VALENTINE "TEST TUBE" TREAT

For this project, I used the brand new "Love You Much" bundle, which includes the "Love You Much" stamp set, Heart to Heart punch, and "Candy Lane" designer paper. This bundle is 20% off through the end of January. I have some extra test tubes for sale for $.40, and the cork stopper is included. The tubes are 4" and have a round bottom. For my project, I filled the tube with M&Ms. Other Stampin' Up! products used to create this project include Close to Cocoa and Riding Hood Red card stock, Scallop Circle, 1-3/8" Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, and 3/4" Circle punches, and taffeta ribbon.

NECESSITIES BOX

This is a "box of boxes" that I made for a friend's birthday. I filled the interior boxes with an assortment of die cuts from foam, paper, chipboard, etc. By the time I finished putting the whole thing together, I was a bit lost for ideas of how to fill it. ;-) I don't know if I'll ever make another one, but it came together pretty well.

HANGING HEART "BASKET"

Repeat after me . . . "I must have the Petal Card die." When I ordered this die, I knew that I wanted to make heart "pockets" with it. I wasn't sure how else I would use it, though, but here it is . . . yet another clever, cute use! Two of the "petals" on each side have been folded and adhered to a strip of card stock, and that strip has become the basket! Best of all, this project took about 15 minutes to make--from the time I decided how I wanted to decorate it, which card stock and paper to use, etc.

"SOCK MONKEY" VALENTINE

There's a challenge on one of the demo groups for masculine Valentine cards, and I finally decided to accept the challenge today. I wanted to use a stamp set that no one else had used and, since the obvious choices had already been taken, it was up to me and Sock Monkey to get creative. While this design has some feminine touches, I think it's an okay masculine card. You can't tell from the picture, but I used a craft knife to cut slits above and below the monkey's "hand" and threaded the hemp twine through the slits. His heart "balloons" are adhered with Stampin' Dimensionals. The most fun part about this card is the easy peasy heart-shaped pocket! I used the Sizzix Petal Card die and just folded up two of the "petals" at the bottom to give this piece a heart shape and to form the pocket! How cool is that???? I used the Scallop Edge punch to create the Chocolate Chip swiss dot ric rac. In case you can't tell, the small white card in the heart pocket is folded in half so a greeting can be written on the inside.

TWO SYMPATHY CARDS

Yesterday, I had to make sympathy cards. For the first one, I used the retired "Botanical Garden" stamp set. The image is black embossed and colored with SU watercolor pencils. For the second card, I chose the soon-to-be-retired, "A Light Unto my Path" stamp set. This was the easiest card I've made in a very long time--it has NO layers, other than the Not Quite Navy strip of card stock along the folded edge. I love this lighthouse image and will hold onto this stamp set for a bit longer. It's very handy for masculine cards! This card is for Armond. He and Ella Gray were married for many, many years, but she passed away around Christmas. Ella Gray was one of "those" ladies . . . the kind who had the most cheerful, sweet look, always a smile, and contagious laughter--she kind of chuckled when she laughed. I can't remember a time when I never knew Ella Gray, and I used to think that she was a relative. Instead, she was just a really special person. I never saw much of Armond and probably couldn't pick him out of a crowd, but I know that he took very good care of Ella Gray in the end and that he misses her dearly. She was the light in his life.

