Video Tutorial for Pop-Up Christmas Trees

Have you been looking at this Big Shot die and wondering how the tree fits together? Or maybe have you wondered if that cute tree was going to be tricky to assemble?

I'm happy to share my new O Christmas Tree Bigz XL Die Video Tutorial with you--and you can see for yourself how easy it is to put these elegant trees together. This video is part of my November Stamps in the Mail Club, and the Berry Christmas card is one of the November projects for that Club.



Don't forget, you can still sign up for the current round of my Stamps in the Mail Club, beginning in November!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Berry Christmas Accessories: Big Shot, O Christmas Tree Pop Up Bigz XL Die

A Stamping "Thank You" for Your Service

Veterans Day: A day to honor those who serve our country in the military, both at home and overseas.
My sincere and heartfelt gratitude to those who serve and to the families who send and support their loved ones.

Here is a 'thank you' card that I created using the My Digital Studio program from Stampin' Up!. In addition to using the card as an image on a blog or website, these cards can be printed at home, or through the Stampin' Up! Professional Printing service. All the elements I used are included in the original My Digital Studio package.


And the inside:
Thank you to all who serve and who have served in years past!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
My Digital Studio: 118008 (includes FREE Decor Element if ordered in November or December -- choose from $16.95 or less)
Digital Elements:
Digital Stamps: Holiday Blitz stamp set (stars--Whisper White with Drop Shadow; Thank You--Night of Navy), For All You Do stamp set (greeting -- Whisper White)
Digital Paper: Night of Navy Cardstock, Real Red Dotted Stripe Designer Series Paper,
Digital Embellishments: Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon, Hodgepodge Hardware Silver Frame & Brads

Scallop Square Pivot Card: I think I mentioned that you need this die?

Last week I showed you a fold-out card with the Scallop Square Die as a base. Here's another fun way to use the Scallop Square Die: as part of a Pivot Card.

This card uses the Kissing Technique, and as I mention in the video, there is NO INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT in this tutorial. If you found my blog by Googling "kissing tutorials", I think you're going to be disappointed. ;-)

The Medallion stamp (115223) here was the most popular stamp set ordered from the Stampin' Up! catalog this fall. And it goes perfectly with the Supernova Glitter colors...but then I think everything goes with Glitter!

If you'd like to get your own Scallop Square Clear Die for the Big Shot, you can still sign up for my November Big Shot Die of the Month Club--I'm extending the sign-up deadline until November 13th--get details or sign up online!




To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Polka Dot (109276), Medallion (115223) or Sanded (109294)
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot (113439), Scallop Square Clear Die (115950), Sticky Strip (104294), Fine Supernova Glitter Stack (114287), Clear Rhinestone Brads (113144)

FREE Stamp Set of the Month Winner is...

For October, the lucky FREE Stamp Set of the Month winner will receive the Limited Edition (and retired) Goody Goody Gumdrops stamp set. This was a Level 3 Hostess Stamp Set, available to those who hosted a Stampin' Up! party that totaled $500 or more.

I assigned everyone a number and had Random.org choose the winner.
And the winner is....
Susan W.! Congrats, Susan!

Good news! You can still enter for my November drawing! Just place an order through my online ordering system. You get an entry for each online order you place through my website during a month. For November, I'll be giving away the Level 3 Retired Hostess Set: Older & Wiser!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Taste of Home Cooking Show: See You There!

If you're going to be at the Taste of Home Show in Rantoul, Illinois tomorrow, I'll see you there!

Be sure to stop by and visit my booth. I have a special My Digital Studio sample for you :-)


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!

Paper Bag Books: Thankful Journal

I'm excited to be offering this project as a free class at our local Mahomet Community Library next week! So if you live in Mahomet, and there are still spots left, you can sign your kids (hee hee, or yourself) up to join us!


