P is for Presents and Poinsettias and PINK! :)

Coffee of the Day - Eggnog (had to go with the holiday feel!)

A fun new challenge begins today at ABC Christmas Challenges - 'P is for......'  You create the papercraft project and tell us what your 'p' items are. Our sponsors this challenge are Stamp and Create as well as Lili of the Valley stamps. you KNOW you would love to win either of these prizes! ;)

I used the cute Ansley's Surprise digi by Wags 'n Whiskers for my card. it already had 2 of the 'p' items right in the image - puppy and a present. all I had to do was add some pink wings and polka dots to the present to match the gifts in the MME Winter Wonderland papers.  a pretty poinsettia, some peppermint stripe baker's twine to match the bg paper and we are all set! sentiment comes from Flonz stamps.

I hope you will play along with us!

Challenges:
Can You Digi It - holiday hullabaloo
City Crafter - polka dots
Crafty Sentiments - animals
Deep Ocean - Christmas in July
Loves Rubberstamps - anything goes
Paper Minutes - gifts/presents
Bearly Mine - bingo: digi, sentiment, flowers
Crafty Bloggers - fave things: PINK, buttons, flowers, polka dots, twine, & puppies! :)
Glitter and Sparkle - add some red
Hobby House - Christmas (white acrylic paint for card base edge & Spellbinder die)
Crafter's Cafe - furry friends and/or friendship
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Christmas Flowers
Creative Corner - polka dots
Totally PaperCrafts - inspired by a song: 'How Much is that Doggy in the Window?'
Paper Pretties - designer papers
Flutter By Wed. - any winged creature

Z is for Zoo Animals at ABC Christmas Challenges

I'm kinda a 'midway to the midway' post for my ABC Christmas Challenge card..... y'all are probably tired of holiday cards by now, but this is the first one I've made in several months. it really felt good to craft last week when I was still feeling okay. as always, had to wait on stickles to dry! ;)

anyhow, lots of big news on the ABC challenge blog, so be sure to check it out. we're saying goodbye to some very talented DT members, so please stop by to wish them well. There is also a DT call-out going on, so submit your name if you are interested. it's a very friendly group of people, I can say that with confidence!  they are so patient and understanding of my health situation. so loving and supportive!

anyhow, the challenge for this fortnight is 'Z is for Zoo Animals' and is sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps. I fell head over heels for this cutie Edward the Elephant and his birdie buddy! The senti comes from Flonz Stamps and date stamp is from K & Co. Smash. sticker at the top of the card is one I made from notebook paper. thought it went well with this image.

papers are Basic Grey Nordic Holiday, ornaments are covered in rock candy distress stickles while hat, pom pom, and card edge are covered in regular white sparkly stickles. (sorry, the bottle is in my craft room - I don't have the name in front of me) I lightly covered the Studio Calico wood veneer snowflakes in white craft ink. poinsettia is from Michael's $1 bin. I had high hopes of getting back over there to pick up some more while they hopefully still had these, but never made it. also wanted to get some of their grey Copic markers before the prices increase and I had 50% off coupons, but that didn't happen either. oh well. win some, lose some. no real biggie in the scheme of things though.

buttons are from my stash. I've been sorting ALL of my buttons into Mason jars. yep, just throwing them all in together - willy  nilly. not much is being sorted by mfg. any longer. it just takes up tooooo much space that way. and gosh oh golly, do those buttons look so pretty in the different sizes of jars sitting on the mantle in my craft room! I'm slowly getting it sorted out still, but will certainly get photos taken when it's finished. I must add that my vintage buttons ARE in jars of their own. no way I could mix those with the regular buttons.

okay, my  head is woooooozy and I'm probably starting to communicate with alien species or drabble on and on, so had best go. love to all of you!

Pencil Pack for a Special Teacher-to-be

Coffee of the Day - Toasted Coconut

Hello everyone! my post today is going to be super quick and super short 'cause I am super sick.... blech! this bug I have is getting worse as the days go by. my fever is staying around 102* and I can't keep any food down. not a fun way to spend the days...


anyhow, today starts a fun challenge over at Party Time Tuesdays - create a gift or card for a teacher. I used a stamp from one of our sponsors, Flonz Stamps. I love the vintage stamps they offer! just so much fun! there is a special discount available to anyone who plays along in our PTT challenge.

This pencil and eraser pack is going to a very special young lady who is studying to be an elementary school teacher. I thought she would get a kick out of it!

The packaging is actually saved from a letterpress plate - perfect for pencils, markers, candy bars, whatever your heart desires! I had seen the cute little rulers available for sale from some of the craft companies, but for 25 cents grabbed one that my son cut into 4 pieces for me. thrifty and just as fun! :) the tab was punched from a business card that had a design I loved. Patterned paper is Graphic 45 ABC Primer. I made the little notebook label down at the bottom. some great washi tapes, stitched ribbon, a doily bit, button, and a beautiful Prima rose finish this off.

thank you again to everyone who has helped my family through the Jen's Sunshine blog hop! your kindness means a lot to us! :) welcome to my new followers, too! The hop ends tonight, so be sure to get your comments in!

Challenges:
Jackson's Digital Expressions - anything but a card
Papelitos - anything goes
Incy Wincy - back to school
Love to Create - back to school
Stamp and Create - anything goes
Totally Stampalicious - anything but a card
Pink Elephant - patterned paper
Natalie and Amy - anything goes
Unique Crafters - anything goes
Dream Valley - something old (packaging, ribbons, tag, doily, button) something new (dsp, stamps, Prima, washi tapes)
Kenny K - back to school
Crafty Pad - anything but square
Allsorts - anything but square
Catch the Bug - anything goes
Di's Digis - back to school
Just Some Lines - back to school
Mayzy Art - fluffy (don't you think teddy bears are fluffy? grins!)