A little Vintage Christmas...

Winter Post was by far my favorite stamp set last year, and I still love it this year - but for some reason I draw a blank when I try and figure out what to do with it. So, I kinda copied my card from last year, and just revamped it a bit....


I really like this image of the skaters. It's so nostalgic! I used to ice skate a lot, and loved it. Dorothy Hammill was my idol! While I never mastered much for spins or jumps - it was a great winter hobby. I even recall one VERY icy winter, we had a "pond" in our driveway, so I was able to ice skate in the driveway!!!


Overall, I like this card. I added the snowflake this year - which I layered - a Ruby Red snowflake underneath one that was punched out of the newsprint paper that comes in the Night & Day Specialty DSP. The image of the skaters was cut out with a Nestabilities die. I really roughed up the edges of the kraft postcard portion with the distressing tool on the Cutter Kit from Stampin' Up! I wanted it to look like it had been sent thru the ringer and was aged. And I really {heart} the twill ribbon - it's very, should I say, cooperative??? It just seems to lay well, to tie well, I can get a practically perfect knot - I think anybody can get a great knot with this ribbon!!! (Don't worry Stamp Club girls - I'll continue to tie knots for you!!!)

Okay - that's all for now! Do you want more tomorrow? Oh, of course you do - my wish is at your command!!!

Thanks for stopping!

Jen

The Black Friday/Cyber Monday winner is.....

.....drumroll please!!! Karen Lantz!!!! Congrats Karen! I will send you your $50 Gift Certificate via email!

Now, onto today's regularly (err...irregularly) scheduled program! Today's card is actually a CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) card from Kristina Werner's blog. I hadn't looked at her blog for a long time, so after checking it out, I decided to try and recreate her card.

I used some of that fancy flocked paper from the Christmas Cocoa DSP collection. It might remind you of some old wallpaper - but I think it's pretty stinkin' nifty! Used my white gel pen to go around the outside of the DSP with some faux stitching!!! I stamped the Season's Greetings on vellum cardstock with versamark and then heat embossed it with white ep. I was surprised at how well the vellum reacted to the heat tool. (I was envisioning smoke and fire!) Punched out the snowflake image, added a button. Easy peasy!!!

Cute - eh?

More tomorrow - I know! FOR REAL!!!!

Jen!

Retro? Noel...

I know you all have been patiently waiting for some new things on here - fear not my fellow blog readers....I've got a lot to show you this week! While I've been working away in my stamp room, most of my creations have been given away or going to Splurge! in Denison to be sold. I've forgotten to take pictures of most of the items (ugh!) However, I did break out my camera and start snapping photos of my most recent items. Here is one that came together, somewhat by accident - I was at a total loss when this one started, but in the end....I think it's pretty stinkin' cute!

I used the Holiday Lounge paper - and I stared at it for quite a while, wondering what to do with it. I looked over my stamp collection, and thought that the Big on Christmas set would work well. So, I stamped the image, and held it up to the paper. Stared at it some more. Then decided what colors to use, and colored the Noel image with my markers (Ruby Red and Taken w/ Teal). I looked at it all some more...thinking...hmmmm...where is this going to take me? Glitter - yep, glitter - I {heart} glitter! (I know you secretly do too Karen! Especially on paisleys!) So, I added some glitter to the ornament image, decided that I needed to pull in some more of the red, so punched the scallop border. I turned the Noel image into a tag, rounded the corners and punched a slot in it....it was a good decision! The card was still missing something....so, I pulled out the Jolly Wheel - and that seemed to do the trick! There you have it!

Alright peeps - that's all for today....I do have something for you tomorrow tho, I PROMISE!!!!

Jen!

Holiday Extravaganza!!!

You do NOT want to miss this sale! Stampin' Up! is offering tons of great products at up to 50% off now thru November 30th! And, I'm going to sweeten the deal for you! If you place an order between now and November 30th via my website or email, I will put your name in a drawing for the Patterned Pines stamp set (Holiday Mini Hostess set) and a package of Christmas Cocoa DSP, and a spool of Soft Suede Polka Dot ribbon! So, go to my website: http://jenarkfeld.stampinup.net/, and click on the SHOP NOW icon in the upper right corner and get your hands on some great deals!!!

