Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Memory Calendar

Hi all
As I mentioned in my previous post, I  met my dear friend for breakfast this morning (even though it was very cold!!).  I wanted to give her a little gift and I wanted it to have a family connection.  We have been buds since the year I started my professional career - a long time ago -  We were hired under the same grant and worked together for a very long time.  Through it all, my friend has held family - her parents, her sibling, and her husband and children - as her very top priority.  She has faced many challenges in her assorted roles as wife and mother and has always risen to each challenge with intelligence and insight. I treasure her.  So I made an empty calendar for her.  I know she will have plenty of possible pictures or thoughts to save on the top note dies of each page.  It will be made special by her personalization of the pages.  here they are...










And, dear friend that she is, she showed up with a special find for me, too....a Winnie the Pooh cookie stamp - I was thrilled when I got home and saw how perfectly it fit into my Pooh collection.  As it turns out, it is the only Pooh item I received this Christmas - whew!  that was a close one!  Can't imagine a Christmas without Pooh!
Hope this simple approach to scrap booking inspires one of you to give it a try!!

Peggy

Paper crafting again!!

Hi all
Today I finished making a 2011 photo-less calendar for a dear friend of mine who I am meeting for breakfast this week and I snapped pictures to show the project to you.  Unfortunately, my camera was near dead.  Did I leave it turned on sometime?  Anyway, I was not able to get the battery recharged yet so I cannot transfer the pictures over to my computer (hmm...should have pulled out the card and stuck it directly into the computer!!!  I always forget I can do that!!)  Anyway, I will get it all together for you tomorrow (Tuesday)  Whoops!  technically it already is Tuesday.  Later, okay, later.  I have to take my coughing, sneezing, no fever but I need some rest head to bed!  Tomorrow is supposed to be artic-ly cold..ick!!

Peggy

Friday, December 24, 2010

Wishes....

Merry Christmas, all!!
I am just getting ready to head out to church for our Christmas Eve service (we have to leave an hour ahead of time to even think about getting a seat!) and wanted to wish everyone a joyous holiday celebration and peace in your hearts.  Troubled times have lingered for a long time now, yet we are all fortunate in some way.  Whether you enjoy good health, a prosperous job, the love and comfort of friends and family, or simply the knowledge that you are being the very best you you can be under your personal circumstances, we can all be grateful for something.  Take a minute to appreciate that and hug someone dear to you.  Pray others enjoy some special gift as well.

Today I was prepping the dinner table for my Christmas dinner guests and I came across a box of wooden roses from the marching band fundraiser I did last year.  These particular wooden roses are all embossed with the name and date of the event ...once the event was over, they were not sell-able to the audience.  But they are still pretty white wooden roses.  I hate to throw them away, knowing that somewhere there is a group of people who are visiting shut ins or folks in nursing care facilities, or such, who would love receiving a rose for their birthday or holiday.  If you happen to be involved in a local (Perry Hall/Baltimore) service project of this kind and think you could use the roses, please get in touch with me.  The engraving is easily sanded off with a dremel sanding ring or sanding block(I know because I have already done it several times).  It does leave a scuffed area, but they are still lovely flowers.  I am not looking to make any money off of these flowers and want them to go to someone who is also not planning on profiting from them.  Let me know if you are interested.

Merry Christmas!!
Peggy

Sunday, December 19, 2010

What's she been up to?

Happy holidays, stampers!!
I know yo'al  have been as busy as I have been lately.  That's just the way it is at this time of year.
Today I spent five hours at B&N gift wrapping for donations for the drumline and color guard.  We did better this week in terms of donations in comparison to last week.... but I am glad to say, that is the last time I will have to do that.  I am not a good "sit around and wait for something to happen" person.  When I have free time, I usually launch into one of the many things I have in my head to do....Long story on where that comes from, I just know that is how I operate... so I try to always have a little something to do ..just in case there is a lull.  Today we had some odd distractions...one was that the lady that organized our service witnessed an accident through the front window of the store.  She was able to catch the owner of the car that was struck ..which made us all feel better as the driver had walked off without leaving a note.

Tonight I wanted to show you what has had my attention lately...

 
All  these Santas and reindeer will be attached to small bags of candy for my coworkers.  Here is a picture of the 100 or so I have already finished - only about 30 or 40 to go....but I ran out of candies.  Good thing we are shopping tomorrow because I want to get these done before Monday.
Lucky for me, my friend, Kathryn recently brought me six of these nifty tins - they are perfect for holding my candy treats until I can deliver them.  Of course, I am already percolating on what I will do with the tins once I hand out the treats.  I also have some neat jars coming that I hope to feature in my Valentine class.  Stay tuned for details on that upcoming class.
Here is a pic of the individual treats...

Aren't  they sweet?
Some of the treats have regular M&M's and some have mint M&M's and still others have peanut M&M's.  I have to say the regular M&M's are the easiest to insert into the plastic sleeves.  I want to show you how I filled the sleeves (I didn't want to actually touch the candies I put in the sleeves).  Here is the beading tool I used to scoop up the candies and pour them into the sleeves.

