All Stampin' Up! Blog Candy!

I blog because I love sharing ideas for crafting with other bloggers. It's a great way to network. But that would be impossible if YOU didn't visit my site as often as you do. Just a few posts earlier I mentioned that I would be hitting 80,000 visitors. I'm totally amazed that my counter is already at 82, 919!

That's worth celebrating to me, and I've pulled together some fantastic blog candy...just my way of saying thanks.

I had a class and made kits for my Christmas Jingle Extravaganza last week. I love Stampin' Up!'s Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' kit. It's the best Christmas one they've had. So I'm starting my blog candy contents list with these pieces from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit plus a few extra goodies. Here's a peek at all the goodies...well, almost all the goodies. Read on.



Let's get some close ups of the items included in this great give-away. (Itemized list at the end of the blog).



The winner will receive these three adorable boxes, pre-made and ready to give. The lower right box is one of Stampin' Up!'s fantastic magnetic boxes, decorated for that special someone on your list. The top box was inspired by good friend and fellow SU demonstrator, Melissa Rodgers. She hosted a card-making gathering recently and I attended (what fun!). She had made several boxes like this for a sale. I bought one, measured it, and figured out what the pattern was. This is the one I made and it's filled with goodies too (see later picture). It has a see-through window, and once you remove your blog candy items tucked inside you have another gift-giving package. I think it may be called animal cracker box. I've seen them online before, but haven't found a template. So I made one! The last little box, also inspired by Melissa, has a few sweets tucked inside. In addition to receiving these three great little boxes, I will include the instruction sheets for making all three of them.

Moving around the pictured collection...


The winner will receive three full sticker sheets that come in the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit. They are perfect to embellish cards, scrapbook pages or 3-D projects.


Included are six 12 x 12 sheets of designer print (only three are shown here; the others are identical to what is shown). Those coordinate perfectly with the 12 x 12 sheets of textured cardstock included in the package deal (2 each of four colors shown here--Real Red, Choc. Chip, Very Vanilla, and Old Olive--only one sheet of each is shown).

And what would all these papers be without a few embellies? Remember the larger box with the see-through window. I'm tucking coordinating ribbons inside. See the final list for details, but there's plenty here for lots of projects. In addition to the ribbons, the winner will receive a bag of Stampin' Up hardware.






And that's not all! I will also include a hardcopy of my Christmas Jingle Extravaganza Planner! (a $12 value).


You will receive 11 pages of full-color, step-by-step instructions showing you how to make 10 different card designs (measurements are included).


The planner also includes a 4-page cutting guide drawn to scale for accuracy and minimal waste.


In addition to the directions for 10 card designs, the winner will receive detail instructions with photos for this joy wall hanging, a 2-page 12 x 12 scrapbook layout, and dirctions for a framed Christmas Photo mat...all part of my Christmas Jingle Extravaganza class.


All of this can be yours if you are the winner! To enter simply post a comment sharing one hand-crafted item you hope to make this Christmas, and if you'd become a follower that would be great, but it's not necessary to win.

My blog candy winner will be announced by random selection on Friday, December 4. I will make other posts before then, so I'll keep a link to the blog candy details at the top of my post until a winner is announced.

Here's a summary of the blog candy contents:

• One small treat box, ready made, with directions included
• One large window box, ready made (filled with ribbon listed below)--directions included
• One SU magnet box, decorated and ready to fill
• Three Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Sticker sheets
• Six 12x12 designer print sheets from the Christmas Jingle SS Kit
• Eight 12 x 12 textured sheets of cardstock (2 ea. of colors listed above and shown in picture)
• One yard each of the following 5/8" grosgrain ribbons: Real Red, Old Olive, Choc. Chip, Vanilla, and one yard each of the red polka dot grosgrain ribbon and Sleigh Bells twill ribbon. That's six yards of ribbon total.
• One package of Stampin' Up! hardware including: 2-Vanilla jumbo brads, 2-jumbo Choc. Chip brads, 2- jumbo silver brads, 2-Vanilla Hodgepodge hardware frames and brads, 6-Real Red brads, 2-jumbo styled silver brads, 2-medium styled silver brads, 4-Choc. Chip buttons from Buttons Latte collection
• Diane's exclusive Christmas Jingle Extravaganza Planner including directions for 10 card designs, one 3-D wall hanging, 2- 12 x 12 page layouts, and one Christmas photo mat design.

If the winner is one of the first 40 responders, I will also include a surprise bonus...shhh, it's a surprise!! I will have this all packaged and ready to ship the day I announce the winner. You'll have plenty of time to make a few projects with these supplies.

