My Time

Notebooks for Kids

I recently embellished these notebooks for some of my nieces and nephews.  I am hoping they will be the envy of their classmates!  It's just regular school notebooks, covered with patterned paper and embellishments.  I wish I'd had one of these when I was in school!

 
 

 

Christmas in Stevenson Ranch

Now that I am finally getting into to the holiday spirit, Christmas has already come and gone.  To help me hang on to the season a bit longer, Val & I braved the rain Christmas night and got these shots from around Stevenson Ranch. 
 
  
 

 

Easy Gift Box

A super-easy way to give gift cards or small items like jewelry and such -- these adorable gift card boxes were made with the Sizzix Box w/Scallops Flap die.

This one was a recent make-n-take at Remember When.  I bought the die after that! 

I don't own a Sizzix machine, but my cuttlebug worked just fine.  You will need the extra-long platform though.

Then my friend Marilyn used the die to create the box for my own gift.  She used it as a little jewelry box.

 

 

See this sketch of the die -  the red lines are score lines - the black lines are cut lines.  Then you just fold up your box, add  little adhesive and a decoration on the flap, and you're done! 

Easy Handmade Christmas Ornament

Looking for a fun, super-easy, Christmas ornament to make ?  This is it !

I used my Slice and the Fa La La design card to cut 3 snowflakes (all the same) out of some scrap paper I had laying around.  Then -- 

• Fold each snowflake in half without making too sharp of a crease.
• Adhere half of one snowflake to half of the other, matching up your design.
• Then adhere the third snowflake to the other two to form your ornament.
• Punch a tiny hole at the top and use ribbon to hang.

Had lots of fun doing this and it really is so easy.  Give it a try with different shapes - a star, a chirstmas tree, or whatever.  Let me know how yours turns out !

 

 

 

Christmas Spirit

 Things have been a little hectic here at Val & Lori's getting ready for Christmas.  But because I don't want anybody out there suffering from Val & Lori withdrawal - here's a repost of our Elf Dance for you !  Enjoy !

Embellished Notebooks

Recently I embellished several of these little notebooks, and I've already got them wrapped and ready for Christmas gifting.  (I would say they were wrapped and under the tree - except that my tree isn't up yet).

I actually copied this idea from somebody  who donated some of them to the Think Pink raffle at Remember When a couple months back. 

 
 
They were so easy to create.  Look at the plain notebook these started with - bought from the dollar bin at Michaels!  Then they were embellished with Glimmer Mist (using Glimmer Screens), Prima Flowers, and various bling.

 

In My Yard......

Last weekend while much of the country was blanketed with snow, I got to spend  a little time in the yard.  It felt (and looked) a lot like Spring.  Here's some photos from our day in the yard (remember - tiny yard - patio with dirt).

This squirell keeps coming around.  She's become like a puppy -- running up when I go outside.  Too cute.

*** my family & friends in the snow -- don't be jealous of our weather here!!!

This blue jay loves peanuts.  It will come down on to the wall even if we are there - because it wants peanuts.  A pair of these blue jays live on the hill in front of my house.  They are georgous. 
My daisies have bloomed again - they are confused by this nice weather.  But I love them.

 

Glitter Ornament

I recreated this glitter ornament that I found on the Passionately Artistic blog.  The design belongs to Maggie Lamarre and is just brilliant. 

You're wondering how I got the glitter just right in the globe right?  You are going to LAUGH.

OK - the secret - Mop-N-Glo.  Yep - Mop-N-Glo.  I didn't take it seriously when I read to use Mop-N-Glo, and then I was determined to prove it didn't work.  Not only did it work but it was super easy to get perfect coverage.

 

Here is how to make your own -

• Take the cap off a glass globe ornament.
• Pour some Mop-N-Glo in.   Shake to coat all of the inside - then pour out excess.
• Pour in some fine glitter.  I used Martha Stewart glitter.  Shake to cover all of the inside.  You may need to add some glitter if not completely covered the first time.

Then I put a Christmas rub-on on the outside of the ornament (just like Maggie's).

Some other variations I thought of trying -

• use a glass etching solution to etch a design on the outside.  Snowflakes, swirls, stars.
• Use snowflake stickers on the outside.
• Use bling swirls on the outside.

Give it a try - I'd be interested to know how it works for you !

NOTE -- use care when cleaning the outside of the ornament.  I got some water on the inside and that just turned the mop-n-glo into a glitter solution.  Pretty icky.

NOTE #2 -- I actually dropped and broke one of these ornaments.  Although I dropped onto my slate tile floor, it only broke into 6 or 8 pieces, instead of 100 pieces you'd expect.  I think the mop-n-glo held it together !

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like......

YOU KNOW ............  Christmas is sneaking up so quickly, it's almost here.  Can you believe it ?  

I've been madly working on making our Christmas cards, and I am so late this year.  It's been a difficult year for me just mentally (no jokes people) --- but I have still managed to get the Christmas cards made.  Feeling a little accomplished right now. 

85 cards - DONE.     Think I still need another 20 or 25 but it's all OK.    If you get one of these cards with the reindeer on it - you better treat that reindeer like family because those suckers caused me some stress !  LOL.   

Anybody else making their Christmas cards ?   Are you done ?