Black and Gold .... no not Steelers - Christmas projects!!

I had a really busy day yesterday.  I left the house at 9:30 a.m. and returned at 10:30 p.m.!  I had bridge in the morning and from there got my nails done.  Then over to meet Marianne and we headed to Concord.  First a stop at Vera Bradley.  With my birthday in a couple of weeks, I received my birthday coupon from Vera (which I forget & left it at home but they were nice and gave it to me anyway.)  I ended up with a new purse and wallet.  Everything in the outlet store was 50% off and then with my 25% discount, it was a good deal!  From there, we had dinner and then a quick stop at Target before heading over to Allison's for her demo meeting.  She is so sweet to include us in her group.  When we got there, Marianne realized her wallet was missing!  So she drove back to Target where she had it last.  Turns out she dropped it in the parking lot while getting in the car and some good samaritan found it and turned it in to Customer Service in Target.  So, there are some nice honest people out there!

Allison had some cute projects for us this month with a great black and gold theme!  Let me know what you think.

This cute little triangle box is a "blast from the past."  When I first started with Stampin' Up, this was always a great little project to make when I had my workshops.  But back then, I used it to demonstrate the roller wheels that Stampin' Up used to sell.  It has a whole new luck with this Winter Wonderland Specialty Paper (pg. 23 Holiday Catalog).  It holds a bunch of Hershey Kisses .... but don't tell my husband!!

Another "golden oldie" is the little coffee cups but with a new holder for the single cup.  And a great look with the Winter Wonderland DSP!  I've just ordered 100 of those cups and lids!!  I actually made a few Halloween ones last night and took them to my dentist office this morning when I had my teeth cleaned but can't believe I forgot to take a picture of them!  Darn!

Here is cute box PLUS a gift card holder - dual purpose for a great Christmas gift!  If you want to make this, check out the video blow.

Hope these projects will bring you some inspiration!

Santa Treat Box (for next year)

I was supposed to post this last week but just found it & I had not posted it.  So ......One final Christmas project that you can put this on your "to do" list for next year!  This little Santa Treat Box is sooo easy and is so cute!

SANTA TRIANGLE TREAT BOX

Red cardstock:  4 ¼” x 11”

Score in half (@ 5 1/2”)

Score diagonally from top center to center fold on top and bottom.

Santa:

White :  2 ½” Scallop Circle Punch

White:  2 petals from 5 Flower Punch

White:  5-6 small scallops from Itty Bitty Shape Punches

Pink:  1 3/8” Circle Punch

Pink:  ½” circle punch

Black:  Owl Punch

Black:  4” x ½” strip

Black square for middle of belt buckle

Shimmer Paper:  1” square punch

 This is what I had written a few days after Christmas & thought I had posted it - we were still in Texas!  

It turned pretty cold here and I'm loving it!  The past two nights the temp. has dropped to the low 30's and only warming up to the 50s during the day.  But I think today is supposed to be around 65.  Which will be nice since we are driving to Gruen to have lunch and poke around the shops.  Thursday we went to the outlet shops in San Marcos for a couple of hours.  We also met up with my nephew and his wife and Jack IV for lunch.  Jack is the cutest baby - just like a Gerber baby!!  I can't believe he was a premie since he is such a chubby little baby.  He'll be one in early February and is such a good baby.  Jack and Katrina are doing really great with him.  When we returned to San Antonio, we went to a naming ceremony for one of Ashley's friends' baby, Nora who was born in August.  It was a Jewish ceremony held in their home.  I learned that Jewish parents not only give their baby a secular name but also a Hebrew name which also has a connection to the past and honors those important people in the child's life.  I am totally clueless about the Jewish faith but it was a very nice ceremony similar to the Christian christening.  The thing that really got to me was how irrevelent the guests were.  There were several young parents there with their children for the ceremony and the children were into the food that was laid out for the ceremony - putting their hands all over the cheeses, crackers, etc.  We watched one little girl, about 4-5 years old who filled her plate with about 20 crackers and I never figured out where her parents were - they sure weren't supervising her!  All throughout the ceremony, the children were fussing, talking, eating so much that it was hard to pay attention to the ceremony.  It was just not very respectful to allow them to run wild during the ceremony.  If it was a Christian ceremony and held in a church, they would keep the kids quiet (I hope!)

