Show and Tell

happy 2010

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I had a horrible time getting a decent picture of this card, but... oh, my. Can I tell you how much I love my Cricut Expression and how excited I am to use it more?! I bought it with my as-yet-unreceived-but-anticipated Christmas money on Black Friday. It sat in my craft room in the box, intimidating me, until the day before Christmas. I unpacked it and set it on the counter where it sat mocking me until a couple of days ago. I don't know why I was so scared of it — it's very easy figure out and fun to use.  

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Background Basics: Retro, Damask Designs); cardstock is Papertrey Ink (Aqua Mist, Sweet Blush, Spring Moss, Vintage Cream), Stampin' Up (Basic Black), and Creative Memories (metallic gold); ink is Papertrey Ink (Sweet Blush, Spring Moss); also used Cricut cartridges (Joys of the Season - star border, Paper Pups - happy dog, Winter Wonderland - numbers).

So, what did you do last night? Last year we started a tradition with some good friends of ours who we just don't see often enough — despite the fact that they live just down the street. Being as we're not as young as we used to be, we go out to dinner and then come back to the house, visit awhile, make a toast and everyone is home and tucked into bed before midnight. Exciting, huh? (I guess we shouldn't really call it a tradition since we'd only done it once before last night, but since we plan on repeating it year after year we'll go with tradition...) What it may lack in excitment, it more than makes up for in the area of comfortably reconnecting with good friends.

Last night before dinner, though, we were invited to another friend's house for appetizers and celebration with her soon-to-be-married daughter and other friends and family. The "happy 2010" card went with us and ended up decorating the drink area.

And, today we were invited to a neighborhood party at lunchtime. Some traditional "good luck" foods were on the menu. When I received the invitation via e-mail, I had just read this post on The Pioneer Woman's blog. So, of course, I had to make the Cheddar Puffs to take along. Yep, they're yummy. She says to use crusty french bread and I will echo that. My grocery store must've had a run on the real crusty bread — could there be that many PW readers in my neighborhood? — and what I used was, I think, a little too soft to make the puffs as great as they could've been. But, really, how can you go wrong with a recipe that includes butter, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and garlic?

So — we've had a busy couple of days. I'm not quite used to so many social activities and, while it's been fun, I feel as though I haven't had the time I need to just reflect on the past year and think ahead to the next. My biggest surprise of 2009 was the impact that keeping a blog has had. I've "met" so many fun, new, and like-minded people. I love looking at other people's blogs, seeing what they're doing, hearing what they have to say — but, for some reason, it's hard for me to believe that anyone (especially people who don't "know" me) would be interested in what I'm doing, making, and talking/thinking about. So, thank you to all of you who visit here regularly — or even just once in awhile. Thanks for leaving me such encouraging comments. I had no idea what a big impact you would have on me and I'm grateful to each one of you. Sending you happy 2010 hugs! Hope to see you again soon. Have a great day!   

the end

Last post of 2009. The end of Christmas-themed projects. A final look at the Hayes house decorated for the holidays. I think I'll be glad to put all of this to bed.

Today — just a couple more candy boxes made using the Captured Card Case template from Papertrey Ink. If you're new around here and want to see the others that I made you can find them here and here.

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Gotta tell you — I'm lovin' this color combination. And that's about all I have to say about these (besides, there I go again using up leftover pieces from all those Merry Details birds that I've cut).

AND TELL:  stamp is from Stampin' Up (Berry Christmas); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Gable Green, Tempting Turquoise, Real Red) and Papertrey Ink (Stampers Select White); printed cardstock is from Heidi Swapp; ink is from Stampin' Up (Tempting Turquoise); ribbon is from Michaels; also used circle and scalloped circle nestabilities, circle and scalloped square Marvy punches, and Stampin' Up's Merry Details die.

And, just so I can clean up my computer files, here are some more pictures from Christmastime at our house.

We had two trees this year. The one on the left is in the living room (which is in the front of the house). It is more of a "designed" tree — all color coordinated and everything (white, red, and bright green). And the other is in the family room (back of the house). It's the main tree. The one we put presents under. The one that holds the quite large assortment of miscellaneous ornaments collected over the years.

Here is another Nativity scene. This is usually the first decoration put out after Thanksgiving.

This is the first year I've had that angel towering over it, heralding the Lord's birth. I think I like it there.

