Kreative Jewels

Simple, Elegant, Serene Snowflakes

  Serene Snowflakes is one of our new sets in the Holiday Mini Catalog. I always seem to love whatever snowflake set Stampin' Up! comes up with and this year is no exception! I absolutely love this set!

For this card I have paired Serene Snowflakes with one of my all time favorite Christmas color combinations, Night of Navy and Brushed Silver. I don't think I have seen a card with this combination that hasn't been fabulous!

I used the Encore Silver Ink Pad to stamp the snowflakes and the words. I found is was easiest to stamp the greeting first and then the snowflakes. When I stamp with the Encore pads I like to heat set the ink. If you have used these pads before you will know that they take a little time to dry and if you are not careful you can easily smudge the ink. I finished off the card with a piece of Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon. This ribbon looks just great with the Silver ink.

This card is one of the cards that I am teaching at private parties/workshops over the next two months. If you are in the Calgary area and you are interested in booking a private party please contact me. I would love to share my love of stamping with you and your friends!

Stamps: Serene Snowflakes (115438), Four the Holidays (116921)

Inks: Encore Silver Ink (101039)

Cardstock: Night of Navy (100867), Brushed Silver (100712)

Accessories: Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon (109064), Heat Tool (100005)

  Today Connie has an absolutely amazing place setting to share with you on our Create with Connie and Julie site. Just click the button on the left to head on over there to see her fabulous work. Connie also has our first pdf tutorial for the week up on the blog today.

I also wanted to take a minute to thank all of you that have signed up for our Holiday Edition site. We have some amazing things to share with you over the next 9 weeks!

Punch Pals

 

  Punch Pals is one of the Christmas sets that has been around for a few years now. I absolutely adore this set and I try to use it for a few different card designs every year. This is one of the cards the lovely ladies at the Parkdale Center in Calgary, made last week at their Christmas card class.

 I went for some non traditional Christmas colors on this one! I used Elegant Eggplant, More Mustard and Old Olive. This is one of my favorite color combinations and I love how they all came together on this card. I stamped the snowflakes from the Punch Pals set in Whisper White Craft Ink. The snowman, the sentiment and the scallop circle were all stamped in Jet Black Stazon.

The Old Olive Designer Paper is from the Merry Moments pack. I finished off the card with some gorgeous Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain and some Old Olive Taffeta Ribbon.

While this card was quite simple it definitely took them a bit of time to do all the coloring and cutting, but I think they all liked the results!

Stamps: Punch Pals (116588), Four the Holidays (116921)

Inks: Whisper White Craft Ink (101731), Jet Black Stazon (101406)

Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant (105126), More Mustard (100946), Old Olive (100702), Whisper White (100730), Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (115672)

Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch (109043), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (104403), Scallop Edge Punch (112091), Elegant Eggplant Grosgrain Ribbon (109039), Mistletoe Ribbon (116792), Stampin' Write Markers (105541)

  You will want to head on over to the Create with Connie & Julie site. I have a fun project on their today using the Stampin' Up! Table Setting die to create a Joy Fold Card.

Creative Stitches & Crafting Alive Show!

I spent two fabulous days at the Creative Stitches & Crafting Alive Show this past weekend here in Calgary. We had an amazing time and met a ton of wonderful people! The crafters and the vendors were all amazing! It was great to see some of my customers, Heather, Allison, Deb, Avis and Amy. It was also great to meet a few of my blog readers in person.

We received tons of great feedback on our display so I thought I would let you all have a quick peek.

This first picture is the back wall of our booth where we had our main display. We had Christmas cards, Black and White cards and some all occasion cards. We also had some Halloween treats and some Christmas goodies to share with everyone.

  On the other side of our booth we had a small Make & Take set up for people to do. It was a 3x3 card stamped with Serene Snowflakes in various shades of blues.

We also had a little table for our door prize. The box was empty when I took this picture but it was stuffed to the rim by the end of day two!

 I was incredibly lucky to have two of my favorite people work the booth with me, Joelle Arndt and Becki Mravunac. These two ladies are both incredibly talented stampers and wonderful people! I had a great time working with both of them!

 

Here's Joelle looking bright and cheerful near the end of the day.

 What do you think Becki is thinking in this picture. I am guessing it's something like, "I can't believe that you want to take my picture now".

A huge thank you to both Becki and Joelle. I couldn't have pulled it off without the two of you! Another big thank you to all of you that stopped by the booth. We look forward to seeing many of you in the near future.

 Don't forget to check out our new site. Today Connie has a fabulous project for you using the new Stampin' Up! Table Setting die.

