Wedding Shower Favors

Here are some samples of some wedding shower favors I made. It is so hard to make samples for someone else to look at and decide...there are so many permutations. The colors my friend told me were "pink and brown"...well, is that Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Pixie Pink, Pink Passion...you get the idea! Then, I could easily do 25 different designs on the front...it would easily get overwhelming for all of us! I'm hoping she likes one or the other of these...or if these aren't her favorites, I'll try again!

For the favor, I used the Fancy Favor Box die cut. This die cut cuts out the pattern complete with the decorative top and the score marks. It takes no time at all to glue them together! I made one open (filled with a cello bag with candy) and the other one is closed. It is amazing how much will fit in one of these boxes...closing it with the stewardess bow helps control the amount of stuff you have to put in it.

Thank You Notes

I made these "thank you" notes for a friend of mine who is starting up her Just Jewelry business. She wanted to have some notes to send hostesses or customers after purchases. I made a variety for her so she could choose which ones she liked the best. These are only two of the designs...I made 6. The neat thing about these notes are that they are really only a note card...she'll write her note on the white area you see there. Under the "thanks" flap is her name and contact info for her business. I love the way these turned out...and so did she! I need to get working on the 20 more she ordered from me. :)

Top Note Treat Boxes

Is there anything that the Top Note die cut can't do? Check out these super cute boxes! The top note forms the top and the base of the box and then I folded designer paper and used the Tombow Multi-Purpose glue to adhere them together. The "bow" on top is the scallop circle cut in half and snipped to the center. I wrapped Hershey Nuggets in the same designer papers and tucked in a Sonic gift card. It made a very cute and easy gift! I made these for Valentine's Day, but they are appropriate for any gift giving occasion--just change the papers!

Clear Mounts!

Stampin' Up! has just recently started offering Clear Mount stamps in addition to our regular wood mount stamps. Clear Mounts aren't new to the stamping/crafting world...in fact, many have wondered why Stampin' Up! has not offered these years ago? Well, SU always felt the stamped images from the clear stamps weren't up to the quality standards that they wanted, so they held off offering them. Well, now they've come up with a solution that everyone is happy about...SU is still using the traditional foam and rubber that you are accustomed to, but they are offering it with a vinyl cling backing (or sticker) so that it works with clear mounts.

Clear Mount sets come in a DVD sized storage case with all the images of the stamps on the front and sides of the insert. This makes it very easy to find what you are looking for and conserve space at the same time. The Clear Mount blocks come in nine different sizes and are 3/4" thick and have grooved sides. I am personally very new to the clear stamps, but I think I'm going to love them. At Sandie's workshop everyone raved about the Clear Mounts, and those ladies who had experience with other brands said Stampin' Up! definitely had higher quality blocks. Stampin' Up! always sells quality products so while I wasn't surprised to hear that, I was grateful to get the opinion of others who had used products from other companies. Most all the stamps in the Occasions Mini are offered in either clear or wood mount...oh, and did I mention, clear mount stamps are cheaper!! Yea...more stamps for the dollar...and they save space...more space for more stamps...what could be better?!?!

Birthday Pages

These are the two pages that I made to coordinate with the 6" by 6" page that we made at Sandie's workshop. I struggle with pages that I know are going to people with boys...you know me...GIRL MOM all the way! Sandie thought these pages were great and that was awesome because I made them for her as a "thank you" for hosting the workshop. My hostess gifts are always different and just whatever I feel like making at the time, so it was a perfect way to give these to Sandie while at the same time showcasing what you can really do with a 6" by 6" size page.

By the way, I LOVE my Simple Letters Alphabet die cut set. They are still a good size, yet they are skinny enough to fit a lot of letters across a page. The other decorative elements on this page are the use of the scallops. I added a little bit of Real Red card stock that was punched with the scallop edge behind the 6" by 6 pages so that the blue border didn't blend into the background. I also added a half circle mounted on the scallop circle that said "Happy Birthday to you" above the small page on the right. It is so easy to make scrapbook layouts when you start with 6" by 6" pages as the focal point. While I did make these to give to Sandie, I also made a set to keep for myself. Now, if only I had time to put photos on all the page layouts I have I might be closer to being caught up on my scrapbooking!

Sandie's Workshop Projects

These are the two projects we completed at Sandie's workshop this weekend. The 6" by 6" scrapbook page uses one of the Sale-A-Bration stamp sets: Happy Moments. I also used the sentiment from A Little Birthday Cheer for the "make a wish". I love how the Word Window and the Modern Label punches layer together.

