Buy Yourself a Christmas Gift!

Here is a little preview to an amazing story I have to tell you!! Last night I met, and crafted with Amy Sedaris! I swear it was the coolest thing ever; and I am as giddy as a schoolgirl over it! I need to upload the pictures; and come down off my star-struck high... but meanwhile... BUY AMY'S BOOK! It is super funny, and you will not regret it. Use this link HERE so my good friends at Splitcoaststampers will benefit from your purchase. If you require further convincing, please watch the following video...

Thanksgiving Favor

This is a little item I will be making for a Thanksgiving table favor... Inside is a Hershey's nugget!

I busted out some old supplies for this; Small script (retired hostess set from last year), and my Petal Point Chalk inks; which were perfect for sponging the punched leaves with a touch of color. I embossed "Grateful" in gold, and used my standard sized Tag punch to form the "tent". A scrap of hemp and a tiny button hold it together... I used my Snail Adhesive to affix the tent to the Nugget. Cute right? They are also fast and easy to make!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Wow! A BIG thanks!

A BIG bunch of you must have visited my Lens! I am now rated 113 out of over 55,000 total Lenses on Squidoo! I think that is amazing! THANK YOU to all of you who visited my Lens on Stamping and then took the time to register and rate my Lens! It really means a lot to me! While my lenses are profit generating; a percentage of the funds earned from the google ads on the lenses will be automatically donated to charities I have selected. Right now my charities of choice are Room to Read and Kiva. They are both wonderful charities, and I am so thrilled to be able to support them in a very small way. If you are an expert on a subject; or have something to share; consider making a Lens of your own... it's been a lot of fun!

Here is another Lens those of you who plan to shop the day after Thanksgiving may find useful... Black Friday. I put tons of links to sale lists for all the big stores... Enjoy!

A Lens on Stamping

I want all my subscribers to have access to the best stamping information out there... that is why I created a Lens on stamping. A Lens is like a mini window into a subject. My lens features lists of my favorite blogs, Stamping websites, books, tools and CURRENT submission guidelines for all your favorite magazines. It also displays an RSS feed of my blog.

Visiting my Lens also helps to support my blogging. To help; please give my lens a high rating when you visit.

I would also love to know what sites I need to add to my Lens to make it the best it can be!

Thanks for your support!

Cutsie Christmas Clip!

Who wouldn't love this little clip! Use it to affix a gift tag to a ribbon... or place a magnet on the back and hang a note for Santa on your fridge!

Easy to make: I found the striped paperclips at an office supply store...BUT you could use a red sharpie to add striped to a white jumbo paper clip. The head is just a clear glass fishtank bauble. I stamped the face with classic ink on Whisper White Stampin' Up! Card Stock, then punched it out with my !/2 inch round punch. The circle is then glued to the bauble using Crystal Effects. The clip is also glued on with Crystal Effects. A little red Grosgrain ribbon scrap completes the look!

It's easy to make a bunch of these little sweeties! Enjoy!

A Card for Fall

Here is a fall card for you! It features a very cool technique called Paper Suedeing. I used a crimper to quicken the process… just place the paper in and crimp, then turn the paper a ¼ turn and crimp again. Continue to do this until the layers start to separate. If you do not own a crimper then just scrunch, smash and crinkle your card stock until the layers start to pull apart. Pull and separate the layers slowly. You will get two sueded papers each time! Show the fuzzy side on your card.


This technique only works with high quality card stocks like those from Stampin’ Up! Our paper is also dyed throughout the layers…so there is no white core. This is necessary for this project.

Swaps for Bloggers!

I have just started a new swap for bloggers on Splitcoaststampers! You can take a look HERE. I will brag, and add that Michelle Laycock is participating! She is the Queen of the blogs..and her blog Ink Artist is very informative and inspiring! If you are a blogger too I hope you will consider participating!

The Chicagoland Craft Collective

I organize a group on Meetup.com called the Chicagoland Craft Collective... it's a great deal of fun; and I have met some wonderful people. I wanted to share our last Craft with you... this little monkey character was designed by Susie Ziegler. Isn't it the cutest thing ever! I am making one of mine into a pin for my son and another set into pigtail holders for our 6 year old friend Hope. They are made of felt... and the design was easy to cut free hand. We made them in about an hour.

Susie is really influenced by Japanese pattern books... she has shown me some she bought on yesasia.com and they are amazingly cute! I might be addicted to a new craft! I have to get Suzie to share her Flickr photo album with us... she is super talented; and although she says she just follows patterns (most of the time... the monkeys are original designs) I think she has great taste!

How's Your Subscription Feed?

I have heard from a few of you, that your subscription feed comes in teeny tiny font or GREAT BIG FONT! So which is it? Is it hard to read? PLEASE; I would love to get more feedback on this! Thank you! I aim to please!

And the winner is....

OK... well ladies, I am overwhelmed with the response to the Gift Card Giveaway! I had 35 people subscribe during this event, and I am so grateful! SO as a special Thank You... you are ALL getting a free gift card holder! Expect your Free Gift Card Holder in a couple weeks... and look for more contests coming soon! I have some fun stuff prepared!


How do you like the new blog?
I took the plunge and switched to Blogger Beta. So far I like it, and I don't think my visitors can even tell the difference.


