"Re-gifting"

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family and friends!  Ill be taking some time to stamp soon to work on some birthday invites for Andrews 2nd birthday! Only 2 weeks away!  I've been enjoying some much needed time with my boys and haven't stamped for about a week.  But I wanted to share the gift I made my friend Jess.  A few times this year Jess had brought me flowers from her garden.  They were such beautiful arrangements filled with flowers I had never seen or heard of before.  I absolutely loved this particular bouquet that she brought me back in August because of the bright colors!  The picture does not even come close to how beautiful they were in real life.

Once they dried out I had the idea of saving some to put in an ornament for Jess.  And much to my surprise, I didn't lose the flowers and actually followed through with it :) 

I kept it really simple with just some ribbon.  An easy and special way to recycle a gift I think :)

Blessings and happy stamping!

-Holly

Sunday School Gifts and Reindeer Games

Eli had a fun time making his Sunday school friends their gifts. I ordered these sixlets for the craft show and they never came.  Since I already had the reindeer made, I ordered some more last week off amazon.  They were perfect for his Sunday school and Preschool friends.  Here he is counting 19 sixlets :)

The extras for my husband.  He loves sixlets!

I really enjoyed making the teachers their gifts too! I finally figured out how to attach the ribbon so it doesn't have to slide off every time you open the gift card holder.  These were made with the envelope punch board. 

His teachers loved them :) makes it worth the late night stamping!

Now for my favorite project I have made all month!  I had a lot of fun making this! I sure hope my father in law likes it because it was hard to give away :) Plus, I had to convince my husband to share his jerky. :) **note: there IS a picture of my husband and his deer at the end of the post in case you love Bambi**. 

Aren't these chevron treat bags adorable?! Easy to stamp too!

The Rudolph I made with the owl punch (thanks to my friend Megan for letting me borrow it!) and the antlers were made with the bird punch.  The Rudolph Jerky pieces were made using the alphabet rotary stamp.  This was another great item that I purchased from the Black Friday weeklong deals.  I just "dialed" the letters and voila! :)

These would be great to make for the guys in your life.  Obviously, it doesn't have to be a deer - go buy it at the store and repackage it! :) 

Here is Shawn's 6pt buck.  Proud wife here <3 but it was quite an interesting day.  I actually had to drop Eli off at preschool early and the other boys off at the neighbors so I could help my husband in the woods.  Let's just say they're heavy and not easy to drag through the woods and pick up and put in a jeep.  

Thanks for stopping by! Merry Christmas! 

-Holly

Time to wrap things up!

We're officially here - the week of Christmas! I don't know about you, but this year seems busier than normal and I really thought I was on top of things.  I had most of the shopping and wrapping done by the first week with the intentions of spending more time with the boys and really just relax.    Unfortunately, with the craft show and "life", we haven't relaxed much. 

Seems like every year we ship gifts somewhere.  Even though we are out of the military, we still aren't near either family.  I'm so thankful for flat rate boxes :) these are my Minnesota families gifts - I chose to go all out this year with wrapping in SU ribbon and paper because I know my crafty MIL and sister-in-law will appreciate it! (Plus, they can keep the stuff to use on their cards) :) win win!

So for those of you yet to wrap gifts, here are a few special and unique gift-wrapping ideas.  Tags are so fun to make! The possibilities are endless.  If you need even MORE amazing ideas, google the SU artisan team. They just made a tag blog hop and their tags are so awesome! Maybe someday I'll be doing the same blog hops with those talented ladies :)  

Homemade cookies <3

My sister-in-law probably won't see this by Christmas... But, if you're reading this, you're obviously getting a scarf Brooke, hehe!

I hope you enjoyed these photos and I sparked some creativity for you!  I pray that everyone reading this finds peace today in Him!  With of all of the commercialization of Christmas and this feeling that we need more stuff... We miss the peace we need the most. The peace that was born in a stable.  

Merry Christmas!! 

