No Time To Stamp?

I have 2 posts tonight — the Blog Candy post is one down — just scroll down!

Keyword ssnotime65 -There is no time limit. You can play this challenge and upload yourproject at Splitcoastand/or your Blog, anytime at all! You (and that means anyone and everyone, blogger or not!)can play as many times as you like!!! The point is to keep it simple, quick and have fun!!! Please link back here. Today please ALSO keyword SSC08 as this is the final challenge for Stamp Simply Celebrates!

Today’s challenge is to create a card with a simple layout using JUST 2″ of designer paper. Just Two Inches — The idea behind this challenge is to create a simple layout for a Christmas card using JUST a 2″ strip of DP –

• You MUST use a 2″ strip of DP on your card, but ONLY this one strip of DP — no more.

• You may cut your DP to any length you want.

• You may border your PD or do scallops around it, or whatever you want, just no more DP.

• Your focal image/sentiment can be any size/shape.

• Any embellishments are allowed.

Here’s a sample of a trio I did a while back using this idea.

Please bear with us all as we are uploading and linking tonight!

Some great samples for the Stamp Simply Challenge today can be seen on these blogs:Julie, Janine, Jennifer, Tammy, Dee, Becky, AJ, Jerri, Darleneand LeAnne.

You can see all Gallery Submissions here.

What wonderful samples!!! Thank you girls!!! Much appreciated!!!

Heres myproject for todays challenge:

The designer paper I used today is actually a Brushed Bronze Metallic paper from my stash that I have just been loving — I don’t know the maker — I am sorry, but it is just like the Brushed Metallics from SU, only in this bronzy color — so pretty!!! And I feel like I really cheated on this card — LOL!!! The trees (I know, you’ve seen them many times) were already made and left over from another project (they are framed with a Copper Leaf Pen by Krylon), and that pretty snowflake was also made and left over. I’ll show you how I did it in a minute. And I am loving this sentiment for Christmas - it says *From our Home to Yours* — and on the inside I stamped *Merry Christmas* — also copper embossed. The Home sentiment is from a Limited Edition set by There She Goes, called Home is Where the Heart Is!!! The trees are Winter Woods by Rubber Stampede. If you haven’t seen how I do the double embossing, you can read about it here. And here’s how I made this snowflake:

I used the Cuttlebug snowflake die, but started with a piece of the backboard (chipboard) that backs all the SU 12 x 12 DP packs. Using 1 1/2″ wide double sided tape, I covered an area large enough to fit the die over. I then cut it out by running it through the Cuttlebug. Once pressed out, I peeled the tape off and generoulsy covered this sticky side with Brownstone Glitter (so pretty) by Martha Stewart from Wal-Mart. Shake off the excess, put a rhinestone brad in the center, attach a dimensional product to the back and adhere to your card. I like doing the snowflakes this way. Using the SU DP backboard makes for a very sturdy snowflake. Easy to handle and with enough stiffness not to bend, but hold it’s delicate shape very well!!! Works for me!!!

And that takes care of tonight’s post!!! Thank you ALL so much for stopping in — hope you can find some time to make up a simple card with JUST 2 Inches of DP — fun!! Remember to scroll down for the post containing more BLOG CANDY!!!

Please note that I have 2 posts today, thisDay 12Stamp Simply Celebrates! post and above this I have the regular Friday Stamp Simply Challenge post. Thank you!!!

Welcome to Day12 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Barb Schram - Explore. Dream. Discover. - Today for Barbs Featured Project she has created auseful Holiday Home Decor item forYOU if you please,or it makes afabulous gift item that will knock the socks off your friends! It comes completely packaged! How fun!!! I KNOW you wont want to miss out, so be sure to visit today over at Barbs place and lap up the inspiration!!!

Sharon Johnson -No Time To Stamp? - Me again. Its my regular Stamp Simply Challenge today, and it promises to result in some great layout options for you to use for quick projects. Hope you can play! All you have to do is scroll up as it is the post uploaded just above this one.

Some great samples for the Stamp Simply Challenge today can be seen on these blogs: Julie, Janine, Jennifer, Tammy, Dee, Becky, AJ, Jerri Darleneand LeAnne.

Leslie Miller - Running with Scissors - Leslie has some BLOG CANDY for you today!

Sharon Johnson -No Time To Stamp? - Me again with moreBLOG CANDY, and it’s right here, so just scroll down.

Today’s Blog Candy is again compliments of JustRite!!! JustRite has been so very kind and gracious to us throughout this celebration — THANK YOU, JUSTRITE!!! Today we are offering the Brayton Font along with the Harmony Rectangle Stampers. There are 2 stampers in the kit, one large and one small, as shown, and there are 3 sizes of Brayton Font– you’ll love it!!! There is still a sale going on at JustRite until the 19th, so be sure to check it out here!!!

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment belowand answer the following questions:

1. Would you be interested in seeing a celebration like this again?

2. What did you like BEST about this celebration?

3. Is there something you would wish to have seen/done, that we did not include?

This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

Today I made a gift card holder for a young man. It’s the standard template I like to use. Justcuta sheet 8 1/2 x 5 1/2, and using your Scor-It, score at 2 and 6. The 2″ flap is the bottom and the 2 1/2″ flap is the top. I have a velcro dot under the image panel to hold the flap closed. This easily holds a gift card, cash or check — something every young (or old) man can use!!! LOL!!!

