Lotion Gift Jars

Merry Christmas! I hope that you and your loved ones enjoy this special day and treasure the gift that was given to us so long ago in the form of a tiny baby born in a manger.

Just a quick post today - some lotion I made using a recipe I found on Splitcoast. This lotion is wonderful! My hands get very dry and cracked in the winter and this lotion really does the trick.
Denise's Homemade Lotion:
1 - 15 oz. jar Vaseline
1 - 16 oz. tub Vitamin E cream (found a Family Dollar)
2 - 16 oz bottles of baby lotion (whatever scent you like)

Mix together with a hand mixer and spoon into jars. Make sure to use metal or glass bowls/utensils for mixing, as plastic will take on the flavor of the lotion.


I found the jars at Woodman's - they are little half-pint jars and you can fill 8 jars with 1 batch of lotion. I decorated the jars with more of the Raspberry Tart designer paper and added a little ribbon to dress it up.

Last Minute Gifts - Tic Tac Snow

A stocking stuffer I made for my son, who is really into games of all kinds. I taught him how to play Tic Tac Toe a few weeks ago, and I thought this would be a fun gift. It is also a game that travels well, so we can take it on the road with us during our holiday travels. I adapted this from a project I saw on Splitcoast.

A look at the game board... The game pieces are made using Felt Flurries and circle punches. I used Crystal Effects to glue to flakes onto the circles.

Stamps: Short Order Alphabet
Paper: Ski Slope dsp, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze
Accessories: Felt Flurries, Silver Skinny Tin, 3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, Scallop Square punch, Crystal Effects

Last Minute Gifts - Tin Purse Stocking Stuffer

I made this little purse for my daughter using a small tin from Specialty Bottle. The designer paper is called Raspberry Tart and will be available in the Spring/Summer 2009 Idea Book. The paper is beautiful - lots of pinks and greens with floral and paisley patterns. Very fun!

I punched two holes in the tin using my Crop-a-Dile and used some Rose Red grosgrain ribbon to make a little strap. I added designer paper to the lid, along with some Felt Flowers and a flower and rhinestone brad from the Pretties Kit. I attached the flowers to the lid with a Pop-Up Glue Dot.

I also added designer paper to the inside of the tin, along with a couple of matching barrettes, which I made using more Felt Flowers and rhinestone brads. What can I say - my daughter LOVES pink!

Stamps: None
Paper: Raspberry Tart
Ink: None
Accessories: small tin, Rose Red grosgrain ribbon, Felt Flowers, Pretties Kit, Crop-a-Dile, barrettes

Last Minute Gifts - Barrette and Hair Trinket Holders

The next couple of days I'll be posting pictures of some last minute gifts that I am finishing up here. I can't believe that Christmas is just a couple of days away!

These are gifts for two of my nieces. I thought it would be fun to make up some little barrettes using some of Stampin' Up's various embellishements. I used some Felt Flowers, rhinestone brads and half pearls from the Pretties Kit, and Filligree Brads. I used my trusty hot glue gun to put everything together - a pretty quick project!

For my niece, Jana:


For my niece, Tevia:


Paper for both of the containers is from the pack of Hawaii Papaya designer series paper. The Silver Skinny Tins are also from Stampin' Up! - a very affordable $1.95! I thought they were a great way to add a few more hair supplies (can never have enough of those) and personalize each gift.

Stamps: Short Order Alphabet
Paper: Hawaii Papaya dsp, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Silver Skinny Tin, 5-Petal Flower punch, Boho Blossoms punch, 3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, Felt Flowers, Pretties Kit, Filligree Brads, hot glue gun, assorted hair trinkets

Get Well Gift Pack

This little get well gift set uses one of the NEW hostess sets in the Spring/Summer 2009 Idea Book. The set is called Goody Goody Gumdrops and it is *so* cute! :) I found the idea for this get well kit at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. This is my project for our group's Christmas Shoebox Swap. We were supposed to have our party on Tuesday, but had to reschedule due to the weather. I'm actually going to have to miss the event now, as we will most likely be out of town, but I will still send my project!

This is a quick and easy little something to make for a friend who is under the weather. I started with a 3" x 10" piece of Gable Green cardstock and scored it as 4 1/2" from each end. I stamped the flowers in Basic Black ink on Whisper White cs and colored the petals with markers (Pixie Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac, and Gable Green). I also added some Dazzling Diamonds glitter to the flowers for a little extra sparkle and I notched the corner using the Ticket Corner punch.

