Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Have you seen this gorgeous box? This exclusive Christmas Keepsake Box kit from Stampin’ Up! is available from now until December 31, 2011 (or while supplies last). The completed box is perfect packaging for a gift that will never be forgotten, and the kit itself can be the perfect gift for your favorite crafter! The kit comes with almost everything you need precut for just $19.95, and includes instructions to help you make it. (Please see below for a list of items that are not included.)

Christmas Keepsake Box kit contents:

• Keepsake box
• Scallop borders (cut using Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die. Includes First Edition Designer Series Paper (3) and Holly Berry Designer Series Paper (6))
• First Edition Specialty Designer Series Paper strip (2)
• Holly Berry Designer Series Paper piece
• Real Red Top Note (cut using Top Note Bigz Die)
• Real Red Decorative Label (cut using Matchbook Bigz XL Die)
• Wild Wasabi Card Stock strips (3)
• Naturals Ivory Card Stock piece
• Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Fabric (cut to length)
• Real Red 1-1/4″ Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (cut to length)
• Real Red 5/8″ Grosgrain Ribbon  (cut to length)
• Victoria 5/8″ Crochet Trim (cut to length)
• Linen Thread (cut to length)
• Champagne Fine Galaxy Stampin’ Glitter
• Vanilla Pearl 1/2″ Simply Adorned Bauble
• Pearl Basic Jewels (1 pkg.)
• Holly Berry Boquet Designer Buttons (1 Large Wild Wasabi and 1 Small Real Red)
• Mini Vintage Tag

The Christmas Keepsake Box includes written instructions, but the following supplies are not included:

• Pines & Poinsettias stamp set
• Early Espresso Stampin’ Write Marker
• Real Red  Stampin’ Write Marker
• Wild Wasabi Stampin’ Write Marker
• Adhesives
• 3/16″ Corner Punch
• Paper Cutter
• Paper Snips
• Needle
• Glue gun

My sister-in-law’s sister-in-law (yes, that would be my brother’s wife’s brother’s wife) made a card very similar to this at a card class she went to near her in North Carolina, at her demonstrator Kim’s house. I loved the card when I saw it, and decided to make a blinged up version. (The original was a stunning white on white.)

Stamps: Delightful Dozen
Ink: VersaMark
Paper: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Brushed Gold
Other: Gold Embossing Powder, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, 1″ Circle Punch

Isn’t it fabulous how the 1 inch circle punch fits so well behind the Lace Ribbon Border Punch? It almost looks like stained glass! Plus, this card is nice and flat so it won’t cost anything extra to mail!

Hello and welcome to the Stampin’ Addicts’ Holiday Mini Blog Hop, where we will be featuring a variety of the new products in Stampin’ Up’s Holiday Mini Catalog! You may have arrived from Trina’s blog, where she shared the super cute Festive and Fun, or you may be starting here. The blogs connect in a circle, so either way you’ll get to see them all! I am excited to show you some of the great digital downloads that are available in the Holiday Mini Catalog. Each of these have actual paper versions as well.

The first download I want to show you is the Pick Your Poison Embellishments. There is also a coordinating Piece of Poison Stamp Brush Set, though I didn’t use it. This download comes with labels and borders. I used two of the border strips to create the background of this page, and a third one around the edges to frame it. There are both blank labels, and ones already filled in. I used one of the blank ones below the photo.

My next project features the digital version of the Spice Cake Designer Series Paper. You may have noticed that Trina used this in the blog hop banner and buttons as well. It is a beautiful paper set, with a soothing fall feel to it. For this project I created a Thanksgiving Menu that you can be proud to display on your holiday table. If you wanted to make this in a hybrid version, you could use the actual Pool Party ribbon instead of the digital version. Because you can choose which part of the Designer Series Paper shows through the punch, both Trina and I were able to fill our punch with the flower image! It was a quick and easy wow!

My final project uses the Digital Version of the Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper. This would be great to use for your Christmas Cards with the family photo! I love the quilt-like quality of the designs, as well as the wood ones, so I combined these into a patchwork scrapbook page.

Want to see all of the digital downloads? Come by after the Mini catalog goes live on September 1st and I’ll post them here for you.  Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed this look at three of the Digital Downloads. Now it is time to move on to Debra’s blog where she will be showing you the beautiful single stamp, Leaves of a Tree.

A few people have asked to see the cards that the fourth graders made on their field trip to the Jewish Home. This is one of them! This card was designed by my downline, Samantha Alvarez, who is one of the fourth grade teachers. It uses the now sold-out Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper. (Note: If you really love something, order it early in the mini catalog period.) The good news is that there is still a digital version of this paper available and it will never run out! Three of the patterns are available in fabric as well.

Stamps: Holiday Lineup
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Real Red, Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas Designer Series Paper

Here’s the same card, but I substituted the Big on Christmas stamp set instead. I love that these two sets have images the same size so that they are interchangeable! We had both sets available for the kids and seniors to choose from.

Although I used my markers to color in these images, we brought the Watercolor Pencils to the Jewish Home instead.

As soon as I saw this week’s colors from ColourQ, I fell in love with them! Aren’t they gorgeous?

