Tags, Tags, & More Tags...

Here are the tags that I made for the staff at DD2 &DD3's school... yup, all 165 of them! They will be attached to the staff's Christmas gift from the PTO this year. I kept them really simple, but I hope the staff will appreciate all the love that went into creating these tags. There are 2 different types of tags. One has a punch border on the bottom and the other doesn't. The reason for this is as I was prepping the tags, my poor punch broke! I don't know why, but lately a few of my punches have been breaking down on me. Do you think it's from over use? LOL! I'm sure that's why, but hey, at least I got my monies worth before they broke down. Okay, enough of the chit chat. Thanks for stopping by. I hope to be back with more to share. I have some projects done. Just need to upload the pictures to blogger, but for some reason I've been having trouble uploading the pictures. Oh well, until next time...

My November CATS...

Here is the card and tag that I created for my partner this month for our CATS (card and tag swap). My partner this month was Enjoli and she is a big fan of Hello Kitty so I'm hoping she'll like my creations. The theme this month was "bling" so I decided to make it sparkle by using some glitter paper and also adding some rhinestones. The Hello Kitty paper that I used is actually a piece of origami paper that I found here locally at Shirokiya's. I guess you could say that it helps to think "outside the box" and try to find other ways to use items. Thanks again for all your sweet comments!

Coupon Holders...

I am back... again, but first I wanted to wish you all a belated "Happy Thanksgiving!" I hope that all of you had a nice, relaxing time with friends & family. And for those of you who were brave enough to head to the stores on Black Friday, I hope that you got what you went there for. We, on the other hand, decided to avoid the crowded malls and spent some well deserved QT with the family. Okay, let's get back to my project that I wanted to share with you today.

Here is a book that I created for some wonderful friends. I finally dusted off my BIA machine and created this book w/pockets. I made one for myself and use it to hold my coupons when I go shopping. But as you can see, I decided to leave the tabs blank in case the recipients want to use it to hold other things. I used my Big Shot to cut out the Hello Kitty and the SU tab punch for the tabs, along with some various DSP. Thanks for taking the time out to check out my project!

Busy, busy, busy...

Here is another project that I worked on last week. I made these post-it holders to give away for Christmas. I used various scrapbook paper/cardstock, punches, & dies. The quotes on the holders come from the SU stamp sets: Occasional Quotes & Pursuit of Happiness. The little pens were bought from our local Price Busters store. Below are close-ups of the post-it holders.

My Birthday Gifts...

Thanks for stopping by today. Sorry, nothing crafty about this post, but I wanted to share with all of you my birthday gifts from my hubby and kids. As some of you may know, I took the loss of our family cat really hard and at that point, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to get another pet. But as time went on, my heart started to heal and I was able to remember the wonderful memories created with our Kirakira. My hubby thought it would be a good idea to get another cat if it would make me happy again... not to replace her, but to create more happy memories. I jumped at the opportunity and decided to see if he would be willing to get two instead of just one. To my surprise he agreed that we could add two more cats to our family. Although I know deep inside that my heart is still going through the healing process, how could I let an opportunity like this fly by? Of course I took him up on his offer and these little ones are definitely warming my heart! We adopted these two kittens from our local Humane Society. We decided to name them Hope & Faith!



Welcome to the family Hope (striped) & Faith (black)!

Time to get back into crafting....

It's been such a long time since I've crafted, but last week I was finally bitten by the "crafting bug." It took a while to get started because although I felt like crafting... I didn't know what to make. But low and behold, as I stared at my craft supplies this idea popped into mind. I needed to get started on some Christmas things! Yikes... I can't believe how the holidays are sneaking up on me this year!

Here is what I came up with... a little box to put some treats in. I used the sizzix box #2 die, but cut off the top flap to leave it open (easier to fill with goodies). I used one of the embossing folders from the Oriental Weave set for the background. The adorable reindeer stamp is from Dandelion Designs. Thanks again for stopping by and for all your support and words of encouragement as I dealt with the loss of our family cat. I still miss Kira dearly, but your support has truly helped me to cope with our loss.

Some Sad News To Share...

Just wanted to let you all know that I will be taking a break from my blog & crafting. My lil' crafting buddy, Kira, went to be with the angels this past Saturday. She was on the road to recovery from a really bad kidney infection as I had shared before, but then she had a relapse. She was diagnosed with Kidney/Renal Failure on Thursday and a few days later she lost her battle. I am very saddened by our loss, but am comforted by the thought that she is in a better place and no longer suffering. I don't know when I will be able to bring myself back to crafting without her by my side. It's been hard, but hopefully I can get into the mood to craft soon especially with the holidays right around the corner.

My September CATS...

Here is my CATS (card & tag swap) that I created for my partner Teri this month. I used this Precious Moments digi that I found online. It totally reminds me of Teri. She is always working so hard to help others even though that leaves little time for herself. Teri, you are one amazing person!

Make A Child Smile...

Here is a batch of cards that I created for my friend Kris. She is collecting cards that will be packaged with handmade dolls that her Aunty is sewing. They will be donated to the children at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills, California. You can read all about it HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

Quick & Easy Tags...

First of all, thank you for all the well wishes for our cat. She seems to be doing better, but still not 100%.

