Rubber Stamping & Card Making with Yapha

Great blues from ColourQ today!

Of course, I had to use this for a Hanukkah page, and what better than Leo’s first Hanukkah?

I used the Jewish Holiday Sayings Stamp Brush Set to decorate my page. Sorry for such a short post. I was just diagnosed with pneumonia, so my posting may be spotty over the next week or so. Thanks for understanding!

Happy Cyber Monday! Are you getting great deals? I just wanted to remind you that Stampin’ Up’s Online Extravaganza is still going on, through the end of the day on Wednesday! Here are some examples of fabulous deals (there are plenty more!):

• Flight of the Butterfly Stamp Set — regularly $31.95 — now just $15.98
• Many Merry Messages Stamp Set – regularly $34.95 — now just $17.48
• On Your Birthday Stamp Set — regularly $33.95 — now just $16.98
• Candy Cane Christmas Designer Fabric — regularly $9.95 — now just $3.98
• Deck the Halls Designer Fabric– regularly $9.95 – now just $3.98

Plus if you’ve been thinking about getting My Digital Studio, you can get My Digital Studio Express for $39.95 with your choice of one of three download bundles worth $40!  Don’t let these great deals slip away!

Yesterday I showed you the card I made at work for a friend having a baby boy. Today I have one to show you for another friend at work who is having a baby girl. It worked just perfectly with this week’s Pals Paper Arts Challenge, which is to use pearls. I put tiny pearls in each of the scallops, and a larger one on the baby carriage.

Stamps: Baby Bundle
Ink: StazOn Jet Black, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive
Paper: Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Pawsitively Prints (retired)
Other: Old Olive Satin Ribbon, Basic Pearls, 2 1/2″ Circle Punch, 3″ Circle Bigz Die, Scallop Circles #2 Die, Big Shot

The Designer Series Paper has been retired  for a while, but it was on the Clearance Rack for quite a while. Be sure to check there every so often. The deals are amazing! And don’t forget, the Online Extravaganza is going on until Wednesday!

I loved the Stampin’ Addicts Sketch Challenge 115 so much, I had to make a second card using it! This was for one of Eve’s teachers who is having a baby boy.

Stamps: Bear Hugs
Inks: StazOn Jet Black, Soft Suede, Pool Party
Papers: Pool Party, Soft Suede, Spice Cake Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Perfect Pennants Bigz Die, 1 3/4 Circle Punch, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon

I can see myself using this sketch a lot. Thanks so much, Paula!

Happy Thanksgiving! I have so many things to be thankful for, today and everyday. I am thankful for my family, my friends, my job, and for having a hobby that not only brings me joy, but brings joy to others, too.  Yesterday I showed you the cards that the 5th Graders were making for the veterans living at Haven House, which is part of the VA here in Los Angeles. The kids made the cards assembly line style, with each of them taking part of the task.  (If the picture looks funny, it’s because I blurred out their faces.)

They worked so hard, and so well, that they completed twice as many cards as I expected! I had to cut more cardstock before the second class came! All together they made 105 holiday cards for the veterans to send out to their families and friends. And they loved making them! They each took their assigned job very seriously, and the cards they made turned out fantastic.

I feel so fortunate to work in place that not only lets me share my love of what I do with the students and see them enjoying it also, but to be able to help others in the process as well. I hope you have many blessings to count as well.

Our Service Learning coordinator was told by the VA Hospital here in Los Angeles that they have a great need for Holiday cards for the veterans to send out. Since we work together on cards for the Jewish Home, Lisa came to me to see if it was something I was interested in doing. Of course it was! We decided that this would be a great project for the Fifth Graders to take on. I need to come up with a card design that would be easy enough for the kids to make, but wouldn’t actually  look like a 5th grader made it. This is one of the cards I decided to use.

Stamps: Four the Holidays
Ink: Night of Navy
Paper: Bashful Blue, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Other: Northern Flurry Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Basic Rhinestones

The other card I chose for them to make is this gorgeous Gold Christmas card.

I saw these super cute fabric pumpkins over on Heidi’s blog the other day, and I totally wanted to make my own! Luckily, she linked to the directions on the Martha Stewart website. One of the art teachers at school has been sewing lately, so I asked her if she wouldn’t mind helping me out with the part that needed to be machine stitched. Not only did she help with the sewing, Edy also taught me what it means to cut fabric on the bias, and why it is important! These are made with Stampin’ Up’s super yummy Spice Cake fabric.

Supplies: Spice Cake Designer Fabric, Hemp Twine, More Mustard Dotted Scallop Ribbon, Early Espresso 1/4″ Grosgrain, Pool Party Ruffled Ribbon, sewing machine, thread, batting

The pieces of fabric I used were 4″ x 8″, 6″ x 12″, and 8″ x 16″. You could go bigger or smaller, depending on the size of the pumpkins that you want.

Thanks again to Heidi & Edy. If you have a sec, go check out some of Edy’s amazing artwork!

Whoo-hoo!! Stampin’ Up’s Online Extravanga is here! It starts today and runs through Wednesday, November 30th. There are some absolutely amazing deals! Stamps, ribbon, fabric, digital downloads, and more!! You can view the PDF with all of the info, or take a look at everything in my online store. Please note — the prices in the store DO NOT reflect the discounts! Discounts will be applied at checkout, so please look at the PDF for the exact pricing.

