Day 9 of the 25 Days of Christmas

This week's blog candy is this stamp set called Happy Moments. To win, just leave a comment on this post and I will post the winner next Friday. Last week's winner is Girlia: Please email me with your address so that I can mail your package to you.

Welcome to Day 9 of the 25 Days of Christmas, where I post all of my holiday projects with daily posts. Above, is a card that I made using retired SU dp and this crow from Jolly Holidays cricut cartridge. I used red and diamond stickles on the hat and the sentiment is from PTI.

Today, I am also sharing my photocard. This is a cute picture of my kids which was printed at 4x6. I then cut cardstock to meet that size and I used PTI die and stamp set in this pretty pink on the bottom of the card. I used Lily's dress to help me decide on the color. I felt that the picture was just so cute that I didn't need to dress it up with too much stuff.

Thanks for looking!

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Day 8 of the 25 Days of Christmas

Today's card is a cute one - I used the Hello Kitty Greetings cartridge. The dp is retired SU. I used this dp on a lot of cards this year. The red cardstock mat has been embossed with swiss dots. The sentiment is Paper Trey Ink. I hope you like my card today, see you all tomorrow!

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Day 7 of the 25 Days of Christmas

Today, I am sharing a card - I used scraps for my DP I believe that it's SU, an SU punch and my Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge from CTMH for cutting out the sentiment. It's a simple card but this time of the year we all need a little bit more simple! I hope to be sharing some of the crafty gifts that I have made very soon. I am still putting on the finishing touches on some of them too!

Also, check out Siehled with a Kiss - the blog is giving away gift certificates to the scrapbook store Stop and Scrap.

So see you tomorrow on the blog!

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Day 6 of the 25 Days of Christmas, 2011

WElcome to DAy 6 of the 25 Days of Christmas. Today, I am sharing a wreath that I made out of paper and a styrofoam wreath. I used a tutorial that I found from Faith Abigail Designs and it came out fabulous! Be sure to visit her site, it's got lots of wonderful ideas. I used retired SU holiday paper and rhinestones from my stash. I covered the wreath in red satin paper first and my glue gun got a workout!

Thanks for looking today!

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Day 5 of the 25 Days of Christmas, 2011

Have you seen the Elf on the Shelf? It's a book that you read to your children about how Santa knows if you've been naughty or nice. The elf gets hidden in a different place each day, and the kids look for him. He disappears each night to report to Santa and then reappears each day. I am hoping that this helps keep my kids' behavior under control. So far, it's working pretty well. My kids are VERY concerned about someone (their dad) touching him and having him lose his magic.

Today's card uses retired SU dp and the ornaments were punched with an SU punch. It's a very simple card but I really like the non traditional colors in this dp and you will see a bunch of cards made with it.

Don't forget blog candy here.

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Day 4 of the 25 Days of Christmas 2011

Today's card uses all CTMH product. The dp is retired and the frame and the ornament were cut with the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. I used my white gel pen for some doodling and I also used my viva decor pen for the pearls.

Also, I am showing a countdown calendar that I made to help my kids countdown to Christmas.

I used SEI alpine dp. The numbers were cut with the calendar cartridge and the cuts were made from various cricut Christmas cartridges - Holly Jolly, Christmas, Joys of the Season, CM Tis the Season, Art Philosophy, Woodland.

I made holes at the top of the cards and used bookrings to keep everything together.

A very easy project to make - if you want it to go quicker, you could buy Christmas diecuts or stickers for decoration.

Don't forget blog candy here.

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Day 3 of the 25 Days of Christmas

Welcome to Day 3 of the 25 Days of Christmas. Today, I am sharing a card that I made for a challenge for the Stop and Scrap daily giveaways. I buy quite a lot of items from this online vendor, they do a good job of discounting items and I can get a lot of new stuff from them in pre-orders. This challenge was a sketch challenge and can be found at bochcreations.blogspot.com. The direct link to the challenge is : http://bochscreations.blogspot.com/2011/11/christmas-cardmaking-contest-sponsored.html
I used the Jolly by Golly papers from Cosmo Cricket. The red satin ribbon is SU and the buttons are PTI. I used my nestabilities for the red scallop oval and white oval cardstock. The stocking was cut with the CM Tis the Season cartridge.

