S.T.A.R.S.--Sharing The Art of Rubber Stamping

As For Me and My House We Will Serve the Lord

When the "As For Me & My House" Decor Element first came out, I squealed with DELIGHT!  This is one of my very favorite verses!  I have been trying to think of ways to incorporate Scripture into my decorating & then SHA-ZAAM, SU! put this verse in their Decor Elements Line.  As with the previous post with the Vinyl Designer Series Purse, I mentioned that I like things that you can make & swap out things to change with the seasons!  You see, there is a history to my sickness, when I was a kid, I had "Lotto" brand sneakers (mid 1980's)...it came with different colored Lotto Logo Emblems that you could change out on the sides of the shoes to match your outfits.  Then when I could purchase it for myself (cause my parents weren't going to buy it for me), I bought a Gucci Watch that you could change a little ring that went around the face of the watch to coordinate with your outfit!!  Now that I'm all grown up, I'm still into "changing things to match the seasons"!  I'm so glad that SU! is feeding into my sickness!  So in preparation Valentine's Day, I used the Sending Love Specialty DSP on my sign. 

 In my other "As For Me & My House" pictures, I have always felt like there was a little something missing .  So, this time, I came up with this little element that is on the topside of the glass with the ribbon.  I used the Top Note Die, Hearts & Bracket Die, and the Join in the Cheer Die (just cut out "Love") which are all exclusive to Stampin' Up! to be used with the Sizzix Big Shot. 

CLICK HERE to see my "spring" version.  The other two versions did not photograph well at all, so I didn't ever post them...EEK!!  I'll try taking pictures of them again as the seasons change & see if I can get some better pictures to show you.

I am so excited that in the newest "add in" brochure for the Definitely Decorative Catalog, there is another Scripture related Decor Element..."To Everything There is a Season".  That'll be my next Home Decor project for sure!  You can view both the catalog & the add in by clicking on the pictures of the catalogs in the Left Sidebar.   Happy Decorating!!  Erin

 

Erin's "Vinyl Designer Series Purse" Hall of Fame

BIG THANKS to everyone who came through on the the Tour de Freaks this week!!  I hope you had a great time.  Well, let's keep going with the Valentine's Theme today.  At Convention 2008, they showed us a really cute bag made from vinyl, DSP--Designer Series Paper, Jumbo Eyelets & Ribbon.  I vowed that I would make that bag!  I love things that you can make and switch things out for different occasions.  So with that in mind, let my Vinyl Designer Series Purse Hall of Fame begin!! 

Here is the original bag I made in September 2008 using the Sweet Always DSP. 

Then I just HAD to update it for the Christmas Season 2008 using the Ski Slope DSP.  I also added my initials using our Decor Elements!  I thought it just needed a little something extra.

Then in February/March 2009, I used the Raspberry Tart DSP to give it more of a Springy look!

Well, I guess I liked the above look sooo much that I didn't change it for the rest of the year.  Okay, maybe it was out of laziness or not remembering until the current season was almost over, but it was too soon to change it to the next season!  I did FINALLY change the paper & ribbons this past week to the NEW Sending Love Specialty DSP...what makes it so "special" is that each sheet has a side that has glitter on it!!! Ohh-Ahh!!  It's probably pretty tough to see in the photo, but in real life the large pink flowers are super sparkly!

 

I hope you had fun walking down my Vinyl Desinger Series Purse Hall of Fame!  If you'd like to see how "fun" it is to make this purse, CLICK HERE scroll through the post until you get to the RED WRITING then you will see a link to click on for the directions.

Have a super fun Friday!!  Erin

 

Getting Ready for NEXT Halloween just a little early...tee-hee!!

Or should the title have been...Happy Belated Halloween Ideas?  I still have a couple more Halloween & Fall Ideas to show you that you'll just have to file away to use next year!  Tomorrow, I'll show you the Fall/Thanksgiving Ideas!  Life has just been going by so fast these past couple of months...WOW!  I've also got some really cute scrapbook pages to show you from my last two months of my Simply Scrappin' Club...so stay tuned & thanks so much for your patience during the VERY SPARSE posting over the past  couple of months!

