12 Weeks of Christmas Inspirational Sunday Post

We are well into my series of Inspirational Sunday Posts with a Christmas theme.  I hope you are enjoying them!  I am:)  I love sharing some of the reasons behind the many traditions of this important holiday.  Sometimes, Christmas images and symbols are used and not explained for the generations that are coming up.  And some of us never understood them from our own childhood.  But the Christmas season and celebrations are rich in symbolic images, words, messages, songs, people, lands, colors and more.  Added to that are the many individual family traditions and cultural distinctions that surround this special time.  Although Christmas is an actual holiday (derived from holy day), there is too much to fit into a single day--we now have an entire season!  I don't believe that this is due to unnecessary commercialization of this special time.  I believe it is so that we can savor, enjoy, and prolong--for as long as possible--the magic of Christmas.

For today's Inspirational Sunday Post, I want to focus on the candy cane.  This very cute card was designed by my very talented daughter Tiffany.  It uses the Holiday Mini Catalog stamp set A Cute Christmas and puts the candy canes at front and center.  Everything else on the card supports the candy canes.

Candy canes have an interesting history and association with Christmas dating back to Germany in 1670.  According to legend, the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral handed out sugar sticks bent into the shape of a shepherd's staff to children during the rather lengthy living creche (nativity) services. The children loved them!  The shepherd's staff totally tied in to the pageant and was a great reminder to the children of the shepherds who first heard the good news of Christmas, the "good tidings of great joy."  They were also a powerful reminder of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd.  The sugar canes became very popular, and the practice of handing them out at creche services spread throughout Europe.

Candy canes made their way to American Christmas trees by the 1800s, but they were plain white.  It was not until the early 20th century that the sugar canes received their now-familiar red stripes.  Many additional meanings have been ascribed to the candy cane going well beyond the original shepherd's staff.  Many say that the candy is hard as a rock, symbolizing the rock of Christ (I Corinthians 10:4) as well as the rock solid foundation of the Church.  The peppermint flavor is similar to that of hyssop, another plant of the same family, used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice.  The white is thought by some to symbolize the purity of Jesus Christ, who knew no sin.  The bold red stripe is said to symbolize God the Father's bold love for His children.  Traditional candy canes also have three small stripes, said to symbolize the trinity:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Some ascribe the symbolism of the beatings of Jesus to the same stripes:
 He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that dying to sins, we might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed.
(1Pe 2:24 MKJV) emphasis mine

As you can see, candy canes are rich in history and symbolism in addition to being a wonderful Christmas sweet.  The next time you have a candy cane and a child nearby, bring the child to your lap and tell him/her the wonders of the candy cane.  You can share much of the true story of Christmas with this simple treat as your visual aid.  Then show him/her how to hang one on the tree to add beauty as well as bringing a powerful reminder of what the Christmas season is all about.

One More Bundle of Savings!

Stampin' Up!'s fabulous Handmade Holiday bundles are providing us with 20% savings.  One of those bundles includes the new Decorative Label Punch (in the Holiday Mini Catalog).  That punch has been so popular that it is on back order!  As a result, Stampin' Up! has added an EXTRA bundle to the mix.  Thanks, Stampin' Up! for giving us the best products available AND fantastic savings for our holiday projects.  Click here to download the entire list of bundles--all at 20% off.

Snowman Blues!

This darling snowman is one of the images in the Jolly Old Saint Nick stamp set (121711 wood, 121321 clear), featured in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  He is cute, a bit retro, and oh-so-easy to use! 

The rick-rack trim is also made with something from the Holiday Mini Catalog:  the Tasteful Trim Die.  And the button is from the Candy Cane Collection of Big Designer Buttons, another Holiday Mini Catalog offering. 

The glitter on this card is the Fine Cosmo Glitter (108796), a product that I love and think is grossly underused.  It comes in a set of 5 different pots of colored glitter:  Rose Pink, Orchid, Light Blue, Celery, Turquoise.  Here, I've used the Turquoise for my lines of snow.  I love the bit of glitzy color the Fine Cosmo Glitter adds.

Many of the products featured in this card are only available in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  That means they are only available until January 3rd.  So get busy and get your orders placed for Holiday Mini Catalog items.  January 3rd will be here before you know it!  Plus, you will probably want to use those products for your holiday crafting.  You can order anytime from my online store here.

