Hello stampers. Music is such a big part of Christmas for me. I love all the old religious classics and I have even joined a choir just to be able to sing in Handel’s Messiah! That’s why the Musical Season bundle and the Merry Music specialty paper made me very, very happy this year.
Those of you who know me also know that I can be quite scattered and that whereas I truly strive to be an organized person, it is definitely NOT my natural bent. So I had to scroll through my old posts to make sure I hadn’t already blogged about this great set. Well, I hadn’t and it is better late than never. That being said, if you want these products you better not wait and order them asap before they disappear forever! Be sure to use my host code on the sidebar and I will be sure to pop a card in the mail for you, you can even request a card using a specific stamp set if you like.
Here are some cards that I made for my coffee and a card class a few weeks ago. When a card fits that category, you know it will be relatively quick and easy.
The plaid paper that also goes well with any Christmas cards comes from Christmas Around the World. I am not so into the “cutesy” paper but there were enough classic patterns in there to make it irresistible for me.
The next card is the easiest yet. When the paper is this great you don’t need much to make a very striking card. The sentiment is from the Christmas Pines stamp set in the annual catalog.
The last card uses more of the instruments and the treble clef in red for a great pop of colour. Add some silver glimmer paper and a stitched red circle and you have some very pretty contrast to the black musical paper. The harp is embossed in gold but the lyre is simply stamped in basic black.
If you were planning to make a bunch of these cards I would recommend that you stamp a bunch of harps in versamark and emboss them with gold all at once. This is much more efficient than embossing one at a time. The Merry Music specialty paper is also great for making multiple cards. It is lightweight, has 24 sheets, four of each design and all in black and white. I used every bit of this paper and never got sick of it. I will be sad to see it go!
In the card above I stamped the drummer boy in Memento black and then used a direct to paper technique with Versamark and clear embossed to make it a bit more special. I am including a video at the end of this post to show you how to make this bow and several others.
Finally, here is a video that will show you how to make these bows yourself. Bows are a great addition to a card and they don’t have to be difficult to make. I had lots of experience raising my three girls tying ribbons in their hair and sashes on their dresses. One of my favourite memories as a little girl was a big red satin bow in my hair whenever I had a half ponytail. So yes, I love bows!
Hello stampers. For the most part I make regular cards, but once in a while it is such fun to switch it up with a fancy fold card and the bridge fold card is a great one, especially for Christmas. You can go over the top amazing with these cards (I will share a few that other demonstrators have made) or you can go fairly simple and the result is still quite wonderful. Of course, they fold flat in an envelope for easy mailing which is necessary at this time of the year.
Before I tell you more about the bridge fold card, I want to share with you that for today only there is FREE SHIPPING! That is a rare event in the Stampin’Up world and I am going to also offer a draw for host benefits as well as a $20 gift certificate with every $100 order. The gift certificate can be redeemed for classes or products from January 1 to March 31.
Now on to the card. My first card was actually given to me in pieces by my friend Joanne McTavish. She had made this card at her last event and had some left over. What a treat. I changed it only a little bit.
Here is a diagram with the measurements for the base pieces. The patterned pieces for this card are 4″ by 1″ (2 of them) and for the bridge part you use old olive 1 1/4 by 5 1/2″ and patterned paper (Merry Little Christmas) 1″ by 5 1/4″.
I was quite pleased with my second card. I knew that I wanted to use the Night in Bethlehem framelits and that I wanted a card that would be larger than normal but not require a special envelope. So….I made this one to fit into a regular business sized envelope.
What makes this card unique is that it uses a strip of our window sheets (known in the regular world as acetate). This strip measures 8″ by 1 1/4″. I adhered it to the card before adding the silver glimmer strips which are 1 1/2″ by 4″. The framelits from Night in Bethlehem were cut using basic black and silver foil sheets. The stars were stamped in Versamark and silver embossed. The Mary, Joseph and Shepherd were stamped in night of navy and adhered to the strip of window sheet.
The last card I made uses the Musical Season bundle. The dimensions are the same as for the old olive Carols of Christmas card.
I love the pop of red with the musical notes on the sides. This card also uses window sheets as the bridge and it is tucked under the merry music paper.
With this last picture you can see the structure of the card and the way the card folds and is held in shape with the “bridge” part. So simple and so effective, plus it folds flat to go into a regular envelope. Finally here are some great cards by some other demonstrators around the world that use this same structure.
Kate Morgan made this great card using the Detailed Gate thinlets die.
Amanda Bates from the UK made this incredibly detailed card.
Dutch demonstrator Sacha van de Kerkhof made this tranquil tide bridge fold card.
I hope to add a short video later showing how to make this card, stay tuned for updates and happy shopping with the free shipping today only. If you live in Canada and do not have a demonstrator I would love to have your business. If you spend $100 you will get a $20 gift certificate from me to use in January!
