Saturday, December 31, 2011

{2011} a year in review

Looking back over 2011 I realized how much I have been blessed by being a part of this stamping community. I am so thankful for making that decision of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in March 2009. I can't believe it will already be 3 years since this journey of mine began! To sum up this year I wanted to take a peek back month by month at some of my favorite projects I was happy I had the chance to share with you! (This was much harder to choose than I thought it would be!)

{January 2011}
Definitely not my original creation, but isn't he so cute?!

{February 2011}
Butterfly valentines...perfect for classmates!

{March 2011}
Who doesn't love the Create a Cupcake stamp set?!

{April 2011}
Easter bunny treats...not my original punch art creation, but oh so fun to make!

{May 2011}
End of the year teacher treats!

{June 2011}
Sweet baby boy sailboat card.

{July 2011}
My first month designing for Craft Project Central (thank you, Jacque!)

{August 2011}

Bright and cheery pennant card!

{September 2011}
Season of Friendship frame home decor

{October 2011}
Baby shower sweetness...with pinwheels!

{November 2011}
Turkey treats!

{December 2011}

12 Days of Christmas...Day 4 Hershey Nugget Trays

Thank you to my blog readers for being so kind to come by to take a peek at the creativity I love to share! I hope for so many new ways to share my creativity in the New Year, as well as to help inspire each of you to create!

May blessings abound for you and your family in 2012!

And, as always...

HAPPY STAMPING!

Friday, December 30, 2011

l is for lemon

I am going to try to keep today's post short and sweet...

...or should I say SOUR?!

For Christmas each year on my mom's side of the family all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins get together for a fun Christmas party with lots of yummy food and a gift exchange. The kids each open a gift from their great grandparents and the adults (all 21 of us) bring a $10 gift that starts with a letter we are on for that year. For instance, we have already gone through the word Christmas and now we are onto the word Holiday, so this year's letter was L! This has been a fun way to have a "white elephant" gift exchange of sorts, but everyone is supposed to bring a good gift and not a gag gift. It's always funny to see how some people stretch the name of the gift to make it fit the letter for that year!

This year for some reason I left my decision making to the last minute (actually that's not really a surprise for me lately!). I had initially thought of bringing a candle...aka "lighted wax", but I wanted to be a little more creative. I ran across my candy stash in my craft room and found Lemonheads!! I knew right then and there I wanted my gift to be lemon-themed. So, off to the store I went! I kind of had a difficult time finding things that were lemon, especially with the $10 budget (and the time crunch!) but I came away with...Country Time Lemonade powder mix, Lemon Mentos, Raspberry Lemonade chapstick, and Lemon Ricola cough drops. I should have taken a picture!

Of course I had to add in my handmade touch, so I made...

{five 3x3 lemon cards with envelopes}
I kept them simple...which had nothing to do with crunch time! Ha!

{wrapped up in a bow}

And here is where the Lemonheads come in. I had this cute little jar (Dollar Tree!) in my craft room just waiting for it to be used! I added a little lemon accent to the top, which matched the cards and tied a few pieces of coordinating ribbon. My sister-in-law ended up opening the gift (she was #1) and at the end decided to keep it rather than trade. Made me feel good that it was going to someone who I knew appreciated it!


Some other gifts that were brought...
  • Lime green blanket with Lime soda & Lime Tortilla Chips (this is the gift that I got!)
  • Electronic "lead" sharpener...aka pencil sharpener, which we all laughed that nowadays pencils are made with graphite
  • Lights...flashlights -- lots and lots of flashlights!
  • Lights...nightlight
  • "Lincoln" - $10 in pennies
  • Levels
  • Locks
  • Lotion

I love seeing the creativity each year!! This is such a fun tradition for our family!

***********************************

Stamp Set: Tart & Tangy

Colors: Daffodil Delight, Real Red

Punches: Two-Step Owl (heart), 1-1/4" Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, Scallop Circle


Thursday, December 29, 2011

LOVE is in the clearance rack..don't miss it!

Have you been to the CLEARANCE RACK yet?? If not, what's stopping you?! The Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack Blitz is still happening with products up to 80% off (through January 5th!)

And, just to get you in the mood...here are some great products as you start thinking about the next holiday coming up - Valentine's Day!

Full Heart Punch (old style)
Regular Price - $15.95
Clearance Rack Price - $9.59

Heart to Heart Punch (old style)
Regular Price - $15.95
Clearance Rack Price - $9.59

And, who doesn't love ribbon?!

