Learn to Stamp and Scrap with Lynn Larson

Happy New Year!

I hope you all have a very happy New Year's Eve and New Year's Day!  Be sure to stay safe and enjoy the company you are with.

I will post something fun tomorrow to share with you, so stay tuned!

Lynn

Tutorial Tuesday - "Four Square"

Welcome to Tutorial Tuesday!  I hope you will enjoy this regular, weekly feature on my blog.  Today's tutorial is called "Four Square".  Well, not officially.  That is just what I am calling it for this post:)) 

As you have probably noticed, cards with layered elements add interest and dimension.  I am going to show you today how to take it one step further by creating a scalloped edge to an element on a card.  Most of you know how to punch different size punches to create a layered look, but have you ever wished you could have a larger punched border than the size of your card?  I know that I have.  Today's "Four Square" Tutorial will show you how to make a larger, scalloped border on your projects.

Here is what the finished card looks like:

 

The supplies needed to create this project are:

Stamp:  Best Yet (Stampin' Up! Level 1 Hostess Set)

Ink:  Basic Gray

Cardstock:  Whisper White (8.5 x 5.5 and 2 1/8" square); Basic Gray (5.25 x 4" and 2.25" square); Bella Rose Designer Series Paper (4" x 1 1/4" and a 4" square); Rose Red (scrap strip to punch out four scallop squares)

Accessories:  SNAIL Adhesive, Scallop Square Punch, Rose Red 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon, 1/4" circle punch and Crystal Effects (for the faux brad look in the corner) and Stampin' Dimensionals

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Today's tutorial will focus on the focal point of this card (the words) bordered in two different layers (Basic Gray and Scalloped Rose Red).

First you will need to pull out your scallop square punch...  I flip over my punch so I can see the paper when I punch it out.  That way, I am sure to punch out the entire area without going off the edge.

 

You will want to punch out four of these squares for this project.

 

Now for the assembly.  You will need to add adhesive around the edges of the next layer.  I am using Basic Gray for this project.

 

Next, take one of the scallop square you punched out and adjust it to fit evenly at one of the corners of the Basic Gray cardstock as shown in the photo below.

 

Once your first scallop square is lined up, you can grab another and attach it to line up with the next corner.  NOTE:  one scallop of your two squares will overlap each other.

 

Keep adding your scallop squares until you have all four squares attached.

 

When you are finished, this is the layered look you should have.

 

Now you can layer the words or your image on top of these layers.

 

If you like this technique, you can play around with it for many different projects besides cards.  Why not try it on a scrapbook page, a gift bag or a 3D project?!

If you create a project using this technique, send a .jpg photo by email and I may even share it on my blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you enjoyed today's Tutorial Tuesday.  Be sure to stop back next Tuesday and join for another tutorial that you can do right in your own home!

Lynn

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Get a FREE Stampin' Up 2009 Spring / Summer Idea Book and Catalog

It is getting to be that time of year again!  The NEW 2009 Spring/Summer Idea Book and Catalog is on its way and you can reserve your FREE copy with me today!  Contact me by email or by calling me at 802-380-0222.  In order to receive a free catalog from me, you need to either be an existing hostess, current customer or place a minimum $75 order with me.  If you don't qualify for a free catalog, you can always purchase one for only $10.  You can pick your catalog up from me to save a shipping charge or I can ship it anywhere in the United States for $4.90 (USPS Priority Mail).

I have preordered some catalogs and will be giving those out on a first-come, first-served basis.  I will  ordering more batches of catalogs as needed so be sure to reserve yours early to get one of the first copies as they arrive!

This is also a great time of year to book a workshop.  The new catalog brings new excitement, new ideas and new product.  You will be able to earn some of the products on your wish list for sure.   Contact me to book your workshop today!

Tutorial Tuesday Returns!

By popular demand, I am re-introducing Tutorial Tuesday each week on my blog starting Tuesday, December 30th.  This week's post will be up Tuesday evening.  For those who subscribe to email updates to my blog, you will have the post in your inbox on Wednesday unless you come directly here to check out the post yourself.

For those of you that are new to my blog, Tutorial Tuesday posts feature a project with detailed instructions and photos so you can follow along and make the project at home on your own.  I will be posting things like cards, scrapbook pages, 3D items, gifts, etc. in the tutorials each week.  If you have any special requests, be sure to leave a comment and I will do a tutorial just for you!

In the meantime, here are some links to some of my previous tutorials to wet your appetite:

Stamping on Fabric

Black Magic with a Twist

Treat Holder

Double Pocket Card

Flap Card

Fun with Punches

Stay tuned...I have LOTS of goodies in store for my weekly Tutorial Tuesdays!  If you don't already subscribe to the posts from my blog, you might want to add yourself to my mailing list by signing up in the upper left corner of this blog.  Please note that I do post to my blog almost daily so you will be getting a new email update previewing my posts on a regular basis.

