Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Digital December Continues

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas. Since we're still in the Holiday season, I wanted to share another digital page from my 2012 calendar, which turned out great, BTW. I used the Cinch binder to put it together and I can't believe how fast and easy it was. I was a little concerned about how the pages would print out, but my printer did a great job!
This is my December calendar page, hope that you enjoy it!

Friday, December 23, 2011

A Very Simple Christmas Card

Since I haven't posted any cards for awhile, I thought I'd share this simple Christmas card I made. These were my "send out" cards this year. I used mostly digital images from My Digital Studio. I did stamp a nice sentiment inside each card using the Petite Pairs. My hybrid additions are the crimped Early Espresso band across the front, the colored star rhinestones and a tied bow.

They were fast, easy but still handmade.. my kind of card.
...and like the card says, "Have yourself a Merry little Christmas"!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Our Gingerbread House

My post today has absolutely nothing to do with stamping or card making. Today's post is about Gingerbread Houses, although we used graham crackers to make ours. I thought I'd start off by showing you some pictures we took of the Gingerbread Houses at the Biltmore Hotel.
Each house was a replica of famous buildings like the Arizona Gammage
The Guggenheim Art Museum
A replica of the historic state capitol building in Prescott.
My favorite was this one, a traditional Gingerbread House.
Here's another house that was on display. It's different...I like the water effect.

Back to our Gingerbread House project ....the Gingerbread House has become a tradition that my son, aka Uncle Daniel, does with Adriel's kids every year.
This year was a little more involved as they drew up house plans, made a serious candy run to the dollar store, and figured out the best tool for cutting windows, doors and roofs out of the graham crackers.
With the planning stage behind them they dove into cutting and assembling their house. The kids made furniture while Daniel assembled the house structure.
The veranda on the second story includes a hot tub, filled with blue bubble gum for the water.
Kayla made a snow penguin...and candy bananas are strategically hidden throughout the house. Why???

 Since the assembling took several hours, we saved the decorating for the next day. If you didn't know it, the best part about decorating the Gingerbread House is getting to eat all the candy. Some of the candy made it on the house, but I think a lot of it got eaten.
 I was in charge of the Gingerbread icing and I discovered a great Eggless Royal Icing recipe from Food.com. Did you know this is what Gingerbread icing is called? I sure didn't. This eggless recipe is great because if you eat the candy off of the house, you don't have to worry about getting salmonella from the eggs. I thought I'd share the recipe here, just in case anyone out there decides to make a Gingerbread House with Royal Icing.
Eggless Royal Icing
Ingredients:
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 teaspoons water or milk
3 teaspoons light corn syrup

Directions:
  1.  In a small bowl, stir together confectioner's sugar and water or milk until smooth.
  2. Add corn syrup until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
  3. Keep icing covered with damp cloth when not using to prevent crusting
We just used a ziplock bag for squeezing out our icing by snipping off a small corner piece, filling the bag with icing. We rolled the bag up and squeezed the icing through the corner hole and it worked great. You could certainly use a pastry bag and tips for a more professional and cleaner look. This icing works great...it's super sticky, it held all our candy onto the graham cracker walls, it was pliable enough to squeeze and it made great icicles, plus it dries like a rock. For the roof we thinned the icing down with a few drops of water and spread it over the roof, then we sprinkled crushed hard peppermint candies over it and let it dry. (This was Kayla's great idea :-)
Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, December 16, 2011

Christmas Themed Piano Hinge Book

My blog share today doesn't really qualify as a Digital December share, although it does include a few digital embellishments.
My stamping friend, Susan, had made a Piano Hinge Book several months ago and she generously offered to show me how to make one. So with her help and time, this is what I made. I chose a Christmas theme because last year she'd given me a Christmas designer paper kit (she does spoil me...she's also been known to drop by Fudgy Wudgy fudge), which I'd planned on using to make a scrapbook, but it just never happened.
This little book was just too much fun to make...really! I added little pockets, printed up some cute My Digital Studio embellishments, and I even did some macrame (I was shocked that I even remembered any knots...I used to make macrame jewelry with puka shells way back in the 70's).
It's been great to have the book already finished because as I'm going through the 2011 Christmas season I'm able to take pictures and journal as I go along. I always think about doing a scrapbook AFTER an event or special occasion, but I have to say that having a book already prepared allows you to think about the pictures you want for each page and the journaling has come easy because I'm drawing from current memories and thoughts. I'll have to remember this for any future books I make.
These pages will be perfect for pictures of our Gingerbread House. I'll blog and post pictures of the Gingerbread House in the near future, but all I can say about the house right now is...Wow!
Susan and I brainstormed about different themed Piano Hinge books we could make. We both thought a recipe book would be darling.
I just have to say that it's fun to have a blog...I love posting pictures of things I'm excited about and sharing it here in the blogging world. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Clearance Rack Sale Blitz!

