Christmas Card Classes start in August!

I know, I know...it's still SUMMER...and it's 94 degrees in the shade, and you haven't even taken your family vacation yet....and you REFUSE to think about back to school, let alone Christmas! You must think I am CRAZY!


Yes, I am. 


But, here's the thing....every year we WAIT until the last minute and then TRY to crank out some cards, only to find we don't ENJOY the process...it only makes us MORE stressed because we have a million other things we need to get done. It adds to the craziness of the "most wonderful time of the year". 


For the past 2 years, I have started my Christmas classes in July or August. Each month my stampers make a selection of cards. They are relaxed, they enjoy the stamping time...it's all good. And then what do ya know, by the time December gets here, they have all of the cards done and all they have to do it mail them out. Viola! 


Classes are already filling up, so don't delay. Space is limited at each class. 

(this adorable card was cased from Michelle Surette! Thanks Michelle!)

You will make 8 cards (4 designs, 2 of each) every month. Each class includes envelopes, so all you have to do is sign the card, and address the envelope! Done! 


No need to commit to a monthly class! Come to the ones you want to, or that fit your schedule. 


Material fee is $20. If you place an order of $40 or more, your material fee is just $8.00! That's only $1 per card! Awesome!


Here are the available dates:



Holiday Stamp Camp #1
Weds. August 15th @ 7 PM
Friday, August 31 @ 7 PM


Holiday Stamp Camp # 2
Friday, Sept. 14th @ 7 PM
Sunday, Sept. 23rd @ 2 PM


Holiday Stamp Camp # 3
Saturday, October 6th @ 2 PM
Friday, October 19th @ 7 PM


Holiday Stamp Camp # 4
Friday, November 9th @ 7 PM
Sunday, November 18th @ 2 PM


Holiday Stamp Camp # 5
Friday, Dec. 7th @ 7 PM
Thursday, Dec. 13th @ 7 PM


There are two dates for each camp (same cards). 


Please RSVP to attend: Stamp4joy@Comcast.net or (860) 404-1860.


I look forward to stamping with you! 

MDS Blog Hop Friday!

Woo Hoo! It's Friday! I am so glad! I have such a busy weekend ahead, as I am sure most of you do also! Lots of fun Christmas activities and family time!

We have decided as a group to make the next few weeks a general Christmas theme! I was so excited by that idea, because I just finished designing my holiday cards in MDS!

I wanted a classic and simple design...and because I love the pictures, I wanted them to be the focal point.

For this project I chose the 7x5 landscape card template. I designed the layout pretty easily by adding the photo boxes to fit the pictures I wanted to use. Then I added a square punch and resized it horizontally for the top panel. I then just did a color fill and selected Basic Black. I did the same on the bottom and selected paper fill, and chose a paper from the Holiday Harmony II selection. I love how it came out. 

On the inside I added a sentiment and our names. 

I have to tell you, it was quite interesting bringing our dog into the Mall to the photography studio. She did pretty well but it was so hard to get her to sit still! LOL. I brought a baggie of carrots with me, and I think she ate ALL of them. I might be paying for that decision tomorrow. LOL. 

Be sure to stop on by to all the other blogs...I am sure the ladies have some wonderful creations for you! 

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for stopping by! 

1. Jeanna Bohanon

2. Rochelle Gould 

3. Mandy Grant

4. Julie Leblanc 

5. Amber Meadows

6. Terri Mongeon (YOU ARE HERE)

7. Aly Schilling

8. Cindy Schuster

9. Erica Shaw

10. Heather Summers

11. Alesha Walls

12. Holly VanDyne

Simple Snowflakes

Hello All...Happy Saturday!

I am getting ready for my November Christmas Card Club this morning. During the storm I missed 2 classes, so we are in makeup mode! I am excited to stamp with these ladies this morning. I have a rather large group and we break it up in to 3 smaller gatherings during the course of the month. It works great because they can pick and choose what date works for them each month. More flexibility is always a good thing when everyone is so busy these days!

Anyway here is one of the cards they are making this month. I just adore it because it is simple and easy!

