Priceless!!

Dimensionals = 256
Snowflakes = 224
SNAIL refills = 5

Mailing 160 hand-stamped Christmas greetings to family and friends... priceless!

The other night, my table was covered with snowflakes and I had to take a photo. My Christmas cards are all in the mail finally! This year, we made two different designs - 96 of one and 64 of the other. My husband helped me with the cards for our family by cutting all of the snowflakes and the "Top Note" die-cut shapes so he is now quite the Big Shot expert. I appreciate that he gets involved in the process every year... and with only a little bit of grumbling! ; )

So, since I'm always racing against the calendar to get my cards finished, I haven't had much free time lately. That's why I've been absent from my blog... sorry!

I haven't been creating anything new lately either, but I thought I would share a cute little gift that I received from my friend and downline, Melanie. This little envelope contains a gift card (from Starbucks) and the envelope is actually what the gift card came in. Melanie added a beautiful ribbon bow and attached the Merry Christmas greeting punched out with the small oval punch - just a nice touch to this thoughtful gift. It's a quick and simple way to add a special touch and make a beautiful little package.

I hope you are staying safe and warm in this crazy weather we've been having... Not sure if I will be back to post again before Christmas so I will take this chance to wish you all the best of the season. I wish you a season filled with peace, love and joy. I look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Free Shipping & Retiring Stamps on Sale!

Wow... lots of big announcements from Stampin' Up! today. First, they are offering free shipping on all orders of $100 or more from today until December 23rd!

And, they are offering 10% off all retiring stamp sets until December 23rd! These sets will continue to be available until January 18th when our current Idea Book & Catalogue ends but they will be at their regular price after December 23rd so now is the time to get them if there are any on your wish list still! Here's the list of retiring stamps with their discounted prices:

Ahoy, Matey - $26.06
Baby Jesus Is Born - $17.06
Beautiful Life - $22.46
Big Birthday Candle - $24.26
Brocade Basics - $26.06
Bronc Buster - $20.66
Bundled in Love - $29.66
Bursting with Joy - $20.66
Calendar Cues - $11.66
Canvas - $18.86
Classic Backgrounds - $17.06
Crab & Company - $29.66
Dad's Day - $24.26
Dots Are Hot - $26.06
Elegant Notes - $22.46
Everyday Flexible Phrases - $44.96
Everything Baby - $18.86
Fabulous Flowers - $24.26
Floral - $18.86
Form & Function - $18.86
Fruit Stand - $20.66
Ginormous Flowers - $30.56
Happiness - $18.86
Hattitude - $26.96
Haunting Halloween - $20.66
Hi & Hello - $17.06
It's All Good - $13.95
Just Golf - $13.95
Just Hockey - $13.95
Keep Christmas - $21.56
Kind Thoughts - $27.86
Light unto My Path, A - $20.66
Merry & Bright - $16.16
Moose You - $18.86
On the Fly - $21.56
Paisley - $18.86
Perfect Timing - $13.95
Pictograms - $14.85
Posy - $18.86
Pretty Peony - $39.56
Riot of Petals - $18.86
Seasonal Whimsy - $26.06
Seriously Sassy - $26.06
Sleigh Bells Ring - $17.06
So Cool - $20.66
Spring Pictograms - $15.26
Starstruck - $11.66
Stemming From - $17.06
Stitched - $18.86
Summer by the Sea - $30.56
Take Three - $18.86
Text & Texture - $27.86
Thanks for Everything - $18.86
Thoroughly Thankful - $24.26
Tree for All Seasons, A - $13.46
Twill - $18.86
Warm Words - $22.46
Well-Worn Alphabet - $44.96
Well-Worn Numbers - $24.26
Winds of Grace - $21.56
Wishing You Cheer - $14.85
With Gratitude - $24.26
Wonderful Words - $22.46
Wondrous Gift - $24.26

Stamp Sets on Sale!

From now until January 18, 2009, in celebration of Stampin' Up!'s twentieth anniversary, spend $20 on any Stampin' Up! products and get 20 percent off any stamp set from the Fall-Winter Sampler—no limit! Choose from any of the stamp sets below:

Item	Description	Retail	20% Off
111564	Flight Of The Butterfly	$37.95	$30.36
111752	Sur les ailes d'un papillon (French Flight of the Butterfly)	$37.95	$30.36
111676	Puns From the Past	$32.95	$26.36
111660	Just Jawing	$30.95	$24.76
112881	Je t'ai en tête (French Just Jawing)	$30.95	$24.76
111624	Dreams Du Jour	$22.95	$18.36
112869	Rêves au menu (French Dreams Du Jour)	$22.95	$18.36
111700	Thank You Kindly	$16.50	$13.20
111742	Tous mes remerciements (French Thank You Kindly)	$16.50	$13.20
111714	Wow Flowers	$15.50	$12.40
112652	Bonheur fleuri (French Wow Flowers)	$15.50	$12.40

Quilt update and thanks!

