Celebrate Any Day...especially the holidays!

WOWZERS!  I know that's what you're thinking.  I'm on an MDS kick and this little beauty was fantastically easy thanks to one of the designer templates I mentioned getting during November's crazy good sale.  The 'Celebrate Any Day' download really caught my eye because of it's unique (and kind-of retro) color palette and combinations.  I played around with an existing design and tweaked a little here and there and voila!  

If this has inspired your inner digital designer check out all the fantastic designer templates for purchase here!  Only 5 more days till Christmas!!!!

Obviously we have a bit of a bingo backlog (are you suddenly feeling the holiday crunch as well?), so here's a double dose of fun.  Mark your cards for the wreath and the gingerbread man.

Happy (digital) Stamping,

~Kiran

A Little Holiday Sparkle

There's nothing like a bit of sparkle--or a lot of glitter--to say happy holidays.  This card goes out to all my friends who love a little bling, whether that's for the holidays or in general.  You know who you are.  ;)

I got the idea for this modern rendition of a Christmas tree from Judy May's fantastic holiday card, which caught my eye a few weeks ago when it was featured in Nancy Riley's iPicks #157--a weekly roundup of fantastic inspiration from around the web.  Why oh why didn't I buy any of the silver glimmer paper?  Then I realized that I can make glimmer paper in any color using heat & stick powder and dazzling diamonds (one of the best techniques I learned last year)

So I got to work, using punches to cut out different size circles from Red Glimmer Paper, Pear Pizzazz, and Baja Breeze.  I then inked my larger Pear Pizzazz and Baja Breeze circles in VersaMark--I just pressed the whole circle into the pad--and put them in my Powder Pals tray to catch the stray powder.  I dumped Heat & Stick powder over all of them, then moved the circles to a different spot on the table to apply some heat.  As soon as the powder started to flow, I moved the circles into a different Paper Pals tray where I dumped Dazzling Diamonds glitter all over them (and glitter went everywhere, like snow inside!  Pretty...and I vacuumed after card making.)  I applied some more heat, to make sure the Dazzling Diamonds were set in the Heat & Stick powder, and then I had glimmer paper in two new colors.  Success!

I laid out the circles to create my tree first, moving them back and forth before deciding I was ready to glue them down.  I used a combination of dimensionals, to hold the larger circles off the page, and mini glue dots for the littlest ones.  My finishing touch was the sentiment, inked in Baja Breeze from Four the Holidays.

BINGO ALERT!  We've had another winner, so it's time for round three.  Audrey, send us an email to collect your prize (and Jenny, we still haven't heard from you for your round 1 winnings--email us!).  Everyone else, reset your cards...but since the winner was on Sunday's post, you can keep yesterday's poinsettia for this round, and add the snowman as today's pick.  Good luck!

Happy Holidays!
~Melanie

Stamps: Four the Holidays
Ink: Baja Breeze, VersaMark
Paper: Whisper White, Red Glimmer, Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzazz
Extras: Heat & Stick powder, Dazzling Diamonds, 1" Circle punch, 3/4" Circle punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack

A Holiday Favorite

"And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Niklaus soon would be there..."  I absolutely loved to recite 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as a child, and think I still remember most of the lines.  Stockings are a big part of my family's holiday traditions (read about that here), so the Stocking Builder punch and coordinating stamp set were obvious purchases for me when I got the holiday mini.  I just hadn't gotten around to using them until now...and I have no idea what I was waiting for!!

I'll try to spare you my ode to punches, one of my absolute favorite card making tools, but I'll remind you that there's nothing better, in my book, than punches that coordinate with a stamp set, because you can instantly and easily punch out your image.  No painstaking hand-trimming, because I certainly don't have time for that!  (Did you notice that today's post is going up late...the holidays are fast approaching!)

I was inspired to try out my punch and stamp set because of FTL170, the most recent card layout over at Clean & Simple Stamping.  I could easily see making lots of this cards, or more variations on the theme with snowflakes.  But for this card, I started with a base of Crumb Cake, to which I adhered the plaid from Frostwood Lodge DSP for an eye-catching background.  Next up, I cut a piece of Early Espresso and layered another piece of Crumb Cake on top of that, so I'd have a crisp and sharp border.  I stamped Happy Holidays (from Four the Holidays) in Old Olive, and mounted this piece on my card base.  I cut a strip of Cherry Cobbler ribbon, to "hang" my stockings on, and then got to work on the stockings themselves.