Halloween Pennants

 

I got the idea to make these little pennants using the Stampin' Up! Pennant Bigz XL Die from HERE on  Patty Bennett's Inspirational Blog last year at about this time (of course Patty had her Halloween stuff posted way BEFORE Halloween).  Since I have the slightly smaller Stampin' Up! Alphabet Simple Letters Bigz Dies, I thought it would be fun to come up with a little longer greeting.  You could easily do this to make little pennants for Thanksgiving, Christmas, & more! (I did, & I'll post those a little later).

Paper Pumpkins

I was again inspired by Patty's Blog to make these cute little pumpkins that were featured at one of her group meetings.  You can see the post here & then scroll down a little.

Spooky Treat Mini Buckets

I picked up these mini-buckets from The Dollar Spot--they came 2 for $1.00.  I used the Spooky Treats Rub-Ons & the FABULOUS 1 1/4 inch Striped Grosgrain Ribbon...YUMMY!

Large Trick-or-Treat Buckets

Although the picture doesn't look like it, these buckets are much larger than the mini buckets shown above.  Now, which one doesn't look like the others?  Which one doesn't belong?  I purchased the center bucket last year to have on display & to hold Halloween candy.  This year when the "Spooky Expressions" Decor Elements came out, I just knew they would be adorable on orange buckets...do you know how hard it is to find orange tin buckets that these little guys will fit on??  Luckily I found these 2 buckets at a local store...they were 90% off in the clearance section from the 2008 Halloween season...unfortunately, I have THREE kiddos & 2 buckets just doesn't quite cut it!  So, after I made these, I carried around the third pumpkin face to try to find a match...no such luck.  So when I unpacked my fall/halloween stuff, I was thrilled to find the above center bucket...whew!  I'm still going to keep my eyes open for another orange bucket, but for this past Halloween, these three buckets served my kiddos just fine!
 

I hope you were able to get some chuckles from this Halloween post at Christmas time, & that you will be able to use these ideas in about 9-10 months!  Tee-Hee!! :)  Erin

 

  
 

Christmas Countdown Calendar & The List!!

 

 
 

If you've been hangin' around here for awhile, the above items might look familiar to you.  I made the above Christmas Countdown Calendar & Boxes last year.  You can read all about how I made it HERE and HERE.  At my stamp club earlier this week, I was mentioning to the gals about a list of Christmas Activities that we wanted to do this December.  The ultimate goal is to get them typed up, cut out & put one in the pocket behind each of the numbers.  If you clicked on the first link, you'll know what I mean.  Well, I've made the list, but I haven't typed it up, cut it up, or tucked them into the pockets on the numbers, but Kari asked if I could post the list, so I am!  So, in no particular order, here is THE LIST of Christmas Activities we'd like to accomplish this December. (Seeing as it is the 12th already, we have accomplished some of these, but I'm not so sure if we will be able to accomplish ALL of them!)  If you have any other great ideas, please let me know!

1.  Learn a new Christmas Song.

2.  Make cookies to give to the neighbors.

3.  Make "snowmen" pretzel sticks. (As featured on the front cover of the December Issue of Family Fun Magazine.)  

4.  Make a Gingerbread House.

5.  Decorate the Christmas Tree.

6.  Go see the Christmas Lights Display in Midwest City.

7.  Make Christmas Thank You Notes.

8.  Make Snowman Pizza (another idea from Family Fun)

9.  Read The Night Before Chrismas on the night before Christmas while sipping hot cocoa & eating Christmas Cookies.

10.  Get out & arrange our Little People Nativity & read the Christmas Story from Luke 2.

11. U-Pick a Christmas Story for everyone to listen to.

12.  Make the "Christmas Blessing Snack Mix".

13.  Have a "Happy Birthday Jesus" Party!

14.  Read The Polar Express and then watch it!

15.  Go see a Christmas Themed Movie in the Theater...if available.  We saw Disney's "A Christmas Carol".

16.  Draw Christmas Pictures to send to the Grandparents.

17.  Go to the church Christmas Program.

18.  Donate a toy for kids who won't get much of a Christmas.  (ie. Angel Tree or Operation Christmas Child)

19. Make Christmas Story Cookie Kit...something new my mom gave us this year.

20.  Make our own yummy hot cocoa from scratch and put into Cocoa Cones (another idea from Family Fun magazine a few years back) to give to Sunday School.

