A New Year & Two New Digis!

Happy New Year's Eve! It's so hard to believe that tomorrow is not only the the start of a new year, but of a totally new DECADE!! I hope you have fun and safe evening planned for tonight to celebrate!

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps has a lot of fun in store for you all in the new year, starting with two new digis this week. One is the adorable "Baby New Year" that Korin shared with you on Tuesday. The other is "Love Birds", illustrated by Leah Cornelius, which I used on my card for today. Aren't these birds just the sweetest pair? The saying on my card is from the Valentine Sentiments set that was released last week. All of these new digis are available in the online store today.

To make my card, I used the sketch from this week's "Mojo Monday" challenge. I have to say that I love sketch challenges -- they make crafting so easy!! I colored the image with Prismacolor markers, and decorated the card with some cheery papers from the Green Stack by DCWV, a few punched leaves and Dew Drops, and this fun, red rosette I found in my embellishment stash. (For some reason the rosette looks a bit blob-ish in the photo, but it looks pretty in person -- honest -- LOL!)

Starting tomorrow, our new Digi DT members will be postinghere, as well as our January Guest Designers. I hope you will stop back frequently to see all the fun things they have to share with you. Happy New Year!!!

January Guest Designers!

We are so excited to introduce our January Guest Designers! Both are very creative and talented and you will love what they have to share with us this month.

Debi Southard will be posting on Saturdays! 

  

 I live outside of Syracuse, New York with my husband of 24 years (and yes I was a teenage bride) and our 5 children ranging in age from 20 to 6 years old as well as various cats, a dog, a bird and whatever else the kiddos drag home. I guess you could label me a Work-at-Home mom. I have been blessed to be able to stay home, raising my children as well babysitting and providing foster care for countless other children as well. My husband, Jeff and I felt the call to become foster parents over 12 years ago. We had two wonderful boys of our own and wanted to open up our home to maybe make some small difference in the lives of children in need. Since that time we have been blessed to have fostered many children, some only for a couple of day, some for years. Three we have adopted and a couple others still call me mom even though we never got to make it permanent.

To keep myself sane I craft. Since 2002 I have been scrapbooking and stamping. In 2005 I found SplitCoastStampers (where I am know as debils) there I lurked for a while, watching, learning and playing along with the challenges until I finally found the courage to start a gallery and later a blog. For the last year and a half I have enjoyed being a member of several design teams both as a guest and as a permanent member.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jennifer Scull will be posting on Tuesdays!

My name is Jennifer Scull, and I have been paper crafting for about 10 years. I started as a scrapbooker, but went to that ONE stamping party and have been making cards & altered projects ever since! :) In the past year I have found the wonderful world of digis. Love the versatility they bring!

Thankfully my family is supportive of my habit, um, my hobby. wink, wink! I have been married for 23 years to my college sweetheart and have 3 teenage boys. Hubby started his career as a golf professional, but left after 25 years to go into the ministry. He currently serves as the Director of a Christian camp as well as the Director of Youth Ministries for our Church District. Through the many valleys as well as mountain tops we have experienced in life, God has remained ever faithful, ever loving, and ever present. For that I give thanks EVERY single day!

Baby New Year-Get him FREE!

This little guy will be released this week, but our SNSS Digi Blog readers can get him FREE!! How??? When you place a $10 (or more) digi order today or tomorrow (the 29th or 30th), I will email him to you FREE :)!!

Please note: The "Let's celebrate!" sentiment is from one of our clear stamp sets (Birthday Buddies). The digi is just the baby image.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
~Korin

A Little Old, A Little New!

How many are still recovering from the Christmas holidays?? Don't get me wrong, I truly love this season, and celebrating the birth of Jesus! But, it is a busy time with all the baking, hosting, shopping...phew! I made my first turkey this year...a 25 lb beast it was! I am happy to report that it turned out pretty good. I have to admit though, I was nervous about it!

So, the title of my post talks about the old and the new. I thought that along with a card featuring the new digi release for this week, I would also post a card with an "older" image. First up, we'll have "Be Mine Cocoa". I get so excited each time I see a new Cocoa image! Please keep them coming Korin!!

Can you believe it's already time to start thinking about Valentine's Day? I decided to make a smaller card this week, and used my scalloped Nestabilities to make a shaped card. I paper pieced the envelope, which had to be done a little differently with a digital stamp! I printed out a copy of the image on plain paper and used it as a template to trace on the DP I planned to use. I popped up Cocoa's head, as well as the little heart on the envelope. The "XOXO" sentiment is part of the Valentine Sentiments, which was also released this week.

Up next, we have Feel Better Paulie. This digi was released back in November. I also used a sentiment from Get Well Wishes. I couldn't help myself...I HAD to use some real tissue in poor Paulie's box! I just poked a little hole, and pushed some tissue up from behind. I also coated his water bottle and thermometer with Glossy Accents.

Here's a closeup of Paulie (you can see the tissue better in this pic!):

You may have noticed that Sweet 'n Sassy announced their Digi DT last week. I would just like to say a big THANK YOU for the opportunity to be a part of this team. These ladies are all so very talented, and I feel honoured to work alongside them! Congrats to all the other DT members!

Have a blessed day!

