Merry Christmas!

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Pumpkin Spice chai 

It is almost here! Christmas is coming, bringing joy and many blessings for each and every one of us!

I apologize for my long absence. So much has been going on - times to celebrate as well as times to mourn. Our precious dog Brutus was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer in April, and died within 6 weeks. We still feel his loss so deeply. 

But in the midst of the sadness, there have been many moments of happiness. I have been able to visit our grand-daughters several times, David and I have taken a few trips, and we will have our entire family together for Christmas for the first time in several years. They are truly my heart's delight! 

Crafting has taken a back seat with all that has been going on. I've worked more this year than in the past several. that will be tapering off in 2024, so a craft room re-do will hopefully bring with it LOTS more crafting time! I have made several journals and have plans for many more. My children are requesting that I make my more detailed cards, so I will see what I can do on that front as well. I confess that I really do miss the creative time. I not only want to get back to it all, but need to get back to it.

so as I close, know that each of you who still pop by every once in a while are a special part of that creative journey. I so appreciate your enthusiasm, kindness, and support. Thank you!

Merry Christmas to each and every one of you! you are loved!

Jennifer

Merry Christmas!

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Nutcracker coffee

image from

The Old Design Shop

Merry Christmas to all of you! May your day overflow with love and joy as you celebrate the miracle of Jesus with family and friends!

I apologize for my absence. lots of health stuff going on, with more tests and appointments in the upcoming year. but through it all I remain extremely blessed!

sending love your way!

Jennifer

Junk Journal July Days 25, 27, and 28

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Lemon Lavender Mint tea

 It's time for another multi day project for Junk Journal July. for more information about the challenge, please see this post.

I am combining prompts from days 25, 27, and 28 - peaceful, stripped back, and stenciling.

I thought it only appropriate to make a project for Christmas in July in addition to the others.

I have started with a junk mail postcard covered in coffee dyed paper as the base. for the 'stripped back' prompt, I used paper tearing, leaving an exposed corner in the upper right hand corner that reveals stenciling. this was done with a Tim Holtz mini stencil. 

the beautiful postcard image is from The Graphics Fairy. when I think of 'peaceful', nature always comes to mind. the snowy portions were covered in stickles. a fabric ruffle, vintage milk cap, ribbon snippets, and vintage buttons were added.

my prayers are with all of you who are experiencing such extreme heat. please stay hydrated and take care. even though our 160 year old house does not have air conditioning, we are blessed that it stays fairly cool, even on the hottest days. 

thank you for stopping by today! have a good one! :)

Jennifer

Have You Learned Nothing? Christmas Cat Card

 Coffee/Tea of the Day - Creamy Chestnuts coffee

Hello and Happy Friday to each of you! :)

I want to begin by saying a very heartfelt thank you to those of you who have reached out to me with emails, messages, cards, and letters. You bring me such joy and make my heart so happy! Thank you so much!

I am grateful every morning that I wake up, surrounded by so much love from my family and our sweet furbabies. I am overwhelmed by the blessings in my life, even in the midst of strife and serious health issues. God is so very, very good, each and every day. :)

Janis, the person behind the ever fun Cat Lover's Blog Hop, reached out to me to see how I was doing. She is such a sweetheart! I knew I wanted to try to make a project to play along, but wasn't sure how well I would be feeling. Please be understanding that this card took me almost all day to create. Fussy cutting is not my friend any longer. ugh. my brain can't wrap around how to work scissors, and then my shaky hands don't want to cooperate. I must say that it was nice to pick up my paintbrushes again. 

I patterned the shading of the cats off of the two sweeties in Tyler and Danielle's home - Rowan and Stella. A makeup brush was used to apply ink to the cat's fur while I watercolored the other elements. a glitter gel pen and white gel pen were used for accents. The cutie stamps are from the Tim Holtz and Simon Says Stamp collaboration in September.  The saying, "Have you learned nothing from last year's tree?" reminds me of what we go through every year with our cats. :D 

Rowan on the left and 

Stella on the right

The Christmas tree is a vintage image I found online. I made it extra big before printing so that it would look like the cats were sitting at the tree base. a doily and plaid paper represent the tree skirt. Some coffee dyed paper is the bg.

