Happy November!

Happy November, Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a fabulous Halloween! We spent the day with my parents, brothers and their families, it was so much fun to have the cousins together to celebrate and go trick or treating as a family. Here's a picture of the little munchkins with their "paka" (grandpa, my father). My little guy, Landon, was a monkey for his very first Halloween! What a trooper he was keeping up with the rest of "the gang!"

I showed you most of my Halloween Creations during the Fall Frolic Week here on my blog, and there was another one that was part of the U Pick 2 Stamping Menu (to view any of these, just search the category "Halloween" in the left side bar, or browse my gallery). But I DID do one other small thing with a Stampin' Up! Product for Halloween Day. I made these cute little cheese pumpkins for a snack item, and not wanting the cheese to stick all over the platter I die cut wax paper leafs with the Big Shot Machine and Leaf Die to place each individual cheese ball on. Pretty fun!

Moving forward on to November! The November Card Kit of the Month is now available for purchase! Here's a look at 2 of the cards from this kit, available through November 10th Only:

To view full details on the November Card Kit of the Month and/or to order, visit the Card Kit of the Month Section of my website by Clicking Here.

If you are a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and would like to purchase the November Card Kit of the Month File Pack for Demos, visit the For Demos Section of my website by Clicking Here.

We also have a fantastic promotion going on this month and through January 4th with our Holiday Gift Giving Guide! Not only is this guide very helpful in selecting the perfect gift for anyone on your Christmas List, but there's an extra perk for using it – spend $50 or more from the Holiday Gift Giving Guide and get a FREE Decor Element valued at $16.95 or less! This is the perfect way for you to have an extra little gift for someone special, or to start using Decor Elements in your own home if you haven't already!

To view some things that I've done with Decor Elements, be sure to check out my Decor Element Photo Gallery by Clicking Here.

To get started with your Holiday Shopping (or your own shopping!) To take advantage of this fabulous promotion, Click Here!

Aren't on my e-mail mailing list? To view my November 1st Constant Contact Newsletter, Click Here.

The last little bit of November News for you is to MARK YOUR CALENDARS for a HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!!! This BIG event will take place November 23rd  – 30th. What can you expect from this event?

• Samples & Ideas from Stampin' Up! Headquarters on my DBWS at www.alystamps.stampinup.net!
• Specials & Promotions from Stampin' Up! Headquarters through my Online Store at www.alystamps.stampinup.net!
• Aly's 6th Annual After Thanksgiving Day Sale – EXCLUSIVELY offered through me!
• EXCLUSIVE Ideas & Samples at www.alystamps.com!

That's right! You won't want to miss the HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA, Coming Soon! But until then, be sure to visit www.alystamps.com frequently for more creative inspiration!

Have a wonderful November!

Fall Frolic Day #8

Welcome to the 8th day of our Fall Frolic Stamping Event! Today's project is a quick and easy little Fall Treat idea.

I'm going to be honest – this little project was 100% about these Jelly Beans and really, I didn't care so much about the stamping part! I saw these Jelly Beans at the grocery store and it was love at first sight… I was just smitten with their colors and knew I had to have them. But since I can't eat them (South Beach Diet), I had to be creative with them instead and just stare at them… soooo… I found this little jar in my "closet of crap" (which has actually gotten a lot cleaner!) and thought it would work perfectly. I filled the Jelly Beans and said "OK! Done!" Then I said "Ok…. I guess I really should do SOMETHING with it…" so did a little bit of altering and tinkering. Nothing fancy, but my oh my are those Jelly Beans beautiful all own their own…

ALY'S HELPFUL HINTS:

• Find beautiful Jelly Beans. That's really the "must" of this project.
• To stamp on acetate or glass, you'll want to use StazOn Ink so that the ink dries in your lifetime! Here, I used the White StazOn which gives a nice etched glass look as well.
• If you goof stamping with StazOn and want a "do-over" — just use StazOn Cleaner and Paper Towel directly on your mistake, let it dry, and you're good to try again!
• Mini Glue Dots are a wonderful way to help keep your ribbon where you want it to be, wrapped firmly around the tin.

