Amazing Amounts of Snow!

The girls had such a great time in the snow. This is definitely what memories are made of! Eventually I'll have scrapbook pages to share of these photos, but these were just too good not to share immediately! Our awesome next door neighbors are originally from Colorado, so they KNOW how to play in the snow! It was their idea for the giant snowman and then we went on to build the igloo and snow slide. Laura was a little apprehensive going down the slide, but she did it and loved it. Ellen (who is not afraid of anything--ever!) went down over and over and over! They tried to make me take a turn, but honestly, it looked a little scary to me too. I was happy to be taking photos. :)

Record Snowfall in North Texas!

So, Thursday, Feb. 11 North Texas got the most snowfall ever recorded in history! It was already snowing before school started...in fact, we had several inches early in the morning. It snowed fast and furiously ALL day long. We were baffled that school was still in session...they've certainly called off for lesser weather events! The girls did get home early that day and we built the Giant-Sized Texas Snowman with the neighbors. Our snowman was over 11 feet tall! The scarf (that looks more like a bandana) around its neck is one of my table cloths that I would normally use when the table is as big as it can get...this was one amazingly large snowman!!

Valentine's for Friends

The girls made their Valentine's to give their friends by using the old favorite envelope Valentine's. These are so easy and such fun to make. You start by licking the envelope closed and then cutting it in half. Stamp and decorate the top section and then I usually wheel the bottom before I run them through my crimper. The crimper makes the bottom just slightly smaller, so that it fits nicely back inside the top half. We put Welch's Fruit Snacks in them this year. The snack size M&Ms work nicely too. Other than the stamping, Laura made hers entirely by herself. She was so proud that she thought to sponge the edge...if you look closely you can see it. Her blue design was for the boys; the green ones were for girls. The backside has the "Happy Valentine's Day" and "to/from" on it. I had to help Ellen just a little, but she did all the coloring...and she did a GREAT job!

Flower Tile Gift Set

It snowed all day and I got to stay inside stamping! I made this flower tile for a friend. It's for a birthday present. Since the weather was so bad I didn't want her to have to stop for any of the present accessories so I made her a matching card and gift bag. I loved how it all turned out!

Flower Tiles

I'm taking a quick break from Valentine's to show you some flower tiles. These make a great gift and are fairly simple to make. All you need is craft ink, stencils, an oven, and the tiles. The hardest part is finding a Lowe's that carries this size tiles! If you'd like me to make a flower tile for a gift, they are $10 and I can add a word with Stampin' Up!'s decor elements. The word choices are "life, love, hope, or faith" and they are Chocolate Chip in color. It's nice to see something that looks so much like spring on a day when they are forecasting snow! Enjoy...

More Valentine's for Ellen

I love Valentine's Day! It's such a fun and happy holiday! The girls were excited about picking out what kind of treats I'd make to send to their classes. I'm not finished with Laura's yet, but here is everything for Ellen's class. Ellen is very much into rainbows this year, so it was fun to incorporate lots of colors with the hearts. The Love Bug pencils are adorable! It took awhile to punch out all the pieces and then make the holes to work the pencils through, but it was worth it! And, finally, the tags for the goody bags...would you believe that I made them all and then accidentally touched my inky finger to one of them...yep, it was Ellen's! She said it was okay, though. :) I'm off to stamp Valentine Bingo for Laura's class. Hopefully I'll have it posted later today. Have a great day!!

Church Invitations

I finished the 14 New Member Dinner invitations in time to get them in the mail yesterday! It's a quick and easy design. Upsy Daisy is one of my "go to" stamp sets when I need something fast. I added the butterflies from the Beautiful Wings embosslit die cut. This die cut not only cuts out the image, but adds texture too! Up close it really is very pretty. The ladies who are organizing this event at church thought that by the last Sunday in February we'd all be ready for a spring theme!

St. Paul United Methodist is the church where my family and I attend. It's located in Hurst, and it is quite a drive from our home, but it is worth it! Feel free to ask me more about it...or better yet, come join us some Sunday! We'd love to have you there!

Ellen's Valentine Box

I know it's been awhile since I lasted posted anything. I'm going to try hard to be better at posting frequently. I've been busy stamping so I have lots of projects I could post!

Tonight Ellen and I tackled the Valentine box for school. She was very excited about making it. She's very crafty and creative...all the ideas were hers! I did the die cutting, stamping, and adhesive. She did all the color selection, design layout and punching. We had lots of fun working together, and I must admit her Valentine box is VERY cute! I'll post more projects that I'm doing for her class in the next couple of days.

Chris and I had lunch today at Tang's Pacific Bistro--definitely one of our favorite spots--and my fortune cookie said, "Your business will assume vast proportions." We laughed and Chris joked that when I got home the answering machine would have an order for 1000 Valentines on it. Well, the machine did have a stamping request...14 invitations to the New Member Dinner at St. Paul...so while it's not exactly 1000 Valentine's I guess I should get busy. My plan is to have them in the mail tomorrow so it might be a late night!

