The Happy Scraps

Scrapbook Thursday - Mothers Day 2011

2012-02-09T13:35:00.004-07:00

I went out on a limb {aaack!} and decided to enter a creative bloggers got talent contest. I've never done anything like this before, and honestly, it's kinda terrifying for me! Anyway, I have a favor to ask! If you have a minute would you please, please, {Pretty Please!} head on over to Every Creative Endeavor and vote for me? I'm #95, it's the Magnetic Menu Board! Thank you! Thank you! in advance!

Here is my page for this week. I've had these pictures printed for a while, but haven't ever gotten them put on a page, so I was happy to finally do that. I tried doing the strips of paper cut like flags and I like how it turned out. I do think that this page needs something a little more, but I just can't figure out what it is, so for now, this is it. :)

I used my Cricut and Lyrical Letters cartridge to cut the title. I {♥} that cartridge, it's got seven different fonts on it!
Have you been scrapbooking at all? If so, please share with us over on Facebook! We'd love to see what you've been working on.

{Heart} Door Hanger-Redo

2012-02-06T16:24:00.002-07:00

You might remember this door hanger from last year, I finished it, but never really loved it. It just didn't come together the way I had pictured it in my head. I didn't have any great ideas of what to do to make it better until this year. Then I decided I'd go with the color scheme of hot pink and black like I've used for many of my valentines projects.

So, today I pulled it apart and took some black spray paint to the bead board heart and painted the bigger heart hot pink. I drilled out the holes a little bigger and used ribbon to hang it this time, rather than the wire.
I think it's a little more simple now, but I ADORE how it turned out!
I'm so excited to have this hanging on my front door now!

This wood design is copyright of The Wood Connection. I purchased this item unfinished. If you live in Utah and would like to purchase your own, head to The Wood Connection! They have very reasonable prices.

Linking to:
Sugar Bee Crafts
I'm Topsy Turvy
Not JUST A Housewife
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Tip Junkie

What's for Dinner? - Magnetic Menu Board

2012-02-03T19:28:00.008-07:00

So, I've had this project pinned for quite some time! I think it was one of my very first pins on Pinterest, and I FINALLY got around to making it. I could come up with a lot of excuses why, I just got it done, but I won't bore you with that. :)

I wanted to get this one just right, maybe that's why it took me longer than I had planned, but I am very happy with how it turned out.
I started with a magnet board that is 9 x 20, and used mod podge to adhere the paper to it. Once I had the back ground paper on I used my Cricut to cut out the title and the backing for the title as well. I also added a little ribbon behind the title.
I used bottle caps for my magnets, and used my 1" circle punch for the white circles and then again used my Cricut to cut the letters for the days of the week. I printed the menu items off from my computer and then cut them down to size.
I love how cute this pocket turned out. I wish I had a cartridge for my Cricut that had a library pocket like this but I don't, so I traced one that I have, and cut out my own. I love the way the title turned out on this too.
Because the word 'shopping' is so long, I didn't think it would work to cut it out and adhere it, so I printed it out and then cut the word 'list' and put it on. And because I didn't want a yellow post-it note pad that didn't match on my board, I cut my own papers and used a binder clip to hold them, and I love what the binder clip adds!
I used some of my favorite Stampin' Up ribbon to hang it with, and also to embellish the bottom.
I can't wait to put this fun board to good use! And I love that I still had this paper to use, because it matches my rolling pin that Debbie gave me, and my spice rack that I did a while back!
This really was an easy project, and I'm excited to get together next week with my sister-in-laws for a craft night. This is what they will be working on, and I made mine before hand just to see what the needed supplies would be!

Linking to:
Lolly Jane Boutique Tatertots and Jello A Little Knick Knack Young and Crafty Creative Itch Boutique Sassy Sites Flamingo Toes I ♥ Naptime Craft Junkie Too Pocket Full of Pink Craft-O-Maniac Making the World Cuter Keeping it Simple So Creative Skip to my Lou Destination:Craft Sumo's Sweet Stuff Get Outta My Head Please You're talking too much Tip Junkie

Scrapbook Thursday-Here Fishy Fishy

2012-02-02T12:37:00.007-07:00

Debbie and I were talking the other day and both of us have been wanting to scrapbook for a long time. So we decided that Thursday was going to be the day. Even though we don't live close, we would both sit down and scrapbook on Thursdays! I think it's a great idea! Last week I sat down and came up with this layout. It's been so long since I've actually done a layout, that I felt like a beginner scrapbooker again! LOL!

