Just Give Me Stamps...

A Year of Sweets...

Happy New Year's Eve!!  My family and I looked forward to this holiday so much!  Personally, I just *love* new "stuff"!  LOL!  I love new years, new days, meeting new people....and NEW stamps ((grin))!!  Speaking of new stamps, I've got some really cute ones to show you today!!

In my list of "new" things that I love...I would definitely have to include calendars!  And this new perpetual calendar from Taylor is SO clever!  I love how there is a space to decorate...but it isn't as long as the whole calendar.  It really is perfect!  On January 2nd (at midnight), Taylor is releasing some really, really fun new stamps and today the Baker's Dozen DT gets to show you a "peek" of one of them!!  Below, are two pages that I made with the new A Year of Sweets 1 and A year of Sentiments sets.

This first page showcases the stamp for February.  (Is it just me, or are all of you getting excited about making Valentine's Day stuff too?)  :-)  I stamped the image on White Choice c.s. (this is new from Taylor...it's 100lb c.s. that is just a dream to color on ), colored with my Copics, and then used my circle Nestabilities to cut/emboss it.  I mounted it on a piece of background paper, added a ribbon (both the ribbon and paper are from this month's Key Ingredients pack), and some Stickles to bling it  up a little! :-)  I also added some hearts on the calendar page itself (I just stamped the same stamp onto patterned paper and cut out just the hearts).

  

For my March page, I stamped the image for March (also from A year of Sweets 1) onto White Choice c.s., colored it in with Copics, and cut out around it (I wanted to keep the shape of the rainbow as the main image).  I mounted it on some patterned paper (also from the Key Ingredients pack), added a sentiment tag (from the new A Year of Sentiments set), and some punched out flowers (I thought they could look like 4 leaf clovers also :-) and some rhinestones.  Oh yeah...I added Stickles to this image as well (like that's a shocker, huh?)!  :-)

   

Click on the pictures below to see them larger...

    

For more peeks at the new A Year of Sweets and A Year of Sentiments sets, check out what the rest of the team came up with: Ana Wohlfahrt, Charmaine Ikack,Carol Halvorson, Denise Marzec, Donna Baker, Jami Sibley, Jen del Muro, Monika Davis, Sharon Harnist, Stephanie Hargis, Taylor VanBruggen, Terri Dodd.

Thanks for stopping by!  ~Laurie

A Comforting Card...

Wow!  Can you believe that 2009 is almost here?  I remember when I was a kid, hearing my mom (and other adults) say "time goes by faster and faster....each year".  I thought they were crazy!  Time couldn't have gone any slower for me...(this from the perspective of a kid...LOL!).  Now that I'm older and have kids of my own, I find myself saying the very same thing!!  LOL!

Here's a little encouragement card that I made last night.  I was determined to use this paper (from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection).  There is something so comforting about it...it actually reminds me of an old but loved quilt! 

   

I stamped the small flower from Stampin' Up!'s Bella Blossoms set (I inked it in Certainly Celery and sponged some Taken with Teal around the edges) on to some Pearlized White c.s..  I then embossed the Proverbs 3:5 Plain Jane stamp (from Verve Stamps) over the flower.  I stitched around the edges of the patterned paper (in keeping with the loved quilt feel), and added a button for embellishment.  Over all, a pretty quick and easy card!

We are headed out of town for the night, but I have some really fun stuff to share when we get back!  **wink**  I hope your day is a blessed one!  ~Laurie

Recipe   Stamps: Proverbs 3:5 (Verve Stamps), Bella Blossoms (Stampin' Up!)   Paper: Pearlized White c.s., Certainly Celery c.s., Prism c.s., Patterned Paper (Urban Prairie collection from Basic Grey)   Ink: Certainly Celery, Taken With Teal, Versamark   Other: Clear detail e.p., Nestabilities, Certainly Celery 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Sewing Machine, Sco-Pal, Button

Sweet Cakes...

Happy Saturday!  I hope you all had a blessed Christmas!  Ours was so wonderful...quiet and peaceful (well, as quiet and peaceful as it gets with four kiddos...LOL)!  I can't remember ever enjoying just being together more than I did this year.  With everything that has happened these past few months I have come to realize just how precious our time together is...and we certainly are grateful to be home together right now!

While the kids were out sledding yesterday, I headed to my stamp room...and man, was it great to stamp again!  I received some new My Mind's Eye paper (oooh, I am in LOVE) for Valentine's Day and I just had to use it on today's Our Creative Corner Challenge!  Julee (this month's hostess with the mostest) challenged us to add something clear to our projects...acetate, clear button or other embellishment, clear e.p., shaker card etc.  I chose to make a Nugget Tin (with a clear acetate top) and matching card (with clear e.p. on the card :-)

 

When Michelle (owner of Stamper's Dream) got this Sweet Cakes stamp set in (by Pink Paislee), I HAD to have it!!  I love the mixture of bold/whimsical/elegant that this set has!  I love all the images so much that it took me forever just to decide which image I wanted to use first!  LOL!!  The cute cupcakes won....but only by a little!  The ice cream cone and the adorable cherry were just begging me to use them, but they will have to wait till next time!  LOL!!

