Thursday, November 12, 2026

Christmas Cheer!


I always have so much fun stamping with the Product of the Week, and this week's is no exception!  We had just gotten home from grocery shopping and while looking at the sentiments of this week's promotion set, I was inspired!  A bit of fun with dual entendre, presenting a bottle of wine as a hostess gift of Christmas Cheer!  In this instance, the gift is a bottle of wine, although it could instead be a bottle of sparkling cider or balsamic vinegar reduction or some other non-alcoholic yumminess!   


This project was nearly like making a top-folding card front, but instead of a full card back, it has a small bit (extending only a couple of inches) with a circular opening that functions as the hanger.  

I wanted to use traditional Christmas reds and greens, so I  chose a sheet of bold red from Craft Consortium's Festive Tones paper pad as the background for this lovely reindeer that is the focal point of our Christmas background stamp.  It is all stamped in black ink, colored with Copic markers, sponged with tea dye distress ink and splashed with diluted white acrylic paint "snow."  


Our wine bottles were already wrapped in brown paper bags from the grocer's.  I simply sliced off the top of the bag and held it tight against the bottle while sliding the hanger opening over the bag and into place.


Here's a peek from the side so that you can see the notched corners, the stamped sentiment and the die-cut holly that I used to decorate the top portion of the hanger.  This project was SO easy and so much fun!

And in case you're wondering...in the background of these photos is a shawl that I knitted last year from a Christmas sock yarn set.  I started it on Christmas Eve and finished it on New Year's Eve.  I still need to weave in the loose yarn ends and block it, so it will be ready to wear this holiday season.  I am so pleased with how it turned out and I'm looking forward to finally wearing it!    


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Thursday, November 5, 2026

O Christmas Tree Split Top Gift Box


Hello everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful Halloween and All Saint's Day!  If you are like I am you might still be dealing with the aftermath of the Time Change!  It always amazes me just how much difference that one hour makes and how long it takes me to adjust, even when my schedule is entirely flexible.  


My project for today is a fun and easy Split Top Box but this photo taken straight from the top shows that it would work just as well as a gate-fold card instead.  Split Top Box Tutorial on SCS


I loosely followed the SCS tutorial except for the ribbon hinges. Instead, I cut a piece of paper slightly longer than the length of the bottom + the two sides, and scored the folds just a tad wider than the box bottom.  The entire piece was then adhered to the underside of the box bottom, its flaps glued to the inside of each of the "doors."  It looks nice and neat that way and the extra layer underneath helps make the box bottom stronger too.  In this half-open view you can see how the hinged top works.  


Here you can see the fully opened box, the inside of the bottom decorated with pretty paper and a stamped image from another one of our Christmas sets.  


One of the three sets that I used to make this project is on sale through Saturday.  (The music score from God Will Take Care of You used on the tag on the card front, and the ornament from Christmas Joy that I used on the inside are not included in the sale).    

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Thursday, October 29, 2026

A little Holly Jolly Christmas book

Hi y'all!

It's ragweed season, so when Patrick came home with a four-pack of Kleenex boxes that had a chipboard backing, I got the idea to make a little book cover to use for a "December Daily."  I haven't exactly figured out the book-binding part of it yet, so this is still somewhat of a work-in-progress, but the cover is done so I feel like I have a head start! 


This pad of paper has cute coordinating prints and quite a few pre-printed blocks, so it really made this project easy.  Of course, I was excited to use the Christmas plaid in keeping with my Scots heritage!  


Our "Holly Jolly" sentiment was what drove the rest of the choices for the front cover, and yes, I hope you're hearing Burl Ives in your music memory banks about now!  I chose a couple of sage green prints that looked like fabric to me for the inside and outside of those cute mittens, tucking a sprig of holly with clusters of jewel berries between them.


The overall dimensions are ~ 4.5 tall x 8.5 inches wide.  I didn't plan it, but Serendipity worked things out for me so that our Snowflakes border was the perfect fit for the spine of the book cover (a little more than ~ 1.5 inches).  That should hold plenty of pages!  The front itself is ~ 4.5 x 3.5 inches. 


And on the inside, the pre-printed blocks from the designer paper were the perfect size too!  Yay for everything all working out without a struggle, even if it wasn't so perfectly planned in advance!  I just LOVE it when that happens!    


Our Christmas Stockings and Mittens is the current product of the week through Saturday.

