by Susan Itell | Dec 12, 2018 | Christmas, PALS Blog Hops, Uncategorized |
Welcome to the Pals monthly blog hop. We’re so glad you’re here! December is time for glitz and bling with “All that Sparkles & Shines”. Today we feature projects that sparkle or shine. Maybe even a little of both.
You may be starting the hop here or coming from a previous Pal’s blog. Either way, you’ve come to the right place. You’ll find the the full line-up below to help you move, or “hop” along from Pal to Pal.
I have a fun, clean and special card for you today! If you are new to my Blog….WELCOME but for those good old faithfuls….I have a double whammy for you today!
A “keeper” and a “formula”…
For you newbies….you might be sayin’ what the heck is she talking about? Well a “keeper” to me is something that is timeless, a true blue classic and a “formula”….well that is, a layout that you can use OVER and OVER with many stamps and papers you already have…for countless card themes….one for you to jot down the measurements and file for the future!
Let’s get going! This card is showcased with the stunning Dashing Deer Bundle and YES….it is being carried over so pull out your chair and do a little dance as this is one versatile and classic offering!
Remember, you will ONLY GET THE 10% DISCOUNT NOW as after this catalog it will not be a bundled price and heck, that is $5.00 so why not – helps towards shipping!
I hope that you can see the detail of the stamp. I was just THRILLED with how this stamped and I love the fine details that the framelits give! It is details like this that you say to yourself after you run it through the Big Shot…WOW – I did that…..and it was so easy yet so WOW!
I was not happy with the way my photos turned out as it is so hard to capture the sheer elegance of the gold foil paper so you are going to have to trust me…it is one classic that I would be SUPER proud to send!
I just adore using lots of paper with layers. It is a simple but always effective way to showcase a clean and simple card…my favorite type of card to make! I have several “close-up” shots for you so I hope that you find them helpful in getting the feel of the card.
Another thing that I adore to do is score! I always use the Simply Scored when doing so as I feel it gives you a much deeper score line …look below at the way the gold foil paper was scored….I think it is STUNNING and just the right amount of bling to make the card have that WOW feel!
I am not a card maker that uses a bunch of sparkle and shine to my cards but I will say, the holidays are a time that I do enjoy using it and the overall effect that it brings is just the “right touch” With that said….here is a GREAT TIP for you….
I would make sure that you have the Foil Sheets in your stash as there is nothing worse than working on a project and saying….now a bit gold or silver would do the trick and then for you to find out….you are out!
I have listed at the end of the post the (4) different offerings that Stampin’ Up! offers in the Foil Papers…they are a great price point and you only get 2 sheets so it is not like you have a big worry of storage of MORE PAPER…trust me on this one,,,you will be happy that you have them for when you need that extra special touch!
Now for what I know you all want…..THE FORMULA! Well…here you go and I do hope that you will copy this down and then make one! When I blog about “formula cards” I always encourage my blog readers to go NOW to their craft area and make one up….even if you do not have these exact products….
This way you will be able to reference right back to the pictures. This formula is a great way to use up paper and also a way to minimize the amount of DSP that you use.
- Card Base – a regular A-2 Card….4 1/4″ X 5 1/2″
- The Gold Foil Piece is 2 3/4″ X 5 1/2″ and then scored at 1/4″ and 1/2″ on each sides….(long side) and then on the (short sides), score at 3/8″ and 1/2″ on both ends. Adhere to base of card. (If you have the little markers for the Simply Scored…just put them on the Simply Scored as it makes it super fast and easy to remember where to score)
- The solid piece of cardstock is 2 1/2″ X 4″ and then the DSP is the same. Adhere over the gold with tilting the Solid rectangle as shown.
- Add the focal element to the card…for today, I used the deer and then popped it up with some slivers of dimensionals to give it a lift! A wee gold bow adhered with a simple glue dot was the perfect bling for this classic Holiday card!
