Candldeholder

This is the candleholder my husband made me for Christmas with our brands. I used the Golden Canyon candles (address on my sidebar) and it really turned out cool! He put horseshoes for the block to set in! A great Christmas gift!!

20,000 Blog Visitors

My blog reached 20,000 and I am so excited that I am going to be having some blog candy!!! All you have to do to try and win one of the 3 prizes is to leave a comment on my blog by December 31st and I will draw 3 names on New Years Day, January 1, 2010. The first name drawn may choose the prize, 2nd name etc. Be sure and leave a way I can contact you if you are the winner or check back on this blog to see if you were a winner. You may also sign up to be a follower on my blog. The prizes are #1: Level II stamp set (Wings of Friendship), Stampin' Up! File, and White Cording #2: Level I Stamp Set (Love Bug), Stampin' Up! File and 1" Double Stiched Rose Red Ribbon #3: Certainly Celery Ribbon, Stampin' Up! File and Loopy Flowers Sizzlits Decorative Strip Die.

The winter storm has passed and we are all dug out! Wow! What a wind! Hopefully, we will have some nice winter days again!


Good luck to everyone and thank you so much for viewing my blog!

Christmas Card

This is the Christmas card I got from one of my customers, Nancy, during the holidays! She had 2 packages of cocoa inside which was so clever. I made over 20 of these and had a great time making them for some of my friends and family.

I used the Merry Moments DSP and the Jolliest Time of the Year Stamp Set ( Santa) and then added a cup from the retired set of Bow Bear to put in his hand. I also used the stitched ribbon in the Holiday Mini Catalog. Inside I put 1 package of cocoa and then on the other side I put my Christmas letter and a little note that said " Relax! Sit back and make yourself a cup of chocolate and enjoy our letter!"

A very Merry and Blessed Christmas to all of you and enjoy your family if you can be with them.

Winter in South Dakota

It is WINTER in South Dakota! It is so beautiful out but not fun to drive on. Last night when I came home I was watching the white lines as it was so foggy out! The frost is so thick on all the trees and fence lines. We will have a White Christmas for sure!

I just discovered that my blog turned over the 20,000 mark! Wow! Keep watching my blog and sign up for some prizes that I will giving away for this 20,000. I will post the details later!

More Christmas Gifts

The first picture is a picture of my Dept 56 Houses that I have on a table in my living room. I decided to sell these after Christmas so if anyone is interested let me know. The next pictures are gifts that I have received. The first one is a Vintage Handkerchief with candy inside.

The next gift is a little bag with Believe on it and a candle and dish towel inside! What a clever gift. The bracelet was made by Sarah out of her collection of buttons! She had made 3 of them and they were all different, some small and some large buttons.

This is a card made from the Die Tags that are on sale, snowflake punch and Wandering Words stamp set. I was just outside taking some beautiful snowy pictures I will share with you sometime this week. We will definitely have a White Snowy Christmas!!! Have a wonderful day!

More Christmas Cards

Here are some more Christmas cards that I got from friends! Every card is so special and each person has done a lot of work on the cards!

Glove Snowman

This is a cute little gift that I received from Donna. She used a pair of black gloves and tied the black and white striped ribbon around them. On the inside she put a packet of cocoa and made a little snowman to put in it. A darling gift! She also added the bulb punch!

Lovely as A Tree

I had a lovely day today! Had lunch today with 3 great friends and shared a lot of stories and laughed a lot. Also, shared gifts which I will have to share with you tomorrow on the blog! People always come up with the best gifts! No matter how many years this stamp set, Lovely As A Tree, has been with Stampin' Up! I still have to make at least one Christmas card with the image every year! I stamped the tree with Handsome Hunter ink onto Whisper White card stock and then mounted it on the Silver Card stock. Of course, I always have to add some glitter! I also added some white ribbon and a little silver cord on the ribbon. The sentiment was stamped with White Craft ink on Handsome Hunter card stock! Well, I am off to dinner with our neighbors-my husband asked why I was out walking in the cold today and I responded that I have been out to lunch for 3 days in a row!!! And now tonight!!! Christmas is the season to enjoy friends!!! Have a great evening!

New Downloads for MDS

There are some new downloads for the MDS. If you have purchased an MDS go to my Stampin' Up! website and then go to MDS Digital Downloads. They added some new calendar, Christmas, and Halloween downloads. You can only get them on my website as you download directly from there. If you have any questions just email me!

More Christmas Cards

I guess I am off to another late blog night. I went to the post office today and got all of my packages off! Wow! Some of the postage is incredible and other packages I was surprised at how little the postage was! I also met some ladies for lunch so I had a great day! Now I am back to making my Christmas cards. I should finish tonight! Actually, I do enjoy making the cards as my last project for Christmas as it is so relaxing now that I have all of my shopping done and deliveries made. I even take the time to watch a little Christmas movies while making my cards! This is very unusual for me as I am not a TV watcher. I even had to have my husband show me how to get to a TV program last night! This is a card much like the one I posted yesterday only I used the Yippee Kiyay Holiday stamp set, Christmas Cocoa Specialty DSP (love this paper), Close to Cocoa and Real Red card stock. I stamped in White Craft ink.

