Life has gotten in the way of me posting. The past 2 days have actually been busy and emotionally draining.

I have a lot on my plate reguarding Alexa. We have a day of appointments tomorrow, and I have about a million things concerning me with her.

Its too much to go into tonight. If you can keep her in your thoughts and prayers, and I pray for good news tomorrow. I can’t tell if my upset is just in my head, or my intuition. There are always FEARS and risk of her cancer coming back. We have had a rough few days, and will get a full workup tomorrow. I feel (or think I feel) in my heart that she will be OK. I know she is in God’s care. Sometimes that is hard to just give it up to him and have trust.

These days are never easy. There are possible other reasons for things, I just always have to wait

UGH! I just want to scream or cry. Not sure which. I think I just need some sleep. I know this may not even make sense to anyone but this is where I am at today.

Till tomorrow.

Today I have a special post sharing one of my favorite family holiday traditions!

View Nichole’s blog for samples from all the Papertrey Ink design team members 😀

You may not know this but home-made waffles are BEYOND my most favorite breakfast food-ever! Last year Jason bought me an AMAZING Krups Waffle Maker. I was in HEAVEN! It seems like EVERY time we would go get breakfast they either didn’t have waffles or weren’t serving them any longer that day :C BIG BUMMER!

When I lived in Massachusetts, and was pregnant with Noah, I LIVED at the TD Waffle house. Now that we live in no man’s land, there is nothing like that “in these here parts” LOL!

SO, this is one of my favorite gifts ever. Every Sunday Jay makes me waffles for breakfast. Isn’t that sweet? Now I will share my favorite one. I guess that is alos yet another tradition we have! Big breakfasts every weekend 😀 YUM-O

Apple Streusel Waffles

Archer Farms ( the products made by Target) have the most AMAZING Apple Streusel Waffle mix-ever! I am not an “apple” person but this is total heaven for me. If you read my blog you know how much I adore Archer Farms products, especially for the holidays, and gift giving. Its like affordable gourmet food, on a drive-thru budget! LOL!

OK so you are wondering WHY all this is so important.

Well, Nichole asked us all on the Papertrey Ink design team, to create a item that shared an important family tradition that we celebrate with out families. Now I have many of the same traditions most of you do. The special ornament for each child every year, making reindeer food, Christmas cookies for Santa, watching Its a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story every year, and many many more things. I decided to share a new tradition we started with you that I just love, and hope lasts for years to come.

Well with my waffle maker last year, we began a new family tradition with my family. Every Christmas morning, bright and early, my family comes to house, to have a breakfast buffet! Each person brings their favorite breakfast item to get cooked up and share with the family! The grandparents get to watch kids  excitement as they open their gifts, and share a relaxed family meal, before yet a another new year approaches. Its such a cherished time. Our kids are small only once, and this time will pass before we know it.

I hope this tradition continues long after that, into the time I will come to my own children’s home to watch my grandchildren open gifts Christmas morning.

It is just another day for family and sharing.

So that being said I know I will always be making waffles of some sort!

 I also thought it would be nice to re-package up that mix (streusel topping is in a separate baggie inside), and decorate the jars of it, to be sent home with my family members, as a thank you, and so they can be reminded of this time on another day, when they have this for breakfast! Much prettier than a big ole green box of waffle mix, don’t you think? AND no cooking required for the gift (hehehe-perfect to me).

I stamped my Boards & Beams set, along with elements from Home for the Holidays to create a wrap for my jar! The fence, trees, and snowmen wrap all the way around 😀 It’s really pretty in person. The icicles are done in white embossing powder, then re-stamped and embossed with iridescent ice embossing powder. I also did a few snow drifts. Perfectly tied with a pure poppy satin bow!

I love the little tag I made using one of my most favorite gift giving sets-Holiday Treats

I think these make great teacher gifts too! It is after all APPLE Struesel! LOL! I know teachers hate the apple things, but this may be one stereotype they could fall in love with.

