Last Post Of The Year 2012

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday, mine was very busy and full of fun family, great food and lots of cleaning! I wanted to share with you a few items before the year is over.

My daughter's Christmas nails below...

Lovely Christmas cards I received...

Love all the hand made cards

Progress on my quilt...

As you can see, the panels don't line up, that was done intentionally - it's suppose to be a free form style. 

Creating thank you note cards...

Published in Somerset Life Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 issue...

My French General envelope album

If you've been following my blog, I just finished the big project that I had mentioned in my previous post. I'll be able to share it with you at the end of January. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and enjoyed the process.

It's hard to believe the year is coming to a close. I had such great memories from this year and want to thank you for all your support and kind words. I look forward to 2013 and the new adventures it may bring. Happy New Year!

p.s. I heard from many of you that commenting on my blog results in an error...I'm so sorry about that, I don't know why it works sometimes and other times not. I appreciate you trying and apologize for the inconvenience.

Busy December

It's been a busy December and I can't believe Christmas is next week! I'm glad my Xmas cards and decorations are done. I've been really busy with a big project, which will take me through to next year. I can't share details yet, but by end of January, I'll be able to show all - thus the reason for fewer posts.

My advent calendar

My daughter asked for an SLR camera (those big ones) for xmas. She takes lots of photos and videos, but she's only been using her point and shoot camera. We decided to open her gift early and test it out.

Wow, what a difference this camera makes - I wish we had bought one sooner. I'll be using her camera from now on ;-). I love how you can take really close up shots.

My set of mini books

Front door decor

Used paint brushes

My daughter's xmas nails

I've also been trying to finish up my quilt. I made some good progress getting the pieces sewn together. I still have a border to put around the edge and then I can put the backing on. The last steps will be to add the batting, do some quilting and sew some fabric flowers around. I can't wait to finish it!

If you've been following my blog, you know that I've been on a hunt for vintage yard sticks. Some of you may be doing the same for your own project. Well, I wanted to share with you a great source of vintage yard sticks. On 4th street in Berkeley, there's a new store called Rejuvenation. It's a lighting store that also sells some very cool vintage items - including yard sticks! I'm happy to say, I've got enough yard sticks to make my project...now I just have to find some free time...another project to add to my to-do list.

I also baked last night for our annual cookie contest at work. I made pecan shortbread bites. Unfortunately, I didn't win - but these taste really good - give them a try.

Crust:
4 1/2 oz of cream cheese (soften)
3/4 cup butter (soften)
1 1/2 cup flour

Mix above ingredients and chill dough for 1 hour. Roll out and place in 9"x12" ungreased pan.

Filling:
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
2 cups chopped pecans

Beat above ingredients together. Spread over dough. Bake for 30 minutes at 350. Cool, remove from pan and cut into squares. I hope you try it, it's like a pecan pie in a bite.

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!

A Great Find & Holiday Decor

At my last trip to Hobby Lobby we found this one storage box that was so cute! (http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/needlework-craft-organizer-769737/ ) I love the collage of prints all over and the sections inside - reminds me of a Cavallini print. The box is meant for storing embroidery threads, but it's also great for storing bits and pieces.

The picture below is the back of the box.

The problem was that they only had 1 left in the store and there were 3 of us that wanted it...I drew the short straw and didn't get to take it home, but I've been thinking about it every since. As it turns out, if you sign up for Hobby Lobby emails, then you get coupons and discount notices in the mail all the time. Just about every week, they send out a 40% off coupon and sometimes they throw in free shipping. The box is just $6.99, so with 40% discount and free shipping, it was a no brainer to order one.

I think I need to order more - you should too! ;-)

On the other hand, I finished my Christmas cards and sent them out this week. Here's a few pictures of the progression.

I used Marth Stewart mini cup cake liners for the skirt.

Used October Afternoon background paper

Added a mini tree, crown and glued to tag.

Found these adorable bags at Target.

Here's a peak at some of our holiday decorations...

I have a few trees in our entrance way, as well as garland around some of our windows. My ornaments are tags from the recent fall tag swap, as well as tags I made from the 7 Gypsies kit a year ago. I love the paper holiday garland I got from Pottery Barn last year, and then I added some burlap ribbon draped around the trees.

The picture above is how I'm using my advent tags. I'm taping them to my kitchen cabinet each day with a piece of washi tape. Can't wait to see it filled up! :-) Hope you're having a happy holiday season!

Nutcracker Performance

This weekend my daughter Rachel had her annual Nutcracker ballet performance. She was in the flowers and snowflakes dances. You know it's Christmas when the Nutcracker rolls around. I love the music and enjoy watching the kids perform. 

My daughter is the one of the right.

I love the costumes.

Rachel is 2nd from the right.

Rachel is on the right and her friend on the left.

This is Rachel's 10th year in ballet - it's amazing how time flies and how much she has grown!

Fall Tag Swap & Paper Doll Cards to Share

I joined my first creative swap recently - the theme of this one was "Fall tags using Catherine Moore stamps." This one was organized by Cathy Arnold and there were 10 people in my group. I made 10 tags and in return I got back 10 tags. I was so excited to open the package tonight...

My tag is the one in the center of the top row (black & white again)

I love them all - such creative people! I like how they all coordinate together. Catherine makes such wonderful stamps (http://www.characterconstructions.com/) - they're just so fun to use and so much you can do with them.

I also wanted to share some recent cards I made. Below is a birthday card I made for my friend Ruby - again using Catherine Moore stamps. The background was the stationary I recently bought in Japan Town.

The card and envelope below is the thank you note I made for my bday party a month ago. The theme of my party was black and white - so of course I had to make black and white thank you notes. The actual thank you note is written on a tag that's inserted in the envelope. The envelope is a large image of a clock in which I sewed the edges closed to create a pocket. Yep - I used more Catherine Moore stamps for the doll.

The two cards below are birthday cards I made for my sister Lana and my friend Diana G. I decided to stay with the black and white theme again. The skirts are made from cupcake liners that I bought at Michael's.

I've also been busy with my Christmas cards - here's a sneak peak at them in progress...

I hope to send these out next week and have my xmas decorations up! It's going to rain here all weekend - so perfect projects for staying indoors.

Advent Christmas Tags

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We spent the day at my sister, Pat's house. I was in charge of bringing the craft project for the evening. Inspired by a project I saw on Jenni Bowlin's site - Advent Christmas tags. I brought over a variety of punches and Christmas paper. Loved how it all turned out!

My sister Frances made the advent tag page below. The tags are pretty small, all 25 fit on an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of paper.

Pat made the tags below. Her's are a bit larger and she punched holes at the top to hang along a string.

My nephew's wife, Joanne made the following tags - she was the first to finish all 25 - she's a crafter like the rest us sisters.

My sister Maryl decided to make larger tags - these would definitely look great on a xmas package. 

I made the mini advent tags below. As you can see, some are very simple, as I was busy assisting others with their projects, but I think as a whole it still works.

I think next year I like to host a class during November to do this same project - it was lots of fun and another great way to use up small scraps of paper.

I also like to thank Stampington & Co. for their continued support, as today I received another complimentary issue - Somserset Studio Gallery. I'm still thrilled every time I see one of my pieces published. This issue has several items of mine.

Below is a piece I made at a class I took from Kristen Robinson and Ruth Rae this summer.

 The page below are a couple paper dolls I made earlier in the year.

 The project below is a mini book I made with Pam Garrison wrapping paper for the cover.

Thanks to all of you for all your support throughout the year. It means so much to me! I appreciate all your comments and kind words. Happy Thanksgiving!