Christmas cards from friends!

These are some Christmas cards that I received from friends and family. I wanted to share these with you as they are all so beautiful!


This one is from my mother-in-law, Barbara. You can't see it to well in the picture but the star is embossed with clear embossing powder and So Saffron ink.

This one is from my upline's upline and good friend, Alisa. I love these colors!

This one is from one of my good friends and side line, Lisa! You go girl! How cute are those snowmen?

This one is from another good friend and a person I met through my Stampin' Up! business. Maureen sent this to me. It is absolutely gorgeous!.

This one came from another good friend, Tammy. Peaceful Wishes I miss you!! :) Simple yet so elegant.

This one is from my sister-in-law, Melanie. Another, you go girl!!!! I am proud of you!

I really enjoyed receiving these cards from you ladies, thank you!! I want to wish each one of my friends, family and all of you checking in on my blog a Very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to come! Thanks for such a great year!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 12 - Chocolate Covered Candy

This is not what I had in mind for the 12th day but I am running a little behind and wanted to come up with a quick gift just in case someone needed something tomorrow. These are the Dove chocolate that are packaged in three individual servings. They were really inexpensive at Wal-mart. I wrapped them in Baja Breeze Designer Series paper. The ribbon on the top is Double Stitched 5/8 Regal Rose ribbon. The other two are Chocolate Chip Satin ribbon (retired) from last year. I actually made the brown satin ones for the bus driver and bus aide on my daughter's bus and the pink one for the mail lady. All you have to do is measure your candy bar and then measure your paper from there. Tie a ribbon and you are done!

Thanks for looking!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 11 - Seasons Frame

Six days until Christmas! Can you believe it? I love Christmas. It gets a little hectic from time to time but I truly love the Peace and Joy that Christmas holds for all of us.

This is a cased project that I got from the Holiday Mini. That is one great thing about Stampin' Up! catalogs and Minis, they give you ideas as well as showcasing their wonderful products.

I made this Tree for all Seasons frame for a silent auction for a Christmas party we went to last night. Back in October I made one for a quarter auction and it was a big hit. The frame I picked up at Wal-mart. You can also pick up a nice frame at the local craft store and get it for a good price with a 40 or 50% off coupon. It really is simple to put together. Give it a try!

Here is what I used to make this gift idea:
Season of Friendship Stamp Set (Holiday Mini)
Naturals Ivory Cardstock
Whisper White Cardstock
Chocolate chip Classic Ink Pad
Really Rust Classic Ink Pad
Baja Breeze Classic Ink Pad
Summer Sun Classic Ink Pad
3/4 Inch Circle Punch

Also, I wanted to let you ladies know that we sent off 73 cards, with envelopes, to the troops in Iraq for Christmas. In October I asked for some swaps from other demos and I had three demos send me swaps. Thanks to Alisa Mawson, Judi Schock, Donna Diaz and myself these troops with have these cards to send back to their families for Christmas. I know this means a lot to the troops since they are away from their families for the holiday and want to wish them well.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 10 - Lollipop Bouquet

This is a lollipop bouquet I made for Sydney's class for her Christmas party. This is something you can do for a group of people getting together or for a friend. This is a crushed pineapple can that I covered with Ski Slope Designer Series paper. You can also use the Circle Scallop Punch with the Big Flowers Stamp set and make a bouquet of flowers with the lollipops. That would be so cute for someone's birthday! In the bottom of the can I used a floral block (I know that is not the right name but it is slipping my mind right now) and some white shredded paper to hide the block.

Here is what I used to make this:
Ski Slope Designer Series Paper
Whisper White Cardstock
Basic Black Cardstock
Tango Tangerine Cardstock
Winter Post Stamp Set (snowflake)
Real Red Classic Ink Pad
1/4 inch White Grosgrain Ribbon
1 3/8 Circle Punch
1/8 Hand Held Circle Punch
1 inch Circle Punch
Square Scallop Punch
Word Window Punch
Floral Block
White Shredded Paper

Christmas Card Day!