Here are our stockings. My mom made mine when I was a baby. When Ken & I got married, she made him one to match. Somehow his little bear's nose fell off. And mine now has a chocolate stain on the back — caused by "Santa" filling it with goodies before the last child came in for the night and lit the fire. :) Also, no one has ever called me Jan. Guess Mom didn't plan ahead to Christmas stockings when she named me. Two years later she named my brother Bob. They say it was after my dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, etc., but I contend it was for the sake of it fitting on the Christmas stocking. :)

Britt and Ian's stockings were made by their other grandma — Ken's mom. She made one for each of her eight grandchildren for their first Christmas. Maybe her four great grandsons, too, but I'm not sure about that. She used stitchery kits and then embellished them further with sparkly beads and metallic threads. They're real heirlooms.

And, finally, just because I love words, type, and little surprise decorating details —

well, the photos look a little weird side by side like this, but these are magnetic strips attached to the cabinet above my washer (left) and dryer (right). I alter the sayings as necessary for season changes and the like. My laundry room is walked through on the way to the first floor bathroom, so it's kind of fun to have little messages displayed there. (If you can't read them, remember you can click on any photo to make it bigger.) 

And, that's it for Christmas! I'm ready to move on. Hmmm. I think I just need to MOVE (my body) — as I finished the last Christmas cookie while writing this post. Time to start the long process of getting my hips and thighs back to where they were before the annual December loss of self-control!

Wow, if you made it all the way through this very long entry! I'm impressed that you hung in there! Thanks so much for stopping by today. I'll try not to be so long-winded tomorrow. However, I have a pretty fun card to share that I made using my new Cricut! I may not be able to contain my excitement... See you then! (Be careful and safe if you're going out tonight! Yep, that's the mom in me coming out again...)   

just smilin' away

That's me today. I've had so many sweet comments on blog entries lately that I'm just all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks so much to all who've left comments — at any time. It's such a fun part of this whole blogging thing. I love the interactiveness of it all. And am thrilled to be getting acquainted with so many new people. Amazing how much you can have in common with someone you've never met in person, isn't it? This is just fun, fun, fun! {smiles a really big smile and sends each of you a really big hug}

I promise that I'm about finished with all this Christmas show and tell.

First, though, let me tell you how wonderful my husband is. Ken is everything I'm not. Organized. Efficient. OK — maybe a little driven. And really, really helpful and kind (even through his frustration with my lack of organization, lack of efficiency, and lack of driven-ness).

On Christmas Eve day I still hadn't purchased a major gift for our kids. Terrible confession, I know. What kind of mother waits until the last minute like that?! Well, maybe if you have adult children you understand. It's not quite as easy as it used to be. Anyway, Ken happily trotted off to the mall to buy American Express gift cards (cop-out, I know — but at least they can purchase something they really want this way!). So, since he bought three gift cards he got little tins to put them in. The tins came with cheesy printed cardstock bands to wrap around them (which I meant to photograph, but forgot and they're gone with today's garbage). I used those bands as a measurement guide and created a new one especially for each child (mmm, adult child).

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The first one is Britt's. The next is Ian's.

This last one is for Kenneth, Britt's boyfriend.

 
Can you tell I wanted to use up some of those left-over trees from all the times I used the Merry Details die to cut out birds? Maybe it's just me justifiying my slackness, but I think the mom-made bands really elevated the gift cards to higher gift level. They still got something that I put (a little) thought and effort into, right? 

AND TELL (for all):  stamps are from Stampin' Up (Berry Christmas) and Papertrey Ink (Polka Dot Basics II, Star Prints); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Green Galore, Gable Green, Pink Pirouette, Real Red, Soft Sky, Kiwi Kiss, Glorious Green), Papertrey Ink (white), and Paper Source (discontinued shimmery blue); ink is Stampin' Up (Melon Mambo, Basic Black, Not Quite Navy) and VersaMark; also used Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder (Starry Night), classic scallop circle nestabilities, Marvy circle and scallop square punches, Stampin' Up's Merry Details die, and Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.

Can't believe we're getting ready to close out 2009. I'm still eating my way through plates of cookies and bowls of carmel corn. I guess I'm really wanting to make those weight loss and exercise resolutions worthwhile by putting extra padding on my rear end and thighs!

Hope you have a really fantastic day! Thanks so much for dropping by!! 

Can you stand more Christmas?

Not in the spiritual sense of Christmas, as that can — and should — stay with us all year long. But in the physical oh-no-not-more-Christmas-projects sense.

I probably have three more days worth of Christmas-y posts that I'll may go ahead and share, just because I went through the trouble to make the projects and take the pictures. Know what I mean?

The plan was that I would post last night, but after a trip to IKEA, an hour or so of wii, a DVD movie with Ken — well, I was just plain old tired. So, I start now.

