Paper Hoarders DT: Lazy Day...

Exactly! That's what I'm talking about. And today, our "challenge" (if you really wanna call it that... lol!) was Lazy Day... something that had to be made in under an hour!

Easy Peasy!

I picked up these cute little mini composition books at Walgreens 6/$1, then cashed in my bucks, and they came out FREEEEEE!

Then I simply used scrap and extra paper I already had, trimmed around the edge (leaving a little to overlap the cover, atg-ed it, and VOILA! (I actually did 4 in 20 minutes!) I made a couple of Christmas ones, too... to carry my gift journal wherever I go...

Join in and visit our other gals at Tanya's blog! Have a great time, and make it a lazy day! (I did!!!)

And Other Christmas-sy, Winter-y Cheer!

I know everyone's been busy. That's not an "excuse", it's just real. I haven't been taking pics of everything, but have been taking pics of some... and here's just a bit that isn't DT stuff...

If you follow me, you know that I make photo spots for the kindergarten classes (um... I guess I've never posted these either?)... Let's start over.

I make photo spots for the kindergartners and their parties. I began last year with our little Leprechaun party. Ok... so apparently I did post it but don't know how to label or had a brain fart or whatever.  So, since I had some JW's in the class, and their mommas wouldn't let them take a pic because they told me, "We don't worship Leprechauns..." (I put that italicized schtuff in there... they didn't emphasize it...) GASP!!! "I don't either..." I said. And thus began my research into things that had NO religious symbolism WHATSOEVER!!!! The "Spring" party came... and I made a Spring Chicken... no eggs, no crosses, no pieces of egg(shells), no bunnies... Ha!

And now onto Winter (in other words... Christmas... Shh...)

Now... let's get this into perspective. It's not that I am dissing the JW's. Or any other religion or non-religion. I respect them. All of them. I firmly believe that we should learn and glean information from ALL religions so that we each understand one another and uphold that respect. I do not believe that we should be ignorant on any level. For those of you who are "older" like me... ahem... You might remember studying the various versions of Santa Clause in other countries. You know... what he was named, their Christmas or other holiday traditions, etc. I remember making dreidels and Menorahs and singing Dreidel songs. I remember singing an African song in the Winter Commemoration. And I am NONE of those religions.

I also believe that kids should be kids. And when the 5 and 6 year-olds are having a party, where all they do is eat, sing songs, make a craft or two, and take photos, it's just another day celebrating LIFE. The classes are a bunch of combined religions, and as a public school, we're not putting religion into it... or politics... we just want kids to be kids and enjoy the fun and fantasy of "fairy tales". Life is magic, too. And so here we all are.

Stepping off my soapbox... WAIT! It was a HIGH platform!!!


Ok, enough with that.

And so... instead of a Santa cut-out, or an Angel cut-out, I made a SNOWMAN. Yes, I did. He comes with glitter and all...

Here's my kid in it. She wanted to take a pic, because she is not in kinder anymore...

Isn't that background just AWESOME? I know!!! It was achieved with a can of spray paint and me moving closer and backing up and over and backing up and... just totally having a blast. I did it out on my driveway and you should've SEEN the cars slowing down... I'm sure I totally looked like a tagger, sweats and all!


Here's just the background...

Now I'm kinda thinkin' I might want an airbrush system... hmmm... another "toy" to play with!

So, I painted the snowman and hills a white, then sprayed them with adhesive and sprinkled glitter. While that dried I painted on the trees and sun. I had originally started to sponge it all, then I had a VanGogh moment and Starry Night appeared in my brain, so I brushed over the sponging and let the streaks show... Loved it! When the gluey business was dry, I sprayed a glaze over, to seal the glitter, because WHO wants glitter all over the place?

The hat is cardboard, coated with adhesive then covered in black construction paper and cut. ribbon added, and VOILA! He's all done. (Since then, I've stapled a little ribbon scarf to match the hat on the outside of the snowman. It's all good. It's a work in progress. And I'm not perfect. Did I really just say that?


And on to my 1st grader's "gifts" to everyone in her class... Reindeer Noses!!!

Aren't they just too cute? I got the idea from Craft Gossip's posting on them... But... I didn't "feel" like drawing each and every one and HECK! if I was gonna do all the work, so started looking for a digi stamp (free, of course!). And I found one, HERE! at Bits N Bobs! I went through a lot of them (stamp links and sites), and finally found the one that would be perfect for a 6yo to color. (and also one that was not "Christmas-sy" and a JW could eat without feeling guilty for not telling his parents!)

