Show and Tell

Taking Time for Tea

I like a nice cup or two of hot tea in the evening. I know that I'm not alone. My mom's "secret" enjoys tea now and then, too. If you've hung around here much, you may remember my post for the January PTI Blog Hop where I showed this set of teacup thank you cards. 
I said that I would be making a folder or something to contain them so that my mom could give them to her "secret sister" as a thank you for all the nice things she's done for her over the past year.

Instead of a folder, I ended up making a box — adapting Papertrey's Captured Card Case template — and decorating it by drawing inspiration (again) from the past week's Make It Monday challenge.

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For the top of the box, I used the PTI Calendar Page die — and threaded the baker's twine through the slits. I was originally going to use satin ribbon, but decided to go with the baker's twine since the that is what I used on the cards... and since it wouldn't detract quite so much from all the sentiments. I also decided not to attach the decorative panel so the whole thing can be slid on and off without messing with the bow.

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Tea for Two, Tea for Two Additions, Warm Happiness Too); cardstock is PTI (Kraft, Stampers Select White) and Stampin' Up (Real Red); ink is SU (Early Espresso, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Orchid Opulence), baker's twine is from The Twinery (Maraschino); also used PTI dies (Calendar Page, Tea Cup, Teapot) and PTI's template for the Captured Card Case.

So, I'll pack the cards and maybe some teabags and candies in with them and get this in the mail to my mom. Their secret sister banquet is coming up soon and I'm just squeaking this in to her under the deadline — in typical Janelle fashion. :)

One picture from today. We go out to breakfast every Sunday morning before church. Always to Bojangles. And I always order sweet biscuits — usually Boberry (blueberry). So, imagine my surprise today when my biscuits came shaped like hearts.

Well, I wasn't so stunned that I couldn't eat, but I was definitely surprised. We've been doing this for years and this is the first time I remember getting heart-shaped biscuits. Gotta love that sweet touch — and from a fast food restaurant, too. Crazy.

That's it for now. Thanks so much for stopping by... I love spending time here with you! Let's do it again soon. :)

 

If you don't enter, you can't win.

So much for a blogging break. Papertrey Ink keeps issuing challenges in preparation for their upcoming release and I keep having to try. Today's challenge is to create a flower embellishment to use on a card and more on a sheet to give away.

I hope this isn't cheating. Almost a year ago, before I started blogging, I had done a project that fits this challenge as a birthday gift for a cardmaking friend at church. Since I haven't posted it before, I'm thinking this will be OK.

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These are the embellies that I created. They are being held in the PTI Recipe Wrap-Up template that can be downloaded free here.

I can't take credit for this idea. Dawn McVey created a similar kit of embellishments for the idea booklet that you get when you download the template.

Here is what the holder looks like on the outside.

 
And this is the card.

 
As part of the gift I also put together a little kit with card blanks, envelopes, ribbon, and colored cardstock — and packaged it all up in a repurposed PTI stamp set box.

AND TELL:  I used so many different products when creating this gift. Most from Stampin' Up, but I spy some PTI stamp sets in there, too. Fresh Alphabet. Recipe Box Label, 2008 Holiday Tag Collection.

A fun to make, fun to give, and — I hope — fun to receive gift.

And now, seriously, I have to take a break to get some other work done. Seriously.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  

  

Not a card...

Nope, not a card. Yep, another box. I just can't seem to stop making the Captured Card Case using the template from Papertrey Ink. It's so easy. Hardly any scissor work. No fancy curves. Just a box. Love it.

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We had a staff meeting at preschool today and I've been giving away a doorprize at each meeting this year. Don't know if it's really encouraged being on time or not, but I know I'm having fun making stuff!

This one was especially fun as I pulled out three different Cricut cartridges to use. (I almost felt like Betsy Veldman... just not as talented at putting it all together perfectly!) I sort of think that this design could have benefited from some inking around the edges, but that always scares me. Anyone else get nervous about inking up your edges to give designs a little more dimension? Maybe I'm just cheap. I'm always afraid that I'll ruin it and waste the piece of cardstock. Lazy, too. I hate to do things over. Mass production is one thing. Having to do something again because of a mistake or general ugliness is just not in my DNA. Crazy, huh? Even without the inked edges, though, I'm happy with the way the box lid turned out. I'm really lovin' the colors.

Inside I tucked away four packs of hot chocolate, 2 French Vanilla and 2 Rich Chocolate Supreme, four marshmallows rolled up in waxed paper, and a couple of mints (thought of adding those after I photographed the insides). Sometimes we like to float a soft peppermint candy in our hot chocolate to add a little minty flavor. You can also tell in this photo that I used different colors for the bottom and top of the box. Just adding a little variety to my crafting life.

AND TELL:  stamp is from Papertrey Ink (Warm Happiness); cardstock is Stampin' Up (Basic Gray, Bashful Blue, Real Red) and PTI (Stampers Select White); printed cardstock is a Heidi Swapp scrap; ink is from Stampin' Up (Basic Black, Real Red); also used PTI's Captured Card Case template, a touch of Martha Stewart's red and white baker's twine, and several Cricut cartridges (mugs and steam from Joys of the Season, brackets from Winter Woodland, leafy background frame from Storybook). 

