Sharing our Christmas!

This post is not going to be about anything crafty but just sharing our personal Christmas with all of my friends.  As most of my followers and friends here know, we celebrated on Saturday with my hubby, my son, his soon-to-be wife (Andrew doesn't like the word fiancee), and my parents.  Below are a few pictures of the fun times we had:

And I just want to add a big MERRY CHRISTMAS  to all of my family, friends and followers.  Thank you for being such a special part of my life this year.  May you all enjoy the holidays! 

{{{{{BIG HUGS}}}}}. Heather

Tag Extravaganza!

Good Morning Everyone!  Just thought I would stop in for a couple of minutes and post some pictures of tags that I made for the gifts we actually exchanged this weekend.  I did not post them beforehand as I think a couple of the recepients come here once in a while (Hi Dad and Emma....waving!).

In our family we exchanged names and just did a stocking for the person whose name we received.  I made these tags using Winter Woodland font and Very Merry Tags designed on my Gypsy.  They were actually one of the first things I truly designed using it. 

These next tags I made more than one of each and attached them to the presents for the great nieces and nephews, godchildren and a couple of goodies bags I shared with some friends of my treats I baked. 

That's it for today!  We had a fantastic "Christmas" on Sunday and I will share a couple of pictures probably tomorrow.  I am tired and still spending many hours working this week but all of the hard work and lack of sleep paid off and it was fun.

Take care, my friends1  Have a wonderful day.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

Good morning, my friends!

Well, since my last post that had me panicking about how little time was left and how much I had to do, I have TOTALLY neglected my blog but got almost everything done!!!  Work the next two days and finish up some of the small projects the next two evenings and I HOPE I am good to go.  Oh, did I forget to mention that I need to be ready for Christmas a week early as we are celebrating Saturday, December 18th???  :)

The fact that I am no longer freaking out is NOT my big announcement though.  Are you ready???????

I have been chosen for MY VERY FIRST DESIGN TEAM!!!  I will be designing for Paper Playtime as a Winter 2011 Queen.  I will have more details later as I am literally running out the door to work but wanted to share my exciting news with you all.

Take care,  and have a wonderful day!!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Time is Getting Awwwwaaaaayyyyy!!!!

Good evening, my friends!  I hope everyone is doing well and that unlike me, you are not panicking yet about all you still have to do for Christmas.  I think my family is tired of me "talking" about it and just wants me to "do" something about it.  So as soon as I finish up here, I am off to do some baking.

I can not believe that today is December 10th already.  Time is just flying by and it is also running out.  I have a million and one paper crafting projects dancing around my head that I wanted to make for Christmas but ummm....maybe next year.  I still have not finished the project I wanted to share a few days ago but I do have a card that has not been shared yet for today:

I used Winter Woodland for the snowflake and the scalloped circle.  The sentiment is heat embossed with white.  The snowflakes were sprayed with Glimmer Mist to add shine although it does not show up here at all.  I always try to do at least one rather traditional card that I send to my aunts and uncles so I believe this one is it.  I have a few more cards to finish but by the end of the weekend they should be done and ready to mail.  :)

Thanks for stopping by today.  I have a big announcement coming up next week and it is great news but it's a secret for now.  You will just have to continue stopping by to find out what it is.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend, y'all!  

{{{{{HUGS}}}}. Heather

Winner of the 'Tis the Season Mini Album

First off, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all for the wonderful comments you left me about my mini album.  And a big welcome to my new followers.  I hope I continue to inspire you in my little corner of this big crafting world.  I enjoy sharing my projects with others.

And now on to the winner.  I used random.org to pick my winner and it is:

Amanda Finamore said...

Adorable!!!! I have been collecting tp rolls from our house and my moms (Momma K) haha and have been wanting to make minis...they are just so stinkin cute!! Super simple too

TFS

Amanda

And what I am finding super special about this is that Amanda's Mom and I have been meaning to meet up for a long time because we actually live fairly close so now I can meet both Amanda and Kerry after this crazy busy time.  I am SOOOOOO excited.  Congratulations, Amanda.  I have sent you an e-mail to find out your word preference.

