Fun Flowers Card!

I want to thank you all for all your nice comments, they really mean a lot to me. Hope you all have a FABULOUS New Year!

By now you must have received the Occasions Mini catalog in the mail. If you didn't and do not have a demo, contact me and I will be glad to send you one. You will be able to download the mini on the 4th of January when it goes live.

This flower is a new die, (page 39) called Fun Flowers. I LOVE it! and by using different colors for each layer and using your bone folder to give it some body, you can make a BEAUTIFUL flower, and of course I sponged each petal.

The base of the card is Pear Pizzazz with a layer of dsp from Springtime Vintage, (page 15) that was punched with the Scallop Trim Border punch (page 200). Next comes the Rich Razzleberry Satin Ribbon. I tied this bow using this bow maker, from Lee Conrey. Makes a perfect bow every time. Then the flower, 2 layers of Rich Razzleberry and one of Pear Pizzazz. The center of the flower is So Safron. The Thank You is from Curly Cute, ) page 149.

100,00 Hits and Counting! More Sneak Peak!

You guys are the BEST! I'm over 100,000 hits on my blog! Thank you to all who visit and leave me a comment.

Do you see a LOT of new stuff on my card? First off is the new embossing folder called, Framed Tulips. I think this is my most favorite item in the Occasions mini. (I'm grinning from ear to ear). Next is the Build a Bloom stamp set (2-step stamping) & the coordinating punch. Yes, you heard it right, 2 sizes of petals and 2 leaves. You know what that means, NO cutting, just punching. Stampin' Up! never ceases to amaze me.

My card base is Baja Breeze and then a layer of Whisper White is next after I ran it through the Big Shot (if you don't have one of these, you REALLY, REALLY need one, contact me). Then I stamped my petals in Baja Breeze. Since this is a 2-step stamp, I first inked up the solid stamp, and stamped it off, then on my Whisper White c/s. Then I stamped the detailed petal with same color, full strength on top of the solid stamped image. This gives it a two-tone effect. I did the same thing with the smaller petals and attached them all with a mini glue dot. I didn't want my flower to be flat, so I used my bone folder to curl the petals. The inside of the flower is stamped in So Safron. The sentiment is from the Create a Cupcake stamp set.

So another easy card!

Eat Chocolate!

Here is a sneak peak at one of the new sets in the Occasions Mini catalog that will be live starting on Tuesday, January 4th. This set is called Eat Chocolate, & is a set of 4 stamps. Who doesn't love chocolate? Did you notice how perfect the cup cakes are cut out? Thats because its a punch, YIPPEEE!!! No cutting. And this punch is also in the new mini. I put the bottom of the cup cake into my paper crimper to make it look like a "real" cup cake. I have a great "TIP" for you when you are using these extra large punches with lots of parts; cut your cardstock in strips so you don't waste a lot of paper when you want each piece to be a different color. It makes it so much easier to cut only the pieces you want.

My card starts with a base of Crumb Cake, with a layer of Pink Pirouette textured card stock. The sentiment, "I would give up chocolate, but I'm no quitter!, is stamped with Early Espresso on Crumb Cake and layered on Cherry Cobbler and punched out with the Decorative Label punch. Then I punched out 3 cup cakes using the new punch (can you see me smiling?). For the cherry, I punched it out of Cherry Cobbler and then added a little bit of Crystal Effects to make it shine. Super easy card, especially with that new cup cake punch.

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread Recipe

I've had several people ask me for my bread recipe, after showing you how I decorated them. So here you go:

Cranberry Pumpkin Bread

2 slightly beaten eggs

2 cups sugar

½ cup oil

1 cup Solid Pack Pumpkin

2 ¼ cups flour

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped cranberries

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin; mix well. Combine flour, pie spice, soda and salt in large bowl; make well in center. Pour pumpkin mixture into well; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in cranberries. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 2 loaves.

NOTE: I’ve baked 4 mini loaves for 40 minutes, using the Pampered Chef bake ware.

This recipe is from Good Housekeeping Magazine many, many years ago.

Folded Fabric Ornament Tutorial Still Available!

Hope you all have had a great Christmas! I know I did, but its back to reality now. My Christmas stuff is all put away and I can get on with other things now. Whew! I've had several people ask if the tutorial is still available for these ornaments, "YES" it is. Cost is $4.95. Just log into PayPal: www.paypal.com, click "send money" & send your $4.95 to cindee@pacbell.net. You still have time to purchase the fabric from Stampin' Up! too. The Holiday mini runs until January 3, 2011, and you can order here. Click the "Shop now" button on the top right side of my website.

My Last Christmas Card! Yeah!

