Dashing thru the snow...

Really. ;) It is that crazy time of year when I am up to my eyeballs in last minute crafting, gift wrapping, stocking stuffing and I wouldn't have it any other way. I am never organized enought to have it all done and ready by now. How bored would I be? :) I really do love all of the last minute craziness. Maybe because I'm crazy. ;) Here are a few shots from the Christmas party we had for my hubby's office. Candy coated marshmallows for the hot cocoa bar, the menu for the hot cocoa bar and some of the food labels that were on the buffet table. Thanks to my dear friend Becky we pulled off a fabulous party! Everyone had a full tummy and a festive spirit while they mingled.

Oh, my!

It has been waaay tooo long since my last post. So sorry. I have been traveling, working and getting the house ready for thanksgiving, Marissa's birthday and the company holiday party. Oh yeah, and putting my new craft room together. Want to see pics? :) Okay. It is not 'finished' but at least I can work in here now. I love it!!!

Looking in from the new arched entry.

All of my stuff I moved in, but it will not be staying. Once my built ins are done all of this furniture will be finding a new home. My white folding tables will go back to storage. ;)

This is my work space. One side for tools and the other for working. I love being able to leave all of my machines out and ready to go. I have my accessories in baskets under the table. Very handy. Do you see Marissa's craft stuff? She loves it in here also. :)

This is where all of the magic happens. ;) Or where all of the mess happens. :) It looks messy, but it is really organized.

On to the projects!! I love this cute tin. It is My Minds Eye pattern paper and die cuts. The festive colors and whimsical characters make it a perfect fir in my house for the holidays. I painted a big tin (it had peanuts in it origianlly) and then covered it with pattern paper and embellishments. I used my Xyron Design Runner and Design Disc Maker to print the tag. It is so cool to be able to type whatever I want my tags to say and print it right where I want it. No computer necessary. ;) I think I will be filling this tin with a small pair of gloves, some hot cocoa with marshmallows and a cute felt cup cozy. The perfect gift for a teenage girl or babysitter.

I love to reuse a great jar. :) This is a nice, big mouth salsa jar. It is filled with wrapped, soft, peppermint candies. The paper and stamps are from October Afternoon. I did some faux stitching in a matching green around the label (spellbinders). Very homespun and sweet. Great gift idea for a teacher, hairstylist, music teacher, co-worker, etc.

This mug template was shared by Tammy McCloud. She is amazing with the Wishblade by Xyron. I love mine and I love when someone shares a great file like this one. I plan on sitting a cellophane bag of homemade hot cocoa inside and tying a sweet ribbon around it. The snowflake diecuts are from Spellbinders. Glitter from Martha Stewart. Stamped sentiment from Papertrey. Pattern paper from October Afternoon. How cute?

Same mug, different style. This one is using the Christmas Stack pattern paper by Die Cut With A View. I made a pinwheel cupcake pick out of vellum to match the paper. The snowflake punch, glitter and stamped sentiment are from Martha Stewart. I filled the mug with white shred paper and sat the cupcake right on top. What a great way to sweeten someone's day. :)

Enjoy!

Making a list...

I have seen these cute notebooks on many blogs and finally decided to give them a try. They are so easy and so useful. What great gifts these would make. Pair them with a nice pen and you have a great gift for teachers, co-workers, neighbor or anyone you know and want to pass on a little holiday cheer. The super cute pattern paper is from the Die Cut With A View Christmas Glitter Stack. I ran all of the paper pieces through my Xyron adhesive machines and used the Xyron 3/8" adhesive runner to attach the paper pad to the cover. Stamps are from Papertrey, Close to my Heart, Kim Hughes and Doodlebug. There are also rub-ons from Michael's $1 bin, Bazzill Chip toppers and die cuts from the Xyron Personal Cutting System. I plan on making a bunch of these this year to hand out. Enjoy and have a great day! :)

More to share with you

A card with a hug. That is what this project reminded me of. I made this template to fit the cocoa packet and bag of cookies. There is room to stamp or write a sentiment on the inside flap. My Mids Eye is the paper used for the box. I love the colors and texture of their papers. The snowman and snowflake were cut using my Xyron Personal Cutting System and I free hand cut the mug and steam. The ribbon is white twill from Maya Road and the print was done using the Design Runner, Design Disc Maker and red ink (all from Xyron). Running your cut shapes thru any of the Xyron adhesive machines and then sprinkling with glitter, beads or flocking is the easiest and least messy way to embellish. I LOVE IT!!!

