Sending You a Cup of Cheer

Cup of Christmas Bundle

This sweet card started with a piece of cardstock covered in a plethora of negative poinsettia cut outs that I saved from a project last year. I could not bear to throw the sheet away and just knew I could something with it.

I pulled it out and used my Picket Fence Studio Blender Brushes to blend a mixture of Blushing Bride (147100), Daffodil Delight (147094), and Rococo Rose (150080). 

The blending created a soft background gently breaking up all the white. 

The Christmas mug was also stamped in Rococo Rose (150080) using the striped image in the Tiny Keepsakes Stamp Set (152390). 

The Holly and Candy Cane are part of the Cup of Cheer Dies (153025), which can be purchased as part of the Cup of Christmas Bundle. Staying with the pinkie theme, the berries and candy cane came from Blushing Bride Cardstock (131198).

The snowflake is part of the Seasonal Layers Dies (143751) and the frame came from the Stitched Rectangles (148551).

The other accent colors are Smoky Slate (131202) and Shaded Spruce (146981 & 147088). 

The perfect whipped topping is from the retired die set Call Me Cupcake (150072).

If you would like to create a similar project, shop my online store for all your supplies.

Also, do not forget to sign up to receive my future posts. I would love for you to join me again and share in a creative journey.

💗 Vally

A Little Bit of 3D Christmas

A Little Bit of Christmas in July September

Here is a handful of projects completed last year! 

While I primary tend to lean toward card making, I do a one time a year Christmas project class.

I scan Facebook, Pinterest, and other sites for inspiration of fun 3D projects.

Stampin' Up! demonstrators and other papercrafter are a well of fun options!

The Boozy Hot Cocoa from PinkBukaroo is probably one of my favorites💞🎄

I also created Ghirardelli Square Boxes by Linda Bauwin found on YouTube.

The tags galore I fashioned from Stampin' Up! products.

A variety of tags offered inspiration for the class attendees...

 Each tag came from the 2018 Stampin' Up! assorted catalogs.

I stayed with a fairly traditional color scheme.

Next, are a selection of individual tea bag holders inspired by a YouTube video created by Kylie Bertucci.

Designer Series Paper (DSP) played center stage for these simple treats. 

(This may have been a retired set as it has taken me some time to incorporate DSP into my crafting.)

A mixture of tags added a fun twist.

A little bow held the tea bag in place.

Layering an assortment of tags added a new look.

Wrapped Hersey Nugget Treats is currently a staple to my 3D Christmas Project class.

This project came from Amber's 2016 video of Craft Fair Ideas.

Some of these tags came from talented crafters that shared their inspiration online with the Universe. 

(While I have credited some of the creations I am posting, I am afraid my memory does not allow giving all the individual create due as these are projects from last year 😔)

 Others came from a diversity of Holiday decor found in and out of my surrounding...

And still others came from old fashion playing with the supplies and noticing something new.

Following a creative play session in my craft studio, I was left with a large pile of scraps...

Tags! Of course! The small images of a heart, tree, and present created a perfect focal point!

 I simply glued scraps of Designer Series Christmas Paper to a piece of Whisper White Cardstock in Tetris fashion. Each scrap connected with another until the whole sheet was covered. Once the glue dried, I used dies to cut out the images.

 Sewing them to the Stitched Crumb Cake Circles, instead of adhering with glue, offered a home made quilting vibe.

Here are a few more variations.

Pompoms in Christmas decor also made their way into my Christmas crafting...Just Cute!

A little bit of tradition still holds fast along side an out of ordinary array of colors used in these tags.

After searching long and wide for a tutorial on creating a custom sized box, I finally came across Connie Stewart's Simple Stamping Box Making Shim and Custom Box Making videos. How fabulous!

Some came with Pompoms and some with Ribbon, but both sets come with a customizable box!

I continued the same color scheme for these coffee tags. 

These tags garnished my annual homemade cookie boxes that I delivered.

As Christmas approached, I returned to a traditional color selection with these three money pouches I created for my nephews.

Another project came from a class I attended in the summer of last year. As soon as the the 2018 Stampin' Up! Holiday arrived, I was inspired to create a Christmas project.

The Designer Series Paper and Christmas ribbon offered the color selections.

Following a search, I also located the tutorial offered by Teri's Stampin' Magic.

I created a couple of variations of this project, but only photographed this one.

Finally, one last creations to wrap up my 2018 Christmas smorgasbord (which does not include my cards)...

A Christmas buffalo check garland perfect for a mini Christmas tree.

There is so much inspiration out there!

I am thankful to share in the talent and creativity of others that provide fun projects that I in turn can share. 

I hope I have been able to pass on some inspiration to you too!

Currently, I am preparing for my 2019 Christmas in October Open House. I am back at scouring the Internet for ideas and inspiration and looking forward to sharing what I find soon.

💗 Vally

Hug In A Mug

A Sweet and Simple Cup of Christmas Bundle

So I was scrolling through Pinterest and stumbled on a sweet and simple Christmas mug card and knew I had to make one of my own! Regrettably, I did not save the Pin and cannot direct you to the card that inspired this one.