Melanie

Sleepy Kitty with a Sketch to try!

Since Christmas is considered "over" (and I JUST got in from traveling) I thought I would show you a card that I made for this week's SWEET STOP SKETCH BLOG!  It isn't green and red or have an ornament or snowman on it, but it does reflect how most of us probably feel the following two days after Christmas!  I KNOW I have been napping like crazy!  So, in the spirit of Christmas-after, here's our Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' new SLEEPY KITTY!

As for my cutie of a card above, I used THE SWEET STOP's Sketch #SSS36 as inspiration for this sketch and I used this just released sleepy kitty digi that you can find HERE.  I used some Basic Grey Ambrosia papers to give it that warm feeling with yellows, golds and deep reds.  Even the gray, while still a 'cool' color, makes you feel all warm and snuggly like a good furry blanket!!  Flowers by Prima, rhinestones by Basic Grey in gray, gold and orange, nestibilities for scalloped shapes.

OH, the sentiment is from a different set that you can find HERE at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, too.  I like that saying, don't you?  It's a cute one!

I sincerely hope that while you celebrated Jesus' birthday, your Christmas brought you wonderful times and wonderful memories!  I know it did for me! 

NOW, go take a NAP!!

Winter Love

So did you all survive the Christmas Holiday? I survived mine and I must say that I really enjoyed kicking back and just enjoying friends and family even though the week before Christmas was all a frenzied blur. Today I heard that stores were going to be open at 6am for after Christmas sales! Really?! I looked at my loved ones all around me and just thought I have everything I need right in this room.

I can't believe that December is almost gone and I must give a BIG thanks to Sandy for posting for me in my frenzied state of mind last Saturday. The second card you see is what should have been posted last Saturday. It is called Gone Fishing and it along with the Be Mine Cocoa can be found in the SNS digi store. Which leads to the first card that uses the adorable Be Mine Cocoa. Valentine's Day will be here before we know it so let's get a head start. Both cards are colored with copic markers and I mostly pulled papers from my scrap bin...one of my New Year's resolutions.

I just want to take a minute to thank Korin and Sandy for having me as a Guest DT and congrats to the new upcoming DT. I really appreciate this opportunity and look forward to seeing the upcoming inspiration. It has been an absolute pleasure.

The Greatest Gift is Jesus!

Merry Christmas Eve!! Can you believe the special day for which we've all long been planning and waiting is just about here? I hope you've been able to get everything done you wanted to. I still have a few things to do today before my hubby's family joins us for dinner tonight, but for the most part I'm ready to just relax and enjoy the next couple of days!

We have two fun new digi releases for you today, both of which will be perfect for those Valentine's Day cards you'll no doubt be wanting to make in the near future -- Be Mine Cocoa (which Sandy shared a beautiful sneak peek of on Saturday!!) and Valentine's Sentiments. Both are available to purchase in the online store today. (NOTE: Although the main store is closed for the holidays until January 4th, digis can still be purchased and downloaded during this time.) While you're there, be sure to check out the new seasonal digi bundles that Korin has put together for you. There are three digi bundles available, each containing over a dozen different images/sets for a value price of just $25.

Now, because it's Christmas Eve, instead of sharing a project today made with this week's new releases, I'm instead sharing a card that celebrates the first and greatest Christmas gift ever given -- the birth of Jesus. Over 2000 years ago, God gifted us with His only son, to be a light in a dark world by which each and every person for ages to come might see and know His love for them. Talk about perfect gifts!!! Sometimes, in the craziness of holiday preparations, I think we forget that that was the gift that started it all -- the very reason we celebrate Christmas today. So, I just wanted to share something today, as we prepare to celebrate with our loved ones, to help us all remember. :-)

About the card: the layout is the sketch from this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoast Stampers (turned on it's side) . The image and greeting are from the lovely Greatest Gift digi set illustrated by Chris Dickinson. The designer papers are from the Wassail collection by Basic Grey (my all-time favorite Christmas papers!!) I colored the images with Copic (flesh tones) and Prismacolor markers, and added a couple of highlights with a white gel pen. The poinsettia is a premade flower by Petaloo.

I know I speak for the entire team here at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps in wishing you a very merry Christmas. I pray that your holiday is filled with love and happiness, that you are surrounded by family and friends, and that you enjoy every moment of this special day. God bless you!!!

Gone Fishing...for more than they bargained for!

Hello Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Stampers!! I hope you all are ready for Christmas. Can you believe it's only a few days away! Ladies, if your hubby has left his Christmas shopping until the last minute, let him know about the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Bundles on sale now!! These are a fabulous bargain. You will get over $30.00 worth of images for only $25.00!! Easy shopping for the men, great images for you to create with...what could be better?! Don't miss out on these bundles.

So, my card today features the image "Gone Fishing". I just LOVE this image by Korin Sutherland!! This bear and penguin are so cute together. This image is so versatile. I love that it can make a great masculine card...which I have to admit, I struggle with. Does anybody else have a hard time with these? You could also use this one for a friendship card, birthday card, winter card...the possibilities are endless! Have a look:

Now, when I saw this image my wheels started turning. I was thinking how funny it would be for this pair to be ice fishing in a teeny tiny hole...but they have no idea what they are about to catch! So, I drew in this killer whale...or orca...whatever you prefer! Just imagine the look on their faces when they try to reel in their catch! (you might need a bigger bucket boys!). I tried to capture the same feel that Korin creates with her adorable characters...her illustrations are so cute! The image was coloured with Copic markers. I also broke out the Polar White Flower soft for the snow on this image. The sky was created with a cloud mask and Memento Summer Sky ink. Finally, I coated the underwater scene with Glossy Accents.

