Bevy Of Christmas Cards

When I started taking down my Christmas cards, I was thrilled to realise how many handmade cards I had received, even from friends who don't make cards usually. The ones above are all using Carols Of Christmas, the clear mount is $35.00 but the link will take you to the wood mount which has been reduced nearly $10, to $39.20. The Card Builder Thinlets are $52.00.

A couple of these cards use Christmas Quilt bundle and Merry Patterns with assorted others including non-Stampin' Up! Merry Patterns was a Limited Edition and is no longer available through your demonstrator, and Christmas Quilt officially finishes 2 January 2018.

One of my friends obviously couldn't wait to use her SALE-A-Bration goodies when she made the panda Christmas card, and there are some pretty pastels here, and original combinations - love the variety.

Here is a herd of deer, from a couple of different sources. The red and gold glitter deer are from a Christmas set in the Annual Catalogue (Page 119) called Santa's Sleigh and it does co-ordinate with Santa's Sleigh Thinlets (page 214). Another is Merry Patterns and another non- Stampin' Up!®. Thank you to all my friends, family (that includes team members and customers) who took the time to write a card to me this year. If you made it, it is even more special that you gave more of your precious time. Wishing you all a very special year in 2018, and may many of your dreams come true.

Shop in my Online shop, use the host code and earn a gift from me.

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Gift Packaging & Stampin' Up!

No doubt you are busy getting ready for the festive season, just like I am. It seemed like a good idea to share a solution I came up with the other day when I was wrapping gifts. Like most of us, I will grab a bag at a discount shop to pop a gift into, but there are a few gifts which deserve a little more.

This gift bag was made using a piece of 12" X 12" DSP (patterned paper) which I'd picked specifically as the recipient has a Turkish connection. The gold colour is on the outside for the Christmas feel, but on the inside reminds me of Persian tiles. Unfortunately, one part of this gift measured the same length as the bag was high and there seemed no way of artfully closing it.

It was then I spied a contrasting piece of paper and decided to make another gift bag, but shorter, to use as a lid. The Foil Snowflakes in gold and silver (#144642) are available until the end of the Holiday catalogue, and I've used nearly all my gold ones, so I'm about to start on silver. The great thing is that the Fabulous Foil Designer Acetate (#141653) comes in both colours, it just depends which side of the acetate is facing up. Don't forget to peel the protective plastic off the silver side when you use this.

I was lucky enough to earn the Merry Patterns stamp set, during the short period it was available, and I have had a LOT of use from it these last few months. The giant bells were in a pack of Christmas decorations at a chain department store, the paper has retired, but what a great way to use it up, and the ribbon was from last years SALE-A-Bration. That's a Stampin' Up!® event which runs from early January until March 30th every year, so brace yourself for some amazing offers. In fact, I will be mailing catalogues soon, so let me know if you're interested in receiving a free copy.

As I've been working, the company has announced that there will be 24 hours of free shipping on Monday 11th December, and orders submitted that day have a very good chance of reaching you by Christmas. Maybe you should take advantage of this opportunity to get a little something from the Clearance rack or even something from the Holiday catalogue before it finishes.When you're shopping you may even notice some catalogue markdowns shown in red. My online shop is open 24/7 and I am here to answer questions, not quite as much as that!!! Use the host code and you'll receive a gift in the following month. Thanks...

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Case A Colouring Project CTC154

Welcome back to another round of blog hopping with the CASE-ing The Catty Crew. My name is Rachel, and I'm a Stampin' Up!® demonstrator in South Morang (outer Melbourne) in Australia. All of the crew members are from the South Pacific (Australia & New Zealand) so if you are looking for a demonstrator, one of us should be nearby. You can order from my online shop from anywhere in Australia and your order will be shipped straight to you, costing a minimum of $5.95.

 The assignment, yours too if you choose to take it, is to CASE any colouring project from either the holiday catalogue or the Annual catalogue. You'll find lots of inspiration in both. I turned to page 17 of the Holiday catalogue and decided this sketch was perfect!!! I'd bought Santa Paws on a whim, but it is proving to be a fun stamp to work with. If you decide to join the challenge, this button (below) will take you right to the Facebook page where you should pin it, and let us know which project, page etc you've CASE-d.

This card has ended up fairly similar to the original - so long as you don't mind the different colour scheme and stamp set! That's actually how easy it is to CASE. I've taken the circular shaped and squished it to an oval, plus the banner holding the sentiment isn't quite as long. When colouring the dog's face with Stampin' Blends, I may have made a mistake and coloured a part that should be white fluff hanging from the front of his hat. I don't mind that it makes him look grumpy/bemused!!!

The cats card is quite similar without an extra sentiment. A piece of ribbon to separate where the two papers join was substituted. The Pool Party DSP is part of the Christmas Around The World DSP, such a lovely range of papers in there.

It is so relaxing to do a little colouring when time permits, so I have a stamp case with some stamped images ready-to-go, in a bag with my Blends pens.

This card is the last stamp from Santa Paws, and it has been selectively coloured to highlight a few animals. I hope it doesn't look half-done this way. The ginger cat is one of my favourites in this cute 'tree.' you should find lots of inspiration at your next stop, the lovely, talented Julia Quinn, who is actually back at the beginning. Only 7 of us this week, everyone has been too busy with Stampin' Up! Onstage (our company conference and product release).

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November is my birthday month so when you use the Host code I will send you a product gift plus a bonus - a handmade birthday card for you to send on to someone. Spread the love by snail mail as well as electronically.

