Ghiradelli Chocolate Treat Holders

Yummmmm! This is the first time I've bought the Ghiradelli chocolate squares, and oh my, they are delicious! (Yes, that means I caved and sampled these, oops!) I saw these on Kim's Stampin' by the Sea blog and thought I would make some. Only my bad, they were made with hot chocolate mix, not chocolate squares, and since I had just bought 3 packages of the squares, I just googled Ghiradelli treat holders and found this very helpful tutorial by Kimberley Morris at procrastistamper, thanks Kimberley! There were lots of different versions and cute ideas, I'm so thankful that stampers share on the internet, especially at times like this...when I'm feeling the time pinch to get more things made for the show this Saturday!

Here are a few more different versions I made:






If you have any specific questions, please let me know! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

A Weekend of Bazaar Stamping...

Happy Sunday evening! Thought I'd go ahead and post this right now since I haven't been blogging all weekend, so busy with these Christmas Bazaar/Bizarre items! Are you getting sick of them yet?! I'm up too late, ugh, after getting sucked into watching Pollyana (AGAIN!) while working on some projects. I never can resist it, it's such a feel good movie!

Pictured above are some mini candy bar treats using that fabulous Brenda Walton Peppermint Twist paper by K & Company. It's so hard to cut into that paper, but I'm being strong! lol! You've probably made these before, but for mine I cut the paper 4" x 5". Lay the paper back side up and put the mini candy bar in the center vertically. Run adhesive along the top and bottom edges, then put sticky strip along one of the long edges and seal it all up. Lastly, run the ends through the crimper. Easy peasy! I did about 16 of these so far, and I have 16 more to go, but I ran out of sticky strip and metal edge tags, so guess I'll be stopping at the store after work tomorrow. I need to get that chocolate sealed up fast before I give in and eat it!

Next up, some pencils...


I bought a package of pencils at Joann's in the dollar spot months ago (except beware, they rang up at $2.00...my bad to assume all those items are only $1.00!). The Stampin' Up catalog shows a package of red pencils packaged up so cutely for Christmas, I wanted to give it a try.

Lastly, some adorable snowman peppermint patties...


I had never made these before, but have seen different versions of them around for awhile. I googled "peppermint patties" and found this precious design that I totally copied from Lynn Larson that you can see at Learn to Stamp and Scrap with Lynn. I changed the ribbon and added the "Let it Snow" tag, but the rest is totally copied, so thank you, Lynn! I used the retired "Cold Play" stamp set, it's so awesome for making snowman faces!

If you have any questions about any of the projects, just let me know. I work late tomorrow tutoring and have some errands to run, so I'll probably catch up on my blurfing and see what y'all have been up to...and hopefully get to bed before midnight! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Peppermint Twist Altered Binder Clips

Happy Friday! Is anyone else as glad it's Friday as I am?! I decided to alter some jumbo binder clips while watching Survivor and Grey's Anatomy last night, so this is what I came up with...I actually used my most precious new paper, Brenda Walton's Peppermint Twist by K and Company. It's my most favorite paper in a long time, largely due to this fabulous vintage Santa one, sigh. My friend Valerie showed it to me, which resulted in me driving to a 2nd Michael's store in Plano last weekend to find it and I got the LAST one barely when I found a second display of paper stacks in the back of the store and dug through the entire thing. Can you tell I really wanted it?! When I found it, I actually raised it above my head like Rocky and started saying "YES! YES! YES!" and what's scarier is that no one even looked twice at me! lol!

Okay, sorry for the serious digression...I have quite a few binder clips, so I thought they might be a good item to sell at the craft bazaar/bizarre. I've seen them around different blogs/websites altered to hold photos, and check out Kerry's Paper Crafting Site for a really good video tutorial I found. Here's how they will look with a photo (thanks to my sister and nephew for posing for this photo for me 2 years ago!):


And some more close-ups...the Santa is my favorite:



A few people had commented or emailed me about the craft bazaar, and if you're in the Dallas metroplex area and want to swing by, I'd love to meet you! It will be at the Duncanville First Christian Church on Saturday, December 13 from 9-4.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I really appreciate all your super nice comments on yesterday's Merry & Bright card, I'm so glad you liked it! With a great sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You and a great color combination from Kristina, you can't hardly go wrong! Hugs and happy stamping!

Alphabet Stew: Merry & Bright

Happy Thursday! The week is flying by and Christmas is coming too fast and the Christmas Bazaar/Bizarre is coming too fast, yikes! Deep breaths, deep breaths...so what did I do last night? Take a 2 hour nap and watch a movie! Ugh! I had rented some movies last Friday and we hadn't watched them yet, so I felt like we had to start watching them or what a waste of money that would be! Anyway, I highly recommend Lars and the Real Girl! It was the sweetest movie filled with love and family and community, and Ryan Gosling is amazing, I think there's nothing he can't do!

