For the Teacher

Hi friends,
Today is my boys' last day of school before winter break. So just in the nick of time, I finished the gift for Jordan's teacher. He was no help in getting her gift going cuz when I asked him what his teacher liked, he said, "I don't know, she goes to Taco Bell a lot."  Ugh... Taco Bell does not do anything for my appetite or inspiration :( What to do??? Then I thought of just the thing... A Stationery Box!

Here's the box closed:

 
and the box open:

 I wanted to change some of the things that went in it (according to the tute) to things I would use. (I mean who really uses stamps nowadays? ;)
 
Here's how I loaded it up:
I started by making a set of 8 personalized cards (CAS).

Here are the cards & envelopes in the box:

Next, I added a matching notebook: For lists or keeping track of all those school passwords.

Then white-out for when it's almost perfect:

Then a few "thumbs-up" paper clips:

Then a doodle/scratch pad & a 2012 Mini-Calendar:

I added a strip of Scor-Tape to the top edge of the pad & the calendar to hold the sheets together.

 Then I rubbed a little baby powder to remove the stickiness to the edge.

All that was left was a personalized pen:

One other change I made was to adhere the side flaps down to create a more finished back of the box.
Here's what I did:

If you notice, the left edge of the box has a flap (as instructed in the tute) but I like the way the edge on the right looks. A bit more finished, me thinks :)

Here's the card:

 It's made with one of my all-time fav dies- the Sizzix gift card holder die. I luuuuuv this die- it just doesn't get easier :)
 Here are the innies:

I've included 2 gift cards: Target & Starbucks.

I hope she likes her goodies :) I sure do appreciate all of her patience & hard work with my kiddo.

You can find the tute to the Stationery Box ---> Here.

You can download the calendar I used if you'd like it too ---> Here
If you're looking for more Teacher Gift Ideas, you can click on the Teacher Appreciation link on my sidebar. Hope you find something to help you show your teacher some luuuuv ;)

Now it's a mad rush to finish more cards!
Gotta Go!

Christmas Center Step Card

Hi ya friends,
Sorry I have been away from the blogosphere lately :( I had the heinous flu & was in bed for 3 days :( Dang, & I had so many cards to make. Well, today I felt well enough to get up (although not 100% yet), cuz I had to get going on my Christmas cards. I don't know about you, but if I send ANY of my family or friends store bought cards,  I get an all-expense paid GUILT trip! And if I send them a card with a simple stamped image & sentiment (one layer) they think I don't love them :( ugh... I just can't win. Anyhoo, I have one card I cranked out today. I mean cranked out because it took me less time to make this one than the CAS (Clean & Simple) card pack I made for my son's teacher. (Well, you'll see her gift once I'm all done with it :)
Here's my card:

Does it look like a hot mess??? Too much? Well, I wanted to try a card type I've never made before so I went with the Center Step card. It's pretty simple & fun to make :)

Here's a side peek:

I used the Book Frame 1 stamp set from Heartfelt Creations along with the coordinating die. The swirls are from the Bella Rose die collection from HC as well as the Layered Poinsettia dies. The sentiment is stamped on Fancy Tags 2 die collection from Spellbinders.

Although there's lots going on, it does close down flat:

This Center Step card is an A2 size... well WAS an A2 size before I swirled it up! Hee Hee! You can find the tute for this card style---> Here.

Thanks so much for peeking today!
Off to craft some more :)

For the Boss

Hi friends,
"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" That song is playing in my head cuz today marks the beginning of winter break! Yaaaaaaaay!!!
Today, I have a card I made for our AP (Assistant Principal). He's new to our school this year & he's responsible for my formal evaluations so I need to be veeeeeery nice to him :)
Here's the card:

Since this was for a man, i had to keep the froo-frooness down to a minimum. I used my Cricut to cut out the wreath (Christmas cart). I stamped the poinsettias in versamark & embossed them in gold. Then I cut them out with the coordinating layered poinsettia dies. The centers are some foil stickers I've had forever. Lastly, the banner is from the banner dies from Spellbinders. I hope he likes it!

So have you finished your holiday shopping? Holiday cards? I can check the "no" boxes on both! Ugh, I will lock myself in my craft room & get working. This is where CAS (Clean & Simple) cards would come in handy. What's the antidote to Kryptonite???

Thanks so much for peeking!
Have loads of lovely crafternoons :)

Simply for Grammy

Hi ya friends,
Here are the last 3 "simple" cards I made for my Grammy. Besides the flower pot card, the ornament card is pretty easy- so I went with it for the last three.
Here's the first:

 This card uses the layered poinsettia & fancy tags dies. The sentiment is Signature Christmas by PTI & the paper is 25 days of Christmas by Simple Stories.

Número 2:

Same ingredients as the first plus add a smidgen of the Petals-a-Plenty embossing folder by SU. (i've always thought they made the perfect poinsettias :) I highlighted the pattern paper design by going over it with my Viva pens :) :) :) The sentiment is from the Holiday Greetings set from Amy R.

and number 3:

I used the Anyday Bingo & Crossword stamp set by Emma Aguilar to create the bingo card. (This is a reeeeally fun set!) and peeking from the side is ...

