Christmas.....yep, already!

I'm totally not ready for Christmas this year. Are you?? I don't mean to induce widespread panic, but there are just 43 days left. Seriously. I used to have it all together and finished with my shopping by the time the kids went back to school in the fall. Now that I have all the time in the world and no kids at home, I totally wait till the last minute. What's that about?!!! So, but anyway.....

This week I'm sharing a couple of ideas you can use on packages or quick thank yous for teachers, mailmen, your favorite bank teller, etc. I love making pockets and you can pretty much use any template or make one in any size you like.

The first is a gift card holder with a ribbon that can hang on the tree or a wreath. I used the elegant reindeer for this masculine style gift.

This time I've used a larger sized envelope. Added string for hanging and tied two candy canes together to tuck inside. Again, this would be cute tied to a gift with the name on a card inserted in the pocket or hung on a tree or wreath.

I used the adorable ice skating snowman stamp for the accent. He's so much fun to color and I also added stickles. His buttons are i-rock bling by Imaginisce. This is one of the first three images I've colored so go easy on me. LOL I'll never be a Lorie, but that's my goal so at least I have something to work toward. ;)

I hope you're more ready than I am for the holidays. I'm ready mentally, just not shopping or decorating-wise. LOL!

Instructions for mini explosion box

I had hoped to share a link to these instructions by Stampin' Up, but have been unable to find it. You'll be surprised how quick and easy these are to make. You may remember I made 200 of them for my niece's wedding reception a couple of years ago. I'm so glad I saved the file so i could share it with you. You may have to enlarge it, but I think you can copy and save the image. Have fun!

Thanksgiving favors

I'm making one of these for each place setting for the Thanksgiving dinner table. Aren't they cute? They will all be slightly different so I don't have to add names to them but they'll all be in shades of orange and brown. It's a fabulous way to use up older paper and/or scraps you want to thin out, or you can make the box and lid from one sheet of 12x12 paper and still have plenty left to make a name tag.



Thanks for looking. Now I'm off to get some sleep - tomorrow will be another busy day in the studio! :)

Winter Wishes gift set is in the house.........

Oh my heck, I love the Winter Wishes gift set by Lifestyle Crafts (formerly QuicKutz)!!! The font is very festive, yet is has a whimsical feel making it a versatile style that will work well on a variety of projects. It's a great size and the format is a plus. It comes two letters per cookie cutter die, and includes numbers and punctuation. The numbers for this one are smaller than the letters, which I love!

My layout is actually cream and black but looks white in the scanned image. Photos are more true to the actual colors. Papers are from the La Creme stack by Die Cuts With a View.



The snowflakes - awesome! - are fabulous and, as you can see on my page, they can be stacked and layered to make even more snowflake designs. In this photo you can see the stickles and bling, and the perfect sized numbers of the font.




Here I've used one of the four pockets/inserts for my journaling tag. I love these pockets!!!


And here are more ways to use the adorable pockets and inserts. See the tiny one? Perfect for tucking a love note into a lunch box, pocket or briefcase. I also used the index tab (trimmed to fit) from the windows and labels set so the insert is easier to pull out of the tiny pocket.

Make a super cute gift enclosure recipe card with a loaf of pumpkin bread, plate of cookies, or tie around a jar of homemade jam. I love my cute little oven mitts stamp.

Need a quick thank you gift for a teacher, mail carrier or manicurist? Tuck a packet of gourmet hot chocolate in the large pocket. I've used the pinecone die for a cute wintery accent on the front of the pocket....

...and a stamped message on the insert tag.

Gift enclosure card - cute little hedgehog stamp on the front and the Winter Wishes font on the insert tag.

Keep watching for more projects from the Winter Wishes release. I'm having a blast working with this set!!

Boo!

First, I apologize for the funky coloring in my scan - it happens when the lumpy parts stitch into the non-lumpy parts so I can't really do anything about that aside from not making lumpy projects, which is not going to happen. I love me some foam tape! LOL And now, on to this week's project.

This week I'm sharing a layout of my simple Halloween pumpkin. I like to do something different with my pumpkin every year, and this time, I decided to paint my pumpkin instead of carving it. I added black vinyl accents and a green wire to the stem, and there you have it. I love it.

I used the Cottage Cutz pumpkin trio and stamp set along with leaves and vine from the pumpkin patch die for my 3D embellishment.

Here I've used the scallop/dot edger and bling accents.

and for a little something extra, I used the bitsy little spider from the Cottage Cutz spooky fence to "hang" from the ribbon. I heat embossed him with clear powder to give him more texture and dimension after I added white to his eyes. He's barely visible in the photo of the whole layout, but he's there. :)

Have you started scrapping your Halloween pics yet? Thanksgiving is just around the corner!