While I have partially blended focal circles in the past, I have not used my Picket Fence Studio Fine Blender Tools before. They are fantastic and offer even soft blending creating incredibly delicate images. Now I know why they are called Life Changing!   

I thought one set may not be enough due to my plan to share my set in my craft studio during future classes, so I patiently waited until Taylored Expressions received a new supply of their Blender Brushes and Caddies. Well, they arrived today and they are beautiful! I hope to play with them once I upload this post 😁

Daffodil Delight (147094) offered a perfect backdrop to highlight the Pretty Peacock (150880), a new 2019-2020 In Color, steamy mug. 

The poinsettia is also part of the Cup of Christmas Bundle (153025). The image is heat set with a Heat Tool (129053) in Stampin' White Embossing Powder (149511) on Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper (149612) and painted using a mix of Daffodil Delight (147094) and Blushing Bride (147100) with an Aqua Painter (103954).

Using the coordinating die, I not only cut out the flower with my Big Shot, I also cut the image out of the center of the mug and inlaid the painted image. Then I used Shimmery Crystal Effects (150892) over the entire mug. 

The sentiment is a partially stamped image that comes from a retired stamp set called Hug in a Mug. I placed tape over the top half of the sentiment that said "hot chocolate is like a" and tapped the stamp in VersaMark (102283), removed the tape, and heat embossed the image using Black Stampin' Emboss Powder (146956). 

The * images above the mug are also from the same retired set. These are heat embossed in Stampin' White Emboss Powder (109132). A small snowflake image was used in the original Pin.

The squiggly steam are die cut images form Vellum (101856) and also are from a retired Holiday set called Pattern Pumpkins. 

One alternative to create the image of steam is to heat emboss or stamp the curly images from current Birthday Backgrounds on page 63, Merry Christmas to All on page 68, Around the Corner Stamp Set on page 157, or an image from For the Love of Felt on page 201 of the Creativity Is Calling 2019-2010 Catalog just to name a few. Images and dies included in the Toile Christmas Bundle (152367) has a perfect image also. Unfortunately, I do not have any of these. 

Another option includes the use of Multipurpose Liquid Glue (110755) to create your own curly images and sprinkle with Stampin' Glitter (133751).    

Each of the retired sets are from the Creativity Delivered 2017 Stampin' Up! Holiday Catalog.  

I thought I would share a before and after image of my creative time. I have heard a few thoughts concerning messy craft spaces versus neat and tidy spaces. 

While my craft studio is always organized with all things in there place when not in use, it is a different story when I am in the midst of creating!

How about you? Are you a neat or messy crafter?

Thank you for visiting my crafting world! I hope to see you again here soon!

Sign up to receive my regular blog posts and if you need any of the supplies above shop my online store 😃

vallyrodriguez.stampinup.net 

💗 Vally

Is a Cup of Cheer Only for Christmas?

 

Cup of Christmas Bundle

This sweet set of mugs started with the Cup of Christmas Bundle (153025), a sheet of Whisper White Cardstock (100730), and a Memento Black Ink Pad (132708). Blending the black ink using the damask stencil from the Basic Pattern Decorative Masks (150697) created the pattern. These items are available through Stampin' Up! and can be found in the Creativity is Calling 2019 Holiday Catalog.

Instead of simply adhering the Real Red (102482) hearts on top of the mugs, a heart from the Stitched Be Mine Die set (148527) cut away a heart from each mug and in their place a contrasting red heart provided an inlay look.

I used the Stitched Rectangles (148551) to create the layer under the mugs. a simple stencil from Hero Arts created a light to dark ombre effect using a Mini Ink Blending Tool and a Real Red Classic Stampin' Ink Pad (147084).

A flick of the felt tip from the cap of a Basic Black Stampin' Write Marker (100082) provided a fine splatter of black dots and a little more grungy interest. 

Embossed with Stampin' White Emboss Powder (109132) on Basic Black Cardstock (121045) the sentiment from the Cup Of Cheer Christmas Bundle (151150) offered a clean chalkboard finish. 

Stampin' Dimensionals (104430) popped up the stitched panel on a Thick Whisper White (140272) A-2 top folding Card base. I also popped up one of the mugs.

I am really enjoying this bundle and have a few other projects to share with you soon!

If you would like to purchase this diverse bundle too or any of the other supplies used, click on any of the highlighted supplies above or visit my online store below. 

vallyrodriguez.stampinup.net

Thank you stopping by and I hope you are inspired to create something.

💗 Vally

Abstract Christmas Cards

Traditional Christmas Cards or NOT

Hello Friends! Are you a traditional or nontraditional Christmas card maker?

While I love all things Christmas, as I have grown in wisdom and age, I have noticed a veering away from what I once thought as a traditional Christmas. 

This has not exactly spilled over to my Christmas decor like it has in my crafting due to years of collecting what I display every year. I will share that with you soon.

