This time of year I need a lot of gift card holders. I don't like to simply hand someone a gift card.  I like to make it special! I've got four fun ways for you to gift someone a gift card this holiday season. 

The first uses the fun Classic Gift Card Envelopes.  These are retiring with the mini catalog and are on sale.  Be sure to stock up! You can add a little color to them with blending brushes, simply tie ribbon around them or add them to the inside of a card. So many uses. 

The Mini Pocket Envelope die is the perfect size for creating gift card holders. With this die you can use any of your favorite papers and create an adorable project in minutes. 

​Tip: I always use Tear Tape for gift card holders and envelopes I make. It's a much stronger adhesive than Seal and helps hold up when you are slipping something in and out of the envelope. 

This design is one of my favorites!  The best way to make them is with Memories and More cards.  It's a rather simple design in the end:

-Base is 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches (a quarter of a piece of card stock)
-Layer on top of it a 4 x 5 1/4 inches piece of Designer Series Paper or trim 3/4 of an inch off of a Memories and More card
-The middle is a piece of card stock cut to 9 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches and scored at 3 1/4 and 6 1/2 
-Use your Memories and More 3 x4 cards to decorate

This design fits in a traditional card envelope making it the perfect Gift Card Card! 

I hope you haven't overlooked the Scalloped Gift Card Boxes in the annual catalog.  These are perfect for gifting your gift cards! Easily decorate with your favorite Designer Series Papers, some tags and ribbon. The inside has a great little pop up holder to slip the gift card in. 

Which is your favorite?

Be sure to hop to the end to see all the great projects being shared this week.  I love seeing everyone's creativity.  Hit next to see Wendy's creation and back to see Elizabeth's. 

It's time for another Monday Montage Blog Hop!  

I held my annual 20 card class over the weekend.  This is a class where everyone makes five each of four designs. The cards are all designs that are easy to replicate at home so that everyone has ideas to use again. 

This was one of the designs.  It's a great one if you have beautiful Designer Series Paper you want to show off! 

Gather five sheets of coordinating DSP cut to 4 x 5 1/4 inches. 
Cut on the short side (4 inch side) at 1 3/4 inches. Then cut that piece at 3 1/4 inches.  This gives you your first two pieces. 
Cut the other long piece at 2 and 1 3/4. This will leave you with the final three pieces. 
Mix and match the pieces and adhere to a white card stock base. 

Has anyone else ever messed up their cutting measurements?? I went to cut pieces and cut at 1 1/4 instead of 1 3/4 so I had to improvise my design!  Oh well, it's only paper! 

Which Designer Series Paper would you pick to use?

Be sure to click next to hop to or back to see Elizabeth's awesome work. 

Join me for a night of crafty fun with your friends and family.  I’ll be hosting a DIY card and tag making event at Seams For The Soul on Tuesday, November 14th at 6:30 pm. 

How it works: When you arrive you'll choose the kit of your choice and have a fun night of creating.  You do not need to bring anything. 

Each kit contains all materials needed to create cards or tags. You’ll create 8- 9 cards or 12 tags depending on the kit you choose. Not in the mood for Holiday crafting?  I’ll also have birthday and thank you kits to choose from. No experience necessary!

Cost is $28 a person. RSVP by 11/10 by clicking on the "buy" button below.  No refunds given but a kit would be provided for you to pick up at a later date if you would need to cancel.

This event comes with a bonus--private after hours shopping at Seams for the Soul! You'll receive an exclusive discount and a free gift with purchase that night. 

Every month I offer a four card class.  I offer it in the morning and in the evening. We create four different cards using current products.  I try to bring in some techniques and lots of different products.  There is never a theme but  simply fun all occasion type cards.  Here is a look at the four projects we did last week for the October class. 

This first one was inspired by Mary Fish.  I love the Garden Walk paper so much and this layout that Mary shared is such a great one to copy.  

The Modern Oval punch is a go to for me right now.  It's the perfect shape and size to use on so many cards! 

The Distressed Tile 3D embossing folder is my current favorite. I can't get enough of it!  It looks so elegant to me. I paired it with the deckled circles and the fun leaf from the Cheers to the Season stamp set.  Adding copper accents really finished it off nicely. 

I did fussy cut the leaf out but I think it's worth the effort! 

​Don't have the copper ribbon? Use Gold Trim instead! 

For this card we tried a few techniques including watercolor pencils and coloring the pearls. Did you know that you can use your Blends to color the pearls any color you like? 

I loved the look the Radiating Stitches dies gave to the Crumb Cake piece. 

I had used the Shimmer Embossing Paste with the snowflake mask from the Abundant Beauty mask pack on another card and loved it so much I had to try again.

​This card is very monochromatic but blue is my favorite color so I was in love with it from the start! 

Which is your favorite from this month's class?

Thanks for joining us on another Monday Montage Hop. I love seeing everyone's projects on our hops! Be sure to click next to see what Julie has shared and back for Elizabeth.  

It's time for another Monday Montage! October is here and our weather is finally feeling fall like.  I love it and hope it lasts a long time before winter starts in. 

Speaking of winter, I decided to play with the new Above it All set.  This one feels very winter like because it reminds me of skiing.  The first card I made I only used the cool looking tree stamp. 

