MERRY CHRISTMAS

I pray that you all have a blessed Christmas!!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy

TOMATO CAGE TREES

I don't know how many of you are in Pinterest....but I think I'm addicted to it!!  I love going on there and getting inspired....not only for stamping....but also for cooking, decorating, and anything else you're interested in.

Well, a few weeks ago while I saw a great idea.....to wrap Christmas lights around tomato cages to make outdoor lighted Christmas trees.  Isn't that a cool idea?!

I started with a basic large cage that I found in the back.....so here is my "naked" cage.....

Then I just wrapped lights all around them....started at the top and ended with the plug at the bottom.  I made a total of tree.  Here they are outside....

Here is a picture of how they look from the road....

  You need to be "invited" to join, so if any of you need an invitation, just let me know and I'll send you one.

 

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

QUICK GIFT CARD HOLDERS

Last Thursday was my office's Christmas party and after dinner we exchange gift cards.  Well, I couldn't take our gift cards "naked" to the party....so I quickly made a couple of gift card holders for them using the 2 Tags Die.  Here are the fronts.....

 Here are the insides.....

You can see how I made them in the picture above.....I just placed a folded piece of card stock right above the cut line of the tag and ran it through the Big Shot, making sure the end didn't cut.

We had a great time!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy

JOY

Today's card is the second card that we made at the "Stamp for a Cause" event.  

A very pretty and simple Christmas card.

The next few days are very busy for me.....Remember....I'm now working all day on Thursdays and Fridays.  I'm adjusting, but still not use to it yet.  I come home pretty bushed!  It's forcing me to think about Thursdays dinner today.....the crockpot is becoming my friend.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

QUICK SNOWFLAKE CARD

Today I'm posting a card that I quickly made last night.  I was in need of a major "stamping fix"!!  

I was inspired by a card that I saw on Pinterest by Darlene Adamo.....and here is my version....I added SEWING (please don't look too closely....I'm not a very good seamstress).  Sewing isn't something I normally do....although I love how it makes cards look.

I'm just wild about the Distressed Dots background stamp....it adds so much with such little effort...LOVE IT! 

I used a base of Crumb Cake card stock with a Chocolate Chip liner....the DSP is some retired Christmas paper from last year, sentiment is from Contempo Christmas stamped with Chocolate chip, sponging is also with Chocolate Chip, and the final touch is the Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine.

Thanks for visiting.....let me know you were here by leaving a comment.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings & Hugs, Cindy

QUICK & EASY CHRISTMAS CARD

Today's card is quick and easy Christmas card.  Saturday I was at a meeting all day for our church and wanted to just relax afterwards, so I made this card.  There is nothing like stamping therapy!  

 I think, too, that it has been so hot here lately, that thinking of Christmas and winter just makes me psychologically cooler.

Thanks for visiting....I appreciate it.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings & Hugs, Cindy

2012 HOLIDAY MINI CATALOG IS HERE

On August 1st, the HOLIDAY MINI catalog became available to order from!!  

So many NEW and WONDERFUL items.  

Some of the very COOL things that are new to this catalog are:

• Bundles!!  I love that Stampin' Up! has bundled matching stamp sets and framelits saving you money (15%off)!  Watch for several bundles throughout the catalog.
• Kits!!  Several cute kits for Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day!
• Suites!!  Four new suites to fit everyone's holiday needs!
• Samples!!  There are so many wonderful samples to CASE (copy and share everything)!

Here are some quick and cute 3x3 gift tags that I made from the products in the Scentsational Season Bundle....these little cuties were inspired by some that Mary Fish made a couple of weeks ago.
I love these little framelits....I think the little gingerbread man and the mug are my favorites....well, maybe it's the tree and the candy canes.  Oh forget it...I LOVE them all!!!

 I LOVE just about everything in this catalog!!!  

I'm having a hard time NOT going crazy ordering everything in it!!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!

Blessings & Hugs,  Cindy

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope you all have a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Hugs, Cindy

ANOTHER GIFT TIN

Here's another simple (and cute) gift tin....

These are PERFECT for gift cards!!!

Again, projects like this are perfect for those scraps that you have laying around!

The tins that I'm using for the retired tins that SU sold in groups of 5. Now I'm wishing that I had bought a whole LOT MORE of them!!!

Until next time...find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy

GIFT TIN AND CARD

I've been busy getting all those last minutes gifts ready for Christmas.....and lately I have been working on gift tins. Today I'm sharing with you a tin and card that I made for some friends of ours. Both are VERY SIMPLE....but I think SUPER CUTE!!!

