Ok, so things didn’t work out exactly the way I had planned, with regard to all the projects I had thought I would have finished this weekend.  My little book took quite a lot longer than I anticipated, which has a lot to do with creating a book from scratch with the binding on the spine.  A slightly modified version of this book will be a class in November.  It will have the same contents inside and use the same designer series papers from the "I Wish" Simply Scrappin’ Kit.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to like brown in my Christmas papers, but I absolutely love the color combinations together.  They are very rich.  Ok, now for the magic!  Let’s peak inside, shall we?  These are the first two pages; page 2 has a large round photo frame.  Gosh I love that tree from Snow Swirled!

The next two pages become interactive.  At first glance you see the obvious two pages, but  each side are both pockets.  The left side has a pull out (see the red ribbon) and the right side has another mini-book with it’s pull tab, that flips open for more pictures and journaling inside.  It tucks neatly into the diagonal pocket.

This is what is inside of those pockets:

Don’t forget to check off the "naughty" or "nice" on the wish list!  I think I’m getting coal this year!  Apparently, the consensus is that I’m a MMIA (a mom missing in action).  The woman who used to run this tight ship vanishes every day to her scrapping room and doesn’t come out sometimes til dawn!   lol

Ok, two more interactive pages again. 

Oooh!  This one has a pull-out on one side for a photo and a beautiful ornament for the tree on the other! 

Lots of ornaments decorate these two pages  Another page to pull out with the tab on the left, and three tags express my wish for my holiday:

I just can’t wait to watch "It’s a Wonderful Life" for the gazillionth time!  It just never gets old for me, especially when he is falling apart and desperately tries to fix ZuZu’s petals.  But I digress….. 

Ok, the last two pages include another large frame, in the shape of a wreath.  Both of these pages have a lot of sparkle, but unfortunately, it’s not reflected in the pictures.  The wreath have both glitter and groups of our larger beads while the poinsettias have glitter on the leaves and the centers.

And finally the back; nothing too exciting here.  I didn’t photograph the spine, so you can’t see how I made the book itself.  I guess you’ll just have to come to the class if you want to learn how. 

This little book is packed with product!  Besides the SS kit, I used two patterns from the Holiday Treasures designer series to cover the book.  Again, the same color combinations, just different patterns, so they coordinate beautifully.  I used plenty of punches, ribbons, chipboard, beads, die cuts with the Big Shot, glitter, wheels, and at least 5 Christmas stamp sets, including my newest favorite, Snow Swirled.

It’s the cutest little book, just waiting for your holiday photos!  Or you could bless some loving relative or friend with this book as a gift!  With the next two months of holidays, I’ll be changing my class schedule around quite a bit to avoid conflicts with the holidays.  The class will take place on Saturday, November 22 (instead of Sizzix Saturday), and again on Tuesday, November 25.

Hope to see you then!

Technorati Tags: Holiday Treasures dsp, I Wish Simply Scrappin' Kit, mini-album, Punches, Snow Swirled stamp set

I’m working on a couple of samples for Christmas Cards to send as samples to an engineering firm that wants 100-125 Christmas cards!  yowser!  I have to start now if I’m going to finish, especially if there’s all this embossing.  Anyway, I really got the inspiration for this card from Amanda Coughlin, a fellow Stampin’ Up! team member friend from Oldsmar.  You can see her more sophisticated and GORGEOUS card here.  I really loved the non-traditional colors she used with this set.

I love embossing cards, especially during the holidays.  It always gives that extra special wow factor.  I know it’s sometimes time consuming, but once I have all the stuff out, at that point, I may as well do a hundred!   The stamp set I used for this card is called Snow Swirled.  The main image of this card is stamped in Baja Breeze on whisper white cardstock and the smaller snowflake images are stamped in Pacific Point.  The small snowflake on the top of the tree and the larger snowflake is stamped with Encore Silver, and then embossed with Silver embossing powder.  I used our snow blossom punch which coordinates with this stamp and popped it up with dimensionals.  Besides the tree, my favorite image in this set is the largest snowflake, which I didn’t use here because it’s too big, but it’s design is simply gorgeous!  Check it out online!

The main image is distressed on the edges with Pacific Point, matted in brushed silver cardstock, and then matted again on Pacific Point.  The sentiment outside and inside is stamped with Pacific Point and matted on Pacific Point cardstock.   I used our silver cording, which I’m so pleased to have back.  I use rolls of this at christmas time for ornaments and tags, and wrapping gifts, but it really works with this card too adding just another touch of silver!

This is what the inside looks like:

I hope you take a closer look at this set using the links above. It’s so pretty! 

Lots of posts coming this weekend, so stop by frequently.  Thank you for visiting.

Technorati Tags: Baja Breeze cardstock, Encore ink, heat embossing, Pacific Point cardstock, silver embossing powder, Snow Swirled stamp set