In addition to all this, may I just add my heartfelt thanks to all of you who are regulars to Diane's Designs. You cannot possibly imagine how thankful I am to have met you here and to get to share our passion of crafting. You've all had some wonderful ideas and have inspired me more times than I can count. I hope this will be a fun way to offer my thanks!

You're On Board the Friends of Faith Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Friends of Faith Blog Hop, sponsored by Scrapbook News and Review e-magazine and A Faith Perspective.

I'm so happy you are along for this amazing tour of blogs. There are an amazing number of us who are participating, so if you join in, you will get to see lots of new blogs! We are participating to show our faith and give glory to God--and to proclaim it all over the internet. United, we stand as Christian paper crafters and blog owners to proclaim our faith in Christ. We are celebrating the theme of "FRIENDS" and we're happy to share our projects based on the verse from Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a:

"Two are better than one, because they will have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up."

If you are just joining in on the fun, you can find the start of the train HERE. You can learn about Scrapbook News and Review (SNR) and learn about the grand prizes for this event.

PRIZES ARE WAITING FOR THE WINNERS!

To enter, simply hop to the blogs of all of the participating staff members of SNR, take note of the blog hop member's name and leave a comment on their posts. Then send your list by email to games@scrapbooknewsandreview.com listing each of the members who participated in this hop. It's that easy. All the prizes and sponsors are listed where you will begin and end your blog hop.

All entries by must be received by Monday, November 16, at 12:00 noon, EST.
Three winners will be randomly selected to win.

In addition, every participating member of the blog hop will offer a free one-month subscription to the e-magazine to one of their commenting visitors. That could be you!! Don't forget to leave a comment before traveling to the next blog.

Here are my contributions to the blog hop...
(click on images for a larger view)

Friendship Grows (SU), 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 card

Many of my friends have blessed me for a long time...they are "old" friends. And some of them are my best friends. Even though we may not connect for a long while, I know that I could pick up the phone, and the years would melt away. Years nor miles separate friends who are sealed in Christ. We stand ready to pray for one another. We are ready to help "pull one another along!" Thinking of my long-time friends made me think of some of my "old" stamps...and some of them are my favorites. The stamped image has long been retired from Stampin' Up but it will never retire from my favorites!

Cheep Talk, (SU), 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 card

I am blessed by new friends too! I've never even met some of my friends. Yet because Christ dwells in our hearts, we share a deep bond. Some of you have prayed for me, and written to encourage me. You will never know how grateful I am for you, to have met you in this unique way, and to share your passions for Christ and crafting. The card above uses a relatively new stamp set, and while I've had them in my paper stash for some time...I've never used the Cottage Wall designer papers from Stampin' Up yet.

Old friends are treasured, new ones embraced. And our best friends will always be the ones who stay with us in sunshine or stormy weather...

Framed Photo with Cottage Wall Designer Paper (SU)



Full of Life, Butterfly Die, Cottage Wall dsp (all SU)

God's Blessing, Cottage Wall dsp, Little Leaves and Swirls Scribbles dies (SU)
5-1/4 x 5-1/4 card

I hope you will come back here when you can stay longer so we can encourage one another! Thanks for stopping by Diane's Designs.

YOUR NEXT VISIT...
Patter Cross

You are in for a treat!

Some News!

First, I hope you like my new blog dress. Thanks to Michelle Laycock for designing it for me. I love the new whimsical look. Her designs are fantastic...wow, is she creative! AND she helped me put on my SUBSCRIBE button. I've tried for a year to do that. So now those of you who have asked me before can now subscribe to receive an update when I post something new.

Second, I've opened my store again! I'm going with the "simple-is-better" strategy though, so it won't have as many layers as my first store, and I don't have a separate web site. I'd like to thank Heather Wright-Porto for helping me redesign my blog to make three columns and to set up my store page. Thanks, Heather!

You can enter my store by the door (top right column), or by clicking on any of my projects/planners in the right column for more pictures and purchasing details. And thanks to all of you who have already purchased!! I've had a tremendous response with my accordion album planner, and I'm just thrilled. Here's a sneak peek of one of the cards in my newest planner-- the Christmas Jingle Extravaganza planner...




That planner includes detailed directions for creating:

• 20 cards,
  
• 1 JOY wall hanging,
  
• one coordinating 2-page layout
• one framed art piece.
  

Just head to my store to take a look!

Third, I'm so excited to be joining in for my first time as a blog hop participate. Scrapbook News and Review along with A Faith Perspective (soon merging) is sponsoring and it starts on Saturday. So come back here Saturday morning and I'll help you get started at square one.



Fourth, I will be posting my blog candy after the blog hop. I'll need to keep the blog hop info at the top of my blog until it's over, but come back after it's over for a chance to win. It will be worth it, I promise!

Thanks for stopping by and blessings on your day!

Another My Design Studio Project Finished!

My DH is so taken with our little dog (well, not real little), Daisy. So as a Christmas present I'm designing a Daisy calendar. I still have some tweaking to do to make certain everything is just like I want it before sending it in to print, but I'm really happy with it. I know he will just love it. Hope he doesn't check out my blog before then!

Click on any of the pictures to see an enlarged view. Here's the cover page.



The calendar is formatted as an 8-1/2 x 11 project and will open so pictures are on top of the calendar pages. Here's January.


February: David caught her outside playing in the leaves and she had this one little red leaf stuck to her whiskers. It was adorable. He's a great photographer...much better than I am.


Here's one of the calendar pages. They are already formatted for you, but you can change colors to coordinate with the page on top and can add text for all your family's important dates.

March...



April...


May...


A word about the page above. I have one of those word "things" carved from wood and painted in red that sits on our mantle in the family room. It's a command to Daisy that makes her settle down. How fitting to have that simple title when she is obviously obeying very well here!

June...


Jeff (left) got a little too close, and was surprised with a lickie kiss right on the mouth! Daisy loves both her boys and gets so excited when they come to visit. She definitely brings out the boy in both of them.

July...


We rescued Daisy from a shelter. She had been badly neglected, then abandoned. Poor little thing was skin and bones. But I could see beyond all the fear in her eyes the moment we first saw each other. I immediately connected with her and knew she was the one. I spent our first 48 hours just "bonding" with her. Now she is my valiant protector! Obviously she is better nourished now...and ready for the groomers in the second photo.

August...


September...


October...

November...


And last, December...


I just need to go back and put the special dates on the calendar pages, but I'm almost there. Just wanted to share. Again...can't tell you how much I LOVE MDS!

Thanks for stopping by...

A Moment of Prayer, A Time to Hope

I feel compelled this morning to offer a word of hope and encouragement. When we witness evil deeds that are as senseless and far-reaching as the events of yesterday, we are brought to our knees. I am praying this morning for the families who have been crushed by this travesty. May our merciful God be more real to them than ever before. May they see His goodness and His sovereignty even in the midst of their pain. And may we not lose hope. I just ask that you join me in praying for the families and friends of those killed and injured at Fort Hood; I ask that you join me in praying for our enemies who are blinded and deceived by our great Enemy. May we just praise God Almighty, that this is not the end of this story. For in God's gracious plan for us, there will be a day....

Here are the rest...

Club is tonight...in just a few hours in fact, and here are the other two cards we will be making. I love the Autumn Meadows dsp (first card) found in the Holiday mini. The Taken with Teal adds such interest in the color scheme.


The card base is Chocolate Chip (4-1/4 x 5-1/2) and is a top fold card. The Really Rust layer measures 4 x 5-1/4 and was distressed using the Sanded background stamp and Really Rust ink. All edges were sponged with Choc. Chip to further distress the card. The striped dsp is matted with Taken with Teal cardstock. Images were stamped on Very Vanilla and punched with the 1" circle punch then matted with 1-14" circles in coordinating colors. The rope is now listed in the Clearance rack and can be purchased only online (Click on the clearance rack image to the left). The leaves are from Autumn Day and were inked using More Mustard, Really Rust and Choc. Chip markers. The acorn image was stamped in Choc. Chip, then using a blender pen the color was removed from the bottom part of the acorn. It was then recolored using the markers. The sentiment which comes from the Falling Leaves set is done in Choc. Chip.


This card was inspired by the "demo it" examples in our demonstrator magazine, Stampin' Up! Success. I love that magazine because it's a resource for ideas and encouragement to demonstrators. I love being a demonstrator for SU!

Leaves were randomly stamped onto a 3-3/4" sq. of Whisper White cardsstock using the Falling Leaves set and Dusty Durango, Crushed Curry, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry ink pads. Using the "speckle" stamp from Itty Bitty backgrounds we accented with D. Durango and C. Curry specks. The Dusty Durango polka dot ribbon adds fun to the card and holds the sentiment that dangles from crochet thread.

Pretty low-key, non-stressful creations. The other two clubs really enjoyed them and by having relatively easy cards, we could spend lots of time chatting and laughing. A great girl time was had by all.

I'm thankful for all the members of my clubs. We have so much fun together and I appreciate their positive, encouraging spirits. They are not just customers...they are my friends!

I appreciate each of you too who visit regularly and look often. Thanks for leaving your comments. Some just look and leave! Either way, I'm glad you came by.

Sneak Peek at Club Cards

Here's a peek at one of the cards we will be making during my clubs on Monday and Tuesday. We'll make two others which I'll share later. This one actually has more bling that what shows. I touched the poinsettia centers on the embossed piece with Dazzling Diamonds and the trees (Patterned Pines) are dazzling too.