Tin-sel!!!

Okay - I completely apologize for my absense! Geez, I log in here today, and see that this post was initially started on November 8th, and here I am 12 days later, finally with an opportunity to finish it. I recall when I started this post, I was falling asleep while I was typing, so, I gave it up....since then tho, I've had 2 Stamp Club meetings to prep for, my Christmas Stamp-A-Stack, Alex's birthday party, and now, I've done up several creations for a new gift shop that's opening in Denison, IA. I'm excited to be a part of that, the bad thing, I created, and created until I ran out of Snail! Eek, now I need to prep for Scrapbook club, and am hoping I can scrounge up some adhesive! Ok, well, here is the post that I initially had started......



Well, howdy all! I've got one of my favorite projects to show you today. I know that a lot of people ask for gift cards for the holidays, and it's probably the most popular gift to give and to receive. Yet, I always think - HOW BORING!!!! Well, not anymore. You just need to find some ways to jazz up that gift - and here's a nifty way:








This is a tin that Stampin' Up! Accents and Elements come in. You can also purchase these empty tins on my website, by clicking on the Shop Now icon in the upper right corner, then look for them on the clearance rack. Once they are gone, they are gone!




These are quite simple to make. I simply used rub-ons on the tin itself (last year my stamp club made these, except we heat embossed snowflakes on the tin - which was awesome!), made a cover from the Top Note die. That easily slips off to open the tin, and viola!

These were all made with retired paper and rub-ons, except for the rub-on on this ornament.

Isn't it more fun to give a gift card when your presentation is awesome??? I know the recipient really enjoys opening these.

FYI - these will be for sale at Chris Pridie's Gift Shop in Denison. Along with some for birthdays....too cha-cha for words (if I do say so myself!)

That's all for today peeps!

Jen

Gifts for giving...

Here's a nifty gift packaging idea - and *gasp* this one is NOT a Christmas project....I know, I know, I'm off the Christmas bandwagon for a day, maybe two. (I've also got Alex's birthday invites to concoct - well really just finish up - the plan has been formulated already) Then I'll be hopping right back on that Christmas wagon....I even about put some Christmas music on the other day. I couldn't stop signing - something I can't remember now, but I was in the mood for Christmas music! (I know Sandy, there is nothing wrong with listening to Christmas music all year round!!! )

Okay, back to our regularly irregular scheduled program....this gift package. Well, I got these coffee bags from Papertrey Ink, and needed a little something for my sister's birthday, whom I typically give money to, and then we go shopping, but I wanted a little extra "thing". So, I crafted up this coffee bag and filled it with some caramel corn (which has a story of it's own).

This was quite easy. It came with a window, so I traced the window onto some vellum cardstock, so I would know where to cut the window in my paper. Layered some paper up, stamped a could of images from the SU Circle Circus set (say that 5 times real fast!), and viola! Done. The bags are even lined so that they are food safe.

Hey - and just to toot my own horn. My post with the Cocoa jar in it (below) is going to be featured on the Yahoo Group - Stampin' Up! Late Night Stampers. Such an honor...I'm a bit in shock! So - picture it, I'm doing a little dance, buda belly and all!

Alright people - that's it for now....off to work on Alex's B-day invites!

Here is another simply, quick, inexpensive little Christmas project:

I purchased a glass jar from Wal-Mart, filled it with cocoa mix, and a cellophane bag full of marshmellows. Of course I decorated it first. Really quick and easy - just rubbed on some snowflake rub-ons in silver, tied a ribbon on the neck, then added the cute little tag. I punched the red snowflake, then added a bit of Platinum Shimmer paint to the edges. Glued it and the button to the tag with mini glue dots. The back of the tag has the directions written on it for the cocoa preparation. I did see in our grocery stores that there are some yummy flavored cocoa mixes out there. I haven't personally tried them - but they did sound good.

I think this is a great gift for teachers, grandparents that already have everything, secret santa gifts, etc.

That's it for today folks!!!

Halloween over, Christmas countdown begins!