Thank you so very much for stopping by! if you have a moment, grab a cuppa and visit all of those who are participating in the blog hop. Lots of inspiration and fabulous sponsors. :)

love to all of you,

Jennifer

Challenges:

1.  SUYP - Halloween or anything goes
2.  Aud Sentiments - anything goes w/a sentiment
3.  Crimbo Crackers - anything Christmas (waving hi, Ruth!!!)
4.  Merry Little Christmas Ch - anything Christmas

Merry Christmas to All!

Coffee/Tea of the Day - Eggnog coffee

Sending Merry Christmas greetings to all of you around the world! :)

image from 

The Graphics Fairy

I apologize for my absence. my health hasn't been the best. had craft projects planned and partially completed for the holiday, but just didn't get anything finished. struggling, but still trying to count my blessings. :)

may you find yourself surrounded by those you love! do something that makes you feel good about yourself. pass along kindness.

and know that you are truly, deeply loved!
Jennifer

Christmas Tea Remembrance Cards

Top Pick at Stinkin' Inkers
Coffee/Tea of the Day - Chestnut Praline coffee

Hello and Happy weekend! :)

I wanted to participate in both the Caring Hearts Card Drive and the Fall/Winter Coffee Lover's blog hop. I was so excited when I saw that the Caring Hearts card drive deadline had been extended, so I got busy. understand that it takes me forever and a day to get anything crafty made anymore. oh, the joys of cancer. rolling eyes.....and when I thought about creating cards for people who are in nursing homes, I knew I would be remiss if I didn't make some to send to my MIL, who is also in a nursing home. I thought I would make some little tea cards for her to pass out to her friends. she has always been one of my biggest supporters of my crafting. I think she has truly given away hundreds of my cards as gifts to her friends over the years. :)

So about a week ago I started crafting. yep, it takes me that long! :D I usually have an hour or two each day when I feel well enough to craft. I am so very thankful for that time! although I confess that I spread out on the living room coffee table these days so that I can rest on the couch when I start to feel icky. hubby is so very kind and understanding!

The little packets use digital papers from Gecko Galz, including items from the following collections: Christmas in Nature ATC set, Botanical Christmas, Grandmother's House, Merry & Bright, Christmas Past, and Merry Little Christmas. the tea cups were die cut with dies from Stamp Simply Coffee or Tea set. foliage is from the Tim Holtz mini Holiday Greens die set and cut from cs sprayed with several shades of distress oxide sprays. the poinsettias are from Michael's.

inside the poem is die cut with the Tim Holtz stitched rectangles set, and the scripture is cut with a Spellbinders die set. distressing was done with both inks and a paper distressing tool. beautiful gold organza ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon. mini doilies are from my stash. oh yes, I also stamped the right hand side behind the scripture with the music score from the Tim Holtz Mini Holidays 3 stamp set. sheesh, my head these days! oh goodness!

as I was checking the Caring Hearts card drive post to find out about envelopes, I discovered that they are only wanting A2 sized cards. oh well. I guess I will be sending all 24 of these to my MIL instead! but I hope all of you who are reading this can get something made in time to participate in the card drive. it's for such a worthwhile cause. I know there is no way I am going to be able to get anything done in time between the way I am feeling and the amount of time it takes me to create. but I know that my MIL will be happy to have some treats to share with her friends. :)

have a most amazing weekend! love to all of you, my dearest friends!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Crafting by Designs - anything goes
Ellibelle's Corner - Christmas/holidays
WAW - anything encouraging goes
Ike's World - K is for kindness
Holly and the Ivy - anything Christmas goes
TTCRD - anything goes
Unicorn Ch - Christmas/winter
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/winter
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - anything Christmas goes
Merry Little Christmas - anything Christmas goes
Papercraft Business Ch - to give as a gift
Stinkin' Inkers - 'die'lirious and punchy (dies by Tim Holtz, Spellbinders, and Stamp Simply)

Love and Joy Snowman Tag Card for Season's Greetings Challenge

I realize this is a late night posting for those of us here in the States, but over in the other hemisphere, it's early morning on Valentine's Day and the start of the very first challenge at the Season's Greetings Christmas blog! :)

