12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 12- Twelve Buttons

WARNING: PHOTOS OF MIA & EMILY'S GIFTS ENCLOSED!!!

You thought that I forgot didn't you? No, instead I have just been spending some quality time with the family and not so much time on the computer the last couple of days. Nothing too exciting...just relaxing together...watching movies and football, sitting in front of the fire, leisurely reading together. You know, just fun together time where we are all in the same room. I know, shocking isn't it?

But I am back now with my finally 12 Days project. This is a project that I saw posted by Rhonna Farrar and totally fell in love!!! You can see her post about them here. For my bracelets, I decided that I wanted to make them for Emily and Mia. Kara sent me their wrist measurements...so I am really hoping that they fit with enough room to actually clasp them...cross your fingers for me.

The green one is for Emily (who is 9) and the blue one is for Mia (who is 3.) I glued the buttons all together and onto the ribbon and then also sewed them on so they should be attached really sturdily.

For the ends of the ribbons, I used an embellishment/ribbon clasp that I found in a Making Memories Ribbon & Attachments kit. Then I simply added jump rings onto the end of that with the bracelet closures. For the ribbons, I cut the end with pinking shears and then just folded under the last 1/4" on each end under the ribbon clasp. They are really so easy and cute to make! I think that I may just need to make one for me too (am I too old to wear something like this?!?)

And that is our final project of our 12 Days of Christmas Creating. I hope that you have enjoyed it and maybe something along the way inspired you. As for myself, I am feeling much more prepared for the coming holiday than I normally do this time of the year. Thanks for indulging me!!! And now, how about a giveaway? I have 2 Unity Christmas stamps to give away, Jesus is the Reason and Do Not Open. Simply tell me if you are planning to make anything this holiday season and I will do the drawing from all the entries Tuesday evening (Dec. 2nd.)

Unity Stamp Co. is Looking for a Scrapbooking Design Team!!!1

Unity Stamp Company is accepting applications for a ROCK STAR Scrapbooking Design Team, to compliment its existing design team.

Using Unity product is encouraged, but not required.

Please email Angela a link to your blog and also TWO of your stellar layouts that best represent your style.

Your name, address, and a small paragraph about yourself would be appreciated.

Submissions should be directed to: angela@unitystampco.com

Due Date: December 20th, 2008

Requirements:
***Mandatory Blog updated TWICE USING UNITY, of course, on a weekly basis.
***8 projects per month loaded to your blog AND Scrapbook.com or TWO PEAS AND Splitcoast StampersWeekly participation in the SCS Scrapbook Challenge.
***PARTICIPATION in HIP HOP THURSDAY BLOG HOP and at SOME POINT DURING THE EVENT a bit of conversation.
***On your blog, I would like a clear link to Unity Stamp Co. Blog and Website.
***I would like you to include the list of Unity Stamp DT Members from you blog. Keeping it all full circle.
***It is mandatory that any EXCITING UNITY NEWS (ie: Kit of the Month, New Releases, Hip Hop Thursday, NEW DT Members, Guest Designers are announced on each DT Members blog on the date of occurence.
***Extra project requests from Unity will be made of the ROCK STARS. I may need projects done on a timely matter. ( ie: idea tag samples, or other special projects for expos, CHA, Special BOARDS for Stores, etc.) .
***REQUIRED Monthly Submission into magazines 6 month term renewable upon request/review.Benefits: To be given per request.Looking forward to seeing your submission!
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AND....

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Hip-Hopping the 12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 11- 11 stamps...

Geez, it has been crazy busy this morning trying to get everything ready for this post. Thank goodness, Jacob is home today to help out with Kat. It just took a bit of bribery with XBox time...

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Originally, I only had one project planned for today...it was going to be 11 pencils (i.e. a sketch folio for Jacob holding watercolor pencils.) But then I started playing some more so now I have quite a few projects to show you although they are ALL incredibly simple!!!

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Sketch folio...

I made this using the same brown woolen felt that I have been using for the girls' shawls. Because it is felt, the construction on this is super-simple...no raw edges to worry about. I cut all my edges with my pinking shears just to give it a more decorative look.

For the stamped detail, I simply stamped some muslin using StazOn ink and the June KOM and then worked on bringing some detail to it by adding a bit of embroidery. I am still not 100% thrilled with the look of this so I will probably be adding more embroidery detail. If I do so though, I will be sure to share it with you.

