My TRICKS and Their TREATS!

Today

didn't start off on a good note

one of the cats

decided when Poppa left for Wal-Mart

at 7:15 AM

(don't ask me why!!!)

Momma needed to know about it.

Not much sleep after that.

Did I mention...

I could have slept until 8?

Projects today

went down hill

after I had to go to the same store

husband was at earlier

and they didn't have what I needed.

I just had to make do.

Not enough sleep-having to "make do"

did not make Momma a happy camper.

 

After a almost 2 hour MUCH NEEDED nap...

I decided to try one more thing.

And that put a smile on my face!

 

Halloween is upon us

and I am sure that I will have

20 little 2, 3 and 4 year olds

knocking on my office door!

What to do that's not too scary?

 

I thought about the "Pumkin Teeth" holders

and candy corn

but again, they are 2, 3 and 4

and the correlation would be lost on them--

and all they are REALLY going to care about

is the candy inside!

 

So...

I applied the KISS principle---

Keep it simple, Sharon!

And---no POP DOTS are needed!

lol!

(Theresa's in shock right now...!)

 

So-here's my TRICKS to make these...

gather your tools and supplies--

you will need:

cardstock or designer paper

adhesive

crimper

paper cutter (not shown)

stamps and ink (if not using dp)

and of course --CANDY!

(not sure why the empty glass is there-?!)

Now, I needed to maximize my paper

as my supply was limited---

I cut my paper at 5 1/2" x 4" so I could get

an extra one or two out of a 12x12 sheet...

This is probably the absolute smallest you can go

and get a fun size package of M&M's in there!

I'd recommend if you have enough paper

cutting it at 5 1/2" x 4 1/4"!

I then stamped my design and added

To: You

From: Ms. Sharon

(I am not one of their teachers-

I work in the church office and

thought parents would want to know

where it came from)

Next put adhesive on ONE SHORT end

and BOTH LONG SIDES

Roll the short end around and make a tube...

(think toilet paper roll here...)

smoosh the bottom together

stuff your candy in

and smoosh the top together in the opposite direction

of the bottom...

(think the sour cream holders Wendy's used to have....)

Next stuff one end into your paper crimper

and roll it one or two turns

flip it to the other end

and do the same thing again.

This just gives it a little extra "oomph"

and staying power to keep it sealed

(it looks cool, too!)

Here's what they look like all done...

I did 30 in about one hour

I was stamping the "Boo"

and "To/From" on each one as I went

otherwise it probably would have been quicker

if I had stamped all images

and then assembled.

I was going to add a ribbon

but remembered

KISS...

and  I left well enough alone!

 

So-

there you have it-

my TRICKS to make their TREATS!

 

BTW

the little black cat

highly approved of the stamp selection!

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,



What My Groupies Made...

First and foremost

let me say that I cannot take

creative credit

for this month's "groupies" project.

It was designed and created by

 

Valerie Dietz

and, with her permission,

I cased and copied it

for my groupies.

 

You can see Valerie's other awesome artwork

by visiting her blog here...

 

So-that said...

let me show you what we worked on...

The banner "bases" and letters

were cut with the Cricut Close to My Heart

Art Philosophy and Artiste cartridges.

I color dusted the edges of the base cardstock,

stamped and colored all the "embellishments" with Copics

and then cut them out by hand.

Yep-I did this for 8 banners!

My groupies then assembled them themselves....

The pretty ribbon

is CTMH color-ready seam binding.

It came/comes white.

I dyed it to match our project

simply by running an ink pad over it

until it was the color I wanted!

You can also use a few drops of reinker in a plastic bag

and mush it around (very technical term!).

It is super easy to do!

I used a Copic marker to outline each letter

and that really made them pop---

and well, if you know me

then you already know

I POP-DOTTED EVERYTHING!

Lots of dimension to this baby!

The burlap is our new burlap ribbon-

it's awesome to work with as well!

I am surely going to order more it as well as

the seam binding!

It was really an awesome class!

Everyone did a great job keeping up with one another

and were thrilled with their project!

A great decoration for several holidays!

 

On another note,

I absolutely love the crescent moon!

I've heard some call it

God's eyelash...

but that little sliver of light

really spellbinds me...

and when I saw it the other night-

I just knew I had to try and capture it.

This photo

was taken with my Cannon Elph point and shoot-

it is not photoshopped...

I did fiddle with settings (on the camera before I took it)

and I have no clue what I did...

but I got the light from the house below

and the moon!

I am THRILLED!

 

Ok.

It's almost lunch time-

gotta do some flyladying today

and it's off for my mammogram this afternoon.

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month

if you didn't already know that

and trust me-

that few minutes of discomfort

is FAR LESS UNCOMFORTABLE

then chemo and radiation

and surgery!

A few minutes---that can save a lifetime.

Someone close to me

had a scare a year or so ago.

I will never ever forget the moment she told me

she had something suspicious.

I kept her message on my phone

from when she called and said,

"I'm crying-but it's ok!

Thank you, Jesus, it's nothing!"

Go get yours.

Please.

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,



Faith...

 

good topic for a Sunday post, don't ya think?!

My colors look so washed out-

not sure why-

the dp is a real pretty aqua color-

maybe too light for the camera-

and I opted to pick up the brown and green

 with the  stamped saying, flower and ribbon.

I've had this stamp forever

and it says:

Faith

Fear

 knocked

at the door

 

Faith

answered

 

No one

was there.

 

The word "faith"

goes along the side of the sentiment

 

So I had to do some fancy

masking and stamping

to get what I wanted

and I won't begin to tell you

how many times

I had to punch that border

with my God-awful Martha Stewart punches!

