It's 12 weeks til Christmas!!!!!

Good morning! I have a really hard time planning ahead. It's like I can't work on this project until after this event . Example Holidays come in order-Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas! I have a really hard time doing Christmas stuff before Halloween. I really even find it difficult to do Christmas before Thanksgiving. My mother's birthday is the 24-25 of November(yes she celebrates both days). For years I would try to start CHRISTMAS shopping before Black Friday, but if I bought anything for my mom I'd end up giving it to her for her birthday! With all that being said I want to offer you some tips for getting your Christmas projects done ahead of time. Okay, in time for Christmas! I have been know to send out Christmas cards the week after!!!
First tip, plan your card and other projects early. One of my good friends and customers, Debbie Whitman, buys for the coming year. She picks something she likes and purchases it this year to be next years card. No stress in deciding at the last minute. It also gives you something to work on during those down months, retreat events, rainy weekends- you get the picture.

Another tip is take advantage of card and project kits. Stampin' Up! has been offering great card and other project kits for sometime. If time is a issue, this really makes a lot of sense. In the kit you get pretty much everything you need- it's just a matter of stamp, adhere, address and mail! I have worked on kits at grandkids ball games, in the hospital waiting room, in a hotel...you get the idea. They are very portable and easy to grab and go. The Watercolor Christmas Project kit (144649) is a great way to get cute cards done quickly.

The Be Merry kit (144648) is great for some Holiday embellishments. Use these precious rosette ornaments has little gifts for friends and coworkers or use as tags on larger gifts. Everything you need is right in the kit. No gathering supplies, cutting, scoring it's all done! Easy peasy!
 Since this is getting long, I'll save my last tip for another day. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a blessed day and encourage you to bless those around you for in blessing others we are truly blessed.


                       Love stamping in Dixie,
                                                                                                                      Cindy

Gratitude part 2

So, my last post was all inspirational thought. Today I hope to show you some
creative inspiration! I am loving all the great fall pumpkin options we have in the new Holiday Catalog! On this card I used the Painted Harvest DSP and the Pick a Pumpkin thinlets to cut out the Copper pumpkin and Crushed Curry and Lemon Lime Twist leaves. The coolest thing about this card is the ink technique for the Cajun Craze layer. I inked the back side of the new 3-d Pinewood Plank embossing folder with Cajun Craze ink. Just ran the open ink pad across the embossing folder. Then I added the 4 x 5.25 layer of Cajun Craze cardstock and ran it through the Big Shot. With these new thicker embossing folders you only need one cutting plate with your platform to make your sandwich. I'm really in love with the Copper! I used the Copper trim to tie that sweet little bow on the stem of the pumpkin. Doesn't the Pinewood Plank layer look amazing? The inside message is from the Paisleys and Posies stamp set in the annual catalog. I used the larger Thankful, Grateful,Blessed stamp with the smaller My world is brighter and more beautiful because of you. I have just the person in mind I want to send this card. We never know just how much a thoughtful card in the mail might mean to someone. Next post I'll show you my little warm fuzzys I like to hand out. Thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings. I am truly grateful for all of you. If you don't have a copy of the new Holiday catalog or if you'd like to see the annual catalog, shoot me an email to cindy@stampingindixie.com and I'll get one to you with by mail or in person! If you don't have a demonstrator I'd love to help you with your paper crafting needs! Just give me a shout! Lots of stuff going on this time of year. Remember to stop and say Thank you! I appreciate you. Be grateful for all you have been blessed with. See you back here in a couple days!

                                                    Love Stamping in Dixie,
                                                                      Cindy

World Gratitude Day!

Good morning Peeps! Did you know Thursday was World Gratitude Day? I didn't until someone told me on Wednesday and it got me to thinking a couple things. One- just how grateful I am for so many blessings in my life and two, how do I share that with others around me?
Oh WOW! My list is very long! I am most grateful for my salvation through Jesus Christ. I must start there. I am grateful for my amazing husband (I definitely won the man lottery), and my awesome friends, many I have met because of my Stampin' Up! business which would be next on my list. I am so very thankful to have had the opportunity Stampin' Up! has given us to travel together and to meet new friends

all over the world. This picture is from Sorrento, Italy. Tommy and I were blessed to meet Penny and Ed and Karen and Aaron on an excursion while on the Mediterranean Cruise Incentive trip I earned in 2015. It was my first Grand Vacation Incentive trip. It was awesome! In July this year, we were again privileged to get to spend a couple days with these same amazing couples. Kicker- Penny and Ed are from the Nebraska, Aaron and Karen from Australia! We also had the opportunity to meet folks from Germany, UK and France. How stickin' cool is that? Oh, did I mention Stampin' Up pays for this? This one is in Thailand this summer. The farewell party was just unbelievable.

So, next is how do we share or show our gratitude?  Cards of course! Beautiful, hand-made "hugs with a fold in the middle".  Or maybe just a small treat that lets someone know you appreciate them. I love to drop off little treats at the bank, doctors office when I have to visit, for the school secretary when I check in to have lunch with my grands, there are many people I come in contact with on a daily bases that make my life easier, giving them a little thank you feels good.
I'm out of time and room! Please come back tomorrow for the rest of the story! Y'all are awesome. Thanks for following me on my journey!  Be blessed and please let someone else know how much they are a blessing to you!

                                                      Love Stamping in Dixie,
                                                                    Cindy                          

Finally- Fall and another Stampin' Friends Blog Hop!

