Paper Sweeties Plan Your Life Series - January 2019!

Happy New Year!  New year, new planner format for me!  I'm still using this awesome printable planner set, but I'm going with a smaller format so it's more portable.   I've created 6x8 pages so it's still a good size, but smaller than the previous 8x8 I was using.  And I'm going with a large and simple ring to hold it together so I can hang it from a hook in my craft room.  I can still have fun with pretty papers, washis and images, but in a smaller format.  I'll be sharing more about it in the coming days, but for now, here's my January!

I know it's still winter, but here in the South West part of the U.S. "winter" will be over before you know it... and it's been unusually cold here so I needed some bright cheery colors and images to make me happy.  That basket of flowers from the Thank You Stamp and Sweet Cuts sets was just right... especially since I have a lot of mailing left to do this month and thank you's to give.  I decorated the sides with some cute Doodlebug washi and used the Sweet Borders sweet cuts to cut out some fishtail banners and scalloped borders from coordinating papers to decorate with.

I've decided for my To Dos I'd use that cute heart from the Get Your Craft On Planner Series Stamp Set ... I'll fill in the heart when my To Do is Ta Done!

It's a busy start to my month!  Be sure to come back for some Paper Sweeties inspiration on the 14th, 15th and 16th!  But for now, check out what my Teamies are all up to for this month!

Debbie Marcinkiewicz – Paper Sweeties
Lilian Forsyth 
Lisa Bzibziak (You Are Here!)

Maria Patrick
Taylor Golzbein

Thanks for stopping!

Thank You VIP Set - Paper Sweeties	You Warm My Heart Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties	You Warm My Heart Sweet Cuts - Paper Sweeties	Planner Series: Happy Holidays - Paper Sweeties	Planner Series: Fall Sentiments - Paper Sweeties
Planner Series: Celebrate - Paper Sweeties	Planner Series: Appointments - Paper Sweeties	Planner Series - Get Your Craft On Paper Sweeties	Sweet Cuts Sweet Borders - Paper Sweeties

Casual Fridays - Happy New Year!

I'm up on the CAS-ual Fridays Blog today and wishing all of you the best in the coming year!  "May the Best of Your Todays Be The Worst of Your Tomorrows!"...my wish to you.. compliments of Jason Mraz!  

Today I'm celebrating with a little "Coffee"?  Maybe... or maybe not!..lol!  Sometimes my coffee cup doesn't necessarily contain coffee....

As I was looking through my coffee sentiments for my last card using this cup, I stumbled on "Possibly Vodka" from the Cup of Coffee Stamp Set and the idea for this card was born!  I started by cutting my layers.  I knew I wanted Black, White, Silver and Gold for a New Years card.  I cut my Bubble Box layer in black cardstock and then dry embossed it with a folder to play along with the final Friday Challenge that runs through tomorrow.

Then I decided to Jazz up my Coffee Cup Fri-Die with some foil.  So I cut the cup from some Thermoweb Black Toner Paper which is simply paper you can buy that is printed all black with Toner.  It's fun to die cut shapes from and then apply foil.

    The foil will cover the entire piece because the paper is covered in Toner (like from a laser printer).  Some people foil with adhesive, but my favorite way is to foil using my Minc machine or you can use a laminator.  I placed my cup die cut with the toner side facing the "back" of the foil I was using and then inside my transfer folder.  You can also use parchment paper as a transfer folder.  You then feed it through whatever heat machine you choose to use and when it comes out, you peel back the foil and the colors have transferred to the die cut!

The Brutus Monroe Thermoweb Dry Brush Transfer Foil I used was perfect with some silver, black, and gold!  I foiled the inside cup piece (where the coffee or other liquid would be) using some gold foil.

I chose the Taylored Expressions Snowfall Embossing Folder because I thought it also looked a little like bubbles.. and I didn't mind that the white core of my paper broke through in spots because I felt it made them look even more like bubbles!  Then I layered all of my pieces, popped up the cup, and cut a few of the Jumping Jacks die cuts from some purchased foiled cardstock in gold and silver and scattered them around along with some sequins!

So... yeah.  It might be coffee... or possibly vodka... maybe even champagne!  Either way, it's a celebration in a cup!  I hope you've enjoyed this non-traditional New Years Celebration and hope that whether you are out on the town with lots of friends or relatives or on your couch sipping some coffee with one or two of your favorite people (and/or furry babies...lol!) that you enjoy your evening ringing in the New Year!  Personally I'm in Arizona, but originally from the Buffalo area.  We're two hours behind so I'm thinking we may celebrate Buffalo New Years and call it a night!...lol!

AND if you're signed up for the CAS-ual Fridays newsletter you may know that there is a fantastic end of year sale going on right now!  Everything that is in stock in the shop is already marked at sale prices for at least 19% off!  There are some really great deals available there and no code is needed for these sale prices!  And to make it even better you can use one of the DT codes to save even more!  Mine is below or you can use the code of whatever DT member inspires you!

