Feeling Festive!

Hello!  Today I am sharing a few festive projects I worked on this week using a variety of Stampin’ Up!® products, in addition to a 7" tall x 5" wide x 3/4" thick MDF arch shape from Dollar Tree; a thrift store wood frame, glass removed, inside back dimensions of 7" x 5"; and, on several projects, one-half of a clear plastic fillable ball ornament.  These snap together clear plastic fillable ball ornaments, available in a wide variety of sizes, are readily available at dollar and craft supply stores - and the bonus is that for each ball ornament you can make two projects! For my projects this week I used ornaments that were 3 1/8" (largest), 1 7/8" (the two smallest), and for my Archie project, 2 3/8" in diameter.  To complete the projects I used the following Stampin’ Up!® stamp sets, die sets, and Designer Series Papers:

• from the Online Exclusives Woodland Wishes stamp set (item 168243) I used the largest image, the small fox image, and the trio image of small branch, pinecone, and holly leaves;

• from the Welcome Noel stamp set (item 168462), featured in the September-December 2026 Catalogue, I used the large tree and small deer images - both of these images, which were stamped on watercolour paper, were die cut using the co-ordinating Welcome Noel dies (item 168464).  *The Welcome Noel stamp set and co-ordinating dies are also available together in the Welcome Noel Bundle (item 168465)*.  For the large tree image I used a faux watercolour technique - I inked the branches portion of the stamp with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111), and the trunk portion of the stamp with a water-based brown Tombow dual brush marker (#969).  Before stamping the image I lightly misted the inked stamp with water using one of the Stampin' Spritzers (item 126185 - package of two).  From the Welcome Noel dies I also used the tree silhouette edge and star dies;

• I used several sizes of dies from the Everyday Arches dies (item 164629).  I used these dies to cut out the large Woodland Wishes image, the matting panel for the image; and to cut the tag bases;

• from the Online Exclusives Stitched Stocking dies (item 168230) I used the holly leaves and berry dies;

• from the Online Exclusives Winter Adventures dies (item 168311) I used the two tree dies;

• from the Online Exclusives Pretty Poinsettia dies (item 168146) I used the usual suspects - the flower, flower center, and large leafy stem dies;

• from the Yuletide Carols 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 168530) I used, in addition to two patterned papers, portions of two of the panels from the cut apart sheet;

• I used the Peaceful Pine check patterned paper from the Online Exclusives A Stitched Season 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 168223);

• for the base of the die cut large Woodland Wishes image on the first project I used a strip trimmed from one of the wood grain patterned papers from the Country Woods 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 163393); and

• for the background panel on the MDF arch shape for the first project I used one of the poinsettia patterned papers from the retired Boughs Of Holly 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 159600 - featured in the July-December 2022 Mini Catalogue).

To complete my projects this week I used the following additional basic tools and supplies:

• Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (item 149653) - for all die cutting;
• for shading cardstock die cuts I used Small Blending Brushes (item 160518 - package of three) and finger Sponge Daubers (item 133773 - package of five) to add Classic Stampin' inks to the die cuts;
• Take Your Pick Tool (item 144107) - the spatula and tacky putty tips are definitely a great help for manipulating and placing small die cuts and embellishments; and
• Multipurpose Liquid Glue (item 110755) as the main adhesive.  Two of the projects involved gluing DSP to a base panel (MDF and cardboard)l, and immediately after gluing the DSP to the base panel I used the Stampin' Brayer (item 162936) to roll over the DSP to ensure even coverage of the liquid glue and good even adhesion of the DSP to the base panel.  After the glue was thoroughly dry I used my craft knife to carefully trim away any excess DSP from around the edges of the base panel.

On with the projects!

For the first project I used VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink to stamp the Woodland Wishes image on watercolour paper, and used the following Classic Stampin' inks and Classic Stampin' ink refills - mixed with a little water and applied with a small paint brush - to colour the image:

• Real Red ink (item 147084);
• Daffodil Delight ink (item 147094);
• Granny Apple Green ink refill (item 147163);
• Old Olive ink refill (item 100531);
• Pecan Pie ink refill (item 161669);
• Early Espresso ink (item 147114);
• Crumb Cake ink refill (item 121029); and
• Gray Granite ink (item 147118).

Additional supplies used to complete the first project:

• Basic Black cardstock (item 121045) for the image matting Everyday Arches die cut;
• Old Olive cardstock (item 100702), shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111), for the Pretty Poinsettia leafy stem die cuts, and the Stitched Stocking holly leaves die cuts;
• Cherry Cobbler cardstock (item 119685), shaded with Cherry Cobbler ink (item 147083); Poppy Parade cardstock (item 119793), shaded with Real Red ink; and Real Red cardstock (item 102482), shaded with Real Red ink, for the Pretty Poinsettia flower die cuts;
• Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717) and Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686) for the Pretty Poinsettia flower center die cuts;
• Real Red cardstock, shaded with Real Red ink, for the Stitched Stocking holly berry die cuts;
• Peaceful Pine cardstock (item 167691), shaded with Mossy Meadow ink and Early Espresso ink, for the Winter Adventures tree die cuts - I lightly misted the shaded die cuts with water using one of the Stampin' Spritzers, allowing to air dry, before using a small paint brush to dab some Liquitex Titanium White Acrylic Gouache onto the branches; and
• to the center of each of the poinsettia flowers I added one of the Gold Adhesive-Backed Dots (item 168467).