The paper used is from the Wonderland 8 x 8 pack by Cosmo Cricket. The sentiment panel was part of one of their cut-out sheets and I thought it would work perfectly on the flap for this gift card holder. I dressed it up with brass brads. Eli’s name is done with the Brayton Font on a Harmony Classic Circle Stamper I and a border from 10 Designer Borders and Centers. I thought this border went well with the pincone theme to Wonderland paper. I used dressmaker twill from the sewing section for my ribbon and popped my monogram up with dimensionals. A fun gift card!!! And SO easy to do!!!

Papers used were SU Very Vanilla and Bravo Burgundy. Inks used were Versa Fine Vintage Sepia, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, and SU Markers in Baroque Burgundy and Chocolate Chip. I also used my Petite Circle Nestabilities and a corner rounder.

And this concludes our last day of Stamp Simply Celebrates! It has been so much fun for all of us involved and we THANK YOU so much for coming to visit and play along with us!!! There are still many open Blog Candy posts — you can find those by checking in at Party Central. I’m trying to keep that updated. And you are certainly welcome to go back and browse through any and all uploads, challenges and featured projects to get those creative juices flowing!!! Just because the party is over, doesn’t mean we’re going anywhere — we are all still here, along with our projects, and we hope you continue to visit regularly!!!!

I’m going to take aday or twobreak from stamping to clean up my stamp room and get some things ready for Christmas, but in that time I have a few things I’d like to share with you that I’ve made over the years — things that I love andcontinue to use year after year– a gorgeous (but simple, of course!) tree skirt and some snowball window and/or tree ornaments — fun!!! Even the kids would love to help you make those. Then, of course, I still need tons of Christmas cards and I tell you, the closer we get to Christmas, the easier those cards get — LOL!!! So there is still plenty more to come — hope to see you real soon!!!

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!!! IT’S BEEN SO FUN!!!

And the winner selected by random.org is #227, Cynthia — CONGRATS!!! Here’s what she had to say:

cynthia

Yes I would do it again. I enjoyed the daily inspirations and challanges. Even if I didnt get them done it got me working in my studio. Which is difficult during the holidays. Thanks so much Cynthia

Dec 14, 9:21 PM

Thanks to everyone playing along!!! So much appreciated!!!

Welcome to Day11 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

AJ Otto - The Willow Garden - Are you wrapping gifts yet? Probably! Ill bet you need some pretty tags to dress thosepackages up well, be sure to check in on AJs Featured Project today to see all her Gift Tags. And then play AJs Challenge so you, too, can have some nice gift tags on hand!!! Be sure to stop in at AJs today!

You can see more tag samples by checking out the Blogs of: Heather, Janine, LeAnne, Jerri and Sharon (that’s me, just scroll down).

Jerri Jimenez - A Touch of Grace - Today Jerri will grace us with her Featured Project which is abeautiful 6 x 6 Scrapbook she made, which is certain to be a real treat for the eyes. Jerri also has BLOG CANDY to offer today (think scrapbooking made easy), so be sure to stop in to see Jerri!!!

Other scrapbook samples can be seen by checking out: Barb, Jennifer.

Deb Saaranen - Dream in Color - Deb has an offering of BLOG CANDY for us today!

Jerri Jimenez - A Touch of Grace - Jerri also has BLOG CANDY to offer today so be sure to stop in to see Jerri!

Today I wanted to play along with AJ’s Challenge to create some gift tags. Well, I really went simple — LOL!!! Take a look:

We have friends who own a sugar bush** (see below) and we always like to have some gifts of syrup on hand, all wrapped and ready to go for those times when you need just a little something you may not have counted on. I got 3 bottles ready today with my cute, and simple, little tags. I first wrapped each bottle in clear cellophane wrap. I love that stuff and try to always have many rolls on hand. It can make even a simple gift look festive at any time of year. And can you see the top of the cellophane — it is cut flat. Rather than leave all the peaks the paper naturally forms when you pull it all up, I like to give it a haircut. I just bunch it all up together nice and tight in my hands and then clip across it with my scissors so I get a nice flat top. I just like that look on my syrup bottles.

Editing to add: So many are asking me what a *sugar bush* is — gee, makes me chuckle. A sugar bush is that area of the woods that a person owns with hard maple trees that are tapped for sap to boil into syrup. The sap is then boiled in the *sugar shack*. I asked my DH if these terms were slang to this area — he thought not — I didn’t really think so either. ARE these common terms to most of you??? LOL!!!

Here’s a closer look at the tag. The maple leaf is from First Fruits by Papertrey Ink, stamped with Kaleidacolor Cappuccino Delight, then overstamped with a sentiment from SU’s Star Studded Christmas in Versa Fine Onyx Black. It is cut and embossed with my Petite Circle Nesties by Spellbinders. The matting is with myunknown Bronze Brushed Metallic paper from my stash and I used Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware by SU for my hanger. The ribbon is May Arts white satin, so soft, in two difference widths.

Here’s a look at the back of the tag. Just cut another circle with the Nesties, stamped on the To/From and adhered it to the back of the tag. SO simple to make, yet I think they look a little fancy or special because of the Kaleidacolor ink, the Bronze Metallic paper and the hardware. Fun!!!

And here I just wanted to show you my To/From block. I put this together a month or so ago and will leave it in tact until all my holiday gift wrapping in finished. I have created 2 To/From sentiments on this one block — one a little larger than the other, so I have a size to suite whatever I need it for. Sure comes in handy during the holidays!!! The smaller green sentiment is done in Brayton Font and the bit larger sentiment is done in Times New Roman Font. There are 3 sizes of font in each font box purchased. And the block they are on is the smaller of the 2 rectangle stampers that come in the Rectangle Stamper Set.

