For My Husband

   It was about 3:00 pm on Christmas Eve.  My children would be arriving in 2 hrs. Everything was done. At least I thought so. As I was filling everyone's stocking, I realized I hadn't made my husband a Christmas card. How could I forget my husband of all people?  He's the one who has put up with my addiction to PTI and the numerous hrs spent in my craft room.
 I rushed to my room and quickly adapted one of my Christmas designs.In less than 20 mins I was done. Whew! Close call. Except for the sentiment, I really like how this card turned out. I think if I had stamped the sentiment a tad lower, it would have worked better.

     I used the heart border die as my garland. I sponged the hearts with some Fresh Snow ink and added a rhinestone to each heart.

     For once I found the perfect button for my card.   That doesn't happen often; even with all of the PTI Buttons I own.

     I just love the Holiday Flourishes & Swirls paper by PTI.
      Thanks for stopping by my blog.


Supplies:
 CS: Scarlet Jewel
PP: Holiday Flourishes & Swirls
Stamp Set: Rustic Snowflakes, Wreath for all Seasons, Tag It #8
InK: Fresh Snow; Memories : black
Die: Christmas Tree, Heart border
Other: Ripe Avocado ribbon, Rustic twine, Ripe Avacodao button; rhinestone

A Year In Review

                                                     

      Karin's blog  With an "i" for Paper blog  has started a Year in Review Blog Hop to feature some of your favorite projects from the past year.  Being I only started my blog at the end of June, my review is a half year featuring a card from the months June through December along with a Halloween & Thanksgiving card & 3 of my favorites. (for a total of  12).  I notice that in the beginning my photos were not of the best quality.



          June--My first posted card

July-- Dress Inspiration

August-Bloom Builder #3

September-- Special Card for a Special Daughter

October

Halloween

November

Thanksgiving

December

 My favorites

     Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll join in the fun.

PTI Blog Hop December 2011

  I hope you had a great holiday. I was fortunate to celebrate it with my children & their families on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day my husband & I drove upt o Chicago to celebrate Christmas with his mom, 7 brother & sisters and their families.  It has been a whirlwind weekend.  Since we only got back from Chicago about 2 hrs ago, I quickly gathered up some scraps of wrapping paper & a dimensional from a Christmas Card I received to create a simple bow using the Loopy Daisy die in order to particpate in PTI"s
December Blog Hop

   


  Looks like I could have done a better job spreading out the loops. That's what I get for being in a hurry. 
Nevertheless, it's still a cute bow.  I already have one crafty Christmas item ready for Christmas 2012.  That's a first. LoL
 I am also going to participate in the  Snowman Challenge sponsered by Craft Your Days Away.
Thanks for checking out my blog.

MIM#46: Any Die Into a Folded Tag

   With all the hustle & bustle of Christmas fast approaching, the MIM challenges have been taking a back seat.  However with the theme of this week's challenge, it fit into my plans perfectly.  To be honest, I had already cut out the tag from my die. I just hadn't had time to put the finishing touches upon it.  With tomorrow being Christmas Eve, it's crunch time.  So here it is.

     The tag is going to accompany the snowman ornament I made here.
  Thanks for stopping by.

Reindeer Food

   To a little one who believes in Santa, no Christmas would be complete unless there was some food for Santa & his reindeer.  Of course, most children leave Santa cookies and some leave a carrot or too for the reindeer.  But, what reindeer wants carrots?   How about oats?   Magical oats...

  I made up some packets of reindeer food for my granddaughters and their cousins as well as a co-worker's three children.

  
     An up close shot of the sentiment.

   What makes these oats magical? I used the sugar one sprinkles on Christmas cookies.  Many people use glitter, but I am trying to be ecologically friendly.  Besides a few of the children are under three & just might try to eat it.

   I hope Santa finds your home.  Make sure you sprinkle some oats on Christmas Eve.   Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

More Teacher Gifts

     I didn't think the Post-It Note Holders I made for the female teachers I  work with would go over with the male teachers. I decided to do something different.  Consumables are always good. I found these canisters at the dollar store.