Good Morning from Dixeland! Fall is here. It's still warm, okay hot, however the days are getting shorter and everyone is really busy. A lot of fun stuff going on. My 10 year old grandson is playing football and loves it. I'm just trying to keep up but I love fall!  It's my favorite time of the year. Thanks for joining in the Blog Hop. If you came from Steph's blog I know you enjoyed her projects.
Stampin' Up! has done good this year with some really cute stamp sets and awesome designer series paper to help us crafty types be creative. For today's Blog hop, I am sharing this awesome card. I never do square cards, so this is outside the box for me and I had a blast creating it.
It's 5.5" square, made with Cajun Craze and the Wood Textures DSP.  I used the Baby Wipe technique to stamp the leaves and cut them out with the Big shot. The pumpkin, a few leaves, and the ribbon are all copper accents. Still loving the Copper! Oh, and can you see the saying? It's embossed directly on the DSP with Copper embossing powder. Here's a close up so you can see it better. I used the envelope punch board to make the envelope out of a piece of the Painted Autumn DSP. Love that paper!

Now for my 3-D project, have you seen the TEST TUBES?  I think they are stinkin' cute. I loved them last year when they arrived in the Paper Pumpkin kit and was tickled pink to see them in the Holiday Catalog this year. So many fun projects to make with these. Add some treats, a tag and instant WOW! The Spooky Cat and the Labels of Love stamp set made these cute tags a breeze. Of course, you have to have the Everyday Label punch which coordinates with 2 stamp sets in this catalog!!!! Love that! I also made one of my favorite gifts for this time of year and boy has Stampin' Up made this easy.

Pumpkin Spice Latte is back! So... I had to make a cute gift tag. This will probably go to Cooperman's teacher the first of October. Hope you have enjoyed these projects half as much as I enjoyed creating them. I'd love to share the directions with you! Follow my blog and leave me a comment and I'll send you the PDF for all three projects.  Please don't forget to visit all the blogs and leave comments. Kim  is next. Don't miss her creations!Tell each blogger what you love about their projects. Use the #SFBloghop2017 to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize. Thanks for hopping by! Have a blessed day and be a blessing to those around you.

Love Stamping in Dixie,
               Cindy

I'm back!

This week is the Stampin' Friends Blog Hop and sadly, I have been MIA for a few months. But I'm Back. This month I am getting back into the swing of things. We have changed a few details on this hop so it might look a little different, but I promise you will see some amazing projects if you visit each blog! Also, we are giving away a big prize this month.

• You must comment on each of the blogs in the hop. 
• You must use the #SFbloghop2017. 
• We will need an email to get in toouch with you if you win!

That's it! So grab a cup of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, apple cider ...you get the idea and sit back and be inspired with our Fall projects this Thursday, September 21. Hope to see you back here! Have a great day, be blessed and be a blessing to someone in need.

I think I'm off to make some Pumpkin Spice cookies!!!


Love Stamping in Dixie,
              Cindy

If at first you don't succeed...

Try, Try, TRY again!!! I have heard this all my life! and I guess it's the reason I refuse to give up on this blog. I have to admit it seems like no one is reading it, so why bother? Because while it is extremely frustrating at times, I'm just not techie at all, it would be easier to give up! But at almost a half a century plus 10, I kind of enjoy the challenge of learning something new and I really do hope I am connecting with some of you out there who might feel the same way. I do love my stamping business and it is growing and so must I. So please don't give up on me! I will continue to muddle through the technology and attempt to bring you some fun and creative projects to inspire you to create. Y'all can help! Please leave me a comment when you see something you like! That's all I ask. Thanks. So, today's inspirational thought is " We all have a job to do. I need to do mine, you need to do yours. I shouldn't try to do yours! In some situations my job might be to just pray and ask God to take care of things. Now, this is the really hard part! I have to let go and let Him do HIS job. Somethings I can not fix, change, or  even understand- BUT and it's a big but, I can take it to the One who does, leave it there and let HIM do HIS job! Ladies, this is a very freeing concept! I am not responsible to do God's job. I am responsible to bring my issues to Him and get out of HIS way! Okay, end of sermonette!

 I love Fall! I am so ready for it. Of course, here in Dixieland Fall is more in your mind than in the weather. School, football, pumpkins starting to show up everywhere, cotton starting to bloom- these are the signs of fall. It probably is still hot as you know where!- so don't think it's going to get cooler or that my flip flops or shorts are getting put away! but we can still enjoy this gorgeous time of the year. So when I saw this Painted Harvest stamp set I was instantly in love! And the Designer Series Paper that goes along with it is absolutely beautiful! I have had a ball playing with different colors. This one is Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and Soft Suede. The leaves (which aremade with a new punch!!!!) are in Lemon Lime Green!(a new In Color)
Hope you like this one as much as me. If you'd like to get the product to make some here is the list of what I used:
Painted Harvest  (144783), Leaf Punch (144667), Painted Harvest Autumn Designer Paper (144613) Cajun Craze cardstock (119684), and ink (126965),
Crushed Curry Ink (131173), Soft Suede Ink (126978), Early Espresso Cardstock (119686), Very Vanilla Cardstock (101650), Lemon Lime Twist cardstock (144245) and Linen thread (104199).
Well, hope you have a grand day! Be a Blessing to someone you come across today! You will be the one blessed!
                                                  Love y'all and Peach Tea!
                                                                Cindy