Get the Ornamental Elegance Kit--While Supplies Last!

 
The ornament on the cover of our holiday catalog is such a hit that we are making it available just in time to deck the halls with terrific trimmings you've made yourself! We've simplified this fun project so that you can quickly and easily achieve the same results. In addition to the kit, all you need is a glue gun, scissors, and adhesive. (Our Anywhere Glue Sticks [104045] are perfect for assembly.) Want greeting or place cards to go with those ornaments? The Ornament Keepsakes Stamp Set (W 128048 C 128051) gives you perfect coordination. Fancy a little sparkle and shine? Sprinkle on our Dazzling Diamonds Stampin' Glitter (102023)!

Just in time to create 10 heirloom ornaments--or stunning tags to attach to a special neighbor gift.
The Ornamental Elegance Kit (132832) is $14.95 and includes:

• Die-Cut Cardstock Elements
• Cherry Cobbler 3-1/2" Scalloped Tulle Ribbon
• Natural Linen Thread
• Vintage Faceted Designer Buttons 
• Large Pearl Basic Jewels

Order these now so you will have plenty of time to make them for Christmas gifting--or for your family tree! Available while supplies last.


Visit my online store at www.lizvickerman.stampinup.net

Hot Cocoa Spoons

This is, hands down, the best hot cocoa I've ever tasted.  My husband agrees.  It's rich and creamy and oh so comforting on a cold day.  It's also pretty damned good eaten right off the spoon, if you can't wait for the milk to warm.

I found the spoons at thinkgarnish.com which is fast becoming my second favorite website; they have everything and anything you need for food packaging!

Stamp a sentiment or small decorative design on the top of your wooden spoon or popsicle stick.  Don't  stamp too far down the spoon, as you don't really want the ink to touch the milk when it's in there.

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups chocolate chips (I use a mixture of milk chocolate and semi sweet)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Combine the heavy cream and condensed milk in a small heavy saucepan and heat on medium until steamy.  Turn off the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, allow them to sit and melt for 10 minutes.  Stir to mix, return to heat on low and whisk until smooth and shiny.

Pour into either, small plastic souffle cups (we call them jello shot cups) or into a 9x9 pan that's been fitted with parchment or wax paper.  Wait about 5-10 minutes for the chocolate to somewhat set and add your spoon or stick.  Chill until well set (overnight works best, but hey, who am I to interrupt your hot cocoa fantasies with waiting?) If you're using the small souffle cups, put about a 1/2" of hot tap water into a pan and set the cups in for a few minutes.  You can work the chocolate out of the cup pretty easily, setting the somewhat melty bottom onto a piece of wax paper.

Decorate with crushed peppermint candies (or crushed hard caramels would be great too!) and mini marshmallows.  I make a 'glue' out of confectioner's sugar and a tiny bit of water, you could use melted white chocolate chips or chocolate chips.  Put a thin layer of 'glue' or melted chocolate on the top of the treat and sprinkle with crushed peppermints.  Dip a few mini marshmallows in the 'glue' and stick them on top, and somewhat up the stick.

Add a spoon to 6-8oz of very warm milk, let melt, stir and enjoy!

Stick them in the fridge as you do a few, so that the melted bottoms return to being flat.

Package them in our gusseted cell bags, tied with baker's twine and a cute stamped tag - makes a great little homemade gift.

Paper:  Crumb Cake cardstock, Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Versa Mark
Stamps:  Border Banter, Happy Hour, Mixed Medley
Other:  White Gel Pen, Decorative Label Punch, 1 1/4 Scallop Punch, 3/4" circle punch,  large cello bags, 7/8 Natural Cotton Ribbon, Baker's Twine

Cookies and Milk

Like Pebbles and Bam Bam, Dick and Jane, Yin and Yang; they all just belong together, right? Right.

Here they are all dressed up for a party, shower or just a special treat time with you and yours.  Super cute and super easy!

Paper:  Primrose Petals, Whisper White CS
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Mixed Medley, Itty Bitty Banners
Ink:  Primose Petals, Gumball Green
Other:  Framelits Banners, Blossom Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Scallop Punch (Holiday Mini), Lucky Limeaid Baker's Twine, Parchment Paper Squares and Striped Paper Straws

Starbuck's Frappacino bottles are great stand ins for those really cute mini milk bottles ;)

Thanks for looking,

Liz

shop online 24/7 or visit to find other ideas or to host a workshop!

Merry & Bright

The Merry & Type stamp set from the annual catalog is one of my favorite Christmas sets, it has such a great vintage feel to it.  And speaking of vintage, though admittedly a more recent vintage, who doesn't love those big colored Christmas tree lights?  Growing up we always had tiny white lights on our tree and I've done white lights since I've had my own tree to decorate, but there's something so comforting about the memories of a family friend's tree from when I was little.  This card is my homage to that tree.

