Hat, Hats, Hats

A few people have asked me for the directions for the Top Note Box that I made HERE.  So, without further ado, here they are:

I got the directions from THIS blog.  Enjoy!

Yesterday a few of my Newcomer Club friends came over to work on making hats and baskets for our upcoming "Hats Off to Spring Tea".  We worked almost 5 hours and made 60 little hats (wrapped around Hershey Nuggets) and 50 baskets.  The hats were really labor intensive.  The hats consist of about 20 circles punched with the 3/4" circle punch.  The brim is punched with the 1 3/8" circle.  I had a lot of the circles punched out in advance, but it still seemed like it took forever to glue all of them together!!  Hope the ladies attending the tea appreciate our efforts!  We are going to fill the little baskets with Easter grass but haven't come up with what we will put inside them.  It has to be something cheap because most of the budget is going toward the food, teas, renting a clubhouse and the entertainment!  Any ideas?

The boxes are made using the Scallop Envelope Punch and the Sizzix.

Top Note Box

Today was another gorgeous but very WARM day here in NC!  We put our boat in the water yesterday and went out for a few hours and I got a little bit of sun.  Last night, my sisters came over and we cooked chicken out on the grill - Jamaican Jerk Chicken from this month's Southern Living magazine.  It was very good!  After it cooled down a bit (got to 90 degrees on Saturday!), we had a good old-fashioned camp-fire in the back yard and toasted marshmallows for Smores!  Another yum!!  Today we went back on the boat for a few hours and met up with some friends for a late lunch/early supper at the Lake Norman Deli.  Such is the life!!

Tonight I made this Top Note Box.  It was super easy.  If you want the directions, just let me know.  I used the Top Note die and my trusty Sizzix for the top and bottom of the box and some retired designer paper.  The flower is the Sizzix Flower Layers (p. 199).

Michael's Finds!

I made a trip to Michael's last week. That coupon was burning a hole in my pocket! But, I ended up not even using it .... and I had 3 coupons! Funny how it is when they put coupons in the paper, they have everything you want on sale but when things aren't on sale, you don't have a coupon!

I tried to use the coupon on the EK Success Circle Plus Cutter, but all their cutters were on sale. So, I just got it at the sale price. I used the Circle cutter to make this baby book for a good friend who happened to have a little girl (Cassidy) on my anniversary!

I got this paper at Scrap Shack in Mooresville. They also had the pink chipboard which was great to cut my circles out of! Won't this look cute with some cute baby pictures inside?

Here is the card I made to send with the little book .... another quilted card. I am loving these cards. I used the same paper I used in the little book and punched the squares out with my 1 1/4" SU punch. I adhered the squares to a piece of white paper and made little stitch marks with my black pen. Then I ran it through the Top Note Die and sponged Certainly Celery around the edges. Then I adhered it to my Pink Pirouette card and ran the whole card through my Cuttlebug folder (the swirly patterned one). Inside I used a Saleabration stamp - Congratulations.

Here are the rest of my Michael's "finds" for all you bargain shoppers. The turquoise and yellow "ribbon" was in the Dollar Bin and it is felt! Pretty cool. The middle ribbon is grosgrain but I just loved the vivid colors! The two Sizzix were on clearance - one was like $2 and the other was about $4! What bargain have you found lately?

Project Sharing

Here's a few things I've been working on this week.  Remember - you can click on the pictures to see them better.  Just remember to click on the "back arrow" to return to my blog.

This is a Rolodex file I made a while back to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, etc.  I used SU's circle punches for the month tabs and stamped the months with the Just Rite alphabet set.  Believe it or not, but I got this Rolodex 2 summers ago at CK Convention and just couldn't decide what to do with it!  My sister has one and I think she is going to make a drink index with hers!  Hmmmm ... not a bad idea!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a flower pot card I made last Friday when Marianne was here.  We saw a similar card posted on Splitcoast (think it was a challenge a few weeks ago) and decided to made our own.  I only had to take the flowers off my card about 2-3 times to get them the way I wanted them!!  I meant to send this card to a friend who has been sick, but forgot!  She's probably well by now .... huh, Margaret?  Oh well, they say it's the thought that counts.

Christmas in February!

EDITED: I had an inquiry as to where I got this book. It is by BoBunny. Although I purchased it at a convention in Charlotte last summer, here is a link to a website - Shop Till You Crop, that sells them.