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Thursday, October 22, 2026

Sing to Him a New Song!

Hello friends!  

We have been enjoying a week of cooler weather here in northeast Florida and it has been SO nice!  The skies have been a nearly cloudless clear, crisp blue and the air has had that lovely golden Fall light.  


This week's Stamp Simply product of the week is another favorite!  I decided to make a Peek-a-Boo card using this set and papers from Carta Bella's A Wonderful Christmas.  


For the card front I made a side-folding card base (the traditional 5.5 x 8.5 scored at 4.25).  I measured the top and bottom an inch from the fold and then trimmed those to the half-point of the side so that the card front is a sort of triangular flap, making the corners of the inside visible from underneath.  I love designs like this that lend themselves to the use of coordinating prints of designer paper.  The layered sentiments echo the colors of the plaid.   The branches and bird from the stamp set really emphasize the shape of the card front. The white edges of the die-cut images and the bright red of the bird really pop against the black background.  

I used small and large circle dies to cut an opening through the designer paper/card front, then mounted the positives on the inside. Since the sentiment circle is mounted on dimensional adhesive squares it sits up through the opening and helps to serve as a "latch" to keep the card front closed.  

I added a snowflake/rhinestone and some thin cording for embellishments and gave everything a dusting of diluted white acrylic paint "snowflakes."  

Without the bow and rhinestone this would make an excellent "flat for mailing" design.  

I love the symbolism of the appearance of the cardinal, especially at Christmastime when we remember our loved ones who are no longer with us, so for some, this kind of card would hold even greater significance.  

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Thursday, October 15, 2026

Every Good Gift




I heard on the news earlier this week that 50% of America's land is farm land, so I don't suppose it is surprising that this paper made me think of fields and farmland and forests and the harvest.  I love looking down over the "patchwork quilt" of the earth when we fly...it never ceases to amaze me and overwhelm me with gratitude for the beauty and the bounty that surrounds us.  I don't ever want to take that for granted.  


Our farmhouse sentiment series is on sale this week, so it was obviously the perfect opportunity to put these papers and sentiments together for a paper-pieced landscape.  


I have made several similar cards in the past using colored card stock, white card stock with distress/oxide inks, or designer paper. Some were torn or cut freehand, others (as this one) cut with dies. It is fun to see how different they are even though the "anatomy" and layout of the card is essentially the same.

I had fun shuffling die-cut scraps of this two-sided designer paper, arranging them to maximize the contrast between the various greens, yellows and blues to create the illusion of hills and valleys on a sunny day. I included a bit of distressing along the edges to add emphasis.  It shows up better in person than through the camera lens...I may have to try it again on a stair step card just to achieve a more 3D effect. 


This is kinda what I was seeing in my mind's eye as I was creating my card, although this is in Scotland rather than here in America. This photo was taken at Ardalanish (a working farm and mill shop on the Isle of Mull) when we were there in 2024.  If you look really closely you can see the black sheep grazing way down in the valley!   


Here's the inside of the card, which with a little tweaking really would also entirely work as a card front if so desired!  

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Thursday, October 8, 2026

He's the Reason for the Season

 

Hi y'all!

I can hardly believe it is October already!  This week we celebrated our 42nd wedding anniversary on Tuesday, and then remembered my dad on his birthday (he would have been 101!) on Wednesday.  


I've been in full-on Fall mode, preparing for a broom-making class that's happening today (Thursday 10/8) at the Textiles Guild in St. Augustine (at the Lightner Museum).  We're making a turkey-wing whisk of natural broomcorn wrapped with nylon cording.  


Stamp Simply

But this week's Stamp Simply project is not for Fall.  It's for Christmas!  It uses one of our current Product of the Week sets, Jesus.  I love this set because it is filled with sentiments and verses that bring music and Bible studies to mind.  Lots of great memories of good times with special people.  


For the focal image I used one of the printed blocks from Carta Bella's A Wonderful Christmas paper pad, stamping two sentiments directly onto the designer paper.  There are several prints from that same paper pad in the background, with a strip of houses and a die-cut heart from more of the pad's coordinating prints.  It all goes so well together and makes designing so easy peasy.  


The inside is stamped with the verse from Isaiah that is well known from The Messiah Chorus.  I always end up singing it because I find it absolutely impossible to simply read it!  So there had to be that little music charm added to the bow on the front of the card.  ❤️
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Thursday, October 1, 2026

Tea Time Pocket Card

Hi friends!

