and then fold on all scorelines until it lays like shown in the above pictures. 

After your card is folded you will need a square piece of card stock for the hat layer that is 2 3/4" square--and the insert is 4" by 3"--be sure to only attach the insert on the two sides and the bottom so you can insert money or gift card, I used sticky strip so I knew it would hold...but only attach it to the inside of this piece on 3 sides. 

I hope you have as much fun making them as I did!

Christa

Weekly Deals

Check out this week's WEEKLY DEALS!!!

Best of Brides and Birthdays

Today's card is a pretty but simple and quick card! I used Whisper White as my base but this time I embossed it using a retired embossing folder right on the base. Then I cut a piece of Very Vanilla and layered that with another Whisper White piece and stamped it using the Best of Brides and Birthdays stamp set in Versa Mark and heat embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. I stamped my "congratulations"  on Very Vanilla and punched it out using the Modern Label Punch, added a Very Vanilla Seam Binding ribbon and fanned it out using sticky strip where I wanted the fan. Added a sponged rose from the retired vanilla 5/8" flower trim(it was in our Holiday Catalog last year and I LOVE it!). I popped everything up using my dimensionals. Thank you for stopping in.

Christa 

DSP Buy 3 Get 1 Free!!

During the entire month of July, when you purchase three Designer Series Paper packs, you'll get one free. That's like getting $10.95 off your purchase!

Keep in mind: There is no limit to the number of free Designer Series Paper packs you can receive. For each three purchased, you (or your customer) will receive one free. To get your free DSP, enter it in your order separately from the three packs you're paying for. For example, if you want four packs of the same type of paper, put in the three you're paying for and enter the fourth as a separate item. These items don't qualify for the offer: Designer Series Paper Stacks Specialty Designer Series Paper Designer Series Paper from the holiday catalog preorder Designer Series Paper ordered through hostess benefits

133698	Flowerpot Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133699	Flashback Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133693	Sweet Taffy Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133692	Confetti Celebration Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133694	Park Lane Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133696	Maritime Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133695	Lullaby Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA
133700	Back to Black Designer Series Paper	$10.95 US/ $13.50 CA

Pure Gumption Graduation Cards

 I was asked by a friend if I could make some graduation cards for some upcoming graduates......here is what I came up with. Since I needed so many, I decided to go with something a little more simple yet made a nice statement. I used Whisper White on White, embossed the top layer with my Fancy Fan embossing folder run through he Big Shot(do you have one of these?if not, it is a must have, click on the "SHOP NOW" button to the right!)Anyway, I added a piece of card stock that were one of our surrounding area school colors, this one is the new Mossy Meadow In-Color from the new Stampin Up catalog. I stamped my greeting using the retired Pure Gumption stamp set and cut it out using the Ovals Framelitts Die, stamped my cap in the coordinating color and cut it out using my Paper Snips! Of course I popped everything up on dimentionals.

Here is a bunch I made using Mossy Meadow, Tangerine Tango, Elegant Eggplant and Night of Navy card stock. I hope you like them. Congrats tot he Graduates for 2014!!

Christa

Blendabilities

UPDATE: STAMPIN' BLENDABILITIES

May 27, 2014

Stampin' Up! recently announced that some of our most exciting new products, Stampin' Blendabilities Markers, were now available for demonstrators to preorder. And while they are available to you, we wanted to update you on a few things as we know your customers are also excited about their release.

First off, we are targeting a release date of July 1 for these much anticipated products. The reason for this late release is so that all your customers are able to enjoy Blendabilities, and so that our supply can meet demand.

Don't miss out, try them today...just click on the picture to go to my website to order yours!