When our friends from Texas were here last week, we exchanged Christmas presents ... in February!! We still do Christmas with Margaret and Graham but usually not until January or February because that is usually when they are able to get to NC. It sure makes it easier at Christmas-time - I don't have to worry about having their presents bought, ready and wrapped until a month or two after Christmas. I've been wanting to share this Friends book with everyone that I made for Margaret, but had to wait. I bought this book at the CK Convention last August and put pictures from our July trip to DC in it.

This is the front of the book. I did each letter with different patterns of paper. and tied bows around them and did some stamping.

This is the "I" page. I made a tag and tied it onto one of the binder rings.

This is the "D" page and another tag .... a true one!!

This is the "S" page and a picture of the four of us with another couple that are really good friends. This was taken the weekend of my birthday in October.

This is the back of the book.

Milk Cartons

This week has been all about making milk cartons and a holder for them!!  Last night I did a class at Stamper's Alley in Mooresville making the milk cartons from Becky Roberts.  (check hers out HERE).  And tomorrow, I'll be doing another class.  Here's the one we are making in class.  It was supposed to be for Valentines, but some of the gals didn't want it to be too "hearts and kisses" so this paper is versatile enough I thought for any occasion.

 

My sister wanted to make one too but since her son has a soccer game tomorrow, I told her to come on over today and we'd make one.  So this morning, she and my friend, Judy, came over.  We had a great time making their boxes, chatting and then enjoying my pasta salad at lunch!  Marianne's company has just scaled them back with a pay cut and 4-day work week, so this was her first Friday off.  We had to celebrate it someway!!  Here are their boxes - although they are not quite finished (they still need ribbon on the handle) but you can admire their handi-work!

This one is Marianne's.  Her favorite color is purple and everything she makes has purple in it!!  She stamped the flower from the retired SU set, Time Well Spent.

This one is Judy's.  She used a circle punch to punch out some of the little circles from the decorative paper - wasn't that clever??  She is also taking my class tomorrow and is making these for her grandchildren.

Recipe Box

I want to share one of my Christmas gifts with you!  My sister, Marianne, made this recipe holder for me.  She did a super job.  You know, she is the one who told me, when I moved here, that she was not going to get into doing cards and stuff that I did - she is a quilter and was going to continue with that.  (Think she's made one quilt since I've been here!!!)  When we went to CK Convention in August, she signed up for Quick Quotes Club Q - a monthly kit club. This recipe box is one of the monthly kits that she got.

These are the dividers -

These are little bookmarks that I would think you could use for placeholders or even attach them to the recipe cards.

These are the only 3 recipes she included in the box but they each tell a story!!  We LOVE my grandmother's vegetable soup.  I make at least 2-3 huge batches every year and eat on it all winter.  (I'm the only one in my house who will eat it - Sonny doesn't like veggies!)

The Vinegar Pie is another one of our grandmother's recipes.  Not many people have heard of vinegar pie and we usually get strange looks.  But, it is really good and easy to make - tastes kind of like a chess pie.

The Chicken Spaghetti recipe is mine from an old Beta Sigma Phi recipe book.  Marianne came to visit me in Texas when Derek (her oldest son who is now in college) was only 3 or 4 years old.  He was is a pretty picky eater - only eats chicken (to this day!).  I made the Chicken Spaghetti and she told me he wouldn't eat it.  Well .... he just about cleaned the casserole dish!!  Now, it is a favorite of both of us!

Now, I just have to come up with more special recipe to put in the box!!

Milk Carton Container

I want to share with you the Milk Carton Container I made last week. I actually made 2 of them but forgot to take a picture of the first one before I gave it away. They both turned out soooo cute!! I got the idea and bought the instructions from Becky Roberts (Inking Idaho) She put a picture of my container on her blog the other day! There are a bunch of cute ones there. I will be doing a class at the Stampers Alley in February. We will make our containers either for Valentine's or if you prefer, for a birthday or other event.

You can fill each little carton with goodies - ribbon, stamping supplies, candy .... whatever you want!!