The theme for our new challenge is "Anything Goes with an optional - Love" and of course any kind of Christmas project, too. it's a huge help to get started on those holiday cards and projects early, let me tell you! so I do hope you will join along! :)

for my card, I have used an assortment of stamps from the Unity Stamp Company: snowflakes from "Layers of Life Magical Bliss and Wonder," sentiment from "...a joyous season", and cutey little snowman from "One of a Kind Winter."

papers are from the Basic Grey 25th and Pine collection, snowflake die is by Sizzix, holly flourish die is by Cheery Lynn, buttons and holly sprig are vintage, and everything else came from my stash. little accents to the sentiment, tag, and card base were made with a gold spica pen. isn't the little straw a fun accent?!

thanks so much for stopping by! I do hope you will play along in the challenge with us! :)

Holiday Die Exchange Cards

Coffee of the Day - Bourbon Pecan with Eggnog

Woooo Hoooo! It's Saturday!

So have all of you recovered from holiday and new year festivities? has life gotten back to whatever form of normal is at your house? hopefully it will at our home in the next few days. we have had company in and out ever since before Christmas. it's been wonderful seeing so many people, but I do confess it will be nice to have a bit less stressful environment again. ;)

The Digi Bells Design Team had a fun card and gift exchange over the holidays. Each of us created a card for one team member and then also sent a collection of dies. it was a wonderful treat to receive such a beautiful handmade card from one of our teammates and know that they had spent so much time creating it just for us. :)

I'm sharing with you both the card I made as well as the fabulous gift package I received. I sent my card to Alethea along with some fun dies I found from Whimsy Stamps. I also included one of Elisabeth's lovely rubber stamps, because at the time, Alethea had been having trouble with her printer. this way she would have a back-up anytime she wanted to use one of Elisabeth's wonderful images! :)

First up is the card I made. I used 'Sweet Country Christmas' and lots of fun holiday embellies. papers are from a pack I found at Hobby Lobby, buttons and holly sprigs are from my vintage stash, and distressed seam binding is from Zipper Stop. 'Believe' wood veneer is from Michael's, poinsettia is by Petaloo, and other flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. main image and matting dies are by Spellbinders. banner die is from SU!

This is the GORGEOUS card and die assortment I received from the VERY talented, Lynda! isn't it fabulous??!!!? and I know that I will use these dies quite a bit on projects. :) she used the cutey 'Meadow Magic' image on the card she made for me.

Enjoy your weekend! :)

Challenges:
Crafty Friends - anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Ch - anything Christmas goes
Creative Corner - anything goes
Creative Fingers - anything goes
Jingle Belles - no time like the presents
Fab 'n Funky - little girls

Merry Christmas, Little Elf!

Winner at Glitter 'N Sparkle

Coffee of the Day - Bourbon Pecan

Merry Christmas! the day we've all been waiting for is here! :) I hope and pray you are surrounded by people who love you and appreciate the fabulous person you are!!!!!

I am sharing the last of my Christmas creations with all of you today. this one was made for a very special young lady, and I am told she really liked it. :)

I used the adorable "Elf 3" image from Bugaboo and the current sketch for their Stella Says Sketch challenge. stickles, shimmerz paint, Viva Decor pearl pen, and a clear wink of stella glitter pen were used to accent the main image.

papers are from the Authentique Retro Christmas collection. sentiment above the image is by Create with TLC and the stamped sentiment is from Unity Stamps. main die is by Spellbinders and holly flourish die is by Cheery Lynn. little poinsettias are from Petaloo. lace trim and buttons are vintage. tiny jingle bell is by SU!

after my crazy, crazy past few weeks, I am taking several days off to recuperate! I will be back on Tuesday to post the winners of my GIU week though. see you then! :)

Challenges:
Stella Says Sketch - blast from the past
Creative Knockouts - Christmas Delight
Come and Get It - Christmas
Glitter 'N Sparkle - Christmas with glitter
Crafty Friends - sparkle
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - add a sentiment

A Joyous Season Non-Traditional Christmas Card

Coffee of the Day - Eggnog

Christmas Eve is upon us and the mice are certainly stirring at my house! we are busy busy busy getting ready for the big day! :)

I had so much fun with my Growing in Unity week that I thought I would give all of you a bonus day! :)

The card I am sharing with you is one that Tyler gave to his future in-laws. they are big nature buffs like we are, so it might be a bit non-traditional, but it fit them to a T!