So, now that Halloween is over, the Christmas rush shall begin. In my vow to not let the Christmas Chaos beckon my inner Scrooge, I'm starting on my Christmas projects and shopping earlier than normal. And since my dearest husband may still be combining thru December due to our wetter than normal fall, I may have to do most of the gift shopping myself. Normally Andy and I take a day and get all of our shopping done. We have a great day of shopping and a nice lunch out - I think both of us usually look forward to it. That may not happen this year..... So, here's a nifty little gift bad that I've already whipped up:


I know, I know - it's adorable isn't it??? I got the template from Papertrey Ink, and ran with it. It's a pretty good sized bag - the front and back take up an entire 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper (including the bottom and sides). I used Kraft paper as the base, then covered it with DSP from Merry Moments. The ribbon crazed person that I am actually broke out the twill tape to use in leiu of ribbon. *gasp* I actually love the look it gives here. The tree is from the Patterned Pines Hostess Set from Stampin' Up, and I punched it out with the Wide Oval punch. The scalloped oval is from my Nestabilities die set - which works well with the Big Shot! I think the Big Shot was probably my best purchase over the last year. I like the fact that you can cut and emboss with it, and it works with other dies - they do not have to be SU dies.


Here is a close up - isn't it stinkin' cute??? I just love those trees.

Happy Halloween!!!

Hope you all have a spooky fun day! Halloween is one of my favorites - it's just all about good fun, and the kids love it. Wanted to show you the treat bags that I made for my neice, nephew and sisters....


These were super simple - just a brown lunch bag covered front and back with paper and punched a couple of handles in them. In fact, there is absolutely no stamping whatsoever on these. I used rub-ons for the images - they coordinate well with the paper I thought.

It was a good quick project, and I could cram a lot of candy in the bag too!

I told you that I would post a couple of photos of my boys in their costumes:

This was my cowboy creation. I didn't have a pattern to go off of - so I just decided to wing it. I patted myself on the back a whole bunch. I think they turned out really cute, and I think the boys really liked them. Will commented to me that I was doing a nice job. I put a big red star on the back of Will's vest, and Alex had some additional "fringe" on the back of his.

Here they were shoving their mouths full of gummy snacks. Alex (on right) likes to put as much in his mouth as he can and try to chew it all up. He could have been a cowboy!

And last photo - with their Aunt Mallory as Peter Pan....too cute!

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Twick or Tweet

I know you guys are all ready to see some new things on here. I've been super busy creating Halloween costumes, Halloween treats, taking care of a sick kid, blah, blah, blah!!! So, here's something new for you to see.....


These are the treats that Will took to his preschool class for their Halloween party. I "stole" this idea out of the Stampin' Success magazine that Stampin' Up! Demonstrators get every month. And while I only needed to make 10 of them, I wanted something easy this year. These definately fit the bill. They are simply cardstock and ribbon. The ribbon and lots of adhesive hold the pixie sticks and pencils to the paper. Easy, easy peasy!

I will post pictures of the Halloween costumes tomorrow. I have to say - Will wanted to be a cowboy really bad - and I saw a picture of a Cowboy costume in a catalog - but it was $50!!! So, without a pattern, I looked at the photo and came up with my own cowboy costumes for both boys. Once Will got his cowboy hat, Alex also had to have one. SO, instead of the Indian that I wanted him to be, he's just going to be "Bobby". Which is what he calls himself as soon as he puts on his cowboy hat. (We have a friend, Bobby, who always wears a cowboy hat, and he must have made quite the impression on Alex. Some of you know exactly who I'm talking about!) So, check me out tomorrow for my Halloween creations!

3rd Annual Christmas Stamp-A-Stack!!!

Handmade cards are much more meaningful than those storebought versions. It shows the recipient that you took the time to create something just for them, and that they were special enough to receive one of your creations.

On November 10th, I will be hosting the 1st Stamp-a-stack of the season. What is a stamp-a-stack??? In short, it's a stack of 10 unstamped, unassembled cards. Everything is measured, cut and scored for you - you just show up, stamp and assemble. Simple as that. You simply need to pick a card from the 6 options below - and if you want, you will have time to complete 2 stacks (20 cards) if you just can't decide!!! All supplies are included, just bring yourself.

