How old is your oldest ornament?

How old is the oldest ornament on your tree??? 

So my first few Christmas trees that were ‘mine’ to decorate were decorated on a students budget - so they all had homemade decorations like the ole popcorn/cranberry chains, salt dough cookie cutters ornaments and pinecone angels that I had made with pine ones, milkweed pods, wooden bobbles and pipe cleaners and sprayed gold - they haven’t made it through the years unfortunately!

However this Little hand crafted Angel - she was a gift from a coworker/friend  - so if my memory and math is current I have had her over 30 years that she’s topped my tree! 

Goodness how’s that possible? She still looks as amazing as the day I got her!

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life 

Start the car - this deal is too good to be true!

Love to paper craft and looking for ways to save money while you do it? 

 

Ever considered joining Stampin' Up!? 

 

There’s no better time than November for customers to transition into the demonstrators they’ve dreamed of becoming. 

 

From 4–30 November, you will be able to start your Stampin’ Up! business strong—and with big savings!

 

Choose your own products to get started - $165 worth of goodies to get you going for only $100 Canadian. If you are US its $125 worth of goodies for $75.00

The Stampin' Up! family has demonstrator options for everyone from the discount demo who is their own best customer, the hobby demo who loves to craft with friends and family, to the Building an Empire demo who wants it all - the discount, the earnings, building a team and crafting presence in their community! 

 

 

 

Would be happy to have you join my team - sign up online via here:

 

Shoot me a message by email if you have any questions! 

Happy stampin'

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life

 

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Peaceful Christmas Paper Pumpkin - alternatives

 OMG how stinking adorable is this month's kit?

 

Like Laura I love maximizing all the materials in the kit including the leftover pieces. This card uses the leftover vellum die cut tree pieces as the focal point for this beautiful Christmas/Holiday handmade card.

 

 These ones from Rachel are awesome as well!

 

 

Next months is adorable too! 

We all love to see piles of presents on Christmas morning. Make that your reality with the Gifts Galore Paper Pumpkin Kit! With classic Christmas sentiments, bright and festive colors, a sweet snowman, a tree with all the trimmings, or a playful pile of presents, you’ll have everything you need to make eye-catching treat packages that are sure to spread Christmas cheer. Each Gifts Galore box contains enough supplies to create nine treat packages—three each of three designs—and nine food-safe bags that are adorably styled for easy Christmas gifting. There’s plenty of joy to share with Gifts Galore!

Plus if you do not need all the contents for the intended treats demonstrators like myself love to share lots of alternative ideas for cards, scrapbook layouts and more!

Sign up for yours here before November 10th to get in on it!

 

Happy Stampin'

 

Margaret

Live, Laugh, Love

Be Totallyawake4-life  

 

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Classic Stampin’ Spot Techniques

The new Classic Stampin’ Spots Assortment on page 147 of the 2020–2021 Annual Catalog that goes live this week is the perfect little ink collection for your stampers. 

With eight colors including Basic Gray, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Gorgeous Grape, Granny Apple Green, Real Red, Shaded Spruce, the lovely array of colors hits the spot. 

Here are some fun techniques to prove that some of the best things come in tiny packages.

• Block Background: Use the spot as a stamp. Turn it over and apply it directly to the paper for the cutest card on the block.
• Tasteful Texture: To mimic the wood grain of the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper, swipe the spot across the stamps instead of pressing the stamp to the ink.
• Layered Colors: Use the Stamparatus and apply the darkest colors around the edges of the image. Stamp. Then clean the stamp with your simply shammy and apply a lighter color in the center. Stamp again to create the look of a multicolored markered image

You can also create your own 'custom mini spots' using the uninked spots just add your own reinker color choice!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawak4-life

*this post contains affiliate links

Ornate Garden Scrapbook layout

Having fun with some scrapbook challenges over on Facebook with at Scrapbook Nerd -

 if you have not already please come join us Scrapbook Nerds - Friends Group for some crafty inspiration and fun!

