Creative Holiday Ideas: Create your own Holiday Ornaments

Hi Everyone,
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I don't know about you, but it is about this time of the year that I realize how close Christmas is (just 27 days away, yikes!) and how much I still have to do to get ready.
The good news is that there is still time to add your own personal touch to the holidays with the cards, gifts and decorations you can create for family and friends. It is also a wonderful way to spend time with your family and create special memories.

Today I wanted to share with you how simple it is to create your own Christmas ornaments to give to family and friends. I love the vintage look created by the watercolored stamped images on the ceramic ornaments.
The images were stamped with Stazon Jet Black Ink and I "watercolored" them using Classic Inks and a Blender Pen to create an heirloom feel. The above ornaments were stamped with images from the Bells & Boughs stamp set, that is currently on sale as part of the ABC Holiday Bundle Sale.  It is a part of the Vintage Christmas Card Bundle and is available in either traditional Wood Mount or the new Clear Mount stamp sets. You can learn more about this wonderful sale here.

The second set of ornaments I want to share with you are stamped with the Merry Crittermas stamp set available in the Holiday Mini Catalog. I love this whimsical stamp set and it reminds me of the joys of childhood at Christmas. Imagine creating personalized ornaments for your children and/or grandchildren that they can treasure and use from year to year to decorate the tree. This beautiful stamp set is also available in wood mount or clear mount and can be found here.

I hope you have enjoyed today's holiday share and I hope that it will inspire you to create your own family heirlooms to treasure for years to come. Please contact me if you have any questions or you would like to place an order. You can also place an order through my Stampin' Up! Online store. Don't forget to check out the wonderful Online Spectacular Sale that runs now through November 30th for great savings of 20-50% off. Click here to visit my Online Store.

Until Next Time.

Happy Stampin',

Tricia Butts

http://www.triciabutts.stampinup.net/

Supplies Used:

Blender Pen Item # 102845 (set of 3) $9.95

Assorted Classic ink pads

Stazon Jet Black Ink Pad Item # 101406 $7.95

Three Little Monkeys ......

Hi Everyone,

OK, am I the only one with the rhyme "three little monkeys jumping on the bed..." going through my head when I see this card?  I just love the new Fox & Friends stamp set by Stampin' Up, in the new Occasions Mini catalog.  It is soooo cute and the possibilities are just endless with all the wonderful little animals.

For my card share today, I chose the monkey, because my youngest son is our little monkey and it just seemed like the perfect choice for a future birthday card for him. 

I chose the combination of Dusty Durango, Close to Cocoa and Creamy Caramel to showcase my little mischief makers. The scalloped circles are the perfect frame for these cute little guys and I popped them up on dimensionals to help them stand out a little more.

Hope you enjoy viewing this card as much as I did making it.

Until Next Time,

Stamping Hugs,

Tricia Butts

Product List (All Stampin' Up):

Stamp Sets:
Fox & Friends - Clear Mount Stamp  Set 118565

                           Wood Mount Stamp Set 117020
Price: $14.95     Set Quantity: 7
Teeny Tiny Wishes (Wood Mount) Stamp Set 115370
Price $36.95  Set Quantity: 24

Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla
Ink: Close to Cocoa Classic Ink
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, Scallop Edge Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Snail adhesive, dimensionals

A Little Something for Someone Special

Yesterday I shared with you the Letter that I decorated for my Valentine's swap partner. Today I am going to share with you the other little goodies I added to her package to help her feel special for the big heart holiday.

I got the idea for the bookmark after visiting Madeline Morcelo's blog and viewing her tutorial for creating this cute corner bookmark here. In keeping with the Letter theme, I created a monogram for the bookmark using the Letter C from Stampin' Up's Jayne's Type Alphabet and gold embossing powder. The background was created using the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel from the Occasions Mini Catalog.
I taught this bookmark at a class in January and it is one of my favorite projects to teach.

Now everyone knows that chocolate is as much a part of Valentine's Day as hearts and flowers are. So I created a simple little topper for a ziplock snack bag to give it a little taste of Valentines.

