My Happy Stamping Place

Christmas Eve

This morning I heard my boys Sam, 9, and Nick, 11, up early - 7 am, talking in front of the Christmas tree filled with presents. Here is what I heard:

Sam:  The real reason for Christmas is Jesus' birthday

Nick:  I told my friends there are 3 reasons I'm excited for Christmas, 1) It's Jesus' birthday 2) We get to see family 3) We get presents.

It was kind of funny because I could just picture the drool they wiped off their chins as they leaned over the presents. 

Well, we are getting quite an accumulation of snow mixed with sleet here in the Twin Cities.  It's enough to make traveling difficult for the holidays.  My brother went to pick up my mom yesterday(she lives 2 hours away) so at least she's here and we'll get to spend Christmas with her.  I'm not so sure all of my brothers and sisters will make it though.  We were all going to be there this year for the first time in many years.  I have 9 brothers and sisters so it's no small feat to get us all together.  Well it is what it is and we'll make the best of it.  We're hosting my husband's side of the family today.  They're all local but that was even a little iffy.  I think we'll just need to make it an earlier celebration. 

I want to leave you with a beautiful card I received from my blogging friend, Rose Ann.  She gives such attention to detail.  I just LOVE it!

Have a very Merry Christmas! 

Owl and Friends

I love the look of something and it's miniature.  So when I saw the owl from Fox and Friends and the mini owl from Love Bandit, I knew I wanted to use them together!  Both stamp sets are from the new upcoming Occasions mini catalog coming out january 5.

Recipe:  Stamps:  Fox and Friends, Love Bandit, Birthday Greetings

Ink;  Chocolate Chip

Paper:  Sweet Pea designer paper(from the New Occasions mini catalog), Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Whisper White, Taken with Teal

Other:  1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, circle scallop punch, new heart border punch(you guessed it - in the new Occasions mini catalog!), large oval punch, mini library clip, stampin' dimensionals, lots of dots embossing folder(Occasions mini catalog)

I spent most of the morning wrapping presents.  Sadly, there were only 3 presents to wrap for my husband's side of the family. The rest of them will get gift cards.  I find gift cards no fun to give but very fun to get!  Are ya with me?  I"ll have to at least make some fun gift card holders to give them in.  I gotta put my own personal touch on them!  I hope your planning and prep for the holidays is going well!

 

A Little Sneak Peek!

How's your holiday planning going?  I've got the last presents, the tough-I-don't-know-what-to-get-them-presents left.  I finally had the kids wrap their presents for each other and put them under the tree.  My boys were so anxious to have presents to poke and prod and guess what they are.  I did a bang up job disguising them though, he he he.  They wont be able to figure them out!

I took a little break from the holiday planning to play with some new stuff from the upcoming Occasions mini catalog.  This catalog starts at the same time as Sale-a-bration, January 5.  There's so many great things in this mini!  You're going to LOVE it! 

This card is made with a set called, Love Bandit.  It was love at first sight when I saw this set!  The critters are so cute and tiny. 

Recipe:  Stamps:  Love Bandit, words are from Something Sweet

Ink:  Old Olive, Chocolate Chip,Basic Black, Summer Sun, Certainly Celery

Paper:  Chocolate Chip, Sweet Pea designer paper, Bashful Blue, Certainly Celery, Bermuda Bay,Summer Sun, Whisper White

Other:  Boho Blossom punch, 3/4" circle punch, stampin' sponge, large oval punch, oval scallop punch, stampin' dimensionals

I hope to have more samples for you over the coming weeks.  Good luck with your holiday planning!

Hot Cocoa Snowmen

I saw the idea for these cute little snowmen on Lauren's blog.  She even provides the hot chocolate recipe which is yummy!  Here's my version:

I had all of the ingredients on hand to make these outside of the hot cocoa ingredients.  It was fun digging through my stash of things to create these.  I had picked up this corduroy fabric awhile back to use with my Sizzix Big Shot dies and it just happened to match the designer paper in the Holiday Lounge paper pack.  The "snaps" are the small grommets from Stampin' Up!  I drew the mouth and eyebrows in with a black sharpie marker.  So fun! 

I will be selling these at my Holiday Open House tomorrow.  It's at my house from 1:00-4:00.  If you are local to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and would like to stop by contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com or 952-226-2190 for directions to my house.

12 Days of Holiday Sales from Stampin' Up!!!

12 Days of Holiday Sales

Dates: December 11-22, 2009

 

You can go to my online ordering website, http://kathleenstampinup.net, and click on the shop now button to see actual pictures of all of these products or if you have a catalog you can check the page numbers.

 

If you order by December 15, you should still get delivery before Christmas.

