Rubber Room Stampin'

SOCK MONKEY SAYS MERRRRRRY CHRISTMAS

I've always liked Sock Monkey (111550, p. 90*) but haven't used him that much due to lack of imagination.  Really.  But my friend Nancy knows how to use him.  Her sons grew up with sock monkey toys so to create special cards for them (and a nephew) this year was a given.

He has a pom pom at the top of his hat, Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the brim, and a present in his hand.  The hat and gift box are from the Sock Monkey Accessories stamp set (111552, p. 90*).

Inside:

This silly guy just makes my heart sing.   Here's how he arrived at my home:

This package also made my heart sing and reinforced the fact that I really do connect with my stampin' "students" here in Mi Wuk Village.  Check out these stamped goodies:

The embossed Mr. Snowman, from the Punch Pals stamp set (116588, p. 40*) is hiding a small cellophane bag (103104, p. 159*) filled with nuts.  Nancy knows I try not to eat cookies!  (My success rate is not very high.)

These cute little holders could also hold yummy cookies (yes, I do love them).  I'll post a link to the pattern later today or tomorrow for sure.

Warmest holiday greetings!

I sincerely hope you have a wonderful Christmas Day today, no matter how you spend it. 

*Page references are to the Stampin' Up! 2009-2010 Idea Book & Catalog.  Let me know if you need a copy by zipping me an email at <blythe@stampinwithblythe.com> .

HOW TO DISPLAY YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS

This has been an extremely fast and busy year for me, especially the past 2 months.  Our poor Christmas tree got put into its snug little corner right after Thanksgiving and the lights were placed in position.  That's it.  And slowly but surely five ornaments found their way to the tree.  The nostalgic, regular ornaments are still in their boxes in the attic awaiting a moment to bring them down.  Yesterday, being the 23rd of December, I took a look at the tree, and then at the wonderful cards we've received and had an AHA moment.  Love those moments!

 

And here's the Stampin' Up! section.

So now, rather than looking rather forlorn, our tree looks so bright and festive.  A friend came over later in the day after I'd begun my card decorating and she was really taken with the idea.  I'm thinking she's going to be doing the same thing with some of her cards when she returns home.

I wish you all a safe a blessed Christmas, full of warm cheer and warm friendships and the love of family.  Let's all give a THANK YOU and say whatever kind of prayer you say for our men and women who are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other dangerous places.  We wouldn't be who we are without them.  Thank you.

And again, Merry Christmas........

 

OUR CHRISTMAS CARD

As I mentioned yesterday, Russ and I began creating our Christmas cards on Tuesday, December 15th.  When My Digital Studio first came out I created a card as a requirement to become MDS Certified---certified to teach others how to use the program.  The card I made is 5" x 7" and although I love it, it wasn't going to work for a mass production project.

I really wanted to use that photo in our card because my sweetie made the "British" Phone Box from 'found items' and because of the beautiful fresh snowfall.  It was taken last February but---it's still snow and winter-y.  Being unable to make a decision Tuesday, I asked Russ to select a card he liked from all of the samples I've made during the past few months.  And now, here is our card:

I'm not a "seasons greeting" type of gal so I omitted those words from the Scenic Season stamp set and instead used a retired (sorry) Merry Christmas stamp.  The trees and Merry Christmas greeting are stamped in Whisper White Craft ink, then embossed with White embossing powder.  Then I scribbled over the trees with the 2-Way Glue Pen and sprinkled Dazzling Diamond glitter over the card front.  Yes, I've been sporting glitter in my hair and on my face for several days now. 

Inside:

I could not do anything that I liked with our photo so I decided to shape it with the Bigz Top Note  Die for the Big Shot Die Cut Machine and just place it inside the card.  I'm telling you, I love that machine!

Just so you know I'm totally human, this is what my work table looks like right now.  I still have about half more of our cards to finish.  I'll have to unbury some working space before I get started again!