It is simply Very Vanilla Cardstock, with the top layer embossed with the Northern Flurry Embossing Folder. Add a little glitter and some basic pearls...and it looks elegant! I then stamped the ornament in Soft Suede and punched it out I added some Vanilla Seem Binding Ribbon, and we are done! 

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Thanks for stopping by today! 

Snow...really?

Well, it is snowing like crazy here in CT. I won't complain, because really, who wants to hear one more person whine about the weather? It is what it is.

I do love Snow Days though...because it's 2 PM and I am still in my pajamas! :) I stamped quite a bit this morning, working on my November Christmas Club Cards and also making samples up for our Holiday Stamp A Stack!

So let me share a Holiday Card with you. It's quite simple, but I think that is what I love about it!

See? Simple, right? It Crumb Cake and Early Espresso Cardstock. I used the Snowflake Punch in the top layer of the Crumb Cake, and adhered a piece of whisper white behind it. The I used the fabulous Silver Glimmer Paper and the Northern Flurry Die Cut for the Big Shot and cut out snowflakes....
I adhered one right in the center of the White Snowflake and added a Basic Rhinestone Jewel to the Center. It's so sparkly in person. :) Love sparkly!

I used some White Bakers Twine to tie it up in a bow, and stamped the greeting (from the set Word Play) in Early Espresso. Then sponged Whisper White ink around the edges to make it look snowy.
Love snowy....and sparkly. Snowy and Sparkly....good.

Hope you are having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Simple Snowflake

Here is a simple but pretty Christmas Card. I love how clean it is, and so easy you could mass produce these in a heartbeat.

The card base is Whisper White. The crumb cake layer was sponged in Whisper White ink on the edges...makes it look snowy. :) The snowflake is die cut from the Northern Frost Die Cut using our Silver Glimmer paper. I added a white button to the middle and some white bakers twine for the bow. 

I stamped the greeting in Basic Black ink. Sorry I realized after I stamped it that the greeting is retired! But you could easily use something else. Peace on Earth would work really well on this card too. 

Minimal supplies, and maximum adorable. 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week!

Christmas Keepsake Box Class!

List, Lists and More Lists!

I found a super cute and fun idea to make for the girls on my team. We have a meeting this morning and we are going to stamp and eat and share, and eat....LOL. You get the idea.
I always like to make a little something extra or have a give away ...just something to show how much I appreciate and adore these ladies. We have a lot of fun together!

So anyway, back to the project. I used our new Holly Berry Bouquet Designer Series Paper to cover these list pads...take a look...

The pads themselves measure about 2" x 8". Perfect size for list making! Our stamping portion of the meeting today is related to anything from the Holiday Mini, so I went with the Christmas theme on these. After all, we ALL have a lot to do around the holidays and I make more lists then than any other time of year. 

Here is a close up of the journal and then a peek at the inside paper. 

Supply List:

Real Red Cardstock - 8 1/4" x 5 1/2"

(score at 2 5/8" and 2 7/8")

Wild Wasabi Cardsotck - 8" x 2 3/8"

Stripe and Wasabi DSP - 4" x 2 1/4"

Stamp Set: Pines and Poinsettias, Tiny Tags (Merry)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, and Real Red Stampin' Write Markers

Accessories:

Red Glimmer Paper, Chocolate Chip Scallop Ribbon, Holly Berry Designer Buttons, Linen Thread, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, Stampin' Dimentionals, Glue Dots, Sticky Strip

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have an awesome weekend!

Christmas Card Club August Cards

I had my first Christmas Card Club get together this past Tuesday. It was great having lots of happy Stampers in the house. I wanted to share the cards they made. Everyone loved them!

Each month club members make 12 Christmas Cards (4 designs, 3 of each). So by December, they will have made 60 cards. All they have to do is address the envelopes (which are also included) and they are all set! How fun! 