And again that wraps it up for tonight!!! Thanks again so much for stopping in. We have one more dayof Stamp Simply Celebrates! and I do want to point out that tomorrow I will have 2 posts up, so be sure to check them both out. One will be for my last Blog Candy offering and the other will be our regular Friday Stamp Simply Challenge — and it’s really a fun one this week that I think will give you a ton of layout ideas for simple cards — so try to come back if you can!!! Thanks so much!!!

Welcome to Day10 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Leslie Miller - Running With Scissors - Today we are treated to the beauty of Leslies work with her Featured Project where she is showing us how toAlter Food Packaging to turn it into a wonderfully warm, cozy,and sweet gift item that anyone would love to receive!!! And its something we can all easily do! I know you wont want to miss this, so be sure to visit Leslie today!!!

You can see more great samples of Leslie’s Project by: Dee, Jennifer

Joan Fricker - Joans Garden - Joan offers us a beautiful Featured Project today who doesnt love beautifully presentedSoap and Candle Gifts! Well, especially these soaps and candles!!! And you can make your own as a part of Joans Challenge, with inspiration from many!!! Be sure to check out this sweetly scentedevent!

And there are many more samples of Joan’s Challenge. Check out: LeAnne, Dee, AJ, Heather, Barb, Darlene, Janine, Sharon (that’s me, just scroll down)

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy - Tammy is offering BLOG CANDY today!

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings - LeAnne also has a BLOG CANDY offering today!

I wanted to play in Joan’s Challenge today and decorate a soap type gift I purchased. Well, it really isn’t soap, they are all lotions, but close enough in my book!!! This is what I purchased.

This Shea Cashmere is from Bath and Body and it smells SO good - I wish I had some for myself!!! I purchased the tray in back from the candle section of Wal-Mart for them to sit on. I did it up in a winter theme for gift presentation, but realize the snow and pinecones will be tossed, but thought the tray still would work on a bathroom counter.

Here it is, all done up!!! Looks nice and wintery!!! And that’s perfect for us at Christmas!!! I used some artificial snow from Wal-Mart and my own natural pinecones from our yard. Ribbon is 1″ wide satin by Mary Arts, hardware is Aged Copper Hodgepodge Hardware from SU, blue rhinestones are by Kaiser.

All stamped images on this gift project are by JustRite. The above tagis from the Christmas Ensemble (check the JustRite sale outhere), used with the Harmony Classic Circle Stamper III. Papers used are PTI White, SU Bashful Blue and an unknown Bronze Brushed Metallic. It goes well with the copper hardware. The sentiment is copper embossed.

This is a tube of hand cream. I did a monogram on this, using the Special Occasions Font and the border from 10 Designers Centers and Borders. These are used with the Harmony Classic Circle Stamper I. Again, this is a good example of the versatility of the JustRite products and how well they work together.

And here’s the jar top — it’s always fun to decorate a flat jar top. I did use my Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders to do all the cutting and embossing on this project. Again, all sentiments are copper embossed and on this jar lid the snowflake border from the Christmas Ensemble was stamped in French Blue Chalk Ink by Colorbox. The little cat’s eye format makes it easy to just apply the ink to the border.

And againthat wraps up this project. Hope you check out all the samples available today by clicking on the links provided at the top of this post. And, as usual, I’d like to thank you for stopping in — and I hope your Christmas preparations are going as you expected!!! Stamp Simply Celebrates! runs through Friday, so hope to see you tomorrow as well!!!

Welcome to Day9 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Jennifer Buck - The Buck Stamps Here - Time is moving on and I think we all need some Quick Cards about now, agreed? Youll enjoy Jennifers Featured Project today where she also Challenges you to create some quick cards, qualifying you to enter her BLOG CANDY drawing.

You can see more great Quick Card samples by checking out Jennifer’s designers: Janine, Julie, Tammy, AJ, LeAnneand Sharon (that’s me, just scroll down)

AJ Otto - The Willow Garden - How about a game? I LOVE games!!! Check out the DT Trivia Game AJ is hosting over at The Willow Garden!!! And AJ has some BLOG CANDY to offer to the winner!!!

Jennifer Buck - The Buck Stamps Here - Jennifer is offering BLOG CANDY in conjuntion with her challenge listed above.

AJ Otto - The Willow Garden - AJ has some BLOG CANDY in conjunction with her DT Trivia Game listed above!!!

Sharon Johnson - No Time To Stamp?- Me again, with SU BLOG CANDY today. Just keep looking because here it is —

Today’s Blog Candy is compliments of ME!!! It is a brand new set by SU — Define Your Life!!!

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment below nothing more than that today!!! Nice and simple!!! This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

I played in Jennifer’s Challenge today (see above) to make some quick cards. Just my style! Well, and what would be quicker than to use things that are laying out on your table from yesterday’s project - and that is just what I did — I used up some scraps of the red Mirri Card from Marco’s Paper — PLUS, I also employed the use of many tools. Tools always make for fast production!!!

This little card was made with the 2 largest of the Labels 1 Nestabilites by Spellbinders. The card itself is cut of Whisper White, the red Mirri Card is also cut and embossed with the same die and adhered to the card front. Another white layer with the Nesties, then my ornament which was done with a Cuttlebug Ornament Die and Folder. Tie on a ribbon, pop it up on Dimensionals and done!!! Quick and easy! Editing to add: People are asking — I got the die and folder as a set from Jacksonbelle Embellishments.

Again, the same ornament. This time I used a scrap strip of red Mirri Card on the bottom, used even smaller scraps to make the corner brackets with a Cuttlebug die, and matted it with a sheet of red Mirri Card. Another quick one!

Remember the coffee bag I decorated here? Well the red Mirri you are seeing here is the negative piece left after cutting the scallop for the coffee bag linked above. It made me feel good to use up that piece. I used an Anna Griffin Ornamental Bracket Punch on the lower corners and just adhered it to the white cardstock base, added my ornament with ribbon and again, done!!! A very quick trio to make!!! LOVED this challenge!!!

And that’s it for today! Once again, thank YOU so much for taking the time to stop in - MUCH APPRECIATED!!! Hope to see you again tomorrow!

And our winner is Pam! Congrats! Pam!!! Here’s what she had to say:

Pam in Ar.

What beautiful cardsIm going to have to get some of that paper!
Would love the chance to win the new SU set

Thanks!

Dec 9, 9:47 AM

Thank you, Pam, for playing and thanks to everyone else who played as well!!!

Welcome to Day8 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Please bear with us as we upload tonight. All posts should be up by morning - thanks!!!

Julie Koerber - Out to Impress - Do you need a great Small Gift Idea? Well, Julie is out to impress you with her Featured Project today! Play her Challenge to have some small gifts on hand yourself, and be eligible to enter her BLOG CANDY drawing!!! You wont want to miss all the fun at Julies today, so be sure to stop in!

You can see more great examples today from Julie’s designers: Leslie, Deb, Joan, Barb, Jennifer, Tammy, and I have an example, too, just scroll down!

Julie Koerber - Out to Impress - Julie hasBLOGCANDYto offer you today in addition to her challenge featured above.

Sharon Johnson - No Time to Stamp? - Thats me with more BLOG CANDY, and just keep looking, because here it is:

Once again the Blog Candy I have to offer today is compliments of JustRite! Today we are offering a set of the Trompe Script Font (very elegant! - 3 sizes of font per set), and a set of the Harmony Rectangle Stampers (large and small rectangle stamper in a box, as shown). This is one of my favorite font sets for the pretty sets of monogrammed cards that I like to make. I did not use this set on my project today, but you can see it used on this project and this project for the monograms. Again, THANK YOU, JUSTRITE!

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment below nothing more than that today!!! Nice and simple!!! This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

For my small gift item today I decided to gussy up a package of cards from the $ bin at Michaels. I got the above8 cards and envelopes for $1. With a minimal amount of stamping, some ribbon, rhinestones and a box to present them in, I ended up with a rather nice little gift.

Here’s the 8 cards. I know I keep using this same sentiment from the Harmony Classic Circle Stamper III Ensemble, but I just love it and it is SO appropriate for a gift for a friend, so keep using itI will!!! LOL!!! I merely stamped it on white, no border, and cut and embossed with my Petite Circle Nestabilites by Spellbinders. A nice, clean and fresh look! The card is wrapped in a soft 1″ satin ribbon. After mounting the sentiment with Dimensionals, I added some rhinestones and called it done. It took very little time to make 8 of these and I think they make a nice little gift! Anyone can use generic cards like these!!! Please note: There isa sale at JustRite and the set linked and used above is currently at 25% off, until Dec 19th, so check it out! You can read more about the sale here.

And here’s the box I made to present them in. I used Prismatics Gray by Prism, textured side out, made a tag, wrapped the box with ribbon and hung on my tag! I think it’s pretty classy looking for what started as a $1 item!!!

Here’s how the cards fit in the box. This is my favorite box design that you’ve seen me use a lot lately. I designed this one specifically to fit these cards, which are smaller than an A-2 size.

Again, a quick and easy job with my Scor-It. I think you can clearly see the measurements on the photo above. I have shown you this box process in photos so many times, I won’t tonight — I was really pressed for time. But if you’ve never seen the process of making this style box, you can view more pictures and directionson this postor this post. And if you are looking for a Scor-It, they are available at both Joan’s Garden and Marco’s Paper. It would make a GREAT Christmas Gift!!!

Thanks so much for stopping in again!! We at Stamp Simply Celebrates! are all enjoying ourselves IMMENSELY!!! And it is because all of YOU are coming to see, leaving comments, playing challanges and signing up for our Blog Candy. THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!! Hope to see you again tomorrow!!!

And the winner selected by random.org is #70, Toni! Congrats!!! Here’s what Toni had to say:

Toni K

Wow, thats a great gift idea. So classy and elegant.
Thanks for the chance to win!

Dec 8, 7:38 AM

Again, congrats! Toni and THANK YOU EVERYONE for playing along!!! Much appreciated!!!

Welcome to Day7 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Susan Roberts - Rainy Day Creations - How often do we give Gift Card Holders? Well, if youre like me, probably a lot!!! Susans Featured Project today shows us a quick gift card holder to make and she Challenges us to make our own, using her template or your own. Susan also has a BLOG CANDY offering today. You wont want to miss this, so be sure to visit Susan today!

You can see some more wonderful samples of gift card holders from Susan’s designers by checking out these blogs: Janine, Jennifer, Darlene, and AJ

Dee Jackson- Stampin cuz I Luv 2 -For her Featured Project today, Dee puts together some gorgeous Packaging for YourFood Items how fun!!! Her Challenge today provides many beautiful samples for you to see and to be inspired by so you can prepare your own packaged delectables for those on your gift list. Be sure to stop in at Dees today to see the sweet treats she and her designers have prepared for you!!!

You can see more beautifully packaged food gift items by checking out Dee’s designers at these blogs: CAT, Jennifer, Darlene, Heather and Barb. I have a packaged food item as well, and you can just scroll down to see that!

Susan Roberts - Rainy Day Creations has a blog candy offering today in addition to her challenge listed above.