In my defense (ha ha) I had to take a break to design and prepare the two cards for the Library while working on Christmas cards. 

I'm not sure what's next but I'll see you in a day or so.

TOMORROW WEEK 10 OF MY TWELVE WEEKS OF CHRISTMAS EMAILS GETS SENT OUT

Have you been receiving my Twelve Weeks of Christmas emails?  Each week offers a new idea to incorporate into your holiday preparations.  Last week was clever cups for Hot Chocolate packets.  This week's will be........  Ha!  You thought I was going to tell?? 

You're going to have to sign up for my email newsletter to find out what Week 10's project is going to be.  Ohhhh, you want a hint.  OK.

It's red.

I made another one this afternoon and I'm sure you're going to like it.  It's a great plan-ahead and set-it-aside-till-you-need-it idea.

Don't forget to sign up for my mailing list.  It's the only way you'll receive the remainder of my Twelve Days of Christmas emails.

HOLIDAY NAME TAGS

I've mentioned in the past that I'm a member of the Auxiliary of our Mi Wuk / Sugar Pine Fire Protection District, aka our Fire Department.  The Auxiliary's primary goal is to raise funds for Fire Department expenses above and beyond their very tight budget.  At this time of the year we host a holiday dinner that honors our fabulous fire fighters.  And I drew the name tag job this year.  This morning I woke up with the idea I'm sharing below.  What I dreamed is pretty much what you'll see. 

I started the tags just before dinner and finished them around 9 p.m.

Of course I wanted to be able to stamp on the name tags so I used Avery 5263 White Shipping Labels.  The first thing I did was take a Stampin' Up! Creamy Caramel Ink Refill---an ultimate total of about 15 drops---dripped 2-3 drops at a time on a plate.  (We've had these Corelle plates forever!)  Then I dipped a 1" wide paint brush in a bit of water, stroked it through the Ink Refill drops, stroked the brush around the dry edge of the plate, and then attempted to use a sort of 'dry brush' over my unprinted labels.  At first I brushed each label, then the two side-by-side labels, and finally went for doing the entire page pretty much at one time, having to re-dip the brush in the water and Ink Refill and also having to add more Ink Refill drops onto the plate.  When the finished labels are separated no two will look alike.  Understatement?  :)

Trust me---this is not difficult.  After I did the dry(ish) brush across the pages, I printed the names.  I use an ink jet printer and could not print before using the paint brush because the names  would have smeared when I pulled the wet brush across them.  That would be ugly. 

Using the Berry Christmas stamp set, I stamped the holly branch image using Garden Green ink.  I wanted the branch right under the first name so had to resort to using Stampin' Up!'s great Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the proper alignment.  I tried 2 (mine and my husband's) before I realized I could not "just eye ball the placement"!

 

Above:  I'm left-handed, so that's why the "ma-jig" is on the right side of the image sheet.  I'm hoping to master a video camera soon and when I do I'll do a little video tutorial on using the Stamp-a-ma-jig which is a wonderful tool.

 

Then I added the holly berries using Real Red ink.  I wanted the bird image on there as well so added it next, using a piece of scratch paper under the branch line as a mask so that the bird's feet were not below that branch.  Again, Real Red Ink.  I did 'chop' a few legs off so he appears to be just sitting on the branch---or in mid-air.  Sigh.

Finally here's a close up of a single name tag.  This is also one that's going to be redone.  But it has the elements I want:  rustic, 'vintage-y' background, the branch, berries and bird, and, of course, the attendee's name.  First name is the important one.  Last name is purely informational.  We'll be in a dimly lit restaurant so a large font helps too. 

 

At least it's not an "HELLO", my name is ............   This technique could easily be applied to a card as well.  I'll have to try that when life quiets down. 

Tomorrow is another play day and I have several ideas in mind.  Wonder if I'll have another stamping vision tonight??????

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY AMERICAN FRIENDS

And a wonderful day to those of you

who are elsewhere. 

