Snow Day Thank You!

We got a few inches of snow last week, and here in Virginia that means school closings...for a week.  Having grown up in Wisconsin, it's a little laughable, but I shouldn't complain.  In fact, I have much to be thankful for.  One thing I was especially thankful for this week was my neighbors! As I was shoveling my driveway, I looked up and saw 5 bundled up figures, all with snow shovels, approaching our driveway.  The mom commented that they have no school and the kids did not need to sit around watching or playing video games all day.  They could help shovel a driveway!  The kids were great about it and within minutes the rest of my driveway was shoveled clear.  I know they did it without expecting anything in return, but I put together a gift bag with some hot chocolate mix and mini marshmallows as a small thank you.

I used a medium-sized plain kraft gift bag and dressed it up with a fun "Snow Day" phrase from my Cricut (Winter Woodland ), a few of my daughter's foam snowflake stickers, and a simple tag (also from Winter Woodland).  We walked over yesterday after church to deliver the thank you and spent a little time chatting and getting to know our neighbors better.  Yes, we have much to be thankful for!

Wrapping Up Christmas Packages

I decided that I would be more creative with my packaging this year, so I only bought brown kraft paper and a roll of plain white wrap.  Here are a few things I wrapped this week using my Cricut and other "scrap" supplies.

#1 = kraft wrap, 2 layers of scrapbook paper, sillhouette cut from A Child's Year, red sheer ribbon.

#2 = kraft wrap, a doily, red ribbon; tag cut from Winter Woodland cartridge

#3 = white wrap, snowman cut from Winter Frolic, glitter glue, silver letters, a bit of white fleece glued on for the snowman's snowy hill

#4 = kraft wrap, white and blue scrapbook paper, silhouette cut from Christmas Village, black marker to outline; tag cut from Joys of the Season

I'll be posting some more little Christmas crafties soon, so check back!

Noel Chipboard Door Hanger

I've had this shaped chipboard in my stash for a while, just waiting to become something special, and now, it is!  I used My Mind's Eye papers on this project.  They are so beautiful in person - a little glittery and shimmery and wonderful frosty colors.  I really like the pairing of browns and blues. 

I used the chipboard to outline the shape onto my papers and cut out by hand.  I ran the pieces through my xyron for a really secure adhesion to the chipboard.  I also did a little shaving and sanding on the edges for a clean fit, then inked all the edges. 

Next, I cut the letters with my Cricut using the Winter Woodland font and adhered those also with my xyron.  For the "flowers", I cut several styles and sizes of snowflakes from various cartridges - just filled up my Gypsy mat - and then layered 4 or more together and secured them to each other and to the chipboard with a brad.  For each, I also inked and then curled up the edges and added some more sparkle with crystal Stickles.  The two birdies are chipboard pieces from My Mind's Eye.

The chipboard pieces came with two holes in the tops and I just flipped them to mark the holes for the bottoms to be sure it all matched up.  I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch the holes.  I connected the pieces using small metal jump rings and short pieces of ball chain (all parts from Tim Holtz).

I added a longer length of ball chain as the hanger and tied on a ribbon.  I can't wait to enjoy seeing this each day when winter and Christmas are a bit closer.