I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.  Hard to believe that 2017 is coming to an end.  I am ready to welcome in a new year.  Love all the potential and possibilities.  

Today we have a sketch for the Create with Connie Thursday Challenge.  

I used the Petal Palette bundle (Petal Palette stamp set and the Petals & More Thinlits) which is in the soon to be released  Occasions Catalog.  The Petal Passion DSP is also part of the suite of products.  I think the Petal Passion Suite is simply fabulous.  I love every single item in the suite.  I think you will too.

Here's the sketch for this week CCMC#490.

I colored the roses using Stampin' Blends.  The flowers are covered with a layer of Wink of Stella.  It is hard to capture the shimmer of Wink of Stella which is unfortunate because it is so pretty. 

Be sure to check out what the other designers made for the challenge.  I know you will be inspired.

Merry Christmas! 

I found these cute little chocolate Santas and knew I had to package them up using the Lots to Love Box framelits.

Isn't he so cute?  I love how Santa looks like he is wishing you a Happy Christmas.  I had to play around with the placement of the dies to make sure the speech bubble lined up with Santa.  The DSP I used is  Christmas Around the World and it is full of plaids and happy designs.  It is hard for me to decide which side of the paper to use.

Be sure to check out the Clearance Rack.  There are some seriously great deals.  

It is Thursday and time for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge.  This week we have a color challenge.

The Color Challenge colors: Sahara Sand, Soft Sky and Fresh Fig.  What I love about a color challenge is how it opens me up to new color combinations. I love how Soft Sky and Fresh Fig look together.   I do not use Sahara Sand nearly enough.  I think it is a great neutral and whenever I use it I wonder why I don't use it more.  

Were you wondering where I found the striped Fresh Fig DSP?  I made it using the Diagonal Stripe Background stamp which is in the annual Stampin' Up! catalog.  This is another great stamp that needs to be highlighted more.  With this stamp I can make a striped background in any color I want.  

If you have some time during this busy season, I hope you will join us and play along with the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge.   You can get all the information about the challenge here.  Be sure to check out what the other members of the Design Team created.

I am more or less done with my Christmas shopping, cards and best of all mailing!  Yesterday I went to the Post Office and it was busy but I really did not have to wait very long.  I am just so happy that I got it done!  What does this have to do with the Lots of Love Box dies?  Here's a very little something I gave to the person who helped me at the counter.

I used the Lots to Love Box dies to make this cute little box.  The box comes together quickly and it's a cute way to give a little gift.  After the Post Office I went to the store to see what other little goodies I could find to package up.  I will share those soon.

Here's another idea of how to use the framelits.  I cut down the box to fit these tea bags.  Isn't the Christmas Around the World DSP just perfect for these tea bags?  The box holds about 3 tea bags and I am making more of these.   I may just be a little obsessed with this little box and what it can hold.  I will be sharing more ideas on my Facebook page so be sure to follow me there too.

Checking in today with a sneak peek of some adorable stamps sets coming in the Occasions catalog.  

To create this card I combined the Flying Home stamp set and the Charming Cafe bundle.  Isn't it sweet?  I was so happy to discover that the Cafe Builder framelits framed this image perfectly.   You can be sure I will be checking to see what else fits. 

I colored the images using Stampin' Blends on Thick Whisper White cardstock.  I wanted a one layer card.  I soon realized that I would need to line the front panel and the back panel, to hide the bleed through from the Stampin' Blends.  It wasn't hard to do but it was a good reminder for future projects.  I wanted to keep things simple so I finished the card off with some Pool Party Solid Baker's twine and some Wink of Stella on the flowers and birds.  

Hope you liked this sneak peek!  I will be sharing more sneak peeks matched with current products.  Stop by again soon.

Welcome to the Stamper's Dozen Blog Hop!  This month the theme is non-traditional Christmas projects.  We were not allowed to use any red or green in our projects.  

What do you think of this combination of Powder Pink, black and white?   I colored in the white design on the  Merry Little Christmas DSP with a Powder Pink marker and added a rhinestone to the center of each little starburst.  Yes, it was a lot of rhinestones.  I embossed the sentiment with a mix of black embossing powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  

I hope you can see a little of the shine and sparkle that the Dazzling Diamonds glitter adds to the black embossing.  

