Ellen Hutson Holiday 2016 Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello, and welcome to the Holiday 2016 Essentials by Ellen Release Hop! I’ll be showcasing several of the new stamp sets and dies on my post today!

And, yay!!! I also get to give away an Essentials by Ellen stamp set!  The winner may chose ANY  Essentials by Ellen brand stamp set  (Maximum value $25 USD) currently in stock at Ellen Hutson.com  To enter my giveaway, please leave a comment on today’s post  by Tuesday, October 25th!

There is also a crazy good Grand Giveaway in the CLASSroom!  To enter, be sure to leave a comment there, also by Tuesday, October 25th!

ALL winners will be announced at the CLASSroom on Friday, November 4th! Please check there on that date to see if you are a winner and for further details on claiming your prize!
If you get lost along the hop, please visit the CLASSroom blog for a complete list of all the designers.

If you started from the beginning, you should have come from Heather Campbell's blog.

Happy hoppin’!

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I am so excited to share some of the newest holiday releases from my friend Brandi Kincaid. I always feel like Brandi designs the things my heart wishes it could design if I had an inkling of her talent. When I first opened my box, I gasped when I saw the stamps and coordinating dies. Not only are the images perfect in every way... but the quality of the product is something I haven't seen before.

First of all, the stamp sets are BIG! I'm so used to the standard 4x6 size that I had to do a double take. (Just to give you an idea, several of the sets are 6x8!) I love that these images are big enough to really stand out on any project I want to use them on. And then, let's talk about the dies. The dies come packaged with a magnetic backing already included, which I think is pure genius! The organization and thought behind Ellen's products are just superb!

Now, let's get back to the stamps. This first set is called Light Parade & is all about the nostalgia of driving through the neighborhood to look at all of the lights and Christmas decor.

I couldn't resist these pajama-clad kiddos and the matching dies made this card so easy to put together.

I made a matching envelope using my Silhouette and the row of houses from the set. Oh, and that sentiment?!? We are big Elf fans here & I just wanted to clap when I saw that it was included in this set.

This next set is called Tree Farm and it's perfect for creating some adorable holiday scenes.

I am obsessed with vintage Thermoses and I knew I wanted to make a card that featured several of these.

 Once again, the matching dies made this project so fun to do! I just cut out hot cocoa and thermoses to my heart's desire and then had fun coloring them with different shades.

When I saw Brandi's third set called Homespun Holiday, I knew I *had* to get my embroidery supplies out.

These images are the perfect size to make embroidered ornaments or decor. I just stamped directly onto a scrap of muslin (in a light shade to help hide my original lines) and began to stitch.

I used a combination of standard embroidery floss & wool (crewel floss) to create a little added texture. The whole project was finished in one morning and I know I'll treasure it for years to come.

I hope you've enjoyed taking a peek at a few of the new releases!

From here, your next stop will be Kittie Caracciolo's blog!

My First Class With Craftsy Is Live!

I'm so excited to share a little secret that I've been keeping for awhile!  I am a new instructor for Craftsy, one of the fastest growing educational sites and crafting communities on the web. 

Craftsy provides such a great way to learn.  All of their classes are taught by video - which is especially great if you are a visual learner like I am.

I had such an amazing time creating classes with this company.  Everything that they do is top-notch & all of the people I worked with were wonderful.  They produce classes for a large variety of crafts (knitting, sewing, photography, cake decorating, etc.) and I'm excited that they have started expanding to include paper crafting classes.

My first class is called Classic Christmas Cards & the lessons are free with the purchase of the correlating kit.  (The class is 25% off right now!)

Here's a short video explaining a little more about the class:

I would love for you to join me!  You can find all of the details about the class here.

Guest Posting With Shimelle!

I'm so excited to be a guest blogger today for Shimelle! I have a fun technique and video to share that's perfect for those last minute holiday projects.  Here's a tiny sneak peek:

You can find the tutorial & step-by-step video here: Gold Foil Technique with Julie Campbell

Free Silhouette Designs For Your Holiday Album

 I'm so excited to fill this year's December Daily album with holiday memories!  I started working on some foundation pages/dividers & wanted to share them with you.

This year, I'm using Studio Calico's December Daily kit, as well as a mix of other supplies I already had on hand.

If you haven't seen the kit yet, here is a photo of some of the goodies that are included:

The kit also comes with a Studio Calico Handbook album, which comes filled with divided pocket page protectors.  If you aren't purchasing this particular kit, there are several different styles of Handbooks available that you can purchase separately.

All of the Silhouette files I'm sharing with you today fit perfectly inside of these albums.  (So, for those of you who are new to this, to utilize these free files, you'll need both a Silhouette die cut machine & a Handbook of your choice.)

The December Daily kit also comes with an adorable stamp set & a variety of preprinted cards that fit inside the pockets of the page protectors.

I wanted to make a divider tab that coordinated with the stamp set & came up with this design:

The free download allows you to cut the full divider with the tab & also a second strip that you can adhere along the bottom edge for some contrast.