Since we're so close to Thanksgiving, I thought it would be nice to create a "thankful" journal. On each page of the book, I recorded something that is a blessing in my life this year. I'll keep the journal handy this fall, and then store it with my fall decorations when they are put away to make room for Christmas. Next year when I pull my fall decorations out of storage, I can flip back and be thankful all over again for my happy thoughts from last year.

Here is the quick "how to", in case you live nowhere near Mahomet, and you want to try this one yourself at home.

Start with 2 (or more) paper bags. Fold them in half and alternate so the openings are on the left/right sides. Use a strong punch like the Crop-A-Dile to punch through all layers of the bags at one time. Use ribbon or another fastener to bind the pages together.

The page sizes will depend on the size of your paper bags--you can make these books with huge grocery bags, if you want!

Decorate each page, plus add an extra insert page for each of the open bag ends. For my pages, I used all Earth Elements cardstock colors from Stampin' Up!. By sticking with a color family, I knew that everything would mix and match well.

The leaves on the pages are die-cut with my Big Shot Leaves #2 die, and the stamps were from the Autumn Harvest and True Friend stamp sets.


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Autumn Harvest (110372), True Friend (110378)
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Crop-A-Dile, Big Shot, Leaves #2 Big Shot Die, Scallop Circle Punch, Polka Dot Grosgrain Ribbon in Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and Soft Suede

Scallop Square Train Fold-out: Why You Need This Die

I'm always looking for cute 'kid' stamping ideas, and the Choo Choo stamp set absolutely fits that description! The Scallop Square card below is one I created for a little boy birthday, and what little boy doesn't love trains? Honestly, what stamper, after playing with this cute set, won't also love trains? ;-)


The colors are Not Quite Navy (one of my 'sleeper' favorites), Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue. I incorporated quite a few accessories into this card: the Large and Small Tag Punches, the My Way Punch for the arrows, and the die-cut number 3 comes from the Go Go Boots Big Shot Alphabet.

The card inside actually folds out in 3 panels. The fold-out is made from two pieces of 4-1/4 x 8-1/2" cardstock, each folded in half. Just attach one piece to the back of the Scallop Square diecut piece, then turn the fold the opposite direction on the 2nd cardstock piece and attach it inside the first white cardstock piece, so the center panels overlap.

I love how the Right On Track Stampin' Around Wheel extends the length of the card. If you needed a card for lots of signatures (like an office party, group baby shower gift, etc.) this would be a perfect solution--just add as many cardstock panels as you need!


But the coolest part of this card is the Clear Scallop Square Big Shot die used for the background. Since the Scallop Square Die is clear, you can SEE what you're cutting before you cut it! And with the front of this card having strips of cardstock, you have to place those strips before you die-cut your Scallop Square, so that they fit on the card front in the right spot. Since you can see through the die, you can line up your strips where you want on the die, and have the perfect fit every time :-)

Of course, if you're excited about the Clear Scallop Square die, you can order it online through my website any time. OR you can sign up for my Big Shot Die of the Month Club before November 10th, and get this die, plus ready-to-stamp card ideas and supplies!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Choo Choo (113982), Right on Track Stampin Around Wheel (113838), On Your Birthday (111664)
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot (113439), Scallop Square Die (115950), Tag Punch (Large--105943), Small Tag Punch (108264), Certainly Celery 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (109031), My Way Punch (arrows -- 110709), Go Go Boots Alphabet (#3 -- 113450)

Unique Ribbon Accent: Flippy Folds

Flippy...what? Who came up with that post title anyway? Oh wait, yeah, that was me. But really, what do YOU think this ribbon looks like? It's kind of flippy, and it's definitely folded... right? Back me up here?

I saw this gathered ribbon technique on a card that graced the cover of our monthly Stampin' Success demonstrator magazine. I just knew I had to try it! But I tweaked just a tiny bit--instead of gathering the ribbon across the entire card front, I only did a couple of folds.