This is the layout that I came up with. Last summer we had a free fishing day that we decided to take advantage of. We didn't catch anything, but our boys sure had fun.
I used these fun thickers for the title.
The journaling is hiding behind one of the pictures.
I used my Boys Will Be Boys Cricut cartridge to cut out this fishing pole...
and this fish.
When I was almost done, I thought the pages needed a little something more, so I used my Sew Easy to make these holes.

It felt so good to get to sit down and scrapbook again! I can't wait to share more scrapbook layouts with you as I, along with Debbie, will be making more of them this year! If anyone else would like to join in on the fun, and make their own scrapbook layouts on Thursdays, we'd love to have you join us! You could even upload your pages to share with us on The Happy Scraps facebook page!

Cards-January Handmade Card Exchange & a Winner

2012-01-30T09:26:00.001-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting these cards from the January Card Exchange! And since I slacked off over the weekend, at the bottom of this post is the winner of The Wood Connection gift certificate.
These cards are all so fun! Every time I've done an exchange, the cards seem to get better and better. I love getting them all in the mail and seeing how cute they are.

Erin

Misty

Breanne

Sami

Debbie M.

Lori

Debbie B.

Dara

Michelle

Heidi

Lexie

Tiffany

Karen

Sarah

and mine again.

And now for the winner....

Ashers is the winner. Congratulations!! Check your email, and send me your info so I can get it in the mail to you!

Cards

2012-01-28T17:25:00.006-07:00

I just got home from 5 days in Utah. It so much fun to get to see Amy. We did a lot of shopping and lunch to celebrate her birhtday. I was so inspired and motivated to come home and get back into crafting. She totally gets how happy creating makes me and I am glad we got to go to the Wood Connection and an awesome Vinyl store with cheap vinyl in any color you could ever want. One of the days we went to Michaels and I bought this cute "Thinking of you in Prayer" stamp. Unfortunately I had a reason to put it to use already, but I was glad I grabbed it. I hope it made my friend who recieved it know how special she is to me and that I am praying hard for her and her family.

Next I wanted to make some boy birthday cards. So this is what I came up with. I love that I was able to use up some of my scraps on them. I bought the make a wish stamp in Utah as well. I didn't notice until after I stamped it that the rubber part was adhered to the block croocked. I was so bugged, but I was able to fix it.

A couple of years ago I found these little cards on cleareance. I didn't LOVE them, but they were only .40 for a pack of 6, including cute little envelopes. I thought they would be fun to alter and make cutesy. I have looked at them several times in my stash, but decided it was time to dress them up.

I like that they don't really have a theme, and can be used for any occasion that could come up.

How fun will these be to give to those special people who may need a little pick me up or just a note to tell them how much they mean to me.

It's so fun to watch my stack of cards grow, especially with the card exchange we do here. I'm loving it!!!!

LOVE is all you need

2012-01-25T05:41:00.006-07:00

If you've been reading The Happy Scraps long, then you know that I LOVE The Wood Connection! I'm so excited to share this project with you today. It's a project that anyone can do, and it makes a big statement. If you live in Utah and you've never been into The Wood Connection, you should go check them out! Their projects are SO cute, fun and as easy as you want to make them. Today I'll be sharing these cute LOVE letters with you. {This is a post I shared on their blog a couple of days ago.}

To finish these letters, I started by painting the sides and back of the letters {black and pink} and using the wood glue they sell at The Wood Connection, gluing the paper to them, using this technique.
I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to make this cute little banner to hang from the wood letters. I used my Cricut to cut the flags, hearts and letters, using the Doodletype and Birthday Bash cartridges. Then I put them all together.
I then used bakers twine to string them all together!
This is one of those projects that came together quickly, and it was so fun to do! So if you are looking for something cute, easy, and quick to put together for Valentines, head on into The Wood Connection!

******THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED******

Now for the Giveaway!
If you live near Salt Lake City, or come to visit the area, then this giveaway is for you! The Wood Connection has been so generous and would like to give one of The Happy Scraps readers a $25 Gift Certificate to their store! To enter, just leave a comment on this post! *Winner MUST be able to come to the local store, as they do not ship their items.* Giveaway closes on January 27, 2012, 11:59 pm MST. I'll announce the winner Saturday morning. Please make sure your email address is linked in your profile, or leave it with your comment.