I had my flu shot today!  I kept putting it off when I was at home before driving to TX and about talked myself out of getting one.  But I kept hearing how bad the flu is supposed to be this year so Ashley brought a shot home to me yesterday morning and gave it to me before we headed out shopping.  Now .... I better not get the flu!  I didn't get to talk to my son for Christmas because they were all sick.  My daughter in law sent me a text Christmas that they were so sick they could hardly move.  My mom talked to Jeff yesterday and she said he sounded pretty bad.  He told her that the flu had run through their family like wild fire - hitting all of them and even Darcie's grandparents who were visiting.  So, I hope to talk to him later this weekend when he feels better!

Stylin' Snowfolks Treat Box

One popular tradition of Christmas is singing Christmas carols. These traditions have their origins in the past well before the terminology “Christmas Carols” was actualized. Most of the popular carols were written in the 19th century and were sung from house to house near the Christmas season. The Church adopted this tradition in the 1820’s, giving these songs a greater sense of reverence. Hence the term “Christmas Carols” was born.

 

Popular Christmas Carols, their author, and the year they were written –

• Away in the Manger – James Murray – 1885
• Deck the Hall’s – John Perry Ddall – 1784
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – author unknown – most likely written in the 1700’s
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing – Felix Mendelssohn – 1840
• I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – Henry Longfellow – 1863
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear – Edmund Sears – 1849
• Jingle Bells – James Pierpont – 1857
• Joy to the World – Isaac Watts – 1719
• Messiah – George Frideric Handel - 1741
• O Christmas Tree – Ernst Anschutz – 1824
• O Come All Ye Faithful – John Wade et al – 1200’s
• O Come, O Come Emanuel – John Mason Neale – mid 1800’s
• O Holy Night – Adolphe Adam – 1847
• O Little Town of Bethlehem – Phillips Brooks – 1865
• Silent Night – Joseph Mohr – 1816
• The First Noel – Davies Gilbert – 1700’s
• Twelve Days of Christmas – author unknown – 1500’s
• We Wish you a Merry Christmas – author unknown – 1500’s

  

 

 

STYLIN’ SNOWFOLKS BOX

1. Cut two Scallop Envelopes from Pool Party card stock
2. Cut two additional pieces of Pool Party card stock 3 1/4 x 8 1/4".  Score both pieces with long side along top of Simply Scored Tool at 2 3/8".
3. Adhere the envelope tabs together with Sticky Strip side by side alternately with long pieces to form the sides of the box (line up the score lines across the bottom).
4. Before adhering the last tab, stamp the small snowflake in Stylin' Snowfolks randomly over the sides with ink.
5. Punch the holes at the top of long pieces with Extra Large Oval Punch.
6. Adhere final tab to form box and fold flaps up on bottom to form box base.
7. Decorate the sides with Designer Paper…add the stamped Stylin' Snowfolk snowman and Tags Til Christmas greeting to the front with the Scallop Square Punch.
8. Add a Silver Glimmer snowflake from the Snow Flurry Die to the top of the box front.
9. Tie a pretty bow to hold the box top closed.

Christmas Cracker

The first Christmas Tree lit with electrical lights was in 1882. Edward H Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison, was Vice-President of the Edison Electric Light Company, which is now known as Con Edison. Johnson had bulbs the size of walnuts, hand wired, in red, blue and white specially made for him. They were initially called Christmas Tree Lamps! The tree was in his private home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Most newspapers ignored this phenomenon considering it a marketing ploy. The story was published in a Detroit newspaper which dubbed him as the “Father of Electric Christmas Lights.” By 1900, businesses started stringing lights in their windows. For the average person, this was still an expensive decoration. Up until 1930, candles were still used in most homes, and then lights started becoming the majority replacement in most homes.

In 1895, President Grover Cleveland proudly displayed the first electrically lit tree in the White House. It was a huge tree featuring more than 100 multicolored lights. The first commercially manufactured Christmas tree lamps were produced by General Electric Co of Harrison, NJ. They were strings of multiples 8 sockets and each socket took a miniature two-candela carbon-filament lamp. From that point on electrically illuminated Christmas trees, but only indoors, grew with mounting enthusiasm in the United States and elsewhere.

Thanks to Andrea Walford for this Christmas Cracker project.

