Reindeer Cookies

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. We certainly did!
I realised that I forgot to show you my Reindeer Cookies. I whipped up a batch of these cuties for my Team Christmas Party and for a few special customers.

I can't even really say I "made" them - I just "constructed" them. I used choc-coated Shortbread Petticoat Tails for the faces, Choc-dipped Pretzels for the antlers, choc chip eyes and m&m noses. The "glue" to stick it all together is White Chocolate. These fit perfectly into the 'Season of Sweets' Treat Envelopes, which makes a very quick and simple gift!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a joyous Festive Season, surrounded by family and friends!
I sent out 200 Christmas cards this year...I wish I could have sent out even more. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.
This is the main card design that I made this year:

When I ran out of supplies, I supplemented it with a few other designs. Even though it took a while to make (and write in!) all those cards, I so love sending them out, and of course receiving some handmade cards in return is always lovely too :o) My lounge room is looking amazing, festooned with swags of gorgeous handmade cards. It's going to be a shame to take them all down.

Clearance Rack Blitz - Week 2

It's Week 2 of the Clearance Rack Blitz! I'm expecting items to fly out the door even faster than last week, now that you've all got the hang of how it works, and realised how quickly the bargains will go! Check out this week's items here:

Stampin' Up! have temporarily taken some products out of retirement with discounts up to 70% off retail - only while supplies last! There will be different products on sale each week, for the next 3 weeks. This week there are lots of stamps, Designer Series Paper, In Color markers, as well as ribbon, a punch and 3 dies...all at bargain prices!

So if you missed out on any of these items in the last catalogue, or if you just love a bargain, check out the full lists of what's coming HERE (there's a link to last year's catalogue for the page numbers). But get in quick. At these prices, they'll never last!! Just Email me with your order, and I can have it delivered straight to your door ($5.95 shipping anywhere in Australia)

Holiday Ornament Stamp-a-Stack

It's Week 2 of the Clearance Rack Blitz, and here's a Stamp-a-Stack design that uses "Four the Holidays", available on the Clearance Rack for $12.50 - that works out at around $3 per stamp (bargain!!). These greetings are the perfect size for this set of cards. They fit perfectly under the Holiday Ornament:

You don't even need Christmas Paper for these cards - I've used Twitterpated and Beau Chateau, but any pattern would work. White on white always looks very crisp and clean, particularly when one layer is embossed.

 

Welcome Christmas Stamp-a-Stack

Here's another Stamp-a-Stack that I'm delighted to be able to share with you, because the Retired stamps are available on the Clearance Rack for a bargain price ($17.25 instead of $39.95 for clear mount and $18.75 instead of $49.95 for wood).

I've gone for a rather unusual Christmas colour combination here - Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla and Basic Black. I think it works with this vintage-style set. The Black Satin ribbon (available on Clearance Rack 4th January for $8.50) adds a very elegant touch, and the First Edition newsprint Paper complements it perfectly.

Clearance Rack Week 1 Sold Out Items

It seems that everyone loves a bargain!

Several items have already sold out:

Regal Rose  12 x12 Cardstock
Christmas Greetings Stamp Set
In Colour A4 cardstock
Riding Hood Red 12x12 cardstock
Real Red Grosgrain ribbon
Gold brads
Basic Grey Marker
Wild Wasabi 12 x 12 cardstock
Holiday Lineup Stamp Set
Soft Holly wheel
Happy Christmas, Mate Stamp Set
Winter Post stamp set
Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon
Old Olive Grosgrain
Many Merry Messages Stamp Set
Regal Rose inkpad
Garden Green 12 x 12 cardstock
Cherry Cobbler Striped Grosgrain Ribbon
Elegant Eggplant inkpad
Riding Hood Red inkpad
Riding Hood Red Stampin Write Marker
Moveable Shapes Holiday Windows (set of 4)
Large Tag Punch
Contempo Christmas Stamp Set (clear mount)
Real Red 5/8" Satin ribbon
Rose Red Grosgrain ribbon
In Colour 12x12 smooth
In Colour 12x12 textured


I'll try to keep you updated as items sell out, but my advice would be to get in quickly if there's anything you want!

