Just a quick post to say Happy New Year and share a card!  I love this image by Rachelle Anne Miller called Skating!  I decided to pair it with some bright, fun colors to chase away the winter blahs.

Have a happy & safe New Year!

stamps- Rachelle Anne Miller Skating by Stampavie, SU! Pocket Silhouettes; paper- white, dp-DCWV; ink- Palette Black; accessories- Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol, Mega Nestabilities- Curved Rectangles, gemstones, Primas, Stickles

Today at All That Scraps Christine is having a Holiday Snowflake challenge.  We were to incorporate snowflakes somewhere on the card, but we couldn’t use any Christmas paper.  We were, however, allowed to use paper with snowflakes on it, so I chose to cut up a piece of this gorgeous paper by Dream Street Papers.  I picked it up at an LSS a few months ago and I love it!  The polka-dots are on the reverse side of the snowflakes.  I also used a few sparkly snowflake accents by Jolee’s Boutique which I think came from Target last year.

The sweet girl is an image from the C.C. Designs Gingersnaps set called Snow Bunnies.  I added some Stickles to the heart on her hat and the word “hugs” but I am thinking now that I need to add some sparkle to her pink boots too! 

The white panel was embossed with tiny hearts from the Cuttlebug Love Language combo.  And the word “hugs” was cut from “hugs & kisses” which is also from the Love Language set.

We’d love to have you pop over to ATS and play along!

*Oh…and stop back on Friday for some info. about my new blog banner!  ;0)

stamps- C.C. Designs Gingersnaps Snow Bunnies; paper- Bashful, White, dp- Dream Street Papers; ink- Memento Black; accessories- pop dots, Stickles, gel pen, Copic markers, Cuttlebug Love Language, ribbon, sewing machine, Jolee’s Boutique snowflakes

Guess what Santa brought! 

Well, she was a bit late for Christmas, but a sweet present to ourselves anyway!  

Now if only she will train quickly….*crossing fingers*.   :0)  If you have any tips, I’d love to hear them!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your friends and family!

Ok, so below is a recipe page I did a few months ago.  One of my favorite pies is a custard pie.  I just called this Berry Custard because I use blueberries or raspberries.  And if you are short on time, it can be baked in a baking dish without the crust- still yummy!

I used the House Mouse Pumpkin Pie image and just made the pie a different color.  The fun decorative paper is by Flair Designs and I purchased it at All That Scraps.  Christine has a ton of papers to choose from!

In case it’s difficult to read from the picture, here’s the recipe:

4 slightly beaten eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups  milk

cinnamon

fresh or frozen blueberries or raspberries

1 T. flour 

Blend the first four ingredients.  Stir in the milk.  Pour into a baking dish or unbaked pie shell and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Shake berries in a bag with the flour and add to the custard.  Bake @ 400° for 45 minutes.  Let cool and then refrigerate.

stamps- House Mouse Pumpkin Pie and footprints by Hero Arts; paper- SU! Pumpkin and Choc. Chip, non-SU! Blue, Red, White, and Beige, dp- Flair Designs; ink- Palette Black; accessories- Stickles, Copic markers, Nestabilities, SU! Curly Label punch

…Just run to your local grocery store!  I found a few recipes on the internet for hot cocoa mix but I ended up altering one to suit my own taste.  Then I found these drinking jars with a handle in a local store but you can easily use canning jars or any other jar with a lid. 

I made the tags by placing the folded edge *just inside* the top edge of the Labels 1 Nestability die.  The stamped image is from JustRite Stampers and can be found here or here.  It was a gift to me and turned out to be perfect for this project.  In the close-up pic below you can see that I added some dimension to the frothy cocoa with a puffy ink marker (similar to Liquid Applique).  I also added a bit of sparkle with a glitter pen. 

stamps- Baking Stamp Ensemble by JustRite Stampers; paper- Red, Choc. Chip, white; ink- Choc. Chip, Real Red, Garden Green; accessories- Labels 1 and Circle Nestabilities, glitter pen, gel pen, Marvy Puffy Velvet fabric marker, heat tool

And here’s the recipe I ended up using after my alterations:

Hot Cocoa Mix

8 cups powdered milk

2- 3.5 oz. pkgs. Cook and Serve chocolate pudding mix

1 cup powdered chocolate drink mix (Nestles Quik)

1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer

3 cups confectioner’s sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix all together in a large bowl and place in jars. 