Hello stampers. It is always so very exciting when unusual combinations turn out well. I love our crinkled seam binding ribbon but it has been in the house now since May and I haven’t used it yet!! I looked at the colours and thought that yes, I could make this work for Christmas. This is how my mind worked. I also wanted to use the stamp sets from the last two Paper Pumpkins. A snowflake card for my next coffee and a card class was at the top of my agenda and I usually use shades of blue for my snowflake cards. It was a perfect match for the night of navy crinkled seam binding ribbon. I also wanted to keep the cards clean and simple since I was still in recovery from the detailed, fussy cards we made at the last coffee and a card class. Here is my snowflake card:
For this snowflake card I used night of navy, pool party and dapper denim as well as the stamp set Colourful Season. The white layer is 3 3/4″ by 5″. Dapper denim layer is 4″ by 5 1/4″. The Everyday Label punch coordinates perfectly with the Back in Plaid November Paper Pumpkin. A Paper Pumpkin subscription would make a great Christmas gift for the crafter on your list, maybe even you! I always compare it with the analogy of cooking. While I love to cook, I also very much enjoy a take-out meal or a pizza delivered to my door. That is what Paper Pumpkin is for the person who already has all kinds of stamps. This is a surprise box of instant gratification with very little thought required and lots of satisfaction. I really like that you can see what other people in the stamping community have done with their kits. It’s like a global design challenge. If you are interested, just click on this link. You can choose a one month, three month or six month prepaid subscription, or you can subscribe month by month and cancel or skip at any time.
This next card uses Berry Burst ribbon. Do you also see how this card is not necessarily limited to Christmas time? It could be a baby congratulations card or a New Year card too, or even a birthday card.
I love how this card looks like a present with the pretty ribbon. The Year of Cheer specialty paper and the scattering of rhinestones make this card simply elegant. The white strip with “joy” is 1″ by 3 3/4″. The final card in this trio uses the emerald envy crinkled seam binding ribbon.
The best part about this ribbon is how textured it is and how surprisingly light, so it is very easy to tie, doesn’t take much room in an envelope and it really has nice volume too. It gets the two thumbs up from me. It also comes in Peekaboo Peach, but there is no way I could turn that into a Christmas card!
I find it rather amusing that these cards all use the Back in Plaid Paper Pumpkin and there isn’t an iota of plaid to be found. What I really do love is that the stamp sets live on long after you have used up your adorable kit. Here is the actual project that was in the kit, I am looking forward to surprising random people with one of these cute stockings full of Lindor chocolates. I also love how the stocking turned out when run through the Big Shot with the cable knit embossing folder. This folder just happens to be on sale now too! Quick tip: I just sprayed it with ironing starch and then ironed it before embossing it.
Take a look at the crinkled seam binding ribbon up close. I love how this picture turned out. You can really see the shimmer and the texture and the glorious richness of the colours.
The last thing I made with this Paper Pumpkin was a cute little tag. I couldn’t resist using our embellishments from last year. Unfortunately they are no longer available, but maybe you also have some leftover in your stash from last year. This tag is the only project that I didn’t use the crinkled seam binding ribbon on, but it looks cute with the twine too.
I hope that you have been inspired by these clean and simple cards. If you have any questions or feedback, please comment below and I would be happy to help. Have a super day!
Hello stampers. I just wanted to create a quick blog post before I go and visit my parents. It is such a joy to own your own business so that you can prioritize your family. Now that they are almost 91 and 85 I try to visit at least once a month. This month it will be twice! My Pap is turning 91 on November 19. In the meantime, I had given myself a deadline, to get these two samplers done and posted before I left. I will be able to truly relax with them then. These samplers are the same layout as the one in my earlier post. The first one uses Night in Bethlehem and is a traditionally religious sampler. I love the clean lines. What do you think?
I used a smoky slate base of 8″ square and basic grey squares 2 1/4″ square with white squares that are 2″ square. The focal point is basic black 4 3/4″ square with a white piece 4 1/2″ square. The framelits are cut out of basic black and copper foil. The star is crushed curry. The next sampler is made using Hearts Come Home and is more traditional in colour and theme with Santa Claus and a Christmas village look.
For this sampler I used garden green, real red, night of navy and a touch of silver glimmer paper. The dimensions and layout are the same as the other samplers. You can get a class to go kit for $25 in Canada, just message me if you want one and we will figure out the details. The reason I am starting to offer these classes to go is that I am transitioning my business and my life! Bittersweet for sure.
Please just pray for me that I will find a new home that has one room that is big enough to hold my beautiful stamp room table. Sending big hugs your way, and now I am off to visit my loved ones.
Hello stampers! Framed art samplers are like scrapbooking for the wall. It’s like card making taken to a different level. I love creating seasonal samplers that can be interchanged in the same frame. Let’s be real. If we kept making beautiful samplers and adding them to the walls we would soon run out of wall space and our homes would look like a scrapbooking store! This year I wanted to make a sampler using the beautiful Year of Cheer suite, but I also wanted to combine it with the stunning Santa’s Sleigh framelits. This is what I came up with.