Here are some gift tags that I was able to create this weekend. Yes, even with our busy weekend schedule, I was able to squeeze in some craft time. I think I really needed it! LOL! Crafting is definitely something that helps me relax, so I am very thankful when I can find the time to squeeze in any crafting time. Thanks for stopping by today. I hope that you have a great work week! Until next time...

Ocean Themed Card...

A few weeks back I was asked to think of a project to do with some of my crafting friends. This is what I came up with the morning of our gathering. I'm glad that I'm an early bird and actually had the time to prep the cards before heading out.

It is another recessed window card that I actually changed the dimensions so that it would be able to fit in a regular card envelope. For this card I used my Cricut and the Create-A-Critter cartridge to cut out the seahorse & jellyfish. Actually, my DD1 cut them out on the Cricut for me... hehehe! I'm so thankful to have wonderful daughters that love to help me craft!

Greeting Card Kids...

Here are some cards that I created using the Greeting Card Kids stamp set. I really like using this stamp set because the images are adorable. They kind of remind me of the Campbell's soup kids.



This recessed window card also uses the following: Big Shot and Spider Web & Square Lattice textured impressions embossing folders.



I used the Owl punch to make the ghosts with vellum.



This Christmas easel card was created using the following: Occassional Quotes stamp set, big shot, Perfect Polka Dots textured impressions embossing folder, clear circle die, scallop circle die. It also uses the following punches: boho blossoms, 2-3/8" scallop circle, 1-3/4" circle, decorative label, extra large oval.

Flower Box with 3x3 Cards...

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by my blog even though I didn't post anything last week. Yikes! It was a busy week for our family. Our cat needed to be hospitalized for a kidney infection and now that she's at home, requires a little more attention. So please bear with me if I forget to post again... lol!

This box was cased from my dear friend Teri. I attended her class last year and I've always wanted to make more of these boxes. Funny how it took me so long just to case it... lol! Thank you Teri for the wonderful idea. To make the flower on the box I used my big shot, Flower Folds die, and the Vintage Wallpaper textured impressions embossing folder. The card was made with the Circle Circus stamp set.

August CATS...

Please bear with me for this long post... This is the CATS (Card & Tag Swap) set that I created for my partner Joni. The theme for August was to use ribbon. As you can see, I wasn't that creative with my ribbon... hehehe! But if you scroll down below, you will see how creative Joni got. The image for this card & tag was created by my wonderful niece. I asked her to design a Wonder Woman image since Joni has nicknamed me that... lol! This is what she drew and I think it worked perfectly for my card & tag. This type of card is called a recessed window card and the inspiration came from Michele. Below is a picture of the inside of the card.





This is the amazing set that Joni made for me! I love it! I think she did a wonderful job on the ribbon flowers (see the picture below). She was even sweet enough to give me a stamp... the same image that she used on the card. Thank you Joni for being my partner!

End of Summer Stamp Camp Favors & Sign...

This is the welcome sign that I created for our End of Summer Stamp Camp. I used the Scallop Square & Beautiful Butterflies dies to cut these out. I also used the Vintage Wallpaper textured impressions embossing folders.



These are the favors that I created to match my welcome sign. I used the Beautiful Butterflies die and the Perfect Polka Dots textured impressions embossing folder. My upline was saving these containers which used to hold some type of powdered drinks, but after removing the labels & washing them out, I filled them with M & M's instead. It was actually nice to hear feedback from a few guests saying that they have been saving these containers, but just didn't know what to do with them... until now. I'm so glad that I created something that inspired someone. Thanks for stopping by...

End of Summer Stamp Camp Projects...

Here are the wonderful projects our guests got to make at this weekend's Stamp Camp. These projects were designed by Sonya, Naoko/Lorinne, Jane, & Jenn! Thank you ladies for doing a great job teaching everyone how to make these. Looking forward to our next Stamp Camp! Check back tomorrow to see the welcome sign and favors that I created for the Stamp Camp.

Post-it Holders...

We held our Stamp Camp yesterday and it was great seeing everyone having so much fun doing what they love... crafting! I will share the projects that they did later this week, but for now I wanted to share these post-it holders that I made to sell at our camp. It is only now that I am noticing that I took these pictures before I added the mini pens... sorry. These were made with some stamp sets/punches that are both retired and current. Wishing you all a great work week!

Another Mini Recipe Book...

Here is another mini recipe book that I created using some of my favorite recipes. I made these using some left over DSP and the SU set Tart & Tangy. Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm looking forward to seeing my fellow crafters at our Stamp Camp this weekend! Hopefully I'll get a chance next week to post the projects our guests will be making. Thanks for stopping by...

More Paper Holders...

Here is another project that I've been seeing on several blogs. I finally got the chance to sit down and figure out the dimensions to make one. I kept the decorations simple since the area on top isn't very big. I decided to decorate them using the SU set Fox & Friends.

My Silent Auction Donation...

I decorated this post-it holder and photo album using my monkey punch art as the projects that I will be donating for our Stamp Camp this weekend. Each time we have a Stamp Camp, the demonstrators donate handmade items that are used for our Silent Auction. It is so much fun to see the excitement as the guest line up to bid on our handmade items.

Mini Recipe Book...

I made more of these mini recipe books that I created a while back. Of course I didn't have the same supplies to create the exact same layouts so I changed it up a bit. Wishing you all a great weekend! Be safe!