Sharon Johnson - No Time to Stamp? - Thats me with more BLOG CANDY think specialty papers and just keep looking, because here it is:

Today’s Blog Candy was graciously donated by Marco’s Paper. From reading past comments I realize many of you are familiar with Marco’s Paper, but I wasn’t until a few months ago and, oh my goodness, what a store!!! Totally filled with paper and supplies for any paper crafter!!! Today we have from Marco’s Paper15 sheetsof the Accordion Cardstock that I used on this post the other day. It is 5.5″ x 25″ and makes doing accordion projects so easy. We also have a pack of 1/2 sheets of the Mirri Reflective Card that I’ve been using so much lately - OH, do I LOVE this paper. If you’ve never used it, you’ll be in for a treat! It is highly reflective — truly a mirrored surface — and it works up SO nicely into pretty, elegant cards. It adds such a richness and class — I just love it!!! It comes in a large variety of colors and this pack has samplings of them all. I did open my pack and have it spread out so you can see the colors. And you can also see in the photo how highly reflective it truly is! Also we have a package of 50 White Announcement Envelopes in A-2 size. THANK YOU MARCO’S PAPER!!!! MUCH APPRECIATED!!! And in doing these links, I just noticed their announcement on the home page about FREE shipping with a $50 purchase through Dec 15 — that’s Monday!!! Just letting you know!

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment below and tell me what type of paper you usemost often OTHER THAN standard cardstock. Nice and simple!!! This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

I played in Dee’s challenge today to come up with ways to attractively package gifts of food. Food gifts are SO totally practical and I think always appreciated, so it’ll be fun to see what everyone comes up with! My project today is SO simple. I took an already pretty bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate Peppermint Coffee. It was done in candy cane stripes of red and white which, much to my glee, was the EXACT same color as the red Mirri Card that I wanted to use today!!! AllI did was wrap with ribbon, attach my Merry Christmas sentiment medallion, hang on a tag, make a simple card to match, and DONE!!! It turned a lovely, but simple, bag of coffee into a WOW gift item!!!

The sentiment medallion is made with the Christmas Ensemble by JustRite, using the Harmony Classic Circle Stamper III, which happens to be my favorite size. And JustRite is having a sale now, until the 19th. Check it out here. I am disappointed in my photos of this project. The Merry Christmas is embossed in a mixture of SU Gold Detail Embossing Powder and Dazzling Diamonds. It is SO GORGEOUS IRL, and in these photos it just looks like I’ve stamped it with brown ink and didn’t even get a good image — so NOT true!!! I apologize for that, but my photo abilities are quite limited!!! Anyway, just believe me, it is a soft gold with a bit of Dazzling Diamond sparkle!!! Very eye-catching!!! That is layered onto a circle of the gold Mirri Card, then onto a layer of candy canes which is a border in the Christmas Ensemble, then finally onto the scalloped layer made with the Red Mirri Card!!! It’s SO pretty!!! All the cutting and embossing was done with my Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders in the Cuttlebug. This Mirri Card, though heavy, cut like butter!!!

The For You ornament tag on top probably took a minute or less!!! And HOW pretty!!! I used my coordinating ornament die and embossing Folder for the Cuttlebug. I first cut the ornament with the die, then inserted it into the folder and ran it through. Made with this gold Mirri Card it looks JUST like a real ornament! Again, the Mirri Card ran through with the Cuttlebug die and folder with no problems. It has the heavy weight I love and still works like a charm with all my tools!

Here’s the card I made to coordinate. To make my candy cane border, I colored the border stamp from the Christmas Ensemblewith my SU markers in red and black, stamped it, then colored in the flowers with my Spica Glitter Pens by Copic, using Gold, Red, and Olive. And on the card I added this strip of ribbed Mirri Card. Another quick dress-me-up idea that is so effortless. Here’s how I did it.

My strip is 1.5″ wide. This was just a scrap left over. Using my Scor-It, I quickly and easily embossed it (scored it) every 1/4 “. So easy to do with the well-marked ruler on top. Just score and keep moving it over 1/4″ at a time. LOVE the rich look it adds. And again, this Mirri Card is quite heavy, but my Scor-It scoring tool glided over it making a perfect score with no effort at all. When you do this, be sure to start with a longer piece of paper than you need. Remember, as you score, it eats up length and you end up with a shorter piece. Start long enough, then cut off what you don’t need when all is said and done!

And that takes care of today’s project!!! Hope you liked it — it WAS so super fun, simple and quick!!! It would be great to do up a few of these just to keep on hand for those surprise visitors or extra gifts we so often need at the last minute!!! Sure to please!!! Thanks so much for stopping in again.I truly DO appreciate it — more than you know!!! Hope to see you again tomorrow as the fun continues throughout next week!!!

And the winner selected by random.org is #24, who is Michelle!!! Congrats, Michelle! Here’s what she had to say:

Michelle

That mirror paper is incredible! I love what youve done with it, Sharon!

Dec 7, 1:31 AM

Thank you so much, everyone, for playing along — much appreciated!!!

Welcome to Day6 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!!You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

Heather Telford - bits and pieces - Heather is sharing a Featured Project with us today how to Dress up Your Table! Fun!!! And Heather is also incorporating a Challenge in with her project, making it 1-2-3 easy for us to decorate our own tables!!! Be sure to stop in at Heathers place today for many great samplings of table decor!

You can see more samples from Heather’s designers. They are Jennifer, Darlene, Joan and Jerri.

LeAnne Pugliese - Wee Inklings - Doesnt every Mother need a helper, especially during the Holidays? Well, for LeAnnes Featured Project that is just what she is giving us, a Mothers Holiday Helper! LeAnne is running a Challenge along with her project, providing us with templates and instruction so we can quickly and easily create our own helper!!! Dont miss it!!!

