A Dusting of Diamonds and Non-Traditional Christmas Colors!

Getting ready for my last Christmas Card Class and I saw the Friday Mashup from last week, so I decided to use it as inspiration for one of the cards we'll be creating: It uses some non-traditional holiday colors (Island Indigo, Garden Green and Rich Razzleberry) but turned out pretty festive! I hope you can see the Faux Diamonds (or Diamond Dust technique) over the "Merry"...I've told you about this super easy sparkly technique before here and here.  Just can't get enough of it because the BLING sings to me!

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If you are in the Utah County area and would like to come to my Christmas Card Class this Saturday morning (November 15, 2014), please RSVP before Thursday night!

Endless Wishes: 5 Ways on Fridays!

Well, I had this ready for last Friday when my computer was out of commission...and wouldn't you know it: Stampin' Up! sold out of this awesome Photopolymer stamp set on Tuesday!!! GRRRR...

But I'm sharing it anyway because of all the time and effort I put into it, and those of you who were lucky enough to snag one before they sold out~ You're Welcome! Of course,  many of the designs & techniques could be re-created with another snowflake stamp set, such as Festive Flurry :)

P.S. Endless Wishes *is* available as a digital brush set (item #136559) for all you digi-crafters and if SU! changes their minds and produces more, I'll make sure to update this post (we can hope, right?)

1. Faux Diamonds. This is always a big hit and so very easy! I gave step-by-step instructions on the Faux Diamond technique in this post. The Designer Series Paper is from the Winter Frost Specialty DSP (132341)

2. Random Stamping. Just go crazy with it. Let them overlap, go off the edge of the paper and layer them on top of one another. I really loved the look of White/Baked Brown Sugar/Cherry Cobbler on Crumb Cake card stock and even stamped a piece to go on top of my jar of apple pie filling.

3. Make a Window. The Squares Collection Framelits (130921) and the Big Shot (113439) create perfect windows. I used a piece of a window sheet and stamped the snowflakes using the White Stazon ink pad (106960), then placed it between the Navy and (polka dot embossed) Blushing Bride layers to appear that you were gazing outside to a frost covered world.

4. Use the Words. While the snowflakes are delicate and delightful, the words are what sold me on this set. It's awesome to be able to mix up the script with the print and come up with dozens of greetings. So cute! I paired the greetings with some of the Season of Style Designer Series Paper (132340), the 1" Cherry Cobbler Grosgrain ribbon (132135) and Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine (123125) and a Vintage Faceted Designer Button (127555).

5. Monochrome Embossing. The words & snowflakes on the white were simply stamped using the Silver Encore pad (132141) and I embossed in silver on the Silver Foil Sheet (132178). This card is stunning in person, though the photo doesn't do it justice (sorry...I tried). Just because it needed MORE bling, I added the Silver Glimmer paper (124005) as a layer, too!

Stamped snowflakes are much warmer than the real thing, eh?

Another Milestone Celebration

My friend Kristi just passed her $100,000 career sales with Stampin' Up! and I wanted to celebrate her great accomplishment!

Kristi likes purple (and sparkles), so I created a Rich Razzleberry swing card using the Stampin' Up! Label Card Thinlits, made a Faux Diamond covered quote from the Feel Goods stamp set (can you see the sparkles over the words?) and a co-ordinating tube for her 100 Grand Candy Bar using the Label Love set and Artisan Label punch:

Here's what it looks like when you open the swing card (a silver glimmer paper YAY!) and it has another flap over the place where I wrote her a message:

Some things I love about Kristi:

• She's always got bling on. And you'll never see her in public in sweats :) She's always dressed nicely and looks fabulous. 
• Her paper crafting designs are always very detailed and perfectly created!
• She's a loyal friend
• Her optimism is contagious!
• You can give her an assignment and she follows through. Dependable and thorough.

If you aren't familiar with the Faux Diamond Technique, IT IS SO EASY! I like to do it on a small focal point of a card. Here are basic instructions:

1. Stamp image on card stock and let it dry
2. Press front of stamped card stock into Versamark Pad (102283), covering completely
3. Sprinkle Iridescent Ice embossing powder (101930) over ink-covered card stock. Shake off excess powder
4. Heat embossing powder with Heat Tool (129053) until set. See the diamonds sparkle!

As always, you can order supplies to try this technique at home from my Stampin' Store.

Scavenger Hunt Winner, Friendship Card & Recipe Share!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by Saturday for either the Hostess Appreciation Breakfast or "I Spy" Catalog Reception! As promised, here is the recipe for the Overnight Apple Cinnamon French Toast served at the breakfast (from allrecipes.com with a few modifications):

 Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 (21 ounce) cans apple pie filling (or 1 quart jar of homemade apple pie filling + 3 apples, peeled and sliced)
• 16-20 slices white bread
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup maple syrup

Directions

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
2. Spread the sugar mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the apple pie filling evenly over the sugar mixture. Layer the bread slices on top of the filling, pressing down as you go. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and vanilla. Slowly pour this mixture over the bread, making sure that it is completely absorbed. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Place covered pan into the oven and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 60 to 75 minutes. When done remove from oven and turn on broiler. Remove foil and drizzle maple syrup on top of the egg topping; broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the syrup begins to caramelize. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes, then cut into squares. Invert the pan onto a serving tray or baking sheet so the apple filling is on top. Serve hot.

This is the card we made at the Hostess Appreciation using the "Faux Diamonds" technique...can you see the glitter on the "yes, please" circle? It's pretty fabulous in person! The stamp set is one of my new favorites from the catalog called "From My Heart" on page 139 of the new SU! catalog:

If you missed the open house, contact me to Join a Club or schedule a party and get a new catalog FREE! And just for fun, here is the link to the "I Spy Catalog Scavenger Hunt" you can print off and play as you discover creative treasures in the fabulous new Stampin' Up! Catalog!

And congratulations to HEATHER ASH who won the Scavenger Hunt drawing and the "Bright Blossoms" stamp set!!!