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Jolly Old Saint Nick set

Ink:  Baja Breeze, Not Quite Navy Classic Stampin' Pads

Paper:  Confetti White, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy Card Stocks, Rich Regals Patterns Paper Stack, Baja Breeze Textured Card Stock

Accessories:  Big Shot, Tasteful Trim Die, Blender Pens, Fine Cosmo Glitter, Two-Way Glue Pen, Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons, Whisper White 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, SNAIL adhesive

Christmas Trees

This is the 2nd of my 12 Weeks of Christmas Inspirational Post which I hope to make an annual feature of my regular, weekly Inspirational Sunday Posts.  This may seem to be an odd choice for a card to be featured in my Inspirational Sunday Post.  But trees trimmed with lights and ornaments are one of the many wonders of Christmas and are, at their heart, a spiritual symbol.  Christmas trees are, most often, fir or pine trees-evergreens.  The evergreen tree speaks of the eternal nature of Christ Jesus, the birthday child of Christmas.  The lights on the tree speak again of Christ Jesus, the Light of the World.  Even the ornaments, the added beauty, speak of Christ bringing beauty to the life of all those who trust in Him.

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. "I am the light of the world," he said. "Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness."
(Joh 8:12 GNB)

It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles.  This became popular in Germany by the 16th century and caught on as a tradition when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.  Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if trees were scarce.

Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania.  They had community trees as early as 1747. Today, the Christmas tree is one of the most recognizable symbols of Christmas.

The card above, featuring the raccoons of the Merry Crittermas stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog, perfectly captures one of the great joys of Christmas:  trimming a tree.  I urge you to trim a tree this year during the holiday season.  If you are single or in a small space, trim a small tree.  If you are able-bodied and know someone without the ability to put up a tree and trim it, give of yourself and take a small, trimmed tree to them.  Whatever your circumstances, put up a tree and decorate it!  And help others have a tree.  Whether artificial or real, small or large, simple or opulent, humble or snazzy, a Christmas tree carries the message of the Light of Christ, the eternal Son of God, the hope and help for all mankind.  Let its message speak to you, again and again, this Christmas season.

Halloween Treats

Isn't this box wonderful?!  I received it as part of a recent Holiday Mini Catalog swap, and I love the combination of stamped images and great, simple color scheme.  And this box is NOT a Big Shot Die!  It's a simple box, made with a few cuts and folds of our Pear Pizzazz card stock.

This wonderful little box has a host of possibilities for its use.  Here are a few:

• Teacher appreciation goodies
• Halloween party favors
• Office morale boosters
• Special goodies for trick or treaters
• Little gifts for school friends--any age!

This box features items from the  1800s London Halloween Suite in the Holiday Mini Catalog.  The list of fabulously versatile supplies follows.

Stamps:  Dark & Dreary, Midnight Musings Jumbo Wheel

Ink:  Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pads

Paper:  Very Vanilla,. Basic Black, Pear Pizzazz Card Stocks

Accessories:  Paper Snips, Bone Folder, Basic Black 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals

To purchase any of these fabulous Halloween supplies and more, check out my online store:  candystamps.stampinup.net.  You don't have to leave home to shop, and you can shop 24/7.  Call me at 210-355-5729 with any questions at all.  But hurry!  Halloween is right around the corner!

Saturday Sample

For today's Saturday Sample, I'm sharing another card from a recent swap (made by Cathy Somody) featuring the Day of Gratitude stamp set from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  This simple layout allows the beautiful array of fall colors to really pop.  In addition, the layout, design, and embellishments of this card belie how simple the stamping really is.  This card is easy to make, but the person receiving it will think you spent hours on it!  Find the full list of card ingredients below.

To learn to make cards like this, join a club and I'll show you how.  Full details are here. 

Stamps:  Day of Gratitude, Sanded

Ink:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, More Mustard, More Mustard Classic Stampin' Pads, Early Espresso Stampin' Write Marker

Paper:  Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Soft Suede, More Mustard, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy

Accessories:  Victoria Crochet Trim, Neutrals Buttons, Jewelry Tag Punch

Paisley Prints Halloween

Paisley Prints have gone Halloween!  I received this cute card (made by Lori Skinner) in a recent Holiday Mini Catalog swap.  Paisley Prints is a really nice stamp set with, again, lots of versatility.  That is one of the key features I love about Stampin' Up! stamp sets.  The design teams and artists really work to give us sets that can be used for many different occasions and in many different settings.  For instance, Paisley Prints will make dynamite scrapbook pages as well as cute cards like this.  I love shopping Stampin' Up!, as I have confidence that I will receive not only the highest quality rubber stamps available but also designs that will be easy to use to create my own designs.  That means my stamp sets won't just be sitting on a shelf gathering dust.  They will be put to good use in a host of projects.

Order your Paisley Prints stamp set today, just one of the many terrific offerings in the current Holiday Mini Catalog. Go to candystamps.stampinup.net and click on Products, Shop Now.  You will see the Holiday Mini Catalog right there where you can browse all the items or go straight to Paisley Prints. 

Dark & Dreary

For today's Saturday Sample, I'm sharing a great Halloween card made by Angela Sylvester.  It features items from the Holiday Mini Catalog in the 1800s London Halloween Suite.  Isn't it a great card?!  So many awesome things come together to convey an appropriately "dreary" Halloween message:)

Did you notice the Spider Web Textured Impressions Folder?  It's a beautiful design and will successfully segue from Halloween to gardening and nature projects to vintage projects and more.  Did you notice the black Waffle Paper surrounding the owl circle?  It's one of two colors, Early Espresso and Basic Black, of Waffle Paper, ready to make ruffled accents wherever you want them.

