Fruit Necklace

 This was my first time ever using Shrinky Dinks.  They make some that work with your Inkjet printer that I've been wanting to try, and that's how I made these :)  

The adorable images are from Digi Crafts.  I had purchased a some cute images from her, the Kawaii Ice Cream, and made some cards.  When I shared them with her she asked my permission to put them up in her Etsy shop.  I said yes, and as a thank you she sent me these great fruit images.  I had to do something really special with them.  So, if you bop on over to her shop you'll see a little of my work in her listings.  Cool, huh?

For those of you that haven't made jewelry before or worked with Shrinky Dinks I'm doing a walk through type tutorial with some photos so you can get a feel for the process I went through to see if it's something you'd enjoy.  Here goes!

With the instructions for the Shrinky Dinks it tells you that you need to lighten your images before printing them.  When they shrink the image will get much darker, so they recommend lightening the image about 50%.  If you skip this step your images will be too dark and may not dry properly.  Luckily with the images I was using she includes each image individually, as well as a collage of them, including cut lines.  I used the sheet with all of them, so I just had to adjust the one photo and print it.  Super easy!

Next I had to make holes and cut around the images.  I separated the images from each other with a very rough cut, and then punched the holes before I cut the images out nicely.  I used my Crop A Dile on the larger punch setting - and it's a good thing too, because those holes shrink WAY down!  I followed the provided guidelines on my image as cut lines, except for where I added the hole I had to eyeball it.  Make sure you think about how you want the images to hang before adding the holes.  I placed holes near the stems in a couple of the images. For the cherries I did not cut out the center portion of the cut, I figured this would help keep them more sturdy.  

The next step was baking, which I did in my toaster oven.  The package tells you the recommended temps, but I was so nervous doing it!  *LOL*  The images curled up A LOT while they were baking and the orange nearly got stuck together.  The package says sometimes they will actually stick together and you have to stick something in there to separate it from itself if that happens.  Luckily I didn't have to.  The images curled up a lot, and then started to flatten out some.

After I removed the images I was not able to get them very flat, I even tried individually baking one a little longer and then re-flattening it.  No luck.  So, I decided to use my heat embossing gun and a smooth piece of cardboard to flatten them.  I did this carefully one piece at a time - heating it until it was pliable, and then smushing it gently under the cardboard.  It worked great! 

When the images were all flattened the last step was turning these pieces into jewelry.  I used a chain, a clasp, and some jump rings.  The only tool I needed was a couple tiny pairs of jewelry pliers, which are inexpensive.  I laid out all the pieces in a row to determine placement, and decided not to use the orange.  I wanted the banana to be the center because it was bigger than the others, and then I had 3 pieces on each side of it.  

I let my daughter play with the extra orange piece, and it was ruined pretty easily.  I am going to seal up the necklace with some clear nail polish, I just haven't done it yet.  The package recommends a couple brands that they tested so I know it will be safe :)  Here's a photo of the piece with a quarter so you can see how tiny and cute these came out.  Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous & very crafty day.   

Milk and Cookies Box

I just love this little box.  I created the box itself using my Ultimate Crafter's Companion.  One of the features it has is that it has a section for boxes.  It automatically makes the lid slightly bigger than the base with NO MEASURING required!  Yeah, I love that!  When people start talking about measurements like 16ths I get pretty confused easily.  I was never good at that stuff.  The paper is from a DCWV Pack.

To decorate the box I cut a heart with my Cricut at 6 inches, this one is from Create a Critter.  The milk is also from Create a Critter cut at 3.25 inches.  I wanted to make it extra special so I cut it in some thin acetate - which was just cheap transparency sheets I bought at the local office supply store, they were like 10 cents.  

I inked around the edges with white Staz On because it was just too clear - I actually lost it on my desk for about 10 minutes!  *LOL*  I added some red lines to the straw using a Stampin' Write Marker from Stampin' Up.  To attach the milk to the jar I was concerned with not wanting something to look gunky, so I tried using Diamond Glaze all over the milk.  I figured if I just used it on some spots it would be more obvious. I think it actually gave a nice liquid effect and I'm happy with it - although the acetate did warp a little as it dried, but it's SO thin so that didn't really surprise me.