I would just like to take this chance to wish you all a Christmas season full of wonderful moments you will treasure for years to come! God bless you and your family as we celebrate the birth of His son!

Melanie

New Digi Design Team

We are so excited to announce our Digi Design Team! We have some wonderful talent that we are adding and can't wait for them to show you all that they have in store for you.

Starting January 1st, each day you will see some wonderful posts by the different members of our team. We will have two Guest DT each month and also a chance for you all to participate in our Sunday Spotlight!

Our DT Members are:

Deedee Anderson

Nicole Anderson

Sandy Domelle

Micki Harper

Melanie Holtz

Lynne Jardine

I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas!!!

Monday is here and you know what that means, right?  AGK, Christmas is just four days away!  Are you practicing your lines for the Christmas play?  Are you baking to your little heart's content?  Are you finished shopping?  NO?  You still aren't done?  You forgot to pick up that hippopotamus you promised, didn't you?  HAHA!

Well, if I have lost you by now, don't feel bad!  I thought I was the only one on earth that hadn't heard the hippopotamus song!  Actually, I STILL haven't heard it, but will post the link to it anyways!  I am sure it can't be a 'bad' one, as Korin wouldn't have designed a stamp for a crude song, of course!  So, if you would like to hear it click HERE!

My fun little card is using Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps new digi "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that was released last week!  Isn't this fella cute?  I colored him in using my Copics and paired it with some Eskimo Kisses Basic Grey paper and Prima flowers!  Pretty, don't you think?  OH, and I guess I should mention that this is a POCKET card using The Sweet Stop Sketch Blog's Sketch #SSS35 for this week!  I trifolded my card, so that there would be a pocket inside to hold some gift cards or a cash-present!  Click on over there next to play along!  There's even a PRIZE this week!!  An early Christmas gift, if you will!

ENJOY your MONDAY!

Be Mine?

Thursday was Digi Day on the PCP group and if you played along with the challenge you were given next week's digi, this super sweet Be Mine Cocoa. Cocoa has been popping up in all sorts of things the past couple months and I love how he is ready for Valentines.

I have made so many Christmas cards lately that taking a break and working on something new has been a lot of fun. The only thing is that you can't find too many Valentine type papers out yet so I had to dig through my scrap bin to find hearts! My buttons really are the shade of my red bow but for some reason when I took the picture they appear darker. I also used my Nesties and then saw a paper doily and it layered perfectly behind the Nesties.

Be sure to stop by the Sweet 'n Sassy store and check out the Christmas Digi Bundle you don't want to miss it.

Also, I have Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Blog Candy if you want to stop by my personal blog....HERE!

Winter Love

Good Morning and Happy Saturday!!!

I'm helping Mary get her post up today and she has this fabulous card made with our SNS Winter Love digi.

Hmmm.... I get to even tell you what I love best about her card. Well, that's not easy because I do love the layout, the colors, the papers, and the super cute ribbon! But I also love the way she colored the image! Just one great card!

I have some great news too! The Sweet 'n Sassy store has a Christmas Digi Bundle that you don't want to miss. You say, "I'm done with Christmas cards!" That's okay, buy them now at this wonderful deal and you have them ready for next year.... or for Christmas in July!

Well, I'm so excited about the deal that even though it is late Friday night, I am going ahead and posting this instead of scheduling it for Saturday morning. So my Happy Saturday is now, Happy Friday night!

Enjoy your weekend!

It's Digi Day -- who wants to play???

If you're at all like me, you've been packing in the holiday preparations lately (not to mention too many of the baked goods -- LOL!) and could probably use a little break. So how about taking one with the Digi Divas today? We'll be over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps group on Papercraft Planet all day today, hosting a digi challenge. These challenges are always SO MUCH FUN, with all of us ladies chatting and sharing our creations. Plus Korin will be offering a free digi to anyone who plays along with the challenge before Monday morning, and another "Early Bird" digi to those who post their challenge creations before 10pm EST tonight. Trust me -- this is a play date worth keeping!! On your way over, please be sure to stop by the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps store, where our newest digis -- including "Gone Fishing" by Korin Sutherland (featured on today's card!!) -- are available to purchase. We hope to see you today for some play time over at Papercraft Planet!! :-)

The Cat's Meow

Good morning to all! I hope this post finds you all healthy, happy and getting ready to celebrate this Christmas season. I love this cute digi image called Sleepy Kitty, which was released last week. We have three cats...yes three! They all love to find a basket or box to curl up in. Often times, one of them "helps" me out when I'm making cards. Of course "helping" usually means stepping all over my papers, scattering my various card parts and just generally making a mess of things!

