Thursday, September 30, 2010

Lots of Hearts

Lots of hearts and lots of colors! Just imagine the possibilities!  I believe this card was a sample posted at convention, super easy and super good looking!

Love the Razzleberry as the base color and using the full heart punch makes the card a snap to create!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Fabulous Concord Crush

Some of the new Stampin' Up! colors and the In Colors still lie in their files, languishing. As much as I love new and fresh items in my crafting collection, it is a bit difficult to get used to having all these new hues all at once. I know they're gorgeous and beautiful and that they want to hang out together. So, I'm starting to consciously look for them and include them.

Here is some Concord Crush, starring in a cute little card I've CASEd from a blog. Enjoy!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Too much time?

What time is it?

Stamping Time!!!

IKEA as these fun clocks for just $2, and really, a wall clock for just 2 bucks is a deal. And the face cover comes off easily enough, so it had to be embellished.

But do you think it's too much to take to work and leave there? Even if I am only in the office 2 days a week and someone else uses my space when I'm not there?

What the heck. She can bring in a clock with her favorite stuff on it if she doesn't like mine, right?

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I'm teaching a scrapbook at CraftSocial

I'm teaching a scrapbook at CraftSocial Friday night. You may still be able to snag a ticket if you're interested!

Click here for the blog and you can see all the projects and crafts that will be taught at this fun event in Evanston, IL.


My project is a Mini Scrapbook: Beautiful paper, embellishments, ribbon and ephemera combine with chipboard to create a beautiful keepsake to remember a special moment, event or person. Crafters of any skill level will enjoy putting together a mini scrapbook using their talents and some new techniques with a focus on the Sizzix BigShot Die Cut Machine, Mod Podge and Quick Snippers!

What a fun and busy life. I thought when my kids "grew up" I would have more "couch time." But that just doesn't seem to be the case. Thankfully!

Join me in the fun and crafty-ness, I'd love to spend some time with you, nowhere near the couch!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, September 20, 2010

Holiday Shoebox Swap

You and all your stampy friends are invited to our annual Holiday Swap!

If you are anywhere in the Chicagoland area or need an excuse to come to town, join us!  We have a lot of fun and we make a big box of cards! What more could you ask for? Oh, nice door prizes? Stampin' Up! catalog products? OK, we can do that!  Gourmet catered lunch? OK, we can do that, too!

Just email me, leave a comment or give me a call!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Flowers & Candy

I was having a little fun with some autumn colors and halloween treats. I'm trying to stay away from eating the chocolate, so I made a cute little flower arrangement with it!

These are from the Big Shot daisy die and I used Pixie Stix for the stems, Reese's peanut butter cups for the flower centers. It looks cute on my desk, I think I'll take it to work to tempt my co-workers.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Halloween present

Boy oh boy, I love my punches! Can you name them all?

This little matchbook style gift package was super fun and easy to make!  First thing down onto the Basic Grey cardstock are two skinny scrap strips of whisper white, then I punched 5 jewelry labels to make the fence posts. Next, a simple circle of So Saffron, sponged with a darker yellow. The leaves are a Sizzlet used on the Big Shot. Then the new owl punch made all the elements of this little guy.

I stamped the Trick or Treat message and punched with the small oval punch, and shadowed it with a black small oval punch. Lickity split, a darling little gift. Inside is a Bath & Body Works antibacterial hand sanitizer bottle, in black with a Halloween theme also.

Give me a buzz if you want the dimensions or want to schedule a time to come make a few of these for yourself!

Want more crafty Halloween ideas? Check out this post on Craft Critique blog.

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, September 17, 2010

Need I comment?



This is my darling puppy Marky. We adore him. He is a member of the family. When he takes on a task, he is completely focused on completion.

Here he has decided to join me in scissoring. He has found a comfy spot, in the sun, where no deliveryman can sneak up on the house. Of course, he has to multi-task, right?

And when he is done (or caught) his work is quite extensive.

I hope you can join us in our crafting adventures, soon!

Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

This one's for you!

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love (L.O.V.E.) to CASE =copy and steal everything!

