Recharging Batteries

I have a quick announcement from Stampin' Up today, so I thought I'd share that, along with some ramblings. :)

I have soooo been enjoying time with my family during our Christmas Break from school. Most all of December has been super busy days and nights, but this last week has been WONDERFUL. Much slower pace, doing what we feel like doing, taking it easy (I mean the girls and I when I talk about this, lol). It was much needed. A recharging of batteries, if you will. :)

My hubby's a dairy farmer, so he doesn't have weekends/holidays off like some do, but he did TAKE a vacation day this week and ahhhh...that was so nice. We went out to breakfast as a family, meandered downtown for awhile, went roller skating as a family (something the girls have been begging to do for awhile now)... Even better, we only paid $10 for the whole 4 of us to go. :)  We had a FREE pass for one daughter (won it at Library Summer Reading program), and a BOGO coupon for my hubby and I's entrance. Love getting a good deal. :)

Anywho...just wanted to explain why it's been a little quiet around here on the little blogeroo. Been taking and making time for family. Slowing down. This morning, we reorganized our game closet, and my daughter's desk is next (ehhh). MAYBE if we have time, we'll take down the Christmas decor. ;-)

Here's to a Happy, Healthy 2012!!! :)

Ooops. Almost forgot the announcement from SU. lol! 

Stampin' Up News:

December 30, 2011

Due to overwhelming demand for the Early Espresso 3/8" Quilted Satin Ribbon, we have run out of stock. This item from the Holiday Mini is no longer available for purchase. We apologize for this inconvenience.

**Remember, Holiday Mini is done after January 3, and Build A Stocking punch will be unavailable after that date**


Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day, and a Happy New Year! :)
Crystal

Sneak Peek!!

BEFORE I get to my regularly irregularly sheduled program (wink), I bring you this announcement:

"We have decided not to carry over the Stocking Builder Punch (item 124095) from the 2011 Holiday Mini Catalog into the next Idea Book & Catalog. Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase."

Get yours now before it's too late!  The Holiday Mini ends January 3, 2012.

And now...back to the program. ;-)

I FINALLY made something with some new goodies!!  It was my sister-in-law's birthday, and I just had to use new stuffas. :)  I can't show you the actual product or pictures of the product itself, but I can show you what I made! :)

Be nice now...it's the first time in quite some time that I've created from scratch. ;-)

Let's see...I'll count how many new things I used on this card...ummm.... FIVE!

First of all, let me just say I *love* the new Sale-A-Bration designer paper. LOVE IT!!

I also used a new flower punch...twice. On the front flower, I cut the petals inward a little more and curled a bit for some lift. Sounds like I'm talking hair, lol!

See the center?  It's a stamp from the set that coordinates with the flower punch. (I used a 3/4" circle punch on it, but the whole stamped image would fit nicely inside our 1" circle). Then, added dazzling diamonds.  Ahhh...glittah!! :)

The lovely cut border...oohhhh, baby!  Let's just say...TWO items on that alone!  Something to cut the edge, something to emboss it with the lovely line! :)

Here's a little closeup:

Don't look too closely at the inward edges of the flower...I grabbed the closest scissors to me. Aye. Much oversized household scissors and not sharp. Learned my lesson. Next time, my SU paper snips!!!

Well, what do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Yes, I realize it's 2 days past, but to my credit...I had this scheduled for the 25th. Instead, I just saw it was still in draft mode. ;)

*******************************************************************************

A couple of Saturdays ago, the girls had been awake for a bit already when I got out of bed.

This is the scene that greeted me as I stepped into the kitchen:

Grabbed my heart, it did.  Do you see it?

Everyone's lined up around the manger - even the animals who don't actually "belong" with the nativity set.

You see, even the children are aware that ALL eyes should be on Jesus. :)

May the beauty of God's greatest gift be yours today and the rest of your years, too.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a beautiful day!
Crystal

Simply Christmas

Hi there!

A quick post today...just wanted to share a simple little card I made earlier this month for a Christmas Gift.