I'm going to take a little break from stamping tonight to post a thanks to some more of my stamping friends who have contributed fabric for our 100 Good Wishes Quilt. You can read more about this quilt here and here.

We've recently reached the half way point in collecting fabric for this quilt! Fifty pieces collected, fifty more to go...

Although we know our wait for Baby Girl is still long - at least another 2-3 years, if not longer - we are still so hopeful that this journey of patience will bring this special little baby into our lives. The wait is very difficult but sometimes when I'm feeling a little discouraged, I pull out the binder that stores all of these treasured fabrics and just imagine how special this quilt will be.

So, thank you to everyone who has contributed!

From Alicia and her family (which has recently grown by two little feet... welcome to baby Emma!). This piece of fabric was accompanied by the lyrics to one of my favourite songs - "My Wish" by Rascal Flatts.

From Hollie and her family. These two pieces came from Hollie's favourite receiving blankets which had been special to her with her babies.

From Debbie... such a beautiful, rich fabric that came with a good wish for love, happiness and peace for our family.

Thank you!

Bev & Brent

From Ottawa...

I had a chance to enjoy being in our nation's capital today... I went to see the holiday lights at Parliament Hill tonight - it was nice to see some festivities on the hill since things have been rather tumultuous there these last few days! I'm staying in a hotel only a few blocks away so I bundled up, played some Christmas music on my iPod and just went out to appreciate this beautiful city. I thought you might like seeing a couple of the photos I took while I was wandering...

I'm on my way home tomorrow evening but have the day to enjoy the city. I'm planning to go to the National War Museum in the morning and then I will go shopping if I have enough time before I have to leave for the airport.

This second photo is of the National War Monument. It's surrounded by trees with wonderful Christmas lights, but I just liked how this picture turned out. It's so surreal to stand at the base of this monument and I found it particularly spectacular in the dark tonight.

Well, I better share another card with you before I sign off. This was one that we had at this year's Santa's Workshops. It's actually a very easy card to make. I cut an oval template using my Coluzzle and then laid the template over my card stock, using a sponge dipped into Mellow Moss ink to sponge on the oval. Then I stamped the image in Chocolate Chip ink. Both stamps on this card are from the Sleigh Bells Ring stamp set. The greeting is stamped in Always Artichoke, then layered onto a piece of Mellow Moss card stock and attached with Stampin' Dimensionals. And, to finish it off, I had to add some ribbon, of course! This is the Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon. The main card is Always Artichoke and the card front is Very Vanilla layered onto Chocolate Chip card stock.

I hope your week is going well... only one more day until the weekend! Yay!! This is my weekend to get started on my own Christmas cards, which I am very anxious to do.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

An amazing card...

This amazing card was stamped by Lorraine for our swap last month... It's even more stunning in person! Lorraine has done some masking and lots of sponging to create this scene. For the trees, she drew the snow on by hand using a white gel pen. Thanks for the beautiful card, Lorraine.

I enjoyed my evening here in Ottawa. It's a little chilly, but it didn't stop me from walking to the Byward Market with one of my coworkers where we had a wonderful dinner. On our way back to our hotel, we walked past Parliament Hill which was busy with activity - lots of news cameras on site even though it was about 7:00 pm. The Parliament building looked amazing as there were snowflakes projected onto the main building and Peace Tower. I'm hoping to go back tomorrow night with my camera to see if I can get a picture of it.

Well, I'm going to get this posted and head to bed... sadly, I have a bit of a cold so I want to get a good night's sleep so that hopefully I can fight it off!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Welcome, December!

Christmas is absolutely my favourite time of the year. I just love everything about it... I love decorating, I love spending time with family and friends, I love shopping for just the right gifts, I love eating yummy treats, I love listening to Christmas music, and I love the spirit of the season! We decorated our house this weekend and Mom and I made our family's traditional meat pie (tortiere). Now it really feels like the Christmas season is just around the corner!

I'm in Ottawa right now and although it's a touch cold, I must admit that I liked seeing snow on the ground. And, I enjoyed walking around a different mall this evening looking for gifts... but I only managed to buy things for myself so that wasn't such progress! A new watch and 7 new Smurfs for my collection...

So, I'm done all of my stamping classes for the year and now I'm looking forward to getting my own Christmas cards made. It will be fun to get the assembly line going in the dining room this weekend and my husband always helps me so I love being able to do this annual project together...

I thought I would share a few more Christmas creations with you - I have a few ready to go each day this week so be sure to check back! The first card features the Deer Friends hostess stamp set. The second one is my friend Sonia's design and we made it as a Make-and-Take at our last meeting. Sonia used the Mr. Twigster stamp set and the Best Yet hostess stamp set for this fun card. And, the third card is another Make-and-Take from our meeting designed by Lorraine using the Christ is Born stamp set.

