Christmas Neighbor Gift Ideas and We R Memory Keepers

What a super exciting day when a box of goodies arrived on my doorstep from We R Memory Keepers!  They sent me a generous assortment of papers, chipboard, die cuts and even stamps from their lovely Christmas collection, "Yuletide."  I put together 3 different neighbor gift ideas to share - a recovered cd case (to gift favorite Christmas tunes), a simple tea or hot chocolate holder, and a sweet paper stocking for a few little goodies.

Clear CD cases are easy to find.  You can create a fun mix of holiday tunes (follow all copyright laws, please!) or share photos on a cd as your gift.  To decorate my cd case, I used a variety of papers from the 6x6 paper pad and a layered on a few of the coordinating die cut elements.  My deer is cut with my Cricut (Theresa Collins Demcember 25th cartridge).  I also added one of the chipboard sentiments to the outside of each case.

For my second gift idea, I filled small 3x5 baggies with loose tea and cut a strip of We R paper to 3 1/4 x12 inches and folded it over/around the bag.  I secured it all together using one of the fabric covered coordinating brads (these are really lovely!) and some decorative red/white twine.  I also hung a die cut that could double as a gift tag.  These would be easy to make several of and have on hand for "unexpected" guests and friends, or to give as favors at your holiday party.

For my final project, I cut a stocking pattern with my Cricut (Teresa Collins December 25th cartridge) and coordinating patterns from the Yuletide collection.  I cut two stockings, flipping one image, and then sewed up the sides using my sewing machine.  I added some trims and a stamp or two (CUTE gingerbread stamp from We R!) before filling it with a few sweet treats.  These could be made any size (mine are only about 6-7 inches long) depending on what kinds of treats you want to fill them with.  I think they would also be cute at any holiday table setting - maybe an adorable utensil holder for each place.

Thanks again to We R Memory Keepers for inviting me to be a guest designer and sending me such a generous assortment of products from your Yuletide collection!  And thanks to all of you for visiting me here on my humble little blog.  I hope you've been inspired.

Blessings,

Karen

Stashing Through the Snow...Ornament and Card

 

My niece loves mustaches and I had the joy of drawing her name for our family Christmas gift exchange.  I've been seeing these fun ornament ideas on Pinterest, so I knew I wanted to make her a cute mustache one.  It was super easy!  I started with a plain white porcelain ball (on sale, no less!).  I penciled out my mustache and then went over it with a black sharpie.  I added the phrase "stashing through the snow".  I messed up the first time and used a q-tip dipped in alcohol to wipe it off and start over again.  I also stuck it in my oven for about 20 minutes or so at 350 to make it more permanent.  As an afterthought (and after it was out of the oven and cooled), I added some fine glitter to the bottom of the mustache. 

I made a quick card with the same theme.  I cut the mustache (Cricut - Billionaire) and added a few sticker embellishments from Echo Park, a brad from Teresa Collins, and a twine ribbon.  And that

was it.  I hope your Christmas is merry and lots of fun!

Merry Christmas Banner

New this week at Scrapdoodles is the new Christmas line from October Afternoon, "Make It Merry."  Oh My Goodness, go check it out!  This line is so fun and adorable.  It's full of vintage card images and patterns.  I love the music sheet and was inspired to make this simple and sweet banner with the song sheet as the base. 

I added die cut letters from more of the patterned papers and layered on the coordinating elements like the ticket stubs and sweet vintage images.  The "Miscellany" pack also includes buttons and ribbon.  I added some old red doilies to the top, some red and white twine, fringe, and glitter from my own stash.  The elements are easy and fun to mix and match and layer.  Here's a few close-ups.

Some of the elements will be perfect to include as journaling spots or extra pages in my December Daily.  I prepped a few to see how they would work out (and they are just too fun to play with I didn't want to put them away yet :))  I'm sure I'll be pulling from these pieces throughout the month.

Lastly, I pulled several elements together to make this super sweet layout of a photo of my younger sister and me in 1978.  I would hardly call us vintage, but these fun papers really compliment the black and white (okay a teeny bit old) photo.  I love it! 

Hope you've been inspired!  Happy Crafting - Karen

Cute Turkeys to Pin or Clip

 Pinterest is so much fun!  I love to browse and get ideas for new projects, don't you?  I saw several versions of these ribbon turkeys.  I saw them as hair bows, pins to wear, and even on onesies and t-shirts.  I decided to dig into my felt and ribbon stash and create my own version.  I made one for my daughter's hair and two for her preschool teachers to wear on their aprons.  They turned out so cute!  I hand cut each body from felt - 2 per turkey.  The ribbons are cut to about 2.5 inches.  I laid the folded ribbons and lightly tacked them with glue to one body and covered up all the ends with the second (front) body.  I stitched all around the felt body to secure everything in place.  My turkeys have a felt nose and googly eyes.  Then I added either a clip or a pin to the back.  For the teachers, I pinned the turkey onto a thank you notecard made with scrapbook papers (love these papers from Authentique!).  Cute, quick, and easy! 