Holiday Gifts Class!

It's that time of the year again! It's time to start stamping some holiday gifts! This photo shows the whole group of items that are being offered. I'm going to upload close ups of each project so you'll be able to see it in better detail and get all the specifics about it. Just keep scrolling down!

The class is offered on both Friday, Dec. 4 from Noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to Noon. Please RSVP by Dec. 2 or sooner.

Make your list and check it twice and come on over to accomplish some of your gift-giving needs! Just let me know when you RSVP how many of which projects you want to make.

Holiday Gifts Class: Ornament Tiles by pre-order

These 6" by 6" tumbled tiles make a gorgeous gift to display. I am taking pre-orders only for the tiles. They are too involved to make during the class, but I will have them ready for you to pick up on the day of the class.

Choose ink: Real Red, Chocolate Chip or Old Olive

Choose ribbon: Real Red, Chocolate Chip or Old Olive

Choose glitter: silver, clear, or no glitter

Tiles are $10 each. (Easel not included.)

Holiday Gifts Class: 2010 Calendar

Calendars are always a popular gift! These are perfect for any office space. There's space to jot notes and reminders on the bottom of every page. Most pages are made with straight stamping, so these go together very quickly. Calendars are $8 each.

Holiday Gifts Class: Everyday Art

These two frames make a great gift because they can stay out longer than the holiday season! The flowers are stamped in black and colored in with blender pens, aqua painters, and watercolor crayons. The color technique is fool-proof! I guarantee yours will look great! Feel free to change the words or leave the words off completely. Frames are $10 each.

Holiday Gifts Class: Christmas Art

Who wouldn't love a new Christmas frame to adorn the mantel? This year there are two fun designs and one traditional design. The black and white nativity frame is embossed and layered three times. Trust me, it looks really neat in person! This photo doesn't do it justice. The two white frames stand on their own. The black frame can be hung on the wall or used with an easel. (Easels are not included.) Framed art pieces are $10 each.

Holiday Gifts Class: Stationery Sets

Stationery sets are always a popular Christmas gift! Choose from two designs: bright orange and pink with swirls and butterflies or a more subtle color combination of blue and green flowers. I can easily personalize these for you...just email me the name of the recipient...or these look just fine left blank! The stationery sets include 8 single-sided note cards with envelopes and all can be stamped to match. Stationery sets are $8 each.

Holiday Gifts Class: Stocking Stuffers

These stocking stuffers are the perfect

"little something" for adults and kids on your list! They are great to tuck in with another gift or to use on their own. Last year we used the pencil holders for Laura's contribution to her class party's treat bags. The year before we used the watercolor kits. Kids love them and they are easy to mass produce! Stocking stuffers are various prices:

Decorated Cocoa Holder $2

Cello Bag with Peppermint Sticks $1.50

Pencil Holders $1.50

Watercolor Kits $2

M&M Ornament Cards $1

Holiday Gifts Class: Gift Card Holders

Is anyone on your list getting a gift card? Do you prefer to give cash at Christmas? These holders make the perfect presentation for those gifts. The first photo shows how the holders work--the M&M holder has slits in the back to allow a gift card to slide in, and the other two fold together to make a booklet design that houses the gift card (or cash) in the center. All gift card holders are $1.50 each.

Dasher Card Class

I finally got the samples ready for the Dasher card class! The class is this coming Tuesday, Nov. 17. It's going to be a busy day...Dasher and Merry & Bright are happening at the same time. It's a great way to get a lot of Christmas cards done before the craziness of the holidays even starts!

Dasher and Merry & Bright Christmas Cards

These are two samples from the Merry & Bright rub-ons Christmas card class. The class is Nov. 17, but I need to order by Thursday to make sure the supplies are here in time. The Merry & Bright class is $20 and it includes a package of rub-ons. You get to keep the extras!

Dasher Christmas cards is also that same night. It includes two stamps: Dasher and a word stamp that says "Merry & Bright". You can see both of the stamps on page 208 in the catalog. The cost of that class is $25 because you'll keep those two stamps. I don't have samples done yet. I'll post them when I do...stay tuned! RSVP by this Thursday if you are interested in coming.

Christmas Scrapbook Class

Here are two of the four layouts from the Christmas pages scrapbook class. The one with reds and greens is a casual fun page and the Tis the Season one is a little more formal. If you are like me, you take way too many Christmas photos because there are just so many Christmas events to attend! This class is this Thursday and is offered during the day or the evening. Cost is $20. Please RSVP asap so that I have your supplies prepared for you!

Happy Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween evening. The neighbors came over for chili before we went out trick-or-treating. I did minimal decorating for the event...just made a quick banner to hang in the kitchen and some treat boxes for all the kids with my Big Shot and the Pumpkin Patch stamp set from the Holiday Mini. The witch (Laura) and the fairy princess (Ellen) had lots of fun and got way too much candy! I hope your evening was frightful and delightful too.