I needed a few more Christmas cards, so this is what I came up with. They needed to be simple. I used Baja Breeze for the card base and added a layer of Whisper White that was embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossed Folder. I then sponged all around the White and a little inside each snowflake. Then added a snowflake from the Northern Frost Decorative Strip with a Glimmer Brad. I have to say these two Sizzix items are my favorites in the Holiday Mini. And I believe they will be carried over and still available after this mini expires on January 3rd. Yeah! The sentiment is from Holiday Happiness, (page 31 in the big catalog), punched out with the small oval and the scallop oval punches. Easy peasy!

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread!

Here are my Mini Pumpkin Cranberry breads. They look so cute with my tags, don't they? If you read my post from yesterday, the tags were cased from Becky Robert's and Kay Sha. I loved how Kay used the Waffle Paper in the Holiday Mini around her bread.

This is what my goody trays looked like when I finished. For me, its all about the finishing touches. Of course, I forget to take a photo of all the goodies before I wrapped them up......camera was upstairs, I was downstairs.

My Snowmen & Santa Tags!

Thanks to Kay Sha for sharing her cute snowmen on her banana bread. I decided to make mine with a top hat and a bird. I attached mine to Pumpkin Cranberry bread. I will show you those tomorrow. These were really fun to make. Thanks Kay for your inspiration!

Then I saw these Santa Tags on Becky Robert's blog. I added mine to one of the tags from the Two Tags die and added some eyes. These were fun to make too!

Here is a close up of the Snowman. He is blowing you kisses, (according to Kay)! Love that!

And here is the close up of the Santa.

Aren't they so cute? Thanks again to Kay and Becky for sharing.

Happy Birthday Michael!

Saturday was my Son's Birthday. This is the card I made for him. I used the Extreme Elements (page 89) in Night Quite Navy, Garden Green & Crumb Cake. I stamped the Extreme Skateboard in Versamark on Crumb Cake and embossed it with black embossing powder twice and then cut them both out. I used Dimensionals to pop them out. The sentiment is from On Your Birthday, (page 153).

Downline Gifts!

Last week I sent my downline a couple little gifts. Since they all have received their packages, I can share now.

I found this folded star ornament on Tami White's blog. She has a great video on how to make these snowflakes. They are really easy too! This is what they look like when opened up.

I did them in all different colors. And sprayed them with Shimmer paint.

This is what they look like when closed up. Too cool! Great for mailing and storing.

These are the cards I sent with their goodies. Thanks to Kay Sha for the card tutorial.

And finally, Christmas pins made with the Flower Folds die. I found some flannel at my local quilt shop to make the pins. The buttons and pearls are all from Stampin' Up! I just layered them.

Crafting, Pizza, Popcorn and our Grandkids!

Last night my husband and I went over and watched our grandkids, so Mommy & Daddy could have a evening in San Francisco. So I took over some crafts for the girls and I to do, we had pizza & soda, and then a movie and popcorn. It was so much fun.

Jocelyn & Gianna working on their gingerbread house ornaments.

Anthony having a snack before the pizza came.

Gianna

Jocelyn, we still have to add some glitter......

Drink Holder!

I was on Becky Robert's blog earlier this week and saw she had the cutest project. A drink cup holder. This was so fun to make for my granddaughter's teachers. I used the Holiday Jolly dsp and wrapped the cups with it, and made the holder from Old Olive card stock. I used the Holiday Lineup and stamped it several times and colored in with markers. That took a while, but it was worth it.

In this photo you can see the I added our self adhesive Pearls where their pompoms would go. Thanks Pamm for that great idea! Inside one cup I added some Cocoa Mix into a cone bag with marshmallows, & chocolate sprinkles. I also dipped some large marshmallows in chocolate and rolled them in sprinkles, put them in our small cello bags and tied them with a ribbon. In the other cup I added some candy and my daughter put in a $5 gift card to Starbuck's.

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels, Oh My!!

I started making chocolate dipped pretzels a few years ago when I make up my goodie trays. They are easy to make and everyone loves them. Finding a container to put them in to give away has become a challenge.

So this is what they look like with all the chocolate and sprinkles.

Here they are in these plastic containers I found at a discount store. These containers are really for crackers, but 9 pretzels fit inside each container and they were only a $1 a piece. I layered some Holiday Jolly dsp onto Cherry Cobbler card stock and wrapped it around the container. Added some of wonderful stripped ribbon and a little tag from the Tags til Christmas in the Holiday Mini.

I didn't want to cover the whole container so that you can see what is inside. For me, its all about the packaging.

Snowman Card Using Punches!

I found this guy on Flowerbug's Inkspot's blog. He is made entirely of punches. I just love his face. My card base is Marina Mist. The first layer is also Marina Mist that I ran through the Northern Flurry embossing folder. Then come the punches. Check out her blog for all the punches she used.

