We've Got Your Number at Paper Issues

Time for a new challenge at Paper Issues!  Anything to do with numbers.  I have a lot of old bingo cards (lots of numbers, right?) and decided one would be perfect for this challenge.  I hadn't really planned on a Valentine card so soon after Christmas, however! 

I picked up this cutie valentine at one of my local antique stores and he was sitting there looking like he just NEEDED to be a part of this card! 

We had my mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary party last night.   It was just wonderful!  So many of our best friends and family to help us celebrate my parents' 50 years.  Lots of good memories and so heartwarming.    We made a cake just for them similar to their actual cake with their wedding cake topper that my mom has kept.   We made a huge cake to cut for the party. 

This pictures makes me smile.  They're both trying hard not to laugh!  My parents had a great time last night and I'm so glad everything was so nice.   My parents have set a terrific example for my husband and I and my daughter and her husband to follow.  My daughter said, "Just 47 years to go!"  Dennis and I will be celebrating our 30 this year.  Where does the time go? 

Be sure to go by Paper Issues and check out all the inspiration:  We've Got Your Number! 
And have a Happy New Year!

Hope You Had A Wonderful Christmas!

Did you have a wonderful Christmas?  Mine was oh, so lovely...  We had Christmas Eve dinner at my mom and dad's and then breakfast Christmas morning at our house, and dinner at Linda's (my son-in-law Paul's mom).    Lots of laughter, fun and eating! 

I have a couple of cards I forgot to post...  Both cute vintage snow people images. 

Now I'm getting ready for my mom and dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party this week.  We're going to leave all the Christmas decorations out, so it should look pretty.  

I have my mom and dad's wedding cake topper, so Dennis and I are going to make a mini wedding cake for it.  Hope it turns out like I see it in my mind.  Dennis is a wonderful cake decorator, so I'm sure it will be lovely!  We've got the menu planned, so the next two days will be filled with cooking (and tasting) for about 40 people.   Gotta run - lots to do!  So glad you stopped by!

Jolly St. Nicholas

My Christmas holiday has begun!  I'm off tomorrow!  And the best thing is that Lauren and Paul arrive tomorrow, too!   The lighting was a bit of a problem when I photographed these two cards.  Some days I just can't seem to get it right!  Hard to see the pretty glitter on the letters here.   Oh, well...   Love this Jolly St. Nick postcard - it's just the way I picture Santa in his workshop. 

When Lauren was little there was a wonderful Santa at one of the malls here in OKC and he dressed a lot like the one pictured here - not in the traditional red suit.  His beard was even real! 

Certainly looking forward to tomorrow.  Do you have family coming in or are you going to visit?  

 Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Sweet Children

Sweet children, sweet pastels, vintage... lots of the things I like. 

How about that sweet heart trim?  My great aunt Jane sent it to me.  Thank you, Jane!  I love it!   

It's still Christmas at Paper Issues and Craft Us Crazy.  Link up your projects! 

Hope you're having a wonderful week.  I still have several errands on my list.  (One to pick up one of our candle sticks that Dennis accidently knocked off while decorating for Christmas.  He was worried, but evidently it was a fairly easy fix.)  Thanks for stopping by!

Rain, Rain Go Away at The Cutting Cafe

It's time for the weekly inspiration at The Cutting Cafe!  This week we're all using the Rain, Rain Go Away set.  It has some darling images. 

I used the Little Ducky image and sentiment from the set.  I didn't really set out to make a baby card.  But, that's what it looked like to me, so I added the little heart with Baby on it.  Then I thought it needed some cattails.  What do you think?

Regina will have all the DT inspiration up Wednesday evening at The Cutting Cafe Blog.  And I'm sure if you stop by, she'll have a special for you!

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way...  I've always loved that Christmas carol!   We're feeling very Christmasy with our house all decorated and the trees so pretty.  I love when it gets dark and we turn on the trees - just love those soft white lights! 

I think I have all the presents, but I haven't wrapped anything yet.  I got some pretty red and white gingham paper, so that ought to look pretty under the tree.  Got to get busy!

I love this sweet image and that gorgeous Jingle Bell sheet music!  The Paper Issues theme is still Christmas - so go link up your Christmas creations!

Monday is my day to post at The Hybrid Chick.  I created a "flag" wreath.  You can see more pictures and tutorial at the blog.  Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas at Craft Us Crazy

 Jeri is hosting a special challenge at the Craft Us Crazy blog.  It's all about Christmas!  And you've got two whole weeks from December 15th to link up.  The sponsor is KennyK Downloads. 

The prize is 5 digis - winner's choice!

My contribution to the Christmas challenge includes one of my favorite angel images.  Every time I see it, I think, "Oh, this is so sweet!"  That little fawn and bunny just add to its sweetness.  The background is a pretty Prima journal card and I added some embossed snowflakes and a pink poinsettia cut with my Cricut. 

So Craft Us Crazy is the place to add your Christmas projects.  Can't wait to see them!