I first created the base by mixing up a modge podge of colors using gelatos and SU! ink refills on watercolor paper. this was sprayed very lightly with water.

once it dried, I stamped the trees from "A Joyous Season" stamp set. the deer were fussy cut from SU! natural vanilla cs. 

little smidgens of moss and flowers by Petaloo were added. a bow made from natural ribbon that I picked up last year at World Market wraps around the upper portion of the card. red tinsel trim holds a few rusty bells.

I'll have a post tomorrow, but completely understand if you are too busy with your family to stop by. Merry Christmas to all of you! may your day overflow with happiness and joy! :)

Jennifer

Hello Winter Hot Cocoa Canister for GIU

Coffee of the Day - Bourbon Pecan

Well we are in the final stretch for my Growing in Unity posts this week. y'all have been so nice to me and left such kind comments on my projects! thank you so very much! :)

Here in northeast Ohio, especially the area of the state where we live, it gets downright COLD in the winter. currently our temps are in the single digits or teens. lots of beautiful snow is on the ground, with quite a bit of ice mixed in.

that means in order to keep warm, you need a big cup of coffee or hot cocoa! for our wonderful neighbors, I made a canister of homemade hot cocoa mix using a fun assortment of Unity Stamps.

I started with a re-purposed Nestle Quick container (it's actually part of the cocoa recipe) and added digital papers from the Design by Dani Woodland Spring collection. it's funny that the papers aren't a Christmas collection at all, but rather a spring one. I just loved the colors, though, to match the canister lid. ;)

images from the "Hello Winter" stamp set by Susan Weckesser were stamped on Stampin' Up! natural white.

the cutey girl was stamped and then cut with a Tim Holtz stitched die. I also stamped the doily from the Layers of Life "Magical Bliss and Wonder" set after masking. the trees were added and then several little snowflakes from the same LoL set in kraft ink. more snow flakes were made with Viva Decor pearl drops. the flower center is dotted with distress stickles and the snow on the ground is created with stickles as well.

more snowflakes from the LoL set, also stamped on the same natural white cs, with dual shades of blue ink, were fussy cut and added to the canister.

gorgeous burlap and lace ribbon from Michael's wraps around the canister and ties in a bow.

a beautiful glitter snowflake, also from Michael's, acts as a lovely little backdrop to the precious girl image by Susan.

a doily sprayed with glimmer mist and tree cut with a Tim Holtz die help accent the canister. a few snowflake stickers, also from Michael's give the final decoration. normally I would have added buttons, but our neighbors have 2 adorable little girls under the age of 3 and I didn't want to chance a button coming off and presenting a choking hazard to either one of them.

tickets were cut from the "Ticket to Christmas" set and lightly painted. I love the way the inks ran together to create a vintage look! distress markers were used to accent.

the top is decorated with a beautiful velvet poinsettia, gold glitter dusted berries, a pretty bow made with ribbons from Really Reasonable Ribbon, snippet of same burlap and lace, and a little pinecone.

that does it for today's post! if you would like the recipe for my hot cocoa mix, head over to this post. the mix used in this canister uses hazelnut flavored creamer. you can use all different flavors for fun!

thanks so much for stopping by! don't forget to leave a comment on any of my GIU posts for your chance to win a Unity Stamps grab bag! :)

check back tomorrow for my final post.
Jennifer

p.s. a reminder that you can enlarge any photo on my blog simply by clicking on it. the picture will open in another window for you. :)

Challenges:
Sweet Stampers - anything goes
Scrap 'n Challenge - Christmas in white and blue
The Crazy Challenge - everything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wed - make it sparkle (lots of glitter and rhinestones in addition to the pearl drops)
Shopping Our Stash - Winter Wonderland
Kraftin' Kimmi's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
The Crafty Addicts - anything goes or Let it Snow
Craft-Dee Bow-Z - anything goes with a handmade bow

A Vintage Merry Christmas for GIU

Coffee of the Day - Butter Rum

We're to my mid week project for Growing in Unity (GIU) and I am going to show all of you what my typical card style is really like....  :)

As I was browsing through the Unity store one day looking for stamps for this week, I came across this gorgeous stamp by Susan Weckesser called "World of Christmas." I instantly fell in love!

oh good golly, look at all of that vintage glory!!! doesn't it just make you swoon right in your computer chair?! into my shopping cart it went!