When: Tuesday, November 10th; 5:30pm

Where: Denison Municipal Utilities Bldg.

Fee: $20/stack (Stamp Club Members take $5 off)

Option 1: Medallion Merry Christmas

Option 2: Happy Holidays Snowman

Option 3: Season's Greetings Photo Holder

Option 4: Blue Ornament

Option 5: Season's Greetings

Option 6: Pine Cone Christmas

To sign up, simply send me an email, and I will get you my address to send a check for your fee. Deadline to sign up is November 1st. Sign up early - space is limited.

Jen

More Snowbuddies...

I swear, I can't get enough of these adorable little Snowbuddies. I {heart} this set! These little snowmen are so Stinkin' cute, I could just eat them up! I used my favorite coloring medium to color them in a bit - Watercolor Crayons. You just need add a little grayish blue for some shadowing, and then color in the hat and scarf. The hat does come as a seperate stamp - so a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig is necessary. There is another hat too, some ice skates, lots of snowflakes, blah, blah, blah - it's all too cha-cha for words!


I will tell you that the entire card was CASE'd from this card
of Becky Oehlers. I loved her original so much, that I even had to find some paper that matched. The background snowflakes were taken from a retired stamp set.

In the end, I really love this card - it's got some great whimsy to it!

Thanks for stopping by today - more tomorrow!

Beware of SNOW!

No, it's not snowing again in Iowa - but it is Iowa, I think it could happen again anyday now. It is snowing in my stamp room however! I saw this idea on another blog, and just had to give it a try. I love the snow effect of the glitter on the vellum, but the rest of the card needs some work. I wanted to try my watercolor crayons on dark colored cardstock (Not Quite Navy) just to see how it would work - you know, as opposed to stamping them on white and cutting them out. In the end, it might be just as easy to cut out the snowmen and adhere them to the card....always, always, lessons learned. And, as my good customer, Bonnie, would say - "just room for embellishments!"

Anyway, the overall look of the card is fine. The snowflakes were stamped using the Frost White Shimmer Paint, and I love that stuff. Next time I will cut the vellum, then stamp my snowmen, instead of the way I did it. I stamped the snowmen first, then cut my vellum......am I pointing out too many wrongs???? Maybe, but, if you want to duplicate this, I just want you to be informed!!!!

FYI - I DO love these cute little Snowbuddies. They are whimsical, and just so cute! And, I do just LOVE the snow drifts out of vellum....Stamp Clubbers - look for this in you near future - of course with some improvements!

Okay - that is for today....it's Mom's night at Preschool tonight - so Will and I have a hot little date!!

See you tomorrow!

Did Elvis sing Blue Christmas???

I'm on a kick here with Blue Christmas cards. I have to admit, I'm really missing Baja Breeze from last year, and Riding Hood Red too.....So, Not Quite Navy is going to have to fill some big shoes...I think I'll survive.

The inspiration for this card comes from one of my favorite paper crafters - Heather Nichols of Pine is Here. She does really great work, and I love her style. I adapted this one, and I think it's okay, but I'm not quite sure. I feel like it needs something yet.

The care is quite quick and simple. I stamped the snowflakes in Whisper White on Not Quite Navy, wrapped some Taffeta Ribbon around the card, stamped and punched the Joy Ornament, added some glitter with a 2 way glue pen, then - believe it or not, I tied a BOW - not a knot - but an actual bow!!! and attached it with a glue dot to the top of the ornament.

That's all today folks!

Enjoy!

Wishing you a White Christmas!

Hello again! You may remember a card I did a while back with a chocolate glitter tree, found in this post, and I thought at the time that it might make a really neat frosted tree, so I finally gave it a shot. I really wish I had a stamp that said, "May all your Christmas' be white...". It would be perfect I think!

I really do like the way it turned out. I added a hint of Old Olive to the border to give it a tinge of color. But, it's barely noticable. That's fine with me.

What do you think? Is it Christmasy enough??? I can't decide. Leave a comment and let me know...

Thanks!

Jen

Light up my day!

