I've Got My Eye On You!!!

Ok, so I'm making this Christmas card using the Stampin' Up! "Holiday Lineup" set because I found out I was short a few Christmas cards this year. Not a big deal, it really doesn't take that long to make a card. I think it takes longer to come up with an idea for a card. But the idea was already in my head and it just needed to be put down on paper!!!

I'm coloring in the reindeer first and then the noses. Making sure I color the center one in red. Then the reindeer with the hat. Now what is that hat all about? Doesn't he look a bit out of place? Maybe I shouldn't have colored it so brightly.

To fix this I decided to change the eyes on the reindeer next to him. I used the white gel pen and colored in the black dots that were from the stamp image. Then I took the black marker and gave the eyes some new dots!! Now that reindeer is looking at the one with the hat. After all, you can see that ALL the reindeer have noses but only one of them has a hat!!! LOL I know I need help!!! LOL

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Cute Candy Box! Tutorial

Dressing up candy is always fun to do and fun for those who receive it!! And it's always nice to have something that isn't very expensive but yet brings a smile to someones face.

For box bottom

Cut card stock 4-1/2" x 3-3/8"
Score on all sides at 1"
On the short side clip the vertical score lines up to the horizontal score line.
Turn and repeat for other end.
Fold in all the score lines.
Fold in and glue the small flaps that you just created from clipping and set aside.

For the lid

Cut the card stock 3" x 4"
Score at 3/4" on all sides
Using the Scallop Punch, punch all around the entire piece.
On the short side clip the vertical score lines up to the horizontal score line.
Turn and repeat for other end.
Fold in all the score lines.
Fold in and glue the small flaps that you just created from clipping. You will need to trim up the ends, the scallops are not going to match completely and if they do you are REALLY good at using that punch!!! LOL

Decorate your lid as desired! I had found some snowflake stickers and just added them to the top of the box. I wanted to do a little snowman and some small stamped trees but that big ole ribbon would cover it all so I just went with the snowflakes. I do have several small snowflake stamps I could have used too but I found the stickers first!! LOL I liked adding the big bow because it just looked so cute on the small box. It somehow cutened it up!!! LOL

This is a great way to dress up that little candy bar to set on co-worker's desks, for the kids to give to friends and teachers, etc. The ideas for this are endless.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

It's Blog Candy Time!!

It's probably not a good time to put up Blog Candy with some readers out of town. But there is good news to this too. I have LOTS of Blog Candy to give away. This Blog Candy is from my Blogaversary Blog Candy. The winner did not contact me. SO I'm offering it up again!!!

Then I will be offering some Blog Candy because I did finish my Christmas cards before Thanksgiving. I just have to put the wording on the insides and address them. To me being done was all the coloring and assembling the front! And I was SO glad to have that part all done. When I post the blog candy in a few days for that I will repost our Christmas card.

And then there's that "Chatty Cathy" Blog Candy coming up too. I will hitting my 1000th post in a few more days. I'm at 995 right now. Shocker, huh??? I have enjoyed creating each and every one of those posts. I am still loving blogging and I hope to continue at the same pace.

Oh and I can't forget about the Blog Candy for reaching 600,000 hits. I'm a little late with that one but it's always better late than never, right??? LOL

I am diligantly working on the technique pages and I believe I have 5 more left before I have the second set of 20 done. Then I will write up a post to let you all know. I do have the list of those who purchased the first set of 20 and I will be emailing you. And this time I made more. Oh and I am remaking the first set of 20 for those of you interested. Please don't email me about it yet. The pages will be put in my online store and you can purchase them through there. It will even tell you how many sets are left so you know for sure if you will be able to get one or not. But that won't be for a couple of weeks yet so we don't need to think about it right now!!

Ok, for this Blog Candy (you know nothing is free!!! LOL) you need to leave a comment on this post only. Tell me of one of your most interesting dishes you had at Thanksgiving, whether you made it yourself or if someone else did.

Here's mine!!! Many years ago my sister-in-law was helping to make dinner, everyone brought dishes to share. Hers was the sweet potatoes with the marshmallows slightly melted on them. It was VERY pretty and the marshmallows were toasted just right. They were such pretty colors too. As it turned out they were fruit flavored marshmallows, cherry, lemon, lime and orange!!! Now that was a VERY interesting taste!!!! And funny thing, she's never made them that colorful since!!! LOL

Please leave your comment for the Blog Candy on this post only!!! And remember I always add extra items to the envelope before I mail it out. The drawing will be held on Monday December 1st!!

Since I didn't make a card for the blog today because of the Blog Candy post I am going to go play with my beads!!! I have a bracelet I want to make and I'll show you a picture of it when I'm done!!

Good luck to you!
Wanda

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Now you can't have Thanksgiving without a Thanksgiving card now can you??? I was going to say that I don't make Thanksgiving cards but as I was entering "Thanksgiving Cards" in the label for this post one popped up. So I must have made one or more last year!!!

SO what to make? I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and then I remembered these cute little turkey cards made using punches. NO stamping. So I thought!!! My little turkey got lost in the card so I had to find some Thanksgiving wording. I found it in the Stampin' Up! set "All Year Cheer III. It's a retired set that I just can't let go of. It's got so many great words in it. Actually it's the only set I have that had "Happy Thanksgiving" in it!!!

For this cute little turkey I went to "Stamp on This" and followed Jana's directions. They were simple and easy to follow. Great for those belated Thanksgiving cards or for reference for next year!! I'm almost 100% positive that turkeys will still be "in" next year!!! LOL

I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. And it's that dreaded shopping weekend. I don't go out and if I do it's later at night. I don't like the crowds. I did do the shopping thing on that Friday MANY years ago. See how much it impacted my brain?? LOL I do remember that the following year I thought I would go grocery shopping. I was working full-time then and I had Friday off. SO I thought I would take care of that instead of Christmas shopping. I figured there wouldn't be many people in the store. Boy was I wrong!! And that day I came to the conclusion that any place that has a cash register would be busy. I bet I'm right about that!!! LOL Now the day after Thanksgiving is the day the tree goes up and the house is decorated for the Christmas season. I play Christmas movies all day long and just decorate away. It takes about all day too!! But it's SO worth it!

