SSINKspiration Blog Hop: Merry Christmas!

Good morning!  December has arrived and with it holiday festivities are in full swing.  We’re having lots of fun and really trying to enjoy every minute together (even when Aidan was sick). For this months blog hop it’s all about Christmas and the designers are sharing some great ideas for this time of year.  I really love to make beautiful packaging to help make a gift truly unique so I’m sharing a gift packaging idea that is so pretty no one will want to open!

As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers! You should have just left stop number #2 on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration Blog Hop - Darcy at Dj's Stampin Place. If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn't work or you get off track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

I started with one of our Take Out Boxes (there are lots of great packaging staples Stampin’ Up! offers that really makes it easy for gift packaging).  Next I wrapped a piece of Home for Christmas Designer Series Paper (this whole package is beautiful, especially the poinsettia pattern).  Then I wrapped a piece of Mossy Meadow Stitched Cotton Ribbon around the box.  For the tag I used the Cozy Christmas stamp set and used Stampin’ Write Markers to ink the stamp before stamping it on Very Vanilla cardstock and then cut it out with the Big Shot and Deco Labels Framelits.  I wanted to make a mat for the greeting but I didn’t want it to be too large so I took some Gold Glimmer Paper and traced around the “outside” of the framelit I used to cut the greeting and then cut it out using Paper Snips.  I punched a whole in the top of the tag and then tied it onto the package using Cherry Cobbler Thick Baker’s Twine.

This package was really pretty easy to put together but by using the beautiful paper, ribbon, glitter, etc. it will really WOW anyone you decide to give it to (and you could easily turn the elements from this package into a matching card perfectly!)

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today’s project:

 

Make sure to check out the rest of the blog hop for lots of other great ideas.  If you click the “Next” button, you’ll go to Bree’s site but you can also access any of the hopper’s site from the full blog list below.

 

 

Blog Hop Participant List:

1. Jennifer at Jenny G Paper Crafts
2. Darcy at Dj's Stampin Place
3. Diana at Stampin Fun with Diana
4. Bree at Craft-Somnia Momma
5. Leanne at Literally My Joy
6. Laura at Crafty Chicks Creating
7. Melissa at The Stamp Doc
8. Kim at Stamping with Kim
9. Heidi at Stuck on Stampin'

Enjoy,

Diana

Cozy Christmas Holiday Wishes

Good morning!  Aidan is starting to feel better (yeah) and we’re on the go as usual with work, school, and getting ready for Christmas.  I spent a lot of time this weekend working on Christmas gifts and packaging that I’m really happy with, as well as starting to conquer the looming Christmas card list.  Today I wanted to share a card I designed for the Mega Christmas card class and last month I shared the gratitude version of the card but thought it would be fun to share the original since it was one of my favorites.

I started with Early Espresso cardstock for the cardbase and embossed the front with the Big Shot and Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder.  Next I added a piece of DSP from the Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Stack and tucked a Silver Foil Doily behind the DSP.  The greeting is from the Cozy Christmas stamp set and I used Stampin’ Write Markers to ink the stamp before stamping on Whisper White cardstock, then I punched it out with the 2” Circle Punch.  The final touch was to tie a bow using Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine and attached it to the cardfront with a glue dot.

I love these classic holiday colors and how the foil accent adds some sparkle and it’s super quick and easy by letting the embellishments really dress things up.

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today’s card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

                                                              

Have a great day, enjoy!

Diana

Sketch Frenzy Friday Sketch Challenge: Cozy Christmas

Hello Friday, so glad to see you again!  I’m looking forward to this weekend, I have race on Sunday and we’re off on a family “racecation” to Hershey (chocolate, amusement park, running, family, what’s not to love??)  Before all the fun begins I wanted to share my card for this weeks  Sketch Frenzy Friday sketch challenge.  Karen gave us an interesting sketch that was quite the challenge.  I decided to keep it nice and simple for a Christmas card (nice and mailable!!)

I started with Smoky Slate cardstock for the cardbase and then added a piece of Whisper White cardstock for the cardfront.  I added a couple pieces of designer series paper from the Merry Moments Designer Series Paper Package running diagonally across the card.  I stamped the little tree from the Project Life Seasonal Snapshot 2015 set using Old Olive ink.  In the bottom of the card I used the Cozy Christmas stamp set and Stampin’ Write Markers to ink the stamp for the greeting.  For a little bling I added three silver sequins from the Silver Sequin Trim (I always seem to have a few of those suckers floating around my desk).

This sketch is a great way to use of scraps of paper if you have them floating around which is always a great thing!

 

 

 

 

 

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today’s card:

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

 

Have a great weekend!

Diana

2015 Holiday Catalog Preview: Cozy Christmas

Good morning!  One week from today the Holiday catalog will be officially released and everyone can start ordering for their holiday cards and projects.  I have to say that this is one of the best Holiday catalogs I’ve seen, I’m really in love with ALMOST everything in the catalog (yes my wallet is crying!!).  I will say that if there are products, kits, etc. that are on your must have list, please order early to ensure you have all the product you need in time (we’ve seen how popular our kits have been in the past so I would imagine that some of them may have delays in shipments due to backorders (just guessing) and I would hate for you to miss out, so consider yourself warned and order early!

While I was in Salt Lake City for convention last month we had the opportunity see, and play with some of the wonderful products so today I thought I would share one of the Make & Take Projects, using the Cozy Christmas Product Suite, to wet your whistle.

I started with Pool Party cardstock for the cardbase and then added a piece of Old Olive cardstock that I embossed with the Big Shot and Stylish Stripes Embossing Folder. Next I used two pieces of the Home for Christmas Designer Series Pack and offset them.  Next I took a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock and stamped the greeting in Old Olive ink using the Cozy Christmas stamp set.

Isn’t this little Santa cute?  One of the patterns in the DSP package is full of the Santa images and I just cute one out using my Paper Snips and attached him to the cardfront with dimensionals.  This paper is awesome, it is all watercolor inspired and several of prints have the larger images that would be perfect to paper pierce and use as is (other than fussy cutting).  In addition to the Santa, it’s really the new embellishments that really amp up the WOW factor on this card.  I used a piece of Very Vanilla 1 ¼” Subtle Stripes Satin Ribbon (attached with a staple) and one of the new Home for Christmas Designer Buttons (this one looks like a poinsettia) and it has a piece of Old Olive Baker’s Twine tied in the center.

I love all the coordinating elements in this product suite (as well as several others in the catalog) that work so well together and make beautiful cards really easy to make.  You could easily make this card by the dozens if you wanted (enjoy a movie while cutting out all your little Santa’s to really make the time go by).

Below are easy ordering links for the products used on today’s card (links for products in the Holiday catalog will be live on September 1):

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Have a great day!

Diana