Kraft Thank You Banner

Hello Friends -

I'm back with another fun project, a banner.

I am hosting another teacher appreciation lunch for the Wonderkid's school.  This one is much smaller, only the seven preschool teachers but I still like to dress-up the room.

Here is a close-up of the leaves in the corners of each pennant.

As you can see, all the edges have been inked.  All of the pattern paper came from a stack from Micheal's.  It is part of their partnership with DCWV.  The name of this lovely stack is Night and Fall. It has some Halloween papers and the rest are this lovely fall motif.  My only frustration, they don't sell the pack of matching solid cardstock.

The pennant and leaf cuts are all from SVGCuts.com.  I love this Serene Leaf set.  There are about a dozen different leaves which I've used over and over again.  I started out cutting the maple leaves in multiple sizes and the oak, aspen and others but then I decided it was too much.  I went back to just the oak leaves in a small size.

The baker's twine is from the Kraft Outlet and can be found here.

I'm entering this in the Kraft Journal Challenge - "thanks".  I actually started this project last week with the intention of entering it in last week's challenge -- "banners" but the week became far too busy and I couldn't pull it together.  I wanted to make something I really liked so I chose not to rush for last week.  I think it was worth the wait.  I recommend checking out some of the other incredible creations at the Kraft Journal.

This is going to be a busy week but I hope to be back to show you some more crafty projects.  I'll be making some of my Christmas cookies which can be stored in the refrigerator until I'm ready to put them in tins.  I also need to get ready for our annual trip to the Colorado mountains.  Well, I just made myself crazy thinking about all I need to do.  Back to the grindstone.

Dear Santa T-Shirt

Hello Friends -

I'm unbelievably excited about a little project I created today.

I'm certain you are now looking at this and thinking, "Yeah, I've seen those before.  She needs to get a life."  Well, we can debate whether I need to get a life or not but...

The reason I am so excited is this is a piece of paper the Wonderkid wrote on.  I then took his actual writing and scanned it into a JPEG.  The JPEG was then traced directly into SCAL and voila:

The Wonderkid's writing on his own shirt.  Don't you absolutely love it?  I will say, it took awhile to cut so I think I might want to figure out if there is a way to even it out so it cuts ALOT faster.

I'm just so pleased with myself.  I really can't see straight.  What do you think?

Sympathy Card - Crane Mask

Hello Friends -

There are two types of cards that everyone complains about needing to make, Sympathy cards and cards for men.  Well, what about sympathy cards for men and boys?

I was asked to make four different sympathy cards which would be used for four members of the same family -- two teenagers, the daughter and wife of the gentleman that passed.

As long as I was doing one, I thought I would try to do a few of them in each style.

To make this first card I made two masks by cutting images from the Pagoda Cricut cartridge.  The crane worked very well but the bamboo was a bit more of an issue.  Because it wasn't a silhouette it wanted more detail than could be accomplished with this process.

I inked the bamboo in a couple of Distress Inks.  The crane is also Distress Ink, Black Soot.

This is such a simple way to make a card but one that I often forget.  Making the mask really couldn't be simpler.  You can use scissors, an electronic cutting machine or a die cutter.  Think of all the cool things you could make with a piece of transparency and a cutter.

What is your thought on these cards?

Snowmen at Humbug Hall

Hello Friends -

It feels like I've been away from Humbug Hall for far too long (it just the difference between getting DT items in and squeaking in at the end of the challenge).  I almost missed the deadline but then I saw the incredible creation by Popsicle Toes.  While it reminded me I needed to get my cards photographed and all, I almost chucked them once I saw Donna's deliciousness.  Oh my, she calls it a quick and easy card.  My mind doesn't even get to the point of making such yumminess.

Anyway, enough blathering.  Here are my cards.  They all use digis from Di's Digis which can be found here.

This one is my favorite.  The paper is perfect, a lovely blue with snowmen all over it.  I also thought the sentiment worked well.  It is from Fiskar's Season's Greetings.  It is one of the new ones.

This one has a little bling.  I used some of my Martha Stewart Christmas paper.  It is a nice bright red.  I've been in a mood to use that paper this week.

Finally, another version of the Snowman and Penguin hugging.

This sentiment is from Unity Stamps and Jillibean Soup.  You really can't go wrong when you combine those two.   And, did you know Jillibean Soup has started selling digis?  Oh my, I can't wait to play with those.

OK, back to my Advent Calendars. I'm hoping to be able to show a few of them this week.

WOYWW - Advent Calendars

Hello Friends -

It is that time of week, the day when crafters around the globe open up their work spaces so you can poke around and see what is going on.