Thank you SO much for visiting,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

These Wednesday's just come WAY too fast!!! I was fortunate to find a few minutes to play along today. I used the Stampin' Up! set "A Wish for Peace." I just LOVE that church and trees. I stamped the image on glossy card stock using black StazOn. I used a blender pen and a sponge to do the coloring. Then I just layered everything in black. I did add a white strip of paper under the ribbon, it looked so gray on top of just the black. SO there is an extra layer there but you really can't tell. I tied a snowflake bow and used glue dots to hold it in place on top of the ribbon layer. And I had used a small piece of my ever dwindling "Summer Picnic" decorative paper.

If you have time head on over to SplitCoastStampers and play along with the Sketch Challenge. It's always fun to play with new layouts!!! You never know when one comes in handy!!!

Well, I'm off to clean up the house and get things ready for the morning of cooking and baking. And not to forget the mounds of dishes I make while doing the cooking and baking. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Faux Stained Glass Technique Page

First I would like to make a note here to Jodi. She left a comment on yesterday's post and since Blogger doesn't let me email back on your comments I must post it here.

She asked about the edge sponging technique. I will post a tutorial on how to do sponging. I will show you different ways to achieve different effects with it. It's not just running a sponge over your edge and calling it done!! There really is more to it than that if you want a really beautiful edge. I will show you how to do that. But today I'm showing you the Faux Stained Glass Tehcnique.

Stamp your image on the card stock. You will want the images to overlap. Where these images overlap is where you will be coloring. You will take your watercolor crayon and either color directly onto the card stock or pick up the color off the crayon with your blender pen. Color in the areas that over lap. Once you are done with that you will stamp over your entire piece with the VersaMark pad. Then you will sprinkle clear embossing powder over that. Heat the powder to set it and you have a beautiful stained glass look!!!

Now go have some fun with this and if you email me your finished project I would be more than happy to post it on my blog for you!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting,
Wanda

Fun Cards! Fun Day!!!

Yesterday was DIVA Day!!! I just LOVE DIVA Day not only because it's a lot of fun but because Sue is SO good to us and she spoils us rotten!!! But then again what should you do with DIVA's?? LOL We had a great time. I LOVED all the cards I made, even my not so blooming flower!!! LOL The card was to be of a flower using the flower punch and cutting the petals off and reassembling them. I reassembled mine from the backside, not paying attention to the size of the flower. Well, needless to say my flower was a bit tiny!! And it looked so lost within the background it was taped on!! I am going to redo mine and I'll share it with you later in the week. And fine, I'll share my tiny flower one with you too. Then you can know exactly what I am talking about!!!! One of my not so creative moments!!! LOL

The card I want to share with you today is the one in the photo here. This was one of the cards we made yesterday. The technique is called "Faux Stained Glass" and I will be making a technique page and posting that tomorrow. SO you must wait one more day to learn how to do it. It's really a very simple technique and the end results are beautiful.

Thanks Sue for a very fun day!!

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you all for stopping by,
Wanda

As I Promised!

Here's the photo of the frames on the wall. They actually went on the wall the same day we got them home and redid them!!! It only took a little urging and the job got done!! LOL The wall looks so different now. After nothing on it for 10+ years and then to walk in the room and have something there was startling at first. Now we're getting use to it. DH just loves the wall because it's pictures of our favorite place to go. If you click on the photo you can view it closer. Though pictures of pictures don't always come out as clear as the original picture!!!

This was fun to do and even more fun to see up on the wall!!!

Have a GREAT day!
Wanda

Birdie Frames!!!

I call these my birdie frames because they were "cheap, cheap, cheap!!!" LOL DH and I were shopping together (yes, he went shopping with me!!!) at Joann's. Our mission was to get our 8 x 10 photos framed. There was this coupon..... you know that story!!! This coupon was for 60% off their custom framing. It was for our "entire" custom framing. We wanted 4 photos framed. And then it turned out to be 5 because I REALLY wanted the cute one of the cats framed too and he agreed (Shocker!!).

There was a line at the custom framing counter so we waited there. Gazing at all the frame styles and colors. I look to the right and all of the framed art was 50% off. Hmmm. The light bulb went on and I call DH over to discuss my bright idea. I took out one of the photos and it fit nicely in the frame area. SOOO the quest then was for 4 more frames on and now we needed a cart too!!! We found the frames and I looked on the back to see if what we wanted to do could be done. I was pretty sure it could but if anything we'd just have to return the other 4 frames we didn't disassemble!!! LOL

On the way to the checkout line (which is always long!) I remembered that there was some other sale going on too. I look in my purse for the "other" coupon and I found it. It was for $15 off a purchase of $75 or more. Well, with 5 frames that wasn't an issue. The bottom line was we got 5 frames for $90. Now our living room wall has sat bare for well over 10 years. I was waiting (patiently) for the right stuff for that wall. When we moved in the house it had glass squares on the 22' wall that went over the stairway too. That was just nasty to clean over the stairs. The reason the squares came off the wall was because they were not only outdated but because the guy we hired to paint the ceiling cracked one. It was a small piece of glass not a big square but it was still cracked. We had extra pieces somewhere but we never did locate them. SO plan B was to remove all the squares. What a job that was but it got done and the wall got primed. There was some damage to the wall but not much. Because the wall is so long it shows all it's imperfections so I hired someone to put up this really nice (neutral) wallpaper that is meant to hide those imperfections and it did. But it was still an empty wall. Well, it will no longer be empty. We got the photos in the frames and later tonight our plans are to put the frames on the wall. Should that happen I will take a picture of it so you can see our handy work. There is one photo I'm not fond of, to me it's too dark but DH likes it so it may have to stay there until I whine enough about it that he finally gives in and lets me change it!!!! LOL Or maybe it will just grow on me, who knows. I suppose I should respect that he likes it and leave it. That would be the proper thing to do, wouldn't it? I HATE being proper!!! LOL

Ok so onto the reason for this post. I took the pictures from the frames and cut away some pieces off them to make cards. "Birdie Cards??" LOL My friend Katie will be happy with me that I was able to recycle the pictures instead of trash them!!! Right Katie???

