What 2 Stamp

A Stocking Full of Goodies

I'm hard at work with all the Christmas cards and gifts I'm making with my papercrafting supplies--I'll bet you are, too! This week, I'm using the Holiday Stocking Sizzix Die to make goodie bags for my son's class. When you're pressed for time (which we all are, right now!) it doesn't get any quicker than using a large die to make a goodie bag.

I cut the front of the bag from the Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper, and the back of the stocking, the heel and the toe from Garden Green cardstock. The cuff is Whisper White. I sealed the edges of the stocking with Tombow Multi-Purpose Adhesive. Because paper doesn't have as much give as fabric or felt, I need to keep my goodie bag items to a minimum to fit them all in there. But, it is the perfect size for a candy cane, a pencil and a chocolate Santa. Speaking of chocolate Santas, where did I put that bag.....

Holiday Organizer Pattern

In past years, I have taught a class making a holiday organizer out of cardstock. It was a great project and one I personally use for all of my holiday note-keeping, receipts, etc. But, my paper one was starting to look a little ragged, so I decided to try my hand at making one out of fabric, which will be more durable.

The result is this fun little item. It's made in the rag style, which means the edges are raw and fluffy, rather than finished. It takes only about an hour to make, and it folds to a little less than the size of a #10-size envelope, so it fits great in a purse. The pattern I have designed also includes a template to create an envelope that will fit in one of the pockets, to hold your receipts, as well as a sheet of printable gift records, to track what all you have bought. I am selling the pattern for $3.95 through my Etsy shop, found here.

Will Stamp for Cookies

All stampers know that stamping and sweets are a natural combination! But, instead of just snacking while you stamp, now you can stamp while you bake!

These new Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps from Stampin' Up! can be used to impress one of three designs onto your cookies--a heart, a snowflake or a pumpkin. The set includes all three images and a wooden handle, which is interchangeable. The Cookie Stamps are $16.95 for the set and are available only through Jan. 3. What  a fun addition to your holiday baking!

Register Today for Advent Calendar Class

Today is the deadline to register for my Advent Calendar class this Saturday, Nov. 12. This project is so much fun to work on--don't miss the chance to make yours! For more information and to register, click here.

Treat Bag Toppers

As we gear up for that spookiest of holidays, I just had to share these adorable treat bags made by my friend Jennifer for a Halloween party at her house last week. She used the Scalloped Square Punch to cut black tags and then mounted little Halloween images onto a contrasting square of cardstock and tied the tag around the bag. How easy and cute is that??

I want to thank Jennifer for sharing her treats with us, and remember, if you would like to be a guest blogger for a day, just email me a photo of your project and any details to go along with it (Stampin' Up! products only, please). We'll show everyone what you can do with stamps! 

Advent Calendar Class on Nov. 12

Christmas will be here before you know it and what better way to countdown than with this adorable Advent Calendar? This delightful project will be my Nov. 12 class. All materials will be pre-cut and you'll have a fun afternoon of stamping and embellishing--just think how cute this will look in your house! For more details and to register for the class, click here.

12 Weeks of Christmas

 
Yes, it's that time of year again--already! I'm bringing back a special program I shared with you a couple of years ago, called the 12 Weeks of Christmas. It is a little gift I do exclusively for those who subscribe to my email newsletter, which you can do through the red box at the top left-hand side of this box. Starting tomorrow, email subscribers will receive a weekly email with a unique Christmas idea. I will be showcasing card and gift ideas, as well as wrapping/packaging ideas. The projects will all be quick and "do-able" so that you can produce a lot of handmade items very efficiently. The 12 Weeks program will wrap up by Dec. 16.

The projects won't be posted on the blog; they are available only to newsletter subscribers. So, sign up for my email newsletter if you haven't already, and please feel free to share this with your friends!

Monster Mash

 
OK, this little project is overly simple, but I'm showing it to teach you a technique. BTW, this is a quickie bookmark I made for my 9-year-old, as he seems to always be looking for one. The images are from Make a Monster, a must-own for anyone with a little boy in their life, or just anyone who needs a little silliness!

To make the stamping go as quickly as possible, I took advantage of the largest Clear-Mount Block we sell, Block F. I lined up all the monsters onto the block, then stamped them all at once.

 
When I was ready to add all the silly eyes and things, I laid the stamps sticky-side up onto the already-stamped monsters. Then, I pressed Block F onto the images, getting them all on the block at one time.

 
I colored the images individually with markers, then stamped them onto the monsters. Because I had stuck the stamps on all at once, everything was already lined up perfectly.