Linking to:
Someday Crafts
Seven Thirty Three
Sew Much Ado
Lil' Luna
Oopsey Daisy
Ginger Snap Crafts
Cheap Crafty Mama
I ♥ Nap Time
Making the World Cuter
The Girl Creative
Flamingo Toes
Six Sisters' Stuff
Lolly Jane Boutique
Young and Crafty
Destination: Craft

These wood designs are copyright of The Wood Connection. I was provided with these letters {unfinished} and all the supplies to finish it, from The Wood Connection. If you would like to purchase your own, head to The Wood Connection! They have very reasonable prices.

make a WISH {a big one}

2012-01-23T12:36:00.006-07:00

This month for the card exchange, I decided it would be fun to do birthday cards! It's also my birthday month, so I thought that would be another fun reason to do birthday cards as well. My birthday was on the 13th, so I got a lot of the packages of cards close to my birthday, and that was SO fun!
After being totally stuck when it came to coming up with a card, this is the card that I came up with, and I really like how it turned out!
The stamp I used is one that I found at Wal-mart, and I thought it was such a cute one. The ink is my very favorite brown ink, from American Crafts!
I used some fun Echo Park patterned paper and the cardstock and ribbon are from Stampin' Up.
I'm not really a huge fan of the "chevron" design, {it's growing on me!} but I really like what it has added to this card.
I did run out of the chevron paper, and it was late, so I ended up having to make three cards using this fun brown quartrefoil paper.
I like how they both turned out, and love the bright colors of the cards! I'll be sharing the rest of the cards from the card exchange later this week!

Also, today I'm sharing some fun Valentines Decor over at The Wood Connection! Head on over and check it out!

Linking to:
So Creative
Keeping it Simple
Making the World Cuter
The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craft-O-Maniac

Car Seat Cover - Baby Gift

2012-01-17T10:37:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've been around here. :) It's been a busy week, and I haven't had the chance to be as creative as I would have liked, but I got other things done. Let me just tell you, over the weekend, we pulled the carpet out of the kitchen. Yes, the WHOLE kitchen had carpet in it. We laid 12 in. square linoleum tiles. While this wouldn't be my first choice for floor covering {real tile would be} I have never been SO excited to sweep {not vacuum!} the kitchen floor in my life! It was an exhausting project!
Anywho, I'm sure you didn't stop by today to hear about my kitchen floor. This is a baby gift that I made for my sister. I finished it early last week, but my infant car seat was buried, and I finally got it out to use to take a picture. :)
I used Riley Blake All Star fabric that I had on hand for this. I used the large polka dot for the front...
...and the small brown circle fabric for the back.
I added some large turquoise ric rac for the straps, just to add a little something to it.
I also added large brown ric rac around the edges of the entire thing.
I love how it turned out, and I hope my sister likes it too! Now I just need to get it to her!

Linking to:
Sugar Bee Crafts
Tip Junkie
Creative Itch Boutique
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
I'm Topsy Turvy
Not JUST a Housewife

Let It Snow...5 Minute Project!

2012-01-09T05:53:00.002-07:00

Since I took all of my Christmas decor down, my walls and shelves have been a little bare. I got out my Winter decorations, and some of my year round decor to fill in, but it still looked bare. One of the things I decided I wanted to do was to find a fun plate and put some vinyl on it. Ever since I did this one, I've been thinking about different ones I can do for different times of the year. I decided that I wanted something to go on my shelf next to where put my Snow letters. I was thinking a plate with a snowflake on it, but I wasn't sure if it would turn out how I was picturing it in my head. I headed to Tai Pan Trading again, and found this pretty plate. When I went I was picturing a pale blue plate with white vinyl. When I saw this plate, I thought it would be pretty with a gray snowflake to match the edges.
I used the wintertime lace cartridge to cut the snowflake, and stuck it on.
It does match the edges of the plate pretty well. When I decided to use the gray vinyl, I was hesitant that it would be too dark, but I like how it turned out.
I think it goes rather well next the the Snow letters. I got me some new snow letters this year, but I don't know if they'll get finished before the cold, wintry season is over. :)

I hope you've enjoyed my 5 minute project, and are inspired by it to do something easy and quick! Thanks for stopping by The Happy Scraps!

