Christmas Gift Idea #2

Hi friends.  Today's gift idea is a fun way to give money.  I saw this idea on several different blogs and really liked it. Hubby helped me make a bag header in Word.  Then it was just a matter of rolling up each dollar and tying it with ribbon. I nestled the money on a bed of red, shredded paper, stapled the header on to the plastic bag and it was done.  See Christmas Gift Idea #1 here.

Challenges:
Hiding in my Craft Room #176 - Freestyle!
Paper Creators Crafts #33 - All About Christmas
We Do Doobadoo - Get Festive
QKR Stampede #115 - Anything But A Card

Blessings:

• My MIL is doing very well after a bad knee injury.
• My niece has grown in the Lord so much this year.  
• It's back to being warmer here!  The cold weather is very painful for the Trigeminal Neuralgis in my face.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Christmas Gift Idea #1

Hi friends.  I hope that those of you who are American had a lovely Thanksgiving.  We sure did.  Did any of you brave the Black Friday sales?  I did my shopping online and found several good deals.

I'm hoping to share a series of Christmas gift ideas, that will make your gifts a bit more unique, yet are quick and easy to make.  Today I'll share the first one and I hope that this busy season and my health allow me to get back on here soon with my other ideas.

I packaged two pairs of soft socks, a nail file and some nail polish on a bed of red, shredded paper in a plastic bag and cut a topper to fit the bag size.  I stamped the words with alphabet stamps and stamped the flourishes.  I added a few touches of color with markers and used Stickles to add some sparkle.  I inked the edges, stapled the topper on my bag and I was done!  As I look at this picture, I wish I had taken the tag off of the pink socks. :(   This gift isn't my original idea.  I saw it online somewhere and thought it was a cute idea.

Challenges:
Completely Christmas #40 - Anything Goes, Something beginning with S - My S thing is Stickles.
Hiding in my Craft Room #176 - Freestyle!
Paper Creators Crafts #33 - All About Christmas
We Do Doobadoo - Get Festive
QKR Stampede #115 - Anything But A Card

Blessings:

• A cozy, warm home.  (We've been hit with cold temps even here in Florida.)
• Our friends were uninjured in a bad car accident.
• White chocolate - My special holiday treat.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Fall Tag Banner

Hi friends.  I'm slipping in here with this Autumn project before November is over.  I know many of you are already on to Christmas projects, but I march to the beat of a different drum. :)  Many thanks to Keri at Pressed Down, Shaken Together for the idea and tutorial for this banner.  Keri also has a great tutorial for a Christmas tag banner.  I apologize for the poor quality of my pictures.  The light in my living room is terrible.  The wall paint doesn't even look like the color it really is.  Not that you're here to see my living room wall paint anyhow. lol

 After I saw the picture of my banner I decided that I wanted to add a piece of a flourish die cut to the pumpkins to look like a vine.   I was too busy lazy to take a new picture.  Sorry. 

 I'm linking this to:
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything but a card
Crafty Purple Frog Challenge - Use orange
 Terrifically Thrilling Thursday at Shelly's Images - Anything Goes

Blessings

• I've lost 40 lb. now!!!  That's 80 lb. total lost since I was on a high dose of Prednisone long term.
• Christmas music - I love it and couldn't resist any longer.  I've been singing all day.
• Rice cheese - A great alternative when you have food allergies.

Have a terrific day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Time to Bloom Blog Hop

Spring is such a marvelous time of year! A time of warming weather, of lengthening days, and best of all, a time of vibrant colors and new life -- a time to BLOOM! Join the Deedee's Digis Design Team this weekend as we celebrate the start of this very special season with a "Time to Bloom" blog hop!

If this is your first stop on the hop, be sure to go to the Crafting with Deedee's Digis blog, where you will find the directions for participating in the hop, a chance to win the grand prize of a $15 credit to our store, AND a little gift for you!  If you get lost along the hop, you can also go back to the Crafting with Deedee's Digis blog to find the list of blogs.

My project for the hop was inspired by my sister, Sheila.  She makes gorgeous pen bouquets and I thought I'd give it a try for our "Time to Bloom" Hop.  The flower pens were quick and easy to make.  My sweet husband made the majority of these. :)  Here's a link with instructions.  

I used stamps from several sets to decorate my flower pot.  The little bear is from the Lucky Teddy set.  I snipped off the clover that the teddy holds and replaced it with a flower from the BEE-LIEVE set. The sentiment is from the Early Bird set.  I colored my image with Prismacolor pencils and oms.

This is what the pen looks like when it's in use.

Before you go, please be sure to leave me a comment in order to be entered to win $5 in free digis of your choice from the Deedee's Digis store! You have until 12 noon Eastern Time on Sunday to comment. I'll choose a random winner then, and all winners will be announced on Monday at Crafting with Deedee's Digis -- be sure to check back then to see if you've won.  Thanks so much for joining us today, and may all the blessings of Spring be yours!

Your next stop on the hop is Stephanie.

Challenges:
Delicious Doodles
Mami Doodles

Stamping with the Dragon
Wags N Whiskers

Inky hugs!

Shelly 

O Give Thanks!

Happy Thursday friends!!  Wow! It can't get much better than it is here in Florida right now.  We seem to be having an early spring and I'm really enjoying it and am so thankful for it.  My wall hanging has a verse about giving thanks.  The verse is a digital stamp from Deedee's Digis. Visit the Crafting with Deedee's Digis blog to see a great new project every day.  The ribbon is a $1 roll from Michaels, the gems are by Darice and everything else is bits and pieces from my stash.

Maybe in this close up view you can see that all of the papers are sparkly.

Challenges:
Crafty Creations
Paper Pretties
Sweet Stamps

Blessings

• Each day more leaves are starting to open on the bushes in the woods.  Things are becoming green again!
• Special happy mail!
• A homemade M&M brownie.  You all know I adore plain M&M's.  This was an awesome combination. :)

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Create With TLC Blog HOP

Thank you for stopping by the on the Create with TLC blog hop.  I made this framed saying for my husband, who is a teacher.  The saying is a digital stamp from Create with TLC.  Create with TLC is having a great President's Day sale through Sunday. Check out the details here.   Be sure to visit the Create with TLC blog too.  Paulette offers updates on new digital stamp sets, freebies and fun games.  

If you're looking for the beginning of the blog hop, go to Create with TLC.  Hop on over to Heather for your next stop on the blog hop.

Blessings

• My hubby found a great book for me at The Dollar Tree.  Gotta love that price. :)
• Happy Mail!!!
• Good news from a friend who has been going through a crisis.

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Merry Christmas!!!

I couldn't let Christmas pass by without popping in and wishing all of my online friends a wonderful Christmas.  I hope you all have a joyous Christmas and that 2011 will be a great year for you!

The project I have to show you today is a Christmas wall hanging.  I found the wonderful vintage image and the vintage background music for my wall hanging at The Graphics Fairy, which is a terrific blog.  Karen offers thousands of vintage images for free. I used vintage lace and antique buttons for embellishments.

I wanted to share a few pictures with you from the evening that Mark and I went out looking at Christmas lights.  Our evening ended with our own private light show by a policeman, because the van had a light out and we didn't realize it. :)

This first picture is my favorite, because it shows a Florida style Christmas - a Palm tree wrapped in lights.

This picture was just too cute to pass up. :) 

Blessings 

• My dear, sweet husband, who has pitched in to do so much for the holidays.
• Someone gave us a phone system, in great used condition, that is what I needed to accommodate my neck problems.
• A special time with family at a gathering.
• That we have Christmas to remind us that God gave us His only son.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Hello Kitty

Happy weekend everyone!  I hope you're getting a chance to do something enjoyable.  My birthday was yesterday and I must say that I had a wonderful day.  It was filled with family, friends, phone calls, mail, email, FB messages, good food, chocolate and gifts.  You can't top that!

I needed to make some things with Hello Kitty on them and all I could find to work with was party napkins with Hello Kitty.  So that's what I used.  A friend taught me a technique with napkins where they come out nice and glittery, so I used that technique on my projects. First up is a framed picture.  IRL the background of the Hello Kitty picture is very glittery.  These photos were taken at night, so I apologize for the poor quality.

Next is a journal and pen.  Once again the background of the Hello Kitty picture is very glittery IRL.  The pen is filled with glitter.  I suggest gluing the pen shut if you do this, so that it can't be opened and spilled. 

And here is the back of the journal.  Once again the glittery background doesn't show in the photo. :)

Blessings

• My nephew and niece were in a bad go-cart accident.  We're very thankful that a broken arm was the only injury, besides bruises.  Please pray for my nephew as his arm heals.
• The outpouring of love from family and friends for my birthday.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Monkey Fun

I needed to make some monkey theme items for a gift and this is what I came up with:

The card is fun and bright for a child.

I put a store bought necklace in this altered tin.

This is an altered pack of gum. :)

Blessings

• My daughter achieved some goals that she needed to for work today.
• Happy Mail!!!

Have a wonderful day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Back at Last!

Wow! I sure was gone for a long time.  I won't bore you with the details of why I was away so long.  But one super thing did happen during that time.  My mom spent the winter with us!!!  That was so special, because I only get to see her every few years.

Lately I've made a couple altered pop top cans to hold birthday gifts or money.  I've kept them on the simple side, because they were both for young guys.  Plus my hubby and I both thought it was more fun to keep them looking like a can.  If I ever do one for a girl though, I know I'll have to get the embellishments and glitter out. :)

Click here for the instructions to make these fun cans.  It takes you to SplitCoastStampers. I think these would be such a fun surprise to receive in the mail and be able to pop the top off and find a gift or money inside.

One of the cans is a gift from my husband and his students to someone.  My husband had each student write a note to the person and then he shrank the notes on the copier.  The notes are in the can in a tiny envelope.  We added a small magnifying glass for reading the notes. :)  Plus a gift card and some candy, of course.

I loved my One Touch can opener even before I found out that I could use it to make these gift cans.  But being able to use it to make these gift cans is such an added bonus. :)

Blessings

• My husband's back injury has improved enough for him to drive short distances around town now.
• Friends who mowed, trimmed and cleaned up the back yard for us without being asked, because Mark can't do that right now.
• A terrific phone visit with my mom.  I sure do miss having her here.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!
Shelly

Happy Pills

This is a fun gift to make for someone who can use some cheer. I especially like to make it for guys. It is filled with jokes that are printed out, cut into individual pieces and folded. The idea and the jokes came from the Craft Sayings site. The jokes are found on this page. You have to read through them and choose the ones you like. The rubber stamp, which I thought was perfect for this bottle label, is from Heart and Soul Rubber Stamp Company. I used this drink bottle, because I thought it looked kind of like a pill bottle.

Blessings

• My daughter has been so helpful to me this week when I've been in pain
• Emails from friends that are uplifting
• A new stamping magazine from my husband

Have a marvelous day!!!
Inky hugs!
Shelly

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Teacher's Gift Idea

Check out this great idea that Donelda has for a teacher's gift. She decorated Jifffy Pop containers and is giving a movie rental gift card with them.

http://wiggysworldofcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-present.html



I hope you're having a super saturday. : )


Inky hugs!
Shelly

Goodie Pouches

Brrrrr!!!! It feels like the holidays are here. We have been having alot of cold weather this year. We will definitely get to wear a pretty sweater for Thanksgiving this year. Alot of years we don't even get to wear one for Christmas. The only problem with this is that I'm in the midst of losing weight and I don't have any sweaters in the size I'm wearing right now. Ten more pounds off and I'll be able to wear some pretty sweaters I have. That gives me something to work toward. Meanwhile I need to figure out something to wear tomorrow.

Do you like the goodies pouches? They hold quite a bit as you can see in the second photo. Cut a 7"x 9 1/2" piece of cardstock. Score it at 2 1/2" and 7". Use a circle punch to cut a 1/2 circle in the front panel. Adhere bottom & back flaps closed. I used Provo Craft Terrifically Tacky Tape (double stick red liner tape). Crimp the bottom of the pouch approx. 5/8". Decorate the front panel as desired. I cut a piece of white cardstock, scored all 4 edges with my Scor-pal to make it more finished looking, punched the corners with my SU ticket punch, stamped "Merry Christmas" with a My Paper Moon stamp, adhered two ornaments cut with my Sizzix ornament die and added two bows tied with 1/4 ribbon. I also added touches of Crystal Stickles to the ornaments.

Today's kid's craft is Paper Plate Santas. You will notice that the crafts I'm posting are very simple, but with a bit of thought they can be adapted for a child who needs more of a challenge. You will need: red construction paper, a paper plate, cotton balls, markers or crayons, glue, and scissors. On the paper plate draw santa's eyes, nose, and mouth. Brush some glue above his eyes and around his mouth and add cotton balls to form his eyebrows, mustache, and beard. Cut a triangle out of red construction paper for Santa's hat. Glue the hat to the top of the plate. Glue one cotton ball to the tip of the hat for a pom pom. Let dry.

***For an older child googly eyes would be fun. Also, they could cut a hat shape out rather than just a triangle. They could make Santa's cheeks rosey.

I hope to get a chance to slip on here tomorrow, but if I don't I wish you all a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

Inky hugs!

Shelly

They Look Good Enough to Eat

Hello friends. My daughter has been baking here today and it made me think of these gingerbreadmen ornaments that I like to make. They are fun to make. I like to make at least several of them at once if I'm going to take all of the stuff out. So I cut a sheet of cork to fit my Xyron and run it through, so that the back of my cork has adhesive on it. If you don't own a Xyron, you can use a sheet of double stick red liner adhesive or Peel n Stick Double Sided Adhesive by Therm O Web to add the adhesive to the back of your cork. Adhere a piece of tan cardstock to the back of the cork. Use cardstock that is 110# or heavier. Now it's time to cut your gingerbreadmen out with a Sizzix Gingerbread Man die. I used sharp scissors to cut my cork into individual pieces that fit better in my Sizzix before I cut the gingerbreadmen out. Next, use your favorite eyelet setting tool to add an eyelet at the top of the little guy's head. Now the fun part begins! Let your imagination go and decorate your gingerbreadmen. I'll share with you what I used. I chalked my around the outside edges of the body to make the little guy look "browned". The eyes are black beads that are flat on the back, the mouth is drawn with a permanent extra fine red marker, the cheeks are chalked, the trim at the wrist and ankles was done with Holly Stickles. The heart "buttons" are red heart punches with Icicle Stickles on them to look like sugar. Don't forget the gold cord for hanging your ornament on your tree. If you're sending these in the mail, be sure to put some stiff cardboard on each side, so that they don't get damaged. If you make some of these, please send me a link to the pictures. I'd love to see your version. : )

Here are instructions for an easy holiday kid's craft. Sorry I don't have a photo, but I think you can get the idea easily enough from the instructions.

Construction Paper Stockings: You'll need holiday color construction paper, cotton balls, glitter, scissors, glue, hole punch, ribbon or yarn. Cut a stocking shape out of construction paper. Brush glue on the top portion of the stocking and adhere cotton balls to make it look like fur. Make glue swirls and shapes on the stocking and decorate with glitter. Punch a hole in the top of the stocking and add ribbon or yarn as a hanger. ***For older children, you could cut a front and a back to the stocking and show them how to glue it together around the edges.

I'll try to add instructions for more simple children's crafts throughout the holidays. I know moms and grandmas are usually looking for something different for the kids to do when they are on school vacation.

Have a great day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Christmas Packages

I can't beleive I let a whole week slip by without posting. It didn't seem like a week as busy as I've been. At this rate I won't have anybody reading my blog. The package above is a Christmas version of the gift package I told you how to make in an earlier post. My packages contain Homemade Oatmeal Milk Bath in different scents. If you would like the recipe for the milk bath, email me at webe34him@bellsouth.net or leave a comment. This package holds 1 1/4 oz. of milk bath.

