Right Now It Is All About Birthdays

The next few posts will be all about birthdays. My daughter just celebrated her 17th birthday a few days ago. Wow, that just doesn't seem possible. How do you celebrate birthdays?

We have a laid back approach around our house. I try to make them special. The birthday girl gets to pick the dinner menu... and of course lets me know what she wants to celebrate the day with... cake, pie, or other special decadent treat. Every year it is something different for her.

With my son who will be 32 years old this May it is always a home-made ice cream cake. My husband on the other hand doesn't really care.

There is always a gift. This year Bree wants money so that she can go clothes shopping. Oh that universal gift that is always the right size and color!

I also try to make a special card but sometimes I get scraper's block and need a little help. There are millions of ideas for cards out there on the net. Use those resources to grab and idea to make your own. Change the card or outright scrap lift it.

I have always been told that imitation is the best form of flattery. I have to admit that I am always flattered when someone likes something that I have made that they want to make one like it and personally I don't care if they change it or not.

Here I've taken someone else's idea and used what I had on hand to make it. So even though the original idea for the face of the card is not my own it doesn't look like the original. Very few of my scrap-lifted idea do. I also took components from the face of the card to jazz up the inside because let's face it the inside of the card is as important as the outside. The inside of the card is not part of the scrap-lift.

This is the front of the card:



And this is the inside of the card:



I used the same colors, same papers, same embossing, but took those elements to the inside.

Don't just stop with the outside of the card... make the inside just as special.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Last Of The Gifts Of Christmas Past

One last post of the Christmas Gifts that I made that you can adapt to other holidays.

This one is less of a craft and more of an all round great gift. I made these for a few co-workers, family members that I didn't know what to buy, neighbors, the mail person, the UPS driver, and made a few extras for those people who stopped in with a gift that I forgot on my shopping list. I only had one left over which my daughter gladly took for her boyfriend's mom.

You can find these "Gift In A Jar" recipes on the internet. This particular one makes wonderful cookies that are best when still warm out of the oven. The recipe came from All Recipes. It is easy to put together, decorate, and have been well received.

As far as the crafty part of this you can get as crazy as you like but I kept them simple. A round of fabric, a hand-made bow using wire edged ribbon, and the printed instruction card that I also used as a gift tag.

Once again these can be used for any holiday gift giving and the decorations changed to fit the event. And tell me who doesn't love a fresh, warm out of the oven home-made cookie? YUM!

The only tip that I can give about these to make them a little prettier than just layering is that you with each layer that is added is that you use a kabob skewer to make hills and valleys in the mix. It is just a pretty touch.





Change things out, decorate them differently to fit the holiday, change the printing on the card to also fit the event and you have the perfect gift... this would work as a teacher's gift, welcome to the neighborhood gift, or for any holiday or event.

Enjoy them... try other "Gift In A Jar" recipes too.

Happy Crafting and Cooking ! ! !

Brenda

Still More Things To Inspire And A Recipe

I still have 2 or 3 more things to post that I made at Christmas for gifts.

This one you could adapt for ANY holiday just by changing it up. Use different colors and dies for the box, a different cookie cutter for inside and change the recipe using a different flavor chocolate chips for the fudge... oh the possibilities are endless!

But just for the record, the idea of putting the fudge in a cookie cutter came from Pinterest! I will not lie about where that came from. The recipe for the fudge is totally up to the maker. I used the Fantasy Fudge Recipe off the the side of the Kraft Marshmallow Fluff bottle to make mine BUT like I said you could change the shape of the cookie cutter and use any flavor of chips - from white chocolate, peanut butter, to caramels ones which would also change the color of the fudge and a few drops of food coloring in the white chocolate one could create RED for Valentines day, pastels for Easter, green for St. Patty's Day etc. You get the picture.

The recipe for the Oreo Truffles has been around for years. In fact I got that recipe from my sister, Debbie, about 6 years ago when she surprised us with those at Christmas. I will share that recipe below.

First this project was simple but at the same took a lot of things that luckily I had on hand. The main things I used was heavier cardstock, dies, punches, a Scor-Pal and of course the contents of the box which could be anything you chose to put into it.

I have to confess that I started with the "cooking" first. I went shopping and found my metal cookie cutters at Hobby Lobby. They have a wide variety of seasonal shapes and they are big! Which is what I was looking for. I wanted my gift to be generous but not break the bank at the same time and I wanted one batch of fudge to make at least 4 trees.) These cookie cutters were perfect and only cost me 99 cents each. Remove the price stickers, wash and dry the cookie cutters, set them on parchment paper on a metal cookie sheet. Prepare your fudge, and working quickly, fill each cookie cutter being careful not to drip the fudge on the outer rim of the cutter or down the outside of them. As soon as you fill them decorate the tops with the mini M&M candies. If you decide to use icing for decorating allow the fudge to completely cool first. You leave the fudge in the cookie cutters and give that as part of the gift.

After I made the fudge cookie cutters I made the boxes. I did this because I did not know how big to make the boxes.

