So have you seen the new Occasions Mini Catalog?  I just love the Mini Catalog program.  I was so ready to be over the Holidays and all the trimmings and now I'm onto beautiful cards and snowmen!  :0)  I love my snowmen. 

So here is another tip I have for you…it has to do with the new Edgelits Adorning Accents Dies.  These very thin and very fragile metal dies are the exact same width as our Standard Cutting Pads which makes it a little tricky when running them through the Big Shot.  BUT NOT TO WORRY…I have the solution for you.

Here is what the die looks like – the very thin silver piece. The die is #125595 and can be found on page 7 of the Occasions Mini Catalog. 

If you lay these on your cutting pads, they are very likely to move so I'm going to suggest this tip.  Purchase two extra sets of the Standard Cutting Pads #113475 that will be dedicated to ONLY these two dies.  It is going to save you LOTS of time and and you won't get frustrated with them but even more important, you won't end up BENDING them. 

1.  Take one of the dies and put a row of sticky strip on the "flat" side of the die.  Line it up and stick it to the bottom of one of the new cutting pads.  It is now permanently adhered to this pad.  The side with the "edge" or cutter is now sticking up.  That one is done.

2.  Do the same thing to this one.  Now you've used two of your cutting pads.  These are permanently adhered to these two pads.

3.  This is pad # 3.   What you are going to do with this one is add a piece of our grid paper to the back.  I cut a piece of grid paper the size of the clear pad (make sure you have it EVEN on both sides – meaning the lines are the same on one side as the other).  This is going to be used as a guide for your cardstock.  THEN, what I did so the paper didn't get worn, I cut a piece of our Window Sheets  (these can be found on page 216 of the big catalog) I cut these the same size as the clear pad also and put that over the grid paper to preserve it.  Both of these were put on the back of the pad with Sticky Strip.  Now you have three pads that are dedicated to these dies.  Read on to learn how to use them…

4.  In this picture, I'm placing the card on the "grid pad" with the grid on the bottom of the pad and the clear plastic on the top.  Do you see that the card is even on both sides.  That is very important.  If you don't make it even on both sides, the curves on the left will not match the curves on the right.  I did put a little dotto on the back of the card to hold it in place while I cut.  Then I used my Adhesive Remover to get that little bit of sticky off the card when I was done.  Okay, we've got our dies all glued on, we got our grid pad all set and our paper is glued to the top of the grid pad.  Now what?

5.  For your layers, you are going to put your Multi Purpose Platform down (close the whole thing so that tab 2 is on top), then your pad that has the grid sheet (with the plastic side up and the grid on the bottom), then you line up your cardstock (here I used Blushing Bride), then you put your cutting pad on where you want it.  That's one of the beauties for this set up, you can place that cutting edge anywhere on the paper.  I've placed it pretty far up on this one but it can be right along the bottom edge – it's totally up to you.  It's that easy.  Run it through the Big Shot.

6.  Now to store the pads and dies.  This is another amazing feature.  Put the two pads with the dies on them together so that the dies are on opposite ends.  Then put the grid pad on the bottom.  Take two rubber bands and put one on the top and one on the bottom and store with your other dies.  AND, you now have the empty plastic envelope that the dies came in so you can store the three coordinating Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folders in.  I love it when things work out!

Isn't this card just beautiful? Do you see the scallop on the bottom? That is one of two dies you get when you purchase this amazing new die for the Big Shot and it was so easy with the "permanent mounted dies".  If you have ANY questions, just post to my blog.  I'd love to have you leave me a comment and get a discussion going on these amazing new products. 

Now for my Special.  If you place a $75 on-line order from my website during the month of January, I will give you this online class free.  Remember if you wait until January 24th, you will also get to pick a free Sale-a-Bration set free.  It will have all the directions and measurements for five of these cards (and if you think these two are pretty, wait until you see the other three).  These are only two of the cards included in this very elegant class. If you would rather I put the order in, just email me and I will put it in for you.

Thank you for stopping by.

I have a "Calendar Kit" for sale.  I did this as a class earlier in the month of December.  Several of the girls wanted to make more so I told them I would offer it as a kit.  It's a calendar that you put together.  The kit has everything you need except the ink pad and stamps.

I used the the most adorable stamp set found on page 65 of the big catalog called "Every Little Bit" (#117096 wood mount or #120558 clear mount) for each page except June and December.  There are stamps in Every Little Bit that you could use for those two months but I decided to use two different sets for those two months. 

For June I used the stamp set called "Cheep Talk" #113204.

For December I used a set out of the Holiday Mini Catalog called "Tags Til Christmas"  (#120847 wood mount or #121169 clear mount) 

If you'd like to order the stamp sets to do your calendar just go to my website http://stampladee.stampinup.net and click on the SHOP NOW button and they will be delivered directly to your door.

If you'd like to order the Calendar Kit, just click on the PayPal button below and place your order.  I think you will enjoy the calendar.  You can also do them for gifts.

There are limited days until these items will be gone from the Holiday Mini Catalog.  Today I'm featuring the calendars (very affordable) found on page 14 AND the Decor Elements Blocks found on page 30 in the Holiday Mini. 

I'm offering a KIT TO GO class – you need to preorder it by WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30th.  The cost of the class is $25.  You will receive all the pieces to complete your calendar project and the instructions on how to assemble.  It's that easy!  So HURRY!!!!  Email me if you'd like to place your order at stampladee@aol.com !

This adorable project shows three months at a time.  When the month is done, you just turn the block (like a rubrics cube) always displaying the next three months.  The project only took a half hour to make and it is tied up with our 1 1/4" Striped Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon found on page 183 of the 2009-2010 Idea Book and Catalog.

The calendar alone shows the month on one side and a pattern on the other.  It includes 12 calendar sheets and 1 raw chipboard easel (shown on the left in the picture aove).  The Decor Elements Blocks (shown in the picture on the right) includes four smooth natural wood 3" blocks.  There is no sanding required.  I've purchased several sets for an upcoming class!  Make sure you get yours NOW before they are gone for good! 

I hope you like today's project…let me know if you have any questions and remember, if you'd like the kit, order is NOW!!!