"After Dinner Boxes"

During Christmas all of my 3 step-brothers could not come home at the same time to visit. So, we have set aside a date in January that worked where 'everyone' can get together at my dad & stepmom's house for a wonderful "Christmas" dinner. So, I wanted to make an 'after dinner' treat for everyone.

To make these, I bought two dozen matchboxes at the Dollar Tree and emptied the matches into a ziploc bag at home. Now, they were ready to decorate! I wanted to use this patterned paper from PineCone Press because of the blues & whites we think of in January. After wrapping each box in the paper, I then tied them up with coordinating Offray ribbons. I also adhered a piece of white cardstock to the inside bottom of the box. Each box will hold a miniature Hershey's candy bar.

"Sweet Tins"

These 4 oz tins from Papertrey are the perfect size to hold three (3) of those individually wrapped Ghirardelli chocolate squares.

On Cambria Turnbow's blog, she had decorated some of these tins up with rubons on the lid, so I thought I'd give it a try. I thought these turned out just too cute! (Thanks, Cambria, for the idea!)

I used the Cupcake Series papers from Collage Press; rubons from MAMBI; Offray ribbon; and miscellaneous rhinestones. I see these being teacher gifts!

"Love You. . . Berry Much"

I love this little treat set! I covered York peppermint patties with red cardstock, then stamped an adorable strawberry (from Papertrey) on white before adhering to the top of each patty. I then tied three of the patties up in a cello bag before attaching a tag with the same strawberry stamp and a cute title 'Love You Berry Much'. (I also tied it up with red polked dotted Offray ribbon to match the strawberries.)

The inspiration for this came from Lisa Johnson's gallery post at Papertrey Ink. Those girls do great work and have such cute ideas!

"Valentine's Treat Box"

This is a small gable box from Papertrey that I decorated to be a Valentine's treat box. (Note, I was able to use my new Cuttlebug and the heart embossing folder. I was so excited!!) However, I am NOT excited that the picture does not show the detail well unless you click on it for a closer look. So, please do, so you can get the 'full' effect! heehee

I matted the pink embossed paper on red cardstock before adhering on all 4 sides and then, added an embossed heart 'stamp' design to the front. To finish off the box, I just tied red polked dotted sheer ribbon around the front panel. I filled the inside with York peppermint patties and it's ready!!

I've also included a side view of the box for you:

"Checking In"

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas with their families! I did and ate way too much!! LOL

I just wanted to announce that I got a Cuttlebug and six embossing folders from Santa, so be prepared to see lots of stuff 'cuttlebugged'! I'm so excited!

I am hoping to get back in my craft space and get busy by the end of the week, so I'll be posting again soon.

"Christmas Wishes"

I probably will not be posting again until after Christmas, so I wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Take this time to enjoy your friends and family and all the special memories the holidays can bring! Count all the blessing this year has bestowed upon you and know that the year ahead has many more blessings in store for you.

My dear daughter will be home from her grandmother's Sunday night and I can't wait to make those cookies for Santa and sprinkle that reindeer food on Christmas Eve. These are the special traditions that I look forward to every year with her!!

So, again, have a very Merry Christmas!!

"RAK from Rochelle"

I wanted to show everyone this cute tin that 'Secret Santa' sent Alyssa for Christmas. Rochelle was the wonderful 'Secret Santa' and now Alyssa thinks she is "way super cool!" Rochelle just keeps scoring those points...heehee

Alyssa loves this tin! She is taking it as her purse to all the Christmas celebrations!

Thanks, Rochelle! You're too sweet!

"Last Minute Stocking Stuffers"

I found this adorable idea on SCS from The Basic Scrapper for Magical M&Ms. So, I just had to make some for stocking stuffers.

I used plastic test tubes, that I ordered from Oriental Trade, and filled them each with M&Ms. I then typed the cute poem and attached it to the tubes with misc. Offray ribbon. I think these would make great party favors for any time of year! Below, is the Magical M&Ms poem:

Each color is a different cure;

Of this fact, we're very sure.