WHAT WAS USED:

Holiday Best Hostess Stamp Set (115364), Chocolate Chip 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (115617), Hemp Twine (100982), StazOn Cleaner (109196), White StazOn Ink Pad & Refill (106960), and Mini Glue Dots (103683)

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

AND… it’s time to announce the winner of the THIRD Fall Frolic Blog Candy Giveaway!

The WINNER of the FREE Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper Sampler is…

Nancy Miner

Nancy, e-mail me by Noon tomorrow to claim your prize, Congratulations!!

Thank you to everyone who participated in Fall Frolic this week!!! I had so much fun sharing all of these Fall Ideas with you.

But we're not done with daily ideas! A NEW Week Long Online Stamping Event at www.alystamps.com starts up TOMORROW! Join me tomorrow morning as we start "STAMP OUT BREAST CANCER!!!!" There will be daily project ideas, exclusive card kits, donations being made to the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer (with your help!), FREE gifts with support and FREE give-aways!

COMING TOMORROW:

Fall Frolic Day #7

Welcome to the 7th Day of the Fall Frolic Event at www.alystamps.com! Today I'm going to share a card that allows the Autumn Meadow Designer Series Paper to take the stage!

I shared the full swatch of this Designer Series Paper just yesterday when I annouced the 3rd Blog Candy Giveaway for the Fall Frolic Event, so I won't show it again, you'll just have to look at the "Fall Frolic Day #6" Post! And if you haven't entered to win yet, be sure to do so! The winner will receive a beautiful sampling of this striking Autumn Meadows DSP Pack!

ALY'S HELPFUL TIPS:

• To achieve this beautiful multi-colored leaf image, stamp your leaf in VersaMark Ink, and use Spong Daubers to Rub various colors of or Stampin' Pastels into the ink. It's a very quick and easy technique, but looks fabulous!
• The size of this card is 4 1/4" x 4 1/4" so it still fits in Medium Envelopes.
• I love making these "Autumn Splendor" leaves multi-colored – check out my Fall U Pick 2 Stamping Menu (simply click "U Pick 2" on the top of this page) for another idea useing reinkers instead of pastels!
• Tearing DSP, like I did with the Taken with Teal piece of paper here, is another simple technique that works very well with fall themed cards – and you already have the tool that does it! But if you have any problems tearing straight – try the "Tearing Edge" featured in the Idea Book & Catalog.

WHAT WAS USED:

Autumn Splendor Stamp Set (116503), Autumn Meadows DSP (116769), Chocolate Chip Cardstock (102128), Really Rust Cardstock (100661), Very Vanilla Cardstock (101650), Autumn Harvet RubOns (115731), Linen Thread (104199), The Tearing Edge (102930), VersaMark Pad (102283), Sponge Daubers (102892), Stampin' Dimensionals (104430) and Stampin' Pastels (105542)

TO ORDER STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don’t forget about this week’s Deal of the Week! You only have until Monday morning to take advantage of these fabulous savings!

Have you entered to win the 3rd Blog Candy Giveaway Yet? Win the paper used on this card! To enter to win the Autumn Meadows DSP Sampler, you have until Saturday! View the Fall Frolic Day #6 Post for Details.

Fall Frolic Day #6

Welcome to the 6th day of Aly Stamp's Fall Frolic Event! Today's project is a fall card that takes on a "quilted" look putting the Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper to good use!

This card focuses heavily on the Autumn Collection style watch featured on pages 92 and 93 of the Idea Book & Catalog. Here is a look at the full pack of Autumn Traditions DSP that has taken center stage in this card:

Stampin' Up!'s Designer Series papers are absolutely beautiful and use our palette of colors and original images. Designer Series paper makes it easy to create a card or scrapbook page with coordinating background paper, card stock, and stamped images. It also covers On Board chipboard beautifully.