Next, I stamped the sentiment with Green Galore ink on Gable Green cs and punched it out with the Wide Oval punch. I placed this onto the Whisper White panel and trimmed off the top of the oval. I layered my Whisper White panel onto a Basic Black panel. I played my gingham ribbon around the holder and secured it with a small strip of SNAIL adhesive and placed the flower panel over the top.

For the inside of the holder, I randomly stamped the small heart with Green Galore ink and attached the tissue packet with two small strips of Sticky Strip on each short end. I added the cough drops with Mini Glue Dots.
Stamps: Goody Goody Gumdrops
Paper: Gable Green, Whisper White, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black, Green Galore, Pixie Pink, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Lovely Lilac
Accessories: Wide Oval punch, Ticket Corner punch, tissue packet, cough drops, Sticky Strip, Mini Glue Dots, black and white gingham ribbon

Preschool Gifts #2

These are the gifts we gave to Jevin's preschool teachers. I filled the glass ornaments with 1/2" x 4" strips of designer paper, which I rolled around a pen and inserted inside the ornament. Each ornament used 12-14 strips, depending on how the paper unfurled inside the ornament. I also added a small piece of ribbon at the top of the ornament.

Each ornament came in its own box. To make the base of the box, I started with a 8 1/4" x 8 1/4" piece of cs and scored it at 2 1/2" on each side. I trimmed the score lines on 2 sides up to the intersecting score line in order to make tabs and used Sticky Strip to adhere the tabs to the sides of the box. The lid is made in the same fashion, but I started with a 5 15/16" x 5 15/16" piece of Ski Slop designer paper and scored at 1 1/4" on all sides.

To dress each box up, I added a Felt Flake and a Filigree Brad to the top of the box and some ribbon around the sides of the lid, which I tied into a bow.

Stamps: None
Paper: Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Ski Slop dsp
Ink: None
Accessories: glass ornaments, Chocolate Chip poly-twill ribbon, Kiwi Kiss satin ribbon, Whisper White grosgrain ribbon, Felt Flakes, Filigree Brad assortment

Preschool Gifts #1

We handed out these snowflake ornament kits to the kids at Jevin's preschool today. I had seen something similar in an Oriental Trading catalog and I thought, "I can make something like that!" They were VERY quick and easy to make!

I used my Big Shot and Snowflake #2 die to cut the snowflakes out of Fun Foam. I placed them in a large cello bag, along with some little pom-poms, jewel stickers, little foam snowflakes with sticky backing (from Michael's), and a silver pipe cleaner to hand it on the tree. I hope the kids enjoy making their ornaments!

Stamps: None
Paper: None
Ink: None
Accessories: Big Shot, Snowflake #2 die, large cello bag, Pacific Point striped grosgrain ribbon

Holilday Nugget Boxes

These cute little boxes fit three Hershey's chocolate nuggets. This is another project for the Craft-A-Gift stamp camp. A fun little gift for teachers or co-workers! You can view a complete tutorial here.

I designed a Christmas and Hanukkah version for our stamp camp attendees to choose from. Here you can see what the inside of the box looks like, with the nuggets wrapped in stamped cardstock.


Stamps: Holiday Blitz
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Frosty Day dsp, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Ballet Blue, Brushed Silver
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue, Ballet Blue, Encore Silver pigment ink
Accessories: scoring tool, Sticky Strip, 3/4" circle punch, 1" circle punch, Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, silver elastic cording, 1/16" hole punch

Cone Ornament with Matching Box

This is one of our projects from the Craft-A-Gift stamp camp. We held our first session last night and the second session is tomorrow night.



This ornament is made from 12 - 1 1/2" squares, rolled into cone shapes and glued onto a circle base. I also added a Whisper White scallop, Felt Flake and rhinestone brad from the Pretties Kit. To view a complete tutorial, visit this link.

The box I designed myself because I wanted something that was easy to assemble and held the ornament while it was lying flat. To make the base of the box, I started with a piece of Whisper White cardstock measuring 7 1/4" x 7 1/4". I scored it at 1 1/2" on all sides, cut flaps on two opposite sides, added Sticky Strip to the flaps and folded the box together. I did the same for the top, but I started with a 6" x 6" piece of Ski Slope designer series paper and scored it at 3/4" on all sides. I added some Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon and a Felt Flake to jazz it up a bit. A lovely gift for anyone on your list!