21.  Make marshmallow snowmen pictures. (Dip large & small marshmallows in white paint & "paint" on blue or black construction paper.)

22.  See Santa Claus at the mall. (The OKC Bass Pro Shop has a GREAT Santa!)

23.  Celebrate St. Nicholas Day, by writing a letter to St. Nicholas, putting it in your shoe & putting it by the front door....the next day, the shoe will be filled with candy & a little gift (placed in ziploc bag, not directly in their stinky shoes!)  When I was a little kid, we lived in Germany for a few years & began celebrating this holiday.  When I went away to college, I even sent my parents a shoe with my Christmas Wish List in it.  They were living back in Germany (dad was in the Air Force), and when I arrived home on Christmas break, my shoe was there waiting for me filled with candy!  :)

24.  On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, do the "What God Wants For Christmas" box.

I hope you enjoyed my list...remember, we probably won't be able to do it all.  It's just nice to have a list of things we'd like to be able to do & if we get crunched for time, we can scan "the list" to see what's most important for us to do & what supplies we have on hand to complete the projects.  Don't forget, if you have a great family tradition or idea that you'd like to share, please leave me a comment!  I'd love to add the "the list".  Merry Christmas...Erin
 

Spring Fling Home Decor

Do you remember the "Season of Thanks" and the "Countdown to Christmas" artwork I made?  Well, I had them hanging in the same spot on my wall in my kitchen/dining room, and I needed to find something else to hang there, but I just couldn't figure out what to do!  I knew I wanted it to be something with Stampin' Up! and most likely using the something from their Decor Elements line.  Since we are renting our current home, I didn't want to put something on the wall, I wanted something I could hang & change up for the seasons...with the exception of Thanksgiving & Christmas since I already had something for those holidays.  So, here's what I came up with!

 

I am SOOOOO EXCITED about this!!  I JUST LOVE IT!!  Okay, that's enough bragging about what I've made, but I just can't contain myself! 

Here are the details:

1.  Frame is 16x20 & Dark Brown.  I got it from Hobby Lobby when their frames were 50% off...they are almost always 50% off!!  :)

2.  The "Serve The Lord" Decor Elements from Stampin' Up! is Medium Sized & Chocolate in color and is applied to the top of the glass pane. (I also purchased the White "Serve the Lord" Decor Element to use on the extra pane of glass I had leftover when I made the Countdown to Christmas Calendar....didn't use the glass.  So when I choose to use a darker DSP, I can just switch out the glass panes!!  Brilliant, I know!!  :) 

3.  Measurements:  On the top, I used the "Spring Fling DSP" (which is now retired).  I used one whole 12x12 piece and one 12x8 piece.  I used Hermafix & attached it to the white paper that came as the insert in the frame.  On the bottom, I also used the "Spring Fling DSP".  I used one piece that was 4x12 and one piece that was 4x8.

4.  The Ribbon is actually on top of the glass.  I thought it helped to add some texture.  I used the So Saffron Twill Tape and the Certainly Celery Twill tape.

5.  Something's Missing...I still feel like it needs something else, but I can't quite decide what that little something is.  Does it need a bow?  Please leave me a comment to let me know what you think? 

I ended up choosing the Spring Fling DSP because I made this sign last year & I wanted to have a more coordinated look.

  

You can go HERE to see more about this swag & another cute Spring project!  Enjoy!!  Erin 

My "New" Vinyl DSP Bag

I used the NEW Raspberry Tart Designer Series Paper to spruce up my Vinyl DSP Bag for spring!  I've received lots of "oohs & aahs" from those who have seen it.  I typically only use in on Sunday's & Wednesday's when I have to carry a lot to church.

       

Just wanted you to be able to see what I did with the inside...pretty exciting, huh?  When I re-made it for Christmas, I took out the stiff card board side pieces to give the purse a little bit of flexibility & to lighten my load a little bit.  Now I just adhere the DSP & the cardstock to a piece of the white "board" that comes in the back DSP packs.

Have you made a Vinyl DSP Purse?  If so, please leave me a comment with a link to your bag!  Have a super Saturday!!  Erin