Snow and a Hanukkah Gift

I hope this post finds you all doing well. We are currently experiencing a winter storm here and it isn't even winter yet. Oh the joys of living in Colorado. Tuesday it was a nice warm day and now we have a least a foot of snow. That's Colorado for you. Emillia is loving it though, at least someone does. I am just hoping it won't take to long to melt. It has been snowing for 2 days now though. I sure hope this is not a prelude to what winter is going to be like. For those of you that like snow I hope you enjoy the photos.
Today I also wanted to share with you another Hanukkah item.

I made the tag by doing an alcohol ink smoosh where I put 5 different colors of alcohol ink on a craft sheet, added some blending solution then took a piece of white glossy cardstock and smooshed it all over the cardstock. After that I stamped the images from the Papertrey Mazel Tov set and embossed them with silver and Denim embossing powder. I crocheted the flowers and attached them to the silver snap clips then added white buttons to the middles. I think these would make a great Hanukkah gifts.
That's it for now. I am off to try and get some more holiday things made now and hope to be back to share them with you soon. Until then I hope you have a great day and it is warm where you are!

October Papertrey Bloghop

Tonight is the October Papertrey Bloghop.
This month the theme is to share our best upcoming holiday plans for cards, gifts, wraps or whatever else we have up our sleeve! I am also incorporating this weeks color challenge from Dawntoo. Love these colors!

I have a lot of ideas for things to make this holiday season but I have not had a chance to get much made yet. It is also hard for me to think about the holidays when it is not even Halloween yet but for this challenge I thought I would go ahead and get started by sharing an idea I have had for awhile. A Hot Cocoa Holder.

I started with a piece of Kraft Carstock and the free Recipe Wrap Up My Timeless Template. Next I stamped an image from the Guidelines 2 stamp set on Raspberry Fizz cardstock with Vintage Cream Ink then I added those pieces to the outside panels of the wrap and sewed them on using a zig zag stitch. After that I stamped the cup from the Warm Happiness set on some Rustic Cream Cardstock with Raspberry Fizz Ink then I stamped the outline image on top of cup with Chocolate Ink and also masked then stamped the plate image under the cup with chocolate ink as well. Finally I used some liquid applique to add a few marshmallows to the cup then added some faux stitching around the image to finish it off.
When you open the wrap you will find this.

I lined the inside panels with New Leaf Cardstock that I ran through my Cuttlebug using the Swiss Dots embossing folder. On the pocket I stamped the sentiment from The Warm Happiness set. A package of Gourmet Hot Cocoa mix is included for the recipient. A piece of New Leaf Twill ribbon was added to tie it shut. I think these would make great gifts for friends this holiday season and would also make great stocking stuffers too. You could even add a cup filled with Marshmallows and have a complete gift. The holidays can be a very stressful time so giving a gift like this would also be a great way to help someone relax and let them know you are thinking of them this holiday season too.
That's it for now. Be sure to check back in the next few months to see more ideas I have for the holidays too. In the meantime I look forward to seeing what the others have come up with. As always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great night.

Technique Tuesday

It's time for another Technique Tuesday video. This month I am going to show you how I made this card in honor of Halloween.

The supplies,dimensions and directions are at the end of the video. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I hope you enjoy the video!

Hanukkah Dreidel Gift Card Holder

As I mentioned in my last post I am trying to get a jump start on making holiday items for my Etsy shop this year. Hanukkah starts on December 11th so today I am sharing with you a Hanukkah Dreidel Gift Card Holder.

I got the idea for this project from the queen of crafts Martha Stewart. I started by downloading the template here then I resized it. The next thing I did was cut out a dreidel from some PTI Spring Rain Cardstock then I stamped images from the PTI Background Star Set and embossed them with clear embossing powder. When I was done with that I added sliver glitter to the top and then printed out the hey symbol and covered it in silver glitter as well. After that I cut another dreidel and sewed both pieces together around the edges with silver thread to create the pocket for the gift card. Finally I added one more layer of Spring Rain cardstock to the back then stamped the largest dot Vintage Labels image and added the Happy Hanukkah sentiment from the Mazel Tov set making sure to leave enough room to add a personal message too.

I think this would be a really unique way to give a gift card for Hanukkah this year. These gift cards are now up for sale in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested in buying them. That's it for now I have plans for more holiday items and hope to be back soon to share them with you. I am also hoping to get some time this weekend to work on this months technique video too so be sure to check back next week for that. Until then thanks for stopping by and I hope the rest of the week is a good one for you.