Here is my workstation this morning.  It is in full on creation mode.  The holidays have hit us with a vengeance. If you get a closer look, we have...

this week's cards for the ladies at Humbug Hall.  I'm still trying to get my snowmen turned into actual cards.  One has made it but I haven't found the perfect paper for the other two, yet.

And on this side, we have...

Two advent calendars needing to be put together.  You can see two of the finished ones right behind the front piece of the unfinished one.  I have quite a few of these to get done (I showed one to a lovely lady at the Wonderkid's school and she bought 6 -- yippee!!!).

Here is another picture of the pieces...

and now we have the "auxillary" work space...

I love being able to stand and work on my projects but sometimes there is a ton of glueing or cutting and I want to watch TV and do my project.  That is when this breakfast tray comes out.  I have done so much damage to it, it will never see another piece of food but it works well for sitting on the couch and working.

I'm embarrassed to show a close-up of the items on the tray because you'll also see the disgusting tray but...

Don't you just love the colors on this one?  I've been in a non-traditional colors mood.

Recently, the Scrappy Jedi had a post all about die cutters.  She described her interest in the new Silhouette Cameo as "Cameo fever".  I think that is a great term.  I have a terrible case of Cameo fever, especially when I see these advent calendars and these.  If I could figure out how to get one today, I would be making those cool different calendars, until then, I'll be sticking with my SVGCuts. com calendar with SCAL.

OK, go poke around in everyone else's craft rooms.  I know Julia will have something interesting going on.  I also saw Kath's cubbyhole with all her birthday cards.

Halloween - a little late

Hello Friends -

Here are the treats I passed out at Trunk-or-Treat and on Halloween.  The Wonderkid was a Storm Trooper for Halloween so I decided the best way to bag up the candy was with these wonderful Storm Trooper toppers.  They were designed as an party invitation but I thought this worked well.

I found this design already made up by Kristen of Katydid Creativity & Paper.  You can get the SCUT files or SVGs here.  She is kind enough to share them.  Scroll down a little if you are wanting these, they are below a couple of Christmas cards.  Really, this is the correct page.

Here is the inside of the toppers with the candy stapled inside.

I didn't want the staples to show on the front so I only stapled it to the back of the topper.  They seemed to stay closed just fine.  I think they were big enough.

Here is the entire tray of goodie bags.

Here is the car decoration for Trunk-or-Treat.

I made this decoration in no time (as you can probably tell).  I needed something to decorate the car and I really couldn't come up with much.  The entire week before Halloween was a mess for me.  I found these through the Sure Cuts A Lot Forum.  They are from a couple of different fonts/dingbats at Iconian Fonts.

And now with the little Storm Trooper to hand out the candies.  He decided he didn't like the helmet so he ended up going as Luke dressed like a Storm Trooper.

Bugaboos for Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge

Hello Friends -

I have two cards for you today.  They are VERY similar but just slightly different.  Can you find the differences?

and here is the second card.

I must admit, this is going to be a quick post.  Those are all the pictures I have for you today.  As for the details, the images are freebies from Jodi over at Bugaboo Stamps.  One of the things I love about the simpler images, my coloring doesn't need to be as sophisticated.  I'm just not that good at the layering and shading and all that.  

Here is the link for the AKVs.  I'm not certain they are in there (I think these were special for Facebook Friends or newsletter recipients).  Don't forget to tell Jodi how much you like them.

The paper is from a Martha Stewart Christmas pack that I bought last year.  

I am entering these in the Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog (she was looking for something with bright colors) and the Catch the Bug Anything Goes Challenge.

Bah Humbug Die Cuts

Hello Friends -

This is my last week as a guest designer at Bah! Humbug! Challenges.  I am very sad to leave the lovely ladies of the manor but I hope you will join in some of their challenges.  It is a wonderful way to get ready for the holidays without trying to get all of your cards done at the last minute.

Today's challenge is die cuts.  I must admit, this one was tough because the possibilities seemed endless.  I could cut with my cuttlebug.  I could cut with my electronic cutter.  What to do? What to do?

So, I decided to do one of each (I was shooting for two but it just didn't happen).  The first one is an ornament shape card.  I made it using a Lettering Delights simple shape and Sure Cuts a Lot.  I'm disappointed in the way the photo came out.  In person it is all sparkly and fun.

Then I made this simple shaped card using my cuttlebug and a round Spellbinders die.  I think I learned this technique on BBTB2.  To make the base you fold your cardstock in half and then place it in the die just a little bit off.  This way it doesn't cut through the top of the card.  Then I used the next smaller die to cut out the cute Tiddly Inks image.  I can't find him in the Tiddly Inks store right now but I'm certain he is there somewhere.