• 12" x 12", 100-lb text-weight paper
• 12 sheets per package (2 each of 6 designs)
• Exclusive designs and colors, with patterns based on Stampin’ Up! art
• Autumn Traditions DSP coordinates with Stampin’ Up!’s exclusive colors: Elegant Eggplant, Soft Suede, Ruby Red, More Mustard, and Always Artichoke

ALY'S HELPFUL HINTS:

• To create perfectly "faux" stitched lines, use our Mat Pack and Paper Piercing Tool paired with the White Gel Pen. Simply use the grid provided in the Mat Pack to pierce evenly spaced holes through your cardstock – and then connect the dots with the White Gel Pen in hand!
• Another good use for the Paper Piercer on this card is to "fringe" the Linen Thread — use it's tip and drag it through the ends of the thread for easy seperation.
• You'll notice that the "y" of "you" goes artfully off the oval punch out. To achieve this look, punch out the oval punch and lay it flat on the cardstock, rubbing the greeting over both pieces of cardtsock. Once the image has transfered, you can remove it, adhere your dimensionals, and line it back up.
• I prefer to use a Bone Folder for burnishing the RubOns onto the cardstock – it tends to work much nicer than the popsicle sticks that are provided.
• Sponging the edges of cardstock with Classic Ink and a Stampin' Sponge gives a wonderful weathered look, and adds another element to your card that's quick and easy!
• Do you ever have a hard time trying to determine what size cardstock to use for RubOns? Try placing your RubOns with it's protective wax paper still intact on Grid Paper. This will allow you to "play" and make your measurements before you've rubbed your images on and it's too late for changes.

WHAT WAS USED:

Autumn Days Stamp Set (115452), Autumn Harvest RubOns (115731), Orchard Ribbon Originals (116232), Autumn Traditions Designer Series Paper (115668), Chocolate Chip Cardstock (102128), Kraft Cardstock (102125), Always Artichoke Cardstock (105119), Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (100908), Linen Thread (104199), Paper Piercing Tool (116631), Mat Pack (105826), White Gel Pen (105021), Wide Oval Punch (112082), Stamping Sponges (101610) and Stampin' Dimensionals (104430)

TO ORDER STAMPIN' UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

AND… it’s time to announce the winner of the SECOND Fall Frolic Blog Candy Giveaway!

The WINNER of the FREE Natural Hemp and Linen Thread is…

Danene DiSalvo

Danene, e-mail me by Noon tomorrow to claim your prize, Congratulations!!

NOW, it's time for our THIRD and FINAL Fall Frolic Blog Candy Giveaway!

Our third prize is 12, 6×6 Swatches of Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog! This is a way for you to get a sampling of each of the wonderful prints showcased here. What do you have to do? Simply leave a comment to this post below telling me what has been your favorite project shown during the Fall Frolic Event so far! You have until Saturday October 24th at 10:00 am EST to Enter! Good Luck!

Don’t forget about this week’s Deal of the Week! You only have until Monday to take advantage of these fabulous savings!

Fall Frolic Day #5

Welcome to the 5th Day of the Fall Frolic Online Event! Today I’m going to share with you the last of my Halloween Ideas. This one isn’t a 3-D, but rather a Halloween Card using the Sweet Centers line. No Halloween idea is complete without some candy, so these fit perfectly!

This card featured the "Sweet Centers" Line on pages 6 and 7 of the Holiday Mini Catalog. The first component to this line is the "Sweet Centers" stamp set. This stamp set allows you to put the Sweet Treat Cups center stage and become part of the image. To create the entry way for your Sweet Treat Cup, you’ll need the 1 3/4" Circle Punch. This punch is sized perfectly to just pop the Sweet Treat Cup through the hole! The Holiday Movers & Shapers Die Set also has a 1 3/4" Punched Die so that you can place this size circle anywhere you want on a card without having to worry about the punch reaching. And when it comes time to mailing out your delightful Sweet Treat cards, you’ll want to put them in one of our Padded Envelopes, designed just for standard sized Sweet Treat Cup Cards!

ALY’S HELPFUL HINTS:

• Stampin’ Up! has designed this stamp set fabulously so that once you’ve punched out the center of the cardstock to create an entry way for your Sweet Treat Cup, you don’t just have a scrap punch out circle, you have an additional element for your card! The one shown here is the "EEK you’re sweet!" greeting. Of course, I did want it in a different color so ended up stamping that image twice.
• Sticky Strip is the perfect adhesive solution when adhering layers that hold the weight of the Sweet Treat Cup!
• The delightful accents at the top of the card were created with the Word Window Punch and Black Brads! A simple yet striking accent to any card.
• Try tying a simple knot in the center of the 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon – it’s not as bulky then your typical knot or bow!
• Have a hard time getting bold stamped images to stamp solid instead of blotchy? Try this tip:

Remember these coasters that I made at Christmas Time last year? I took a plain version of these, the raw tiles I purchased at my local Lumber Store for just .15 cents a piece, and laid it on on my stamping area.