Product Offering:

Item	Page #	Description	Regular Price	Discounted Price
114515	195	Flower Burst Embosslits die	$11.95	$8.96
114516	195	Cherry Blossom Embosslits die	$11.95	$8.96
115957	195	Thanks Embosslits die	$11.95	$8.96
114513	195	Sweetest Stem Embosslits die	$11.95	$8.96
115952	195	Hi Embosslits die	$11.95	$8.96
115951	197	Timeless Type Junior Alphabet Medium Sizzlits die	$74.95	$59.96
113446	197	Build a Flower #2 Set Sizzlits 4-Pack die	$19.95	$16.96
114509	197	Big Bold Cupcakes Sizzlits 4-Pack die	$21.95	$18.66
113448	197	Hearts Set Sizzlits 4-Pack die	$19.95	$16.96
113457	198	Tulipe Bigz die	$21.95	$16.46
115954	198	Two Tags Bigz die	$21.95	$18.66
114524	199	Fringed Flower Bigz die	$19.95	$15.96
114523	199	Decorative Accents Bigz die	$19.95	$15.96
114534	199	Flower Bigz Clear die	$19.95	$15.96
113473	199	5-Point 3D Star Bigz die	$19.95	$16.96
113472	199	Circle 3D Ornament Bigz die	$19.95	$16.96
113470	199	Flower Layers w/Leaf Bigz die	$19.95	$16.96
113465	199	Bird w/Leaves and Flower Bigz die	$19.95	$16.96
115961	200	Perfect Setting Bigz XL die	$42.95	$32.21
113483	200	Pennant Bigz XL die	$39.95	$29.96
113484	200	Baskets & Blooms Bigz XL die	$39.95	$31.96
116760	201	Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die	$39.95	$29.96
116759	201	Pop-Up 3D Ball Bigz XL die	$39.95	$29.96
114890	201	Matchbox Bigz XL die	$42.95	$36.51
113458	202	Flower Layers Originals die	$15.95	$13.56
114336	158	Kraft Décor Elements sheets 12" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$10.36
114334	158	Dark Gray Décor Elements sheets 12" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$10.36
114337	158	Chocolate Décor Elements sheets 12" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$10.36
114335	158	White Décor Elements sheets 12" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$10.36
118797	n/a	So Saffron Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118798	n/a	Rose Red Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118799	n/a	Taken With Teal Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118800	n/a	Pretty In Pink Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118801	n/a	Bashful Blue Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118802	n/a	Real Red Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118803	n/a	Old Olive Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118804	n/a	Black Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118805	n/a	Night of Navy Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118806	n/a	Certainly Celery Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118807	n/a	Tempting Turquoise Décor Elements Sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118808	n/a	Clear Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118809	n/a	Pumpkin Pie Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118810	n/a	Pixie Pink Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118812	n/a	Sahara Sand Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118813	n/a	Gable Green Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118814	n/a	Basic Gray Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$12.95	$9.71
118815	n/a	Chalkboard Décor Elements sheets 15" x 24" (2)	$14.95	$11.21

 

You can place your order online or contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com or 952-226-2190 to place your order for you. 

Birthday Chefs

Last week my daughter went to a birthday party for 3 of her guy friends.  Two of them are twins and the other one is a friend with a birthday close by.  They have been over to our house and enjoyed playing the Wii game, Cooking Mama.  Pretty funny watching 16 year old guys playing Cooking Mama but I guess it's really fun.  Rebecca decided she wanted to give them this game for their birthdays.  She loves to coordinate the birthday card with the present so she immediately thought of my Voila stamp set.  We paper pieced the chef in designer paper with their favorite colors.  We made them into Easel cards so they could be propped up too.  These were so fun to make!

I'm busy getting the make-n-takes ready for my open house and stamping some hand-stamped gifts for purchase too.  It's busy work but it's so much fun!  Just playing with my toys!  I got my pre-order from the upcoming Occasions mini catalog and Sale-a-bration catalog.  Getting new stamping toys never gets old! I can't wait to start stamping with those.  Hopefully soon!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

Holiday Open House

I'm hosting a Holiday Open House on Saturday, Dec.12!

Time:  1:00-4:00

There will be make-n-takes, demonstrations with the sizzix, door prizes,  hand-stamped cards and gifts for sale, lots of ideas on display for cards, tags, gifts, gift packaging, and scrapbooking, gift certificates,  and buying opportunities for the holidays. 

If you are local to the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and would like to come, you can RSVP to Kathleen at krhopperstad@juno.com or by phone at 952-226-2190.

These are my RSVP gifts to anyone who RSVP's by Thursday, Dec.10.

I got the idea from Stacy's blog.  She used full-sized Hershey bars.  I scaled mine down to fit the mini kit kat bars.  

Supplies:  Close to Cocoa cardstock

   Chocolate Chip cardstock

    Real Red cardstock

  Whisper White cardstock

Basic Black cardstock

  Snowflake punch

   1/2" circle punch

   1/4" circle punch

   oval scallop punch

   3/4" circle punch

  Chunky Essentials red glitter

   Versamark

  Heat 'n Stick powder

   Mini glue dots

Instructions: 

Cut close to cocoa cardstock at 4 1/4 x 3 inches.  Along the long side score at 1" 1 3/8", 2 5/8", and 3.  Tape the ends of the kit kat wrapper down.  Punch out two snowflakes from chocolate chip cardstock.  Trim off two of the branches of the snowflake and attach the snowflake ends with glue dots to inside of close to cocoa cardstock.  Fold the close to cocoa cardstock along the score lines and wrap around the kit kat bar adhering one end down.