Huge Announcement!

I’m so excited to finally announce a joint venture I’m participating in with my talented friend and fellow demonstrator, Connie Babbert!  Connie and I are both Control Freak swappers and met in person a couple years ago for dinner at Leadership.  Since then we’ve made a point to get together for dinner at Leadership or Convention when we are both there!  I’m so thankful that Stampin’ Up! has brought amazing new friends into my life!

We are calling our new venture, Create with Connie & Julie, and have our own Blog to feature products from Stampin’ Up!  This Holiday Edition we will focus on the Holiday mini catalog!  We will have Stampin’ Up! exclusive samples each day, challenges, tutorials, techniques and best of all, PRIZES!  But, you must be a member to participate.  Customers AND demonstrators are welcome!

The Holiday Edition will run for 8 weeks, starting next week.  However, today begins the free PREVIEW WEEK…a chance for you to see the type of things we will be showing you each week before you purchase the subscription!  At $39.95 US for 8 weeks (or FREE as an online ordering BONUS with a $75 order!), I think you will find it a great bargain for all the ideas you’ll get.  These will be exclusive, never seen before samples that Julie and I have made.  And, we’ll try hard to WOW you, but still make it something you can do yourself and share.  Customers…you will get ideas on using those stamp sets and accessories you purchase.  Demos will get great ideas for their workshops and classes.

Come on over and give us a try! 
 

Halloween Build A Bear Treat Bags

 I hope you all enjoyed the Control Freaks Tour de Freaks this weekend. We all love sharing our projects with you each month. You will want to be on our October Tour as it will be all about Christmas cards!

 Today, I am going to give you a closer look at the Build a Bear Halloween bags that I featured on the tour. THe boy bag was the quicker one of the two to put together so we will take a look at him first. I used two of the dies to create this bear, The Stampin' Up! Bear die and the Stampin' Up! Kooky Spooky die. I cut the bear out using Close to Cocoa card stock. If you look closely you will see that I sponged Close to Cocoa Classic ink around the edges of the bear. I think this helps to give the bear a little depth. The muzzle was done with Creamy Caramel card stock.

The lovely pumpkin was done with Pumpkin Pie card stock. Again, I sponged around the edges of the card stock with Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink. For the face of the pumpkin I took a scrap of Basic Black card stock and placed it behind the pumpkin. I then took a Two Way Glue pen and colored in the eyes and mouth. I then sprinkled the Black glitter from the Fine Galaxy collection over top of the face. The glitter sticks to the two way glue perfectly!  

 My sparkly witch was created a little different. The actual bear was done the same way with Close to Cocoa card stock but her sparkly outfits are a different story. I created her clothing, and the top of the broom using Stampin' Up's Sticky Pages. You probably didn't even know that Stampin' Up! carried Sticky Sheets did you? They are hidden at the bottom of page 180. They come in a package of 2 sheets of 12x12. They were the perfect fit for her clothes.

I cut out a piece from the Sticky Page and ran it through the Big Shot using the Stampin' Up! Beary Essentials Die and the Stampin' Up! Kooky Spooky die. The Big Shot cuts through the Sticky Pages perfectly! I placed her shirt, skirt, shoes and hat directly on the bear and used the Black glitter. It worked perfectly! Since I was using a different color of glitter for her jacket and her broom I needed to do things a little differently for those items.

For her jacket I actually added the glitter to the cut out from the Sticky Page before I placed it on the bear. It is a little trickier to do it this way but I didn't want the glitters to go mingle! LOL When you peel off the back layer of the Sticky Page you do need to be careful that it does't roll and stick to itself. When I had the jacket in place on the bear I held it in place for a minute or two to make sure it had adhered properly to the glitter dress.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer them. Get out those Sticky Pages, some Stampin' Glitter and get sparkly!

Inks: Close to Cocoa Classic Ink (103139), Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink (105216), Old Olive Classic Ink (102277)

Card Stock: Close to Cocoa (101341), Pumpkin Pie (105117), Basic Black (102851), Creamy Caramel (102514), Old Olive (100702), Night & Day Designer Series Paper (116768)

Accessories: Sticky Pages (114300), Fine Galaxy Stampin' Glitter (114286), Stampin' Up! Bear (117977), Stampin' Up! Beary Essentials (117978), Stampin' Up! Kooky Spooky (117979), Large Oval Punch (107305), 5/8" Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon (115605)

Welcome to the Tour de Freaks September Blog Tour

Welcome to the September Tour de Freaks Blog Tour! We are so excited that you are joining us again this month! This month's theme is Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I know the ladies have all worked really hard to bring you some amazing creations this month. I hope you enjoy the tour!