I found this fabulous "kitty" themed paper by Rhonna Farrer at one of my local stores. I loved the colours in this paper! I paired it up with several matching shades of Bazzill cardstock. I also made use of Spellbinders and a Martha Stewart punch on this card. Notice how kitty is curled up in this basket full of yarn. I thought it would be fun to carry these balls of yarn over into the embellishments. These 3 balls are just rough circles cut from cardstock, coated with Glossy Accents and wrapped with embroidery floss. The sentiment is part of the patterned paper matted on a Ribbon Tag from Spellbinders.



The image was printed off on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics.

Hop on over to the Sweet 'n Sassy store to pick up some of the great Digi stamps available. There is a great sale on now, so don't miss out!

Hope you all have a wonderful day,

Melanie

Born is the King of Israel!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!  Wasn't it a beautiful weekend?  It was here in Jasper!  You know what they say, when you're in Indiana, if you don't like the weather, JUST WAIT AWHILE!  It changes so often!

My card is using Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps images from a set called the SHEPHERD BOY which also includes three sentiments/verses!  GO SEE THAT!  {For details of my card, go to my blog HERE!}

I sometimes wonder if people really put some thought into my cards... besides the green and gray papers implying ground and sky, 'NOEL' is the sentiment, right?  Well, how does the song go?  "Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel!"  So, I thought this card was a wonderful scene for the sentiment "NOEL" to be put at bottom! 

I love how this card turned out!!  I am READY for Christmas!

Have a very blessed day!

Christmas Critters

Happy Saturday all! Can you believe Christmas is less than two weeks away? Eeek! I haven't even got to making Christmas cookies yet. This morning I'll be taking my 3yo DD to ballet then we are heading to my work that sponsors a kids Christmas party. There is a moon bounce, pizza, popcorn, and Santa gives a gift to each child (of course parents helped Santa pick out the perfect gift). We've been doing this every year since DD was born and she looks forward to it now.

Have you been enjoying the new releases and all the fabulous inspiration? I know I have. For my card I colored the image sup with copics and pulled papers from my scrap box. I can't wait to see what the rest of the DT does with these adorable images. Have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Mary

Design Team Call

We are currently looking for new designers for the following:
-Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Design Team
-Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Guest Designers
-Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps DIGI Guest Designers

If you love SNSS and would enjoy being a part of our amazing team, please consider applying.

We are holding THREE DT Calls so please read in full before applying.

1. Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Design Team Call

We are looking for talented Christian stampers to join our team. Our DT term runs 3 months with the possibilty of up to 6 months. International stampers are welcome to apply!

Please read this info carefully as following instructions is going play a large part in our decision making.

What is required:

~We are a Christian company so we are looking for Christian stampers who are not afraid to share their faith in Christ with others.

~You must be able to follow instructions on time and work well with others.

~For every new release stamp set you choose each month (up to 4/month) you are required to post 2-3 cards/projects on the SNSS DT blog as well as your personal blog.

~You must also participate in at least 1 of our 2 monthly Motivate Me Monday events held in our SNR & PCP groups (the 2nd & 4th Mondays of the month). This may require you to also host one of our event challenges.

~You must join the SNSS DT Yahoo Group which is our sole means of communication.

You will receive:

~up to 4 free stamp sets a month

~a generous store discount

~a DT badge for your blog

~fellowship with an amazing group of Christian ladies which will bring friendships that will last a lifetime!

2. Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps GUEST Designer Call

We are looking for talented Christian stampers to join us as monthly GUEST designers. International stampers are welcome to apply!

Please read this info carefully as following instructions is going play a large part in our decision making.

What is required:

~We are a Christian company so we are looking for Christian stampers who are not afraid to share their faith in Christ with others.

~You must be able to follow instructions on time and work well with others.

~For every new release you choose (up to 4 for your Guest designer month) you are required to post 2-3 cards/projects on the SNSS DT blog as well as your personal blog. (The minimum monthly guest designer post requirement is 4 cards/projects.)

~You must also participate in at least 1 of our 2 monthly Motivate Me Monday events held in our SNR & PCP groups (the 2nd & 4th Mondays of the month).

You will receive:

~up to 4 free stamp sets during your Guest month

~a generous store discount during your Guest month

~a Guest DT badge for your blog

3. Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps DIGI Stamps GUEST Designer Call

We are looking for talented Christian DIGI stampers to join us as monthly GUEST DIGI designers. International stampers are welcome to apply!

Please read this info carefully as following instructions is going play a large part in our decision making.

What is required:

~We are a Christian company so we are looking for Christian stampers who are not afraid to share their faith in Christ with others.

~You must be able to follow instructions on time and work well with others.

~For every digi stamp you choose during your guest month you are required to post 1 item on the DIGI DT blog as well as your personal blog. (The minimum monthly post requirement is 4 cards/projects.)

~You must also participate in at least 1 of our 2 monthly Digi Day events held in our SNR & PCP groups.

You will receive:

~as many digis as you want to work with during your Guest month (keeping in mind you must create and share 1 item per digi)

~a generous store discount during your Guest month

~a Guest DT badge for your blog

To apply for any of the above calls:

Send (4) samples of your best work (100kb or less each) to korinstamps@comcast.net by Monday, December 28th. Please specify the call you are applying for in your email subject line (i.e., SNSS Digi Guest Designer Call/SNSS Stamp Design Team Call/SNSS Stamp Guest Designer Call). You may use any stamps/digis you have although we'd love to see your SNSS work.

