keepinkingup.com

If you are anything like me, you enjoy the convenience of online shopping from the comfort of your home.  Shopping for you holiday crafts could not be any easier!  And you still have time!But don’t wait any longer – order from the Holiday Mini catalog before it’s too late!  The adorable items in this catty will be available to order until Jan. 3, 2012.  Then, who knows?  Some items may return, but most will not.  So if you like anything in this catalog, PLEASE save yourself the heartache and order now, when you can!  I strongly suggest the Peekaboo Frames (124587), Stitched Stockings (123782 wood, 123784 clear), and Stocking Builder Punch (124095).  There are plenty of other holiday treasures as well, but these are my favorites. 

from my blog.  I’ve been spending so much time deleting spam comments every day, that I just haven’t had the incentive to post .  But I’m still here and doing a bit of stamping when I find some free time.  I’ve made a few Christmas cards so I’ll post them as soon as I take some pictures – it’s been so rainy lately here that I haven’t taken any pictures.  Hopefully I can get something up this week or next.  In the meantime, here are some tips for mass producing Christmas cards:

Keep to 3 colors or less in your design.

Break card into steps so you can create an assembly pattern.  For example, stamp all sentiment images at one time for, say 20 cards at a time.  Punch/cut sentiments and then set aside for final assembly.  Cut/punch other element(s) and set aside as well.  Then assemble all parts of cards in groups of 20.  I find that doing more than 20 at a time can be a bit daunting, especially if embossing is involved.

Design your card taking advantage of the tools and products you have on hand.  For example, if you have a Big Shot, use embossing folders to quickly add amazing texture and detail to the base of your card.  If you have punches, use them for sentiments or to create your own embellishments.  Use any glitter or other embellishments you have purchased throughout the year.  I cannot stress this enough – USE what you have!

Be sure to click here between Monday, November 21, 2011, and Wednesday, November 30,2011 to take advantage of great savings, like:

FREE digital downloads valued at $40 when you buy My Digital Studio Express

60 percent off select Designer Fabrics

AND 30 percent off an exclusive ribbon bundle!

In addition, there will be two items on sale for 24 hours only (November 21, 12:01 AM – 11:59 PM [MT])

You don’t want to miss this amazing annual sale for your holiday purchases!

No one warned me about the awful amount of spam comments a blog could receive.  I’ve just spend over an hour deleting thousands of spam comments.  So be warned – from now on, I will stay on top of such comments and delete them immediately.  Anyone leaving a comment from a company or other website, your link will NOT remain on my blog!  But for any crafters out there, please leave any comments with questions and I will answer you as soon as possible.  I hoped to enjoy blogging, but due to these spam comments, I may reconsider . . .

Quite some time ago, I told you I won a stamp set from Stampin’ Up! for taking a demonstrator survey.  While I cannot show you the stamp set, I can show you what I created with it:

I made this birthday card for a dear friend using this new set called Mixed Bunch.  It will be available in a future catalog so be sure to return to find out the order number if you like it!  The card base is Basic Gray (121044) which is not a color I use very often.  But I wanted to use this beautiful Certainly Celery Satin Ribbon (117288) I had sitting around and it looked quite nice with the gray so that’s where I started.  I punched the bottom edge of the card base with the Eyelet Border punch (119853) to dress up the gray color a bit.  I stamped some of the flower images using Certainly Celery (105217) and Pink Pirouette (111838) inks, then layered that onto a pice of Pink Pirouette (111351) card stock.  For one of the flower centers stamped in Pink Pirouette, I punched it out with the 1/2″ Circle punch (119873) and sponged the edges with Pink Pirouette.  So many of our stamps coordinate perfectly with out punches!  The sentiment is from a retired set, Well Scripted (I love that set), stamped in Basic Gray (109120), punched with the Extra-Large Oval punch (119859) and sponged on the edges with Pink Pirouette and popped up on Dimensionals (104430).  I used my paper piecing tool (116631) and Mat Pack (105826) to punch tiny holes around the perimeter of the stamped layer and created faux stitching lines with the Basic Gray marker (120966) connecting the dots.  To finish it off with what started it all, I tied a pretty bow using that beautiful Certainly Celery Satin ribbon.  My friend really liked it and had to touch the faux stitching, thinking I actually sewed on the card.  You CAN sew on cards – I just don’t have the time to get out my machine for it!