I cut the pictures (which look a bit vintage to me) to 3-7/8" x 5-1/8". Then I took some Blush Blossom and cut it 5-1/4" x 4". I don't use Blush Blossom much at all but I thought it would work well with my card. I layered it on top of Bravo Burgundy. Those colors along with the artwork go perfectly together. Don't you agree??

Here is one of the frames. Not one for the living room wall but the most adorable one of two of my cats. These cats are buddies. This is the first time they laid like that and they haven't done it since. I was fortunate to have my camera next to me at the time. They were laying on my legs while I was in the recliner. Aren't they just adorable???

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Technique Page, Thumping Technique

Here is #13 in this second set of 20 technique pages. It won't be long until this set is complete. For those of you waiting patiently for me to finish them so you can purchase them I apologize for not getting them done sooner. I should have this second set done in a few weeks.

SO onto this technique. It's a very easy and fun one that has come creative end results. Especially if you use bright colored markers! It's all in the image you use!! I just chose the little pine tree since I was making so many samples and I needed to speed this process up a bit.

Ink your image with a classic water-base dye ink pad. Using a coordinating color of marker begin thumping the marker on the stamp. Hold the marker as you would a drumstick and just tap/thump away until you are satisfied with the results. Huff on the rubber and stamp the image on your card stock.

Have some fun with this technique, especially with the trees. You can add lots of fall colors to trees using this method. But keep in mind you will want to start out with your lightest color markers so they don't pick up too much unwanted color.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Christmas Fudge

I have wanted to make these last year but time just ran out. You know what that is all about, don't you? I have boxes of ideas for each holiday that I never got around to because time ran out. Sometimes it's OK to dig in the box for an idea but I have found that these ideas also become obsolete in only a year too.

Now I think this Christmas Fudge is something that is not obsolete. It's just one of those "I've seen that before" type items!!!

The poem is just a hoot and I have no author of it or I would have given that person credit. They sure do deserve it!!!

Here is the poem:

Dashing from the malls
With groceries yet to buy,
Workshops, kids & housekeeping,
Life's so crazy! Why?

Bells on our telephone ring,
The machine will take the call,
We have no time for family or friends,
It drives us up the wall.

How are you? How's your life?
We really want to know.
Hope you're ready for Christmas,
Now maybe it will snow.

A day or two ago,
We thought we'd make a treat,
For all our special friends--
A Christmas Gift to eat!

Our intentions were top notch,
But our schedules would not budge,
Hence, here's this year's edition of
Homemade CHRISTMAS FUDGE!

And here is the recipe!!! LOL A chocolate bar.

You can use any size chocolate bar for these. And sorry to say but you will have to measure it for yourself as each company makes different size candy bars. The quickest way to do it is to measure the length of the candy bar and cut a piece of copier paper that size on the short end. Then set your candy bar down on the paper. Take one end and place it over the top of the candy bar. Make sure the edge goes over the top and down the side. The side won't be very wide but you need this piece as a flap to glue down to hold the candy in.

You will just pinch the copier paper with your fingers to mark the fold lines. And you will need to add on to the copier paper enough for the top for the cover if you want to have the poem on the inside like a book.

I have made several of these and used different size candy bars and have used the copier paper method on all of them. I'm not sure what country this candy bar is from. I was in the international section of the grocery store and I did look on the bar but didn't see.

You can have a lot of fun with these as gifts. I just learned this month that my younger sister likes fudge. I never knew that. Well, isn't this the most perfect gift for her???LOL I hope she doens't read this but if she does it's ok too. I am actually going to make her real fudge for Chistmas. And with any luck and time on my side I will make a cute box for it to fit into!!!

Have fun with these!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Funny Money!!

Here's a fun little gift item to make. Purchase a few of those chocolate coins they sell at Caribou Coffee and decorate them up.

For mine I used a 2-1/4" circle punch for the top and bottom. Yes, I did cut a circle to hide the gold foil on the candy coin.

The wording was done on the computer and punched out with a 1-1/4" punch. I'm sure you can find other stamped words that will fit in the 1-1/4" window. And behind that I punched out a 1-3/8" circle. And behind that I used one of the scallops from the Big Shot die cut.

My tiny little snowflake and the candy cane are from two small Sizzix die cuts. The candy cane was cut out in red card stock and colored in white with a gel pen. I added a rhinestone to the snowflake because I felt the piece needed a touch of bling!!!

All in all I liked doing these. They were fun and can really dress up a piece of candy!!! Why not make them more special?? Isn't that difficult to do and it really didn't take that long either. And another great thing about decorating these is that the kids can help too!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

I did notice something once I taped the pieces on the coin. The foil lifts off the coin really easy. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I suppose it's a good thing if you want the wrapper off and if you are planning on making several of these you'd want them to stay together. I did find that if I pushed my fingernail into the edge just slightly the foil dented in a bit and then held the cover back on like it should. Nothing like foil shirking off on it's job!!! LOL

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

I know I say this every Wednesday but I just can't believe how fast this day comes around!!!! I do LOVE it though, especially when I have time to join in on the challenge at SplitCoastStampers.