I stamped the image onto natural vanilla cs from Stampin' Up! and only used a q-tip to shade it. this helps give such an ethereal, shabby look to the piece.

papers are from the Basic Grey Evergreen collection, flowers are an assortment from Wild Orchid Crafts, Petaloo, and Hobby Lobby, and lace & buttons are from my vintage stash.

corner snowflake die is by Creative Expressions and large rectangular die is by Spellbinders. a gold doily, distressed seam binding snippet tied with linen thread, and rusty jingle bell finish the card. a wink of stella glitter pen was brushed over the 'Merry Christmas' to give it a light sparkle.

thank you so much for stopping by today for my coffee of the day! I hope you have enjoyed the things I've created for you so far! :)

be sure to leave a comment on any of my GIU posts for a chance to win a Unity grab bag of stamps!

see you tomorrow! :)
Jennifer

Challenges:
Fussy and Fancy - angels and fairies or winter
Morgan's Art World - anything goes
QKR - Christmas cards
Holly Jolly Christmas - Christmas card or abc
Inky Chicks - Christmas in traditional colors

Holiday Gift Ideas with GIU

Coffee of the Day - Eggnog

Welcome back for my second Growing in Unity (GIU) gal post. How's your holiday shopping going? have you finished? started? ;) my husband used to have a tradition of waiting until Christmas Eve to actually BEGIN his shopping! thankfully after 30 years of marriage, I can happily say that is no longer a tradition of his! grins! he likes to start in October or so like the most of us....

today I want to share with you a few somewhat 'quick' little ideas for gifts using Unity stamps. now bear in mind that quick for me might not be quick for you, I am a VERY slow crafter. I kinda like it that way, as it gives me plenty of time to think about the people I am making things for. once upon a time I could whip up a card in less than 10 minutes, but these days it takes me several hours just to paint my images. but it is sooooooooo relaxing! my cat, Moon Pie loves to come into my craft room with me, so it's really a special time. :)

now on to my gift ideas ~

first up is a tag I made to go on a candle that was sent to my Mother-in-law. if you have a Michael's craft store nearby, these jar candles are fabulous! every once in a while they go on sale 4/$10. otherwise I'll use my 40% off coupons on them. the fragrances are quite nice and even when I burn the candles all day long, they'll still last almost a week.

when my MIL came for a visit this spring, I hooked her on them, too. so I found one in a scent I knew she would like and added it along with some other goodies for her for Christmas.

the tag is made using the pretty "Peace Dove" image, stamped in versamark on one of the freebie tags that came along in the 'thank you' gift Unity sent in my last order. I then embossed it in copper ep, once that dried, I added some frantage powders and spritzes of a few shades of glimmer mist. touches of distressing to the tag's edges, a vintage holly sprig, and pretty ribbons turn this into a fabulous gift!

Next up are some cutey little gift bags that I also found at Michael's. These use a combination of stamp sets that might cause you to scratch your head at first, but they really look great together!

I stamped various snowflakes from the Layers of Life Magical Bliss and Wonder set in Prima chalk inks on the muslin bags as well as the little wooden tags my husband made. I then stamped the snowman from Susan Weckesser's "One of a Kind Winter" set using Staz-on. Tim Holtz distress markers were used to color it in, and the snow drops were made with a Viva Decor pearl pen.

several shades of glimmer mist was sprayed to add a bit of sparkly shine.  poinsettias are from Hobby Lobby. finally, the 'joy' is from a sentiment from the "Joy to Go" set.