This is another card using Sahara Sand card stock! The bottom picture is all of the different designs and stamp sets but using the same basic idea. Have a great evening!!!

Dasher

I am way behind on posting today. We moved cows home all day today so I didn't get much else done. It was -1 degrees when we started and finally got up to 16 when we finished. I am trying to get my packages ready to mail out tomorrow and get some more Christmas cards made and sent. I am about half done so hopefully tonight I will make another big dent. This card is made with the stamp "Dasher" found on page 208 and it is only $8.95. I also used White Craft ink and stamped some snowflakes on Kraft card stock and then stamped Dasher on Close to Cocoa. The DSP is Merry Moments. I just cut a 2 3/4 inch square and folded back the top a little. I also stamped "Merry Christmas" with White Craft Ink on Old Olive card stock and then punched it out with the Modern Label Punch! It is always easier to stamp first and then punch it out! It is really hard for me to make a card without ribbon. The Post Office doesn't like ribbon or maybe I should say they do like it as they charge extra for ribbons or buttons. I don't mind sending them throughout the year but when you send over 100 Christmas Cards it gets a little spendy! Hope you have a great rest of the evening! It is still cold out!

Christmas Bulb

It is snowing again today so will make a beautiful Christmas picture! I am still working on my Christmas cards. I did get all my gifts ready to mail yesterday so now to get to the Post Office. I worked on some cards but still have a lot to go! I know what I will be doing the next two days! We made this Christmas bulb at our December Clubs. You take a clear bulb (any size) and put in any color of reinker. Just keep moving and twisting the bulb until the inside is completely covered. Then you add some glitter (any color) and shake it until covered. Dump out the excess glitter and you are done! I saw so many pretty bulbs! Have fun!!! Enjoy your day and just set one goal for the day!

It is really snowing out again! And it is cold out! Brrr! Here are a two more purses that I made. Once you get to making them you cant stop! I must get my Christmas cards made today and packages off! My husband got our letter done so I have to get in gear! Have a great day!

12 Day Sale

Check out the fabulous 12 day sale Stampin' Up! has until December 22nd. They are offering dies for 15%-25% and also many new vinyls that you can use in your Big Shot to make many different colors of designs for your laptop, vases, walls, etc. Great for decorating! Check out all of items on this site
Have fun shopping and have a great day!

Rag Purses

We are back from Vegas of watching the National Finals for 3 nights and so now I will be trying to do a lot of catch up! We had a great time but we were ready to get back to less people. These are the purses that I have been making using the Big Shot and the Scalloped Square Die. The first one I used 3 different materials but did not have a lot of contrast in the materials. You can cut 8 squares at a time so it does not take long to cut out the 38 squares. You add a piece of cotton batting in between each square and then start sewing together. I got my directions from Angie's

website. The bottom picture I used more contrast in the material and I like it a little better. I have made 4 of these so far and each time I make one I seem to figure out another strategy. I also added a button for the closure. These would also make good camera cases. You could also make them larger by adding more squares. If you have any questions just drop me an email. I hope you have a great day and enjoy every minute of it.

12 Days of Holiday Sales

Stampin' Up! has a large 12 days of Holiday Sales. They are offering many Big Shot Dies and Vinyl (new and old colors) for 15-25% off. You can view the sale on my website. Just click on my website on the sidebar! This sale of Big Shot dies and Vinyl runs from Today to December 22nd.

Jolliest Time of the Year

This is such a cute card I received from Shirrise, my downline. She used the Jolliest Time of the Year stamp set and various colors of card stock! Just love the belt on the bottom! The buckle uses the small punch for the little latch! So cute! We gave Shirrise such a bad time about sending her cards out in February and now she was one of my first Christmas cards that I got in the mail! Have a great day and week!

We hosted a neighborhood Christmas card party last night and this was the prize I gave to the Man's low prize. We had a lot of fun with it. Again, this is just a book I bought at the local craft store and covered it with Black Card stock and cut out the beehive and honey from Summer Sun. I stamped some bees on it with White Craft Ink. Of course, I had to add some glitter. I used the spiral punch on the sides and then it just slipped under the black spirals. I am off to a bazaar-have a great day!

Christmas Plate

This is a cool plate I picked up this Fall at the Apple Heritage Festival we attended near Philadelphia! I love the saying on the plate "Families are Forever--Love Doesn't Melt". We are having a neighborhood Christmas Card Party and Potluck tonight and then tomorrow I have a Bazaar in New Underwood so I have been quite busy! Enjoy!