And you've still got until tomorrow to play along with the final Friday Challenge!  Let's give this long running challenge a proper send-off shall we?  And don't forget to make a stop at the DT's blogs to say thanks for all of the inspiration!

I'm also playing along with Anything Goes over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge!  You should check it out!

CAS-ual Fridays Friday Challenge Farewell!

Super quick post today!  I wanted to play along with the final CAS-ual Fridays Friday Challenge!  I know I've enjoyed playing along with this challenge many times and even won once the oh so generous prize that's offered to one lucky winner so I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye!  Also, be sure to hang around 'til the end to find out about a special sale going on to ring in the New Year!

Don't worry!  CAS-ual Fridays isn't going anywhere.  Just an end to the 8 year run for this fun challenge.  Michele is sending it off with a bang and if you head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog you can get some inspiration from the oh so talented design team and play along one last time through January 1st for a chance to win a $25 prize or double it by using CAS-ual Fridays products in your entry!  (I've used lots here plus a sweater embossing folder from Taylored Expressions.)

I'm also playing along over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is Anything Goes!

The challenge is dry embossing.  Link up by January 1st.

Also, right now, we're ringing in the New Year with a special sale starting over at CAS-ual Fridays!  Everything in-stock in the shop is marked down AT LEAST 19%!!  You will find 7 sets at only $5!  Retiring sets are still 60% off.  There is no code needed and you can use my special code below for another 15% off the already low prices!  What are you waiting for!?  Start shopping here!

Also, we have a giveaway going on over at the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Group on Facebook!  Get on over there for a chance to win!

Paper Sweeties 25 Days of Christmas!-Day 24

Welcome to Day 24 of the Paper Sweeties 25 Days of Christmas!  It's Christmas Eve and I've got a project for you today inspired by any Eve during the month of December!

I've used the December release Merry Christmas Y'all.  I created my winter nighttime background using some distress inks and then splattered on some white acrylic paint and dotted on some stickles here and there.

I stamped and cut out (I decided I didn't want the images to have borders so I fussy cut them out) the houses from the Home Is Where Your Story Begins set and the Somewhere Over The Rainbow set and the truck and trees from Merry Christmas Ya'll.  I also stamped the wreath from the Happy Holidays Planner stamp set and cut it out.  After I cut the images out, I added some translucent embossing paste, some nuvo drops and then sprinkled glitter over it to create my snow covered trees and roofs.

Using various thicknesses of foam tape, I layered some gray cardstock and then cut some white snow mounds using a die from the Tree of Life Sweet Cuts.  I tucked the houses and trees in between layers of snow and then added the truck carrying one of the trees over the top.  I wanted the houses and trees to be part of the background so I colored the houses in various cool grays and the trees in a grayish blue/green.  I did make sure the houses had their lights on inside though!

The Joy sentiment from the Merry sentiment set was just right for the bottom corner!

I'm playing along over at the Cupcake Inspirations Challenge.  There is a fun color challenge going on right now and you should check it out!  I'm also linking up over at Double Trouble Challenges which has a 3-2-1 challenge (I'm told that Nuvo Drops, embossing paste and Stickles count as three embellishments) and they're playing along with Color My Heart Color Dare's Bold & Bright challenge... I'd say that truck is pretty bold!

That's it for me today!  I'm wishing you all the Merriest of Christmases!  I will be back next week with some more fun!  Thanks for stopping!

Home Is Where Your Story Begins Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties

Somewhere Over The Rainbow Stamp Set - Paper Sweeties

Planner Series: Happy Holiday Stamp Set

Tree of Life Sweet Cuts Dies - Paper Sweeties

These Are A Few of My Favorite Cutting Cafe Things!

Welcome to some Cutting Cafe Inspiration!  Today we're showing some of our favorites... old and new!  To start I'm sharing one of my new favorite files... the Ugly Sweater file!

There are SO many different combinations for this file!  Papers, stamps, cut shapes, die cuts, embellishments!  Here i used it with some winter papers.  I embossed the main part of the sweater using a folder and trimmed it with some plaid (of course).  Then I used this adorable printable owl stamp from the shop!

Then I used some red plaid and cardstock for this one along with the snowflake and HoHoHo cuts from the Ugly Sweater file and some leftover snowflake die cuts I had on my table.

And ... if you know me at all... you can't be surprised I added a little caffeine to one of the sweaters!  This adorable pup from the Cat's Pajamas along with the wreath and bow from the file and the Falala sentiment from a Paper Smooches stamp set!

I cut all of my accessories out at once in white cardstock and used my Copics to color them the colors I wanted.

So there's my new fave set!  Here are a few things I've made with some old faves!

Well, of course this coffee cup shaped card is one of my faves!   I made these two fairly recently and you can get more info at this blog post here!

I just love the Elisha Jean images and this Angel printable file is just super sweet!  You can find out more about this one at this blog post here!

