Jingle Bell Scarf

Heres a fun little project, a very simple scarf (20 stiches-all knit, size 13 needles, knit to 4 ft). Its done in a fluffy cotton candy pink...WITH JINGLE BELLS! One bell per 8 inch tassle, 5 on each side, 5 strings per tassle. Thanks Ann Marie for help with the tassles! Very quick because of the needle size, soft, fuzzy, and lots of fun! I don't knit much, I'm not very good at it, but I'm pretty happy with the way this turned out. Its a Christmas gift for my neice, she loves jingle bells, hope she likes it!

Gifts for Teacher and the bus lady....

I was at Micheals one day and they had these nice 3 inch candles on sale for only $1. I'd been wanting to try stamping on candles for ages so I thought I'd pick up a few. They sat on my shelf, untouched for weeks. Then I needed a extra little something for the teachers at my sons preschool so I decided to give it a whirl. I didn't end up stampin, I used preprinted tissue paper -there are such pretty ones this time of year. I had no idea it would be so easy and so much fun. Now I can't stop! If you haven't tried it, TRY IT! For these I cut a piece of the tissue paper that would exactly cover the candle (2 1/2 inches tall by 8 7/8 long) and then followed the basic instructions for candle stamping. I embellished with ribbon and paper (crimped for the lights candle).

For the bus driver I made yet another ornament. I used my cricut again to cut a bus and then I put her bus number on it. I attached it to acetate, rolled it up, and stuffed it into a clear ornament. I added some fake snow for fun.

I'm really done with my Christmas projects now, but maybe I'll make a few more things for stocking stuffers. The Grandparents are here now to play with the kids so they won't miss me if I hide in my stamp room. Maybe just a couple more candles........

Whats under the tree?

I didn't make all of gifts this year, but I did do a couple. This one I made for my friend Ann Marie. She loves to buy the stuff to make cards, but then rarely uses it. Instead she calls me whenever she needs a card, which is frequently because she has a big family and

LOTS of friends. So, this year I made her a tin to store them in and filled it with cards. The tin is by Provocraft, you can pick them up at any craft store. I used Stampin' Up two sided designer paper (Cutie Pie) so that the top and bottom match, but are different. It takes just 2 sheets of 12 x 12 paper. I used a 1 inch circle punch for the notch where the latch is (much easier than carving for the notch). For the divider cards I used Excel to make lines so she can write Names and Dates of birthdays. There are 5 tabs, Jan-March, April-June, July-Sept, Oct-Dec, and Blank. This is a nice project, fairly quick if you already have the cards. Things that make the project easier: double sided paper, tab punch (SU!), Circle punch(SU!), and permanent monoadhesive. Merry Christmas Ann Marie!

Scallop Punch Ornament

OK, one last ornament posting. My new spring and Valentines day stamps just came, so after this, I'm movin' on to play with those and I'll be sharring those. This one is made from a Stampin' Up! scallop punch and wintergreen paper. In days long past, people did this with circles and used their old Christmas cards-what a great idea for recycling and don't you just hate to get rid of those cards? I am starting a new tradition of doing that each year so I can save a bit from each person that sends me a card. I will still use my scallop punch instead of a circle though, I like the frilly edges :)

To make this ornament, punch your circles/scallops and fold each one so that you make triangles (see photo 2 on where to fold). Next, glue the long sides together using 5 of your triangles, it will form a cone (see photo 3). Now here is an important part....add your string/cord by running it through the tip of the cone and be sure to secure it to the inside with tape. You'll kick yourself if you don't secure it tight because it will come out and then you'll have to sew it on. How do I know? Guess. Do the same thing with the other 5 for the bottom half so you have two cones. Glue them together. If you are using the scallops it is very easy to fold them all and line them up perfect, for circles, you'll have to be a bit more careful to get everything to line up. These are so quick and produce great results, you can use any designer paper or even papers that the kids have colored (another way to save that precious art work!) . Happy Holidays!

Is it the 9th ALREADY?????

Goodness, where have the days gone. Each year I think I will be more organized then the last, but instead I get further and further behind. This year I put up the tree on Nov 30, here it is Dec 9th and I'm still not done decorating it. This week both boys took turns being sick, that put a hold on things of course. We still managed to get a few ornaments made, and they were good ones to do with the kids. SO...if you have kids and your looking to make some ornaments for your tree, here are a few that they can help with. The first one was done with Carsten, it is a ribbon ornament. Simply cut 1-2 yards (depending on how big your ribbon and ornaments are), remove the cap from a plain glass ornament, and let him stuff it in, easy peasy and it looks quite nice when its done. Save a little piece of the ribbon to tie on the cap when you replace it. The second ornament was done by Andy, it is a glass ornament filled with paper. Cut paper into strips about 1/4 inch by 4 inches and let the kids roll them up tight. Then remove the cap and let them stuff the papers in, they will unroll a bit -so be sure you are using double sided designer paper. Add coordinating ribbon to the cap and your done! The third ornament I did because I recently noticed that the kids hand print is just the size of a CD. I know this because EVERY cd/dvd I could find in my house, has at least part of a hand print on it. To make this one, trace two circles with the cd, for ours I picked white and I let the kids pick out a print for the back. Let the kids put their hand print on the solid color. We just used paint, but ink would work too. Cut out your circles and secure them to the cd. Use a sanding block to smooth the circle. To insure that they stay stuck to the cd, use double sided sticky tape along the edge so that it overlaps onto the front and back. Then let the kids roll the edges in glitter or microbeads. Next I used my NEW crop-a-dile (thanks Mom!) to set my first ever perfect eyelet and ran some ribbon through to hang it. The kids get to decorate the back and you are left with a wonderful ornament to cherish for years to come. Even with all these, my tree still looks bare. I'll have to think of a few more...who's idea was it to have such a big tree!!!!