Punch out two 1/2" whisper white cardstock, two 1/4" circle basic black cardstock and one close to cocoa cardstock with 1/2" circle punch.  Cut the close to cocoa cardstock in half to form eyelids.  Sponge with chocolate chip ink.  Attach basic black circle to whisper white with mini glue dots.  Attach the eyelid over so it overlaps slightly with the basic black circle.  Attach to front of candy bar wrapper with mini glue dots.

Punch out the top of the oval scallop in kraft cardstock.  Sponge with chocolate chip ink and glue to top of candy bar wrapper. 

Punch out 3/4" circle punch in Real Red cardstock.   Dab the circle in versamark and pour heat 'n stick powder over it.  Pour off the excess and heat with embossing gun just until it starts to get shiny.  It only takes a few seconds.  Important!  Don't overheat or the heat 'n stick wont stay sticky.  Pour the chunky essentials red glitter over the top of the embossed circle and press the glitter in with your finger.  Pour off the excess and heat for a few more seconds to seal it.  Attach the glittered circle to the candy bar wrapper with a stampin' dimensional.

Pretty easy!

 

Fancy Favor Boxes

I got myself a new Stampin' Up! Sizzix die, the Fancy Favor box.  I have to say, this may be my favorite one yet!  Here are a few boxes made with the die.

This box was made based on a group of projects in the November Stampin' Success, a demonstrator monthly magazine.  We made this is my stamp club this month. 

Recipe:  Stamps:  Cold and Cuddly

Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Summer Sun

Paper: Kraft, Real Red, Whisper White, Merry Moments designer paper

Other:  1 3/8" circle punch, circle scallop punch, narrow chocolate chip grosgrain ribbon, silver cord

Next up is a box that was based on this card by Melissa

I wheeled the background with the Sassy Sparkles jumbo wheel from Holiday mini on Kraft cardstock with Not Quite Navy ink.  The scene is made by stamping the snowflakes from the Christmas punch stamp set on Not Quite Navy cardstock with white craft ink.  The iceberg is stamped in Not Quite Navy  on Whisper White cardstock and cut out.  The penguin is stamped in basic black ink on whisper white and cut out.  The hat is stamped with old olive and cut out.  The Real Red polka dot ribbon is wrapped around the box to finish it off.  I love this color combo!

Last up is the same box but with the sides cynched in on the score lines that are already built into the box.

I wheeled the Sparkle and Shine jumbo wheel with Real Red ink on Kraft cardstock(I guess I was on a Kraft cardstock tear).  I punched two holes in the front with my crop-a-dile and threaded the ribbon through like a faux bow.  The tag is stamped with the Holiday Best, Level 1 hostess stamp set in Old Olive.  I removed the ink from the cardinal with a blender pen and colored it in with the Real Red marker and then stamped.  It is punched out with the 1 3/4" circle punch and backed with the circle scallop from the pennants die.  It is dangling from the ribbon with linen thread.

If you love this fancy favor box as much as I do then you can order it up from my online ordering site or contact me at krhopperstad@juno.com.

Happy stamping!
 
 

Rudolph

I have another punch art project for you cuz I just can't get enough of it!  This is a Rudolph treat holder using the Sweet treat cups from the Holiday mini catalog from Stampin' Up!.

His head is made with the Oval Scallop Sizzix die cut.  You just use the middle piece.  You put the 1 3/4" circle punch all of the way in from the bottom of the oval and punch for the sweet treat holder.  The eyes are made with 2 white circles punched from the 1" circle punch.  The eyelids are the 1" punch cut in half.  The eyes are Bermuda Bay with the 3/4" circle punch and the 1/2" circle punch in Basic Black.  Sponge the outside of his head and the eyelids with chocolate chip ink.  The antlers are 2 of the snowflake punched in chocolate chip.  You trim off two of the snowflake arms.  I put glue dots around the front rim of the treat holder and attached inside the hole of this nose.  I then placed the treats in, peeled off the back adhesive and put a slit punch in the top of the largest circle from the circles#2 sizzix die cut and adhered that down for the treats.  Just put a glimmer in his eyes with the white uniball gel pen and you're done. Pretty easy!

Thanks for stopping by today!
 

Holiday Gift card holder

Who couldn't use gift card holders at this time of year?  I really like the simple design of this one.

You punch the front with the Word Window punch to make a slot for your gift card to go in.  Then on the place designer paper over the front.  The trick is you just adhere the four sides - no adhesive in the middle or your gift card wont go in!  Here's a pic of the inside:

Recipe:  Stamps: Punch Pals

Ink:  Jet Black Stazon, Real Red, Old Olive, Summer Sun, Sahara Sand, Black watercolor crayon to color in the hat.

Paper:  Soft Suede, Whisper White, Real Red, Christmas Cocoa designer paper from the holiday mini catalog.

Other:  1 3/4" circle punch, scallop circle from the pennants Sizzix die, word window punch, modern label punch, velcro, dazzling diamonds glitter, 2-way glue pen, stampin' dimensionals.

I hope you have fun making these gift card holders!  Thanks for stopping by.