The link to the challenge can be found here.

Here is my card. This sketch was a bit tricky with the squares in the corner but I think I managed!!

My stamp came from the Penny Black company. I just LOVE their little mouse!!! He's just SO cute!!!

It was actually pretty easy to color too. A few markers and a blender pen and I was set. I used some old (retired) decorative paper by Stampin' Up! I had a half a sheet saved. Saved??? Why???? For what??? I just LOVED that paper SO much. It was the prettiest snowflake paper I'd ever seen. I had bought several packages of it back then and I managed to hang on to a piece of it. But alas, it was time to use it up. SO I did!!

If you have time, head on over to SplitCoastStampers and play along with today's sketch. Or any of the other 202 sketches they have!!! It's always fun to learn a new card layout!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Cupcakes Anyone? Tutorial

I made some "fun" cake balls. I had seen them on other blogs and they actually put them on sucker sticks. Well, I tried that and when I went to dip them they came off the stick. They didn't fall off or slid off they just ripped through the ball and went "plop" right in the dipping bowl. NOT fun!!! LOL

SO I fished it out and set it aside. There wasn't much I could do with it except let it set up and tell hubby it was one for him to test!!! LOL

After I got done making my cake balls, setting them in the small cupcake cups and putting the candy sprinkles on I thought they looked too cute to just set out as is. The old light bulb went on and I thought I would make a small cup cake box for it. I'd seen the larger boxes and maybe if I would have remembered what blog I saw it on I could have seen if just scaling that one down would have worked. It sure would have saved me some time. But that's ok, I needed some practice in making these kinds of boxes anyway.

The box is made in three pieces. The base, the holder (the piece the cupcake sits in) and the cover.

For the base you will need a piece of card stock cut just a hair over 4-1/4" x 4-1/4". Score at 1" on all 4 sides. Snip two score marks at 1" in on two opposite sides. Fold the score lines in. Now fold in the little flaps you created. This will help reinforce the sides of the box bottom. Glue them to the inside of the box so they outside looks neat and clean. Set it aside to dry.

To make the cupcake holder part cut your card stock 4-1/4" x 4-1/4" and score at 1" on all 4 sides. Next you will need to cut away the square corners the scoring has created. You only want the center flaps. Once cut away you will have a piece of card stock that looks like a big plus sign. Fold in one flap and take a 1-1/2" circle punch and punch out the center of the piece of card stock. You will punch a bit of the flap but it won't show once it's in the box with a cupcake paper in the center of the hole. If you have the Coluzzle Cutting System or another type of circle cutter you can cut the 1-1/2" circle in the center with out cutting a flap. Using the punch is just easier and quicker. Once your hole is cut out fold up all score lines. Insert this piece in the base piece. It should drip in nicely. If it doesn't than the base piece is a bit too small. They are quick to make and you may want to redo it.

Now for the top. This part is a bit trickier but not bad to make. You will need a piece of acetate or transparency that measures 6-3/4" x 6-3/4". Score on all sides at 2-1/4". You will be cutting away most of the corners. What I mean by "most" is that you need to leave about 1/4" piece on each of the corner pieces. You will do this on two opposite ends. If you do it on each side you will have a seam showing no matter which way you set your box. Look at the photo before you cut those corners off. I made a sample out of card stock so you could see the cut marks better. After cutting I then folded all the score lines. Take the Stampin' Up! Sticky Strip tape and tape the small flaps you created to the inside of the lid. You may need to trim the tape a bit or you can cut your flaps the same size as your tape so you won't have to trim. Your box is now ready to assemble. Just slip the lid on between the base and the cupcake holder part and it's done. You can add a ribbon, bow or even use StazOn on the acetate before you tape it together.

These are SO fun and with this pattern you can use it for any holiday or occasion!!! It's all in how you decorate it!!! The patten photos are as follows, the first white one is the base, the second is the holder/insert and the last one is the top of the box to be cut from acetate. The last photo is of the finished box with no ribbon on it. The ribbon adds a lot to it, doesn't it? And if you don't want to add the ribbon it really serves no other purpose than looking pretty. The "lid" will stay on without it!

The little cupcake stamp I used is from the Stampin' Up! set "Holiday Blitz." That is one fun and VERY versatile set!!!

Now I know you want to know how to make those cute little cake balls. Well, here's the recipe. It's not hard at all. First you bake a cake. A boxed cake, not a homemade cake. I don't think I've ever made a homemade cake, I thought they always came from a box!! LOL Then you let it cool completely. I baked mine the night before and I was ready to work on it the next day. Remove the completely cooled cake from the pan and crumble it in a large bowl. Take a tub of frosting and mix it in the bowl with the crumbled cake. Roll the cake and frosting mixture in balls. Dip them in melted chocolate/white chips or bark. After each one I put sprinkles on. I didn't want it to set up before I got them sprinkles on. And that's all there is to it. Sorry, I didn't count how many a batch made. I do know it was well over 2 dozen!

Have fun with the box and the cake balls!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

CM2 Question

CM2 left a comment/question on my blog asking me if I ever run out of ideas! Well sure I do. That's when a good CASE (Copy And Study Everything) comes in handy. And I blog hop almost every day to see what is going on in the stamping world and I get inspired and their idea leads to other ideas and I'm usually good for a couple of days.

And then sometimes I just see things to alter while shopping. I think I have cupboards full of that kind of stuff!!! LOL

Thanks for asking CM2!!
Wanda

Boxing It Up!!

I got this box of Mrs. Fields candy at the Dollar Spot at Target. Normally I would pass up something like that because it's not usually a name brand, but Mrs. Fields??? You can't go wrong with that!!! LOL

I created a box for the candy. Yes, I know the candy already comes in a box but what fun is that??? And where is the challenge there??? Plus it's not as pretty as a box you can create!!! Ok, have I sold you on this idea yet??? LOL

To make this box I cut a piece of Ballet Blue card stock 8-1/8" x 6-1/4".