Don't forget blog candy here.

Thanks for looking today.

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Day 2 of the 25 Days of Christmas 2011

Today is my Dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Dad. This week's prize is this stamp set called Cute by the Inch from SU. To win just leave a comment on this post and I will post the winner next Friday.

Today's card uses all CTMH products. The stamp sets and ornaments were stamped with SU inks and I used a gem in the middle of each star. The card base was cut using the Cricut CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. The dp is also CTMH, a simple card but I like how it all came together.

Today, I am sharing crafty gifts. The first is a Cricut Expression. It runs about 200.00 but it is so versatile and with just a couple of smart cartridge purchases there is endless possibilities. The new E2 model has a few extra features including a WI FI port and a light and an internal memory so you don't need to use overlays, about 250.00

#2 is a Cuttlebug or a Bigshot but I much prefer the Cuttlebug - it's super easy to use and folds up very nicely for a small footprint, plus it's light, my Bigshot is really heavy. The new model has a wider entry so it can fit the larger Sizzix dies as well. I use mine for the metal dies that are now showing up at places like Papertreyink and MFT but I also use it for the embossing folders.

#3 is an Ott-Lite. I have had mine for years. I bought it with a coupon at Joanns and gives wonderful light for your craft table, especially if you are night time crafter like me. They are not cheap but I have had mine for a very long time and have not had to change the light bulb yet. This is the multi task light and it's list price is $79.99.

#4 For budget minded people and those without a lot of time (also a great idea for a teen), consider the smash book and it's related products. It's fun and easy and with this product anyone can scrapbook. It comes with a pen on one side and a glue stick on the other so you can smash and go! Think of all the uses, a journal, an inspiration book, a snapshot of your everyday life. It's from EK Success, $1.99-12.99.

#5 Everyone needs a Scoreboard! There are lots of options and I have a couple here.

First is Stampin' UP's Simply Scored board, what's unique about this one is that is comes with little markers so if you are scoring a lot of items it's easy to find your place., $29.99.

Next, is what I consider the OG Scoreboard the Scor-Pal. Nothing fancy but it changed the way I craft, crisp lines and so easy to score cardstock for cards, $29.99

Also, Martha Stewart has a Scoreboard and you can use your Michael's coupon for it. $29.95

#6 is a binding system. The first is a Yourstory which is a laminator and a binding system that uses heat to bind the books. I have seen bundles that come with covers, laminating pouches and papercutters for around $30-$50 so be sure to shop around.

There is also the Binditall - I have the original blue one but I do love mine - I really should use it more. It's easy to use - you use spiral wire for this system but you can bind many different projects with this system. This runs about $59.99.

I also wanted to mention the Cinch - I have seen quite a few people using this sytem but it looks complicated to me and frankly I am very happy with my Binditall. However, many people swear by The cinch, so it just depends on what you are comfortable with.


#7 is a subscription to a magazine. Papercrafts is a good one and runs about $19.00, Northridge Publishing have some beautiful magazines which are more like books than a magazine but they are very costly and run about $40.00 for a year. Some of their publications including Cards, Cricut, Bead, Sewing and they also have special editions too. Another standby is Martha Stewart Living which I love!

#8 is a Clipit Up. You can use this thing for just about anything. I use mine for my acrylic stamps that come on sheets like from MFT but I have seen people use it for Thickers and stickers, embellishments, ribbon, cards, tons of uses, it has a small footprint and can hold a ton of stuff so it is really a practical organizational tool! It runs about $65.00.

#8 are cool tools. I love punches so they are always nice but something really fun that I came across are these YoYo Makers from Clover. They also sell Kanzashi Flower maker templates too. I have seen Yo Yo's all over the blogs, many people are making them and selling them but with this simple template you can make your own. At only $5.50 these are a wonderful and inexpensive crafting gift. I wouldn't mind having one myself :)

9. Copic Airbrush System, $60.00. I want one! I have seen so many awesome projects using this fun tool - it creates airbrush effects that look uber professional!