These two packages also contain milk bath, only larger amounts. They're store bought boxes that I added pretty embellishments to. Inside I added a small loofah, shimmery paper shreds and instructions printed on gold mica paper.

I'll try get back to posting regularly. Though I won't make any promises, because I don't want to break them. : ) We have alot coming up. My dd turns 22 this week, then we go into Thanksgiving and preparation for Christmas.

Have a fabulous day!!!

Inky hugs!

Shelly

Metal Magnets

Happy Monday! I hope you're off to a great start to your week. Today I want to share with you the instructions for making metal magnets. Mine is made of copper, but you could use any type of metal that you can buy in sheet form.

Be sure to read the instruction all the way through before you start your project.

1. Using the Sizzix Slide Mount die, cut 1 slide mount out of a sheet of copper.
2. Run the copper slide mount through your Cuttlebug using the Tiny Mosaic embossing folder.
3. Cut a square of off white cardstock the same size as the slide mount.
4. Use a stipple brush to apply Sepia ink to the cardstock square.
5. Stamp your saying on the cardstock so that it will be centered in the window of the copper silde mount. I used a saying from the TAC Little Tidbits set.
6. Apply Terrifically Tacky Tape (double sided red liner tape) to the back of the copper slide mount.
7. Adhere the slide mount to the cardstock.
8. Cut a piece of brown cardstock slightly larger than the copper slide mount.
9. Apply Terrifically Tacky Tape to the off white cardstock on the back of the copper slide mount.
10. Adhere the brown cardstock to the back of the copper slide mount.
11. Cut around the edges of the brown cardstock with decorative edger scissors.
12. Attach 2 Prima flowers together with a coordinating brad.
13. Use E-6000 craft adhesive to adhere the flowers to the front of the copper slide mount.
14. Apply a self-adhesive magnet strip to the back of the copper slide mount.


If you have any questions, feel free to email me at webe34him@bellsouth.net or leave a comment by clicking on comments at the very end of this post.


I have some exciting news to share. Nancie Waterman of Vamp Stamp News Magazine asked permission to quote me in this month's issue of her magazine. Of course, I said yes. And guess what??? I won the drawing for 8 back issues of Vamp Stamp News!!! I'm really looking forward to them. They will keep me busy reading and trying new things for a long time. Thank you, Nancie.


Have a terrific day!!!


Inky hugs!
Shelly

Good Things Come in Small Packages

I've been experimenting with making some bath products lately. I found out that soap is harder to make than I expected. : ) But the Oatmeal Milk Bath came out very well and I'm gradually getting it all packaged in these cute little gift packages. If you'd like the recipe for the Oatmeal Milk bath email me or leave me a comment. I don't want to bore everyone with it on the blog.

But I did want to share how to make these little gift packages, because you could package many different things in them with Halloween and Christmas coming up.

1. Cut a piece of cardstock to 2 3/4" x 8 1/2".

2. Score the cardstock at 3 5/8" and 4 3/4" and fold it.

3. Adhere a 2 1/2" x 3 5/8" piece of designer paper to an outside panel of the box.

4. Adhere a computer generated label to the dp. Mine measured 2 1/8" x 3 1/8" and I punched the corners of it with my ticket punch.

5. Use a 2" x 3" ziploc bag to hold your gift. Secure it to an inside panel of the box with a strip of double-sided red liner tape. (The tiny ziploc bags can be purchased at craft stores & at some Walmarts.)

6. Making sure the edges are even, punch two holes side by side through both layers at the top of the box.

7. Put ribbon through the holes and tie it.

I think Christmas and Halloween packages would be adorable if you substituted a seasonal embellishment for the label. If you make some, please share a picture with me.

**Update: I just thought to add that I fill the small pastic bags with a funnel when I'm filling them with the Oatmeal Milk Bath. It makes the job neater and easier.

I'll leave you with an awesome thought today. You're somebody very special, because God created you in His image!

Inky hugs!

Shelly