Stamps: None
Paper: Baja Breeze dsp, Ski Slop dsp, Whisper White cs
Ink: None
Accessories: Sticky Strip, Scallop punch, Felt Flakes, Pretties Kit, Baja Breeze striped grosgrain ribbon, silver elastic cording

Granola Gift Bags

The kids and I made a couple of batches of granola to give out to our neighbors for a little Christmas treat. Warning: this granola is VERY addicting! The recipe is from my sister-in-law, Sarah. For our family, I always make a nut-free version, due to the kids' food allergies, and load it up with dried fruit instead. Either way is very tasty!

The bags are from Nashville Wraps and have a laminated clear inner liner and tin tie. I simply added the Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon and the star (from Classic Backgrounds) with silver elastic cord. And a candy cane for good measure! :)

Since our kids have food allergies, I am an instinctive label reader. I thought it would be nice to include a label with a list of ingredients and Christmas wishes. We delivered 7 bags this morning!
Stamps: Classic Backgrounds
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Real Red
Accessories: Real Red wide grosgrain ribbon, silver elastic cording, Lage Star punch, 1/16" hole punch, candy cane, tin tie coffee bag

Giant Snowfake Thank You

One last thank you for your Friday enjoyment! I don't know about you, but I'm SO happy that the weekend is on the horizon... I have a bunch of stuff I need to get done this weekend that is Christmas related, and I'm hoping to be super productive. We'll see! :)

I've really been enjoying this Snowflake #2 die for my Big Shot. I've found lots of fun uses for it, which I'll be sharing more of next week. I think this card was one of the favorites from last Saturday's 10 Cards for $10!

As I mentioned, I used my Big Shot and Snowflake #2 die to create the large snowflake. I placed a piece of Frosty Day designer series paper on my Bashful Blue card and added a piece of wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. Next, I stamped the small snowflake from Holiday Blitz with Bashful Blue ink on Whisper White and punched it out with a 3/4" circle punch. I stamped the thank you circle (from Think Happy Thoughts) with Chocolate Chip ink on Bashful Blue cardstock and punched it out with a 1" circle punch. I layered these, along with a 1 1/4" circle of Tangerine Tango. I added some Dazzling Diamonds to my small snowflake and a silver brad, which I also used to attach the circles to the large snowflake. I placed the large snowflake on the card front using Dimensionals.

Stamps: Holiday Blitz, Think Happy Thoughts
Paper: Bashful Blue, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Frosty Day dsp
Ink: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Big Shot, Snowflake #2 die, 3/4", 1" & 1 1/4" circle punches, Chocolate Chip wide grosgrain ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds, Dimensionals

Gratuitous Thanks

This is a super easy thank you card! I hold a personal belief that any card that uses only one ink pad falls into this category. Thanks to Karla for the design of this card.

I stamped the background stamp (Gratuitous Graffiti) with Versamark ink on Chocolate Chip cardstock, only covering the top 2/3 of the card front. Next, I stamped the sentiment (from Say It with Scallops)with Versamark ink on Riding Hood Red cardstock and embossed the image with white embossing powder. I punched out the thank you with the Scallop Square punch and layered it onto a square of Whisper White cardstock. I finished the card by adding a piece of Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon and layered the sentiment over the ribbon using Dimensionals.

Stamps: Gratuitous Graffiti, Say It with Scallops
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: Square Scallop punch, white embossing powder, heat gun, Riding Hood Red striped grosgrain ribbon

Top Note Thanks

Another card from my last 10 Cards for $10. I love the soft look of the So Saffron and Whisper White. It's delicate and pretty. This card could be used for so many different occasions! This card was inspired by another card I saw on Splitcoast. You can view it here.

Stamps: Boho Blooms, Beautiful Borders
Paper: Whisper White, So Saffron
Ink: So Saffron, Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note Die, So Saffron poly-twill ribbon, Small Oval punch, 1/16" hole punch, white crochet thread, corner rounder

Penguin Thank You

Well, I think this is a very appropriate post for today, since we are in the midst of a major snowstorm! This is one of the cards we made at Saturday's 10 Cards for $10. The theme of the class was Thank You Cards, since we all need a bunch of those after Christmas!

This card was based on a trade I received from fellow demo Suzanne. That little guy is too cute!