 

 

Make sure to check out what the other ladies (Amy, Cindy, Dawn, Denise, Jennifer, & Julee) have created for today's challenge!  Check out the OCC blog for challenge details and info on how you can play along!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  ~Laurie

Recipe   Stamps: Sweet Cakes (Pink Paislee)   Paper: Kraft, My Mind's Eye Irresistible Collection, Dark Chocolate (PTI)   Ink: Close to Cocoa Craft ink, Sahara Sand   Other: Clear Detail e.p., Kraft taffeta ribbon, Rhinestones, Button, Linen Thread, Border punch, Paper piercer

Treat Yourself...

 So, do you all have your Christmas cards/presents all finished?  Oh, PLEASE say no!  LOL!  This year has just been so different for us, and I'm finding myself hurrying to finish everything.  As much as I have hurried, I still don't have everything done...and will probably just have to send out New Year's cards!!  LOL! 

One card that will definitely be late is my Mom's birthday card.  Man...how bad is that??!!!?  I'm so used to having her here...and hand-delivering her card/gift.  Her birthday is Christmas Eve (yeah, I know...that's tomorrow...what AM I THINKING??!!), and I have always made sure that her card and even the wrapping paper for her gift is the opposite of Christmas colors (on purpose...to make it a "separate" holiday).  So...today's card is made with soft and pretty colors...definitely no reds and greens!  LOL!

      

I stamped this YUMMY looking sundae stamp (from theLife is Sweet set by Our Craft Lounge) onto shimmery white c.s. and colored it in withmy copics.  Of course I couldn't stop there...LOL!...I had to add some sparkle and shine (I used pink Stickles on the sprinkles and Diamond Glaze on the glass and the cherry)!  The background papers are from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection(soooo perfect for spring!).  I created the little wavy tag by stamping the "Treat Yourself" sentiment (also from the Life is Sweet set) onto some Aqua Mist c.s., cutting the ends, and adhering it to my card with one glue dot in the center (sothe waviness would remain in tact).

Here is a close-up of the shine and sparkle.  :-) 

Thanks so much for stopping by!  In case I don't make it back to show you some of the gifts I'm finishing up tonight...I want to wish you all a truly blessed Christmas!!  Hugs, Laurie

Recipe   Stamps: Life is Sweet (Our Craft Lounge)   Paper: Shimmery White c.s., Pretty in Pink (Stampin' Up!), Aqua Mist (Papertrey), Urban Prairie (Basic Grey)   Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black   Other: Nestabilities, Copic markers, button, Ric-rac, Diamond Glaze, Stickles, Rhinestones, Paper piercer

A SUPER Easy Gift...

Happy Thursday!  I've been trying to post this little gift I made, but for some reason, our internet doesn't like our sub-zero temperatures we've been having (it's been around 24 BELOW zero in the mornings)!  Today we're having a heat wave (it's only -6 degrees F) and our internet is much happier!  LOL! 

I found these old-fashioned looking candy cane sticks at Wal-Mart and had to have them!!  A bag of them was only $ .94, so I bought quite a few bags with the idea of making little gifts for neighbors and Sunday School Teachers.  There are so many people that are important to us, and we want to show them that we care...and I think a handmade gift does just that!  :-)

I used THIS tutorial over at Splitcoast Stampers to make a 2-5-7-10 box.  I altered it just a little  by cutting off the top (I wanted these cute candy canes to show)!  I embossed one of the stamps from the JustRite Christmas Ensemble in red and used my circle Nestabilities to cut  it out.  It may be hard to see in the photo, but I punched out a lace border along the top.  I felt like it needed something...but didn't want to make it too time consuming (since I am mass-producing these), so I added some red rhinestones along the front top panel.  Sparkle is always a good thing!  :-)

Michelle (owner of Stamper's Dream) is having a huge sale!!  All holiday stamps are marked down, as well as all theDoodlebug items (including my favorite"Stick With It' adhesive -you know those really cool swirly things that you can put glitter on)!!  She's also offering gift certificates, so if you are wanting a last minute gift for a stamping friend or relative these are perfect!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day...and stay warm!  :-)  ~Laurie

Recipe   Stamps: Christmas Ensemble (JustRite Stampers)   Paper: Real Red c.s., Shimmery White c.s., Basic Grey patterned paper   Ink: Real Red craft pad   Other: Clear e.p., Lace punch (Martha Stewart), Red rhinestones, Red satin ribbon, Cello bag, Paper piercer