Need a little "pick up"?

All puns aside, you "gotta" love this set from Stampin' Up. It is so versatile. You can use it for so many occasions. The samples I have today are thinking of you and birthday.

Toadily Simple!

With the cold winter weather, I just like to snuggle under a blanket and watch movies (which is what I did this weekend!) But I always have a hard time just sitting - so I like to keep my hands busy with some cutting. I cut a bunch of these toads (plus used up some of my left-over green scraps). I love the saying "You make me toadily happy". I thought this would be a cute Valentine sentiment for my first graders (because I "toadily" love them!!) Here are a few other simple ideas I to use up the rest of my toads! (I cut out 38 of them and I only have 21 students!)

Winter's Here!

Well, in Michigan - winter is here! I'm not much of an outdoor person, so this is the perfect time to settle in for some card making in my nice cozy room. Here are some cards perfect for this weather! I found these card kits at the Jo-Ann store. I love the patterned cards and the matching embellishments. I kept the cards simple and just added some Stampin' Up chocolate chip satin ribbon and I used a circle punch for the white circle and the Stampin' Up scallop punch for the chocolate chip scallop.

Technique Videos

Now that I have a little extra time to relax, I have been checking out other card making and scrapbooking blogs. I came across this site Paper Diva and found it very interesting and informative. Christine is based in Canada and not only has a blog, but she has a site for Video Techniques. I spent quite a bit of time watching some these. She does a nice job of introducing new products and demonstrating step-by-step techniques. It was like watching a five minute "Martha Stewart" episode. If you have a few extra minutes, check it out, just click on her site, Scrap Time!

Holiday Gifts

Well, it is after the holidays and things are very relaxed right now (other than a little cleaning up after presents!). I am on vacation for two weeks and plan on spending some time in my comfy "jammies" with a lush new blanket from my daugher Tori, with a cup of Starbucks flavored coffee (from my other daugher Allie) - do they know me or what!! I have a stack of Paper Crafts, Paper Trends, and Cards magazines to relax with. I also have time to sit at the computer and put some of my ideas online. I know it is after the fact, unless you haven't had all your holiday parties yet or maybe you can use these ideas for next year (you know it isn't too early to get started for next year!) Here are some holiday gifts I used. I made two of these little "doggie" gifts for Max's groomer and the owner. They take such good care of my little darling! I used the Doodle Charms (Cricut machine) to make the dog shown here. Just a little layering of paper and a few googlie eyes made this an easy craft. This snowman basket with matching cards was one of my favorites. I found the basket at Michaels and then designed the cards to match (and if you know me, you know that is how I design my baskets - around the containers!) I used my Cricut machine for the snowman (again Doodle Charms cartridge). I did a little sponging to antique the cards and the snowman. These cute little money cards made a nice gift (from my dad to all the grand-kids this year). I made sure to tell them "Don't throw that card away!! (I don't know if they listened!) Again I used the Cricut machine with the Doodle Charms cartridge. The stamp "I Believe" is from Stampassions. I stamped that near the top and added some clear glitter glue. On the inside I used the Stampin' Up punch (half circle) along the edge to create the money holder. I'm sure the kids were only interested in the "money" part, but I thought these cards turned out really cute! Until next time, thanks for looking!

Christmas Tins

Wow, I can't believe it has been over a month since I sat down here to update! I guess things have been rather hectic. I have had a very successful "craft show" year. I'm glad I can share my cards and creations with so many people. I finished my craft shows for the season in early December and thought things would slow down, but I kept getting more orders for cards, albums and gifts. I haven't been very good at taking pictures of these things, but I do have a few to show you. This is the latest gift I put together for some friends at work. Most of the cards were made with my Cricut. I had it "chirping" all weekend. I found the tins at our local grocery store and then designed cards to match.

Festive Favorites

This card is made from the Stampin' Up set "Festive Favorites". Although the large stamp has a row of snowmen, a row of christmas trees and a row of reindeer, I cut them apart and use them separately. Also shown is the same stamp with the snowmen.