So Cute and So Useful!

So for Christmas this year, one of my projects was to make some mini-gift bags.  Because we end up mostly exchanging gift cards with the other family members, I thought this was a cute way to package them.  I ended up with 5 bags that measure about 5" tall when finished.  For each bag, I used 2 - 6" x 6" pieces of paper from Nikki Sivils' "North Pole Nights" mini pad of papers.  I love that they aren't all in red and green as most of my Christmas decorations aren't necessarily 'traditional' Christmas colors!  I then added some miscellaneous ribbons and embellishments from my stash and voila!  Because the papers are such good quality, they are strong, sturdy gift bags.  They ended up being so cute, I couldn't give them away and so now have a head-start for next year's gift giving!

For this one, I traced some of the design in the corner and added some Craft & Glitz Micro Glitter to give it a little extra bling.  And for the tag, that's from the packaging from some Nikki Sivils' buttons packages that I cut out after using the buttons on another project!

A Creative Memories sticker plus some Nikki Sivils stickers, my Marvy Uchida Border punch and some leftover ribbon made for a very pretty package!

Harmonie Peel & Sticks stickers livened up this cute little bag... hope I pick Mom's name for next year!

After adding the tag, the snowflakes, ribbon and candy cane button, I thought it cude use just a little extra 'punch' so I added some self-adhesive gems to the Christmas tree for some dimensional tree decorations...

The label here is a Nikki Sivils sticker and then to have it stand out just a little more, I used some decorative edge scissors in the same scallop design to cut out a bigger circle in the green cardstock.  I then used Pop Dots to adhere both the sticker to the cardstock and then the cardstock to the gift bag.

Such a lot of fun!  I think I'll be making some birthday bags next! Now to buy presents to fit in these cute little containers!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

So another Christmas has passed and now we're starting the annual debate of what to do for New Year's but I wanted to take a moment to show off this year's Christmas decorations and handmade gifts.  I've been feeling extra crafty this year and inspired to do some fun creations!

Inspiration for both of these projects was found at http://www.rubberstampingdiva.com/ when Allison Orthner directed me there through her t.v. program.  The snowmen are 3 Lindt chocolate bars with the pdf print out of the faces / buttons etc.  Then I used some scrap ribbon for the scarfs and cut up some of Jaren's old socks for the hats.  We gave these out as teachers' gifts and were they ever a hit!  The candy cane star is pretty much just that... candy canes and peppermint candies.  The website said to use hot glue but I used my heat embossing gun to melt the candy and 'weld' them together.  (Thanks David for the heat idea...)  So far, it's staying together very well and is hanging proudly on my wall!  I'm thinking I'd like to try some mini candy canes and make some stars for the tree for next year!

So much inspiration... So much fun!

So I had such a good time last month when I entered the challenge on Nikki Sivils' blog (especially when I won) that I just had to do it again this month! And of course, it sure helped with inspiration and motivation when I received my prize package! It was the "School is Cool" paper and embellishments kit! And then when they announced that this month's challenge was to use photos taken with your cell phone, well, I couldn't have been happier! I have the perfect photos to go with the perfect papers!

This will forever be one of my favorite photos of Jaren as he walked into school on his first day of kindergarten. As I walked in behind him, it struck me how confident, excited and sure of himself that he was. And to me, how small he still seemed... I just had to snap a picture. And then later that fall, as the leaves changed colors and the sun rose later in the mornings, I snapped another photo looking at the school and those same doors from across the street at Keira's house. How many times I watch through the window to the school across the street and wonder what he's doing. It just always makes me feel that everyday, I have to "let him go so I can let him grow..." Just wish he'd stop doing it so quickly!

The patterned paper, buttons, letters and arrows are Nikki Sivils. The cardstock is "Scrapbook Sally" and the only other embellishments I used was Ranger Glossy Accents, Craft & Glitz Red glitter, pop dots and Marvy Uchida Le Plume pen in Blue.



I wanted to highlight the red school house door on the embellishment so I used some Ranger Glossy Accents and then sprinkled it with Craft & Glitz Red glitter so it has a little texture plus a little bling to it. I also used the Ranger Glossy Accents on the other smaller school house doors so they stand out just a little in the background.

So where have I been?