Pink Pirouette 1-1/4" Grosgrain (10 yds)
Regular Price - $7.95
Clearance Rack Price - $2.99

Real Red 5/8" Grosgrain (15 yds)
Regular Price - $7.95
Clearance Rack Price - $3.19

Melon Mambo Pom Pom Trim (5 yds)
Regular Price - $6.95
Clearance Rack Price - $2.59

Melon Mambo 1/2" Polka Dot (15 yds)
Regular Price - $9.95
Clearance Rack Price - $3.99

Paper, paper, oh how we love paper!!

Love Patterns Designer Series Paper
{Real Red & Pretty in Pink - 12 sheets total}
Regular Price - $9.95
Clearance Rack Price - $1.99

Love Impressions Specialty Designer Series Paper
Regular Price - $11.95
Clearance Rack Price - $4.79

And, who could forget the Big Shot?


Hearts Set Sizzlits Die 4 Pack

Regular Price - $19.95
Clearance Rack Price - $7.99

Technically these buttons are Christmas-themed, but look at that red and pink and even more so...check out that price!!!

Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons
(48 buttons!)

Regular Price - $8.95
Clearance Rack Price - $1.79

Last, but not least...


Love Impressions Rub-Ons
{4 sheets - 2 of each design}
Regular Price - $7.95
Clearance Rack Price - $1.59

Hurry on over to take advantage of these Clearance Rack prices and get crafting on your Valentine's creations for an affordable price! Plus, there are even more products than what I've shown you here...and they just added 10 more items on Monday!

ORDER ONLINE!

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

at least I hand stamped the envelope!

I hang my head in shame and admit that I didn't hand stamp my Christmas cards this year (or last year or the year before that and so on...). Anyone want to join that club with me? As a Stampin' Up! demonstrator I always feel like I should make a handmade Christmas card, but every year it creeps up on me and it just doesn't happen.

At least I put a little personal touch on each of the envelopes I mailed out...

{back of the envelope}

Yes, I did color in each of the stars on every envelope! If I wasn't down to the wire in getting these suckers in the mail...I would have added even more color to the trees. And, yes I am crazy! Coloring in 90+ stamped envelopes would not be an easy task...glad I used a little common sense and decided to fore-go that idea!

{front of the envelope}

However, I did design my own photo card! I wish I could say it was with My Digital Studio, but unfortunately I cannot! One of these days I'll be brave enough to open the shrink wrap to that CD and play with it a little...I just haven't gotten to that point yet!

Here is our 2011 Christmas card...


I do take the time to write a little update on our family each year,
so that should count for something, right?

Monday, December 26, 2011

Craft Bazaar Round-Up 2011

In mid-November I took part in the 3rd Annual MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Holiday Bazaar & Bake Sale. I spent A LOT of time getting things ready and I ask myself every year why I keep adding this to my "to do" list during the busy holiday months! After it's all over, I enjoy the benefits of having a little bit of extra spending money to replenish my craft supplies (and add a few new things, of course), but the process of getting everything completed is so time consuming and I feel like my family gets the short end of the stick during this time! On the flip side, I love creating and helping others send a handmade gift and have some leftovers for me to use as gifts, too! But, I'm pretty sure next year I'll be doing things a little differently...which most likely means I won't be participating in any bazaars. (I've already asked a handful of friends and my mom to keep me accountable with that!)

The plus side of doing these bazaars is having all of these fun creations to share with my blog readers! Many of these items I have already shared in my 12 Days of Christmas {Projects}. I will attach a link to any of the projects that have a step by step tutorial, so feel free to click away and save the idea for next year if it inspires you!

Since my first bazaar was the weekend before Thanksgiving, I had a few Thanksgiving treats out for sale, too!

{Turkey Treats}

{Hershey's Nugget Trays}

{M & M's Skinny Bag with Tag}

I realized this year that I had a lot of candy treats!!

Here are the Christmas goodies...





{Top Note Christmas Candy Corn Bags}



{Fill Your Own Treat Bags}

{Gift Bags with Matching Tags}




{Gift Card Holders}


{Snowman Gift Bags}

{Covered List Pads}

{Owl Post-It Note Keychains}

{Tooth Fairy Tins}

{Christmas Easel Card}

{Misc. Christmas Cards}


This year's set up turned out a little different than last year's, but I liked the final product! I was able to borrow a table top card spinner from a friend and I packed along the 6 cube shelf for the extra 4 feet in my "10 foot" allotted space. It worked perfectly!

{The Complete Set Up}
{Up Close of Shelf}

{The Business Side of Things}

My two little loves came to visit me at the bazaar.
I love having my own little fan club!


I also participated in a second smaller bazaar (it was called a Holiday Shopping Party), but I didn't get any pictures of that set up. All of the handmade crafts were mostly the same except for the addition of these cute things...


Please feel free to leave me a comment if you have any questions!

Hope each of you had a Merry Christmas!!
// ADDED BY RYAN ON 1-3-14 // END ADDED BY RYAN 1-4-14