Yummy for your tummy!

This is the 3rd post today! I've been bad about keeping up with the blog. We've been busy doing house stuff, sports with the boys, and baby stuff that I haven't had much of a chance to craft.

Again, sorry for the bad photo. I just couldn't get this box to pose!

I will try again later in the sunlight and see if I can get it to cooperate.

Here is a cute box made out of Riding Hood Red card stock (#111348). I made the box using my Big Shot! The die is called Box #2 (#114518) and can be found on page 194 of your catalog. This is so easy to assemble! It really only takes one piece of adhesive! I used the Yummy set for the sentiment. You can get the Yummy set for FREE when you spend $50 during Sale-A-Bration. But hurry, SAB ends March 31! I used the Designer Label punch (#107590), and a piece of Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware (#112454) to attach the sentiment to the box. The ribbon is the beautiful Riding Hood Red Taffeta Ribbon (#111365).

We will be making this box at our March 9th Hostess meeting!

A note of thanks!

We have started to receive some gifts to welcome our baby girl. I am determined to stay on top of my thank you notes! So, I sat down last night and made a few.

I used the Stampin' Up! Whisper White Note Cards (#107311) for my base. I love the size of these! I chose Raspberry Tart (#113975) as my Designer Series Paper. I then added a strip of Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon (#109070) across the front and around the back of the DSP. I stamped the Thank You using the Elegant Thank You (#114484) from page 208 of the current catalog in Old Olive Classic Ink (#102277) on Pink Pirouette card stock (#111351). I then used my Scallop Square (#112081) to punch the thank you out. Dimensionals (#104430) were used to pop the punch up a little.

This one uses the Raspberry Tart DSP, Pink Pirouette, White Taffeta ribbon, and Rose Red Classic Ink (#101778). Sorry the picture is a bit crooked here!

And this one again uses the Raspberry Tart DSP, Pink Pirouette card stock, Rose Red Classic Ink, but I used the beautiful Whisper White Organza Ribbon (#114319). I love the extra detail that the Organza adds!

Now showing...

I thought I would share these pictures from my last ultra sound.

It's a girl!

Here is her profile. That big dot on the right is her hand.

And can you see 2 legs and a hand in this picture?
Her legs are crossed, and her fist is pointing straight at you!
I so want to get another 3D/4D ultra sound done when she is a little bigger so we can see her! This will most likely be our last child, so we won't have the opportunity again. Time to start saving my pennies for that photo shoot!

So Saffron, So Cute!

I came up with this quick project while cleaning up my craft room, soon to be nursery. I found a stack of these 4x6 acrylic photo frames that go on your fridge. So, I put one to use. Can you see the marker hanging from the ribbon? That's because it's a wipe off board!I love the way it turned out.

(Sorry the ribbon is a little wonky in the first photo)

I used So Saffron for my base. The DSP that you can see peeking through is from the FREE Sale A Bration pack of paper. Yummy stuff! I then used another piece of So Saffron followed by a piece of Whisper White.

I used my Crop-O-Dile to punch a hole into the first layer of the plastic frame. Yes, it cut right through - and it didn't crack the plastic! Woo hoo! I used the So Saffron Ribbon that you can get for FREE from the Sale A Bration catalog! I attached the wipe off marker to the ribbon using a piece of Sticky Tape.

The stamped images are from Just Buzzin' By. I used Basic Black to stamp them. A So Saffron marker, a Basic Black marker, a Blush Blossom marker, and my White Gel Pen to color in the bees.

So simple, and fun. These would be great door prizes, teacher gifts, or maybe a little housewarming gift.

Where is that recipe?

Here is a recipe box that will be featured at

an upcoming class at my church.

We will be using the Voila, and From the Kitchen of

stamp sets to create the project.

I punched the tabs using my circle punches and adhered them to the tops of my divider cards. I colored the Chef with my SU! markers, cut him out, and used dimensionals to pop him up on the recipe box.

If you are local, and would like to attend this FREE class - contact me by February 18th so I can prepare the stamped supplies for you!

Seeing Spots

I have been seeing spots every where! (And no, not just from my low blood sugar). Spots are so fun - when they are on paper or sheets! Here is a 6x6 page that will become a 12x12 page soon.

I used a Pink Pirouette base, Very Vanilla for the mat, Kiwi Kiss, Very Vanilla, and Elegant Eggplant for the circles. To create the circles, I used various Stampin' Up! circle punches. I also used a piece of Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon. Yummy stuff!