The gingerbread is from SP & Company stamps form the set called Cutest Gingerbread Man.  You get to pick the face for your gingerbread :)  I chose a winking one with eyelashes to be more girlie.  I filled in some areas with my white gel pen so I could color them.  I colored the cheeks and mouth pink and the buttons green - with small brown dots for buttonholes.  I used some Liquid Applique for the frosting.  It's my first time using it and I had so much fun - after it dries you heat it and it puffs up!  I haven't seen it locally but I ordered it online from Joanns. 

The & symbol is from a sheet of cuts from Doodlebug Designs from their Happy Holidays Collection - of course you could easily die cut your own for a similar look.

Winners!

I am announcing the 2 winners for this week.
For the blog hop candy, the winner of the Scripty Scrips set is Stephanie.  She said 
"Your card is so cute. You did a great job of showcasing the glitter markers"
 The winner of the Winter Lace cartridge is Monica.  She made a cute snowman for the challenge.
I have left comments on both of your blogs ladies!  Please get back to me so you can get your goodies :)

Kicking of Christmas Blog Hop Project

The comments for this post are now closed.

 Welcome everyone!  We are having fun and blog hopping away to celebrate the holiday season with fun and fabulous projects :)  I am the second stop on this hop - you should start here at Amy's Blog.  Then you can come right back here and make sure to enter for the fabulous give-a-way!

After you finish up checking out my project & commenting for your chance to win an awesome prize, head on over to Donna's Blog.

For today's project I made a card to slip a hot cocoa packet inside.  The card measures 5 inches by 6 and 1/2 inches when folded.  I needed this larger size to accommodate the cocoa packet I plan on slipping inside.  The paper is from K & Company.

The craft cardstock is cut at 4 and 1/2 inches square.  I used the fantastic gel pen holder and some of the pens from the glitter assortment all from Chomas Creations.    

I used the Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge to draw a green square that is 4 and 1/4 inches to create a border.  I used 3 different font features from Plantin Schoolbook to give each word a unique look.  The letters are all close to a 1 inch setting.  "You" is in blue, "warm" is in pink, and "my" is in silver.  The beautiful sparkle of the glitter in the writing is really stunning in person.

The adorable snowman is from SP & Company's set called Falling Snow.  The snowman is normally holding a candy cane, but I simply cut it out of the design and used a chipboard glittered heart in it's place.  I colored him in with Stampin' Write markers - creating stripes on the scarf for a little added flair.  I used Diamond Stickles for some fun bling.

The die cut in the top right corner is by Doodlebug Designs from their Happy Holidays collection on their Cute Cuts die cut sheet.  I simply added more of the Diamond Stickles and a snowflake.  The snowflakes are by Jolee's Boutique.

Aren't you lucky!  Samantha from SP & Company stamps, who I'm proud to be the design team leader for, has decided to donate a great prize to a lucky winner!  To win be a follower of my blog, and comment on this post.  Please include an e-mail, blog link, or some other way I can get in touch with you if you're the winner.

She has donated the Scripty Scrips set!  Here's what it looks like.  Imagine all the wonderful things you could create with this diverse set.  

Some of the other blogs have awesome candy too - and there is a $25 gift card to Custom Crops.  The winner will be chosen at random from one of the blogs - so leave a comment on all the blogs for the best shot at winning that fun prize :)

Even if you don't win a free prize, there's still goodies to be had since both Amy and Samantha are having pre Black Friday sales!

When you've entered to win on this post, head on over to Donna's blog to continue the fun and inspiration!

Just because I am awesome, I'm going to include a full lineup of all the blogs in case you get lost along the way or run into a broken link.  Happy hopping :)

Amy

Amber - That's ME!