This is a great technique for lining up lots of clear-mount images--take advantage of those large blocks!

Halloween Countdown Calendar

 
Boy, have I been busy this week!! I started the week intending to make my own prototype of the gorgeous Advent calendar that is in the new Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini catalog. And then, while listening to my 9-year-old obsess about WHEN OH WHEN can we go buy his Darth Vader costume for Halloween, I had an inspiration. I wanted to see if I could use the new Peekaboo Frames Sizzix Die and the 25 & Counting stamp set to make a Halloween Countdown Calendar. And I did it! That's really saying something, considering that 25 and Counting is actually a Christmas set!

Want to make your own Halloween Countdown Calendar? You're welcome to follow my picture here, but just in case you don't have all the goodies necessary, I am offering a limited-edition kit, now through Sept. 29. There are more details on that below, but first, a few more photos so you can see how cute this thing is:

 
 
 
 

Now, here are the details of the kit:

The kit includes:

• All die-cut Peekaboo Frame pieces & all die-cut numbers. Please note that the pattern paper in each kit may vary according to supplies on hand, but they will be the same colors (orange and dark brown)
• All punched pieces
• All embellishments shown in the photo, including a brad, a Mini Clothespin, a Basic Rhinestone, a small piece of Early Espresso ribbon and a length of Baker's Twine.
• A pdf of instructions for stamping the numbers, using the 25 & Counting set. This will be sent via email when I receive notice of your purchase-it is not an automatic download.


The kit DOES NOT INCLUDE:

• Stamped pieces-Stampin' Up! prohibits the inclusion of stamped pieces in kits for sale. You will need to use your own stamps, or stickers or any other fun embellishments you happen to have. The stamps used in this design were 25 & Counting and Wicked Cool. To purchase those, click the red ORDER button at the top of this blog, and you will be directed to my Stampin' Up! ordering site, where you can place your own direct order.
• The white 12 x 12 background cardstock, as well as scraps of white cardstock used for stamping the numbers. You may choose to change the color scheme by using a different background (I thought Crumb Cake also would be nice), based on your decor.

The kit is $15, plus $3 shipping if you do not live in the St. Petersburg, FL area. To purchase, click the Paypal button below:

A little about how to display the calendar: You could look for a 12 x 12 frame at one of the craft stores, or use my method. I chose to mount mine to a sturdy piece of chipboard that was the same size as the background cardstock. You could use the chipboard that comes in each package of designer paper, but you might need to glue 2 pieces together to make it sturdy enough. I then rigged a small easel-like piece of chipboard on the back so that it would stand.

 

What's for Dinner?

 
School started here today, and so with life returning to normal (i.e. not living in the pool 10 hours a day!), I know I can expect the return of every mom's favorite question--"What's for dinner?" Like most of you, I'm sure, I get tired of figuring that out on a day-to-day basis, so when I saw this idea in a magazine, I knew I had to make one for myself--with papercrafting supplies, of course!

This is my new dinner planner. I started with a document-size frame, which is designed to hold 8.5"x11" paper, just the size of a sheet of cardstock. I used River Rock as my base color, then cut 1.5" squares out of Pear Pizzazz and Pool Party. I purposely chose light colors for the base and squares, so that I could see writing on top of them. The punched flowers are from Real Red, So Saffron and Peach Parfait. The strips to divide the weeks are Not Quite Navy, punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.

To start, cut your squares and then begin gluing them down, starting at the bottom, so that you have a straight line to begin with. You will actually place the first square about 1/4" in from the left side, because you have a total of 10.5" worth of squares, on a 11" sheet of cardstock. This works out well, though, because the frame actually covers that dead space on the sides.

When you get all the squares on (and don't sweat if some are off by a hair, you don't notice once it's all together), add the ribbon strips. You could skip this part if you wanted more room to write in each square, but I liked the extra definition they added. Then add a few flower punches and other goodies. I used the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch--I love that I can get 4 different-size flowers out of one punch! I also used some Basic Pearls, Paper Daisies and Bitty Buttons, paired with flowers cut with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack. If you are going to add a little bulk with buttons and pearls, I recommend first checking that they will fit under the glass when you are ready to mount the piece.

 
Once I had the piece under glass, I used dry-erase markers to write the month and dates, as well as my first few dinner ideas. When August is over, I can just erase what is written on the glass and start over again.

 
We all have to make dinner--why not have some fun planning it? And think what a fun gift this would be! I'm off for now; have to figure out What's for Dinner!