In addition, there are two items that are on sale today (Monday) only!! You can get the Simply Scored scoring board and the Sweet Pressed Cookie Stamps for 20% off. But that offer expires at midnight Mountain time, so don’t miss out!

Also included in the Online Extravaganza promotion is the opportunity to receive a free bundle of preselected digital downloads (at least a $39.95 value) with the purchase of My Digital Studio Express. This is a great way to get started with digital crafting! The bundle options are:

Bundle #1: My Digital Studio Booster Pack

Bundle #2: Holiday Themed Downloads
-Merry & Type Stamp Brush Set
-Letters to Santa Designer Series Paper
-Letters to Santa Embellishments
-Baker’s Twine
-Dasher Stamp Brush
-Holiday Harmony II Kit
-Merry Delightful Digital Tape
-25 & Counting Stamp Brush Set
-Deck the Halls Designer Buttons
-And a Happy New Year Photocard Template

Bundle #3: Scrapbooking Themed Downloads
-Day in the Lift Kit
-Thoughtful Overlays Stamp Brush Set
-Fun Flowers Shapes
-Delightful Digital Tape
-Sweet Details Alphabet & Numbers
-Word Play Stamp Brush Set

To view a PDF of the images in each bundle, visit the online store under My Digital Studio Express.

Please let me know if you have any questions! Happy shopping!

New digital downloads on a Monday? Yep! It’s all part of kicking off Stampin’ Up’s Online Extravaganza! These downloads work with My Digital Studio and any other digital scrapbooking program that allows you to import PNG and JPG files, which is most graphics programs, and even Microsoft Word! (Clicking on the pictures will take you right to the store to purchase these downloads.)

128891 Celebrate the Holidays Invitation Postcard Template $1.95

Download includes:
* 5″ x 3-1/2″ double-sided postcard designer template
* 8-piece stamp brush set
* 5 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Ornaments and garland included as embellishments, and words as stamp brushes for use on other projects.
* Use as invitation or remove “date, time, place, rsvp” for another Christmas card option.

Coordinating colors:
Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Marina Mist, Not Quite Navy, River Rock, Very Vanilla

128872 Holiday Harmony II Kit $7.95

Sale Price: $5.96

Download includes:
* 12 Designer Series Paper patterns
* 21 embellishments
* One-page 8″ x 8″ designer template

Notes:
* Recolored retired Designer Series Paper with coordinating recolored embellishments.

Coordinating colors:
Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Old Olive, Very Vanilla

128878 Merry Delightful Digital Tape $3.95

Download includes:
* 25 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive

Notes:
* Five new colors for your Delightful Digital Tape collection.
* Download installs into “Delightful Digital Tape” folder so you can access all your tape in one easy location.

Coordinating colors:
Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz, Sahara Sand

128341 Trim the Tree Digital Embellishments $3.95

Sale Price: $2.96

Download includes:
* 20 embellishments
* 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ greeting card designer template

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Festive holiday word strips great for pages, cards, journals, or any holiday project.

Coordinating colors:
Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi

128890 Wishing You A Very Merry Greeting Card Template $1.95

Download includes:
* 6″ x 6″ greeting card designer template
* 11 embellishments

Features:
* Digital-exclusive
* Template’s images included as separate embellishments for use on additional projects.

Coordinating colors:
Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Very Vanilla

You can purchase these or any other digital downloads through my online store. (Clicking on the pictures above will take you there as well.) They great news is that they are available for immediate use, with no shipping charges! Just click on Digital Crafting, then Digital Downloads, then Newest Downloads to see all of the recent additions! If you registered your copy of My Digital Studio, you may also receive end-of-the month emails from Stampin’ Up featuring that month’s digital releases.

There is a My Digital Studio tab to the top right hand corner of this blog. It is a handy reference to a variety of My Digital Studio resources, including a list of all of the downloads and a break down of the printing costs. There is also a Resources page on MyDigitalStudio.net that includes an MDS Catalog. It shows all of the MDS software artwork (contained in the boxed-version) and downloads from the October 2009 launch through October 31, 2011! The catalog gives a snapshot of the entire product line with artwork thumbnails followed by product details, which includes the colors of the designer papers! Because MDS is regularly coming out with new artwork, the catalog will be updated every month.

Have you been waiting to buy the My Digital Studio software, or do you have a friend who would love to get her hands on it?  During our Online Extravaganza, you’ll get a FREE bundle of digital downloads—valued at $40 —when you buy the My Digital Studio Express software (item 124483; $39.95 US). See the three bundle options here.

What a great sketch from clean&simple this week!

The question, of course, is what to put in the circle… I’ve been having a lot of fun lately with my Snowflake #2 die, so I decided to go with a snowflake instead of a circle at all. And I went so clean and simple that I didn’t even use an extra layer of card stock! I just ran my card base through the Big Shot in an embossing folder.

Stamps: Four the Holidays
Ink: Pool Party
Paper: Pool Party, Whisper White, Silver Glimmer Paper
Other: Snowflake #2 Die, Snow Burst Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Big Shot, 1″ Square Punch, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Don’t forget! Stampin’ Up’s Online Extravaganza starts tomorrow (Monday)! Stop back here for all of the details!