I really do not like them.

Seriously.

They are terrible.

This is going to be a little decorative piece

for a friend of mine.

Hope she likes it.

 

Until next time

keep the

even when Fear knocks!

Happy stamping and scrapping, too!

Blessings,

No Adhesive Allowed--Take 2

I guess my mojo is coming back!

Two posts in less than 24 hrs!

 

Today's project is one that I kept saying,

"I need to make that card!"

It was on my "round-to-it list" and never seemed to get it done.

Yesterday was the round-to-it day!

 

I needed to make a card

but no adhesive of any kind could be used.

It is for a young man who has been given

a sentence of life in prison.

His mother, grandmother and sister

attend our church.

I made  the first card for his birthday

and I received a very nice card and note in return.

I wanted to thank him for that and share a little more with him

so I went to work on this...

Forgive the dark photos--it was after dark last night when

I took these-and yes, I realized after the fact

that that white piece had slipped down...

remember-no adhesive--

so those are layered without glue or tape

and simply tucked behind the insert inside...

which is held in by using the Stampin' Up slitty punch

Not sure what the real name of that little sucker is--

but it is WAY COOL and something I use A LOT!

The insert was cut with the

Close to My Heart Artiste cartridge.

The outer card is made with CTMH Moonlight papers

the inside panel is contraband (aka not CTMH).

It has a little texture to it

and is thick...so much so

that I ended up having to use my finger knife

to trim out that "hello" as the Cricut

didn't cut it through--even set on slow

and the deepest setting.

I think the texture had something to do with it

(those little dots are raised up).

 

When you've been stamping and scrapping

as long as I have

there's not a lot left to challenge you--

but I gotta say-

trying to make something without adhesive-

can be a challenge!

Using corner punches and the slitty punch

is the secret

and I sense a lot more creative challenges

coming up.

 

Our senior citizen, Bad Cat,

is giving the baby aka Inky

a run for his money this morning!

I've not seen him playing and chasing

anything as much as he is the little guy this morning!

Must be the cooler weather!

So much for my morning cartoons!

Lol!

 

I am off to do some flyladying

and work on yet another project--

a THIRD post in less than 48 hours....

hmmm.....not impossible!

We'll see what I can brew up!

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

 

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble...

only a little brewing going on here...

I whipped up some treats

with the Close to My Heart

Art Philosophy and Artiste Cartridges...

I used the AP cartridge to cut the pillow boxes

and then the Artiste cartridge to cut out

the adorable labels!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cartridges and the

Magic Potions stamp set!

 

The other tags say
"Dr. Fixe's Finest Elixir Extract of Eel"

"Pickled Toad-Warning: May Cause Warts"

"Eye of Owl Magic Cream"

"Commotion Potion Guaranteed to Quiet the Voices Inside Your Head"

Too too funny---and I happened to see these

shortly after I made

this card...

The netting was in my stash-

and I wanted to add a ribbon-spider-webbing looking

thingy

(how's that for technical terms?!)

So I just cut a strip, tied it around and fanned it out

and hot glued the rosette to it.

The net has enough "give" to it

that I think they can slide it off

to get the candy out

and slip it back on if they want to save it!

Can't go wrong with a combo of

Close to My Heart and CHOCOLATE!

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,



Sneak Peeks on Sunday...

Yesterday

after I finished my "groupie" kits

for this month's class

 

just a sneak peak as it's a week or so away---

and they will freak if they see it beforehand

I cannot take credit for it--

another CTMH consultant created it

and I totally cased it--

I will give her full credit when I post the real deal

in it's entirety...

 

Anyway-

I had just finished the groupie kits

when hubby came in and suggested a day trip

to Lake Waccamaw

with our canoe little red boat...

he had read an article in Our State magazine

about it.

I said sure...let's do it!

He started packing our lunch...

do you see his "helper"?!

Yes, the "baby" immediately checked out the cooler bag!

 

 

After a stop at the visitor's center

where a nice lady told us we would enjoy the little canals

that run along the backsides of the lake

far more than the lake itself---

we set out...and she was right!

See if you can spy

the turtle...the leaf...the bird's nest...the ducks...

another turtle...the great white heron...

and last but not least...

the alligator!

My tour guide and captain...

not too bad for an over the head and backwards

shot!

 

There were tons of dragonflies

but they were to fast to capture with the camera!

I gotta say ---I absolutely LOVE my CANNON ELPH!

That last turtle pic...there is NO photo editing to that...

(in fact none to most of the photos I posted)

and we were a good ways off...that was just with the zoom--

far better than my Nikon ever did!

 

We had a picnic lunch while just drifting along...

It was sooo nice out there!

Perfect weather and the water was just like glass...

at least in the little canals we were in...

as you can see by the reflection in this pic...



After reloading the boat

we drove around a little bit-

houses on one side of the road

with a grassy area leading to their boat ramps

and docks and boat houses

on the other!

 

We ended up at Dale's Seafood

where we had fried catfish and shrimp for supper

and brought enough home that we can make

three lunches easily out of the leftovers!

It was delicious, fresh and PLENTY OF FOOD!

Topped that off with a stop at Dairy Queen when we hit

our own little island home.

 

As Ratty said to Mole,

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing

half so much as doing as messing about in boats...

just messing..."

in Kenneth Graham's Wind In the Willows--

it certainly was

a great day for messing about in the boat!

 

Worshipped this morning

and helped serve communion--

always an awesome experience

in and of itself...

not sure what the rest of the day will hold...

just taking it slow and easy...

 

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,