That part was really easy--I just chose my ink colors (Riding Hood Red, Old Olive and Island Indigo), stamped and punched.  Then I attached my super cute stockings to the card, and added mini jingle bells as my finishing touch, creating a card that announces its good cheer.  

Today's piece is the poinsettia.

Happy Holidays!

~Melanie

Stamps: Four the Holidays, Stitched Stockings

Ink: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Island Indigo

Paper: Frostwood Lodge DSP, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Extras: Stocking Builder punch, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding ribbon, Mini Jingle Bells

What's in your Stocking?

I'm checking in with a big Holiday Mini sneak peek today, and I hope you'll love it as much as I do.  Stampin' Up! is all about stockings this year, and I couldn't be happier, since stockings feature prominently in my Christmas celebrations.  When I was little, I had stockings at both of my grandparents' houses for Christmas--lined up on a couch (and overflowing) at Grandma Esther's, and hanging from a fireplace that magically appeared only at Christmas, so Santa could get into Grandma Helen's house.  And they always, always, always had at least one candy cane peeking out the edge--just like the one I made for today.  So how could I not love this great Holiday Stocking die and coordinating Stocking Accents die for the Big Shot?

Now that we're older, Christmas has changed, but the stockings remain.  A few years ago, we changed format so that stockings are the main event, and we don't pile presents under the tree.  It was supposed to be a trimming back of the holidays, but as piles appeared under everyone's stocking, a third way was found--and we've traded our simple stockings from long ago for jumbo versions that are nearly as tall as we are.  Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but the point is that stockings loom large in my holiday celebrations, and they easily can in yours too!  Sneak peek number two is this great new embossing powder in Pewter, which is available in the Holiday Mini.  It's a little richer and more golden than silver and I am IN LOVE.  Who knew that I could prefer another over silver embossing, my old standby?

Finally, you might remember the flowerpot cards that Kiran and I had so much fun with a few years (!) ago--so long ago that I can't even find them on this blog.  As soon as I saw these dies, I knew that I wanted to "stuff" my stocking with a holiday card, the way we had "planted" a flower card in the pots.  So I adhered two stocking dies together on the sides, and if you pull the candy cane out of the stocking, you'll also get this card that's ready for a holiday message.  I won't be writing those messages for a few months still, but I can start getting them ready now.

I have more great ideas for these stockings, so keep coming back for more.  How would you incorporate the stockings into your holiday celebrations?

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Four the Holidays
Ink: VersaMark
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, White Naturals
Extras: Holiday Stocking die, Stocking Accents die, Big Shot, Pewter embossing powder

Sparkly Medallion

This is just one of those cards that wows in person, and my inspiration comes directly from the winners of the Paper Pal Arts challenge for white on white announced yesterday--this card, made by Andrea Ewen, jumped up and begged to be CASEd.

This also gave me an excuse to break out some of my favorite things--the Medallion stamp, Basic Rhinestones and Pearls, Snow Swirled (which had yet to see ink this year!), and silver embossing powder.  Kiran used the Medallion for her holiday cards last year, but I had yet to do so.  I don't know why I waited so long--it's the perfect giant snowflake.

For the step-by-step, here's how I made this card.  Don't be deceived by the bling; it's really very simple!

--Stamp Medallion in VersaMark on Baja Breeze card base.  Then coat in Silver embossing powder, tap off the excess, and set using the heat tool.
--On a 1-3/4" circle of White Naturals, stamp the large snowflake from Snow Swirled in Baja Breeze.  Then ink "celebrate" in Baroque Burgundy and center it over the snowflake.
--Apply Basic Rhinestones and Basic Pearls liberally--use the dots of the Medallion and snowflake as your guide.
--Use dimensionals to pop the snowflake on the center of the Medallion.
--Need another sentiment?  I'm not sure I did, but I still inked "Peace on Earth" (from Four the Holidays) in Marina Mist, and embellished that with a line of Basic Pearls.

That's it!  Though this isn't the card I'll be sending this year, I think this is ripe for mass production.  Perhaps next year...

Today's bingo piece is the mittens.  Good luck!
Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Medallion, Snow Swirled, Fabulous Phrases, Four the Holidays
Ink: VersaMark, Baja Breeze, Marina Mist
Paper: Baja Breeze, White Naturals
Extras: Circle Scissors Plus, Glass Mat, Silver embossing powder, heat tool, Basic Pearls, Basic Rhinestones, dimmensionals

Scenic Season

You saw Dasher earlier on Kiran's holiday card for this year, but I wanted to play with this great single stamp as well (it costs less than $10, and gets lots of mileage).  For this card, I paired Dasher with a stand of three pines from Plant Hope, a nice set for tree lovers.  I embossed Dasher in gold, which entirely covers the stamping underneath and eliminates the need for masking.  The finishing touch to this simple card is the holiday greeting from Four the Holidays.

