I hope you saw the Glitter Window card from Monday’s post that we made for our club classes this week.  I wanted to show you a few of my “old samples” using this same technique.  Although I like my winter versions best, you don’t have to use this idea for “snowy” cards….

I will apologize in advance for NOT listing all the supplies.  Most of these images and papers are retired.  It would get really frustrating trying to identify it all….and my time is really limited these days.  Sorry!  We are headed into an exciting weekend………we are STILL in the playoffs for football!  We play on Saturday night (3 hours away) and I think I might have it worked out where I can go to the game with some friends.  Hopefully it will be another victorious weekend!!!!  Have a great one……..whatever you do and wherever the Lord leads you! 

This is another project that we made at club this week.  It is a pattern that I found a few years ago on Angie Juda’s blog.  It is always fun to make for the holidays…..just a little something to let friends and co-workers know you are thinking of them.  It also uses a very minimal amount of paper and goes together quickly! 

I love the little poem that I found on SplitCoast Stampers called “Snowman Kisses”.  It adds a cute little rhyme to the inside of the treat!  You can also add a “to/from” to the inside  for a little personalization.

Dimensions:

Outside cover:  4 5/8″ x 3″ (score at 2″ and 2 5/8″)

Front Piece:  1 7/8″ x 2 7/8″

Ribbon:  16″

Other Supplies:  Corner Rounder, Sticky Strip, Snail Adhesive, Black StazOn Pad, markers, pastels or blender pens for coloring.

I used the Hostess Set called “Snow Buddies” from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  It is absolutely adorable and definitely one of my favorites!!!  If you would like to earn this set for FREE, please contact me right away and I will tell you how to make it happen!

Have a great day and I look forward to bringing you another fun project in a day or two!

Before I explain the Stampin’ project………..I gotta brag on our football team!  We won our playoff game on Saturday!!!!  We had so much fun traveling to Corsicana to cheer on the Leapords — except for the very late trip home that night!  It made for a very tiring day yesterday, but we survived.  Our next game is in Huntsville….even farther!  I am not sure if I can make the trip or not and I’m pretty bummed about the thought of not being there.  However, we’ll have to see how some other family things play out this week before I can make my final decision.  Victory is so, so sweet!  We are so excited and it was such a great way to end a very sad week for our community. 

This Glitter Window Card is one of our club projects this month.  My ladies will be coming either tonight or tomorrow night, and I think this will really WOW! them.  This is what I call an “oldie, but goodie” — this technique is one that I have been doing for many years as a demonstrator, but it always gets stunning results.  It is made by using clear packing tape and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.  The packing tape has been placed on the Bashful Blue rectangle with the sticky side of the tape facing out to the front of the card.  Then you apply glitter to the tape and you end up with this frosty, sparkly window! 

You can use any of your circle or square punches to make your “window”.  This rectangle was made by punching the square punch about 2 1/2 times across the Bashful Blue cardstock.  I have several other cards with glitter windows, so later in the week I will show some other ideas.  Hope you will try this out!  Super easy and just perfect for snowmen and snowflakes!

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  The More the Merrier (snowmen), Short and Sweet (small snowflake), Christmas Punch (3 larger snowflakes)

Cardstock:  Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Night of Navy

Ink:  White Craft Ink, Black StazOn,  Bashful Blue, Bravo Burgundy (only used to color some of the details on the snowmen)

Accessories:  Blender Pens, 1 3/8″ Square Punch, Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon, Night of Navy Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Pumpkin Pie Marker (snowmen noses)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I’d like to send some cards to some of my family and friends.  I tried playing around a little bit, but this didn’t seem to turn out as I expected……..guess my “mojo” had run out on me.  I liked all my other cards this week, but this one is not doing it for me.  However, with the funerals, and the new job, I didn’t have time to stamp any more.  Guess you’re stuck with this one! 

On a happy note, we play our first round of playoffs on Saturday night in Corsicana.  We don’t kick off until 8 p.m., so it will be a very late night!  I hope our little community can rally together some more and cheer on the boys to VICTORY!!!  It has been such a rough week, and this would really be an exciting win for us all……we shall see!  At the very least, we are the District Champs for the first time in 20 years!  Quite an accomplishment in and of itself. 

Have a fantastic weekend!