Thanks for stopping by,

Lynn

Stampin' Up! Retiring Stamp Sets - available only through January 18th

As you know, Stampin' Up!'s retiring stamp set list has come out.  If you haven't already seen the list, you can check it out HERE.  These stamp sets are available only until January 18th so be sure to order the ones you want now before they are gone.  You can order online 24/7 or you can email me to place your order.

I am going to add a new section to my blog that list my retired stamp sets and accessories.  I will be adding the retired items I have from this current catalog on January 19th so be sure to stay tuned for the list!

New Year / New Resolutions - NEW "Organization Tip" Sunday

     

With the New Year fast approaching have you decided on your New Year's Resolutions for 2009?  If you are like me, you might be vowing to be more organized in some way this year.  Some people want to organize their photos to scrapbook.  Others need to organize their finances.  Some might even need to organize their time or their office space.    

I thought it might be fun to share our New Year's resolutions with each other and share some tips on accomplishing those goals.  If you would like to be more organized in any way then you will want to be sure to check my blog every Sunday for a weekly organization tip. 

Since today is Sunday, I will start my organizing tips today (yes, before the New Year officially starts).  There is no better time to start than now!

ORGANIZATION TIP #1 - Start gathering all of your tax information for tax time or for your accountant.  This is the perfect week to do that since most people are still in holiday mode and not looking to steal your time.  Before you know it, April 15th will be here.  Get a jump start on your tax paperwork today!

If you haven't already done so, you might also want to get a 2009 calendar and have it ready to list deadlines, appointments and organization challenges. 

Take it one step further by being ahead of the game this time next year by setting up your household and/or business income and expense spreadsheets for 2009!  Entering the money you receive in as income or pay out as expenses on the day it occurs only takes a few seconds each day.  (Catching up for the entire year takes many, many hours!)

Be sure to check back with me next Sunday, January 4th for Organization Tip #2.  If you have accomplished Organization Tip #1, please leave me a comment and let me know.

Now go and get that tax paperwork organized!  Don't forget to leave me a comment when you are done.

Lynn

Breaking News: Wardsboro, VT 4th of July Street Fair

As some of you may already know, I have started doing some craft fairs at the end of 2008.  One of the fairs that I have been wanting to do for awhile has been the Wardsboro 4th of July Street Fair but wasn't quite ready to do it.  This year, I have finally decided to bite the bullet and take part as a craft fair vendor.

This morning I received an email from Evelyn Saenz who found my blog while searching for blog posts about Wardsboro.  She saw my post about the ice storm and asked if I would be putting my photos in the Art Show at the fair this year.  I hadn't thought about doing that, but after Evelyn's suggestion, I am looking into doing just that.  (Thanks, Evelyn!)

Evelyn has also added information about me to her website about the 4th of July Street Fair.  There are two spots where I am listed.  If you check the index of www.squidoo.com/parade, I am listed under both "Blogging about Wardsboro" (my article is about the "Ice Storms") and also under "A Wardsboro Artist Prepares for the 4th of July Street Fair" and has an RSS Feed attached for updated posts from my blog.  Please take a minute to check out not only these posts, but the other posts about the Street Fair.  It is a huge event here in Wardsboro that has been taking place almost 60 years now!  If you have never been before, it is an event worth checking out.

Lynn

Welcome back to the real world...

After all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas, the day after seems like such a crash doesn't it?  There are no last minute gifts to wrap (or make:)), no running around from here to there and life is back in your control.

Here is a picture of one of the "slightly altered" tins I gave out with goodies in them for some friends this year. 

 

I just added a crystal snowflake tag to this tin and attached it with a mini glue dot.  Inside the cover of the tin was a list of the goodies inside.  All the goodies were put inside of cellophane bags and tied with ribbon.  It looked so cute inside of the tins:))  My hubby even commented on how I pay attention to the little details and make things "cute"... I was shocked and flattered that he noticed and commented!

I hope that you all had a fabulous holiday season this year and enjoyed the time you spent with your family and friends.  Our Christmas was a little different this year.  Our kids are now "grown up" and off doing their own things as well as spending part of Christmas with us.  Our daughter is off on her own and didn't come over until just after noon.  Our son spent the night at his girlfriend's house Christmas Eve so he could spend Christmas morning with her family before they left for New York to visit family. 

A group of us went to church together and got home slightly before noon.  So our family Christmas didn't start until then.  We were having a late dinner because of the time we got home from church, so I put together some munchies on a platter to snack on before dinner.  We had a veggie platter with dip that included red and green peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower and baby carrots.  I also made up some celery stuffed with whipped cream cheese and chives (something my mom always made).  Shrimp with cocktail sauce, a  bowl of fresh cherries and another bowl of fresh grapes.  I also had a plate of cheddar cheese with some smoked sausage (that my son received from his girlfriend's sister for Christmas) and assorted crackers.  I had homemade eggnog out as well.  That went REALLY fast this year.  My hubby just loves my eggnog and can't get enough of it.  I actually drank a little this year and my son thought it was pretty good stuff too.