Be sure to include your full name, address, phone number, email address, any past DT experience (please supply links if possible), any publications your work has been in, and a link to your blog or gallery. PLEASE NOTE: previous DT experience is NOT necessary.

We will not be able to respond to each application. If you are chosen, you will hear from me by December 30th and a formal announcement will be made on the SNSS site and blog on January 1st.

If you have any questions please email me at korinstamps@comcast.net with SNSS DT Call Question in the subject line. I will do my best to get back to you within a day or two.

Now show us your stuff!! :)

Korin Sutherland
Website: http://sweetnsassystamps.biz
Stamp Blog: http://sweetnsassystamps.blogspot.com
Digi Blog: http://sweetnsassydigis.blogspot.com

New Releases!

It's Thursday, and you know what that means? New digis!!! I don't know about you, but I get so excited about the new images each week!!

This week we have two fun, new images for you, both illustrated by Leah Cornelius. The first is this sweet little penguin called "You Warm My Heart." He certainly is a heart-warmer, isn't he?


The second new digi is this cozy "Sleepy Kitty." Everytime I look at this image, it makes me want to find a warm place to curl up and nap. Oh the luxury of being a cat, especially during these cold, wintery days -- LOL!


We know this is a super busy time of year, but we hope you'll treat yourself to a little break today with a stop at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps to snag these fun new images. :-)

MORE Winter Love!

Yesterday, my little town of Jasper (in Southern Indiana) had its first snowfall of the season!  It was just a small 1" coverage that melted right away, but it was beautiful while it lasted!  It was so exciting for the kids to wake to snow and see them realize that it really IS winter after all!  BUT, let me tell you!  What was even better was seeing the puppy's  reaction when she first laid her paws in that cold white stuff!  SO FUNNY!  I just had to share that, it really has nothing to do with my card above obviously!!

{{Details on my card: My Mind's Eye/Wild Asparagus papers,

Big Lots ribbon, Robin's Nest dewdrops, Copics for coloring,

ticket corner punch by SUP; SNSS digi stamp: WINTER LOVE !}}

Any"WHOOO", all puns intended, here's a simple card using the new owl image called WINTER LOVE.  I love the feathery breasts, don't you?  AND what about those earmuffs and scarves!?  HA!  It really IS winter when you see owls donning their winter attire! HeeHee!  Scroll down the blog to see more cards using this image, it is a cutie!!  Go grab your own Winter Love; at just $2.25 it is a bargain, especially since there's no shipping or waiting time is involved!  No storage problem either!  Gotta love these digi's!

Have a wonderful
WINTERY DAY!

A Winter Snowglobe

Happy Monday Sweet 'n Sassy Digi stampers! Normally I would be posting on Tuesdays, but Nicole and I have switched spots this week, so make sure to come back tomorrow to see what she's been busy creating!


Most of the time I make square cards, but thought I'd break the mold this week and try something new. I'm sure you've seen some of these fabulous snowglobe cards around blogland. I've been wanting to make one, and when I saw the new Poinsettia Princess image I knew she'd be perfect for this layout!



There are many great tutorials online for making these cards, but I found it quite easy to figure out. The acetate, and background circles were cut with Spellbinders Circles. I made sure to sandwich the cardstock for the base, so as not to show any messy adhesive through the acetate. (Actually, the snowflakes on the acetate are sandwiched too, for the same reason.) Now, I will say that photographing a card with multiple reflective surfaces is tricky! My husband always does the photography for my cards (Thanks Dean!!), and this one presented a bit of a challenge! The acetate kept reflecting the light sources we were using, and the white areas picked up yellow hues from the gold cardstock on the base of the globe (that snowy cap on top is actually white Bazzil Bling with some Star Dust Stickles). We also had to use a black backdrop for the first image, so that this "snow cap" on top of the globe would show up. Let's have a look at the inside:


I printed Poinsettia Princess on Neenah cardstock and coloured her with Copic markers. She reminds me a bit of a winter bride...so pretty! I figured she needed lots of bling, so I coated her white robe with Frosted Lace Stickles. I also used a clear Copic Spica pen on the ribbon and poinsettias, for a subtle shimmer (you'll see this a bit better in the next picture). Now, you can't have a snowglobe without snow right? Perfect chance to break out some Polar White Flower Soft! The base of the globe was cut from metallic cardstock in black and gold. The sentiment was printed out from my computer and mounted on a Fancy Tag from Spellbinders. All edges were inked up with Black Soot Distress Ink, for an antiqued look.




Christmas is sneaking up on us so fast, and I'm sure you all have more cards to make! This card came together fairly quick, probably because it's not a fussy layout. Hop on over the the Sweet 'n Sassy store to snag some of the fabulous digis and you can be making your own snowglobe card in no time!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Blessings,

Melanie

Gloooooorooroooroor-ria in excelsis Deo

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing ore the plains

And the mountains in reply

Echoing their joyous strains

That is exactly what I was singing when I made this card. This sweet Poinsettia Princess was another image released on Thursday. Isn't she the sweetest? When I saw this image it reminded me of the children in a Christmas pagent at church with their little face beeming as they waved to mom and dad in the audience. Now what got me to singing this particular song was the shawl on the girl's shoulders reminded me of angel wings.