Attach a tag with the following instructions:  Dissolve 1/3 cup cocoa mix in 1 cup boiling water.

I hope you and your family have a Blessed Christmas!  Thanks for stopping by!

Two nights ago I awoke during the night to Bing Crosby going through my head.  Actually, it was only the first 2 lines…over & over….LOL.  (And I didn’t even have all the words right….how pathetic is that?!  ha ha. 

 Here’s the first verse….just passing it along to keep your mind occupied when you awaken during the night.  ;0)

“Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawian Christmas Day
That’s the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii’s way to say Merry Christmas to you”

Anyway, it reminded me that I forgot to share this card.  So yesterday I searched for it and took a quick pic.  I made the background by placing several of the words from the Christmas Around the World set on a large acrylic block.  And I placed one of the ornaments on to fill in an empty spot.  Then I stamped it repeatedly to cover the base of the Celery card.  The bottom was cut away with the Martha Stewart Cornice Edge punch and a piece of Soft Sky cardstock was layered behind the bottom front.  I just love the colors of this card!  Christine’s birdie in the set was purposefully placed off the edge of the card. 

Mele Kalikimaka!

stamps- Christmas Around the World by C.C. Designs; paper- Celery, Soft Sky, White; ink- Garden Green, Black; accessories- Copic markers, Oval Nestabilities, gel pen, ribbon, Martha Stewart Cornice Edge punch

Here’s another project that I just haven’t had time to share yet.  I made this micro sized Santa box as a large group Make & Take several weeks ago.  I was set out to make them larger, but at the last minute I realized that I was running low on red paper.  eek!  So I micro-sized my boxes and I think they turned out kinda cute!  They are only 3 1/4″ tall when finished.  And they hold one of those Keebler 100 calorie packs of Right Bites cookies rather nicely if you open the package and wrap them with some plastic wrap.  :0)  (They also hold mini size candy bars).

This box is made just like the 2-4-6-8 boxes, only I started with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 piece of cardstock (a quarter sheet).  Then I scored the long side at 1″, 2 1/2″, 3 1/2″, and 5″.  Next, turn it 90 degrees and score the short side at 1″.  After scoring, cut and fold as shown in the diagram below (click to enlarge).  Cut on the red lines.  The yellow section will be removed.  Attach sides and bottom with strong adhesive.

To finish it off, I cut a strip of black for a belt that would fit through the die-cut buckle and added some buttons.  The Sizzix Bread Tag was cut a little shorter than the diecut size and stamped with images from my Annabelle set.

Check back tomorrow for another Christmas card I forgot to upload- oops!

stamps- Annabelle by Cookie Crumbs; paper- red, black, gold, white; ink- black; accessories- Sizzix Bread Tags die, Ellison Thick Cuts Buckles die, buttons, glue dots, Scor-Pal 

Friday I finally finished the rest of my Christmas cards and most of them are in the mail.  I am hoping to make an extra effort and get a few done each month in the coming year so I won’t be so late next year!  I even purchased a box to store them in and hope that it will serve as a visual reminder.  Let’s see if my good intentions follow through.  LOL.

Quite a few months ago I purchased a puffy ink marker when I saw it in a stamp store.  I wasn’t sure if it would be the same as the Liquid Applique, but I figured it was worth a try.  I hadn’t used my LA for a while and I didn’t know if it would be all dried up by now.  So I pulled out the marker to try it on my cupcake frosting and the penguin’s hat and it worked just the same.  :0)  My friend Lisa used Liquid Applique on her penguin cupcake too but she sprinkled hers with glitter before she heated it and it really sparkles!  You can see her card here.  

