Lights Out!

In all of my 10 plus years as a Stampin' UP! demonstrator, there has been only 3 occasions when we've lost power during a class or stamp camp.  One of those occasions was yesterday!  With high winds that blew with a vengeance, I watched as leaves and branches found a new home to the north of us.  Then, without any notice, not even a flicker, our lights went out, right smack dab in the middle of the afternoon session of the Christmas Stamp-A-Stack.  You would have thought that nothing had changed, the six girls continued to work, laughing about their new challenge.  Although I have a walk out basement, so there is some light, it was certainly not bright enough to work on cards.  As they all continued working without missing a beat I, on the other hand, began stewing about the evening class that would start at 6:00, just about the time my hubby would be home to start up the generator.  Electricity yes, but for some reason the 7 double fluorescent lights tend to hum and flicker when the generator is on. So I was a bit stressed worrying about that.  But the afternoon girls finished up, with only a couple retreating to the upstairs where the light certainly was better for them to work.  My girls are all so amazing, they seemed unscathed by the darkness, and I so appreciated their upbeat attitudes.  Everyone was gone by 4:00, and I started to clean up, to get ready for the 6:00 group.  With flashlight in hand I straightened the tables, picked up tiny scraps of paper from the floor, said a quick prayer,  put the cheese and fruit in the fridge, refreshed the crackers, cookies and rum cake, grabbed 4 big candles from one of my Christmas boxes and decided to call all of my evening guests to warn them that when they arrive the house may be dark, but my sweet hubby would get the generator running soon!  I was in the basement getting the list of people to call when suddenly, the lights shone gloriously all around me!

Well, I survived the outage, and it gave me a story to tell the evening group.  Today I'm going to share with you one of the cards that we made last night at the Stamp-A-Stack.  If you've seen the Holiday Mini maybe you will recognize it.  I changed it up a bit, but the design and colors are the same.  Following this card you will find 4 other cards, also using the Stocking Builder Punch.  These 4 cards were from a class I held a few weeks ago.  This is a very versatile punch, certainly a must have!

 

Using the Silver Glitter Paper on this stocking was a wonderful stand in for the Dazzling Diamonds that usually covers my home from top to bottom during the holidays.  It is awesome, it added incredible sparkle!

This card design was created by Charlotte Hollingsworth.  Don't you just love how versatile this punch is! Used the Red Glitter Paper here.

You can even make booties with this sweet punch!

This is another creation by Charlotte Hollingsworth!

This adorable card was one that I received in a swap from Georgia Giguere.  Again, showing all the fabulous things you can do with the Stocking Builder Punch.

Now that you've seen these cards, and know that you just can't live without this fun, versatile punch, you can find it in the Holiday Mini Catalog and order it today by going to my Stampin' UP! website at:  carolstofer.stampinup.net

Or, you can email me personally at:  cstofer@gmail.com

Hope you enjoyed today's post!'

Happy Stamping!