Those are malted milk balls (Whoppers). The original poster (Zoe Robson @ A Personal Touch) used red gumballs for the Rudolph noses. However... first off, Walmart didn't have any, and second off... I wasn't gonna spend over $7 a pound to go to the Candy Store. Ugh! I was going for inexpensive and simple. So... I picked up the Strawberry Shake malted milk balls (Whoppers, again!), as they appeared bright pink on the outside of the box. You know... Rudy probably burned it out a little... However... they are NOT very bright pink and are truly "fleshy" colored. So... I told my 6yo to just say that Rudolph had a busy night and his nose was a little tired. First-graders love a good story!!!


They were a total hit! She was so excited that everyone loved them. And were like, "Whoah!" "Awesome!" "Can I open them?" And I'm sure her teacher was pleased there wasn't "too" much candy in them...

Whew! That's just a bit of what's been going on here. Hope you enjoyed it. And please! PLEASE! pay homage to those that originally posted some ideas. I always give credit where credit is due, and if you stop by and say, "HI!", those wonderfully creative peeps will feel the appreciation they deserve. Thanks and have a wonderfully hectic Week BEFORE Christmas!

Paper Hoarders Design Team Challenge: Fall Colors Challenge

It's another round of Paper Hoarders Design Team. And guess what? I didn't buy a thing... didn't open anything new... used lots of scraps and my stash...

We had to do something (anything) other than a layout, because... as you might remember, I'm on the everything DT, which means... we still can't do a layout. There's another team that does that next week. But... the challenge? "Fall ( pick 2 of the following colors and use on your project.. you CAN use   more.. red, orange, yellow, brown, gold)" And so... I picked THEM-ALL!!!! Bwahahaha!

First... I took searched my shelves for Modge Podge Glitter! Yes... I got it on clearance quite a while ago at Joann's. And it comes in quite handy... dries clear (with little flecks of gold glitter)... you'll see... keep reading and scrolling...

Then... I sponge-brushed it on 5"x4" acetate panels (2 of them)... and let it dry... and went to a tennis match (they didn't win, so I came home and worked more on my project...)

See? It's all clear now!

Then, I worked on my Gypsy a tad... typed in FALL, and found close to nothing on carts I had, so I did it myself with Storybook (loooove that cart!). NOTE: I did not weld it!!!!!  

Cut it out on Terrifically Tacky Tape (sheet)... well, what was left of it (it was 3.25"x3.25"). It ran off the edge, obliterating an "L", so I deleted 3 letters from my screen, rotated and moved the "L" to squeeze it onto the leftover bits of the sheet (improvisation at it's finest!) and cut again. Um... I programmed it to cut it 2x. HOWEVER... cutting through sheets of plastic like this... even at high pressure, I probably should've gone a 3rd time... so I had to do a bit of careful separating... my fave thing to do...

Now... here's the really CAREFUL part. I outlined (on white paper... the one I used as a mat while I Modge-Podged them) the area of the acetate. Then... I centered lines, so the placement of my letters would be just that... CENTERED!

Then, I super duper carefully peeled the white backing off my letters, and placed them on the acetate, beginning with the center letters, then adding the others to achieve this...

and carefully peeled off the red plastic coating to get THIS... (another note... I placed the white paper underneath ALSO so that bits of things wouldn't cling to the acetate... I hate when that happens...)

Then... added a little burnt orange ProvoCraft glitter (thanks to goodness to clearance sales from years ago... twenty-five cents keeps on going!!!)... to achieve THIS. (it'd'n't purtee?)

I had already cut out an aperture in a card blank (craft! one of my FAVES!!!), large enough for my acetate. (btw... I can't find the pics of these steps... sorry...) I adhered the non-FALL acetate to the underside of the card opening, sprinkled in some punched out apples and leaves from various scraps, put adhesive around the edges of that acetate (be sure to adhere the complete perimeter, so that whatever you're putting in your shaker-box doesn't escape through an itty-bitty opening!!!), lined up my FALL acetate, and pushed it down. 

Then I finished it up, by inking the framed portion of the card with Cat's Eye gold ink...

... tied a strip of twine (recycled from a kids' toy packaging! be sure to check out the awesome extras that come with your kids' toys!!!! [this held HAIR on a Barbie-type doll!] you'll be amazed at what you paid for and are throwing away!!!) around the card's "spine"... and found these two little leaves (yes... I only had TWO!), pierced a hole in them with a piercer... threaded the twine through and knotted it from behind... 