I used punches to make the penguin and tore a piece of Whisper White cs to make the snow mound. The phrase (from Thank You Kindly) is stamped in Basic Black ink, and I added some black & white grosgrain ribbon.

Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: 1" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, large oval punch, 5-petal flower punch, googly eyes, black & white grosgrain ribbon

Cute & Curly Christmas Ornament

This is an ornament we made at my Gearing Up for Christmas stamp camp way back in September. Since we put our Christmas tree up yesterday, I thought I would share how it looks actually hanging on the tree.

These ornaments are very easy to make and a great way to use up scraps. The strips of paper are 3/4" wide and 6" long, with 14 strips altogether. I used a binder clip to hold all of the pieces in a stack and used my Crop-A-Dile to punch a hole through each end of the strips of paper. I threaded a piece of Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon through the holes, making a loop at the top to hang the ornament from and a knot at the bottom. Once you have the knots made, you can fan out the strips of paper to make the globe shape.

I stamped the image from the Cute & Curly stamp set and used my Curly Label punch to punch it out (I made two and put them back to back). I added a penny to the ribbon with a mini glue dot to act as a weight and attached the stamped images with Dimensionals.

Stamps: Cute & Curly
Paper: Ski Slope dsp, Whisper White
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Curly Label punch, Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon, penny, mini glue dots, Dimensionals, Crop-A-Dile

Old cards, new twist

These are new takes on a couple of cards I previously posted, both from past 10 for $10 classes.

You can see the original card, Holiday Peace, here.

Stamps: To You & Yours, Baroque Motifs
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Ski Slope dsp
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Wide Oval punch, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, Riding Hood Red taffeta ribbon

This is more "girlie" version of a masculine card I posted, called Stars & Stripes.

After I punched the flower, I curled the petals around my scissors handle to give it a little extra dimension.

Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Paper: Very Vanilla, Hawaii Papaya, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango
Ink: Tangerine Tango
Accessories: Mat pack, awl, 5-Petal Flower punch, Boho Blossoms punch, silver brads, 1 1/4" square punch

Baja Breeze Christmas

A simple and elegant Christmas card with a little sparkle thrown in for good measure.

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, All Holidays
Paper: Baja Breeze, Confetti White
Ink: Baja Breeze
Accessories: Big Shot, Top Note die, glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds, silver elastic cording, corner rounder punch

Color Inspiration Challenge #33

Challenge time! Kristina's Color Inspiration Challenge this week was too good to pass up. Should I have been doing dishes? Mmmmmm, maybe. Should I have been prepping for my 10 Cards for $10 class this weekend? Probably..but I couldn't help myself! I want to dedicate this card to my husband, who's been out of town this week, and who I am missing something terrible. I'm actually amazed that I found the time to do this, what with being a single mom this week! Anyway, on to the challenge... These are the colors that were included:

One thing I love about doing these challenges is that Kristina tends to put colors together that I would NEVER think of! Yet, I *love* how this card turned out!

I really wanted to use this new set (called Love You Much), which will be available for purchase in a bundle beginning December 23rd. I just got it yesterday and I was able to mount it during a very brief quiet time this afternoon. I think these little birds are adorable and thought they would fit nicely with the color scheme.

I stamped the birds with Basic Brown ink and colored them in using my Aqua Painter and my Taken with Teal and Certainly Celery ink pads. I used my Pumpkin Pie marker for the beaks and used my new Heart to Heart punch (also part of the Love You Much bundle) to punch the little heart out of designer paper. I used my 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out the little cuties.

Next, I used my Big Shot and Scallop Circle #2 die to cut the Chocolate Chip and Certainly Celery circles and added some paper piercing to the larger scallop circle. I also added a rub-on from the Chit Chat rub-on sheet (tip: I cut the phrase in half to make it fit in the space). I stamped my Polka Dot background stamp with Taken with Teal ink on the card base and tied everything together with the Chocolate Chip double stitched grosgrain ribbon.

Thanks for looking! I'd love to hear what you think. :)

Stamps: Love You Much, Polka Dot
Paper: Taken with Teal, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Frosty Day dsp
Ink: Basic Brown, Certainly Celery, Taken with Teal, Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: 1 3/4" circle punch, Heart to Heart punch, Big Shot, Scallop Circle #2 die, Chocolate Chip double stitched grosgrain ribbon