When you're grouchy and a little mean,

We truly recommend the green.

For times when you are down,

The very best choice will be the brown.

Orange's oh so special coating.

Will help minimize any bloating.

If you have an ache in your head,

This will surely be cured by the red.

Need something to help you be mellow?

Take a dose of the yellow.

If anxiety feelings overcome you,

Just eat a hefty handful of blue.

And, if your day comes unglued,

Just eat the whole tube!

"School Gifts"

These are a few of the various gifts heading to school with Alyssa tomorrow. Her last day before winter break is Wednesday and she doesn't want to take it all on that day.

There are some snowman Trident gum holders; a Hershey's nugget tin; a 4 oz tin filled with miniature Reese's peanut butter cups; a tall tea tin filled with mixed nuts; and four (4) decorated Hershey's nuggets in a cardstock 'wrap'.

I've fixed a basket for Alyssa to carry everything in tomorrow to hand out these goodies. Then, I guess when she brings it back, it will just get filled again with class treats to head back to school on Wednesday. Whew! LOL!

"Christmas Class Treats"

Sorry it's been forever since I last posted. I've been finishing up all my Christmas orders. I'm on my last one, so all is good!

These are the class treats I made for Alyssa to take to school Wednesday. I cannot remember who I got this cute & easy idea from, but it is ingenious!

I used the SU round tab punch and slot punch; stamped a little gingerbread man on the tab; then wrapped it around 5 pixy sticks and tied it with some ribbon. Easy, peasy...but cute!!

I know this class treat may not look all that fabulous, but...1. At this point in the game, easy works for me; 2. They are 5th graders...let's face it, they'll tear the little wrapper off and eat the candy; and lastly, 3. My dear daughter, Alyssa, thought they were cool. So, there you have it! LOL

I've posted a smaller photo of one of the tabs closer up.

p.s. I found where I got this idea: From Lorraine Rowe at Splitcoast. Thanks, Lorraine!!

"Another Quick Treat"

Ok, this is a different photo than before, but that other one was driving me crazy! I don't know that this one is much better, but I had to change it, anyway! LOL This is another cute treat idea thanks again to Nichole Heady's blog. I love this option for all those nuggets that are great to wrap! I've posted pictures below showing the very simple steps to making this adorable treat.

Basically, you start with a piece of cardstock for the base, cut to 2" x 3". Then you'll need to punch two (2) Giga scallop circles. You will fold each circle in half, and punch holes at the tops of each. Then adhere 1/2 of each circle to the bottom of the cardstock base, as shown. Once you have wrapped your nuggets, place them onto the cardstock base, using a single glue dot on the bottom of each, also shown. Now, all you have to do is choose your ribbon and tie it up. Remember to tie it up kinda tight to hold the nuggets in place. This little treat turned out adorable! These were quick and easy, too!

"New Little Holiday Treat"

I've once again figured out a way to use my snowman stamp. This time, however, I've reduced him even smaller. (I think this is about as small as he's going to get!) Anyway, while I was browsing Nichole Heady's blog, she had posted an adorable example using miniature Reese's Cups for like a Valentine's treat. Well, I'm still trying to finish up Christmas, so hence, the faithful snowman stamp. Thanks to Nichole for the idea...I just changed it around for a Christmas treat gift.

This is a picture before I sealed it up. I've adhered a circle punched snowman images to the tops of four miniature Reese's and then placed some crinkly filler on top. I used a 4 oz clear top tin from Papertrey Ink. After putting the lid on, I wrapped a piece of white Doodlebug frills around the tin, adhering it on top. I know the picture shows a red scallop, however, I changed my topper and added a green circle punched from my Whale of a Punch, then layered on top is a 1 1/4 red circle. I stamped 'holiday treats' in the middle. The stamp is also from Papertrey, however, you could put anything in the middle. I've also posted a picture of the finished project. I think it turned out cute! Something different (but with the same 'ole snowman!) LOL

"An Evening Out"

After being sick, for what has seemed like forever, I got to feeling better this evening, so I went to my dad & stepmom's for dinner & crafts. I just had to take a picture of their tree! I love this time of year! We had a great dinner and afterwards, me & my stepmom had crafts to do!