This is a triangle cone. Again, I made the template myself, but the idea is not mine. This is a project that was made for Glue Arts. It uses alot of their great adhesives; High tack adhesive lines, squares and micro squares. This new holiday paper from October Afternoon is soooo cute. The gingerbread man is a Sizzix die. Felt holly leaves from American Crafts with miscellaneous buttons. The scallop border is a new Martha Stewart punch and the 'believe' sheer card is from Maya Road. You could fill this with any little goodie. Enjoy!

Lots of holiday goodness

More goodies to share today. :)

Thankful Banner: Made for Glue Arts using their adhesives. You can check out the instructions and more here: http://www.gluearts.com/designteam.html

Paper Holiday Wreath

Snowflakes and words cut on the Xyron Wishblade. The wreath is handcut by me. :)

Holiday Planner Tin

Chocolate Nugget Presents

Bows cut with the Xyron Personal Cutting System.

Stocking Wishlist

The goodies at the top are attached to the list and you pull it up.

A bag for cookies and a pouch for the cocoa.

Shapes cut with the Xyron Personal Cutting System.

Holiday Bookmarks or bag tags.

Shapes cut on the Xyron Personal Cutting System.

Check out more projects and instructions here: http://www.xyron.com/enUS/NewGalleries/default.html

This was my first attempt at an acrylic album. It was made for Impressive Pages using one of their 8x8 acrylic albums. You can check them out here: http://impressive-pages.com/

Found my mojo!

My crafty mojo has been on vacation lately. ;) The ideas and want were there, but projects just weren't going together the way I envisioned. Well this weekend it was back!! My hubby bought me the Cricut Expression for our anniversary. Yippee!! I think my collection of cutting machines is complete now. ;) This snowman bag is a project I made yesterday. It uses the cartridge that came with the Cricut. I was browsing thru a Harry & David's catalog friday and saw a snowman box that hold many of their yummy treats. I love the idea of their tower of treats and so I combined the two ideas into this snowman gift bag tower. He is three bags stacked up and decorated.Enjoy!

Snowman 'Stack of Goodies'

Button 'carrot' nose & velvet black brad eyes

Hat: felt snowflake, chipboard buckle, button & silk berries

Shape of bags

Felt scarf & mitten, vintage buttons & twine

'Snowy' bottom

Quick gifts

It is in the teens this morning. Brrrr!! So it seems appropriate to share some warm-up gift ideas.
I made a bunch (5 dozen) of different items to donate for my daughters preschool craft fair. Quick and easy little goodies that sold like hotcakes. :) Nothing was left and all the money went to the preschool. There were embossed napkins tied with vintage seam binding and glittery fall goodness, 16 oz. to go coffee cups (inside was a coffee sleeve and a packet of instant mocha or latte mix), packets of hot cocoa mix (2 packets of mix per wrap), tea bag packets and some notepads (no photos, sorry). The last photo is just some of the different tags I made to go on the tea and cocoa packets. Just lots of little goodies to share with friends, hostesses or co-workers.

If you want directions on any of these leave me a comment and I can post a quick tutorial/instructions for them. I am working on another post with a new template for more yummy fun. :) Enjoy and stay warm!

Holy Cow!!!!

It has been waaaay too long since my last post. Sorry. Maybe these cute Halloween ideas that I did will make up for it.?.

You can check out these projects and others at Xyron.com. These items were used in the Xyron ad in Better Homes and Garden Halloween special issue 2008. :)

Party Poppers

Treat Bags

Treat Bag

Party Invitation

Cauldron (Clear paint pail w/lid)

And these were just for fun. The cute candy bar wrapper we did for a make-n-take at a local stamping store, Stamp Attic, for their yearly open house. It is the best find in Anchorage. Betty has everything and more!! Everyone that works there is always so helpful and happy. I just can't get enough of all the goodness they offer.

Spooky & Sweet

Just a few fun Halloween cards to share today. Enjoy!

Scenic Route pattern paper, Bazzill cardstock, Close To My Heart stamps, SU! scallop punch and ink, Scrapworks rub-ons and Daisy D's rub-ons. Fiskars paper trimmer, corner punch and fine tip scissors. Xyron adhesive runner and pop dots.

Bazzill cardstock, Scenic Route pattern paper, Daisy D's stamps and rub-ons, Cosmo Cricket blackboard, Doodlebug glitter and craft store google eyes. Fiskars paper trimmer and fine tip scissors. Xyron Adhesive runner and X150 Sticker Maker.

Bazzill cardstock, Scenic Route pattern paper, Doodlebug paper trims and glitter, Daisy D's chipboard letters, Ranger Stickles, K & Co. die cut shape. Fiskars paper trimmer. Xyron Adhesive Runner and pop dots.