Linking to:
So Creative
Keeping it Simple
Making the World Cuter
The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Craft-O-Maniac

Magnetic Family Home Evening Board

2012-01-04T08:04:00.005-07:00

This is another Christmas gift I gave that I wanted to share with you. A few months ago, my sister in law had seen my Family Home Evening board {that is nothing like this one} and said that she wanted one. Well, I had her name for Christmas, and had been trying to think of what I could give her. Then I remembered the conversation I'd had with her about wanting a FHE board, so I decided to make one for her. I didn't have the stuff to make one with wood, but I thought I could come up with something with this magnet board that I had on hand. This was a simple project, it just took time {as any project does!}.

For the vinyl on the magnet board I used a light green, and I started by cutting out all the vinyl with my Lyrical Letters cartridge on my Cricut. In an effort to have as little vinyl waste as possible when cutting, I didn't line the words up how I wanted them on the board, I just cut them out and then lined them up with each other. I used LOTS of scotch tape to get these straight, and then I had to figure out the spacing on the magnet board. But it all worked out in the end, and I am pleased with the result!
I used gray vinyl to cut the names and put them on chipboard lined cardstock with magnets on the back. Because they only have two kids so far, there are two tags without a name, so they can add others later if they'd like.
I was pretty excited about how this turned out, and I just might make myself one like this because the one I have I don't have space to hang anywhere, but I have space for one this size! We'll have to see!

Linking to:
Oopsey Daisy
Ginger Snap Crafts
Sweet Peas & Bumblebees
Lil' Luna
Sew Much Ado
Seven Thirty Three
Someday Crafts

January Handmade Card Exchange

2012-01-02T15:09:00.002-07:00

Happy New Year!! Are you ready for the January Handmade Card Exchange?! I am, I'm itching to get back into scrapbooking, paper crafting and creating now that I've had a couple of weeks off. :) Here are the details.

If you want to participate, leave a comment ON THIS POST letting me know, AND also send me an email at thehappyscraps(at)yahoo(dot)com. This way you don't have to leave your email address public, and in case blogger is having issues, then I will know that you want to participate. Also others will be able to see how many are signed up.
We will cap the participation number at 20 people. {If we don't get that many, we'll just go with it.}
For those that participate, the theme will be birthday cards. You will make a set amount of birthday cards, all the same, and then I will have you mail the cards to me, along with a self addressed stamped envelope with the same amount of postage on it, that it cost you to mail the cards to me.
I will sort the cards, and mail them out to the participants. :)
The card size needs to be 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. We will NOT exchange envelopes.
I'll let people sign up until January 6th, or until there are 20 people, whichever comes first. I will give everyone until the 11th of January to get their cards made and in the mail to me, and I hope to have them all sent back out by January 16th.
This exchange/swap is open to US residents only.

Oh and one last thing...if you have friends that you know would be interested in participating in this, let them know, spread the word! This is going to be fun!

Nursing Cover - Baby Gift

2011-12-30T17:51:00.003-07:00

A month or so ago, my cute sister in law, Anna, called me and asked if I'd help her make a nursing cover as a gift for a friend. I was excited that she would ask me, and it was fun to get together to create something with someone else. She had picked out this fun fabric, and we got to work.
We looked up this tutorial on how to do it, but made some adjustments. Anna and I both thought it needed to be more than just one layer thick of fabric, so this nursing cover is two sided. We didn't use the D rings either, we just tied a bow at the end of the straps.
One of my favorite parts of this is that the fabric from the back peeks over the top, and lines the front.
This was an easy project, to do, that didn't take too long, but with figuring out the adjustments that we made, it did add a little extra time to the original tutorial.
Anna said her friend loved this gift, and I'm glad I could help her make it for her friend. :)

Linking to:
Tatertots and Jello
A Little Knick Knack
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Creative Itch

2011 Top Ten Posts

2011-12-29T15:39:00.013-07:00

I'll keep this short and sweet, but I wanted to do a Top Ten post for 2011, so here it is!
#10
This quilt I made for my son.

#9
America Blocks.

#8
Family Everyday Decor.

#7
Conversation Heart Decor.

