The Holiday Catalog is *LIVE*!

I am such a sucker for Thanksgiving and Christmas that I almost look forward to the unveiling of the Holiday Catalog than I do the Annual Catalog (GASP!).  Truth...

What follows is my Must Have List from this catalog.  I didn't order a month ago when demonstrators could preorder, as I knew I would be busy with back-to-school and cramming in as much summer fun as I could, so I wouldn't be in the Studio much.  With the kids starting back to school tomorrow, the time is *NOW*!

You'll notice that my order is heavy on Christmas and the reason is I don't have a lot of time to make/send Halloween greetings.  We're usually in the thick of soccer, school and between having a Halloween birthday in the family and the fact that I make the kids' costumes (fewer now, sniff), I don't send out much, if anything, for Halloween.  What I like is that Stampin' Up! offers sets and dies for all of the months between now and the end of the year, so I can get something I can continue to use after October is over.  That's why Among the Branches and its Bundlemate, the Woodland TIEF are at the top of my list.  To be honest, that TIEF was going to top the list because it's gorgeous and I can use it for all of the men in my life.

Among the Branches & Woodland TIEF Bundle (140872)

Halloween, fall, Christmas and winter, all in one bundle!

While we're on the topic of bundles, I need to be honest and say I'd order the entire lot if I could. However, here are the ones I am purchasing now...

Festive Fireplace Bundle (140860)
Happy Scenes & Hearth & Home Bundle (140853)

Stampin' Up! released a video showcasing how these two bundles can be used together and it sold me.  So much fun (and the good news is that Happy Scenes includes sweet images in case I find time to use them for Halloween!)!

Here's the fab video:

More bundles...

Peaceful Pines Bundle (140850)

Holly Jolly Greetings Bundle (C140865, W140864)

Sparkly Seasons Bundle (140863)

Here's the rest of my list:

 

Archival Basic Black (140931) and Archival Basic Gray (140932)

 

Gold Cording Trim (139618) Silver Cording Trim (139620)

Red Foil Sheets (139607)

Joyful Season (139770)

Square Pillow Thinlits Die (139657)

Fine-Tip Glue Pen (138309)

Spider Web Doilies (139622)

Into the Woods DSP (139586)

Oh What Fun Tag Project Kit (139602) and Oh, What Fun stamp set (140386)

Whew!  Quite a list! Can't wait to play! To see the Holiday Catalog, click {HERE} or go to the picture of the catalog in the upper right corner of this page. Want your own copy? Drop me a line!

Returning from a Summer Hiatus

Imagine a cobweb in the corner of this blog...  I've been away for the summer and have been enjoying this fleeting and precious time with my family. With a newly-minted high schooler, middle schooler and intermediate student, it's apparent just how soon these summers of traveling and adventuring (and okay, lolling about) together will be gone. 

Over the course of the summer, I've been happy to assist customers with ordering, answering questions, and mailing out the gorgeous new Holiday Catalog.  It goes live tomorrow, by the way, so stay tuned for my Must Have Items...

Here's a glimpse of my office this summer:

Arches NP, Utah

Rocky Mountain NP, Colorado

Home Sweet Home:

So there you have it! I have a lot of projects brewing and there'll be a number of changes you'll see on the blog.  They're time-consuming and take a lot of thought and concentration for me, so they're on my list to do while the house is quiet during school hours. 

Check out the new Holiday Catalog tomorrow!

{12 Weeks of Christmas} Week 3 -- Embrace the Negative!

What?!  No, no, this is a *positive* post about Christmas...

The fact is, when we use our Bigz dies, Framelits or punches, we're often left with the negative from which we cut our shape.  How about using the "negative" as the focal point, or key feature, of our project?

Here's what I mean.  A simple punch with the Decorative Label Punch leaves us with this delicious negative in which to showcase the Festive Designer Series Paper Stack (page 20, from the 2012 Holiday Catalog).  I am IN. LOVE. with this new DSP and will be using it in our family Christmas cards this year.  I love the color palette, the designs provided and since they're double-sided, there's a lot of variety.

