A Quick Reminder and Plea for Safety.

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Hey y'all. No, I'm not doing two new posts in one day. This is NSR and showcases an old card/post from October. Hopefully people will see this post.

For those of you that know me personally, or have been following me here or on FB (Shannon Angel), Twitter (ShanAngel), or Pinterest (Shannon Angel), you know how passionate I am about Domestic Violence awareness. Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence is Silent Epidemic that wounds and kills far too many people not only here in the U.S. but worldwide. It continues on in large part because of the silence of it's victims and of those people who know victims and see the results of the violence yet do nothing about it. For too many years victims have felt a sense of shame that their attackers use to continue the violence. We must learn to speak up, as individuals and as nations, to stop this horrible blight upon our societies. We must realize that the people who should feel Shame are Not the victims but those who inflict the violence upon them.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month, but it is almost always overshadowed by Breast Cancer Awareness, which is also in October. Even my beloved NFL only showcases Breast Cancer Awareness, much to my  despair.

Did you know that statistics show Domestic Violence rates climb during Football season? Yep. People don't handle their teams losing and often take it out on those around them and yet the NFL wears a ton of Pink but not a purple ribbon to be seen anywhere. Truthfully it makes me sad to be such a huge fan during October. Think of all the people they could reach if they just gave even equal time and fundraising efforts to both causes instead of just one. ARE YOU LISTENING NFL?

I just saw this article on CNN.com

Here are some statistics pulled from the article.

* 1 in 3 women are affected by their partners Violent behavior.

But you know it's not just women that are affected. Men are victims too. In fact the numbers listed are probably much lower than the true numbers due to most men's resistance to reporting they were the victims of violence, especially if it was perpetrated upon them by women.

* 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men report Severe Physical Violence
* 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men report the Effects of Violence- Fear, Concern for their safety, PTSD symptoms and more
*1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men reported Rape or Attempted Rape. More than half of the women, 51% who reported, stated the attacks were by Intimate Partners
* 1 in 6 women and 1 in 19 men report being victims of Stalking behavior with 2/3 of those reported being perpetrated by partners or acquaintances.

Please Be Safe! Love yourself enough to know this one simple Fact.

Love Does Not Hurt!!!!!!


If you or someone you know are victims of Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence please get help.


You can call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
1-800-787-3224 TTY


Thanks for taking the time to let me vent. I want you all to be safe.


Till next time, which will be a happier post, I promise.


Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #12 - Embossing with Glitter

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Hey y'all! I hope you're having a good day. Well, we are another day closer to the weekend. Woo-Hoo! That means it's time for another End of the Week Technique. It's hard for me to believe it's #12 already. Wow, time is flying by.

Speaking of time flying by, can you believe it's just over a week until Christmas? WOW! Where did the Holiday season go? For that matter, where did the whole year go? I've got another Christmas card for you today. Do you have yours all finished and mailed out yet? I know I don't have. Best laid plans and all that. Hopefully this weekend. SMH. I hope you get yours out of the way and your shopping too, if that's not done yet.

This week's technique is embossing with glitter. Now, I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm not a real big fan of glitter or that whole shimmer, glimmer, ritzy, glitzy look.

Just Kidding! I love L.O.V.E. it! In fact I love it so much I've allowed Tink to take up permanent residence in my studio so she can sprinkle a little shiny love on most of my creations. :-)

I did a preview of this card last week and it's been one of my highest viewed posts. If you're coming over from there, thanks for visiting here to find out more.

Now, I'm still pretty new to a lot of different techniques which is why I'm doing the EWT's. Some of it I'm figuring out as I go. Others I'm getting information and inspiration from other stampers/crafters. This one was kind of a trial by error.

Back in September I did this card, and wanted to put snowflakes in the background of the main card section, but I didn't want them colored. I wanted them to just shine. The only way I knew to get a clear impression was with Versamark so I inked up my stamp and stamped the background with Versamark and then added some Dazzling Diamonds. Woo-Hoo! I was so excited! My sparkly, colorless snowflakes were there. However, if you look closely you can see that some of them are not complete. That's because the Dazzling Diamonds wasn't sticking like it normally does. If you brushed it at all it would fall off. Not at all what I was used to. You know that stuff sticks like crazy with our 2 Way-Glue Pen. So I got out our catalog and started looking and sure enough our Heat and Stick powder says you can use it for glitter. I had seen the Heat & Stick used before with other products but had never ordered it, because I thought it was one of those things you could use or not use, your choice. Big Mistake. Big. Huge! (Anyone catch the movie reference there?)

