Joy Ornament

I so enjoyed my day of stamping on Saturday! I got to catch up with my dear friend Amy, meet some other stamp-addicts, make some Christmas cards and gifts and just relax.

Our hostess had 3 different challenges for us during the day and one was to use circles in a project. I had recently seen Julie's ornament card tutorial and thought it would be fun to give it a try.

For my ornament card, I used Very Vanilla and Brushed Gold cardstock from SU! and some beautiful sparkly Making Memories paper I found at Archiver's. A little ribbon, a few gems, some Crystal Stickles and the SU! Small Script "joy" and it was done.

This was so fun to make! You should give a try too!

Got Verve?

I was soooo happy that my new Verve stamps arrived before my Saturday Crop! One of the challenges at the crop was to created something using Bazzil Bling cardstock. Verve's Starlight Starbright was the perfect match!

I paired up my cranberry Bazzill Bling with some SU! Brushed Gold cardstock to create a gift box. It needed a little something to dress it up, so I covered a chip board star with the Brushed Gold cardstock, sanded the edges and added SU! gold cord. The tag was made with the Verve Starlight Starbright set, Baroque Burgundy ink and oval punches. The ribbon around the lid was a suprise find from Biglots. This box is the perfect size for 3x3 note cards, gift cards and jewelry!

The box turned out great and I won the challenge and a whole package of Bazzill Bling 12x12 cardstock! Very fun!!!

BTW, this little box is super easy to make! For the bottom simply cut a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" square of cardstock and score it on each side at 1 1/2". For the top, cut a second piece of cardstock in a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" square and score it on each side at 3/4". On both the top and bottom pieces, snip along each vertical score line just in to the horizontal score line to create tabs. Fold and secure each tab with adhesive and your done!

Gratitude

With Thanksgiving approaching, I really wanted to do something for my co-workers to remind them how thankful I am to work with them. I work at an elementary school, in the office with the Principal and 3 other office staff. There's rarely a dull moment and we've had more than our share of drama in the last few weeks.

I came across these copper beaded baskets at Michael's for just $1. and filled them with truffle and caramel Kisses. I added a Chocolate Chip grossgrain bow and a tag stamped with the saying "Gratitude, seldom spoken, always felt". It's a simple little gift that will be given with lots of love.

I'm truly blessed to work with such wonderful, caring people. Be sure to take some time this week to count your blessings. Wishing you and yours a joyous Thanksgiving!

Be Merry!

I went to a Crop this weekend, but didn't scrapbook. Instead, I used the time to begin mass production of one of my Christmas card designs. I usually make two designs from the same stamp set and 30 of each design.

Generally, I go with a typical Christmas image like a snowflake, tree or angel for my cards. But this year, I wanted to do something different. When I first saw the deer in Basic Grey's Winterland set, I knew it was just what I was looking for. I paired it up with Basic Grey Fruitcake paper and SU! Baroque Burgundy and Old Olive cardstock.

I used my Cuttlebug Textile Texture embossing folder on my card base and my corner punch to scallop the patterned paper. Sakura Stardust gel pen made a nice accent to the borders of my image and saying. Old Olive narrow organdy was the finishing touch, until I sprayed the entired card with Sugar Cookie Glimmer Mist. Can I just say I love Glimmer Mist!

I've got another busy week ahead, but I'm looking forward to stamping again at a crop this Saturday. I'll be finishing my Christmas cards and making some Christmas gifts. I hope your getting a jump on all of your holiday papercrafting as well. Have a wonderful week!

Happy Birthday Angel!

Notice something different about my card? There's no stamping. None.

I wanted to make one last Angel Sketch before calling it a night, but really didn't have much time. So I grabbed my fab new K&Company mat pack and some matching SU! ribbons and Ruby Red cardstock and thought "now what?"

As I started rummaging through my embellishments, I came across some chipboard stickers that I purchased at Michael's a while back and they matched perfectly. It all came together with the last touch of a Prima flower and rhinestone brad. This is Angel Sketch #30.

And tomorrow is her big day! Happy Birthday Angel! May it be filled with joy! :)

Priceless & New Patterned Paper

I just love patterned paper!!! I came across this patterned paper at Target. It's one of those great little mat packs by K& Company. It's not my usual color scheme, but it was so pretty, with lots of flowers and well, it seemed like a must have. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it in the coming month.