I really like the stamp I used from the set Easy Events...it's definitely one of my most favorite clean and simple images.  Love how you can make it cutesy OR elegant. Sometimes, simple is best. :)

I simplly stamped the image with black Stazon ink, colored it in with my SU markers, and added a tiny bit of silver ribbon (non SU) to match the gift.

Well, what do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day!
Crystal

Three Projects!

Sorry, this post is late today...gone all morning, then wrote this while making blackberry jam this afternoon. Requires some concentration. ;-)

Wednesday was my BIRTHDAY (yay - I love birthdays!), so I didn't make it to the computer all that day!  Thursday was last minute preparations for Christmas.  Thought maybe I should make up for it with three projects today - one for each day since I last posted?  How bout that...sound good?

Two of the items are treat holders, and one is for a different kind of treat...you'll see. ;-)

All three items use the designer paper "Frostwood Lodge" - available only until Jan 3!!

FIRST up, is a container called a "sour cream container".

Also used:  Marina Mist grosgrain ribbon, ink, and cardstock, Cherry Cobbler and Whisper White cardstock. Stamped snowflake from Season of Joy and added a bit of bling in the center with our clear rhinestone.





SECOND, a little "purse" of sorts, made using the Top Note Die and Big Shot.




Also used: Marina Mist grosgrain ribbon and cardstock, Cherry Cobbler cardstock, clear rhinestone, and Triple Layer Bouquet Punch. Oh, and our small cello bag. :)











 LAST but not least, our THIRD project for today...

What IS inside that holder, you ask???

A different sort of treat. ;-)

Besides the Frostwood Lodge designer as used in the other two projects, I used the stamp set Season of Joy again, and some punches - scalloped circle, 1 3/8" circle, and lace ribbon border (?)...the red you see in the center of the white lace is actually the  Cherry Cobbler quilted ribbon.

WHEW!!  Took me several hours to finish, but finally here's the THREE projects I promised today. :)  Well, what do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Chocolate Tub??

Hee hee...NOPE, I do not have a chocolate bathtub.
I just can't think of a proper name for this little treat, lol! 

Here's another of the samples I mentioned before...
Actually, this doubles as a sample AND one of the items I sold here!

"All you need in life is a friend who has chocolate."

I made some of these that were "friendsy," as well as some with a Merry Christmas greeting.

INSIDE: Hershey Kisses. :)

"TUB": Baby food container! :)
Stamp Set: Eat Chocolate
Colors: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White

Perfect for a sweet little gift!
Well, what do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Two For Tea?

Remember the crazy 24+ samples in one week?

This is one of them, a nifty little treat holder. :)

LOVE the colors.
Cherry Cobbler cardstock base.
See the texture? It's Cherry Cobbler cardstock embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, then sponged with Early Espresso ink.

The scallop circle is our large scallop circle punch in Early Espresso, and the stamped image on Very Vanilla cardstock is from the stamp set Easy Events.

See the brown ribbon between layers?  It's the new quilted Early Espresso ribbon in the Holiday Mini! LOVE it.



Would you like to see what's inside? I'm guessing you have a clue, but...OK. :)

Tea...for TWO! :)

A neat little gift for secret pal, someone at the office, or just because...








Well, what do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Thank You Treat

Quick post today...

Thought I'd share the Open House thank you's I made to include in the gals' order bags.

Soft Suede and Very Vanilla cardstock
Spice Cake Designer Paper
Easy Events stamp set
Aquapainter & Ink pad lids
Pool Party ruffled ribbon






Would you like to see the inside??

OK. :)

I always like to include some kind of little treat. :)

Well, what do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)

Crystal

CLEARANCE RACK BLITZ!!!!

Oh. My GOODNESS!!!
Do you love a good deal?  You DO?? (so do I!)

Head on over...I mean RUN (however you can do that by clicking your mouse, lol)!!! to my online store...items up to 80% off!!! We're talking GREAT deals!!

There's a a bunch of our "retired" style punches in there! If you don't care what style they are, or prefer the previous style...you'd better go check it out for that and MORE (as in, they added over 200 items! :)

RUN!

Ohhh, I *heart* a good deal! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Open House Treat!