I actually made this card yesterday but wasn't sure I liked it or not. I got up this morning and looked at it and it just came together. This is Kraft, Baja Breeze, Whisper White and also Mellow Moss for the front trees. I do not have a large plain stamp for the reflection so I took a SU! clear envelope and stamped on it with the Chocolate Chip and pressed it to the card. I think it turned out pretty well. The ribbon on this card is the Chocolate Chip Taffeta ribbon. The stamp sets are Lovely as A Tree and Winter Post. The background is sponged on with Baja Breeze Classic ink and Not Quite Navy Classic ink.

All of these cards are just about the same design just a little different in their own way. This one is again Kraft, Baja Breeze and Chocolate Chip. The trees here are Baja Breeze. The background trees are embossed with white embossing powder. On the first layer, the actual card, I stamped Itty Bitty Backgrounds with Craft White Ink. The ribbon here is Baja Breeze Double Striped. I also used the Horizontal Punch and the Ticket corner punch on this card.

This one is done with Kraft and Mellow Moss. Again, the background trees are embossed with white embossing powder. Also on this card I did the Itty Bitty Background with Craft White on the actual card. I used the 1/4 inch grosgrain Mellow Moss ribbon.

This one is done with Kraft and Always Artichoke. I changed the side of the ribbon to give it a little bit of its own flavor. For those who know me I get bored very easy and have to change things around and make several different Christmas Cards to get my fill! Everything was done the same on this card except for the colors and the ribbon done on the left instead of the right. This ribbon is the 1/4 inch Always Artichoke. I did make 14 of these.

This one is exactly like the one above except it has 1/4 white grosgrain instead of the 1/4 inch Always Artichoke Ribbon. I did 10 of these.

Thanks for looking! I have day 10 of the 12 Days of Christmas ready to post but I have a crying 3 year old right now. I will get it on as soon as I can.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9 - Smores Kit

Smores anyone? I will be making these for my girls teachers for Christmas. They are really simple to make. I purchased the take out boxes at the Target dollar spot. The kit contains one chocolate bar, 4 Large marshmallows and 4 whole graham crackers. This is enough to make four smores. I also included a lollipop with a snowman cover made out of cardstock and punches. I am out of medium cello bags so I used SU! clear envelopes to put the marshmallows and graham crackers in. It worked really well. I also put some shredded white paper in the bottom of the take out box to help push up the smores kit some.

The tag reads:
Thank you for teaching me Smore & Smore each day! Thanks Renee for this saying.

On the back of the tag is the recipe for making the smores:
Put half of a graham cracker on a paper towel in the microwave. Place a piece of the chocolate bar on top of the graham cracker. Place one marshmallow on top of the chocolate. Microwave for 10-15 seconds. Add the other half of the graham cracker and Enjoy!

The tag was made with:
Real Red Cardstock
Whisper White Cardstock
Winter Post Stamp Set
Real Red Classic Ink
Silver Cord

The Snowman Cover for the lollipop was made with:
Whisper White Cardstock
Basic Black Cardstock
Pumpkin Pie Cardstock
1 Inch Circle Punch
1/8 Circle Punch
Square Scallop Punch
Word Window Punch

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8 - Snowman Hot Chocolate Cone

Wow, can you believe it is day 8 already. Where does the time go? These are so easy to do and make great teacher, co-workers, secret sister, etc., gifts. They could be for just about anyone. Who doesn't love hot chocolate? Especially homemade hot chocolate. This is done in a pastry bag. You put the products in one at a time. Tie the top tightly with a twist tie, add some ribbon and a tag and there you have it. On these I used Baja Breeze Double Striped Ribbon. I also made a two sided tag with Whisper White cardstock and Baja Breeze Cardstock. I stamped the tag with the snowman from Merry and Bright using a Basic Black Marker and colored the scarf and hat in using a blender pen and Baja Breeze Classic Ink Pad. One side of the tag has the recipe the other side has a little "Snowman Soup" Saying. I stamped the snowman on the side with the snowman soup saying and some snowflakes on the side with the recipe.

Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 Tablespoon of Sugar

1/3 Cup of Nesquick (chocolate milk mix)

1/3 Cup Coffee Mate - Italian Sweet Creme Flavor

1/2 Cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 Cup Mini Marshmallows or 4 large Marshmallows

Makes 4 cups

Boil 4 cups of water. Add all ingredeints from the bag except marshmallows. Bring mixture almost to a boil. Put in a mug, add some marshmallows and enjoy!

Here is the tag with the snowman soup saying. I did not add the candy cane to mine but that would be your "stick" or you could take a plastic spoon dip the end in melted chocolate, let it dry and wrap it in a small cello bag with some ribbon. Then add it to the cone.

It Says:

Snowman Soup

Was told you've been real good this year.

Always glad to hear it!

With freezing weather drawing near,

You'll need to warm the spirit.

So here's a little Snowman Soup

Complete with stirring stick.

Add hot water, sip it slow.

It's sure to do the trick!

Snowman Scrapbook Page

We did this scrapbook page at my scrap club on Saturday. This was actually two projects in one. We made the stars and then the scrapbook page. Then we added the star to the scrapbook page as an embellishment. This was a really fun page to put together and the ladies just loved it.

Here is what we used:
Blush Blossom Cardstock 12x12
Whisper White Cardsstock
Baja Breeze Cardstock
Chocolate Chip Cardstock
Tango Tangerine Cardstock (snowman's nose)
Ski Slope Designer Series Paper (one of my favs)
Vellum Cardstock (for the star)
Best Wishes Stamp Set
Blush Blossom Classic Ink Pad
Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad
1 1/4 Circle Punch
1 3/8 Circle Punch
1 inch Circle Punch
1/8 Circle Punch
Word Window Punch
Square Scallop Punch
Small Tag Punch
Large Tag Punch
Felt Flurries (Holiday Mini)
Pretties Kit
Dimensions Dots
Mini Glue Dots
Two Way Glue Pen
Natural Twine

Thanks for looking!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7 - Snowman Ornament

Sorry for not posting yesterday but Sunday is the day of rest and I really needed the rest!! Here is an ornament that I made. These were made with Snowman cookie cutters. I also purchased some Cinnamon scented potpourri and hot glued it to the bottom inside the snowman. This gave it decoration yet a nice scent when hanging on the tree. The ribbon is actually some ribbon I have had for a very long time and decided to use it. The ribbon is just tied around the ornament and then brought together and tied at the top.

This is an ornament I would like to share that my daughter Shelby made. It is made with three Popsicle sticks. The Popsicle sticks were covered with SU! Close to Cocoa ink. She glued two goggle eyes on and a round fuzzy red nose. She also glued the two lose pieces of the green yarn to the back so you would not see it from the front. I thought this was so cute and something you can do with your children.

I have a scrapbook page that I will be posting shortly from my club this weekend. Also, day 8 is coming up!

Thanks for looking!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6 - Box in a Bag

These are nifty little gift bags you can use to give small gift items. These work great for cookies put in a cello bag and then put in one of these. I would love to receive one of these with some Christmas cookies in it! We made one of these at our monthly upline meeting and the other two we made at my monthly clubs. If you click on the title "12 Days of Christmas - Day 6" you will be able to print the instructions with pictures to follow on how to make these. Plus you will get to see another beautiful bag in a totally different design.

Here is what I used to make these:

Designer Series Paper - Ridinghood Red, Ski Slope and Frosty Day

Kraft Cardstock

Tangerine Tango Cardstock

Chocolate Chip Cardstock

Bashful Blue Cardstock

Whisper White Cardstock

Scallop Edge Punch

Scallop Circle Punch

1 3/8 Circle Punch

Tab Punch

1 1/4 Circle Punch (for the snowman one)

1 inch Circle Punch (for the snowman)

Deer Friends Stamp Set (snowman) - Hostess stamp set

Best Wishes Stamp Set (snowflake)

1/4 Bashful Blue Grosgrain Ribbon

5/8 Double Striped Baja Breeze Ribbon

Chocolate Chip Taffeta Ribbon

Crop-A-dile

Sticky Strip (A MUST)