Donna

I Copic

Maria

Stephanie

Penny

Susan

Linda

Jin

Calypso

Dana

Lori

Samantha 

Oh Christmas Tree

I purchased this Crafts Too brand embossing folder called Christmas Tree, the brand is based in the UK, but there are places here that sell them.  When I saw it - I immediately thought of using Stickles on it.  I bought some really special paper that has all kinds of interesting fibers in it and it's so soft - it feels almost like felt.  I embossed the paper, and cut around the tree.  Then I added the Stickles.

The patterned papers are by K & Company.  I used a stamp from Pink By Design set called Winter Fun for the sentiment, and a few buttons from my stash. 

Now I have to laugh because Oh Christmas Tree is one of those songs I'm always singing during the holidays, but I don't know the words!  Don't you just love & hate those songs at the same time?  Maybe this year I'll print the lyrics and actually learn it instead of humming the 75% of it I don't recall :)

Sparkle and Cheer

This is a wall hanging that I made for the holidays that has a lot of dimension.  I designed it especially for the Scrapmaster's Paradise blog.  For all the fun details - check out this post.

Thanksgiving Table Decor

Click on the photo to see it bigger, then click "back" in your browser

I thought I'd share a couple photos of my Thanksgiving table decor.

I used an EK success punch to make the leaves.  The place card is a 6 inch square paper folded in half to make a 3 by 6 place card.  I used Close to Cocoa ink from Stampin' Up to sponge the edges and then stamped stitching around the edges of the frame from the SP & Company Stitchery Doo set.  I stamped a frame from the Scallops and Lines set.  I wrote the names by hand using the Close to Cocoa Stampin Write marker.

 

For the napkin ring I just cut a strip of paper, taped it and then added the punched leaf.  All papers for the entire table, except for the solid cardstock behind the chair turkeys, are from the Autumn Splendor stack by DCWV.

This is a little jar I made to hold some blessings for the year.  I took 2 sheets of patterned paper and attached them back to back.  Then I wrapped them around a glass jar.  I tried forming my own piece, but this ended up being more even and more durable.  The glass jar is only visible if you really look down into it - as I made the paper much taller than the jar.  I created a circle and glued the jar down to it, then embellishing with punched out leaves. The front is a Nestablities Labels One die that I created a frame on.  I placed the smaller size of matching die on it with removable adhesive.  Then I inked the edges with that as a mask. After I removed the mask I hadded brown stitching lines and wrote "Holder Family Blessings" on it.  I punched out many of the leaves and put them inside to write blessings on.  I would have liked to buy some fake flowers to go inside, but it just hasn't happened this year.

To see the chair turkeys better and get all their details check out this post.

To see a thanksgiving banner I made and placed by the dining room decor check out this post.

I am Grateful For Banner

Click the photo to see it larger, but remember to use your browser's back button.

 This is my project for Miss Tracy over at Craft Junkie Too this week, be sure and stop by her blog to see what all the other ladies came up with. We were assigned to do a project about something we are thankful for.  Be sure to check out all the other fabulous project here.

When Tracy asked me to make a project about something I was thankful for, how could I decide on just one thing? So I made a banner with many of the things I am grateful for to display near my dining room, that is one of the first things you see when you walk into the house.

I used papers from the Autumn Splendor stack by DCWV.   I used brown for all the die cuts.  I wanted to keep all the cuts looking simple so that the banner looked a bit more elegant and not too "busy."

I cut scalloped circles at 4 inches, and plain circles at 3.25 inches I stitched around each blue circle with my Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker. Then I added my die cuts, and wrote what each one meant to me.

Here are all the ones I made

I made 2 like this - a leaf that says "I am grateful for..." over and over all the way around. This is how I started and finished my banner.

