Featured Photo

I just got a notice from The Outlawz that myAnniversary card is one of their featured photos. I submitted it for their Sunday Clean and Simple Challenge. Thank you, Outlawz!
Here is the card

Favor Box Kit From Michael's

My friend Linda and I were shopping at Michael's (the happiest place on earth) last month and we each bought this kit. In my mind, these were going to be perfect for small Christmas gifts. The papers are two sided so the boxes will look nice both inside and out.

Everything you need is in this pad-papers, patterns and punch-out embellishments. All you have to do is trace the patterns onto the paper, cut, assemble and decorate.





Here are some of the patterns.













You need a pencil, scissors, adhesive and of course, coffee.






I made all but three of the boxes. They were easy to assemble and they look very nice. My only disappointment is that the boxes are pretty small. I should have realized that when I saw the wording "favor boxes" on the front of the kit. If you truly need patterns for favors this is well worth the money. They could be made for any occasion with appropriate papers. For gift boxes, I would say half of the boxes are too small for anything but the tiniest gift (like a nice diamond ring).

I'm not sorry that I bought this but it wasn't as useful for me as I thought it would be. However, if you go to Michael's now, all Christmas paper crafting is 60% off. For that price, the papers alone are worth the bargain price. Happy Crafting!

Snowman Challenge on WeCraftCards

The site on which I am most active is WeCraftCards. We are a small group but we have two challenges every week and a crop every few months. We always welcome new members and would love to have you join. We are very friendly and supportive of each other's work; all skill levels are welcome!

This week, Jane is hosting our Monday Challenge. The theme is Do You Want to Build a Snowman?
My short answer to that is, "Hell No!!!!!" because I hate snow. However I did build a paper snowman for this card. It's a birthday card for a December honoree. The snowman is put on dimensionals so that's why you may be seeing a shadow on the photo.

December Outlawz Challenge Entry

I belong to the Progressive Freebie group on The Outlawz. They email a free digital image to members each month. As long as you post a project each month, you continue to receive the images for free.  If you fail to post, you have to buy an image to get back in. It's a fun challenge and it's a good way to get free images. Hop on over to The Outlawz and check it out! This is the card I just posted on their board.

Household Tip

I have a money and space saving tip for you. Save the wire closer from a bag of coffee. I use them to keep my toothpaste tube folded down. It annoys me to have to keep smooshing the toothpaste down towards the end of the tube. This would also work on tubes of craft glue, like E6000.

The Birthday Fairy

I just posted this card for a challenge on The Outlawz. The challenge was something with wings. The Birthday Fairy looks so sweet, doesn't she? Well, the inside of the card simply says, "That Bitch!" Enough said about the Birthday Fairy. (Actually, I'm grateful for every birthday as long as I am healthy and have all of my faculties.)

An Early Bit of Christmas

   I don't really like to do anything Christmasy until December but we took a trip to Branson, Missouri last week and they are in full Christmas mode. Everything is decorated and lit up and all of the shows are Christmas themed. I have always wanted to see the lights in Silver Dollar City so we went last Thursday. Luckily, the temps were in the low 60's most of the day and only dropped into the 40's in the evening. Even so, we were pretty cold by the time the parade ended.

Silver Dollar City had Christmas lights on all of the buildings and lots of the trees. It was very pretty as night fell. 

               

 

The centerpiece of the display is a huge Christmas tree that plays music and makes different patterns in the lights in time to the music. Here is a short(30 second) video.

                                  
The only downside of our trip is that when I got home I realized that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK.....YIKES!! Time to get into cleaning, cooking and baking mode! Thanks for stopping by.

First Bit-n-Pieces

  This blog is going to be a lot like my cooking-a little of this and a little of that. The main focus will be my passion in life, Card Making. So, mostly I will be sharing cards and info related to making cards. Occasionally, I may toss in a recipe or mention what's happening in my gardens. So, I hope you will stop by once in awhile for a visit. Um, bring coffee-I can't get through a day without it!