1. Using tissue paper: Put the tissue paper in front of you with the shortest side facing you. Fold it up in half to find the half way point and then open it back up again.  Take the bottom end and fold it up to the center line you just created. Then rotate the paper around so you have the other end in front of you and do the same thing (fold up to the center).   So at this point, each side has been folded up to the center.  Now, take the side you have and fold it up to the center again, then rotate it and fold the other side up to the center as well.  Be sure to smooth out all sides each time to you do it.  Then, fold the paper in half one final time. 

2. Cut along the bottom (non-folded side) of the folded piece of tissue paper, using paper snips or Fringe scissors. Repeat with the second folded piece of tissue paper.

3. Wrap the first piece of tissue paper around one end of the toilet paper roll, sticking it to the roll as you wrap, using Tombow multi-purpose liquid glue. Trim off any excess tissue paper, using paper snips. Allow time to dry.

4. . Gather the tissue paper fringes and tie a 6” piece of baker’s twine around the tissue paper. Trim the ends of the baker’s twine.

5. Fill the toilet paper roll with small candy or small toys. Stuff a coffee filter or a tissue in the end, to keep the candy/toys from falling out.

6. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other side of the Christmas cracker. (You can remove the coffee filter or tissue from the toilet paper roll just before you wrap the 6” piece of baker’s twine around the tissue paper.)

7. Sticka3 ¾” x 6” piece of  DSP to the toilet paper roll, using  liquid glue.

8. Stick a 6 ½” piece of  ribbon around the Christmas cracker, covering the seam between the DSP and the tissue paper using sticky strip. Repeat on the second side, using the second 6 ½” piece of  ribbon.

9. Wrap a 12” piece of  ribbon around one end of the gathered tissue paper and tie it into a bow. Trim the ends. Repeat on the second side with the second 12” piece of ribbon.

10. Stamp the greeting onto a scrap piece of Whisper White CS.

11. Align the greeting in the window of the Extra Large Oval punch and punch it out.

12. Punch out a label from a scrap piece of cardstock, using the Designer Label punch.

13. Center and stick the punched out greeting onto the label, using Tombow multi-purpose liquid glue. 

14. Stick the matted greeting on the Christmas label, using sticky strip. 

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Some interesting facts about Rudolph – The Red Nosed Reindeer:

1.       The poem was written by Robert L May, an advertising executive for Montgomery-Ward, in 1939. It was incorporated into a coloring book the store handed out to children. 

2.       In 1949 Robert’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, put music to the poem and Gene Autry recorded it; making it to the #1 spot on Billboard’s pop singles chart the week of Christmas. (I still have a CD of Gene Autry singing it!)

3.       Gene Autry’s recording sold 2.5 million copies the first year and up until 1980’s, it was the second best selling record of all time reaching 25 million copies!  Michael Jackson’s Thriller and The Eagles Greatest Hits bumped it completely off the list.

4.       Rudolph has had two brothers – Ralph (Ralph, the Infra-Red Nosed Reindeer) and Rusty (Holidaze: The Christmas That Almost Didn't Happen), a cousin Leroy (Leroy the Redneck Reindeer), and two different sets of parents – Donner and a tan doe with long eyelashes and then later with Blitzen and Mitzi.

Here are a couple of quick little Christmas projects for you today.  This time of year, we all need quick!!

This first one is just a quick little tag that holds a Hershey Nugget.

side view

SANTA TAG 

Punch 2 tags w/tag punch out of Real Red

Cut red cardstock @ 1 3/8” x 2” for bottom; Score @ ½” & 1 ½”

White cardstock – cut @ 1 5/8” x 5/8”

Black cardstock – cut @ 1 ½” x ¼” (belt)

Glitter paper – square ½” x ¼” (buckle)

I wrapped the chocolate with some Designer Paper so it would be a little more festive.

Santa Tag Nugget Holder

This is a cute little note pad made from a bar coaster.  Just adhere some DSP to the coaster with glue.  (I find a glue stick works best for this project.)  Cut some note paper from computer paper and adhere to the coaster with a cute little clip from your local office supply store.  Tie a bow onto the clip and make a tag to hand off of it.  You can also put a magnet on the back and put it on your refrigerator.

Coaster Note Pad

 

Christmas Projects - Rolo Rascal and Mr. Grinch!

 A little seasonal trivia for you before sharing the projects to get you in the spirit!

The traditions of trees, mistletoe and elves stem from Druid and Paganism roots. In fact, a lot of Christmas traditions pre-date Christianity. 