This is the top of the jar. It directs you on how to prepare the mix. This can also be for pancakes!

I just printed the info, and cut with my nestabilities.

AND YES I realize I put “pancakes”  instead of waffles in my directions. I’m changing that! But hey thats what happens when you are up at 2am, typing directions for a project. It doesn’t matter as the recipe is the exact same for both versions of the mix.

I am really happy with how this turned out, and think they are just the cutest gifts for my family!

I got my jars at Target for $3.99 and the mix was also $3.99! SO, for a whopping $8, you have a super yummy gift 😀 too!

I hope you consider the family breakfast buffet as a new tradition for your family too. It doesn’t have to be JUST a Christmas thing. It could also be a random time of year, such as a Mother’s day thing.

Thanks for checkin in here, and letting my share more on my life 😀

I’d love to hear about some random tradition any of you have that you would like to share with us here! Maybe even a favorite family dish, that brings a smile to your face. You may hook me into a new recipe! Now that would be cool.

I’ll be back later with another post!

Its my dog Daisy’s birthday today 😀 She is off to the groomers, and I made her a card. I know, I’m lame, but I love her. I even got her presents! LOL! Be back with photos 😀

Well here we are with another amazing release from Papertrey Ink.

Every month I get so filled up with idea’s upon just glancing at the sets!! Every month I fall in love. This month is no different!! We have all shared many projects with you on the days leading up to today. I hope you were inspired to get some home-made holiday gifts done-EARLY!!

I have another special post for tomorrow, but today I will share my projects used for the release!

I love hearing your feedback on what was your favorite. It always makes my day 😀 We all work so hard to give you fresh and innovative ideas, that are practical and easy to do.

I am going to share my thoughts that went into each project. I hope you like them 😀 

NOTE: ALL ITEMS used in my descriptions can be purchased at Papertrey Ink

Made of Snow

I LOVE this set!! Its my favorite from this months release. The many faces and ways you can get that snowman to look is just awesome. Each one has a new personality, just like the real thing. Really cool.

I case you missed it, check out my Cocoa To Go! set My #1 fave from the release!

Pretty in Pink

Who says snow”men” have to be blue? I went with non traditional colors for this one and just LOVE it. I think this is my favorite color combo and to combine it with this winter set is great. I think she is just perfect in pink. The snowy hills are all layered and 3D!  She is just so soft and cute.

I plan on doing many more things with this set, so stay tuned 😀

Pretty in Pink Snow Girl

Supplies:

Stamps- Made of Snow, Merry & Bright (the little snowflakes in bkgd)
Cardstock- PTI select white, Dark Chocolate, Sweet Blush
Ink- Palette black, Dark Chocolate and copic markers
Ribbon- Sweet Blush Twill
Tools- CM wavy cutter, circle and snowflake punch
Other- pink glitter by stampendous, 2 way glue pen, fun flock, adhesive rhinestones, shimmery pastels for cheeks

Merry & Bright

OH man! Did Melissa ever make an awesome tree set. I so love this set!! Seriously fabulous. Everything comes together so easily, and I love the retro look it has.

I decided to use elements form 3 different trees for this.

Retro Christmas CD Gift Set

What is better than popping on a CD full of your favorite Christmas songs? Spreading the joy that gives you by sharing a CD of your favorite songs with someone special as they prepare for the holidays! I love listening to Christmas music with the kids as well decorate the house and the tree!  I decided that a card and CD holder would be a great gift for anyone 😀

Retro Christmas CD Gift Set

Supplies:

Stamps- Merry & Bright
Cardstock- PTI select white, Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate
Ink- Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate
Ribbon- Dark Chocolate twill
Tools- Scor-Pal, Martha Stewart border punch, coluzzle circle cutter
other- CD

I have to say I think these colors are going to be in my very own Christmas cards this year! Better get the kids photos done soon!

