Easy wrapping for small gifts.

Happy Friday!  Did you have a good Thanksgiving?  We had a nice time over at my sisters yesterday.  Thanksgiving is always the kick off for the holiday season, isn't it?

Today I wanted to share with you an easy way to package up money or a small gift.  I found these pillow boxes at Target, in the dollar spot, there were four in a package.

I wrapped some baker's twine around and then attached a simple embossed tag.

I found the cutest Santa stamp at Michael's and he fits perfectly in a 1 3/4" circle punch!  So after embossing him with silver powder, I punched him out, added a couple of banners and was done! 

These pillow boxes are just shy of being big enough for gift cards, but there are plenty of other gifts that would fit :)

Have you started any of your shopping or wrapping yet?  I have one more gift to pick up, but other than that, I'm done and working on my wrapping here and there.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  I'll see you next week!

Thanksgiving hostess gift.

Hey all and happy Wednesday to you!  Are you fixing dinner tomorrow or traveling?  Or maybe you're fixing a Fakesgiving, like TRACY :)

I whipped up this hostess gift for my sister.

 I made her a set of five thank you cards and packaged them in a clear box.  Then wrapped the box up with some baker's twine and a stamped tag!

I love how simple it was to make, but the effect it has :)

Here's a peek at the cards I made.  Sorry it's out of focus.  I just couldn't get a good shot.  Even with the  darker paper behind.  My camera wasn't focusing.

I'm hoping to check back in on Friday with a one of two projects I have finished. I want to take a second and tell each of you how grateful I am that you stop by to read my little blog and leave a comment.  It truly brightens my day.  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family, or Fakesgiving :)  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon!  Have a beautiful Wednesday!

Not yet Thanksgiving but I'm sharing something Christmas anyway.

Don't get upset, it's not yet Thanksgiving, but I'm going to share the dividers I made for my planner today and guess what?  I made them out of Christmas paper!!  Haha!

I'm super excited about the holidays this year and I was wanting to make some new dividers for my planner, so I thought why not combine the two?

I picked up this, Teresa Collins *I think*, 12x12 paper pad at Michaels and I'll be using it for most of my holiday crafting this year.  I used my other dividers as a template and just traced around them with pencil.  Then trimmed them out.
 

I love opening my planner and seeing this!  Puts a happy holiday smile on my face every time!  Are there any special things you do to put yourself in the holiday spirit?

The other thing I wanted to share with you today is that a couple of weeks ago I won a book from TAMMY !!  I was so excited when I got her email, 1) because I've read these books from the very beginning, 2) because I just went to New Orleans in June (that's the setting of the series) and 3) I found out on Wednesday Mike and I are going to New Orleans in February!!!  There's just something about being in a city and then reading a book about that city, AND THEN going back there!  Love that!

When my book came from Tammy, it didn't include just the book.  She had included a beautiful card AND some scrappy goodies too!

I can't wait to read this newest book in the series!  Thank you SO much Tammy!

Thank you for stopping by today.  I'm looking forward to a great week this week.  Only one and a half days!!  Hoping to be super productive at work and at home :)  Have an awesome Monday!!

Grandma Mary's Birthday.

Hey there and a happy Wednesday to you!  Today I wanted to share with you a birthday card I made for my Grandma Mary.  We are celebrating her birthday this coming Sunday, even though her actual birthday was on the 16th.

I used this MME paper as a background and then layered on a simple little cluster for some added deminsion.

I wound up some baker's twine on my fingers and secured it with a couple of small tiny staples to the paper.  Then attached the butterfly to the twine with pop dots.  I finished it off with a simple pearl.  I love how the patterned paper made for some quick work for me on this card!

I'm so happy that we're half way through the week!  After today I only have four (really three and half) more days of work until Thanksgiving break!!  I hope you have a great Wednesday and I'll be back on Friday with something new :)  Thanks for stopping by today!

Cute idea, bad photo.

So the last few years I've made place cards for Thanksgiving.  This year I was debating on doing them or not when I walked into Target and my mind was made up.  I found cute place cards in the Dollar Spot on clearance for $.50!!