Take care, my friends1  I hope to be back with a new post later today as I have been working on something I want to share.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}},  Heather



'Tis the Season Blog Hop

Welcome to 'Tis the Season Blog hop.  If you've arrived from Christine's blog then you are on the right trail.  If you have just arrived at my blog, you can go to Iva's blog  to start at the beginning of the hop and check out all of the talented ladies on this hop.  It runs from Friday, Dec. 4th to Sunday, Dec. 5th so there is lots of time to visit everyone and see all of the great projects.

For my project, I made my very first mini album.  I really wish I was able to do a video with this project for you because it would have been awesome to actually share it page by page on a video but pictures will have to do.  Be warned, there will be LOTS of pictures in this post and it will be long.  :)

The album:

This album is made from toilet paper rolls.  I had seen it made before and wanted to try one so it is definitely not my original idea but my spin on it.  Each is cut at a different size:  2 1/2", 3", 3 1/2" and the last one is 4", the whole length of a toilet paper roll.  I punched a hole and put it together with binder rings and lots of pretty ribbons.  Paper was added to cover the rolls and inked around all of the edges. 

Each of the pages:

Each letter was cut at 3 1/4" a few times and glued together to resemble chipboard.  All edges were inked.  And all pages include an embellishment.  You could put quotes or small pictures on each of the pages.  That would be up to you.  I am going to try and find some pictures of snow fall, etc. throughout the years to put in mine.

The tags:

The tags were cut by hand (I could have used a cartridge but was it was just as easy to do this).  Each tag is 1/4" smaller than the page itself and tucked in behind each letter.  I embellished them with snowflakes and a pearl instead of ribbon to be pulled out.  Again, pictures or quotes could be added.  Each of them were inked around the edges. 

Supplies Used:

DCWV 'Tis the Season patterned paper

Recollections card stock

Lyrical Letters Cricut cartridge, jumbo font

Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge for all embellishments

Misc. ribbon, bling, ink from my stash

For those of you still with me, I hope you enjoy looking at my project as much as I did making it.  It was fun.  I do have some blog candy for you.  I will make a toilet paper roll mini album for you with your choice of word (and ummm....yep, 4 letters works best but please choose carefully).  To be totally honest, this will not get out to you before the holidays as I am swamped with work and other things to do, but will be mailed early in the New Year.  All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post with a way to get ahold of you to find out what word you would like and colours.  You do not have to be a follower of my blog but it would be nice.  I will use random.org to pick the winner on Monday, Dec. 6th.

Okay, a big thank you to Iva for hostessing this blog hop and allowing me to be a part of it.  The next stop on your route is  my friend Kerry's blog.  Happy hopping, my friends.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather



It's Snowing...Men!

Good morning, y'all!  How do you like my catchy title?  A take off of the song "It's Raining Men"...corny but that's whatcha get for being up WAAAYYYYY too early on a day off.  Are you singing that song yet and have I given you a tune wedgie?  As you have gathered I am highlighting a set of snowmen cards that I made.  And here they are:

The set:



Close ups of the cards:

Supplies Used:

All Recollections cardstock and patterned paper

Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge, snowmen and all layers cut at 3"

Winter Woodland Cricut cartridge, tag cut at 3 1/2"

Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls embossing folder

Peachy Keen stamps - Everyday Character Face Assortment

Snowman ribbon from Michaels

Misc. Stickles

I made 10 cards, 2 of each snowman wearing the reverse colours and still have a few "extra" pieces cut out to make some more.  I ran out of ribbon and need to pick up some more to finish them.

Thanks again to my wonderful friends for stopping by.  Enjoy the "men" in my life and have a great day!!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

A Blog Award!