LOVE-Pure Poppy, Sweet Blush and Dark Chocolate! So cool. I also loved this simple retro card. Its high on my faves list!

So here we have the CD case I made-to match.

Unfold and here you go! The ribbons tie the top closed, and prevent the CD from sliding out. A super project for when you are tight on time, and want to mass produce a gift.

Here is my completed CD 😀  Isn’t it cute?

Mazel Tov

Well you may have seem my gift ensemble with this set found HERE.

I think Nichole did an amazing job collaborating for this set. While I am not Jewish and I am so happy to have a set like this to create items for those who are! I am sure many will appreciate her efforts for this set.

The image is called the Tree of Life. I think it is my favorite symbol from the set. It is so pretty and elegant! I wanted a card for “anytime” to send to my Jewish friends. I felt this was perfect. I gold embossed this image, then colored with shimmery pastels. I added some adhesive rhinestones to tree centers. I think they make it look elegant. I used the dotted border of the image to inspire my piercing in my design. I am very happy with the end result of this.

Rustic Snowflakes

Despite its “rustic” name, I wanted my design to be soft and subtle.

I made this little gift set that is sure to brighten up someone’s winter blue’s away!

I LOVE matchy matchy stuff, and I think this is apparent with this release! LOL! It really just ties it all together and shows people the thought you put into their gift.

The card-

I used versamark and shimmery pastels in my favorite non-traditional Holiday colors-pink, purple, and pale blue! I used a simple layout with the snowflakes border stamp for a quick and easy card.

This lantern was purchased at Target 2 years ago, in the $1 section! I bought like 12 of them! LOL! I am so happy I did. See hoarding CAN pay off! LOL! For this lantern I stamped the glass window panes, using white stazon, then brushed on my shimmery pastels!! Isn’t it stunning?

I found this rainbow ribbon for a perfect match. I wanted the hole in the top closed, so I stamped a matching panel to fit inside, and dress it up a bit, as I decided a battery operated tea light would be best for this project! No worries about FIRE with this project! Plus the kids could make these!!  SO EASY!

Here it is all lit up! Isn’t it just so pretty. Image this on a table or hanging up. maybe line up several for a nice ambiance. You can usually find lanterns like this in the Home & Garden section of your hardware store! Winter usually means a nice discount!

Now Home for the Holidays-

I do have a special project, but that has to wait for tomorrow. I can tell you that the set (along with boards and beams) is just AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love it.

Well I am wiped. Its been a crazy week. We had some tight deadlines but we did it 😀 I hope you leave here with some sort of inspiration 😀 I really LOVE what I do. You have no idea the joy it brings me. I don’t know what I would do without my stamping!!! Most likely my brain would explode!

I do usually make more than shared here, but like to spread it out a bit so you don’t go into overload!! Be sure to check in on all the design team members for their amazing creations!

Stay tuned tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

August-on through till Christmas is generally my most crazy, non-stop time for me. It begins with our hot air balloon rally, then I know push time is before me. It starts with Amber’s birthday, then Jay and I have our wedding anniversary. Before you know it we are back in school and joining all the activities that come with that.  I don’t get to even breath, then it is Alexa’s birthday end of September, with Jay’s birthday 2 days later. Then we have Halloween, with Noah’s birthday close behind. Fast forward to Thanksgiving……… before I even finish my Thanksgiving dinner it seems like its Christmas. Let’s not forget all the companies I work for get me gearing towards these holidays while Im still trying to sip ice tea in the hot summer sun, with us getting holiday stuff end of July to early August. CRAZY!

So I got Amber’s birthday stuff out of the way, time to focus on Alexa.

I originally was going to combine their party at the beauty school, then realized that would not be fair to Alexa, as she isn’t as into all that as Amber is.

So I asked Alexa what she wanted to do for her party, and she popped out with the idea of a bowling party! HMMMM. She loves Wii bowling and is really good. So I called the place yesterday, got it all booked and  the invites whipped out in about 1 1/2 hours. Here they are!

