Saturday, December 31, 2011

Christmas Cards

I made a few cards that I haven't posted, so will share now. This was inspired by Barbara Dykhouse who posted on Stampin' Connection (SC). It uses the stocking punch and designer paper for the staircase from Frostwood Lodge as well as the little leaves sizzlet.  The stockings use retired DSP.
*(The stocking punch will be gone after 1/3/12, so get it now if you are interested. Itis so easy to make a cute accent with this punch. It also makes a cute baby sock and I have seen it turned upside down to make a hobby horse.)
This is a card that we made for stamp club in Nov. I received a telescoping card in a swap at convention then saw the snowman either on SCS or SC, but not sure who to give credit. This is my take on him. We used the bigshot and the circles die, also scallop circle die and a couple of circle punches. The arms are made with the snowflake punch, the hat is the word window and 1" square with rounded edges. I used a non SU small snowflake punch for hat accent with a rhinestone.
 Card with snowman lying flat. The background is made with the northern flurry embossing folder and lightly sponged with pacific point ink.

This is the card that I made to send to friends. I fell in love with and bought the Sounding Joy set to use, so had to do it even though they went in the mail after Christmas. I had the new cherry cobbler embossing powder  and wanted to use it, so that was how I chose the color combo. I used the new snow burst embossing folder for the olive background. The cherry cobbler seam binding worked well, but I needed something else, so found the retired "joy" and small star punches and added a pearl.
I tried overstamping the sentiments like on the front, but couldn't read the words underneath so did them separately. The card base is naturals white which is a bit heavier weight than whisper white.
Any of the cards can be enlarged to look at details by clicking on the picture.

Friday, December 30, 2011

New tattoos

The girls and I thought it would be fun to do something together, so we all got "sleeves" for Christmas!

Starbucks bottles of bath salts

I found epsom salt at Dollar Tree and thought it would be a fun project for the girls to make for Christmas gifts. After searching online, this is the recipe we used: use funnel to fill bottle with epsom salts then pour into glass bowl, add 2 tbsp of baking soda, 20 drops of essential oil (we used strawberry), and food color to desired shade. Then I let each girl help me choose designer paper, ribbon, and design for the top of the lid. They had fun making these and were so proud of their homemade gifts. Two 32 oz boxes of epsom salt made 4 small starbucks bottles and 2 other jars full for the girls to take home to share.  
First wash bottles and lids, the labels come off easily if bottles taken directly from a hot dishwasher. Use a magic eraser to remove writing on bottle. The small bottles need a strip of decorative paper 2 3/4" x 8 1/2", attach with sticky strip. The large bottles need 3" x 9" strips of paper. I used a paper piercer and hammer to make a hole in the lid and used a brad to attach the decorative top. Then tie ribbon and make knot or bow. You could get more creative and decorate much fancier, but this works.


Random thoughts

1. I need to apologize for my lack of action, I'm ready to get back to posting at least once a week.
2. We had a great family Christmas: too much food, lots of noise, and many laughs.
3. So thankful for Christ leaving His home in heaven to come to earth as a baby, only to die for our sins! Thank you God for the FREE gift of salvation.
4. Loving this warmer winter weather!!!!!!!
5. Home today, need to clean my house, but this is more fun!
6. Got a box of toys from SU, need to play so I can share some ideas. I ordered some clearance rack items, some occasions mini preorder things, and for the first time SU gave us the opportunity to get some free Sale-A-Bration products with our preorders.
7. Shopped last night at Bath and Body- got some 50-75% off bargains, went to Christopher and Banks with a $10 reward card and got a top and slacks, both 70% off, for $10, then went to Kohl's with $10 Kohls cash and got a pr of PJ's, 80% off, for $1.70.
8. I used store bought Christmas cards for 58 church members and sent out 32 hand made cards to family and friends. I will post the card that I made using Sounding Joy (that many of you got in the mail) for those who didn't get it.
9. My dishwasher decided to quit just before Christmas, it just runs dirty water and doesn't drain. My husband scooped out water cup by cup and wiped it out.  I had washed dishes and put in dishwasher to dry. My daughter was here while I was out, added more dishes and tried to run it, now I have another dishwasher full of dirty dishes. Just got them all done AGAIN!
10. I love my husband so much, we are really enjoying our empty nest. That is when we don't have grandkids, which is fairly often.
11. Dylan, our 4 yr old grandson learned how to spell his name at preschool recently, so he had a great time finding his presents under the tree and opening them.
12. Emma, 6, got a dolly that drinks and wets. When changing the diaper, she found an anatomically correct boy. Her first response was "Oh, No!"
13. Taylor, 13, is accepted into the student ambassador program with people to people and we are making fabric flowers to sell. She cut out 15 last weekend. We just need to sew them together, but need to make more in different colors this weekend. You will hear more about fundraisers for her.
14. Chris and I went to Centerville so I could work there 12 hrs on Christmas day. We were put up at Honey Creek Resort, beautiful place with a fun indoor waterpark. Sad to miss our church service, but they really needed help and they made me an offer that I couldn't refuse.
15. Chris and I have each lost 30# this year. We are both pretty much at our goals, just need to tone up some. So proud of our new bodies, however we will never look like we did nearly 38 yrs ago when we got married.
16. I could probably go on and on, but will quit with this one, I am so thankful for my Stampin'Up! friends.You are my reason to challenge myself to try new techniques, search for different ways to use certain products, and keep on stamping! My resolution is to give better customer service this year. I am open to constructive suggestions.