This evening's bingo piece is the holly.  In case you missed my earlier post, there were two bingo pieces today--be sure to scroll down so you mark them all.

Cheers!

~Melanie

Stamps: Four the Holidays, Plant Hope, Dasher

Ink: Early Espresso, Garden Green, VersaMark

Paper: Crumb Cake

Extras: Gold embossing powder, heat tool

If I didn't make Bingo cards...

Drumroll please...I just drew the wreath as today's bingo piece.  Mark your cards!

So, If I didn't make Bingo cards, what would I do with the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set?  Oh, so many things!  First up is this simple holiday card, which is quick and easy to make.  Using grid paper, I lined up the stamps I wanted to use (cardinal, Santa, poinsettia) so that they were even and evenly spaced, then  pressed the clear mount block onto the stamps, so I knew they'd be just right when I put stamp to paper.  Next, I inked all three up with Cherry Cobbler (this is why I chose three symbols that could be red) and stamped them onto a 4x5.25" piece of Whisper White.  I added the Happy Holidays sentiment from Four the Holidays in Wild Wasabi, and was almost done.

Then I decided that it would be too plain this way, so I jazzed it up by adding two rows of paper piercing using the Mat Pack and Paper Piercer tool.  I also got out the Scallop Trim Corner punch to add a little interest before adhering the white to a card base of Cherry Cobbler.  Quick and simple!  That's another thing I love about the Jolly Bingo Bits, and the cards can all be different because there are 24 to choose from.

What combination would you use?  Let me know in the comments.  And don't forget to shout out if you get BINGO!

Cheers!

~Melanie

Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Four the Holidays

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Extras: Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Scallop Trim Corner punch

Sparkly Snowflakes

Today's bingo piece is...the stocking!  Mark your cards.

The card I'm sharing today is definitely not the traditional holiday colors...and that works for me!  It's actually the same colors as this card from Kathy's party, but the combination looks so different when there's so much white space.  I used my Big Shot and the Northern Flurry decorative strip die to cut out these great snowflakes from Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant, and Baja Breeze.  Then I put a few snowflakes into the Color Catcher (an absolute must!  Unless you want a glittery table, that is) and sprayed these with the Smooch Spritz.  I used both Silver Foil and Vanilla Shimmer, and decided that I like the Vanilla Shimmer slightly more than the Silver Foil--it gives the snowflakes a subtle shimmer.  So subtle, in fact, that you might not be able to catch it in the picture.  But trust me, it's there and it's pretty!

The final touch for this card is the sentiment, from Four the Holidays and inked in Rose Red to match the snowflakes.  I just might send this one to a friend who moved South, and probably won't be seeing any snow for Hanukkah this year.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Four the Holidays
Ink: Rose Red
Paper: Whisper White, Rose Red, Elegant Eggplant, Baja Breeze
Extras: Big Shot, Northern Flurry die, Color Catcher, Vanilla Shimmer & Silver Foil Smooch Spritz

Clean and Simple Christmas

Now that it's November, I'm beginning to anticipate the holidays.  Will I be ready?  It's hard to say...so I'm getting started now.  This week's sketch over at Clean&Simple Stamping, Fall-To-Layout 114 immediately made me think of my Bingo Bits stamp set--it's perfect for a simple card like this, and the combinations are endless.

I used Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Garden Green to stamp the images on Crumb Cake.  I was also using Pacific Point, but smudged my snowman.  No worries!  I stamped the snowman onto a scrap of White Naturals, and then punched it out with the 1/2" circle punch.  I did the same with the snowflake, just to keep it even, then attached both to the card with dimmensionals.  The final touch is my sentiment, from Four the Holidays, inked in Early Espresso.

This would be a very easy card to reproduce.  I have grander visions (of course!), but if those don't work out, this will certainly do the trick.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Bingo Bits, Four the Holidays
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Pacific Point, Garden Green
Paper: Crumb Cake, White Naturals
Extras: dimmensionals, 1/2" Circle Punch

Loft Stamping Highlights

Get ready for goodies--I went to the Loft!!

As Kiran knows, "the Loft" is my aunt and upline's HUGE creative corner.  More than a corner, it really is a fancy, specialty-made stamping space that, to me, is luxury itself.  And my aunt/upline is even more addicted to Stampin' Up! than I am...she made Founder's Circle for the first time this year, which means she is one of the top 100 demonstrators!!  She says I need a downline to make this happen...Kiran, are you ready to sign up yet?  Anyone else?