The club has been so popular! I have filled 2 clubs, and I am on my way to filling the 3rd. If you have thought about it, let me know. It's a lot of fun and you make beautiful cards! In addition, I offer specials and discounts each month for Club Members ONLY. And at the December Club Meeting you will make 16 Holiday Gift Tags at no additional cost! Woo Hoo! This month, my club members received a FREE package of Basic Pearls or Basic Jewels to add a little BLING to their projects! Sweet! 

I only have 3 spaces remaining, so contact me if you are interested! 

Be sure to stop by tomorrow as it is week # 2 of the MDS Blog Hop! These weeks theme is BIRTHDAY! We have some AWESOME digital images for this very subject! :)

Thanks for stopping by - hope to see you soon!

Start your Holiday Cards in August! Christmas Clubs forming Now!

One more Christmas Card

I am so sorry for not being a better blogger this month. I have been crazy busy (like most of you I am sure) getting ready for Christmas. I made over 80 cards this year, plus a special few done with My Digital Studio. I love making cards, gifts and tags...and every year I swear I am going to start earlier. And every year I don't.

I used the Dasher stamp for most of my cards this year. I just love that little reindeer. And he's only a $9 stamp! I made several versions, as there were so many I wanted to make. On this one, I wanted to use up some of the Christmas Cocoa Designer Paper I had left over.

The white cardstock behind dasher was embossed using the petals a plenty embossing forlder and the Big Shot die cut machine. The snowflake is made from the punch, and a brad in the center finishes it off.

I wish everyone a safe, healthy and happy holiday season. I look forward to stamping with you in the new year!

Merry Christmas to all ~

Stampin' Up! Treat Boxes...

...are so adorable and easy peasy! They come flat, you just fold together and viola!

I packaged up some treats for my neighbor who helped me out in a pinch a few weeks ago...so I wrapped the contents in a cello bag with pretty ribbon. And then I used the Stampin' Up! exclusive Two Tags Die (which is on SALE right now along with many other Big Shot dies!) to make this adorable tag. The snowman I put together with punches. Isn't he cute?

Here is a close up of the tag:

I love making gifts for people this time of year. Yes, it takes a little time, but you can't put a price on giving a gift that you hand crafted. You can't buy that in a store, and it's much more cost effective. This year, use your hands instead of your wallet. :-)

Have a great day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

It's All About the Packaging...

So every year, my best friend Eileen and her Mom do an Annual Cookie Swap at the holidays. This is always a source of many hours of work. In other words, it's a big, fat hairy deal.

We always have to make between 12- 14 dozen of cookies. We make one dozen for each person in attendance, and one dozen extra for the party for us to eat.

We also do a grab bag, play some games, and it's just a really fun time. I look forward to it every year. It's a big girl event only, so no kids. I look forward to seeing all the gals that I haven't seen since the last cookie swap.

So, here's the thing...I can bake pretty good. Some years my cookies are better than others. Some years, they just suck. But for me, the cookie swap is more of a time to use my CRAFTING skills, rather than my baking skills. I am always wondering how I am going to package the cookies in a way that will be adorable. No cello bags with santa's on it from WalMart for me. Nope. It's got to be crafty and something you can't buy. I spend a lot of time each year trying to come up with something cute, and just a little better than last year.

I thought this year I wanted to make a house of some sort, and after playing around all week with loads of ideas, here is what I came up with.

This is made from a plain white gift bag. I cut the top part with the handles off, and covered the front and back with Kraft Cardstock (definately use sticky strip top adhere it so it doesn't come off). Then I cut another piece for the roof. The back of the roof adheres with Sticky Strip, but the front has velco closures so you can get into the bag. I punched 2 holes in the top of the roof and put in 2 Jumbo Pewter Eyelets. I then threaded the 5/8" Chocolate Chip ribbon through the eyelets and tied on the inside.

I stamped the snowflakes on front and back with White Craft Ink. The tree and bird are from the Season' of Friendship Stamp Set. The windows were made with punches. The red piece is 1.5" square, the Chocoalte Window is the 1 3/8" square punch. And the 4 little craft windows are 1/2" squares.

