A Walk through the New Occasions Mini : Part 1

I'm like a little kid at Christmas when a new Catalogue is released!  And the Occasions Mini is no exception!
I thought to get back in the saddle of blogging, I would highlight a few of my favorite things about this new mini....
The first thing is on Page 6, the new framelits dies for the Big Shot.  If you've got a Big Shot, this is an absolute MUST!  Each of the collections include 6 dies... perfect for scrapbooking, and card making, in seconds!  Don't forget to check out the stamp set Apothecary Art, that coordinates perfectly with the labels collection dies!

Here's a card using the labels collection by Sandi Maciver (http://www.sandimaciver.com/).  Isn't it stunning?
And one using the hearts collection, by Mary Fish... I just absolutely LOVE anything that Mary Fish does... here's a link to her blog: http://www.stampinpretty.com/2011/12/i-heart-stampin-up-framelits.html

The next thing I have to point out is the stunning pleated satin ribbon (page 12).
Here's an example of the pleated ribbon, once again by Sandi Maciver:

 

 I love that this card also uses the beautiful stamp set Take it to heart (page 14) available in clear or wood mount. 

I have completely ran out of time to show more of my favorites... come back soon for the rest!

It's time.

Here's the thing.  I began decorating and baking in November, and everyone kept asking, isn't this all a bit early?  And now it's 2 weeks before Christmas, and everyone is saying, "you're not done your wrapping yet?" 
Where was the transition period between those two thoughts?
I have been keeping busy.  We started a tradition 2 years ago with our oldest daughter, now 4, to do something Christmas-sy every day.   So we've been very, very busy, but I feel like it gives us time to enjoy the season, instead of rush through it, you know?
Anyway, here are 3 projects we're making tonight at Club.  This first is one of my favorites, although I think I will make the circle around the penguin a little bigger of a circle, with the larger scallop circle.

  I used the new shaker frames on page 38 of the mini catalogue with the mika flakes.  I think these are ingenious!  And I just love the color combo.  The DSP is the letters to Santa paper.  Did you know it had pink in it?!  That's pink pirouette, with wild wasabi and basic grey.

This is a classic card:

When I saw this stocking set in the mini, I knew that I wanted it... but then I was always really underwhelmed by the cards that were made.  I just love this fireplace, and all of the texture.  A great card to give a guy, which is hard to find.  Classic color combo: Soft Suede, Real Red, Chocolate Chip and Old Olive.

Lastly, I wanted to use the mini cellophane bags in the Mini Catalogue as well... the sample they did was Halloween, but obviously I wanted Christmas, so here's what I came up with (please excuse the terrible background!):

 Simple, and cute, right?

Anyway, this will likely be my last post before Christmas I would imagine, so Merry Christmas!

christmas cards galore!

It's only obvious that since I love Christmas so much, my projects as of late have all been Christmas-sy! 
Here's a bunch of cards I've made:
This was for my November Club this month.  It's Always artichoke, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla.  The stamp is the medallion... why have I never thought to make it a wreath before?

 This is a gift card holder, which I think is super cute, and super easy!

 Mr. Snowman may just be my favorite mini card of all time.  Cute, and stunning, easy too.  He's from the button buddies class I just had a few weeks ago.  I used the decorative label punch, to make the black matte, you just punch out 2 pieces, then cut one horizontally in half, and the other vertically in half, and piece them together to make a matte!

 This is the first of 3 stamp-a-stack cards, using real red, chocolate chip and crumb cake, a classic combination.  The glitter is the new glitter paper in the mini, I just love it!!! "Merry Christmas" is from "4 the holidays".

 This is another classic Christmas card, using the new stamp set "merry and type", using old olive and cherry cobbler (I went through 4 packages of cherry cobbler in a week!!!!)

 I'm a sucker for blue and white Christmas cards... I added some basic grey to "ground it".  It's from "Merry Winter", which is just adorable!

I thank you for stopping by my blog this season... .MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Button Buddies Class...

Here's the cards I ended up making for the button buddies class, they turned out SO great!  I love this set, I can't believe how much you can do with it!

Cute, right?  I can never decide which is my favorite.
Well, I'm gearing up for Christmas Season... my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack is coming in a little over a week, so I'm pretty stocked about that! (pictures coming soon).

Day of Gratititude

Apple cidar.  Curling up with a book.  Scrapbooking.  These are all things I love about the fall.  I don't have to feel guilty about staying inside with a cup of tea and spending my afternoons scrapbooking.   I just love it. 
These are the cards that I made with my monthly club.  I had a feeling that we all had a very busy month, so I kept them simple, but I think they are both super sweet.   I used the stamp set, "Day of Gratitude"... that I must be honest about, I didn't like at all when it came out last year in the mini, but it was given to me in the Regionals in Oregon.  So I figured I would try again, and I simply LOVE these two cards!

This first one I tried to use a vintage flair, I used the beautiful vintage ribbon, and then the antique brads.   I just love how it turned out.

This one is obviously very simple, but what surprised me the most was the color combination.  It's tangerine tango, more mustard, old olive and chocolate chip.  I have had more mustard for over 2 years and never used it (literally... the stamp pad was still wrapped!)  But I love how it mellows out this card!
Here's the front view:

Pretty, right?
Here's something i found online with the same stamp set, so I thought I would share it with you:

Created by Christine K. 
Thanks for looking!

Button Buddies Class!

As soon as I saw this set, I just knew that I had to have a class using it.  This is by far the cutest set I've ever seen!

  I am excited to announce that my BUTTON BUDDIES class is coming at the end of this month!  It will include making 8 mini cards, including envelopes. 
Here are some pictures of cards made with this set... They will not look exactly like this, but you'll get the idea:

cute, right?  And for every occasion, so it's the perfect class to make some cards for anything you need.
There are 3 options for this class:
Option #1: Cards only $12.00 (make all 8 cards and matching envelopes)
Option #2: Includes CLEAR stamp set, and a mixture of 72bold and subtle buttons (valued at over $60) for $45.00
Option #3: Includes WOOD stamp set, and a mixture of 72 bold and subtle buttons (valued at over $70) for $55.00

Limited Space available, let me know if you're interested ASAP!

fall is in full swing

It always amazes me how fast time can seem to go.  I mean, it's not like it speeds up or anything, but it certainly felt like September was just a blink.  We had something literally every single night of this month, so that kept us busy.
I have been working on lots of little projects, and I'm hoping to have the time to share them with you!
My dad is the senior Pastor at our church, and he called me up last week and asked if I could make a poster size card for the administration assistant from our church who has been full time for 25 years.  I said yes before I really had the chance to think about it, and then when I was looking at the size, I thought that I kind of spoke too soon.
So I used some of her favorite colors, old olive, peach parfait, chocolate chip and calypso coral.  I used the circle die from my Big Shot for some big circles for the background.  I then printed the words I wanted to use, and then once I cut them out, started embellishing.  I used a glitter brad on the 25, dazzling diamonds on the word "Celebrating" and a library clip on YOU.  I was pleased with the outcome, it seemed fun, but not cheesy, and interesting, but not boring.  
Here's how it turned out:

Thanks for looking!