For my card I used last year's Basic Grey Christmas designer paper and matted that on some red, kraft, and white cardstock. I used my EK success punch to create the side border in the image and then attached a prima poinsettia flower with a Basic Grey brad center. The image was colored up with copics and her dress, shawl, and collar have diamond stickles on it.

I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy all the festivities with friends and family that this month normally brings.

Hugs,

Mary

New Digis & Digi Day Challenge #2 on SNR!

Hooray, hooray -- it's Digi Day!! :-) This week we have two fantastic new seasonal cuties at the store to share with you. My card today uses one of them -- "Winter Love." Aren't these owls adorable?!? I fell in love with them right away!! This sweet feathered couple is also very versatile -- they would make terrific Christmas cards, as well as winter, friendship, or Valentine's Day cards. I colored them up with Prismacolor markers, adding small accents with a white gel pen, and paired the image with one of the sweet greetings from the Mittens Sentiments digi set that was released last week. You can see and purchase both of this week's new digis HERE at our online store.

New digis aren't all that we have to share with you today, though! Today we are also hosting our second Digi Day event on our group forum HERE at SNR Card Universe. The party starts this morning at 10am Eastern time. We'll be posting a fun challenge and sharing samples made with our digis as well as sneak peeks of future digis! We'll be offering a free digi to anyone who plays along with today's challenge and posts their project to the challenge thread by Monday morning. You can also win a second "early bird" digi for playing along and sharing your card with the group before 10pm Eastern time (7pm Pacific time) TONIGHT! AND...if our SNR group membership reaches 200 today, Korin will post a third free digi. WOW! This is sure to be a fun event, and we hope you'll join us!

Cocoa's Mittens Gift Set

Good morning Sweet 'N Sassy Digi Stampers! I am just thrilled to be a part of this talented group of ladies! I'd like to start off by saying thank you to Korin and Sandy for inviting me to be a guest designer. I feel so blessed by this opportunity, and look forward to sharing these fabulous images with all of you!

For my first project as a guest designer, I have used Cocoa's Mittens. How adorable is this little mouse? I just love him! I decided to make a little gift set including a regular 6x6 card, and a tall card with interior pockets to hold a set of hand-warmers! My hands are always so cold, and I love sticking these warmers into my mittens when we plan to be outside in the winter.

One of the reasons I love these digital stamps is the option to print them off in different sizes. This creates so many possibilities for coordinating gift sets! Sometimes, an actual stamp (be it clear or rubber) is just too big, and I've often found myself wishing I had a smaller version. Enter Digi Stamps! I was able to print Cocoa's Mittens just a bit smaller for the gift holder. For the larger image on the card, I printed off a few copies of Cocoa so I could pop up his head and the top mitten for dimension. Those sentiments are part of the Digi Set Mitten Sentiments...just perfect for this stamp! There are three different sentiments in this set.

Here's a closeup of Cocoa. I printed all the images off on Neenah cardstock and coloured them with Copic markers. I used a variety of Spellbinders on this project. Although it is difficult to see in the pictures, the cuffs of the mittens and the star are quite sparkly, as they received a coat of Frosted Lace Stickles.


I hope you all have a terrific day! (and stay warm!!)

Blessings,

Melanie

Welcome our December Guest DT

Can you believe that it's December 1st already? Once Thanksgiving hits it's a snowball effect until the New Years. Everyone is busy with baking, shopping, parties, and lots of family fun.

We have something exciting for you this month, we have two Guest Designers that will have lots of wonderful cards and projects to share with you and keep those creative juices going through the next few weeks.

Our First Guest Designer is Melanie Holtz and you will love her style. Be sure to pop by her blog and look around. She's so crafty and talented and I loved browsing through her blog. You can find her blog (HERE)!

Hello! My name is Melanie Holtz and I live in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. I am very happily married to my husband Dean. We have two wonderful children named Nathan and Ainsleigh.

We are all active members of a local church family, and are very passionate about our faith in Jesus Christ! I was completely thrilled to be given the opportunity to be a guest designer for Sweet 'N Sassy Digis. I love that right under the name of Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps, is the phrase "sharing the love of Christ through paper crafting". Giving a card that you have poured your time and effort into is such a great way to show somebody you care...that they "matter". Cards can be uplifting, encouraging, comforting...or just plain funny! We all need to giggle sometimes! Stamping has become a creative outlet for me, and I try to find a little time each day to work on something.

I am honored to be part of this team, and to be working with such talented ladies. I look forward to sharing some Sweet 'N Sassy projects with you all!

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Our Second Guest Designer is Mary Giles and again we have an UBER talented designer. I scrolled through her blog back several months just looking at all the wonderful cards she's done. Be sure to stop by her blog and take a peek yourself (HERE)!!!

Hello to all you wonderful crafters out there! My name Mary Giles (OhioMary on SCS) and I absolutely love making cards. I especially enjoy images that are fun to color. I just recently started to get into digi stamps more...and I LOVE them! I thought I would miss the actually stamping part, but digi stamps have offered me a way to get a perfect image everytime, I can resize them to my needs, and I love to print out images for my 3 yo daughter to color along with me. I do enjoy both forms of stamps though. I have been stamping seriously for about 2 years now and it all started from a swap I joined on SCS with many of whom I have formed everlasting friendships. I would not be where I am today if it wasn't for their support and encouragement.