SU! Cutter with scoring blade

Thank you Diana Gibbs for sharing the instructions for this project! Also, thank you Judi (my upline) for this wonderful idea and project at the meeting. You are the best!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5 - Christmas Star with Gift Bag and Card

Here is a gift bag and a card you can put some goodies in and give to just about anyone. To get the instructions on how to make the "star" click on the above title "12 Days of Christmas - Day 5" and it will give you directions. It really is easy to make. A little time consuming but fun! The gift bag measures 8" wide so I cut the paper 8 1/2 x 8 1/8. Adhere toward the bottom of the bag. The designer series paper is cut at 2 1/2 x 8 1/8. It is adhered at the top of your bag. Create your star and there you have it!


The card is cut at 5 1/2 x 8 1/2. The DSP on the card is cut at 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 then cut from corner to corner which will give you two halves for two different cards. Of course on this card you only see one of the halves. I used the SU! Heard from the Heart stamp set for the saying. It says " Welcome Chrismtas into your Heart". Create your star and again, you are done.


Here is a close up of the star. Very pretty! You can also put a small hole at the top of these and put some SU! Silver cord through them and hang on the tree as ornaments. Looks very elegant in the lights of the tree.

Donna, a SU! demonstrator from Utah is the author or creator of this star and has shared it with many of us.




Here is what I used to make these projects:
Star:
Vellum or Vellum cardstock ( I prefer the cardstock grade)
Two way glue pen
Tag Punch
Small Tag Punch
Baja Breeze Cardstock
Felt Flurries (Holiday Mini)
Pretties Kit
Mini Glue Dots
Dimensions

Card:
Whisper White Cardstock
Baja Breeze Designer Series Paper

Gift Bag:
A plain gift bag
Whisper White Cardstock
Baja Breeze Designer Series Paper

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4 - "Whisk" you a Merry Christmas

I picked these little beauties up at the Target dollar spot. They were actually $2.50 but I still did not think that was bad. If you can't find them at Target the Dollar store is always a good place to look. These came with a whisk and a spatula but you don't really need the spatula to do the gift.

I put kisses in a SU! Clear envelope with the adhesive tab cut off and tied some matching SU! ribbon around the top. Pulling the whisk apart very gently you will stuff the kisses in the middle of the whisk. Also, if you don't have SU! Clear envelopes you should order some, just kidding! You can use a medium SU! cello bag. I printed the tag on my computer and stamped the snowflake from Winter Post (one of my favs this season) using coordinating SU! ink. The saying says: We "Whisk" you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year". You can also use We "Whisk" you a Merry "Kissmas" and a Happy New Year". These are so quick and easy to make.

This is what the back of the spatula's look like. They are really cute! Thanks for looking!

Here is what I used to make these:

Winter Post Stamp Set

SU! Clear envelopes

Hershey Kisses

Real Red Striped Ribbon

Silver Cord

Bashful Blue 1/4 inch Grosgrain Ribbon

Real Red Cardstock

Bashful Blue Cardstock

Whisper White Cardstock

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3 - Jelly anyone!

I started out this morning with a jar of jelly. Yes, a jar of jelly. In my Better Homes and Gardens magazine this month there was a pull out that had Smucker's jellies and recipes for each one. The moment I saw it I knew I wanted to do a gift idea with it.

This is what I came up with. I covered the jar with DSP paper. I cut the paper 3 3/4 x 11. Wrapped it around the jar. Then I wrapped a band around the jar. This was cut at 1 1/4 x 11. It will depend on which size jar you use. I then stamped Merry Christmas from the Punches Three hostess set and punched it out using the Square Scallop Punch. It is attached with stampin' dimensions. I wrapped natural twine around the top of the jar.

My idea with this project was to include the recipe. I would put this in a gift bag so I made a tag for my gift bag using the Winter Post stamp set. On the other side of the tag is the recipe for Strawberry Angel Cookies. The DSP paper is double sided but it matches the strawberry. What strawberry you ask?This is the top of the jar. I stamped the strawberry and cut it out. It is mounted on stampin' dimensions. I also punched a piece of the DSP and a piece of Naturals White using the Scallop Circle Punch and twisted them so that each scallop would show through.