Thank you so much for stopping by for a cuppa with me! be sure to leave a comment on any one of my GIU posts this week for a chance to win a Unity grab bag of stamps! :)

Jennifer

Challenges:
Crafty Boots - Winter Wonderland (gift bags)
Love to Scrap - anything goes
Melonheadz - time for Christmas
Marker Pop - winter (gift bags, colored with Tim Holtz distress markers)
Use Your Stuff - Merry Christmas ( buttons, ribbons, twine, and Viva Decor pearl pen are all from my older stash)
Simon Says Stamp Wed Ch - gift it

A Cup of Joy Fold-a-Long cards for GIU

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

Hip Hip Hooray! the long awaited day is finally here! Today begins my stint as a Growing in Unity gal, or GIU gal for short! to say I've been a Nervous Nelly is putting it MILDLY! my lawsie, do you have any idea how humbling it is to be chosen, but then to be assigned the week prior to Christmas?! ack!!! ;) no pressure..... nah..... NOT!

okay, so here we go....
I am a coffee lover. alright. some MIGHT say I'm an addict. of course I don't, but then I do drink out of a cup that can hold 30 oz. of the beverage of my choice! tee hee!

so to start off my GIU week, yep, I had to go with coffee projects!
now I'm going to warn you. all of my projects this week are going to be all mixy matchy. I've used stamps from various sets, so I will link them all in the body of my posts. I'm not very conventional. and my projects are about as far from CAS as you can get. that's just how I roll. :)

yeah, I also tend to 'talk' a lot! you should hear me irl! (insert my hubby's eye roll here....)

I came across this way cool card die from Sizzix and knew it would be great fun to use at some point this week. the die is called the Ornate Label Fold-a-long. papers are from Basic Grey, sniff sniff sniff..... okay, no more lamenting my fave paper company closing it's doors.....

I decorated the outsides with vintage button cards and distressed seam binding. each was stamped with a sentiment from the "Joy to Go" set. poinsettias from Hobby Lobby were then added.

inside I added images from the "Hello Love" and "Joy to Go" sets. the sentiment is also from "Joy to Go" and accented with vintage holly sprigs & pearl-ex drops. each image has accents of white gel pen stickles, shimmerz paint, and/or Viva Decor pearl paint.

thank you so much for stopping by! if you would like a chance to win a Unity grab bag of stamps, just leave a comment on this or any of my GIU posts this week. see you tomorrow! :)

Jennifer

Challenges:
613 Avenue Create - holiday happiness (coffee is my happiness every day & season!)
Come and Get it - Christmas
The Stamping Boutique - fancy folds
52 Christmas Card Throwdown - any previous challenge (May dies/punches combined with August watercoloring, since that is how I color all of my images)
Kraftin' Kimmie's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
Pattie's Creations - anything goes that's Christmas or winter
Color Inspiration Monday link up - anything goes as long as it's hand colored (water colored with SU! inks)

A Holiday Cookie Swap Blog Hop with The Digi Bells! :)

Coffee of the Day - Chocolate Peppermint, just the thing to go with an assortment of cookies! :)

Hello to all of you on this bright and beautiful Sunday morning! :) I am so not ready for Christmas to arrive, but I know by the time it gets here, my house will have been tinseled and hollied and bedecked in ribbons gallore! you see, I've been so very busy working on holiday projects for everyone that not one decoration has been put up yet. that changes as of next week! I am almost finished with projects in the craft room! hooray! :)

but you are here today because you want to taste a yummy cookie, don't you? you have arrived here from LYNDA's absolutely gorgeous blog if you are on our hop with The Digi Bells. if you are just starting out, please stop by The Digi Bells blog for the complete list. you don't want to miss even one stop of the fun, since everyone is sharing cookie recipe cards and this adorable new digi stamp, "Home Baked Christmas," that is making it's way into the store today. :)

every year for Christmas, each of my sons gets to choose at least one Christmas cookie that I will bake, plus we have several favorites that are always on the list. the recipe that follows is one of the 'always' cookies! if you follow my blog, you know that our oldest son, Tyler, became engaged just this past week. I decided to make this card for his fiance, Danielle, so she could have one of Tyler's favorite cookie recipes for her collection. :) we all know that Santa's favorite cookies are Daddy's favorite cookies! :)

Because the recipe is a bit long, I wasn't sure how I was going to fit it into a standard card format. that is when I came up with the idea of making a 'Z fold' card.

papers are from a pretty vintage pad I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

all of the dies are by Spellbinders.

flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts with the exception of the poinsettia on the frosting page. that one is by Making Memories.

buttons and lace are from my vintage stash. accents were made with shimmerz paint and crystal effects.

digital images on the recipe pages are some of the free ones Elisabeth so kindly sends out each week to her newsletter subscribers. you can sign up here if you aren't already on the list. you'll receive a free image every week in your mailbox! :)

If you would like to see any of the photos larger, just click on them and they will open in another window for you.