I grew up in southwest Louisiana where coffee is king and tea is served iced and sweet but I have definitely, true to my Scots heritage, learned to embrace a nice cup of hot tea.  Taking time out to enjoy a cup can definitely bolster one's energy and mood...this little Tea Time Pocket Card serves as a cup of love and a reminder to take Life one cup at a time! 

Today's project features stamps and dies from Stamp Simply's Coffee (or tea?!) series which is the current Product of the Week through Saturday.  

This project has a 5.5 x 4.25 inch card base upon which is attached a 4.25 x 9 inch (scored at 3 and 6 inches) "z-fold" of card stock.  

The center section is a perfect spot for tucking a tea bag or sample into a tiny pocket.  For this project I used a combination of Stamp Simply Coffee or Tea designer paper along with a couple of two-sided sheets of Craft Consortium Grunge Light.  The colors worked together perfectly.  

If I'd had a sample of butterfly pea tea to enclose that would have been perfect but I didn't, so Mardi Gras blend black it was (from Plum Deluxe)!  It has black tea, cinnamon chips, vanilla/pecan essence, safflower, and blue Malta flowers, so it seemed fitting! Sounds so yummy! 


I used a strip of easy-tear scor-tape to adhere a strand of cord toward the bottom of the back section of the z-fold card stock before adhering the z-fold to the card base.  With a tea bag tucked into the pocket, the cord/ribbon helps hold everything in place when the card is closed.   

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Thursday, September 24, 2026

Gather Together

 

Hello friends!  It's officially Autumn now!  Today's card is a 5.5 inch square card using one of our Product of the Week sets, Seasonal Wreaths (Fall/Winter).


The Fall/Winter Seasonal Wreaths set includes the pumpkins shown here as well as some lovely poinsettias.  The Spring set includes two lovely spring bouquets.  There are some sentiments in both sets that can be used interchangeably.  


I colored these with Copic markers, then added tea-dye distress ink to the edges, and spatters of distress oxide inks and white acrylic paint.  The image, placed atop a sheet of Grunge Light designer paper, is framed with narrow strips of paper from Ink Drops Sunset. I just love all these warm and vibrant Fall colors.


Here's the inside, another sheet of Grunge Light with a sentiment stamped directly on the designer paper and more of the spattering of colors just as there is on the card front.   

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When we were up in upper Michigan last month, the leaves were just barely beginning to turn.  We had a wonderful time gathering with my husband's family, celebrating birthdays and simply enjoying our time together.  

We've been back home for a few weeks.  Even here in Florida there are a few trees whose colors are tinged with yellow and orange.  I find this time of year so inspiring...it makes me want to spin and knit all the things, make wreaths and brooms and baskets, and play with all the papers and stamps!  

Enjoy your week!  I'll look forward to seeing you again!    
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Thursday, September 17, 2026

Happy Birthday!

 

Hello friends!  Today is my husband's birthday!  I had a lot of fun making this card for him using this week's POTW from Stamp Simply.  

Patrick and I love going out for brunch on the weekend.  We have several favorite places that we alternate between, and one of them has the most delicious fresh squeezed orange juice, so I thought this was the perfect image/sentiment for his card.  


In his case, less is definitely more so I kept things really clean and simple using designer papers and splashes of distress oxide ink for some "Florida fresh" appeal for my main (only!) squeeze!  (At this point we have had many more birthdays together than not, and we will soon have another anniversary to celebrate!  ❤️)  


The inside has one of the punny sentiments from this set stamped at the bottom corner.  Couldn't resist splashing some juicy colors on the inside too.  

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Thursday, September 10, 2026

Fall Floral Bookmark Card


Hi y'all!  I'm here with a card made with a slight modification of Splitcoaststampers' bookmark card tutorial (I made my square 5.5 inches) using two of our current Product of the Week sets.  It was quick and easy and fun to make and I know that the intended recipient is gonna love it!    



Here's a look at the inside with the removable square bookmark still in place on the corner of the card front.  


Here you can see the bookmark in use.  Usually I use lots of dimensional adhesive on my cards but for this one the elements of the actual bookmark are all glued directly together to keep the layers from being bulky and marring the book when it's closed.  This particular book is one that belonged to Patrick's uncle so it is a beloved vintage, well on its way to becoming antique!
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