Crop Room Card Kit Sneek Peek...

It's my turn to provide a PIF (Pay it Forward) again over at the Crop Room II and I promised the girls over there a sneek peek on Christmas Eve, so as promised, here we go. I've made 6 card kits as part of my PIF, sneek peeks and details follow...

Card Kit #1 "Simple Bling "-- the above card is A2 sized and is very, very simple, uses only 2 papers, one stamp, and a bit of bling.

Card Kit #2 "My Heart is Happy" -- My heart is happy, since some of my scraps found a home in this kit! This card is 5x5.

Card Kit #3 "Chipboard and Buttons" -- This card was a lesson for me! I used my Cricut to cut the chipboard for this one. This card is A2 sized.

Card Kit #4 "Maybe Masculine?" -- This card showcases bold colors and just a hint of embossing. This card is 5x5.

Card Kit #5 "Elegant Letters of Love" -- This card uses the Letters of Love Stamp Set from SU and is embossed in gold. This card is 5x5 sized.


Card Kit #6 "Friendship Warms the Heart" -- This card uses many, many layers, coloring, and buttons. This card is 5x5 size.

Teacher Gifts 2009...

I'm sorry, Guys, I have finally managed to get the flu so the creative juices just aren't flowing real well this weekend. We did, however, manage to make the kids Christmas parties at preschool on Friday. I think I did pretty good on teacher gifts this year.

Each one of our Teacher's received:

One of the Thank You card boxes shown above

which contained 10 Thank You cards, 10 envelopes, a post it note holder, and some pencils

A full size box of Kleenex

Hand Sanitizer

Lotion

Cough Drops

and Clorox Wipes

Each of the Teacher's Aides got a similar package (minus the desk sets) with sample size items. We also included a small box of chocolates with each package.

Just wanted to show you a few more shots of these Stationary boxes. They turned out so cute thanks to digital designs from The Cutting Cafe (http://thecuttingcafe.typepad.com/ - if you haven't been over there lately you might wanna stop by and check out the wonderful Valentine's Day designs Regina has) and word text circles created for me by Heather Landry (http://miraclesmommadesigns.blogspot.com/).

Tonight's project (do or die...lol) is classmate gifts, so stay tuned tomorrow for pics of those. TFL!

Scraplifted Quick and Easy Christmas Gift...

Two posts in one day - this is unheard of! But I had to share with you this great project I scraplifted from the gallery over at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/. Thanks so much to "winterthyme" for posting this wonderful Rolled Paper Candle Wrap. You can see her version (so much more nicely embellished than mine) by visiting the gallery http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1559449. I found the candles (which are only 4 inch pillars - a little small I think) at the Dollar Store along with the great green ribbon (which I also scored in red and gold - yeah me!), the paper is from my stash (I am using up loads of paper with these projects so I can see some new paper purchases in the future!), I added a vintage image, some glitter "snow" around the top of the candle, and a paper poinsettia and tag from my stash of FaLaLa papers from last year. My mom is hard to buy for so I think I will let the kids give her this for Christmas. I also plan on whipping some up for my hubby's sisters and Mom for their Christmas celebration. And I was also thinking of the kids' teachers until I was reminded by a teacher/friend that candles may not be allowed in the classroom so I'm thinking of applying the same concept to a tin can and filling it with pencils for the teachers. I'll post when I get it done, whatever the case may be. And thanks again to "winterthyme" for coming up with this great idea!

Fudge Delivery Day...

It's tradition, plain and simple...this same time just about every year (with the exception of one December in 2006 when we were welcoming a baby) I make fudge for my husband's co-workers and deliver it to the plant. Some years as much as 13 pounds of fudge, plus cookies too! This year is easy, only 3 boxes of fudge, no cookies. They guys are excitedly waiting and I have to admit, I'm a bit excited too (comes from loving the attention).

So, I thought I would share with you the packaging, since my fudge turned out so pretty this year.

Didn't these turn out pretty? I used some scrapbook papers from JoAnn Fabrics, an Inkadinkado clear stamp for the deer - also from JoAnn's $1 spot, and some pretty burgundy ribbon. Lots and lots of inking here (with Chocolate Chip Stampin UP! Ink - love this stuff) because I wanted it to look masculine.

Ok, I know your wondering about the contents of these pretty little boxes so I will share...

Super Easy Peanut Butter Fudge (and it really IS super easy!)

4 c. granulated sugar

1 c. milk

2 c. peanut butter (I use all of an 18 oz jar.)

1 T. butter

1 T. vanilla extract

Prepare a 9x13 glass dish by buttering the bottom. In heavy bottom sauce pan combine sugar and milk. Measure and set aside remaining ingredients. Cook over medium heat stirring occassionally till it comes to a boil then stir constantly. Let boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients till all melted and smooth. Pour into prepared dish and refridgerate till firm.

