Every now and then at Christmastime Mama would spray paint the boughs of holly cut from the bushes beside our front porch, or from the holly tree in the back garden. Not every year, some years the dark green leaves and brilliant berries remained their natural color for the fireplace decorations and the cemetery decorations.

But spraying the holly was a task. The round dining room table was covered with newspaper. The leaves had to be washed and almost polished before they could be gilded. And the holly leaves were prickly and the berries rolled off the table unto the floor, and don't step on them.

It was a sign that Christmas was indeed drawing near, in just a few days, because we didn't decorate the day after Thanksgiving, not even on December 1 or December 15. Somehow Christmas came together in no time, it seemed. I liked it that way and Mama surely must have as she worked full time and had raised her children with the fact that Santa decorated the tree, she only (only) had to do the mantle and door, lamppost and banisters, vases and cemetery arrangements.

So, when Stampin' Up! produced the Holly Textured Impressions Embossing Folder in the annual catalog, way back in June, it was at the top of my list. I have embossed Garden Green card stock and it is lovely.

But gold holly ...

I love it! And I added a green sprig, too.

In fact, this one card uses many of my holiday favorites: holly embossing folder, Warmth and Cheer DSP (in my fav 6 X 6 paks) , Warmth and Cheer Washi Tape, Holly Berry Builder Punch, Tin of Tags Stamp Set and Stitched Shapes Framelits!!!

The base of the card is Whisper White ~ a landscape orientation that opens upward ~ 4 1/4 X 11, scored at 5 1/2.

A second piece of Whisper White is cut at 5 1/4 X 4 and will be covered with strips of design elements before being adhered to the base: 

  5 1/4 X 2 1/4 gold foil, embossed

  5 1/4 X 3/8 washi tape design

  5 1/4 X 1 1/2 plaid DSP

Adhere the embossed piece at the bottom of the base and build upward.

Run washi tape up against the gold - if you use a different width than shown, you will need to trim the plaid DSP.

Adhere the plaid DSP above the washi and trim if necessary.

Stamp the sentiment in Real Red on a scrap of  3 x 3 Whisper White.

Cut out with the next to largest Stitched Shapes circle framelit ~ color edge of circle with Real red.

Punch one small and one large holly leaf out of Garden Green card stock using the holly punch.

Punch one berry out of Red Glimmer Paper using the holly punch.

Adhere holly pieces with glue dots at the top of the circle.

Adhere sentiment in the middle of the designer strips - a little jauntily askew. 

Here's what I used:

Whisper White Card Stock:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=100730&demoid2121276

Gold Foil Paper:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=132622&demoid2121276

Warmth and Cheer DSP:   (ON SALE)

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=141991&demoid2121276

Warmth and Cheer Washi Tape:  (ON SALE)

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=141994&demoid2121276

Tin of Tags Stamp Set:  (ON SALE)

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=142180&demoid2121276

Holly Berry Builder Punch:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/Product.Detailaspx?productID=141843&demoid2121276

Stitched Shapes Framelits:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=145372&demoid2121276

Red Glimmer Paper:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=121790&demoid2121276

Garden Green Card Stock:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=102584&demoid2121276

Real Red Classic Ink Pad:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=126949&demoid2121276

Mini Glue Dots:

https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=103683&demoid2121276

Everyone Is An Artist

I have never been terribly artistic, at least with paint and brush or pen and  ink, but I always enjoyed my coloring books and my school art classes. Even as we only went to art class one day a week in elementary school, we always had various art projects in our classrooms.

Oddly, I distinctly remember drawing assignments in Miss Phipp's fourth grade Virginia History class. I am old enough to have been in school when ONLY Virginia History was taught in fourth grade history class. On an oversized piece of manila construction paper I meticulously drew the Capitol Building in Williamsburg, brick by brick. I was pretty talented at shading those bricks ~  smell the Crayolas.

One reason I enjoy Stampin' Up! so is because I can't draw or paint, but I feel like I can when I use stamps to create a pleasing picture or design.

Artist's Palette is one of the first stamp sets I bought from the new catalog -  it was available during the pre-order season for demonstrators (another great reason for joining SU!). The Playful Palette Suite is on pages 118 - 119 in the new catalog. Aside from loving the washi tape and the cool sentiment 'your idea to have a birthday was simply a stroke of genius!' the catalog's props

remind me of The Color Kittens! Please tell me you remember The Color Kittens!!