I added googly eyes (my favorite) and a gold Sharpie to write the names and I was done!  So easy, so quick, thanks Target!!  I have to apologize for the bad photo here.  I took these right on my desk and the lighting was super bad this day.

I'm looking forward to a quite Monday.  No volleyball games tonight as Abie's fall league is over.  We are just starting her club practice schedule now so Monday nights are free again :)  I'm hoping to finish up a little project tonight that I started yesterday.  I'll be back Wednesday with something new.  Until then, thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

The last of the birthdays, for now.

Woo hoo, Friday!!!!  Man, when I posted last I felt like the week was flying by.  That's when it stopped.  The last couple of days have dragged. So here's to hoping today goes by fast!!  My plan for the weekend is to finish up my Christmas shopping, yes Tracy you heard me right, except for the girls of course.  They always take the longest :)

This is another card for a 12 year old girl, but her personality is quite a bit different from the one last week. 

I found this olllld file folder and it worked  perfectly to hold the gift card!  I decorated the front it was ready to go!

I added this little baggie to the inside to hold the gift card :) and a few rhinestones!!

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you have a gorgeous fall Friday and a wonderful weekend!!

Boy birthday.

Happy Wednesday!!  I'm so glad it's Wednesday already.  I'm on the countdown to Thanksgiving break, anyone else?  Ha!

Today I'm sharing a birthday card I made for our little neighbor.  We were at his party over the weekend and his mom had made the CUTEST decorations. 

This was half of a 4x6 card that I trimmed down and then added some twine.  I think it's a little non traditional for a one year old, but I love it!!

I'm meeting up with some friends for dinner tonight and can't wait!  An awesome way to celebrate the middle of the week, right?  I'll be back on Friday, so I hope you have a beautiful Wednesday and Thursday!  Thanks for stopping by!!

Veteran's Day.

Hey all.  I just wanted to share with you the Veteran's Day card I made for my Dad.  He was in the Vietnam War and I made this card after the Vietnam Veteran's Flag.

The card may look pretty simple, but it actually took me awhile to figure out the proportions.  Haha!  Math major I was not.

I kept the inside very simple and then wrote a separate note to enclose.

I want to say thank you to all the Veteran's for their service.  Hope everyone has a wonderful Monday.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Easy gift.

Yay for Friday!  Who's with me??  We have a busy weekend ahead, well, some of us more than others...  Abie has a birthday sleepover tonight and Landry is heading over to Grammy and Pa's :)  Mike is getting a tattoo to on his right calf to honor the marathon and I'll probably hang out with him for a bit, or maybe get some shopping in.  Tomorrow, Mike and my dad are working on the basement, this makes me SO happy!!  Then we have a birthday party for our little neighbor boy who is turning 1!!!  After that, we're dropping Abs off at another sleepover, this one for her volleyball team.  She's going to be exhausted!  Sunday will be a slow day, only Mike working on the mud and tape in the basement and then Dirk has puppy class.  I'm worn out just thinking about all of it!!  What are your plans for the weekend?

Since Abie is heading to her coaches house on Saturday, I thought she (the coach) might need some chocolate.  I pulled this little gift together lickety split on Wednesday night.

Just a simple Mason jar, filled with Hershey's kisses.  Then I wrapped twine around the lid and added a little leaf and button.

I added just a few embellishments to the lid.  A simple little circle and some hearts :)  I hope she enjoys it!

Thanks for stopping in on this lovely Friday!!  I hope it's a perfect one for you!  I'll see you soon!!

Birthday card for a 12 year old girl.

Happy weekend eve my friends!!  Can you believe it's already Thursday?  The week has flown by here and I cannot believe it's almost the end of the first full week of November.  This month is really busy here, lots of activities and plans going on with the girls and to top it off, Mike is spending the weekends working on finishing the basement off.

This Friday night, Abie has a birthday party to go to.  The first of her friends to turn 12.  I wanted to share with you the card I made.

I saw this journal card and thought it was absolutely perfect for a 12 year old girl, or any girl for that matter :)  Something we should all remember, don't you think?

Thanks for stopping in today.  I'll be back tomorrow with a super quick little gift that will be great for a hostess or friend this fall!  See you then.  Have a wonderful Thursday!!

Grateful

Good morning!! Today I wanted to share with you what we're doing at our house this month to express all the things we're grateful for.

I threw this together really quick, but it means SO much! Some simple bags, from Michael's, I stamped on a few, and added the numbers 1-30. Then trimmed out cardstock to write on.

I hung up the bags and each day, we write down what we're grateful or thankful for :)

I have all of the card stock strips and a Sharpie in a jar on the china cabinet, right next to where the bags are.

At the end of the month, I'm going to bind all of these bags into a little book so we have a family grateful journal for 2013!!

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a beautiful Monday!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!  Do you have trick or treating plans tonight?  Mike will take Landry out and Abie has decided to stay home this year... sigh.

While I'm on the subject of Abie, I made these little 3x3 cards for her to fit inside her treat bags for her friends.

I totally snagged the layout for the cards from the back of an Archiver's flyer!!  I love these little owl ghosts, they crack me up!

The googly eyes kind of do it for me too :)

Well, that's it for the Halloween projects this year.  I'm not ready yet for Christmas.  Christmas crafts that is.  Will you start on Christmas crafting or do you have Thanksgiving projects you'll work on first?

I hope you have a fun and safe night tonight.  I'll be back next week, so have a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for the visit today!!

Test tube treats!

I'm so glad it's Wednesday!  Tonight is our only night home for the week and we have errands to run and a dress to find, for Abie's first dance!!!  I'm hoping to get the errands done right after school and then be in for the night :)  I have a little Halloween project to share with you today!

I made THESE treat bags for Abie to give out to her friends this year since she's in Middle School now and they don't have big class parties.  That way she's still getting to celebrate too :)  We filled the bags with different candies and then I also made these:

I bought the bottom three test tubes at Hobby Lobby in a package for $3.99.  The top one I got years ago from Oriental Trading.  BUY THE ONES FROM HOBBY LOBBY.  Why you ask?  The lids screw on and you won't lose your candy :)  These were super simple to decorate.  I wrapped a bit of washi around the middle and then tied some twine around the bottom of the lids with a die cut Halloween shape.

The die cut shapes were from an old Cuttlebug die I had.  These test tubes are just a few inches tall so I had to use the mini M&M's.  I think they would have looked more festive with black and orange candies though :)

Thanks for popping in today!  I'll be back tomorrow with my last Halloween cards for the year.  Then it's on to fall/harvest/Thanksgiving!!  See you then!  Have a beautiful Wednesday my dears!!

Some new crafty stuff!

Happy Monday everyone!  Did you have a good weekend?  Ours flew by.  Dad came out Saturday to help Mike withe basement and Mom and I went shopping with my sister and one of my nephews, he was less than thrilled.  On Sunday I spent the day cooking, cleaning, washing sheets/towels, taking Dirk to puppy class and crafting while Mike sheetrocked all day :)  It was a busy, but GREAT Sunday!

On Friday I was able to run into Hobby Lobby for a few minutes, I never go in there anymore since Michael's is just up the road and I'm so glad I did.  I found some great deals!  Way at the back of the store they had a whole section of stuff on clearance.  This is what I picked up.

I was looking for an album to use for our trip to Chicago.  Mike has a bunch of memorabilia that I'm going to include so this Snap Studio binder will be perfect.  It was on clearance for $10.79.  I also grabbed a package of folders for $3.99 and two packets of the 2x3 cards for $2.99.  Even if I don't use them in this album, they're great for Project Life and I love to use them on cards!  The best part about this, when I went to Michael's, all of this stuff was regular price!  Ahahahahahaha!  I also picked up a Smash book.  It was $8.39.  I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for, but I figure for that price I couldn't pass it up.  Plus it was pink :)  Then I grabbed two of the 4x6 pads of the Pebbles printed cards.  Again, great for PL and cards.  I fell in love with the sayings in these!  They are so awesome!  They were $2 or $3.