Product List

Watercolor Christmas Clear-Mount Stamp Set [144838] $18.00	Versamark Pad [102283] $8.50	2017-2019 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [144033] $15.00	Powder Pink 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [144244] $8.00
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $9.00	Merry Little Christmas Designer Series Paper [144621] $11.00	Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies [145372] $30.00	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751] $5.00
Black Stampin' Emboss Powder [109133] $5.00	Powder Pink 1/2" Finely Woven Ribbon [144134] $7.00	Rhinestone Basic Jewels [144220] $5.00

Now it is time for you to hop on over to see what non-traditional Christmas idea Laura has for you!

If you have just come from Laura's blog, hop on the other direction and see what BJ has created.

In the Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog there are a few packs of Black and White patterned paper (aka Designer Series Paper DSP).   This color scheme is quite different than the traditional red and green, we normally associate with Christmas.  I love it and will really miss the paper especially the Merry Little Christmas DSP.   

I made this card for the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge #488.  

Isn't it a great sketch?  When I saw the sketch I immediately thought of the Seasonal Layers thinlits and the 3 snowflakes dies.  It is as if they were made for this sketch.

The sentiment is from the Season to Sparkle set and it was perfect for this card and all the sparkly goodness on it.  I wanted to add some sparkle to the sentiment and since stamping on Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper is difficult I decided to recreate the look by stamping and then heat embossing the whole circle using a mix of Dazzling Diamonds glitter and Clear Embossing powder aka Glittery Goodness.

I hope you will join in the Create with Connie and Mary Challenge #488.  You can get all the details  on the Create with Connie and Mary blog or the Create with Connie and Mary Facebook page.   Be sure to check out what the other design team members created for the challenge.

In the midst of making Christmas cards I needed to take a break and work on something else.  

This card is my backup in case I don't get all of my Christmas cards made or mailed.  I may not be ready for Christmas but I already have a plan for 2018! Love the Large Number Framelits! This card uses 2 new products that will be officially debuting January 3rd.  Can you spot them?

The Bubbles & Fizz DSP is a Sale-A-Bration choice, which means it is free with a $50 purchase (US)!  The Sale-A-Bration offerings are fun and fabulous.  The Lemon Lime Twist 3/8" Mini Striped Ribbon is so easy to tie and love this happy color.  If you are not already working with a demonstrator and would like a copy of the 2018 Occasions and Sale-A-bration catalog, send me an email ([email protected]) and I will get one in the mail to you.

Did you notice that one of the "enamel" dots is not like the others?   I wanted a Lemon Lime "enamel" dot and so Stampin' Up! doesn't have them for sale I decided to make my own.  I cut some circles using the Mini Treat Bag thinlits and glued a couple on the card.  To make the dots shiny and dimensional, I carefully applied some glue using the Fine-Tip Glue pen.  The glue dries clear and maintains the rounded shape.   The Lemon Lime Twists dot are just a smidge smaller than the other dots.

Hope your Christmas crafting is going well and if not consider using the Large Number framelits to make New Year cards!

Still working on getting more Christmas cards made.  I got this idea in my head and needed to get it on paper.

This could be a quick and easy card except I decided I wanted to add the banner which then required me to fussy cut the topiary sections.  They really weren't difficult to cut it just took a little  time.  

Product List

Vertical Greetings Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141876] $19.00	Season To Sparkle Photopolymer Stamp Set [144943] $21.00	Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad [126973] $6.50	Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Pad [126974] $6.50	Versamark Pad [102283] $8.50
Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [140272] $7.00	Cherry Cobbler 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [119685] $8.00	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $8.00	Duet Banner Punch [141483] $18.00	Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies [137547] $40.00
Polka Dot Basics Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [143709] $7.50	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder [109130] $5.00	Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter [133751] $5.00	Fine-Tip Glue Pen [138309] $7.00	Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine [123125] $3.00

Did you notice the "berries".  Here's how I made them.  I rubbed VersaMark ink over a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock and poured a mix  I call Glittery Goodness over the card stock.   Glittery Goodness is a mix of Dazzling Diamonds glitter and Clear embossing powder.  I heat set it and cut out circles using the Mini Treat Bag thinlits.  I attached the dots to the greenery and then applied Fine Tip Glue over the surface. 

I love how these DIY Glimmer dots turned out. They are sparkly and hold their shape.  Pretty cool huh?  Hope you will try this technique and make your own Glimmer dots!  I am just about done making my Christmas cards.   I have a few more to share before I start sharing some sneak peeks of the fun stamping goodies coming in January!