Secret Santa Gifts

What a fun time of year!! And what a great reason to make gifts for all those people we adore; most of all my sistas! Here are a few of the gifts I made and gave this Holiday season. First we have coaster sets. These are made from the tumbled tiles which I got at HD. They come in a set of 9. You have to wash them (rinse was all I did) before you stamp on them to get any dust residue off. Then stamp your image in craft ink and bake in your oven for 10 minutes at 350. Once they are cool, add little felt pads to the bottom. Stack the 4 together and wrap in your favorite ribbon and instant gift!

This set was done just a little different. After washing and drying I stamped the background stamp in versamark and then used my chalks to add the color. Then the baroque motif is stamped in chocolate chip craft. Then baked for 10 minutes. Once this was cool, I was hoping I was done, but the chalk still wanted to rub off, so I had to use a clear sealant on this one. And next we have a Tic Tac "Snow" set made in one of those skinny silver tins we used to sell. Pulled out some old DSP and Baja Breeze to make this - super fun! Since my Secret Santa just got her gift today, hopefully she can enjoy for the next month before we are totally sick of snow. Inside:

I found the perfect little circular flat magnets to use for this kind of project at a local toy/learning store - not a craft store like you would think. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Happy New Year and I'll post what I got from my Secret Santa tomorrow - i just got the box today - thanks Sarah!! Love it all! ~Heidi

In Color Combo Ideas

I was trying to do something non-traditional (big surprise) and I put Bremuda Bay and Melon Mambo together and came up with this Christmas card and these thank you favors. Of course I was pumped when I saw these Sweetart candy canes that match! The Two Tags Bigz die has saved me quite a few times when I've needed a favor or a tag in a pinch! I also used Serene Snowflakes which is only available for a few more days! I hope to see that set again in July! Below... is the stamp set Lovely as a Tree (I am the last demonstrator in the world to own it) with BB, MM and Tempting Turquoise. Have a safe new year everyone! Sera

Decor elements club gifts

I used my decor elements snowflakes to jazz up these mugs for holiday gifts. I made one for each club member and included some gourmet-flavored hot chocolate packets. They turned out pretty cool! If any of them are reading this... act surprised! There are a few that will be delivered tomorrow! Hope everyone had a nice Christmas! Sistas... if you have any Christmas items you want to share, time to wrap it up this week. We would love to see your SS gifts too! Sera

Christmas Poem, Love it!

Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree. I'm wondering what Santa has brought just for me. Could it be cardstock, brads, inkpads or lace? Or some stamps, I said, with a smile on my face. And that's when I heard him... "Hi Santa, " I said. He replied, "You know... good girls should be in their beds." "I know I should Santa, and now I've been caught. But I was just so excited to see what you brought." "Well, let's take a look in this room and see where you work." Then he shook his head quickly and left with a jerk. I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear. "You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!"

Tree Trimmings & Merry Moments

I love this ribbon! If you haven't already, try some of this... you will love it. I've used some for Christmas and have enough for some Valentine things as well. These pictures are from convention and I came across them when looking at a few Christmas ideas.

This is convention shot is of a stamp set that I have totally overlooked and found it in my stamp room yesterday. You can say it... it was a pit, how on earth could I lose a stamp set? I know! In looking at these pictures I got all sorts of great ideas and thought I should share. And yes... my room is spotless! Sera

Big Shot Girl Scouts

Last weekend I hosted a group of eleven 5th and 3rd grade girl scouts for a sleepover. First thing was to be sure that each girl got her very own monogrammed favor. Matching socks and chocolate kisses were inside. Of course the girls ripped them open and put the socks on right away, but they sure look cute in this photo!

Next as an activity with the girls, they made Big Shot Ornaments. They cut the base out of the cardboard backing that comes with the Decor Elements. We would've used chipboard, but I used all that up at a Stamp Club meeting, so this was a great substitute. Next they used different dies (Top Note, Clear Circle, Clear Scallop Square, Scallop Circle and Scallop Circles #2) to layer on some color before putting their Serif Alphabet monogram on this too.

I used retired papers in both these projects. I don't remember the names of the DSP, but I do know the colors on the ornaments were Purly Pomegranate, Always Artichoke, and River Rock. Love those old colors still don't you?? ~Heidi

NSR Festival of Trees

Many of you know that my friend Tracy and I do a tree each year for the Festival of Trees. This year our tree was called Crimson Christmas. I took a flash shot and a no flash shot and they both turned out pretty cool. Our tree is at the RAC if you still haven't had the chance to see it. The white paper in the middle is the name tag, basically. This year Tracy and I had no idea what we were going to do so we named it first and then found the ornaments. It came together! you know me and red... Thanks for looking... back to stamping tomorrow, in the snow storm! Sera

Advacado Cardinal

This set is so fun. I've seen this cardinal in burgandy, different shades of blue, some chocolate birds, red of course, but I had to try something "non-traditional." This is a spin off of a card Sera made last year in riding hood red. Clear embossing is an instant wow no matter how it's used it seems. It gives off a glare in the photo, but I love that technique! Kristine

Big Shot fun!

We are jazzing up our offices with Christmas decor and when I heard that a few of my colleagues were planning on taking freehand glitter and glue to these stockings... I had to step in. I brought them home and went to work. It took about an hour to run the cardstock (whisper white and glorious green) through the big shot- actually that took ten minutes, the glue part took about an hour, but they turned out great. I'm excited to hang them up. I'm sure they will look a little better than they do piled on my floor, but they are still drying we speak! How fun!

Nice & Easy Christmas

Here is a card I made with my favorite Christmas set, Delightful Decorations. I'm a rich regals girl so these colors were a natural for me on a sahara sand base. It isn't the most flashy card, but it's functional and it made a nice workshop card for a beginner stamp group last week. Thanks everyone! Kristine