My first page I had created as part of the March Layout tag ... if you have not played Layout tag you MUST come join us - it is so much fun!  The premise is that you form a group of people who want to participate in the game. The organizer sends the first person in the group a private message to tag them with a layout as inspiration to create their own with. They have 3 days to complete their project take a photo of it and return the photo to the organizer privately. She passes or 'tags' the next person with that photo as inspiration and it moves on each person getting tagged privately with the last persons inspiration. When everyone has been 'tagged' and had a turn to play with the person before thems photo inspiration than the organizer 'reveals' the tag layout progression ... it is AWESOME to watch how the layouts progress through each persons interpretation and inspiration of the layout they were given! 

I used the Ornate Garden Suite from Stampin' Up ... the DSP is just gorgeous with the copper embossing threaded through the designs on several of the papers and well look at the imagery in the stamp set and the intricate dies! I had a blast coloring with the Stampin' Blends!

 

 I paired it with the Beauty Abounds and the Prose Alphabet dies .

 

I did sneak some retired fun in there too ... the Grapefruit Grover Foil paper from last years Sale-abration from my stash goes perfectly with this suite - I really wish they would bring that one back! It looks amazing with the Ornate Embossing Folder! 

Happy Scrappin'

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

*post contains affiliate links

Lovely Day Paper Pumpkin Scrapbook Edition

Lovely Day Paper Pumpkin Scrapbook edition! 

Using up all the pieces including dissecting the lined envelopes! Paired with the Poppy Moments stamp set for my sentiment titles and Painted Poppy stamp set image along the bottom!

As always I need to print so photos to fit my mats ... one day I might have to spend a crop doing JUST that!

Happy Stampin'

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life

*this post contains affiliate links 

January Paper Pumpkin - Scrapbook edition

January’s Paper Pumpkin “Outside the Box” scrapbook edition ... paired the “Bee Ours” stamp set and kit embellishments with two card bases for my DSP strip and than used a dissected envelope for my corner edges along with the Detailed Hearts and Well Written dies coordinating with the Mint Macaroon and Highland Heather inks for this lovely layout I plan to use to journal a girls night out with my BFF!

Happy Scrappin'

Margaret
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Be Totallyawake4-life

*post contains affiliate links

Peaceful Poppy inspired layout

2020 crating goal is to stop neglecting my scrapbooking so joined a cropping group on Facebook called Scrapbooking Global - Stampin' Up!  that’s specific to Stampin’ Up! They have monthly challenges and lots of layout inspirations! 

Inspired me to get busy this weekend - so this is my layout from the January 2020 challenge inspiration layout. I reoriented a bit to be able to see the most of the gorgeous Peaceful Poppy DSP ... I shamefully admit that I rarely journal on the actual front part of the layout and am more the type to hide my journal in a pocket behind so I didn’t add that feature and left the space for the poppy’s to show through 💕

I still need to print my photos - I tend to wait until I have a layout all done and then print the photos to fit the mats plus sharing them photo free will hopefully help you to imagine how gorgeous your own photos would look on those mats ... shameless marketing or lazy scrapbooked you decide 🤣

Seriously if you have not checked out the Peaceful Poppy suite yet hop on over to my website and check it out - it’s SO STUNNING! Makes pulling together projects so easy! 

Happy Stampin’

Margaret 

Live well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life 

*this post contains affiliate links

My Heart Scrapbook Layout

Finally carved out some scrapbooking time recently and got a layout of the girls when they were wee littles in foster care still. Our foster mom Angela takes the most amazing photos of the babes she takes in 💕💕💕

Used an inspiration layout from over Scrapbook Nerds Facebook community and combined it with last months corrugated cardboard technique and the new Butterfly Wishes stamp set from Stampin' Up! 

They are just so adorable and their coloring begs for the use of gold, crumb cake and black color palette! 

I was pleased that the corrugated cardboard was easily cut using the Big Shot and heart dies from Stampin' Up! I brushed it with gold Nuvo mousse to give the raised corrugation a shimmer effect.

 

Accents of gold were added using gold foil and the Be Mine Stitched Heart die from Stampin' Up! 

 

Love how the corrugated cardboard offers so much dimension to the project!

Happy Scrapbooking

Margaret

Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much

Be Totallyawake4-life