I used white craft ink and the Stampin' Up! "Snowflake" wheel. Then I sprinkled on some Heat n Stick glitter. I heat set the glitter and then came the scoring.

I scored on the long side at 2", 3-1/8", 5" and 6-1/8". Then I scored the short side at 1". I took the card stock out and turned it to the other side and scored it at 1". I wanted to make sure that each side was equal and that was the easiest way to do it.

I used the medium size oval and punched out an area close to where the oval wording is on the box of candy. I am sure I could have done a better job had I given some consideration to turning the card stock over when punching!!! Oh well!!! It is close enough, their whole oval wording does show through!!!.

Now I just decorated it and it was ready for a very special person!!!

This box is a fun pattern to play with because you can either glue that flap down or decorate it more like a card. For mine I chose to decorate it!

Now I'm sure that Target has more of these candies since I just bought it and the bins were full to the brim!!! Well, at our local Target they were!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Technique Page Faux Flannel

Here's another technique page for you!!! It's #12 in this second set of 20. I'm hoping to get the next 8 ones done in the next 3 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed!!!

This technique is called Faux Flannel and it REALLY does feel like flannel. You can use it as it is or you can stamp directly onto it.

Scrunch up your card stock, straighten it up and then scrunch it up again. Straighten it one more time. Now run it through your crimper several times in all directions. Picking up a corner separate or spilt the card stock. Run your bone folder over the card stock to remove as much of the crimping as possible. The inside of the card stock is your new "flannel" surface. You can use it as a background or you can stamp on it and use it as a focal piece.

This is very fun to do and I did find that some colors of card stock are more difficult to scrunch than others. For those colors I just run them through the crimper more and then scrunch again and run them through the crimper one last time. It seems to work just fine doing it that way.

Well, stay tuned for the new pages to come and for more cards and gift type items!!!

Thank you ever so much for stopping by,
Wanda

Faux Frost Weekend Project

Here's a VERY fun and easy way to make your glassware look like it's frosted. No need for those chemicals. This is something even the kiddies can do too.

This post started out to be just the basket with the leaves on it and then it moved into the votive with leaves on it!!!

I had gotten these adorable baskets from my sister. I did use nail polish on the leaves to add some color. I was just playing around to see what I could do with it to jazz it up a bit. And since it was metal and I had a bunch of colors of nail polish I thought I'd run with this idea. I colored the metal leaves and set them aside to dry.

In the meantime I found a leaf stamp I liked and stamped the image on tissue paper using black StazOn. I cut the leaves out close to the edges, somewhere between 1/16" and 1/8".

Then I brushed on some Crystal Effects and set the leaves in place. After I got the leaves where I wanted them I covered the whole votive cup with Crystal Effects and then rolled it in super fine micro beads. I had bought these beads at Deco Bead Depot. They are the .15 to .25 size in clear. It feels like sand because they are SO small. I messed up my first one because I didn't cover the votive well enough with the Crystal Effects so I was able to experiment a bit more with the stuff.

Once you are done rolling the votive in the beads it will be HEAVILY covered. Just take a soft bristle paint brush and brush off the whole thing. Set aside and allow it to dry completely. This should take about a 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

When it is dry place a candle inside and enjoy it. For mine I placed it inside the leaf basket. It did cover the leaves that I colored on the votive but that's OK, it's like having two gifts in one!!! The basket thing can have a candle (non-flaming one) all it's own as well as the glass votive.

It's just a fun cute way to brighten up someones day. I think it would add great decoration to your holiday table as well.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Add Some Flavor to Your Coffee!! Tutorial/Weekend Project

I have begun to post some gift giving items. It's never too early to start making your gifts for those special people in your life.

Here's a fun tube that you can use for MANY things. You can add candies, small gifts, money, etc. You can also hang this from the Christmas tree too!!! I will explain how you can do that later in the instructions.

Here is what you need for this project:

Acetate at least 6-1/2" x 3"
Sticky Strip tape
Card stock

Decorative paper
Rhinestones (optional)
Die cut base from the Stampin' Up! Basket die
Tacky glue
15" of thread, fabric or ribbon

I used the Big Shot and the Basket die. I only cut out the bottom of the basket piece. You will need two of them for this project.

Then I cut a piece of acetate 6-1/2" x 3". You can make it as tall as you want. I only needed mine to be 3". Ok, you can only make it as tall as the acetate piece you have will allow you. But keep in mind the taller it is the more flimsy it will be.

Glue one of the base pieces to the taped acetate piece, which is now a tube. The tabs from the base piece will be glued to the outside of the tube. It looks ugly but you will be decorating that area later. Gluing those tabs down is not easy. They don't want to stick right away. I laid the tube down on it's side and used the end of a pencil to push the tab against the outside of the tube. If you want to use this to hang on the Christmas tree then BEFORE you glue you will want to find the center of the basket base and make a hole. The size hole will have to be as big as you need for the piece of string, ribbon or fabric you will be using as the hanger.

Now if you are using a hanger you will need to attach it now. You will want to make at least a 1" circle punch in matching or contrasting card stock. This circle will need to have a hole punched in it as well. Punch your hole first and then line up the circle punch and punch it out. Tape or glue the circle in place on the bottom of the tube over the hole you already punched. Fold your ribbon, thread or fabric in half. You can use a needle to do this if you wish, insert the folded end in the bottom of the base and pull it through the tube. Tie a knot at the end, leaving about a 1/2" tail.

Fill the tube with what ever you'd like. Don't make it too heavy though the base can not support much at this point. And when picking it up be sure to support the base until the entire project is finished. I filled mine with these FABULOUS Hot Cocoa Hershey Kisses. I'd never heard of them before and I'm REALLY sorry I found them. I'm not big on chocolate but these little buggers are REALLY good!!! I put 13 of them in my tube.

