Day 26 (countdown) - Christmas Decorating

O.K., so yesterday we shopped until we dropped, now it is on to holiday decorating or what can also be known as Decking the Halls!!! I created this scrapbook layout from some of last year’s Christmas decor photos. So while you are decorating your house and trimming the tree, don’t forget to snap some pictures of your handiwork to add to your Christmas scrapbooking memories. It is fun to look back and see how your colors, style and taste changes over the years...or maybe not! ;D

Notes on the layout: Adhesives are from Glue Arts; Stamps and Embossing powders are from Inque Boutique/Darice, and I used a white gel pen for journaling and adding accents to the journaling box. Layering ribbons is easy with Glue Arts ribbon adhesive!

Black Friday Specials!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. I love to shop and love sales even more!

Here are some great deals to tell you about. Glue arts is running a sale on their adhesives from now 'til Sunday...buy one item, get the second one FREE...and FREE shipping! Go to their website to order. Stock up on adhesives now. This is a great deal on their already great prices!!!

Stampin' Up!® just announced their Holiday Extravaganza sale. Check out this link to see what is on sale! Shop at my website or call me to place your orders.

Have a great day shopping! I am headed to shop with my girls.

Blessed with Wonderful Friends & Family

Oopsie...forgot to post this yesterday!!!
Today is a day of reflecting upon the things we are most grateful for. I would have to say that my family and friends top the list along with good health. In the various places we have lived, we have always been fortunate enough to be surrounded by so many wonderful people we now call friends. They have taken the Wenger family in and welcomed us into their homes and families when we were miles apart from ours. This year is no different. The wonderful Colton family has once again included us in their Thanksgiving celebration, and we can't wait to join everyone for a day of good food, blessings, fun and great company. May your day be blessed with wonderful friends and family members. Happy Thanksgiving!!! Here is a card I made for the Colton's. The inside says “The season of friendship lasts forever”, a verse from Stampin' Up!® set Season of Friendship. I used the hostess level 3 set, Happiness Always on the outside leaf.

Day 29 - You Put the Jolly into the Holly Days

These photos were taken last Thanksgiving day, poolside. As you can tell by the pictures, it was rather warm in Florida. This layout shows how you can combine stamps and an alphabet set to make a fun title. All the stamps are from Inque Boutique. Just love that frame my friend Susan designed and the other cool Christmas stamps, too! I did all the journaling on computer leaving more space between each line to add in some stamped stitched lines in red. I made the reverse scallop edge border using a circle punch held upside down, so I could line them up. The big white brads from Bazzill finish off the points. I used more faux stitching on the striped patterned accent paper. So while you are in the “thankful” frame of mind, make lists of all the things your kids do that you are thankful for or a list of how they put the “jolly” into your holidays! Check back tomorrow for another post!

30 Days ’til Christmas Countdown - free digi poem!

Well, Christmas is just 30 days away and in honor of this I created

a poem, based upon the ol’ Hickory, Dickory Dock rhyme.

Read it and enjoy...I created it as a digital png file so you can

use it on a digital layout or to make a digital card. Just leave 

me a comment or email me if you would like to receive this 

holiday FREEBIE from me as a thank you for checking out my blog!

I will be trying to post a project a day to keep you creatively 

inspired throughout the holiday season. So check back daily

and leave me comments. I always love reading them!

Dear Santa,

Remember the days when you wrote a letter to Santa with all of your Christmas wishes? For some of us, those days are so far past and we have long given up on wish lists. I propose “the return of the Wish List” for Christmas for all of us Big Kids, and I have made this process real simple for those of you who love Stampin’ Up!® products. Whether you live locally or across the nation, you can use my Wish List order form to make all of your stamping and scrapbooking Christmas wishes come true! Email me or leave me a comment with your email address to get this pdf form. 

You simply print it out, fill in your gift suggestions and hand off to a family member, friend or relative. They can call or mail it to me with the amounts filled in for the items they would like to purchase for you. It is that simple!!! Page 2 includes a section for choosing hostess sets and free merchandise, if the order qualifies for that. So ladies, make it easy for your DH or other family members to surprise you and put a smile on your face this Christmas morning. Credit cards and checks accepted on all orders and don't forget that I have Stampin’ Up!® gift certificates available, too, which can be redeemed through me!

Tis the Season to Decorate Your Table & Your Walls

Fall Candle Holder

Fall Wreath - new Wall Decor idea!

With Glue Arts’ new Wall Art Decor Adhesive, Deja Views Global Views Double Sided Papers, my QuicKutz® Silhouette™ Digital Craft Cutter & the ROBO Master software (that comes with it), I found some fun new ways to bring festiveness to my house! Just wanted to give you a sneak peek at these projects I did for Glue Arts Design Team. I will keep you posted about where you can find my step-by-step instructions for these projects. These can easily be adapted for any holiday decor!