The door is simply a 2" x 3" piece of Kraft cardstock, sponged on the edge with Close to Cocoa. A Chocolate Chip Jumbo Brad acts as the door knob. The small heart is the smallest heart from the Heart to Heart Punch. The snow is simply a strip that I tore by hand, I added 2 way glue across the top and topped it off with Dazzling Diamonds Glitter.

The label "From Our House to Yours" was made for this project! It's from the Sweet Season Stamp Set. I stamped it in Chocolate Chip and colored the heart in with a Real Red Marker. It gets punched out with the Large Oval Punch.

I then punched 2 Real Red Scallop Ovals, and adhered them to the Wide Oval to make a background. 2 Gold Brads added to the sides, and a few Stampin' Dimensinoals, and viola!

I am pretty pleased how it turned out, although it did take me all day to design it. LOL.

Now I just need to find a really good Christmas Cookie Recipe! ;0)

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great day!

Gift Giving From The Heart - Decorative Tiles Class

Hello Stampers,

I am sorry I have been away all week. As most of you might have heard (from me screaming here in CT) my email has had some major issues this week. All of the emails I have been sending have disapeared into cyberspace. Comcast is still working on it, so I hope to have this situation resolved soon! Thanks for being patient!

This is a class I did a few years back and everyone loved it so much. Since then I have gotten many more requests on when I would have another. So, just in time for the Holidays....here we go.

We will make these four 6x6 tiles in this class using Stampin' Up! Inks, Ribbons and Embellishments. These designs are inspired by my good friend and fellow demonstrator, Kimberly VanDiepen. She is such a wonderful person, and we always share ideas to help eachother out. So, thanks girl!


















































































In uncertain times, when we are trying to get by with less, giving gifts that are handmade are not only cost effective, they are true expression of love and caring.

Instead of buying gifts, make them! The recipient will cherish that you took the time to make a gift instead of buy one. :)



This class is offered on 2 dates...

Thursday, December 3rd at 10:00 AM
and
Friday, December 11th at 6:30 PM.

There are 6 spaces available in each class.

Class fee is $25.00

What to bring: A Smile! :0)

NOTE: these tiles are decorative use only.

If you are interested in attending, please email me at Stamp4joy@comcast.net

Thanks for stopping by today!

Stamp Happy,

CHRISTMAS JINGLE CARD CLASS !!

Here’s a gorgeous Card Class to help you

crank out those holiday cards!

We will be using the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin’ Kit

to make 25 HOLIDAY CARDS!

Just take a look at how beautiful these cards are!

OK, now for the details…

This class is offered on 2 dates….

Sunday, November 29th from 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Or
Sunday, December 6th from 1:00 – 5:00 PM

Each class is limited to 6 participants.

If I get a huge response and fill these dates, I may add additional dates.

If you want a private class for you and your friends, please contact me and we will find a date that is suitable for both of our schedules.

The class fee is $35.00 and includes:

Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin Kit (enough to make all these cards and STILL have plenty left over!)

(The Christmas Jingle Kit comes with 12 x 12 Textured Cardstock in Very Vanilla, Real Red, Old Olive and Chocolate Chip. You will also get several sheets of 12x12 Designer Series paper in 4 patterns, and 6 sheets of Self Adhesive Die Cuts. The only stamping on these cards is the greetings!)

* 8.5 x 11 Very Vanilla Cardstock for the card base (this is additional cardstock aside from what is in the kit)

*Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon, Gold Cord, Gold Brads and Stampin’ Dimensionals

What to bring:

Paper Trimmer…yes, you will be doing cutting and measuring in this class! Because the cards are all different with different measurements, it’s really impossible for me to prep it all for you ahead of time. I will have most of it done, but you will need to cut some of the Designer Series Paper.

Bring adhesive and scissors.

If you would like envelopes, please add $6.00 to the class fee. You will receive a pack (40) of Stampin' Up! Ultra Smooth Very Vanilla Envelopes. These envelopes are the HIGHEST quality, and you will LOVE THEM! :-)

Please email me to reserve your space. First come, first serve. Prepayment is required, sorry no refunds.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Have a great day!