#6
Back to School Teacher Gift.

#5
I'm Thankful banner.

#4
4th of July Decor.

#3
Back to School Teacher Gift.

#2
Happy Birthday Decor.

and the #1 viewed post for 2011 is:
Teacher Appreciation Gift.

Also, a big shout out and Thank You to the Top 5 Referring Blogs:

#1 Sisters Stuff
#2 Sassy Sites
#3 The Creative Crate
#4 The Wood Connection
#5 The Creative Itch Boutique

It's been kind of fun to go back and see what the most popular posts for the year have been. I used google analytics to figure them out, and some of them surprise me! I hope you enjoy taking a peek at the popular ones. :) Thank you all for reading The Happy Scraps, and I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Linked to:
Southern Hospitality
Fingerprints on the Fridge
Someday Crafts
Pocket Full of Pink
Craft Junkie Too
A Little Knick Knack
Tatertots & Jello

Gifts for Grandma

2011-12-28T06:14:00.006-07:00

This year we had my mom come and spend the evening on Christmas Eve with us and she was here for Christmas day as well. It was fun to have her here. The kids were excited to spend some time with grandma. On Christmas Eve she made egg nog for us {that was yummy!} and we read some Christmas stories with the kids.
Anyway, I realized a few days before Christmas that Grandma was only going to have one gift to open on Christmas morning, so I took the boys out shopping to pick up a few more gifts. I also made a couple. I asked Debbie if she had any ideas of what I could make for her, and she suggested a book like this. She had seen it on pinterest. {I didn't ever see it on there though, so this is what I came up with from what she told me about.}
This is a little book made with paint sample color cards.
I used some chipboard for the front and back covers, then cut some patterned paper to make it cute. I used some black ink to distress the edges, then added the fun ribbon. I just hand wrote the small letters and words, and used some smaller thickers for the words.
I helped all my boys trace their hands on the cards, and then on the rest I had them finish the sentence "I love grandma because..." Before I got all the cards done, my little two year old got the pen and scribbled on all of them, but they were still usable. :)
Another quick project I did was this treat jar. I picked up the jar at Walmart for $5 and cut {with the Lyrical Letters and Doodletype Cricut cartridges} and stuck the vinyl on. I put some treats in it as well, so she should be well stocked for when the grandkids come and play at her house.

She seemed to be excited about the gifts that she received!

Linking to:
Someday Crafts
Seven Thirty Three
Sweet Peas and Bumblebees
Sew Much Ado
Lil' Luna
Ginger Snap Crafts
Fingerprints on the Fridge
A Little Knick Knack
Craft Junkie Too
Tatertots & Jello

Grandparent Gift

2011-12-27T16:00:00.006-07:00

I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!! I know we enjoyed Christmas around here, but I'm glad it's over. :) My husband had the day off yesterday, so we took the chance to get all of the Christmas decor put away, and it feels good to have that done. Our house looks bare now without all that decor! I'm sure it won't for long though.
Now that Christmas is over, I can show you some of the handmade gifts I gave this year. A while back, I saw this cute sign {I can't find the original link. :(} on Pinterest. When I saw it, I KNEW I wanted to make some for my mom and mother-in-law for Christmas. This is how they turned out, and I love them. And my mom and MIL did too!!
I made them with the same color scheme, but I did them opposite and I can't decide which one I like better. :)
For the board, I used some thin MDF that I found in the scrap wood bin at Home Depot. It cost me $1 for enough MDF to make four of these boards. I bought the clothes pins for a few dollars, and I had the ribbon and vinyl, so this project was VERY inexpensive.

I used this adorable Stampin' Up ribbon, that I absolutely love, to hang these boards with.

I used the mid sized clothes pins for the pictures to hang from, and just used the hot glue gun to adhere them. I wanted to paint them or do something with them but Christmas came to fast! Isn't that how it always goes?
To cut the vinyl, I used my Cricut with the Stamped and Lyrical Letters cartridges.
These boards will fit a wallet size picture, and they are easy to change out! I love when I can find or make a gift that is perfect for the receiver and it's something they seem excited about! I'll be showing you a few more gifts this week, so stay tuned!