Alexa goes bowling

Keep reading and you’ll “get it”

When mom is a stamper, kids get spoiled with their invite ideas, let me tell you! This one had me quite stumped for cute ideas. BOWLING!?! What on earth can I do for that?

Alexa informed me she wanted them to be purple and green, and use her groovy girl image from Alexa’s set.

FYI-ALL procedes from Alexa’s set benefit Pediatric Leukemia and Lymphoma research-check out her story HERE

Um, OK Alexa, I’ll see what I can do.

I love the pop out style, DIRECTIONS HERE, and thought it would be cute to get her Groovy girl bowling! So I printed my info, then made the pop up. I wanted the back portion to look like a bowling lane, with the pins, and bowling ball at the end.

The pop out standing up

PROBLEM: I have NO bowling sets!

So-keeping these simple-they are going to a bunch of kids, and trying to keep with my vision, I masked a bowling alley lane 😀 I then used some extra rubbah from a set I had not finished trimming, and hand cut a bowling pin! I stamped the center pin first, then without reinking stamped the other 2. OK not perfect, but not awful either. I was actually kind of happy with it.

Then came the bowling ball. I just used my 3/4 circle punch, dotted 3 holes for the finger grips, then sponges the ball edges for depth. Slap in a dimensional and you SORT OF have a bowling alley!

Cool huh?

Yes I had to give you 3 different photos-

I think she will love them no matter what. I think, if I didn’t stamp how would she get her awesome bowling party invites?! That would be a shame!

I only made 9, and fear I may need more. I have no idea how many girl friends she has in school. Some aren’t in her class, so I may have to pop out a few more this week when I send them to school. I had to get them done since her party is the end of this month. 2 Weeks in a row will be the girls parties.

I think for Noah we will do a Costume party-maybe. He is the real picky one!

Thanks for letting me share how I interpreted Alexa’s groovy girl bowling party! I am HOPING I can design a super cook bowling bag style party favor box to put some treats in! Now THAT would be cool! Then personalize with each girls name 😀 Oh the ideas are flowing.

Hope you have a super weekend, and that I see you at the Papertrey Ink party tonight!

Thanks everyone for checking in!

I have 2 posts today! One being a special gift set for Papertrey Ink, and then of course our Saturday Sketch! So scroll down so you don’t miss it!

 Oh, and if you haven’t been here in a few days, you will really want to scroll all the way down! I have been SO BUSY!! There are some great gift giving ideas, so check them out.

Thanks for reading/commenting.

Enjoy the weekend.

Nichole asked her team of designers to create a holiday gift that was thoughtful, and one we would be proud to present to someone. I put much thought into my creation, and I hope it is well recieved.

Rosh Hashanah Celebration Basket

I decided I wanted to be a bit “different“, and try something I have never done! I decided that I would branch out and use Mazel Tov as my set for the gift. “I” am not Jewish, but am so giddy to now have an elegant and beautiful set to make a gift for ANY occasion that my Jewish friends may celebrate through the years!

Rosh Hashanah is this month on September 30th, so I felt it was appropriate to recognize  that holiday.

Nichole provided us with a tip sheet that I found do helpful.

This explains what each holiday is.

 Rosh Hashanah (New Year)-is the most celebrated holiday in the Jewish religion.  The Jewish New Year

I know-I am never creative with my blog post name on sketch days! I don’t know WHY! It isn’t really necessary though is it?

Anyway, I have a very different sketch for you today. I have to be honest-it was a difficult one for me, but I did manage to get 2 samples done for you!! WAHOO!! I usually make my sketches FIRST, create after. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the sketch, it was just a little challenging. I think it was because I had a few images I HAD to use for cards I needed. Having said that, I HAD to use my Bella’s. These two in particular. I have missed them so much lately . I also had birthday cards that needed making, so figured it was the perfect time!

mytimess05 is the keyword, should you need one for uploading to SCS.