I played with several card designs and then searched Pinterest. I discovered many pinned and posted designs in which the easel held a framed picture, not just the clever sentiments provided in the set. Somewhere along the way I met Stephanie Fischer (www.thecraftythinker.com.au) and a design that I wanted to try. Not identical, but ...

I have not yet received my set of the new Layering Square Framelits, so I had to experiment a bit to come up with my measurements, and it worked. I did not use as  many layers as I easily could have with the new framelits, but this is good - I like it.

In her instructions, Stephanie even provided a bit of artistic advice for shadowing - a little Soft Suede marker shadowing on the easel stamped in Soft Suede and the use of a white gel pen on the green leaves. All of which I conveyed to my art students in our class yesterday!

It is difficult to detect from my photo (never really had photography lessons), but the small 2 x 2 canvas of flowers ( Number of Years stamp set) is matted on 2 1/8 x 2 1/8 Watermelon Wonder, and that is layered onto the easel with a slightly smaller piece of fun foam for dimension. It is a great finished look.

Watermelon Wonder is one of the predominant colors in the new Affectionately Yours Specialty Designer Series Paper. I chose the same pattern Stephanie featured in her design, yet, the reverse side of that paper also complements the painting. In class, the students chose their favorite look.

Look through the catalog for small images, or larger ones which can be cropped,  for the subject of your next masterpiece. Think how you can personalize this idea for all of your friends and loved ones: a sailor in your life, a bird lover, a fairy princess ...

Let's stamp!

 

BINGO!

I can't believe it! I did not take one single picture at BINGO yesterday!

I was so excited to offer my first Stampin' Up! BINGO! I chose a busy weekend, unknowingly; but I had a full table of six anxious-for-prizes guests as I called out the first number.  Oh, but wait, I am far, far ahead of myself.

After I begging and bribing and refusing to think that I may have to cancel the event, I left much of the preparation till the last minute. In my mind, I was well prepared. I had seen a video by Ronda Wade covering the ins and outs of hosting BINGO parties. I had chatted several times with my upline and colleagues about their BINGO parties (thanks Susan Elise, Monica and Kathy!) and sat in on a party just a couple of days before mine (thanks Kathy!). And at the same time, SU had a huge facebook event centered on planning for parties ~ lots of valuable info.

I designed the day to include four games plus a jackpot game and stamping time to create three make and take cards. As you know, staying up all night is what I do, so I did stay up well, well into the AM cutting paper and preparing for the stamping. I took inspiration from Julie Davison and Tami White as I found their super cards on Pinterest.

I left just a bit to have to finish up Sunday before the gaming stampers arrived.

As I was beginning to feel the heat while bustling around my husband looked at the thermostat and said, 'the temperature is going up instead of down,' and looked at me with a face of dread that I just cannot even describe. I was feeling the heat all right!

Oh, I just did not want to cancel ~ my guests had made their plans, I had prizes from the new catalog and chocolate!

I recognized the caller ID name on the phone. 'Is the Midtown Tunnel closed?' she asked. I swear I read the highway advisory sign to say the tunnel was closed 8 PM - 5 AM Fri - Sun.  I interpreted that to mean it was closed each night, not all weekend! So I gave her alternate directions.

The next name on caller ID was also familiar. She was detouring because of the tunnel.

My cell phone dinged with an IM: accident on interstate - but on the way.

When the next caller ID name appeared I knew what route she was taking so I knew she would be a bit behind, too.

And the temperature slowly rose.

With a couple pitchers of mint iced tea we made the most of it. They came for the prizes! And actually, for the good company they knew they would find.  They just didn't know they would find a house with no air, which did make for some good 'remember when' stories.

Except for the heat, we had a lovely afternoon full of stories and laughter and sweat and stamping and melted chocolate. We played with the new In Color markers and papers and the Painter's Palette stamp set and washi tape. There really is something extra special about stampers ...

As the afternoon was headed into an evening threatened with storms, and the stampers were spent from their excitement, they elected not to create the third card I had planned. So this afternoon I made their cards and will mail them to those stamping guests, who really were and are 'the nicest.' Julie Davison included directions on her site that I will pass along to the stampers so they can re-create this themselves, too.

AND I crafted them in a once again cool house, thanks to my Oh, What A Guy husband! He was at the supply store when they opened this morning and had the AC running in no time!