Linking to:
Sugar Bee Crafts
Tip Junkie
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Not JUST A Housewife
Sew Much Ado
Ginger Snap Crafts
Lil' Luna
Someday Crafts
Seven Thirty Three
Sweet Peas and Bumblebees
Fingerprints on the Fridge
A Little Knick Knack
Craft Junkie Too
Tatertots & Jello

The Halls are Decked!

2011-12-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

I think I've got all of my Christmas decor up now, so I thought I'd do a post with it all in one. :)

When we first started having kids, we picked up these stockings from Walmart. We only got enough for my husband and I and two kids. Well, now we have four kids, and they don't sell them anymore. Even though we don't use these stockings anymore, I decided to hang them with our stocking hangers {that we got years ago at an after Christmas clearance sale and I don't think we've ever used them!}.
Last year I picked up these six cheap stockings from Walmart, so that we had enough for our whole family. I wrapped some greenery around the top and bottom of the banister, and then used some red polka dot ribbon to tie the stockings to the rail. I think it's kind of fun. This is the view from the front door.
Here are my Joy blocks and also my Christmas countdown. I made both of these last year.
And our tree, along with the ruffled tree skirt.
Here is the Mini Muffin Tin Advent Calendar. Although I had it last year, it didn't get used, so it's a fun addition this year.
This is the Christmas part of the Merry Christmas blocks that I did last year as well.
Of course I can't forget the Dr. Seuss trees, that my boys made. I ♥ them!
Here is the Tabletop Manger as well.
And last but not least, my Silhouette Nativity. I LOVE this one.
I didn't get everything made this year like I would have liked to {but knew I probably wouldn't!} but I did get more done than I thought I would. I hope you've enjoyed seeing all of the decor for the season this year!

Wooden Silhouette Nativity

2011-12-19T06:50:00.007-07:00

Growing up, my mom had a couple of nativities that she would get out at Christmas time, that I loved to sit and look at. She had an olive wood nativity that she picked up years ago when she visited the Holy Land, and she also had a ceramic one that she kept closed in her curio cabinet. I always knew that having a nativity was just part of Christmas. I loved to look at the baby Jesus {I also loved to pick him up and hold him} and all of the other pieces. Since we've been married, I've wanted to get a nice nativity, but it just hasn't ever happened. For the last few years, this is the one that I've wanted, but I'm still just hoping for that someday. :)
When I saw this Nativity at The Wood Connection, I knew I wanted it for a few reasons. It is less that $20, my kids can touch it and I'm okay with it, and I enjoy finishing these things and making them my own.
I painted the whole set with charcoal colored paint, and then distressed it with sandpaper. I love the look it gave.
My little two year old likes to take baby Jesus and play with him, and it makes me happy.
I decided to go with antique silver glitter for the star. I'm more of a silver kinda girl than gold.
The wisemen.
The shepherd and the animals.

I'm so excited to have a nativity in our home this year.
We also decided that this would be a fun thing to give to a family for the 12 days of Christmas, so each night we've been leaving a piece at the door. It's been fun for our kids. I hope the family that we chose enjoys their nativity too.

Linking to:
So Creative
Keeping it Simple
Making the World Cuter
The Girl Creative
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Sassy Sites
Sugar Bee Crafts
Tip Junkie
Today's Creative Blog
Not JUST a Housewife

These wood designs are copyright of The Wood Connection. I purchased them unfinished. If you are in Utah and would like to purchase your own, head to The Wood Connection! They have very reasonable prices.

Handmade Christmas Gift Tag Exchange

2011-12-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

Every year at Christmas time I see pictures of the perfectly wrapped gifts sitting under the Christmas tree, with cute tags and all. Every year I think to myself, "I'm going to have gifts that look like that" and it never happens. While I don't think it's going to happen this year either, I do know that I'm going to have some cute tags for at least a few of the gifts under the tree! Check out all these fun tags we got in the most recent exchange!

Here is Breanne's tag. I love the piece of 'candy'!
This is Debbie's tag, and I LOVE the coal! Where did you find those?!
Juleen made these tags, and the trees made from paper triangles are my favorite part on this one.
How cute are these Santa tags with a pop tab on them?! Tiffany and her mom made these...
...and these. The different fonts on this are so fun!
Shaneen did these tags and I love the dry embossed paper on the back.
These are Lori's tags, and isn't that snowman so cute?!
Sarah sent these and I think they are so fun. I love that she put some glittery raised dots on some of the tree dots. It's so fun!
And these are mine.
Thank you all again for participating in these exchanges! It's a lot of work, but it is SO fun to see everyone's creations and get some fun mail! I can't wait for next month, watch for the sign up after the first of the year. Since January is my birthday month, we'll be exchanging birthday cards.