YOGABELLA-she has gone uninked for longer than I care to admit. But I LOVE her.

Deep Breath

This one is for my friend Erin. Her birthday was the 13th. I bought her this awesome workout video (and medicine ball)I have been doing for 4 weeks (hello lost at least 3 inches everywhere in 4 weeks! Not too shabby eh?! I forgot to measure when I originally started but have lost 2 sizes :D). It is called Melt it off with Mitch Gaylord. OH boy let me tell you, it works!! I still can’t do some of the exercises but try to do what I can. There are 4 or 5 different workouts, and even one called the Perfect 10, which can be done in 10 minutes. Seriously if you can’t find 10 minutes, thats insane.

So, anyway……she had a baby a few months ago and is having a hard time shedding the last of the baby weight.

NOTE: “I” don’t think that-those were HER words! LOL! I am not one of those people who is like “HERE! You need to lose some weight!” Its something she talks about every time we talk. It has worked wonders for me, so I hope it helps her as well.

So that being said I thought Yogabella was the perfect addition to the gift. I wish I had owned weightwatchabella, but sadly I don’t :C She is on “the list” though. I did change my card a bit to fit my theme and elements of my card. This is a 4 3/4 X 5 1/2 size. The goal is inspiration! LOL!

Next up, my friends son is turning 2!! We have his party next weekend, so by a miracle I am ahead of the game! I think he looks just like this boy. (Sorry for the photos-I took them this morning with little lighting, due to sheer laziness)

Birthday Boy

This is miniwagonfella. Yes, another uninked for too long. I think he is just the cutest though, and really fit my layout! I was inspired by my pack of paper by Making Memories. Its great boy themed party paper!! I used my cuttlebug baby face alphabet to create the #2. The sentiment is from Its a celebration set.

I wanted to do what I call a faux layer-so I pierced the “faux” layer for some more detail. I have done this on many of my creations over the years when I am “stumped” for a “little” something, but don’t want to over do it. This is usually a great solution. Plus I felt in this case, it brings your eye to the #2.

I think his mom will like the card. Let’s be realistic, 2 year olds don’t care. I make cards more for self satisfaction thatn anything 😀

SO, there you have it!

I hope you like the sketch today, and get some time to give it a go! Send us a link here so we can all view your take on it.

Also be sure to check out the Sketch Team girls for more amazing ideas 😀

As always, thanks for reading!

Tomorrow I will share Alexa’s birthday invitations. I am so excited since she hasn’t seen them yet! They came out cool considering our “theme” for this year.

Stay tuned! 

This is a gorgeous technique, that is SUPER easy to do : Etched Glass -using stamps!

Over the months I have received many emails asking for a how to, on this technique. Today I will show you just how simple it really is, with step by step instruction/ photos.

To start, this was a simple, round candle canister. I bought this for $4.99, and turned it into a pretty candle holder that would look fabulous anywhere in the house! If you purchased an etched glass canister it would cost triple that! Now you can make your own. With the holidays coming up, these would make fabulous inexpensive gifts for family, friends and teachers.

The possibilities for the items you can alter with this technique is limitless. So I hope you enjoy learning.

Supplies:

Stamp of choice-First Fruits, Glass container of choice (or mirror!), versmark ink, clear embossing powder, embossing buddy, heat tool, Armour Etch cream, sponge brush, Eclipse Tape (optional)

EDITED TO ADD: Etching cream can be found at Michaels in the section near the soap/candle isle.  It took me an hour to find it because I did not think it was in that isle 😀

Before we get started there some things you should consider:

If you are heating glass, make sure is it a heat safe glass. Many times glass will crack or even explode when exposed to extreme heat!

Do not hold glass while heating. It gets very hot, and you could burn yourself.

Use a heat safe surface when heating your item. You don’t want to burn your work area.

