CHRISTMAS GIFT TAGS

 

Here are two of the packages of Christmas gift tags that were sold at a Holiday Auction silent auction. Again, I've used retired products as well as current ones. The bells on the heading of the one on the left are from the wonderful stamp set Bells and Boughs in the current Holiday Mini Catalog. I used markers to color the stamp and then cut out the images to adhere to the heading. The bags are Stampin' Up! medium cello bags. The perfect size.  Each tag in that bag is different, some embossed, some beaded, some booklet form, some simple tags.  All of the tags in the bag on the right are punched from retired Designer Paper wtih the Ornament punch and the scallop circle punch.  If you don't have those punches, you should.  They are so  versatile, not just for punching Christmas tags.

Packaging the tags this way, the buyer will have a nice gift for a hostess or office Santa, or ....

I can't believe that it is nearing mid-November and this is the first Christmas stamping I've done this year. I'm still working on autumn and Thanksgiving. I'll show you a few more of these and then get busy on Christmas.  Hmmmm - wonder if I'll get my own cards made this year?

EXTREME SKATEBOARDER

Doesn't he look like he is having a great time?  No question that that my 11 year old grandson does.  In fact, his father built a half pipe in the driveway for him.  It's fun to watch him, especially when I wouldn't even be able to stand on a skateboard, much less perform on one.

The skateboarder here is stamped with the now retired Brilliant Blue ink; Night of Navy would work well.  Except for the Whisper White, all the cardstock is of retired colors, but there are plenty of wonderful new colors to create a stunning card for your favorite skateboarder. I used brads for the embellishment, thinking that an 11 year old boy who had a Fear Factor birthday party probably wouldn't appreciate ribbon!. 

PUNCHED PUMPKINS

Wow!  Has it really been so long since the last post?  I'll try to make up for it for I have been busy with many projects. Halloween and one Holiday Auction down and another Bazaar coming up. Many of my projects for those events are created from retired materials, so I've been hesitant to post them, but just may change my mind yet. Other projects are outright CASEing of some stampers who are so very talented. In some, I can credit the original creator and in others, I would if I had taken the necessary step to record the originator.  Ah well. Let's get started .

Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Have you made your cards yet?  Punched pumpkins are so easy to do. Just punch out 3 or 5 cirecles or ovals, sponge the edges and assemble, keeping one full image for the top.  Here, I've used the branch from the 2 Step Bird Punch for the vine. I curled the stem around a pencil to give it some dimension.  You can see that the one on the left got crushed in the scanner, which is probably what will happen in the mail.  So, to mail it, it would be a good idea to glue it down.  I love the dimension, though. 

POPPIN' PASTELS

I've been playing around with my Stampin' Pastels this week and re-visited one of the old favorites - Poppin' Pastels. Vintage Vogue stamp set lends itself well to the technique.  Here, I've used a combination of current and retired colors.  Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Pretty in Pink are current.  I have three packages of Sage Shadow, now retired, so I used it on the 6x6 technique page.  You may see more of it in the future - I do like that color and was sorry to see it go. The text for the technique page is copied from Margo Kelly's Technique Book.

Sorry the one bow got crushed in the scanner. I tried several times to lay it flat, and it just likes to pop up - and then gets crushed.  You get the idea.  It's pretty in real life.

Here's a tip -that I learned the hard way - as we learn many of ou tips - and you can see the problem on the technique page.

Tip:  When combining the die cut oval and the scallop frame from the  Big Z Scallop Oval Frame die:

The oval does fit perfectly inside the frame, but .....  glue down the oval first, if it needs to be straight, as this one should be.  Then, place the frame so that it is straight.  You see that I didn't do it that way on this page and the frame is slightly skewed in order to fit the oval.  Perhaps I'll do another one correctly for display.  And then again, I probably won't.  It'll just be a good teaching tool, don't you think?

Stay tuned. I'm going to play with the Stampin' Pastels some more in the next few days.

CARDS FOR THE TROOPS DAY

WOW!  If you weren't here for a terrific day of creating cards for the troops and writing heartfelt messages - you missed out on all the fun!

Our goal was to prepare 300 cards, most to be given to incoming troops who will be coming home through Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The majority of cards were created today, but some were cards which were completed using card fronts generously donated by many stampers and Stampin' Up! Demonstrators.  Some of those will be more appropriate to send to the troops who are still deployed for them to use. 

I truly thought that 300 was stretching it - but we completed just under 450 cards!!!!   325 of those had handwritten messages written in them, another 100 were taken for members of the Puyallup Valley Lions Club members to inscribe, leaving just a few to still be written in, or sent with the group to those who are still deployed. 

The youth of St. Peter's United Methodist Church were, once again, nothing short of phenomenal.  They met the evening before to prepare snacks for everyone and then spent the entire day working on  cards. They and their leaders, Jennifer and Scott. What a bunch!                               325 cards ready to be           
Their enthusiasm and their dedication is contagious and inspiring.                     delivered
Thank you- to each one of you. 

L. Cindy and Sue - from Puyallup and Lynwood.  They were here all day long - and then had the  long drive home. Talk about dedication!        

R.  Marilyn, Dorothy, Jane, Karen from Puyallup Valley Lions club.  Another long drive.


At one time, we had so many people working that we ran out of chairs.  That didn't stop anyone from continuing.  Some just stood up and wrote cards or took care of some go-fer tasks. 

Here are some samples of our cards.  Enjoy the creativity of both the teens and the adults. What a delight.

Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of everyone who attended - but here are a few more.  Again - thank you, each and every one.  It was a wonderful, wonderful day.

I still haven't figured out how to locate pictures on the page or how to get the titles just where I want them.  I'm always surprised when it works right,  And, now the last photos aren't going where I want them nor are the captions, so here are the  people in the photos starting top left and going clockwise:

Jane and Terry

Pastor Tom

Rebecca and Sydney

Julie

Marissa and her Dad and Adora

The two photos at the top of the page - I also couldn't get titled. On the left are Erica and Kaity and on the right is Blue, with Karen in the background

TODAY'S THE DAY!

Oh my goodness!  I can't even get a good night's sleep. Here it is 3:00 a.m. and I'm wide awake trying to make certain I remember all the details. Today is Cards for the Troops day and, if all goes as expected, there will be a nice number of people coming to prepare cards.  The flag is ready to be put out, scrap bags ready to "install" at the tables, sign in sheet is ready..... the church youth will put in the table leaves and set up the card tables.....  Details, details.  I just hope I haven't forgotten something major!  Stay tuned.

PREPARING FOR CARDS FOR THE TROOPS EVENT

It's been way too long since I have posted.  Thank you for checking. The time will come when I will do so again. I've been busy preparing for a Cards for the Troops Event on June 26th and am using supplies from my pre-Stampin' Up! days for the most part.  It's all good product, but doesn't fit well on a Stampin' Up! based blog.
The goal for the day of stamping and pasting and signing is 300 cards. I will have enough prepared for 500, I hope.  The ones we don't finish will be available for future stamping sessions. 

Check back for photos after the 26th.  We're looking forward to a good day.  If you live in the Bellevue area, or nearby, and would like to contribute cards or come help, let me know.  We'll never have too many.