Using up some leftovers, part one

I love scraps!

I keep a bin next to my work space and when I'm feeling inspired with no direction (a common occurrence) I just pull out the bin and look around. Inside the bin are all kinds of scraps - little scraps, big scraps, extra cuts from the Art Philosophy cartridge (usually flowers, I make a lot so I always have something on hand) and of course, lots of "tried it, didn't like it" examples.

After I finished up the second round of gift tags, I had a few extra white tags leftover so I threw them in the bin. Along with some leaves and a Smokey Plum flower cut. Once my son was happily watching a movie he got for Christmas, I sat down to work in my craft space with no deadline or pressure what-so-ever. I was going to play. And I did. This is one of the things I worked on. You'll see the challenge I gave myself next week but this tag was so simple - it just came together. I love when that happens; it fuels me.

I inked the tag with both Bamboo and Desert Sand, then used an image from "Family Ties" stamp set in Smokey Plum, stamped off once then rolled again in the Smokey Plum. Then stamped the sentiment, also from the stamp set. The leaves were cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge in Olive then inked in Olive and scored with the stylus. The flower is made from Smokey Plum cardstock.

Christmas Tags, part two

You may remember my recent post where I showed you the tags I made to put on my gifts. Unfortunately, my dog chewed them all up so I couldn't use them. Which forced me to find something else to use. On December 23rd. So back to my Art Philosophy cartridge I went. And I came up with something even better. I had browsed through Lisa Stenz's blog for some ideas and well, I still ended up doing my own thing.

As you can see, I cut the tags from White Daisy cardstock and the snowflake tags from Outdoor Denim. I cut twice as many white tags as I did the snowflake tags so I could use the snowflake cutout too. I just wrote the gift recipients' name on the back side and attached to the gift.  Just a little glue and cardstock, what could be simpler?

Chocolate Tins

This is a quick and easy gift I made for my "bosses" at my volunteer job on Fridays. It has been "sweet" working for them this fall that I wanted make something pretty to brighten their day - and a little chocolate is never a bad idea. I got the idea from my sister consultant, Nicki (check her out at her blog here) who got the idea from Lisa Stenz (check her blog out here). Sorry, I don't have the links to their posts about their versions of the chocolate tins, but I know you'll enjoy browsing their sites looking for them yourself.

Here are two of my versions of the tins:

For the tin on the left, I used a discontinued paper pack called Mistletoe (an beautiful assortment of tradional styled designs), Tulip cardstock (for the flower), White Daisy cardstock (for the the tag), Tulip ink, the September Stamp of the Month, Sweet Leaf ribbon and a Pearl Opaque gem.

For the tin on the right, I used Winter Wonderland paper pack, Sky cardstock, White Daisy cardstock (for the tag), Sky ink and the Dark Chocolate Striped Grosgrain ribbon.

I cut both tags from White Daisy cardstock and the flowers using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. I used Liquid Glass to adhere the flower together while I worked on the rest of the tin. I wrapped each chocolate in a 1" x 3" strip of B&T paper and adhered with Tombow adhesive. The tag on the right, I used Sky ink sponged over an Art Philosophy cut snowflake I used from the gift tags I made (the second round, but that's another post). I tied each of the tags to the ribbon with waxy flax then made a bow with the ribbon. Each tin took about 15 minutes to make and were very well received. I do have to recommend buying an extra bag of chocolates if you are not strong of will. Even thought I bought chocolate with nuts (I'm allergic to nuts) I still had trouble not eating them as I worked. The veggie I had to snack on just weren't cutting the tempation!

Winter Weekend Crop

Now that the holiday rush is over, it's time to sit down and enjoy some peace and quiet... and get some scrapbooking done! I am hosting a Winter Weekend Crop in Lancaster February 10-12.

Get the application here.

Each guest will get a large work space in a well-lit room in a very comfy chair, a goodie bag, meals, contest and giveaways all weekend, a brand new Spring/Summer Idea Book and be undisturbed from your family while you crop till you drop! I will have supplies on hand for sale and mini-classes throughout the weekend. Cost is $150 and due by February 1. Space is very limited so don't wait - this will fill up!

Get the application here.
Email me for more information.

Christmas gifts

Now that Christmas has come and gone, I can share some of the gifts I made to give away. Here is the gift I made for my Father-in-law. His wife and I enjoy sharing lots of time scrapbooking together, even traveling to weekend crops together. (I have the best mother-in-law in the world!)