I'll be back with another card tomorrow night. Have a great day!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Holiday Extravaganza Sale!!!!

It's amazing... click on the image below to see the details and remember that this is only WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!!

Big Sale Coming! Check back tomorrow...

I had to take a minute to post about a most extraordinary, never before seen, fantastic promotion that Stampin' Up! will be announcing on November 26th. This sale will be different than any we have seen before from Stampin' Up! and one of those differences is that I still don't know any details about what will be on sale! It's going to be a big surprise for all of us.

Here's what we have been told...

It will begin on November 26th and run through to December 1st but only while supplies last so be sure to check as soon as you can tomorrow and place your order quickly!

It will involve products that come in a bundle at a greatly reduced price - there might be some great Christmas presents for you or your stamping friends!

It will be the best sale that Stampin' Up! has ever offered!

It will be announced on Wednesday, November 26th on my website at www.bevennis.stampinup.net and you can order online through my online store - just click on the "Shop Now" button in the top right hand corner. This might be the safest way to order as they are expecting a huge response and it's only while supplies last. Orders placed online through my website will ship directly to you - shipping charges are the same as when you order through me, but there is a $9.95 minimum shipping charge per order.

You can also order by sending me an email at bevennis@shaw.ca. I will be sending in orders each evening of the sale but remember that this may delay your order submission and you might be better to order online so that items don't sell out before my order is sent.

Check back tomorrow and until then, happy stampin'!

Bev.

Christmas Chocolates

Here's my version of giving chocolate at Christmas... The only problem is that it would take a dedicated chocoholic to ruin this cute little package to get at the chocolate! Good news though... the chocolate bar will slide out of the stamped wrapper.

The chocolate bar I used for this project worked really well - it's called "Brockmann's Truffini" and it comes in lots of different flavours. I found mine at The Market on Millstream where they are 2 for $3. I also saw them at London Drugs so I'm sure they are also available elsewhere.

The Whisper White card stock is cut at 4 1/4" x 5". It's easy to score for this chocolate bar - score at 1", 1 1/2", 2 3/4" and 3 1/4". Just be sure you are scoring the right way - the chocolate bar is 5" tall...

Santa uses a few different punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Boho Blossoms, Word Window, Scallop Square, and 1/4" Circle.

On the Snowman, I've used these punches: Large Tag, Word Window, Trio Flower, 1/4" Circle and Ticket Corner (for his nose). I sponged a little bit of Pretty in Pink ink for his cheeks using a Sponge Dauber. The ribbon for the scarf is 9" long.

You could use these same ideas on other chocolate bars by changing the measurements... Hope you have fun decorating chocolate for Christmas!

Oh, if you are wondering how my Thai Chicken Panang turned out last week, it was yummy! And, it took first place in the "Ethnic" category in our cook-off so that was exciting... there was some pretty tough competition!

Have a great week, and happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Busy, busy week!

Wow, I've had a busy week... which has meant that I'm later than expected in getting some new cards here, but I'm hoping that posting a couple today will help make up for it! : )

So, why so busy? Well, last night I had a Partylite party with my friend, Hollie, who some of you have met at stamping classes. It was her first party as a new consultant and I have to say that she was great!! Thanks for such a fun evening, Hollie!

And, I've also been busy cooking... You see, every year at work we have a "cook-off". It's a fun event to raise money for the United Way. Everyone is on a team and we have 8 different categories that we enter a dish into. The dishes are judged and we all compete for the glory of winning in each category. So, the cook-off is tomorrow and I'm entering a dish in the "ethnic" category. I'm trying a new recipe - Thai Chicken Panang. I've eaten the dish many times at my favourite Thai restaurant, but I'm making it for the first time. So, on Tuesday night, I made the Panang Curry paste from scratch... Now I'm nervous because it's super hot (which I love) so I'm testing it tonight before I serve it to all my co-workers tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes. Oh, and if you are wondering how this raises money... we all pay $5 to eat the food after it has been judged. It's a fun and delicious fundraiser!

Okay, onto stamping. I've had this card in my sample basket for the last couple of weeks and it has had lots of great comments from everyone who has seen it. It's stamped with the Season of Friendship set from the Holiday Mini Catalogue. This is actually a copy of a card that was posted on my upline's blog... you can check out other cards that Alison posted using this set here. The tree is embossed in silver on Brushed Silver card stock... very nice! The snowflakes are also embossed, on Whisper White card stock, and punched using the 3/4" circle punch. The greeting comes from the set called From the Heart. And, the main card is Night of Navy with Night of Navy grosgrain. It's really striking in person.

