Vintage Christmas

Good Morning! Today I have a Christmas card to share.  I found this image quite some time ago in a quaint little crafting shop and just had to have it.  I love to use vintage images for my Christmas stamping. Stampin'Up! used to have a beautiful set very similar to this but its long retired.  My upline actually owns it but will not sell it to me, if you can imagine that!  Maybe someday she'll no longer want/need it??  If so, I'll be first in line....:)

This card was created with Saharra Sand, Rose Red, retired dsp from the Holiday mini, Very Vanilla and watercolour paper.  Accessories are: MS border punch, oval dies, Big Shot, SU! daisy, half back pearls from the Pretties kit.  I also used some white Flower Soft on her muff and pom pom on her hat, although I'm sure you can't see it in this pic. There's also some Dazzling Diamonds on there too, I just dabbed some glue on top of the Flower Soft and then sprinkled with DD.The card was sprayed with shimmer mist, tinted with a bit of Rose red, it looks just gorgeous in real life but very hard to capture in a photo.

Thanks for dropping by!
Deb

Gift Card & After Eights ~ mmmmm!

Hi there!

Today's share is my gift to our Newspaper Carrier. They do a wonderful job delivering our newspaper through rain, sleet & snow, each and every day! I wanted to say a little thank you to them, and what better way than a gift card and some chocolate. :-) The star was die cut with the SU! Stars Die & the Big Shot, using that marvelous glittery fun foam I found at a local dollar store.

Thanks for dropping by!

Debbie

Last of the Covered Lindt Bars!

Good morning! These are the last 2 of the covered Lindt bars we made this past week. We used retired DSP, some Blue Bayou & Kiwi Kiss cardstock along with Whisper White and Very Vanilla for the images. The gorgeous Chocolate Chip ribbon is from SU! and so easy to tie, it has the most wonderful grain to it and makes lovely bows. This ribbon is perfect for those masculine gifts and cards, doesn't look to frilly. :-)

Thanks for dropping by!

Debbie

Chocolate Teddy Bears!

Good Morning! Today's share is a simple, easy Christmas goodie gift. I've covered a Lindt chocolate bar with a partial sheet of retired SU! designer paper, tied it up with the marvelous Old Olive wide striped grosgrain and added a cute little stamped Teddy Bear image with a "for you" at the top. The image is a very old SU! and I cannot find it in my stamp room right now to give you the name. Its probably under something; when I locate it, I'll update this post!! :-)

To measure dsp for the chocolate bar, I measured the length of the bar and cut my designer paper at this measurement out of a 12 x 12 paper. Then, I carefully wrapped the dsp around the bar, finger creasing at the sides (the Lindt bars have about 1/4 inch sides on the box) and then made a mark where I wanted to cut the dsp for width. This way, the dsp is sure to fit around the bar with a comfortable overlap. Sticky strip was then applied to the length of the paper and adhered. Very simple!

We are finally experiencing some warmer weather here in Alberta, thank goodness!!! I just hope it doesn't warm up too much, causing the snow to melt !~ Christmas without snow isn't quite the same to me. :-)

Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!!
Debbie

Winter Post CASE

Hi there! Today's share is a card I totally CASED from this creative stampers blog: http://kirstyscardnscrap.wordpress.com/. (my blog won't allow me to add the link here, so look for July 10th posting on Kirsty's blog) What a beautiful card!! I've not used my Winter Post yet and I absolutely love this set. So Vintage, so Beautiful. Kirsty did a great job capturing the vintage-ness of this set!! (ha! is that even a word?? :-) )

I changed my colours up a bit and used an oval instead of a circle cut, as Kirsty did.

My card colours are: Kraft for the base, stamping the gorgeous snowflake with Chocolate Chip ink and sponging the edges of the card to create depth and warmth. The background matt is Chocolate Chip along with retired DSP Ski Slope and two gorgeous ribbons.....one Baja Blue and the other a 1 inch stitched Chocolate Chip grosgrain. I coloured the skaters in with Pink Pirouette and Baja reinkers as well as some Creamy Caramel for the hat. The Post Card area was inked & stamped with Chocolate Chip, as well sponging the sides. The Eyelet border punch adds a bit of detail at the bottom.

I've been super busy coordinating my Christmas in August stamp camp along with the Flip Flop Album class, both are going to be alot of fun!! The Christmas in August will feature quick and easy cards that are great for beginners as well as seasoned stampers who need/want to make ALL their Christmas cards. The card designs are beautiful, and they are lovely & layered, relying on punches and designer series paper to jazz them up. Super speedy, especially if you are making 20 or more, as I do. :-)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!!

Debbie

Christmas Goodies!

Hi there! Here's a very quick & easy gift I jazzed up this morning with a little bit of brown satin ribbon and a tag. (I know, I know, the ribbon looks like rabbit ears in this picture!) Adorning the tag is a Felt Flurry snowflake. For those who haven't ordered these, they are a MUST HAVE!! I've been enjoying them so much, they add that special touch to gifts, labels, cards, you name it. The large ones will be fantastic for those winter/Christmas scrapbook pages, and they match the Ski Slope Designer paper perfectly. Am I sold on them -- yes, did you guess? !!!! I will later wrap this tin of oh-so-good cookies in cellophane and tie with another small bit of brown satin ribbon, attaching the recipients card to this as well. I sure hope they like it!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Debbie

Christmas Cards - again!