Happy Birthday Mommy

It looks like winter here right now. YUCK! It has been cold and blustery most of the day and now it is snowing. Hopefully it won't last long.
Even though the weather sucks it is still a very special day. It is my mom's 65th birthday. You would never know she was that age by looking at her though. Like I have said before age is just a number and she definitely proves that. She is the kind of person that you cannot keep down because she is always on the move. My sister and I got her a Nordstroms gift certificate because she loves to shop there but I wanted to make her something special for her birthday too. When I asked her what she would like she said a purple and blue exercise journal. My mom is very into exercise.Even though she has Rheumatoid Arthritis almost every morning you will find her at her local health club working out. Even though she is in pain a lot of the time. She says the exercise helps keeps her moving. This is the journal I made her.

I started by covering 2 pieces of chipboard with fabric that I had in my stash. Next I printed out 50 sheets of lined paper from a template that Rich created for me. After that I binded the journal together using my Bing It All and 3/4" white O wires. To decorate the cover I cut out a label one die from some Stampers Select white cardstock. Next I stamped the dot images from the new PTI Vintages labels set with Plum Pudding Ink. After that I stamped the bike from the Everyday buttons set with Tuxedo Black Ink then I colored it in with Copic Sketch markers. I then added 2 Lavender Moon buttons and stitched them on with Jute twine. I created the word exercise by cutting out the letters with the Cuttlebug Baby Face dies then I added the purple color to them with Coloxbox Petal Point Ink and attached them. Finally I added some Crystal Effects to the letters to give them some shine and dimension.To finish it off I added some pop dots to the finished piece and attached it to the front of the journal. Finished size is 5x5. I gave the journal to my mom this morning and she really liked it.
That's it for now. I have managed to meet all my stamping goals this week so now I am going to start working on some holiday items for my Etsy shop now. I hope to be back soon to start sharing them with you. In the meantime as always thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great night.

3D Halloween Pumpkin Tags

I am back with the Halloween tags I was talking about in my last post. I got the idea for the pumpkins from this video Lauren Meader did on making 3D embellishments.
The pumpkins were made out of the New PTI Orange Zest Cardstock and the faces were stamped with images from a Retired TAC set. The stem for the pumpkins was stamped using the tree image from the PTI Button Bits set. I added some Faux Stitching with a purple pen and distress ink to the circle the pumpkins are sitting on.
The scalloped black piece was stamped with polka dots from the Polka dots basic set and embossed with clear embossing powder. A purple eyelet and 1/8" purple ribbon finishes them off. They are now up for sale in my Etsy shop. That's it for now. I am off to work on my moms birthday present. I will be back to share it with you when it's done. Until then I hope you have a great night and thanks for stopping by.

An Update and a Halloween Project

Once again sorry for not posting anything new in over a week. We all caught a nasty cold virus and were sick all last week. Thankfully Rich and I are over it, Emilia is still coughing though. If anyone has any suggestions to help stop a cough let me know. I have tried everything and nothing seems to be helping much.
Yesterday we decided to go looking for a new camera. I have been wanting one for awhile now but we really were not in a position to be buying any more big purchases right now especially after unexpectedly having to buy me a new laptop last month but Rich decided we should go look anyways. As I'm sure you all know going to look at something really means going buy unless you have a lot of will power when it come to buying things which neither of us have. Anyways turns out Best Buy was still having their 18 month same as cash promotion so we could not pass that up and we are now the proud owners of a Nikon D5000. I have not had a lot of time to play around with it yet but I did photograph my newest project yesterday with it and I am just amazed at how much better my photos look. I would love to hear what you think though so be sure to comment. Now on to today's project.
Since it is now October I felt it was time to make a few Halloween items even though I am not a big Halloween fan. We always enjoy going trick or treating with Emilia but this year she is leaning towards not doing it. There is still time to change her mind though. Anyways I knew I wanted to make something other than a card so I came up with this.

I originally got the idea here but had to made a few changes to the dimensions because I could not find gum to fit. I also added some mini magnets instead of velcro to keep it shut. The base was made with Stampers Select Black Cardstock then I added a piece of patterned cardstock that I made by stamping the dot image from the PTI Retro Background Set on Stampers Select Orange Zest cardstock then colored in the dots with gel pens. Next I printed out the digital Happy Halloween Image that I got from the Cutting Cafe and cut it out with a circle Nestability die. After that I stamped the spider from a retired SU set in the middle of that image and matted it on a scalloped circle cut from some CTMH purple card stock.
Inside you will find this
A perfect pocket to put an 18 piece package of Trident sugarless gum. I think these would make great treats for kids instead of all that sugar filled candy what about you? This gum holder is now up for sale in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested in buying one. That's it for now but I have another Halloween project to finish up tomorrow and hope to share it with you this week too. I also have to get my moms birthday present made because her birthday is this Thursday. I hope to have it done by then and will share it with you then as well. Until then I hope you have a great week and as always thanks for stopping by.