This card is stamped with the Snow Swirled stamp set... It's a super simple card that would be so easy to duplicate if you need to make lots of Christmas cards. The greeting is actually stamped in Creamy Caramel ink so it stands out a bit and the snowflakes are stamped in Bravo Burgundy and Garden Green. I like the little touch of ribbon on the top corner - just a little bit but it adds so much!

There are still seats open for Santa's Workshop this Saturday morning. Let me know if you'd like to join in... we'd love to have you!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

A Cardinal Christmas

I've just finished my downline meeting and have some great new cards that I will share with you over the next few days from our swap and make and takes. This was one of the cards that I had for a make and take. It's a beautiful card using the stamp set called "A Cardinal Christmas" from the Holiday Mini Catalogue. The card stock colours are Naturals White, Garden Green and Riding Hood Red. I coloured the cardinal using Blender Pens and ink.

Now, I have to tell you about the Kenny Rogers concert last night. We had such a fun evening and get this... my hubby and I sang on Kenny's stage!! You can ask anyone who knows us and they will tell you that they don't believe it. First, I'm a horrible singer. And, the thought of my husband singing in front of hundreds of people is just not something that anyone who knows him would imagine happening. Okay, I have to admit, it's not quite the way it sounds... No, we didn't meet Kenny. Here's what happened...

We were standing in the lobby before the show visiting with another couple we know. We were approached by a couple guys, one with a video camera. They asked if we would sing a couple lines from a favourite Christmas song. No one in our group was very enthusiastic but these fellows were persistent. They said they were looking for a few "younger fans" to sing for Kenny... LOL! So, finally, we gave in and sang the first few lines of "Twelve Days of Christmas". It was painless until we were sitting during the intermission and realized that the big, huge screen on stage was likely going to be where that video would be aired... And, that's exactly what happened! We opened the second half of the show! Well, not just us - there were a few other fans who shared in the event with their own clips. It was pretty funny and I'm glad we did it! So, now I'm just saying that I sang on Kenny Rogers' stage - I was singing and it was shown on his stage. I think that counts, doesn't it?

Oh, I should mention that I have had a couple seats come open for Friday night's Santa's Workshop and I still have a few available for Saturday morning... just email if you are interested!

I'll be back tomorrow with a new card or two... see you then!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Happy Sunday...

I've had a pretty relaxing weekend so far and am enjoying it! Yesterday, I went to the craft fair at the Commonwealth Pool and enjoyed wandering around as a "customer". I found a few goodies. Then I decided to go to Matticks Farm... I haven't been there in a while so it was fun just to look around. And, I found some adorable Christmas ornaments so added a few little things to my collection! Now, I'm looking forward to getting all of our Christmas stuff out...

I had some time to play in my craft room last night so worked on swap cards for my downline meeting that is coming up tomorrow night. You probably know how much I love using punches to create things... isn't this little snowman adorable? The snowman's body is punched using the 1 3/4", 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Circle punches. His eyes and mouth are punched using the Double Circle punch and his carrot nose is the Horizontal Slot punch which I cut in half diagonally. The two buttons are punched with the 1/4" Circle punch. For his hat, there wasn't a square punch that gave me the right size, so I cut a 7/8" square and then attached a second piece for the brim that was cut approximately 1/4" x 1 1/8". For his scarf, I cut a 5 1/2" piece of Red Gingham ribbon and tied a knot then slid one side of the knot in behind the top circle (his head). The card stock colours are Kraft, Real Red and Baha Breeze. You can't see it too much in the scan, but I sponged around all the pieces of his body with Baha Breeze ink - it just gives a bit of definition.

Well, today is cleaning day at my house... and tonight, my hubby is taking me to see Kenny Rogers! I'm excited about that... I've loved Kenny Rogers for as long as I can remember and this will be the first time I see him in concert. So, dinner and a concert tonight with my sweetheart will be lots of fun!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Unconventional Christmas colours...

Last year, my friend Sonia stamped a Christmas card with Basic Grey card stock and ink... I really thought it was a novel idea and so last night when I was working on designing a card using the Mr. Twigster stamp set, I thought I'd give Basic Grey a try. Here's the outcome! I had been trying to use Basic Black but it just looked too dark for Christmas so I was much happier with this combination. It's a cute card and certainly not colours that I would have normally picked... This little snowman makes me smile with his little stick legs! The greeting is from the hostess stamp set called Best Yet and the snowflakes in the background are from the Merry & Bright set. I designed this card for Rhonda's class tomorrow night which I'm really looking forward to...

The Santa's Workshop on November 21st is now full... There are still a few seats available for Saturday, November 22nd so email soon if you'd like to come!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

One last Santa's Workshop date...