A wedding couple that says "Being married to the love of my life and best friend"

A little girl silhouette that says "Tiffany Marie, our beautiful daughter"

A little boy silhouette that says "Our crazy, but sweet little boy Sammy"

A doctors bag that says "Our health, and the health of those dear to us"

A watermelon with a bite taken out that says " The food to fill our tummies & help our children grow"

A house that says "Our beautiful new home to raise our children in and make memories"

A pair of scissors that says "My creativity and all the wonderful tools I have to help it come to life"

I used regular old Scotch tape to attach them to a ribbon. I punched a small hole in the top one and strung a rubber band through it. Then I used a Command hook to hang it on the wall. These hooks are made to come off the walls without doing damage.

Thanks for letting me share, and may you all be as blessed as I am this Thanksgiving season!

Snowman Display Globe Card

I think this card is pretty special.  I found these Flower Soft Display Globes at a local stamp and scrap expo, and I had to try them out.  I knew that the Falling Snow stamp set from SP & Company would be a PERFECT fit for one of these awesome globes.

I wanted to make an easel card so that this would display well since it sticks out so far.  The card front is 5 inches by 6 inches.  To make the easel base I took a 5 by 12 inch piece of cardstock.  I folded it in half, then I took one half and folded it in half again - but in the opposite direction of the other fold.  If you watch Youtube videos on making Easel cards it will make sense, just modify your measurements to score at 6 and 9 inches along this larger piece.

My sentiment is on a 1 and 1/2 by 3 inch piece of Kraft cardstock.  I stamped the "Winter Wishes" in Elegant Eggplant ink from Stampin' Up and then doodled around that piece with the matching marker.  I layered this on  a piece that is 2 and 1/2 by 4.  This is on 2 layers of Pop Dots.

For the card front I have a white piece that I did my stamping on, with a blue and white paper from the Peppermint Forest paper stack from Joanns layered over it.  The globes come with cardboard templates that you can trace so you know where to cut to go around the globe.  I stamped the snowman, in black Staz On.  I stamped the hills and the snowflakes in Stampin Up's Bordering Blue.

I colored the snowman using a black Copic Marker for the buttons.  I wanted the snowman to be a snow woman - so I used girly colors and I also created polka dots in the scarf and hat to make it more special and unique.  I used the Following Stampin' Write makers for everything else on her...

Bordering Blue

Real Red

Tempting Turquoise

Lavender Lace

Pink Passion

Only Orange

I used a little Frosted Lace Stickles on the hills and on a few spots around the outside of my snowman.  The snow inside the globe is Polar White Flower Soft - it really does look like snow!  Not glittery really - just like real snow and so soft and fluffy.  The ribbon is just stuff I've had sitting in my stash.  

Thanks for stopping by today to visit me!  Your visits and sweet comments mean a lot :)

XOXO Rose Card

I wanted to make this card to participate in the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo # 74.  If you want to join in on the fun you could win some Echo Park papers :)

This time around I used the exact ink colors, the paper isn't from Stampin' Up though - just something I had in my stash :)

The card is the standard 4 and 1/4 by 5 and 1/2, it opens from the top

I took a 3 inch square to stamp on

I used the SP & Company stamp set Mini Card Creations II for the frame and the sentiment

I used Stampin' Up's A Rose is a Rose for the... you guessed it rose

I inked the edges of the square with the Real Red

I used Martha Stewart's Doily Lace Border Punch for the lacy edge - the finished strip measures about 1 and 1/2 inches wide

I added a pink satin ribbon

I added Fruit Punch Stickles to various places.  With the 2 step rose stamp there are some areas that are left white, so I added some there - and all the way around the outside of the rose.  Then I added more to the frame, sentiment, and along the top of my lace piece.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by today :)

Shaped Present Card

 I created this card for a challenge over at Cricut Cardz Challenge.  The challenge is to make a card for Christmas using the card feature on any cartridge.  It's running until November 16th if you wanna join the fun :)

This shaped card is from the Sweet Treats Cartridge, cut at 5 and 1/4 inches.  I used 2 papers from the Peppermint Forest stack from Joanns.  Then I added 2 colors of Stickles, Xmas Red, and a real favorite of mine called Holly.  It's a really special color mix - mainly green, with flecks of gold and red, just perfect for holiday projects!