Do something great with your day.

 

Warmest autumn regards to you all,

~Blythe

OUT-OF-THE-BOX USE FOR STAMPIN' UP! GLITTER

My son Jason gave me a Dicken's snowglobe in 1988 which I have cherished ever since.  I'm a Dicken's collector of a sort and this then 17-year-old boy picked up on it.  A few years ago, when I removed it from its storage box it was dry!  But I put it out on holiday display anyway.   Next year, same thing.  I whined and moaned to myself, put it out, put it away and then brought it out in the same dry condition the following year.  Well, last year, I just left it out, determined to send it off to a snow-globe hospital.  Someone recommended that we could fix it ourselves and that's exactly what my husband, Russ, has been working on for the last few months.  Carefully.  Yesterday he was to the point of being able to replace the snow and refill the globe. 

How is this Stampin' Up! related?  We put about 1/4 teaspoon each of 3 Stampin' Up! Glitters:  Chunky Essentials White, Dazzling Diamonds, and Iridescent Ice (which I don't see in the catalog) into the distilled water that was going into the globe.

How cool is that!?  It's even clearer and sparkly-er in real life, but I didn't want to show my kitchen in the background so we put a white envelope behind.  I'm thrilled and will be so happy to display my Dicken's scene, complete with snow and glitter this year.

Do you have an out-of-the-box use for a Stampin' Up! product?  If so, let us all know.  Send me an email, with photo if applicable, and I'll post it here for all to see.

I hope you have a great day.

FANCY FAVOR DIE-CUT CANDY GIFT BOX

I love this box!  I saw versions of it on two blogs Friday and knew I had to try it and then share it.

 

 

To create this sparkly, almost glass-like box you'll need the Big Shot Die Cut Machine, Stampin' Up!'s exclusive Fancy Favor Bigz XL die (p. 200, 115965, $39.95), Extended Cutting Pads (p. 194, 113478, $19.95), Stampin' Up!'s Thick Window Sheets (p. 158, 114324, $6.95), SU! Exclusive Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (p. 195, 115963, $7.95), a personal paper cutter, Sticky Strip and some ribbon, in this case, 3/4" Polka-Dot Grosgrain Real Red ribbon (p. 183, 115608, $8.95/10 yds)

Cut a 12" x 12" Thick Window Sheet in half, to 6" x 12".  Then run your cut piece through the Big Shot again, this time using the Finial Press Textured Impressions Embossing Folder and the Multi-Purpose Platform.  You'll need to run your die cut window sheet through twice, once from each end.  In order to allow the pattern to emboss the entire window sheet you'll have to cut about 1/2" from the side flap beforehand.  Don't worry, you'll still have enough flap to secure your finished box.  

Firmly press all of the scored lines.  Folding the box:

• Fold the corners to form the box
• Fold the gussets in the opposite direction to form the little side gussets
• Apply Sticky Strip to that flap you trimmed before running the Window Sheet through the Big Shot with the embossing folder.  
• Fold box into shape and secure that Sticky Strip flap
• Fold the bottom rectangle shapes in towards the center
• Apply Sticky Strip to the angled sides of the angular flaps.  Also apply Sticky Strip to the horizontal edge of one of those angular flaps.  Fold it last, on top of the other 3 pieces.
• Secure Sticky Strip with a bone folder.

Tie a ribbon or secure a piece of Designer Series Paper around the middle.  Add candy or whatever else you come up with, and present your embellished Fancy Favor box to a neighbor, friend or co-worker or just set out as part of your holiday décor.  I think it is just a stunning presentation!

Tomorrow?  We'll all be surprise!   I hope to see you then.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I GOT TO PLAY TODAY!

After several weeks of class preparations and a 3-day v.i.p. house guest, I got to look at some other blogs today plus p-l-a-y.  I saw an ornament while surfing around which reminded me of ornaments I made over 5 years ago.  I still had a few undecorated ones in one of my craft drawers which I pulled out for today's play.   You can find these ornaments at Joann's, Michaels, or other craft oriented stores or departments.