Once the candies were on the tool, I inserted it into the sleeve and in went the candies!! Clean!!

Wish I could show you the candies going into the bag, but as I said earlier, I have run out of candies!!  Should have taken the pics earlier!!
Hope you are making great progress on your holiday gifts too.
Peggy

Friday, December 17, 2010

boxesBoxes boxes

Hi all
I hope you will excuse me as I try to communicate with a co-worker through my blog.  She asked me to die cut some boxes for her students to make gifts for their families  but unfortunately, the paper she gave me is not big enough for the box we had discussed using.  Here is what I wanted to cut for her...



I want her to see what I can  do for her ....

This is the same box but the extra flaps that would normally  fold over the hanger, cannot fit on her paper.  If this box is good enough, I hope she will let me know so I can go ahead and cut them.  The other option I have that fits her paper is the mini milk carton die...the body of that box ends up being 2" tall and 1.5" wide sides. 
thanks for letting me show her the options.
Peggy

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

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Monday, December 13, 2010

Catchin up!!

Hi all
Tonight I have been busy making treats for my coworkers - for some of them I  am using the reindeer from my Nov 14th post and for the other school, I am using another version of the owl punch, adjusted!!!  You'll see that one closer to Christmas.  I hope to get some pictures of the process soon.  There are only 8 days of school left before Xmas, so I have to get busy.  I also need to make some more tags for the Barnes and Noble fundraiser which we are doing again next Saturday.  We made some money for the Drumline and the Color Guard but we had hoped to do a lot better.  Lots of folks looked at the table but not so many came to take advantage of the service.  Would love to hear your suggestions about how to make that more attractive to consumers.

Want to give a shout out to Allie and Jill who recently joined as followers.  Allie attended my last stamp a stack class with her mom and her mom's friend...we had a nice session together.  I met Jill on line...turns out she lives very near me.  Love to find stampin buddies!
Gotta hit the hay...tomorrow will be a cold cold cold commute ..ick!

Peggy

Saturday, December 11, 2010

hi hi

Greetings!! 
I want to send a shout out to Sandie who just joined as a "follower"  - thanks for joining us and I hope you pop back often to see my latest playtime creations.  Feel free to leave a comment...I love those!!

I have just returned from breakfast with Santa - my friend's family and mine have been doing this tradition for a very long time -  over 20 years.  We go to a local fire hall near her home and have a darling breakfast - this year another friend stopped by the breakfast to say hello - It was great to see Debbie!  I even ran into another county Occupational Therapist and a gentleman we met in connection with marching band - and this event doesn't even happen in my community!  Small world.

Also want to shout out to my gals from last nights repeat Stamp a stack class.  Kathryn called them "sickos"  - me ?  I'm gonna avoid that term in case someone misunderstands!!! ha!!  It was great to see the returning stampers.  Special kudos to Whitney who joined us for the first time.  I so admire women who go do what they want to do, even if none of their buddies are available to go with them.  We were glad to have you.  Hope to see you with Kitty and Kristen in the near future.

I'm off to do gift wrapping at the White Marsh Barnes and Noble store as a fundraiser for the Color Guard and the Indoor Drumline of PHHS.  Hope lots of folks stop by for some free gift  wrapping - please consider placing  a donation for our worthy group in the collection bos.  We love to make friends through music!!!

Not sure if I will get to stamp today ..I plan to do my grocery shopping tonight since tomorrow is supposed to be yucky!

Peggy

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Holiday/Xmas Card Stamp a Stack, Part 4, card 5

Hi all
Okay...today you get to use your imagination!!!  That's because I made my card and then decided I should have done it differently.  I told the ladies my new idea and they gave it a try....I think we all agreed it improved the card.  Here is my version...

I know!  I should have snapped a picture of the newer version but I forgot!!!  I'll try to remember to take one when the ladies come for the repeat class.  ANYWAY..... what they did was stamp the reindeer on the diagonal so it looked like they were taking flight!  Definite improvement!

Are you getting the christmas spirit?  Remember your loved ones are wondering what PERFECT gift to give you for the holidays.  Why not give them a list of some of your favorite Stampin' Up! product that you want?.  Imagine how much less stressful it will be to shop for you if you tell them just exactly what you want ...then they can order on line through my website store or they can contact me and I will input the order.  Are you hesitant to tell them what you really want?  Send me you list of SU favorites and your honeys contact info and I will approach them for you.  Remember there aren't many shopping days left until Christmas...15?
Peggy

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Holiday/Xmas Card Stamp a Stack, Part 4, card 4

Hi all
I am really excited about the card I am posting for you today...it is a shaker card using our treat cups. I found some neat red and white candy cane candy embellishments by Wilton that I just had to use in a treat cup.
 When I took the picture, the card was on the table so the candies spilled upward and covered the Santa image behind it.  When you hold the card upright, you can see Santa through the cup ... he is actually stamped inside the card.  In order to make the santa visible through the cup, I attached a piece of acetate to the back of the cup.  It occurred to me after I made the card that I am not sure the acetate I used is food safe.  With all the talk of elements leaching from containers, I thought it might be a good idea to find another alternative to back the cup.  I wondered if press and seal plastic food wrap would  work but in truth, I haven't had a chance to try it...If one of you try it, be sure to let me know how it turns out.
Lots of cards that use the treat cups have intricate trap doors and sliders to keep the candies in.  Here is a picture of the inside of my card so you can see the backing on the treat cup.

