Christmas gift tags

If you stick around long enough, you will see that my favorite projects involve using paper from my scraps drawer. Let's face it, you spend two bucks on a sheet of paper and only use a 4th of it, you might as well keep it to get your money's worth. I haven't bought gift tags in years. It is really simple to make them.

Step One: Cut out two squares, a 3x3 square and a slightly smaller one. Sand or ink, one or both, or none.
Step Two: Glue smaller one to larger one. Add any little element, a die cut, a punch, or free hand shape. I love cutting words out of paper scraps. You are the artist go crazy!
Step Three: Staple on some ribbon or punch a hole and run some string through it. If you have more time on your hands, you could add some glitter glue or doodle a design with a fancy pen.

Now you are ready to put a beautiful handmade tag on your gift. You are so thoughtful!

No ribbon, no problem. Here I have used a rubber band through the hole.

Not so negative. The house was punched out for another project,
now it is the main attraction for this tag.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

 In some parts of the country, they are getting the white stuff for Christmas. Unfortunately, (or fortunately depending on how you feel) we don't have any yet around here. Instead of a rain dance, we are urging it on at my house with a Let It Snow Banner. The patterned paper comes from Making Memories. The letters are from the Storybook Cricut Cartridge. I white washed (the lazy woman's painting technique) some clothes pins to adhere the letters to the ribbon.

Create Blog Card Challenge

This card is in response to a challenge on the Scrapbooking Trends Create Blog. The challenge was to create a card that is easily mass produced for the busy holiday card maker. This card is a simple but detailed card. I used Cricut Storybook to get the shape for my background. The tree is simply three different free hand triangles. The star comes from the Cricut cartridge Doodlecharm. Of course if you don't have a Cricut you can cut all the shapes free hand. The Cricut is good however for cutting many shapes at once. So all you have to do in the end is assemble them all.


I sanded the edges of just about every element. I normally sand or ink everything I create.  In this case the sanding gives my tree a frosted look. I made the Merry Christmas by printing onto a sheet of clear labels. This way I have 30 sentiments that I can stick on patterned paper and easily affix to the fronts of my cards. When doing a mass card production, I suggest creating all of your elements first and then sitting down and assembling all the cards at once. This is quicker than trying to make one card at a time from start to finish. Plus, if you have help (I enlisted the help of my kids), it is easier if you have all your elements made. That way your helpers have everything they need to run a card making assembly line. Happy card making!

What junk mail?

I ran across some inspiration this week when going to the mailbox. To keep down clutter I try to put junk mail into the recycling bin immediately rather than letting it accumulate on a table top. On the way to the kitchen, this post card caught my eye.

The company is using Christmas ornaments to get me into the holiday spirit and mostly to sell me their latest package deal. Well, the first part of their plan worked. I decided to use the layout of the postcard as the layout for my page.

I used the Cricut cartridge "Christmas Cheer" to cut the ornaments out. I used silver paper for the twinkles and ornament string. It is a simple but spirited page. I haven't done a layout on white paper in a long time. I started to use patterned paper, but wanted to stay true to my AT&T design. Now my baby’s first Christmas page is ready! So while no news might be could news, junk mail can be useful.

"Upcycled" mini album

Ever hear a new term and realize you have been doing it all along? That has happened to me recently. The new buzz word in crafting is "upcycle." From what I can tell it means taking something that you would normally put in the recycle bin and using it to make something more valuable. That's my specialty!

Win Free Holiday Cards from Shutterfly!

Christmas card model baby Eli

I thoroughly enjoy the beauty of a handmade Christmas card and the satisfaction I get from knowing I made it myself, but I also appreciate just being able to mark something off of my to do list. Let's face it, sometimes you just don't have time to crank out 50 Christmas cards. Shutterfly.com is a great way to get professional looking cards for great prices. They also have a personal touch because you are using family photos to create them. I especially like the square stationary cards. They are look so modern and because of their square shape they remind me of a scrapbook page. (My favorite canvas!)

To help you get your holiday rolling, I am offering a chance to win 50 free Shutterfly Cards. Just sign up as a follower to this blog and leave a comment in the comment box below. I will announce the winner on Monday! In the meantime, check out these great products available on Shutterfly.com!