We interrupt my Christmas posting to bring to you an award I received from a wonderful friend, Tara, over at Homemade Happiness. 

With this award, I am supposed to thank the person who sent it to me, tell you 8 things about myself and pass it on to 8 blogs that you have recently discovered.

So,  thank you Tara for this award and for your kind words about my blog.  I appreciate you thinking of me and your faithful comments on my posts.

Now, eight things about me:

1.  Christmas is my favourite time of year!

2.  I was married December 27th almost 7 years ago because it is my fave time of year.

3.  I have one son who will be getting married on Mother's Day next year.

4.  As well as card making and scrap booking, I spend time reading and knitting.

5.  Starting up my own card making business is on my bucket list...and hopefully it would bring in enough income that I could work from home

6.  I work part time at a local craft store, and do bring home most of my paycheck as I need it to pay bills :)

7.  I love snow and am anxiously waiting for it this year.

8.  I have enjoyed getting to know each and every one of the new people I have "met" since creating this blog less than a year ago.  And a big THANK YOU to all of you that have become my followers and I hope I can inspire you to create.

And now to pass it on:

This is the part that I find the hardest.  Every blog on my list is one that has inspired me or it would not be there.  So, with no further ado, I pass this award on to:

MiLinda at  http://iamacraftymama.blogspot.com/ - I work with her IRL and she is always so encouraging to me with my creations.

Kerry at http://mommakcrafts.blogspot.com/ - I know she already received this from someone else but as a fellow Canadian who I hope to meet one day she gives me lots of encouragement.

Janis at http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/- She has inspired me to start a mini book of me so my family will not only know their history but mine as well.

Michelle at http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/ - Again, a fellow Canadian who I found through another message board that I frequent and who inspires me and betcha she has no clue that she does :)

Holly at http://kricutkween.blogspot.com/ - Okay, wasn't really going for a theme here, but Holly is another Canadian.  She was one of my first followers and continues to inspire me.

Tracey at http://thecroppingcanuck.blogspot.com/ - Umm.....yep. again with the theme.  Tracey is usually one of the first to comment on my posts either here or on Facebook and she is so creative.

Alisha at http://throughmommyseyes.blogspot.com/ - Alisha is my niece.  Although not a "crafty" blog and is not updated a whole lot,  she inspires me as she raises her 2 (very soon to be 3) beautiful children.

Christy at http://blessyourhearteh.blogspot.com/ - Christy is a great blogger, scrapbooker and friend, who, although born in the US and resides there again now, lived in Canada for a while and I miss her.

I will let these ladies know I have passed this award to them.  And, Janis, I think you need to become an "honourary" Canadian as you are the only one who is not on my list :)

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a great day!!!!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Stocking Cards

Good Tuesday morning, y'all!  I have finished mass producing a few Christmas cards this weekend and will show you a couple of them in the coming days.  If I am able to do the same this weekend I will have my cards finished by the end of November and ready to mail.  I am extemely happy about this as I usually am scrambling at the last minute to finish up and mail them on time.

Here are 8 little cards that I did all using items from my stash and a package of $1.50 stocking shaped cards that I purchased at Michaels.  I thought buying these preshaped cards would be easy and make a few cards so simple to make....wrong!  It took a lot of thought on how to decorate these and since I bought 2 packages I made 8 of these and 8 of a different design that I will share later as they are not quite finished.

Enjoy!

Have a great day and I hope to see you back here tomorrow with another card.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

It's Christmas Time in the Blog World.....

Good evening, my friends.  I have some great new projects that I have been working on for the past couple of days and I will share them with you in the next couple of days.  But tonight I just wanted to share with you another blog hop that is coming up.  It is a joint blog hop by Emma at Creative Time for Me and Nikki at Scrappin' Navy Wife. 




Another one on my can't miss list....I think I am gonna need to ask for time off work to be at all these blog hops. 

