Gift Ideas

It's hard to believe Christmas is just a few weeks away! Need some ideas for some gifts? I saw this at Convention and Barb reminded us again at our downline meeting a couple of weeks ago. One package of Candy Cane Christmas Decor Elements (Holiday Mini Catalog - $14.95) will make up into 10 - 12 gifts! They are are available in Old Olive or Real Red.

Purchase these from my on-line store

The Finishing Touch!

I will still try and post a few things while we are gone and will post more photos in a day or so. I thought since many of you are shopping and some of you are even wrapping gifts, I would share some ideas for some cute gift tags.

These were made with the Tags Til Christmas set and the XL Decorative Label Punch. Colors are Riding Hood Red, Old Olive and Whisper White.

OK! We are heading to a black sand beach to snorkel, then heading to Oahu this afternoon!

Aloha! We have arrived!

After many hours of traveling, we arrived on the Big Island! After we checked into our hotel, we grabbed a bite to eat and took some drinks down to the beach. Even though it was cloudy, the sunset was beautiful!

There is a small lagoon along the path to the beach. Shortly after my husband took this photo, a couple were married as the sun was setting!

Don't forget to check out my on-line store for the fantastic on-line sale from Stampin' Up!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday! My husband and I are leaving tomorrow morning for Hawaii! I have not been to Hawaii and I cannot wait!! I will try and post some photos while we are there!

Meanwhile....here is a card I made for a wedding we went to recently. I used the 5 Petal Flower punch technique to make the flowers (See earlier post). I used the swirl stamp from Baroque Motif with Blushing Bride card stock, ink and Glimmer Brads.

Tis' the Season

Tis' the season for making and sending Christmas cards! With fewer cards being sent, hand made cards are truly a gift from the sender!

Supplies: Cherry Cobbler, Cake Crumb & Very Vanilla card stock; Black Stazon, Always Artichoke & Cherry Cobbler ink; Cherry Cobbler markers; Deck the Halls fabric; Antique Brads; Peaceful Season (hostess set from the Holiday Mini) and Christmas Greetings stamp sets; Aqua Painters.

Ready...Get Set...SHOP!

Once again, Stampin' Up is offering a fantastic sale! From now until November 30th you can shop from my On-Line Store! Some items are 50% off (like the My Digital Studio!). Click here to see a list of what is on sale! These items can only be purchased on-line! (Note: When viewing the bundles in the Online Store, click "More Images" to see photos of the other products in the bundle)

Plus, get FREE Shipping on any online order over $150 (before tax and shipping)!

Happy Shopping!!!!

Pointsettia Card

The flower on this card is made with the 5 Petal Flower Punch. The technique for this was a Main Stage presentation by Pam Morgan at Convention last July. To make the Pointsettia, punch two flowers out of card stock. Spritz them with water and crumple them, then un-crumple them. Using your fingers, mold them to create the crease. Allow to dry. Adhere together with a Glimmer Brad. I adhered the flower to the card with a Stampin' Dimensional. The top of the card is embossed with the Petals-a-Plenty Embossing Folder.

Happy Holidays!

It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here in just a little over 4 weeks! I've barely begun shopping! One good thing is that my workshops have been all about Christmas cards so I should be ready to mail cards in a few weeks!

This was one of our club projects this month. It's a different size card - 5 1/4 by 5 1/4 that fits into our 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inch square envelopes.

Supplies: Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Garden Green & Whisper White card stock; Candy Cane Christmas designer series paper & Fabric; Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons; Linen Thread; Scallop Square Bigz Sizzix Die; Big on Christmas stamp set; Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & More Mustard markers; Black Stazon Ink; Aqua Painter and Garden Green Classic Ink; Mini Glue Dots.

Anna's Baptism

Our youngest granddaughter, Anna Rose, was baptized yesterday. She looked beautiful in her Christening gown. This gown as become a family heirloom. My sister-in-law, Kathy, made it for our oldest. All four of our children, 3 nieces and nephews and 6 of our 8 grandchildren wore it for their baptisms.

Jim, Anna & Julie

So of course I had to make cards for her! I made the first card for my parents to give her. I used Very Vanilla and Pink Pirouette card stock and the cross was made using the Basic Pearls set on an oval from the Ovals Sizzix Die. The bow was made with the Very Vanilla seam binding.