As you can see this would also make a great gift for someone on your list. It really doesn’t take much time to make because the smaller squares are so simple; the patterned paper is so beautiful it stands up all by itself! The mats for the small squares are made of champagne foil paper and they are 2 1/4 inches square. The inside squares are 2″ square pieces of Year of Cheer specialty paper. One of the squares is made of copper foil paper embossed with the Softly Falling embossing folder. Here is a close-up:
To coordinate with the Year of Cheer paper, which is very rich and metallic, I used gold glimmer paper, dazzling diamonds glimmer paper and copper foil paper for the trees and for the deer and sleigh. I added early espresso behind the deer and one of the trees to add both depth and contrast. I also thought that the little red bow on the gold embossed wreath added just the right pop of colour. All these dies come from the Santa’s Sleigh set. I found that laying the foil sheets upside down helped for cutting them out so they would delaminate. It also made the sleigh and deer face in the right direction for what I needed. That is what is so nice about using either foil sheets or glimmer paper. If you turn them around you can have your image facing in two different directions.
This frame is 12×12″ with a matted 8×8″ opening. I found them last year at Wal-Mart and I am guessing that at this time of year they will once again have a great selection of frames. The whole thing is “built” on an 8″ square of early espresso cardstock. The biggest square is 4 3/4″ square of whisper white and 4 1/2″ square of champagne foil paper. The foil paper was first embossed with the Winter Wonder embossing folder. If you were planning on giving this away as a gift you could pair it with this beautiful card:
I used champagne foil paper with the Swirly Snowflake thinlets dies together with the Year of Cheer washi tape to make a stunning Christmas card. The sentiment is embossed with copper and I used the ever popular and useful Stitched Framelits to cut it out. The last thing I want to share is a cute little idea for using your left over Year of Cheer specialty paper. This paper is so beautiful that it makes any small gift extra special. I used it to wrap these Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I found a case of these at Costco with a dozen packages of three in a box.
I simply wrapped a 3″ by 5″ piece of paper around the chocolates and then tied a piece of metallic edge ribbon around it.
Class to Go Offer
As you might know, my house is up for sale and when Rachel is done school in June I will most likely be moving away from Chatham. I hope to continue teaching classes in person but I also realize that more of my income will depend on online sales. With that in mind I am starting to offer “classes to go”. The Christmas art sampler will be $25 including shipping to anywhere in Canada. Frame not included. Payment can be made through PayPal or etransfer. I haven’t added an online shopping feature for this yet, but if you comment below or message me we will get the job done!
Hello stampers. That is a hashtag I use often: #itsallaboutthetreats. It sometimes really is all about the treats. If you have read my “About Me” section, then you know that I am called The Pampered Stamper because I like pampering my people with good food while they stamp, or more accurately, before or after they stamp. Stamping is always great fun, but gathering together in fellowship over good food, that is priceless. Stamping without treats just seems empty to me. Soulless. In this post you will see how we can combine treats right into the card. How much fun is that? Stampin’Up! has made it possible with their treat tubes. They were first featured in a Paper Pumpkin last year and were such a hit that they made into our catalog. I got the idea for these fabulous cards from my dear friend BJ Peters.
I used the September Paper Pumpkin stamps to make this paper myself. I just stamped in versamark and white embossed the leaves and then sponged with real red, pumpkin pie, crushed curry and old olive to make a beautiful background paper. The stamps are from Spooky Cat. This card fits into a regular envelope but it probably costs a little extra to mail because of the bulk.
I couldn’t resist using the retired washi tape from last year’s holiday catalog. Anything with words on it and you have me hooked! But check out the cat? How awesome is our cat punch? Buy it in a bundle with the Spooky Cat stamp set and you will save 10%. Did you know that if you place an online order with me this month you will get entered into a draw to win any bundle of your choice? I am doing this to help celebrate my 12th anniversary with Stampin’Up!
This last card is a total case from BJ Peters. I didn’t have any Christmas M&Ms so I used crushed candy canes instead that you could use as a sweet topper on your whipping cream for that fancy coffee or hot chocolate. Now I’m guessing you would like to have the measurements on how to make this adorable treat holder yourself. No problem, I totally understand, so I have a little diagram for you. I will also share a video so you can see how it is done.
I am not sure, but I think that the inspiration for these treat cards may have come from the post-it note holders that have been popular for a long time. Sometimes we forget the “oldies but goodies” so I will share a picture of one of these as well as the measurements for a standard square post-it note pad. First of all, here is the old one that I have held on to for many years because I thought it was so cute. Originally I made it for a teacher’s gift class.
I used this old one to get the measurements for the new one. Real red cardstock is 3 1/4″ by 7 3/8″ scored at 3 1/8″, 3 1/2″ and 3 7/8″. Cut between the score lines at 1″ and 2 1/4″, this will make the pen holder part. Here is the new one that I made using the Hang Your Stocking stamp set.
Before I share my video, don’t forget about the contest I am offering this month as a celebration of my 12th anniversary with Stampin’Up! If you order online during October you will be entered into a draw for any bundle of your choice but you must use the current host code when you place your order. Good luck!!
