New Occasions Catalog Goodies

Hey, y'all! How was everyone's Christmas? I hope it was very merry :)

I was so busy the last part of this year, and I didn't have much time to get on here and blog. Sorry about that! I do my best, but you know, that pesky job thing gets in the way too ;)

I'm here today to share some exciting news. Stampin' Up! will be releasing the new Occasions and Sale-A-Bration items for sale to the public next week (January 3rd to be exact). There are so many beautiful sets, you won't want to miss out. Especially since during Sale-A-Bration, you can earn free product with each $50 you spend! And this year they've added $100 free product as well. I'm loving it. I wish I had more time (and money) so I could play with all the things.

This is a card I made with one of the new Occasions bundles. Could you just die with how fun this is? I have loved rainbows every since I was young (this might be an 80s child thing), and they are coming back. Yay!

I like to decorate the inside of may cards with just a little something, and that cloud stamp was calling my name. Isn't it cute?

I used the following Stampin' Up! products available for purchase in my SU store at the link in the sidebar :) 

Cardstock: Real Red, Melon Mambo, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pacific Point, and Rich Razzleberry

Specialty Paper: Watercolor Paper, Vellum Cardstock, and Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

Ink Pads: Memento Tuxedo Black, Pool Party and VersaMark

Markers: Tempting Turquoise (used smooshing technique with water spray)Stamp Sets: Sunshine & Rainbows (available January 3rd, Occasions catalog)

Dies: Rainbow Builder Framelits (available January 3rd, Occasions catalog)

Adhesives: Fast Fuse (good when using watercolor paper as it warps a little bit), Snail Adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals

Other Accessories: Iridescent Sequin Assortment

I got a few other sets that I can't wait to play with too. So stay tuned for that. And if you just love anything I share or want to see more, the link to my Stampin' Up! store is in the upper right of the page links. Happy shopping!

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. And I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.

My DIY Christmas Ball Wreath

Well folks, life got hectic on me and I haven't posted in nearly a month. But, I am back, so let's get to it.

I don't have a card or stamped creation to share with you today. But I do have a crafty item!

I decided to join a December Photo A Day challenge this year. Today's prompt was "Joyful".

I love Christmas, and I love making my own decorations. I get that from my mom. She was crafty and loved Christmas too. So, I always think a lot about her in December and while I'm crafting. This makes me joyful :)

I especially like to make my own wreaths. I don't have a lot of room in our small home (900 square ft) to decorate. So the door is usually one of the few places that gets any holiday attention (except during Christmas time of course).

I didn't make a tutorial for this wreath because there are literally hundreds on Pinterest. You can just search "Christmas Ornament Wreath" and find a crap ton. Lol. But I still wanted to show you what I ended up with. Isn't it pretty? I love it. But don't look too close. There is a lot of hot glue, and you can see some of it. But I think I did pretty good for my first time.

I will share that this wreath costs a lot more to make than one might think (or hope) lol. I originally thought I could just buy like 4-6 sleeves of Christmas ball ornaments from Dollar Tree and then an inexpensive wreath form from Hobby Lobby. I think I probably ended up buying double (or more) the amount of ball ornaments. But the whole wreath still only cost me less than $20. The wreath was relatively inexpensive. I think I paid like $4 with a coupon. Not too bad. And I had boat loads of glue sticks in my stash.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you found something interesting to inspire you here today.