A T!m Holtz ticket from the 100th collection set.

Well, this is my attempt at simple :)
It's my last week at school & I feel like it's the slowest week of my life! Everyone is antsy for winter vacation to start---> especially the teachers! Haha!

Now, one thing I truly miss about teaching elementary is reading aloud to my kiddos. One of my favorite quotes is "Readers are made on the laps of their parents" and I think that's very true. I miss sharing all the wonderful stories with them, but if you're looking for some fun reading with the kiddos, I'd like to recommend these great reads:

1. Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto

 Maria tries on her mother's wedding ring while helping make tamales for a Christmas family get-together. Panic ( & fun) ensues when hours later, she realizes the ring is missing.

2. How Santa Got His Job

 Oh I luuuv this book! Now if you've ever wondered how Santa became Santa, this book will explain it all in a clever & funny way!

3. The Runaway Latkes by Leslie Kimmelman

This is a take on "The Gingerbread Man" but instead of a gingerbread man, it's a runaway latke :) Younger kids really like the repetition.

4. Olive the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh

When Olive the dog hears the phrase from the popular Christmas tune "all of the other reindeer," she concludes she is "Olive, the other reindeer" and heads to the North Pole to join Santa's team then the doggie adventure begins!

5. Merry Un-Christmas by Mike Reiss

Do your kiddos wish it was Christmas everyday? Well, in Christmas city they welcome one special day of the year- but it may not be what you think ;)

There are loads more books, but these are the ones I remember off the top of my head that my kiddos enjoyed & they may not be ones you might have heard of. Any fav's you'd add to the list??? Let's hear it!

Thanks for peeking today!

Gotta Go!

Potted Poinsettias

Hello Crafty friends,
It's been a while since my last post :( It's been busy behind the scenes getting the house ready & decorated- yes, barely and the general school crazyness!
My Grammy asked me to make some Christmas cards for her & she needed them in a week to be able to send them out on time. She said just to make some "simple cards". Ummm, has Grammy not taken a look at my cards?! Simple is my Kryptonite... ah well. I was making my rounds about town when I noticed all the potted poinsettias & then it hit me! So off to my craft lab I went to get started on those cards :)

Here's the first:

What's easier than the flower pot card! These were super popular a while back & they were all over the web cuz they're easy & super cute :)

Here's the second:

I used gold cardstock to look like the gold wrap on the real poinsettias I saw. I used the MS embossed zig zag border punch along the edge. The Poinsettias are the Layered Poinsettias dies from Heartfelt Creations.

Here are the inserts:

When sending these type of cards I like to include a stand or easel of some sort. So when I saw an easel die by T!m Holtz that would fit A2 cards, I had to grab it!

Here's the one I use to photograph my cards- you can see the removable adhesive to secure the cards. (But adhesive isn't really necessary.)

I include an easel along with the card in case the recipient would like to stand the card. It is gold cardstock to match the card base.

OK, so this is MY version of simple and you know what?--- these flower pot cards really are simple :)
You can find the tute for this card ---> HERE.

Thanks for peeking!

A Double Dare

Hi ya friends,
I have 2 cards to share today using this week's Mojo Monday sketch.
Here's the first card:

 Our office secretary is moving to a position in the district office and while we're happy for her getting a promotion, we're bummed that she's leaving us. For this card, I used the MFT rolled roses dies cut on felt. I used PTI Wonderful Words stamp set & Wonderful Words die. Then added some pearls with my partner in crime- the Viva Pen.

Here's card #2

 This card is going to my son's teacher as she's been staying later at school because of parent/teacher conferences. I was playing with the MFT loopy die to create an apple. I used a scrap piece of green ribbon for  the leaf & rolled a scrap piece of brown paper for the stem.
Here's a closer peek at that:

Here's this week's Mojo Monday Sketch:

I couldn't decide which one to do so I did them both :)

I'll be playing along with the following challenges:
Papercrafting Journey: Anything goes
Cooking it Up with Katie: Anything goes
Divas by Design: Anything Goes
Freshly Brewed: Fabric (felt)
Fab 'n' Funky: Anything Goes
Paper Pretties: Thank You card
Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

Yaaaay! The weekend is here & I'm ready for it!
I hope to have some lovely crafternoons & I hope you do too!
Adios amigos :)

Fall Family Mini-Album

Howdy friends,
While some people were busy pepper spraying others on Black Friday, I got to complete one more mini-album :). Just like the Christmas one I shared last time, this book is from Paisleys & Polka Dots (and sorry, it is not available either :(. It was a challenge to photograph this book since the pages flip up, and my OTT light was not playing nicely :(
Here it is:

 It's a multi-layer or waterfall design full of all those goodies that make these albums such fun!

Here's the first page:

Next page:

Page 3:

Page: 4

Page 5:

Page 6:

Page 7:

Page 8:

Page 9:

I'll probably retake the pics & post them later this week.  It's ready to go with mats for pics & journaling spots. I want to put some Thanksgiving pics in this album.

Thanks so much for peeking today. The weekend will be here in a couple of sleeps & I can't wait!
Have a great rest of the week!
Gotta Go!