Let me tell you- If you want your Glitter to stick to Versamarked images you better get you some Heat & Stick powder. Once I got it and tried it I was sold. Like I said, glitter sticks like crazy with our 2 Way-Pen, I mean it's not going anywhere, but that's really more for accenting. If you want an stamped image done, without colored ink you're going to need this powder. Really, I think if you want anything more than just accents done, this is the way to go. Once you're done that shine's not going anywhere!

Here's the card I did with this technique. We did it in my Stampcamp a few weeks ago and the girls loved it. It really makes you stop and take a look.

Believe it or not, this picture does no justice to this card. It's just amazing how much it shines in real life. Light just bounces off of it. It's so pretty and sparkly it's hard to describe. It's definitely a WOW kinda card and it was so easy, you just won't believe it.

It starts with your Stamp-A-Ma-Jig. You do have one of those right? I'm sure you do as much as I've told you it's a necessity. Stamp the image of the Medallion on your imaging sheet and you're ready to rock and roll.

*TIP*- When using an image like the Medallion that could give the same image from many angles it's important to not only mark your stamp but your impression sheet so you know which corner is up and then always stamp that image with those corners matching up. If you don't your image is not going to come out with the correct placement. This is also important when stamping over a previously stamped image so that you can embossing or glitter. Ask me how many times I had to stamp to figure that one out. No wait don't, it's too sad to discuss.

I also stamped the sentiment which is from Four for the Holidays on my imaging sheet because I wanted to make sure it was placed just right as well.

*TIP* - When using an image this large it's easier to stamp your sentiment first in order to make sure you have enough room for it. Ask me how I know this is important. Yep you guessed it. No room for the sentiment on the first try.

Once you have your images on the imaging sheet and you know which corners match up, you've done the hardest part. No, Seriously, the hardest part is done! It's a simple as 1-2-3 from here on out.

1-Put your imaging sheet on your cardstock, find just the right position, ink your stamp really well with Versamark, remove imaging sheet and stamp. Make sure you apply firm even pressure so you get a good image and remove stamp.

2- Pour Heat & Stick powder all over your stamped image, flick off any excess and then using your Heat Tool, heat it just like you would an embossing powder. When you see the change in appearance you're done. You now have a tacky surface ready for your glitter.

3- Pour your Glitter, in this case Dazzling Diamonds, all over your image and prepare to be Amazed! Flick off any excess and then a quick blast of heat from your heat tool all over the image to set things and you're done.

See like I said, Easy as 1-2-3.

Here's a close up-

I used Night of Navy for the base on this card.  Here's a look at the inside, because you know how I love to make sure that's pretty too.

Although you can's see it in the picture, I used my Frost White Shimmer Spray that I had previously mixed up to make my Whisper White cardstock just Shimmer and Glow. I inked up my Medallion stamp with Versamark again and stamped in the lower right corner and then repeated the process from the front of the card. You can't really see the shine here but it's there, trust me. The greeting is from the Christmas Greetings stamp set.

This is my Christmas card for this year and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks. I tell you there are some things you can kind of skimp on, but this is definitely not one of them. Get the Heat & Stick powder and play with it and enjoy it and the compliments you're sure to get!

That's all I have for you today and for this week's technique. I hope you liked the card but more than anything I hope you're going to try this technique. I just can't tell you how much you and your cards recipients are going to love the results. As always if you give this a try, I would love to see what you come up with. If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

Card recipe-
Cardstock- Night of Navy, Whisper White
Stamps- Medallion background stamp, Our for the Holidays, and Christmas greetings
Ink- Versamark and Basic Black Classic Ink (for sentiment)
Accessories- Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat tool, Powder Pals, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Frost White Shimmer paint.