This card features a color combination suggested by my Color Coach:  Island Indigo, Baja Breeze and Rich Razzleberry.  I used the Decorative Label Punch on my Rich Razzleberry (which I ran through my Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots EF).

**Studio Suggestion**:  Stampin' Dimensionals add the lift necessary to make the punched negative really stand out.

Since I have used a couple of layers of card stock, I'm able to use smaller pieces of my DSP and really stretch my supply.  This is a great and cost-effective way to make note cards for gifts (they'll be among my gifts this year!).

The sentiment, "My friend," is inked with my Island Indigo and Baja Breeze Stampin' Write markers and punched with the Curly Label punch.

A rhinestone and knot of Baja Breeze seam binding add a little {flair} to the project.

Here's another example:

Using the Lacy Brocade EF from the Holiday Catalog (page 6), I added a classic texture to the Not Quite Navy piece.

Very Vanilla seam binding has a bit of sheen which adds another nice classic touch.

The stamp from Tags til Christmas is created to fit the Decorative Label punch, but by using my Stampin' Dimensionals, the Very Vanilla card stock along the edge of the stamped image lends a bit of contrast.

I used my Jewelry Tag punch and the Tiny Tags stamp finish off the look.

Once again, the Color Coach guided me to choose the palette:  Not Quite Navy, Regal Rose and Very Vanilla.

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Project #1:

Stamps:  Perfect Punches (W117022, C120516)

Papers:  Festival of Prints DSP Stack (Holiday Catalog, 126904), Rich Razzleberry (115316), Baja Breeze (111352) and Whisper White (100730) Card Stocks

Inks:  Island Indigo and Baja Breeze Stampin' Write Markers (Can be purchased in color family collections)

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Perfect Polka Dots EF (117335), Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon (122331), Decorative Label (120907), 3/16-inch Corner (119871) and Curly Label (119851) punches, Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Project #2:


Stamps:  Tags til Christmas (W120847, C121169), Tiny Tags (W118091, C118592)

Papers:  Not Quite Navy (101722), Regal Rose (105130) and Very Vanilla (101650) Card Stocks

Inks: Not Quite Navy (126971) and Regal Rose (126947) Classics

ccessories:  Big Shot (113439), Lacy Brocade EF (127819), Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon (120999), Decorative Label (120907), 3/16-inch Corner (119871) and Jewelry Tag (117190) punches, Linen Thread (104199) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

Weekly {Sneak Peek}

Fall is in the air and it was in the challenges that I participated in, as well (Christmas was, too, but I'm not going to write about that yet).  :)

A "quiet" card to send to a friend who had a death in the family:

I'm not "feeling" Christmasy yet, but I have enjoyed dabbling in a few Christmas card challenges lately:

I love an ad-inspired challenge and here's my card:

This card is probably my "favorite" this week:

I'm *LOVING* this set:

A fun color scheme challenge that was different for a Christmas card:

Feeling the Card Challenge Love...

The kind folks at 365 Cards have granted me two honors this week that I thought I'd share.  First, I was selected as a Spotlight Designer for this card, which I entered in the DIY challenge *here*.  Our assignment was to make a card that used a straight pin, safety pin or paper clip accent.

I *LOVE* tying a snippet of ribbon on to a paper clip.  That's one of my favorite embellies!

The second honor I received this week was to be called a Weekly Challenge All-Star, which means I completed all of the week's challenges.  I often strive to achieve this honor, because the challenges are so imaginative, inspiring and fun.  The only times when I don't try to complete all seven challenges for a week are when we're out-of-town (or CrazyBusy with soccer or sports over the weekend).

If you've never participated in one of the 365 Cards challenges, I heartily suggest you do so...  It's a terrific community of designers and participants and I'm always inspired by what I see there (and by what we're asked to create)!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:

Stamps:  Mixed Medley (W128054, C128057) *From the 2012 Holiday Catalog*

Papers:  Early Espresso (119686), Whisper White (100730), Pretty in Pink (100459), and Rich Razzleberry (115316) card stocks

Inks:  Early Espresso (126974) and Rich Razzleberry (126950) Classics

Accessories:  Big Shot (113439), Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (119976), 1-1/4" Circle (119861) and 3/4" Circle (119873) punches, Whisper White Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon (126877) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)