Good Morning again! I recently received a card similar to this in a swap, and thought it was absolutely gorgeous!!!! Pam McLean had made it, and as usual, her cards are always beautiful. The only changes I made was to matt it onto a larger white cardstock base and stamp my greeting in Baja Blue. I thought the use of the Felt Flurries Snowflake and the hat pin and beads from the Pretties Kit was amazing. After the recipient enjoys this card on the mantle over Christmas, they can take the pin off and wear it as a winter pin on their lapel. Who would have thought we'd be wearing our Stampin' stuff!!
Have a great day!
Debbie

Christmas Creations and such

Hi there Blogger Friends! Its been such a busy week so far with sickness and Dr./hospital visits, but all is much better for now, thank goodness! I've been busy in the craft room but don't have any pictures ready for upload yet. I've also been trying to decorate for Christmas and am pondering the baking situation coming up. Isn't that just the best time of the year, making those shortbread & sugar cookies!!?

I've posted a picture of a wreath I made last week, as well as this cute little bear. Isn't she adorable? She was one of my birthday presents last week, lucky me!! I just love bears, and although I don't collect them as I used to, I still like to receive them as gifts periodically! (someone in my family remembered that!!)

As well, Stampin' Up has released the Retiring List of Stamps from the Fall & Winter Collections. Wonderful news: they are offering 10% off all these retiring sets!! AND...it gets better.....SU! is offering FREE SHIPPING ON ALL ORDERS $100 OR MORE UNTIL DECEMBER 23rd!!! So don't delay, take advantage of this great offer and get those retired stamps at 10% off and receive free shipping!!!

Have a great afternoon!

Debbie

Close up of Rimmer Tin

Hi Blogger Friends! I've been asked to show a close up of my rimmer tin, part of the last gift basket posted. I went a little crazy using the Nestabilities, but the designer paper and all the circles just looked so cute, all nesting together on the tin.

I'm off to the city for a birthday lunch with a friend, so have a great day and thank so much for stopping by!

Debbie

Christmas Basket Number Three

Hi there Blogger Friends! Here is another gift basket I've been working on. I really love this designer paper, Wintergreen from last years catalogue. I still have quite a bit of it left, and yes, I'm hoarding it! Love the combo, so serene.

Yesterday my daughter and I went to the Festival of Trees and I picked up this darling little Santa oranament/door hanger to add to the basket. Isn't it cute?

The Festival of Trees was fabulous, many beautiful Christmas trees, and inspiring decorating ideas for the home. As well, there were some yummy gingergbread houses on display. We had a wonderful day, and really enjoyed going into the heart of the city this time of year. It always feels so festive.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you are having a great weekend!

Debbie

Second Christmas Gift Basket

Hi there! Isn't this just the cutest???? I fell in love with this little popcorn bowl, and it perfectly suited my gift basket theme!! In the basket there is a tin with a gift card for the recipient to purchase a video of their choice, two popcorn toppings from Epicure (which I covered with coordinating designer paper) and three microwave popcorn packets (again, covered with coordinating designer paper). I was really happy with this assortment and hope the recipient is happy with it too! Again, everything was nestled in tightly for transport. Also, I've purchased a cello gift bag with little snowflakes printed on it. It easily wraps around the basket. To tie, I have a little red velvet bow with a ceramic Santa pinned to the middle. If I have time before sending, I'll make another purse/bag holder and place some chocolates in there too. I mean really, one should enjoy a movie with both popcorn and chocolate, it just seems right! :-)

Thanks for stopping by,

Debbie

Christmas Basket Number One

Hi again! Here is the first installment of gift baskets that I've created for family & friends. What do you think? I really enjoyed making this basket and tried to fill it with things the recipient will really enjoy. Included in there are: Tin of Candied Ginger, Tin of Tea from the Chateau Frontenac, Hot Buttered Rum Mix, Sugar Rimmer for Hot Beverages, a Purse/Bag of Indivually wrapped chocolates, and two tins of specialy cookies. I was going to make cookies, but these were fantastic looking cookies, and I love the tins they are in.

For presentation, I would normally have more raffia in there, but I want the items to actually sit lower in the basket for mailing purposes. If they are nestled in there they won't have as much opportunity to bounce around in transit. I also have a beautiful set of leather gloves to go in there, I just have to figure out how to wrap them. If you can believe it, I am actually OUT of this designer paper! I truly thought I would have it forever, as I had quite a few sheets of these colour combinations!

Hope you have a great afternoon,and be sure to check in as I'll have some more uploads in the coming days!

Take care,

Debbie

Purse Bag

Hi there Blogger Friends! Well, yes I did sleep last night, see post below for explanation! Thank goodness. :-)

This is part of a gift set I did up for my SIL. This is called a Purse Box, I believe. Very quick and easy, uses aproximately 1/2 a sheet of designer paper. I still have quite a bit of this designer paper left over, I sort of hoarded it from last season! Such a pretty combination, Sage, Artichoke, Soft Sky (retired) and Celery.

I'll have pictures of the entire gift basket in my next post.

Got to go for now, have a great day!

Debbie

Christmas Tin

Good Morning! Its a fabulous day out there today, much better than the awful winds yesterday. We've already been for our hour walk (me and the dog!) and got some laundry and cleaning accomplished too. Now to the stamp room!!!! (that's my reward)

This is a tin filled with Candied Ginger. (yuck)! But its my MIL's very favourite, and I know she'll really enjoy it. She's getting harder and harder to buy gifts for, and I find as family members get older, they really really appreciate the little things in life. So here's a tin of her very favourite, I'm sure she'll hide it away and savour each piece.

I used last years designer paper on this tin, as well as some gold ribbon that was in my stash. I've since fixed the ribbon, that's a bit askew in this pic, and held it down with a small glue dot. Bless those glue dots! They come in handy for so many things.

Have a great day, and I'll be posting more pics of my gifts sets very soon. I'm revamping my photgraphy studio (as in, where can I get a good picture!! haha). I'll be retaking the photos from yesterday as I'm just not happy with their quality. Hopefully I'll have some good shots to show soon. Enjoy your day!

Debbie