For those of you who used the hanger you will need to take your top piece and repeat the hole process, including the 1" circle which will go on the top of the piece. Insert the hanger through the holes and you may now glue the top part in place. This one will be a bit more difficult to glue because you can't insert a pencil for support. SO you will just need to hold it and work with it as you go around. The glue will finally set up enough to take and then you can move on!!!

The last thing that must be done is to add a band around the tabs from the cap and base. Once this is done you can decorate the rest of it as you wish.

I used the Ski Slope Decorative paper for my bands. I used the scallop edge punch and added the scallop to the decorative paper which I layered on top of a piece of Close to Cocoa card stock that I used the scallop punch on as well. When you tape the bands on make sure you put the seams at the back where the seam of the acetate is. I used a pony tail binder around the card stock to hold it in place while it dried. I needed my hands free to work on the bottom and to decorate the rest of the tube.

On the top of mine I added a couple of the flowers from the basket die cut. I put tow together and moved the top one over just a little to give the flower a double look. I added a rhinestone in the center. You can add some glitter if you'd like to. I chose not to since it gets all over your hands, even when it is set and the one opening the candies won't appreciate eating bits of glitter!!!

Another idea with this is to make the tube shorter. Use red on each end and add gold brads. String some gold cording from the top brads to the bottom brads all the way around and make it look like a drum. I don't have time to make it but if any of you out there do please email me a picture of it. I'd love to see it.

Thanks SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Sharing What They Make!

Here are two fun frames that Kristi K. shared with me and with her permission I am able to show them to you. She did a great job with the Decor Elements, didn't she? If you really look at all the items she added to her Blessings frame you will see a pheasant feather in there. Isn't it pretty?

If you'd like me to share on my blog what you've made just email me with the photo and I'll gladly post it here for everyone to see.

I am VERY excited to see what the Phase 3 Decor Elements will be like!!!! And better yet, to see what is done with them!!

Thank you Kelli for sharing and thank you all for visiting,
Wanda

Tasty Treats!! Candy Box Tutorial

Here's a fun way to decorate your holiday baking for gift giving. I made these fun candies (recipe will be included at the bottom of this post) and I made a cute little box for them. This makes them look even more special!!!

Since all of these candies are basically the same size I was able to make just one pattern and use it for all the pieces I needed.

I took a piece of card stock cut 3-1/8" x 3-3/8" and scored all edges at 7/8". On the long side I snipped the vertical scores up to the horizontal score. I turned the card stock around and did the same on the other long side. Now fold all score lines.

To assemble the box bottom I just folded in all the sides. I made sure the long side piece was folded up last. It hides where the two smaller pieces fold in and give the box a smooth clean look.

For the cover I used a piece of scrap acetate. I had been cutting acetate for other projects and had some pieces left over. I cut it the same size as the box bottom. But for the top you will need to cut away the 4 square corners the scoring created. I then tapered each edge of the scored lines. Keeping it as is didn't fit well in the box. But taking each flap and trimming at an angle allowed it to fold better into the box.

Decorate the box as you desire and it's ready for that special person! I kept mine simple since I have a lot of these boxes to make. A thin ribbon tied at the top would help in keeping the acetate top in place!!! Or just a touch of double sided tape on the acetate will work for that too!! That is what my plans are for the lids!!!

Now for the candy!!! These are fun and easy to make. First you take the square "window pane" pretzels and set them on waxed or parchment paper. I like parchment paper because it doesn't leave any residue behind on the candies. Then you take a unwrapped Rolo and set it on top of the pretzel. I add about 1/8" teaspoon of ground pecans (or you can use walnuts) and then set another pretzel on top. Place it in the oven at 250 degrees F. for 4 minutes. After they came out of the oven I pressed down on each one so they weren't so tall and they filled in the edges more too. When they cooled I dipped them in melted milk chocolate chips and set them aside to cool. It took more time for these things to go through their two cooling cycles than it did making them, including removing the wrappers from the Rolos!!! But they are SO worth it. And to make them look like fancy chocolates about every 5th one you dip stop and take a clean fork and touch the top of the candy. Pull the fork straight up and then to the right. This will bring the chocolate up and over and it will set in a nice ripple. It gives it such a finished look! And here's a candy dipping tip for you. I melted my chips in the microwave and I used a plastic fork as my candy fork. I didn't have a candy fork so I just removed the center prongs of a plastic fork. And best thing about that, I didn't have to wash the fork when I was done!!! LOL Talk about lazy, huh??? LOL

Thanks SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

This is my card for the SplitCoast Sketch Challenge today. I used an image by Impression Obsession called "Winter Farm." The actual image of the stamp is larger than the portion I used on the card. I think the image would fill a card with just a single layer. It’s such a pretty image plus it stamps well too. Nice and clear. Ya gotta love that!!!

I did find this Sketch Challenge to be exactly that, a challenge. I found the little squares at the bottom to be the most difficult things to work with. I finally ended up sponging over some pieces I had cut out and just taped them in place. There wasn’t a lot of room on the card to add bows or other accessories without moving the design around. The whole point of the sketch is to work with it as it is and not move shapes around. SO here it is in all it’s "winter bliss!" LOL

This stamp is going to be for sale in my "No Yard Yard Sale" blog. Just click on the link if you are interested.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

See I Told You!!!

I told you there would be more blog candy!!! My blog just reached 600,000 hits on Tuesday evening. I will be posting blog candy this weekend to celebrate. I have such a busy schedule right now that permits me from not being able to do it sooner. But even with this busy schedule I did take a couple of evenings for myself. Tonight I am going to a beading class. The shop had this most beautiful bracelet I would like to learn to make and the best way to do it is to take the class!!! SO that is where I am. Last Sunday I thought a class there. I taught my "Touch of Glamour" bracelet. It was the third time I had taught it there. And let me tell you, it was SO much fun!!!

