"Cookie Cutter Gifts"

These are the gifts I just finished for Alyssa to give to the office staff at school for Christmas. My stepmom, Linda, gave me this adorable cookie cutter gift idea last year and I thought it was too cute not to do.

The bag of Christmas-themed cookie cutters that I found at Target were trimmed with pale blue silicone, so I used that to set my color scheme. After printing my poem and punching it out, I layered it on a scalloped light blue circle. I, then added a coordinating color snowflake brad, by Creative Impressions, to each, and sprayed the poem with Glimmer Mist, by Tattered Angels, to give them a little shimmer. To finish the gifts off, I tied the poems to the cello bags with blue & white checked Offray ribbon.

This is an individual photo and below is the poem that I attached to each:
I made a plate of cookies,
And ate just one or two.
But started feeling guilty,
Because they were for you.
I went into a panic
And ordered on the phone,
This brand new cookie cutter
So you can make your very own!

"Alot 'O Tags"

These tags are like the ones my gal pal, Gina, and I made at Archiver's a couple of weekends ago as part of their make & takes.

After making them at the store, we thought they turned out cute, so we each decided to make some for ourselves at home.

Thanks to Gina help, she punched all the scalloped circles and adhered them, and then I got to do the fun stuff. . .attach the eyelets; ribbons; stickers; and, stamp the to and from sentiment. Now, I've got pre-made tags handy and ready to grab!

"Beautiful Christmas Card"

I wanted to post this card because it was done by my stepmom, Linda, as her Christmas card for this year.

She has only been stamping and cardmaking since spring/summer, so when she showed me this as her Christmas card for this year, I had to brag because I was so proud of her! I thought it turned out great!

Oh, by the way, my dad has already had to turn the spare closet into her a 'stamping' space and we all know what that leads too. . .heehee

"Girls, Girls, Girls!"

This is a photo of Alyssa and all of the "girls" from her party Friday night!! The only two that did not sleepover was precious little Amber (in front) and Alyssa's cousin, Lauren (on right).

Everyone had a blast! They ate pizza; watched movies; made crafts; and, when they got sleepy, they dropped like flies! heehee

The main thing to me was Alyssa loved her birthday party/sleepover and I survived!LOL

"Fun-Filled Friday!"

This is Alyssa's 12th birthday cake! Even though her birthday was last week, she came down with the flu and was unable to have her birthday party/sleepover until tonight.

So, I brought four girls home from school with Alyssa today and it has been wild ever since! heehee Tonight we'll be having a "Camp Rock" theme party, complete with the movie and popcorn.

Alyssa's adorable cake was decorated by Monica, the pastry chef/owner of Dumplins Restaurant in Jackson. I thought it turned out so cute with the guitars and music notes. Alyssa and her girlfriends definitely thought it was cool.

I've posted below a photo of the party favor cups I fixed for Alyssa and the girls. I found these adorable cone-like cups at the Dollar Tree and filled each with different lotions, candies, pencils, bath fizzies and a Camp Rock bracelet. The girls loved them!
















Lastly, I thought it would be fun to do some crafts with the girls. So, I've planned out three different ones, and below I've posted one. I got the small acetate holders from Clear Dollar Stamps, along with the Seal stamp. The holder hold exactly three Hershey's kisses. So, I made a tag for the girl's that reads: "Sealed with a kiss" and they can adhered the stamped seal at the bottom, before tying it to the holder. I thought it would make a cute gift for them to take home. The other two crafts they are doing are covering/decorating mini composition books and making homemade lipgloss.

Someone say a prayer, I have a feeling it is going to be a long night! LOL

*permission was granted for the cake photo to be posted*

"Christmas Memories"

I took this 10-page decorative album by American Crafts and added ribbon and a metal embellishment by Making Memories, then. . .Viola!

It's now a gift ready to fill with all those Christmas photos!

"Neighbor Gifts"

This is what I am making to give out to our neighbors for Christmas.

I took an actetate card holder that I got from Papertrey and decorated it with medium blue and Bo Bunny sage dot paper. The stamped sentiments are also from Papertrey. I then added sage Offray ribbon around the top; a snowflake brad from Bo Bunny; and, a stamped snowman by Autumn Leaves.

I filled the inside with individually wrapped cream carmel chews. Yum!

"Christmas Magic"

This is a Christmas order I finished for my gal pal, Randee. These two special items are for her cutie pie daughter, Sara Blake!

First, in this gorgeous tin is Santa's Magic Key. Sara will be able to set this out for Santa every year!

Second, I made her some Magic Reindeer Food! Every kid needs to sprinkle reindeer food on Christmas Eve! If you're going to leave Santa cookies & milk, then you've got to leave something special for the reindeer, too! Plus, there's magic in it!! The stamped reindeer image is in the gift tags set from The Angel Company. Isn't it just adorable?!?!

**If you click on my image, you get a much clearer & closer view**

"Teacher's Notes"

I thought I would delve into my scrap room today and make some Christmas gifts. This one is for Alyssa's homeroom teacher, Ms. Graves.

I took a small notepad from Target, and covered the front and back with this fun school themed paper from KI Memories. I added a KI Memories epoxy apple sticker to the corner and finished off the notepad with misc. Offray ribbons.

Next, I made a card. I stayed with the school theme, instead of Christmas, to coordinate. However inside, Alyssa and I will wish her a wonderful holiday season!

"Happy Birthday, Alyssa!"

Today is my baby's 12th birthday!! I cannot believe she's almost a teenager!! She is growing into such an awesome young woman. I am so proud of her!

I took this picture this morning before school. She opened a few presents before breakfast, and my mom is planning on visiting her at school, during lunch, with treats. So, I'm hoping she'll have a fabulous day!

Her birthday party/sleepover is planned for this weekend!

"Make and Take"

These are the two 'make & take' items that my friend, Gina, and I made at Archiver's today!

We made the trip to Memphis for Archiver's 'holiday extravaganza' weekend. You could do these make & takes for free and they also had someone teaching how to create acrylic block frames for $10.

The store was packed with shoppers; Christmas music was playing; and, holiday ideas were everywhere! Needless to say, Gina and I were there for several hours! LOL We enjoyed ourselves, like we always do, when we're together!! Thanks for a fun day, Gina! Love ya!!

"Decorative Tins"

These are recycled tins that had prima flowers in them. After the tins were empty, my friend was just going to throw them away, so I ask for them. I knew I could decorate them up for Christmas!

After adding some ribbon, decorative paper and prima embellishments, they are ready to fill with treats for the perfect gifts!

For my scallop circles on top, I used new papers from the Christmas collections of Cosmo Cricket and Basic Grey. The Prima embellishments are from their Christmas collection, as well.