I finished up the girls Halloween treats over the weekend so I have a couple of more things to show you later this week.  I'll be back Wednesday with some fun treats!!  Until then, thanks for stopping by and have a great Monday!!

Chicago Recap.

Good grief, the time has sure gotten away from me.  I apologize.  We got back late last Monday and then I honestly don't know where the week went.  I couldn't get myself motivated to get this post up and I sure didn't have the motivation to craft (lazy).  So here it is a whole week later and I'm posting.

We had an absolutely amazing time in Chicago.  Not only because it was just the two of us and we had never been to Chicago TOGETHER, but because this was Mike's first marathon and it was pretty emotional for both of us.  Something really cool that we got to share together.

We got into town Friday afternoon/evening and didn't do much so I'm starting with pics from Saturday morning (and just giving you the highlights because I don't want to bore you.  Haha!)  We picked up Mike's race packet Saturday morning and walked around the Expo for awhile.  Nike had this really cool wall set up with these giant letters that said #ownchicago and everyone was signing their name.

This was the view from our hotel room.  It was awesome.  I could have sat there all day long and stared at the water.

And what trip wouldn't be complete without a lame selfie?  I know, Mike looks constipated, but in his defense, he always has to press the button, because his arms are longer and he has issues with that :)

We walked FOREVER on Saturday.  The one thing I wanted to see while we were there was The Bean.  When I told Mike that, he said, "what's the The Bean?"  Let me tell you, if you haven't seen it in person, it's MUCH smaller than you think.  At least it was smaller than I thought.  I can mark it off my list though.

We had dinner with his co-workers Saturday night and on our way back to the hotel, we took a detour from the group and hung out on one of the bridges that crosses the river.  I could have stayed there all night :)  But we had to get up SUPER early on Sunday so back to the hotel we went.

We were up at 4:45 AM on Sunday and made our way down to the south side of Grant Park.  It was kind of exciting to see all the racers getting ready.  I gave Mike a kiss and left him at the entrance to Charity Village, he was running for Ronald McDonald House, and we weren't allowed inside until 9AM.  One of the other wives and I headed to get some coffee and hopped on the train to follow the guys around the course for the next couple of hours.  I kept missing Mike and we were headed to mile number 20 to see him when we calculated his time and realized by the time we took the train there and then back to the finish line, I would miss him!  So I hopped off the train and ran over to Charity Village where I was able to find Mike!  I was yelling for him, he couldn't hear me he had his headphones in, and was on the other side of the street, but it was great to see him!  (he's the one in the white shirt, black shorts and orange shoes!)

After, what seemed like a lifetime, Mike made his way from the finish line to Charity Village and that's where I got to see him :)  I don't think I'll ever forget that moment for the rest of my life.  He had a beer in his hand and just looked so relaxed.  Seriously, after running 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes.  So awesome :)

After hanging out and waiting for the rest of his team to arrive, for a couple of more hours, we finally walked back to the hotel.  I snapped this picture of the Adventure's in Babysitting building :)  Isn't it weird that it's white?  We hung out at the hotel for a few hours and then around 5:30 PM headed out to dinner.  We walked and walked again :)  I don't think either of us wanted the night to end, since it was our last.

Monday morning we headed over to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast.  See where it says they serve the world's finest coffee?  Guess what?  They serve Mike's coffee, the company he works for.  How funny is that?  We had a delicious breakfast here and were sad to go back to the hotel and check out.  We still had a long drive home ahead of us.

I couldn't help but think about KATIE over and over again while we were in Chicago.  What an awesome city to live in :)  

We were so grateful for my parents staying at the house with the girls and Dirk, he was a handful.  It really put our mind at ease knowing they were here.  The next couple of weeks are really busy here.  Volleyball, school conferences, school programs, Halloween, etc.  I know my posting will be hit and miss and I apologize for that.  I have kept up on my Project Life, but it looks the same as it always does and I think it's kind of boring :)  So other than that, I don't have much to post until I make something. 

I'm hoping to get some things made in the next few days and have a post later in the week!  I really appreciate the visit and I'll see you as soon as I can!!  Have an awesome Monday :)