Mistletoe was believed to ward off evil spirits, much later on earning  a reputation as a healing herb. When Christianity came to be, it was ruled that all mistletoe was to be pulled and destroyed. Consequently to this day, mistletoe does not grow on its own. The seeds must be introduced to a living plant where once it takes root, it will grow and thrive all the while destroying the host plant. It takes five years for the plant to reach its full maturity! Kissing under the mistletoe branch didn’t begin until the early 17^th century, believing it would bring good luck and fortune or possibly mend a broken heart. What few people know is that after kissing, they are meant to pick a berry off the sprig. Once the berries are all gone, the sprig then loses its magical powers. Anyone partaking in the tradition this year, remember to pull those berries. And if it’s a sprig without any berries, get away from it. 

On to elves ....  There is so much information on these wee folk … some good, some bad.  Basically the Pagans and Druids perceived them to be impish little folks. Very few were ever described as being good and helpful until Christmas celebrations came into existence. Although St Nicholas was first introduced as an elf in A Visit from St Nicholas (1823), elves were not introduced until 1856 in an unpublished work written by Louisa May Alcott entitled Christmas Elves. They were also popularized as Santa’s helpers by publications such as Godey’s Lady’s Book by putting them on their front cover in 1873!

St Nicholas, was a Greek Orthodox Bishop during the 4^th century. He is best known for quietly giving gifts to children in need, especially very good ones. He did have a little man by the name of Crumpus travel with him whose job was to hand out the coal to the bad children. Throughout the years one would see St Nicholas traveling throughout the lands in either a red, white, brown or green long coat. Today everyone sees Santa only wearing a red suit with white fur trim. Do you know why? Back in the 1930’s Coca Cola was running a Christmas advertisement. The company’s colors are red and white, thus they put him in the same colored clothes. The advertisement was such a huge success that everyone has perceived Santa in his outfit of red and white ever since! Europeans deemed the 6^th of December as St Nicholas Day, which is early in advent, so that his activities would not mar the holiest of days … December 25^th.

(thanks to Karen Sullivan for this bit of info!)

Before I forget AGAIN, I have to share some good news with you about a prize give-away offered by Stampin' Up!!  EVERYDAY in December you can enter the drawing (one entry per day!)  There will be 10 winners who will get their own copy of MDS PLUS all the downloads from 2013 which is over $1900 in product!  Can you say WOW!!!!  So, head on over to Facebook and go the My Digital Site and register there and enter the contest!!!!  If they hit 10,000 hits in their contest we'll all get a free thank you!!!  So run, head on over!!!

How about a few Christmas project shares?  I just love these little candy guys!!

Mr Grinch is a Heath bar - you can use any flat candy bar - Hershey, Skor, etc.  It's really quite easy to make him.  Measure the candy bar to see what size your wrapper needs to be.  You need to double the width and add an inch PLUS add an inch for the length too.   So, the Skor and Heath  bars are the same size, 1 1/2 by 6 1/2, so your wrapper needs to be 4 by 7 1/2. 

These are the punch pieces you will need for the Grinch.  The Curly Label punch and Owl Builder piece from Old Olive.  The yellow circles and black circles are from the Owl Builder punch.  The Santa hat is from the Pennant Builder punch (folded over.)  The white hat brim is from the Scallop Square punch, the white puff ball is from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, and the eyebrows are from the slot punch (retired) but you can just cut some strips of paper in brown.   Cut one foot from the Old Olive Owl piece to use as a nose, then glue it and the eyes to your Old Olive Curly Label Punch piece.  I used Real Red  to ink up the stamped piece (from Tags Till Christmas).  Punch it out with the 1 1/4 square punch and mount that on the Scallop square punch.  

Mr Grinch Candy Bar

And we can't forget the Rolo Rascal!  I made mine into a Santa but you could just as easy have a Grinch Rascal also following the punched instructions above.

Wrap Designer Paper (about 3 ¼” x 4 ¾” around the Rolos.  For the eyes... I colored 2  pearls with a black sharpie.   Cut the fabric  4" x 5" for the hat – I used the hot glue gun to make it stick or you can use the Red Line tape. 

 Punches:  1-1/4" Scallop  / ¼” circle for eyes / ½” circle for nose / 5 flower Punch for mustache.

Cut strip of black for belt & a square of Gold Glimmer paper for buckle.

Rolo Rascal Santa!

 Enjoy!!  I have 2 ladies coming over today from my Thursday Stamp Club to do their projects.  With just two, we should get a lot done.  I think I will be creating with them!!