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Oh, yeah. There's that bird again.

Our next door neighbors included us in their family meals both on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day. They have super yummy meal traditions: crab legs on Christmas Eve and beef tenderloin on Christmas Day. So, so tasty!

The photo above shows just some of the gifts we took over. A box of peppermints (like in this post) and gift card holders containing Borders gift cards for each of the book-lovin' teenage girls. The little ones got actual presents and we also took a basket of southern specialty foods.

AND TELL:  stamps are from Stampin' Up (Berry Christmas); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Tempting Turquoise, Real Red, Gable Green, Melon Mambo, Pink Pirouette) and Papertrey Ink (white); printed cardstock is Heidi Swapp; ink is Stampin' Up (Gable Green, Melon Mambo); ribbon is PTI (Fresh Snow grosgrain) and Michael's red gingham; also used Marvy blue circle punch, Stampin' Up scallop border punch and Merry Details die, Fiskar's Apron Edge punch, classic scallop circle nestabilities, and Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folders (Snowballs large and Starry Night large).

One thing I love about Christmas is the lights. I'm not so big on physically putting them up, but I do so enjoy looking at them. And, fortunately for me, Ken is a put it on the list and check it off kind of guy — so he puts our outside lights up right after Thanksgiving. I don't have to say a word. I leave for the day and — voila! When I come back home the lights are up and on. It's like magic. :)

Much of our street lights up (so to speak), so it's very festive during the Christmas season. There's a house around the corner from us, though, that goes all-out. I'll have to get a picture of it next year. So colorful and magical-looking.

Anyway, I like lit up house anytime of year. I love riding in a car at night and getting quick peeks into houses as we drive past.

That's what the Christmas village that my Aunt Betty made for us reminds me of.

The church and four ceramic houses were a special gift during the early years of our marriage. I have a few fancy limited-edition Snow Village houses (Dept. 56) that have lights built into them, but I didn't even put them out this year. Instead I pulled out this simple village that I illuminate with a string of white lights — covering the cord between the house with "snow drifts" made of quilt batting. I love the way the golden light shines through the many windows and reflects on the marble table. And those little boys with the sled? A perfect gift many years ago from our Christmas-loving nephew — purchased at the dollar store, I think. They help to bring my village to life.

In the next few days I'll start packing away all my favorite Christmas decorations and getting the house back to normal. Until then, though, I'll turn on the tree and village lights as soon as I get up in the morning — savoring the last little bit of this special season.

Time for Thank Yous

Now that the Christmas gifts are opened and oohed and aahed over, it's time to thank the givers.

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These cards are part of a set that I made for both my mom and for my mother-in-law as one of their Christmas gifts. I've made them each enough cards over the past year (here, here, here, here, and here) that they probably didn't need any more cards, but I thought that maybe a small set of Christmas-specific thank you notes might be useful.

I packaged them in two different, but similar, ways — using Papertrey Ink's large glassine bags, Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folders (Starry Night and Snowflake #2) and the Stampin' Up Top Note die with my trusty Cuttlebug, and some Martha Stewart felt ribbon purchased last year (also Martha Stewart baker's twine and cardstock from Stampin' Up and Heidi Swapp).

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Tree Trimming Trio, Background Basics: Retro); cardstock is PTI (white) and Stampin' Up (Real Red); ink is Stampin' Up (Real Red, Basic Black); also used Sizzix Textured Impressions embossing folder (Christmas Trees) and Martha Stewart Baker's Twine.

These thank you cards have a bit of a Scandinavian look, so I thought I'd show you the dala horses that I put out at Christmastime.

(Please ignore the dust...) I used to leave the horses out all year, but lately have just been bringing them out in December. This year they're lined up in a cubby hole in my kitchen cabinets. 

My collection started with this horse — the one in the center. I've had it since I was a little girl, playing with it at my grandpa's house, and somehow it eventually found its way to my bedroom. The paint is a little chipped, the ears a little rounded, but it's my very favorite of the bunch. 

The dala horses and my Swedish heritage also inspired some of our gingerbread cookie decorating this year.

Bit of a glare on one of those horses, but I'm sure he'll taste just fine. :)

Thank you so much for coming by today. Wish you were here in real life so we could sit together at my kitchen table, enjoying a cup of coffee and some of these cookies!

Hope you had a fabulous Christmas and have great rest of today! See you again soon.

Merry Christmas!