Happy Turkey Day, Everyone!

New Cricut Class Online - Christmas Village

I'm so excited to be teaching a Cricut class at My Creative Classroom.  Just in time for holiday decorating and gift-giving, I will be teaching Cricut: Christmas Village.  The class is open for registration and the first lesson will be revealed on Friday, November 2nd.  I'd love for you to join me!  AND...

How would you like a free class? Once a year the MCC Faculty come together for a very special class which is our way of saying thank-you for your continued support. Register for any class starting in November and you will automatically be enrolled in "It's Ornamental" at no additional charge. "It's Ornamental", a class taught by ten MCC instructors, begins November 29th and is full of creative and inspiring holiday ornament ideas. Each of the classes that begin in November will also accept enrollments until at least November 30th.

In this course, we’ll take an in depth look at Cricut’s Christmas Village Seasonal Cartridge and create a variety of projects for all crafting levels.This cartridge contains 50 silhouette-style images with simple and old-fashioned appeal.Many of the images are intended to create 3-D projects, but a lack of included instructions has stumped many Cricut crafters.Has this cartridge been sitting in your stash for awhile because you just don’t know what to do with it?If you’ve been feeling the same way, go get that cartridge out of the cupboard, and come on into this classroom, because we are about to create some awesome projects!

Join me for this 4-week class and we’ll clear up any confusion about this cartridge and create several unique projects including a Christmas countdown village display with treat boxes (yes, this cart can do that!), a framed nativity project, cards, a layout, and more seasonal and alternative project ideas.I’ll offer assembly, longevity, and storage tips so that your creations last more than one season.
I hope you'll join me and register for this idea-rich class to jumpstart your holiday preparations.  Registration is open now and class begins on Friday, November 2nd.  See you in the classroom!

Halloween Treats With Cricut

I was excited to be able to get the new Create a Critter 2 cartridge - I love these little critters all decked out for the holidays!  They are the perfect not-so-scary treat toppers for our Halloween dress up party at preschool.  I added a bit of glitter glue here and there to dress them up a bit.

I also picked up these cute notebooks at the Target dollar spot and topped them with more Critters.  The title phrases are also on this cartridge - can't wait to use them in our scrapbook pages!

Here is a shot of my worktable (before the cellophane wrapping on the notebooks).  Also shown are two cards I made with Teresa Collins' new Christmas cartridge.  I recieved both in the mail the same day and just couldn't wait to start working with them.  I have to say it's been awhile since I've been so excited for new Cricut carts :) and it felt great!  I can't wait to have some time to make the Christmas critters for another set of treat bags - they are so cute, too!

Happy Halloween, everyone!  Stay safe and get crafting!

Halloween Layout and Tags

It's that fun time of the month when I get to highlight some wonderful products available at Scrapdoodles in Fredericksburg.  I love going into this store!  Super friendly ladies and tons of scrapbook paper :0  Makes me happy. 
This trip, I focused on their Halloween selection - so much to choose from.  I was inspired by the orange/blue color combo and vintage feel of October Afternoon's "Witch Hazel" line.  (You can check out the whole line HERE)  It made me want to dig up some old childhood photos.  Luckily, I knew just where to look and put together this layout.  Can you see my mom making a goofy face in the door window? He he - Fun times.  For this layout, I broke up the heavy patterns by just using blocks or strips on top of a more neutral cardstock background.  I tore some of the paper edges, distressed others, and inked around the background sheet.  I also used Washi Tape from a My Mind's Eye collection and a few stickers off my Authentique Halloween collection.  I cut the title with my Cricut (Happy Hauntings).

This line isn't just for your "vintage" photos, though.  I thought the blue would be a great complement to these pics of our daughter as Cinderella from last year.  With some creative placement of my photos, I was able to highlight the black paper titles, instead of creating a new one.  Trying to keep a softer touch, I created these Washi Tape flowers (My Mind's Eye tape and enamel dots, and stickers).  I used about an 8 inch piece of tape and gathered it around the middle.  I placed an enamel dot in each center.  I did add an extra glue dot or two to get them to lay right on my page.
Here are a few tags I created with some of the scraps.  I thought they would be fun to place on a card or use to embellish treat bags this Halloween.  Tags are also a fun way to experiment with new products or techniques.  I used my Washi tape to alter some of the strong paper patterns - the moon and the chevron backgrounds on the first and last tags below, for example.  It was a fun way to get more out of the papers and highlight some of the cute images and patterns.

October Afternoon recently hosted a "Witch Hazel" blog hop on their blogs, if you need more inspiration!