Sorry that I am being a little scattered and last minute with my class dates over the past couple of months. We just have so much going on in our lives right now that I can't commit too far in advance to dates. I know that there are a few of you out there who still want to come to a Santa's Workshop this year and aren't available for the November 21st date (there are only 2 seats still available, by the way) so I am going to add one more date...

Saturday, November 22nd starting at 9:30 am

That will likely be the last one for this year! Hope everyone who wants to come will be able to make one of the two remaining dates. There are 15 fantastic Christmas cards waiting to be stamped! : )

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Craft fairs are finished

Well, another season of craft fairs are done for us. We did two fairs, one last weekend and one this weekend. They were both great and it was fantastic to see lots of you out at one or the other! Thanks for stopping by.

I'm very proud of my Mom for all of her hard work in getting ready for the craft fairs. She works on her creations all year long... I enjoy being able to go along to help her sell at the fairs, but the hard work is all hers. I forgot to take the camera along to Strawberry Vale last weekend but did get a picture before the Calico Christmas fair opened up this past Friday night. Quite the selection of cards, hey?!!

So, I was telling you that I did help Mom a little last week with making hot chocolate packages. She came up with a new design this year, using a retired favourite, Frosty. These were quite popular and have been for the past several years. They are great little gifts - there is a package of Carnation hot chocolate inside. Lots of people bought these to give as gifts to teachers, coworkers, neighbours or to use as stocking stuffers.

These are really easy to make and you could fill them with all sorts of things. The ribbon that you see at the top actually goes all the way on the inside of the package, underneath the hot chocolate to hold it in and then ties in a bow at the top.

Mom also tried something new this year with these little chocolate packages which are super simple to make... The chocolates are little Hershey's individual chocolate bars wrapped with Designer Series Paper. We happened to have lots of a retired style of paper so she used that for her packages. Then she used the Bigz Top Note die to cut the tops and decorated them with a Poinsettia that she had punched with the 5-Petal Flower punch. Oh, by the way, she stapled to topper on, and covered the staples with the greeting and flower that she added. And, those are the medium cello bags that she used for these.

Well, I hope you enjoyed these peeks at Mom's craft fair creations!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Wishing You Cheer

Whew... it's been a busy week! I've been helping Mom get things ready for her craft fair this weekend. We decided to make some hot chocolate packages this week for the fair and Mom designed the cutest new package using the retired Frosty set. I'll take a picture of it and share it with you over the weekend.

If you want to drop by and see us, we'll be at Pacific Christian School on Friday night (6:00-9:30) and Saturday (9:00-5:00) for the Calico Christmas Arts and Crafts Show. It's one of my favourite shows... I can never resist adding something to my Christmas decoration collection!

I thought I better get on here and post a card though before you all stop coming by! This is a card that I designed for Jennifer's class last week. Jennifer had a few girls joining their Mom's for the class so I wanted to have something fun for them. They seemed to like this card and some of them got quite creative with it! It's stamped using the Wishing You Cheer stamp set.

Remember, I do have one more Santa's Workshop scheduled for Friday, November 21st. Seats are starting to fill so be sure to register soon if you'd like to come!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

One more Santa's Workshop date...

I've had a few more people interested in coming to this year's Santa's Workshop so I am scheduling one more date... It will be on Friday, November 21st at 7:00 pm. The cards will be the same as in the previous Santa's Workshops this year... there are 15 in total to pick from! Please email me at bevennis@shaw.ca to register.

This card was very popular at the Santa's Workshop as well as at this past weekend's craft fair. I think it's beautiful and it's such a simple card to make. It would be great if you need to make lots of holiday cards.

I've been feeling bad for not blogging more lately, especially for not posting new cards or projects. I've had lots on the go, and my stamping time has been a bit limited so I just don't have anything new to share. But, I will be doing some stamping this week for an upcoming class and will be happy to share some of my creations with you! Be sure to check back...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Craft Fair this weekend!

Can you believe that Christmas Craft Fairs are starting? Yep, it's true... Christmas is right around the corner! Mom and I will be in two fairs this year, the first one is this Saturday and Sunday. Maybe you'd like to drop by and see us:

Strawberry Vale Christmas Craft Fair
Saturday, November 1st & Sunday, November 2nd
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
11 High Street (corner of High St & Burnside Rd West)

Calico Christmas Arts & Crafts Show
Friday, November 7th, 6:00 pm - 9:30 pm
Saturday, November 8th, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Pacific Christian School
654 Agnes Street (off Glanford)
Admission $3

Flight of the Butterfly

Tonight, I had a stamping class at Karin's house... we had a fun evening and it was great to meet some new stampers! This is a card that I designed for Karin - she loves butterflies so I wanted to include a card using the Flight of the Butterfly stamp set. This is a simple card using one stamp set and two colours of ink - Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip. The Scallop Edge Punch and Pink Pirouette Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon add some fun touches.