Finally, I made this side step card.  I used the tutorial at Split Coast Stamper.  I must say, whenever I'm looking for a tutorial on how to make a card, I find they are likely to have it and all of their tutorials have been easy to follow.   I used my electronic cutter to make this card.  All of the images are from Cricut carts, Child's Year, Celebrations and Joy of the Seasons.

I hope you like the die cut cards and a huge thank you to the ladies of the manor.  

WOYWW - Crackers

Hello Friends -

Anyone know what showed up on my work station?  I'm guessing my friends on the other side of the pond will recognize these without trouble, however, on this side of the pond it is not easy to find these.

I received my package from Olde English Crackers.  After I made these Christmas Crackers I was on a terror to find the insides (mostly the Cracker Snaps but I decided to buy the hats at the same time).  In the US it is fairly tough to find crackers and when you do they cost an arm and a leg.  So, I was determined to make them this year.  The challenge was buying the snaps. I found a number of companies but all of them were in England and the shipping was more than the snaps.

Finally, I found these snaps in Washington State.  Yes, I had them shipped about the same distance as a trip from Jolly Ole but shipping costs made all the difference.  I haven't tested these so I can't make any guarantees but, if you want to buy them you can find them here.

I'm thinking about making some birthday cracker's for Da's birthday next month.  We'll celebrate while we are in Colorado for Thanksgiving.  Would that be just wrong?

I have a few other things on my work station but they are all for my final Bah!Humbug! Guest Designer appearance.  I thought about doing sneak peaks but honestly, I just haven't had a chance.  I hope to see you all soon.  I'm sure everyone else has far more interesting things on their work desks today.  You must go see Julia Dunnit's incredible costume for Miss Dunnit.  If you get a chance, here is where all the fun begins.

Fall Festival - Nature Masks

Hello Friends -

I have another project for you.  Recently, the Wonderkid's school had their annual Fall Festival.  It is a very traditional festival with each class having a booth where the children can make crafts.  They also have a cake walk and bake sale.  It is the only time of the year that copious amounts of sugar (or really any sugar) are allowed on campus.

Here is the post from last year's projects.

Being a slightly crafty individual, I was tasked with coming up with this year's art project for a three and four year-old class.  I've made masks for two birthday parties and they were surprisingly popular so I thought we could do them again.

Here are a few of the deisgns I provided for the kids.  The one in the bottom right corner was extremely popular.  The Wonderkid called it the fire mask but I think it was supposed to be a mardi gras/owl type of mask.  Either way, we ran out early.

I cut the masks on my electronic cutting machine using this file from Lettering Delights.  I believe Lettering Delights is having a sale so if you are interested, this might be a good time to grab them.  In the end, I cut out 200 masks with three per    8 1/2 x 11 page.

For a couple of weeks the children went throughout the campus and collected things to put on the masks.  Some of the stuff was "interesting".  They were very into some pea pods that were never going to stay on a mask but most of the stuff we made work.

It is wonderful having an entire farm as the school campus.  It means the children are able to find plenty of things in nature to look at, discover and think about.  It is one of my favorite parts of the school.

Here is one of the completed masks.

Didn't they do a wonderful job of making the masks their own?  They were so creative.  Many of them did a combination of coloring and gluing.  It seems like such a simple thing but the kids were wearing them all through the festival, getting their pictures taken in their masks and coming back to do more.

Inky Antics Honey Comb cards

Hello Friends -

I have a couple of quick cards today and they AREN'T for a challenge or a Design Team or anything else.  They are just because I made them and I thought I would share.

This card is for the Wonderkid.  He has been sending cards to everyone he knows recently (I think he single-handly plans on saving the US Postal Service).  It is so sweet to watch him color a picture, and write a message and then he gives them to me to put the "card hoppers" on the card base and he signs them and sticks them in an envelope.

So, I decided to make him a card.  Have you ever used the Honey POP from Inky Antics?  I have a bunch of it that I bought when it was all the rage, about a year ago.  I hadn't really used it but I thought it would be great for children's cards.  You can find the Honey POP here  (scroll to the bottom of the page) and they list the stamps they sell to use with it on the same page.

And here is the inside.  I'm normally not one for using all of the stamps in a set on one card but these seem to beg for more and more of them.

A bit of a closer view.

I'm still working out exactly how to get the bits and pieces to work with the honeycomb paper.

Here is the birthday card I made for one of the Wonderkid's classmates.