To make the circles with the centers punched out, I first punched the smaller circle into the card stock, and then used the larger punch for the larger circle. Clear as mud? If you go the other way... punch the large circle, then the small circle - you will have a hard time getting the card stock to come out clean or to come out of your punch at all.

Now, that being said... Stampin' Up! is now offering Circle Scissors and glass mat so you can create circles up to 6". You can do the same effect with the larger circles as I have done here with the new Circle Scissors. Or you can stock up on all the yummy new papers and stamps and get the Circle Scissors later - now that you know how to get a fun spot look!

Hostess Night

Blogger is finally letting me add photos!!

Here are the items that were made at my Monday night Hostess Club.

Our first project was a tag that could be used on a gift bag, a card, or scrapbook page.

We used Sahara Sand cardstock and the Top Note Big Shot Die. We used the soon to be retired Bronc Buster set with Chocolate Chip Classic Ink. We sponged the ink on top of the Die Cut to give it a leather look.

We added a Jumbo eyelet using the Crop-o-dile.

Then added a bit of Rope Twine to finish it off.

We made a gift bag using the Stampin' Up! white gift sacks. We used the Ahoy, Matey set - another set that is soon to be retired. We used Basic Black Classic ink on the bag and on the pocket tag. To create the tag, I used a Long Note with one side folded in half to create the pocket for the crayons. We used Sticky Strip to hold the sides of the pocket down.

A 1-3/8" circle punch in the top with a quick scissor snip to create the handle.
You can't have a gift bag without tissue paper. So we used the Matey's Map wheel - soon to retire - on white tissue paper. Super easy!

We also created a Valentine box using the Hostess Level 1 Prints pack, and the Big Shot Scallop Envelope Die. We added a cello bag of Dove chocolates to finish it off.

I made this for everyone. I used the Pillow Box Die with Pacific Point cardstock. I stamped the Thank You sentiment from the new single stamp - Elegant Thank You - that will be in the Spring-Summer Idea Book & Catalog. Each box contained an incentive stamp.

Here's another treat that I gave the girls. I made the "belly band" using Riding Hood Red and the birthday hat and present from the soon to be retired Crab & Co. Then stamped the birthday sentiment from the Family Phrases set on Pink Pirouette.

In-Law gifts

Here are the 2 gifts that I made for my husband's parents.

The first was a canvas that I painted and applied a Decor Element to. I want the large version of this scripture to put in my kitchen! I love it! I added a strip of satin ribbon (non-Stampin' Up!) to the top and bottom of the canvas to finish it up.

The second gift was a large jar filled with those Christmas nugget candies. They are my husband's and his Mom's favorite Christmas candy. I added a Decor Element letter M to the jar to personalize it. Super easy, and they can use it year round!

Snow Swirrled Christmas

Here are the last minute Christmas cards that I made this year. I actually sent all that I made this time! I have a very bad habit of making Christmas cards, but never actually mailing or handing them out! This year, they made it into the mail - later than I wanted - but they made it none the less!

I used a Real Red base with an Old Olive mat behind the Very Vanilla front. The tree was stamped in Old Olive Craft ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice for a little shimmer. The sentiment was stamped in Classic Old Olive ink. I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to get the trees and sentiments straight on all the cards! To finish the card off, I added a Real Red 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon.

Twas the night before Christmas...

I received this poem from my friend Jenn, and thought it was too cute not to share with all my crafting buddies...

Twas the night before Christmas,

I'm glued to the tree.

I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.

Could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?

Or a Cricut, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that's when I heard him,"Hi Santa, " I said

"You know....good little girls

should be in their beds."

"I know I should Santa,and now I've got caught.

But I was just so excited

To see what you brought."

"Well, let's take a look in this room

where you work."

He shook his head quickly,

And left with a jerk.

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.

"You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!"

Retiring January 18th!

Here is the Fall-Winter Retired Stamp Set list. It is in catalog page order - so you can easily mark your catalog!

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Retired_Lists_US2.pdf

Those marked "dormant" rather than a page number are coming from our dormant list. These were available during the current catalog - they just weren't in the actual catalog. Hint: if the sets on the dormant list are not retiring - there is a VERY good chance they will be in the new catalog!

http://www.stampinup.com/us/documents/Dormant_List_US.pdf

Oh baby!

Here's what's been keeping me from blogging! I have been so sick the last few weeks and have had no energy to do much of anything!