Projects like these are GREAT ways to use retired DSP and other supplies....I really liked this paper that is a few years old.

Here's a picture of both the tin and card...

Here's a close up of the card.....

Here's the tin....

I have made a few of these and will take pictures and post them individually.

Until next time....find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

UPDATED TREAT HOLDER

I already shared with you the treat holder that I made for my Bible study group.....but when I got them all done, I just felt like they needed something......so I added a little bit of bling....a small red gem! Now I think they look just right!

Here's the updated version....

Here's what it looked like BEFORE.....

Here's a picture of all the treats....

Leave me a comment and let me know which one you prefer :-)

Until next time....find some time for stamping!

Hugs, Cindy

TREAT HOLDER

The last couple of days, I have been trying to get all prepared for Christmas. I try to get everything done a week or so before Christmas so that when Christmas rolls around, I can just enjoy the time. Doesn't always work out that way....but it's looking good for this year, despite some of the hectic going ons around here.

Today I'm sharing with you Christmas treats that I made for my Bible study group....they are simple, but cute. They are stuffed with a scrumptious Ghiradelli chocolate and tied with some Cherry Cobbler Baker's twine. I also used up some of last year's Christmas DSP.....I loved this paper and was sorry to see it go.

We are having some friends over tonight for some soup, salad, and bread.....so that's it for me today.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

PUNCHED SANTA TOPPER

Today I'm sharing with you some punched Santas that I made to put on the top of treats for my stamp club gals. It is pretty much just like the Santa in this post....but without the mini jingle bell.

Here they all are.......

Here's an unfortunately blurry picture of the entire treat.....

I filled them with mint M&M's.....they are sure YUMMY! I felt like the regular M&M's were too small and the peanut ones were too big....but these were just right!!

Until next time....find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy

PUNCH SNOWMAN

Today's card was cased from a fellow demonstrator named Sandra Green Compton.....I saw her card on the demonstrator only site Stampin' Connection.

I LOVE how the card turned out!!

The snowman is made with punches.....except for his nose, which I cut from a scrap of Pumpkin Pie and the snowflake which I cut with the Big Shot using the Northern Frost die.

I used the dots from the Create a Cupcake stamp set for the snowy background....I think it looks perfect!

It's hard to see in the picture, but I put some Iridescent Ice on the torn edge of the Whisper White paper....it's really sparkly in person!

I'm also still playing with my Sweet Press Cookie Stamps.....here is a cookie that's ready to be baked where I cut out just the snowflake....they're small so they look like silver dollar cookies.

I finally was able to take a picture of a BAKED cookie.....they get eaten pretty quick around here!

I am really pleased with the detail that remains even after baking.....they are going to make a GREAT addition to the goodies that we give away each Christmas.

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

ADVENT CALENDAR

Today I'm sharing with you an Advent Calendar that I made using the Two Tags Die and the 25 & Counting stamp set from the Holiday Mini. I used a variety of current and retired DSP for the tags and then decorated each tag.

Here's a picture of the entire Advent Calendar....

I mounted all the tags on a 1/4" thick piece of plywood that was cut 16" x 14-1/2".....my son sanded and then spray painted it white. Then Steve hammered in some "U" shaped tacks so that I could tie on each tag. I LOVE how it all came together.

Here's a few close up pictures of some of the tags.....

Inside each of the tags is a task for our family to complete together.

Here's a couple of the tasks that we will be completing....

Some other tasks include decorating the tree (of course!), making "real" hot cocoa, reading the Christmas story in the gospels, watching a Christmas movie....and a bunch of other FUN Christmas activities. I'm really looking forward to this!!!

Until next time, find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

ANOTHER PUNCH STOCKING CARD

I just can't get enough of the Stocking Punch! I LOVE it!!

I have seen so many cute cards made using it....and I can't seem to quit making cards myself :-)

Here's the latest......

I should have a pretty good stock pile of Christmas cards by the time December rolls around!

Thanks for visiting!!!

Until next time.....find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy

SUPER CUTE PUNCH SANTA TOPPER!

Today's project is sooo cute!!!

I saw this cute snowman on fellow demonstrator Patty Bennett's blog (click HERE to visit her blog)...who made this while at another demonstrator's home in Utah. Everything is the same as Patty's except that I changed the hat a bit....she had a pompom....I used another punched piece and added the mini jingle bell (NEW in the Holiday Mini.....sooo cute!!!)