As I tossed around ideas on how to use them, I knew I wanted to do a winter scene, but not just snowflakes. I played with the idea of birds for a while, but as I keep reading through my stamp sets, I hit upon Lovely as a Tree. Now there’s a classic! I’ve done cards similar to to this, but I’ve always used black for the trees. This time I used Wild Wasabi for the Evergreen, and Soft Suede for the other trees. I sponged Tempting Turquoise at the bottom, then gradually added Pacific Point up to the top.

I wanted to add a little sparkle to it, so I went to get my  Dazzling Diamonds. (I kind of wished I had the Glass Glitter from the mini catalog to make a border around the Top Note.) But I found my Iridescent Ice embossing powder first. And a lightbulb went off in my head! I could do the Dazzling Diamond Dust technique on this card! It would be perfect! And I’ll also submit to the So Shelli Contest this month, which is all about techniques! For this technique, you cover your entire stamped image with Versamark, then heat emboss it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. This gives it a beautiful sparkly sheen! (And makes it really hard to take a good picture!)

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Soft Suede, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Versamark
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, Glossy White
Other: Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder, Top Note Bigz Die, Vintage Wallpaper Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot

It’s easy to create images of a Winter Wonderland when I don’t have to shovel the real stuff!

I had to try this because it looked so cool! I brayed Marina Mist ink on the inside of my embossing folder, and then when I put in the piece of Whisper White, only the raised snowflakes kept their original white! You may notice this card looks remarkably similar to this snowflake card. It is the same basic layout, but a very different feel to the card.

Stamps: All Holidays
Ink: Marina Mist, Crumb Cake
Paper: Whisper White, Crumb Cake
Other: White Satin Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Simple Pearls, Northern Flurry Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Stampin’ Dimensionals

I like this week’s Clean & Simple sketch — it’s just perfect for a Christmas card for my after-school stamping class to make this week!

I used the Got Treats stamp set again. I love that little Gingerbread Man, and the second graders are doing a short Gingerbread unit between now and Winter Break.

Stamps: Got Treats
Ink: Soft Suede, Real Red, Blushing Bride
Paper: Soft Suede, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Candy Cane Christmas Specialty Designer Series Paper
Other: Real Red 5/8″ Satin Ribbon, 2 3/8″ Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/4″ Circle Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Just so you know, this Candy Cane Lane Paper is on short supply  and may run out soon. Get it now if you need it. Of course, there is a digital option as well, which will never run out.

Believe it or not, Stampin’ Up just released another batch of Christmas themed digital downloads. I was looking at the paper — it has some great patterns that will be fantastic year round as well! And that fabulous Bingo card — you could make Bingo sets for all different occasions!  These downloads work with My Digital Studio and any other digital scrapbooking program that allows you to import PNG and JPG files.

Item	Description	Image	Price
123954	Holly & Jolly Embellishments		$3.95
123953	Jolly Holiday Designer Series Paper		$4.95
122181	Jolly Bingo Bits Stamp Brush Set		$7.95
122182	Bingo Card Stamp Brush Set		$1.95
123955	Christmas Countdown Stamp Brush Set		$7.95

You can purchase these or any other digital downloads through my online store. They great news is that they are available for immediate use, with no shipping or tax! Just click on Digital Crafting, then Digital Downloads, then Newest Downloads to see all of the recent additions!

There is a My Digital Studio tab to the top right hand corner of this blog. It is a handy reference to a variety of My Digital Studio resources, including a list of all of the downloads and a break down of the printing costs

Another batch of festive digital downloads has arrived–just in time for holiday scrapbook pages and cards! These downloads work with My Digital Studio and any other digital scrapbooking program that allows you to import PNG and JPG files.

Item	Description	Image	Price
123957	Seam Binding Ribbon		$1.95
123959	Deck the Halls Designer Buttons		$2.95
123963	Come to Bethlehem Stamp Brush Set		$1.95
123962	Welcome Christmas Stamp Brush Set		$3.95
123727	Bright Christmas II Stamp Brush Set		$3.95
123958	A Word For You Stamp Brush Set		$3.95

You can purchase these or any other digital downloads through my online store. They great news is that they are available for immediate use, with no shipping or tax! Just click on Digital Crafting, then Digital Downloads, then Newest Downloads to see all of the recent additions!

There is a My Digital Studio tab to the top right hand corner of this blog. It is a handy reference to a variety of My Digital Studio resources, including a list of all of the downloads and a break down of the printing costs.

I’ve unpacked the majority of my stamping boxes, but I still need to get down to some serious stamping. In the meantime I wanted to share with you Stampin’ Up’s gift project of the month. Here’s the description from their website:

Our Mini Lunch Sacks give you so many unique, stand-out options for your Christmas gift wrapping this year. For our Let it Snow sack, we first created a delightful tone-on-tone pattern on our bag using our Jolly Jingles Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel. Then we folded down the scalloped edge top and fastened it with one of our beautiful Big Designer Buttons to create a stylish package that the recipient will be antsy to open come Christmas morning. See how many different tantalizing packages you can create with our Mini Lunch Sacks!

Stamps: Jolly Jingles Jumbo Wheel
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Paper: Riding Hood, Red, Very Vanilla, Regals Designer Series Paper Stack
Other: Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, 1/16 Inch Handheld Circle Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals