Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Ninja Moves

Hello all. Well, Christmas is now past. Did you enjoy your holidays? I made some very special memories and I'm now enjoying my break (a great benefit at my workplace!).

Today I'd like to share a new release at Bugaboo Stamps:

I actually find it amusing that Bean has been all into Ninjas lately and now Jodie has come up with some great Ninja images! Thing is, we haven't seen any ninja movies or anything! Wait...does Kung Fu Panda count as a ninja? Maybe THAT's where she's getting all her ninja questions and moves from!
Can you read my sentiment?

Well, thanks for visiting today. I hope you are able to take it easy after the holiday rush. Hopefully I'll get some crafting done. Still have lots to do for Sprout's arrival in February!

This meets the following challenges:

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Skelekinz Valentine

Hello and welcome to the weekend! Today at Catch the Bug, the new challenge this week is:

RED, BLUE, PINK & FLOWER SOFT (or Fun Flock, Glitter etc.)

With this color combo, I thought it would be great to start on a Valentines Card:


I'm using Skelekinz Balloon from Bugaboo Stamps, DP from Me & My Big Ideas, and a little sewing.


Were you wondering where my Flower Soft was? Well, here's a close up!

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Make Jingle Bell Earrings



Hello all. I've been making things to include in Bean's advent calendar - not just chocolate or activities, but small items I know she would appreciate.

Here I am sharing how to make Jingle Bell earrings:
STEP 1: What you need for EACH earring (so all this times 2):

1) Chain. From the chain cut: one piece with 3 LINKS, one piece with 5 LINKS, and one piece with 7 LINKS. Yes, you will cut off and throw away links as necessary.
2) 4 jump rings - I'm using 4mm, but you can always use larger ones
3) 3 small bells - I'm using 6mm bells (found at Hobby Lobby)
4) Fish hook ear wire

STEP 2:

1) Open jump ring (sideways method is best)
2) slip on bell
3) slip on end of first chain
4) Close jump ring
One jump ring should now have bell and links. Do this with each bell and links. You have now used 3 bells, 3 lengths of chain, 3 jump rings.

STEP 3:

1) Open the 4th and final jump ring
2) Slip on the 3 jump rings with chains and bells attached
3) Slip on ear wire
4) Close jump ring. The ring is small and I suggest using two sets of pliers for each step, so be patient when closing the final jump ring with all the other components on it.

STEP 4:

Enjoy your earrings! And just a note: Bean LOVES these.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Stampin Up Christmas 2

Hello all. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. This weekend we made tamales - which is a family tradition. It's exhausting, but well worth the work as we all sit down to "taste test" our lovely little wrapped goodies.

Today I'd like to share the last two cards made at my Stampin' Up Stamp a Stack class. So we made a total of 5 cards each of 4 different designs.

Isn't that stocking the sweetest?! And the stamp has a coordinating punch too! I don't know what color this is, but I sure like it for Christmas time.

And this is the last in traditional colors.

It's difficult to see the dimension, but the top layer is popped up to reveal the embossed red layer. These aren't necessarily my "style" but I have fun making them at the class, and I prefer sending these as opposed to store bought (which yes, I have done due to lack of planning!).

That's it for today. Thank you again for visiting!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Polar Bear Tag

Hello and hope you're having a great weekend!

Today at Catch the Bug, the new challenge is:
BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

And yes, it sure has been! For my tag, I'm using Polar Bear from Bugaboo Stamps:

The tag is cut from the George Cricut cart at 4.5" (on regular and shadow), and the "JOY" is from Opposites Attract at 1" covered with glaze. I added sewing and fuzzy ribbon as well. I hope you'll click on the pic for an up-close (I like how this simple little tag turned out).

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend! Oh, and don't forget to join us this week at Catch the Bug!

This meets the following challenges:

Friday, December 16, 2011

Stampin Up Christmas 1

Hello! I recently went to a Stampin' Up Stamp a Stack class to make some Christmas cards. I do this every year to make sure I have plenty of handmade cards to send out. Here are two of the four we made:

This first one is actually quite elegant IRL. There's a pretty black ribbon next to the scalloped black DP.

I wanted to share a close up of the focal point. The background is stamped with a pretty star of words, and is topped with an embossed Joy on that see-thru paper stuff (that's the technical term).

This card features really pretty colors and a paper ribbon. Those trees are just so pretty and the off white ribbon is really soft and fuzzy.