These boxes are nothing more than an 8.5" square of heavy cardstock, scored 1.5" all the way around, clip the corners so that you have a flap, and then adhere the flap to the next section.
The tops of the boxes were made just slightly larger with the same 1.5" score. I line the box with a piece of thin cardboard covered with foil.

The top of the box was a piece of white cardstock that I used a set of Martha Stewart's all around punches. Martha Stewart punches are available at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Jo Ann Fabrics, and most scrapbooking stores. Then after I made the lacy edged square I used a square Spellbinder die to cut out the middle so that I had a frame. If you are not good at centering those dies, you could cut out a square of a different color and adhere that to the lacy edged square. Then I used a Scrapping Cottage/Peachy Keen die set (Snowman) which I have to say is a really cool dies set because there are other dies to add to the snowman to add the accessories (Hats)

I also used some glitter on the snowman to jazz him up a bit. Just don't go over kill on the glitz. I also used some ink to highlight different parts of the die cut.

Here are several pictures of my finished "candy" box. When I put everything together the box looked a little empty to me and that is when I got out the Oreo Truffle recipe and made those. I will put the recipe for those at the bottom of the page.



Just the inside of the goodies.



The top of the closed box.



A close up of the box so you can see the glitter and details. (And this box is really red, I hate it when my camera makes reds look orange!)



It is easy to make an assembly line to make several of these all at the same time! What a time saver.



Mix this one up, do it for a different holiday!

Now as promised, that Oreo Truffle recipe:

1 regular pkg Chocolate Oreo Cookies
1 8 oz cream cheese (softened to room temp)
1 pkg White Almond bark (6 of 12 of the bricks will do this)
1 pkg chocolate Almond bark (2 or 3 of the bricks will do this)

In a food processor chop the Oreo cookies to a fine powder, add in the cream cheese and mix until well blended. Refrigerate for several hours or over night. Scoop the refrigerated Oreo mixture (I used my small cookie scooper so that they are uniform in size and shape) onto parchment paper. Melt the white almond bark, dip each rounded Oreo ball in the white bark and return to the parchment paper. Melt the chocolate almond bard and drizzle the dipped balls with the chocolate for decoration. Allow to harden either at room temp or in the refrigerator. Makes 4 1/2 doz bite sized balls.

I hope that my tardiness on posting this project will inspire you to think to other holidays to try something new.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Pinterest Is A Great Inspiration!

I was invited into "Pinterest" by my friend Cindy. (THANK YOU CINDY!)

This site is a wealth of inspiration and a very addicting. The word "serendipity" comes to mind. When I am low on mo-jo I go to the Pinterest site and all the creative juices come flowing back. It is a wonderful site.

I know that I am a little late showing these projects, as Christmas was a month ago, but the ideas are fresh, a little funky, and can be used for other holidays or projects. Or if you like to think of it this way - maybe I can inspire you for next year and you can start early for the 2012 Christmas season.

In any case these are 100 % craft lifted.

I found old rulers and Scrabble Game tiles in a local junk/thrift store AND my friend Rainy also sent me some (THANK YOU RAINY.) I found items like plastic buttons that I removed the shanks, ribbon, glue and spray poly in my stash.

Now out on Pinterest there were several versions of these, but I liked the "portrait" hang instead of the "landscape" hang. I also changed them up and put family names on them to be able to use different letters because let's face it there are only so many letters in a Scrabble Game.







If you look closely at the last picture you can see my hand-made paper chain garland that I posted about previously.

I loved the way these turned out and they made darling "tags" on the top of a gift and I was so excited to see how quickly family members put them on their Christmas trees.

Don't be afraid to "borrow" someones idea and make it your own. Looking forward to next Christmas because I have "pinned" so many more ideas that I found at Pinterest.

So with that today I say Happy Crafting ! ! !

Brenda

Gift For Mom

A while back I made my mom at tribute frame to honor my dad who passed away. I loved the finished frame and evidently she did too as it didn't take her long to put it on the wall by her computer.

I wanted to honor mom in the same fashion but I wanted her to have the tribute frame to hang next to the one of dad.

My supply list consisted of metal trinkets that I found in my stash, some older and some newer. Cardstock and papers that I had left over from my dad's frame. I bought the frame, a few Tim Holtz products for the finishing touches, and copies of her pictures. I included pictures of my dad, my mom, a picture that spans two of the boxes of the immediate family, one of my mom when she was a new momma herself, one of my mom and her daddy (that is what she always called my Grandfather) and other pictures of my mom.

This now proudly hangs next to the one for my dad.















These frames can get a little pricy to make, so if you decide to make a keepsake go into your stash and use some of the things you have before you go shopping for accent pieces.

As you can see I used like colors and materials so that they two frames did not clash and the two frames compliment each other.



A hand made gift often tells a story, sometimes of the person giving it and sometimes of the person receiving it. In this case it is both.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Valentine Cards

Last year I made a few Valentine Boxes for my CCD class. I used little Love Bugs on the front of the boxes.

Here is a picture of that project:



I had a few of those bees left over and decided that I would get out an edge punch and make a few cards.



