Snow Place Like Home

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s sketch gave me a great opportunity to play with “Snow Place”.

“Snow Place” is another holiday set that will be great beyond Christmas. I made this card for my daughter Jen who is finishing finals this week. The card is already in the mail, and I can’t wait to have Jen home for the holidays!

The igloo is part of a 2 1/2″ punched circle, embossed with the brick folder. I added Dazzling Details to make it look icy. I am not sure what possessed me to give my penguin a stockpile of snowballs, but those are cut with the button framelit from the Snow Friends set.

Please check out all of the cards created for this sketch by our talented Challenge Team. Simply click here to visit Create with Connie and Mary – you can also check back through the week to see the entries. Hope you will be inspired to play along!

‘Tis the Season…

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Chris Slogar

…for cute punch art! I CASEd Dena Rekow’s reindeer for this card – isn’t he adorable?! Click here for directions – Dena has posted a great cheat sheet showing the punch pieces. The greeting is from “Peaceful Pines”, cut with one of the Handpicked framelits.

And while we are looking at cute animals, can anyone relate to this?

Here’s Chip, ready for his morning walk, oblivious (as usual) to the dimensional backing on his face. We hadn’t even been to the craft room – he picked this up somewhere between his food bowl and the door.

Hope you are having a great day!

Weekly Deals

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Here are this week’s deals. I am happy to see the precision base plate here – I was skeptical at first, but this plate makes intricate framelits so much easier! Even the tiny little line of chimney smoke on the sleigh ride edgelits cuts completely and pulls out easily when cut on this platform.

	Bitty Banners Framelits Dies Item # 129267 Regular Price: $15.00 US/$18.50 CAN Discounted Price: $11.25 US/$13.88 CAN
	Precision Base Plate Item # 139684 Regular Price: $25.00 US/$31.00 CAN Discounted Price: $18.75 US/$23.25 CAN
	Iced Rhinestone Embellishments Item # 139637 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Hearts & Stars Decorative Masks Item # 133777 Regular Price: $3.00 US/$3.75 CAN Discounted Price: $2.25 US/$2.81 CAN

Team Swap and Game

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This was my swap card for this month’s team meeting. Our theme was Winter/No Sentiment. I used “White Christmas”, which sounds like a holiday set, but is actually great for the whole season. The designer paper is from Season of Cheer.

This month’s meeting was also our annual potluck Christmas party, and I have to share the creative stamping that we did. We played “Stamptionary” which is like Pictionary, but you have to use stamps. It was my teammate Amy Kunkle’s idea, and it proved really fun. I will share some of the images below.

Here’s a hint, in case you want to play along, all of the stamped pictures are Christmas phrases or carols. We only had the stamps from “Work of Art” and the circle and rectangle from “Layered Letters Alphabet” to use in our images.

Away in a Manger

Gingerbread House – so obvious isn’t it?

This was a hard one, but we did get it – Winter Wonderland

This was a hard one, too, but very well stamped. We did not get this one, though the artist did a fantastic job – Nutcracker!

Another hard one, and again, the artist did a fantastic job. This is Snowball Fight, and it is so obvious now, too. There’s a person throwing snowballs, a person surrendering, and an igloo! How could we not get this?

Let’s just zoom in on the igloo, while we are admiring this one. I have to point out the creative stamping here because you probably can’t figure out which “Work of Art” stamp was used for those block shapes that make up the igloo.

In her haste, our artist (no names, but a very talented stamper) picked up the swoosh and used it backwards!! I would still argue that this is why my team didn’t get this one – we were too busy laughing our heads off at the fact that she was stamping with the wood instead of the rubber! If you notice, the shape above the igloo is also very blocky – it was the back of an acrylic block. This gal was in such a hurry to stamp out her snowball fight that she inked up the back of some of the stamps!

We all have wood blocks that get inky, but this one will carry a special memory with it.

This was the tiebreaker – both teams stamping at once to create this. The answer – Decorate the Christmas Tree. The team of the stamper on the left won, though I think the tree on the right is the more complete clue.

Feel free to pin these images! I am sure you will want to recreate them – especially the snowball fight. 🙂

A Traditional Wreath

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I love the Christmas greenery in “Berry Merry” – this is my favorite wreath to make. The components of the wreath are separate stamps, and it is fun to watch the wreath come together as you add each part. The greeting is from the hostess set “Six Sayings”. I have shown this wreath before on the fun fold below, with detail on how to stamp the wreath in the second half of the video.

Have a great weekend!

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Christmas Colors

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This week’s sketch colors made me think of a Christmas package, so that is exactly what I made…with some help from my teammate Theresa Custer, who was with me at the time! Thank you Theresa!

Thanks so much for checking out my card. Please visit Create with Connie and Mary to see what my talented Thursday Challenge teammates have come up with. Hope you will be inspired to play along!

Holly Jolly Greetings

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Chris Slogar

With 17 words or phrases and 3 thinlit words in the “Holly Jolly Greetings” bundle, the greeting combinations seem endless. This is a quick little card from one of my recent classes. A little red foil and the curvy corners make it special.

