2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS!

The calendar on my website has been updated to include all the classes, workshops, clubs, etc... that I will be offering in January. You can get to my website by clicking on the calendar link on the left side of the blog. We all need a little relaxation and time to enjoy ourselves, and the Rubber Room is very therapeutic, so be sure to checkout the schedule and RSVP for lots of fun!

A CHRISTMAS PRESENT!

I was lucky enough to receive a lot of great gifts from my very talented customers, but I had to share this tree with everyone! Laura used the paper in the scrapbook kit to make this awesome tree! I am so glad she gave it to me, and I will definitely be making some to give as gifts next year!

GIFT PAIL!

I just loved the new SU! wrapping paper, so I decided to use it as a quick and easy way to make a little gift pail that was all coordinated without me adding much thought, and/or effort. I cut my wrapping paper pieces and put them through my Xyron so that they would be easy to work with and adding adhesive wouldn't slow me down! I have included in my basket a pill bottle filled with Ande's mints; a jar filled with roasted nuts; a little candy kiss box; a roll of certs and a package of tic tacs. I will wrap the pail full of goodies in a clear cello bag and add a brown satin ribbon to the top of it with a scallop punch tag, and I am good to go. My hubby is taking one to his secretary, so I will add a gift card in her pail, and it will be a little nicer and more personalized than just giving her the gift card by itself. The possibilities with this are endless, and it is sooooo easy.

HOSTESS CLUB PROJECTS FOR THURSDAY!

Thursday, December 20th, 2007 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. is the last project hostess club meeting. I decided it would be nice to create some little gifts with chocolate. Who doesn't love a gift? Who doesn't love chocolate? Seemed like a perfect combination to me, so I am going for it, and I hope you can join us! We will make three little candy containers. One is a small box filled with candy kisses that you can close the lid on, so the kisses will be a "surprise"! One is a box filled with peppermint "sandwiches" (a peppermint patty "sandwiched" between two scallop punches), and it has a see-through lid so you can peek at your patties before you open the box and the wonderful peppermint smell fills the air. AND there are some nuggets all dressed up in little snowman wrappers. The trick for this get together will be to have something left to put in our cool little containers once we get them made. I know I needed to nibble on a few to give me the energy to make the projects. Everyone is welcome to join us for Hostess club. The fee is $10 or FREE with a minimum $25 order the night of club. You must RSVP by Monday, December 17th, so don't delay, sign up today and enjoy a night out with rubber, ink, friends and chocolate!

DECORATIVE TILE BY MITZI!

During the past two monthes I have done many, many decorative tile classes, and everyone seems to love them! In fact, I will be doing a monthly tile class for those ladies who NEED a different decorative tile to display for every holiday~~who could have guessed?

During my many classes I had a wonderful support system that I have always lovingly referred to as MY "Cutting Queen" because she always helps me cut and prep for classes and workshops. This time around, she "womaned" the Rubber Room while I ran up and down the stairs putting tiles into the oven and then taking them out and putting more in!

Mitzi is extremely creative (even though she'll tell you she's not ;o), and somewhere along the way she decided to make decorative tiles as gifts for her friends and family. This is one tile she came up with using the Home is Where the Heart is retired stamp set. It turned out absolutely adorable, and I just had to share it with everyone! I think this is proof positive she is both creative AND gifted with the paper cutter. She is a true treasure to me and I love sharing her talents with my customers!

RETIRED ACCESSORY LIST AVAILABLE

Stampin' Up! has just published their retired accessory list. The items on the retiring accessory list are available only until the end of December, or while supplies last. Click the link on the right of this post to see the retirement list. Please note that the items in red are no longer available. I am happy to place an order for retiring items for you, so please let me know what you need.

RETIREMENT LIST!

Well, I simply cannot believe that today is December 1st already! I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Stampin' Up! retirement list, and today it arrived. Click the retirement link on your right to see what stamps are celebrating their last catalog appearance. The stamps that are retiring will only be available until December 31st, so put your wish list together, contact me, and I will be glad to place your order. Remember, rubber makes a great holiday gift~~so don't forget the many good little stampers on your list this year!

ADDRESS BOOK

I was extremely fortunate last night to be able to spend some quality time shareing projects with other Stampin' Up! Demonstrator friends. They are all so talented, and it's great to get together and chat and share ideas with all of them. I am posting some of the projects that we made during our time together. THANK YOU lovely women for being my friends and for showing me how to make these wonderful projects!

This is a little address book that fellow demonstrator, Silvia Vogle, shared. On the inside we used the round tab punch to put alphabets on the edges so we could write addresses and phone numbers on the inside.

ORAGAMI TREE

This is an oragami tree that Keri Blake shared. I was a little afraid to give this one a try, but it was every bit as easy as she assured us it would be.