Club projects were a little complicated last time, so we're relaxing a bit and going with a few cute and simple projects. I'm still loving fall, so the other two upcoming cards are fall ones.

I've been out of town this week and just getting oriented for my week ahead. So posting is brief, but I certainly appreciate all your visits. I'll be posting blog candy this week too, to celebrate my number of visitors. Thanks to each and everyone of you.

The Power of Planning

I'm having a class called Christmas Jingle Extravaganza, Nov. 14. I've always wanted to see just how much I could create from one of the Stampin' Up! Simply Scrappin' Kits. But I didn't want to just tear into the package and start cutting and slashing. I wanted to get the most from what I had. Sooo...I used MDS (My Design Studio, SU) to help me in my planning. I was so pleased with the results and I think I managed to get a bunch!

Here's a view of all the projects we will be creating in the class. 20 cards, one wall hanging, a two-page (12 x 12) scrapbook page and a framed Christmas photo. ALL from one Simply Scrappin' Kit and I still have lots of embellies and some paper left over for more cards. I just had to quit because I thought we couldn't make anymore in the time allotted.



Here's a close up of the scrapbook pages. Just to get an idea of the power of planning through MDS, I've included pics of the digi rendition too.







If you're a local (KC, MO area) email me if you'd like to register for the class. Registration closes Oct. 30. You buy the Simply Scrappin Kit (left-overs are yours to keep) and pay for each of the other projects separately (just to cover the ribbons, hardware, and full-color instructions). Email me for details.

Digi Dynamo!

I've been practicing all my projects for SU certification in My Digital Studio, the new paper crafting solution from Stampin' Up! The more I use it the easier it gets (and it was pretty easy to begin with). I'm learning how to get more detail and enhance with drop shadow effects.

This is a sneak peek project that I promised all the participants of my Hearts Go Home at Christmas Recipe Album class. They will soon have the final class and will have completed 24 gorgeous pages and yummy recipes. (That project planner will be available for purchase soon.) I promised a surprise at the end for those who completed all four classes. So now the surprise is out! I had to make sure I could operate MDS before I told them what the surprise is. I will burn a CD with extra recipe pages created in MDS! [Click on the pictures to enlarge...that way you can see the details better!] The program creates several sizes but not 6 x 6. Since their albums are already that size, there's an easy solution. I've left 1/4" space on all four sides. If printed out, that can just be trimmed and slipped into the SU 6x6 albums.



Once on a CD, these can be played like a slide show on their computer, or they could print the pages out and put them into their albums. I'll be demonstrating a couple of layouts that include hybrid elements--part digi, part traditional paper crafting. AND MDS even allows you to embed videos and audio segments to albums! How fabulous is that! I will practice THAT tomorrow!

Since I'll have several pages completed for class members anyway, I'll be creating a full album and sending it to the printer. Hmmmm....may make fabulous Christmas gifts! The soft cover versions of the album (or book) will be perfect. For my personal version I'll add a few favorite family photos. This just keeps getting better and better.


For those of you who are local, I'll also be planning a class on the My Digital Studio. Once you see how easy it is to operate and the MANY uses for it, you'll have to have it. Even for traditional scrapbookers...you can keep right on making your lovely creations. MDS offers so many other possibilities you will still have to have! It's a great tool in planning all your layouts. Once you have it designed, you can make quick work of a traditional page.

I may give some more sneak peeks later, but I also have some fun non-digi cards to post. Just need to take photos and I'll be back.

Thank you for your wonderful comments. They are such an encouragement!

My Very First MDS Card!

Oh, yes...I know I am far behind Patty Bennett, but I'm on my way! I'm trying to do all the My Digital Studio certification steps and one was to make and send in a card for printing. Once I got into the program and felt my way around a little bit, it was sooooo easy! (Thank you, Stampin' Up!). The picture here, doesn't show up as well as on the project screen. We'll see what they look like when they come back from the printers. I took a huge leap and just ordered some to send out for Christmas this year. I'm very interested to see how the real product looks, especially the sentiment on the front.

This card was made completely from a blank page. But their templates are adorable. One of the tremendous uses for MDS will be for pre-planning. This will save me so much time literally messing around in my craftroom. No more wasted trial pieces of cardstock ever again! I'll just format the layout on my computer and can see on the screen what it will look like. I'm very, very excited. I'll play with this a little more too and see what happens when I print my own. I'm thinking the ink consumption will make it worth just having them printed.



One of the coolest features is that all the stamp images can be made to any size you want. I can't wait to do some scrapbook or 3-D projects, creating hybrids--partially done with digital elements and completed with real embellishments.

I definitely want to do their full-size album...but that's for another day!

Thank you for stopping in...do you have any idea how much I appreciate it?