Here is what was used to make this project:

Punches Three Stamp Set (Hostess Level I)

Tart and Tangy Stamp Set

Winter Post Stamp Set

Ski Slope Designer Series Paper

Naturals White Cardstock

Real Red Classic Ink pad

Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad

Real Red Marker

Old Olive Marker

Stampin' Dimensions

Natural Twine

Scallop Circle Punch

1/8 Punch

Square Scallop Punch

Recipe for Strawberry Angel Cookies:

Crisco Original No-stick cooking spray

1 (16oz) package Pillsbury Angel Food Cake

3/4 cup Smucker's Strawberry Jelly

3 Tbls. of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 F. Coat baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray.

Beat together cake mix and preserves at low speed until evenly moistened.

Continue to beat 1 minute. Stir is chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons on prepared baking sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until tops are just lightly browned. Cool 1 minute

on baking sheet. Place on cooling rack to cool completely.

Store between sheets of wax paper to keep from sticking together.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2 - Ornament

My sister-in-law emailed me today needing an ornament idea. I was trying to come up with some ideas for her. This ornament is made out of a square chipboard coaster. I covered it with a 4x4 piece of Chocolate Chip cardstock using Mod podge. I then used a 3 3/4 x 3 3/4 piece of DSP . I stamped the poinsettia and "Christ is Born". Then cut it out. I also added some Rhinestones to the poinsettia. I took the SU! Circle Ice Rhinestones and opened them up and took the Rhinestone out. Very easy to do! Then glued them on with my two way glue pen. I also traced the saying with the two way glue pen and added Dazzling Diamonds. It doesn't show up to well in the picture unfortunately.

Here is what I used to make this Ornament:

Christ is Born Stamp Set

Circle Ice Rhinestones

Chocolate Chip Cardstock

Ski Slope Designer Series Paper

Whisper White Cardstock

Chocolate Chip Classic Ink

Ridinghood Red Classic Ink

Corner Rounder

Two Way Glue Pen

Dazzling Diamonds

Crop-A-Dile

Jumbo Eyelets

Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon

Mod Podge

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1 - Gift Card holder

I have been demonstrating these in my clubs and decided to share this as my first 12 days of Christmas project. Gift cards are great to give during the Christmas Season; however, you can give them for birthdays, anniversary, etc. You can decorate them for whatever the occasion may be.

This is the inside. You can also make these as your Christmas Card and add a family photo instead of a gift card. As you can see I have added a photo of my girls inside this one.

This is the second design that we made in club. I put Dazzling Diamonds on the Dove and on the Roof of the House using the Two Way glue pen. It doesn't show up well in the photo but it really adds alot to the project.

Here is how we made these:
Using the first design to go by....Cut a piece of cardstock at 4 3/4 x 3 3/4. This will be the "base" of your holder. Cut a piece of Designer Series paper at 3 1/2 x 11. Score this at 4 1/2 and 9 using the SU! cutter with scoring blade attached. Fold up and attach the smallest half with brads. This is the actual part that will hold your gift card or photo. Adhere this to the "base" of your card. Cut a piece of coordinating cardstock at 4 1/4 x 3 1/4. Also cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock at 4 x 3. Then decorate. On the one with the House on it you stamp the front of the Whipser White cardstock with the house from the To You and Yours stamp set in chocolate chip ink. Then stamp "From our house to yours" over the house again in chocolate chip ink. Adhere the Baja Breeze and Whisper White cardstock together. Tie a ribbon around it. Adhere it to the front of the Designer Series paper. Viola! Your done.