The stamp set is the very aptly named Dark & Dreary.  Lovely images!  Again, the owl, shown here, as well as the raven in the Dark & Dreary stamp set will move effortlessly from Halloween projects to projects for nature lovers.  One of my sons spent many years working with birds of prey, and I'm thinking that these bird stamps will make some great scrapbook pages.  How's that for double-duty stamps?!

To purchase stamps and/'or supplies from our awesome Holiday Mini Catalog, simply click candystamps.stampinup.net.  Then go to "Products."  You can shop 24/7 without leaving home.  Browse to your heart's content, make your choices, and then the UPS man will deliver your things in about 7 days.  Simple, quick purchase and delivery of the best and latest papercrafting supplies available!

Tasteful Trim Die

I just love the new Tasteful Trim Die (for use with the Big Shot) for a whole host of reasons.  The one I'm sharing today is that you can make 12" long custom embellishments for your scrapbook pages.  That's right!  With just a few cranks of your Big Shot handle, the Tasteful Trim Die delivers 4 different trims.  You can, of course, make those with card stock, fabric, metal sheets, cork, and more since the Big Shot allows you to cut 60 different materials.  How is that for versatility and the ultimate in customization!  Here are some more features of the Tasteful Trim Die as stated in the Holiday Mini Catalog:

Never be without the perfect trim for fabric and paper projects again! Our Tasteful Trim Bigz XL Die allows you to create custom edges and borders with any kind of material any time you need it. Includes scallops, rick rack, and pinking designs--you’ve got a fantastic variety of classic options for all your projects.

■ Bigz XL Die
■ 6"x 13-3/4"
■ Use with Extended Cutting Pads
■ Trim and border shapes for accenting your fabric and other paper crafting projects
■ Designed for use with fabric, paper, card stock, and more

The photo above is a the first run of a 2 page layout I put together for my scrap club this month.  This is not the final product, but I'll save that for another post.  I'll also show you more photos of the Tasteful Trim Die in action.  I love it!


Contact me at 210-492-3218 or at candy@sweetstamper.com to receive your copy of the Holiday Mini Catalog and see, first hand, the Tasteful Trim Die and a host of other great things to help make your holidays more special than ever!

Cute Christmas

This is the last day to sign up for September's Christmas Card Class!  This is one of the designs for this month and features the new A Cute Christmas stamp set and the new Northern Flurry Impressions folder, both items from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  I extended the rsvp by one day since I didn't have electricity for 12 hours (due to the storm) and was unable to get to my computer.  So hurry and sign up!  This is one of the three custom designs we will be making while sipping hot cider (or a cold drink) with Christmas music playing in the background.  The holidays are coming, and the better prepared you are, the more fun your holidays will be.

• Make 6 custom-designed, unique cards, 2 each of 3 designs
• $25 covers all supplies and envelopes*
• Hands-on instruction during class
• Saturday morning, September 11th, 9:30-11:30 AM
• Cash, checks and credit cards accepted (paypal button below)
• RSVP with payment by Thursday, September 9th

Inspirational Post

Better late than never!  That is one of my life mottos (much to my husband's chagrin when we are leaving to go someplace:).  I've been getting my posts out later in the day than usual.  But I am posting!  I'll get back on track this week with early morning posts. 

Anyway, for today's inspirational Sunday post, I'm sharing a card (made by the very talented Cathy Somody) using the lovely new stamp set Days of Gratitude and other items from the new Holiday Mini Catalog.

I just love the greeting, "Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgivings."  Gratitude is about being grateful, thankful.  When we adopt the attitude of gratitude, transformation truly occurs!  It is amazing how much the atmosphere of our life changes when gratitude arises...and is expressed.  The ordinary becomes so much more because we dare to see much more. 




So how about you?  Are you grateful?  Are you living with gratitude in your life?  Did you know that you can choose to be grateful?  Our attitudes are truly our own choice.  Choose gratitude today, and watch your common days become Thanksgivings!

Holiday Mini Open House!

This Saturday, it's a come and go style Open House that you won't want to miss!  Come get a copy of the new Holiday Mini Catalog--it's truly amazing!  See lots of samples from the Holiday Mini Catalog, munch on some great snacks, visit our Make & Take station, and get inspired for YOUR holidays.  Tiffany and I will be hosting this together for double the fun.  There is plenty of time to stay a while if you like, or just pop by to pick up a Holiday Mini Catalog and have a quick look at the sample board if you're in a hurry.

Holiday Mini Catalog Open House
Saturday, September 4th

                    4:00-7:00, Come and Go

RSVP by Thursday, September 2nd

492-3218

candy@sweetstamper.com
This is a free event!