Holiday Shoebox Swap

by Holly

by Chris

by Yoo-rah

by Tammy

by Letitia

by Shelley

by Rae Anne

by Michelle C.

by Michelle B.

by Mary

by Liz

by Lisa

by Kristy

by Kirsten

by Katrina

by Jen

by Julie

by Denise

by Dee

by Christy F.

by Joan

by Celina

This past weekend, I was the organizer of a Christmas-themed Shoebox Swap. We held the event at Lone Star Retreat and Event Center in Georgetown. It is a great place and I highly recommend their facilities. We had 24 stations set up---one for each participant. Each participant designed a card and cut up all the pieces for the others to make it. Then we rotated from spot to spot and made one anothers' cards. It's like centers in school, but for adults!!! If you ever have a chance to participate in one of these events, I highly recommend it. If you are interested in attending one in the future, let me know because plans are already in the making for another one.

Goldfish Soap In A Bag

Remember winning goldfish at the carnival "back in the day"? My son is having a carnival themed birthday party and I made these as prizes for the goldfish booth. The kids have to throw ping pong balls in little water-filled fish bowls. When they win, they get their own fish for a prize. I think it's a more animal-friendly prize because those poor goldfish would always die as soon as you got home. Now they can peel off the plastic wrapping and take a bath with it! Stay tuned for more party creations!

Austin Shoebox Swap Doorprize

Here is my doorprize for the Austin Area Shoebox Swap that was held this weekend. I used a Lauren Meader template for the stationery box. I got the clear paint can from Archiver's and added some designer paper (K & Company), a belly band, and ribbon to give it some extra pizazz. I filled the paint can with fun ivory/black embelllishments from Archiver's.

Big Top Invitations

Here are the invitations I made for my son's circus/carnival themed birthday party. I really wanted to use red and white striped paper for the tent, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I think I like the mulit-colored striped paper better after all. For the clown, I used the Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge. I love that cartridge because it's so versatile. The peanut on the inside of the card was made from a bikini top on the Cricut. I just cut off the straps to the bikini, drew some lines, and sponged it with brown ink. You probably can't tell from the photo, but the balloons are shiny. I made them shiny by adding crystal effects. I made 30 invitations and it took me 3 weeks. I am so glad to finally get to work on something else!

Girl On Swing

I found this paper and Memory Depot and I bought all they had left. I just fell in love with the color combination. I never thought of using Teal and Eggplant together. And I just love this stamp set from A Muse stamps. It's perfect for a graduation or promotion.

Blooming Faces Teacher Gift

My son's Pre-K Teacher has been so awesome this year. We decided to show our appreciation for her by collecting money and purchasing a BIG Visa card for her. Being a crafty gal, I just COULDN'T bear the thought of just handing it to her in a card. So I made a flower pot for her. The stems of the flowers are pencils. To save time (this was a last minute idea, of course), I bought pre-made flower diecuts from Archiver's. Then I put each child's face in the middle of a flower. Included with the flower pot was an excellent poem that I got from Geeta's blog. It was just perfect for the occasion.

Forever In Your Heart

Although you are not their mother

You care for them each day.

You cuddle, sing and read to them

And watch them as they play.

You see each new accomplishment

You help them grow and learn.

You understand their language,

You listen with concern.

They come to you for comfort,

And you kiss away their tears.

They proudly show their work to you,

You give the loudest cheers!

No, you are not their mother,

But your role is just as strong.

You nurture them and keep them safe,

Though maybe not for long.

You know someday the time will come,

When you will have to part.

But you know each child you cared for,

is forever in your heart!
Author Unknown.

Masculine Birthday Card

I have the hardest time coming up with masculine cards. I came up with this design last night and am quite pleased. I think I am going to make about 10 of them so I don't have to come up with another design for the year.

Image: DRS Designs

Paper: Be Bop Swingin' Stripes, Ruby Red, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Tuxedo Black

Embellishments: Grosgrain Ribbon, hole punch, dimensionals

I am back and ready to craft!!!

Can anyone help me figure out how to fix this photo? The original photo has the correct orientation, so I don't have any idea why it keeps coming out like this on the blog. I have even tried reducing the size and it makes no difference!

It's been forever since I have posted on my blog! I went on vacation and had a difficult time getting back into the groove of things. But I am back with a vengeance! A friend of mine got married in Belize and I wanted to surprise her with something crafty to remember it by. So I made her a squash book to display some of her wedding photos. I had never made one before, so I went to Splitcoast Stampers for a tutorial on squash books by Beate Johns. The hardest part was accurately scoring the cardstock---I kept messing up! I love the way it opens up to reveal all of the photos! I hope they like it and that I did their photos justice.