This was a really fast and easy card.  That's one thing I love - having the option to throw together something quick if I don't feel like spending a lot of time.  Now I have one more cute and fun holiday card ready to go :)

I'm Giving Away a Winter Lace Cricut Cartridge!

 I have a super easy and fun challenge.  The rules are REALLY simple - I just want everyone to have fun and show off their work :)  Read below for details.  If you participate you can win.

Create beautiful gift packaging for the holidays. This is a give-a-way direct from me to you.   Please be respectful and follow the simple rules :)

I know we all have a lot of gifts to hand out, so I thought it would be nice to challenge ourselves to make them look their best. You can do traditional wrapping and then make your own custom tag & bow, create a box, decorate a bag, etc. Challenge yourself to do something a little fun and unique with your packaging.

Obviously this must be your original work.

It must be a new project created after this contest is posted.

You must use the linking tool down below this post to add your project for consideration before November 26th. I will have the Linky expire at midnight on the 25th – I'm in Mountain Time.

To actually win the cartridge you must be in the US. I am SO, SO sorry about this, but this time of year the post offices are pretty packed and I don't know anything about international shipping – so at this time I don't want to risk disappointing anyone. :( If you want to join in the contest just for fun please go ahead and use Mr. Linky to show off your work, and then in the space where you enter your name please put N/A in front of your name so I know it's not an official entry for the prize. Once again, I am very sorry to exclude anyone.

When the winner is announced and contacted, they will have 1 week to get back to me with their address, or I will select another winner.  If I can find an e-mail for you when I visit your project I will e-mail you, but if I can't you will have to contact me after I announce that you've won on this blog.

That is pretty much it for the requirements.

You do not have to be a follower.

You do not have to post about this contest on your blog – although I would GREATLY appreciate it if you are posting your entry if you mention the contest and include a link. It is also OK if you don't have a blog – just use some other means of linking your project like Photobucket or somewhere else that hosts photos.

The winner will be chosen at random using random.org. I don't want anyone to feel like their project isn't “good enough” to enter. Just have fun and making something with love and you'll be entered.

If you have any questions let me know.

I look forward to seeing everyone's wonderful creations!

Acetate Window Birthday Card!

 Oh I think this just turned out SO cool!  It all started because I recently did a make and take at Archivers where we embossed acetate.  So, I wanted to emboss some at home. 

I'm thinking of re-doing this on video.  If you'd like that please let me know in the comments :) 

I used the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder on a piece of acetate, and loved it.  So, I decided I wanted to be able to see confetti through it.  So, I attached another piece of acetate behind it, adding confetti inside, and then I had this cute little pouch with confetti in it.  I used red line tape for a strong hold.

I used my Gypsy to place a rectangle window in a card, although you can do this with a paper trimmer if you want - I just stink at that technique!  *LOL*  I attached the window behind it.

I wanted something pretty on the inside to see through the card, so I cut a cute little cupcake from the Sweet Treats cartridge and added some various colors of Stickles for bling, Cotton Candy, Lavendar, Magenta, & Yellow.

I stamped the sentiment from the SP & Company Ultimate Sentiments I set.  Using Elegant Eggplant ink from Stampin' Up.

I finished off by decorating the front of the card.  I used the Itty Bitty Bits set from Stampin' Up.  They are so tiny and cute, it took me a long time to fill the whole frame, but it was fun, and that makes this really one of a kind.  I was still using the Elegant Eggplant ink.  

Then I added Deep Plum Glimmer Mist.  I taped down the rectangle that cut out to make the frame, I put it over the acetate to avoid getting glimmer mist on it, but if you are duplicating this project you could also just glimmer mist BEFORE putting the acetate in and you wouldn't have to :) I just didn't know I was going to yet.

I rounded the corners and used Lavendar Stickles around the inside of the frame.

Wah - lah!  This fabulous card :)

Simple Holiday Card

This was such a quick and easy little card, it would be perfect to mass produce for the holidays!