- Add a sentiment across the middle on a strip of paper. I think an element like this is the icing on the card as it creates an interest to the eye without being super distracted! I also like to only cut one end of the sentiment strip and also extend it over the rectangles…
There you GO!!!! I hope that these directions are a great help to you and I also hope that you will make this layout up! I am all about making multiple cards up and with the Stamparaus….it is a breeze to do so! I hope that card touched your heart and has inspired you to get inky today!
More inspiration awaits! Use the Blog Hop Line-up below to visit the rest of this month’s hoppers. My fellow Pals are excited to show you what they’ve created. Don’t forget to show us some love by commenting on our creations.
Mark your calendars for Wednesday, January 9, 2019 when our Hoppin’ Pals share projects “From the Heart”. Don’t miss the fun.
- Mary Fish at Stampin’ Pretty
- Wendy Klein at Doggone Delightful Stampin’
- Peggy Noe at Pretty Paper Cards
- Rae Harper-Burnet at Wild West Paper Arts
- Jeanie Stark at Just Stampin’
- Jackie Beers at Blue Line Stamping
- Denise Hoepfner at The Mountain Magpie
- Jennifer Michalski at Stamping Serenity
- Stesha Bloodhart at Stampin’ Hoot!
- Linda Suarez at All Night Stamping
- Lisa Ann Bernard at Queen B Creations
- Leah O’Brien at Stamping By The Bay
- Lori Pinto at LollyPop Paper and Ink
- Katy McGloin at Just Fun Stamping
- Su Mohr at Aromas And Art
- Pamela Sadler at Stampin Pink Rose
- Susan Itell at Simple Stampin’
- Sandra Conner at Pretty Provisions
- Beth McCullough at Stamping Mom
You have a bunch of hopping to do so you better HOP AWAY! I thank you for hopping in today – it feesl great to be back hopping with the PALS! Be a sponge and soak up all of the inspiration that you will find with this hop…
‘Tis the season for all of us to sparkle and shine and with that said….enjoy this wonderful and oh so special Holiday Season that is quickly coming upon us!
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by Susan Itell | Dec 7, 2018 | Uncategorized |
I have a BUNCH to help you understand….a BUNCH of Stampin’ Up! stuff….hope it helps!
Happy Friday to all and I hope that you have had a great week! It is super chilly on the East Coast but the sun is just beautiful and doing its best to warm things up! Trust me, I have ONE GRUMPY PIG as she does NOT like the cold whatsoever!
There has been so much going on this week with Stampin’ Up!… We all know that the Holiday Catalog will be wrapping up January 2nd and there will be a NEW KID ON THE BLOCK starting January 3rd…PLUS SALE-A-BRATION…(aka, the sweetest time of the year with Stampin’ Up! )
I have waited until today to post about the End of the Year Closeout Sale that Stampin’ Up! is having as truth be told…I found it to be SUPER confusing and I waited until the dust settled and I was able to grasp it (I think I’ve got it now!) You know me and my “simple brain”…I had to be sure I understood it before I asked you to!
I am the very first to admit that we can continue to get more and more “stuff” (as I like to call it) and trust me, I love my STUFF but I encourage you to really think before you go button happy. To me, the MAIN GOAL is for you to be happy with your purchases!
With that being said…there will be many products that will be a “should I or shouldn’t I” thought. Only you can make that decision.
One thing that is for sure is…..ALL OF THE BUNDLES IN THIS HOLIDAY CATALOG ARE WALKING THE STAMPIN’ UP! PLANK….
Let me explain as I think many of you get confused:
- When Stampin’ Up! offers a bundle in a given catalog….it is only being offered AT THE BUNDLED PRICE OF 10% OFF through the lifespan of that specific catalog.
- IF Stampin’ Up! decides to continue to carry that specific product (basically think of it this way – it has another life line)…than it will carry over but you will NOT be able to purchase it at the discounted price!