By day I'm an engineer and I test software on helicopters. By night I'm a mommy to best thing to ever happen to me...my 3 yo daughter. I'm a wife to a wonderful and supportive husband who was my highschool sweetheart. Once the kiddo is in bed I let my creativity loose. Making cards has really been a stress reliever for me and has opened up the world to new friends and inspiration. I'm always looking to others for inspiration as I tend to be an inside the box type of person. I've always been drawn to handmade crafts and have learned to crochet, knit, and quilt. Quilting was my 1st serious hobby and while I still love quilting, I really like being able to finish a project in a few hours instead of a few months.

I'm really honored to be December's Guest Designer and many thanks to Korin for giving me this opportunity. I'm really looking forward to working with the Sweet N Sassy images along with the design team.

It's my clothes....

Good MONDAY Morning!!!!  WOW, the Thanksgiving Holiday has past and Christmas is JUST around the corner!  You know what that means, don't you?  YEP, Christmas DECOR!!!  And there's nothing like hanging a wreath on the ol' BUM, like Paulie the Bear above! HAHAHA!

Isn't he cute??  I would love to think that my butt looks big because of my clothes or something else that I put on my body!  Yeahhhhh, that's it.... it's not me, it's my clothes! LOL!!!!!!!! 

This image by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps can be found HERE at their store, for a mere $2.81, INCLUDING the sentiment!  Gotta love those digi images, versatile and storage free, except for a few megabytes on the ol' computer harddrive! 

Well, I hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!  My family and I did, too, with my sister and her family and our parents in Tennessee.  The actual driving leaves something to be desired, but really, it was worth it to let my kiddos see their extended family and my Josh (college-kid!) was there, too, so it was great!  God blessed us with safe travels, great food that my sister prepared for all 12 of us and fun times playing some new card games!!  GOD is GOOD!

{OH, I nearly forgot!  My card: Basic Grey papers (Dasher); Copics for coloring, variety of buttons with metallic elastic SUP cording, and Nestibilities for scalloped and regular circles!}

Have a great Monday!

Happy Thanksgiving & New Digis!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful day with your family and loved ones, and counting the many blessings in your life. One of the many things for which I am thankful this year is that we have this special day on which to give thanks and praise to our heavenly father -- isn't He fantastic?!?

In addition to being Thanksgiving, today is also Digi Day at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. We have four fun new sets designed by Korin Sutherland for you, and all are available to purchase in the online store today. I've put together a couple of projects for you today to show off these sweet new digis.

Our first two new digis this week are Feel Better Paulie and Get Well Wishes. Although I hate it when a loved one is sick, I love being able to send them some get well cheer, so I'm really excited about these sets. I used them to make a combination get well card/gift. On the outside is a get well wish, and on the inside...

...there is room to write a special note, along with a fresh packet of tissues to help with a speedy recovery. Because I really wanted a design to add to the note space, I used the border from Paulie's sweet little bed. I isolated the border by cropping it from the main image, and then printing out just that element. (For more information on how to crop and use just part of an image in this way, see the Cropping Digis tutorial here.)

This second card features the adorable new Cocoa's Mittens and Mitten Sentiments digis. One of the things that I love about these sets is how adaptable they are. Although I made my card Christmas-y, these digis could also be used for winter, Valentine's, and friendship cards, or even to decorate a winter, Christmas, or Valentines Day scrapbook page.


I hope you will take some time to stop by the store to check out these fun new additions, and I thank you very much for visiting here today. I know I speak for the whole Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps team when I tell you that we are all thankful for you, our loyal readers and customers. You are a blessing to all of us! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Winter Wishes

Good Morning!!  Where did the weekend GO?  OH MY!  I had a wonderful weekend with my son who is in college.  He decided to come home this weekend and spend some time with us!  And in just three short days I will see him again!  WOW, talk about being blessed!  I am so thankful to be able to spend even MORE time with him later this week for Thanksgiving at my parent's and sister's homes in Tennessee!  I am not looking forward to the actual 'traveling' to get there, but it will be a great time once we arrive, I am sure!

AND on that note, I do realize that with Thanksgiving this week, you were probably expecting a Thanksgiving card today, but I have been wanting to play with this image since it debuted a while back, but sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day or enough energy in the old bones! HA!

This digi image is called WINTER WISHES and is so sweet!  The sentiment is from another digi set called SHEPHERD BOY, I love the font, don't you?  I will be showcasing the Shepherd Boy set soon, too!  Anyhoo, my card above is a bit on the simple side, but I intentionally did that to showcase the focal image because it is just so sweet!  {Side Note: paper is retired and by Stampin' UP!; Copics for coloring, Spellbinders Nestibilities and Stampin' UP! punches for ovals and ribbon by Hobby Lobby; CLICK on pic for details}  Check back in later this week to see some new digi's!  You are sure to be delighted with what you see!! 

Happy 'Early' Thanksgiving!

Knowing You Makes Every Day Sweeter!