We removed the cover from the adhesive on the cup and then we placed the acetate over the opening.  Then we put glue dots on the front side of the cup lip and those glue dots stick to the inside cover of the card.  When you want to get to the candy, you just separate the apparatus from the card front and the card still looks good!  The Santa was especially easy to position inside the card.  We punched the cover of the card with the hole punch and then lightly traced the hole onto the inside of the card.  Using a clear mount Santa stamp we placed him exactly where we wanted him - for me, I wanted to have his waving hand show in the opening of the cover.  Easy peasy.  Fun fun fun card!!  and a Peggy original!
Peggy

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Holiday/Xmas Card Stamp a Stack, Part 4, card 3

Hi all
Today's card is sooo cute!!  The design was inspired by a wonderful stamper, Belinda Tubby.  My ladies were worried about cutting 6 gingerbread boys times 4 cards, but I had scissors at the ready so they needn't have worried - I cut out lots of them for them.  The baking pan is silver card stock - I tried actually using metal but it was hard to get a clean fold on the ends so I used the silver card stock instead.  The layering of the word set initially seemed a challenge but when the ladies saw a demo of how I did the faux layer, they were good to go!  When you want to make a card like this -one  that involves tight cutting, I like to put the stamped strip and a pair of straight and curved blade cuticle scissors in an envelope.  Then when I get stuck at a long traffic light, or have to wait in the doctor's office, I can just pull out the materials and cut a few more.   Makes it less tedious.
Don't you love it???????

Isn't it soo cheerful??!

Thanks for visiting...leave a comment!!
Peggy

Monday, December 6, 2010

Holiday/Xmas Card Stamp a Stack, Part 4, card 2

Hello again!!
I am writing this post on Sunday as I watch the final minutes of the Raven's game.  It is sooo distracting ...so if I am sounding incoherent, you will know why!!
The card I want to show you today is a snowman card.   Now I saw a stamp of the same idea a couple of years ago - I actually took a picture of the stamp with my phone because I though gee- you don't need a stamp for that - you could use punches to make it.

AAAUUUGGGHH!!  The Raven's  lost!!   NNNoooooooo!!!!

Shake it off....shake it off...shake it off!!!!


Anyway, several folks have been doing variations of this card lately.  Here is mine!

Don't you love the little cardinals builder wheel  in the background!!  Too sweet!!  Of course, the snowman's arms were made from the large snowflake punch, the hat is a square and a word window punch, the snowflakes are from a sizzlits die.  I used a non SU small scallop punch which I cut like a pie to make the carrot nose. Rhinestones for eyes. 
Remember to call me or email if you will be joining us for card making on Friday night.

Peggy

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Holiday/Xmas Card Stamp a Stack, Part 4, card 1

Hi All
Well I am watching the Ravens game as I am posting this project from our class today.  Our class session was long - but they usually are when you are making 20 cards at once!!  I thought I would post this particular card tonight because one of the ladies suggested I probably had the Raven's game on my mind when I chose the colors ....Eggplant Envy and Daffodil Delight! The beauty of this card, especially this close to Christmas, is that it is a quick one to assemble.  Spritz the cardstock with water, run it through the Big Shot in the Petals a Plenty embossing folder, punch, stamp, punch, punch, and highlight with a marker, and you are good to go!!  Funny thing about this card is that it is unlikely to be anyone's favorite of the five we made today (though everyone seemed to like it)...but it is likely to be the one someone will make when time is of the essence, as it is this close to Christmas!!   Here it is...thanks to Tina Taves for the idea!

Come back soon to see the other goodies from today!   By the way, we had a little last minute situation impact a trio of ladies who signed up for the class.. I will be redo-ing the class for them this Friday night ...IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN THEM FOR THIS CLASS ON FRIDAY NIGHT, CONTACT ME BY 8pm TUESDAY NIGHT. The fee is $25 for 20 cards (5 designs, four of each) OR SPECIAL OFFER, 5 DESIGNS, 2 OF EACH FOR $15.  You need to bring your various adhesives.  I hope to begin at 6:30pm but if you can't make it till later that will be okay too.  Remember I must hear from you by Tuesday night - BE SURE TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO MAKE 10 OR 20 CARDS-   so I have time to cut the materials.  I have other commitments on both Wednesday and Thursday nights, so my cutting time will be significantly limited. But we would love to have you with us!!

Peggy