We have (5) CURRENT BUNDLES in the Holiday Catalog that are sticking around! Below you will see them and as always, at the end of my post you will see the images that you can directly click and purchase.
- Merry Christmas to All (page 5)
- Making Spirits Bright (page 6)
- Dashing Deer (page 9)
- Winter Woods (page 27)
- First Frost (page 37)
WHEW…I hope that explanation helps you!!!
I find it to be very confusing and I really want you to only make a purchase what you want…rather than aimlessly spending money and getting more “stuff” as I know what happens….you get that internal feeling of CALGON…take me AWAY and then you are overwhelmed….again, I get it!
CLICK THIS IMAGE BELOW AND IT WILL TAKE YOU
RIGHT TO THE RETIRING FAVORITES
Stampin’ Up! also has products that are DISCOUNTED. Now we ALL know what that word means!!!
CLICK THIS IMAGE BELOW AND IT WILL TAKE YOU
RIGHT TO THE DISCOUNTED FAVORITES
WHEW AGAIN, I hope that this is helping you all better understand!
I have (2) more things for you that I think will be super helpful to you at a glance. I took the time to type up a list of the items in the current Holiday Catalog that will be hanging on…..I find this to be helpful and please feel free to reach out to me if I can explain anything else!
You can click here – Stampin Up! Carried Over List from Holiday 2018 Catalog for the list that I created of the products that will be carrying over.
Also…we know that Stampin’ Up! is always adding more colors of the Blends into the Product Line. Personally, I find it frustrating not to have a simple & clean list off all of the current ones. You can click here – Stampin’ Blends Colors as of December 2018
I hope that you will find the key useful in seeing what you already have and also…there are more being added as listed with the Occasions Catalog!
TIME TO CONFESS….
Now a confession….you know that I love to say….the confessions of an honest stamper and yep, here you go! I totally pre-judged the fact that I was not going to like the Take Your Pick Tool….
WHY???? Easy-peasy = I have many other gadgets that are similar to this and thought….hmmm, stampin’ Up! was too late to the party on this one! Well, I was wrong, totally wrong. I was given one on the Alaska Cruise and probably did not even attempt to use it for several months.
I COULD NOT find my stylus for my Simply Scored Board anywhere and I was in the middle of doing a bunch of cards! Well, I wasted so much time trying to “un-earth” this missing stylus: I thought…..give that thing, the Take Your Pick tool a try and guess what, I LOVED IT!
I have no problem in admitting that I was wrong and I do encourage you to give it a try! It is so darn handy having everything together. I have even loved to use the spatula side to lift up areas that I have stuck down and then changed my mind! (I am sure you have been there as well)
For orders placed with me this month that are over $75.00 I will gladly send to you this Take You Pick Tool. I know that there are several of you that have already ordered this month so I have you covered! Please use the HOSTESS CODE of N42M7VP3.
Thanks for hanging in there today and I hope that I was clear in helping you better understand the End of the Year Stuff!
There are several more new promotions going on….but we can talk about them at another time…..TOO MUCH INFO in one week puts me on overload and if I feel it…than I know you feel it. I just want you to be an informed Happy Stamper!
Those products will be there for a while so I will post on them soon but if you are curious I have them in the below line up and yes, I have both and I love both and highly recommend them! Until later..I hope you can get inky!
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by Susan Itell | Dec 6, 2018 | 3-D Projects |
Hello and Happy Thursday! It is 3-D Thursday and today is is the super talented Sarah Wills turn to wow us with a fun 3-D project and I would say…..
She did and “ELF” of a good job!!
I’m sure that you are like me and smiling as it is just adorable and who doesn’t love a good old fashion Oreo Cookie! Do you have a favorite?… I am the classic gal of the Chocolate with the Double Stuff….but here is a fun fact for you…there are 32 different flavors of Oreos! Naturally I have to google it but YEP…check it out here for yourself!