Sponged Christmas Stamp-a-Stack

I think this Stamp-a-Stack set was one of my favourites of the year. I wasn't going to share it with you all, because the stamps have retired, but now that the Clearance Rack has been released, they are now briefly available again! You could easily recreate these with different stamps (in fact, I have!), but I do like these ones:

To create these cards, all I did was mask off an area with post-it notes (using the grid paper makes it really easy to get your mask even). Then just take a Stampin' Sponge (I prefer the larger sponges for this technique rather than daubers) and sponge the masked area in your desired ink colour. I used Wisteria Wonder, Bashful Blue and Certainly Celery. For the Dasher card, I also used a torn post-it to mask off the ground and a circle to mask the moon, and then sponged the sky in Night of Navy.
The stamps I have used are Dasher (Clearance Rack price $8!), Season of Joy (Clearance Rack price $19.75!) and Tree Trimmings (Clearance Rack price $12.50!)
Here's a closer look (I spritzed with Champagne Shimmer mist for all-over sparkle):

The sentiments are from "Four the Holidays" (released on the Clearance rack 21st December). It's one of my favourite Christmas Greeting stamp sets ever...4 sentiments in the perfect size. I highly recommend you snap this one up for $12.50 on Friday!

Clearance Rack Blitz - Week 1

Stampin' Up! have temporarily taken some products out of retirement with discounts up to 70% off retail - only while supplies last! There will be different products on sale each week, for the next 4 weeks. This week there are Christmas stamps, cardstock, inkpads and markers, as well as ribbon, patterned paper...and even a punch...all at bargain prices! So if you missed out on any of these items in the last catalogue, or if you just love a bargain, check out the list HERE (you'll need a copy of last year's catalogue for the page numbers).

But get in quick. At these prices, they'll never last!! Just Email me with your order, and I can have it delivered straight to your door ($5.95 shipping anywhere in Australia)



P.S. If you want to skip ahead and see what will be on sale over the next 4 weeks, it's on the Stampin' Up! website HERE. You are welcome to order future sale products with me, but I will not be able to place the order until that week begins. You can also view a copy of last year's catalogue there

Snow Festival Stamp-a-Stack

Here's another Stamp-a-Stack design that's perfect for mass-producing:

Very little stamping here, just punching of the Snow Festival Designer Series Paper. I've used the 1 1/4" circle punch, and also the Merry Minis Punch Pack. Gumball Green ribbon adds the perfect finishing touch!

Christmas Blessings Stamp-a-Stack

I love the images in the "Christmas Blessings" stamp set. They are so fine and delicate. I've used shades of purple for these cards (Wisteria Wonder and Elegant Eggplant):

I've used the 3" circle die for my large circle (it cuts through 4 pieces at a time and is the perfect size to put on a card, and it doesn't even require any matting!) ...just what you need at this busy time of year! I made my banners 5cm wide so that I could easily cut a "v" with my 1 3/8" Square Punch. The little ribbon knots have been adhered using a glue dot (a must-have for no mess, no fuss sticking!)

Jolly Bingo Bits Stamp-a-Stack

Hopefully you're not sick of seeing Christmas cards, because I still have more to share with you! I've been running Christmas Stamp-a-Stack classes since July, so I have 2 designs from each month to show you.
Here's one using the Jolly Bingo Bits set:

These little stamps are definitely not just for Bingo! They are really handy to use on Christmas tags, and here I've used the little pictures to spell a couple of Christmassy words - "jolly" and "joy". I've used retired colour Pear Pizzazz on these cards (it wasn't retired when I ran the class!) and also retired ribbon. Certainly Celery would make a good substitute however. I've also used Rich Razzleberry, as a change from traditional red. The squares were punched using the 1" Square punch.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 12

In the Candlelight Christmas Designer Series Paper pack, you get 2 sheets of gorgeous flocked Window Sheet. You can use it to make a Christmas card that looks like it took you hours to make, but in reality only takes minutes:

You can make 2 cards like this from one sheet of Window Sheet, and then you have a narrower strip left over. I've used a portion of that to make this card:

I'm not sure which one I like better!

