Happy Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome to stop #6 on the Stampin' Addicts Happy Holidays Blog Hop!  The Happy Holidays Blog Hop will feature sneak peaks of the different stamp sets and accessories available in the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog.   This catalog is available to purchase from on September 1st, and the ladies in this hop are going to make you want to buy everything in it!!  There are 40 jam packed pages of the Holiday Mini Catalog that will fit any of your fall/winter holiday needs; from jewelry to Halloween treats, Christmas gifts and Fall cards, this Mini Catalog has just what you need! 

If you have been following the blog hop in order you've just seen Sarah's fabulous creations at Lily's Ink Pad featuring the new "Haunting Hill" Jumbo Stampin' Around Wheel.  Aren't the images on that wheel just perfect for everything spooky?!?!  This hop is a continuous circle, so no matter whether you start here with my blog, or are following the links to the next blog on each person's post, you'll be able to see it all.  Let's get started!!!

Well, here is a non-Halloween use for the GORGEOUS new Night & Day Specialty Designer Series Paper, that can be found on page 11 of the Holiday Mini Catalog.  I have been begging Stampin' Up! for black and white Designer Series Paper (DSP) FOREVER, and boy did they make me happy!!!  This paper is SO versatile, and does not have any Halloween specific images on it, so it works fabulously for just about anything shabby chic, elegant, traditional, or _______ - fill in the blank with your style of stamping.  My projects are all a Basic Black, Whisper White, Basic Gray and Melon Mambo palette and these colors were just what I wanted for this little gift set for my daughter's new 1st grade teacher. 

You will see that I used the YUMMY new Shimmer Paint, in Frost White (pg 27), on top of the DSP or the Melon Mambo CS on two of the projects.  When you paint it (using a sponge) on top of the Basic Black patterned DSP (this is the pattern I kept in each of the four projects to tie them all together), it turned it a lovely shade of Basic Gray.  Be sure to click on any photographs that you wish to see close-up and personal - it really shows you the shine of that Shimmer Paint.   A little bit of this Shimmer Paint goes a LONG way.  I used about four drops to completely cover each of the 3 flowers on the little matchbox candy box (front center in the above picture) and to sponge the edges of the Melon Mambo flower on the pencil/pen holder.

 

Speaking of the pencil/pen holder....  I used some sticky strip to adhere the DSP to the clean and de-labeled vegetable can.  I then used my Scallop Edge punch to punch the Whisper White border for the top, along with my Paper Piercing Tool (which you can now buy SEPARATELY - YEAH!!) and Paper Piercing Mat.  I adhered it using more Sticky Strip.  I then used my lovely Big Shot to run some Melon Mambo CS and the Night & Day Specialty DSP through with the Flower Layers Originals Die.  I then misted the two flowers and crumpled them up and then flattened them back out and dried them using my Heat Tool.  I followed the drying with some sponging of the Frost White Shimmer Paint on both of the flower layers, just along their edges.  Next, I stamped the lovely "B" using the Lovely Letters Alphabet and some Black StazOn ink on Whisper White CS.  I punched the "B" out using my 1-1/4" Circle Punch.  All of these were stuck together using mini glue dots and dimensionals (to attach the "B" to the flowers) and some dimensionals to adhere the flower to the can.  Lastly, I ran my Sticky Strip around the bottom of the can and tied some yummy 1/2" Melon Mambo Polka-Dot Grosgrain ribbon as the final touch.  Behind the can, you'll see the bag that I altered to match my gift set.  I used some of the Specialty DSP along with my Baroque Motifs stamp set to color coordinate my little white gift bag.  I stamped onto some Whisper White CS cut to fit the front of the bag since it's easy to stamp on a bag and get areas that don't stamp due to the creases in the bag. 

This card was a fun one to make.  I used my trusty Big Shot and a new Sizzlet die from the Mini Catalog (pg 21) called Merry Details.  I once again found a use rather than the intended for the product in the Mini Catalog.  This die has some absolutely adorable Christmas trees and a snowflake on it, but I chose to use the little birdie.  I paired it with running some of the Night & Day Specialty DSP through my Big Shot using the Go Go Boots Alphabet dies to create the word "hello".  Where, you might ask, did I find an epoxy button to match the DSP perfectly?!?!  I made it!!  I used my Crystal Effects to cover a little corner of the DSP and let that dry (overnight - I'm too impatient to sit there and watch it dry for hours) and used my 1" Circle punch to punch out the "button".  I attached some Whisper White grosgrain to my button, added it to my 1/2" Melon Mambo Polka-Dot Grosgrain ribbon treatment that was already already tied onto my Scallop Edge punched Specialty DSP that was adhered to a paper pierced and distressed layer of Whisper White CS for an easy and eye-catching element on my card.  The background of my card is also a piece of the Night & Day Specialty DSP.  Aren't you just loving it?!?!?

This last little creation is my favorite.  It's the first time I used my Matchbox Bigz XL die, and I love this little box.  Did you know that in addition to 10 absolutely fabulous sheets of Designer Series Paper in the Night & Day Specialty DSP pack, you also get TWO sheets of printed window sheets?!?!?  That's right!!  That's why they added the word "Specialty" to this gorgeous pack of papers.  As you should be able to see, the clear window sheet in the paper pack was used to make the sleeve for my little matchbox so that my daughter's teacher could see the sweet little m&m's waiting for her inside.  I used my Scallop Edge punch on the DSP, and my Eyelet Border punch on the Melon Mambo CS.  Some Whisper White and Basic Gray Taffeta Ribbon was also used, in addition to a 5/16" Jumbo Brad in Whisper White.  The most fun I had though, was creating my layers of flowers.  I used my Big Shot to use 2 of the dies from the Sizzlits 4-Pack of dies called Birds & Blooms.  It is yet another SU! exclusive die.  I also used a sponge and some of that beautiful Frost White Shimmer Paint on each flower that used the Night & Day Specialty DSP.  It turned it a beautiful shade of shimmery Basic Gray.  I just love it and hope her teacher does too!!!  What do you think?

Well, I hope that you enjoyed my projects and were able to follow along with how I made each of them. As usual I would love to hear what you think, and don't forget to use one of the links to the right to subscribe to my blog for e-mail notification of my new posts.  I have a BIG Boot Loot (aka Blog Candy) contest coming up and subscribers will be the first to know about it! :)  Also, don't forget to start your wish list now to order these fabulous new goodies on September 1st and make sure you check out what Holly has in store for you at Ink Paper Stamps for the next stop on the Hop. Please click on the arrows below to help you find the previous or next participants on the Blog Hop. 

Enjoy!!!