I'm the last hop on the stop, so thank you very much for popping over! head to The Digi Bells blog and leave a lovely comment for Elisabeth!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Jennifer

p.s. to my regular blog followers, tomorrow begins my Growing in Unity week. I am so VERY excited to share all of my projects with you! I hope you check back each day, not only to see what I have created, but for a chance to win some fun stamps!

Challenges:
The Stamping Boutique - fancy folds (Z fold)
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas
Pile it On - any holiday/celebration
The Ribbon Girl - any image with ribbons/lace/trim
A Gem of a Challenge - anything Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - cute Christmas
Di's Digi's - winter holiday
Kraftin' Kimmie's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
Morgan's Art World - anything goes
Little Miss Muffet - anything goes

Christmas is Love AND Gingerbread Men

Top Pick at Crafty Catz

Coffee of the Day - Starbuck's Holiday Blend

It's Saturday and Christmas is right around the corner! How are your preparations coming? I feel a bit like a hamster on a treadmill, to tell you quite honestly. ;) lots of running and running and not getting anywhere! grins!

I'm sharing a new card with all of you today, made with one of the cutey freebies Elisabeth Bell so graciously sends into the mailboxes of all of her newsletter subscribers. I sure hope each of YOU has signed up for the newsletter! if not, just pop over here right away.

The little image is called "Gingerbread Man Corner" and I've paired it with a sentiment from Create with TLC. by using png formatted images, layering is super easy!

papers are some fun ones I found on a recent trip to Michael's. main and matting die are by Spellbinders, tree die  from Sizzix, and holly flourish die is by Cheery Lynn. little poinsettias are from Petaloo. vintage buttons and twine are from my stahs. some little accent dots were added to the card base border with my white gel pen for interest.

enjoy your weekend!
Jennifer

Challenges:
Art by Miran - anything goes
Crafty Catz - anything goes
Jingle Belles - I think it's an anything Christmas theme?
DL Art - any winter holiday
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - cute Christmas
Die Cut Divas - layer it up
Polkadoodles - traditional Christmas

A Merry Hot Cocoa Canister

Coffee of the Day - Salted Caramel

Wooo Hooo! it's Friday! phew.... I am actually taking the day off from crafting once I finish typing up this post. and one of my treats for the day is making the journey into Starbuck's to celebrate! I am very excited about that, I tell you! the closest one to me is a 30 minute drive, so it's not often I am able to treat myself to one of their yummy coffees. today is the day though! :D

I'm sharing a fun project I have made for the family of my oldest son's fiance. yes, you read that correctly. I said FIANCE! Tyler and Danielle became engaged a few days ago! we are over the moon excited for the two of them!!!

last year I made a container of hot cocoa mix for Danielle's family and they all loved it so much. they asked for more of the mix, in fact, before winter was over. so I thought I would make more for them this Christmas, but wanted to create a different type of container to  hold it, so I have re-purposed a coffee can.

I used digital papers and elements from the Bo Bunny Father Christmas collection with the exception of the stripe base paper which is from Michael's.

all buttons are from my stash, as is the wonderful rustic plaid ribbon.

pretty red polka dot ribbon at the top is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

snowflake die is by Sizzix. the pretty Christmas pick on top is also from Michael's.

thanks so much for stopping by! enjoy your day! :) I'll see you again tomorrow.
Jennifer

p.s. you can find the recipe for my hot cocoa mix here on this post. the mix I have made for today's container uses hazelnut flavored creamer. it smells simply divine! :)

Challenges:
Winter Coffee Lover's Blog hop
Alphabet Ch - use something red
Brown Sugar - red, green, and white
Craft for the Craic - anything but a Christmas card
Crafty Calendar - Christmas Time
Eclectic Ellapu - anything Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wed Ch - gift it