MACARONI SHAKER CARD

My favorite day of the year is Christmas Day because my family gathers at my house. We don't do anything remarkable--we just kick back, snack, and enjoy the day. It's always so much fun . . . and funny. This year, as I was stirring cheese sauce for the macaroni, my mother said that I should be using a spatula instead of a fork. Huh? She always used a fork . . . until she secretly started using a spatula!! My husband heard the tail end of this conversation and chimed in that I would be better off to use a whisk. A whisk???? Now I know that I'm not an expert in anything kitchen-related, but did these two really know what they were talking about? Eenie, meenie, miney, moe . . . I chose the spatula. Boy, did that seem awkward, and I managed to slosh the sauce here and there onto the stove. My mother said that it was because I was stirring the way that I swing (a porch swing) and rock (a rocking chair) . . . too fast. LOL! A few days later, mother visited my great-aunt Betty, who lives in an Assisted Living facility, and she was saying that she got to go home and make dinner. During the conversation, mother told her about my macaroni, and Betty laughed and said that she always uses a big spoon to stir the sauce!!! So . . . the idea for this card was born. This is a shaker card with macaroni noodles (uncooked, needing no sauce) in what's supposed to look like a measuring cup. There's no stamping at all on this project. The cup was cut with the Cricut, and everything else was designed on the computer. Betty will get a kick out of this card! She's a really special person! You can read more about her in other posts on this blog. In the meantime, I'm going to try to learn more about cooking, but it will surely help if my mother won't change the rules. BTW, when Renee and I were little, my mother always had us break the cheese into small pieces so it would be ready to go in the pot. Guess what? I learned a few years ago that cheese doesn't have to be torn into small pieces--mother just assigned that task to keep us busy. All this time, I thought it was a requirement and it kept me busy for YEARS! I even used to have Chadrick tear the cheese! LOL!!!!!

"LOVE YOU MUCH" BUNDLE - TWO MORE CARDS

After what seems like too long since I stamped, I finally got to play with the Love You Much bundle again! Don't look too closely at the coloring on this first card as I didn't do a very good job. It's kind of hard to tell, but the little bird is adhered on a Stampin' Dimensional, and the punched heart also has a Dimensional under it. I used the Crop-a-Dile to punch the holes for the ribbon. The second card is my favorite! It took a bit more time to create, but it's loaded with texture and dimension! The naked eye can't tell, but I used Cuttlebug's "Swiss Dots" embossing folder on the dotted background ("Candy Lane") designer paper and then swiped the raised dots with Close to Cocoa ink. I used two other embossing folders . . . "Heart Blocks" on the Top Note die cut and "Script" on the Scallop Circle die cut. The triangle fold medallion was created with the Candy Lane designer paper, and it is very dimensional! In the center of the medallion, I used a felt flower and a jumbo flower brad (from SU) as a finishing touch.

RILEY SAYS "THANKS!"

My husband's cousin bought a set of Christmas cards from me, so this is the "thank you" card that I made for him. SU products used to create this card include Snowflake die, Big Shot, Scallop Edge punch, White Uniball Gel Pen, Wonderful Words stamp set, Basic Brown ink, Basic Black ink, 2-Way Glue, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, and Kraft, Real Red, and Whisper White card stock. Non-SU products include Prismacolor markers, glittery felt, Quickie Glue pen, and the Riley stamp.

2009 JOURNALS

For the past few years, I've enjoyed hosting my family on Christmas Day. We have our "gifts and meal" celebration earlier in December at my parents' home, and on the 25th we just kick back and enjoy the time together. This is probably my most favorite event during the Christmas holiday! Each year, I try to have a little something for each family (parents, grandmother, sister, and niece). I have pretty much run out of time to do anything elaborate this year, so I decided to give journals. I found these at Hobby Lobby and thought they seemed perfect since I hope the journals will be used to record thoughts, blessings, worries, photographs, inspiring articles, song lyrics, etc.--whatever source of media inspires and "speaks" to them--throughout the year. This time next year, I think each family will enjoy perusing the year's worth of entries! The only stamping that I did for the journals was the monogram tags. I used the Damask Monogram JustRite stamp set, SU Brushed Gold and Basic Black card stock, SU's 1-3/4" Circle punch, one of the Marvy Scallop circle punches, Prismacolor Metallic Gold marker (for the gold dots on the scallop circle), and some ribbon that my grandmother gave me! I just hope they put these journals to good use! I even made one for myself! ;-)

DECOR ELEMENTS - FRAMED MONOGRAM

This is a framed Decor Elements monogram that I made for a friend who has a new home and a birthday today. I put the Decor Elements vinyl on the glass and then created a designer paper background behind the glass. What I most like about this project is that the paper can be changed at any time to coordinate with the home decor or a holiday!