The inside has three pockets which hold the sketch pad, a case of watercolor pencils, and a waterbrush. Since I have rediscovered my love of watercolor pencils, DS has been wanting to play so I thought that this would be a fun gift for Christmas. If you would like further details on how to construct this, I can share, but it really is just 2 piece of fabric stitched together with lines sewn in the middle to create pockets...super-simple.

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Backpack Tags:

DS has lots of friends who are girls and this is a quick gift idea for them, although I will probably make him a couple too. They are backpack tags. The plastic piece can be found as a luggage tag or you can find them in office supply stores as name tag holders. The inserts measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".

I created three coordinating ones using some old DCWV papers. Simply slide them into the plastic holders and add a ribbon or ball chain to attach it to the zipper, and you have a fun little accessory.

Stamps used: *Unity Hey Chick, Unity Sweet Zzzz's

Stamps used: Unity Batch of Bitty Fun

Stamps used: Unity Batch of Bitty Fun

For a twist on this idea, you can create a bitty card. This particular card has a #1 coin envelope inserted into it which is perfect for holding a gift card so you could give your gift of a gift card and then your receiver will have a double-sided backpack tag too. This serves an even better use because now your teen or pre-teen has a place to keep a dollar or two, id, or even a phone card for emergencies (since the invent of cell phones, you just don't see pay phones anymore so our teen carries a phone card so that we are sure that he can get hold of us if necessary...no, he's deprived and doesn't have a cell phone yet.)

This card is decorated on both sides. Above is the front, below is the back.

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Christmas Card:

And finally, just a quickie card share using some of the recent releases... Ho, Ho, Ho and Stocking of Elegance.

This is a 3x6 card so it's little, but sweet. I added a bit of glitter to the stocking to glam it up.

Now you need to continue onto Patter's Creative Blog to be even further inspired.

12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 10- Ten kinds of Chocolate

Day 10...we are almost to the end of our gift-giving journey. And as we have crawled into the higher numbers, it has gotten a bit more difficult to be creative. Today's gift is one that isn't so high on the creativity factor, but on the yummy factor, it sky-rockets.

This is a gift that we have done every year for several years for my Grandfather. He is a man that doesn't really have that many needs or wants at this point in his life so we stock him up on European chocolates every year. That is one of the major perks of being military...we have access to all those incredible European chocolates at the commissary... although, I have noticed that they are starting to creep in places like WalMart lately too. And while it's true that I have access to some incredible chocolates that you all may not have access too...the American chocolatiers have stepped it up in recent years and there are there are some great chocolates out that you could use to treat someone else with (can we say Premium M&M's? YUM!) to create your own chocolate basket.

Here is a little poem that I wrote to include in the card:

The holiday season is upon us.

With its many gifts and surprises.

And while we can't be there,

To celebrate and share,

Some chocolate we send in our stead.

For chocolate gives us the feeling

Of happiness shared among friends.

It's happy and sweet and hopefully a treat

that you can enjoy for many weeks

to come without end.

For the basket, I simply took one of my old Christmas slabs and wrapped all the chocolate in coordinating patterned papers. I have tons of these papers and they are lightweight enough, that they work great for wrapping. Then I simply tied up each box with some ribbon. BTW, these papers aren't near as pinkish as they photographed. They are actually red...weird. The stamp on the card is from Unity, All Santa's Reindeer ( I simply colored in the entire image to make it a silhouette.)

Reminder: Unity's hip-hop will be tomorrow, Wednesday, this week with the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Also because of the holiday (and the fact that I still haven't decided exactly what I am doing) my Day 12 post will most likely not go up until Friday.

12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 9- Nine Apples

If you have been reading my blog for a year or more, then you have probably heard about this gift before as it is one of my favorites to put together during the holiday season. This basket is a great gift idea for neighbors, co-workers, or anyone that you need to do "something" for, but it doesn't need to be extravagant. I give you the Apple Caramel basket...

This is the absolute easiest, cheapest, and actually healthiest gift that you can put together this holiday season. It starts simply with a can of sweetened condensed milk (YES! the fat-free works too and tastes just as good!!!)

Peel all the labels off your can and immerse it in a pot of boiling water. You will leave it there for 3 hours while it boils. Check it periodically to make sure that your water hasn't evaporated to the point of exposing the can and re-fill with water as needed. That is literally all there is to making this caramel dip. Can it be any easier?!?! I have done this now for 5 years and have never had ANY issues with it. Online, you will read warnings about the cans exploding, but I have never had that happen, nor have I heard of anyone else actually having that issue. Just be careful...