When he unwrapped this box, he smiled and began to put it down thinking the box itself was the gift. I smiled and told him to look inside. The smile on his face was precious - inside, he found two tickets to see his favorite gospel band, the Gaithers, when they come to town. To anyone else, the box would have been enough but every gift giver knows you have to buy (or make) for the receiver.

I used a discontinued paper pack, Grace, from Close to My Heart, as well as the cork letters (so easy with the adhesive already on the back) and Irresistibles chipboard cutouts. I inked the edges of the My Creations card box in Cocoa, adhered the paper to the box with Tombow adhesive (LOVE, Love, love this stuff) and used Glue Dots to make the key on the front "pop" to use as a handle to open the box. The box is made with a magnetic clasp inside so it latches securely.

Here is another card my upline, Krista Hershberger, designed for a team meeting back in November. It uses the November stamp of the month and Dreaming paper pack. I love how the bronze Glitz gel sparkles up the ribbon. Make sure to check out her blog!

And last but not least...

Here is the last card we did at our Christmas Card Workshop back in September. Stephanie Z designed this great card using my favorite new stamp set "Remarkable Wreath". Great job, Stephanie!

I have such talented uplines and I am awed by their creativity. My second upline, Krista Hershberger, was in charge of the Christmas Card Workshop back in September and aside from planning an awesome day for 14 consultants and 40 guests (and their kids!) she designed three awesome cards.  Here are her creations. Please make sure you check out her blog too. She posts a lot of great ideas!

 The last two cards, Krista designed with the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and the matching stamp sets. For the workshop, she precut all the design elements for all the guests to show them how fast and simple this cartridge can make your papercrafting. After seeing these designs, I'm a believer!

Christmas Cards

It seems that a lot of my busy-ness has come down to one thing - homemade Christmas cards. I struggle with this every year because as a crafter I want to give a homemade card to everyone. Unfortunately, my card list is much longer than I want to make cards for and I never start early enough to make it possible. I also love sending photos of the kids to family and friends and the photo cards are so simple to do. Maybe when I don't have cute kid photos to send each year, I will work on shortening my list down to a managable level (or just start earlier) but for now, I simply save the cards I make in classes for "someday". Over the next few days, I will share with you some of the cards my sister consultants designed for our Team's Christmas Card Workshop back in September. I shared with you the card I designed but here are some of the other designs the guests got to make throughout the day.

Christmas Gift Tags

I am loving how easy the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge is making my holiday gift giving this year! I am able to make some really easy gifts that look like a million bucks! Below are some of the gift tags I made to attach to the kids' gifts. I went a little more dramatic for the tags that will go on the adult gifts but for the kids' I kept it simple.

I cut 14 of the tag from the Art Philosophy cartridge in Olive cardstock and 14 of the rectangle from White Daisy cardstock. Using the December 25th stamp set, I used Cranberry ink to stamp the image onto the white cardstock. Super easy!

This the tag I am using for the adults' tags. I cut Barn Red cardstock to 4"x 6", White Daisy cardstock to 3.5" x 5.5". I used Olive ink with an image from the June Stamp of the Month stamp set and some of the gingham ribbon from the red collection. Since the adults actually care who the gift is from, I made it bigger to accommodate all the extra sentiments adults like.

Christmas Advent Calendar

This post has taken me awhile to do, simply because I have been oddly uninspired after the initial thought of making an advent calendar. I really hate when that happens because the project will just sit on my table mocking me. Some projects I can set aside for months and months until inspiration will strike but my son was the driving force to get this finished. I'm still not 100% happy with the project but I have a whole year to redo it if I choose to do so. In the meantime, I have something that my son is happy to work with for the season, and really, that's all I care about. Though if you have any suggestions on how to better embellish the box, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here are some photos of the box and a few cards for your reference.

Here is a list of the 24 activities I used:

My 2012 Class Schedule

I have just updated my Class Schedule for the new year. Check it out on the above tab! See you in 2012!

I have all the final details in place for my Winter Weekend Crop in February. Check out the "Upcoming Events" tab for more information or email me for an application.

I had been anticipating that this post would feature my advent calendar I've been working on but the pressure has been ruining my creative mojo so I've shelved that project until I feel more inspired. I moved on to my next project which is planning my team meeting for this coming week. It's also our Holiday party but I wanted to do a quick Make & Take for the gals to cross of something from their own To Do lists. Oddly, Close to My Heart posted a video on the exact project I was planning on doing so I'll share it with all of you!




For more information on the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge check it out here.