Well here we are with another amazing release from Papertrey Ink.

Every month I get so filled up with idea’s upon just glancing at the sets!! Every month I fall in love. This month is no different!! We have all shared many projects with you on the days leading up to today. I hope you were inspired to get some home-made holiday gifts done-EARLY!!

I have another special post for tomorrow, but today I will share my projects used for the release!

I love hearing your feedback on what was your favorite. It always makes my day 😀 We all work so hard to give you fresh and innovative ideas, that are practical and easy to do.

I am going to share my thoughts that went into each project. I hope you like them 😀 

NOTE: ALL ITEMS used in my descriptions can be purchased at Papertrey Ink

Made of Snow

I LOVE this set!! Its my favorite from this months release. The many faces and ways you can get that snowman to look is just awesome. Each one has a new personality, just like the real thing. Really cool.

I case you missed it, check out my Cocoa To Go! set My #1 fave from the release!

Pretty in Pink

Who says snow”men” have to be blue? I went with non traditional colors for this one and just LOVE it. I think this is my favorite color combo and to combine it with this winter set is great. I think she is just perfect in pink. The snowy hills are all layered and 3D!  She is just so soft and cute.

I plan on doing many more things with this set, so stay tuned 😀

Pretty in Pink Snow Girl

Supplies:

Stamps- Made of Snow, Merry & Bright (the little snowflakes in bkgd)
Cardstock- PTI select white, Dark Chocolate, Sweet Blush
Ink- Palette black, Dark Chocolate and copic markers
Ribbon- Sweet Blush Twill
Tools- CM wavy cutter, circle and snowflake punch
Other- pink glitter by stampendous, 2 way glue pen, fun flock, adhesive rhinestones, shimmery pastels for cheeks

Merry & Bright

OH man! Did Melissa ever make an awesome tree set. I so love this set!! Seriously fabulous. Everything comes together so easily, and I love the retro look it has.

I decided to use elements form 3 different trees for this.

Retro Christmas CD Gift Set

What is better than popping on a CD full of your favorite Christmas songs? Spreading the joy that gives you by sharing a CD of your favorite songs with someone special as they prepare for the holidays! I love listening to Christmas music with the kids as well decorate the house and the tree!  I decided that a card and CD holder would be a great gift for anyone 😀

Retro Christmas CD Gift Set

Supplies:

Stamps- Merry & Bright
Cardstock- PTI select white, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate
Ink- Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate
Ribbon- Dark Chocolate twill
Tools- Scor-Pal, Martha Stewart border punch, coluzzle circle cutter
other- CD

I have to say I think these colors are going to be in my very own Christmas cards this year! Better get the kids photos done soon!

LOVE-Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush and Dark Chocolate! So cool. I also loved this simple retro card. Its high on my faves list!

So here we have the CD case I made-to match.

Unfold and here you go! The ribbons tie the top closed, and prevent the CD from sliding out. A super project for when you are tight on time, and want to mass produce a gift.

Here is my completed CD 😀  Isn’t it cute?

Mazel Tov

Well you may have seem my gift ensemble with this set found HERE.

I think Nichole did an amazing job collaborating for this set. While I am not Jewish and I am so happy to have a set like this to create items for those who are! I am sure many will appreciate her efforts for this set.

The image is called the Tree of Life. I think it is my favorite symbol from the set. It is so pretty and elegant! I wanted a card for “anytime” to send to my Jewish friends. I felt this was perfect. I gold embossed this image, then colored with shimmery pastels. I added some adhesive rhinestones to tree centers. I think they make it look elegant. I used the dotted border of the image to inspire my piercing in my design. I am very happy with the end result of this.

Rustic Snowflakes

Despite its “rustic” name, I wanted my design to be soft and subtle.

I made this little gift set that is sure to brighten up someone’s winter blue’s away!

I LOVE matchy matchy stuff, and I think this is apparent with this release! LOL! It really just ties it all together and shows people the thought you put into their gift.

The card-

I used versamark and shimmery pastels in my favorite non-traditional Holiday colors-pink, purple, and pale blue! I used a simple layout with the snowflakes border stamp for a quick and easy card.

This lantern was purchased at Target 2 years ago, in the $1 section! I bought like 12 of them! LOL! I am so happy I did. See hoarding CAN pay off! LOL! For this lantern I stamped the glass window panes, using white stazon, then brushed on my shimmery pastels!! Isn’t it stunning?