We have a busy weekend ahead with 3 kids coming tomorrow night and staying until Sunday evening. We're looking forward to a trip to Oldfield Orchard with them to enjoy the fall festivities!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Beautiful Fall Colours

Today, I was driving home from a stampin' class (thanks for the fun afternoon Christine and everyone who was there!) and I couldn't help but notice some beautiful fall colours in the trees. It made me think about this card that I created for our last Stamp-A-Stack and I thought that I would share it on my blog today. It's stamped with the Season of Friendship set from the Holiday Mini Catalogue using Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Really Rust and Ruby Red. It's a fairly simple card and was fun to make!

And, as the leaves fall from the trees, the time for another kind of tree - the Christmas tree - is just around the corner. Here's a card from this year's Santa's workshop that I really like... it's stamped with the Season of Joy stamp set. I've also used the Canvas background stamp on this one. I love using the new Riding Hood Red colour on Christmas cards. On this one, I've combined it with Garden Green and Very Vanilla.

There are still a few seats available for Santa's Workshop on Sunday, November 9th at 1:00 pm, but they are filling quickly so be sure to register by emailing me at bevennis@shaw.ca soon!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Another Santa's Workshop Card

Here's another card that I've stamped for this year's Santa's Workshop... We have all of the cards ready now - 15 in total! It's quite a challenge to make that many Christmas cards without duplicating supplies... but it's done and I think we have a nice variety of cards to offer.

This one is such a simple card with classic Christmas colours and a nice touch of ribbon to finish it off. It's stamped with the Take Three stamp set using Stampin' Write Markers. I really like the layout on this card.

It's been a great week of staming and I'm very much looking forward to seeing many stamping friends over the weekend!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Santa's Workshop - additional date

Okay, thanks everyone for your patience as I worked through my schedule to find another date to run Santa's Workshop again... It will be Sunday, November 9th at 1:00 pm. The cards offered will be that same as are at the Santa's Workshop this Friday night. If you would like to register, please email me at bevennis@shaw.ca. Seating is limited so register early!

And, I hope you are all getting out to vote today!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you have had a happy Thanksgiving weekend. I sure have! We had our little baby house guest for the weekend... She arrived on Friday afternoon and was here until this afternoon. We enjoyed sharing her first Thanksgiving dinner with her. We also took her to the pumpkin patch (I've been anxiously waiting for the opportunity to scrapbook a pumpkin patch page!) and to Build-A-Bear... She and I now have matching Build-A-Bears! You can probably tell that we really enjoyed having a baby around the house for the weekend... We miss her like crazy now!

So, although I had big plans to do lots of stamping this weekend while "Little Miss" slept, it didn't work out as planned. Turns out that there's lots more to looking after a baby that even keeps you busy while they sleep (I know, it wasn't really a surprise) and when I was done the chores, it was just so enjoyable to watch her sleep...

We also celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday as well as our 1st anniversary of having our adoption application logged in in China. It was a pretty big day with so much to be thankful for!

I'm busy now creating cards for this weekend's Santa's Workshop. I thought I would give you a sneak peek at one of the cards that I made... It uses the Punch Pals stamp set and I think it's pretty cute! It opens in the centre which is a nice change. Although it looks like lots of colouring, it's all done with Stampin' Write Markers so it goes fairly quickly.

I do have two seats left for this Friday night's Santa's Workshop, starting at 7:00 pm. I'll have at least 10 new Christmas cards for you to pick from... maybe more, depending on how creative my week is! So, I better get back to stamping now... Oh, if you want to join us on Friday night, email me at bevennis@shaw.ca to register.

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Thanks, Alison!

I received this adorable little book from my upline and friend, Alison. Isn't it fun? Alison cut the cover and back from chipboard using the Big Shot and my favourite die - the Top Note Bigz Die. She also used this die to cut the Parisien Summer Designer Series Paper that she used to cover the chipboard. She has also used the Big Shot to cut the letter "B" for the front which she then covered with Chocolate Chip Craft Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. There are so many little details on this little book... You can click on the picture to see it larger.

On the inside, Alison stamped the cover with the Define Your Life stamp set and the Defining Alphabet. Then she included some blank pages... You could fill this little book with photos or favourite quotes. Wouldn't this make a cute recipe book that you could give someone? Thanks so much for this treasure, Alison!