- Holly

Lotus Blossom abloom :)

I'm super excited for what's coming to you all at the beginning of the year! Sale-a-Bration is coming up very soon!! This is when Stampin' Up! awards customers with free products (stamps, paper, ribbon, etc.) with every $50 spent.  (That's even a better incentive to have a party because $150 in orders would mean THREE free items PLUS $25 in products!). This starts Jan 6th and goes through Mar 31st.  If you would like a peak at the catalog, I could mail you one now so you can Oooh and aaah over all the goodies ;)

Here is one of theses you can earn free. It's called Lotus Blossom.  Can't show you the actual set, just samples, but I used every piece, so use your imagination :)

This is a three-layer stamp set which really makes the flowers pop.  I stamped the top two layers with strawberry slush, stamping the middle one off once to make a lighter layer.  And the base layer I stamped in crisp cantaloupe.  This is a photopolymer set so you can see through the clear stamps to line these up easily!

So save the cash you get for Christmas and put this on your wish list :) you have until March 31st! So plenty of time to save up.

Happy Stamping! 

- Holly

Find more samples of cards on Instagram - #paperjoyri 

Party favors for Fiona

My friend Jess babysat my boys last week during my craft show so I asked her if I could make something for Fiona's party in exchange.  I already had borrowed the curvy keepsake box die cut from my friend Megan and had yet to try it out so I knew what I wanted to make! Jess said Fiona liked purple pink turquoise and butterflies so here is what I came up with.

These were so easy to make and not that time consuming. They look like a lot of work, but trust me, if you're without 3 kids under the age of four, you'll be done in no time! Plus, you don't even have to emboss it or stamp it - they're cute as is.  But, I like all the extra glitz so I treated these as if they were for my own daughter (that maybe I'll have someday) ;)

Added a little touch of gold glimmer paper to the clothespins.  This came in handy because I only had 7 gold clips and I needed 10.  They other 3 silver ones were disguised as gold :)

Hope she enjoyed them! 

Here's the card I made for Fiona:

Notice the new sequin ribbon?? Love this!! Bermuda bay sequin trim <3 

#kittypaws #photobomb :)

Christmas Chalkboard Banner

**Spoiler alert - Christmas card picture is posted here!** :)

 

Today I want to share with you something you all can use and enjoy!  This banner comes in a kit with 15 chalkboard banner pennants in chalkboard-coated chipboard: ea. 4" x 6"; 32 die-cut paper pennants: ea. 4" x 6"; 5 tissue paper pompoms: ea. 5-1/2" x 6"; 10' of jute twine; chalk.  I used a chalk marker that I found at Hobby Lobby for $3.59.  If you use it on a non-porous surface (like these pennants) you can wipe it off and start over.  In fact, Andrew drew on this right before we left the house and I was able to clean it with a baby wipe.

 

Yes, for $19.95 (before tax, s&h) you can get a reusable chalkboard banner! What a deal!  I've used mine for my craft booth, Christmas pictures and I plan on using it for the boys birthday. 

Take a look =)

 

 

We stopped at our friends house down the road and took our pictures yesterday.  I loved their stacked wood and couldn't resist taking a picture.  I didn't tell them we stopped by, so maybe when we send them a Christmas card we will see if they notice haha!  And I really thought living in New England that we would have snow on the ground by now... Hoping it happens soon!
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

Off to write our Christmas letter now.  Anyone else this far behind??



 

 

If you're interested in one of these banners, feel free to shop with me! click on the link in the right column.  I would suggest waiting until Jan 6th though - that is when the new occasions catalog is released and Sale-a-bration starts (every $50 you spend you earn free product!)

 

 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Thanksgiving... a little late

So, as always, I'm a tad behind on my blog posts.  Is it any wonder that I'm so far behind on  scrapbooks for my kiddos? :) But, better late than never right?

This was our first thanksgiving out of the military.  While we were in the military, on average we hosted 2 families each year.  This year was a little quieter - my brother in law Corey came in from Minnesota to visit.  Shawn had to work in the late evening so we had an early meal and quiet day.  Wednesday I made two pies - apple and pumpkin.  My husband didn't want apple yet he ate more leftovers than I did.  Partly because an eighth of the pie was about 580 calories! haha... but they don't count during the holidays right?  right...

Anyway, the only crafty prep I did for Thanksgiving was actually done on Thanksgiving day.  I was up late feeding Sammy and found this cute idea on Instagram.  All it took was some brown paper bags, twine and some diecuts.  Easy peasy - and for sure a repeat next year.

