Time is running out on the Holiday Mini Catalog! Come January 3, most items in the catalog will no longer be available. Some of them will be in the Occasions catalog which begins January 3 and some of them are on the Holiday Carryover List. You can check out the carryover list here:  Holiday_Carryover_2014_US-3. The Occasions catalog will be arriving in your mailbox in the next couple of weeks. If you would like one, email with your phone number, time zone, and best time to call you. I want to tell you how you can get a catalog totally free. Or give me a call. I’m sure there are some things in the catalog that you still would like to have. Order them now before they are gone. If you are like me, I love the Winter Frost Specialty paper. I’m thinking I will order some more to have on hand. It is perfect for not just Christmas projects but projects all winter long. If there is a particular item that is not on the carryover list and you wonder if it will be in the Occasions catalog, give me a call and I’ll let you know.

Love my leaning tower? When the packers took apart my wire cubes, they separated the connectors from the cubes. Who knows in what box still packed they might be in! So I improvised with zip ties. After spending the best part of a day constructing my storage tower, I was really proud of my work. Then I started putting things in it! Oh my…I know this won’t work. Today we went to Lowes and purchased a tall cabinet with doors and 5 shelves. That will be much better! The middle of my stamp room is finally empty of boxes but there is stuff stacked all around the perimeter still. Once we get the cabinet put together, I’ll work on stashing my stash. At least I was able to get to my desk yesterday to stamp 15 tags for the Creative Stamping Friends Christmas ABC tag swap.

Don’t forget to check my blog post next Tuesday for the details of my Balck Friday/Cyber Monday special!

The challenge for this card was to use an oversized image and a border on a greeting card. A Halloween theme immediately came to mind so I went to my arsenal of Halloween files in my MDS program. I chose the Spooky Bingo Bits bat for my oversized image and a Tasteful Trim Border punch filled with Tangerine Tango color. Red Sara’s Sequins add a spooky gleam to the bat’s eyes.

The bat is on a mat of a square punch filled with Basic Grey and the Convention 2012 Curvy Frame punch filled with Tangerine Tango. I always like to add overlays to my backgrounds for added texture so I used the Vintage Overlay Texture 11 stamp. I resized it to just fit the Basic Grey square.

Fitting in a greeting on this card is a challenge. I decided to go with simple lettering placed on the border using the Alphabet Soup punches.

Have you tried creating with MDS? Some of the reasons I love it are that I can change my mind and play around with the design elements without wasting any card stock and when I am finished with a project, there is no clean up time. All I have to do is save the project. I can send it by email to a friend. I can print it out and it is done. Or I can print out just the card front and mount it on card stock for a hybrid card. You can order your copy of the program for just $19.95 or you can even give it a try for free for 30 days.I thing you will enjoy it as much as I do. Click on one of the links below to place your order.

Supplies:
MDS software digital download (130646), MDS software disc (130647), or 30-day Free Trial of MDS (130910)

Stamps – Spooky Bingo Bits (127616), Vintage Overlay (121061)
Punches – Alphabet Soup (129015), Tasteful Trim Shape 2 (123997), Convention 2012 Curvy Square Punch from Convention 2012 Photobook Template (130971), 1.25′ square punch (included in MDS program)
Embellishments – Sara’s Sequins (133903)

If you come this afternoon the the Craig/Klawock stampers group at 1:30 pm at Dina’s place you will get to make a Christmas card using the Mosaic Madness stamp set. How do you ask? Where is the sample? Well, darn it…I forgot to take a picture of the sample before mailing it off to Craig! I guess you will just have to come to the workshop to see what this is all about.

We will also be making envelopes from designer series paper using the new Envelope Punch Board. I have sent a couple of samples with directions on how you can also use this punch board to make a box that will hold up to 8 cards with their envelopes and a holiday wrap for a candy bar treat. This is what the punch board looks like
You can make up to 66 different sizes of envelopes. To seal the envelopes use SNAIL adhesive (be sure to burnish the adhesive well), 2-Way glue, or Sticky Strip. The measurements and cutting guide is right on the board. The opposite side of the punch is a corner rounder that makes a perfect mat to the 3/16″ corner punch. The $19.95 price is so reasonable for all the fun you will have making one-of-a-kind envelopes from designer series papers! Order your punch here.

Yes, believe it or not, there is a National Tell A Joke Day. Given the state of the economy and all the grim news spewed forth in our newspapers, we do need a day to remind everyone to tell jokes and laugh. Without further ado, here is my joke:

A senior citizen drove his brand new Corvette convertible out of the dealership. Taking off down the road, he floored it to 80 mph, enjoying the wind blowing through what little gray hair he had left. “Amazing,” he thought as he flew down I-94, pushing the pedal even more. Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a state trooper behind him, lights flashing and siren blaring. He floored it to 100 mp
h, then 110, then 120. Suddenly he thought, “What am I doing? I’m too old for this,” and pulled over to await the trooper’s arrival. Pulling in behind him, the trooper walked up to the Corvette, looked at his watch, and said, “Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes. Today is Friday. If you can give me a reason for speeding that I’ve never heard before, I’ll let you go.”
The old gentleman paused. Then he said, “Years ago, my wife
ran off with a State trooper. I thought you were bringing her back.”

“Have a good day, sir,” replied the trooper.