I would really like to add a few things to my blog and so I have asked if there is anyone who reads this who is willing to help me make a blinkie or button and a signature if they could get in touch with me.  I'm not very computer literate when it comes to things like this and I need to spice it up for me.  Maybe someday I will get a real makeover that actually costs money but for now I have to be content with what I can do ( or actually can't do without some help at the moment) to be happy with my blog.

Take care and I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. 

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Owl Card

Good morning, y'all!  It has been a LONG time since I posted anything on here.  I want to welcome some new followers as well.  No excuse, just life getting in the way.  Finally last night I was able to spend a few minutes in my craft room and play with my newest cartridge Winter Frolic.  And this is the card that was created:

Supplies Used:

Cardstock - Recollections from Michaels, Patterned Paper - Basic Grey Dasher collection

Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge - owl and all layers cut at 3"

Oval cutter from Creative Memories

Sentiment is computer generated, cut out with Stampin Up Word Window punch

"Christmas" stamp from Michaels $1.50 bin, heat embossed with white embossing powder

glitter for hat, googly eyes and white gel pen add details

I think it turned out so cute.  After I made this card I did some catching up on some of the blogs that I follow and found a very similar card posted at Made by Momo here.  She has always inspired me and I guess I have really been learning from her as I even almost cased her card perfectly.  Love you Momo!!!  :)

Thank you for stopping by today.  As time permits, I hope to get some more cards and projects done by the end of this week.  But we will see!

Take care, my friends.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather







Guardian Angel Card

Good morning, my friends! 

I have a quick card to share with you today.  It was a very difficult card for me to make.  My niece asked me to make it for her to send to a friend of hers who has recently lost a baby girl.  She wanted an angel on the card.  I didn't want it to be a totally sad card so I used pastel colours and a bit of glitter as well.  I liked how it turned out and I hope it helps my niece's friend know that someone is thinking of her at this hard time in her life.

Recipe:

Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge, angel cut at 3 3/4"

Peachy Keen Everyday Doll stamp

My Pink Stamper Everyday Occasions stamp

Fiskers Threading Water border punch

Misc. paper, ribbon and stickles

Have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend.  I hope to be around for a bit with a new project to share or a challenge to complete but if not,  make it a good one and I will see you all back here soon.

Take care.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Christmas Card for Two Challenges

Good morning, all!  The card I am sharing with you I made and it is for 2 challenges at two of my favourite blogs: Paper Playtime where the challenge was to use a clock, ticket or tag and Made by Momo where the challenge was to use embossing.

Now I know I am my worst critic but this card is not at all as I envisioned it.  And I am not sure that I even like it that much but it's done :)  There were many little steps to get it this way.  First I used two $1.50 stamps from Michaels and water coloured them.  I used the tag maker punch from Creative Memories to make the tag and added the large ornament and button to it .  The light blue paper was run through the Cuttlebug with the D'Vine Swirls folder and the sentiment was heat embossed with silver.  All edges were inked with a blue colour.  The silver glitter paper was punched with an EK Success border punch.  And the final step was lots and lots of glitter glue.  I like the look but this is what I am not sure of as it made the white paper curl.  Maybe I should have used less. 

Thanks for dropping by today.  Hope you have a great one!  I am off to work so no time to play.  Take care my friends.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Christmas Changes

Good afternoon. my friends!  I have just changed my blog background, etc. for Christmas and am sure I will change it again before then but wanted to keep my pink theme.  What do y'all think?  I LIKE IT!!!

Today I updated my Gypsy with the 6 new cartridges and hopefully I will have a few minutes to play after I finish my chores.

Have a wonderful day.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

A Christmas Blog Hop

Good Morning.  Well even though I do not have anything that I have made to share with you today I just wanted to let you all know about a blog hop that my friend Janis and her design queens are doing for Christmas.  You can read about all the details here at Janis' blog. 

Everyone enjoys making inexpensive stocking stuffers or just a little something for someone that you want to give.  I am really looking forward to it. 