Card Holders

 I was looking for an idea to give 2 very special teachers I had the privilege of working with this past year and this is what I found on the internet. I wanted to be able to hold more than 2 cards but wanted them to be able to treasure it for years to come.......I found my inspiration on Karen Titus' blog here

 But, I used some retired papers and DSP to use them up and make way for new(ha, ha). So anything you have around the house will do, just be sure to start with a 12x12 piece of card stock. My sediment was from the Four Frames stamp set and Decorative Label coordinating punch. I then popped up my sediment with dimentionals(a must have) and added a rose to one with the Spiral Flower Die. I spritzed them with Vanilla Smooch Spitz. The other one I added a flower by using my retired Sizzlits Floral Fusion Die and added a pearl from my Basic Pearls(another must have).

Here is a close up...I added 6 cards each with envelopes and I think you can get a few more in there. I hope you like it. Thank you for stopping in. Christa

A "Cute" Baby Card

Okay, so there are many baby showers and babies arriving soon....here is a card I made using Strawberry Slush as my base, then Calypso Coral run through the Big Shot using the dots embossing folder. I then added a piece of Strawberry Slush with the newly retired Birthday Basics DSP. The sediment is from the Best of Birthdays and Babies stamp set colored in with my Many Marvelous Markers. The best part was adding the Strawberry Slush ribbon as a cute skirt! The final touch was a Very Vintage Designer button and jewel from the Basics Jewels. 

Thank you for stopping in. 

Christa

Graduation Card

It is that time of year again for upcoming Graduations....do you need a nice Grad card that can be used for a girl or boy? I used Cherry Cobbler as my base, Crumb Cake as my top portion of my next layer and ran it through the Big Shot using the Hexagon Embossing folder. Then the bottom portion is the newly retired Gingham Garden DSP. I then added some (retired) Polka Dot Cherry Cobbler Ribbon and a strip of the newly retired First Edition DSP. My sediment is stamped using the newly retired Word Play Stamp Set and I inked it up with my Many Marvelous Markers, cut it out using my Ovals Framelitts Die, popped it up with dimentionals on top of a Crumb Cake sponged White Tea Lace Doily crumpled up. Then I punched out a scallop using my Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, the cap from the newly retired Pure Gumption stamp set was inked in Cherry Cobbler, stamped then punched out using my Circle Framelitts. Before I adhered that to my card using dimentionals(did I tell you how much I use my dimentionals!!??!), I cut 2 strips of Champagne Glimmer Paper with my scissors to make it look like an award.   

Thank you for stopping in.

 Christa

New Catalog!!!!

Don't forget, the new Stampin' Up! catalog is here!!! Get your orders in now for the newest products so you can have fun this summer playing around!! Contact me today!!

A Wedding Card

This weekend both my children participated in a free Lacross camp at Skidmore college. We wanted to give them the opportunity to check it out and see if it was a sport that they may want to join. It looks like a lot of hard work but fun. Anyway(you are probably wondering where I am going with this?), they had a great time and since they worked so hard we drove into downtown Saratoga Springs and took them to Ben and Jerry's! Boy, were they excited! We took a walk in the park by the Casino since they wanted to check out the famous Spit and Spat sculptures that are a must see and just so beautiful in the park. Well, on our way we not only saw 1 bride but 3 all together! What a beautiful day they had for a wedding and what a special time. We watched with anticipated breath as the bride was escorted out of the Casino by her dad and walked through the park to meet her future husband and greet all her guests, even the kids watched with excitement!!

In my excitement and reminiscing, I went home to create a beautiful wedding card! My base is Basic Black, my inside is Whisper White heat embossed with iridescent ice powder. I then found a template online to cut out my bride and groom's pieces. I heat embossed my bride's dress, added some retired Pretty in Pink ribbon, used my Bird Punch for the flower bundle, a retired flower punch(I cut out about 11 or 12 of them, put them together with hot glue, added a few glue dots to hold it together and popped it up with dimensionals). I added my bride and groom with dimentionals to the front but placed the bride so she I over the flap. I also stamped my Congratulations with my new Memento Ink(did I tell you how much I LOVE my new Memento Ink??!) I hope you like it...it was fun to make, I found my inspiration  and template in Lynn Pratt's blog found here. I hope you like it. 

Thank you for stopping in.