But back to the card...I decided at 11:00 p.m. I better make a card, so I combined Kristina's Color Inspiration #33 and Laura's Sketch #14 and came up with this...in 30 minutes even, which is really fast for me! lol! I used some retired paper and the retired Alphabet Stew stamp set, I always loved those jumbled up letter stamps and couldn't part with them. Kind of non-traditional Christmas colors, but what they hey! The finished size is 4 1/4" square, let me know if you have any questions.

Hope you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Alphabet Stew Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Summer Picnic DSP for stars, and retired Loves Me DSP. Ink: Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip & Pumpkin Pie markers. Accessories: Small Star Punch, Vintage Brads, Scallop Border Punch, Dimensionals, misc. ribbon.

Giftcard Holder Ornament

Happy Wednesday! Hope your week is going well! I'm running late but wanted to share something before I leave for work, so I snapped these photos really quickly! I made these precious little giftcard holder ornaments the other day...it's one of the projects in Lisa's Pace's 12 Days of Christmas online workshop I took. This is the first project I've made (I'm always a little behind with these online classes!), but her projects really are fabulous, and you still have time to sign up and save them all if you're interested!

I used patterned paper from the Festive & Frost stack by My Mind's Eye and some vintage book pages for the front part. I stamped this tree from Pink Pesimmon in Staz-On Brown and colored it with my SU blender pens and chalk and used some Stickles for the little ornaments. Lastly, added some old lace & a button, misc. ribbons, and some Martha Stewart string for the hanger. Easy peasy!


Hope you have a great day! Thanks so much for stopping by and also for all your sweet comments on my Paper Crafts card, I really appreciate it! Hugs and happy stamping!

Paper Crafts...

Happy Monday! I heard from a few commenters (thanks Ann & Alex!) that the new January/February issue of Paper Crafts was out now, so I can finally share my card that was published! The call was for cards using quotations, and the Amy Butler die cut pieces had several great quotations to choose from. Her paper is so gorgeous! All I added was some Dazzling Diamonds, yummy $1 spot ribbon, and some Pretties kit rhinestone brads, and voila, very simple card. The finished size is 5 1/4" square.

Here's the inside, good luck mailing this one for standard postage rate! lol!

Hope everyone had a good Monday and back to work day after the holiday! Mine was better than I expected, lol! I had started missing the kids and I got lots of hugs today, so it was all good! Guess I better get back to making Christmas bazaar/bizarre goods...I was totally fine just worrying about making enough to cover my $25 entrance fee, then I read on Splitcoast from someone who sold $400, and now I'm like, "YIKES!" A person can make $400?! Now I'll feel like a total loser if I don't make $400, and I've only made about 20 little items so far! Yikes, is right! lol!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Cardstock: Amy Butler patterned paper, SU Basic Gray.
Accessories: Amy Butler die cut pieces, $1 spot ribbon, SU Pretties kit rhinestone brads, dimensionals, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, 2-way glue pen.

Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge #8: Miracle on 34th Street

Happy Sunday! Have you guys checked out the Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge blog by Brooke and Sankari? Well, it's really cool, especially if you watch a lot of movies while you stamp! I've been meaning to play along for awhile and when I saw this week's movie inspiration was Miracle on 34th Street, I knew I had to join in! **Edited to add: I picked the right week to join in, they are even offering a Blog Candy drawing for participating! You have until Thursday, December 4th at 9 p.m. PST. to post your card, so go get busy!

I knew I wanted to do something with "I believe" and Santa Claus, but I could barely find a Santa Claus stamp! I dug around and found one that had been a $1 stamp from Michael's, several years ago I think. See, it does pay off to save everything! lol! I knew I might use it...someday! I think the Santa would have been cute with a brown scallop circle behind him in the chocolate chip polka dot Bella Rose paper, but I was too lazy to do one the old-fashioned way (making a Coluzzle circle and punching around it with the Slit Punch). See, this is why I need the Scallop Circle Nestabilities next! hee! hee! The finished card size is 3 1/4" x 6 1/2".

Hope everyone has a great Sunday! I can't believe the Thanksgiving week went by so fast, sigh. Back to school tomorrow, but only 3 more weeks until Christmas vacation! Yippee! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Classic Alphabet (retired); Santa $1 Michael's stamp.
Cardstock: Red Riding Hood, Kraft, Whisper White, Bella Rose DSP.
Ink: Staz-On Brown, Craft White, Red Riding Hood.
Accessories: Blender Pen, Aquapainter, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Alpine striped ribbon originals.

Kazan's Sketch #14: Glad Tidings

Happy Saturday! Dh just went to make us a salad for lunch so I snagged his computer to make a post...my desktop is too slow for my impatient self! And yes, we're back to salads after our Thanksgiving feast of the last two days! Although there is a wee bit of pumpkin pie left that I cannot let go to waste! lol!

I took a break from working on my bazaar/bizarre crafts earlier to make a card for Kazan's Sketch #14, always love doing the sketches over at 2 Sketches 4 You. I had been using a stamp from the retired Glad Tidings set, and I had some extras punched out in circles already, so I decided to use it. I love that "Cheers" part. For the Baja Breeze piece I used my new rectangle Nestabilities dies...I picked it up at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon when I caved in yesterday and hit the craft stores! hee! hee! I'm fighting the urge to go back today for more, ouch!