I know some of you have heard me tell the story of how I met Alison before... it's really two stories in one - how I met a new friend and how I fell in love with Stampin' Up! A good friend of mine, Andrea, was getting married and had asked me to be her Maid of Honour. She lives in the lower mainland so I went over one weekend to help with wedding plans. She picked me up at the ferry early on Saturday morning and as she was running through the list of things she had planned for the day, she said that we were going to some woman's house in New Westminster that afternoon for a stamping open house. As I asked more about this part of the day, I found out that Andrea had been at their local Michael's (oh my gosh, I can't believe I said that on my blog!) and had ended up talking to this woman (Alison) who told her about some stamping company (Stampin' Up!) that was new in Canada. Alison invited her to come to her open house and that was what we were doing. Well, I must tell you that I was not at all fond of this idea and as the day progressed, I argued against this plan... imagining all the worst possible news stories that could come of this - what if Alison turned out to be luring people into her house for something other than stamping... what if she turned out to be an axe murderer? Okay, my mind was running wild... But we went and I can tell you that it was a very pleasant afternoon and about 2 and a half minutes in, I felt that our safety was in no way in jeopardy! Well, Alison started stamping and demonstrating and telling us about Stampin' Up! I was drooling over a catalogue... And, to make a long story short, three days later, my friend Jodi and I had both signed up as Stampin' Up! demonstrators... That was in June 2002 and it has been so much fun ever since. I'm so glad that Alison met Andrea that day and that Andrea insisted that we go to the open house. I have met some truly wonderful people through this "hobby"!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Happy (belated) World Card Making Day!

Yesterday, October 4th, was World Card Making Day... I'm a little late in posting this but, I wanted to be sure that you know all about Stampin' Up!'s fantastic special to mark this big day. Until October 11th, you can order any of the Simply Sent card kits or the Card Elements for 20% off the catalogue price! It's a fast and easy way to make cards... be sure to check the kits out on pages 176-177 of the Idea Book & Catalogue.

I've had a busy stamping weekend... Lots of fun at the Stamp-A-Stacks on Friday evening and Saturday morning. And, lots of cards were created... over 200! Isn't that amazing? There were some pretty serious stampers here!

Today, I am stamping Christmas cards... getting ready for the upcoming Santa's Workshops. I have one card created and lots more to come! There are still a few seats available for this workshop on Friday, October 17th, but they will fill quickly so be sure to register by emailing me at bevennis@shaw.ca. I will offer this same workshop again - I will announce additional dates soon...

Okay, must get back to my stamp room! : )

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Holiday Mini Catalogue is here!

The Holiday 2008 Mini Catalogue is here! Filled with new stamp sets, ribbons, Designer Series Paper and more, this mini catalogue has something for everyone! Products in this mini catalogue are available for order until January 18, 2009.

Scallop Envelope Box

Isn't this just adorable? It's such a quick and easy project and such a cute little gift. Here's how you make it...

1 - Cut four scallop envelopes using the Scallop Envelope Bigz Die and the Big Shot. Fold each as pictured below. You will basically be folding both sides and the bottom up as though you are making an envelope and then the flap will be folded backwards. I like to use a Bone Folder to make sure the folds are nice and crisp. I've cut mine out of Pink Pirouette card stock.
2 - Line the four envelopes up. On one of the side flaps, run SNAIL adhesive all along the outside edge and attach one envelope to the next, lining up the flaps and pressing them together to be sure they are well adhered. Do this so that all four of the envelopes are adhered together. 3 - Now, run SNAIL adhesive down one of the outside flaps and adhere the two outside flaps together to form the box.4 - To close the bottom of the box, I find it best to stick opposite sides down as this keeps the box more square and it sits flat after. I would fold the bottoms from each of the two sides in then put SNAIL Adhesive on the inside of one of the remaining flaps and adhere it. Repeat with the remaining flap. Stand the box up and press down on the bottom from the inside to be sure the bottom is well adhered.
5 - You will notice that the bottom has a small opening - you could cover this with a piece of card stock in the inside if necessary, but it's probably not going to matter much depending on what you are putting in the box.6 - Decorate the outside of the box if you want. I used Parisien Summer Designer Series Paper to wrap the box. Then I punched two flowers using the 5-Petal Flower Punch, sponged the edges with Pink Pirouette ink, and attached them to a piece of Sage Shadow card stock that was layered on a piece of So Saffron card stock. I added a Filigree Designer Brad to the centre of the flower and attached this to the front of the box to cover the small gap in the ends of the Designer Series Paper.

7 - Fill your box and give it to its lucky recipient! I filled my box with little chocolate nuggets that I had wrapped with Parisien Summer Designer Series Paper.

I hope you will have fun making your own scallop envelope boxes!

Happy creating!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

New Decor Elements are here!

Stampin' Up! has launched new Decor Elements products and there are some great new additions! Check them all out here.

Stamp-A-Stack

I have two seats left for the Stamp-A-Stack on Friday evening starting at 7:00 pm and three seats open for Saturday morning at 9:30 am. If you would like to join the stampin' fun, email me at bevennis@shaw.ca to reserve a seat! We're going to be making some cards using the Big Shot - you don't want to miss it!