About 1 pm, I popped the ham into the oven and then we got to exchange gifts and see what Santa brought us.  My hubby has a tradition each year of buying some scratch off lottery tickets and letting us all pick a few and scratch them off to see who wins.  This year, he brought some home and asked me to put them on the tree  We had a lottery ticket decorated tree for the morning and when the kids came home, my mother-in-law and great uncle came over, we each took turns picking some off the tree and scratched them off.  The kids made out like "mini" bandits because they got my MIL and great uncle's winners as well as their own.  I say "mini" bandits because none of them were huge winners this year.  That was okay though, we just do it for fun anyway.

We snapped a few pictures during this time and thought I would share one or two of them with you.

 

Here are some of the lottery tickets on our tree...

 

These are two of the three most precious and treasured people in my life, my kids Cody and Stephanie - (the third being my hubby).   They are such goons and very close when they are together.  Stephanie ran over and sat on Cody's lap to open presents.  That is when I had to grab my camera and shoot a quick photo. 

 

From left to right are:  Cody, me, fabulous hubby Darryl and Stephanie.  My MIL took the photo.  Pretty good for a lady who doesn't take photos and has a cast on one arm!  I wish I didn't have the glare on my glasses, but that is okay for now.  I also wish I had time to get my darn hair cut before the holidays - just no time:))

Later in the day, my son Cody picked up his girlfriend and brought her over so she could have dinner and get her gifts.  She brought some goodies over from her family for us as well.  The kids and I ended up playing card games like Skip Bo, Uno and Blackjack (without money).  We actually had a blast.  We were cracking jokes and laughing so hard we almost fell off our chairs.  To me, that was the best part of the whole day!

I hope that you all enjoyed your holidays.  I actually look forward to the New Year as well.  We have a big get together New Year's Eve for dinner where we have a variety of seafood and nibbles.  No massive partying with the alcohol, just dinner with family/friends.

What do you do for New Year's Eve and Day?  Do you make resolutions?  Do you have a get together?  What are your resolutions?  Leave a comment and share what you do!

Merry Christmas...How about some Chocolate Dipped Pretzels?

I hope that you are all having a very Merry Christmas today enjoying time with your friends and family.  We are having Christmas at our house this year.  Another passion of mine, besides rubber stamping and crafting, is cooking and entertaining.  I just love to have people over and cook special meals and goodies for them. 

We are having a ham today with mashed potatoes for my son, au gratin potatoes for everyone else, corn, green bean casserole, pineapple, coleslaw (my Mother-in-Law's specialty), sweet potatoes and my delicious homemade braided egg bread. 

For desserts, I have prepared Cranberry Hootycreek Cookies, Chocolate Dipped Pretzels with Mint Sprinkles, White Chocolate Fudge with Pistachios and Cranberries, Chocolate Fudge with Walnuts (my daughter's favorite), chocolate cream pie (my son's favorite), chocolate chip cookies, walnut balls (aka Mexican Wedding Cakes) and an assortment of handmade chocolates done in both white and dark chocolate.

 

This is the basket full of chocolate dipped pretzels that I made for the holidays.  They are so yummy and a favorite of mine and my daughter.  They are so easy to make too.  All you need to do is melt some chocolate (I chose dark chocolate), dip the pretzel rods in the chocolate and sprinkle them with your favorite topping.  I chose tri-colored mint sprinkles for mine this year.  I then lay them on parchment paper to dry and pop them into these little pretzel bags and tie them off with a silver twist tie.  It is truly that easy!

I hope you all are enjoying this magical time of year and savoring every special moment.  I will see you all back here tomorrow for more creative ideas.

Lynn

Snowman Ornaments

I make a lot of my gifts and holiday decorations every year.  This year I made some more Snowman ornaments for my little rustic trees that I put throughout my house. 

 

This snowman stamp set is from Stampin' Up! and retired about two years ago.  I just love this stamp set and kept if for my personal use.  This little snowman fits perfectly on these ornaments and I have done this guy in many different color combinations.  I do like the blue ones the best though.

I am giving my mother a set of these ornaments for Christmas this year.  She and I both love snowmen so I think she will really enjoy them on her tree.  (I hope mom doesn't read my blog before she gets these...).  They are just so cute and great to look at on the tree!

I wish all of you a very safe, healthy and happy holiday season!  Enjoy every moment of the time you get to spend with family and friends.  Remember your traditions and what is important is sharing time together, not necessarily the gifts. 

Blessings to you all,

Lynn