And you can see more samples from LeAnne’s designers as well. They are Barb, Deb, Janine, Darlene and me (just scroll down to see mine).

As usual, please bear with us all as we are busy uploading and linking through outtonight — everything should be up and in order by morning!

AJ Otto - The Willow Garden- AJ has some BLOG CANDY to share!

Sharon Johnson - No Time To Stamp? - Me again, with more BLOG CANDY! And here it is down just a bit.

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment below — nothing more than that today!!! Nice and simple!!! This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

Once again, HUGE THANKS go out to the folks at JustRite!!! They know how much I love the various fonts and rectangle stampers, so they are most generous in allowing me to give some away to you!!! This time we have the Times New Roman Font (3 sizes in a box) and the Rectangle Stamper Set (2 wooden blocks in a set, one large and one small). Times New Roman is one of the fontsI used on my project for today. And before I show you my project, once we are talking JustRite, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you about a sale they have going on – and the sale is especially for all of you Blog readers — they are grateful for their Blog traffic (which comes from YOU) and wanted to offer you a special. You may read about it here.

OK, now let’s move on to my project for today. I played as a sample maker for LeAnne’s Challenge, which you can read more about on LeAnne’s Blog. But basically, she provided us with templates for her Mother’s Holiday Helper which is made from a basic pocket file folder. Well, the only pocket file folders I had at home were neon colors or school colors with school logos - not QUITE what I had in mind. At Deb’s suggestion, she told me they had some plain kraft pocket folders at Office Max. Well, they sure did, plus they had some kraft folders that had designs on them, so I chose one of those. Here’s what I bought and used for this project.

The folders had designs in white, while all the complimentary pieces had black accents — now WHY didn’t they make them all the same??? I’m really into matchy/matchy — LOL!!! Anyway, I figured I could make them work. And rather than follows LeAnne’s very cool template, I decided to make a gift for a friend — sort of an organizer for craft needs — you know those lists we all keep? I just wanted to make something to contain lists and notes of our crafting needs so when we go shopping everything is contained in one place. Here’s a look at the completed inside of my folder.

Isn’t it fun? I LOVED making this!!! My brainy idea here to make this a little different than a normal folder was to create a spine. See it? It functions very well, allowing plenty of room for all my little pads and notebooks and whatever else one might throw in there. The spine is 1″ and it was created very easily with my Scor-It. Takea look.

See the center line? That is the line, the fold, that came on the folder. All I did was score 1/2″ on each side of that line, giving me a 1″ spine. Score with the right side down so that your score folds properly. This kraft folder is VERY thick. I don’t know how thick, but MUCH heavier than 110# cardstock. To score this on myScor-It was totally effortless. In places I scored over 2 thicknesses — no problem at all. I got perfect score lines and my folder now had a totally functional spine!!! Now to create a *pretty* spine, this is what I did.

I cut 3 strips of black cardstock, 11 x 7/8″. Leave 2 of them the full 11″ long and cut the 3rd one in half. Each half will be 5.5″ long. Now score these 2 shorter pieces right in the middle, which is 2 3/4″. Adhereone of the 11″ strips right in the center of the spine. It won’t reach all the way, so just center it. Do the same on the outside of the spine. Now here’s where the little scored piecescome in. Corner round the ends of these 2 little pieces and they’ll look more like tabs. Now,just adherethem, top and bottom. They fold around the top or bottom, covering both sides. Can you follow me? In the photo the bottom is done, but the top still needs to be covered with the tab. Easy!!! It hides that unsightly midde*original* seamline and it sturdies up the spine — PERFECT!!!

And here’s a look at the completed spine on the outside. Can you see the rounded tabs? I just added some pewter brads to make it look a bit more finished off. I LOVE this spine — it was EASY, FUN and added great FUNCTION to my folder. I chose pewter brads because the little clips that went with this set were sort of grayish/pewtery in color.

Here’s a look at the cover of my folder. The sentiment is from the JustRite Harmony Circle Stamper III Ensemble. (This is one of thesale items right now!) I omitted the outer ring and used my Labels 1 Nestabilities by Spellbinders to cut the sentiment out. As I’ve said before, you have a lot of options with your JustRiteimages/sentiments — they don’t all HAVE to be used in a round or oval format. I added some little rhinestones. The DP is by K and Co., (Margo) and it is edged with black. I used the Martha Stewart scallop punch on the right and then punched holes with my Cropadile. My favorite 1.5″ May Arts striped ribbon is adhered with 1.5″ wide double sided tape to the back and spine of the folder. It easily ties and unties for use.

Just showing a close up with some detail.

This is the inside left. I covered the inside with the K & Co. paper (Margo). I thought this rather vintage looking old paper design would go well. I then stamped the larger words in Times New Roman Font using my Rectangle Stampersand Charcoal Palette Ink. I used a Stamp-a-ma-jig to get them positioned as I wanted. My Stamp-a-ma-jig is home made. I should show it to you sometime! A friend made it from left over window trim during a house remodel. She made about 10 of them and gave them to all of us here. She purchased the sheets from SU and we are good to go. This is the SAME friend who is making a Cuttlebug out of an old wringer washer — I KID YOU NOT!!! If she ever gets that up and running I WILL show you, for sure — LOL!!!

This is the inside right. The sticky notes are adhered to the top, but I am having technical difficulties there — LOL!!! They are too heavy. I’ll end up taking about 1/2 the pad off, I’m sure! Again, I stamped on the NOTES with Times New Roman Font. I love the little clips — they are pretty and functional, if needed!!!

Here’s a look at the left pocket. The monogram was done with the Damask Monogram Set (it’s on sale — see above) and I used a J from Trompe Script Font, which is a really pretty, more fancy, font that I love. The little book just has a simple J on it, front and back.