Glass Ornaments

The boys and I are having lots of fun decorating glass ornaments. Andy helped by stuffing a couple with ribbon, nice, simple, and pretty. Carsten helped with glitter ornaments (I love glitter on anything), but I think my favorite one was the ornament we made with the cricut. I started out with the intention of stamping on acetate and putting it in the ornament -if you don't know how, check out the tutorial on SplitcoastStampers by Vicki Maduzia-

but I didn't have the right image. So I decided to get out my new

Joys of the Seasons Cricut cartridge and use something from that.

I cut the angel at 1.5 inches and colored the horn and wings with gold leafing pen. Then I glued her to a piece of acetate that was the same size as the ornament, and stuffed her in. Now she looks like shes floating in there!

Trim the tree

The boys are really excited for Christmas this year. They went and saw Santa at the mall last weekend and this weekend its time to put up the tree. They helped out by putting all the non-breakable ornaments on the lower half. When they ran out of ornaments, they started making their own. I ended up with a fairly naked top half of the tree and a bottom half covered with small, wet (they did some water coloring first) pieces of paper. It turns out that I really don't have enough ornaments for a 9 foot tree. Fortunately I have several boxes of those clear ones to decorate, guess what tomorrows project will be!

Blocks, Blocks, and MORE Blocks!

Burr, there is a bit of a blizzard outside today. Great day for crafting! Last night we put up the Christmas tree and decorations. What better to have out in a house with little ones, then some of my Christmas blocks. I've made several sets so far, my favorite set is JOY made with Stampin' Up! designer paper and stamps, so those are the ones I'm going to give instructions on. Start with some blocks, if you are handy with a saw (or know somebody that is) you can purchase 2 x 2 Pine at Lowes very cheep. 2 x 2 really translates to each side is 1 1/2 inches, so you will want to cut the stick every 1 1/2 inches to make the squares. They are sold in 8 foot lengths, so one board will make a lot of blocks. If you don't have access to a saw, there are some wood craft supply places on the web that sell them but it will cost about 10 times as much as if you cut them yourself. The great thing about the 1 1/2 inch sides is that it is perfect for using Stampin' Up! punches. I used both the 1 3/8 inch and the 1 1/4 inch square punches for layering. You can also use a paper cutter but I found the punch to be a lot easier and made for less operator error (my paper cutter and I don't have a good relationship).

1: Stamp letters in desired colors on a light paper (old olive and real red stamped on Very Vanilla used here)

2: Cut or punch out using 1 1/4 inch square punch

3: Cut or punch coordinating solid cardstock for layering using 1 3/8 inch square punch

4: Cut or punch coordinating patterned paper for remaining sides of blocks (5 on each block, Dashing from SU! used here)

5: Glue using your choice of adhesive. I have used Mono Adhesive, which works well, but my favorite for this project is Scotch scrapbookers glue.

6: Optional: decorate additional blocks for either side using 1 3/8 inch punch and ribbons, fibers, or whatever you so desire.

7: Set out, and enjoy!

I can't wait to make some for Spring!

My First Post: My papercraft obesson

Crafting is for me, an obsession. What craft I'm doing varies from week to week or even hour to hour, but it usually involves paper. I love paper. I love all the different textures, patterns, colors. Before I became a stay home mom, I was a quality control chemist for a large paper manufacturer, perhaps that had something to do with this current need to have so much paper around me. My latest paper craft has been holiday blocks. It started with a trip to Target where I saw some cute little Halloween blocks for $15. My first thought....I can do that! I of course got sidetracked with kids and forgot about it. A few days later I open my mailbox, and what do I see but blocks on the cover of Stampin' Success Magazine! Oh, yeah, blocks! Now I'm on a mission. I walk over to my brothers wood shop and show him the blocks. Before long I had secured a supply of 150+ wooden blocks, enough to make this crafter...and my 4 year old twins, VERY happy. Let the fun begin!!! My first set was going to Fall/Thanksgiving themed. I got out my Stampin' Up designer paper (Apple Cider from the Fall mini), and punched out some squares (the 1 3/8 inch punch from SU). Next I cut out some letters with my cricut and VOILA! With so many blocks, it doesn't stop there. Next up, Christmas blocks (guess what my friends are getting), but first the boys need breakfast and a ride to school.