If you need supplies to make this card or others, you can shop in my ONLINE STORE 24/7. There's still time to get your goodies in before Christmas for yourself or others.

If I don't see you tomorrow, I hope you have a great weekend filled with Family, Friends and of course plenty of time for stamping and crafting.

Till next time-

Be Safe,
Shan


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Ornament Vase

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Hey y'all! I hope you're having a great day today! I missed being able to post yesterday, but have been so busy. Are you ready for the holidays? Shopping done? Well, best intentions aside, I still have not done my Christmas cards and I have to get my packages mailed out this weekend and I have a stampcamp on Saturday. Someones going to stay busy I think!

Just a quick little post for you today. A flashback of sorts. Today's card is not a holiday one, but it uses a Holiday Punch. Remember this post way back in August when I first started this little adventure? I talked about some of the different uses for the Holiday Ornament Punch I had just received and gave a preview of some of the cards I had made using it. Well, I realized I had never posted this one.

I'm sure many of you have seen this style card where the ornament is used as a vase, but it was the first time I had used it like this. I had also just recently received my Top Note die so I was glad to be able to use it too, since I was trying to figure out uses for it.  It's a simple card but I still like it. I may have to revisit it come spring with some brighter flowers and case. This is definitely a fall colored card.

Here's today's card-

Sorry the lighting's so dim. (Boy, those Ott lights will spoil you quick-like!)The DSP for the vase is a retired paper from last year. It's been so long since I made it I can't even remember exactly what colors I used, SMH. Bad Shan! I punched the flowers out with a retired punch that came as part of a set I received years ago, and used my bone folder to curl the edges and give the flowers some dimension. We  have multiple punches you could use now to create the same effect. I drew the stems in freehand using my Stampin Write Marker, using short strokes to make it look more realistic. I think I used Early Espresso. No stamping at all on this card front.

You know what else is missing? Yep, Tink! I look back at this card and think about how my cards and style have evolved, even in just these last few months. Like I said, I definitely like this card, it's just hard to believe  it's one of mine!  Also sadly, nothing to show for the inside. Sorry. Turns out I didn't have it loaded into my BB, but no glitz or glam there either. Where was my head? :-)

That's all I have for you today. (Told you it was a quick little one!) I know a lot of us are already gearing up and looking forward to the New Year and Sale-A-Bration and Valentines Day, I know I keep trying to get to those stamp sets!  Hopefully this will remind you that even though the Holidays are almost here and then just as quickly gone, don't forget about your Holiday punches. I hope you remember to get yours out and make something a little non-traditional with it. Don't make it sit all alone and forgotten about until next year. That makes them sad and if they cry they might rust and not punch as cleanly for you. LOL :-)

If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

I'll be back tomorrow with my End of the Week Technique. Thanks to everyone who has been previewing it HERE for making it such a popular post.

Till next time,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

My First MDS

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Hey Y'all. Well, it's another cold Monday here in  the DMV, but at least the sun is shining (weakly) and there is no precipitation. (YEA!) How was your weekend? I hope you had a Great one!

My weekend did not go as planned at all. It was still a good one, just not the one I really had planned. It started off ok, I got to sleep in on Friday, (always a plus), followed by a mani/pedi, then lunch with my sis and then we decided to throw in some quick shopping for my Christmas party Friday night, before my hair appointment. So as we're finding some outfits, I call to check and see what the dress code is only to find out it's been moved  to another night! Luckily I have that night off! On the plus side though, I got a really cute outfit, and I found a purse to go with it on Saturday at one of my favorite haunts, Target. (You did read that Tar-jay, right?), So, now party-less I got to spend the evening with my sis and nephews so I can't complain too much. My stampcamp for Saturday got moved to next weekend, which was actually ok, because it allowed me to go and get the bulk of my Holiday shopping done. Now if I can just get the cards done, and get everything mailed out this week, I'll be good to go. You'd think with all the cards I've been doing, I would have my Holiday cards done, but nope. More importantly, I have to get stamps or I won't even be able to send them out. I don't remember the last time I used regular snail-mail. Guess that's why I have such a back-log of cards at home, huh? The good news about the last minute date change is there will probably be at least two more people which will be great for my hostess! I had to work Saturday night but then got to go to a party with some friends for a little belated B-day gathering. Yesterday I went to a Pampered Chef party with my stampin buddy April and met some really nice new friends, especially Sherry who I have a feeling will def be a partner in crime (sooner than later, I have a feeling)! And of course we had football, right up to midnight so you know it was a good weekend, even if last night's game didn't end the way I would have liked it too.