And I've got a couple faves in here!  That printable owl... the snowflakes.. and those beautiful ornaments!  You can find out about all of these here!

I'm playing along with the Anything Goes Challenge over at Word Art Wednesday with my ugly sweater!  You should check it out!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Hope you've enjoyed your stroll through some of my faves!  Be sure to hop on over to the Cutting Cafe Blog to see what everyone else's faves are!  And comment at the Cutting Cafe Blog for your chance to win three files of your choice!  Maybe they'll be some of my faves too!

Caffeine Fueled Paper Play - Kat Scrappiness & Sunny Studio Stamps

I'm up on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog today and playing along with a Winter Wonderland challenge over at Super Sponsor Kat Scrappiness using some awesome products from Super Sponsor Sunny Studio Stamps!  I hope you'll hop over there and check out the details!  Here's a sneaky peek! 

National Cocoa Day with Stamps of Life!

Happy National Cocoa Day and welcome to our celebration of Cocoa!  Today the Coffee Loving Cardmakers and Stamps of Life Design Teams are hopping together and featuring the Hot Chocolate 2 Stamps and Hot Chocolate Dies (and maybe a few other wonderful Stamps of Life products)!  Hop along to each stop along the way and leave some love and you will have a chance to win a $25 Gift card to The Stamps of Life Shop!  You have until the 20th to comment and the winner will be announced on the Coffee Loving Cardmaker's Blog on the 22nd!  And if you stick with me until the end I'm having a little giveaway here too!

***Edited to add winner info!  The winner of the gift certificate has been announced on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog today, December 22nd at 7am Pacific time and Amy has added her winner to her hop post as well!  The winner here at my place is Donna Mundinger!!  Congrats to Donna!  I'll be messaging her and thanks so much to all who joined us for this hop!***

You should be coming here from the oh so talented Kathy Schweinfurth's Blog!  If you get lost along the way you can always head back to the Coffee Loving Cardmaker's Blog here where you'll find the entire hop list!

And here's how I was inspired:

So... can I just say... this cup die!!  It's a fantastic size and shape and I LOVE that the handle cuts out!  The "inside" of the cup cuts out at the top too, so I can tuck the awesome whipped topping die just inside it... or add some paper to it for cocoa and add some or lots of the marshmallows from the stamp set.  And the whipped cream!  The lines are actually cuts rather than just embossed, so it's easy to slip the spoon die cut (also included in the set) right through it... or a straw... or some marshmallows... or whatever!  I cut mine from white glitter paper and my spoon from some silver foiled paper.  I added a few marshmallows and the steam... we'll talk about that in a minute.

For this next one, I was inspired by our cool desert evenings here in Buckeye, Arizona:

I got these cool Succulent 2 Dies recently at a stamp show in Mesa.  So... it does get really cold here in the southwestern part of Arizona!  In fact, it's not uncommon to see a cactus with a hat on!  I mean .. usually it's not a cute knit beanie like the sticker I added... but instead maybe a styrofoam cup...lol!  But wouldn't beanies be cuter!?  Lately it's been in the 40's in the morning... but don't feel bad for me... it's 70 by the afternoon!

That sentiment, right??  I blended some distress oxides onto the cup and used a stencil to add more of the same color to decorate my cup this time and built my sentiment from the Hot Chocolate 2 Stamp Set and stamped it right on the cup.   I'd buy that cup!  And I just LOVE the steam in this set... each piece cuts out separately so you can add them however you want!

And I couldn't let the day go by without shaking things up!

I just cut the cup from the snowflake paper and the cup outline die from a coordinating paper (the die set has outlines for the cup, the whipped topping AND the spoon!  Perfect for cutting out the stamped images or to outline the dies).  Then I cut a heart shaped window out of the center of my cup die cut, added some acetate inside the window and then some popup tape around the heart window.  I added sequins and beads and attached the cup to the background.  Since I added gold splatters, I cut the spoon from gold foil cardstock this time.  I built my sentiment from one of the sentiments from the Coffee Statement Stamp Set along with the Hot Cocoa words from the Hot Chocolate 2 Stamp Set we're featuring today!  So many of the Coffee Statement sentiments work really well with "Hot Cocoa" in place of "Coffee"!  So maybe we just need a "Hot Cocoa" word die??  Stephanie?  Maybe? :)

I'm playing along over at Double Trouble to create something using embossing and I've added the twist of snowflakes!  You should check this one out!  You have a couple days left to play along over there for a sweet prize!

So that's me for today!  Oh... AND I'm giving away one of these fantastic Stamps of Life Hot Chocolate die sets too!

It is quite awesome and you do need this in your cup die collection!  You have until the 20th to leave me some love here and I'll announce the winner on the 22nd also!

The next stop on the hop is the wonderful Laurel Seabrook!  You're sure to be wowed over there!  Thanks for stopping here and good luck!!