One of the blessings of being on staff at the Middle School (Sarah’s campus) for this sub job occurred today when I had the privelege of attending the Veteran’s Day Ceremony.  It was a wonderful time of reflection and the guest speaker was wonderful!  The choir sang several patriotic songs and Sarah played the National Anthem for the first time as part of the Symphonic Band.  (And by the way, I don’t think I mentioned that she auditioned Saturday for the All-Region Band and made 4th Chair Symphonic Band!)  We are just a little proud of her

So here are some photos taken from the day’s ceremony.  I’ll be back tomorrow with Stampin’ Stuff!

Sarah, her friend McKenna, and Mr. Parker (one of their band directors)

May we never forget the sacrifices made for our freedom!

As I was making some more complex cards, it dawned on me that I rarely make “one layer cards”.  I have seen some posts and challenges on this topic, but I rarely attemp them myself.  So, just for fun, here are a few of the most economical, quick-to-produce cards …… EVER!  If you needed some really fast cards for a gift, or to send yourself, here is an example of something you could do.  I used the leaf images from “Falling Leaves” along with Rich Razzleberry and Dusty Durango ink/ribbon.  I love how vivid the colors look when stamped on the solid white cards.  One more thing to note, I did not re-ink the stamped images.  I stamped the leaf from left to right without re-inking.  This is a great way to show your customers the many shades that we can produce with one of our Classic Ink Pads.  Hope you enjoy this idea……..and try it out for some quick success in your stamp room!

And one more thing…….I had a great day at work with my little 6th graders.  Quite a contrast to the “big seniors” that I had last year……..and much easier content, might I add.  I am also happy to announce that mom, dad, and baby are all doing well!  The baby was born bright and early so I was able to show pictures of the baby to all the students throughout the day (with the teacher’s permission, of course).   He is adorable!!!  Can’t wait to go visit and snuggle with a newborn.  It has been over a year since we’ve had a newborn in our home, so it will be fun! 

Have a super day!  We have visitations for the two families tonight, so it will be a long, tearful day.  Funerals are tomorrow.  I think I’ll be glad when this week is over.  Remember…….hug your kids and tell them you love them!  Don’t take anything for granted!  Be thankful and grateful for every little thing!

Today is my first day of subbing for my long-term substituting job.  I will still be checking e-mails, and you can always leave me a phone message.  Things will continue to be mostly the same, I just won’t be running around any during the daytime.  No more lunch dates! 

Continuing on with my “thankful” theme……and my reflections on the things that I am grateful for…….here is  a “Give Thanks” card.  I didn’t even copy someone else’s idea for this one…..it is original! 

I am giving thanks this week for my health (and my family’s health), the joy of being a parent, and the closeness of the community that I live in.  It has been amazing to see the bond between all the kids in the face of  death.  They have really clung to one another and the Christian faith that permeates most of our families.  I am so thankful for life’s blessings!

Supplies used:

Stamps:  The More the Merrier (circle image), Falling Leaves (leaf image)

Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Chocolate Chip

Accessories:  Blender Pen, Scalloped Circle Punch, 1 3/8″ Circle Punch, Dusty Durango Polka Dotted Ribbon (I just didn’t use the polka dotted side), Autumn Traditions DSP

Friends and family….as I type this entry (last night for many of you reading this), it has been an emotional weekend for my family and our small community where we live.  We have lost two parents who have students in our school system and who are friends with my teenage daughters.  One of them was battling cancer, and her death was expected, although never welcomed.  She was the mother of one of Lindsey’s best friends.  The other death was a father who died tragically as he was off spending a weekend hunting with his son (this was NOT a hunting accident).  For both of them, it was God’s time, but not our time.  I have spent the evening taking my daughter to the two homes to be with other grieving teens — something I never wanted to do.   It seems so unfair that my teenagers must experience these things at such a young age.  The hugs, the tears, the memories, and the reality.  Life is so fragile — something teens don’t really understand.  Until something so tragic happens — and then it starts to sink in.  It has been heartbreaking, to say the least.  We are such a small, close-knit community where everyone is connected.  It will be a rough week…….please pray for these families and the teachers who will need to minister to these students.    On a brighter note, we DID win our football game Friday night.  We are District 19-3A Champs and headed to the playoffs Saturday night!  It was a weekend that started so wonderfully, but ended so tragically.   It really puts things into perspective for you when things like this happen….