Behind the matted image die cut I added two stacked pieces of thin chipboard, and one strip of the same thin chipboard behind the 7/8" x 4" strip of the Country Woods DSP added to the base of the image die cut.  I glued the image panel to the DSP-covered MDF panel before adding the rest of the die cuts.  For the bow glued to the top of the MDF panel I used some 5/8" wide black & white gingham ribbon picked up at Dollar Tree, and through the center of the ribbon bow I tied another bow using jute twine from my stash.

Additional supplies used to complete the second project:

• after covering a medium weight cardboard panel trimmed to fit the frame dimensions with the A Stitched Season DSP I added a 3 1/2" wide strip of the Yuletide Carols DSP;
• Peaceful Pine cardstock (item 167691) for the Welcome Noel tree silhouette edge die cut that was glued along the bottom of the background panel;
• Cherry Cobbler cardstock (item 119685), shaded with Cherry Cobbler ink (item 147083), for the Pretty Poinsettia flower die cut;
• Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717) for the Pretty Poinsettia flower center die cut - to the center I again added one of the Gold Adhesive-Backed Dots (item 168467);
• Peaceful Pine cardstock, shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111), for the Pretty Poinsettia leafy stem die cut that was trimmed to become the leaves behind the flower; and
• to the bottom left of the background panel I added one small and two large of the Early Espresso dots from the recently retired Earthy Matte Dots (item 167213).

Before gluing the half ball ornament (dome) over the Pretty Poinsettia die cuts I sprinkled around the bottom of the flower a few small crystal beads that I picked up at Dollar Tree.  I added a fine bead of glue around the edge of the dome - this is when the fine tip of the bottle to which I always transfer my Multipurpose Liquid Glue certainly comes in handy!  After the glue had dried I then glued the jute twine around the edge of the dome.  To the top of the dome I added a piece of 1" wide "almost Early Espresso" and vanilla check ribbon recycled from a chocolate box, through the center of which I had tied the loopy bow using the same jute twine that I glued around the edges of the dome.  I used tiny dabs of glue to secure the knotted ends of the jute twine bow to the edges of the frame.

For the two following tags I used as the focal image under the domes the small fox image from the Woodland Wishes stamp set - adding the small trio image below the fox on the second tag.  For both tags the images were stamped on watercolour paper using VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink, and coloured using Pecan Pie ink refill (item 161669), Gray Granite ink (item 147118), Misty Moonlight ink (item 153118), and for the second tag, also Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111), and Crumb Cake ink refill (item 121029).  For both tags I added more of the dollar store small crystal beads before gluing on the domes.  After the glue was dry I used my craft knife to carefully cut away the excess watercolour paper from around the domes.  After gluing the domed images to the tags I glued the same jute twine used on the second project around each of the domes.

For all three of the tags - and for the Archie tag - I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes for and to set the eyelets.

For the first of the two little fox tags, which measures 3 7/8" tall x 2 5/8" wide, I cut one tag from the Yuletide Carols DSP, sponging around the edges with Early Espresso ink (item 147114), and a backing tag from Very Vanilla cardstock (item 166784).  The DSP and cardstock tags were glued together with wrong sides together so that the backing tag - where I might want to write a message to a gift recipient - has a clean/finished edge.  To complete the tag I used the following additional supplies:

• Very Vanilla cardstock, shaded with Crumb Cake ink (item 147116), for the Pretty Poinsettia flower die cuts; and
• Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717) for the Pretty Poinsettia flower center die cuts - to the center of each of the flowers I added one of the Gold Adhesive-Backed Dots (item 168467).

For the second little fox tag, which measures 4 3/4" tall x 3 1/2" wide, I cut one tag from a recylced corrugated cardboard box panel, over which I had drybrushed white acrylic paint and around the edges of which I sponged some Early Espresso ink (item 147114), and a backing tag from Crumb Cake cardstock (item 120953).  The carboard and cardstock tags were glued together with wrong sides together so that the backing tag would again have a clean/finished edge. To complete this tag I used the following additional supplies:

• Real Red cardstock (item 102482), shaded with Real Red ink (item 147084), for the Pretty Poinsettia flower die cuts;
• Early Espresso cardstock (item 119686) for the Pretty Poinsettia flower center die cuts - I added to the center of each of the flowers one of the Gold Adhesive-Backed Dots (item 168467);
• Peaceful Pine cardstock (item 167691), shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111), for the Pretty Poinsettia leafy stem die cuts; and
• to the bottom of the front tag I added one smalll and one large of the Early Espresso dots from the recently retired Earthy Matte Dots (item 1672123).

