Poppy Paperie

Stir, Sip & Enjoy Challenge

I love Hot Cocoa! It's liquid comfort... a warm, drinkable smile! It's a great gift and fun to receive. I have several friends who are addicted to the chocolaty goodness. I thought it would be fun alter one of Lauren's template as gift wrapping to give some of these yummy gourmet cocoa's to one of them...

I used the tray from the Milk Made template for this. I extended the edges to make it bigger so the cocoa would stay in. How I did this was print the template onto printer paper and then trimmed it. I then adhered it to the cardstock  in a way that I could extend all the outer edges. A total snap! (check out how yummy the Orange Zest and Scarlet Jewel ribbon look together!

Warm Happiness is the PERFECT set for Cocoa gifting! I love how the sentiment works so well in this Vintage Labels image. I also enjoyed dipping into my pack of Autumn Abundance paper.I absolutely LOVE the crackle in the designs that Nichole created!

I hope you will check out the other players for today's challenge! They are all so very wonderful!

• Nichole Heady
• Becky Oehlers
• Heather Nichols
• Lauren Meader
• Michelle Wooderson
• Teri Anderson

What's your favorite way to give hot cocoa? I'd love to hear!
thanks for poppying by!

all supplies by Papertrey ink unless otherwise noted.

• Stamps- warm happiness, vintage labels

• Ink- Dark chocolate, Scarlet Jewel

• Paper- Dark chocolate, Autumn Abundance, Rustic White

• Other- Scarlett and White Buttons, Rustic button twine, Milk Made template, ribbon.

Kacy and Maren...

are two beautiful young women in our church that are graduating this year. I offered to snap a few photos of them for their senior pictures. It was great practice for Alex's that I will take next year. (I have no aspirations for anything professional work wise here... Just want to enjoy it.)

They were so fun to hang out and giggle with. Here is my favorite shot...

I just love how their friendship shows through! I'm really enjoying my dabble in photography... I sometimes feel overwhelmed when I realized how much more I need to learn... but it's fun to keep playing.

I'm off to bed... hoping that I wake up in the morning with some illustrating mojo! wish me luck!

Thanks for poppying by...

Christmas Lists

Are you a list maker? I am not naturally one but have found that if I use them I get SO much more accomplished and remember what I need to WHEN I need to. Christmastime is really overwhelming at times and I find that making and keeping list help me stay on tray and save money!  One problems is that I often lose my little loose paper lists. This year I thought I would try to be smart and alter a mini composition book, that will easily fit into my purse, to be my official lists book!

There are a few tricks to making this that I wanted to share...

A list book isn't very useful unless you have a pen at all times. I personally lose pens so I thought I'd better incorporate a pen holder of some sort into the design. I used a crop-a-dile to punch out the holes for a ribbon tie. (I wanted to be able to close it to keep the pages nice and keep things in.)

Here is what the inside looks like. I used glue to adhere the twill on the inside.

I trimmed the Holiday Vintage Prints patterned paper to fit the measurement of the book and rounded the corners. (I punched a hole in the same place that the note book had be punching it before gluing the ribbon on. I did the same with the decorative stamped layer)

I tend to collect coupons and also like to keep receipts, both gift and regular so I utilized these great envelopes. (available here)

I used Fresh Alphabet to label the outsides of the envelope... I just LOVE this alphabet!
I used Fancy Flourishes and Peaceful Poinsettia to decorate the envelopes then glued them in.  I kept the flap on the envelope and glued it behind and onto the book cover. Now I have a smooth opening to place the coupons and receipts in.

I used a few circles as tabs to help me keep organized...

I wanted to keep it simple and flush with the sides of the paper.

The finished lists book! (I call it "lists" because It will hold multiple lists for me!)

Now... you can make these as a quick and inexpensive gift... and make them general, not just for holidays! How easy would it be to personalize these too!

Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to know if you make one yourself!
Thanks for poppy-ing by!

All supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted.

• Stamps- Fancy Flourishes, Fresh Alphabet, Holiday Treats, Peaceful Poinsettia, Beyond Basics Borders
  

• Ink- Pure Poppy, Ripe Avocado, True Black
• Paper- Vintage Holiday Prints, Ripe Avocado, Vintage Cream, white 2.5 x4.5 envelopes
• other- Vintage Pure poppy buttons, Rustic twine, Mini comp book (Target), Ripe Avocado Twill.

World Card Making Day Blog Tour

Welcome to all those who have found their way here via the World Card Making Day website! I made a cute little holiday card to share with everyone today... as well as something else that will be at the end of this post!

On to the card!

I've been stuck on pastel type colors for Christmas and holiday projects lately. This card is no exception. It uses stamps from the Winter Swirls stamp set as well as other amazing products by Papertrey Ink.

I used a sewing Machine to free hand sew some swirl lines. and highlighted the  stamped and punched stars with larger rhinestones. It's rustic and glitzy all at once!

The pattern paper is trimmed to about 1 inch wide then adhered to the card base. Quick little snips with my scissors removed the excess. I also sponged the edges of everything lightly with a light brown dye ink.

A fun card to make... and I can't wait to give it to a friend! Have you started thinking about Christmas cards yet?

So...Here is a special treat for all you blog hoppers! A discount code for the Papercrafts/ CK online store! This good for 25% off of your total cart amount! Here is your special code...

FBAW-ZHPG-JTFV

Now's a great time to catch up on those speciasl issues!

So glad to have you all over today... hope you enjoyed the card! Click HERE to see the rest of the 25 bloggers that are participating in the blog hop! Thanks for poppy-ing by!

All Supplies by Papertrey Ink unless otherwise noted...

• Stamps- Winter Swirls
• Ink- Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, Spring Moss
• Cardstock/paper- Kraft, Bitty Stars Basics 2009
• Other- Fiskars star punch, Sewing machine by Singer, Kaiser Rhinestones

Peaceful Pointsettia

This is  such a great new set that Melissa Bickford created for Papertrey Ink!  I love this Christmas icon but rarely get a live one during the season because I have cats that like to eat plants. :) I think it's fun how they come in Red, Pink, Variegated and White... and probably more than that but I don't know.
I thought I would play with the White variety for my project.

I love making gift bags for Christmas because I often have to trow a gift together last minute... and it's SO nice to have a cute one ready to go.

Notice how I flipped over the ribbon before tying my bow? I did that to ad some contrast. It really pops that bow out don't you think?(BTW, supplies are in my PTI Gallery)

So? Are you feeling a little Christmas or Holiday Spirit already?  What fun PTI sets did you get this month?

Well... I'm off to stamp a special request project for a publication today... Easter! LOL! I'm SO Seasonally confused right now. I need to eat apples with caramel so I can get grounded after today for the season It really is! LOL!!!
Thanks for poppying by!

Vintage Labels, Signature Christmas & Stocking prints

These three new Papertrey Ink sets are so fun, elegant and trendy! My head is still churning with ideas for using them all.
Let me tell you my inspiration for this little set of note cards. IKEA. Have you been? Well, I love the natural rye crisp and Swedish snack you can find there. The bright colored packages that I spied on my last trip really stood out. (Could have been all the chocolate bars I bought... and ate! LOL!)  I'm all for non-traditional Christmas colors... so this was a perfect inspirations for that!

These took just a few moments to make and I just love how chipper and elegant they turned out to be! I have four girls that these will go to on St. Nikolaus Day.... with some treats in their shoes! :)
(you can find these sets here, Supply list are in my PTI gallery)

Oh... I thought I would answer a few questions today too.

*Tania asked where I got Ella's backpack- Old Navy (I'm sort of an ON addict)

*Stampin Pam asked-
  1- "are you SURE the food coloring won't come off on the person in the bath??? " - Well... the few drops it takes should disperse hugely in the bath water... I think I used about 7-9 drops for 1 1/2 cups. I've used homemade before (by a friend) and want tinted. Make sure it's well mixed and cheap liquid... and you should be fine (No gel tints)
2-How did you get such a perfect aqua mist color?- I mixed blue and green together, about 2 blue drops to one green... this worked pretty well huh!
3-How did you adhere the ribbon to the top of the tin? Hot glue gun works best... craft glue dot if you're in a pinch works too.

let me know if you have any more questions! :)
have a great day... thanks for poppying by!

Winter Swirls

It was such a fun month to stamp ... the images that Papertrey Ink put out this month are just wonderful! I thought I would do things a little different this month and share project individually.

A huge Congrats to Bethie on her first set with Papertrey! I know how excited she is and am giddy for her! Here is my contribution using Winter Swirls...

The snowflakes are really unique and this little tree is simply adorable!

It's fun how you can use it for almost any style too.

The set includes mittens and a star as well as other great images and sentiments! Make sure to check it out! Here is the link to the  supply list and instructions.

What goodies can you see creating with this set?

I'm off today to get some business paperwork done (yuck) and get some design work done between loads of laundry. (I think I need a maid!) Chris came home late last night... it's nice to have him home! :)
Hope you all have a good day... thanks for poppying by!