I always think it is super fun to have a sweet project like this to pull out to make someone smile! And the best thing is…Sarah has provided for you the instructions as well as a template for you to recreate this yourself!
Sarah made hers with the Peppermint Bark Oreos….(that is a new one for me….and she found them at Target) Well….I will be on the HUNT for this flavor as it does sound yummy lending itself to the season!
Sarah’s Tip: to keep the filling of the cookies from marking the inside of your cello bag whilst you fill it, put your cookies into the freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up that filling and voila! They are much easier to stack in the bags!
I loved the fact that she did use Glimmer Paper but if you do not have that….you could easily substitute it with white and wouldn’t it be just adorable to put a big Jingle Bell on the tip of his shoe?
You guys know me by now…little projects like this are right up my Simple One-Way Alley as this would be easy to make and a guaranteed smile would be on anyones face! Heck, you could also add a Peppermint Stick to it as well.
Sara used the sentiment from the Takeout Treats Bundle…that is being retired but I would take a peek at this one as I think the variety of Occasions and the fun box are just too cute for words! If the framelit part is not for you….do not overlook this stamp set as you could easoly use a punch or snips to cut an image out!
I am sure that you have also felt the amazing love, compassion and simple sense of respect and peace that our Country has been having this week as we mourn the loss of George Bush!
The below picture just about did me in. You know how I feel about my animals and this sums it up! Animals teach us so much and they also love us so unconditionally. What a blessing it is that these trained animals can have the heart and dedication to help aid and protect someone in need.
Now go and download and print off Sarah’s AMAZING and OH SO CLEAR directions ( I soooo appreciate them) – then hop to the grocery store and get yourself some Oreos!
Here you go… ElfShoeTemplate…..have FUN and here is the FABULOUS directions for the entire project!
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by Susan Itell | Nov 29, 2018 | 3-D Projects, Christmas |
Good Morning and welcome to my first post with the 3 of the OH SO TALENTED ladies that are a part of the 3-D Thursday Post..Twila Davis, Debbie Henderson and Sarah Wills. I have a funny for you before we get into this post…you know me, I love to share stories with you!
If you are new to my blog….WELCOME and you will quickly learn that I love to craft (duh!!!), I love my peeps (they have all flown the nest), I love my animals (dogs, horses, a beautiful piggy, and a dumb donkey).…I have the sweetest husband in the world (John) and the thing that I like most of all about my blog is that I love to share my love of crafting and life with YOU and it is my goal to make sure that you understand every step and what makes me roll! OK….moving on!
Back in October I received an email from Sarah Wills and honestly I thought it was spam/junk mail…basically a huge joke. I did open it and she was asking me if I wanted to join these ladies with this Thursday FUN that they so graciously do each and every week! I immediately thought….this is a JOKE….me???? Simple me that loves 3-D’s but mine are about the most basic things that come down the pike!?!?
I admit, I did chuckle and when I responded I said….are you sure??? I know that we are all perhaps in the same boat of following other blogs…..and YEP – this Thursday 3-D group of talented gals I have followed and I have also made and shared with YOU some of their ideas!
Well….here you GO! I make these each year and each year I am always beings asked…..can you send me the dimensions of how to make a decorative check holder! Well…here you go! The most important thing to remember is…..there are NO RULES in how or what to use to decorate them however I think that these Snow Flakes are just stunning!
My main objective to decorating them for you this year was to show you how you could easily do a Masculine Twist to it buy having a “Search and Rescue” session with your DSP that you have hoarded away…..(I know that YOU ARE OUT THERE)….Well let me ease your pain in trying to think out of the box!
There are GREAT option with the Twinkle Twinkle DSP and also the Best Route DSP (this is really one of my favorites and I believe that it is (sooooooo overlooked). We all know that there are some handsome plaids in the Holiday offerings but for today I wanted to share with you how you probably already have something that will work!