So stay tuned to find out what the blog candy will be!!

Have a great day,
Wanda

I Smell Something!!!! Weekend Project

This is one of those projects you need to have a little bit of machinery to play with. Click on the photo to view it closer.

Here is what you need to make these:

Stampin' Up! "Fun Pun" set (skunk)
Black Staz-0n ink
Band saw or scroll saw
Brads
White Gel Pen
Colored marker for flower
Aromatic Cedar board
Dril with a small bit
Hemp
Old scissors or wire cutters
Crystal Effects

I took the piece of cedar board and stamped the skunk on it. Then I lightly drew a line around it so I could have a guide for sawing. I was making several of these so after I made the first one I traced the cut out on onto a piece of acetate and cut it out with a scissors. Then after I stamped each one I just set the acetate in place and traced around it. It made the tracing part go quicker and all the pieces are cut pretty close to the exact same size. I say pretty close because cutting on a band saw (when I cut anyway) nothing is ever exactly the same. It its close enough though!!!

After I got done cutting them out I took a file and sanded the edges on the back side. They are always rough from the band saw blades. Then I drilled a hole in each one on the top just above the skunks head.

Then I took a marker and colored in the flower. The marker soaked into the wood nicely and there wasn't any need to spray on a fixative. Not that would have wanted to do that. I think it would seal in that side and it wouldn't smell like cedar anymore!!!

I took the brad and cut off the prongs. I added a dot of Crystal Effects and pushed the prong into the wood. There is a bit of prong left and that is the part that gets pressed into the wood. It lays nicely after you press it into the wood.

I then took the white gel pen and colored in the three area on the skunk, the top of the head, the back and the tail. The gel seems to dry almost instantly.

I took a piece of hemp and threaded it through the hole and tied a knot. It's now ready for a drawer or for hanging.

Isn't this little stinker just adorable???

If you don't have access to a band saw or scroll saw you can get little squares of aromatic cedar and stamp on them. You don't need an electric drill to make the holes either. There are hand drills out there that work just fine. I had gotten one at a craft and hobby store several years back and it was just under $10. And it came with drill bits. They are standard bits too so you can pick them up anywhere they sell drill bits!!! How convenient is that???

These little stinkers make great gifts!!! I LOVE the smell of cedar in my closets!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Fall Trees!

I just love the colors of the trees in the fall. Here in Minnesota where I live the trees are all done changing colors and in our very own yard the trees have lost all of their leave (finally). Boy did that rake get a workout this year!!! My favorite tree in the yard is the black walnut one. It starts losing it's leaves in September and they are small enough that they just blow away!! I LOVE that tree!!! And I don't feel guilty about the leaves blowing away into other people's yards, I have no control over that. But somehow it's some type of natures' "fair " exchange. We get some Jurassic Park leaves in our yard. I have no idea who has a tree with leaves that big!

Anyway on to my card. I wanted to make a fall card using the Stampin' Up! "Season of Friendship" set.

For this card I used Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard and Close to Cocoa inks. I randomly stamped them in the trees and on the ground. The little pumpkin is from the "Holiday Blitz" set. I just love that set, it's SO versatile. I used a left over oval I had done from the candies in my post from yesterday. I set it up on Dimensionals to give it some depth. And I just layered it on top of a piece of Old Olive card stock. Just simple, no fancy folds, buttons, bows or other embellishments. My goal was to have the card carry itself with the colors alone. It's a perfect card for the times you have limited supplies!!!

I'm also including on this post a picture I took of some trees from the top of Enger Tower in Duluth, Minnesota. This was taken in the first week of October. We were told the trees had already peaked up there. We didn't think so. Isn't it beautiful??? I would love to live there in the fall among the beautiful colors. And spring and summer wouldn't be too bad either because of the cool air lake effect. Not many have air conditioners up there. But winter. Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE winter I just don't think I would love it up there driving on all those hills!!! I bet to be an owner of a break shop would be the ideal business to have up there!!! LOL

I was wondering if it is too early to do Christmas "stuff?" But then I'm thinking that it might now be. If some of you want to make things for gifts for friends, family, teachers, etc. you would want to get started on them soon and you'd want to get the supplies while they are still in the stores, right?? That is how I was thinking about that issue. SO you might want to prepare yourself for some Christmas gift giving ideas that will be coming.

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Thanksgiving Gifts Weekend Project

I have had this little project tucked away for a long time now and after seeing the Caramel Hershey Kisses I thought it was a good time to give it a try. I found it at Laurie's blog "Clearly Delightful" way back in the beginning of September. Nothing like getting to things right away!!! LOL Ummm, I was waiting for the right project??? Chocolate was hard to find!!! LOL You buying any of this??? LOL How about, just TOO much stuff going on and too many projects to do?? That is more like it. But at least I got to it before the end of the year!!!

If you check out the link above you will find the easy to follow instructions for these boxes. I made mine for my Stamper's 10 Club members for this month! I did purchase the boxes and I have some left too. You will be able to find them in my store as soon as the webmaster gives me the link. That should be within 24 hours. They are 3 for $1.50 plus 60 cents postage. Click on the photo for a closer view.

I did the wording on the computer and used the Stampin' Up! oval punches. I attached them directly to the box using Dimentionals. Then I tied on the ribbon and formed a bow. Simple as that!!! Oh and I did turn my candies on the side instead of stacked on top of each other. The scored strip doesn't matter which way you put the candies in. I liked that!!!

