BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

Happy Monday morning. I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas holiday! We had the most amazing Christmas ever and I am sad to see it over already. Time to start planning for next year. LOL

I just thought I would pop in and share these cute little hot cocoa packet holders that I made for all of my daycare babes and other young friends. You can find the tutorial here at Whimsie Doodles. Which is where the digi image is from as well. They were super simple to make and took no time at all.

I'm off to start taking down the 7 (yes I said 7) trees that we put up and the many many decorations. My goal is to have them down by Thursday night so I can enjoy my 3 day weekend with no chores ahead of me.

TIS' THE SEASON

It's a good thing I work well under pressure as there are only 3 more days until Christmas and I am almost (LOL) done with my Christmas cards and just about done with my gift projects.

My oldest daughter Brittany made one of our good friends some wine charms for Christmas so I helped her out by whipping up this cute little box for her to present them in. I found the tutorial here at Splitcoaststampers. It was super easy to make and looks super cute with a Whimsie Doodle digi stamp!

I hope everyone else is on track with their Christmas crafty "to do" list. :)

DRAGONFLY BIRTHDAY - CARD

Why is it when I spend hours on a card I am not as happy with it as the one that I literally threw together at the last minute and spent practically no time on? Does this ever happen to you? Below is an example of a card that I totally threw together for a friend of my daughter. I don't know if it's the simplicity of it or the color ( I love purple!!) but I am quite happy with how it turned out.

The stamp is from Great Impressions, colored with in with Copics. The patterned paper is from my scrap stash. I added some stickles to the wings and some bling. The sentiment is a Studio G dollar stamp from Michael's.

I just love simple!

ORNAMENT PARTY - INVITE

How many of you that own the Cricut actually look at the sample project that they always list in the handbooks? I never have before and I own plenty of cartridges. I recently won the Winter Frolic Cricut cart at a Swarm I attended and was familiarizing myself with the handbook. This card was the sample project listed. Simple, cute and perfect for my ornament exchange party that I am throwing in a few weeks.


The card base is 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 and the ornament was cut at 4 1/2. Super quick and easy. Hmm, think I will be looking a little more closely at my handbooks in the future.

HPY B DAY - CARD

How cute is this shaped card? I found the idea and pattern for this card in a magazine. To be more specific v. 8 of Paper Crafts Card Creations, the designer of the pattern is Kim Hughes. Her card looks way better but I am still happy with this one. I just wish my license plate letters fit a little better I really had to crowd them in as you can see. :) For those wanting to give this card a try here is the link.

MOUSE - CARD

Mouse, mouse, mouse!! This is what greets me every morning when little Miss Shelby walks through my door for daycare. We have begun a ritual of snuggling on the couch with a big blanket and watching Mickey Mouse Club House until the rest of her friends arrive and we have breakfast. She even hands me the remote to turn on the TV and our new favorite show. So what kind of card do you make the most adorable two year old ever for her birthday? Well, mouse, mouse, mouse of course.

Minnie Mouse was cut at 4 " from the Mickey and Friends Cricut Cartridge. Is it just me or are these characters ridiculous to put together at this size? Minnie almost ended up with no mouth or eyes. I swear the only way to work with the character cuts are on a LARGE scale. That means gigantic birthday cards though and where does a gal find envelopes to fit a birthday card with a 12 " Minnie on it?

LET'S GET BASTED!!

Just how hilarious is this image?!? The minute I saw this over at Whimsie Doodles I new I had to have it and knew exactly what I was going to do with it. I think it makes the perfect wine bottle hanger for a host/hostess gift. Don't you?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day and enjoyed plenty of "basting"...LOL!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

CRAFT US CRAZY DESIGN TEAM CALL!

Happy Monday morning to everyone! I thought I would share this DT Call information with you all. Click here for the link to read all about it or read the information below that I copied and pasted directly from the blog:

"Hello and thanks for stopping by!! Crafts Us Crazy is a brand new bi-weekly challenge blog! If you love crafting, then I hope you'll consider going on this new venture with me. Either as a designer or as a sponsor!

If you're interested in being a sponsor, please email me, ~JERI~ at CraftUsCrazy@cox.net and put SPONSOR INQUIRY in the subject line so it doesn't get lost! We would love to help show off your products and get your business out there!!

Now for the design team call part of it!! At Craft Us Crazy you'll be able to use whatever images and products that you have, as long as it goes with the challenge theme of course, but you'll also have the opportunity to work with some great sponsors as well. So if you enjoy working with crafting products and love to share your creativity and talents with others, I would love for you to submit your name and work for consideration.