CANDY KISS CAN

Beth Buchanan shared this great little can with us. We used Designer Series Paper and filled the can from the bottom with Hershey Kisses. The little tag on top says Hugs and Kisses too. How cute!

COASTER ORNAMENT

Fellow demonstrator, Michelle Quinn, shared this little ornament (or magnet......) with us. She cut her chipboard coaster in half and used her corner rounder on the edges.

SNOWFLAKE AND SCALLOP ORNAMENT

Michelle Quinn also shared this little ornament with us. It is made with scallop punches and the snowflake punch. We used the packing tape and glitter technique to make the snowflake sparkle.

GLASS BULB FROSTY

Here is a glass bulb with Frosty inside that fellow demonstrator, Caroline Morgan, shared with us! I was so inspired I went out today and purchased a few more bulbs!

MOOSE YOU!

It has been so long since I've had time to get my cards into my camera and onto my computer and over to my blog. I have really been missing putting new posts on, so I'm about to add a few, and I hope you enjoy them.

I treated myself to a little play date with Lisa K., and she brought her new Moose You stamp set. This stamp set is absolutely adorable! The moose stamp was definitely my favorite.

Here is a card we saw and had to re-create because it was just so festive for the holidays. The packages are from Loads of Love and the circle (ornament) is from the Three For You Punch Box.

PARTY ANIMALS!

While playing with Moose You, it quickly became clear that Mr. Moose needed to accessorize. I borrowed Lisa W's Crab and Company to dress him up. I felt like I did when I was younger playing with my paper dolls, but I think a hat really does make a difference!

CATALOG COPY!

This card I copied right out of the catalog! Boy, did that make it quick and simple to make.

SUCH A DEER!

This little deer from Moose You was too adorable not be Rudolph! I really think the snowflake Cuttlebug folder adds a lot of texture and makes this card a whole lot less simple.

ARE YOU STICKY??

My DL, Michelle, mentioned that the procupine in Moose You would make a great post-it-note pad. And, in my never-ending endeavor to get rid of even more coasters, I decided that I NEEDED to make a coaster post-it-note pade holder with it. I'm not too good with the camera (obviously), but the words say "stuck on you".

WRAPPING UP THE HOLIDAYS SPECIAL!

Stampin' Up! has just announced some great Specials, but the quantities are limited, so be sure to place your order early to take advantage of these great deals. You can use the link on your right under "Wrapping up the Holidays Special" to view a great color flyer detailing the specials.
Here are the specials:
Designer Gift Card Holders for $4.55 (6 cards, 2each of 3 double-sided designs; 30% savings).
Tin 3-Pack $9.95 (5 5/8" x 5" x 1/2"--tins that our accents and elements come in)
15/16" Satin Ribbon, buy one get one free (Chocolate Chip and Purely Pomegranate; 9.95 savings).
Tags For All stamp set, $24.76 (20% savings)
Hand Selected Accents and Elements $8.21 (25% savings)
Holiday Tag Bundle $4.95 (30 pieces Whisper White cardstock 2" x 4 1/4"; 15 pieces Real Red textured cardstock 3 1/2" x 4 1/4"; 15 pieces of Soft Sky Prints Designer Series Paper Dotted Diamond ( 3" x 4 1/4"; 15 pieces of Read Red zigzag twill tape 3-1/2")

I am happy to place your order, so please contact me soon!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

This weekend is the official beginning of the holiday season, so please make plans to relax and enjoy every minute of this special season of peace, love and joy.

PHOTOS FOR MAKING TAG-PUNCH-STAR

Many of you have been asking me about how to make the tag-punch star. Here are photos of how to do this. First, punch your small tag punch eight times. Then punch around your small tag punch with your large tag punch eight times. This will give you eight thin tag frames. Assemble the first four tag frames on some cardstock (vellum or patterned paper) with the sides of the top of the frames touching (glue these onto the cardstock~~refer to photo one.

Then adhere the next four tag frames on top of the first layer of tag frames, slightly offsetting them~~refer to photo two.

Trim around the "star points"~~refer to photo three.

Now you have your tag-punch star! This can be used on a card, as an ornament, package topper.... the possibilities are endless for useing this awesome star. Get creative and have some fun. If you NEED to order the punches, I would be happy to help you out.

SCRAPBOOKING MADE EASY LAYOUT

This is the same post you saw yesterday! My awesome "tech support gal" emailed me to let me know how to put two pictures in the same post. Here is the post done correctly. THANK YOU, RONNIE!

My scrapbooking gals love my Scrapbooking Made Easy classes! I design three two-page 12x12 layouts and post them to my website; you pick which ones you want to make at class; you come to class and everything is all cut and prepped and ready for you, and everyone is amazed at how much they can get done in two hours.