CTC#151 Catalogue covers and Hostess sets

Welcome back to another round of blog hopping with the CASE-ing The Catty Crew. My name is Rachel, and I'm a Stampin' Up!® demonstrator in South Morang (outer Melbourne) in Australia. All of the crew members are from the South Pacific (Australia & New Zealand) so if you are looking for a demonstrator, one of us should be nearby. You can order from my online shop from anywhere in Australia and your order will be shipped straight to you, costing a minimum of $5.95.

This week is a bit different because the CTC crew are CASE-ing catalogue covers or Hostess sets. There is so much inspiration in both those areas, it will be a great blog hop. I've CASE-d the Mini Pizza Box in the picture below several weeks back with Musical Season, but this time I used the Hostess stamp set pictured, Seasons of Whimsy. I love using the quirky ornaments, the sparklers and the wreath. If your party or big order reaches $250 AU, you get 10 % in Hostess dollars to spend. This stamp set in clear mount (red rubber stamps that you mount onto acrylic blocks) is $21, and only available to hostesses - which is also you if your order reaches that amount. If you'd like to have a party, at your home, I have some dates available for the last weekend in October, and a few more in November.

I began by CASE-ing the square shape for my card. It does mean that I need to make envelopes, but that is easy enough with an Envelope Punch Board. For my first card Merry Patterns was the pick. Technically, it was a hostess set too, as it was sent free with any order reaching $450 in sales through September and October. You still have time to qualify but it might be a rush!

This card was layered with a piece of Pear Pizzazz and then another slightly smaller white square on top. I used the largest of the Stitched Shapes Circles to cut a piece in thick Whisper White, and the inside of the shape to pencil a circle as a guide to stamp the branches of a wreath. That piece is also from Merry Patterns, but I'm sure there is a suitable piece in most Christmas stamp sets.

Great news for all who like colouring their stamped images - Stampin' Up! will have alcohol markers Stampin' Blends available to you from 1st November. I bought a half dozen to try them out during the Demonstrator pre-order period, and after a little play, quickly ordered the rest. They are easy to use, and I'd love to give you a lesson if you think you need one.

  

My son helped out by taking video of me explaining a bit more about CASE-ing, and the card above was the one I was making in the video. However, as I put it together, I felt that the wreath wasn't showing enough, so when he finished filming I took it apart and stamped some protruding branches. When I reassembled the card, I placed the Cherry Cobbler banner at the bottom instead. You can see the video on my Facebook page. I'd love you to leave a comment, I know it isn't the greatest quality video, but I will keep on practising.

The stamps were still on the block so I stamped another pair to try some more fun colouring with Stampin' Blends. They are pretty luscious, aren't they?

Of course you may have noticed there are three ornaments so I can still change them about and create a nice set of cards.
You'll want to head to see what Megan has made

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When you shop in my online shop, remember to use the host code, as I love to send you something from the current catalogues as a thank you gift. At the end of October there will be a special draw from all September/October online orders (minimum $50 before shipping) to win a special Christmas stamp set.

Merry Little Christmas CTC#145

CASE-ing The Catty is all about seeking inspiration from the talented artists who design for Stampin' Up!®, and CASE-ing those designs. It might be a colour combination, an arrangement of elements or the general layout of the card. This week we are CASE-ing anything from pages 10-19 of the Stampin' Up!® Holiday Catalogue.

When I received my September order, I was excited to try out Merry Patterns. This is a bonus hostess set for parties that reach $450 (Australian) during September and October. The really great thing is, you can hold a virtual party and show your friends the Annual Catalogue and Holiday catalogue, in case they need anything for their Christmas crafting and combine the orders with you as the hostess. I can explain this better to you if you call me, 0417 500 681 or email rpalmieri5@bigpond.com. If you live within 30km of South Morang I can come and do an actual party for you, just gather your friends for some inky fun! And if you're like so many of us, you can find $450 worth in the catalogues that we MUST have, and that is classified as a party too.

I've kept this card very simple. It happened that the DSP (a retired one) was lying on my table. It echoes the stripes above, and it's in my most favourite colour, Bermuda Bay, so that seemed like a perfect starting point. The candles are nifty, as you stamp the outline, and there are two different stamps to fill them in. The candles in the foreground are stamped full strength and the 3 in the background were stamped off once.

The sentiment is all in one, with 'season' as another stamp to fill the gaps. I haven't lined it up terribly well on the Bermuda Bay version, but it isn't going to bother me. I opened the mini tinsel to add as well, and a few rhinestones.

Next I tried the design in red, after finding another lovely retired stripe DSP, The dimensions of this crumb cake card are a little smaller, 5 inches square for the base so cut 5" x 10" and score at 5". The DSP is 4½" square. I used the mini tinsel in red on this one, and some more rhinestones. Although this size still means you can only cut one card from a sheet of A4 cardstock, I quite like having some square cards in the mix. The left over piece is a very useable strip anyway, it will fit the deer stamp that is in this stamp set.

Don't forget, this stamp set Merry Patterns is available with a party or order reaching $450 in product (not including shipping). It is only available between 1st September and 31st October. You will still earn $45 in hostess dollars to spend on anything from either of the catalogues, so it truly is an extra bonus.

A couple more samples using the candles from the Stampin' Up! designers. These are good cards to CASE too.

Now it is time to check in to see what Sandra Collett has produced this week.

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