Holiday Mix Up & PSS!

This time of year I'm the best at confusing my children over which holiday comes first over the next few months.  I start stamping Fall, Halloween, Christmas, Winter, and Valentines Day all at the same time.  I also work on Home Decor items for the different holidays so they tend to be totally confused.  Can you relate to this?

Today I thought I would have a Holiday Mix Up here. I've been showing you Fall and Halloween, it's time to open the Christmas vault.  If you are like me and you hand stamp your Christmas cards you should by now have at least an idea of WHAT you would like to stamp.  Make a plan and figure out how many you need.  If you can pick ONE day per week from now until the first week of December to work on your cards you will save yourself from PSS.  PSS in the stamping community means  Procrastination Stamping Syndrome.  I've had it for 8 years.  I am the girl who starts *thinking* about her Christmas Card design around the second week of December.  I stamp them all the way up to Christmas.  They are sent out around January 1st or so.  PLEASE someone tell me YOU have this syndrome!  Surely I'm not the only one? I am bound to STOP PSS and show my family I can be a good stamping girl and get my Christmas cards out on time. Possibly with a picture of my kids too.  YEAH!!

Here is my first Christmas card design of the year and it's more of a Winter card than Christmas.  Give me a few props… I'm trying. *Hee Hee*

Holy Cow! I love these felt little Snowflakes.  Here is what I did:

This card started off simple and then became over the top. I pulled out my sewing machine and sewed all the Snowflakes onto the Pool Party cardstock.  I took the prongs off of each of the Antique Brads and hot glued them onto the snowflakes.  I wrapped and tied a bow with Whisper White ribbon around the bottom of the Pool Party.  I then used a sentiment "Let it Snow" from the Punch Pals stamp set.  I mounted this onto Night of Navy Cardstock.  My card base is Pool Party cardstock again.  On the front of the card I used the Delicate Doilies stamp set with Whisper White Craft ink.  I mounted Night of Navy cardstock onto my card base using dimensionals.  I used my favorite Spritzer Tool that every stamper should have with a Soft Suede marker.  I lightly sponged around the entire card using Soft Suede ink.  Lastly, I used my Crystal Effects and Mica Flakes very lightly around the Felt Snowflakes. 

It may be a little over the top and I may not make 100 of them, but someone will be receiving this card!  It could be YOU! This card could even tip the scales over 5lb's in wt.  *hee hee*

Here's how:

I want to know when YOU start making your Christmas/Holiday Cards and HOW MANY do you make? Leave your comment by Sunday, September 11th Midnight EST.  I'll be choosing a name using the Random Number Generator thingy. I'll mail this card along with another on the following Tuesday!

Hope your day is FABULOUS!

XOXOXO

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Santa is Coming!

I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty excited that Santa is coming.  The prep work getting him to come is pretty spectacular.  I am sure you have the same prep work- Bake sugar cookies, decorate them, pick out the BEST one for Santa and prepare to have plenty of milk on hand.  These are all complete! The kids and I are jumping off the walls.  Maybe too many sugar cookies? Poor Mr. Prince. Oh no! I just remembered I need Carrots… for Rudolf. 

Tomorrow my plan is to check out the Christmas lights around us (*LOVE* this) and go to the grocery story for a carrot.  I don't have much else planned.  I'm Chilling Out!  You?

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First Snowfall

It was pretty exciting here yesterday.  The snow was falling very lightly and the house seemed so peaceful. The kids came home early from school and it was a dump and run.  They were off sledding in no time.  Seemed like the logical thing for them to do.  I was the on looker.  I'm just not the mom that joins the human frisbee toss down a snowy hill.  Not because I don't think it looks fun.  It's just too darn cold for me.  They were outside for almost two hours.  Alexis came in and she was beat red from being so cold.  Now I felt like mother of the year as poor Alexis did not have snow pants on and her jeans were now one big ice cube.  I could see my peaceful day going downhill fast.  I redeemed myself by getting them in a hot bath and warming them right up.  They kept telling me how much fun they had. I could tell and this made me happy.  The rest of the night was going to be busy because our Friday was jammed packed.  From Brandons Christmas Program, Brownies and a birthday party to attend.  I had everything prepared.  I had cleaned house all day, stamped swaps, BAKED 24 cupcakes for Brownies, ironed Brandon's outfit for the Christmas program.  Pretty productive day! This morning I woke up to the Brandon at my bedside with a very sad face.  "Mom, school's cancelled!  I don't get to sing at my program today!" As I laid in the bed the only thing that came to my mind was I had to eat 24 cupcakes!!! Brownies was canceled too!