So, a week after I debuted at my first Craft Show, I held my Annual (Stampin' Up) Holiday Open House at my home. Crazy? YES.

Funny thing though...usually I stress out about the Annual Open House. It's interesting what insane craft mode for 3 weeks straight will do to your psyche. After that, I thought...Open House? Bahhh...no biggie! :)

So where I'm usually making tons and tons of new samples, this year I limited myself to 24-ish, combined with "older" samples that were still legit (not retired product). Kind of nice...however, 24-ish samples (cards AND gifty stuff) done in a week...still a little crazy. ;-)

I always enjoy my time with the ladies who come...some of them I don't see but 1-2 times a year, so it's exciting to see them again and catch up.

In the past, I've offered a couple of free make n takes, and this year was no exception.

I had the card figured out, but had the gifty-item narrowed down to three items. The first, I'm just WAY too embarrassed to show you, lol. It was one of those things that you have this idea, and when it comes to fruition - yeah, not as lovely as you pictured it. ;-)

Here's the runner up (didn't make the cut):
Keep in mind the Open House was on NOVEMBER 19th (wink)

I really liked it, but yet...it just wasn't quite right. It's a rather large scallop die for the Big Shot. It needed two pieces cut, scored at a certain point, and adhered together - I felt it wasn't very easy to line up the two at the bottom.





Instead, I wanted to make something which maybe had more uses, and came up with THIS:

First, it uses the Sizzix Two Tags Die. You get two different cut outs from one die - more for your money! :)  Anywho...whereas the above project is DEFINITELY pumpkin-y, I felt like this one could be changed up to reflect different holidays/birthdays/baby shower/wedding shower, etc. So that's why I chose this project...plus it was a little easier to put together. :)

See the texture?  It's the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. And the leaves? Little Leaves sizzlit.

Yes, we used a lot of BIG SHOT. :)

The ribbon is our 5/8" chocolate satin ribbon, tied with our hemp twine. The stamped sentiment is from Grateful Greetings, which I punched out with the large oval, and backed with the scallop oval punch.

Wanna see what's in it?? OK. :)

What ELSE could it be in November? ;-)

Stampin' Up's small cello bags held the treat nicely. :)













Well, what do you think? Try to look beyond the fact that it is now December. ;-)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal

Craft Fair Pictures!

Yes, I'm still around. :)

If I'm being honest...it's been kind of a nice break. Things have been rather hectic in my life, and I just *had* to cut something out or I think I may have gone crazy!  It's been good to slow down and focus on my family, and myself too.  Taking time to be still. In many ways.

Things are much better now, and I'm looking forward to a quiet, reflective Christmas season. :)

There were a few of you that asked to see pictures of the Craft Fair stuff when I got around to it...so I'm finally getting around to it. Thank you for being patient with me as I sort out stuff. :)

Here's a view of my "shop" head on. Not the easiest to see what's going on...lots of distracting things in the background. :)

I had kind of a "kids" area set up, with notebook sets, bookmarks, tooth fairy tins, playdoh fun, etc.

 

Something new I tried was homemade decor "wipeboards" - more fun than the standard white kind  Included a dry erase marker w/ velcro, and wrapped in cello. :) 

  

A few different things pictured here...my tile coaster sets, magnets, gift card holders, etc...

Since I sell my signature cupcake toppers on my Etsy site, I decided to have a few (ahem) of those on hand as well...(I need to update the listings on Etsy, but there are a few listed there).

We're full circle now..

Here's another little "gifty" section...this one a little more "food-related". Chocolate tins, Snowman kisses, Snowman Soup mug sets, M&M sticks, and more.

The items on the Christmas Tree are hanging gift card holders, also available in my Etsy shop Christmas Section. :)

WHEW!!  Can I just say I'm a *little* glad to be done with that, my very first Craft Fair?? (wink)  Especially considering I signed up 3 weeks before the event....and made everything in that time?? lol

Overall, it was a good experience...one in which I learned many things, and met many great people! :)

Stay tuned for Stampin' Up Open House pics and projects next time...

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a GREAT day! :)
Crystal