It isn't the best coloring in the world but the little one didn't mind too much.

I like the way the cake stand worked out but the candle ended up just a bit high.  I need to work on that before I make another one.

So, have you ever used this honeycomb paper?  What do you think of the cards?

Bah Humbug All About Boys

Hello Friends -

I have three cards for my Guest Design spot at Bah!Humbug! Challenge Blog.  This is my third week with the lovely ladies of the manor so it seems only fitting to have three cards.  The challenge was to make cards for "the boys".  I decided to do one for three different age groups.

My first one has already been claimed by the Wonderkid (although I took it back out of his card box -- the box he uses to store all the cards he makes).  He'll get it on or around Christmas.

This very sweet digi comes from Di's Digi Downloads.  It is called "Gimme Gimme".  I like the way the coloring turned out.  I normally only buy a couple of digis from a company at first because some of them are tougher to color than others.  This one didn't require extensive shading -- something I still find challenging.  The sentiment is computer generated.  

Here is a close-up of the bottom half of the card.

The sentiment font is called Harrington.  It seems very festive and Christmas like.  Do you have a favorite Christmas font that I should check out?  I'd love to know about them.  I'm fumbling around trying to find just the right ones.

The next card is for a tween boy or maybe a teenager, although the Wonderkid walked around with it oohing and aaahing for an entire day.  This image is one of my favorites from Christy over at Tiddly Inks.  I've used it before and I'm thinking I'll want to use it again.  He is called Santa's Helper -- fitting, yes?

I computer generated the sentiment, again.  This time using Jokerman.  I then cut each word up and backed it in a dark red paper.  The same paper was punched using a Martha Stewart punch to make a ribbon.  I know I should have used the corner punch and made it into an even prettier border but I wasn't up to doing the math to figure out what size I could make and where to start the punching.  I used some of the punched out pieces to decorate the top of the card.

And here is my final card for today.  It is for a guy, maybe that special guy?  Well, maybe one of my friends will want to give it to their special guy.  This digi is also from Tiddly Inks.  It isn't necessarily a Christmas image but I think it works well here.  She is called Wicked Fun.

It is very simple but I don't think guy cards work if they are too fussy.  What do you think?  Do you know of any guy that would like this card for Christmas?

WOYWW - October, Oh My

Hello Friends -

Last week I was all set to play with all the lovely folks at WOYWW.  I even took the pictures I need for the post but once again, the day escaped me.  Now, in my defense, last week was especially nutty.  I had a huge project I was working on for the lovely ladies in Humbug Hall.  If you haven't checked out the Bah! Humbug! Challenge Blog, I certainly recommend them.  And, added bonus, they have allowed me to be a Guest Designer this month.

So, I need to get my projects done for them but I also had my first paper due in a class I'm taking.  Plato had me all in a dither and finally, it was Fall Festival at the Wonderkid's school.  This is a VERY big deal for his school and as a crafty person I had a ton of responsibility.

Here are some of the pictures from last week's scrap station.

All of those tags became part of the cookbook I made.  I haven't finished decorating them, still, but I am pleased with where the cookbook is right now.  The kraft masks were for the Fall Festival.  I'll tell folks about them later.  I also need to write-up the glow in the dark Halloween decorations.

Here is one more close-up.

But that is enough about last week.  We have moved onto this week's craziness.

Here is my craft island right now.

You can see some sneak peaks of my projects for this week's Bah! Humbug! designs.  I also have a bunch of cards I'm making using water colors from the Wonderkid.  They make lovely card toppers and now I only need to add a sentiment and poof, cards from a little one.  Isn't it fun?  They are very colorful so it is tough to find anything but neutral colors to go with the card topper.

Here is the other project consuming most of my time.

I've been making chocolate covered pretzels and cookies.  I still need to get the toppers made so I can assemble them and give them away.  I am hosting a lunch for some of the teachers at the Wonderkid's school so I may use some of these then.  I may send them to work with some of the family.  The goal is not to eat them myself or let the Wonderkid eat too many.

Here is a little better shot of them.

So that is my day. Here is hoping I get everything done on time.  It is going to be close.

In case you haven't joined the lovely crafters at WOYWW here is Julia's blog so you can check out the crafty folks and poke around their desks.  Julia's been working on some amazing costumes.  I bet there are other cool projects.  I'm on my way to check things out now.  See you tomorrow for more craziness.

Christmas Cooking with Bah Humbug

Hello Friends -

I'm back with my Guest Designer projects at Humbug Hall.  I must say, the ladies of the manor have certainly made me feel welcome and loved.  They are the sweetest ladies you could find and so much fun.