Stamps:  Merry & Type, Ornament Keepsakes
Papers:  Summer Starfruit, Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeaid, Very Vanilla and Festival of Prints DSP
Inks:  Summer Starfruit, Cherry Cobbler, Lucky Limeaid and Early Espresso
Other:  Framelits Ornament, White Baker's Twine, Finishing Touches Edgelit, White gel pen

Thanks for looking!

Liz

Homemade Sugar Scrub

 

After a hellacious 9 hour retail shift which ended at 5am this morning, I spent my Black Friday morning, err..afternoon creating a couple quick hostess gifts for two upcoming workshops this week.

Homemade sugar scrubs are all over Pinterest and I was leery of any given 'recipe' truly being a) effective and b) easy.  My worries were assuaged when after mixing 3 parts sugar to 1 part oil, and some "flavoring" or scents, they actually worked well; giving me super soft hands and a great smell.  My youngest daughter who was home from college for the Thanksgiving holiday gave the Vanilla Brown Sugar scrub a try this afternoon in the shower and loved it.  I see more mason jars full in my future.

Both scrubs smell delicious and leave your skin exfoliated, soft and smelling great.  Beautifully presented in a mason jar with decorative labels, tags and even a cute little wooden spoon, they make a great hostess gift or holiday gift!

To make the Vanilla Brown Sugar Scrub you'll need 1 cup of granulated sugar, 2 cups of brown sugar, 1 cup of canola oil and a few teaspoons of vanilla extract.  Mix the sugars until combined, stir in the oil and vanilla and spoon into a mason jar. 

For the Lemon Lavender Scrub, combine 3 cups of white sugar, 1 cup canola oil, freshly grated lemon rind from one lemon and the juice of half a lemon, plus 1-2 teaspoons of crushed lavender buds.  Mix and spoon into a jar.

I also made a Coffee Sugar Scrub, which is great for cellulite, but since I don't have any cellulite, I didn't post it.  Ha.  I just haven't gotten around to decorating the jar.  That recipe is 1 cup ground coffee (I used very inexpensive Cafe Busto espresso) 2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon allspice and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to one cup of canola oil.  

Many recipes out there call for olive oil, but I like canola as there really is no scent.

Papers:  Crumb Cake, Festival of Prints DSP, Birds of a Feather DSP, Summer Starfruit and Midnight Muse
Inks:  Early Espresso, Midnight Muse
Stamps:  Mixed Bunch, Itty Bitty Banners, Travel Journal Wheel
Other:  Label Framelits, Itty Bitty Banners Framelits, Fashionable Hearts Embosslits
Mason Jars, Disposable Wooden Spoons, Hemp Twine, White Baker's Twine, Crumb Cake Seam Binding, Taffeta Ribbon in Not Quite Navy

Call, text or email to book your very own workshop, I always have a great hostess gift for my hostess ;)



Thanks for looking,
Liz

Shop my online store 24/7 or visit to find creative ideas or to host a workshop

Funky Faux Patina

I imagine that title being sung by Tone Loc and now it's stuck in my head.  Yours too?  I'm sorry, or you're welcome.

I stumbled upon this technique at Splitcoast Stampers and fell in love.  L-O-V-E love.  It's reminiscent of verdigris found on brass, copper or bronze.

I think this makes a fabulous masculine card, which is one of the hardest parts of cardmaking, to me.
Slap a flower on something and your girlfriend smiles.  Slap a flower on your brother in law's card and you get that 'oh...this is..uh, nice' reply, right?

Now, I'm going to commit the biggest sin a Stampin' Up! demo can make and that's using something that's not from Stampin' Up!  BUT..being the new girl in town, I don't have every Stampin' Up! embossing folder, yet.  I'm thinking after the online extravaganza starts tomorrow (yipee!) that will change.  I'm talking 20-50% off!  Holy Honey I'm Gonna Hafta Hide This Stuff From My Husband!!!

Basically you ink the front inside of your embossing folder with a light neutral (I used Crumb Cake)  run your Whisper White paper and folder through the Big Shot and then sponge first with Marina Mist, then with Certainly Celery and finally with Early Espresso.  Once that's dried, sponge a bit of VersaMark randomly, sprinkle with Gold Embossing Powder and heat.  The results are GORGEOUS.

OK, well, they WOULD be gorgeous if I knew how to photograph at night.  

Here's a daylight shot of the faux patina on Whisper White, backed with Certainly Celery cardstock

and this on Early Espresso cardstock.  

I'd love to share this technique with you, call, text or email to set up a workshop and we'll get our ink on with this great technique, while you earn FREE stamps (or ink, or embossing folders, or yanno, whatever you want!).

Thanks for looking!
Liz

Shop 24/7 at my online store or set up a workshop here

move over martha

seriously.