This week, I have been getting to some of ideas that are spinning around in my head. I wish I could say I have been spending time on the to do list for my next class...

This abstract card found its way to a "Christmas Project" due to the inspiration that I had to get out on paper!

The inspiration jumped out of the September 2019 Better Homes & Gardens Magazine issue.

I started with a set of note cards (145829) when I decided that size (3 X3) worked well with the individual mugs I created form the Stampin' Up! Cup of Christmas Bundle (153025). I have worked with this set for the past two days. Stay tuned...more to come!

This set of note cards did not start out as a Christmas project. After completing these three, I turned a fourth idea into a card perfect for the upcoming holiday season.

The color scheme includes Basic Black, Blueberry Bushel, Crumb Cake, Daffodil Yellow, and Real Red cardstock. 

Y'all might not know that I LOVE 💗 a good stencil! The one I used in combination with a blending tool and Memento Black Ink (132708) is a Chevron Pair form Hero Arts.

I also used partial die cutting to create just the right size square window using the Stitched Rectangle Dies (148551). 

I black heat embossed (146956) a sentiment from the Cup of Christmas stamp set (153025) directly on the card. Remember when using embossing powders to always use an Embossing Buddy (103083). This is a must when using the darker shades of embossing powders if you do not want any stray mistakes on your projects.

I hope you liked the twist on a not so much Christmas project!

Thanks for stopping in and sharing your creative space and time with me!

If you need any of the supplies I used, click on the highlighted items in this post or visit my online store by clicking on the black and white picture of the tattered shoes.

Oh my goodness... I just realized I neglected to add the Stampin' Up! Creativity is Calling 2019 Holiday Catalog PDF. This catalog opened up for perusing and shopping on September 4th! I will get on adding it immediately!

One last note... I often have YouTube crafting videos playing in the background when I am crafting. Lately, however, I have turned to listening to podcasts, which I am thoroughly enjoying! They are uplifting and encouraging. Some of the takeaways from a few podcasts I listened to while working on this project were "I am not alone and God is on my side."

For a crafter who spends a lot of time alone, that was a good reminder 😊

💗 Vally

A Little Bit of Shine!

Foiling Bling!

My card class in August was all things foil. This is not something I have shared in the past with my group and it was a ton of fun! 

While I have the Heidi Swapp Minc Foil Machine (a gift from my mom), I shared a number of ways to incorporate foiling with and without it. 

Double sided tape and a deco foil Adhesive Pen by iCraft provided a sticky foundation to add shades of gold iCraft deco foil to an embossed and watercolored background in which I used Calypso Coral (147101) and Flirty Flamingo (147052) Stampin' Pads and the Stampin' Up! Layered Leaves 3D Embossing Folder (152321). 

The Perennial Essence Designer Series Paper (149100) added a layer of complementary colors a create a beautiful backdrop. 

No waste here. The inner portion of the embossed A-2 card panel created a second card without a watercolored layer. 

The floral cluster also received gold foiling using the First Frost Stamp Set (148913) and the Frosted Bouquet Dies (147895).

The Gold Heat Embossed (109129) sentiment comes from the Stitched All Around Stamp Set (146632).

A contrasting Daffodil Yellow (119683) frame fashioned a little extra texture by using the Woven Heirlooms Bundle (151093).

But that is not all...

A photo of a gorgeous cake I pinned to my Desserts Board on Pinterest offered the inspiration for another project. I love using pins from creative cakes to find fun ideas and color schemes!

The Stitched Rectangle Dies (148551) provided the perfect shape to create this three layer beauty. I also used a retired background stamp (Marbled 144772/ 143755) and the new In Color Seaside Stampin' Pad (150085) with an adhesive iCraft Pen to add a light wispy application of gold foiling. 

The Stitched Lace Die Set (149625) formed the lacy cake platter and a retired cake stand (Sweet Cake Framelits 145617) was cut from a Gold Foil Sheet (132622). The leaves are also from a retired set (Wonderful Floral Framelits Dies 148529) using the same metallic accent.

Sea Side Spray Cardstock (150883) embossed with a soft script (Scripty 3D 149634) pairs well with the coordinating ink used on the cake tiers. A simple scalloped stitched frame outlines the focal point and adds a little more Whisper White (100730) as do the white flowers punched from the retired Petite Petals (133322).

A few details of So Saffron (147109) floral centers and buds (retired Bitty Blooms Punch Pack 148532) adorned with pearls (144219) almost finishes the card. A vellum banner (101856) (retired Bunch of Banners Dies 141488 and Birthday Banners Stamp Set 141506) offers Happy Birthday (retired Happy Birthday Gorgeous 143662) wishes. 

Do you have a unique place where you draw inspiration? 

I invite you to take a look at the many creative cakes on Pinterest to find new inspiration for your next crafting project!

Thanks for stopping by and if you need a special item you saw here to complete your next crafting project, click on the tattered shoes photo to shop my online store or click on an item with a link attached above.

Until next time...

💗 Vally