Thanksgiving Wreath

Stampin' Up!™ has been doing something fun for all the demonstrators the last few weeks- a Stampin' Santa has been leaving us little gifts, including ideas for cards. One card idea used the Autumn Days set from page 92 of the Current Idea Book and Catalog. Our friends at Stampin' Up! headquarters made an adorable wreath using the elements available in the stamp set. It turned out pretty cute so I had to try it out for my make and takes for my recent November 5 Open House. Here is my version of the card design:

For my card, I chose Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango, Soft Suede, Old Olive and Whisper White. The trick to producing the image is to stamp the design in a layered circle. I started with the Wheat Shaft stamped in Crushed Curry Stampin' Pad. I did this "free hand" without any type of masking technique as I did not want to cut off portions of the image. This allowed me to preserve the wreath like feel. Then, I repeated the technique using the berry branch and Soft Suede Stampin' Pad. I finished off the design with the maple leaf image stamped in the Dusty Durango Stampin' Pad. This same technique can be done using the berry branch in three different colors- Real Red, Garden Green and silver for example- to create a Christmas design.

After tying Old Olive grosgrain ribbon onto the card stock, I layered the wreath image onto the Dusty Durango card stock and then adhered to my Crushed Curry card stock. To complete the card, I added a piece of Soft Suede to the bottom. Prior to adding to the card, I embossed the Soft Suede using the Texture Plates Kit #4. From Teeny Tiny Phrases, I stamped the Happy Thanksgiving phrase to a piece of Whisper White and then punched it out using the Modern Label Punch. I layered this on top of the Soft Suede piece. My final touch was to stamp a maple leaf onto a scrap piece of Crushed Curry card stock, cut it out and adhered it to my card.

I'll be using this or a similar design on my personal Thanksgiving cards this year. I hope this inspires you to create your own Thanksgiving cards.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Build A Bear Thanksgiving

My children commented that Stampin' Up!™ should also sell a die for a Thanksgiving costume for the Build A Bears. This inspired me to come up with something on my own. You'll need the Build A Bear Bigz Dies- Stampin' Up! Bear, Beary Essentials, and Spooky Kooky. Additionally, you'll need two sizes of oval punches, scissors, adhesive, and card stock in Basic Black, Whisper White, Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede and your favorite fall inspired colors. I used Crushed Curry, So Saffron, Dusty Durango, Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green and Real Red. I also used some hemp twine for embellishment. For inspiration, I did a google search on Thanksgiving costumes for inspiration for the costumes.

Beginning with our cute little turkey. I used the Bigz dies to cut my bear as normal using the Soft Suede. Then I cut a pumpkin costume using Kraft and the Spooky Kooky die. The pumpkin costume served as the base for my costume. I rounded the hat and body to remove the jagged edges as well as the stem on the hat. I then cut several ovals in the fall colors in both the large and small size. I layered two rows on the front of the pumpkin, alternating the colors. For the hat, I cut one of the small So Saffron ovals in half and glued them side by side onto the hat. The waddle is another small Real Read Oval that I cut down to leave the outside edge. Following the inspiration I got from the costumes, I added some eyes to the top. The plume feathers were a similar approach- layering the larger ovals in a plume shape and then gluing to the back of the bear. I finished him off with a sign declaring "Eat Beef!"

For the pilgrims, I used the Beary Essentials to cut the clothes in black. For the boy pilgrim, I also cut some extra bear legs in Whisper White and trimmed the pants to be short pants, giving him white stocking legs. The hat is simply a square cut to shape using the corner rounder to round the top and then glued to a long skinny rectangle. The buckle is just two squares (1 small Basic Black and a slightly larger Crushed Curry one) layered and glued to the hat. I used the same technique on the shoes and belt. The color is a free hand cut to achieve the right shape. I also cut an extra jacket in Whisper white and trimmed the cuffs to add to black coat.

The girl pilgrim was done in a similar fashion. The coat was rounded a bit and I used the skirt from Beary Essentials die as an apron and then as a guide to lengthen the skirt. I cut the bow as a free hand and added to the collar to be consistent with the pilgrim costumes I found online. I added a hand cut bow. The hat is also a free hand cut and I repeated the same technique on the cuffs of the coat that I did on the boy pilgrim.

For the Native American I repeated the same type of layering and addition of free hand details like the collar and head dress. I did a fringe on the ends of the pants and shirt cuffs. I used hemp twine to tie the coat together like lacing. The feathers for the head dress were cut free hand. As with the other bears, I tried to mimic the costumes that I found online.