What's the big news?
Well the big news is that now through January 5, 2012, nearly 200 new Clearance Rack items are being added to the Online Store at discounts up to 80 percent off retail--while supplies last! Now, that's big news!

Click on my Clearance Rack Flyer to view all the sale items.

Here's some helpful ordering information:
  • Only online orders qualify for this promotion. Orders can include non-Clearance Rack items, as well.
  • The Clearance Rack Blitz includes old-body style punches.
  • There is no minimum purchase required to participate in this promotion.
  • Qualifying Clearance Rack orders are eligible for hostess benefits/Stampin' Rewards.
  • Clearance Rack Blitz items are only available while supplies last. There are no refunds or exchanges on Clearance Rack items.
  • You may view Clearance Rack Blitz items in the Online Store.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Pretty Pink Baby

Here's another calendar page that I'm sharing from the Digital Calendar I created using My Digital Studio. I went with pinks and white for my color choices and used the Upsy Daisy stamp for the bottom bordering flowers. Cute pictures, cute papers, cute stamps all made for an easy page design.

Thanks for taking time to stop by!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

A Bright Digital Birthday Page

If you just popped in, my theme for this month is Digital December because I'm sharing pages from the Digital Calendar I've been creating using My Digital Studio.

Today I'm sharing a bright and cheery birthday page. I chose my theme and colors based on the photos I had. Colors: Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Blue (don't know off hand which color blue I used), one of the Digital Kits that is included with My Digital Studio along with several stamp sets. I had a lot of fun designing this page...lots of fun colors!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

It's a Digital December

This month I'll be sharing pages from the Digital Calendar I've been working on. I've been using My Digital Studio to create my calendar and have enjoyed getting a chance to use some features of the program that I hadn't tried out before. I haven't printed my calendar yet, I still have pictures I need to edit and add to my projects before I'm ready to print, but all the design work is finished. When I finally print it, I'll share a picture of the printout. I'm kind of excited about printing out the pages because I'll finally get a chance to use my birthday present, my Cinch binding tool...woohoo!
This has been a fun project to work on, not only creatively, but it's been enjoyable to go through photos and their memories.I'm still deciding on the order of the pages, so I won't be sharing them in any particular order. I thought I'd share how I go about designing a scrap page. I know that staring at a blank page and trying to design a 12-month calendar is a little daunting, so before I opened up my blank page, I tried to have some kind of idea/theme for each page and figured out which photos I wanted to use. Then I chose my page colors based on the predominant colors in the photos. When I would hit a blank on an idea for a page layout, I'd visit a couple of layout sites to get inspired, there are a ton of inspiring ideas that other creative people have shared on their blogs and on the web.

Looking through my photos helped me choose the theme "sisters" for this page. I used the colors in the girls' clothing for my page colors - Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Lovely Lilac and Old Olive. My layout is pretty simple - several rows of borders behind a designer paper photo mat. I added a couple of 5-petal punched flowers and leaves from one of the digital stamp sets. Then I placed some embellishments to the flower centers and chose a cute font for the "Sisters...Sweet" words. That's it in a nutshell! I'll share more pages throughout the next several weeks.
I hope that you have a great day!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Holiday Treasure Countdown 5

 Here's the last share from our Holiday Treasure class. We made these two Christmas Tags as one of our Holiday Treasure projects.
These are super simple, super quick, but will add that little extra to your gift-giving. I used the  Letters to Santa DSP for the Crumb Cake tag.
I used the "Joy at Christmas" stamp from the Perfect Punches stampset as the focal point for the Whisper White and Cherry Cobbler scalloped tag.
Thanks for stopping by and visiting! Have a great day :-)

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Holiday Treasure Countdown 4

I hope that you had a wonderful Thansksgiving. I guess with Thanksgiving behind us we're officially in the Christmas Season. I love Christmas!

Here's a simple, yet elegant Holiday Treasure that you can make with your Big Shot and the Snowflake Bigz die. My Holiday Treasure number 4 is a lovely tea light holder for Christmas. I used thin aluminum, but you can use a soda can or you can buy thin aluminum at the hobby store (be sure to use your 40% off coupon), Sticky Strip and a tea light. Stagger and glue the metal snowflakes together, adhere and place your tea light over the snowflakes by adding a few strips of Sticky Strip to the bottom of the tea light, then slightly bend up the arms of your snowflakes and you have yourself an elegant Christmas decoration. I got this fun idea from Monica Weaver.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Holiday Treasure Countdown Number 3

Here's the third Holiday Treasure share for you, the Punched Circles Ornament. There are so many cute and fun variations of these ornaments out there, I was quite inspired! This is a great project to use up some of your Christmas designer paper scraps and leftovers.

These are super easy to make...and who would have thought that paper leftovers could be so cute, huh?

Monday, November 21, 2011

Online Extravaganza is Here!

 
Visit my Online Store, click on Shop Now in the upper right section,
Click on Online Extravaganza to view all the great items on sale.
Happy Shopping!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Stampin' Up! On-Line Extravaganza Starts Monday!