...oh and don't open the can as soon as they are done because your caramel will shoot out of the can as you puncture it (not that I have known anyone to be that anxious to get to their caramel...hehe!) Here is a photo of our caramel from last night...you know, we had to try a can, just to make sure that it turned out okay!

Now you just need to decorate your can (3"x12" strip to go around the can), create your gift tag (mine measure 2"x4"), fill your gift basket with apples and you have a gift ready to give.

Here is what I put on the inside of my gift tags:

Apple Dip Instructions
To enjoy this apple dip, simply empty contents of the can into a bowl and heat in the microwave. Slice the apples and you have a “somewhat” healthy, tummy-warming snack for the holiday season.
When your caramel is gone and you need more, you can simply re-create it by boiling a can of sweetened condensed milk (non-fat works too) in water (completely cover the can) for 3 hours.

Another great idea for these cans, is to have a basket of them already decorated and tagged by your front door. That way when unexpected guests drop by with food or deliveries, you can send them home with their own little can of caramel.

Supplies used:
*all paper goods are K&Company's Christmas line
*Bazzill Kraft
*wire mini-shopping basket from Hobby Lobby
*jute string

12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 8- Eight (+) patterned papers

Good morning! This is a project that I have had planned in my head for a long time, but when I sat down to actually create it, it evolved into something totally different than what I had planned in my head...BUT that is okay because I like this piece better than the one in my head! LOL!

This piece was supposed to feature 8 different patterned papers (to fit in with the 8th day theme), but when it was all done, it actually featured 13. Cest la vie!

This is my twist on the punch art that you see everyone doing. The piece actually measures 8x10. I used my square scalloped punch and the Kimberley Poloson Letters Home patterned paper line to build my base of punches.

The entire piece is mounted onto a piece of heavy chipboard so that it is sturdy enough to simply display on this hanger like this. These hangers are available from the Scrappy Gourmet for a serious bargain price. I recommend that everyone get at least 5 of them because they are so inexpensiver and perfect for creating quick little art-pieces like this that can be changed throughout the seasons. You can even hang layouts on them. Well, I can't find the exact one that I show here, but here is one that's very similar... hangers.

I punched each piece and then mounted them onto 2 pieces each of black cardstock that was also punched with the square punch. This makes them POP out a little bit and the black layers underneath add a bit of visual dimension that I like better than pop-dots.

The outside border was created by using one of the swirly stamps from the Growing in Unity kit and stamping it randomly onto the white cardstock. The Life Unscripted stamp is from Hampton Arts.

Supplies used:

*Kimberly Poloson Letters Home paper collection

*Scenic Route paper (butterfly)

*Basic Grey paper (pink butterfly)

*Unity Stamp Co. Growing in Unity

*Hampton Arts life unscripted stamp

*Marvy Uchida square scallop punch

*Martha Stewart butterfly punch

*StazOn jet black inkpad

*white and black cardstock

*corner rounder

12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 7- Seven Favorites

WARNING: SKIP TODAY'S POST TOO, MOM!!!!





First let me start by saying that this is not an original idea...it's just my particular twist on it. I took the Giving Well class by Kolette Hall on Big Picture Scrapbooking this year and one of her ideas was to build a basket filled with your favorite items to give to someone else with an explanation of why you love them to make it more personal. I loved this idea and wanted to incorporate it somehow into my gift-giving this year. Well, my mom is a papercrafter too so I decided to give her a box filled with my favorite papercrafting products.

I decorated a lunchbox much like the one that I created for my stamp-kit-on-the go.

Supplies used: *Unity Stamp Co. Butterfly Beauty, Unity Stamp Co. Everlasting Romance, Unity Stamp Co. August KOM...Remember Happiness, Unity Stamp Co. Sentiments O' Simple, Collage Press papers, buttons, eyelet trim, Martha Stewart labels, Bazzill Kraft, Fiskars Threading Water punch

Each item is tagged with a tag that explains why I love this product and how I typically use them. All of the tags are made like cards where they open up so that I could write inside each of them.

Glitter- One of my favorites to make a simply stamped image become a WOW. All it takes is a couple of dots or lines of glitter on the stamp details...