I know you're wondering why... right? Aren't you? Well, I'm glad you asked. One of my pet peeves is cards that flop apart in the mail, so that they don't look as gorgeous coming OUT of the envelope as I like to think they were when I put them IN the envelope. So when I looked at that gathered ribbon, I saw a ribbon disaster waiting to happen. Yes, yards of ribbon (a slight exaggeration, maybe) piling out of an envelope, coming completely unstuck from their formerly graceful gathers on the card.

So in this sample, which happens to be one of the cards you will make in the first month of my new Stamps in the Mail Club Round (check for details here!), I used the Clear Rhinestone Brad to jab through all the layers of the ribbon, ensuring that no Flippy Folds of ribbon could escape from the gather.

Check out the "how to" video:

And like I mentioned, if you're excited to make this card for yourself, you can still sign up for the new Stamps in the Mail Club Round, beginning in November!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Berry Christmas
Ink: Garden Green, Real Red
Paper: Soft Suede, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories: Big Shot (113439), Petals-A-Plenty Impressions Folder, Clear Rhinestone Brads, Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, Scallop Border Punch

A Razzle BERRY Christmas

I don't know why, but Handsome Hunter is probably my 2nd-to-least used color of cardstock. Crazy, because it's a gorgeous high-saturation green, but somehow it's just "not me". Fortunately, Handsome Hunter is much easier for my fabulous friend, Glenda Travelstead. Her swap card from the Founder's Circle Trip last month (wow, was that only a month ago?!) inspired me to pull out my Handsome Hunter and pair it with Rich Razzleberry and the soft shine of Brushed Gold cardstock.

This card, using the Berry Christmas stamp set, was one everyone made at my last Christmas Card Crank:

We also used the with the Finial Press Textured Impressions FolderBig Shot to dry emboss the Handsome Hunter strip at the bottom. This is a super-simple card, but very impressive in person. The rich colors (ha! "Rich" for both Razzleberry and the Rich Regals color family!) make a strong statement.

The little "make merry!" greeting inside the card is also from the Berry Christmas stamp set. Don't miss out! If you're liking the samples from this set, you can still sign up for my Stamps in the Mail Club, beginning this month. You can only join Stamps in the Mail Club once every 3 months, since the round lasts for 3 months. So don't miss out now!! You won't be able to sign up again until February!


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Berry Christmas
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Handsome Hunter
Paper: Brushed Gold Cardstock, Very Vanilla, Rich Razzleberry, Handsome Hunter
Accessories: Big Shot, Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder,

Textured Impressions Folders: Big Shot Outside the Box

Yeah yeah, we're supposed to "think" outside the box, right? Well how about "Big Shot" outside the box? :-) I absolutely love to take a tool that I have on hand and learn a new way to use it. Not only is it fun to do something new, but it's also great to see the flexibility of my tools!

This is one of the cards from my last Christmas Card Crank class, and it features the Level 1 hostess stamp set, Patterned Pines. I *LOVE* this stamp set! The little trees are full of character, plus they go perfectly with Brocade Blue, one of my favorite colors. Plus this hostess set is a free choice with a $150 Stampin' Up! party, whether it's a book party, a face-to-face party or a stampin' addict order that you place for yourself ;-)


The coolest feature on this card (other than the Patterned Pines stamp set) is the Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder used on the left side of the card. (Here's where the out-of-the-box-Big-Shot comes in!)

**TIP** Instead of putting the whole card front in the folder, I just put the left 1-1/2" of the card into the folder:


This way only part of the card is dry embossed, and the rest is left flat for stamping. Very cool! Plus the White Organza Ribbon is a nice fancy touch for an otherwise clean-look card. And it would be a great card to produce in large quantities if you have a long Christmas mailing list.


To Order Stampin' Up! Products On-Line 24/7, CLICK HERE!
Stamps: Patterned Pines (116525 -- Level 1 hostess set--available with a $150 min. party or order), Many Merry Messages (116586)
Ink: Brocade Blue (101102)
Paper: Brocade Blue (101166), Whisper White (100730)
Accessories: Big Shot (113439), Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (116824), White Organza Ribbon (114319)