Just showing off a little dimension here. So my DH has already claimed a few of these to send to his customers. I'll show the other two next week. Thank you for stopping by!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Old World Santa

Hello and happy Tuesday! Can you believe it's already the 13th of December?! That's just crazy!

Anyway, this week, Bugaboo Stamps is sponsoring the ICSketches challenge!

This challenge has two parts: layout and bingo!

When all was said and done, my first thought was: Wow, this is really busy! But I stepped back and gave it a night and took another look and actually like all that's going on. I especially enjoy the new Old World Santas stamps. The DP has little "fuzzy" areas, I added ribbon, sewing, and the snowflakes are glitter DP - so there's LOTS of texture on this one.

Here's a close up.

That's it for today. Still working on some handcrafted gifts for Bean and now that finals are over, I can finally breathe! Thanks so much for joining me today!

This meets the following challenges:

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Santa Baby

Hello and hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Today at Catch the Bug, this weeks challenge is:

SANTA BABY

And there are so many awesome Bugaboo Stamps that it was hard to pick just one. So I decided on Stocking Santa Star for my "country" card.

I call it country because of the kraft. I just feel it gives it such a western feel. This one is rather simple with added sewing and glaze on the star. Again, trying to make my cards for mailing as flat as possible and Post Office friendly.

Here he is with his shiny star. And I'm sure there are plenty of Santa cards out there, so make sure to enter this week's challenge!

This meets the following challenges:

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Handmade Earrings

Hello all and hope you are having a GREAT weekend! (Did you notice my first sentence reads "weekend?" Well, that's because this post didn't post as it should have! There are a few that were missed for some reason. Oh well.) Today I want to share a little something I made that is now tucked into Bean's advent calendar.

She loves to wear my earrings, so I thought I'd make her a pair using jump rings and pearl chips. I made a little earring card to go along with them for "presentation." I used Frame 3 and my favorite little Penguin! I thought, why just throw these in a box when I can display them in a more fun way!

Don't they look like little grape clusters? I think she's going to really like these. And so far, Bean is REALLY enjoying her calendar. I can't wait till Sprout is out and ready to participate too.

Oh, and this weeks challenge at Just Some Lines is: Handmade Gifts!! I love, love, love making gifts for Beanie. It's one of those things I hope she looks back on some day and says "my mom was a little crazy...but she sure made some cool stuff."

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Day 3 With Bugaboo - Animal

Hello and welcome to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas with Catch the Bug!

So the challenge is: use an Animal on your creation!

I'm using a Christmas Tag - Rudolph for my little money holder:

A couple days ago I shared Bean's advent calendar and this is tucked into one of the pockets.

We replaced the Lincoln for a Washington LOL! Well...she IS only 4 years old.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you get a chance to join some of our challenges!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Day 2 at Bugaboo - Love

Hello all. Today is Day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas at Catch the Bug which is:

Turtle Doves represent LOVE, so the challenge is to make a Love creation!

I thought using Ava Christmas - Mistletoe Fairy and some non-traditional colors would be nice for my DH's Christmas Card:

The layout is Splitcoaststampers SC70, and the sentiment is Stampin' Up's Teeny Tiny Wishes. I added a few heart brads and of course lots of sewing. Sometimes I just can't get enough thread on one card! LOL!

Unfortunately, you can't see the glitter on her wings, but I assure you it is there, along with little touches of glaze.

Thanks for joining me on Day 2. I appreciate each and every visit!!

This meets the following challenges:

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Advent Calendar

Hello all! I have a couple things to share today. 1) it's the start of the 12 Days of Christmas at Bugaboo!! That means 12 days worth of challenges based on the day.


So, today is Day 1:

So the challenge is to include a TREE on your creation. Note: the 12 Days do require a Bugaboo stamp to participate!

My other share is 2) an Advent Calendar. I really had no clue what these were for, but my husband assured me they were all the rage when he lived in Germany.

I cut 3" white felt squares, embroidered 1 - 24, and sewed them to the red felt. It really was super easy to make - but TIME consuming! I used a dowel - that's hidden on the very top along with red yarn that was in my stash.

I included a couple bolas just for fun (bolas = balls) also made of yarn (there are probably LOTS of tutorials on how to make those fuzzy little things. So needless to say, Bean loved it. I made a little puzzle to go in one of the pockets and will share other goodies as we go along.

That's it for today. I hope you get a chance to play along with us during the 12 Days at Catch the Bug!!

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