Take care my friends.  See you soon!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}, Heather

A Slight Change of Pace - Wedding/50th Anniversary Album

Good Thursday morning!  Yep, you guessed it.  Four days in a row.  But this post is not a Christmas project.  Does anyone remember how excited I was to finally get back into my scrapbooking room last week after I had not been doing much crafting?  Well, this is what got me back in there.  About a year ago I started an album for me of my parents wedding pictures and the pictures from their 50th wedding anniversary.  I had barely looked at it for a LONG time.  I pulled it out to work on and am happy to say that I have completed the following four layouts and am excited to get back to it when I can find some time. 

The colours that I am using for the whole album are black, white and silver with a pop of red.  I will share more layouts as I finish them. 

Again,  thanks for coming by.  Enjoy your day!!!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Christmas Tags

Good morning!  Today is the third day I have posted a Christmas project in a row.  Yeah.....go me!!!  :)

Late in the season last year I bought the Very Merry Tags Seasonal Cricut cartridge and did not use it at all for last Christmas.  So I pulled it out the other day and found numerous treasures on it.  I did not have a lot of time to play with it yet but here are a few of the tags I came up with.  These would be great to use by themselves on a gift, on a card, on a scrapbook page or wherever else you see them.  Have any suggestions?
I am sure by the time Christmas comes I will have tried all 50 of them!!

Thanks again for stopping by.  Have a wonderful Wednesday, my friends.  I am off to work.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Winter Wishes/Joy Christmas Cards

Good morning!  Didn't I tell (or warn) y'all that I may be back more than usual around Christmas time???  Two days in a row and counting.....tomorrow may make it three :)

Below are two fairly easy quick Christmas cards that I made into kits to take to my class today for the ladies to make.  The "Winter Wishes" one does not use any Cricut cuts but is done with punches.  The Cuttlebug folder that is used is called Little Bubbles.  The "Joy" is cut out from Create A Critter reindeer phrase at 1 1/4", the scalloped circle is from Sentimentals at 4" and the circle is from Accent Essentials cut at 3 1/2".  The small white circle is run through the Divine Swirls Cuttlebug folder.  Both cards are 4 1/4" X 5 1/2" to fit a standard A2 envelope.  I hope the ladies enjoy making them.  I know I did!

Thanks for dropping by. Have a great day!  Hope to see you soon.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

It's a Country Christmas Card Set

Good morning, my friends!  Yesterday was a rainy, dull Sunday and I wasn't feeling the greatest so I spent the day in my jammies watching a bit of TV, reading and napping.  After my nap, I got a second wind and decided to go into my craft room to see what I could create.  First I tidied up a bit so that I actually could find the surface of my desk and in tidying I found these quilt blocks that I had been meaning to make into a Christmas card set for a while now.  So I sat down and did it and here is the result:



and a close up of a single card:



and the inside:

These did take a LOT longer than I expected that they would but I like the final result for sure. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a wonderful Monday and I will see you back soon with more Christmas projects.  Christmas is my MOST favourite time of the year and I love to make cards and gifts for friends and family so there may be more to share than usual.  Take care!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Guess Which Won????

Good morning, my friends.  Yesterday I left you all with the thought that I would either craft or bake before I had to leave for work.  Which one do you think won???

This picture will give you a clue.....

I baked banana bread and tried a new cookie recipe called "Tiny Kisses Peanut Blossoms".  Both are yummy and since I also hadn't baked in a long time I know it was appreciated by my family.  I was hoping to get into my craft room as well but by the time I got everything done and cleaned up it was time to get ready for work.  Hopefully I will get some time to craft this weekend in between shifts.

Thanks for dropping by.  Happy Friday.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Thanksgiving Cards

Good morning, crafting friends!  I am posting two days in a row....an accomplishment for me these last few weeks :)  But I have to confess I made these cards to mail for our Canadian Thanksgiving (which was Monday) and they are still in my apartment.  I have two choices now: 1) save them for next year or 2) send them to my friends in the US who have yet to celebrate Thanksgiving. 

