Another great holiday has come to an end and I hope all of you were able to spend the time with friends and family.  Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner?  Where did the year go?

As I was recovering from my self-induced food coma, I finally got to play with some new rubbah!  Guess what?  Not only was it new, but it was FREE!!  Stampin' Up! sent all active demonstrators a stamp set called, "Time Well Spent" as a token of their gratitude.  Can you believe it?  I <heart> surprises.  This set will be in the new Spring/Summer catalog as a level 3 Hostess set so you too can have fun with it when the catalog is released in January.  It's a huge set - 12 pieces.  If you like flowers and whimsy, this has your name all over it. 

Enjoy what's left of the weekend!.  I hope you can look back on this holiday and feel that it was...time well spent.

You know this has got to be BIG if I am posting twice in one day...

You have got to check this out!  Stampin' Up! just released a limited time only sale that has some fabulous items for the holiday.  Starting today and running through December 15th, you can save oodles of money on all the accessories you need to make your packages look perfect for the holidays.  Click on the flier below for more details.

This sale is FANTASTIC!  What a great way to add a special touch to your gifts this year.  If you haven't tried the satin ribbon before, now is the perfect time to add it to your collection.  You can't beat the deal of buy one, get one FREE!  That's less than $5 a roll.  Keep in mind, these don't have the 3 or 4 yards of ribbon like the spools from your local craft store.  These have 15 yards!  That's 45 feet of ribbon!!  You couldn't touch this amount of ribbon at this quality at Michael's or JoAnn's for less than five bucks. 

If you're not needing ribbon or other accessories, take a look at the Tags for All Stamp set.  It's a 7 piece set for LESS than $25.  That's 20% off!

Here's a closer look at all the items on sale:

Remember, this is for a LIMITED TIME ONLY!  Contact me today at [email protected]  to take advantage of these great deals!

I don't know about you, but the idea of getting up at 3:00am to be at the store for a 4:00am "Super Sale" seems all wrong to me.  Does this sale really justify disrupting my sleep pattern only to stand in line for hours with hundreds of people who are probably just as cranky and sleep deprived as I am?  I just don't get it.  I don't know if there is anything I want or need THAT badly that it can't wait until normal shopping hours.  I will admit, however, that as a kid, my mom and I were up and at 'em at the crack of dawn (that would be 6am, not 3am).  My mom is the epitome of a bargain shopper AND knows how to have fun while doing it.  Somehow the "fun factor" of bargain shopping has escaped me in my adult years.  But, for all you die hard shoppers, pack your patience and  "May the Force be with you!".

For those of you staying home and preserving your sanity, you should pull out your stamping supplies and try this cute little number.  I'm calling it a Candy Tote, although I'm sure it could (and should) have a better name.  The pattern and idea for this came from Cambria Turnbow (another fabulous SU demonstrator) and she has graciously shared the pattern with so many of us. 

If you look closely, you'll see the best part of this tote is that it has York Peppermint Patties in it!  The Scallop punch creates a "sandwich" of sorts and three of these decorated patties fit perfectly in the tote.  This is a great, quick and easy gift.

If you've noticed, there has been a trend in my last several posts.  All of the projects over the last several days have all used the Scalloped Circle Punch.  I LOVE this punch.  It is so versatile and so much fun to use.  If you have decided that you HAVE to have this punch too, contact me at [email protected] and I'll tell you how you can get one too!

In the meantime, be safe at those shopping malls!

One of my favorite commercials is the "Eat More Chiken" campaign by Chick-Fil-A.  Those cows totally crack me up!  I couldn't help but think of those cows when I was assembling today's project.  With Turkey Day arriving tomorrow, I am in the midst of making place cards for each place setting.   Isn't this turkey cute??  A big "thanks" to my fellow demonstrator, Carol Taggart, for sharing this adorable bird.  Here's the best part - this guy was made completely using ONE punch - the scalloped circle punch - honestly!

Here's a quick overview of how this little guy came together:

Punch out a number of scalloped circles in various colors then cut them in half.

On the brown piece, take scissors and cut towards the center to make the feathers.  After forming the feathers, take an inked sponge along the edges to give it some definition.

Using another scalloped circle, cut the body of the turkey.  It should look something like this:

Using the same punch (I told you it was a one-punch bird!), cut out the remaining pieces of the bird (feet, beak, etc.) and assemble so it looks like the following: 

For the eyes, I just added a touch of a black marker.

There you have it!  A cute addition to your Thanksgiving table.

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

I recently attended a Stampin' Up! Regional seminar in Orlando.  Besides spending the day with hundreds of other demonstrators, we spent hours learning new tricks and techniques.  Two of my favorite "tricks" included creating the perfect petal from our circle punches and a cute and simple flower from our scalloped circle punch.  Check this out:

Start by punching out a scalloped circle:

With paper snips, cut from the edge of the scalloped edge to the center to form a "flower"

Take a circle punch (any size will do - it just depends on the size petal you are wanting).  I used the 1 1/4" circle punch for my 3x3 gift card.

Once you punch a circle, reinsert the punched circle into the 1 1/4" punch (this is where the fun part comes in!)

Do you see it?  Isn't that cool?  To form the other petal, simply reinsert the remaining part of the circle and punch again. 

It should look like this:

Now it's time to assemble the flower. 

Add a little "bling" in the center of the flower by adding some Dazzling Diamonds

Assemble your card and get ready for the "ooh's and ahh's"

Thanks for stopping by!

What a great afternoon!  A big THANK YOU to all of my guests that attended my Stampin' Up! Holiday Stamp Camp today.  I had nearly a dozen fabulous women join me at my house today for a few hours of stamping (and snacking).  We made 6 projects: 4 cards and 2 3-D items.  There was an eclectic mix of stamping experience within the group which just proves that anyone can be a stamper!

In addition to the projects, we were spoiled with delicious food and drink.  The hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks were the biggest hit!  The smell of the apple and cinnamon filled the house!  Debby, (my BFF), went out of her way to make sure that everyone had good eats!  I am certain that I speak on behalf of everyone when I say - Thank you, Debby.  You made a good day, great!

I made a small scrapblog of the day's event.  I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I was having too much fun with everyone.  I will definitely do a better job with pictures at my next event.

Thanks again to my wonderful friends and neighbors that attended.  Hope to see you again at next month's camp!

If you would like to attend my next event, be sure to sign up for my email list (on the left side bar) so you can stay informed of all the details.

Happy Stampin'

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity.  I have been preparing for back-to-back-to-back Stampin' Up! Events.  Three events within 6 days - woo hoo!  All of this preparation has come with a cost though - no recent blog posts!  However, I am happy to say everything is in order and I am back to blogging .

Tomorrow I am hosting my "Holiday Stamp Camp" which will showcase projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I have a great crowd coming and look forward to sharing pictures with you in the next couple of days.  If you live in the Orlando, FL area and are interested in attending a future rubber stamping event with me, please sign up for my newsletter so you can stay informed.

Because of my recent time limitations, I wanted to share a card I made a few weeks ago for some friends of ours that recently lost their dog, Bear.  I don't typically use "contraband" or in other words, non-Stampin' Up! stamps, but this stamp was given to me by a friend and I thought the empty dog house was perfect for this pet sympathy card.  Being a dog owner myself, I know how special pets are and how they can enrich our lives. 

Be sure to check back in a couple of days.  In the meantime, Happy Stamping!