DT Requirements would be --

•Be dependable and an active blogger.
•Able to submit and post on your blog a minimum of one project every two weeks on time. You're due date for projects and challenge themes will be given out with plenty of notice and time to work.
•Display your CRAFT US CRAZY DT badge on your blog, along with our DT Group link list.
•Leave comments for our challenge participants! We want them to know they're loved and appreciated! So thanking them is a MUST!
•Willing to participate in special events, such as blog hops, special sponsor requests and so forth. Again all of these things will be given to you with plenty of notice.
•Tell everyone about our new challenge blog and spread the word about our wonderful sponsors each challenge. We definitely want them to know they're loved and appreciated!!!
•Be able to take quality and clear pictures of your creations.
•And more than anything...the ability to HAVE FUN!! To let your creativity run wild and then share it with the rest of us so we can drool lol
•Be able to commit to a 3mth term.. Feb 02, 2011 - May 02, 2011


To Apply --

•Using the Design Team Call badge above, please re-post this DT call on your blog, so that we can get the word out about our new challenge blog opening.

I believe that's it, so if you think this is something you may be interested in, click HERE and include the requested information below
In your email....

•Please tell me a little about yourself and what crafting you like do. Such as altered items, Scrapbooking, Cardmaking, 3D, and so forth. All are welcome to apply.
•Include a valid email address for contacting you and links to your blog and any galleries you may have.
•List any DT experience you have, current and past and for who. You DO NOT have to have DT background to be considered, so don't let that stop ya!!
•Let me know if there's certain areas in the DT that would interest you to lead. Such as Sketch artist, Challenge Theme Coordinator, and so forth.

This Design Team call will close on Dec. 21, 2010, and all chosen applicants will be contacted by Jan. 02, 2010 (who knows what sort of New Years Eve we'll all have, and I would want us to remember being contacted..lol)

Any questions please feel free to contact me anytime!
MSN Messenger - Craftyjsplace@hotmail.com
Email - craftuscrazy@cox.net

Even if you're not interested in applying, we would love for you to help us spread the word about our new challenge blog!! :) If you do re-post our Design Team call on your blog, whether applying or not, please leave your name in the comment section below and I'll draw a random winner for a $15 Gift Certificate/Coupon Code to your favorite online store(if available, if not you'll be asked to pick a new favorite lol).
Winner will be announced with Design Team announcement on Jan 02, 2011.

UPDATE--I was emailed and asked if you could twitter and facebook this post...YES!!! Please do! For each place you post this posting, please leave a SEPARATE comment for each time and you'll receive that number of entries in the drawing!! Thanks!!
Please leave all contest comments on this blog! Thanks again!
Thanks and Good luck!! "

***Please remember that the above was cut and pasted from the Craft Us Crazy Blog. Please leave all comments there***

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - CARD

Happy Monday everyone. Just stopping by to make a quick post with a birthday card I completed last week. I swear my "to do" lists are spiraling out of control between all of the birthdays and the holidays coming up. I am in awe of those that make blog posts daily of their projects. How do you do it? Please let me in on your secret. :)

I received this image from a image swap last year. It's a Penny Black image from the Critter Party set. Hope everyone has a great week. I am currently working on 20 Christmas Party invites and am hoping to finish them up this week to share with you all.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Just a quick post to wish all my blogland friends a fun and safe Halloween!! Here are a few photos taken from our Halloween Party this weekend.

Here is our youngest daughter Caitlin as a fortune teller. We set up a fortune telling table for her complete with a Magic Eight Ball that we spray painted white and dumped a bunch of glitter on for her crystal ball. She was fantastic and everyone got a kick out of it.

Our oldest daughter Brittany was just gorgeous as a Greek Goddess!!

Hubby and I as a caveman and a cave woman. Our youngest designed and sewed our costumes for us. We loved them!! Oh and yes, this is exactly how hubby got me to date him 22 years ago. I have been hooked since. LOL

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

SUPER SIZE IT - SOCCER STYLE!

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending our niece's soccer game. She is only 6, but she is the best little soccer player I have ever seen! We wanted to make a sign to bring with us to show our support and how proud we are of her and well, you know how obsessed I am with the Greeting Farm Stamps so, this is what I came up with.

I just printed my Soccer Anya digi stamp onto flesh, white, black, yellow and green pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and then paper pieced her together. The result? Well I think she is adorable and Alyssa loved her.