Then you need a Stampin' Up! reinker, any color, (I used Rose Red), Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and Whisper White Satin ribbon.  A small spoon wouldn't hurt too.

Gently squeeze about 15 drops of reinker into the ornament and roll around to totally cover the inside.  It's not a speedy process and I couldn't find any way to speed it up.  I did start with 10 drops and concluded that 15 was "the proper amount", at least for an ornament that's 2-1/2" (6.5 cm) in diameter.  You don't want to put in too many drops because you'll just have to drip that excess into a paper towel before adding the Dazzling Diamonds glitter.

Here's my ornament, totally covered inside with Rose Red reinker.

The next step is to spoon in about 1 teaspoon of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter and roll it around the inside of the ornament.   I used a tiny ice-cream-sampler spoon: save everything you think might be useful later. 

Tie a piece of ribbon, in this case, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, through the hanger top of the ornament. I used a Rub-On from the Word Flurries (sorry, retired) set, to decorate the outside.  I'm ordering some Icicle Rub-Ons (116804, $10.95, Holiday Mini Catalog) later today!

 

The photo above is with flash, the one below, without flash.  I couldn't decide which one showed the glitter's best side.  :)

 

I hope you go out, get some glass ornaments, and make a rainbow of your own glittered ornaments.  You could use alphabet letters to make a special ornament for a special person.  Or other rub-ons that you like.  Or leave your ornament/s perfectly plain.  They're beautiful---and even more beautiful in person.

FINAL TWO WEEKEND STAMPERS

Brooke loves to make Christmas cards that have lots of cute pieces.  It doesn't start out with that plan but it sure does seem to end up that way.  This year she really wanted to use the Loads of Love stamp set.  I love her card:

 

And it takes a l-o-n-g time to punch 13 various sized circles seventy times.  (That's 910 punches.) But---she got them done.  She used up a ton of Merry Moments Designer Series Paper small pieces and smaller scraps.  Oooops, make that 14 circles....the one for the truck was cut using Stampin' Up!s Circle Scissors Plus.  Then six dimensionals were placed on the back of that 'truck' circle to nicely raise it from the rest of the card front.  The ribbon is 5/8" Real Red grosgrain.  Brooke also decorated her 70 envelopes with the Time for a Tree standard roller wheel.  She left on Sunday with a huge smile of satisfaction.

Another shot of gals working, here Brooke and Christy.  (Notice that useful tin?)

 
 

Chrsity didn't arrive until Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m. but she sure hit the floor running.  She ultimately cut cardstock for 6 boxes similar to the Elegant Eggplant one that Janet made. The she jumped into full speed and cut out and put together 70 waterfall cards based on the one I'd made a few weeks ago.

Christy plans to put a photo of each of her sons on the first two pages, she and her husband on the next and a hand written note on the last.  I really like the way her card turned out.  I think she said she plans on putting it in a Small Open-End Envelope (107286, p. 168, $7.50/20).  She stamped the circle and snowflake images from the Delightful Ornaments set, using VersaMark ink on the first and last flip pages.

To wrap up the weekend, while some were getting their last few minutes of stamping done OR finishing their packing, 3 gals got a quick planned introduction to My Digital Studio.

We gathered for a commemorative photo (and so we could all remember who was there in 2009!) and then everyone was on their road home.  Christy actually stayed on a few hours after the larger group departed.  Janet, living in Santa Rosa, northwest from my home, went alone. The other 4 traveled in one car, heading east to Dublin CA.  Jen, good mommy, had to leave around noon on Saturday for her 5-year-old son's final soccer game.

Left to right, standing: Blythe, Brooke, Donna, Andrea, Christy.  Front row:  Bea, Janet

UNTIL THE FIRST WEEKEND OF NOVEMBER 2010, BYE BYE!