A Layout from Mom

A detail image from layout...

As moms and scrappers, we have pride in our children and lots of wisdom to share with them. As my girls grow older and college years are not that far off, I feel the sands in the hour glass moving at warp speed, yet I have so much that I want to share and teach them. This layout is one of many that will be an ongoing scrap theme for me as I watch my teenage girls grow up so quickly. I took this photo of Ashley shortly after she turned 15. She had such a sweet and innocent look and I wanted to hang onto that memory for a while. I encourage you, whatever the age of your kids, to create “notes from Mom” layouts. There are so many cool quotes and embellishments that you can incorporate into your page that can help you share some of those words of wisdom and inspiration with your children.

The background CS and many of the fun embellishments used are from Around the Block; stamps are Inque Boutique/Darice and chipboard is Chippies from Zsiage. And all the adhesives were Glue Arts!!!

Are You Ready for Thanksgiving?

With Thanksgiving approaching, have you given any thought to dressing your table? Want to impress your guests with a personal, matching invitation? Here are some ideas using Stampin’ Up!® papers, wheels and stamps.

If you have ever been to one of my Stampin’ Up! workshops, then you know how much I love wheels for creating fast and easy backgrounds, gifts and other craft items. In these samples I used a fall palette of colors, the So Swirly wheel, a Creamy Carmel ink cartridge, Pumpkin Pie patterned papers, a brown marker and some fun punches to create place cards, the invitation, custom coasters and decorative napkin wrappers.

I combined these products along with the Occasions Collection hostess set and Hugs & Wishes stamp set from the Fall/Winter Catalog to inspire you to impress your holiday guests. Just change out the colors and you can use these same ideas for the Christmas season.

Thoughts of Friendship

I don't know about you, but there is something about this time of year and thoughts of thanksgiving that make me think about all the friends I have met in my lifetime. It also makes me so grateful for the those friends that I have been blessed to have in my life. I often think about those friendships on my walks with Bella. Some days it is so obvious to me why God brought a person into my life, and other times I wonder inquisitively why I have met a certain person, and what life lesson or value was I to gain from knowing them. So today, take a moment to think about the friendships and people you have encountered in your life. Maybe this will inspire you to send a card to someone you haven't talked to in a while. A card from a friend is always a welcome thing! Here are some Stampin’ Up!® card ideas to get you started!

Special hugs to my friends Denise and Tina who are battling breast cancer. You are strong and courageous. You will survive and share your story of hope and inspiration to others. I pray that each day gets easier as you are surrounded by the love and prayers of true friends.

Christmas & Friendship

Here are two cards (“True Blue” and “Bold & Merry”) created using a similar design theme and stamp set, however, I changed out the colors to show how holiday cards don’t always have to be made using Christmas stamps! To recreate these cards, I used the new Stampin’ Up!® Eastern Blooms set along with the Punches Three Hostess set and two scallop punches - the square scallop and scallop border punch. For the embossing, I used Gold Glory embossing powder with Whisper White cardstock layered on “In color” Kiwi, Red Riding Hood and Pacific Point cardstocks. The ribbons used are Riding Hood Red Taffeta and 5/8" Old Olive Grosgrain. All of these products are available for purchase on my Stampin’ Up!® website; simply press the SHOP NOW button to shop for these and other items! You can type in these names to locate quickly using the search option.

These cards are examples using the Tip of the Month...making bold images “Pop” by using white gel pen accents. The stamping was done using ink pads that matched the cardstock and the white accents added by hand really take these cards to a new level of boldness. Try this technique on your next project.

A Perfect Pick from my Paper Pumpkin Patch

O.K. Crafters, try and say that phrase several times in a row! LOL! Just had to add a little humor and fun to this post. So by now, that perfectly carved Halloween pumpkin probably looks like a 2 week old refrigerator specimen or possibly your beautifully decorated masterpiece looks better suited for the retirement home than as a door step decoration. If this is the case, I have the perfect solution, just in time for your Thanksgiving festivities! Check out this cool Pumpkin Candy Dish creation I made from a clay pot, paper bag and a CD. It took some paint, papers, floss, buttons, pipe cleaners, leaves and Glue Arts adhesives to totally complete the look, but what a cheerful and functional pumpkin it turned out to be! Use this as a table decoration, fill with nuts or candies, and when it is time to store it away for next year, simply stuff some tissue paper between the paper pieces to prevent it from getting scrunched! If you would like to know how I created this project, send me an email!