Mocha Morning Aux Elegantes

I'm going to post this one for Lori while their family gets settled into a new house. Did you notice these items at the Open House in October? I thought they were definitely worth a second look!

These papers are from the Mocha Morning specialty designer series paper pack. It is simply scrumptious. I'm thinking of using it for all my holiday themes from here to the new year!! On the left is a little "pocket" - you can make it any size that meets your needs - with the seam up the back and a little crimp at the bottom edge. It could hold napkin, cutlery, a name for the Christmas gift exchange, poem/message, photograph of guest, packet of tea/chocolate... any number of things, all dressed up.

On the right are two Hershey nuggets wrapped in strips of paper, then attached via glue dot to two scallop circle punches and tied with 1/4" satin ribbon. I just happen to be putting together table settings for a banquet in two weeks. Give you one guess what I'm going to CASE! -Kathy

A Thanksgiving Table

My sister is hosting the clan for Thanksgiving dinner this year, so I thought I'd put together some ideas that she might find useful. Maybe you will, too, as you're thinking about how to freshen up your holiday look.

You've seen the "tab punch punkins" in an October post - I love projects that carry over more than one season or occasion! The place card will look familiar as well. Atop the plate is a lovely swap that I received from Lisa Cool, concealing a packet of gourmet cocoa mix for some time late Thanksgiving day when all you have room for is a liquid... Another great swap is on display just above the forks. Karen Herrmann made little woven baskets from SU! wood sheets and tucked a candle inside. What a great favor or hostess giftie! Want to see more work from this great demo? Karen will be our featured stamper on November 23rd.

Did you realize that you can stamp on paper napkins? It's so quick and easy. Just grab a package of napkins in a plain coordinating color, then get out a stamp set and a classic ink pad. Ink up as usual and stamp right on your napkin!

Finally, you'll notice a little favor box that features autumn leaves. I treated myself to a new Big Shot die (Bag w/ Scallops) to help me prepare favors for a banquet seating 30. Wow, am I glad I did! All I can say is, thank heavens for sticky strip. These will be filled with my long time favorite "Dutch Mints" tied up in a little cello bag. Want to know how to get that same shimmery look on the leaves? Here's my mass production technique:

1. Stamp Autumn Splendor leaves in Versamark on Naturals Vanilla card stock. Heat emboss in gold.
2. Wet a cotton ball with alcohol (does not dilute the color like water). Using your reinkers, make "patches" of color appropriate to the leaves (e.g. for the Maple I used Ruby Red, Almost Apricot, and Bravo Burgundy; for the Oaks it was Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, and Crushed Curry). Pat the cotton ball once in the center of each leaf (each "loaded" cotton ball will do about 15 leaves), then continue adding color until the area inside the embossing is filled. Don't worry about "coloring outside the lines".
3. Although I liked the vividness, I wanted to tone down the "busyness" of the color a bit, so I filled an Aqua Painter with Future floor wax and picked up a drop of ink (burgundy for the maples, Durango or Chocolate Chip for the Oaks) on the tip. I quickly drew down the spines of the leaves and "scribbled" a little on either side of this, leaving the brighter mottling to show at the edges.
4. Using paper snips (yes, it does make a difference to your frustration levels), trim each leaf, leaving a scant 1/8" margin around the outside edge. This makes for less cutting and looks nice, too! Remember to rotate your paper while holding the scissors stationery.
5. Lay a set of leaves and/or acorns together and punch two 1/16" holes through all layers. You will thread gold elastic cord through the flap of the bag and then through the holes in the leaf stack, tying them to the tab. Note: I am not going to detail construction of the bags themselves in this post.

Have fun pulling together your table setting - I'm convinced that proper attention to this detail makes the food taste that much better! Kathy

Flatware Caddy

Materials: All materials are Stampin' Up

Paper: More Mustard, Soft Suede, Ruby Red, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke, DSP -Autumn Traditions.

Ink: More Mustard, Ruby Red, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke and VersaMark.

Stamps: Autumn Splendor.

Ribbon: Silver Elastic Cord.

Hello all,

I saw this idea in a magazine over the weekend when I shopping with my Mom and thought it would be a great addition to our Thanksgiving table setting. Ya know, now that I think of it, a stamped napkin would make a nice touch tucked in behind the flatware. Looks like I need to do a little more playing!

Happy Friday!

Monique.

Tab Punch Punkins

I'd like to feature the work of a guest designer in my second post this week. My youngest daughter, Ginny, created these pumpkins using the tab punch after seeing the adorable little red apples that Monique made for a demonstrator swap earlier this fall. Ginny and her sister are preparing for a Halloween party later this month.

To make one of your very own, you'll need 10 tab punches (if you want to stamp your paper for some additional appeal, do this before punching), a very thin strip of brown or green, and a little rectangle of brown for the stem. Wrap the green strip around a pencil to make the curlique, then slide it off the end to maintain the coil. Fold all the punched pieces in half (or if you're doing a lot of these, create a score line using your paper cutter and center your punches along this line). Glue these pieces back to back as shown. You'll end up with a little "hole" in the middle. Before you glue together the last two sides, stick your stem and curlique inside with a little extra glue.

These little cuties garnish (dry) food, liven up table settings, and elicit oohs and aahs wherever you tuck them. Enjoy! Kathy

All materials Stampin' Up!

Stamps: Baroque Motifs
Paper: assorted scraps in shades of orange, green and brown
Ink: Chocolate Chip classic
Accessories: tab punch, Tombow Multipurpose adhesive

Thankful for you...

I've been thinking about place settings for holiday tables, even though the "big event" for Thanksgiving is at my sister's house. I love taking traditional color combos and adding a "wild card" color, or substituting a less common shade of a frequently used color (for example, taking the typical Christmas red and green and changing to burgundy and celery). SU! seems to have a similar idea, because Autumn Traditions designer series paper in the IB&C features eggplant, and Autumn Meadows (in the mini) throws in teal!

I wanted to start early so that I could craft a personal message to each person with whom I will be sitting at the table. I've been learning some interesting things about what happens to us when we habitually express appreciation. Our brains actually change, we see a more beautiful world, interpret the same events more positively, and enjoy life more. Sounds good to me!

I designed this slightly oversized place card to feature a segment of our exclusive Tulipe die, and intentionally hung it over the edge a bit. The Lots of Tags die cut my DSP, and I ran our Very Vanilla through my laser printer for quick calligraphy, then punched out ovals. Inside is another phrase generated by my laser printer: I am thankful for you because... I cut this rectangle out using my scoring blade for a homespun look (just press firmly and go over your cut line several times, then pull apart for rough edges). Now I'm ready to spend a few quiet moments thinking about those I love so that I can give each of them the gift of knowing that they are appreciated.

By the way, a set of place cards makes a great hostess gift!

I appreciate each of you, too - thanks for stopping by!

Kathy

All supplies Stampin' Up!

Paper: Dusty Durango, Elegant Eggplant, Very Vanilla, Autumn Traditions DSP
Accessories: Tulipe and Lots of Tags dies