Then I put my cardstock that I wanted to stamp on down on top of the tile, and used this hard tile as my Stamping Surface. Whenever you are working on a table that has any kind of give to it (even if it doesn’t look like it has give, if it’s not tile or hard wood, it gives!) it’s going to make it more difficult to get crisp, bold images. This is an easy way to make your stamping surface more durable! 

WHAT WAS USED: Sweet Centers Stamp Set (116521), Sweet Treat Cups (116802), Sweet Treat Padded Envelopes (116911), 1 3/4" Circle Punch (112004), Basic Black Cardstock (102851), Whisper White Cardstock (100730), Pumpkin Pie Cardstock (105117), Pumpkin Pie Classic Ink (105216), Perfect Plum Cardstock (101889), Perfect Plum Classic Ink (101437), Cast-A-Spell Designer Series Paper (115677), Vintage Brads (109109), Linen Thread (104199), Pumpkin Pie 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (115616), Word Window Punch (105090), 1 3/8" Circle Punch (104401), 1 1/4" Circle Punch (104403), 1/16" Circle Punch (101227), Sticky Strip (104294) and Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430)

TO ORDER STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Don’t forget about this week’s Deal of the Week! You only have until Monday to take advantage of these fabulous savings!

Have you entered to win the 2nd Blog Candy Giveaway Yet? The deadline has been extended! To enter to win the Hemp Twine and Linen Thread, you have until Thursday! View the Fall Frolic Day #3 Post for Details.

Fall Frolic Day #4

Welcome to Day #4 of the Fall Frolic Event! Today I’m going to share with you what is probably one of my favorite cards I’ve designed this year. I just love how it came out! This card all started with me not knowing what to do with these leaves. I loved the set, and used it for the September Card Kit of the Month, but I don’t usually work with smaller images that don’t have as much of a focal point. I liked how they lined up with the circle punch, though – and the card evolved from there!

And if you haven’t checked out this week’s Deal of the Week yet, the green library clip used on the lower middle circle is part of this week’s special! The 1/2" Library Clips are on sale for just $3.99! Check them out along with the other accessories on sales this week only:

ALY’S HELPFUL HINTS:

• For a blocked look, try creating a 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" square card – you’ll start with a 5 1/4" x 10 1/2" piece of cardstock, and when you’re done, Stampin’ Up! has wonderful quality envelopes to coordinate!
• One of the things that makes this card so delightful is having a different accessory attached to each circle – it keeps things unique and exciting. Don’t be afraid to try a wide array of combinations, it’s what keeps your cards interesting!
• Take your cards to new "heights" with Stampin’ Dimensionals — I never make a card without them! This card uses them on each and every circle – don’t they just "pop"!?
• The Corner Rounder gives a crisp and neat look to the edges of your cards.
• These stamped images have a weathered look from being stamped on Very Vanilla Textured Cardstock.

WHAT WAS USED:

Falling Leaves Stamp Set (115368), Dusty Durango Cardstock (115321), Dusty Durango Classic Ink (115654), Crushed Curry Classic Ink (115659), Rich Razzleberry Classic Ink (115658), Neutrals Textured Cardstock (108693), Chocolate Chip Cardstock (102128), Old Olive Classic Ink (102277), Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (100908), 1/2" Library Clips (112581), Clips Assortment (112580), Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware (112454), 5/16" Neutral Brads (112534), Earth Elements Brads (106955), Chocolate Chip Corduroy Buttons (114339), Button Latte (114333), Playground Buttons (116313), Rich Razzleberry 1/2" Polka Dot Ribbon (115613), Crushed Curry 1/2" Polka Dot Ribbon (115614), Old Olive 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (111368), Chocolate Chip 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon (111367), Paper Piercing Tool (116631), Mat Pack (105826), Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430), Corner Rounder (109047), 1 3/8" Circle Punch (104401) and 1 1/4" Circle Punch (104403)

TO ORDER STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

Have you entered to win the 2nd Blog Candy Giveaway Yet? To enter to win the Hemp Twine and Linen Thread, you have until Thursday! View the Fall Frolic Day #3 Post for Details.