The Friends card is just a simple card...no fancy techniques or folds or anything. The interesting part of this card was that it was created with Stampin' Up!'s new CLEAR MOUNT stamps! I'll have another post later telling you all about those. To tempt you, I will say the ladies at the workshop LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the clear mount stamps! More info to come...

Teacher Treats

Yesterday was the Teacher Luncheon at the girls' school. The theme was Italian food and since that didn't especially lend itself to a stamping project, we decided to go with the Valentine's Day theme. These projects are adorable. It's a scallop square die cut that is scored on the third scallop on every side, then again on the diagonal. Punch a hole in each corner and then fold it up and tie with a ribbon. Perhaps a little time consuming, but worth it! We made the tag mostly on the computer...typed "We" and then left a space and added "You!" After they were printed and punched, we stamped a red heart in the middle so it looked like "We Love You!". Layered the words onto the scalloped oval and tied it in with the same ribbon. These treats will deceive you...they look so small, but actually hold quite a bit of candy! Let me know if you need more info. Happy Creating!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

I thought I'd share a recipe today. For a dessert that is not chocolate, this is pretty good!

1 can (21 oz) apple pie filling, divided
1 graham cracker crust (I used the large "extra serving" one.)

2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Reserve 3/4 cup apple pie filling. Spoon remaining filling into crust.

2. Beat together cream cheese, sugar, vanilla until smooth. Add eggs and mix well. Pour over apple filling. Bake 35 minutes or unter center is set. Cool to room temperature.

3. Mix reserved apple pie filling and caramel topping in sauce pan. Heat, about 1 minute. Arrange apple slices around outside edge of cheesecake. Spoon caramel sauce onto cheesecake and spread evenly. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

When I served it, I put whipped cream on and then garnished it with more caramel sauce drizzled over the top and on the plate. Like I said before, for a dessert that isn't chocolate, this one is pretty YUM! Enjoy!

Valentine Bingo!

Laura's class really enjoyed playing Valentine Bingo at the party. When I made the game, it was a little bit of a challenge to come up with 75 different Valentine-ish images to use that fit in that small of space. I have a Christmas Bingo game and it made me think that it might be fun to do a birthday one or Halloween or all-occasion. I'm sure I have enough stamps to accomplish that...is it possible I have too many stamps???? NO, surely NOT! :)

More info about Laura's Party Favors

Here's how Laura's party favors were all packaged together. I used the Stampin' Up! large cello bags and made a quick topper using the Sprinkles stamp set and the Scalloped Heart of Hearts embosslit die cut. Everyone always thinks it takes a long time to stamp the kids' names on the toppers...I've never timed myself, but it really doesn't take very long at all. I love doing things for the kids in Laura's class...they are always so appreciative!

Here's the rest of the info on the Hershey sliders. The project just takes a little card stock and some ribbon. You could adapt this project for anything...it isn't specifically for full size Hershey bars. Just wrap whatever item you want with card stock, fold into place and set aside to decorate. Then, take ribbon and wrap it long-ways around the item. I used lots of ribbon because I wanted a full bow. You could get away with a lot less if you just simply tied a knot. After the ribbon is in place, take the decorated card stock and wrap around item and adhere card stock to card stock--do not tape on the item. That's all there is to it! You pull on the ribbon/bow and the item slides right out of the card stock. Very fun! It is always hard to write directions to a craft, so if this isn't clear just email me or call me! Happy Creating!

Laura's Valentine Party Favors

These were the treats I made for Laura's class party favors. The top photo of the hearts is a full size Hershey bar in a slider package. I'll give more directions on that in a later post. The hearts with scallop circles use the Sweet Treats cups filled with M&Ms. I also made pencil holders. These are different and EASY...way easier than ones I've made in the past. I simply die cut the Top Note Die and then wheeled it with hearts and folded it in half around the pencils. I used quite a bit of adhesive to keep it tight and make the pencils stay together. I have several patterns to use for pencil holders, but this one is definitely the one at the top of the list now...quick and easy is always my favorite!!

Valentine Centerpiece

Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like some flowers! I made these daisies by cutting out four layers of Daisy Die Cut #2 with the Big Shot. Looking down from the top is a layer of Real Red, then Pretty in Pink, then Regal Rose and finally a small layer of white just to hold them all in place. There is a green "leaf" that has a Valentine message on it. All the tootsie pop sticks are stuck in floral foam that has been covered with green basket fill. The container is a silver rectangular box that I use for everything...I originally bought it for displaying the paper clip flowers we made for the teachers last spring, but since then I've used it for a variety of other purposes. I made this particular display for Laura's class party...it was the centerpiece on the food table.

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!