#10 is a copout but it's paper! Paperpacks, 6x6 paper pads are wonderful for scrapbookers and cardmakers. It's wonderful to give paper, because we can all use it, even if we have a ton anyway. I like to give paperpads that are not found in stores - when I order online - I always order extras to use as giveaways - because they might be difficult to find for some people if they are not the common variety found in retail stores.


Thanks for hanging out today.

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Day 1 of the 25 Days of Christmas 2011

Today's card is cut with my Cricut and the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge. Most of my cards use one pack of last year's holiday SU paper. I think it was from the mini, it's retired and I can't find the name of it anywhere. The sentiment is from PTI and I used stickles to make my ornament sparkly. Below, find some Christmas ideas.

I'm starting off my 25 Days of Christmas with some Christmas lists as well as some crafty goodness. The first list is the 10 Best Non-Crafty Gifts. Above you see #1 and #2 on my list. #1 is a Kindle Fire. It does movies, apps, games, music, reading and more. This tablet is awesome and at $199.00, half the price of and IPAD.

#2 is a Kindle (or Kindle Fire). Many people predict that book readers will become dinosaurs with the advent of the Tablet and while that may be true, a dedicated reader might be the perfect thing for someone who cannot afford a tablet and the inevitable subscriptions and apps or for someone older who really just wants to read. It's easy to use, stores a ton of books and you can adjust the text size which is perfect for an older adult!

#3 is an Isi Twist and Sparkle Beverage Carbonating System (about $50.00), BevMo, William Sonoma and Amazon all carry this and I am sure many other retailers. I did a lot of research about soda makers and after I got it, I found that it was just perfect for my needs. It literally is a little wand that you put the CO2 cartridge in and this bottle, you put the wand in and twist and voila instant carbonated beverages. My mom uses it for water and we all love putting juice in it, you also can put wine and other alcoholic beverages too!

4. Breville Pie Maker from Williams Sonoma about $100.00. This is on my wishlist and if you watch the video, you will want one too! Super easy to use fast, makes 4 pies in about 12 minutes. I can see savory and sweet pies and would really fun to use with the kids!

#5 is the Flip Ultra HD Video Camera about $105.00. I know we can all use our cells phones to make videos now, but it's nice to have something easy to use dedicated to the task, plus what if you're recording and you get a phone call?

#6 is a DSLR camera and I have chosen the Canon Eos Rebel about $500.00. A splurge, but I love mine - super easy to use, great pics, a nice buy for a beginner's SLR camera which an run you well ove $1000.00 for a super fancy one.

#7 is skincare products - the good stuff. As we get older, we can use all the help we can get. My grandmother has the absolutely hands down , most beautiful skin for 83 years old. She uses Ponds and Oil of Olay but for some of us that stuff is a little greasy. My skin is very sensitive and prone to breakouts when using any kind of product that clogs pores even a tiny bit.

The Skincare Day Moisture protection by Shiseido is about $40.00 but if you have the kind of skin that breaks out easily, this is the best moisturizer ever. It's light non-greasy and is SPF 15. It's like water folks!

A friend of mine swears by Hope in a Jar by Philosophy but it has no SPF and I haven't tried it but it runs about $38.00.

I got a coupon code to try this skincare line called Muvazi. It's a splurge for the whole line at $120.00 but so far I love how soft it makes my skin feel, its made in house with organic ingredients and its suppose to help with age spots and lines, not that I have a ton of those, but I wouldn't mind having my skin look a little younger if you know what I mean.

#8 is also on my list from The Sharper Image, it's a Compact Elliptical Trainer for all of us lazy people. I have no idea if it works great but I love the idea ofbeing able to work out while watching TV and it has a small footprint too!. It's about $130.00.

#9 is a slide and negative converter about $130 from The Sharper Image. If you are as old as me, you have pics from before the digital revolution. This handy gadget captures the image and coverts them to digital format - there is also one that will take scans of your old pictures and convert them into digital format too - that one runs about $150.00.

#10 is a Mommy necklace which I bought one for my mom last year with all of her grandchildren's names on it. You can find them all over on etsy. They run roughly $35.00 and up. A very nice personalized gift.


I hope that you all find today's post useful. It's so hard to buy presents so hopefully this will give you some ideas. Tomorrow's post will be crafty gifts to give or receive!

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