New Year's Time at The Cutting Cafe

How are your Christmas preparations going?  I just got through baking and decorating sugar cookies for our office Christmas lunch tomorrow.  It's been quite dreary today and now I hear raindrops falling.  (We still need rain, though, after our drought this summer.) 

Regina has quite a few New Year's sets available at The Cutting Cafe.  I used the Happy New Year's Frame from the Happy New Year's set and the circle from her new set It's New Years Time.  I think this little tag would be perfectly happy hanging from either a gift bag or a bottle of wine.

 Ginger Scrapstreet Magazine has included my circus train in their Circus fun section.  If you haven't seen the December edition, check it out!

My daughter, Lauren, had a recipe published in Ruche's A Homemade Holiday.  It's a really cool publication, you might like to take a look.

Regina will have all the DT New Year inspiration posted Wednesday evening at The Cutting Cafe blog.  And I'm sure she'll have some sort of giveaway - check it out!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Five

Wow!  It's already the last day of Visions of Sugarplums!   I want to shout out a big THANK YOU to Regina, Beatriz, and Cassie for sponsoring us with wonderful giveaways this week.  You are all so generous and so very sweet!

First up are some tiny ornaments that would be darling on a little tiny tree.   I whipped these up in no time, but in spite of that I think they are darling! 

 I used 1 1/2" glass domes (bought on etsy) and a sheet of digital images from Made by Janet.  I printed the circles at 1 1/2" and then cut them with a circle die.  Put a thin coat of Diamond Glaze on the glass and pressed the circle to it.   The hanger needs to go on now.  I taped and glued red jute to the back and covered it with a stamped manila circle. 

All that's needed to finish them off is a little ribbon, button, and twine. 

So sweet!

How about another really quick idea, perfect as a stocking stuffer for all the sweet girls in your life?   Peppermint lip gloss!   I don't really have a recipe, but here's how I made it:   First scoop out a heaping spoonful of petroleum jelly and warm it up in the microwave for one minute.  Add a couple of drops of peppermint extract and one drop of red food coloring.  Mix.  Wash your tin and fill it up. That's it and it tastes lovely and has a pretty shine.   A simple stamped image finishes it off. 

I think wrapping it with a bow and putting in a stocking is perfect!

Cassie hosted our giveaway yesterday.  The winner of a Pink Paislee Snow Day kit is:

Tanya - Tanya email me and I'll make sure you get your prize!

Now I'm giving away two prize packages.  The winners are:

Tanya and Lisa M.  - email me and I'll mail you all the goodies!   Thank you to everyone who left such lovely comments!

There's still more sweet stuff to see!  Here's who's blogging today: 

Visit Christina at I Gotta Create, Lauren from The Past on a Plate, Mika from Mika's Pantry (she has some darling recipe cards to download), and Jennifer from Just Wedeminute. 

A BIG THANK YOU to all my wonderful friends (who made Visions of Sugarplums such a pleasure! 

Merry, merry Christmas to you all!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Four

Can't believe we've already reached day four of Visions of Sugarplums!  I've so enjoyed going to my friends' blogs and seeing their wonderful creations.  Hope you're enjoying yourself, too!

This is my crepe paper wreath.  The technique will take you right back to grade school!  When I was in 6th grade, I wrote a report on Washington D.C. and one of the pages has dogwood trees with tissue paper blossoms.  I still have that report and the technique is exactly the same!  I wrapped a styrofoam wreath with cream crepe paper.  Then, the fun begins!  I cut LOTS of 2" strips from the crepe paper roll and some more from a turquoise  roll.  Wrapped them around a pencil to scrunch them and glued them on.  I hot glued the little silver balls and a clip to the back for hanging. 

The middle decorations can be as fancy as you like.  I went pretty plain (on the tree especially), as I was going for simple in the middle.   It's so pretty and retro!

I love this little tree!  It was fairly simple to make and I want to make more! 

 I wrapped the spool in a vintage ice coupon (a whole book of coupons is in my giveaway) and used hot glue to decorate the tree.  It's just so sweet!

Yesterday's giveaway was two digital collage sets from Iralamija's shop.  The winner is:

Ros!  Thank you for visiting, Ros...  Email me and we'll get your digital sets. 

For my giveaway, check out the previous posts.  I'll be announcing two winners on Friday.

Now for today's giveaway - it's from Cassie at Paper Issues!   It's a Pink Paislee Snow Day kit -   it includes 24-6x6 papers from Pink Paislee Snow Day.  1 full package of layered sticker embellishments, 1 full package of wood embellishments, 5 yards each of 3 different colors of Baker's Twine from the Twinery in Maraschino, Pink Sorbet and Cappuccino.  Wow!  You can see everything at the Paper Issues store.  All your comments for today here and on all of today's participating blogs will enter you in the drawing for this awesome kit!   Thank you, Cassie!

Cassie is also posting today, so be sure to go to by Something From Cassie to see her Christmas creation.  Ira is posting today - I'm sure she'll have something fun!   For another fabulous recipe, Mika's Pantry is the place.  And be sure to make a stop at Jennifer's for another fun-filled post about family and tradition. 