Holiday Jumpstart

Well... Nichole has done it again.. just wait until you see all the amazing samples that the Papertrey Ink DT have made with her new incredible set... Tree Trimming Trio!

Holiday Shopping, Caroling, Sledding, Party's, School concerts, Ballet performances and visiting friends. All part of what many of us do during December. Christmas is HUGE for us. We celebrate till we drop. Literally! LOL! I thought this year I would give something that's homemade and soothing all at once. So easy to make that my girls will delight in helping too! Personally my feet hurt and body aches after a few hours shopping... and standing in line for Santa. One of my favorite things to to is soak in a reeeeeealy hot bath. I thought that some home made bath salts would make a great gift to give this year! With 4 girls in School and all the friends and family... I welcomed the opportunity to get a jump on holiday gift ideas!

Papertrey's tea tins are just the perfect size for holding salts...( OK... but seriously, how CUTE is that tree!)

It can hold about a cup and a half of salts! It's a really easy recipe.. and you can really do your own thing. Here is what I used: 1 1/2 cups Epsom Salt, 2 tablespoons baking soda, essential oil (add a few drops and stir in to test before adding more) and food coloring. You can also add glycerin or chopped oatmeal for moisturizing. I stir mine up in my 2 cup Pyrex container if I am making one... a class bowl for bulk quantities. (BTW... Costo or Sam's might have salts for SUPER cheap, mine did!)

Here is my Aqua Mist Bath Salts! How fun is that to coordinate the colors! :)

Oh... and how did I get my nice stamped paper to stick so smoothly to the tin? I used Papertrey Ink's White Adhesive sheets!!! I just rolled it right on. Super easy to do and makes mass producing a cinch!

I've been just delighting in the amazing new envelope selection that Papertrey carries now! It makes it so easy to make cute little note cards to send with gifts.  I used Bitty Stars Basic paper to cover the back flap  on this 3x3 one for a little extra decorative touch. I also wanted to add some elegance to the set so I created the note card with this awesome White Shimmer cardstock. I wish you could see the shimmer better. It's lovely in person!

Here's the finished ensemble!It was so fun to create! Now... there are several other things that you could fit into this tin... homemade hot cocoa, Wassail mix, cookies etc. What would you make or buy?  Interestingly enough the consumables for this are just over $3... so for me with all the teachers and such I will be saving some big bucks this year... and I just know that they will feel extra special because time was taken to create something just for them!

Check out the other DT blogs for their holiday ideas...

•  Nichole
•  Becky
•  Betsy
•  Dawn
•  Debbie
•  Geny
•  Heather
•  Lauren
•  Melissa
•  Michelle
•  Niki.

Have a great rest of the night.... I'm celebrating my Wedding Anniversary tonight, even though Chris is in St. Louis at his sister's Wedding. My girls and I will have some fun treats!!! Congrats to Juli and Ira on their nuptials!
thanks for poppying by!

Additional supplies not already listed- Ink (Fresh Snow, Spring Moss, Sweet Blush, Aqua Mist, True Black) Punches (Corner rounder-Marvy, Slot-SU), Aqua Mist buttons, Spring Moss Cardstock, White EP, Sweet Blush Grosgrain, Glue Pen, Prisma Glitter.

Back to...

School. Yep... that time of the year, for us, is here. That's what has kept me away from blogging this past week. SO many things to do and places to go. It's been nuts! My girls started back yesterday... oh, and Chris left for his sister's wedding early this morning. Yep, mass chaos! I thought I would pop in and share a few photos. (I've been stamping all day, creating for the Papertrey Ink release on the 15th! So I can't share those just yet... although look for the PTI group post before then!)

(Alex- Junior, Ella- 1st, Hannah- Freshman and Pepper- 5th)
I shot this at about 6:45 AM. I usually snap their back to school photo outside... but it was pouring rain. this might just be the first one I've ever had to take indoors.

Here's E as she heads down the hall... toward her new year. I'm going to take a commercial break now and whine a bit. This was SO hard for me... almost as hard as last year. The summer was just NOT LONG ENOUGH! *sniff sniff*

 You'd never guess from this photo how hyper she was as we hopped to her class. LOL!

Pepper is SUCH a great big sister...it's so nice to have her in school with Ella! Ella pretty much thinks that Pepper is a queen too... it's so sweet!

The older girls drove off to school... well Alex drove. So I have no at school shots of them. I guess that's part of how it goes as they grow!
Well... I'm off to clean up before they come home and I spend the evening snuggling them. Thanks for poppying by!