Another Last Minute Christmas Gift – and some Blog Candy!

Aloha, all!

     Oh my goodness!  I have just returned from a fabulous 5-day trip to the other side of Hawaii's Big Island. We live on the windward side with lush gardens placed perfectly in a rain forest.  But on the other side of the island – and it's a "big" island, so the drive is over 2 hours! – there are stunning beaches and beautiful resorts – lots of sun and surf! 

     But my paper crafting is never far away.  In fact, I needed to make quite a few more Christmas Cards than I had already completed, so I took some kits along with me and made cards featuring a holiday known for its "cold" while sitting on a warm lanai (balcony) facing the turquoise Pacific Ocean.  Loved it!!! 

     On the other hand, I was quite happy to get back to my own craft room today where I wasn't missing any tools or adhesives (I made do while I was gone!)  What was great about getting back is that there was a box with Stampin' Up! products waiting for me and I couldn't wait to open it.  Inside were lots of new products (coming in next month's Occasions Catalog) as well as some older products – purchased at a big discount, from Stampin' Up!'s Clearance Rack.  What I didn't realize until I removed all of them from the box was that some of the old and new were perfect for each other!

     I'm sure you can tell what's new – that fabulous new paper that's in the background is High Tide Designer Series Paper, and it goes with some new stamps (and some old but not retired) as well as some fun new embellishments. I love it!  Oh, and that beautiful blue whale is also an image in the High Tide paper set – you can see a bit of that paper in the topper for the gift bag in the background.  And what's in the bag is a bunch of the Whale shaped paper clips that are in the Cute Clips set of embellishments that are on sale in the Clearance Rack.  Actually, I don't know if there are any left – maybe I bought them all???  You can see two of the clips on the bag topper!

     What a great combination of the old and the new.  And the occasion is that I wanted a little Christmas gift for a friend here in Hawaii who is in love with the whales that live here during the winter months.  She has decorated her house with whale prints and paintings – and even belongs to the local Whale Watch group that's active this time of the year.  They are definitely her "thing."  So this is just going to be the perfect gift for her.

     Of course, now I have as large a collection of little Bird Paper Clips and Heart Paper Clips that came in those clip sets.  I actually know what I'm going to do with the birds (yes,  have a friend who loves birds!).  But the hearts are a different story.  While I think they're darling, I probably won't use them this Valentine's Day as they are retired, and I prefer to use current Stampin' Up! products.  So I hereby offer those heart paper clips – there are about 40 in the pack! – to someone who posts a comment on this blog post!  Blog Candy!!!  All you have to do is comment on this blog post by January 5, 2014.  I'll use a random number generator to pick a name to get the Heart Paper Clips!

     Before I forget, I should mention the other Stampin' Up! products that I used for this project.  First there's the Deco Label Framelit that I used for the background for the whale that I cut from the Designer Series Paper.  Then there's the stamp from the Stamp Set, A Dozen Thoughts, stamped using Pacific Point Ink.  To make the little wave designs, I used the Simply Scored Borders Plate.  Finally there's a mat made of Pacific Point Cardstock on the Whisper White Card Base (oh, yes, it was a Cut and Ready Card Base for sure!).  Lots of products!

     So now I probably should go unpack, huh?  Oh, but I unpacked the Stampin' Up! box.  Doesn't that count?  I wish I could convince my husband!

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