I used tiny dabs of glue to secure the knotted ends of the jute twine bow to the tag base.

For this tag I cut two DSP base tags - 3 1/8" tall x 2" wide and 3 7/8" tall x 2 5/8" wide - and a Very Vanilla cardstock (item 166784) backing tag.  The larger of the two DSP tags and the cardstock tag were glued together with wrong sides together.  I used my Crop-A-Dile to punch the hole for and to set the eyelet in the larger DSP and cardstock backed tag before using strips trimmed from Foam Adhesive Sheets (item 152815) to attach the smaller DSP tag centered over the larger DSP tag.  Around the edges of all tags I sponged Early Espresso ink (item 147114).  To complete the tag I used the following additional supplies:

• Real Red cardstock (item 102482), shaded with Real Red ink (item 147084) and a little Cherry Cobbler ink (item 147083); and Cherry Cobbler cardstock (item 119685), shaded with Cherry Cobbler ink, for the Pretty Poinsettia flower die cuts;
• Pecan Pie cardstock (item 161717) for the Pretty Poinsettia flower center die cut - to the center I added one of the Gold Adhesive-Backed Dots (item 168467);
• Old Olive cardstock (item 100702), shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111), for the trimmed Pretty Poinsettia leafy stem die cut;
• Early Espresso ink to stamp the Welcome Noel deer image on watercolour paper;
• Golden Glow cardstock (item 167685), painted with Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush (item 141897), for the Welcome Noel star die cut;
• strip trimmed from Foam Adhesive Sheets to attach the stamped and die cut tree image; and
• Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (item 144108), trimmed, to attach the stamped and die cut deer image, and the die cut star.

And finally . . . 

For my Archie project this week, shared at the bottom of this blog post, I followed the tag theme - I used for the focal image of the 4 3/4" tall x 3 1/2" wide Archie dome tag one of the images from the retired Pretty Kitty stamp set (item 141864), which was stamped on watercolour paper using VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink, and coloured using Pumpkin Pie ink (item 147086), Real Red ink (item 147084), Pool Party ink refill (item 122933), Daffodil Delight ink (item 147094), Misty Moonlight ink (item 153118), and Old Olive ink refill (item 100531).  I used the large oval die from the retired Impressions Abloom dies (item 165610) to cut the backing oval panel from a Pool Party patterned paper from the retired Peaceful Poppies 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (151324). Using the Everyday Arches dies (item 164629) I cut two tags - one from the Misty Moonlight patterned paper from the retired Let's Go Fishing 12" x 12" Designer Series Paper (item 161534), and a backing tag from Basic White Thick cardstock (item 159229).  Around the edges of the DSP tag I sponged Misty Moonlight ink.  The DSP and cardstock tags were glued together with wrong sides together.  I used the retired Pierced Blooms dies (item 154312) to cut flowers, flower centers, and leaves from Flirty Flamingo cardstock (item 141416) - shaded with Real Red ink (item 147084), Daffodil Delight cardstock (item 119683) - shaded with Daffodil Delight ink (item 147094), Basic White cardstock (item 166780), and Granny Apple Green cardstock (item 146990) - shaded with Mossy Meadow ink (item 147111).  I glued the leaves and flower die cuts in place before gluing on the domed image.  To the top of the dome I added a bow tied using some "almost Pumpkin Pie" and white 1/4" gingham ribbon from Dollar Tree, and through the center of the bow I tied a piece of jute twine.  Around the tag I added four of the white dots from the Natural Matte Dots (item 167510). 

Thank you for visiting my blog!  I had a lot of fun working on a few more festive projects this week!

Next week I will not have a blog post as I am taking the week off - lots of chores to attend to, but hopefully still a little time to get into the craft room!

Unfortunately the following items that I used this week are not currently available for ordering, but I have included below the dates by which Stampin' Up! expects them to again be available for ordering:

• Very Vanilla cardstock (item 166784) - week of October 5, 2026; and
• Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine (item 149653) - week of October 26, 2026.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the available Stampin’ Up!® products I have used in my projects, and you live in Canada and do not have a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, please do not hesitate to visit my online store found on my website https://archiesatelier.stampinup.net/ at your convenience, or simply click under the "Shop With Me" tab on the right sidebar of my blog, which will take you directly to my website and online store.  I very much appreciate your business, and would be very pleased to be your demonstrator! If you need any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me (lmccoyarchie@gmail.com), and I will try my best to help!  The digital version of the September-December 2026 Catalogue is available for you to access at your convenience on my website.  If visiting the online store don't forget to check out the full range of Online Exclusives Products - including all the new products released this month - as well as the Last Chance Products Listing!  A reminder that all Last Chance Products are available only while supplies last!  

Have fun creating!

Laurel

*It has come to my attention that quite often email correspondence from me is delivered to the recipient's spam or junk mail folder - if you have corresponded with me I have replied so be sure to check your spam or junk mail folder!  Thank you!! 

"People who don't like cats were probably mice in an earlier life."

- Unknown -