In November we are focusing on the terrific Designer Series Paper that Stampin' Up! has. And during the month of November, when you purchase three packs of paper, you get one FREE. This truly is too good a deal to let it pass without taking advantage of it! Whether you are scrapbooking or card making, Designer Series Paper adds a lot of texture and depth to your creation effortlessly.

SCRAPBOOKING MADE EASY LAYOUT

This is another two-page layout for my November Scrapbooking Made Easy get together. I used the Wintergreen Designer Series Paper with Frosty! The Designer Series Paper is on special in November~~when you purchase three packs, you get one FREE! Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper is an absolute necessity for me, and I hope you will take advantage of this great deal!

MY CUSTOMER'S TAG PUNCH STAR AND CARD!

Do I have talented customers or what? After seeing my blog post from yesterday, I found out one of my customers was brave enough to try the tag punch on their own, and this is what she came up with. The top photo is her star and she has layered two stars to make the awesome card in the second photo. She used the textured paper, printed paper and adhesive die cuts from her Winter Brights scrapbook kit. I love this card! Thanks so much, Laura, for letting me share it with everyone!!

DESIGNER SERIES PAPER FOR FREE!

Throughout the month of November, when you purchase three packages of Designer Series Paper, you will receive a fourth package for FREE! This is an awesome special that I'm certain you don't want to miss out on. As you can easily see from the previous posts, I am a huge fan of Designer Series Paper! Each package contains twelve sheets of two sided papers; that's two pages each of six different designs. There is absolutely no limit to what you can create with these papers. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to place an order!

ALL MY PLAY TIME!

I have been trying some of the new techniques I've seen and shareing them with my stamping friends! Below are a few of the things I've been playing around with and wanted to share with all of you. I hope you enjoy! Please feel free to post comments, I love to hear what your thoughts are.

TAG PUNCH STAR

When I saw this technique, I simply had to try it. It is very, very easy to do too! And, yes, it is made with the tag punches. I absolutely love the SU! punches because they punch extremely easy and I can turn them upside down so I can see exactly where I'm punching. I used the Snow Blossom punch to decorate the inside of the star with, and I like the sparkle from the rhinestone brad. I think the taffeta ribbon adds a little extra "classic" look to my card.

Z-FOLD CARD

I have been seeing a lot of the Z-Fold Cards, so I had to try one out. This is my version of it. I think the Designer Series Paper made it really quick to put together, and the different fold gives it a bit more texture and a little 'surprise' for the recipient. I really like the wide gross grain ribbon too!

GIFT CARD HOLDER

This is the outside of the gift card holder we made at Friday's hostess club. It is made with the five-in-one template, Designer Series Paper, Snow Blossom Punch and circle punch. I put a rhinestone brad in the center to give it a little "sparkle". The red piece is a belly band to hold it closed. See the photo below for the inside of the gift card holder.

GIFT CARD HOLDER

Here is a photo of the inside of the gift card holder we made at Friday's hostess club. The gals all loved it, and it was lots of fun to make. If you are planning to give gift cards for the holidays, this is a quick and easy way to make a very decorative holder with Designer Series Paper. SU! Designer Series Paper is on sale through November, buy 3 and get one FREE!!

STAR ORNAMENT!

Here is a quick and easy ornament to make that really highlights our Designer Series Paper. Because the paper is two-sided it gives the ornament lots of color and personality. The star is made with squares of paper folder into cones. I cut tweleve 1 1/2" squares and folded them into cones. I used some crystal effects on the edge and then put a mini clothes pin on to hold it in place until the crystal effects dried. I wanted to make sure the cone wouldn't pop open, and I thought the crystal effects would work better than just regular adhesive. I used a scallop punch with the Designer series paper for the back of the ornament, and I just put adhesive on the scallop and attached the cones in a circles. I then topped that off with the 5-star punch and a rhinestone brad in the middle. The ornament pictured here is actually two ornaments that are attached back to back. I wanted to hang it, and I thought the back-to-back star ornament would have a little more eye appeal; plus it looks really full this way. I think this would also make a nice tie on for a holiday basket! This idea came from a Martha Stewart Idea Sheet I picked up, so I do have to give her credit. Although, I think it is much prettier with Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper~~which, by the way will be available at a huge savings soon. During the month of November, when you purchase 3 packs of Designer Series Paper, you will get one pack absolutely FREE. That is a savings of $9.95!!!

MY FIRST CHIPBOARD CLIPBOARD!

First of all, I have to thank my downline, Michelle, for her generosity! Michelle ordered this chipboard clipboard by accident and passed it along to me so I could play~~thanks so much, Michelle, for the inspiration to venture outside my cards and scrapbook pages! I decorated this with some paper from the Winter Brights scrapbook kit and then used some of the accents from the Build a Flower accents and elements kit. Threw on some ribbon and accessories, and I was good to go. I think this is going to make a great hostess gift!

