Gift Certificate

Hi all
Thought I would share with you one of the Christmas gift certificate cards I made for a daughter to give her mom, a stamper.

The card front is like one we made during one of my four stamp a stack classes.
I wanted the inside to be special, so I decided to make a pop up card.

The front tree with the star is the actual certificate, with the details written on the back of the tree; the front tree is removable.

The pop-up is relatively simple to make but you have to use a special fold to get the slot for the card/tree to sit in.  When  you insert the pop up into the folded card base you have to make sure you adhere the back and the bottom to the card base. 
Hope this fold inspires you!
Peggy

good girl/bad girl

Hi all,
Even though I have been a bad girl, by not posting on my blog in too long a time, Santa treated me very nicely this Christmas and I am hoping you were treated well, too.  Let me start by thanking all of you who have studied the many fabulous items in the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack and sent me your orders, or purchased through my SU Blog.  There are many great bargains still on there, so check it out if you haven't yet.  Remember, too, that the current mini catalog is about to expire.  Grab all your favorites before they are no longer available.   I will be glad to combine smaller orders (ex. under $70) to save  on the shipping costs for everyone involved.
Soon (Jan 3rd) the new Stampin' Up! mini catalog will begin and once again there are many great new products in there, including stamps, framelits, designer papers, and accessories.  Several of the items are presented in bundles, where two products purchased together are priced lower than if each was purchased separately...I love a deal!  One of the new sets contains a seahorse, a shell, and a lobster, and more.....great for those of us Chesapeake Bay folk!  You will be delighted by some of the new accessories.  Contact me if you would like a copy of the new mini.   There is no fee for the mini but if you want it mailed, you will need to cover the shipping cost.  Or stop by and get a copy.

The day before Christmas, one of my coworkers had a baby.  I wasn't there when they did her baby shower, but I did bring her one of my memory tins.   Check it out.......

Luckily, she knew she was having a baby girl and had chosen the name Fiona so I was able to personalize the tin for her.

I decided to make the design a trellis of clovers.

Would you like to give a memory tin to your friend or family member?  Contact me and I'll help you design one or I can make it on consignment for you.
Thanks for stopping by..
Peggy

Hi all,
We certainly are having some difficult days of late.  I find myself thinking about the families of the murdered children .. so unimaginably sad...but also of the first responders and technicians who have horrible images in their heads that they will probably never want to share with anyone.  I hope they will come to some peace...and soon. 
I think of the front office personnel of schools and day care centers everywhere, who have been so horribly reminded that they are right on the front line of any attack.  All the procedures in the world are up for grabs against a maniac who loses his humanity and acts without conscience.  If you have a child in school, take a minute to thank every employee you see....from the front office staff  to the classroom staff to the custodians who every day make good decisions to serve you and your children and keep them safe in a dozen different ways.  At this time of year I'm always struck by the how families deal with the holidays.  Some try to show their gratitude and respect for teachers and staff with lovely gifts.  But to me, the best gift of all is a heartfelt thank you note.  There is no gift card or candle that will touch my heart as much as a handwritten note from a parent saying "thank you"...and it doesn't cost more than pennies and a few minutes of time.  Never say, I can't afford to give everyone a gift....you have a minute to say thanks.
Today I have a cute ornament to share with you...I think it might be the last one from the class....I'll have to check that.

This ornament was made from roof sheeting material and the two tags die and the Big Shot machine.  Love it.
Have you checked out the Clearance Rack on my Stampin Up! website!  LOTS of new items have been added ...go to www.peggyouten.stampinup.net

Peggy

Grinch ornament/treat

Hi all
Here is a nifty little ornament/treat that has been popping up all over the internet. 

Again it is a project that is made from punches: curly label, pennant, circle, lil flower.  So cute.  Of course, I used our skinny treat bags to hold the piece of licorice.  Wish I could make these for my 150 coworkers, but it just too labor intensive!!  I'll have to find a simpler project.
Come back tomorrow to see one more project from the ornament class.
Peggy

Elf ornament

Hi all
Today I had a surprise opportunity.  I was working with my students this morning and I looked up to find Dr. Dance, the Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools, standing there watching us.  I took a moment to shake his hand ...he and I went to the same college and his mom was an occupational therapist.  He has a nice firm handshake and an interested demeanor.  It was a treat for me to meet him.