Happy Birthday!!

It's Stampin' Up!'s 20th birthday and we are celebrating with a special on some fun birthday stamp sets!

From October 1st through 31st, spend $20 on regular catalogue merchandise and get 20% off these selected birthday stamp sets:

A little chocolate treat

Here's a cute idea for a little chocolate Thanksgiving or Halloween treat... These packages each have an Aero chocolate bar under their cute wrapping. Aren't they fun?

To make these, you need a piece of card stock cut to 5" x 4 5/8". On the Thanksgiving one, I used Whisper White card stock and on Frankenstein, I used Kiwi Kiss. You'll score the card stock at 1 1/4", 1 3/4", 3 3/8", and 3 7/8". Then I just wrapped the card stock around the chocolate bar and ran SNAIL adhesive all the way up one side of the card stock in the back, pulled the card stock tightly around the chocolate bar and stuck it together.

For Frankenstein's hair, I used a 5" x 2" piece of Elegant Eggplant card stock. I scored the first two score lines the same as the Kiwi Kiss and then the last two score lines are just a hair further than the measurements above so that it gives enough space to wrap around the layer of Kiwi Kiss card stock. I just cut his hair randomly after scoring the card stock. The white of his eyes, his eyelids and nose are all punched with the 3/4" circle punch and the black of his eyes are with the 1/2" circle punch.

Have fun wrapping chocolate bars!!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)

Last chance...

September 30th is the last day for the Never Seen Before special... Check out the details here. There are some great new stamp sets on sale! If you'd like to get any of these sets while they are on sale, be sure to email me by 8:00 pm on Tuesday... or you can place an order online through my website: www.bevennis.stampinup.net.

Be sure to scroll down and see two more new posts from today...

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

A fantastic day of stamping!

On Saturday, I had an all-day meeting with my downline group... 11 of us got together and stamped for 6 full hours!! You can imagine how much fun we had! Now, I'm getting some of the projects scanned and photographed so that I can share them with you...

I thought I would start today with the make and take cards that we stamped in the morning...

This first one was Alicia's creation using the level 3 hostess set called Window Dressing. Now, I have to tell you that Alicia's sample was even cuter than mine because she added some glitter on the window sill but I didn't have time to put it on. We used Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip and Vellum card stock along with a piece of the new Ski Slope Designer Series Paper (from the Holiday Mini Catalogue). Alicia gave us a great tip for punching out the window - we used the 3/4" square punch - you have to punch it 4 times to get the whole window punched out, but it's much easier than cutting by hand.

You can tell that the Window Dressing stamp set was popular... this card was Lucie's. There were a few steps to this card... Check out the background piece - we inked the Sanded background stamp with Real Red ink, stamped it off once and then added some Garden Green ink directly on top before stamping it down onto the Whisper White card stock. The window frame is stamped on Whisper White card stock and then there's masking... the window frame is stamped on a scrap and cut out then laid on top of the good image. This allows you to stamp the snowmen on without stamping over the window frame. Then a second mask - the snowmen - is added over the good image so you can stamp the trees in behind. We used a sponge dauber with Stampin' Pastels to add colour to the sky and trees and the rest is coloured with Stampin' Write Markers.

Sonia brought these next two cards for us to stamp and I adore this one! I had no idea how much I was going to love the Inspired by Nature stamp set (page 100)... Sonia used Sponge Daubers to add the colour to the stamp - Blush Blossom, Riding Hood Red and Kiwi Kiss. It gives the stamp such a nice, soft look - great technique to use, Sonia! The greeting comes from the level 1 hostess stamp set called Best Yet and it's punched with the Scallop Square Punch. The Designer Series Paper on this card is from the Urban Garden package. Such a beautiful card!

If I had managed to stamp the greeting straight, this card would have turned out much better! This card is simple, but it has lots of character and I'm sure it will bring a smile to many faces! We had quite a conversation about what this bear is doing - we found it funny that he is trying to look all scary yet with a big smile... hmmm! He is from the Under the Stars stamp set. The greeting comes from Fun & Fast Notes. The Designer Series Paper on this card is out of the Manchester package.

This card is from Lorraine. We used a new technique that I had never heard of... We stamped the big butterfly from Garden Whimsy with Whisper White Craft Ink onto Chocolate Chip card stock. Then we set that aside to let it dry while we finished the rest of the card. The card stock is Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip. Once the Whisper White Craft Ink was dry, we coloured on top of it with the Tempting Turquoise Stampin' Write Marker... Using this technique, you can stamp a solid image onto darker card stock and then make it any colour you want. Cool!

Hope you've enjoyed seeing some new cards... Keep checking back this week because I have more fun projects to share with you!

Happy stampin'!

Bev.

(All images copyright 1990-2008 Stampin' Up!)