WHAT’S NEW on www.alystamps.com today? Track My Progress! Since the website opened, we’ve still been making some additions and tweaks! Today you will see these wonderful enhancements!

• The November Card Kit of the Month information is now up if you click on "Card Kits" in the upper tabs!
• The Demonstrator File Section is up and running if you click on "For Demos" in the upper tabs!
• We’ve made some formatting changes to posting, so you won’t have so many gaps between words, and the words won’t be touching the photos.

More tomorrow!

Fall Frolic Day #3

Welcome to Day #3 of the Fall Frolic Event! Today I’m going to share with you another Halloween Project that is a 2-in-1! These adorable little glass bottles serve as both a Favor and a Place Setting Card – how cool is that!? I saw these little bottles in a 24-pack at my local craft store probably about two years ago and just had to have them. They were in the Wedding Department, but I knew that some day I would find an alternative use for them. That day is here!

These little bottles are all about RubOns! I didn’t use any stamped images, just the "Spooky Treats" RubOn Assortment:

ALY’S HELPFUL HINTS:

• The beauty of this RubOn Set is that it coordinates perfectly with the Modern Label and Designer Label Punches!
• To create some extra elements of interest, both black and white RubOns where used on both bottles, 2 RubOns per bottle.
• Take your bottles to new heights using a comination of Stampin’ Dimensionals and Pop Up Glue Dots!
• While Stampin’ Dimensionals work wonders for cardstock to cardstock mounts, Pop Up Glue Dots are just the thing you need when adhering cardstock to another surface type, like the glass here!
• Here’s a HOT TIP for you! If you’re Pop Up Glue Dots just aren’t gooie enough, attach it to the desired surface and let it spend a few seconds under the Heat Tool – voila! You have hot glue gun guts on the fly!
• This fabulous place card pattern comes from the NEW Table Setting Day in the Holiday MIni Catalog – they are tent cards and they will stand up on their own, I simply choose to attach them to these bottles by creating a slit in the top of the cork.

WHAT WAS USED:

Spooky Treats RubOns (115729), Stampin’ Up! Table Setting Bigz XL Die (116819), Big Shot (113439), Modern Label Punch (116630), Designer Label Punch (107590), Silver Brads (104336), Stampin’ Dimensionals (104430), Pop-Up Glue Dots (104183), Only Orange Cardstock (102837), Basic Black Cardstock (102851) and Whisper White Cardstock (100730)

TO ORDER STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS ONLINE 24/7 CLICK HERE!

AND… it’s time to announce the winner of the FIRST Fall Frolic Blog Candy Giveaway!

The WINNER of the FREE ROLL of Silver Elastic Cord is…

Sherri T. – sbtlsw106@gmail.com

Sherri, e-mail me by Noon tomorrow to claim your prize, Congratulations!!

NOW, it’s time for our SECOND Fall Frolic Blog Candy Giveaway – EXTENDED!

Our second prize is actually two prizes Natural Hemp and Linen Thread, as you will see in many future posts during "Fall Frolic" and saw in yesterdays post! Valued at $8.86 after tax and shipping, this is a prize you’re going to want to be sure to try for! What do you have to do? Simply leave a comment to this post below telling me your favorite thing about fall, and I’ll enter you to win! You have until Wednesday October 21st at 10:00 am EST to Enter! Good Luck! — DEADLINE EXTENDED!!!! You now have until THURSDAY October 22nd at 10:00 am to enter to win!

SPECIAL SAVINGS ALERT!! Stampin’ Up! has just announced Deal of the Week #3! This week’s Deal of the Week includes 4 fabulous products. Check it out!

Order any or all of these terrific accessories at this fabulous price at my Online Store Today! Or, give me a call or shoot me an e-mail and I can put it in for you.