You may have just arrived from Gretchen Barron's Blog, don't you just love her creations? She is one talented stamper! I am thrilled that she is a member of the Control Freaks and a participant in the Tour de Freaks monthly Blog Tour.
 On to my projects! My first project today was inspired by a few Control Freak swap cards I received. Erin Blair and Stephanie Leider both made adorable scallop square cards using the Pumpkin Patch set. I loved their cards so much that I had to make one for the Tour De Freaks Blog Tour. I used the Scallop Square die with the Big Shot to create the card base. The gorgeous Designer Series Paper is from the Night and Day Specialty pack in the Holiday Mini. This paper is going to be fabulous for all your year round Black and White cards. It is definitely not just for Halloween!

The cute little pumpkins were stamped using Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink on Whisper White card stock. I stamped the faces using Basic Black Classic Ink. I then cut out each pumpkin and adhered it to the Designer Series Paper. The final touch for the pumpkins was a touch of Crystal Effects on the faces. I'm not sure how well it shows up in the photo but it looks fabulous in real life!

For my next set of projects I wanted to show you that you don't need to have Halloween stamps to make Halloween treats! I used the Big Shot with a few different dies to create these fun Halloween treats. The Night & Day Specialty paper, Pumpkin Pie card stock, and some Window Sheets were the main supplies used here. I finished off each treat with Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black Grosgrain ribbon.

My final set of projects are my personal favorites! When Stampin' Up! introduced the Build A Bear line of products I went back and forth on whether or not to order them. I finally caved and ordered a few things. I loved using them so much that a few orders later, I now have the whole line! LOL I am hopeless!

I used the Stampin' Up! Bear die, the Beary Essentials die and the Kooky Spooky die to create and dress these bears. Tomorrow I will post lots of details about how I put together the bears and the bags, including how I created her sparkly clothing! Check bag in then for all the details, tips and tricks!

I hope you have enjoyed my Freaky projects today. Your next stop on the tour is the very talented Melanie Schulenberg! I know she will have some fabulous creations for you!

Enjoy the rest of your tour!

Holiday Lounge Dasher

I gave you a quick peak at this card early in August but I thought I would show it again and give you some of the details. I am so in love with the new Dasher stamp! It is hidden at the back of the catalog on page 208. It is a single stamp for only $10.95!

For this card I inked up Dasher with Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip and Taken with Teal. I know, again with the Taken with Teal! LOL I stamped the image on Shimmery White card stock. If you haven't used the Shimmery White card stock yet you really should treat yourself to a pack. It is fabulous! I love using it for wedding and Christmas cards. It just adds that special touch for those special occasions.

I used the Oval Scallop Frame die with the Shimmery White and the Sahara Sand card stock. The Sahara Sand card stock was then run through the Big Shot again using the Perfect Details Texturz plate. I love the extra detail this adds to the card. The rest of the card was created with the Holiday Lounge Designer Series Paper and some 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon and some Kraft Taffeta Ribbon.

 My next set of Christmas Card classes is filling up quickly. For more information or to register for one of the remaining spots please click the button on the left.

Stamps: Dasher (116816)

Inks: Taken with Teal Classic Ink (103257)

Card Stock: Taken with Teal (101584), Sahara Sand (105328), Shimmery White (101910), Holiday Lounge (115676)

Accessories: 5/8" Whisper White Satin Ribbon (114616), Kraft Taffeta Ribbon (109068), Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write Marker (100071), Taken with Teal Stampin' Write Marker (100068), The Big Shot (113439), Oval Scallop Frame (114521), Perfect Details Texturz Plate (115962), Standard Texturz Impressions Pad (114614), Standard Texturz Silicone Rubber (114615)

Christmas Classics

How is this for a traditional Christmas card? Even though I make lots of Christmas cards with non traditional colors I still love the basic Red and Green cards as well. This is another one of the cards from my recent August Christmas Card Classes. This is a really quick and easy card to create.

I used the Christmas Classics Stamp set. I have to tell you a little secret about this set, it looks kinda boring in the catalog but you can make some amazing creations with it! It looks absolutely stunning when you emboss the images. Okay, back to this card. I Inked up the Christmas tree stamp using Stampin' Write Markers in Chocolate Chip, Garden Green and Real Red. I stamped onto the Very Vanilla Circle. I then stamped the same tree image again on Garden Green card stock. I cut out the tree, without the trunk and star, that I stamped on the Garden Green card stock and placed it on top of the image I stamped on the Very Vanilla card stock. I find this really helps to make the tree pop!