Neither of these cards uses the Cricut which is also a first for me for a while.  I used my stash of stamps for the first one and my Cuttlebug embossing folders for the second one.

Thanks for stopping by.  It is a rainy, cool day here and after I run one quick errand I have until 5 before I have to be at work.  My choices are that I am going to do some baking or some crafting. Come back tomorrow to find out which one I chose.  Have a wonderful Thursday, my friends.  See you soon!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

Birthday Card for my Hubby

Good afternoon, my crafting friends!  I have definitely been slacking at adding any new cards or projects or even entries on my blog since I moved.  I just have not been in my craft room that much.  I NEED to make time to do some fun stuff for me once in a while.  But my husband's birthday was on Monday so I did make this card for him.  The story behind the frog is that when my nephews were very little they changed my husband's name from Todd to Toad thinking it was so funny as only 3 and 5 year old boys can.  And the nickname kinda stuck but instead of toads he started to collect frogs.  He still has some of his massive collection 17 years later and every once in a while I still call him my "toad". 

This card is a pop up easel card adapted from a penguin card that I saw on Made by Momo's blog.  Instead of a penguin I used the frog and lily pad from Create A Critter.  The frog is cut at 4" with glitter paper and the lily pad was run through the Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug embossing folder and inked around the edges to give it some texture.  Glossy Accents was used on the blue card stock to make it look like water.  The sentiment was printed on the computer.

Thanks for visiting.  Have a great day, my friends!  And check back soon for another couple of cards I made recently.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}},  Heather

Whimsy Jar Swap (Part 2)

Now that I know that she received her jar, I can post the pictures of the jar I created.  I used a plastic clear  "paint" can instead of a glass jar as the dimensions were similar and it was lighter to mail and there was less chance of breaking.  The colours requested for the jar were brown, lime green and light blue.  I had SOOOOOO much fun picking out all kinds of scrapping goodies to place in the jar.  It was filled with ribbon, glitter, flock, buttons, brads, bling and a package of lime green candies :)

I used Forever Young, Plantin Schoolbook and Sentimentals Cricut cartridges for the letter, frame and flowers.   I never thought to take a picture of the goodies outside of the jar before I placed them inside. I know I said it before in the other post but it was such a fun swap and I would definitely participate again. 

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends.

{{{{{HUGS}}}}} Heather

Whimsy Jar Swap

Good afternoon! 

I just wanted to share with you something that I received in the mail yesterday.  I have been a part of a message board for a long time now (since 2004 I think) and have joined in on swaps on that board from time to time.  A couple of months ago I signed up for a Whimsy Jar swap and the colour that I wanted my jar to be in was pink.  Guess that's a surprise for those that know me well....NOT!!!  My jar arrived yesterday and was so packed full of goodies that after I had taken them all out I could not get them back in.  Here is a picture of the jar as it arrived full and the contents after I had taken them out:

I have pictures of the jar that I made as well but as far as I know the recipient has not received it yet and I do not want to spoil it for her (I don't think she reads here but ya never know).  I am looking forward to placing the jar on a shelf in my new craft room.  This was a fun swap and I would sign up for it again in a heartbeat.

Have a great day, my friends!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather

I'm BACK......with a new project......FINALLY!!!!!!

Good evening, everyone!  Did you miss me???  I have been gone for almost 2 weeks now but am ready to start creating again.  The move came and went and I am now settling in and SOOOOOO ready to be back at my blogging and creating.  So, I have a baby card to share with you.  It is the only project that I have done for two weeks and did it because I needed it for a baby shower that I went to yesterday for my niece.This card was made with things from my stash, the Doodlecharms Cricut cartridge and Peachy Keen Critter Faces (Medium) stamp.


 

Thanks for stopping by and checking the project out.

Take care, my crafting friends.  It's good to be back!!!

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}, Heather