So with that said, let's chat about football. I'm so ready for the College Bowl games to start up because I am really missing my College Ball!  :-(  NFL wise though it was a mixed afternoon yesterday. As you know by now, I have 3 main teams, The Patriots, The Cowboys, and anyone who plays the Redskins. So yesterday was easy since my boy Tom and the Pats were playing the Redskins. Winnah, Winnah, Chicken Dinnah! Now, while I was waiting for the Cowboys to play there was Miami vs Eagles....SMH....I told you if I bragged on them they would probably just go back to disappointing and they lost BIG! I stick by my assertion that they are the South's Redskins. With the caliber of players they have they should simply not do so poorly on a consistent basis and continually disappoint their fans. Over in Denver, Timmy T and his team, pulled out a last minute win over the Bears. Did you see this game? Oh Holy Smokes!!! There was about 5 minutes left and the score was 10-0 and they come back to win. Their kicker kicked a 59yd'er to tie the game! Who does that?!? 59 yards! And then went on to kick the winner in OT. AMAZING!!!!! N.O. beat Tennessee and then came the last game of the night. The Cowboys vs the Giants. This was just a game of lead changes that went right down to the wire. Those dang giants called a Time Out with 6 seconds left, to ice the kicker for the winning FG, which had already been put into play by the time all the whistles were blown and split the uprights! But if you looked on replay he called it in time, the refs were just slow to blow, which I have to say Really BLOWS! Especially since the next attempt was blocked and we lost by 5. Cowboys and Giants are now tied and they meet again on 1/1. I will be so sad when football season is over, but you know who will be glad? My studio assistants. Yep, Duecey and Bitty HATE football season. Me yelling at the T.V. gets me more than one Evil - Kitteh - Eye a game. Yep, they will be glad, at least until baseball season starts back up full swing! :-)

On to stamping, I finally got around to playing with my birthday present, my MDS!  I've decided to try a new feature here and add MDS Mondays to my End of the Week Technique and have two regular challenges for myself. This will allow me to add one more routine post here and not only challenge myself to step out of my box, but also to develop my skill with MDS. I'm very excited about this and hope you will be too. I just have the basic program at this point so we'll see how it goes.

I had seen on the Utah Divas page that this weeks challenge would be to incorporate Polka Dots or Stripes on a MDS project and I managed to use both. I have to say, I did this card much quicker than I had anticipated and that was even with making a revision. It only took me around 30 minutes which I think was pretty good.

Here's the final card-

This was all done without any additional downloads. I was excited to use the striped DSP for my second layer and the sprinkles on top of my cupcake look like "polka-dots" to me. What do you think?

Here was the original-

I liked it, but I just felt like I wanted a little something more. I love ribbon, but don't have a lot at home to choose from yet, so I don't incorporate it into a lot of my cards. I really like that with MDS I have so many ribbon choices already built in and can change the colors too. For my ribbon I layered 2 Brocade Blues on my card and then layered a Whisper White one right in the center. I then made two bows sized them like I wanted them and then layered them too. So quick and easy! I Likee!!!! The only thing I couldn't figure out was the ribbon placement. I actually wanted it to tuck under the second layer instead of going across the entire card, but other than that I was really excited about the finished look.

This MDS is going to be really helpful for me because you know there's no way I could have gone back and added that ribbon on a real card. That's one of the really nice benefits of creating cards in MDS, you can do Mock-Ups to see if you're going to like a design or see what changes you want to make before you actually cut cardstock and adhere it. What a time saver as well as money saver! Plus the biggest bonus- Built- in Rulers. So easy to make sure everything is equal and placed just right! The one real downside I've found is unless I plan on doing a Hybrid card Tink can't have her way with my cards. Now, if there is a glitter function on MDS, I don't know about, I hope one of you will chime in and let me know, because that would be one download I would be getting STAT!!!!