Here is the supplies you will need to make these:
To You and Yours Stamp set
Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad or Baja Breeze Classic Ink (depending if you are making the house or the Dove)
Ski Slope Designer Series Paper (this was used on both of the designs made in club)
Baja Breeze cardstock
Chocolate Chip cardstock
RidingHood Red cardstock
Neutral Brads
1/16 Punch
Dazzling Diamonds
Two Way glue pen
SU! Fiskars Cutter with scoring blade
Double Stitched Baja Breeze Ribbon
5/8 Grosgrain Chocolate Chip Ribbon

Christmas Cards

I decided to work on some Christmas cards today. I only have "18" different ones picked out that I like! :) I used the Cricut to cut out the square. You could always cut out a 4x4 square, use the corner rounder and then the 1/8 punch to punch out the corners. I put Chocolate Chip cardstock (scraps) over the holes on the back of the card to give it more dimension.

On this card I used:

Ruby Red Cardstock

Kraft Cardstock

Chocolate Chip Cardstock

Ski Slope Designer Series Paper

Winter Post Stamp Set

Lovely as A Tree (one of my favs)

Chocolate Chip Ink

Again, I used my Cricut to cut out the circles but you could always use the Coluzzle or The Big Shot. These are two different circles placed together with a punch from the Round Tab Punch. I cut the Chocolate Chip cardstock to 1 7/8 wide and the Whisper White to 1 3/4 wide. Adhere them together and placed them on the front of the circle. Then I just cut around the ends to round these two cardstocks. The circle is 4x4 so the strips were 4 1/4. I saw this on Splitcoaststampers as an ornament and decided to make it a card. I am pleased with the way it turned out.

On this card I used:

Bashful Blue Cardstock

Chocolate Chip Cardstock

Whisper White Cardstock

Chocolate Chip Ink

Round Tab Punch

Neutrals eyelets

Crop-A-dile

Silver Cord

I will be starting my 12 days of Christmas next week so stay tuned for that. I have decided to start it on Monday the 8th as it is easier for me to start a new project at the beginning of the week instead of in the middle! :) I will post more on that starting next week. Have a great weekend and remember if you need anything you can always go to my website http://www.crazyboutstampin.stampinup.net/ and place an order. Any orders placed by Dec. 15th are guaranteed for Christmas delivery.

Thanks for looking!

Baby Shower!!

I am sorry I have been away so long. I really have been working on some projects. We had a "surprise" baby shower for my sister-in-law this past Saturday so I was not able to post anything until the shower was over. The theme for her shower was "Pickles and Ice Cream". Here are the items I did for her shower.

I made two of the lollipop "pickle" vases. I put the lollipops on skewers and wrapped them in floral tape. I used the scallop punch, 1 3/8 circle punch, 1/8 circle punch, crimper, Whisper White, Kiwi Kiss and Basic Black cardstock. I also used some retired Regal Rose ribbon to tie around the sticks of the lollipops. The ribbon on the bottom is the Regal Rose Double stitched ribbon that is still available. I filled the ice cream parlor cup (from the Dollar Store) with stredded brown paper to look like chocolate ice cream.

These were so fun to make. I made nine of these to give away. I used Dollar Store ice cream scoops. I filled a small cello bag with Hershey Kisses and put mini glue dots on the bottom to hold it in the scoop. Again, I used the punches and cardstock to make the "Pickles". The brown dot ribbon I picked up at Wal-Mart. The saying on the scallop punch says "A Scoop of Love and a few kisses, Thanks for all your love and wishes". I punched out four other scallops in Chocolate Chip cardstock and placed them around the Whisper White saying to look like a larger scallop punch. It is hard to see in the photo.

Here is a two page layout I did for her to keep her memories on. On the sides I left the spaces for the ladies to sign their name or write a little message to my sister-in-law. I used a retired stamp set from Stampin' Up! Perfect Party is the name of it. The lady shadow and Baby Shower was done on my Cricut Machine. I think I failed to mention that her color theme was Chocolate Chip, Certianly Celery and Regal Rose. I am sure you have figured that out by now! :)

This is the banner I made. It is mostly made with retired SU! Designer Series Paper. I wish I could say I cut the circles out with the Big Shot, but it is still on my wishlist. I used my Cricut to cut them out. I would have liked to have gotten closer but it was impossible because of the length of the banner.

I will be doing the 12 days of Christmas starting on Dec. 11th until the 23rd. I will be displaying some gift giving ideas for the holidays so stay tuned!

Thanks!