Jumping on quickly to say a heartfelt Merry Christmas to all —

With Love from the Hayes Family

Janelle, Ian, Roxie, Britt, and Ken 

Candy Boxes

I've been making a lot of Captured Card Cases over the past few days and am using them to package peppermint candies. No, not homemade candies. I wish. Just simple candies-in-a-tub purchased at Wal-Mart. Some of these card cases/candy boxes were mailed off to the west coast, but most of them have been given to nearby friends that I've met for lunch or people whose house we've been invited to for parties.

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One thing that I think is pretty great about this packaging is that it's easily reusable. The ribbon band just slides off to open the box. The recipient can empty the contents, refill it, slide the band back on and give it to someone else. Cool, huh?

Instead of listing my supplies today, I'd like to show pictures of a couple other boxes I made. You can see that I used several different supplies. Truthfully, I was in such a flurry of making things at the time that my entire craft room was littered with supplies and I was just grabbing what I could see and trying to put it together in a way that worked.

And here's a picture of a box filled with my store-bought goodies.

 
Back to sharing more of our Christmas decorations, we have quite a few nativities that we put on display during December. 

This year I paired several of them with angels, posing the angels so that they are looking over the scene. I especially love this one. The angel is so large and so adoring. The scene is so small. It actually used to be a music box/snow globe. We gave it to my great aunt several years before she passed away. She had dementia and was in a nursing home. After she went to be with her Lord and Savior, the music box (minus the snow globe portion) was given to me. Aunt Ruth loved Jesus with all her heart, so this reminds me of her — and of how Jesus came to earth in such a humble way. Having the cross candlestick in this trio of items just adds extra meaning to me. Jesus came, lived as the light of the world, and died on the cross for my sins. "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Here's one more. It sits on a little shelf near our kitchen table. The teeny tiny nativity was given to one of my children when they were in preschool. And the angel was given to me by the daughter of one of our preschool teachers. I think this angel is just marveling at what God is doing.

And I'm marveling, too. Still.

Thanks for taking a little time to stop by here today. I pray that your Christmas is marvelous (and full of marveling at God's awesome plan)!  

Peace

So, how are you doing at finding peace during this hectic season?

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I made this little 3" x 3" card for the last Papertrey Ink Guest Star Stamper contest in the Turning a New Leaf category. I think I didn't execute it very well and I was also working at the last minute so the photo is really dark. Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn't be posting it. :)

But, I do like the idea of it. I used the small leaf frond image to make little snowy trees on a hill; the snowflakes are the asterisk image from the PTI Journaling Lines set.

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf, Journaling Lines, 2008 Holiday Tags Collection); cardstock is PTI (white) and Paper Source (a discontinued shimmery navy blue); ink is PTI (Fresh Snow) and Stampin' Up (Basic Gray); also used Prisma glitter.  

Over the next few days I thought I'd show you some of my favorite Christmas decorations around the house. I'm not sure that this is really one of my favorites, but I think it's a good idea. Besides that, it's easy, it uses what I have, and it makes a pretty big impact.

Ken takes my full-length mirror off the bedroom closet door and we put it in the middle of the dining room table. Then I arrange candles down the middle of it. The glittery green tree candles were purchased on sale at Kohl's quite a few years ago; the center tree is elevated on a glass block from a home improvement store. The rest of the candles are just cheap white tea lights in any clear or frosted candleholder that I found around the house. Gold confetti stars and green glass trees that I found on clearance at a gift shop are sprinkled all over to complete the festive look. I don't know. Mirrors just make everything look so clean and bright. (And, hopefully they distract the eye from the wrinkled, puckered white tablecloth!) 

So, back to my original question. How are you doing at finding that peaceful feeling during these days before Christmas? I must admit, while I'm not in a panic and I'm not super stressed (yet), I do feel a little edgy — and I know it's because I'm doing everything (and I mean EVERYTHING!) at the last minute. I finally got our packages in the mail to the west coast yesterday. Then today I mailed our Christmas cards (not handstamped) and started Christmas shopping for my own little family. That's crazy. I'll finish that up tomorrow, go to the grocery store, and start the baking. Then there will be the wrapping.

In the midst of all the hubbub of the season, I don't want to forget the reason for the celebration. Jesus! So, no matter the craziness that I allow to creep in to my life (through my own procrastination, usually), I'm so thankful for the peace that I have because I know Him — the Prince of Peace!

Hopefully, I'll be back tomorrow with more to share. I have no shortage of things to post — just a shortage of time to get the posting done. Anyway, thanks so much for hanging in there with me — and for stopping by today. I'll cross my fingers that I get a chance to come back with something new tomorrow, but now it's off to bed. Good night!

Whew...