I've been playing a little more with edible stamping, and while not perfection yet, these are pretty darned close.

The stamps on the round plate are from Merry & Type and on the large square plate, from Keep Calm Hostess Set.

Have you tried something different with your stamps, if so, please share!

Thanks for Looking,

Liz

a few more photos

Super simple box using the Labels Collection Framelits, window sheets, Crumb Cake cardstock and Heart of Christmas stamp of handmade tags using the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack and Merry & Type stamp set.

 This is the dryer sheet card using Midnight Muse and Whisper White cardstock with Cherry Cobbler and Baja Breeze inks, Dazzling Diamonds and Cherry Cobbler baker's twine.

 Pimp out your cupcakes with Twitterpated Designer Series Paper, rosettes, Mixed Bunch Stamp set and the Blossom Punch.  Wrap it all up in our gusseted Cellophane Bags and 3/8" Taffeta Ribbon.

 You can put ANYTHING in a mason jar, label it, stamp it and and wrap a ribbon around it for a great handmade gift.  This one holds peppermint hot cocoa - store bought cocoa mix, crushed peppermint candies, mini marshmallows and tiny chocolate chips.

 

 I've been dying to try this technique, stamping with edible ink (confectioner's sugar and food coloring), I've yet to perfect it, but when I do, it's going to be MARVELOUS!  How cool is stamping your dessert plate or serving platter?!  Here I've tried several sugars sprinkled like glitter on the wet mixture, I think I like the superfine granulated sugar best.

 This is ab embossing resist technique..

Embossing resist technique with some bling.

and some wooden clothespins decked out with designer series paper, baker's twine, cotton ribbon that been stamped and some glitters and rhinestones.  FUN, FUN, FUN!

 Who needs a gift bag when you can make a super cute wine bottle tag?  Note, the circle at the top where it slips over the neck is the small Ornament Keepsake Framelit die.  SOOOO cute!


You can purchase all of the supplies used to make everything in this post at www.lizvickerman.stampinup.net or contact me to book a girl's night in workshop at your place or mine and I'll show you how to make these fun keepsakes.

 Thanks for looking!

Liz

Open House

I know, I know, I promised tutorials and photos and all sorts of things.  I've been so busy stamping and creating that I'm finding it hard to take photos and write instructions.  This will change.

Superstorm Sandy rolled through here a couple weeks ago, wrecked havoc and postponed my Open House to last Sunday, but boy, did we have fun!

The make & take for Sunday's Open House was this adorable three dimensional star.  We started with two squares of whisper white cardstock cut to 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 for the small star, folded on the diagonal each way, then in half each way.  See the visual instructions here:  folded paper stars

The white star pictured here was stamped randomly with the Builder Wheel Measuring Stick and Cherry Cobbler ink.  The larger star was a 6x6 square of Cherry Cobbler cardstock randomly stamped with the ornament from the Ornament Keepsake set with Illuminate Glimmer Watermark Ink on one and Cherry Cobbler on the other.  I love the tone on tone look when you match the ink to the paper and with Stampin' Up!'s color selections it's always a perfect match!

These stars make adorable tree ornaments, or hang a few from your dining table light fixture for a fun, festive look.  These are so fun, I've made several since; dry embossing with an embossing folder and wet embossing with VersaMark and embossing powders.

Another adorable idea is to poke a hole with the piercing tool through the tops of each, stringing them with Stampin' Up!'s linen thread or bakers twine, making a garland to hang on your banister or across your fireplace mantle.  And they're not just for the winter holidays, imagine red white and blue stars of varying sizes for your Independence Day cookout or in black, white and bright pink for a teen girl's birthday party!

My oldest daughter really took a shine (heh, pardon the pun) to these, stamping the Open Sea set with Early Espresso, Lucky Limeaid and Summer Starfruit inks.

There are so many things you can do with Stampin' Up! products and I'd love to show you how.
You can shop for these products and contact me at www.lizvickerman.stampinup.net  to book a workshop.  Thanks for looking.


Liz

Stampin' Up!'s newest demonstrator

That'd be me.

Hi and welcome to my blog.  In the days and weeks to come, I hope to fill these pages with creative ideas that will soothe your stamping itch.

Ever since I was old enough to be able to fold a piece of construction paper in half and draw a heart with crayon on the front, I’ve found absolute joy in creating homemade, handcrafted gifts.   And now, with Stampin’ Up! I have the opportunity to share my love of creating and show you how easy, fun and rewarding it can be!

I just received my Stampin' Up! starter kit and was like a little kid at Christmas tearing it open and rifling through the contents.

I'll be hosting an Open House next Sunday, so I'm diligently working on some creative keepsakes from this starter set.  Check back soon and thanks for visiting.

Liz