I had a hard time with the lighting on my picture. You can't see the glitter on the snowflakes but they are shimmery and pretty. There's nothing, in my mind, better than soft gingerbread cookies during the Christmas season. I love baking them and spending time with my daughter decorating them. We have so much fun and are making memories with a family tradition I hope she carries on.

The new digis out this week in the Sweet 'n Sassy Store are so sweet! We have the beautiful Gingerbread House, cute Gingerbread Couple, and the perfect Gingerbread Sentiments! I hope you stop by the store and purchase these....they will make such wonderful cards, tags, scrapbook pages, etc. I plan to use the Gingerbread People for gift tags on my baked goods to friends and family!

One other cookie I really love are soft chewy Gingersnap cookies. Since the baking season officially starts for me next week, I'll be baking something every week until the end of the year, I thought I'd add a recipe. This recipe was passed along to me by a sweet friend and it's a delicious recipe!

Gingersnaps

3/4 cup shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup sugar (for dipping)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream shortening, brown sugar, molasses and egg in large bowl. In a separate bowl sift flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, blending until mixed. Dough can be chilled for easy handling.
3. Shape the dough into balls the size of whole walnuts. Roll balls in sugar, place on baking sheet.

Bake 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool on sheet one minute before transferring to rack. Makes 3-4 dozen.

YAY for Digi Day!

It's digi day and that means NEW digis!!! YAY! Deedee Anderson designed 3 new sets for you to enjoy!!! My card below features two of the three.


Stop by our site TODAY to grab all three new sets AND snatch up our Thursday freebie!

Not only are we releasing some adorable new digis, but we're also having a party!! WOOHOO!

Drop by our PCP group anytime today (November 19th) between 8am & 9pm EST for our first official PCP Digi Day event!

We will be posting a fun challenge with a freebie just for playing along as well as sneak peeks of upcoming digis.

We'll even have an early bird freebie for those who can play along with our challenge by 5pm EST tomorrow! That means you will have the chance to receive 2 freebies in addition to our weekly Thursday freebie on our website! WOW!!

Here's one of the freebies....


Don't miss the fun! See you there!

~Korin

Sweet Holidays (Sneak Peek!)

We are sailing full-steam-ahead, it seems, into the holiday season. With Thanksgiving only 8 days away now, I'm seriously starting to think about Christmas and getting very, very excited!! Our family has quite a few Christmas traditions that liven up the season, including making gingerbread houses. Sometimes we make one big one together, and sometimes we each make a tiny one to form a little town. I like the little ones the best, I think, because the personality of each one's maker really shines through. The houses don't always come out pretty -- LOL -- but they do always come out tasty! :-)

Speaking of gingerbread houses, I have a yummy sneak peek card to share with you today!


On the front of the card, I used the upcoming "Gingerbread House" digi along with one of the sweet greetings from the coordinating Gingerbread Sentiments set. I colored the image with Prismacolor markers, and added Stickles glitter to make the icicles shine. The fun paper in the background is a piece that a friend sent me. I have no idea who makes it, but I thought it was a perfect pairing for this image, with the snowflakes along the top and the sweet little trees along the bottom.

On the inside of the card, I used the "Gingerbread Couple" digi set. These images, too, were colored with Prismacolor markers.

All of these sweet digis will be available in the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps online store starting tomorrow. There will also be a new FREEBIE digi available for the duration of the day, so please don't forget to stop by!

Hugs,
Deedee

Thanksgiving Is Around The Corner!

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and with it brings lots of family, friends, food and traditions! Definitely a yummy and thankful time of the year!

What are you thankful for? God has been so good to me! I love sitting and absorbing the holidays when our family and loved ones are all around. I guess I just love "enjoying the moment" that I'm in. As I look at each person I think of how special they are and all that they mean to me. We never know when it's our last time to see some of these loved ones. Be sure to let those around you during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season know how thankful you truly are for them.

My card is made with the Sweet 'n Sassy digi, Thankful For You! I really love these pilgrims because they are so cute and the sentiments are perfect for Thanksgiving cards. The papers are by Recollections, with misc embellishments.

O, Christmas Tree!

Hi Digi Lovers! I thought I would share this card I made for this week's Sweet 'n Sassy's Sweet Stop Sketch ! CLICK HERE to see the sketch that we were to be inspired by. I used a Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps digi image and sentiment you can find HERE and some paper in lighter hues of blues and greens to make this a serene-feeling Christmas card. I love this digi-tree, it was so much fun to color and the font is just perfect! It's a really great image! AND you not only get this tree, you get another, too! AND another sentiment! All for just $3.75! What a bargain! Take some time to hop on over and see the beautiful creations at the Sweet Stop!

God Bless You and Yours!

Digi Day Release!

Check out today's fun digis....

Winter Wishes

Self Conscious Paulie

You can get them today!!

Happy digi stamping!
~Korin

Surprise release!

Introducing Templeton Turkey....


He was the main image in our Turkey Day stamp set, but this set recently sold out and since we've had it for two Autumn seasons, I won't be reordering it....HOWEVER, I have decided to add this little cutie to our digi line just in case you need a fun Thanksgiving image at the last minute ;).

You can get him TODAY!

Happy digi stamping!

~Korin