IMAGES:

Carefully examine the images you want to use. You don’t want to choose too finely detailed of an image because it can be hard to define what the image was. You need a nice balance of bold, and detailed. Consider the overall look of the completed project.

Step 1)

Clean glass with windex, and dry well! You don’t want ANY finger prints anywhere. They will show up!

Step 2) OPTIONAL

If necessary you may want to mask the glass. I use Eclipse Tape. It is sticky enough, and leaves no residue when removed.

Step 3)

Rub embossing buddy all over glass. This prevents embossing powder from sticking to unwanted areas, and ruining your etching. It will also show you if you do have finger prints on your glass, and need to re-clean it.

Step 4)

Carefully stamp the image in versamark ink. Because Papertrey Ink uses clear acrylic images you can see the image pressing into the glass! Since they are acrylic, they are also easier to stamp onto round surfaces.

Sometimes this take PRACTICE! Glass is slippery. So take your TIME stamping the image.

(NO photo for this step since it is hard enough stamping, let along photographing too! LOL!)

Step 5)

Apply a generous amount of embossing powder.

 Tap of excess.

Step 6)

Heat set the image.

You will need to heat it until the powder turns SMOOTH-just like the glass.

CAUTION: Glass will get very hot! Don’t handle while heat setting, it is best to heat it on a heat safe surface.

NOTE: Also when doing more than one image on a surface, it is easier to heat set each one as you go. Keep in mind that the glass stays hot, and the melted powder remains warm, so you want to avoid smudging it, and avoid squishing it onto the table or getting more embossing powder on it, until the glass is cooled. Just be careful.

Step 7)

Once glass is COOLED-then apply a nice thick layer of etching cream.

Make sure you coat it thick and evenly!

 The directions say leave on for 5 minutes. DON’T LISTEN TO THAT! LOL!

It really takes at LEAST 20 minutes to get a nice etched coating. If you don’t let it sit long enough it will hardly looked etched.

Step 8)

After you let it sit, go rinse the cream off under cold water. Take your fingernail, and scrap off the clear embossing powder. It will peel off.

 Here is the finished glass.

Sorry for the photo. I wanted you to see the detail, and it is very difficult to get a nice picture of something like this so you see the detail.

I tied a Spring Moss satin ribbon around the top, then filled the bottom with pine cones and bought a battery tea light to put inside. No flame to worry about.

Now here it is lit up from the top view

Isn’t that so pretty?

Now it is your turn! Send me a link here if you decide to try it.

I hope you enjoyed learning all about etching cream here. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you are inspired in some way to get an early start on those holiday gifts.

Amber’s 4th Birthday invitations

Put on your party dress, and join us for a day of pampering!

Its hard to give a 4 year old the “burden” of choosing a stamp set for their birthday theme. It is so hard to choose, and what they want changes minute to minute!

Amber turned 4 in August, but we are having her party in October. A summer birthday party usually has people too busy to come, and September is crazy for families to get back in the swing of things.

ANYWAY-Amber is have a “Day of Beauty” party! We are going to the Empire Beauty School, where the girls will get manicure’s, pedicure’s, their hair done all fancy, and a little lip gloss and blush (if the mom says it is OK prior to the party). Isn’t that SO cool? Its really inexpensive when you go to a teaching school rather than a beauty parlor, so if this is something you want to do I recommend looking into that option. Its cost literally more than 50% LESS for me to this this there (with MORE services included) than at the fancy salon!!

 I read a fabulous book on birthday parties called Peppers and Pollywogs. It is really helpful when planning parties, and super for the proper way to avoid a problem!! She answers those questions about how to handle certain issues that can arise such as the fact that I should ask BEFORE the party about the make-up thing. I never would have thought to do that BEFORE, and that way it won’t be offered if it is an issue. AND it doesn’t put anyone in a pressure situation The book is great, and as a mom who really loves doing cool stuff for my kids parties I enjoyed the helpful ideas and guidelines. It even helps with how much to spend on parities, and gifts etc. Seriously check it out.