   I just wrapped each canister with designer paper. Because the circumference was longer than 12 inches, I had to add an extra strip in the back.  Used some twine and tiny tags to add some interest to the front.

    An up-close photo of the tiny tag & twine.

    I also decorated the lid using my Wishblade to cut out a large circle. Other dies used were Limitless Layers and Holly Jolly.

     Inside each canister is a snack mix consisting of M & M's, raisins, peanuts and butterscotch morsels. I tried to have equal measures of each.  Beware! This mix is addicting.  You can't just eat one handful.

If you need a last minute gift. Try this!  Thanks for stopping by.

Candy Cane Christma Gift Card Holder

     I have another gift card holder to share with you today. 

     The Gift Card:

   

      As you can see the theme is Candy Canes.  This GCH was so easy to make. I used the seed packet die, cut a piece of pattern paper for the front. Then I stamped 2 candy canes from an old SU set, used my copics to color them before fussy cutting them.

     To continue the slanting stripes, I cut 2 rhombi; one from Pure Poppy CS and the other from Rustic White for the sentiment from Wreath for All Seasons.  The candy canes are propped up with dimensionals.

     Looks like I might need to touch up the bow with more red!

     My to do list for Christmas is dwindling, but I still have a lot to do. My Christmas cards were sent out the first of the month.  My shopping is finished except for the stocking stuffers. A quick trip to Walgreens will take care of that. The presents are wrapped & under the tree. I am still working on two Christmas gifts.

Hopefully I'll finish in time to share them with you.

   Thanks for stopping by.

A Christmas Thank You

     Do you make special thank you cards for Christmas?  I like to, but they need to be CAS. This card works for me. It only takes about 10 minutes to make. Just score a frame, stamp the sentiment, color, cut % adhere the hat. The recipient loves that you took time to make it. 



     An up close shot of the sentiment & image.

     Looking for a last minute gift. A set of 8 makes a nice, quick, last minute gift.

Thank you for stopping by. I know your time just before the holidays is precious.

A Last Minute Christmas Card

  I have a few Christmas cards I need to make. Besides, I needed a break from making my gift card holders.  Something simple too. Luckily, I had an extra image already stamped from the Star of Wonder stamp set.

     The image is stamped in Fresh Snow on Royal Velvet cardstock.  The sunburst from the Limitless Layer die collection is Soft Stone.  I layered it on a doily I sponged in Eggplant (Adirondack) and added a sentiment on the bottom.

      I wanted to do something different for my sentiment. This is what I came up with.

     The ribbon is Soft Stone. The sentiment is from Star of Wonder stamped on a Little Jar Label diecut. I used my copics to color the rhinestones.  This is a CAS card.
      I think this card fits perfectly for  the CHNC Challenge #51: Anything-goes.

   Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have all your Christmas cards out by now. Can you believe Christmas Day is a week from today?

Holly Jolly! From Card to gift Card Holder

  Seems like I am on a roll with making gift card holders with the seed packet die. The last two I made continued the theme of the image on the gift card. Today's GCH is for my aunt. I am sending her a gift card to Macy's.  There is no image on this gift card; it's just red. So I  decided to a case a Christmas card done by Maile Belles.

          Because the GCH is smaller, I used the medium size holly leaves from Holly Jolly.

       The Christmas Label die was a perfect fit. I just love that stamp set. I sponged the edges of the GCH to soften it up.

     Thanks for stopping by.

Penguin Gift Card Holder

     This is the second gift card I picked up for one of my neices/nephews .

     The snowflake die would have been perfect, but since I didn't order one (it's wish listed for next Christmas), I took a slightly different route.

     Isn't he just the cutest?

     Because I already had a penguin from a Hero Arts set I bought 3 years ago, I didn't order the one from PTI.  In the 3 years since I have owned this set, I never inked this little guy up. Once I saw PTI's penguin, I became inspired.