I find myself reaching for my thinlits more now that I have a Precision Base Plate. While I had been using dryer sheets and wax paper to help cut and release cardstock from these skinny shapes, that fuss is no longer necessary. (And my friends can stop saving their used dryer sheets for me.)

Have a great day!

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Weekly Deals

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Chris Slogar

Here are this week’s Weekly Deals…

	Go Wild Designer Series Paper Stack Item # 138441 Regular Price: $8.00 US/$10.00 CAN Discounted Price: $6.00 US/$7.50 CAN
	Happy Heart Textured Impressions Embossing Folder Item # 137364 Regular Price: $7.50 US/$9.25 CAN Discounted Price: $5.63 US/$6.94 CAN
	Gold Glimmer Paper Item # 133719 Regular Price: $5.00 US/$6.25 CAN Discounted Price: $3.75 US/$4.69 CAN
	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin’ Pad Item # 138326 Regular Price: $6.50 US/$8.00 CAN Discounted Price: $4.88 US/$6.00 CAN

An Old Punch Art Friend, Made New

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Chris Slogar

This stacked snowman is not new, but we do have a new punch this year that makes great stick arms for him – the Tree Builder. His body pieces are 2 1/2″, 2″, and 1 1/2″ circles, and his hat is a 1 3/8″ square (with one side shortened) and the Word Window. I am using a couple of things out of my retired stash here, too – the Northern Flurry embossing folder, and a greeting from “Loads of Love”.

I took the easy way out on the eyes and nose. I have several pencil erasers that I use as stamps. I carved them years ago. I have three sizes of black circles, and I even have a nose now, too. You can see them in the picture below – I was making this same snowman for a Craft Show project two weeks ago.

The eraser stamps are not hard to make – for the circles, just carve away at an eraser with an Exacto knife. After you have gotten as close to a circle as possible, use an emery board to smooth the rough edges. The nose is super easy – just make two slices across the full diameter of an eraser to leave a pie-shaped wedge.

Don’t forget that today is the last day of the Online Extravaganza, with special sale prices on several items today only. I will post the list again below. Please let me know if you would like me to order for you, or click here for my online store.

Download (PDF, 456KB)

Gifts for the Crafter on Your List

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Chris Slogar

I have a range of suggestions for holiday gift-giving, and I am going to start with ideas that are perfect for anyone. All of these items will be in the carousel at the end of the post, so that you can click to find them easily in the online store.

My suggestions are general. If you have a crafter on your list, they may be willing to share their wish list. If you are the crafter that someone is shopping for, help them out by providing such a list 🙂 Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

For Anyone:

Watercolor Wishes Card Kit – Item 140406, $35

This all-inclusive kit makes 20 beautiful cards. The stamps, ink, embellishments, and all pieces are right there, and the projects are already designed, just add adhesive. This is a fabulous starter kit for a beginner. Experienced stampers love this, too, because of the exclusive stamp set.

Paper Pumpkin Prepaid Subscription

One month – Item 137858, $19.95

Three Months – Item 137859, $59.85

Six Months – Item 137860, $113.70

Twelve Months – Item 137861, $215.40

A fully-designed kit arrives every month, just add adhesive. This is also a great gift for anyone, new or current subscribers. Avid stampers love the exclusive stamps, and new stampers love the fact that it is all-inclusive.

To order this for a gift, put the Item in your cart in the Online Store, and checkout as usual. You will receive an email with the prepaid code for your gift and an option to print a Gift Certificate. This code can then be given to and used by anyone – even a current subscriber.

Clear Block Starter – Item 129851, $20

When it comes to acrylic blocks, our blocks are the luxury model. You can’t have enough of them. There is also a full set available (9 blocks) for $67.

Frankly, all of our basics are the luxury model of their class. Good basic tools are a treat! I would also recommend our Paper Snips, Craft Scissors, Paper Trimmer, and Scoring Tool, but you may need to poke around your crafter’s stash to see which things they already have.

Things that we buy over and over (and cannot have enough of):

Stampin’ Dimensionals – Item 104430, $4

This is easily the item with the most repeat purchases.

Glue Dots – Item 104683, $5.25

Linen Thread – Item 104199, $4.50

Pearl Basic Jewels – Item 119247, $5.00

Rhinestone Basic Jewels – Item 119246, $5.00

For Big Shot Owners:

Magnetic Platform – Item 130658, $24 thru Monday November 30 ($40 Reg Price)

You may need to do a little research to figure out if your loved one already has this, but if they don’t, it will make a great gift, especially at this price!

Replacement Cutting Pads – Item 113475, $11

Anyone who owns a Big Shot will swoon over clean new cutting pads! It is always the last thing we buy for ourselves because there are so many other fun things to consider. Trust me, though, new cutting pads are a treat!

Hope this gives you a few ideas! Spend $35 or more with me in my online store, and I will also send you my Featured Project -scroll to top of page to see details (current project and hostess code).

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