That brings me to the stamp set.

I told Amber to pick what she wanted for her set.

First choice from me was Dog Plate #1. Amber agreed it was cute. Then she saw my Lily (aka Amber) stamp set. She then decided Lily (um, Amber-which looks like Lily if she were a cartoon! LOL!) holding a balloon was the best choice.

I was a tad relieved we didn’t use the dog set because coloring 14 of those would NOT be fun. I DISLIKE GREATLY mass producing. You have NO IDEA. So we were going with Lily.

Then, while at one of my many weekly visits to Target (yes, its a sickness. I believe there is a large unseen magnet that draws me in there several times a week), we were of course in the craft section, when Amber spotted this set

HOLY! MOLY!!! Yes you are looking at an entire acrylic Disney Princess set!!!!

Now if you ever priced these stamps wood mounted, you would know that they run $8-$16 EACH! This set was only $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes I am that excited. My girls are in LOVE with these Disney images, and to score a set like that is INSANE! SO RUN!

OK so, Amber see’s the set and say “OH! MY! WORD!” “MOM! Look at that!” (yes she talks just like me, its hilarious)”We HAVE to buy that!” (spoken like a true shopper. I am proud!) I then picked it up and said “Yes, we do!” At this point Jason just wanted to vomit. The banter back and forth gave him future flashes of his future when Amber is a teenager, and we will be shopping, with HIS credit card! LOL!

Anyway, we got the set and Amber decided she wanted Sleeping Beauty for her image. So now we went through 3 images, to finally decide on this. So to work I went!

Amber’s favorite color is pink. So that was what color she wanted ,which was perfect for sleeping beauty. I think her invites came out so pretty! We used a Bazzill cardstock with a shimmer- Romance is the color I believe. Her crown and necklace just sparkle away (you can’t see by the photo though). I will say coloring ALL of the images wasn’t that fun, but they look great! One of the mom’s even asked where I found that sticker! THAT was quite the compliment 😀

SO now we wait for the party. It will be so fun. No prep or cleaning up from me-we just show up with the cake and ice cream. I am not doing favors either. The party is enough I believe. OK MAYBE I will put a mini nail-polish in the cup cakes, but that is it.

Now I have to plan for Alexa’s birthday party (which her b-day is the 29th of this month), so I best get crackin.

I have SO MUCH more stuff to share, but only so much time. Its crazy. Im going to be doing like 2 posts a day, I swear!!

OK I really need to run-literally, so talk to you later!

WOW! Was I ever FREAKIN out. I lost my Internet/email ALL day yesterday, and did not know when I was going to get it back. This is the post that almost wasn’t!! There is nothing like working hard to prepare a project, to then have something go wrong! Well it is back so I can share my project for today (only after a mini panic attack!!). I have been working hard on releases and have much catching up to do, so bear with me OK!

I am so excited to share a peek at my favorite set from this upcoming release from Papertrey Ink! Be sure to check the senior design teams blogs for more peeks this week. 

The set featured in todays post will go LIVE on the 15th! Be sure to check Nichole’s blog for detailed instructions on the how-to’s. SO EASY!!

The set is named-Made of Snow

What is more fun than building a snowman in the winter? Well how about staying warm and creating your own with stamps!!! YES!! Build a snowman. Nichole designed this set that allows you to EASILY create your own snowman!! All the accessories and faces are perfect. Just wait till you see it.

I had way too much fun with this set let me tell you! I am in LOVE!!

Cocoa To Go!

Is this not adorable?! I was just bouncin when it was all finished. It turned out better than I thought it would.

The items used to create this Cocoa To Go-carrier are linked throughout the post. Just click on the highlighted words!

I never created any of those coffee carriers that were popular about 2 years ago. So I decided that would be a fun 3D project for this month. You know me and my boxes 😀 I LOVE making packaging. I hope you like my version, which I felt was just perfect for this months theme. We all love “snowman soup” and this is just a great way to present those types of gifts! AND why reinvent the wheel of a great gift?!