This is the right side pocket, no different. The top border is made with the retired SU Wrought Iron punch with the corner guard removed. The bottom border is made with the Martha Stewart Scallop punch and holes added with a Cropadile. I used my new Glue Glider from Joan’s Garden for this entire project and it sticks tight! It’s super easy to use and very light weight. I am one happy camper with my new Glue Glider glue gun!!!

And that wraps it up again today!!! Hope you are all enjoying your time of Christmas preparation, however much or little that may be. And I hope you are getting some ideas you can use from all of us here working on Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! We are mid-way now, 6 days down, 6 to go!!! Hope to see you soon!!! Thanks so much for stopping in!!!

The winner selected by randon.org is #6, for Blog Candy #6, who is Nina. Here’s what Nina had to say:

nina

I just love the way youve used this font - the Times New Roman is tops on my (large) list of JustRite items to buy!

Dec 5, 11:22 PM

Congrats! Nina and THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the rest who played!!!

Welcome to Day 4 of Stamp Simply Celebrates! If you are new here, check out Party Central for a full rundown of our 12 day schedule. Feel free to jump in anytime at all!!!

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

And these fun little banners are compliments of Julie Koerber — how cool!!! Thank you Julie!!! And please bear with us tonight as we are all uploading. If some projects aren’t up yet, they will be by morning - thank you for your patience!

Deb Saaranen - Dream In Color - Do you need a quick, but lovely, little gift for someone? Maybe your childs teacher, an elderly lady from your church or neighborhood? Today Debs Featured Project is to make a gift of Note Cards, attractively packaged for gift presentation. She is also turning this project into a Challenge for you to participate in, allowing you to show all of us your creations. Be sure to check it out!!! There are sure to be so many lovely samples to inspire!!!

And please check out the following blogs for some wonderful Challenge Samples and inspiration: Jennifer, Julie, AJ, Tammy, Janine, and Jerri.

Dee Jackson - Stampin cuz I Luv 2 - Dee has some BLOG CANDY today!

Sharon Johnson - No Time To Stamp? - Me again, with more BLOG CANDY!

The Blog Candy I have to offer you today was once again so very generously donated by the folks at JustRite. Today I have a box of Special Occasions Font (3 sizes per box, plus lots of extra pretty little do-dads!) and a set of Harmony Rectangle Stampers. There are 2 stampers in the box, a large and a small, as shown above. I’ve used the S from the Special Occasions Font in my project today.

To be entered for this Blog Candy drawing, all you need to do is comment below and tell me what you serve for a quick meal during this busy time of year. For me the busiest night, and when I want things to be calm rather than hectic, is Christmas Eve. We go to church and then come home and open gifts.I am always wrapping last minute gifts to bring to friends at church, etc. so I need a quick meal. For many years I’ve been cooking a Stouffer’s Frozen Lasagna on Christmas Eve for our dinner. I really love their Italian Lasagna - great flavor! I serve it with hot garlic bread and a salad, and it makes a great, warm and comforting, quick meal!!! Works for me!!! And now I know I’ll be totally embarrassed by all the wonderful meals you all are probably cooking up!!! LOL!!!

This post will be closed for Blog Candy entries at 6:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008. Shortly thereafter a random winner will be selected by random.org. The winner will be posted both on this thread and at Party Central. OK, now on to my project:

I played in Deb’s Challenge today, listed above. This is one more gift set that I needed to get done for a gift. I really love this combination of retired SU colors — Soft Sky and Wild Wasabi with Spring Silhouettes DP. I made 6 simple cards and a box to present them in.

This is the box. The ribbon is just wrapped around it and tied. I just made the box top to look like one of the cards. The entire set is somewhat of a repeat of a pink and brown set I did 2 weeks over over at the JustRite blog. In fact, there is a tutorial with photos and measurements there on how to make this box which is sized perfectly to fit A-2 cards and envelopes. Click here to see that tutorial. But quickly, the box base is cut 8 3/8 x 7″ and scored on all 4 sides at 1 1/4″. The box top is cut 8.5″ x 7 1/8″ and scored on all 4 sides at 1 1/4″. Super easy and quick to do when you set the stopper guide on your Scor-It at 1 1/4″.

I made 2 of this card. It’s my favorite top fold and I’ve rounded the bottom corners on all of these. I find it particularly quick to make cards when I cover the entire card front with DP, rather than make layers/mats. It’s probably not the most efficient use of DP, having to cut it to 4 1/4″, but I love the look and you can’t beat the ease.

Here’s the next, and there are 2 of these as well. My monograms for this setwere made using the Damask Borders Deluxe Kit, only I switched out the initial. This kit comes with Times New Roman Font, but I wanted to use the bit more *pretty* Special Occasions Font today,so I did! That’s the great thing with the JustRite products — SO interchangeable!!! Most things work together, and you can’t beat that!!! Variety is the spice of life!!!

And here’s the last of the cards. I made 2 of these as well. To actually stamp my monograms for this set, I did it the easy way. I inked my entire stamp in Baja Breeze ink, THEN with the Baja Breeze ink still on the initial S,I just colored over it with a Garden Green SU marker — quick, easy, no fuss and it worked like a charm!!! I got a 2-colored monogram with the least amount of effort - my kind of stamping!!! I then added some rhinestones to my monograms and mounted them with Dimensionals. OH, they were all cut, matted, framed and embossed with Petite Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinders — gosh, what did we all do before we got our Nesties!!!