ATTENTION STAMPIN' UP! CUSTOMERS!!!  Start your holiday shopping Monday, Nov. 21, as Stampin' Up! launches their annual On-line Extravaganza.  This event was a huge hit last year and it promises great savings and deals again this year.
THERE WILL BE TWO VERY SPECIAL OFFERS ON MONDAY--NOV. 21! 
What are they? We don't know what they are yet so the excitement is building! Be sure to visit  my Stampin' Up! website HERE on Monday to find out all the details! Once you are at my site, click the Shop Now button in the upper right section to view store items.
Some examples of what you can expect:

  • FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express
  • 60 percent off select Designer Fabrics
  • 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!
Stampin' Up! holds this sale every year to kick off the Holiday Shopping Season. This year's sale begins Monday, November 21 and runs through Wednesday, November 30. You can conveniently place your orders online through my Stampin' Up! website.

Holiday Treasure Countdown Number 2

My second Holiday Treasure share is the Scalloped Goody Bag Topper. I got this fun idea from my SU demo friend, Laura Plummer. These are great to fill with teas, chocolates, gift card and goodies, or whatever else you can think of.

The Goody Bags make cute party favors, thank you gifts, or just a fun way to say, "I'm thinking of you."
Supplies:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Real Red
DSP: Frostwood Lodge
Ink: real Red Stampin' Write marker
Punches: 1-3/4" Scallop circle, Extra-Large Oval
Big Shot: Scallop Circle, Scallop Circles #2
Digital Stamp Set: Sweet Season (From Our House to Yours)


Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Holiday Treasure Countdown

Each year we offer a Holiday Treasure Class, which is one of my favorite classes. We create a bunch of fun Christmas-Themed gifts, tags, and what-not's for gift-giving. This year we made 5 creations and I thought it would be fun to share them here on our blog. Countdown Number 1 are Ornament Gift Card Holders which were inspired by Vickie Burdick. I copied her great layout for my Merry Winter Ornament... the merry snowman from the Merry Winter stampset looks so cute in this layout.


Supplies:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler
DSP: Frostwood Lodge
Ink: Early Espresso; Markers: Cherry Cobbler, Pear PIzzaz, Pumpkin Pie
Punches: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle, 2-1/2" Circle, 1-3/4" circle, Scallop Edge, Round Tab, Word Window, Itty Bitty 4-leaf, Hand punch
Big Shot: Scallop Circle, Snowburst Textured Impressions Folder
Stamp Set: Merry Winter

I went with a gingerbread look to create the Gingerbread Ornament, using one of MDS "Sweet Season - Gingerbread" digital stamps for the focal point.

These will make fun gift-givers to hang on the tree this year.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Punches: Decorative Label, Round Tab, Itty Bitty scallop
Big Shot: Scallop Circle, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Little Leaves Sizzlit
Stamp Set: Bright Hopes
Digital Stamp Set: Sweet Season (Gingerbread)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Spice Cake Tags

I'm sharing a quick little post today with my Spice Cake "Thank You" tags. I created these using My Digital Studio and the Spice Cake DSP download...love these colors!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Telescoping Snowman

Earlier this year I saw a telescoping card that Dawn Olchefske had shared and I thought this idea would make a cute Telescoping Snowman. So here's my little guy who turns into a tall guy using the telescoping technique. We had a lot of fun creating our snowmen in this month's Christmas Card class. This is one of the versions of the cards I made, as I made several different snowmen and snowmen faces. For my class, I ended up creating a digitally drawn face that we punched out and used.
I'm sharing the tutorial for this card. The snowman in the tutorial is slightly different than the one here in the picture, but he's still cute :-) Click Here for the PDF tutorial.
Have Fun!!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Free Faux Metal Card Tutorial

 I love this Faux Metal technique. I have a bunch of ideas I'd love to use this technique out on. Now, whether or not I end up with time or not to try out my ideas, well... I'll just have to see how it goes.
This was one of the cards we made last month for my Faux Metal Class. The Spice Cake DSP lends itself to metal accents...what a fun set of paper it is to play with. If you'd like to make this card yourself here's the link to my FREE tutorial. Have fun with it!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Free Digital Downloads

Hey, Check this out...Free My Digital Studio downloads. This is one of the downloads that are available November 4 - 7 in honor of Digital Scrapbooking Day, which is a day to remind people to set time aside to digitally document their personal history.

I just added a few pictures, a little journalling and a few buttons. The rest of the page layout was already done for me, which was a great time-saver. Now I have a 2-page digital spread that highlights a few memories from this year, something I probably wouldn't have gotten around to had I not downloaded the free kit.

 Here's a list of the new, free downloads available:
  • So Typefelt Stamp Brush Set
  • Neutral Delightful Digital Tape
  •  Home for the Holidays Ensemble
  • Delight in the Day Photobook Template

To get your FREE downloads, CLICK HERE, which will take 
you to a survey and the download page.