I set out to create some Thanksgiving bears which would please the kids and they were very happy with them. I have to admit, I was pretty pleased as well. I showed them off at church today and have been asked to make some more for a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by our International Bible Study. As such, I'll be creating some patterns which will make the process a bit faster. I hope my designs inspire you to do something creative with your Big Shot Dies!

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

Advent Calendar

This idea was inspired by a similar calendar in the October 2009 issue of Stampin' Success. The artists at Stampin' Up!™ created one as a Halloween countdown. I was immediately inspired to create a similar one for Christmas.

Each panel is an 8 1/2 x 11 panel. My color palette is Real Red, Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Kraft, Whisper White, Old Olive, and Chocolate Chip. I also used Merry Moments and Christmas Cocoa Speciality Designer Series Papers. The Christmas Cocoa Specialty Designer Series Paper is available in the current Holiday Mini Catalog. This paper includes two one sided designs that are flocked.

On the top and bottom panels, I layered 9 1 3/8" circles punched from the Crushed Curry card stock. I made 24 envelopes. The 25th day is at the bottom and does not have an envelope, but one could be added. Each day envelope square is made using the Petal Card die cut- folded and decorated in a different way for each day.

I used a variety of stamp sets to decorate my envelopes, hopefully, I won't miss any: Patterned Pines, Season of Friendship, Best Wishes and More, Wings of Friendship, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Fundamental Phrases, The More the Merrier, and Christ is Born.

For embellishments, I used grosgrain ribbons in Real Red, Whisper White, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive. I also used silver elastic cord, which is currently available in the Holiday Mini. Additional embellishments included Very Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware, Jumbo Brads, Circle Designer Brads and Silver Brads. I also used a variety of Big Shot dies and punches- Top Note Die, Snowflake #2 Die, Stars #2 Die, Modern Label Punch, Designer Label Punch, 1 3/8" Punch, Slit Punch, and the 3/4" Circle Punch.

I've included photos of the various panels. There really is no set rule to decorating the envelopes and panels. I tried to make full use of all the scraps left behind when I used my die cuts.

The envelopes might fit a very small piece of candy if you like. In our family, we use our advent calendars to carve out some family time during the busy holiday season. We typically do an object lesson with verses from the bible which help count down to Christ's birth. This year I'm going to do a mix of the bible verses as well as a family activity such as going to look at Christmas lights in the neighborhood,watching our favorite holiday movie, making hot chocolate, taking cookies to a neighbor, making a snowman with vanilla ice cream (we can't count on snow in Bothell), making snow flakes to hang in the window, etc. As you create your list, be sure to look at your calendar and plan around existing activities for the month. If you need some inspiration for what to include, here are some links:

Idea Page 1

Idea Page 2- List of Good Deeds

Idea Page 3- Bible Verses/Devotion

Idea Page 4- Jesse Tree Devotions (Just use the verses and discussions without building the tree)

Idea Page 5- List of Verses, Family Activities, Crafts, etc.

If you'd like to purchase a kit complete with ribbon, assorted embellishments, ribbon, and the paper pre-cut (you add the stamped images), email me. Each kit is $12 + shipping & handling and I accept pay pal.

God Bless and Happy Stamping!

My Digital Studio Christmas Card

I'm really having lots of fun playing with My Digital Studio™. I just completed a series of webinar classes so that I can become certified through Stampin' Up!™ for this product. We did cards, scrapbooks, calendars, and multimedia projects. I'm amazed at the versatility of this product. I think you will be to.


Here is a Christmas Card I designed using My Digital Studio. The holidays will soon be here so it is time to start thinking about card designs. My Digital Studio has been a fun way for me to play with possible designs, layouts and color palettes. Many of the same stamp sets and embellishments you'll find in your Idea Book and Catalog will be available in My Digital Studio. I made this card using only the images available when you buy the basic version,

however, several downloads are available at the Stampin' Up! website. This is also the first card that I sent in for professional printing. It arrived a few days ago and I love the way it turned

out. You can also print the cards to your own home computer if you like. Great for Christmas cards or birthday invitations.


Recently I created a scrapbook album template for our soccer teams. After it was ready, I simply saved it without photos and then handed it over to my husband. With no help from me or even training from me, he was able to add the photos to the album creating a wonderful album. I'll try to post the blank template later so you can see how the scrapbook pages turn out.


For now, happy stamping and happy creating!


God Bless!