I also had some scraps of other cardstock the perfect size to use for another card. This one is all punched. Again I tell you that I do not like traditional colors for holidays. Everyone thinks that green and red together screams Christmas, with the hearts this screamed "I Love You."



If you have a few extra of something after you finish a project, don't discard them, store them and an idea will pop up out of thin air.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Small Town Stores

I've always loved the small town stores that carry hand made items. My sister used to have one such store. I loved making things for her store. It was a way for me to make a few extra dollars and just share those fun things I would make. I would crochet baby sweater sets and afghans, fillet crochet name frames, make wooden items, custom framed wedding invitations and many other handmade items. It never crossed my mind to do paper items.

Two weeks ago I was approached about making banners for a small store in a neighboring community, Grafton, IL. The boutique owner showed me a couple of photos of banner that she liked and asked me if I could make something similar.

These banners are all over the Internet. They are being sold on various sites and some are all hand-crafted while others are cut triangles with computer generated letters attached. Either way I thought long and hard about doing these banners as I am a busy working mother and wife with very little time to craft the things I want to make but I decided to give this a try.

The first banner that the owner wanted was a "Happy Valentine's Day" banner done in traditional red and pinks.

I am anything but traditional about pure red and pink for Valentine's day. I am a "dirty" scrapbooker. I don't mean that the way it sounded... I am honest about if something is scrap-lifted or where the inspiration for an idea comes from. What I mean by "dirty" is that I ink almost everything. I can't help myself. I like it when things look "dirty." I also love muted colors and a mix of colors that has nothing to do with a theme. I like mismatched patterns but also don't like it when patterns and colors clash.

Here is what I came up with for the "Happy Valentine's Day" banner that is now hanging and for sale in the Pixie Stix in Grafton, IL.











I don't think that making these banners will turn into a full time money maker but I am doing custom orders for the store owner and making other holiday banners as the holiday arises.

Sometimes an opportunity will present itself and unless you give it a try you will always ask "what if" ... be bold, be willing to try something new, and be willing to share your craft.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Thank You Notes

I always try to send thank you notes for gifts, special things people have done for me, or just for the many prayers that I have received. I want the thank you not to convey my appreciation so I hand make most of my note cards.

I am always looking for new ideas and I generally find many ideas and inspiration on a website called "Pinterest."

This first card is a scrap-lifted idea from that site. I love how these cards turned out. They were very easy and even though mine are not an exact duplicate they are very close to the original.





I also made a very "retro" looking card that was for a co-worker who gave me a bottle of hand lotion that had peace signs and "flower power " flowers on the label. I love the lotion and wanted the card to be linked to the gift.




Although the first thank you note was a scrap-lift, the second one is original inspired by the label on the gift. Inspiration can be anywhere at any time. Keep your eyes and mind open for those ideas.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Tiggers Bounce

I always remember that line when I think about Tigger.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine called and needed 20 Tigger heads but they could only be 2" wide by 3" long. I have the Pooh and Friends Cricut Cartridge and I have never used it and thought it was time to break the seal on it.

I know from experience that the smaller you cut the characters from the Cricut cartridges the smaller all off the overlay pieces and the harder it is to make them but I am up for the challenge.

I used all Bazzill Cardstock to make these little guys. The only thing that I added to them was little touches of white gel pen. I can't leave things like that alone.



20 of these were put into the mail and sent to my friend Vicky. She emailed me when she received them and told me they were perfect for her task at hand. I was happy to do them for her.

I am always willing to share with others... you never know when you will need a little help yourself. Besides, it was fun to use one of my cartridges that I had never played with before.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda

Birthday Gifts In Candy Form

I love to get a hand-made gifts and I know a few other people who feel the same way. There is something about knowing that the person giving the gift took a lot of time and put thought into the gift.

My God-Children, Karlie and Sean each just celebrated their birthdays. In fact they were born on the same day, but years apart. I wanted them to know that I was thinking of them on their birthday but didn't have a lot of money to spend on a gift and I needed to be able to mail it to them.

These "pocket cards" seem to be the perfect gift for them.

Karlie is my God-Daughter and turned 17. She is a beautiful girl and is a stylish diva. So what better than a little cheetah print for a teen. The new Basic Grey line was perfect for this because on the reverse side is a black and tan stripe.

I made the outside of hers look like a billfold with a rosette accent.



Then you open the "purse" there the largest candy bar that I could find, wrapped with the same cheetah print paper with a contrasting paper as a label with her name. I carefully folded the papers to make a "pocket" to slide the candy bar.



Knowing my God-Daughter she loved the prints and candy.



For my God-Son, it was music all the way. I tried to find video game paper but I came up empty so music was a close second. His was a little simpler. Since he was turning 13 I just added his age.



The folds for both were the same.... and the same concept with adding the name.



I am sure he appreciated that I remember his birthday as well.



Even though I could not be with my God-Children on their birthdays they know I put a lot of thought into sending them a gift.

If all else fails send candy! Just use a little craftiness with the wrappers to dress it up.

Happy Scrappin' ! ! !

Brenda