The rest of the card was incredibly simple. I used the Scallop Circle die to cut the large scallop circle. I did a little paper piercing around the circle for a little added detail. The Designer Series Paper is from the Merry Moments Designer Pack. The sentiment on the card is also from the Christmas Classics set.

Don't forget to check back in on Sunday for the fabulous Tour de Freaks Blog Tour. I know the ladies have some amazing Halloween, Fall and Thanksgiving projects to share with you.

Stamps: Christmas Classics (111566)

Inks: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (100908),  Garden Green Classic Ink (102272)

Card Stock: Real Red (102482), Garden Green (102584), Chocolate Chip (102128), Very Vanilla (101650), Merry Moments Designer Series Paper (115672)

Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers (), Mat Pack (105826), Paper Piercing Tool (116631), Circle Scissor Plus (112530), Glass Mat (112531), The Big Shot (113439), Scallop Circle Die (113468)

Ready, Set, Snow!

Here is another one of my cards from the last set of Christmas Card classes. As I have said before, I like to use some non traditional color combinations for some of my Christmas cards. This card features Brocade Blue, Kraft and Very Vanilla. I used the Season of Friendship stamp set. This set is a fantastic choice for year round cards.

 I used my lovely Top Note die to cut the Kraft and Brocade Blue card stock. I wanted to do something a bit different, so I placed the Top Note piece off to the right of the card and cut off the end. I really like the different looks you can get from this die. It is just so incredibly versatile. The tree was stamped in Chocolate Chip Classic Ink on Kraft card stock. I added in the Whisper White snowflakes.

The patterned paper is from the To The Nines Specialty Designer Series Paper collection. This paper was actually the inspiration for this card. I loved the kraft and Very Vanilla together. I finished off the card using Very Vanilla Brads, and some Brocade Blue Grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment comes from the Best Wishes & More stamp set.

Just for the record, I am NOT ready for snow! Here in Calgary it can snow any month of the year and I am really hoping to get through at least September without any!

If you are interested in ordering any of the products on today's card please click the button on the left to order on my website.

Stamps: Season of Friendship (111776), Best Wishes & More (111602)

Inks: Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (100908), Brocade Blue Classic Ink (101102), Whisper White Craft Ink (101731)

Card Stock: Brocade Blue (101166), Very Vanilla (101650), Kraft (102125), To the Nines Specialty Paper (114038)

Accessories: Top Note Die (113463), Movers & Shapers Die (114506), Punch Windows Die (115953), Extended Cutting Pads (113478), The Big Shot (113439), Modern Label Punch (116630), Brocade Blue 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (109057), Linen Thread (104199), Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware (112454), Crop A Dile (108362)

 

Two Cool Dudes

 I have a special place in my heart for Snowmen cards. Every year Stampin' Up! comes out with new, wonderfully cute snowmen and I buy them all! LOL This set, Two Cool Dudes, came out last year and it is still one of my favorites. It is the perfect set for that quick and easy Christmas Card.

For this card, I stamped the snowman image using Bashful Blue classic ink on Whisper White card stock. It was layered it with Real Red and Bashful Blue card stock. I added a bit of Bashful Blue Patterns Designer Series Paper. I know I have said this a million times, but I just love how everything coordinates with Stampin' Up!

For the button I used my 1" Circle punch and I punched out a piece of Designer Series Paper from the Jackpot Collection. Add a little Crystal Effects to the button to adhere  the Designer Series Paper and you have a perfectly matching button. I finished off the button with a piece of Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon.

The next round of Christmas Card Classes is quickly approaching! If you are in the Calgary area and would like to attend one of the classes please click the button to register.

Saturday September 19 - 10:00am - 3 spots left

Monday September 28 - 6:30pm - 5 spots left

Tuesday September 29 - 6:30pm - 1 spot left

Wednesday September 30 - 6:30pm - 6 spots left

Stamps: Two Cool Dudes (111708), Christmas Punch (Level 2 Hostess Set)

Inks: Bashful Blue Classic Ink (105209)

Card Stock: Bashful Blue (105120), Real Red (102482), Whisper White (100730), Bashful Blue Patterns Designer Series Paper (112151), Jackpot Designer Series Paper (113995)

Accessories: Crystal Effects (101055), Clear Buttons (105447), Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon (109070), White Gel Pen (105021), 1" Circle Punch (109046)