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Three

Thank you so much for joining us for Day Three of Visions of Sugarplums!  Hope you've been checking out all the blogs and enjoying the posts. The fun continues... 

On Monday, I showed part of my giveaway and it includes two viewmaster pockets.   I decided they would make darling gift card holders. 

They are the perfect size, they are already a pocket all you have to do is add some fun embellishments. 

I'm going to leave the reel in mine and just slip in a gift card.  Cute, huh?

Regina, who hosted our giveaway yesterday (winner below), has some awesome Christmas pockets at The Cutting Cafe.  One is a mitten pocket, which I've used to create another gift card holder.  I have to tell you -  I like gift cards!  I like to get them and I like to give them.  But, I want to give them in some really cute packaging. 

  I added the pretty mitten paper behind the cutout, along with some felt for cuffs. 

I aso added a coin envelope with  a Dennison label, because I wanted to put a little note in this one.

This last gift card pocket is made from digital images from Iralamija's Shop.  Love her vintage image collages.  I check quite often to see if she's put something new in her store. 

I printed and sewed two images to make the pocket and enlarged a flashcard to make the tag.   Beatriz Jennings of Iralamija's Shop is hosting our giveaway today!  She is giving away two digital collages of the winner's choice.   All of today's comments left here and on today's participating blogs count as an entry to win the two digital collages.  Thank you, Beatriz!

The winner of The Cutting Cafe's Christmas treat boxes and three sets of your choice is:

Karel!   Karel, email me (address in right side bar) and we'll get you your prize!
My giveaway winner will be posted on Friday.  Check out the past two posts for the contents.  Today, I'm adding red crinkle ribbon to the stash.  Remember all comments left here and on participating blogs count as an entry.

Linda is also posting today.   She calls her blog My Happy Place and it certainly is!  I love visiting her blog, not only is she very creative showing fabulous projects, she also displays the most wonderful photography.  Mika is sharing her third (actually 4th) recipe today.  The others have wetted my tastebuds - can't wait to find out what she's showing now.  And Jennifer will share more family traditions - have so enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures of her family.     Visit them all!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Two

Welcome!  It's Day Two of Visions of Sugarplums. We have quite a few treats scheduled for you.   Hope you got to see all the posts yesterday!

I'm sharing snowflakes today.  This first ornament uses book pages and I can't tell you how hard it was for me to tear out a page from a book the first time I did it!  I LOVE books and it just seems so wrong to tear one up.  It made it a little easier that someone gave me some pages that were already loose for the first project I did a couple of years ago.  Now, I tend to keep books that I didn't enjoy very much and don't seem to feel quite so bad about those!  

To make this pretty snowflake, you'll need 16 strips 1 1/8" x 5 1/2", then die cut one edge on each one.   Fold 8 in half with a crease and staple open end.   Make a loop with the other 8 and staple the open end.   Hot glue the pieces to a piece of cardstock. 

 Then you can age and add glitter to the edge.   I added a snowflake purchased from Michaels (and glittered gold), a scallop red circle and a vintage image in the middle.  Hot glue seems to work best for adding the gold snowflake to the book page snowflake.

Or you can create a pretty snowflake without the book page part.  

These snowflakes come white and they take glitter pretty well.   I like to let a little of the white show through.  It seems to add some depth to the snowflake.

If you would like a copy of my snowflake middles you can click and save the image below.

How about a couple of very simple projects using snowflakes?  This tag is oh, so easy, but cool, too! 

Love the contrast of the felt and the green gem.  I die cut two tags and glued a piece of felt between.   Clean and simple (which is actually a little hard for me to do)! 

What do you think about these snowflake clothespins?  They are stamped with Versamark Ink and heat embossed.  Can't wait to add them to a project!

Today, Regina from The Cutting Cafe is giving away a wonderful collection from her store.  Regina has so many digital files and templates to choose from and her creations are terrific!  For every comment left here and on all of today's participating blogs you will get an entry to win the following treat boxes:  Christmas tree, Peppermint Candy, Snowman and Present.  On top of that, you get to select three other sets from the store!   WOW and thank you, Regina!  Be sure to visit her blog to see other goodies made with templates from her store.

Here is the snowman treat box I made from Regina's set:

And there is even more fun!  Ira is posting today.  Her creations are always a must see.  I'm practically speechless when I see them!  She sent me some preview pictures and let me tell you her candles are beautiful.  Be sure to see them!  Christina from I Gotta Create, is posting some cool napkin rings.  Can't wait to see them!  Mika has another Christmasy recipe to share and Jennifer has wonderful family tradition ideas.  If you haven't seen my giveaway, check it out in the previous post.  Here is today's addition to my giveaway:

This cling stamp set will be added to everything pictured yesterday!  Remember, all you have to do is leave a comment here (and any comments on the participating blogs above count, too) for a chance to win one of two identical giveaways.  So glad you stopped by today!