Now you know I think the inside should be pretty too, so even though this is digital, I couldn't just leave you with a card front. Here's the inside-

Another feature I really like it the ability to change the opacity, so it's just like stamping off. I added a cute little trio of balloons to pretty up the inside and lightened them up, just like I would have done on a regular card. I wish I had been able to find a "string" stamp but I think it still looks cute. And if I go by my standard of "Would I like to receive this either in the mail, or by E-mail?", I have to say, YES!

What do you think? I'm pretty excited about my first MDS project and how well it goes with the theme. Hopefully I will be able to link this to the Utah Diva's MDS Monday page (I don't see a linky-tool, I'm waiting for a response from them) If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

As always, if today's project inspires you to create, I would love to see it!

If you need supplies to create this or other project in either MDS or our regular product, visit my ONLINE STORE. There's still plenty of time to get your Holiday shopping done too.

I hope to see you back here soon.

Till then,

Be Safe,
Shan


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Just a Preview- PPA 123

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Hey y'all!

No, I'm not posting 2 times in one day. I wish! :-)

I saw a challenge over at Pals Paper Arts and had so much fun with them and their Pearl Challenge, where I created my Wine Tag, I didn't want to wait until next week to post this card. It's going to be my Christmas Card this year and it's also going to be next week's "End of the Week Technique" so check back then to find out more. I'll put the link HERE (Link is now active) so you can jump to it once it's posted.

This weeks challenge is all about Sparkle, Glitz and Glam so you know I was there right? They're also doing a Mystery Blog Candy GiveAway so make sure you check them out.... but not till after you look at my card ok.

Here you go-

So don't forget to check back next week, or if you're checking in on or after the week of 12/12/11 hit the link above that says "HERE" and it'll take you to the whole post.

If you liked today's card, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :)

Hope you have a great weekend and hope to see you back here soon!

Till the next time,

Be Safe,
Shan

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Sharing Some Birthday Joy

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a good day! Our rain moved out overnight (thankfully, the slushy white stuff left with it) however, you know what pushed it out of the way? A lot of cold windy air! :-( Yep, it's about 20 degrees colder today, had to get out the down knee length jacket again. Thank goodness it's teal, because if it was white I'd either look like the abominable snowman or a huge marshmallow on legs! Hopefully you're warm and dry and gearing up for the weekend.

First things first though... I just wanted to say a Big Thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their busy day to stop by here and spend a few minutes. I went over 1,000 page visits yesterday which is Amazing to me. When I started this mid-August of this year I had NO expectations of hitting 1000 in less than 4 months. In fact, I couldn't imagine hitting that in the first 6 months or year, but am so thankful to you all for helping me to reach this point so quickly! Hopefully, you'll continue to come back and we'll hit the next milestone soon too!

I don't have anything original of my own today to show you, but I wanted to tell you how Stampin' Up helped make my Birthday extra special this year.

First off- You've heard me talk about my friend and teammate, April, here before.  I first met her at a monthly "Stampin at the Firehouse" event my upline Robin holds. She's so sweet! Then she became one of our team members and now she's a friend and I couldn't be happier. We're friends and stamping buddies as well as "Scaredy Cats", but we're working on the Scaredy Cat part together. She is an Amazing Stamper and I love not only stamping with her but swapping cards with her. How excited was I when I got a Birthday Card from her in the mail? "So Excited!" would be the answer! Here's what she made just for me-

I love the style! I've never had one like this before, I'm definitely going to CASE this style! Here's how it opens up-

How sweet is she? This made my day!!!!! I keep trying to convince her to do a blog & start out like I did with just a post or two a week because she does such Amazing work. Don't you think that would be a good idea?