So what have I been doing since my "big win" with Nikki Sivils last week and getting published in Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine the week before?  The usual December busyness has set in with clowning, magic, balloon twisting, facepainting, decorating, shopping etc....  add that to already trying to keep the house clean, the guys fed and some 'me' time to do some crafting, oh yeah, and don't forget going to work every now and then... and for sure.... it MUST be December!

Last weekend was great fun with some good entertaining which even allowed me to catch up with some old friends as well as some cousins!  Just as I 'come down' from all the excitement, it will be the weekend and time to do it all over again! 

I have been making time to keep up with the "monthly challenges" that I have challenged myself to complete though with a fun layout for Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine's "Sketchy Challenge" using paper and embellishments from Basic Gray and also entering a Summer layout for their "Baby Blue" feature in the Summer issue...  This one was using "Kiki Art" paper.  I love the secret flaps and hidden photos as people 'explore' the page with me... Fun, hey?!

Inspired to Create...

SO Happy with how this page turned out! I was inspired to enter a 'page challenge' from the Nikki Sivils blog. It's not so easy to find the Nikki Sivils paper here but I did have a couple of her collections in my stash and thought the rainy themed paper with a melancholy looking black and white photo seemed to fit the bill... This is the "It's Raining , It's Pouring" paper line. 

I wanted to make the clouds stand out a little so I spread them with embossing powder... thinking that would just make them all shiny, but then was so excited to see the 'water drops' appear giving the clouds and the umbrellas below the appearance of being wet! I used 'pop dots' to give the clouds and a few umbrellas some dimension and was VERY happy with the results! Can't wait to do another page tonight!

Products:  Cardstock:  Scrapbook Sally,  Patterned Paper:  Nikki Sivils "It's Raining, It's Pouring", Tools:  Marvy Uchida Paper Trimming Buddy - Straight and Scalloped Blades, Xyron 1.5" Create a Sticker, Stampendous Embossing Powder - "Clear", Marvy Uchida Heat Embossing Tool, Scotch Advanced Tape Glider and Colorbox Chalks in various colors

So we continue with our "Faithbook" project.  Page 2 is an emotional tribute to generations who have gone on before but left us with a "Legacy of Faith".

I Believe...

This month, Keira, Lori and I began working on a "Faithbook" project. It's combining scrapbooking with a little Bible Study / journalling, reflection etc. The assignment for the first page was to complete the sentence "I believe...." and scrapbook your sentence onto a page. This is what Keira and I have come up with this week (mine's the first page, Keira's (the one with her pictures on it) is the second page.)

Taking a step...

So.... it's time to take a step and start showing some of what I've been working on. I thought a good way to do this is to post some of my creative efforts on my blog. Next step is that I'm going to submit some of my projects to various places and see what happens. Some are contests, some are Design Team Calls, some are for publication in magazines. Someone's got to win right? So why couldn't it possibly be me? Certainly nothing will happen if I don't give it a shot! This one above is for My Little Yellow Bicycle. I didn't have a lot of advance notice and then it was a bit of a challenge to find the product here in Calgary, but with their embellishments and "Kiki Art" paper, I thought this was a bright, cheery page...  And I couldn't stop there...  even made a fun bookmark... no more folding the corners of my books. 

So?

So I have learned something new, caught up (a bit) with the times and created a blog.  Prior to this, I wasn't sure why I would be one to blog.  Why would anyone want to read my thoughts or opinions?  I always figured people's reactions to my regular ramblings would be "So?"  So I didn't have a blog... until now. 

Over the weekend, I learned that saying "So" is Biblical.  Psalms 107:2 states "Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so."   (For further explanation on where I got this insight, watch Tyler Perry's "Big Happy Family" for a speech made by Madea based on Psalms 107:2 :o)

So if that's your reaction to what I have shared, I will rejoice with you as one the Lord has redeemed from the enemy and I will also say "So!"  And, upon further ponderance of those two little letters put together... "S" and "O", there may be power in that word afterall.  I am going to practice saying "SO" just to see all the different meanings, expressions, connotations and reactions that can come of it.   And for now, you might react with "So?" as in "What's your point?" but I'm going to conclude with "So...." as in "I'm just getting started but have to think on that for a bit so be patient with me as we see where we go from here..."