 Christa

Mini Muslin Bags and Blendabilities

Hi Everyone...yes, I took a little hiatus...LOL But, I am back!! I wanted to show you that you can stamp and color in with your blendablities on the mini muslin bags!  They are so fun and so beautiful. I used the new Memento Ink(it dries real fast and doesn't smear), stamped my image using the Hostess Set in the new 2014-2015 catalog called Bloom with Hope. I colored them in with the blendablities by using the lightest shade first, then working my way up. Just be careful not to go too close to the edge as the ink gets absored by the muslin bag. I didn't use the color lifter as the muslin bag seemed to make the color lighter in some spots. I added a tag from the new Tag Topper punch(Kathryn decorated them and signed them) and adhered them using baker's twine. I then added a button and a bit more baker's twine. Inside I put a bar of Goat Milk Soap that I purchased from one of the teachers I work with, click here to view her Etsy Store. I hope you like it....thanks for checking in!!  Christa

Last days to get retired Stampin' Up! merchandise!!

 If you were thinking of ordering from the retired lists, now are the last days to do so. Take advantage as when they are gone, they are gone!!

The New Stampin' Up! Catalog is HERE!!

Click on the picture to view the new Stampin' Up! catalog for some new stamp sets, Big Shot dies, embellishments, just to name a few! I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to contact me today to place an order, have a party or just chat with any questions.

Christa

Join Stampin' Up! for $50.00!!! WOW

 Were you thinking of becoming a  Stampin' Up! demonstrator?? For the next month, new recruits that join Stampin' Up! can do so at the traditional Starter Kit priced at $99 ($125 product value), or for a limited time, a reduced priced Starter Kit at the low price of $50 ($55 product value.) This is a great deal AND you can customize your kit!!

Mini Post It Note Holder File

What a great little gift for a Teacher or to tuck in someone's gift! I got my inpiration from Deb Valder, here is her link http://stampladee.com/envelope-punch-board-post-it-note-holder-with-deb-valder. You can even view a you-tube video on how to make them using the Envelope Punch Board. Have fun and great what makes you happy! Enjoy!

Christa

Birthday Wishes Card

I just love this stamp set, it is called Blessed Easter and it is only available until June 1st, so get yours today just click on the "shop now" button on right hand side. Okay, now that that is out of the way, I used this stamp set for so many different types of cards. Here is was for a birthday, I just omitted the words(Wishes for a Blessed Easter) and added Happy Birthday using the stamp set Teeny Tiny Wishes(what a great set!!!). My card base is pool party with "I am Me" DSP that is only available until June 1st(so get it now while supplies last), Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White card stock was cut out using the Ovals Framelitts Die. I colored my image in with my markers and blender pens, added dazzling diamonds glitter and a bow using Pool Party ribbon. I hope you like it and don't forget, the Occasions catalog and the Idea catalog are only good until June 1st, so get them while you can. Thank you for stopping in.

Christa

Stampin' Up! Retired List Update

RETIRED LIST BLOWOUT SALE

May 20, 2014

Get excited! We are currently offering a 25%-50% discount on many of the retiring products. This will be live on May 22, but you have to act fast, as this special offer is only available for the until June 4, 2014. If you missed out on a product the first time, this is your last chance to get it before it's gone for good!

Spring Curled Paper Wreath

Good Morning! I have been busy trying to get ready for a Spring Craft Fair at our neighboring fair. This is a wreath that we made in class on Tuesday. Isn't it pretty? I made it by cutting 6 sheets of our DSP into 1/2" strips(1/2" x 12" total). Then I curled them with my bone folder and adhered them using ball point straight pins onto a styrofoam wreath that I bought at our local craft store or you can find them at Wal-Mart.  I added some Chevron Ribbon in Crushed Curry, made a bow using Daffodil Delight seam binding ribbon, butterflies using the Big Shot and the butterflies embosslit and my final touch was the rosettes using the spiral flower die! 

I don't think the picture came out that great, but, they are just so beautiful and so  much fun to make! I hope you like it. Thank you for stopping in.

 Christa