You can also use this divider strip to add additional ephemera to your book.  (Just cut 2 strips & sandwich your ephemera in between the layers.)  This makes adding Christmas programs, cards from loved ones, or letters to Santa a snap!

In the download section, you'll find two different sizes of divider tabs.  One is short enough to use with the 6" x 8" paper that's included in the DD kit & one is full length.

I also designed a pocket page to hold other bits & pieces. This one was made with Studio Calico's Magical line.

All you need to do is fold the paper along the score lines, place adhesive on the tabs & fold in place.

 This is another cut that I created.  This woodgrain paper is part of the kit.  I can't wait to see what it looks like with a full sized photo behind it.

 I included some basic dividers with holiday designs.

I love how this rich, gold foiled paper looks peeking through the star die cut!

 These frames are designed to work with the 6" x 8" papers in the December Daily kit.  Just cut an extra plain divider to adhere to the back side of these sheets to keep things looking uniform.  (Use this sandwich: holiday divider, 6" x 8" paper, plain divider)

 The plain dividers are also perfect to use with transparency sheets.  This one is from Studio Calico's Storytime collection.

I'm leaving my pages pretty empty right now to allow for photos or journaling, but I dressed them up a bit with some basic embellishments.  (I love this super narrow gold striped washi that's in the DD kit!)

 Here is another holiday shape divider. I cut a basic divider out of vellum to back this cut:

 I had some of this decorative wire trim from last season & I just glued it in place.  Super easy & I love the dimension it gives!

Thank you for taking a peek at the beginnings of my album!

I hope you enjoy the free Silhouette cut files!  You can download them from Dropbox here:

Holiday Handbook Silhouette Files

Trendy Trios Card Making Video: Wood

As the days get shorter & the temperatures start falling, I start thinking about warm cups of coffee, sweaters, & all things cozy. I thought it would be fun to focus on a trend this month that fits in perfectly with the season. This month's trend is all about wood.

 There are tons of beautiful woodgrain papers & accessories in the Two Peas shop, not to mention all of the real wood embellishments that are so trendy these days!

In this video, I'll show you how to create three projects using this trend. We'll be learning new tricks to use with the Silhouette, customizing paper frames & adding pops of color to real wood accents. I hope you enjoy this month's class!

You can find all of the supplies used to make these projects here.

 I used one of the new holiday printables as the starting point for this card.  I love using my Silhouette to make customized elements for my projects.

 This next card was SO much fun to make!  The fox wood veneers are exclusive to Two Peas & are crazy adorable.

I painted these paper frames to coordinate.  It's easy to do & adds a great pop of color.

This card is probably my favorite.  I love the deep woodrain paper against the stained veneer.

I used some of the new Printshop rub-ons for the sentiment & to create the starry "sky" above.

I hope you have some fun with woodgrain & wooden embellishments this month.  Be sure to upload them to the Two Peas gallery to be entered into the prize drawing!  One lucky participant will win a Two Peas gift card.

Studio Calico {Cuppa} Projects

It's that time again!  The Studio Calico November {Cuppa} kits became available today to subscribers (& will be up at midnight for non-subscribers.)

For my projects, I used all 3 Main kits (scrapbook, card, & Project Life), the card add-on (Cinnamon Spice) & add-on 3 (Chai.)  You can find all of the kits here.

I have 10 cards to share with you today!  For my first card, I wanted to use the real wood slice tag that's found in the PL kit.  I covered it with paper from the card kit & sanded the edges to give it a worn-in feel.

The leaf stamp from the PL kit coordinate perfectly with these rub-on transfers by Amy Tangerine.  I love that the card add-on comes with these natural kraft card bases & matching envelopes.

 This card uses one of the transparent icon squares that are exclusive to the main scrapbooking kit.  I used some of the washi from the card kit to hold it in place.

 The digi cut files, templates & printables are SO cool this month!  I used this Where the Wild Things Are set for this card.  (It was one of my favorite books as a kid.)

 The Chai add on comes with TONS of transparent vellum die cuts (like these glasses) & other die cuts as well.  The paper & stars are from the card kit.

 This card uses a lot of elements from the Chai add-on as well.  The patterned paper is already die cut, making it really easy to create a cool layered look.  I just added bits & pieces from the other kits to fill in the circles.

This was one of my favorite projects this month.  I made it solely from the card kit.

I love that these clocks fit perfectly inside of the hexagon stamps from the kit.

 This card uses another one of the transparent icon squares from the main kit.  This card would be perfect for someone buying a new home as well.

 I had a lot of fun filling up all of the squares in this coin pocket sheet.  This Peppermint stamp add-on is the coolest holiday set!

 I used bits & pieces from all of my kits to make this one.  The chalkboard paper is from the card kit & I love it's worn feel.

 This card uses stamps from the card kit add-on.  The stamps were designed by Mama Elephant & I LOVE their style!

 Thanks so much for taking a peek!  You can find more specific info on each card (as well as links to each product used) in my Cuppa Gallery at Studio Calico.