I used the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo # 73 as inspiration!  If you want to play along too you can win your choice of paper kit :)

I cut the card base at 3 and 1/2 inches square (when folded, so 3 and 1/2 by 7 before folding)

I used all SP & Company Stamps for this card.

I used Stitchery Doo around the edges in Real Red

I used the square from Mini Card Creations I in Certainly Celery

I stamped Tis The Season in Real Red using the Christmas Emma Set

I stamped a tree from Ornamental Trees using Mellow Moss - a slight change from Pear Pizazz

Then I put the card, just the front portion, in the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and ran it through

This would go through the mail really easily, and is affordable too since it doesn't have embellishments.  :)

A Cut Above the Rest Card - With Video

 These are the cards I made the girls for the Swarm I attended on Saturday.  To see pics of us at the Swarm, check out the post below this one.  It was awesome!

I used the Cricut Cartridges Forever Young, Everyday Paper Dolls, & Simply Charmed.  I also used a whole bunch of stamps. I did the stitching lines on the front with the SP & Company Stitchery Doo stamp set!  It makes it so much faster than hand drawing a ton of white lines!  I did smear the ink though, I am always doing that with craft ink, I should have been more patient and gone more slowly.  For all the other details please watch the video below :) 

Our Swarm

At the Expo with a few friends we made there.

 Saturday was the most amazing day ever!  I met up with all my new bestest scrappy buddies and had the most amazing day.  Those of you who are on the Cricut Messageboards probably recognize the name Admin Becky - as she is the one who overseas the boards.  Well, she flew out to come to our get together!  One of the other gals arranged it, and I guess since we're Circle members Provo Craft wanted to make us happy, so they let her come!  Everyone at Archiver's flipped out and wanted their pic taken with her too.  We were among Cricut royalty.

Me with Admin Becky!!!

We went to a stamp expo, out to eat at Applebees, to this awesome paper store I'd never been to, and then to Archivers for a crop. I could not have had a more wonderful day with amazing ladies! We even ran into another Circle member at the stamp expo. 

At the crop.  Of course, I closed my eyes! *LOL*

So, what did I manage to get done at the crop?  Cover one chipboard album of 5 pages!  *LOL*  Yup, I was a little distracted.  :) 

Another photo at the crop.

Cup of Cocoa Christmas Card

Here's a little holiday card I made.  I used the Peppermint Forest stack which was available at Jo-ann's last holiday season.  I start by cutting out a standard sized card base.  I embossed simple snowflakes all over the card front using Stamp n Stuff Embossing Powder in Kaleidoscope by Stampendous.  It's basically clear with glitter.  The effect is subtle, especially over patterned paper, but it's elegant and I liked it.  

Then I cut out a piece of a patterned sheet that included a sentiment.  I tied a piece of old scrap ribbon I had laying around onto it and then mounted it to a red piece of cardstock.  I added some stitching lines with my white gel pen.

I hand cut out the gingerbread and teacup - which cut together as one piece.  Then I added Diamond Stickles around the outline, & to the details of the cup & gingerbread.  I mounted this piece on with Pop Dots.

The Finding Nemo Bathroom

Lately I've been trying to make our new house a home, and I've been learning a lot about what really matters to me.  I can be such a perfectionist, and having kids 13 months apart has really forced me to deal with that.  So rarely will anything go as planned anymore, or will I have time to do a task to my complete and total satisfaction.

So, with decorating now I am learning to just enjoy the process.  So what, I got paint on the ceiling, oh well, at least it's DONE.  *LOL*  I wanted to create a fun bathroom upstairs for my kids.  Company will likely be using this bathroom a lot as well.  I wanted to make sure it was inviting for guests but more importantly fun and colorful for the children.