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 11

You can never have too much sparkle at Christmas! I've used some Glimmer Paper to make a very sparkly Christmas card:

I punched out an ornament from my Glimmer Paper, and then tinted it using ink refill and rubbing alcohol in a Spritzer bottle. You need to add quite a bit of ink refill to get a good colour intensity, and it works best with the darker colours (I used Pacific Point here). It only takes a couple of squirts, and then you set it aside to dry (I leave mine overnight). Once my blue ornament was dry, I popped it back into the space I'd punched out, and you have an ornament that looks like it's part of the Glimmer Paper.
TIP: I secured the knot using a brad. The brad holds the ribbon securely in place, and then you tie the knot over it.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 10

I wish that my blog posts could have sound, because this card really needs to be heard to be appreciated. It's a Sound Card! This would be a perfect card to send to a Grandma who lives far away from her two grandchildren. the front of the card is decorated quite simply using the Be of Good Cheer DSP:

But when you lift up the peekaboo frame, you see my two very cute little nieces Hannah and Rebecca (just turned 4, can you believe it??):

And inside when you press the "play" button, you can hear them say "Merry Christmas Grandma!" in their cute little munchkin voices.
As everyone in the audience at the Heartfelt Event said....aaawwwww!

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 9

Card 9 is a Shaker card that I showed at the Heartfelt Event:

Thanks to the Shaker Frames in the Annual Catalogue, these cards are really easy to make. I've used the Ornament Punch to make my Shaker Element, and Champagne Glass Glitter to fill it with. The background has been wheeled using the Jolly Jingles Jumbo Wheel in Versamark, and then clear-embossed.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 8

This is another card that I showed at the Sydney Heartfelt Event. It really couldn't be simpler. The Glimmer Paper is what takes this one from ordinary to "wow".

I love using the Glimmer Paper - it has all the sparkle, without any mess or fuss.
I double-layered the Whisper White to give it a subtle border and a bit more stability.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 7

You don't always need a Christmas stamp set to make a Christmas Card. For this card I used Summer Silhouettes in Christmas colours of Gumball Green and Cherry Cobbler:

I've also used the Daydream Jumbo Wheel, and the lovely sentiment is from More Merry Messages.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 6

We're halfway through our Christmas Card journey. I hope you've enjoyed it so far!
I've used lots of products from the Holiday Catalogue to make this card:

Core'dinations cardstock, in Early Espresso this time, and the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder. The Espresso is my favourite one to sand back - it reveals a lovely light core colour. I've also used the Greetings of the Season stamp set and Crumb Cake Scalloped Tulle to make a 'skirt'.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 5

Christmas doesn't always need to be red and green. I particularly like Night of Navy for Christmas cards. Here I've combined it with Certainly Celery and Island Indigo:

I've used the Chock Full of Cheer stamp set. I love a set that works so well with punches!

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 4

When you have fabulous products to work with, you don't have to do a lot to them to get a great result. Here I've used a Snow Festival tag and one of our Stitched Felt Ornaments:

Both can be found in the Holiday Catalogue. The nice thing about the little ornament is that it can be hung on the Christmas Tree by the card recipient.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 3

I used 3 of the new In Colors for this Christmas card - Gumball Green, Raspberry Ripple and Primrose Petals:

I could have used Patterned Paper to make my squares, but I decided to make my own using the Scentsational Season stamp set. That way you know it will co-ordinate perfectly :o)

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 2

I'm loving the Core'dinations cardstock. It looks gorgeous used as-is, and adds a lovely touch of texture, but when you sand it, a lighter-coloured core is revealed. It looks great when you use an embossing folder, and then sand the raised areas like this:

A simple and elegant design, easy enough to mass-produce for Christmas.

12 Cards of Christmas - Card 1

I have lots of Christmas Card designs to share with you, so I thought I would do a "12 Cards of Christmas" again. So it will be a card a day for the next 12 days!

The first card is one that I showed during my Presentation at the Heartfelt Event in Sydney. It's a Puffy Ornament card, using the gorgeous Candlelight Christmas Fabric:

One of my very clever team members, Cheryl, shared this idea with us at our team Stamp Camp. Here's a close-up of the ornament:

The "puff" just comes from ordinary cotton wool behind the fabric.

TIPS: I made the ornament hanger by twisting a length of Seam Binding ribbon, and the bow is a Faux Bow, made using an Antique Brad. Just open the prongs of the brad, and place your 'bow' (make two rabbit ears, but no knot) in between the prongs, then close it up again.