Lisa's Clever Teacher Gift

My friend, Lisa Harrington, made this awesome Valentine's gift set for the teachers this year. She took a box with compartments in it and covered it with some pretty floral designer paper. (Originally, the box had skulls on it.) Then she altered some hand soap and hand sanitizer bottles by covering them with pretty paper, ribbon, and hand stamped floral tags. She added handcream, wipes, Shout stain remover pads, and candy. Isn't this such a clever gift idea? I am a former teacher and I definitely would've loved to have received this gift! You wouldn't believe how teachers go through these items! I just love practical, yet pretty gifts. Lisa, thanks for letting me share your awesome creation with my blog followers!

Out Of The Box Teacher Gift

I made this for my son's pre-school teacher for Valentine's Day. It's a box made from very thick scrapbook paper that contains 12 monogrammed cards. The cards and envelopes fit into two sections in the box. The box closes with a magnet fastener. The handle is purely for decoration and not functional. I learned this the hard way! I tried to pick it up by the handle and it broke. The box with its contents is just too heavy for the handle. This project was made from the "Out Of The Box" template designed by Lauren Meader. I used a Just-Rite stamp set for the monogram and its border.

SCS Shoebox Swap Card

I had a wonderful time this weekend at the San Antonio SCS Shoebox Swap. I got to make so many wonderful cards, but my favorite part was meeting new people and catching up with my old friends! It's nice to hang out with people who "get" me-----you know, other people who are as fanatical about stamping as I am! christy1807 on SCS was the host and it was wonderful! She did an fantastic job organizing this event. Check out her blog to see the photos of the other cards at the swap.


For my card, I decided to try a swing (flip flop) card . Check out the Swing Card tutorial by Beate on SCS. It has step by step instructions that are very simple to follow. I wish I could show you the other side of the card, but I can't get it to show up correctly. It keeps posting horizontally! Anyone know how to fix it?

Stamp: You Take The Cake by MFT, Riveting by Stampin' Up!
Cardstock: Taken with Teal, Pretty In Pink, Whisper White
Designer Paper: Target's Dollar Spot Valentine's Day assortment
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Taken With Teal, Markers: Taken With Teal, Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink
Accessories: SU Circle Punches, grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals

SCS Doorprize

Here is my door prize for the SCS Shoebox Swap in San Antonio. I filled plastic jars (Making Memories) with ribbon, buttons, brads, prima flowers, and chipboard embellishments. Then I decorated the tops with flowers and stars. I altered the box that the jars came in by covering it with designer paper (Target's Dollar Spot). I hope whoever wins my doorprize really likes it.

I DIG U! Valentine

Here are my son's Valentine's Day treats this year. I had a difficult time finding plain red shovels in the stores this time of year. The ones I did find were too expensive to mass produce for his class. I ended up buying the shovels on Ebay. I hope his class likes them!

NYE Challenge Cards

For New Year's Eve, Splitcoaststampers hosted a night full of challenges to get us inspired for the new year. Since dh had to work, I decided to join in on the fun. Here are just a few of the challenges they had:

The challenge for this card was to design an Asian inspired card. This is my very first Asian inspired card! Asian is not really my style and I don't own many stamps in that style, so it definitely was a challenge for me. I also challenged myself to use up some of my Designer Paper scraps.

The challenge for this card was to use a retired stamp set. I have had this stamp set for a very long time and it was collecting dust. I challenged myself to make a masculine card. I don't know about you, but masculine cards are pretty difficult for me. I also managed to use another DP scrap.

The challenge for this card was to use formal colors: black, white, and silver or gold. No stamping was involved in this card. I used my craftrobo machine to cut out the silver overlay. I got the file from http://www.ukscrappers.co.uk/index.php . If you have a cutting machine, this site is a must! They have many wonderful free templates available.

Asian Inspired Card:

stamp sets: Eastern Blooms, Upsy Daisy, Flight Of The Butterfly

paper: regal rose, soft sand, chocolate chip, very vanilla, and retired SU DP

ink: regal rose, chocolate chip, versamark

Masculine Thanks:

stamp set: Alphabet Soup

paper: chocolate chip, so saffron, whisper white, retired SU DP

ink: chocolate chip, so saffron, bordering blue

embellishments: ribbon, staple, pop dot, small circle punch

Shimmery Thanks

Made with craft robo machine

paper: basic black, whisper white, shimmery silver

embellishments: grosgrain and sheer ribbon