  

 

Pretty cute, huh?

Uncle Corey snapped a picture before Shawn went to work. 

credit to my mom who taught her 4 daughters the love of baking <3 

It was a beautiful day filled with many blessings and calories.  I pray your year has been blessed too! 

A quick holiday party gift

We have not lived here in the area for the holidays but the families that live on our street seem to have fun!  For halloween the family at the end of the road invited everyone on the loop to their house to start the festivities.  They had a tent with drinks and sweets, a campfire going, a COMPLIMENTARY food truck and a hayride for the kids to go on.  (this is where I learned there are two types of New England chow-dah.  Red and White).  Talk about going all out!  

**Disclaimer:  This gift I show you is nowhere near that level** 

So this last week we received an invite from another neighbor down the road that invited us to their house for their annual Christmas party.  Since Shawn won't be home from work until 6 and the party is only from 3-8, I thought I would just take a small gift instead of taking dessert or an appetizer so late.  This was my favorite tag from my holiday show: 

I will be honest though, this only came to be from a messy accident.  If you could see my room right now you would understand!  I had this wreath stamped and on a card ready to go.  Next thing I know, i looked down and a random stamp was laying on half the wreath.  And do you think that was a clean stamp?? oh no - not a chance :)  so I saw that I could salvage half of the wreath and was happy with what came out!  Hope you like it too!

           (sorry but the Cheers! stamp is retired)

This is such and easy and quick gift to make.  You just need the bubbly :)  I'm actually giving away a bottle my MIL bought.  I don't drink so it's just sitting in the pantry.  I will replace it later haha!

Here are a few other samples for other occasions.  Enjoy!

Happy Stamping :)

-Holly

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Time to relax!

I apologize for abandoning all of you faithful followers of mine :) I'm still here and alive (my poor boys have missed their momma too!)  I know it's been quite sometime since I posted last, but I promise, I will be posted more frequently.  I recently signed up again to be a demonstrator with SU and my goal is to try out for the artisan design team (which requires an active blog).  Anyway, I've been very busy prepping for my first craft show here in Rhode Island.  This was my third show overall that I have done.  All have been a flop.  Boy, do I know how to pick the winners!  The craft show was very small and slow (the rain didn't help) but I didn't know any better being new to the area.  I suppose I chose it because the fee was very small but I also thought it was at the fire station on main street in my town.  Instead it was on a back country road I've never been on.  It wasn't in the newspaper on Friday and I didn't see a single advertisement for it.  :(

you live and you learn.

But, regardless, I was very excited for my booth!  I absolutely love making cards and sharing with others what I love!  You could also say I was very proud of my display.  My husband took an old pallet and made some boxes to display my cards.  He's the best!  I also found an awesome 6 pane window at an antique store a few weeks back for $3.75(!!) and strung the chalkboard banner from Stampin' Up! that I purchased last week during the extravaganza.  I added some chalk labels from Hobby Lobby and I was set!  

So, over the next few days I will be sharing some of the cards I made in preperation for the booth.  Tonight I will just show you the end result :)

I used my Halloween tombstones as message boards.  My friend Jamie picked up on it, but I don't know who else knew! Shhhhh! :)

Lots of cards - or caaads as they're pronounced in New England.

Single Christmas cards and 5pks.

Tags were 50c, gift card holders were $1.50 and the wine tags were $2.50 or 2/$4

My intentions with the Rudolph's spares were to fill the 1x8" cellophane bags (from SU) with red sixlets that I ordered off amazon.  Unfortunately the package was lost in the mail and never showed.  However, I had enough red rolos to fill 2 curvy keepsake boxes.  I didn't sell any treat boxes though, so at least Eli's preschool and Sunday school gifts are started!

I also made the sugar scrub - you can find the recipe here.  They make great stocking stuffers! The tag is made from the Sweet Season digital stamp set.  I always wanted the set and when I found it online I bought it, added it to MDS and printed them out.  Simple as that!

The lady who had a booth beside won my raffle basket items.  She was so excited and maybe, just maybe, I have a future customer!  I loved the tag I made for the coffee :) (don't mind the picture -- this was on the [dirty] raffle prize table).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the samples :) will post more this week!

happy stamping!

-Holly