Stamp Simply Celebrate Day#6

It's Day 6 of the Stamp Simply Celebration and the fun continues!  This is a long post, but bear with me and hang in there!

AJ Otto - The Willow Garden - AJ has some BLOG CANDY to share!

Sharon Johnson - No Time To Stamp? - Sharon has more BLOG CANDY!

Heather Telford - bits and pieces - Heather is sharing a Featured Project with us today — how to Dress up Your Table!  Fun!!!  And Heather is also incorporating a Challenge in with her project, making it 1-2-3 easy for us to decorate our own tables!!!  Be sure to stop in at Heather’s place today for many great samplings of table decor!  And check out Heather's sample makers:  Jennifer, Darlene, Joan and Julie for more ideas!

And today is my turn for a challenge as well!! Doesn’t every Mother need a helper, especially during the holidays?   My Featured Project is a Mother’s Holiday Helper!  Even if you're NOT a mom, you can use this easy-to-make Holiday Helper to help keep all your holiday lists & receipts handy!  Below you will find my project,with templates and instructions so you can quickly and easily create your own!  Don't be put off by the length of the tutorial---it goes fast and is easy to do!  Plus you can check out what the other sample makers, Barb, Deb, Janine, Darlene and Sharon have made! 

So grab your stamps and let's see what you come up with!  Anyone may participate in these challenges and all the fun events, blogger or not!!!  If you upload to your Blog, provide a link to your entry in this or the other challenge post.    I also encourage you to upload your projects at any online gallery.   PLEASE use the KEYWORD SSC08 (Stamp Simply Celebrates! 2008) so we can find it, and be sure to link it back to the appropriate hostess.  Have fun!!!

Mother's Little Helper Tutorial:

Supplies:

• Stamp sets of your choice
• Standard Pocket Folder
• Cardstock in your choice of color
• Designer Paper in your choice of color
• Sticky Strip or other strong adhesive, Tape
• Calendar
• Sticky Note, Pen, Clips, Ribbon
• Any other embellishments of your choice
• Scoring tool of your choice

Begin with your basic pocket folder. I happened to find mine in Staples and it matched my Frosty Day DP perfectly!

Open folder and measure down from the top 5”. You can mark it lightly with a pencil. Do this on each side.

Score across the folder on the 5” line. I am using my ruler and bone folder, but you can use whatever scoring tool you prefer. Again, do this on each side. You need to score firmly as the folder is thick.

Fold top down and score fold well.

Open folder out again. At top, measure 1 1/4” over from each outside edge.

Draw a line from the 1 1/4” mark down to the fold. Cut off each triangle-shaped piece. (You can save these and use them as a template for your DP when you cut it to cover your flap.)

Do the same at the center fold (spine) of the folder. Cut out this triangle too.

This is what your folder will look like after the cuts are made.

Now the fun begins! You can start decorating your folder however you like. Before adding DP to the outside, I attached some ribbon to the back of the folder with adhesive tape, leaving enough so that a bow could be tied on the front.

Add some sticky strip to your DP so it sticks well. After you cover the outside, you can decorate it and the inside with stamps, stickers, ribbon, whatever!

Here I have covered the inside pockets & flaps with DP.

And here is my finished product! Let me show you the inside as well.

The stamp set I used is Punch Pals from Stampin’Up!©. I decorated both flaps with the star image and colored them in with ink and an aquapainter. I printed the headings on Whisper White cardstock on my computer and cut the pieces to fit my images.

The left side has a sticky note and pen; in this pocket I will put my Christmas lists, grocery lists, etc. I don’t like tall skinny lists as they don’t give me enough room to write, so I like wider pages and wider pockets. In addition, I’ve added a couple clips and a color-coordinated pen that one of my friends just happened to give me!

The right side has a calendar (attached with repositionable adhesive so I can change it next year) which was downloaded from Red Castle. I’ll give the link at the end of the post*. This is where I’ll put all my receipts. Again, this can be made as simple or elaborate as you like. I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

• Stamps: Punch Pals
• Paper: Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bella Rose DP, Frosty Day DP, Ski Slope DP
• Ink: Stazon Black, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Bashful Blue, Close to Cocoa
• Acc: Blender Pens, Markers, Aquapainter, Eyelets, Sticky Strip, Grosgrain Ribbon, Folder

*To download a calendar from Red Castle, go to their website: Red Castle. From there, at the top, click on the “Software” link. Scroll down until you see “FreeWare”, and then “Printing Calendars”. From here you will load software that allows you to print a wide range of calendars. I chose these options:

• Dec 2008
• One month per page
• Width 4”, Height 2.75”
• Font – Bookman Bold, 16 pt
• Box – Heavy

You can choose whatever font & size that will make your calendar the size you want. You can also just photocopy a calendar that you have around the house!
I have found the FlyLady website a great source for streamlining Christmas shopping, baking, decorating and cleaning. If you have never heard of FlyLady, you’re in for a treat. But allow some time, as her site can be addictive! (We don’t know what that’s about, do we?) I download her lists and keep them in my planner for time management and shopping information. You can start by logging onto her website: FlyLady. Once you’re there, scroll down and look for “Cruising Through the Holidays”. Once there, click on the Holiday Control Journal. This is jam-packed full of helpful hints to get your home in ship-shape order, plus lists & charts for cooking, buying, wrapping, spending, traveling, cleaning and more. Don’t look at the size of it and freak; scroll through and I guarantee there will be SOMETHING there that will be useful to you. One of my favorite hints from her was to gather ALL the recipes I use at Christmas time, make copies of them and put them all together in one place, so when I was ready to bake, I wasn’t searching through my recipe file, old cookbooks, scraps of paper from my mother, etc., looking for the recipes I wanted. What a time-saver! Now I go to my Christmas recipe folder, and everything is right there, ready to go!  Thanks for hanging in here with me---have a great day!

Featured Stamper and Day#5!

Today is Day 5 at Sharon's No Time to Stamp and Cat has a sketch challenge for everyone! The little flower doesn't HAVE to be a flower---it can be anything! So let's see what your creative juices can come up with! Remember, anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOT have to have a Blog to play — uploading your project to an online gallery is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. So here is my card; my friend at church had her baby yesterday, a girl, and she is not much of a traditional "pink for a girl" kind of mom, so I went totally untraditional with my colors!

Looking at it now, I wish I had popped up the buttons!! Oh well! Sentiment is from Nursery Necessities; image from Punches Three. If you need more info, email me! (And does anyone know why my signature jumped up to the side like that? That's not how I saved it! Grrr!) Now lets check out what the other challenge designers, Darlene, AJ, Heather, Tammy and Leslie have come up with!

Friday is also Sharon's Stamp Simply Challenge, and today her challenge is to make a Christmas card, but not just any Christmas card! Here are her guidelines:

"Today's challenge is to make a Christmas card, but with a bit of a twist!!! We can NOT use a traditional Christmas stamp or traditional Christmas DP – but aside from that, anything goes. You MAY use:

• Any stamp, OTHER THAN a traditional Christmas stamp
• Any designer paper, OTHER THAN traditional Christmas designer paper
• Any embellishments
• Any colors
• You MAY USE a Christmas sentiment
• And, YES, you certainly MAY combine this Stamp Simply Challenge along with CAT'S Sketch Challenge – how fun!

If you upload to an online gallery, please KEYWORD either of these challenges as SSC08, but please also, as usual, KEYWORD the Stamp Simply challenge as ssnotime64. So if you play the Stamp Simply Challenge, you will use BOTH KEYWORDS – thanks!!!"

So here is my sample:

This is about as simple as you can get! The bird is from SU's Best Wishes & more; the sentiment is a hostess set, Best Yet. The snowflakes are from Whippersnapper's Winter Schminter. Punchouts are Handsome Hunter, punched with MS's branch punch; ribbon is Wide Real Red from SU. Although it is difficult to see, the snowflakes are glittered, and my birdie's eye is a tiny red rhinestone! Hope you are inspired to make a card for Sharon's challenge! Thanks for visiting today!

Party Day #4 and my Simple No-Occasion Card

Well, the party is going strong and Day 4 means more fun!  Today blog candy is being offered by Dee Jackson and Sharon Johnson!!  So be sure to visit their blogs and see what they're offering!   Deb Saaranen has the Featured Project today and she is challenging us to make Teacher's Gifts, or just a nice gift for a friend.   Remember, anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOT have to have a Blog to play — uploading your project to an online gallery is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!  Let's see what the other challenge designers have come up with!

Check out Jennifer Buck's sample here.

Check out Julie Koerber's sample here.

Check out AJ Otto's sample here.

Check out Tammy Hershberger's sample here.

I had a limited amount of stamping time yesterday as the next couple weeks are busy ones for my church.  Next weekend, all three evenings, we do a Live Nativity.  You can see more about it here.  (Just click on "Live Nativity 2007") We will serve about 1000 people hot chocolate and cookies, so I have been buying out the cocoa supply from every grocery store in town!!  If you're in the southeast Pennsylvania area, come check us out!  It is a wonderful way to remind your family of the real reason for Christmas!  So anyway, my card was quick, simple and has no sentiment on it, so I am calling it my "no-occasion" card.  I will put something on the inside when I'm ready to send it. My sister's birthday is Dec 22, so it may be going to her:

I love this Winter Seals set from Impression Obsession!  I stamped the "Brr Brr Brr" on SU's twill in Ruby Red Craft ink and heat set it.  The DP is Wassail (LOVE IT) and the snowflake was stamped on watercolor paper in Riding Hood Red and embossed with the Stitched Squares CB folder. Isn't that little blanket stitch cute?   A little rhinestone adds a teeny bit of bling. The image is mounted on a piece of RHR cardstock that has been sponged with Bravo Burgundy and popped up with a dimensional.  Simple! 

Make sure you stop back tomorrow, as I have the honor of being Sharon's No Time to Stamp Featured Stamper!  Remember, stamp simply!

Color Throwdown Challenge #22 and Party Day #3!!

What a mouthful!  It's Wednesday, and that means Color Throwdown!  But it is also Day 3 of Sharon's Stamp Simply Celebration!  Today Joan & Jennifer are offering blog candy, and Tammy has a challenge of her own.  So check out their blogs!  Remember, anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOT have to have a Blog to play — uploading your project to an online gallery is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

So the Throwdown colors today are very non-holiday, but I love these colors together!!!

I had some perfect Basic Grey Two Scoops DP in mind:

It went beautifully with SU's Pirouette Pink and Regal Rose.  My black is the ink--it's in there, I promise!    Check out my glittery bird:

So pretty IRL!  Oh, and I used Taylor's TECC#44 as my sketch--too late to submit, but a great sketch, nontheless!  Thanks for looking and I hope you can take some time from your busy schedule to play along! Just post a link to your own CTD creation at our blog, Color Throwdown Challenge, or if you post to an online gallery, use the keyword CTD22. Let's see what the other designers came up with:

• Broni - Splashes of Watercolor
• Tammy - Stamp Happy
• Cathy - Crafty Thoughts
• Kimberly – For the Love of Paper

 

• Stamps:  To You & Yours
• Paper:  Pirouette Pink, Regal Rose, BG Two Scoops, Shimmery White
• Ink:  Stazon, Pirouette Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery
• Acc:  Nesties, Twill by Taylored Expressions, DD, MS Glitter, MS Scalloped Edge Punch, CB Just My Type Folder

A Round Challenge

Today's is Paper Craft Planet's 5th Day of Christmas, and going with the 12 Days of Christmas theme, the challenge is to make something round!  (Like 5 gold rings, get it?)

So I dug out my Basic Grey Fruitcake pack and found some round die-cut tags, and decorated them up with a couple snowmen images:

I finished them with some scallops cut with my Nesties, added copper cord and they're ready to decorate someone's package!   TFL!

• Stamps:  Winter Schminter, Whippersnapper; December, Studio G; Mixed Messages, PTI
• Paper:  Shimmery White, Garden Green, Sage Shadow, Ruby Red, BG Fruitcake
• Ink:  Palette Noir, Bordering Blue, Always Artichoke Craft
• Acc:  Markers, Nesties, Copper Cord, DD Glitter

I also wanted to share this sweet little gift bag and snowflake candles I got from my stampin' friend, Robyn!  She has been a wonderful friend, long-time customer and fellow stamper and she comes up with such creative goodies!  Thanks, Robyn!

27-Cent Challenge!

Today is Day 2 at Stamp Simply Celebrates, and there is lots more fun going on!  Sharon is offering more blog candy, and I heard that Becky has some incredible gift packaging ideas and blog candy as well!

Darlene is throwing out her challenge today –a 27¢ Challenge! Create a postcard (legal size is 4x6”) instead of a card for Christmas! Think of the money you’ll save! The challenge is that it must only be one layer—no dimension allowed. You can use ink, pencils, chalk, glitter, markers, anything but layers! (This is harder than you think!) The opposite side is for your correspondence and address. So what can you come up with?

I really wanted to keep things simple. (I kept thinking of my poor postcard, exposed to the elements, ink & color dripping on  the postman's shoes!)  I also wanted to keep with a timeworn theme, so after some trial and error, using my Crafty Secrets Vintage Christmas set, here is my first attempt:

I did put a little bit of color in the corners, and I sponged a "highlight" behind the sentiment that ended up looking like a moon--LOL!  A few vintage snowflakes were added as well as some sponged "antiquing" along the edges.  Here is the other side:

The Kraft paper and Bravo Burgundy ink really give it a true vintage feel!

 

 

Another simple attempt:

This uses a fun technique of making a wreath from  snowflake images!  These are from Verve and Crafty Secrets; the sentiment is retired SU.

 

And finally, a CASE from ChristineCreations:

She used a brayer on glossy cardstock; I just used sponges.  She has beautiful creations on her blog, I always enjoy visiting her!  And here is the back; pretty simple:

Remember, anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOT have to have a Blog to play — uploading your project to an online gallery is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!  So let's see what the other designers have come up with:

• Cathy Tidwell's sample found HERE. (Cathy may or may not be able to participate. Her little 2 year old grandson is in the hospital ... please say a prayer for this little guy!)
• Janine Orchard's sample found HERE.
• Dee Jackson's sample found HERE.
• Heather Telford's sample found HERE.
• Leslie Miller's sample found - HERE

Since my post is already waaaay long, I'm not posting recipes...if you have questions about any sample, just shoot me an email!

Party Day #1!!!

Today is the first day of Sharon's (notimetostamp) Stamp Simply Celebrates! She will be featuring 12 days chock-full of all kinds of goodies: challenges, projects, samples, blog candy & more! You can find out all the details at her blog here. Look at the very, very top of the blog---above the photo banner--and you will see a tab entitled "Stamp Simply Celebrates! This is PARTY CENTRAL!" Click on that tab and you'll find all the details! She has blog candy to give away today, too, so don't miss it!

Warning: This is a long post, but fun! Today, Janine is hosting a Cookie Recipe Exchange! Be sure to check out her blog so you can see all the other designers' samples, too! Bake a batch of cookies, package them up, add a tag or card and post the recipe and photos on your blog. Add a comment on her blog, linking your creation, and on Dec 7, the winner will get some blog candy!!! Edited to add: Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOT have to have a Blog to play — uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Now, since Sharon's motto is "Stamp Simply" I am taking that to heart these next few days. It is a busy season and we all need simplicity! So my cookies are packaged very simply in a little cello bag, two to a package. This would make a perfect little gift for a teacher, bus driver, co-worker or anyone to whom you'd like to say "Merry Christmas" but don't want to break the bank on! One batch of cookies can go a long way packaged like this!

I started with a 4x6 cello bag from Stampin' Up! My topper is a piece of PTI's Aqua Mist cut to 6 1/2 x 4 1/2, scored at 3 1/4. Before I began decorating it, I perforated it at the score line:

Now perhaps you could perforate a little straighter than I could!

The reason I perforated it is because my recipe for Andes Creme de Menthe cookies will go on the back of the topper. Then the recipient can just tear off the back and keep the recipe in their file:

Of course, I had to decorate it in Andes mint colors of Sage Shadow & Close to Cocoa! Yum yum! I used a varied assortment of snowflake stamps from different companies. I particularly enjoyed the little snowflake "parade" from Whippersnapper's Winter Schminter!

So here is my final package:

The topper is attached to the bag with brads at the bottom; it can be easily disassembled to use the recipe card.

And here is my little 3x3 card that I'll give with it:

And just for fun, I made up a poem to go on the inside, so they know there is a recipe on the back:

"Because you're sweet, you get a treat as a little gift from me. And on the back you'll find in fact, the cookie recipe. So when they're gone, there's no sad song, no need to wear a frown. Just turn on the oven and share the lovin' with all your friends around!" Kind of corny, but I think my certain someone will enjoy it!

• Stamps: Best Yet, SU; Winter Schminter, Whippersnapper; Winter Wonder, Verve; Holiday Treats, PTI
• Paper: Aqua Mist, WW, Close to Cocoa
• Ink: Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
• Acc: Circle Punches, Nesties, Cello Bag, Perforating Tool (SU), Vintage Brads, MS Aquamarine Crystal Glitter, Aqua Mist Satin Ribbon, Glue Dots

Now here's my recipe, right off the back of the Andes Creme de Menthe Chunks:
Andes Crème de Menthe Chunk Cookies

• ½ cup softened butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 10-oz package Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips

Blend butter, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla and eggs until mixed. Stir in baking chips and then flour. Chill for about 1 hour in refrigerator. Form dough into 1-oz. ball shapes and flatten slightly. Bake on non-stick baking sheet at 350º for 8-10 minutes. Cool on sheets for 2 minutes before removing. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.