NEW CATALOGS FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Stampin' Up! will have a new catalog available January 1, 2008. That means lots of new stamp sets, accessories, and artwork for all of us to enjoy. It also means that if you have your heart set on something in the current Fall/Winter collection, you might want to scoop it up before it's gone. There is no "retirement" list to share yet, but when I get one, rest assured I will pass it on!

I am going to be taking pre-orders for the new catalog beginning November 1st, 2007. If you want to save 50% on your next Stampin' Up! catalog, pre-order it for only $5. I will take pre-orders through December 1, 2007; and you must pay for your catalog when you pre-order it.

RSVP SO YOU DON'T MISS OUT!

You must RSVP for the November Scrapbooking Made Easy class by October 31, 2007. We are going to be using the Designer Series Papers to make some great scrapbook pages. You can view them on my website (just use the link to the right and it will take you there). If you have any questions, please contact me, and I would be happy to help you out!

LOVE A SALE?

Well, honestly, who doesn't love a sale? Stampin' Up! has a very special sale going on now through November 3, 2007; so you best hurry and grab the savings! Order Wishing You Cheer (on page 33 of the Fall/Winter Collection) by November 3, 2007 and receive 20% off. I have a special code to place with your order so that you will receive this discount. Contact me to place your order before the sale ends.

ORNAMENT

This is an 'ornament' that I made with a chipboard circle and some Wintergreen Designer Series Paper. I am going to hang one of them at each end of my garland. I think it'll have a nice festive look.

MY FIRST TRY AT GARLAND

Here is my first attempt at some holiday garland. I have it mounted on coasters and ready to hang in the Rubber Room! It is two-sided so you can read it coming and going.

ANOTHER HOLIDAY STAMP-A-STACK CARD

I have been debating whether or not to purchase Peaceful Wishes since last year, so I decided to borrow it and see if I really NEEDED it. Guess what, I definitely NEED it now! I used a little bit of crystal effects and red glitter for the berries on this, and I stamped the background with the same stamp in River Rock (I stamped off first, so it's very light, but gives it a nice textured look).

MORE HOLIDAY STAMP-A-STACK CARDS

This is another one of the cards on tap for my Holiday Mini Stamp-A-Stack. It's hard to see in the photo, but I have used the Cuttle Bug snowflake embossing folder for the white background and then again on the Rose Red cardstock. I love my Cold Play stamp set almost as much as my Cuttle Bug!

WOO HOO!!

As of this morning I have 20 people who have subscribed to my blog!! I hope all of you subscribers will enjoy the things you find on my blog. I will do my best to keep it updated with new techniques and lots of samples to keep you busy!

Thanks for joining me!

HOLIDAY STAMP-A-STACK CARD

This is another one of the five cards we'll be making at my Holiday Stamp-A-Stack. The vellum gives it a very elegant look. I really like the Holy Tryptich stamp set in the Holiday Mini Catalog.

HOLIDAY STAMP-A-STACK CARD

I made this card for a Holiday Stamp-A-Stack I am having. The background is stamped with a snowflake in craft white ink. I love Stampin' Up! punches and Designer Series Paper. I got to use 5 stamps for this project and Designer Series Paper. What a happy stamper I am!

HALLOWEEN GOODY BOX

This is a Halloween box full of goodies that Rose Nassar made as gifts for the guests at her recent Hostess Project Club Class. We all loved them and the Batty For You set was perfect to decorate this box with.

Thank you, Rose!

HALLOWEEN TREAT!

This is one of my favorite Halloween cards! Big thanks to my dear friend and great customer, Sandi Lester, for sending it to me. I wish I could get my scissors to cut around those tiny little arms and feet the way she did.

DRYER SHEET TECHNIQUE

I recently had a play date with some demonstrator friends, and we learned how to do the Dryer Sheet Technique. Big thanks to demonstrator, Keri Blake for her great instructions!

This card was done with snowman from the Merry and Bright stamp set and the Jumbo Snow Wheel, both from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog.

This is a great idea for used dryer sheets. It's perfect for those stampers who hate to throw anything away! First thing you have to do is iron your dryer sheet. We wheeled our image (the Jumbo Snow Wheel) in Rose Red ink on Whisper White cardstock. Then we put our rolled image into a box (you can do this step outside too) and sprayed it generously with spray adhesive. While the spray adhesive is still wet, pat your used dryer sheet into the adhesive. Sprinkle Dazzling Diamond Glitter over the entire image. Trim off any excess dryer sheet, and you are ready to mount your image! For this card we put our focal point on silver cardstock and added some silver cord and the snowman from Merry and Bright (he's got a little brad in the top of his hat). We mounted the whole thing on Rose Red cardstock for a very sparkly winter card.

Thanks Michelle and Lisa for playing!