Kay Kalthoff took this great stampset, Tags Til Christmas, and made a collection of tags. Okay, not that earth-shattering. But, here is the earth-shattering bit. . . put all the stamps on your biggest clear acrylic block, stamp them ALL AT ONCE in Cherry Cobbler ink, and punch away. Add some background punches and tiny cards in Cherry Cobbler cardstock, use a little cello bag to pack it all and VOILA a darling gift is ready to rock!

This could be yours, if you would like to gather a few friends and set a date for a stamping class, I would love to present this to you!  Just shoot me an email or give me a call!

Happy Stamping to you!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Mystery CASE

As soon as I saw this card, on a blog, I knew it would be perfect for a stamp camp. So I saved a copy to my hard drive, but now I can't find it. So, thank you  to the original artist. If you stumble across this, please let me know and I'll be happy to give proper credit!

We made this lovely square card at last week's stamp camps. So striking, so easy!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, September 13, 2010

Thanks SU


My stamp camp friends are quite used to breezing in and completing 4 or 5 cards in an hour or so. Including chit chat, show & tell, patting the dog and all the typical visiting that goes on when women get together.

This past class was a "copy the catalog" theme, and what a difference the class was! There is nothing in this catalog that can be accomplished so quickly. Every card requires detailed cutting, there are layer upon layer of embellishment, the Big Shot is a necessity, and there are many techniques on every card!

It was a quiet room, with much concentration happening!  For example, notice the tone-on-tone background, the detail cutting of the pineapple thingy and the monogram, the faux-stitching on the crumbcake panel and the leaves cut on the Big Shot. And this wasn't the extreme example!

Everyone left with a bag of gorgeous, professionally designed cards, but I think it might have been more of a challenge than any of us expected!

One more to see tomorrow, then we will move on!
Happy Stamping,
Dee Tollaksen

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Tasty Treat


What a cute treat these little cupcake holders make! A bit of the gold Waffle Paper, a cellophane bag and the Paisley Prints stamp set pumpkin, and we have a darling snack bag as a party favor or treat bag.

I have a couple more projects that we used at stamp camp this week and at September workshops, so hopefully I will be blogging a bit more regularly!

I have had an extremely busy couple of weeks, makes me remember how busy my parenting days were, when the kids were young and involved at church, scouts, sports and with friends, and I was therefore swamped with games, meetings and playdates! I don't know how we survived!

I think things will be settling down soon, and I look forward to my quiet life returning.

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Mini Catalog arrives


My stamping group got together last week to swap cards made from new products in the Holiday Mini Catalog. This is one of those offerings from Stampin' Up! that will have you building a long wish list!

There are great new stamp sets, embellishments and Big Shot accessories. Let me know if you want your very own copy of this catalog and I will get you one, pronto!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Monday, September 6, 2010

Professionally designed


I have scoured the catalog and come up with a few of my favorite samples, designed by the professionals of Stampin' Up!  This Thursday, 9/9/10, I will be stamping and teaching these cards at 7 pm at my house, why don't you join us?

I'll post the samples over the next few days. If you can't attend in person, you're always welcome to purchase the class "by mail." I'll precut, score and pack up all the supplies. You can order the stamps from me, or use alternative stamps from your collection. Just shoot me an email!

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Motherhood


He went from Cub Scout to Eagle Scout to US Marine in the blink of an eye! What a lucky Mom I am!

No stamping today, I'm enjoying a rare visit with my son and all kinds of friends and family today.

Enjoy your family this Memorial Day holiday!
Dee Tollaksen

Friday, September 3, 2010

What a week!

How are you? I am great, and a bit overwhelmed!  Big deals going on in my life! And a fabulous hostess gift for this week's workshop hostess!
Can you believe this Cupcake Party Set? While at the Stampin' Up! convention, we saw a set very similar to this, I was trying to duplicate it with my own spin, of course!  The cupcake skirts are made with a die on the Big Shot, the cupcake picks are easy tags adhered to toothpicks and the 3x3" cards are meant as invites or thank you notes. Cute, right? 

I would love to give a set like this to you, just schedule a workshop with me in September, and you could receive this darling kit!

And now, my son is home for a short visit from Camp LeJeune. Are you watching all the hurricane news right now? It is all hitting his USMC base, but he snuck out just before all the wind and rain hit, had no travel difficulties, and is home with us for 4 days! I'm so happy! And busy! Young men in the house = big appetites! Gotta Go. . .

Happy Stamping!
Dee Tollaksen