The little one, named "Peanut" by my doctor, myself, and my sister-in-law is measuring 9 weeks. I think it looks more like a cashew - but peanut works. So Baby Mason number 3 will be here around July 17! My oldest son's birthday is July 2 - he's actually excited to have a sibling with a birthday near his! I think it has more to do with someone else in the family not getting to celebrate their birthday at school than anything else! :)

Stampin' Up! has announced the Fall-Winter Retired List. Head on over to my web site (www.andreamason.stampinup.net) and check it out, if you haven't seen it already. A few of my favorites are on that list! They are also retiring one of the baby sets that I wanted. Hmmm... do I get it now, or wait to see what comes in the new catalog? Ack! Decisions!!

By the way... all sets on the retired list are 10% off! Sweet! Even sweeter... FREE shipping on orders of $70 or more! If you don't have a $70 order, I will combine orders to save you the shipping! Just let me know! I'm all about saving some green this year!

And don't forget... you can get any set in the sampler for 20% off when you spend $20!

Christmas Shadow Box

I originally made this shadow box using a Decor Element for fall. However, with a little Real Red cardstock, a strip of DSP from the I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit, and some shiny foam presents... it's ready for Christmas now!

Sorry the picture isn't the best. These boxes are hard to photograph! :)

Travel Mugs

Not much crafting going on here for the past few days. So, I'm digging up some photos and stories from my craft fairs that I haven't shared yet! I tell you, you meet some interesting people at these craft fairs! If you have the opportunity to participate in one - you should! You won't get rich, or make a ton of money, but you will have some stories to tell!

These are travel mugs that I stamped the inserts for. The two that aren't colored in can be colored by the kids and given as a gift. I think I will make a few more of these for my last craft fair of the year! The 3 below have found a home (Thanks Trina!).

I had a beautiful one using the dragon fly from the Bugs & Kisses set. They were stamped in different colors, and I added Dazzling Diamonds to the wings. It was so pretty. Well, it was the first one that sold! Great! Well, not so much. The lady that bought it wanted it because she's been looking all over for these type of cups because her son had made her one of these a long time ago and the cup got ruined. She just wanted the cup! I thought it was funny, but at the same time wanted to give her one of the other ones that I had.

Mark your calendars!

You won't want to miss this!

November 26 - December 1

What is the Holiday Extravaganza sale?
The sale is a limited-time, 20 to 50 percent discount on select product bundles from November 26 through December 1, 2008.
Quantities of discounted bundles are limited, so place orders online early.

You can call or email me too - but know that bundles may be sold out quickly!

Coming in July!

I Wish

We did a 6x6 scrapbook page at our Hostess Club using the I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit, and the coordinating Snow Swirled stamp set. I love the colors in this kit- some of my favorites! Brown, Olive, and Red! Yum!
We stamped the Snow Swirled tree image in Old Olive Craft Ink. Then sprinkled Dazzling Diamonds mixed with Clear Embossing Powder over the image and heat set it. You can use Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder too - but I like getting more bang for my buck by mixing my own when I need it! That way I have Dazzling Diamonds, and Clear Embossing Powder for all my other projects!

Here's what the tree looks like when the light catches it. It's awesome!

My Christmas list book!

I made 4 of these cute Christmas list books for the craft fairs. I came home with all 4 too! LOL!
I found these books at the Dollar Tree. They have plastic covers so they won't tear apart in your purse. They have tabs too, so you could make a section for gifts, food, dates of parties, or maybe a tab for each family member.

I used the Snow Swirled images. I first stamped in Silver Encore ink and then embossed the images with clear embossing powder. I layered them on Silver Cardstock and added a little Basic Gray Taffeta bow to finish them off.

Countdown to Christmas

Don't panic! There's more like 40 days until Christmas, but 25 is the biggest number that this Decor Elements piece comes with. So fun! I used an 11"x 14" frame for the SMALL Decor Element! The paper backround is Ski Slope, and is under the glass. So when we get more fabulous Christmas paper next year - I can change it out! Yippee! I put the numbers on squares of cardstock and then taped a metal washer to the back. I used a dot of Crystal Effects to adhere a magnet to the glass! Done!

Snowman Soup in a bag!

Here are some photos of the Snowman Soup that I made for my Monday Hostess group. I used the Ski Slope Designer Series Paper. So pretty! You can do these for any season! They are fairly simple to mass produce too!

The side:

The inside:

The goodies:

The tag from Nicole Heady's blog:

I've seen these box/bags on many sites, but was afraid to try them. Oh my goodness! They are so easy!! Here are some super instructions for how to construct your box. I didn't add the extra strip around the bottom of mine.

The tag is from Nicole Heady. You can download your tags own here.