I had originally made another card for us to give her but my husband thought it didn't look like a Baptism card so I headed down to my studio very late the night before we left. While I am not totally pleased with the finished card, I liked the cross element so thought I would share it. I used the Lattice Die and cut out the cross with Whisper White card stock. The cross was covered with Versamark and embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder.

Money Holder

I received something like this at Convention last summer and thought it was such a cute idea! It's very easy and quick to make.

Supplies: Night of Navy, Marina Mist and Whisper White card stock; Serene Snowflake & A Cardinal Christmas stamp sets: Ornament Punch and 1 1/4" and 1" Circle Punches; Night of Navy & Marina Mist Classic Ink pads; Square Lattice embossing folder & the Big Shot; Basic Rhinestone jewels; Sticky Strip & Stampin' Dimensionals.

1. Score 6" x 9" piece of card stock at 3" & 6".
2. Fold one end up and trim 1/4" off (see 2nd photo)
3. Using the 1 1/4" Circle Punch, punch a notch in the end that was trimmed.
4. Use Sticky Strip on the edges of the trimmed piece to form the pocket.
5. Punch a 1" circle in a scrap of Night of Navy. Center the Ornament Punch around the hole and punch out an ornament.
6. Stamp a snowflake in Marina Mist on a scrap of Whisper White card stock. Punch out with the 1 1 /4" Circle Punch.
7. Adhere the snowflake to the ornament with Stampin' Dimensionals. (I cut one dimensional in half and put one half on either side of the ornament)
8. Stamp "Merry Christmas" in Night of Navy on the right side of the 2" x 2 1/4" piece of Whisper White card stock. Adhere ornament to the left side. Place rhinestone in center of the snowflake.
9. Run the 5" x 2 1/4" piece of Marina Mist card stock through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice embossing folder.
10. Assemble as shown. I used Sticky Strip to adhere all of the pieces together. It holds well with the textured card stock.

Holiday Bundle Promotion!

From October 19 through December 16th, you can save 20% on product for the Holidays!
Vintage Christmas Card Bundle
Bells & Boughs set & Deck the Halls designer series paper (DSP)
wood-mount #124067 - $23.92; clear-mount #12408 - $19.72

Contempo Christmas Card Bundle
Contempo Christmas set & Holly Jolly dsp
wood-mount #124071 - $20.72; clear-mount #124072 - $17.52

Tags Til Christmas Bundle
Tags Til Christmas set & Decorative Label Punch
wood-mount #124077 - $38.32; clear-mount #124078 - $31.92

Gift Packaging Bundle
Gifted set and Mini Lunch Sacks
wood-mount #124083 - $26.32; clear-mount #124084 - $19.92

Simply Adorned Gift Bundle
Charming Set, Simply Adorned 1" x 1 1/4" charm & 24" Simply Adorned chain
#124076 - $39.88

Frame Gift Bundle
Definitely Decorative Chunky Frame & Small Chocolate Chip Dotted Flourish Decor Elements
#124075 - $19.92

You can shop purchase these bundles through my on-line store at www.susanlacroix.stampinup.net or you can e-mail me at susan@la-croix.net or call me at 734-285-2116 and I would be happy to place your order for you!

Joyful Season Letterpress Plate

We made this card at our last Sparkler Downline meeting. Using the Letterpress takes a little getting used to but I really like the clean lines and the de-bossed look of this card.

Supplies: Cherry Cobbler, Naturals Ivory card stock; Cherry Cobbler & Garden Green craft ink (I used Stampin' Spots); Regals Patterns DSP Pack (Garden Green); Real Red 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon; Joyful Season Letterpress Plate, Dotto temporary adhesive & the Sizzix Big Shot.

It is recommended that you use a temporary adhesive and adhere the card stock to the cutting plate to keep it from sliding when going through the Big Shot.

Tunnel Card

I saw a sample of this card on my daughter's blog. She found it on someone's blog but the originator of this design is unknown. It's much easier than it looks!

Supplies: Very Vanilla, Pear Pizazz and Peach Parfait card stock; Pear Pizazz and Peach Parfait Classic Ink; 1 3/4" Circle, Modern Label and Word Window punches; Just Believe stamp set

1. Fold Very Vanilla in half.
2. Fold Pear Pizazz in half and then fold each side back to form a "W".
3. Punch Circle in the Pear Pizazz piece and stamp greeting onto the white, through the "hole".
4. Adhere both sides of the Pear Pizazz to the Very Vanilla card stock.
5. Stamp front of card and embellish as desired.