I paired it up here with Old Olive and Cranberry Crisp cardstock. I used my SU! Priceless set and Paper Trey's Paper Tray set. A few pearls and a little Fruit Punch Stickles and viola!

The layout is another Angel Sketch (#9). It's one of my faves! If you haven't been to Angel's blog, you should take a peek.

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your evening! :)

Best Laid Plans

My plan really was to spend the majority of the weekend stamping and sharing projects with you on my blog. Unfortunately, I developed a migraine and that put a damper on things.

I did manage a couple more cards though. This one is for a co-worker who has been feeling a little down lately. She's super sweet and I wanted to make something sparkly for her to brighten her day.

I used Angel Sketch #27 for this one, SU! Blue Bayou and Wild Wasabi cardstock along with some patterned paper from Autumn Leaves that I picked up at Target. The stamps are from AMuse. Don't you just love that little Seattle Girl?

I may have gotten carried away with the sparkle, but I couldn't help myself. I used Waterfall Stickles on the umbrella, a Sakura Glitter Pen around the scallops and the word "weather?" and then sprayed the whole card with Snowflake Glimmer Mist. It took a little playing to figure out how to the get the Glimmer Mist just right, so be sure to practice before you use it. Once you do use it, you'll love it!

Basic Grey & Christmas!

Look at what I bought! I had the chance to stop in Archiver's this past week and I treated myself to some new stamping goodies! I walked around the store for an hour taking in all the Christmas paper, stamps, embellishments and bling!

I've become a big fan of Basic Grey paper and was so excited when I saw that they have several new clear stamp sets. This is Winterland. Isn't it awesome!?! I just love the deer and all of the things that can go in his antlers. And check out the little squirrel...he's adorable! And the Basic Grey Fruitcake paper goes great with it!

I used a couple more Angel sketches for these cards, #13 and #18. There's still time to play along with Angel's birthday sketches. Although, I'm hoping I win all of her goodies (or at least her fabulous cards), so maybe I shouldn't encourage you. *wink*

I'm going to try to fit some more stamping in this weekend. Need to take a break though to change the laundry over and start dinner. It's a Stouffer's night here at our house. They make a great chicken enchilada dinner and all I have to do is heat the oven and make a salad to go with it. What can I say? I'd rather stamp today! :)

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Angel to play the Name Game. The idea is to list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life, for each letter of your middle name. Then, at the end of your blog post, choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.

My middle name is... Jo. For those of you wondering, it's a family name...my grandmother is Wanda Jo, my mother is Linda Jo and I am Patricia Jo. Any other Jo's out there?

J: Josh, Justin and Jacob...my 3 sons. They bring so much joy to my life! (As does my daughter, Sarah...I know, you wonder why we didn't name her Jenny or Jessica...good question.)

O: Organized! I function so much better when everything is in it's place, especially my stamping supplies. ;)

I wish I had more letters in my middle name, it's so hard to limit my tag to just two! ;)

How about....
Kayla and Lexi Play along if you have time! :)

Happy Stampin'!

I can't tell you how happy I am that I got some stamp time today! It's been a very busy couple of weeks and it felt really good to just be home today... to catch up on laundry and cleaning, to let the kids enjoy having friends over and to play with my stamps.

Since I needed some inspiration to get going, I went to Angel's blog to take a look at the sketches she's been sharing each day to celebrate her birthday.

This is sketch 23. I took a little liberty with it, but I needed to play with this flower again. And of course that meant breaking out my new Copper Stickles. I used all SU! product, except for the chocolate ribbon- it's from Close to My Heart.

Have you checked out their new products lately? I've found some pleasant surprises in CTMH recently. They have some new stamp sets, paper, embellishment, chipboard and distressing products that are really fun!

Here's a card I made with the CTMH Legendary Moments stamp set. I really like this set because it's perfect for my teenage boys. I paired it up with Basic Grey Periphery paper and SU! Basic Gray, Blue Bayou and Soft Sky cardstock. I used Angel's sketch 24 for the layout.

This card is for my oldest son, Josh. His football banquet is next Sunday and I want to write him a note reminding him how proud I am of his efforts this year.

Stay tuned for more cards...I am having sooo much fun today! Hope you have some time to stamp too.