Happy New Year!

Several Christmas cards didn't make it out the door this year.  Instead of just saying "oh well, better luck next year", I decided to make a few Happy New Years cards and send those instead. I used the Large Medallion Background stamp, heat embossed with silver embossing powder.  Seeing the powder melt into shinny beautifulness when I heat it up never gets old.  I made the numbers with my big shot die cutting machine and the Timeless Type die cuts. The paper is Basic Black and Brushed Silver.  I used a silver sharpie to write on the inside of the card.  I often use a layer of a lighter color of card stock when my card base is dark, too dark to write a greeting on, but since the card was black and silver, I thought the silver sharpie worked very nicely.  
A quick reminder, the Holiday Mini Catalog ends in just a few short days, so if there is anything you had your eye on, you should get it now.  And, I have learned from Stampin' Up! that they will not be carrying the Stocking builder punch and matching stamp set in the next big catalog that comes out in July.  Bummed for sure, I love punches! so if you wanted that one, you best get it asap.

I'm off to movie night!  We rented a movie for the kids and we're going to have pizza and popcorn.  Then we're off to Iowa to visit grandma.  See you in the new year!

Angel Wings

I made a fun project with my daughter Jillian.  We turned my little angels tiny hands into Angel Wings.  We used White Craft Ink on Night of Navy paper, and added a Glimmer paper halo.  She loved getting her hands inky.

Super short post today! I have to make some money holder cards for my nieces and nephews.  Nothing like the last minute!

Cookie Day!

No paper projects today!  I spent my day  making cookies with my friend Jackie.  We do it every year.  We make so many cookies, in many varieties.  My kitchen was a flour and sprinkles disaster a few short hours ago, and now it is all put back together again.  Poor Frosty the cookie, he is not going to get put back together again.  My melted snowman cookie is now in my sons tummy.  I saw these melting snowmen on "Pinterest" and just had to make them. I'm not so good at piping frosting, but I think they turned out adorable.

My husband asked why they had happy faces if they were melting, so I made a grumpy one for him.

We also made sugar cookies, spritz cookies, smore cookies, turtle cookies, haystacks, gingerbread, souvaroffs, and chocolate dipped sugar.  It was a very tasty day, but I think I will not make another cookie for a while!

Christmas Collage

Look!!  My computer is working again!!  I'm so happy about it!  And I have made some really cute Christmas projects over the last few weeks, but unfortunately they have been sent away to those who are supposed to receive them for Christmas.  Here is one I  made for myself!  I saw some beautiful Christmas collages last year on the blog of  a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator.  She makes them for many occasions.  There were some cute Halloween ones, as well as personalized collages for weddings.  I really wanted one, and lucky for me she sells them!   I just love it and thought it would make a nice class project.  December was a bit crazy though, so it never made it to class, but I did make some of my own for my friends and family.  The one on the left is my version.  It uses all Stampin' Up! products.  I really like how it turned out. 

Here is the one I bought from Connie Tumm.  You can find her blog and collages here http://connietumm1.typepad.com/blog/

I hope you all have a great day!  Its great to be blogging again!

beth

Clearance Rack Blitz

Hey everyone!  I am still without the use of my computer :(    i am using the very old computer that we let the kids play on.  I cant seem to upload photos from my camera, so I can not share some of the projects that I'm working on.  The good news today though, is that Stampin' Up! has added A LOT of new things to the Clearance Rack.  These are retired items, but many are just repackaged or restyled, like the punch design.  The old style punches are great and there are a lot of great shapes on sale.  There are also lots of embellishments for sale, buttons, ribbon, rub-ons and chip board to name a few.  If you click on the "shop stampin up now" tab under my header, you will be directed to my stampin up website.  From there you will see the Clearance Rack Blitz sign under promotions, or click shop now in the upper right hand corner.  As always, please feel free to contact me to place the order for you if you dont like to deal with online ordering (I take paypal), or you can order right from my website yourself.
I just received a lot of new Stampin' Up! goodies from the new mini catalog and sale-a-bration catalog, so I've been trying them all out.  As soon as I can I'll show you some great new big shot products! I love them! and the new Sale-a-Bration papers!

ARGH!

I am computerless :(   My laptop completely crashed I have no idea how.  I did  not drop it or spill coffee on it or anything.   I hope to have a computer soon!  I have to use my husbands computer for a few minutes when he gets home from work.  I think mine will get fixed later this week.  I've been told I will get a time frame on Monday.  On the positive side, I've gotten some great customer service from Sony, so I'm confident all will be well.  I'm hoping I haven't lost all my photos and digital downloads! And, I have learned a very valuable lesson about backing up your data!  Hope you are all having a great week!

Hot Chocolate!

YUMMY!  Nice and warm Hot Chocolate on a cold winter night.  I plan to give these to the crossing guards who stand at the corners on our way to school.  One of them, Miss Ruth, has been at my corner for 12 years now.   The kids all love to tell her what they did at school that day.  She has been greeting my children since befor they even were old enough for school, calling David  "Baby Choo-Choo" when we would go out for walks to see the train.

I started out by measuring the hot chocolate packet.  In this case, I cut my paper at 6 3/4 by 7 inches.  I used sticky strip to close the bottom and sides of the pouch, making the seem in the middle of the back.  I rolled it like a tube and then flattened it.  Next, I punched a  hole in the top for the ribbon, going through both the front and the back.   The hot chocolate pops up when you pull on the ribbon, so you need a lenght of ribbon that is long enough to go all the way around the hot chocolate pouch, with enough left to go through the holes and tie a bow. 

Next you need to stuff the hot chocolate into your pouch, bringing the ribbon through your punched holes.  Then tie your ribbon.  Now you just need to decorate your pouch.  I used the ornaments from the Tree Trimmings stamp set, and the sentiment from the Merry Winter.   The sentiment reads "snowy days, frosty nights, warm hearts".  I added some glitter for a touch of sparkle.

This pouch is great for gift cards too!

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you enjoy todays projects.

Reindeer food!

Don't just leave cookies for Santa, put out a treat for his reindeer, too!  I've made "Reindeer Food" for my kids for a few years now.  They seem to get a kick out of it.  This year I used the little 1 x 8 cello bags from Stampin' Up!  These bags worked like a charm!  In the past I've used sandwich bags or other clear bags, but the little cello bags are nice because you don't need as much "Reindeer Food" to fill them up :)
I bought wild bird seed for the food.  I'm sure this is not what real reindeer would like to eat.  You need use something that the outdoor critters in your area will eat, or the kids will be upset if it doesn't seem to have been eaten.   I made the reindeer with the owl punch, just cut off the little feet.  The antlers are made from the Swirls Scribbles Die.  The red glimmer paper is great for a Rudolph nose! 

I printed off the poem on my computer.  There are several versions online, this one is one of the shorter versions, so I think it works nicely on a tag.  I added a scallop trim on the tag, as well as some red ribbon and a jingle bell, just for fun.

Just a few simple changes make this a nice gift for the bird lovers you may know.  You can turn Stampin' Up's Bird Builder punch in to just about any type of bird.  I made it into a cardinal by adding a point to its head and some black to it's face.  I like to glue my little flower (from the boho blossom punch) directly to the red paper and then punch out the bird.  I used an extra wing for the point on the head.

Thanks for stopping by!