So, anyone notice the new blog banner up above? It's one of the MANY, MANY, MANY things you can do with Stampin' Up's new My Digital Studio. You don't have to scrapbook to want this amazing software. There are SO many things that you can do with the program! You can make DVD's and even set them to music, you can make Calendars (great Christmas gifts for those hard to buy for people!), you can embellish your blog (!), make photo books, cards, stationary, and well, of course scrapbook pages. Plus, you can edit your photos, much like Photoshop, but easier! It's very impressive, and the price isn't out of line either. There are tons of fonts included, over 30 stamp sets, lots of embellishments, like buttons, brads, ribbon, stitching, staples, die cut stickers. It also includes a bunch of Designer Series Paper, Card Stock colors, ink colors (which you can "stamp off", or change to opacity of - you can do that with the paper too!). I'm telling you, Stampin' Up! thought of everything when they developed this software. I don't know of anything they could have added to make it better. Oh, and periodically they will (and have already) release additional digital downloads for you to add. These are extremely reasonable pricewise. Want to know more? Email me, and I'll send you some info.

Now, onto our regularly scheduled program:

My Stamp Club members are making this really cool luminary this month:


I got the idea from the Stampin' Success magazine that Stampin' Up! Demonstrators receive. There was a Halloween example in there. I don't necessarily decorate for Halloween, so I adapted this for Fall, and also did a Winter example with snowflakes. These are quite simple to make - a little time consuming cutting out all of the pumpkins, leaves and gourds, but that was fine by me, as I was happy with the results in the end. The vellum inserts are stamped with White Craft Ink and really show up once you light a candle inside.

My Denison Stamp Club discussed making these larger. I hope someone creates one, because I think they would be really neat - especially clustered on a table together with different sizes!

Well, that's it for today, but don't fret - I'll be back tomorrow with more!

Jen

Bright and Happy Snow Buddy!

I told you I'd be back with another card - See what happens when I start feeling better? It all comes back to me....I knew all this creativity was still pent up inside - it was just a matter of my body and my mind working together again.... Funny what a bunch of hormones will do to a woman! UGH!

So, I saw this layout on Nichole Heady's blog, and had to "steal" it - or CASE it (Copy And Share Everything). I'd been struggling with working with the bright colors of the Holiday Lounge DSP, but I think this little Snow Guy just screams for brightness - he's just a merry looking snowman, isn't he?


I hope you can see that I embossed the Real Red piece to add some texture. Otherwise this was super simple. I colored the Snow Buddy with my Watercolor Crayons (really my favorite coloring mediums).

Add a few strings of silver elastic cord, and voila - card done! Easy peasy!

And, believe it or not - come back tomorrow for yet another edition of my creative, do I say genius....no, I'm not that full of myself - just my creative side....

Thanks for stopping by!

Jen

Hold on to your hats....

....don't fall off your seat! I'm back! Things are looking up here in my little stamping world. Now that I'm feeling better, the inspiration has come back to me. The only thing that drags me down is the fact that my clothes are beginning to fit a little tight - kinda makes the chocolate and stamping not go hand and hand. The really bad thing is that I lent out all of my maternity clothes, so I'm left with workout pants to wear - IF I want to be comfortable.

Anyway - I created 4 - that's right FOUR - cards today. Granted, they are all the exact same card, but each with a twist. That's where I need YOUR help. Leave me a comment and let me know which one of the 4 you like the best....I'd love to hear your opinions!

So, I started with these two cards:


they are the same - with one minor difference. The card that is laying flat, the medallion is stamped using the Frost White Shimmer Paint (found in the Stampin' Up Holiday Mini Catalog). The card that is standing is heat embossed using Irredescent Ice EP. Here is a close up of the Irredescent Ice card:



And here is a close up with the Frost White Shimmer Paint:



Now, again - the same card, except this time I used the flourish from the Baroque Motifs set, the one standing up is heat embossed with Irridescent Ice, and the one laying flat is Frost White Shimmer paint:


And a close up the Irridescent Ice:

And now the Frost White Shimmer Paint:

The buttons used were from the Playground Designer Buttons Set and the ribbon in the bundled ribbon that can be found in the mini.

So, tell me - which one do you like best???

And, since I've been inspired lately - be sure to check back again tomorrow - I've got yet another creation to show you!!! Impressed, aren't you????

Thanks -

Jen