Cocoa Cones

Well, I think I am on the mend although after being sick all week, my energy level is not great.  Yesterday, my sister came over after work and we made some goodies for a few hours before we had to leave.  She used my Big Shot Note die and cut out a bunch of dies with it.  I think she has decided she HAS to have one of the dies!!  We met our other sister and Mom at Berea Baptist Church for their Singing Christmas Carol.  It was the first time I had seen one of these and it was really neat.  There were probably about 10 tiers to the human tree.  The singers looked like it was a tight squeeze in there and of course, they had to stand during the whole service.  One lady fainted towards the top.  There's no where for her to fall to - someone just noticed her slumped over and they got her down.  That's probably why it was pretty cold in the church.  Anyway, it was a really nice event.  Afterwards, we went out to dinner.  But, of course, first Marianne & I had to dash over to Michael's to get some last minute things!  When we got there, she noticed her husband's car in the parking lot & we caught him coming out of Michaels.  Busted!!  Guess she knows what he's getting her for Christmas!  We bought some Wilton decorating bags to make these cocoa treats that I gave to some of the gals today. -

I've seen these selling in boutiques and at the Christmas Show in Charlotte for anywhere from $7 - $10!  You can make them so much cheaper.  I bought the Wilton bags at Michaels and stamped them with a snowflake stamp in White Staz-On.  Then I layered the cocoa ingredients as follows:

• ¼ cup powdered coffee creamer (make sure this is in the tip really well)
• 1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 cup Nesquick (chocolate milk mix)
• 1/3 cup dry milk
• ½ cup milk chocolate chips
• ½ cup (approximately 28) mini- marshmallows

Pack tightly in the cone so the ingredients don't mix together.  Tie with twist tie & then ribbon.  (A candy cane would be great tied on too - I just forgot to buy them!)

Here are the directions for the hot chocolate to put on an attached card:  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add everything in bag except marshmallows and stir constantly until the water returns almost to a boil. Top with marshmallows. Makes 3 – 4 mugs

I went to Organized Christmas and printed out this cute label for the cocoa cones:

They have some great stuff at that site.

Christmas Crud

I've been sick all week and haven't gotten ANY decorating done as planned!  I went to "doc in a box" on Sunday because I had a really bad sore throat and figured it was a sinus infection.  They gave me a Z Pack which I finished today, but my throat still hurts!!  I've also got a cold, I believe.  I've been blowing my nose so much, I look like Rudolph!! 

Tomorrow is my Mahjong Christmas party and I hope to be able to go.  We are supposed to take a dish (luckily, I still have bourbon balls and pizzelles I can take!) and a present for the Chinese auction.  Here is what I am taking -

My daughter, Ashley, made this necklace for me.  She made several for me to give as gifts.  I picked out the piece and she put it together with beads, etc.  It's really quite pretty in real life!!

This is a set of note cards I made using Inspired by Nature and the Curly Punch set.  I love these colors together - kraft, kiwi, and Baja Breeze with some designer paper.

A close-up of one of the cards -

And of course, one of my calendars:

Everything will go into this box which is gorgeous on it's own.  I didn't make it - bought it last year at Home Goods.

Christmas Buckets

My sister, Marianne, has been a busy beaver!  She has a full schedule anyway - 2 teenage boys with active soccer schedules plus she works full time.  But she has been an angel in making me these Christmas buckets to send to my step-granddaughters.  I am going to fill each one with goodies that I have collected.

I bought Marianne one of these buckets last May at a stamp store in Shallotte, NC and she has been reproducing them like crazy.  They are great for holding your crafting supplies and have pockets all around the outside and on the inside.  She has sold a bunch of them.  I think she charges $20 for the bucket & insert, but she will just sell you the insert if you want to buy your own bucket.  She gets plastic buckets & metal paint buckets at a local hardware store.  So if you are interested, let me know!

This one uses Wall-E material and is for Cassidy who is 9.

This one is for Torri who is the oldest - 14.  Her room is decorated in a jungle theme so thought this would be cool for a teenager.  It is actually our favorite!!

This is for Kennedy, who is almost 11.  As you can see, it is Tinkerbell.  These gals love Disney!

And here is my bucket - stuffed!!

more calendar pages

As promised, here are the other calendar pages from my Alley Stampers meeting.  I shared my calendar pages on THIS post.  Well, turned out, I messed up - I was supposed to do January and July .... not August!  So we have 2 Augusts!  I just have to print out a July and paste it over August.  Anyway, here are the other months the gals created:

Patty did April, May, November & December.  She used Digital Paper.  I've never tried that but the pages are gorgeous!  Also the Snowflake and saying on December is a free download from Creative Memories (magazine) that she downloaded and printed on cardstock.