Here is a a close up of my super sized Soccer Anya. Here is our cutie patootie niece, Alyssa. LOVE that smile!!

Here she is again, hard at work, the next great soccer star.

TIME TO BRAG

Today I am taking a break from craft blogging and am taking the opportunity to brag a little bit about my oldest daughter and her baking abilities.

I asked Brittany to make me some cookies to give to a friend for her birthday and this is the end result. Aren't they just gorgeous?!?! I absolutely love them, they are so pretty!

Here they are all packaged up and ready to deliver to my friend, who loved them!! You can check out Britt's blog here.

GOT CANDY CORN? PLUS FREE DIGI HALLOWEEN STAMPS!

Just how stinking cute are these little milk cartons?? I used the Mini Milk Carton die from Stampin' Up to make about 2 dozen of these little guys for our Halloween Bash coming up next week.

I borrowed this die from a friend to complete these and now it is on my soon to purchase list. ;) I can see it being used for so many different holidays and occasions. I don't own the Big Shot but I do own the Cuttlebug and I had no problem getting this die to work with it. I would recommend purchasing the newer Cuttlebug plates that are a bit longer though. It's not necessary to own them to use this die with the Cuttlebug, but it would have made the process of cutting them out a little quicker and easier. The digi images used on these came from this blog. The best thing about these images is that they are free!! So make sure to hop on over to her blog to grab these cuties. They are adorable and perfect for a project like this.

I plan on filling them with candy corn for all of the kids, and young at heart with a sweet tooth, that attend our bash.

YOU'RE A CLASSIC - CARD

Have you ever struggled with a card or a LO? I mean REALLY struggled? Spent way too much time on it, made way too much of a mess creating it, changed your mind about different elements of it many times, and still not happy with it when it's completed? This card was a challenge for me.

This card is SO out of my comfort zone. I don't make many manly cards or even serious cards. I make cutesy and fun cards. I needed to make a man's birthday card for someone I really don't know well and have only met a few times. I found this idea in a Papercrafts magazine and scrapjacked it. I loved the card in the magazine but am not thrilled with my version of it. The biggest challenge I think was coloring the car. I must have colored the silly thing 4 or 5 times and still hate it. I thought throwing a bunch of Glossy Accents on it would make the coloring look better. Hmm, don't think it worked. Copics didn't give me the weathered/older look I wanted, my Prisma's failed me miserably so I ended up using chalk. Well chalk and Glossy Accents.

Next year, the recipient is getting a card made with a Greeting Farm Anya. ;o)

CELEBRATE - CARD

My Bella stamps have been sadly neglected ever since I branched out and purchased some of the Whimsie Doodles digi stamps and some of The Greeting Farm Anya stamps. Poor things

actually whimpered with joy when I brought them out into the light.

Here is a quick birthday card that I made for a dear friend that celebrated a birthday over the weekend. The stamp is Giftabella from Stamping Bella, the paper is from the SEI Black Orchid pack and the border punch is Gothic Arches from Martha Stewart. It's another new punch for me that I have yet to use.

Thanks for stopping by, hope everyone is having an excellent Monday!!

BEWITCHING HOUR - INVITE

The minute I saw this bewitching cutie digital stamp from The Greeting Farm I knew she would make her debut on our Halloween party invites for this year.

The invite is pretty simple and plain as I had so many to make and I take FOREVER to color but I did get to use this adorable image and my new Martha Stewart border punch so I am a happy gal.

MONKEYING AROUND

I just had to share these adorable cookies that my oldest daughter, Brittany, made for a friend's baby shower. Aren't they just the cutest?!! She made them to match the invitations. She loves all things that have to do with baking; cakes, cupcakes, and now cookies. I know I may be a little biased but I do think she has a flair for it. :o) You can check out her little blog here. It's not very big yet, but she has great plans for it, so if you have a sweet tooth stay tuned!

MAKE A WISH - CARD

One of my favorite blogs to stalk is StampOwl's Studio. Her blog is amazing. Her cards are always adorable and her projects are too cute for words. Check out this cute zig zag style card she created here. As Frances was kind enough to share the template I knew I had to try my hand at making one. So here it is and is one more birthday card down and several more to go. :)

The paper is from Doodlebug and the image is a digi stamp from Whimsie Doodles. I used a little Glossy Accents on the candle and some miscellaneous flowers I had in my stash.

Goes quite well with the little gift bag I had made earlier to hold a gift card and a few scrapbooking embellies. Thank you Frances for the template and inspiration!