While we didn't get to hear the lovely voice of Brandon today we are hoping that it happens next week.  I've enjoyed 3 cupcakes and my kids have enjoyed them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  Ahhh… Snow days are not so bad!

Here is a quick Christmas card from the big batch I made.  It's pretty simple but I liked it.  I'm still on "stamping Christmas Break" for right now. Getting ready to make a few thank you cards for my customers. 

It may be simple but it has a few of my favorite things: Buttons and Glitter!

Here are the kids enjoying the pretty white snow:

Playing in the snow is just not the same unless you make a snow angel!  And when you have your zipper open it makes it even better.  Oh the scrapbook pages I will have to show when she is older.  Gotta love it!

Back to work for me.  I have a few sneak peeks I am working on for next week.  I thought I would unveil the new mini catalog stuff next week for you.  I am not sure how much longer I can hold out.  It's all beautiful.  Sew, Sew beautiful.  Hee Hee! 

Have a fabulous weekend!

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Wrapping it Up!

It's hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner and I'm starting to panic.  I feel like I have so much to do and so little time but the reality is I don't have much to do anymore and I have more time.  HA!  Now if I can keep telling myself this I will be okay and just maybe I will stay sane during the holidays this year. 

One of the things I procrastinate the best is wrapping my gifts.  Oh how I hate to wrap gifts.  I do not have a talent for making them beautiful.  However I do have a talent for making the tag on the outside beautiful.  This is one of those times I just accept and move on.  Yesterday I wrapped most of the kids gifts.  I *love* watching them come home and just waiting to see their reaction when they see there are gifts under the tree.  It took 2 hours for them to figure it out.  ??? How does that happen? After they found them it was all over.  They were two monkeys bouncing off the walls and it couldn't be stopped.  Funny how on a normal day this would probably drive me crazy.  Yesterday, it didn't bother me at all.  I loved watching their excitement and it made the evening filled with fun too. 

Since my packaging stinks, let me show you the tags I made.  We made these tags at a workshop this past weekend too.  Now we didn't use all the bells and whistles like the ones I am going to show you but it was pretty darn close. 

Look at what I did to this photo.  I made it look REALLY vintage.  I have an obsession with the SnowMAN above because he is so vintage and fun.  Check this out:

I love it. 

Another thing I made a couple weeks back was Stampin' Up!'s Christmas Countdown calendar.  What a hit this has been in our house.  My mom *always* made these for me and my brother.  Typically they had little candy canes on them and we got to eat a candy cane each night.  It was so exciting until my brother would fall asleep on the couch and get his candy cane stuck in his hair.  Wish I had that picture handy!! 

Anyways, I filled their boxes with all kinds of things.  Each night they take turns opening a box.  This is a photo collage of the big reveal last night.   

The picture of Alexis laughing almost made me pee my pants… The look on Brandons face says it all.  He knows Santa's watching every move.  <smile>

Lastly, another funny:

See no evil, Speak no Evil, Hear no Evil…. Look what I am! ???  As if! 

Hope your week is fantabulous! I'm off tonight to a DSWA meeting up in Alexandria.  I'm excited about this!

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Simple

It's mass production here.  In fact I'm taking just a minute to post with this super busy stampin session I have going on.  I've been excited to share a card that was so simple but elegant.  I've been excited to show you for awhile because it's a card I've been showing at my workshops the past month or so.  I don't typically show embossing at a workshop but during the holidays how can you resist the beauty of embossing? It's so pretty and so elegant and so and so and so!

I did two cards at the workshop.  One I demonstrated and the other my workshop friends were able to make. 

I loved showing this card because I used a Craft ink and Clear Embossing Powder.  I love how Early Espresso Looks on the Fireplace of this card.  It's a deep Walnut color and it's yummy. Anyhoo- I used a blender pen (the best tool ever) and colored the Fireplace.  Super easy fun. 

This is the card my friends made.  *Hi New Friends!* 

SIMPLE, SIMPLE, SIMPLE!

The trim at the bottom is the Tasteful Trim Die from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Really- Must have.  So fun!

It's back to the stamp table.  Mass producing.  Creating lots of pretties. I cannot wait to show you.  I am super excited. 

I'm counting down until the kids get out of school for Christmas.  I'm ready to see them everyday 24-7.  I'm so READY!

I'll have a fun photo collage to share tomorrow.  At least that is the plan. 

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