My colors for this card were Old Olive, Calypso Corral and Poppy Parade. 

This little car is so cute. I've only started playing around with the options and I think there are so many ways to use it! 

Is this set on your list?  Add it now and get FREE shipping through Wednesday on orders over $75! 

​Be sure to click next to check out Wendy's great project or back for Elizabeth's.  I always love seeing what everyone has created. 

The new Stampin' Up! Online Exclusive Trucking Along bundle is so fun! So many possibilities and ways to use it. Be sure to check out all the Online Exclusives.  More are being added on November 7th! 

I loved the color combos in the new A Walk in the Forest Designer Series Paper.  It doesn't have to be used only for Christmas!

​Did you catch that this paper is also our "Making a Different" product for the mini catalog.  For every pack sold SU! will donate $3 to Toys for Tots. 

 You can certainly use the Trucking Along bundle for holiday cards as well. This was a simple layout that can be repeated easily.  The Joy of Christmas paper has some very pretty designs. 

This card is a totally different color scheme.  I used Lemon Lime Twist, Blackberry Bliss and Balmy Blue. What do you think?

Stamping with the same color ink on card stock is one of my favorite ways to create a background. 

Quick tip for punching images.  Do you ever have trouble lining up your image because it's on a small scrap of paper?  Stick it to the sticky part of a Post It Note to give yourself extra room. 

Happy stamping! 

It's time for another Monday Montage Blog Hop full of fun ideas.

This week I'm showing off fun projects using the new Stampin' Up! Abundant Beauty Decorative Masks. This past week I held a technique class where we used the new masks with both blending brushes and embossing paste. These masks offer so many possibilities.  Each class attendee went home with their own set of masks and three mini blending brushes. 

The sunflower masks are very easy to use.  There are four total and each is numbered with a notch to show you which direction to face them.  I shared a quick reel on how to use them here. 

I used Shaded Spruce, Pecan Pie and Crushed Curry on this card.  I loved pairing a couple of small pieces of the All About Autumn Designer Series Paper on the sides. 

I hadn't used the Shimmer White Embossing Paste in a long time.  I forgot how easy it is to use and how great it looks!  It's the perfect thing to use with the snowflake mask in the set.  I think this was the top pick by everyone in class. 

The last card we made focused on the leaf mask in the set. I paired it with the Cheers to the Season stamp set. It did require a little fussy cutting but I think it's worth it! I used the All About Autumn paper on this one as well. 

Which card is your favorite? 

Be sure to click all the way through so you don't miss any of the fun projects.  Up next is Julie and back is Elizabeth. 

It's taken me awhile to get my alternatives done and ready to share from the August 2023 Meaningful Flowers Kit.  I loved the pretty flowers in this kit.  I'm a sucker for flowers so this one was easy to work with. 

As always, I started with cutting one of each card base in half to create alternatives.  Because these had writing on the back they didn't necessarily give me double the pieces to work with but I liked having the fronts to create with. 

This was such an easy card to put together but so pretty! 

I was inspired to create this one from one of the alternatives that Stampin' Up! offered in the instruction booklet.  They always showcase a few optional designs in the back of the instructions. I stamped the flowers in the background and then adhered the die cut piece on top.  I stamped flowers in the background on the sentiment piece as well. 

Do you like to create alternatives or enjoy the fact that a Paper Pumpkin kit makes card making SO easy?

If  you aren't receiving your own kit each month sign up here! I'm available to answer questions as well. 

September is here and off to a fast start! The weather is beautiful so it's helping us get outside and enjoy what is being offered around us.  Yesterday we took in the Farmer's Market followed but a Book Festival and and Open House at my favorite local boutique! You should check out Seams for the Soul and pick up a card or two. 

For this week's Monday Montage I focused on the new Warmest Hearts bundle from the September to December catalog.  I fell in love with this set right away! 

This card is super simple but I love the colors and they way the card looks so clean and simple. 

This next card is much more bright! The new Merry Bold & Bright Designer Series Paper really does pop.  I love the bright rainbow of colors and how it can work for holiday and non holiday cards alike. 

Another bright card featuring the same Merry Bold & Bright paper. There a lot of accent dies in this bundle and I love that you can customize your thermos so easily. 

Which is your favorite card? 

Be sure to hop all the way through today.  Everyone has great projects to show you.  Click next for next for Wendy and back for Elizabeth. 

It's time for another Monday Montage and I'm writing this from my hotel in Vegas! I've been attending out annual leadership event called Backstage. It's been an amazing few days full of learning and fun. 

A tradition at Stampin' Up! events is to swap cards with one another. In fact, our opening event was a "Sweets and Swaps" reception designed to give us the perfect chance to swap cards with one another.  Here is the one I created. I was only able to get 15 made but it means I'll have 15 other new card ideas to share! Stay tuned on social media for those.  You can find me on Facebook and Instagram. 

The stamp set I used is called Translucent Florals and will be available in the mini catalog starting on September 6th. 

We always get the best swag from Stampin' Up! I'm excited for all my message board fun. Time to get organized. 

The people are always a highlight of Stampin' Up! events for me.  I especially loved that I met fellow Monday Montage buddy Bree (aka Craft-somnia Momma) in person for the first time. We had a chance to hang out and and share ideas.  

Be sure to hop all the way through. I always love the variety of projects.