While I was out hitting Michael's and Hobby Lobby (got tired out before making it to Joann's!), I also checked out the Stamp Asylum, a local stamp store in Plano. I try to go there a few times a year and see what's new and do my part to help them stay in business (hee! hee!), but the exciting part...I ran into Suzy and Tina!! It's so cool to meet blogging friends in real life! Waving "hi" to you, girls!

Okay, better dash, dh says the salad is ready, sigh. lol! Hope you are having a good holiday weekend! Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Glad Tidings (retired)
Cardstock: Red Riding Hood, Kraft, Baja Breeze, Bella Rose DSP.
Ink: Ruby Red craft.
Accessories: Red/Vanilla Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Linen Thread & needle, Paper Piercer & Guide, Dimensionals, Foofala buttons, Nestabilities Large Rectangle Dies.

A Very Merry Christmas hanging

Happy Friday! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Dh, Nick the dog, and I had a very peaceful, restful day. It's the one time a year I promise to cook a *real* meal for dh, including 5 pounds of mashed potatoes, his favorite!


I've been trying to work on some projects for the Christmas Bazaar (or Christmas Bizarre as Robyn likes to say!) I'm participating in on December 13. I just haven't been coming up with things I love, although this project looks better to me today than it did last night. Do you ever find that? Sometimes your projects look better after you've stepped away for awhile?

Anyway, most of the paper I used was from the Festive & Frost paper stack by My Mind's Eye that I picked up at Michael's with a 40% off coupon. I know, I had sworn no more paper stacks, but I loved the vintage feel of these papers and knew they would be perfect for some of the 12 Days of Christmas projects in Lisa Pace's class. Plus, it was a smaller stack, not a gigantic one. Like the way I can justify anything?!

A few other details, the stamped "A Very Merry Christmas" is from the SU Punches Three stamp set stamped on Confetti Cream cardstock. The 1 1/4" circle behind it is from Parisian Summer DSP, and the scallop circle is Not Quite Navy with Crystal Effects around the edges with White Chunky Glitter. I also broke out my retired All in a Row stamp because I didn't want to risk messing it up if I tried to sew real zig-zag stitches! lol! Not sure who makes the ribbons, they are from my stash that I bought here. The finished size is 4 1/2" x 6"...I glued the paper to a piece of scrap chipboard to make it more substantial. Here is the whole thing, although this picture didn't turn out great, sorry:

If I missed anything or you have any questions, feel free to comment or email me and I'll get back with you! Are any of you braving out into the shopping world today?! It's been rainy and yucky here, so I think I'm staying in. But who knows, maybe I'll give in to the pressure later! lol!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!

Recipe
Stamps: Punches Three, All in a Row (retired).
Cardstock: SU Not Quite Navy, Confetti Cream, and Parisian Summer DSP. Festive & Frost by My Mind's Eye.
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Chocolate Chip.
Accessories: Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" and 1/8" Circle Punch, Crystal Effects, White Chunky Glitter, Dimensionals & Glue Dots, ribbon & jingle bell unknown, vintage buttons.

A few tags...

Thank you to some fabulous ladies that I received tags from recently!


First, I received the Kreativ Blogger award from Chloe at Chloe-Jill Designs and Kathleen at My Happy Place and Brandi at The Squareheaded Stamper. Thank you! If you haven't been there yet, be sure and check out their blogs for some fantastic artwork!



Thank you to Marilyn at Stamp with Marilyn for the I Love You Blog award. She has some really cool flip albums she just posted here that you must check out!


Lastly, I just received from Brooke at Designs by Brooke a challenge tag to post the 4th photo in the 4th folder on your computer. Kind of fun, right? It was fun for her, check out her cute family photo here. Well, my photos are mostly cards! But this one is pretty, it's a door prize (if you made this, let me know so I can give you credit!) that was being offered back at the Splitcoast Arlington Shoebox Swap that I went to in the spring. But I'm glad I did this because I realized I never posted all of my photos from that event, so I uploaded them here on my Webshots page if you want to check them out. They are mostly pics of the beautiful door prizes and a few people (like Jenn, Sharon, and Bev...yes, I'm shamelessly name-dropping!). I posted the cards before here if you want to see those.

I snuck back in to add this Inspiration Award that I received from Brooke at Designs by Brooke and from Megan at Well Dunn Ideas, thank you ladies! I find them both very inspiring as well, so I give it right back to them! I only found Megan a few months ago and I *love* her style, check her out. Also, Brooke co-hosts a Cinema Saturday Creative Challenge blog with the fabulous Sankari, it's very cool, go check it out if you haven't already!


Okay, I'm sneaking in one more time because Amy at Tsurata Designs gave me these two awards. Thank you, Amy, you're so sweet and you know I adore you and your artwork!

If you're reading my blog, I nominate you for these awards too! There is so much awesome talent out there, I know it inspires me everyday! Thank you to all of you stampers and artists out there who share with us everyday!

Thanks ladies for thinking of me! Hugs and happy stamping!