The "Yarn Parade"

So I know my blog is the "paper" parade, but I've been working on some other projects, too, and thought I'd share. I am very proud of myself for completing my first ever hand knit scarf! This scarf is called the "potato chip scarf" since the curves are similar to the edge of a chip. I love how ruffley it turned out. It was a lot of fun to make and very simple. The pattern actually said "betcha can't make just one" and they were right... I already have chosen the yarn for the next :)

Thought you could get a better idea if I wore it, even if I AM in my PJs ;)

Coffins for Co-Workers

So I made sure I got my money's worth of my new Sizzix Big Shot Pro Coffin Die :) I made and decorated 9 coffins for my co-workers.

And what is inside you might ask? Halloween scented hand sanitizers (we use these a lot at work as we work with seniors) and candy coated Oreos.

The whole lot of them. Each one is a bit different from the next.

Each gets two Oreos. I thought these candy corn zip lock bags were cute.

These are the cute mini hand sanitizers that I bought in a value pack from Home Goods awhile back.

A close up of one of the Oreos. These turned out cute and were so easy to make! They taste mighty good, too!

A Muse Tags

Christmas Tags Galore!

One of my favorites. Very traditional. I'll have to make more of this one :)

I liked this one a lot, as well. So simple, yet so elegant!

I love how the faux snow looks on this one.

The kraft one is so elegant! And the scallop circle I learned a cool new technique on how to use a scallop punch to make a folded card! I'll definitely be using that trick again.

I had a great time and got to make a ton of tags! My Christmas gifts are just going to look so much better this year! Looking forward to the next A Muse shoebox swap :)

Tiny Tags

So I went to another shoebox swap last weekend, but this one was a little different...we prepared tags! It was a lot of fun and now I have a bunch of tags to dress up my Christmas gifts this year. This is the one I created. It was an A Muse shoebox swap, so you had to use at least one A Muse image and embellishment. The two little trees I won awhile back in a drawing from my local stamp store, so I decided to use them. The base of the tag is the Mat Stack #1 die from Paper Trey Ink. The green shape is the new label punch from SU (and it looked like a mini version of the PTI die!). The sentiment is from SU, the patterned paper from SU. I used Copics on the patterned paper. I used the SU white craft ink on the edges. The ribbon and pearl are from A Muse. I will post the rest of the tags later :)

More Advent!

Happy Halloween!

I was inspired by the awesome A Muse Christmas advent calendar I made at a class a few weeks back and have been working on this one ever since :)

Each circle is attached with a brad, so you can move the circle to the side to take out the day's treat. (As seen above with #16).

So this is a little late (but I still have a few weeks to use it!) but I'm proud of the results. This and a few other things is what has kept me from keeping up with the weekly challenges. I used a mini muffin tin, used my hand craft drill to drill a hole over each muffin space (thanks Grandma and Grandpa for this great gift!), spray painted it black and blew glitter over it while it was wet (you can't see the glitter that well, though), then started making all the little covers. The muffin tin only had 24 spaces, so I had to get creative and start at day 7 lol. I used the new large circle punch in the SU mini to cut out all circles, and then used all the Halloween things I own to create a decoration for each day. I didn't have any small candies around the house, but it would work perfect for little kisses. All papers are from SU, but I also used Martha Stewart punches, Sizzix embossing folders, jewels, brads, A Muse stamps, raisin boat stamps, SU stamps, Hero Arts stamps, Paper Trey Ink Stamps, and just about anything I could find lying around that was Halloween themed :)

More Halloween Treats

I ordered this adorable Halloween Minis set from Paper Trey Ink and was really looking forward to using it. I took the same pattern from the other favors I made for the shoebox swap, with the SU Top Note die folded in half, but this time also used the mat stack die that PTI sells to coordinate with the set on the front of the card. It was fun making each one a little different, but make them all have a common theme. The jewels and accents are thanks to my Big Sis from the Divine Secret Siblings on Split Coast Stampers. Thanks, Tracie! I am bringing these to my women's volunteer group tonight, I think they'll be happily surprised :)

SU Shoebox Swap

I can't believe its taken me a week to post these, but here they are! I promise I have been working on crafty things, and will be sharing some with you soon, but they're not done, yet. After I finish this big project I want to get back into doing challenges again. For now enjoy these great designs:

One of my favorites from the day made by my friend Suzanne. She said it was called "Ode to Gingham" because she wants SU to put the gingham ribbon back in the catalog! I think this card was simple but sophisticated, loved it!

The whole lot!

LOVED this fall one created by Nola. She taught us a new cool way to make an outside layer for the new label punch in the mini catalog. May have to copy this one in the future :)

This was another beautiful card and we did a neat thing with the top note die, cut around the perforations to make another outline for the die. This was created by Arelyne.

This was a really neat gift card holder created by my friend Dena. There is a slit under that scallop where you can slide in a gift card, how cool!

The cards were all awesome and I had a fun day. Thanks, Nola, for letting me co-host this shoebox swap with you!

AWESOME Advent Calendar!

I took the best class ever with Jenn Shurkus yesterday to make this absolutely awesome A Muse advent calendar. I really do love it. All images are A Muse. She had the patterned paper circles for the inside of the tins cut for us, so we just stamped away. We used a lot of Faux Snow, glitter, and Copics. It was so fun to make, and I know it will be out every year and I look forward to sharing it with my kids one day...for now maybe I'll have to fill it with dog treats...LOL!

SU Treat Bags

These are the party favors I just finished up for tomorrow's SU shoebox swap. I LOVE those little pumpkin candies that come out around Halloween, so I had to use those. I used the SU Sizzix top note die for the baggie topper. Just folded it in half and the decorated using the adorable new SU set Got Treats, the new label punch, and an SU button. The little cello baggies are also from SU. I think that the attendees will smile when they see these :)