Christmas Gift Tag

2011-12-13T17:43:00.005-07:00

If you've been reading for a couple of months, then you probably know that I've been doing handmade card exchanges. This month I thought it would be fun to do a handmade Christmas tag exchange. This is the tag that I came up with for it. I had a cartridge for my Cricut that is all Christmas tags, but I didn't just cut one out, I altered it a little.

I added some glitter to the swirls in the light bulb and I think it's fun!
I finally got all the tags in the mail today, so I'll post the rest of the tags in the next day or two.
Now if only I could get my shopping all done, gifts all wrapped (with cute tag), all before Christmas Eve, I'll be doing great! Are you done shopping and wrapping? Please tell me I'm not alone. :)

Linking to:
Sugar Bee Crafts
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Lil' Luna
Sew Much Ado
Ginger Snap Crafts

Away in a Manger...

2011-12-12T09:23:00.003-07:00

...no crib for his bed.
This is one of my favorite hymns that we sing in church at Christmas time.
A couple of years ago, I saw a manger at The Wood Connection, and I LOVED it. I never did get one, because it was a little bit bigger than I thought I had storage space for. Well, this year, they came out with a Table Top Manger! I was so excited! I picked one up as soon as they were available. I got my paint out and got to work.
I couldn't let the star go un-glittered!
I used my Cricut and Lyrical Letters cartridge to cut vinyl for the front of the manger. I also distressed the edges.
I filled it up with raffia for the straw. For Family Home Evening tonight we are going to talk about the kinds of gifts that we can give Christ for Christmas, and when we do those things, we are going to write them on a strip of paper and put them in the manger. On Christmas eve, we will read all of the gifts that we gave to Christ, and hopefully this will help my young boys to learn better the true meaning of Christmas. {I'm also hoping that it helps to de-stress the season for me!}
I'm really excited about this addition to our Christmas decorations this year, and I hope my boys are too, and that we can make this activity a tradition at our house.

Linking to:
So Very Creative
Keeping it Simple
Making the World Cuter
The Girl Creative
Skip to my Lou
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Sugar Bee Crafts
Ginger Snap Crafts
Lil' Luna
Sew Much Ado

These wood designs are copyright of The Wood Connection. I purchased them unfinished. If you are in Utah and would like to purchase your own, head to The Wood Connection! They have very reasonable prices.

Winner, Winner, Winner!!

2011-12-09T08:43:00.006-07:00

Are you ready to see who won the giveaway?! First off I want to say Thank You to all that read this blog and take the time to comment and let us know you like the stuff here. :)
On to the winners!
The winner of the HOME letters is.... #11 Maria!

The winner of the Echo Park Paper, Dots & Stripes is...#57 Steph.

And the fabric goes to...#70 Tawnya!

If you are Maria, Steph, or Tawnya, check your email, and respond soon. If I don't hear from you within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner.

Our Dr. Seuss Trees

2011-12-08T06:17:00.001-07:00

The other day while shopping at The Wood Connection, I asked my five year old if he wanted to pick something out for him and his brothers to do as a Christmas craft. He picked out these fun trees that make me think of Dr. Seuss. :) With a little bit of guidance from mom, my boys did these. They painted the tree part the color to match the glitter they picked out, and then we let the paint dry. After that, I helped them coat the tree fronts with Mod Podge and dumped the glitter on. They were all pretty excited about it.

I LOVE the glitter on all of them, but I think this one is my favorite. Glitter is so much more fun to use when you can get it to do what you want it to do.

It may have been hard for me and my OCD to let my boys do this project, but it was worth it! They love to look at their trees and know that they made them! And now that they are done, my OCD is back under control, lol! Although, I may tie a ribbon or two around some of the trunks...

So what do you think, do they look like Dr. Seuss trees to you?

Linking to:
Seven Thirty Three
Somewhat Simple
Katie's Nesting Spot
House of Hepworths
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Between U & Me
It's Fun to craft!