I found the shower curtain and the towel bars first.  Then I picked up some Finding Nemo wall decals, and decided on a wall color.  I wanted a picture of the sea turtles, as they are a big part of the movie and not included in the wall decal set.  I looked online to order a framed picture of them.  They were like $80! Seriously, no way!  So, I found a picture online I liked.  I saved it and printed it.  It has a little text in the bottom left hand corner saying where I got it, but who cares, it's not really over the image.  I matted it onto some orange cardstock.  I had this great frame that is is actually see through, but it was only designed to sit on a shelf and had no wall mount on it.  I used my Cricut spatula to pry off the glued on hinge.  Then I tied some ribbon towards the top and hung it that way.

I am still trying to decide what color towels to get  I thought maybe grey to tone it down and match the dolphin on the shower curtain, then I thought pale blue or sea foam green, or maybe bright orange to match Nemo himself.  I still haven't decided.  Any thoughts?

Turkey Chair Hanging

 

 

This is my second project for miss Tracy over at Craft Junkie Too. She challenged her team to do a project that hangs, cleverly calling it "Fall is in the Air."  It inspired me to do some fun decorating for Thansgiving.  Please be sure and stop by her blog to see the other gals' fabulous creations as well.

Here soon I will be shooting a video showing my whole Thanksgiving table decor all put together.  It's almost done and turning out very cute.

I created this simple little turkey hanging to hang from the backs of all our dining room chairs for Thanksgiving.

I cut the turkey from Create a Critter at 5 inches.

I embellished him with googly eyes, a bit of ribbon, and lots of white gel pen doodling

I cut a piece of cardstock at 6.75 inches by 8.5 inches

I used the Martha Stewart Ribbon Loop punch around the page set all the way around the cardstock

I mounted the turkey onto the cardstock using pop dots

I finished off by punching 2 of the larger sized holes with my Crop-a-Dile & threaded ribbon through the holes

I just used tape to attach the ribbon to the back of the chair

 

Thanks for stopping by today :)  I hope you enjoyed this project!

Make Merry Holiday Card

Here's the card I made for the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo 72.  I didn't use the exact same colors of ink, but I think the look is close enough. I used Pretty in Pink, Barely Banana, & Tempting Turquoise.  The stamp set is Berry Christmas from Stampin' Up.  I used paper from the Peppermint Forest stack - which was at Joanns last holiday season.  I added a hefty helping of Diamond Stickles for bling.  The ribbon is just from my stash.  It's just a 4 inch square card.

If you want to try your hand at the color combo challenge you could win some markers!  Go check it out :)

Our Family's Simple Halloween

My husband and I love Halloween.  We have a TON of decorations sitting in the basement. This year, they stayed there.  Most of them would scare our kids, and since we are just getting settled in the new house it's one more project we didn't need anyways.

I ordered the kids' costumes a couple months ago.  The characters Abby and Elmo from Sesame Street.  My daughter was so excited to see her Abby costume.  My little son couldn't have made a cuter Elmo.  The poor tortured little thing in that big, fuzzy, red suit... it was so precious!

Saturday was a busy day!  We took our kids to one of our local rec centers (there are 4 in our community) for their Trick or Treat Street.  It was amazing!  For only $1 per kid there were goodness knows how many booths with candy, toothbrushes, and other goodies.  The kids even got fun things like small containers of Play Doh and water bottles!  We only got about halfway through all the booths and went outside because the kids were restless (they are only 1 & 2.)  Outside was a blast too because there was a pumpkin patch and each family gets to pick a pumpkin!  I wanted to take pics to scrap, but I didn't even bring the camera.  It's just as well.  Hubby and I were exhausted from carrying the kids the whole way through, and we had to park pretty far out too. 

After all that we drove for over an hour to my sister-in-law's house for a Halloween party she was having.  The kids sure had fun.  My daughter adores her older cousin.

Sunday we stayed home and worked on some projects around the house.  I took a marker to our pumpkin, which really delighted my little daughter.  We stayed in and handed out candy to several cute trick or treaters and munched on a snack tray of assorted meats, cheese, & crackers. 

I look forward to Halloween next year, it's hubby and I's favorite holiday.  I hope you and yours had enjoyable celebrations as well, and maybe got to glimpse some cute trick or treaters if you don't have your own at home.