Homemade Christmas

	Q&A  Q: I want a more homemade Christmas this year without too much of a time investment. Any suggestions? A: You’ve come to the right place! I have so many great ideas to share with you and Stampin’ Up! offers a rich and diverse line of products that you can use to create simple to extravagant Christmas cards, home décor, and gifts. Holiday Cards Creating special holiday cards can be simple and fun. The fastest and easiest way is to find a card you like in our Idea Book & Catalog, Holiday Mini, or on my website. Cards with simple embellishments, such as Designer Series Paper or punches, are great options for creating beautiful cards quickly. Once you select a design you like, determine what supplies you need or contact me for help. Once you have your supplies, prepare an assembly line system to quickly create your handmade cards. Involve the whole family and get the job done even more quickly and have a great time together, too! Home Décor Stampin’ Up! offers lots of options for home décor, but the quickest way to make a big impact is to use our Décor Elements. The easy-to-use, quick, and affordable vinyl artwork comes in many seasonal and holiday designs. Add Décor Elements to walls or windows for festive flair. Or create lasting decorations to use year after year by applying Décor Elements on items such as: picture frames, wall hangings, jars, tins, and ornaments. Gifts Create heartfelt gifts, like a set of monogram note cards, an assorted set of all-occasion cards, hand-stamped coasters, or mini-scrapbooks. The gift possibilities are virtually endless! To save time, select one or two gift ideas that you can create for everyone instead of making lots of different gifts for each person on your list. By creating multiples of the same gift, you will save time on planning and save money by limiting the supplies you need. Handmade gifts are always personal and you can make the gifts even more personal by using a monogram or creating the project in the recipient’s favorite colors or theme. Enjoy a homemade Christmas! You can create warm and special memories with your homemade and heartfelt cards, gifts, and décor without investing a ton of time. Contact me today for fun and fast card, décor, and gift ideas. I am always happy to help!
Images © Stampin’ Up!

Holiday Helper 2009

It’s beginning to look a lot like the Holidays. Let’s face it, the holidays seem to appear earlier every year. They also have the uncanny knack of showing up when we are at our busiest. We have holiday gatherings and parties. We have places to go with the kids. Presents that need to be bought. So many things that just have to be done.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have creative ideas delivered to your inbox? 12 days full of great holiday help. These ideas will cover gift giving, decorating and card making. They will be packed full of inspiring ideas. Just when you need the inspiration and the ease of great projects I’m available to you, ready to help you though the busiest time of the year.

The holidays are a time of sparkle and wonder. Handmade gifts and decorating add to that in a way that is uniquely your own. Having inspiration for great projects, that are simple and easy to do, can be a jumping off point that will spark your creativity. Adding that little bit of your own personal touches to decoration, cards and gifts really does show that you care enough to go that extra step.

Sign up for the 12-day Holiday Helper. Set to be delivered to your inbox every few days.  

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

Last Minute Gifts

It’s here! Seems we wait all year for the holidays and when they finally arrive, we are shocked at how quickly they got here. Well it’s November. It is time to put on the Thanksgiving meal. It is time to buy the presents.  It’s time to get those Holiday greeting cards out in the mail.

 As a busy generation, many of us thrive on the last minute. We have so much to do that it seems we are always waiting until we seem to have no time at all. It is part of the culture of the busy woman.

We all have those gifts we need at the last minute. It doesn’t mean we forgot, we just might have had the unexpected guest. The invitation to dinner, we weren’t expecting. It’s the holidays, things happen. What we need are ideas of things that we can have on hand. Quick and easy, but still have the holiday sparkle. Making these ourselves also shows even if it is a small gift, they still deserve something special this holiday season.

Décor Blocks #116829 Stampin' Up! © 2009

One quick and easy gift is Décor Blocks. I can order these for you or you can order them online at my store, along with all the supplies you will need. These MDF boxes, which are all ready to cover and decorate, would look wonderful covered with Designer Series Paper, stamped, glittered, wrapped in ribbon or even a combination of all the ideas. They are a great go to gift to have on hand.

Another great idea to have on hand is decorated bags. These would be wonderful to fill with cookies, handmade goodies or even store bought.  Everything looks fabulous in a fabulous container. Whether you use a White Gift Bags or our Cellophane Bags, you can decorate them with stencils, Décor Elements™, rub-ons and stamps. Add tissue paper, cookies and tie up with ¾” Polka-Dot Grosgrain Ribbon and you have a gift that really says that you care. You can add things that aren’t baked goods as well. These wonderfully decorated bags could be filled with anything that you have in your gift storage. You could even pack them full of the supplies that you used to make the bag. If you stamped the bag to decorate it, include a new stamp and ribbon that you used. Who would love a decorated bag full of treats they can use for their last minute gifts?

Christmas Blessings Treat Box Stampin' Up! © 2009

Then there are some great Treat Boxes that Stampin’ Up has to offer. These boxes are made with heavyweight card stock. They are sturdier than a gift bag. They even come in a pretty color so you don’t have to do a thing to them to be able to use them. You can have fun with decorating them though. You can dress them up with tags and ribbons. Use all those pretty embellishments to make this treat box special. It even has a cut out handle. Then you can fill the inside with great little gifts. Things such as lotions, lip balms, all those little items you may have on hand for just that occasion.

Just because the gift you are giving is last minute, doesn’t mean it is not special. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have to have the sparkle of the season. Have a few of these ideas set aside for just that moment that you need them. Contact me for more ideas and questions or visit my store which is open 24/7. There are so many ways to get creative with your stamps and scrapbook supplies this holiday season!

Happy Holidays!

November Online News

	Debbie McNeill debbie@debbiestamper.biz http://www.debbiestamper.biz