Little Scallop Circle Punch- Whenever my project seems to be lacking a little bit of something-something, my circle punch is usually what rescues the project. A few little layered circles in the corner usually fixes all.

Border Punches- I love these border punches. They add so much detail and zing to the layers on your project. Helpful hint: If your border punch isn't popping the way that you had hoped (esp. with patterned papers)- back the punched edge with a contrast solid cardstock.


Journaling tags- not just for journaling. These are a favorite of mine for layering and adding extra detail on projects esp. layouts.

Little Patterned Paper Pads- One of my all-time favorite ways to buy papers. So much cheaper and you never have too much paper this way. Since I love using so many layers, this is a super-fun way to add patterned papers without it becoming overwhelming with large pieces.

Decorative brads- Another excellent way to add a little bit of detail to a project. Build these up with the scalloped circle punches in the corner of a project and you will love the added detail that is added.

Stamps- Of course, you know why stamps are a favorite of mine, but I gave you this particular kit (Mix Up of Cuteness) so that you could build your own Stamp-Kit-To-Go using this lunchbox. This is the perfect all-around stamp kit that can be used for multiple kinds of cards.



So do you have someone that you can make a favorites basket for this year? It doesn't have to be craft-related. You can do your favorite chocolates, favorite bath and body products, or just your favorite anything. It's personal because you are sharing your favorite finds.

Giving gift cards this year??? I ran across this post and will definitely be putting this gift card pattern to use...LOVE Heather Bailey!

Can I just add..."it's the lesser of two evils"...when it comes to life in the military, I REALLY HATE that phrase...My wonderful DH called me from work this morning and those were his first words. I am sure that I will have more to add to that in the future....

Hip-Hopping 12 Days of Christmas Creating- Day 6

WARNING: MOM SKIP THIS POST...GO TO LAURA'S BLOG NEXT!

Welcome all of You Hip-Hoppers!

I hope that you joined me from Robyn's gorgeous blog. She is so talented...just looking at her stuff makes me want to stamp! If you haven't come from Robyn's, then you need to get this hop started right and head on over to Angela's Unity blog.

Now to share with you a little card that I created with one of those cute little snowmen. It goes without saying, that I am absolutely in LOVE with these little stamps!

Supplies used:

*Unity Stamp Co. Snowman stamp

*K&Company papers

*Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing

*ribbon

*Marvy Uchida oval punches

*watercolor pencils

*Martha Stewart border punch

I colored her just using a touch of grey-blue watercolor pencil around the edges. Some teal to her hat and flowers as well as a tiny bit of bling, and she is good to go!

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And now for my Day 6 gift for our 12 Days of Christmas Creating. This is a simple little gift bag full of 6 notecards (2 of each design.) This particular one is for my mother, but it would be a great little gift for a teacher, friend, or neighbor.

The little bag is exactly like the ones that I used for Day 2's gift. I simply stamped on it using StazOn ink and then added the buttons and ribbon.

Supplies used for bag:

*Unity Stamp Co. Flirty Flowers kit

*buttons

*American Crafts ribbon

*StazOn jet black inkpad

*FabriTac

All of the cards have the same basic layout. They simply change in the way that they are oriented and the placement of ribbon/embellishment.

Supplies used for Monogram Card:

*Unity Stamp Co. Tea Time Toile

*Unity Stamp Co. Formal Alphabet

*Bazzill Cardstock

*Basic Grey paper

*Marvy Uchida oval punches

*lace trim

*Martha Stewart border punch

Supplies used for Friends For Life card:

*Unity Stamp Co. August kom...Remember Happiness

*Rhonna Farrer paper

*Dream Street paper

*Martha Stewart border punch

*Marvy Uchida oval punch

*American Crafts ribbon

*brads

Supplies used for Butterfly Card:

*Unity Stamp Co. August KOM...Remember Happiness

*Basic Grey paper

*Cuttlebug Swiss Dot Embossing folder

*watercolor pencils

*glitter

*Marvy Uchida Circle punch

*Martha Stewart border punch

*buttons

*eyelet trim

This is a super-simple and quick gift to make esp. if you assembly line them and make several at a time. Another idea would be to fill it with Thank you cards because we ALL need those after the holidays are over.

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Now hop on over to Laura's blog to continue on with your hop. My goodness, that girl can stamp so I know that you are going to see some gorgeous things there. You are getting close to the end now...