     The penguin is propped up with dimensionals and the upper most snow drift is propped up with a double set of dimensionals.  The santa hat is from an old SU set. Once again I used the Seed packet die.

     Thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate it.  I know how "extra" busy everyone is at this time of the year.

Supplies:

Stamp Sets: Hero Arts, Jolly Christmas, PTI: Holly Jolly

Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder, bloom builders #3, Cloud #1 & 2 Die collection, copics, K & Co.: design paper

Faux Front & Center Gift Bag

     Now that I have all my Christmas gifts made for my co-workers, I need to package them.  I do love the packages made using the front & center die, but I didn't purchase one because I felt I could make something similiar using what I already own.

   Together with my edgers #4 die and the Oval Coluzzle; mission accomplished.

   It took some experimenting to get the right height. Since my gifts are 6" tall, I knew my paper bag had to be slightly taller. So I cut the bag at 71/2 ".  Determining the size of the panels was trial & error. I cut a piece of cardstock  5 1/2 by 11, used the edger die on one edge, cut the oval for the handle and preceded to cut 1/2 inch segments from the bottom until I had the right height. I ended up using a panel 10" by 5 1/2".
    I wanted to use white paper bags. After scouring the party section of several stores with no luck, I found that Walmart had white paper lunch bags.
  On my wishlist is the snowflake die. However, I wanted a snowflake as as a focal point to continue the theme with the pattern paper, so I went to the Dollar Store and bought a package of 10 plastic, glittery snowflakes for $1.

   I think I am going to redo the red circle. Instead of using it as a name tag, I am going to stamp a sentiment and attach a tiny tag with the recipient's name.

   A close up of the right side of the bag.

     For those of you who are eyeing the Front & Center die, but have an edger's die (# 2 & 4 would work best) don't be afraid to make your own faux one. You'll save your self a lot of money and get the same result. These bags are really fun & easy to make, especially after you make one. I have 3 completed. My intention is to complete 2 a night.

    One of my goals for 2012 is to become more creative with what I already have.

    Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are done with your shopping and are beginning to wrap your "goodies".

Snowman Gift Card Holder

     My Christmas shopping is finished.  My neices & nephews were easy as I bought them all gift cards.  They are at that age where they are too old for toys and they have a definite clothing style. I am not sure of their musical preferences nor what video games they own since they do not live nearby, and I only get a chance to see them 2-3 times a year.
  This is one of the gift cards I picked up at Target.  Isn't he adorable?

     I wanted to keep the same theme wth the gift card holder. This is what I came up with.

   He's holding a tiny tag star in one of his hands. I'll put the recipient's name on the tag.
Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you are done with your holiday/ Christmas shopping.

Christmas Gifts for Co-Workers

      With Christmas nipping at my heels, I knew it was time to decide what I was going to make for my co-workers.  I like to give a "little" something to the teachers I work closely with. Since there are 15 of them, it can't be expensive either. Trying to come up with something new this year was proving difficult.  I decided to browse Pinterest using the search Christmas Gifts.  When I spotted the Post-It Note Stands, I knew they would be quick & easy to make as well as inexpensive.

   Here are the 3 types I made.

    

     I hunted down 12 of these frames at 3 different Dollar Stores. (I decided that I will give the male teachers something different.)

     I cut a piece of paper 6" by 4" and slipped it in the frame.  (The lighting for these pictures was horrible.)

   Then I embellished  the top and adhered a Post-It note pad.

     
  On my 2nd set, I decided to use ribbon as an embellishment with a scalloped circle from the Limitless Layers Die set.

    My 3rd set is my favorite. I used paper from My Mind's Eye, die cut a cloud and stamped Just a Note on it and made a peeking sun using a flower from Bloom Builder #3.

   An up-close shot of the cloud & sun.

   
     I am glad I was able to get half of them finished today. Next up is packaging them.
Thanks for looking.