If you go to Debbie's Stampin' Haven she has a Hershey Kiss Treat Box pattern and instructions that could be used for this project. It holds 5 kisses so you would have to adjust the acetate you insert from 7" to 11", scoring just under an inch for each score. Fold the same as or the one that holds 3 but keep going for the additional scores. You'll know how to fold it by looking at her folded one. You can use acetate to make the one at Debbie's so you can still see the candies. It isn't always necessary to purchase things when you can make it yourself!!! Though the purchased ones are nice because they save a lot of cutting time!!! And they take less candy!!! LOL

These were fun to make but all that scoring got a bit boring. So I would make one at a time so it didn't seem so bad. Once you get them folded, put the candy in and then look at it you think it's SO cute that you are ready to score another strip! Now I did 10 of them and before I started it I thought it would be a fun thing for a craft fair but I'm not a big fan of scoring and especially strips so I decided I was only going to do these 10 and that is why I have the rest of my boxes for sale!!!! I know, what a wimp!!! LOL

These make great gifts for teachers and can be used for almost any holiday!!! It all depends on how you decorate it!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

"Family" Frame

I had several people ask me where I got the frame on my wall. It's such a fun frame, isn't it?

I got it through LTD Commodities last year. But I just checked and if you click on that link it will take you directly to that page it's on. It was only $20!!!! Shocker, huh? I signed up with this company under my business name. I'm not sure if they are still business orientated yet or not. You'll have to check. I do remember that someone at our church would use the church as their place of business (name and address) so they could get the catalog. I authorized my sisters to be purchasers and when the order the boxes come to me because it's my business. Catalogs will come in the mail (to my house) but in their names. You'll have to check if they sell to the public or if it's just to businesses.

This frame is kind of weird though, it actually folds in half!!! The pictures go on the metal using some type of magnetic ball clasps on the back. You can have the frames go in any direction too, which is very nice because not all photos are horizontal or all vertical. It was fun putting the photos in the frames and one of these days I may even mat the photos!!! I just put them in the frames so I wouldn't misplace them or they wouldn't get damaged.

It was fun finding all the photos to put in the frame too. It takes FOREVER though. It's not like you pick out some photos and put them in the frames. NO, you have to look though ALL of them and take that proverbial trip down memory lane every time you open the photo container up. LOL But it's so worth it.

For those of you who want a frame like this I hope you are able to purchase them. I really do like mine.

Thanks for asking!
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!!!

I forgot to do the blog candy drawing. It's going on 1:30 in the am and it just dawned on me!!!

I really enjoyed reading all the stories of Halloween costumes. Some were scary and some were pretty funny!!! It's just a fun time for the kids (and some adults too!!!). It was a very nice Halloween here in our neighborhood. 100 + kids at our door and there was not one pumpkin smashed in our street this year. I thought that was very responsible of the trick or treaters.

Ok on with the treat!!! The blog candy winner is:

SherryBee and here is her comment:

What a fun idea you have and congratulations on starting your 3rd year of blogging! I love seeing what you share with us! Thanks!The most memorabe costume for me, was the year my younger brother dressed up as a baby! HA! HA! He was about 38! Oh brother!!!

Congratulations SherryBee please email me with your snail mail address and I will get the package out in the mail to you soon. If you do not get a reply back from me within 2 days please leave a comment on my blog (I won't publish it). It could mean that the email went into spam and was deleted.

Thank you all for playing along. There will be more blog candy coming. I am about 1/3 of the way done with my Christmas cards. I had said that if I get them finished before Thanksgiving I was going to celebrate with more blog candy. And there is still more blog candy to come because my blog is nearing 600,000 hits!!! How's that for impressive???? I know I'm impressed!!! LOL

Thanks again for playing,
Wanda

Emerging Color Technique Page

I know, I know. I need to get on the ball with these technique pages. Many of you are waiting anxiously for them!!! I have been working on them but Halloween got in the way!!! SO here is my first one for this month. This is number 11 in the pack of 20. I'm getting there. I'm hoping to post two or three a week so I can get them done for you in time for Christmas in the event they may be for gifts!!!

Stamp small images on card stock using various colors. Using a larger solid stamp ink it up with the VersaMark pad. Pour embossing powder over the card stock, tap off excess. Heat to set. Ink up your brayer with the darkest color and roll it over the entire piece. Keep rolling until you are satisfied with the color. Wipe excess ink off with paper towel. Use as a background or background components.

Another fun technique for you to play with. I have not used this one in a card yet but it is on my list of things to play with when the right set comes along!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Decor Elements Projects!!!

I got brave and played with my Decor Elements.

First I put the "Family" words above a grouping of family photos. Funny how it just seemed appropriate to have it there!!!! LOL

I REALLY like it. I did have to cut off over 3" from the top and from the bottom before I put it up on the wall. There wasn't a lot of room between the wall and the ceiling and I didn't want the words to go on the wall crooked because the ceiling got in the way!!! Plus I thought all that excess would show up on the wall. Well, there was still excess on either edge and it does NOT show up on the wall. It just disapperared like magic!!! When I got off the ladder I stepped back and was in awe. I just LOVE it. And get this DH really liked it too.

Then I must have been feeling lucky so I moved on to my workroom to work on the "Season of Blessings" frame. Now this didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. I was hovering over the frame trying to get the wording on there straight and the next thing I knew the words were stuck to the glass. And I mean stuck. I thought I could lift the paper up but the smaller words started coming off so I knew I was stuck. All I could do was affix them and hope for the best. And *insert heavy sigh here* it's crooked. I am toying with the idea of removing it and purchasing a new one.

Sue suggested I put a leaf in the upper left corner to bring the eye back that way and the words wouldn't look so crooked. I tried that and I had crooked words on a frame with a leaf in the corner!!! LOL The leaf fell off, landed on the floor and one of the cats claimed it as their new toy!!!

All in all it was a fun experience though I do have to say I liked putting the one on the wall much better than on the glass. I am now considering some of the other wall decor elements for my home. What a fun and easy way to decorate your home!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda