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Holiday Mini Catalog 10/1/08-1/18/09


2008 Catalog

Decor Elements *NEW ITEMS JUST ADDED!*


December 16, 2008

Bella Rose Stationery Set

So here's yesterday's post - I just now got my pictures taken! Hmm... that means I still have nothing to post for Wednesday. Oh well! Many of you will recognize this set as a class project made by the very talented Andrea Walford. Andrea originally made this with last year's Afternoon Tea DSP, which I made and posted earlier. Today's is made with some beautiful Bella Rose paper for a friend to give to her Mom for Christmas. Here are a few pictures:

Bella stationery set 1
Bella stationery set 3 Bella stationery set 4 Bella stationery set 5

I just love this stationery holder. It's a really great gift to give, and can't wait to get it in the mail to my friend! I cannot share the dimensions or instructions, as it is a purchased kit. But I hope you enjoy the photos and that you get plenty of your own ideas. And I certainly hope you are making at least some of your gifts this year!

Take care!
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December 15, 2008

Cardholder and Cards

Happy Monday! I have some cards and a cute holder to show you that I worked on over the weekend... I just have to get them photographed.

So hang on - I'll get them posted sometime today!

Melinda

December 13, 2008

Stampin' Up! Saturday!

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SU Saturdays

Retired stamp on golfcourse

Wheredostampsgowhentheyretire

The same places we do! Dozens of stamps from the 2008 Fall-Winter Idea Book & Catalog are dusting off their golf clubs in anticipation of their retirement! Now's your last chance to get them -
they are only available through January 18th, 2009!
And they're 10 percent off from December 9-23, so don't wait to order!
And, from December 9 through December 23, all orders of $70 or more will receive free shipping!

These stamps have to go to make room for new stamps in the upcoming Spring-Summer 2009 Idea Book & Catalog!!

Click here to download the flier listed by page number
Click here to download the flier with 10% off pricing available through December 23 

Go to my Stampin' Up! website - www.melinda.stampinup.net - and click on 'SHOP NOW' in the upper right corner to place your order! Hurry while the prices are low and you can save on shipping!

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December 12, 2008

Frosty Day DSP & Hedgies!

Oh, how I wish they had never retired the Hedgehogs!! I saw these in my Christmas collection and just had to get them out and dust them off. And just to pair the old with the new, I used Frosty Day DSP. Here's the result:

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I started out to make a card for this week's SCS layout of the week, but decided I didn't like the other vertical stripe that was supposed to be added, so it's no longer this week's layout. I'm still feeling a bit, well, let's say just not-so-good, so I'm just gonna leave you with this, and its recipe.

Recipe -

Stamp sets: Holiday Hedgehogs *retired*

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Frosty Day DSP

Inks: Basic Brown

Accessories: 1-1/4" & 1-3/8" punches, Blender Pen, striped grosgrain ribbon - Bashful Blue

I hope you're inspired!

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December 11, 2008

A Kiwi Cardinal Christmas

Hello everyone! I think I'm back from the dead finally! I just had a bad cold, but it was a miserable one! I stamped yesterday's card and today's, and it's the first stamping I've done in a very long time! At least it seems like a very long time to me - I'm used to stamping every day!

So here's my card for you, using a set I haven't used much yet, and have not used this particular stamp at all yet:

A Cardinal Christmas 

The branch on my card is mistletoe, so the berries should really be whitish, but in the interest of time, I just made them green. :-) I wanted to make a Kiwi Kiss-colored card for Christmas, and this one ended up being monochromatic. All it is, is a base of Kiwi Kiss, with a Whisper White layer on top of that, and some Bella Rose DSP on top of that! The mistletoe and the sentiment are from the Cardinal Christmas stamp set, both stamped onto Whisper White. (The sentiment is stamped with Basic Grey) All I did after that was to add the button and ribbon, and it was done!

That's the best I can do for you today, until I'm a little more recovered than I am. At least I can keep my hands out of the tissue box for more than two minutes now! Take care and see you tomorrow!

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December 10, 2008

My Holiday Collection Penguin!

I will add more to this post later... it was all I could do just to get the card made! I am feeling better, though - finally!

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More soon!

December 08, 2008

Out of Commission...

I have been sick, sick, SICK since last Thursday, and have been vegetating on the couch, unable to sit myself down in front of the computer. I hope to get something made and posted for you tomorrow. Hang on... I have to SNEEZE... woo! Ouch - it actually hurts to sneeze. I never get sick, so I am being a real baby about this... "waaa - my head hurts! waaa - my eyes are HOT! waaa - my nose won't stop running!" You're lucky you aren't witnessing this! I did watch back-to-back-to-back Christmas movies yesterday. I highly recommend Fred Claus with Vince Vaughn. OK - gotta run; my nose is calling again. I've got to get better before tomorrow night - I'm supposed to go see my little 8 yr-old neighbor, Mady, be a reindeer in her school play!!

Please do some stamping for me - and send me the results!

Melinda

December 05, 2008

Peace & Joy & Love & Cheer & Santa & Sleigh

Here is the other Decor Elements Holiday item I put together for this season. This one is really REALLY hard to get a picture of, because I put it on a mirror, consequently, every time I try to get a photo, I end up with my stamp room in the way. So here are 2 different shots that are not very good, but will give you an idea of what you can do with the Santa & Sleigh Decor Element.

Santa & Sleigh Decor Elements, Join in the Cheer Decorative Strip Die Cut 

Santa & Sleigh Decor Elements, Join in the Cheer Decorative Strip Die Cut

Notice the Big Shot Stampin' Up! exclusive die, 'Join in the Cheer' Decorative Strip die I used? I cut it out of Whisper White cardstock, then cut some of the words apart so that I could curve it across the top of the mirror. I ran it through my Xyron, then carefully removed the excess glue and fingerprints with Windex and a paper towel. This is the small sized Santa, and the cheap mirror I got from Wal Mart is about 12x15. What I REALLY wanted was the large Santa & Sleigh for my dining room wall. It's 13" high by FORTY-FOUR inches long!! Wouldn't that just be the coolest?!

I'd order my Decor Elements by Monday if you want to have it up for the week before Christmas...

Enjoy your weekend!

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December 04, 2008

Jingle All the Way - Decor Elements

Jingle bells! Jingle bells! Jingle all the way!
(I've been listening to Christmas music lately...can you tell?)

There's still time left to order some great Decor Elements to decorate your home for the holidays, so this week I thought I'd show you a few more I've made. This one's difficult to photograph, so I hope you can get the idea... (it looks much better in person!)

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I just love the 'Jingle All the Way' stamp, but did not get the set this year, so I got it in the Decor Elements instead! It is so cute, and is available in 3 sizes and 3 colors. I got the medium in Real Red, which is 7-1/4x6" (and only $9.95!), then sandwiched it between 2 pieces of glass (called a 'floating frame'.) It's actually stuck to the piece of glass in the back, then covered with the other piece of glass. This particular floating frame is about 9x11 and has a little stand in the back so you can set it on a table. Cute, cute, cute! It was my upline's idea, and she even put some cardstock behind the bell and I think even a piece of DSP behind the entire thing, but I liked mine just plain, so I left it as-is.

You can get a Decor 'Jingle' in Old Olive or Chocolate as well, or get a small one for on a mug or candy dish (3-5/8x3" and only $3.50!) or even a large one for your hall mirror or wall (13x11" and only $17.95). Just don't wait too long to place your order - you'll want to put it up in time for the holidays.

Hope this helps you make your home festive this season!

December 03, 2008

Peaceful Wishes Again This Year

Here is a sweet card I CASEd for my "Quick Cards" Class this month. I found it here, and just love its simplicity, colors, and the splashy red bow.

Peaceful Wishes stamp set *retired 

Don't ya just love it?! I used Always Artichoke for the base cardstock, with Confetti Cream as the card front. All I did was to stamp the pine needles multiple times on the side of the card front, making sure one of them stuck out far enough to "hang" the pinecone on. Then I stamped the pinecone in Chocolate Chip, and the sentiment in Real Red. Next, tie a bow in Red Gingham ribbon, and attach it to the top of the pinecone with a mini glue dot. That's it! A very simple and very quick card that can easily be mass-produced!

Hope you enjoy and that it solves your "how do I make a bunch of Christmas cards that actually look good" dilemma!

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December 02, 2008

Beautiful Fall Season of Friendship Card

I have a beautiful card to share with you today from my friend Tracy in Montana. I love having stamping friends - they know how much fun it is to get handmade cards in the mail! I made some Fall and Thanksgiving cards too... too bad I never thought to send them out!!! I guess I'm already focused on Christmas cards once summer's over!

Season of Friendship stamp set, Autumn Vine DSP 

I love the colors, don't you? I didn't get any of the Autumn Vine DSP, so this is especially pretty to me.

Season of Friendship stamp set, Autumn Vine DSP She put so much detail into this card. Every set of leaves is cut out and popped up on the tree - that takes patience! Also check out the way the ribbon is threaded through the top layer. Very neat.

I also love the tiny little scallops around the squares of DSP. Cute, cute, cute. I'm going to have to make more cards with this color scheme: Baja Breeze, More Mustard, and Really Rust. Or am I wrong, and it's not Baja Breeze ink - it's Sage Shadow as on the DSP? The ink looks very much like Baja Breeze!


At any rate, it's a gorgeous card, and I was so happy when I found it hiding among the bills in my mailbox one day just before Thanksgiving! Thank you, Tracy! Keep 'em coming!!

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December 01, 2008

Winter Post Top Notes Gift Tags

Happy Monday and welcome to December! I hope your holiday weekend was a good one, and that you're ready for the rush of the Crhistmas season! If you're a lot farther ahead of me, you might be ready for making a quick batch of gift tags. See, I'm not even ready to SHOP for gifts, let alone wrap and add tags to them!

Anyway, in case you are, here's a batch of tags I made for a class that's straight from the Holiday mini catalog!

Reindeer gift tags 

These were so simple! I started with Sahara Sand cardstock (only because I was all out of Kraft!), and die cut 6 Top Notes. Next, I used Chocolate Chip to stamp the reindeer, Post Card stamp, and the 'To/From'. I took Versamark ink and stamped the Winter Post snowflake around the edges, then used either Handsome Hunter or Riding Hood Red to add the Santa Post or the 'Do Not Open' stamps. After that, I punched a hole in the corner, then tied on some of the SU! red twine, and added a punched branch (using a Martha Stewart punch... shhhhh!)

The ones in the mini cat used a jumbo eyelet for the cord in the upper corner, but I wasn't sure I'd have enough eyelets for all my projects!

These are a nice size for tags, so if you need 'em, you can crank them out very quickly! Just remember, it's always a good idea to CASE something out of the catalogs!! Hope you're inspired!

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November 29, 2008

Stampin' Up! Saturdays!

SUSatSunheader 
SU Saturdays 

Holiday Extravaganza Sale 

Click on the flier below for details.
Only available while supplies last - some bundles already sold out!

Holiday Extravaganza Flyer

November 28, 2008

Four Projects Using Frosty Day DSP: Days 3 & 4 Together!!

Well, with turkey day getting in the middle of my week of projects, I'll just give you both days 3 & 4 today! But first let me say that I hope you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving, and that today you're not as stuffed as you felt yesterday! My sister and her family brought the most delicious cakes and pies from a local restaurant in High Point NC that were to die for!!

OK - on to my last 2 projects:

Gift Packaging Using Frosty Day DSP 

Don't they look great all grouped together?! I think they're just adorable! (Am I allowed to say that about my own creations? I hope so, because I just did!)

I took the leftover scraps of DSP and used them on the last 2 items: a cello bag and topper, and a gift card holder. They were both so simple to make, and yet still look great. I think the biggest piece of DSP used on these is 4-1/4 x 1", which is the strip across the outside of the gift card holder.

Gift Card Holder with Frosty Day DSP  Gift Card Holder with Frosty Day DSP 

As you can see, the gift card holder is as simple as a piece of cardstock with 2 folds! Mine is a 4-1/4 x 6" piece of Close To Cocoa scored at 2-1/2" and again at 5". Fold the little 1" strip up and adhere it with 2 brads. This will hold your gift card in place. I then adhered the larger strip of DSP to the outside, and another 1" x 4-1/4" piece to the inside flap (BEFORE inserting the brads, by the way!) Next, I just stamped the 'Enjoy' stamp from the Country Living Holiday Collection stamp set in Kiwi Kiss, tied the holder closed with Kiwi Kiss ribbon, and stuck the tag on with a dimensional. Couldn't be any simpler than that!

Cello bag topper with Frosty Day DSP As for the cello bag, I simply took a 4x6" cellophane bag and cut a piece of 4x3" Tangerine Tango cardstock for the topper. Score it in half lengthwise and adhere a 3-1/2" x 1" strip of remaining DSP to the front. On top of that I layered another 'Enjoy' label stamped in Tangerine Tango and punched out with the 1-3/4" round punch. I adhered it with a dimensional so that I could loop the tag string around it easily. The tag uses one of the last bits of DSP: two 1/4" x 2" wide strips. The tag itself is cut from Bashful Blue, and measures 2-1/4 x 3-1/2", then is punched with the ticket punch on the top 2 corners. The stamp I used is from last year's 'Tags For All', which I just love, and can't believe it was retired! I stamped it in Bashful Blue, then cut it out and stuck it on the tag. After adding the DSP strips, I punched a 1/16" circle, then punched a 1/2" circle around that for the Tangerine Tango circle at the top where the metallic thread is threaded through.

Cello bag topper with Frosty Day DSP 

As you can see, I STILL had some DSP remaining. I used one piece to wrap around a few sticks of chocolate stirring sticks (and stuck a few more candies in there just for the picture!), then cut the rest into tiny strips. I then ran the strips through my crimper, and voila! You've got instant "stuffing"!

Well, that's it - a whole set of matching gift holders! Hope this inspires you for the big Christmas wrapping and packaging season!

There's a Stampin' Up! SALE that just started, which I'll post tomorrow - see you then!

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November 26, 2008

Four Projects Using One Sheet of Frosty Day DSP: Day 2!

Alright - it's day 2, and I've got a cute gift box and bow to match the cute snowman bag from yesterday. Let's just dive right in!

Frosty Day DSP project 2 

Here they are together - don't they look cute! The box is an origami box, about 4-1/2" square, and about 2" high. Plenty big enough to hold all kinds of things on MY wish list! :-) It's a good thing I found a tutorial to help you make one of these, because a friend in Houston showed me how to make them, and I'd never be able to tell you without showing you. The tutorial is a bit different from the way I make mine, but very close. I will try to tell you how I change up their instructions, but click here to get to the tutorial. Now, once you're there, follow along for my few differences: First, I use 2 sheets of 12 x 12" cardstock - I do not cut either the top or the bottom smaller, I simply fold one smaller to fit into the other. So, the next difference is under Step 1: I do NOT make the initial folds - they serve no purpose in the end, but are merely place markers. So, instead, I take a ruler and mark a small cross in pencil in the very center of the 12 x 12 piece of cardstock. Now follow the rest of the steps exactly as they are for ONE piece of the cardstock. This will be the smaller piece, or the bottom.

To make the box top, make the same changes as above: start with a 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock, and mark the centerin pencil instead of making the folds in Step 1. Now, complete Steps 1-3. In Step 4, however, you will make a smaller fold. To do this, you will not bring your fold to the center in Step 4. Where it says, "Fold the top of the square to middle of box, and the bottom of the square to the middle of the box", you will instead fold to within 1/4" of the middle with both the top and the bottom folds. Notice the photo in Step 5: you see a gap, but if you pressed the paper down in the photo, the gap would disappear, right? Well, when you fold it MY way, the gap will not disappear - it is supposed to remain because the top and bottom can't reach. Now complete the rest of the steps as written. I hope that makes sense! If not, just use their directions, and your box will simply be a bit smaller.

Frosty Day DSP project 2 If you're keeping track of the sheet of DSP, then this is the project to start with, because the bow consumes most of the paper. So, if you decide to make all the projects from one 12x12" sheet of DSP, start with today's box, bow, and gift tag. The bow uses one half of the sheet of DSP. I'll tell you how to cut the cardstock as we go, but the main thing to keep in mind is to follow the directions to a "T" when cutting your paper for the bow. Those directions can be found here.  

The bow's simple to make - you just cut the half sheet into strips of a certain size, loop one end of each strip over the other, adhere the ends together, then assemble. Seriously, if you follow the directions in the link above, it really is easy - you'll be making all your own bows from now on!

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After making the bow, I cut an 8-1/2 x 2-1/2" piece of the remaining half-sheet of DSP. I used it as you would ribbon, and wrapped it around the top and two sides of the box. I also adhered 1-3/4 x 4" "panels" of DSP to the other two sides just to brighten it up a bit.

 Frosty Day DSP project 2  

The last thing I added was a cute little gift tag, made from a base of Close To Cocoa to match the box. After punching the top corners with the ticket punch, I adhered a 2-1/2 x 2-1/2" piece of DSP, folded in half. On the inside, I put a stamped tag with matching Tangerine Tango ink. Next, I punched the top with the slot punch, and threaded some Tangerine Tango striped ribbon through, fastening it with a brad.

Altogether, I think it's an adorable little gift box and I'd love to receive it as much as I'm going to love giving it!

Meet me back here tomorrow for the goodie bag!! See you then!

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  • All content, including designs, concepts, text, and photographs are COPYRIGHT ©2008 Melinda Wharton. My artwork is shared for your personal inspiration, and may not be copied for submission to contests, magazines, etc. All stamped artwork represented in my photographs is © 1990-2008 Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

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