 
This morning was our staff Christmas party. We met at my house for a little mid-morning breakfast-y snack and some away-from-work social time. We also distributed the Christmas "bonuses" in the form of gift cards to their requested stores — so I suspect that was the main draw... although we do all love each other! :)

And, check out that fruit arrangement we had! No, I certainly didn't make it — we ordered it from here. (They have a store near us.) Between Edible Arrangements and sweet breads and coffee from Panera Bread (love that place!), we were all set for food.

So — last night, instead of doing the last-minute cleaning that I should have been doing — or sleeping, which would've been nice, I made little sets of gift tags for each staff member to take home. Hopefully they'll put the tags to use as they finish up their Christmas wrapping.

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Since this was a last minute idea, everything had to be very simple. I chose three red inks and three green inks and just alternated between them and each design in the stamp set. Each set of three tags is the same, with the design on the front, and "to" and "from" stamped on the back. I stacked the three punched tags together and used my Crop-o-dile to punch through them all at once — and instead of using hemp or button twine, I used regular 6-strand string that had been separated into individual strands. I bagged each set in small candy bags (4-3/4" x 3") and tied them closed with another strand of string threaded through a button.

I thought they turned out pretty cute. Fairly high impact, but low cost and not too much of a time investment. Not that the staff isn't worth more in both time and money (because they are the very best preschool staff in the world!) — it's just that often times both time and money are in short supply! 

I put the tag sets in my mother-in-law's old ceramic Christmas punch bowl and placed it near the door to make it convenient for the ladies to grab one as they left. Don't ask me why I left the ladle in the bowl. Sometimes the things I do have no explanation. And that's one of them.

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Giga Guide Lines; Boxes, Bags & Tags); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White); ink is Stampin' Up (Real Red, Ruby Red, Baroque Burgundy, Green Galore, Kiwi Kiss, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black); buttons are PTI (Pure Poppy, Scarlet Jewel, New Leaf, Ripe Avocado, Spring Moss); also used EK Success 2" Scallop Punch, Crop-o-dile, and string.   

Well, now that preschool Christmas programs and the staff party are over with, it's time to start working on the Hayes family Christmas. There's shopping, baking, crafting, wrapping, shipping, and even cleaning and decorating left to do. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Thanks for stopping by for a little visit. I hope to carve out some time in all the upcoming busy-ness to show up here a few more times before Christmas. See you then! 

merry! {let's celebrate!}

Last Saturday I told you about our December Stamp Club meeting. About how we bring a dish to share along with the recipe on decorated cards. I shared my card for Company's Coming Tossed Salad with you. (By the way, I have updated that post to include the recipe, if you were interested.) I also mentioned that we bring the best $5 stamp we can find and have a little gift exchange. The kind where every package is numbered and each person pulls a number out of a hat to determine who receives each gift.

I wasn't sure that I would have time to create any attractive packaging for my stamp, but Papertrey Ink's Timeless Templates came to the rescue. I quickly downloaded the Captured Card Case template and put it together lickety-split. It was so, so fast and easy.

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Unfortunately, my pictures don't really show that this is a cute little box that was a great size for the wood-mounted stamp that I purchased.

And there's that little bird again. Yep. I love — really love — that little bird.

I taped the focal element directly to the ribbon so that it could all be slid off, making it easy to open the box without ruining anything — and, thus, making the box reuseable.

AND TELL:  stamps are from Stampin' Up (Berry Christmas); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Real Red, Certainly Celery) and Papertrey Ink (Stampers Select White); ink is Stampin' Up (Certainly Celery, Basic Black); ribbon is from Michael's; also used Sizzix embossing folder, Spellbinder's Classic Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities, and Stampin' Up Merry Details die.

Thought you might like to see a few pictures from Stamp Club. Wouldn't you love to go to an event at this house?

 
Well, come on in! (Don't you love the way I invite you into someone else's house?)

 
And go directly to the kitchen. (That's where the food is!)

 
Mmmm. Doesn't that look good? (Remember, you can click on a picture to make it bigger.)

You know, we never talk about what everyone is bringing — but it always works out beautifully. And everything was super yummy!  

Changing the subject, I had another sweet moment today at school that took me back again to the meaning of the season. I was walking through a 3 year old classroom and heard a little boy who was playing with a wooden nativity scene say, "Let's celebrate!" as he was moving the little figures around. By the time I got back into the room with my camera he had moved on, but I caught this little girl playing out the story of Jesus' birth.

 
So — let's focus on the meaning of Christmas. And — Let's Celebrate!

Thanks for spending a little of your time here today. Hope to see you again soon!