The snowman is made entirely with punches.

The hat is made using the extra large oval....the piece holding the mini jingle bell is a "sliver" punched with the large oval, his face is the large oval, his beard is the ornament punch, his mustache is the wing from the bird builder punch, his eyes, nose and mouth are the eyes from the owl punch. I added Dazzling Diamonds using a 2-way glue pen.

I then attached him to the new 1x8 cello bags from the Holiday Mini....here's a picture of the entire thing.....

I love this little guy!!!

Well, that's it for me today and I'm looking forward to this weekend.

Madison is finally over her mono.....although I am restricting her activities so that she doesn't overdo it and have a relapse. Andy has adjusted to having a cast and is getting really good at hopping around on one foot.....he also can move pretty quick on crutches!

Until next time.....find some time for stamping!!!

Hugs, Cindy

STOCKINGS HUNG BY THE CHIMNEY WITH CARE

Today's card is a case (Copy And Share Everything) from a demonstrator named Jackie Topa. I made a few changes, but not very many.

I used the cuff of the Stocking Builder Punch to make the bricks....along with the toe of the punch on Red Glimmer paper for the flames. The fire is the wing punched from the Bird Builder Punch and then sponged with More Mustard.

The fireplace background is just a small piece of Basic Black card stock that I sponged with Whisper White Craft Ink so that it would look "smokey".

This card is a bit more time consuming that I usually make.....but it wasn't hard. And I definitely need to step up my stampin' game....I need to get back to trying new techniques and all that good stuff.

This card also allowed me to use my scraps.....I always like being able to use bits of card stock leftover from previous projects.

Well, thanks for visiting! I'm off to rustle up some grub for my family.

Until next time....find some time for stamping!

Hugs, Cindy

MY FIRST CHRISTMAS CARD THIS YEAR

Hope you have had a relaxing and refreshing weekend. Today has been a nice refreshment from a busy week. I think that everybody is on the mend now.....Andy is all casted up, Madison is getting over her mono, and I think I'm rested up to face another week :-)

Although, I don't want to have another week like last week....Whew!! Makes me tired just thinking about it ;-)

Today's card is a CHRISTMAS CARD!!

I'm ready for the cooler weather to come.....and with it....the holidays! I love fall and I like winter.....but only mild California winters. I'm too big of a wimp to live where it REALLY gets COLD!

I used the new set, Stitched Stockings, which is in the Holiday Mini catalog (click HERE to view online). I love it and can't wait to make all kinds of cards with it....not just Christmas cards. I've seen it used for a birthday card and a baby card.....gotta love those versatile sets!

Well, that's it for me today. Thanks for poppin' in!!!

Until next time.....find some time for stamping!!!!

Hugs, Cindy

STOCKING PUNCH CARD

This weekend was suppose to be a quiet weekend of stamping for me....but sometimes things don't always work out like you plan. Steve was working and the kids were going to our church's high school retreat....which meant I would be "free" Friday evening and all day Saturday.

Well, Madison has been battling being sick for over a week now....we had her at the doctor's on Thursday and he was pretty sure she had mono. He had her tested for strep throat since she had a bad sore throat....but that was just to rule it out. When that did come back negative...we went in again on Friday so she could have a blood test to confirm mono. The results are not in....but long story short...she has been on the coach for 3 days now. Very weak and tired....and other classic symptoms of mono. She was VERY disappointed about not being able to go this weekend. I feel terrible for her.

Also, she is on the tennis team at school....and with her being so tired it has been really hard for her play and make it through practices, which are every day after school for a couple of hours. Anyways....we're praying that this will not hang on for much longer since this is going on the second week of her feeling crummy.

But yesterday I did spent the afternoon with my friend Jamie.....she scrapbooked and I stamped. It was GREAT!! Very relaxing and refreshing!

Here is one of the cards that I made yesterday....not a lot of stamping but I just had to use the new Stocking Builder Punch that is in the Holiday Mini....that was the main reason I even made this card :-D

The card is VERY VERY simple....pretty much ridiculously simple, but I like it. What do you think?

I used Red Glimmer paper.....which really jazzes up anything.

But because I am a cheapo....here is what I did before I adhered it...

I punched out a couple of stockings!

I just couldn't bear "wasting" all that paper in the middle ;-)

Well...it's late and I need to get to bed.

THANKS for visiting!!

Until next time....find some time for stamping!!

Hugs, Cindy