The topper is made from the Top Note die cut with the Big Shot from Real Red Cardstock.  It is decorated with hearts stamped with a stamp from the I (Heart) Hearts Stamp set in the Occasions Mini Catalog using Pretty in Pink Classic ink on Very Vanilla Cardstock. I then  punched the hearts out using the coordinating Heart to Heart punch.

The sentiment is from the stamp set Whimsical Words, which is one of the free Sale-a-bration sets available with a $50 purchase. It is stamped in Pretty in Pink Classic ink on a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock punched with the Curly Label Punch.  Fill the bag with chocolate and you have a pretty way to dress up a zip lock bag!

Last but by no means least, I created a Valentine's Card to send a short note to my partner.

I got the idea for this card from a wonderful demonstrator by the name of Dawn Griffith. The border is created using the new Pinking Hearts Border Punch on a scrap piece of cardstock to create a stencil. Using this technique you create the border for the top and bottom of the card by applying ink with a sponge dauber in Real Red Classic ink.  The hearts from the I (Heart) Hearts stamp set, were stamped with Pretty in Pink and Real Red ink, slightly off center to allow space for the sentiment, which is from the Whimsical Words stamp set stamped in Basic Black Classic ink.

So there you have it. Three pretty Valentine's gifts created from a few simple supplies that were a lot of fun to make.  The great thing is, anyone can make them and with a few simple changes of color, you can customize these gifts to suit anyone for any occasion. Contact me today and I will be happy to help you design your projects to suit your needs.

Until Next Time,

Stamping Hugs,

Tricia Butts

Supplies Used (All Stampin' Up):

Stamp Sets:

I (Heart) Hearts (found in the Occasions Mini Catalog)

Wood Mount #117010 $26.95   Clear Mount #118571 $18.95

Whimsical Words (Sale-a-bration free set)

Wood Mount #118386    Clear Mount #119119

Jayne's Type Alphabet #114401  $43.95

Circle Circus #115778  $28.95

Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel  #117693 $8.50
Cardstock: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red, Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Versamark

Accessories:

Sizzix Big Shot, Sizzix Top Note Die, Sizzix Petal Card die, Trio Flower Punch, Round Tab Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Curly Label Punch, Pinking Hearts Border Punch, Heat Gun, Gold Embossing Powder.

Order Online 24/7 Here Just click Shop Now 

C is for Creative: A 3D Project

Hi Everyone,

Recently I had the chance to combine my love of decorative painting with my love of stamping and paper crafting and have a little fun. As a member of Chic-Chicks, a yahoo decorative painting group, I participated in a Valentine's Swap with a twist. We had to decorate the first letter of our partner's name and send it to them. The letter had to be at least 4 inches in size and could be made out of wood, paper mache, chipboard etc. and we had the choice of how we would like to decorate it.

I chose a paper mache letter that I found at a local craft store and painted it with a blue acrylic paint to represent the sky. I then added white clouds to the upper sections of the letter.  To decorate the letter I added leaves cut with my Sizzix leaf sizzlit and the butterflies with the Beautiful Wings Embosslit, both from Stampin' Up.  The flowers were created by stamping the large and small flowers from the Stampin' Up Vintage Vogue stamp set and then cutting them out individually. The colors I used were Stampin' Up classic inks in Real Red and Crushed Curry and I stamped them with the new clear mounted acrylic blocks that Stampin' Up just released in January. The butterflies I highlighted with gold acrylic paint to provide some shimmer and I added some bling to the center of the flowers with adhesive backed faux gemstones.  The end result was a letter that reflected a spring day in a field of flowers. 

Overall, I was really pleased with how it all came together and I am looking forward to exploring this type of creative art in the future.  I managed to find a few more paper mache letters recently and I can't wait to see what inspires me with each of them.

Stamps Used: Vintage Vogue - Clear Mount Stamp 118598

Price: $17.95   Set Quantity: 8

Accessories: Big Shot, Stampin' Up Little Leaves Sizzlit die, Stampin' Up Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die, faux gemstone stickers, misc. acrylic paints, cardstock scraps, Stampin' Up Classic Real Red and Crushed Curry Inks.

All Stampin' Up supplies can be ordered from my online store by visiting my Stampin' Up Website and clicking Shop Now in the top right corner or contact me to place your order.  I am happy to help you.

Until Next Time,
Stampin' Hugs,
Tricia Butts