Christmas Card

Here is another Stamp-a-stack card. The base is Old Live. The Top Note is embossed with the Northern Frost Decorative Strip (page 38 of the Holiday mini). The tree is Jolly Holiday and made with a 5 1/4" half circle. This was not my idea. I believe Connie Babbert is where I saw it first. I topped the tree with a Cherry Cobbler bow and a Glimmer brad (Holiday mini, page 36). The greeting is from the Curly Cute stamp set on page 149. I also added a Rhinestone to the big snowflake. I LOVE these Rhinestones!

Two Tags Meets Christmas Collage

I've been so busy trying to finish up my Christmas gifts that I haven't posted in a while. So sorry about that.

Ok, on to my post. I saw on someone else's blog where they used the Christmas Collage (large back ground stamp, page 20 of the Holiday Mini) to make their tags and thought what a great idea. So I stamped the Christmas Collage onto Crumb Cake and then used the Two Tags die, (page 206) and cut them out. Then added some ribbon & pearls and sponged around the edges.

You can see that I attached them to boxes I made with the Deck the Halls dsp. Inside the boxes are my Folded Fabric Ornaments done in the same fabric as the dsp. I love how they all coordinate. I used some fabric that was torn to make the bow on top of the box.

On this tag, it didn't quite cover the whole tag, so I used added some Sticky Strip and some ribbon. You can't even tell.

The ornament box is from Lynn Larson and is actually a cupcake box. It holds my ornaments perfectly. This box is for my niece. Every year we give my 2 nieces an ornament. So this year they are both getting my Folded Fabric ornaments.

Pretty darn cute, aren't they?

My Welcome Cards!

I've been sending these cards welcoming our new people into our group. I've used all the In Colors and the Statement of the Heart stamp. The Designer paper is a Level 1 hostess item. Works out perfect to cut out the small pennant from the Pennant die on page 208. On the Whisper White card I write out a message. You can lift the white card out by using the Tab Punch.

The first card is Poppy Parade.

This one is Blushing Bride.

Santa Notebook

One of my gals, (hi Pamm) showed me a cute notebook that had a Santa face on the front. So I thought it would be fun to duplicate. I only saved the photo and can't read the watermark on it so I don't know the originator is. If it's you, please let me know so I can link your blog to mine.

Just added: I found the originator is Kelly Mayou, you can see her original version here.

Isn't he cute? My notebook was about 5 x 7 in size. His beard and mustache were embossed with the Perfect Polka dots, (page 214) embossing folder and his hat was embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossing folder, (page 26 of the Holiday Mini) and then misted with Champagne Shimmer paint mixed with alcohol. The rest of his face was made with various punches.

Eyes, 1", 3/4" & 1/2" circle punches, Whisper White, Marina Mist, Black

Nose, 1" circle punch, Blushing Bride

Mustache, 1 38" circle punch cut in half and embossed, Whisper White

Mouth, 3/4" circle punch, Cherry Cobbler

Pompom, 1 1/4" embossed with Northern Flurry, Whisper White

Everything was sponged with Crumb Cake, except his hat and that was sponged with Cherry Cobbler.

Candy Lane Christmas dsp OUT OF STOCK

Candy Cane Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper

December 1, 2010

The Candy Cane Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper (item 120809) is out of stock and no longer available to order. Don't forget our other beautiful holiday paper selections--Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper (item 117159) from the Idea Book & Catalog, and Deck The Halls Designer Series Paper (item 120810) from the Holiday Mini.

My Team is Growing!!!!! Watercolor Crayons Now Available & Punches!!

What a wild week this has been and its only Wednesday. I recruited 2 gals and Paula (part of my downline) recruited 2 gals and Pamm recruited 1 gal (and Pamm just signed up 1 week ago). All because of the FABULOUS 1/2 off promotion on the Starter Kit. Thanks Stampin' Up! for making it so easy for all of us to recruit! So now I have 5 gals in my downline and 3 gals in my 2nd line. Thanks Girl's! I'm so excited to have you as my downline. I have one more person to recruit and I will promote to Manager thanks to these gals. Yipee!! You all ROCK! And a special thanks to my Upline, Patty Bennett, who has helped me get this far! She is my ROCK STAR, and our FEARLESS Leader!!! I hope to be as great an upline as she is one day. I/we have such a GREAT mentor.

Ok, now did you know you can now purchase the Water Color Crayons?

120949 new Color Kit (17) $39.95

119802 subtles (10) $16.95

119803 Regals (10) $16.95

119804 Brights (10) $16.95

119805 neutrals (10) $16.95

And Also the Fancy Flower Punch #118073 & the 2 1/2" Circle Punch #120906. The problems with these punches have been resolved and are now available for purchase.