Have you seen my Lens?
Look to the right... Under the "Links" section... see the link "a Lens on Stamping"... click on it! This wonderful link will lead you to my lens. A lens is a little window on a specific subject; it contains links to many stamping sites, and lists of books, magazines and tools I recommend. If you like my lens, please leave your rating (at the very top) and a comment (at the very bottom). I would also love to hear some ideas of links or features to add to the Lens. If you have a blog yourself; I would be happy to add a link to your blog at my lens. Just let me know by leaving a message in my comments section.

Happy Stamping!

Support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

This was shared with me by my friend and fellow stamper Lisa Miller. Lisa lost her brother to suicide, so this cause is near and dear to her heart. You can view her blog "Runs with Scissors" HERE. You can donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention HERE.

On Saturday, Nov. 18, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will sponsor its eighth annual National Survivors of Suicide Day, reaching out to tens of thousands of people who have lost a loved one to suicide. The day of nationwide conferences will connect survivors through a satellite and Internet broadcast, allowing survivors to share their experiences of loss.

All local conferences will join in the broadcast (1-2:30 p.m. EST), which will offer emotional support to survivors and information about resources for healing. The broadcast will feature a panel of experienced survivors and mental health professionals, including AFSP Survivor Council Chair Mary Pat McMahon, AFSP Medical Director Dr. Paula J. Clayton and Dr. John R. Jordan, founder and director of the Family Loss Project.

This will also mark the third annual Out of the Darkness Community Fundraiser walk for the Greater Chicago/Illinois local chapter of the AFSP, finishing up the fall walk calendar of over 20 sites this season. The walk registration will be held at 8am at Brookfield Woods in Brookfield, IL, just west of the Zoo. You can sign up the day of the event or in advance at http://outofthedarkness.org for the Illinois site or email nostigmaa@yahoo.com for more information. Following the walk will be the Healing Conference at the Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine in Maywood, IL. Please register for the conference in advance, by sending an email to jhurtado@afsp.org for more info and a form. There is a $10 box lunch available and we'll have breakout sessions afterwards to talk about more healing and our experiences.

A Free Gift for You!

I really love this design, and it's very easy to adapt to multiple styles. Here is a "retro" version of the Envelope Gift Card holder...


I have some extras (in both styles) from my last craft show... would you like one? Subscribe to my Blog (link on the right) and then email me with your Name and Address (use "contact me" link also on the right). Put "Gift Card Giveaway" in the subject line. I have a dozen free gift card holders to give away... so I will leave this promotion open until Saturday and randomly choose 12 names on Sunday (Nov. 12th).

Thanks!

Gift Card Holder Tutorial

Here is a cute and simple project for the holidays. I have been doing this one at my workshops lately, and I sold a bunch of these babies at craft shows. They are a great way to use up all those old style Stampin' Up! Envelopes... but the new envelopes work great too. This project uses the Medium Kraft Stampin' Up! Envelope (4 3/8 x 5 3/4).

Step One: Take the envelope and trim it with the
flap open to 6". This removes the adhesive strip.

Step Two: Wheel or stamp the envelope.
I used Creamy Caramel Ink and the "Swirling Stars"
Jumbo Wheel. You can stamp both sides if you'd like...
I am a lazy stamper so I just stamp the side that shows.

Step Three: The card that is affixed to the outside of the
Gift Card Holder and the card on the inside that actually
holds the gift card are the same size (4 1/8 x 2 5/8). I used
The new"In Color" papers Cranberry Crisp and True Thyme.
Use the Stampin' Up! Slit Punch to cut notches in the ends of the
insert card. Wheel the Other card to match the envelope and
using a "direct to paper" technique tint the edges in True Thyme.

Step Four: Place insert card all the way into the envelope
and center the card. Using the card inside as a guide, fold
the edges of the card to the center. First one side...
then the other side... next fold the flap over the top.
Use a Bone Folder to set the crease.

Finish the assembly: Affix the True Thyme card to the
envelope flap with Snail Adhesive. Then tie a matching
ribbon around the card (I used Cranberry Crisp Stitched
Grosgrain from the Holiday Mini Catalog). Do not glue
the ribbon in place. It needs to remain free so it can be
re-tied easily by the user. Lastly; affix a decorative
bit to the front. I used Cranberry Crisp Ink to stamp this
Santa from the set "Holiday Woodcuts" on Whisper White.
I cut out the images free-hand, and I used my Bone Folder
to add some texture to the edges. I affixed this with Dementionals.

All Done!

Pursue Your Arts Has a New Design!

A Want to give a shout out to Erin and Mary at PURSuE Your Art! They have a great product. I also JUST got the new purse... it looks great! I am so glad to have one of EACH! I will decorate my new bag soon and post a picture... this shot is one of PYA designs... cute!


PURSuE Your Art has added a new two-pocket purse to their line of changeable art purses. These purses hold two 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cards. Artists can display handmade cards, swap cards, pen pal cards, or beautiful greeting cards.

Use paper, fabric or paint to decorate both sides of the blank panels and pocket cards provided. Embellish the cards with clip art, photos, buttons and more, or add your own photos, greeting cards or Artist Trading Cards to the pockets.

This two-pocket purse is made of high quality, durable vinyl. It measures approximately 8" high, 3" deep and 11" wide. The 29" ball chain handle is covered by a clear tube that makes it sturdy and attractive. Each purse includes 5 blank panels that make up the front, back, sides and bottom of the purse, and 2 blank 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" pocket cards that you can decorate with your own art then slip into the pockets of the purse. The pockets (1 on the front and 1 on the back of purse) even have room for 3D embellishments.

To get ideas on how to design your new Two-Pocket style purse,click on the Idea Gallery and scroll down to the last three images.

www.pursueyourart.com