Today I have a cute elf ornament to show you which I found on several different blogs - not sure who started it!

Can you tell that he was made using several different punched elements?  I just love the way his arms and legs are made from the candy canes.  Clever!  Just two more ornament projects to share ...come back to see one of them tomorrow.
Peggy

Countdown to xmas

Hi all
Today  I am interrupting the ornament show to post pictures of a countdown to Christmas I made for my roommates at work.

One nice thing about this project is, it is temporary; I can take it apart and reuse the box for another project.  I made the simple countdown numbers in alternating colors and clipped each to a drawer with a circular paper clip.  I bought the set of boxes at a big craft store with a coupon.  Unfortunately, the drawers fit quite tightly so covering them with designer paper is unlikely to work.  I love countdowns to Christmas although not too many of my gals seem interested in them.   Some folks think it is a kid thing but let's face it, anyone enjoys a little surprise treat!!  I didn't feel like I could take on making four different sets for my four roommates, which is why I am rotating who gets the treat from Monday to Thursday.  Everyone gets a treat on Fridays.  I think they are enjoying the treats - especially since I have been mixing up what each person gets...mostly candy.  Hope it inspires you to do something nice for a friend or co-worker.
Peggy

ornament class - medallion

Hi all
Today was a really great, but loooong, day.  It began early, so we could get to the volunteer fire station for Breakfast with Santa ...a family tradition for sooo long, I don't recall when we began ...but it is way more than 23 years now.  Love getting to see my friend and her family, even though half of our kids are not teenagers any more.  We didn't linger long this year; it turned out to be a very well attended breakfast so we gave up our seats to those who came after us.  Also, I had promised my friend/co-worker, Amy, that I would run a craft activity at her church, so I dropped the guys home and zoomed to the church.  It wasn't a huge group of ladies, but about half of them chose to make the star folded ornament (posted on 12-4-12).  Lovely group of ladies and I discovered that the pastor's wife is an occupational therapist (like me!) and even attended the same university that I did.  Funny!  Thank you, ladies, for the opportunity to play with you!

Today I want to share another project from the ornament class.  One of my ladies (Hi Patti!) wanted to get the special medallion kit that Stampin' Up! was selling, but it has now sold out!!!.. Tonight, I was talking with her about how she could create a version of the medallion with what she has or what she wants to order.  Here is my version....

The bottom layer was made by using the Holiday Ornaments framelits and the Big Shot and some retired, flocked designer series paper.   Because they used the precut DSP, the ladies in the class didn't have to wait for an opportunity to die cut a stamped image.  I thought that would really jam up the progress of the task!   The artichoke layer is made from 12 punched always artichoke ornaments and 6 stamped ornaments which were then punched out.  Each ornament was folded in half and then glued together to form a three part segment.  The white layer was made using the Rosette die (but you can hand score the cardstock to create a rosette too).  Finally, we used the faceted crystal buttons and a dahlia to compete the set.  The button and dahlia were attached with hot glue (I am definitely NOT a hot glue fan - makes me think of spider webs!  If you would like to try to make this ornament, tackle the task one layer at a time.  If you do not have the ornament framelit, think what you might use instead.  Just work thought the layers trying to make each layer a bit smaller than the one below.   By the way, the ladies attached each element to one of the nifty sticky circles from Stampin' Up!  That really made the task easier, I thought.
Here are the medallions some of the ladies made...

If you need more of an explanation of this project, don't hesitate to contact me. 
I will be holding a tag and gift card holder class next Sunday, please register early...I have several "extra- curricular' activities this week, so it would help me if I can make your packets early.
Peggy

Hi all
Sorry I missed posting  last night....got caught up in an activity and didn't get back to the computer. 
Today I have a fun ornament/pin for you...so fitting for the upcoming season....and easy to make too!

Several  punches went into this project:  scallop circle(backing), wide oval (hat), 1 3/4" circle (face), oval
(brim of hat).  And yes!! his nose is lit up!!!  How cute is that?!?!  There is a hole in the scallop circle backing so the on/of switch of the candle light is accessible.  You can add a pin back to wear it on your clothes or a piece of baker's twine to hang it as an ornament.  There are rhinestones for the eyes and mouth.  I had some left over black ones from a previous Stampin' Up! mini catalog but you can also use a black sharpie on clear rhinestones to make them black too.  Tie on a scarf of ribbon and you are good to go!!
Peggy

Hi all
Today I want to share with you a three dimensional star ornament - the gals really seemed to enjoy this project. 