Another thing that S.U. did was introduce me to lots of new people and not only do I have a great first upline (Robin Merriman ,who I love more than Rainbows and Glitter & you know that's a LOT!!!), but my uplines above that are pretty amazing too! I am a downline in Remarkable Stampers (Jan Wakeland Rocks!) and Proverbial Stampers (Connie Heisey) too. Last month there were two events on one day, one here in my backyard and one over 2 1/2 hours away. I went to the one here locally and had a blast! The other had a "long-distance" option which I sent a request for, but I didn't hear anything back regarding payments or anything so, truthfully I just figured I must have been too late or she must have been too busy getting ready to respond. I saw the team e-mail showing all the neat stuff they got to make and do, and the neat gifts Connie had made for everyone. It looked like they had a blast, but truthfully I had forgotten about the whole "long-distance" thing since I had never done anything like that before.

Well, I came home last Friday night after the second job tired but needing to get ready for Saturday's stampcamp and saw that Mr. UPS had been by with my supplies. Surprisingly, Mr. Postman had also made a delivery and had left a box on my doorstop. As it was two days before my birthday, I'm thinking "Awwww, someone sent me a birthday present!" Well, they did and it was Connie! It was my "long-distance" package that I had forgotten about. I couldn't believe all the Cool Stuff! Lookie what I got!

How pretty is this? She made them for everyone that came. They're Simply Adorned Charms with our initials and a little flower and a pearl. It has the Victorian Lace Ribbon on it and a lobster claw clasp which I used to attach it to my own necklace. It was packaged with a little blue ribbon. I wore it Saturday for my stampcamp. So Sweet!

Next up- This Advent Calendar made with the new stamp set and Peekaboo punch-

Next- Three pretty cards-

Next- Look at this Christmas Album-

And here's the inside-

And lastly look at this cool little Post-It Note Holder-

 How Cute is this? Here's the inside-

This is such a cute and do-able idea. I Love It!

Can you believe all this cool stuff just showed up on my doorstep for being part of a team and just living more than 2 1/2 hours away? WOW! They did even more and got even more at the actual event and went to  dinner in a limo! See how S.U. helped make my Birthday even better? None of this would have happened without S.U. Cool, Huh? If you'd like to join and meet great new friends and get to go to fun events, or have fun events arrive at your doorstep, let me know. I'll be glad to help you out!

Well, that's all I have for today. I hope you enjoyed my pictures and maybe something here will inspire you  during your creative time.

Not sure if I'll be here tomorrow. I have the day off but it's kinda packed. How does that happen? You take a day off from work and it ends up busier than a work day! Actually I'm gonna start out by sleeping in, but then it's mostly a Shan day. Gonna finalize everything for Saturday's stampcamp then lunch with my sis, followed by a haircut and style, a mani/pedi and then getting ready for a Holiday party for a group of some of my all-time favorite people. It's gonna be a good day.

If I don't see you back here tomorrow, I hope you have an Amazing weekend filled with friends, family, fun and of course plenty of time for designing and crafting.

I hope to see you back here soon,
Till then,

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

End of the Week Technique #11 Using Decor Elements

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Hey Y'all! Well, we are back to rainy and gloomy here in the DMV and the cold and yes even some of that awful white stuff is enroute! YUCK! At least it is warm for now but we are expecting about a 20 degree drop in temperatures by the end of the day. I'm thinking that means I'm going to be pretty miserable coming home from class tonight. I sure hope you are somewhere warm and dry. :-)

I guess with it being December and the weather turning cold and yes, I guess even with the coming of the dreaded 4-letter stuff I have to admit winter is finally here. I guess I should make the most of it. With that in mind, I did a little planning ahead and while I was getting ready for last weekend's stampcamp I tried something new, Decor Elements.

Have you tried them yet? I have to admit I got 2 when I joined over a year ago, and had the best intentions of doing something with them and just haven't found the time. We have these in so many different styles and for different occasions. Some even coordinate with our stamp sets. You can apply them to all sorts of different surfaces, to personalize your projects or even just your personal space. They can be temporary or permanent, you decide. I've seen lots of different projects and thought "Wow, I like that" or "I could do that" but somehow time slipped by and it just never happened.

However, when we were at our Remarkables team meeting a few weeks ago, Jan had decorated some glass bricks, and coffee mugs with them and they were sooo cute, I decided I just had to break down and finally give it a try! After all what was the worst that could happen right?