The folded card will be somewhat bulky so it's best to put your design element on the front of the card on the left side.

Bells & Boughs

Have I mentioned before how much I love this Holiday Mini catalog??? As soon as I saw the Bells and Boughs stamp set I knew I would use it for the Holiday Mini Swaps I participated in!

Supplies: Bells & Boughs stamp set; Metallic Gold Waffle Paper; Champagne Glass Glitter' Always Artichoke & Naturals Ivory card stock; Always Artichoke Seam Binding and Marker; Cake Crumb Marker; Versamark and gold embossing powder.

Stampin' Up will be offering a Bells & Boughs and the Deck the Halls DSP bundle as part of a special that will be available in about a week - more information coming soon!

Spooky Things

With the exception of carving pumpkins, I usually do not decorate much for Halloween. But when I saw these the Spooky Things and Black Flourish Designer Jewels at Convention, I knew that I would be decorating this year! All of the Stampin' Up! product is from the Holiday Mini Catalog.

I just loved the idea of decorating white pumpkins! This project was a stage presentation. The person demonstrating had painted orange pumpkins white but I was able to find white pumpkins at one of the box stores. There are several designs on the Decor Elements sheet so you can get a lot of projects out of it. I cut apart the Trick or Treat for the pumpkins and embellished with the Black Flourish Designer Jewels and Raven Lace Trim.

I applied the 3 spiders to the glass pumpkin jar and will use the bats and Happy Halloween on a front window.

You can order these from my on-line store at www.susanlacroix.stampinup.net. While you are there, check out the Clearance Rack! Hundreds of new items have been added - some are 80% off!!

Another September birthday card!

Our grandson, Thomas, turned 7 a couple of weeks ago. This is the card I made for him. I am so glad we now have white brads!

Supplies: Marine Mist, Early Espresso and Whisper White card stock; Early Espresso and Marine Mist Ink; Every Little Bit, Party This Way stamp sets; Modern Label and Word Window punches; Neutrals Brads; Scallop Rectangle Clearlit & the Big Shot.

September Birthdays

We have quite a few September birthdays in our family. And several of the guys love to golf. I was thrilled to see this stamp, On the Green in the Idea Book & Catalog (page 19). This is one of the first stamps I bought from this catalog. Here is the card we sent our son-in-law, Josh.

Supplies: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Whisper White card stock; On the Green & Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp sets; Modern Label & Word Window punches; Neutrals Patterns DSP Stack; Early Espresso Classic Ink.

It's been a l-o-n-g time!

It's been a couple of months since I have posted anything! After dealing with a corrupt file on Picasa, I just didn't get back into the groove of posting! I have lot's of projects photographed and ready to post!

We made this "Witch Way is the Candy" card at Hostess Club last month. I just love, love, love the Holiday Mini this year! It is loaded with all kinds of fun things!

Supplies: Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze and Whisper White card stock; Wicked Fun Specialty DSP; Modern Label, Word wWindow & Ticket Corner punches; Black Stazon Ink, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Daffodil Delight markers.



These next two cards are part of the Christmas Card Class we are doing on October 25 - with the exception of Dasher, all of the stamps and DSP is from the Holiday Mini!

Altered Pencil Case

One of my downline, Angie shared this idea with me. I thought it would be a great Hostess Club project. Quite a few of these talented ladies attend craft nights at their church or other locations. This is a perfect place to keep those small items together and not falling to the bottom of a bag or case. Of course it could be used for other things....

Just Believe Make & Take

We made this card at Convention this year. I think this is going to be one of my favorite stamp sets! We used a circle template made with the Big Shot and Circle's #2 die and sponged color into the circle, then stamped the image and greeting.

Altered Notebooks

One of the traditions of Convention is making gifts for those who attend Convention with you (especially your downline). This year, two of my fabulous Sparklers - Gloria and Nancy - attended with me.

Susan, Gloria and Nancy

Along with the Bag Tag and posted several days ago, I made these altered note books for them. I used Pear Pizazz card stock and In Color Prints DSP on Gloria's and Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight and Sunny Garden DSP on Nancy's. I die cut their initials with the Serif Essentials alphabet and the Big Shot.