Serves 20, 48 1 inch squares

Yummmyyyy! If this stuff doesn't melt on your tounge you haven't done it right - it is so creamy and smooth. One last parting glance for you...

Another Accordian Holder and I'm so excited to share this one!

I finally got to sit down and work with Becky Roberts Accordian Holder design and worked it into a gift for my DS and DD's school therapists. Now let me say, that might not sound like a big thing at all, but, to a mom with kids in therapy, tackling the yearly gift for the therapists is BIG. The problem mostly is that it's hard to find ideas for these people, but they're with your kids on a weekly basis and you definately wanna give them a little something in appreciation.

Since I'm with Ideas for Scrapbookers this year and the girls over there are so increadibly talented with digital things, I asked a fellow contributing artist, Heather, to make me up some simple word text circles. She did a great job and came up with this one that says "Occupational Therapists change lives one milestone at a time!". Isn't that awesome?! Not only can I whip up a crafty and inventive gift this year but it's also personalized! So onto the photos...

I had to snap a quick close up of this great embellishment. It's featured both on the front of the box and on the coordinating notepad cover inside. I stamped the sun in the center of the word circle with my Crayon Cuties stamp in Jet Black StazOn and then used another stamp to stamp over it with Summer Sun ink. I think the jewel tone blue cardstock behind the image and against the pink really makes the whole thing pop.

Here is a quick pic of the completed and filled box. I was able to fit way more goodies in here than I had anticipated.

Here is a pic of the contents of these handy little holders. These ladies travel from school to school and district to district working with kids who need their services. So instead of filling the holder with note cards, I thought I would fill it with some other handy car-sized items they can use. Pictured here from left to right: Hand sanitizer and Jergins travel sized lotion, a pack of Kleenex Tissues in a coordinating holder, a covered 5x8 notepad (directions for this are also included in Becky Roberts 12 Days of Christmas tutorials, which again can be ordered by visiting her wonderful blog at http://www.inkingidaho.blogspot.com/), and a covered post-it note holder. I think I will also include a few pens - you can never have too many on hand. I think that it makes a very cute, personal, and functional gift. Only 2 more to make for hand out next week - whoo hoo.

NOTE: You got it, I just wanted to make one more shameless plug for Heather's blog. Honestly her digi stuff is wonderful (and she likes to give away freebees too!). I cannot wait to get Scraphubby going on his digi scrapping so he can try out some of Heather's stuff. Please take a moment to stop by her blog and see what she's up to http://miraclesmommadesigns.blogspot.com/ . Oh and Heather, thanks again for the text circles!

Accordian Card Holder with 4 Cards...

Despite having sick kiddos this weekend (suspected swine flu - yuck!) I did manage to get something crafty done. This Accordian Card Holder was constructed using the directions in the 12 Days of Christmas 2009 Edition Tutorials by Becky Roberts. You can purchase these yourself by visiting her blog at http://inkingidaho.blogspot.com/ . My cards are a bit different from the ones she shows with her project but I was going for simplicity with this set. Seeing how this one worked up and how elegant and classy it looked, I am a hooked believer that this would make a great Christmas gift for DS and DD's school therapists, all 3 of them, so needless to say, you may see a few more of these in the future. Anyway, on to the pics....

So here is the actual holder. I didn't have the oval punch that Becky mentions, so rather than pull out my Coluzzle, I just left it go without handles. The papers used here are Making Memories Tinsel Collection and I have to say, this paper has something for everyone. There are enough holiday prints to make your Christmas and enough wintry prints to get you through the rest of the season. I really like Making Memories, so far they've not disappointed me with their releases.

And here is a quick pic of all the cards. Again, I did not do the beautiful cards that were pictured with this holder in Becky's tutorial. Instead I added my own, very simple version using the Cute and Curley Labels set from Stampin Up. It includes 4 phrases, Thank You, For You, Merry Christmas Dear Friend, and Best Wishes. TFL! Hope you enjoyed!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....Ready for a Decmeber Daily?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and with it seems to be the new debate - December Daily or no December Daily? If your not familiar with what I'm talking about you may want to take a minute or two and hop on over to Ali Edwards blog for a bit of December Daily reading....http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/december-daily-album-2008.html . It's a great concept, wonderful way of focusing on what's important during this season and I really love the concept. Still I wonder how many other disgruntled stay at home moms, like me, are afraid of what they'll find if they do one of these. I really sometimes wonder if I'd have anything to record. Decorating the tree, baking cookies, shopping and wrapping, with a 2 and a 5 year old underfoot...excuse me....3 and 5 year old - one has a birthday in Dec - that doesn't normally turn into anything I'd want to record on paper, lol. Still, I have the compelling urge to do a December Daily just to record these times that I so much don't want to forget. So, just out of curiosity, is anyone with me? Are you planning on doing a December Daily? Would you like to share here on the blog? Have me post some challenges or journaling prompts? What do you think? What would you like to read about here this month? Inquiring minds want to know!