Well, that's it for today. I have some other projects and cards to show, but they'll wait. I have some other stuff to talk about that's rumbling around in my brain, too, but don't feel quite ready to share all of it yet.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Your comments and efforts to stay connected mean so much to me! Hope to be back again soon. Have a great one!

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...)   

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.

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)!  

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!

More Birthday

Yesterday I showed you Britt's birthday card, but I was holding back on you. Couldn't spill all the beans before I knew whether or not she had received and opened her present now, could I?

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I used one of the gift card templates in the Cash or Charge Collection available here (from Papertrey Ink) and decorated it to coordinate with the card that I showed you yesterday.

The template has an insert that pulls out, so I attached the gift card to the insert with a temporary adhesive.

Now, what girl doesn't like to have her fashion funds receive a little boost?

AND TELL:  cardstock is Stampin' Up (Green Galore, Tangerine Tango, Barely Banana, Glorious Green); scraps of patterned paper from my stash; ribbon is PTI (Orange Zest satin); also used three different sizes of scallop punches and Stampin' Up's Merry Details die.

Here is a picture of her entire present. I know you won't believe it, but the fact that the card and gift card holder match the cover of the Pioneer Woman's cookbook is a complete coincidence — or maybe it was done subconsciously. I had no idea that the whole package coordinated so well until I took this photo!

Gotta love it when that happens!

Well, that's it for tonight. This week is crunch time for me — our last week of school before Christmas break. In all the craziness, though, there are sweet moments that bring me back to the reason for the season.

One of our teachers at the preschool set up an extra classroom as Bethlehem. 

All of the classes are invited to visit the room. They can dress up and act out the Christmas story, complete an art project or two, read the Christmas story, and play with a nativity scene.

Today, the young two year olds visited.

Now, isn't that a sweet way to learn about Jesus?

Have a great day — and may it contain some moments to remind you of the reason we're making celebration preparations.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to visit with you again soon! 

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

That verse seemed like the perfect one to stamp on the little thank you gift I made for our speaker at yesterday's prayer breakfast.

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The template is Lauren Meader's Bun in the Oven template, available at Papertrey Ink. Of course, since our topic at prayer breakfast was self-control, what I put inside the completed box probably wasn't perfect... 

But — who doesn't need a little chocolate now and then?!

AND TELL:  stamps are from Verve (Philippians 4:13) and Papertrey Ink (Everyday Classics); cardstock is from Stampin' Up (Close to Cocoa, Pink Passion) and Papertrey Ink (White Stamper's Select); printed cardstock is from Heidi Swapp; ink is Stampin' Up (Pink Passion, Creamy Caramel); ribbon is Papertrey Ink (Fresh Snow satin); also used Stampin' Up's Floral Fusion die and a rhinestone from my stash.

Thanks for coming by today. I'm so appreciative of your visits and the time many of you take to leave such sweet and encouraging comments! I'll be back with more after I get a good night's sleep. Until then...

memories

Today is my brother's birthday.

When we were kids our grandpa hung a wooden board swing from the huge maple tree next to his farmhouse. It's a big childhood memory for both of us, so when I saw this stamp set from My Favorite Things, well, I knew that it would be perfect for Bob's birthday card.

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I'm not much of a colorer, so I stamped the leaves on various greens, punched them out with a 1" circle punch, and arranged them around the tree's branches, popping a few of them up with foam dimensionals. Fast and easy. Just my style. 

AND TELL:  stamps are from My Favorite Things (Grow Love Plant a Tree) and Papertrey Ink (Journaling Lines); cardstock is from PTI (Kraft) and Stampin' Up (Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Garden Green, Kiwi Kiss) and a green from Heidi Swapp; printed paper is from my stash; ink is Stampin' Up (Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip); also used Stampin' Up's Watercolor Pencils, 1" Circle Punch, and Stampin' Dimensionals, Papertrey Ink's Rustic Jute Button Twine, and EKSuccess' Embossed Scallop Border Punch.

Bob's a real music guy, so I decided to get him two CD's by the same artists (one of my personal favorites) and immediately thought of Lauren Meader's Music Makeover template. What a great excuse to purchase another template from PTI!

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I made two of the templates and taped them together back to back. Each side looks the same except for the Happy Birthday stamp you see here. I mounted it on foam at the outside edges and threaded the ribbon underneath, tying it in a simple knot. Of course, I can think of lots of things I would've done differently now, but since I was putting it all together at the last possible minute there was no time for thinking — much less analyzing and trying different things out. Why in the world do I always wait until the last minute??

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Borders and Corners: Rectangles) and My Favorite Things (Grow Love Plant a Tree); cardstock is PTI (Kraft) and Stampin' Up (Always Artichoke); ink is Stampin' Up (Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Certainly Celery, and Chocolate Chip); ribbon was in a package of blog candy I won on Ashley Newell's blog. 

Thanks for stopping by for today's Show and Tell. Hope you're having a great day!

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOB!!