Christmas photo cards

calendars

gift tags

personalized mugs

note pads

Christmas Mini Album

Occasionally, I get the opportunity to complete projects for hire. My latest is a Christmas Chipboard Album. I thoroughly enjoyed this project thanks to the beautiful Bo Bunny Noel paper collection. It was just the right look for my client, an "antiquey" Christmas. On the cover I did a poinsettia paper piecing that I am super proud of. Even though I now have a Cricut machine, there is still nothing more satisfying than my own free hand creations.

Relay for life crop update: save the date March 11-12, 2011

Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being apart of an awesome event that raised money and awareness for Cancer research.  It was also a lot of fun! The First Annual Relay for Life Crop was organized by a group called the Little Rock Scrappers.  The purpose of the event was to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, an international event that raises money for  Cancer research, honors Cancer survivors, and pays tribute to those who are no longer in the fight. The Little Rock Scrappers are at it again, already planning for next year's event. Sign up to follow my blog and check back for updates. Registration will open soon. Mark your calendars now for March 11 - 12, 2011. More information to come on location and entry fee. For more information about Relay for Life, visit http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/

Easy baby shower/nursery decor

To help my sister and my friend prepare for my baby shower, I volunteered to make the decorations. I knew that I could then use them to decorate the baby's nursery, so I was up for the challenge. 

Fall Mini Album

A couple weekends ago, I was cruzing the web for paper and came across this neat little project. You just take one 12 X 12 piece of paper, fold it a couple times and wa lah! I was done by the time my son woke up from his nap. This project is great because it only used on sheet of paper.

Scrapbooking Canvas for Ovarian Cancer Event

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of that, the Arkansas Ovarian Cancer Coalition is hosting an event called Artists for Ovaries on Friday, September 24. What does all that have to do with me? I am one of the artists!

Saturday's Crop

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of doing some much needed cropping, or Scrap Therapy. I was able to do a one page layout, a card, and use a friend's Cricut Machine to cut some titles for a project I am working on. More about that to come. Today, I just want to share the card and page I completed.

I made a thank you card with some scraps from a Bo Bunny project I am working on. It is a tri-fold six by twelve piece of navy card stock. I sanded the edges of it as well as some pieces of paper to adhere to the card.  I also used the Cricut to cut out the words "Thank You" for the front. I gave the card to its recipient today and she loved it!

To make the 12 x 12 layout you see below, I used the paper kit Tinkering by Close to My Heart. This particular kit has cute robots, screws, and bolts. I used one, but as a "sun" for a more summer themed page. Every time I crop, I realize how many irons I have on the fire. I hope to crank out quite a bit in the coming weeks. I can't wait to share these projects with you.

Teacher gift for back to school

I found some clearance items this past weekend and decided to put together a teacher gift. They were notepads, a magnetic frame, buttons, and stickers all in a Cat in The Hat theme. I decided to use one of the coffee cans that I just can't bear to throw away, as my hat. The process was pretty simple.

My CTMH Products Came In!

I actually got these last Thursday, but with a birthday party at my house this past weekend, I didn't get a chance to share. I got a great deal on some really nice paper and stickers from the Close to My Heart Customer Appreciation Sale. I have pictured here everything I got, most of it 50% off the normal price.

Party décor for less

Have you been in party supply stores lately? Even with their store wide clearance sales and great deals in bulk, you can easily spend 30 to 80 bucks on supplies alone for a small party of 8 children.

Bat Birthday Banner

Close To My Heart Big Sale Starts Tomorrow

I have always been a fan of Close To My Heart products. I am not a consultant, but I know one that would love for you to take advantage of the huge discounts going down tomorrow. For eight days, they are selling paper kits and stickers for $2, $4, and $6. Starting at 10:00 AM tomorrow visit www.melony.myCTMH.com for your chance to purchase stickers and paper, some of which are on their way to retirement.

Relay for Life Crop a success!

Recently I assisted two of my scrapbooking friends, Gloria Rayford and Shalah Joiner, in throwing a crop to raise money for the American Cancer Society (ACS). I use the word assisted lightly because they did all the work and I just showed up a couple hours each day to be loud and hand out prizes. It was a great event and I actually got a lot of cropping done.

Scrapbooking Canvas

I love a finished project. Nothing feels better than a check on the old to do list. So, I am very excited to have finished a project I started about a year ago. A scrapbooking friend of mine attended a workshop on scrapbooking canvases. She was so inspired she came back taught our cropping group (a wonderful group of ladies that I am sure you will hear more about later) how to make our own. Well that was last summer and I am just now finishing mine. The first two pictures came from the day we started the project last June or so. The final picture, I just took after putting on some finishing touches.