So I went to my local big box store, you know the one where you get a 40% off or 50% off coupon just about every week and then they reward you with another one just for shopping with them, just to lure you back in, sneaky how they do that! You can find the glass blocks in 2 different sizes lg for about $11.99 and small for about $6.99 (before coupons) and they have a little plastic piece in the bottom that pops out and you can fill them with what ever you would like to. For the Holidays, jingle bells, little ornaments, wrapped holiday candies would be pretty too. I thought sparkling lights would be pretty.

Well, sure enough, I was able to get one of the large ones for 50% off so I figured that would make it worth giving this a shot. I drove over to the big box store with the big dot and got a box of 100 white lights on a white cord for under $3.00 and went home to wait for Mr. UPS to bring my big brown box of goodies.

When I got home last Friday night from my second job, I was tired but excited because Mr. UPS had indeed been by my house. Lets see, I had to finish getting the house straightened up, get the finishing touches done for Saturday's stampcamp and I wanted to get my glass block made so I could show it to my campers.

*TIP* When doing something for the first time, read all the directions thoroughly. A couple of times is probably a good idea, especially if you're tired.

*TIP* If it says you should mark the alignment with tape, it's probably stated for a reason. I'm just saying. Ask me how I know!

*TIP* This is probably not the project to do best when you are tired.

So I get my block all cleaned off, get the sticky label off and get it all shiny and then look at the directions. I have to tell you it was about midnight, maybe closer to 1 at this point. I'm thinking this is going to be like rub-on tattoos from my childhood. Kinda-sorta, but not exactly.

I used the Jingle All The Way Large Decor Element Sheet for this project. I have to say once I got the transfer onto the transfer sheet, it transferred onto the glass so smoothly. I was really impressed, although I'm not sure why I would have expected anything less from a Stampin' Up product. And, Oh-By-The-Way this stuff is really sticky! You get exactly one chance to make sure you get it lined up just right so I highly recommend you use tape and line up where you want your placement. I didn't do this and my letters are very slightly slanted. I doubt anyone but me would ever notice it, but you know me...Just use the tape for the best results. Enough said.

Make sure when you order your Decor Element that you order an applicator, they don't automatically come with your elements. They are essential to application and if you should ever decide to remove your design you can use them for that as well.

After applying my design I put my lights in and plugged them in and the effect was so pretty! Of course my Studio Assistants really like the flashing lights so I don't leave it on when I'm not around. My campers loved it too. I really wish this had come out better in my pictures but I tried. I may try and take a video tonight and see if I can post it because it's just so pretty, but at least here's a little something.

Isn't it pretty? (See I think the "e" might be just a smidge lower than the other letters.... use the tape, I beg you, use the tape!!!!!)

Here's another picture where the lights were flickering. Sorry, BB's are great for lots of things but not for quick picture taking!

And one more-

 I will try to get the video up for you. I'm afraid these pictures don't do it justice.

****** Hey Y'all! I got home tonight after class and filmed this quick little clip for you. Wish I had the time to figure out how to put the music to it, but you'll get the idea!******

At any rate I hope you will try this project or one like it with the Decor Elements. I know I will use them again. For under $18.00 I got a Holiday decoration I will use for many years not only for my business for my home. Would you believe I put it on my sofa table with all my family photos and then sat on the floor and just looked at it and thought WOW!!!!! I did that!!! TOO COOL!!!!

Let me tell you it WOW'ed my campers and I know it will WOW my guests as well. I'm pretty sure you could do the same with your friends and family. Who know's you might just Amaze yourself, and isn't that part of this whole Scaredy Cat Journey?

That's all I have for today. I hope you liked it, but more than that I hope it inspires you to try something new. As always, I would love to see what you try. Send me a pic. If you liked it, I would love it if you left me a comment. It's great when I get to hear from you! Also, if you liked today's card, please feel free to +1 or Pin it. I've added the buttons to my side-bar for your convenience. Friends and Followers are also welcome. :) 

If you need to order supplies to make this project or others like it you can get them at my ONLINE STORE 24/7.

Today's supplies-
Jingle All The Way Lg Decor Element

I hope to see you back here soon,

Till then,

Be Safe,
Shan

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