 

I like it because it can be made any size which makes it useful in many different ways.  We used five  3" square pieces of designer paper which were each folded vertically and horizontally (the folds forming a + on the paper) and then you turn the paper over and fold just once on the diagonal.  You adhere the five pieces in a stack (glue the outside of the first folded paper to the outside of the second folded paper, etc.) Then you add a piece of solid colored cardstock to the top and bottom of the stack - we also stamped on a piece of vanilla cardstock and layered it on the colored cardstock square.  The ribbon is sandwiched between the solid cardstock and the stamped piece.
When you open the star up, here is how it looks....

Imagine that you made the item from several full sheets of designer paper.  Then you would have a large enough surface on which to scrapbook.  Experiment with different papers to see what you create!!
Peggy

Hi all
Today I have a cute angel ornament for you. 

 

The gals got to make two of these from two different sizes of scallop circles.  Some folks use part of the scallop circles for the angel wings but I think some of those angles look a bit more like a 747 about to take off.   I wanted a softer look, so we used a die cut butterfly for the wings instead.  When the gals made their angels, I had run their wings through a textured embossing folder to dry emboss them ...it gave them a real elegant look.  We used dazzling details around the angels wings on both the front and the back sides.  Hope you enjoyed seeing this project. 
Did you know that Stampin Up! is offering a special kit to make 10 medallion ornaments/gift embellishments.  Check out my Stampin' Up! website for details.
Peggy

Hi all

Today I had the most awful experience..really upsetting!  I was traveling on Joppa Road in Towson and signaled to make a left turn onto a side street in the neighborhood where I grew up.  There was a car coming down the side street....but she whipped into a U turn right in front of me!  Not only did she cut right in front of my car but she had pulled so far forward onto Joppa Road that she was actually in the lane going in the opposite direction from me as she turned.  Had I not screeched to a halt, we would have collided badly. I was totally irritated to see that not only was she holding and talking on a cell phone, but there was a young child sitting in the back seat!!!   I stopped my car and walked back to her.   She rolled down her window and apologized to me, saying that she was lost.   I told her she did not need to apologize to me but to her son, as she had seriously endangered him by holding and talking on a cell phone while driving.  She persisted in saying she was lost...I said then pull over and make your call!!!   She went into a tirade asking, hadn't I ever made a poor judgment?  Really?  Are you kidding me?  She continued to hold her phone and seemed unable to glean any insight into the horribly dangerous habit of talking while driving.  I walked away shaking my head and saying a prayer that the child's guardian angel is vigilant, because the mom wasn't at all!!  A long time ago, I was in an accident with my son in the car - we were rear ended while sitting at a stop light.   I felt horrible for not being able to keep my son safe from this danger even though clearly I had done nothing to create the situation, except be at the wrong place at the wrong time.  How could this woman not see the need to put down the damn phone!!   Please friends...keep your family safe - don't "cell" while driving.

Here is the project for today...

This project is made from the Framelits...three of them are glued together with the snowflake suspended inside.  Have to admit, the gals were a little stumped by the process of gluing half of one side to the next frame and then that frame to the third one but eventually everyone got theirs assembled.  The glitter paper looked great!
Are you considering giving stampin products to a friend or family member for Christmas?   Contact me about getting a gift certificate.   I will make you a nice card to hold the gift certificate. 
Peggy

Ornament class

Hi all
Today I had a lovely group of elves here, making a variety of holiday ornaments.  After the ladies left, I closed up my stamp room and headed out to eat dinner with my hubby.  When we returned home, I came back to my stamp room to clean up and put away my stamps and tools.  But...this is what I found!!!!

Oh no!  not sure exactly what happened but all of the ornaments were scattered on the floor!!  horrors!  I suspect that the heat blowing out of the ceiling vent softened the fun tack that was on the base of the tree, allowing it to fall over. Luckily, the only damage was a broken leg on my elf!!
Come back tomorrow to see close ups of the projects!
Are you hoping to attend a stamp class between now and the first of the year?  contact me with a suggested topic and date.  Let me help you make some lovely gifts, tags, packages, or cards.
Peggy