I found this rainbow ribbon for a perfect match. I wanted the hole in the top closed, so I stamped a matching panel to fit inside, and dress it up a bit, as I decided a battery operated tea light would be best for this project! No worries about FIRE with this project! Plus the kids could make these!!  SO EASY!

Here it is all lit up! Isn’t it just so pretty. Image this on a table or hanging up. maybe line up several for a nice ambiance. You can usually find lanterns like this in the Home & Garden section of your hardware store! Winter usually means a nice discount!

Now Home for the Holidays-

I do have a special project, but that has to wait for tomorrow. I can tell you that the set (along with boards and beams) is just AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it.

Well I am wiped. Its been a crazy week. We had some tight deadlines but we did it 😀 I hope you leave here with some sort of inspiration 😀 I really LOVE what I do. You have no idea the joy it brings me. I don’t know what I would do without my stamping!!! Most likely my brain would explode!

I do usually make more than shared here, but like to spread it out a bit so you don’t go into overload!! Be sure to check in on all the design team members for their amazing creations!

Stay tuned tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

August-on through till Christmas is generally my most crazy, non-stop time for me. It begins with our hot air balloon rally, then I know push time is before me. It starts with Amber’s birthday, then Jay and I have our wedding anniversary. Before you know it we are back in school and joining all the activities that come with that.  I don’t get to even breath, then it is Alexa’s birthday end of September, with Jay’s birthday 2 days later. Then we have Halloween, with Noah’s birthday close behind. Fast forward to Thanksgiving……… before I even finish my Thanksgiving dinner it seems like its Christmas. Let’s not forget all the companies I work for get me gearing towards these holidays while Im still trying to sip ice tea in the hot summer sun, with us getting holiday stuff end of July to early August. CRAZY!

So I got Amber’s birthday stuff out of the way, time to focus on Alexa.

I originally was going to combine their party at the beauty school, then realized that would not be fair to Alexa, as she isn’t as into all that as Amber is.

So I asked Alexa what she wanted to do for her party, and she popped out with the idea of a bowling party! HMMMM. She loves Wii bowling and is really good. So I called the place yesterday, got it all booked and  the invites whipped out in about 1 1/2 hours. Here they are!

Alexa goes bowling

Keep reading and you’ll “get it”

When mom is a stamper, kids get spoiled with their invite ideas, let me tell you! This one had me quite stumped for cute ideas. BOWLING!?! What on earth can I do for that?

Alexa informed me she wanted them to be purple and green, and use her groovy girl image from Alexa’s set.

FYI-ALL procedes from Alexa’s set benefit Pediatric Leukemia and Lymphoma research-check out her story HERE

Um, OK Alexa, I’ll see what I can do.

I love the pop out style, DIRECTIONS HERE, and thought it would be cute to get her Groovy girl bowling! So I printed my info, then made the pop up. I wanted the back portion to look like a bowling lane, with the pins, and bowling ball at the end.

The pop out standing up

PROBLEM: I have NO bowling sets!

So-keeping these simple-they are going to a bunch of kids, and trying to keep with my vision, I masked a bowling alley lane 😀 I then used some extra rubbah from a set I had not finished trimming, and hand cut a bowling pin! I stamped the center pin first, then without reinking stamped the other 2. OK not perfect, but not awful either. I was actually kind of happy with it.

Then came the bowling ball. I just used my 3/4 circle punch, dotted 3 holes for the finger grips, then sponges the ball edges for depth. Slap in a dimensional and you SORT OF have a bowling alley!

Cool huh?

Yes I had to give you 3 different photos-

I think she will love them no matter what. I think, if I didn’t stamp how would she get her awesome bowling party invites?! That would be a shame!

I only made 9, and fear I may need more. I have no idea how many girl friends she has in school. Some aren’t in her class, so I may have to pop out a few more this week when I send them to school. I had to get them done since her party is the end of this month. 2 Weeks in a row will be the girls parties.

I think for Noah we will do a Costume party-maybe. He is the real picky one!

Thanks for letting me share how I interpreted Alexa’s groovy girl bowling party! I am HOPING I can design a super cook bowling bag style party favor box to put some treats in! Now THAT would be cool! Then personalize with each girls name 😀 Oh the ideas are flowing.

Hope you have a super weekend, and that I see you at the Papertrey Ink party tonight!