If you need some gifts foryour crafty friends, consider a set from JustRite!!! The simple monogram starter kits are a GREAT first introduction to the JustRite products. Just click that link to see them. Everyone just LOVES a monogrammed project, and they are SO easy to use. They come complete with the wooden stamper, borders and alphabets!!! You can’t beat it for a WOW gift at a reasonable price!!! Editing to Add: I just noticed that the Damask Kit, in the older packaging (which is exactly what I used here), is ON SALE for $12.00 — just passing that on — GREAT PRICE!!!

And that wraps it up for another day!!!! Make sure you check out all the samples and entries for Deb’s challenge, linked above. There are sure to be a lot of great things to see and inspire!!! And THANK YOU so much for stopping in again!!! I SO appreciate all your visits. THANK YOU and hope you have a great day!!! Oh, our little bunch of local stamping friends is having our Christmas Party tonight — FUN!!! I’m bringing Chicken Wings — and they are GOOD!!! I did share the receipe here last year, but maybe I will again in the next day or two!!! Have a great day everyone!!!

Our Blog Candy winner is Debbie, and here’s what she had to say:

Debbie S

Your note cards are beautiful. My quick meal is spaghetti and meatballs. I use a prepared sauce, frozen meatballs, and I add some spices for added flavor. Thank you for the chance to win. The JustRite stamps are on my wish list.

Happy Holidays!

Debbie S.

Dec 5, 7:00 AM

Huge Congrats to you, Debbie!!! And THANK YOU to everyone else who played along!!! Much appreciated!!!

If you haven’t checked in for our Celebration before, you can find details and the entire schedule at Party Central.

Today’s Special Events include:

Jennifer Buck - The Buck Stamps Here - Jennifer has some BLOG CANDY today!

Joan Fricker - Joans Garden - Joan also has some BLOG CANDY today as well!

Tammy Hershberger - Stamp Happy - Do you like to get a lot done, and quick? Who doesnt!!! Tammys Featured Project today is a Mass Production Project, but believe me, when Tammy does it, it will not look mass produced!!! Tammy also offers a Challenge today so you, too, can mass produce some cards quickly!!! Make sure to stop in at Tammys today!!!

Please be patient with us all as we are uploading tonight — if something isn’t there — it will be by morning!!!

And you can check out fun samples for Tammy’s challenge at the blogs of: Darlene, AJ, Leslie, Barb and Julie.

Anyone can play ANY of the challenges by ANY of the hostesses during our 12 days of Stamp Simply Celebrates!!! You DO NOTneed to have a Blog to play uploading your project to SCS (Splitcoaststampers.com) is not only permissible, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. When doing so, use the KEYWORD SSC08. Thanks!

I have no Blog Candy today (I will again tomorrow), but I did play in Tammy’s Challenge, creating some mass produced Christmas cards. Now I did not have the benefit of knowing Tammy’s *game plan* for her challenge, so I just went ahead and mass produced a few cards on my own. Now, to me, when someone refers to mass producing cards, I think *super simple*. I know some may mass produce more difficult cards, but if the idea is to make a lot, I like to stick with super simple and quick — so that’s what I did here today. Take a look:

I got 7 cards made in relatively short order by using up left-over pieces of Fruitcake DP by Basic Grey and using my new Nested Birds dies by Spellbinders as the focal image on each card. So although I have 3 different cards here, you can easily tell they are basically the same. I’ll go through them one by one:

I made 2 cards the same, and these cards are 5.5″ square. I used the largest die in the Nested Birds for the bird, and the middle sized die for the wing. If you look closely, you can see that I just cutoff the nose end of the bird and it then makes a perfect wing! I added a rhinestone for the eye.

And there are 2 of these, again 5.5″ square. All sentiments are from Many Merry Messages by SU, stamped right onto the DP with Versa Fine Onyx Black. It’s a really black ink that I love and use often. This white ribbon is a nice, soft May Arts Satin.

This is a standard sized card at 4.25 x 5.5″.I made 3 of these. I used the medium sized die for this bird, and the smallest die for the wing. I cut another medium bird from Riding Hood Red and placed it behind the white bird, just to make it stand out a bit more. This ribbon is Olive Grosgrain from SU. This card baseand bird areSU Very Vanilla.

I got my Nested Bird Nestabilites by Spellbinders from Joan’s Garden. I’ve also now gotten many days use with my new Glue Glider, and YES, I REALLY do love it!!! It is so quick and easy to use. I had to change the refill and it pullsout anda new one backin a second flat — no kidding. And I am very, very satisfied with how tight the tape is holding!!! I’m a happy camper and so glad I made this purchase from Joan as well!!!

Now, I know these cards are super simple and not very well decorated, but that was precisely my point today — we ALL need super simple at times. But if you’d like to dress these cards up a bit more, here are some optional things you could do:

1) Use ink, DTP or sponged, all around the edges of the cardstock.

2) Sponge some ink onto your bird, perhaps leaving him in the die to get that nice border.

3) Add some machine or faux stitching.

4) Outline the DP edges OR the bird with a gold pen to fancy it up a bit.

5) Hang a little tag from your ribbon knot.

6) Put a little branch or something hanging out of the birds mouth (I LOVE to see that!).

7) Heat emboss your sentiment, or stamp it on a ribbon slide or tag of some sort.

I think you get the idea. I think these are fun cards, andeven thoughI did them very plainly, there are many opportunities for you to spruce them up!!! Have fun!!! If you make any of your own, I’d LOVE to see!!!

Thanks so much for stopping in again today — I truly do appreciate it and I DO read all of your comments, even when there are hundreds on a Blog Candy post! Hope you can do, or did, some blog hopping to catch all of the other fun things going on and to see all the wonderful samples some of the other girls made!!! Thanks much!!!