Ruffled Tree Skirt

2011-12-07T08:27:00.001-07:00

I've been married to my husband for 10 years, and we have never had a tree skirt. Every year when we get the Christmas decorations out, I think, "I'm going to make a tree skirt this year" and it never happened, until this year! These ruffled tree skirts seem to be all the rage over on pinterest. I have three different ones pinned, but I didn't read the instructions on any of them, I just winged it. :) I had heard that you could do it with a glue gun though, so that is what I did. I think that I'd sew it if I had it to do over again. I just got into my stash of fabric and cut 4" strips of the colors, and the burlap is 5". One thing I did learn...it takes A LOT more fabric than I thought it would. I had an old fitted sheet {that wasn't so fitted anymore} that I cut up for the base of the skirt. It took lots of glue sticks, but it did seem to come together rather quickly.

When I started cutting fabric, I thought I'd do the burlap, maroon, then green, and then I'd repeat. I used ALL my burlap on the first row. By the time I got done with the first row, I figured this project was going to be hopeless and I'd have to run out and buy more fabric the next day, or scratch the whole idea. I did the second row, and then the third. Obviously, with each row you use less fabric, so I did end up having enough to go as far as I did, minus the burlap. And I like it. If all goes as planned it will be covered up by gifts soon anyway. {Who and I kidding, I'm the mom that's up 1/2 the night on Christmas Eve, wrapping presents!}
It makes me happy to have a cute girly skirt under the tree, with my house full of boys. As you can see, I don't have a fancy tree, with a theme or anything, it's a mish mash of all the ornaments we've collected over the last 10 years, and all the ones that my boys have made along the way as well. But I do enjoy getting them all out and remembering the memories that come from making them with my boys.

What kind of tree skirt do you have?
Don't forget to enter the giveaway, click here!

Linking to:
Someday Crafts
Seven Thirty Three
Sew Much Ado
Lil' Luna
Sweet Peas & Bumblebees
Ginger Snap Crafts

Mini Muffin Tin Advent Calendar

2011-12-05T16:46:00.005-07:00

I have a friend who sells Stampin' Up and does fun classes that I enjoy going to. Last year she did this fun Mini Muffin Tin Advent Calendar, but I never got the strips of paper made up and put in it, so it just hung on my wall and looked cute. Well, this year, although I'm a few days behind, I did get the papers printed and put in today. I'm excited to use it, and I know my boys will be too.
I love the brown, cream, dark red and green color scheme we used on it, and it matches the tree skirt I just finished, that I hope to show you soon.
I was excited to find a place to put it this year too. I have SO many Christmas decorations that I don't even use them all, and I keep making stuff! lol! I can't help myself, I'm addicted to crafting!
So every day we will take one of the covers off and read the paper that is inside. Then hopefully, we'll do it. ;) I have good intentions, but I did tell my boys that it just might not happen every day!
Here is the list of activities that I came up with.

1. Make a Christmas craft

2. Make a Christmas tree ornament

3. Get a Christmas tree

4. Watch a Christmas movie

5. Build a snowman with marshmallows

6. Make a Christmas Tree ornament

7. Read a Christmas story

8. Go look at Christmas lights

9. Do a Christmas puppet show

10. Go Ice skating

11. Go to a Christmas party

12. Make a Christmas Tree ornament

13. Do the 12 days of Christmas to a family

14. Draw a Christmas picture

15. Write a letter to Natalie

16. Write a letter to Santa

17. Visit Santa Clause

18. Family Game Night

19. Go Christmas Caroling

20. Make a Gingerbread house w/graham crackers

21. Make Christmas cookies

22. Make treats for friends, and deliver them

23. Make paper snow flakes

24. Do something nice for a family member

As I was making this list, I looked at the calendar to see when we had stuff going on. Like the 10th, we are going ice skating for a family party, and on the 11th, we have another party to go to. Seeing this list is helping me to be excited for this holiday season as well. I really want to make some good memories with my kids this year, since they are at such fun ages. I just hope I don't get too stressed out doing activities and trying to be ready for Christmas at the same time!

Do you use an advent calendar? How do you do it? What are some of the activities that you do?

DON'T FORGET! You can still enter the giveaway for some awesome prizes here!

Linked to:
So Very Creative
Making the World Cuter
Skip to my Lou
Craft-O-Maniac
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
diy home sweet home
Tip Junkie
Sugar Bee Crafts
Sassy Sites