So, I wanted to start off with a little treat especially for Max and Ann.  I made some Hot Buttered Rum and Mint Cocoa.

Don't you just love them?   Do you want to know what I did?  If so, grab yourself a drink, pull up a chair because this might be a long post.  I have a LOT of pictures for you today and I'm not even done.  I think you might be seeing pictures of my second project for the rest of the week.

I started this project with two small milk type bottles from Starbucks.  I bought the bottles of Frappacino at the grocery store and convinced one of my brothers to drink all of them.  I only wanted the bottles.

I filled one bottle with cocoa, marshmellows and a combination of mint chocolate chips and dark chocolate chips.  I put a cut little circle on the top wishing the recipients a Merry Christmas and then moved on to the Hot Buttered Rum mix.

I'm sorry to say there is no rum in the mix but once you add the rum and heat this up you are guaranteed to have a better evening.

Using my Sure-Cuts-A-Lot (SCAL) I printed out the tags and then cut them with my electronic die cutter.  This paper is from Little Yellow Bicycle.  It was two sided so it worked well with the box handle and on the outside of the box.  I also used it for the tag.

I knew what style of carrier I wanted but I was far too rushed to figure out how to make it on my own.  I used a file I bought from a favorite site of mine, The Cutting Cafe.  I resized it a little bit and put this one on a 12 x 24 piece of cardstock.  It ended up being about 1/2 an inch larger than I needed.

Here is the inside of the box.

The pattern paper on the bottom of the carrier is from the same piece as the handles.  This box came together like a dream.

Here is one final shot of the carrier.  I must say I love this paper.  It seems to fit well with the carrier.

And now for my Cookbook...

In my house Christmas isn't about a specific meal.  In fact, we don't focus too much on Christmas dinner.  Christmas Eve is about the rest of the family going to church and me staying home to get the presents wrapped that the Da bought on Christmas Eve day.  We have traditions around the breakfast meal and Christmas night we pull out a game of Trivial Pursuit and play while we eat cheese and crackers and shrimp and veggies (or whatever else we've picked up for the evening).

However, that doesn't mean cooking isn't an important part of our tradition.  In fact, I'm already starting to plan my baking and candy making.  I will turn 50 or more pounds of sugar into cookies and candies.   They are then carefully packaged in 30 or more Christmas tins and shipped all over the country.  This process is time consuming and a little daunting.

The Brits have decided to deport my youngest brother so by early November I should have a helping hand with this crazy process because of family weddings, travel and other unexpected issues, I'm hoping to finish all of the candy making and packaging by December 9th.  I'll let you know how that goes.

OK, back to the project.

I have wanted to make a cookbook of the recipes I use every Christmas.  In fact, I planned to do it last year when I made this cook book for my brother's Christmas present.  But you know how things go.  I ended up making the things I needed and this fell by the wayside.  Then, the Ladies of Humbug Hall said they wanted something with the cooking theme.  Well, now I had an excuse to make my cookbook.

I ended up with 20 recipes that I use every year.  After some thought, I decided I would put them on tags a la Tim Holtz.  They still need some spritzing up (both figuratively and actually) but here they are in all their glory.

Then I pulled out some regular old #10 envelopes, sealed them and cut off the end.

They looked like this with the ends cut off.

If you have a choice, I recommend ones that don't have a printed inside but it wasn't so bad that I decided to buy a new box.  You can see that this one is already covered with a pretty pattern paper.

I pulled out my Bind-It-All and punched holes in the envelopes, on the end that was not cut, and the back of the cover.  You can see the binding on the left side and some of the tags sticking out of the cover on the right.  The section that says "Treats" is actually a flap with a magnet to hold it to the front. This configuration allows me to stand it up.

This is the cover before I added the flap and the decorations.

This is the inside of the cookbook with all of the envelopes bound in and the tags sticking out of the envelopes.  I know, still a little plain but it is getting better.

This is a picture of the cookbook from the opposite side of the one above.  I put a pocket on the inside because I know I'll have more recipes over time.

Finally, this is the bottom of the cover.  If you look closely, I attached this with jump rings to the front and back.  This allows me to swing it all the way around.

So, what do you think of my little project?

I have a ton of work to finish for the Wonderkids Fall Festival.  In fact, I can't wait for it to be done because I want to get back to some peace.  I'll show you the masks we are making and the banner I'll have at our booth.  I may even show you some cakes and other treats.

But, I'll definitely be back with more of the cookbook. Is there anything special you would like to see/hear about?

Have a good day, see you soon.