The great thing about the Loft is that it is always filled with the latest and greatest of Stampin' Up!'s releases...so today you're getting a real treat with this sneak peek from the Holiday Mini.  It goes live on Wednesday, and I know I can't wait!  It's jam-packed with great things, and as a demonstrator I was able to pre-order for myself, as was my aunt.  On to today's holiday trio of fun.

First up is this great little treat box, which was a snap to create with the Big Shot and the new Candy Wrapper die.  Kiran, you are going to LOVE this when you get it!  And it's a perfect size, since you can get two candy wrappers out of each sheet of 8.5x11" paper with minimal scraps.  I made this one from Bashful Blue, then wrapped it with Cherry Cobbler 1/2" Seam Binding, which is also new in the Holiday Mini.  (I almost never buy the ribbon, but I love this stuff.  It will be in my next order!)

The snowflake is adorable, and also really easy with the Big Shot, using the Northern Frost decorative strip die.  One pass through produced eight different snowflakes that have a little shine, since I used Brushed Silver cardstock.  This die is a must-have if, like me, you love snow and how beautiful it makes everything look.

The finishing touch is the Basic Rhinestone I stuck in the middle of the snowflakes.  What a steal!  You get 150 of these gems for $4.95--if that's not the best deal in the Idea Book and Catalog, I don't know what is!

Next up is the card that I made to coordinate with the little candy wrapper.  This card is also made with a Bashful Blue base, and allowed me to use up more of those great snowflakes from the Northern Frost die.  The sparkly pops of red are new Glimmer Brads from the Holiday Mini...and I'm going to have to have some of these too!

The kids with the sled remind me of growing up, and they're in my favorite new holiday set from the big catalog, Welcome Christmas.  I really like the silhouette images of these kids, as well as of the tree decorating.  The finishing touch for this card is the sentiment, from the set Four the Holidays and inked up in Cherry Cobbler.

Finally, credit for this card goes to Mary Kay Molnar.  The base is Cherry Cobbler, upon which she layered a piece of Brushed Silver that had been embossed using the Big Shot and the new Northern Flurry embossing folder.  Like all the embossing folders, it is beautiful and easy--I recommend it, and might even have another card made with it to show you later (hint, hint).  The bow, at which clearly Mary Kay is more skilled than I, was tied up using that Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding.  Love it!

The finishing touch on this card ties the whole set together, and it was so simply done!  (One of the great things about visiting your upline is that you always learn new tricks and techniques).  It's just a mini glue dot that was placed in the center of the snowflakes, and then sprinkled with Fine Galaxy glitter.  I've never tried that, but it looked so easy and beautiful that I'll have to work that in to my repertoire.

Whew!  What a whirlwind of stamping fun...as always, when I visit the Loft.  Be sure to stay tuned for more great holiday ideas...over the next few months, that is.  I'm going back to "normal" stamping for the moment.  And more importantly, be sure to check out the new Holiday Mini on Wednesday.  You will LOVE it and I will be happy to share more of its contents with you and your friends.  Just email me to book a party.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Candy Wrapper
Paper: Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver
Extras: Big Shot, Candy Wrapper die, Northern Frost decorative strip die, Cherry Cobbler 1/2" seam binding, Basic Rhinestones

Card 1
Stamps: Four the Holidays, Welcome Christmas
Ink: Versamark, Cherry Cobbler
Paper: Bashful Blue, Brushed Silver
Extras: Big Shot, Northern Frost decorative strip die, In-Color Glimmer Brads, Basic Rhinestones

Card 2
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Brushed Silver
Extras: Big Shot, Northern Flurry embossing folder, Mini Glue Dots, Fine Galaxy Glitter, Cherry Cobbler 1/2" seam binding

Santa and His Sleigh

Wandering Words is a great set--it takes up the entire front of the card, so you can quickly make a lovely card. For this one, I used santa and his sleigh. I inked it in Real Red, and then took my Basic Black marker to cover the words. I LOVE that you can use a darker color directly over a lighter one--no need to remove the ink. Remember: You do need to clean the stamp between each use, so you don't get the black ink on your red ink pad. A thin frame of Garden Green, and then a simple "Merry Christmas" from Four For the Holidays, and voila! An easy, striking card in just a few minutes. I'm sure that as I run out of time for my ambitious holiday card design, I'll be making batches of these to send everywhere.

This is another card that you can make at the Holiday Card Buffet this Wednesday. Let me know if you'll be joining us!