Here are my very own “Cocoa to go” instructions.

1-Cut 2 strips of Poppy cardstock size 4 X 11

2-Score along the 11 inch side at 3 inches, on both pieces. This creates the bottom of each panel

3-Use your oval nestability to make 2 handles in the top portion of the strips. You may also round top corners if you wish.

Photo above of completed steps 1-2-3

4- Now cut 2 pieces of poppy cardstock 3 1/2 X 11

5- Along the 3 1/2 inch side, score at 1/2 inch ( do this on both)

6-Along 11 inch side score at 1/2 * 3 1/2 * 7 1/2 * 10 1/2 (do this on both)

Photo above of completed steps 4-6

7- OPTIONAL STEP : Use a 1/2 circle nestability to create a cut out in the front panel. (do this on both)

NOTE: This is done on the panel front that measures 4 inches across

8-See photo below. Snip bottom score pieces up to score line. Score all folds. (do this on both)

Now it is time to assemble!

9- See photo above. Adhere the 3 ends of your box, and adhere them to the BACK of your tall piece with the handle, at the bottom. (do this on both)

10- Fold bottom in, and adhere edges of  front panel to the bottom. See above photo (do this on both)

Then this is what you have! 2 complete To Go pieces.

Now adhere the 2 pieces together-back to back! I use a good redline tape. Be generous with your adhesive!!

I find it easiest to lay them on their sides, and line up from the bottom 😀 Then put your hands inside the To Go carrier, and rub side panels together. This is done to ensure a good seal.

Now you have the FUN part! Designing it!!

Another note: I did add a decorative panel to the bottom of my carrier to finish it off. I hate messy projects.

First things first- You need some disposable coffee cups! You can find them at a variety of places, for some great prices. I purchased mine at Target, set of 12 (?) for $3.99. They are by Archer Farms. I personally LOVE this line of products Target carries.

I then decorated them with my little snowmen

This is a very simple part of the project, but you can go all out if you like that. I just stamped my snowman pieces and colored with Copic markers. I then die cut them with my circle nestabilities. I thought if the snowmen held hearts it would go SUPER with my sentiment (see below). Once that was done I added “snow with a glue pen, and glitter, then adhered to my cups, to cover the Archer Farms logo!

For my snowman in the front-I stamped him just like the one on the cup-but cut his entire body out instead. Don’t you LOVE him? Look at the sentiment! SO cute!

Now for the cocoa cones!

I love using disposable frosting bags to fill with fun goodies in all year. I made the cocoa cones using them. I just stamped the top with some snowflakes (cannot see well in photos-sorry) with white StazOn, then filled with an Archer Farms Hot Cocoa powder. I then crushed up some peppermint Ghirardeli chocolates, and layered in some jumbo marshmallows!! (can you believe I didn’t even taste a niblet of a single piece of chocolate?!) Those are the best because they don’t melt so fast. Tied the bags closed with my saddle stitched poppy ribbon. I then added a little tag that says “just add water”. That is from a MUST HAVE set called Holiday Treats. I proceeded to put then into the cups which were also filed with some shiny bag filler, which I adore!! I used the same filler in the holder to take up some space 😀

The side panels use a new-to be released- Holiday Vintage Prints patterned Paper collection in Polka dot petite. I was what inspired my snowman’s scarf colors!! Just perfect!  I stamped the Holiday Treats image on the sides to dress it up a little more as well.  That pretty much completed my project! A very clean and simple gift set for ANYONE!!

Switch it up with coffee, or tea…………..maybe put CANDY in the cups instead. Endless ideas.

Well that is all for now!! I do have yet ANOTHER Papertrey post tomorrow night :D, and more release things to share as we are allowed. This release will definitely get you ready for the holidays! I swear!

Later!!