Lots of gifts and cards, but no time to post or blog

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone...well, not entirely for me. I still have 2 family "Christmas" gatherings left. I have been busy making cards and gifts for various peeps on my family and friends list. Here is a gift set I made for a former coworker. It was very easy and quick. I just love to make things from coasters, they are so versatile and inexpensive. I covered this coaster with some decorative paper by Provo Craft using my Tombo mono-adhesive runner, rounded the corners and then sanded all the edges with a sanding block. A friend of mine gave me a bunch of the tiny calendars that she ordered on line. I used several different stamp sets and stamped on each month of the year with appropriately themed stamps. I then mounted the calendar on a scrap piece of yellow cardstock and then mounted that onto the coaster. I added 2 standard white brads in the bottom corners using my new Crop-A-Dile that I got for Christmas to punch the holes(VERY Sweet)! It's like going thru butta! I tied on a piece of yellow organdy ribbon to finish it up. I attached a scrap piece of cardstock to the back to make it stand up and that's all there was to it!! Next I made a matching jumbo clip. The metal clips were purchased about a year ago on clearance from WalMart. I punched 2 - large(1 & 3/8 inch) circles from a coaster and 2 from the dp. Then I punched a 1 inch circle from the yellow cs and a flower from some white cs. I attached the flower to the yellow cs using a small yellow brad and then adhered the layers using my ZIG 2 way glue pen. The back side of the clip just has the dp glued to the coaster circle. I applied 2 coats of Mod Podge matte to the front piece and the back piece and let them dry. Both pieces were then glued to the clip using my trusty hot glue gun. I like to use the glue gun because it dries quickly and forms a strong bond. I tied on 3 matching ribbons and taa daa!! Also, very easy! I made these last night and gave them to my former coworker today at lunch and she loved them. If you have never made either one of these you should give them a try. I think you'll agree at how easy and nice they are.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to get more of my projects posted ASAP to share with everyone! Happy Holidays!

Love the SCS Weekly Sketch Challenge

Tomorrow is my friend's husband's birthday. I have been way under the weather for the past few weeks so I was gonna just give him a card from my stash, but when I logged into SCS today and took a look at the Sketch challenge I knew that I could handle a quick card made special just for him.

He's not a particularly serious guy, so I used one of my fave stamps by American Art Stamp. I colored in the image using blender pens and ink from the tops of my SU ink pads. I followed the sketch exactly which always makes it easier to make a card quickly. This only took me about 20 mins. The base is SU True Thyme cs and the decorative paper is from the DCWV Old World Stack. The textured DCWV yellow cs was run through my Cuttlebug using the Birthday embossing folder. I just love my Cuttlebug!! I sanded it with a sanding block and mounted it on SU Blue Bayou cs. I distressed all the edges except for the layers that are stamped, but I did sponge them. I hope he like it!! And I am proud of myself for posting to my blog again this week!!! WhoooHooo!! I am on a roll!! See all the rests of my card deets below and thanks for checking out my new blog!

Stamps: American Art Stamp, Sentiment is Mikes $1 clear

Ink: SU True Thyme, Blue Bayou, Marigold Morning, Stazon black

Paper: SU True Thyme, Blue Bayou, Whisper White, DCWV textured yellow cs and Old World Stack dp

Accessories: brads, Cuttlebug, pop dots, sanding block

Techniques: Sponging, scissors for distressing edges, sanding

Swarovski Cyrstals for Mary's Birthday

A dear friend and coworker recently had a milestone birthday. She turned 50 and I wanted to do something special for her. She has mentioned on several occasions that she would love a bracelet made with pastel colored Swarovski crystals as she knows that I enjoy making jewelry as one of my crafting obsessions. Normally I prefer to work with natural beads and hemp, but I decided to venture away from my comfort zone and make her what she she wanted. These are what I came up with.

I created a trio that she can wear all together or individually. The colored Swarovski crystals are 6mm and the clear ones are 4mm and are by Pure Allure. I also used some liquid silver tube beads by Bead Bliss. Each bracelet is 7" and is finished off with a 1.3mm silver crimp bead. To string everything on I used .5mm Stretch Magic jewelry cord. Her husband threw her a super party, and I think she was very happy when she opened my gift! Happy Birthday, Mary!