It is at times like these, that our minds turn to those things that we are truly grateful for.  And this season of Thanksgiving is also a time to reflect on the blessings of this past year.  I pray that you can reflect and remember…….and take time to tell your loved ones how special they are to you!   And speaking of being grateful……..here is a card with that theme.

I cased this card from another website — but I’m not sure which one!  Thanks for the inspiration!

Supplies:

Stamp Set:  Falling Leaves

Cardstock:  Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Dusty Durango, Very Vanilla

Ink:  Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango

Punches:  Modern Label, 1 1/4″ Circle, 1 3/8″ Circle, Scalloped Circle and Scalloped Border

Accesssories:  DSP (Autumn Traditions), Earth Elements Brads, Narrow Grosgrain Ribbon, Paper Piercer/Mat, Sponge

Hey gang!  I didn’t get any time at all this week to stamp……bummer!  I got home after 10 last night from the last night of Thursday football games……and I didn’t have it in me to get anything “spectacular” on the blog.  So, I am going to share some favorites from Convention photos.  I will try to “fill in” with photos like this when things get so busy for me personally.  These are MY inspiration, so hopefully they will be YOURS, too!

This first project was taken at the display booth set up for advertising our Spanish Stamps.  However, I loved the idea for stacking the 3 small boxes, and the great color combination.  This stamp is available in both English and Spanish as part of our hostess set “The More the Merrier”. 

I was drawn to this second card because of my love for quilting and quilted projects.  I am very unsure of the dimensions, or the name of this block, but the paper used to make this card is Sweet Always.  It is retired, but many of our designer papers would make a great replica of this card!

My final project for today is truly one of my favorites from Convention.  I am planning on making some of these for gifts.  I love the use of the stamp set for a home decor item.  What a great color combination and the flower button is the perfect accent!

I am not sure who made any of these projects, but “thank you” for giving us the inspiration to create and share with others!

I’m headed to Dallas tomorrow to see my mom before I start my new job.  Gotta squeeze in a little shopping, ya’ know?  And it will be a great little get-away before I buckle down!  Have a great weekend and enjoy time with family, friends, or whatever makes you happy!

Before I show you the Stampin’ Up! project, I’d like to let you know that I am beginning another long-term Substitute Teaching job on Tuesday.  I thought I had a couple more weeks, but I found out today that I am needed a little sooner.  Funny how babies don’t have a sense of time….    So, please be patient if I have to slow things down just a little bit.  I might only post 3 times a week, as opposed to every day.  I’m going to see how it goes, and try to keep up with my projects, but we’ll just have to see…   I will be teaching 6th grade English ( a little easier on me than the British Literature from last year!) but it will still require me to be gone from home, obviously, and I will be limited on the amount of  time that I can work on my Stampin’ Up! business.    I will have to do everything in the evening or on the weekends, and sometimes that is easier said than done.  Thanks for your prayers as I begin a “new journey”….

Today’s project is a sample of some Christmas gifts I have been working on.  I am trying to make things up in advance and have them ready for teachers, special friends, babysitters, therapists, and other significant people that I really care about.  I want to give them a token of love at Christmas (and there are so many of them!!!) but unfortunately I am limited on time and resources……my list grows and grows!  So, here is a gift set of cards that I made using “Think Happy Thoughts” and the matching gift tag that I made using “The More the Merrier” Hostess set.   Here is the “secret”……..I purchased a box of 50 cards/envelopes from a local craft store for only $6.00…….they were originally $9.99 and I had a coupon.  There are 10 different sets of cards (5 for each design).  So, for $6.00 I am making 10 gifts from the heart!  I took each card design and matched up some Stampin’ Up! papers (2 colors) and used Very Vanilla for the stamped image (center circle).  There were 5 different stamp images in this stamp set………can you say PERFECT??? 

Then I designed a gift tag with similar (non-traditional) Christmas colors and I was so excited with how this all turned out.  I have also stamped about 40 more gift tags and I’m working on coloring them and having them ready for other gifts.  I hope you like this idea and might find it helpful for your growing list!

Here is a peek at one of the other card designs and how it turned out with the 5 stamped images.  I might use a gift tag colored with Old Olive and Ruby Red on this one…….just to match it all up a little better.  Hopefully you get the idea….

Think Happy Thoughts (Page 144, $16.95)

If you are interested in purchasing this stamp set, please contact me personally or visit my website for ordering 24/7.