The pink snowflake dp I used is so shimmery and pretty but I was afraid to place it over an embossed layer.  It might have been difficult to get it to lay down and not look lumpy.  So I only embossed the top of the white layer and used my Scor-Pal to emboss a double line border. 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

stamps- Cupcake Occasions by Cookie Crumbs, Lulu’s Sweet Delights by C.C. Designs; paper- Green, Black, Red, White, dp- KI Memories; ink- Palette Black; accessories- Cuttlebug Snow Dots, SU! Scallop Edge punch, Rectangle Nestabilities, Copic markers, gel pen, Marvy Puffy Velvet marker, heat tool

What do you do when you are pressed for time and need to get 20 cards done by yesterday?  Browse the Splitcoast gallery!  :0)  I don’t very often CASE a card but when crunch time comes, it sure is nice!  Sadly, I usually don’t have time to check out the gallery.  I should try to more often…there are so many wonderful cards over there!  This is not an exact copy, but it’s close.  You can see the card that inspired this one here.  I just loved the colors she chose!  I changed my blue to Not Quite Navy though…I love Olive and NQN together!  And I used Shimmery white cardstock to make it sparkle. 

After I had all my pieces cut, stamped and colored, I began to think I was nuts!  (er…nuttier!)  Oh what fun I had cutting out Mary & Joseph….yeah…fun…that’s the word.  ha ha.  Joseph’s feet were the worst part.  DH jokingly told me to have him walking in snow so I wouldn’t have to cut them out.  Somehow I don’t think that would look right.   LOL.

Well, I am happy that they are done & IN THE MAIL.  I am working on one more card design (no, I’m not done yet…sigh).  I’ll share that with you later.  Have a great Friday!

stamps- City of David; paper- Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Shimmery White; ink- Palette Black; accessories- Copic markers, Labels 2 Nestabilities, paper piercer, Stickles

Here’s a quick project that I made a few weeks ago and haven’t had time to share yet.  It’s a Christmas notepad or wishlist…whatever you choose to use it for.  Directions for this project can be found here.  The thumbnail pic below shows the inside.  A Junior legal size notepad is cut in half vertically and attached to the scored cardstock cover.  I took my Junior legal pads to a local store to be cut but I’m sure any major office supply store could help you out. 

I used my penguin image from the Cupcake Occasions set to decorate the front.  :0)  A Cuttlebug tree was added to the bottom and 2 gemstones finished it off on the top corner. 

Do you have your shopping done?  I still need to use my notepad a bit longer.  LOL.  What I really need now is a nice envelope for my receipts!  And more time…lots more time to decorate, bake, and enjoy the holiday.

stamps- Cupcake Occasions by Cookie Crumbs; paper- Real Red, White, Black, dp- Creative Imaginations; ink- Black; accessories- Oval Nestabilities, stick-on gemstones, Cuttlebug Treetops, Stickles, Scor-Pal, Jr. Legal notepad 

This is one of those cards that looks much better in person.  I wish the little details would show better in the photo.  If you look closely, you can see the machine stitching around the Basic Grey Figgy Pudding paper.  And if you look *really* close, you might be able to see that the snowflake actually has 4 layers, not 3!  I used the Cuttlebug Ice Crystal die to cut the white snowflake and then I used it again to cut another flake from clear acetate.  I tried to get a better pic, but I had a hard time getting the clear flake to show up.  It sure sparkles, though, when the light hits it!  I also used the matching embossing folder to emboss a few flakes onto the card base and dp layer.  I love the look…it really gave it some texture.

The snowman is a Rachelle Anne Miller image from Stampavie.  I *heart* this snowman!  :0)   I pulled colors from the paper to color him with my Copic markers.  Once again, I cut up a 12×12 piece of patterned paper into 9 - 4″ squares, so I was able to get 9 more Christmas cards done!  I’m slowly getting them made.  :0)

stamps- Rachelle Anne Miller Snowman by Stampavie, Christmas Sentiments by AmyR Designs; paper- Cool Caribbean, White, Artichoke, Pomegranate, dp- Basic Grey Figgy Pudding; ink- Palette Black; accessories- Copic markers, Cuttlebug Ice Crystal, Labels 1 Nestabilities, sewing machine, acetate, EK Success Snowflake punches, SU! Word Window punch, Stickles