The next thing that I wanted to showcase was this AMAZING and classic Snowflake from the Limited Edition Snowfall Thinlits – and TOMORROW IS YOUR LAST DAY to grab them as they will be retired. Click here to see a post that I did yesterday using them, There is just something so special about a snowflake!
Have fun scrolling through the pictures and at the end of the post you will see that there is a PDF for you to use for a reference. One thing I always share with you all is..when you see a project that interests you….I would STOP and make the time to make one up – that way you will get the feel of what you are reading and seeing with the pictures. You do not have to go through all of the fru-fru details of embellishing it…it is just to get a good and solid feel!
Here are a list of bullet points that I feel strongly about in having success with this project… (I know that you all probably already know all of this….but just in case)
- Use the Simply Scored Tool – I know that our trimmer has a scoring part to it but honestly you will see a deeper and cleaner score line with this tool. This goes in my “MUST HAVE BASIC TOOLS” for a card maker!
- Use a Bone Folder – Again, having the right tools makes all of the difference in the world. Using a bone folder will ensure a clean and crisp image.
- Use a super strong adhesive – In my opinion, I love the tear n tape for most 3 -D projects. I just think that it allows for a super strong hold!
- For adhering paper and embellishments….I still have a bunch of Fast Fuse and I do LOVE IT but I also highly recommend the mono glue (aka green glue). I am personally not a fan of our snail adhesive but I realize that many adore it….
- Do not make your “belly band” too tight…this is something that always seems to happen when you make your 1st one. I simply fold one side over and then repeat for a loose crease and then I remove it and give it a great score with the bone folder!
Any small punch will work, I just used the 1″ one!
You can see that you use a minimal amount of DSP….just try to be clean and tidy with lining up the pieces! Take the extra time to line things up is a great habit to get into for always walking away with a professional and classic look!
Here is the star of the show and it is SOOO darn tootin easy to make and it has a huge WOW factor! I wish that you could see it in person as it is quite a beauty!
I was tickled with the look of coloring in 2nd image (I cut it out of vellum) with the Stampin’ Blends! Naturally this is optional but it does make the layering interesting. I did use the Blend on the pearl as well!
As for adhering them….because I used some of the Sparkle Glimmer Paper….I did use several glu dots to hold them in place but have fun with dimensionals etc….remember, no rules…just use up what you have!
You can see on the one to the left I did heat emboss a sentiment from the Beautiful Blizzard Stamp Set. I know we all have many options that we could use but honestly most if the time I let the “fru-fru” from the front be the only adornment!
Here is a GREAT IDEA – if you have someone that love to travel…and/or if you are giving them a trip….WHAT FUN this paper is! I was super excited and also the bicycle print that is also in the Best Route DSP….that is another keeper to make for a project like this!
Remember…the sky is the limit with how you can have fun with these! This has been such a fun paper. A quick fussy cut of Santa did the tick! We all have a smile on our face when we see this sweet paper.
Well…there you go my friends! If you wish to subscribe to my blog…just put your email in the box! It is under my picture on the upper right hand side of my blog! Below you will see the PDF for you to print off if you wish.
Please do not hesitate to send me an email of you have any questions about the project! I would also love if you leave a comment and let me know how you like this project. I feel super blessed with a great group of “blog groupies” and we sure do love to yack back and forth!
Pop back tomorrow as I will have a great smile maker for you that is not only super easy….it is a project that you could whip up in no time and you will have a bunch of “new best friends” as they will LOVE IT!
Here are the the 3 talented ladies that graciously invited me to join this Thursday fun….please grab a cup of coffee and enjoy seeing their talent…I know your jaw will be dropping! It is just a blessing that this thing that we love to do with our hands…can take us all over our great country and develop friendships!
Twila Davis – Stamp A Little Longer
Debbie Henderson – Debbie’s Designs
Sarah Wills – Sarah’s Ink Spot
Click below for the printable PDF for you!
3-D Thursday Check Holder
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