We made these Snowman Soups for my stepmom to have for the ladies at church; for her cookie exchange party; and for the neighbors. We did a total of 27.











Speaking of cookie exchange. . .these are her homemade Peppermint Shortbread Cookies she made for the party. YUM!!! I had to get the recipe. So, if anyone wants it, just email me!

Last, but not least, she made up these adorable cookie cutter gifts, with a little poem attached. The poem reads:
I made a plate of cookies
And ate just one or two.
But I started feeling guilty
Because they were for you.
I went into a panic
And order on the phone
This brand new cookie cutter
So you can make your very own!
Merry Christmas!

"Teacher Gifts"

This is an order I just finished for a dear friend's girls to give their teachers as Christmas gifts. I've done these designs before for school and/or teachers and the colors always work well. I hope they like them! (Oh, by the way, this 10 ton elephant sitting on my chest says "hi"! LOL)

"Peppermint Patties Treats"

Well, I had to make a trip back to the doctor's office today. I've got the yuck!! I had to get a sinus cocktail shot, so hopefully, by tomorrow I will not feel like I'm dying! Anyhow, you know I can't go to the doctor's office empty handed, sick or not! So, last night, I made up these peppermint patties treats.

If you look close, do you recognize the cute little fella on the treats? I stamped the image of my snowman, then reduced it on my copier until he was tiny enough to fit into my 1 1/4 circle punch. I hope all of you are not tired of seeing him, because I keep coming up with ways to use him this holiday season.

"Dora The Explorer"

These are bandaid tins I decorated for a lady that works with my mom. She wanted all three to be Dora, so I tried to make them all look different. I enclosed mini gel pens on the inside.

I love these little tins because they make great gifts. You can decorate them for any occasion and fill them with anything! These were my last ones, so I'll have to get me some more at the first of the year.

I've decorated these with misc. patterned papers to coordinate with the colors in the stickers and also used misc. Offray ribbon on the handles. My mom is taking them to work with her tonight. I hope the lady likes them!

"Blog Candy Winner..."

Congratulations!! The winner of my 10,000 hits blog candy is . . .Cathy (cmeyers@hughes.net)

Cathy said...Congrats on 10,000 hits! I just love all your projects. I would have to say I really like all the creative snowman kisses and snowman sets. Thanks for a chance.

Thanks for everyone playing and all the sweet comments!

"More Snowman Kisses"

This is another order I just finished of the snowman kisses. These go with the order of chocolate envelopes that I previously posted.

I have a couple more orders of snowman kisses to make, totaling 24. So, you can imagine when I went to the store to get all the tic tacs to make my orders, the looks I got from the check out girl. I bought ten 4-packs and I'm sure she thought I was some wierd woman with bad breath! LOL

"My Stamp"

Several people have asked about this little fella, so I thought I'd give the info. The stamp is by Penny Black and is titled Warm & Cold. I got it at Hobby Lobby and the cost was around $6.79.

It has been my favorite stamp this holiday season! I've gotten a ton of uses out of it! He's just so darn cute! LOL

Hope this info helps!

"Snowmen Gum Holders"

These are my snowmen gum holders I just finished. They are going to be part of a set of 'snowman goodies' I'm making for Alyssa to give as gifts. I think I have previously posted the whole set of goodies. The set will include this gum holder, a snowman soup, and a snowman decorated small bag with an individual Ghirardelli chocolate square inside.

Oh, by the way, I think I might have mentioned it before, but this little cutie is my favorite snowman stamp! *wink*