Really... I am super happy with the total result. You have to look "beyond" the pictures, actually look "through" them to see the full thing. I loved the idea! (it wasn't my original one, but... um... I didn't think know that E6000 eats through Styrofoam [maybe I should've saved and read the packaging?], and so that particular project died on my table... literally... it shrivelled up and d.i.e.d.!)

My 17yo loves it so much... she wants it. Hmm... let's see what I can get her to do for it... Bwahahaha!

Thanks for stopping by... and if you'd like to participate in our challenge, feel free! You can visit Miss Tanya's blog and see what all the other designers have in store for you, too! Meet the challenge... do it for yourself. I had fun, and so can YOU! (and if you want to... come back later for FEED ME Friday! where you'll see something new and delicious to make [or inspire you to go out and eat...]!)

Penguin Bell Project

I love Christmas and the holiday season. Characters abound, big and small... which brings me to this cute inexpensive project from The Tall Mouse. This is one of my fave craft stores. (They even carry Stickles!)

"Someone" in my family adores penguins in particular, so I thought I would share this, today. Penguins can be kept for the entire Winter season, whether you celebrate Christmas or not! Do different sizes and make a whole family of penguins, changing the facial expressions to your liking and making each of them unique to you.

Featured blog of the day? (I know it's been more than a few days since I did this... lol!), but I really would like to feature a Santa Theme today and give kudos to Wanda and her Creative Corner Blog. How many ways can you say "Santa?" Well, Wanda shows us lots of different ways to incorporate Santa into various different crafts and gifts. (She has LOTS of other great stuff, too!) It's time to get busy! And a big THANK YOU! to Megan (from Scrapbook Bingo!) for showing me this site. I am definitely subscribing!!!

Yesterday was cold, even though I was in Newport Beach. The sun peeked out for about an hour. Oh! Ok... maybe not "cold" to all of you, but definitely cold to some of us flatlander Southern Californians! It was breezy and around 62... With me getting wet from the constant splashing of the pool, that equals COLD! But I am now ok and semi-thawed out... lol! It wasn't that bad, and I had wonderful people to work with during the swim meet.

Afterwards, we celebrated John's birthday (Happy Birthday, John!!!) at my mom's (yummy fried shrimp!) and decorated her tree. Marissa (age 3) actually went on the potty chair through-out the day (without me of course!), but at least she is FINALLY getting the hang of it... now if only I could talk her into quitting diapers and wearing panties!!! Gotta run... Toodles for now! lisa

Another Project! Bath Snowballs via Martha Stewart

As I sit here, surrounded by swirling Christmas lights, a sparkling tree, and Alvin & the Chipmunks in the background, I am reminded that Christmas is only 19 days away! YIKES!!!!

There are even less days available for those packages that need to be mailed... And yes, I have (once again) procrastinated in that area. Although, I did start my shopping last year and began making things, too. Only... I got a little burnt out, and I'm now behind again. But... I will catch up, and with the help of Martha Stewart Living, I'm going to do it!

These easy bath balls (made from Epsom salts) should make an easy task (and fun) for gifts. I think I will keep them in salt form for some and layer the salts in a clear glass (or plastic) jar and tie it with a pretty bow... perhaps a little greenery...

Easy and inexpensive enough, the recipe and instructions can be found here. Just remember... even a beginner can do this!

Be prepared, though, as they do take a couple of days for drying.

Anyway, it should give me some more time to watch and enjoy my tree, the seasonal movies, the lights, the fire, etc... Maybe I'll even take a bath with the salts myself... Take me away... Toodles for now! lisa

Ping-Pong Ball Ornaments

Ok... another excerpt from My Christmas Craft Book for Kids... This one, I'm seriously going to do after Christmas this year. I am tired of this icky garland I have. It is a combination of a nice full-size garland and this wanna-be 99-cent Store kind of stuff. It is wrapped in lights with ornaments hot-glued to it... No biggie, but the ornaments keep breaking in storage, being put up, taken down, etc. So... my thoughts? (If affordable)... To purchase the really cool wired branch-style garland in the after Christmas sales and attach these customized ornaments to them! I'll tell you my other thoughts after the instructions...

PING-PONG ORNAMENTS
No one would guess these stunning ornaments are made from Ping-Pong balls. You can use paint, glitter, and a few trimmings to make bright and colorful patterns, and ornaments that will make any Christmas tree shine.

YOU WILL NEED:
Darning needle
Ping-Pong balls
Wooden skewers
Poster Paint (I used acrylic paint); paintbrushes and sponges
Braid and trimmings
All-Purpose glue
Glitter
Matching Thread

1. Use the darning needle to make a hole through the top and bottom of each Ping-Pong ball. Ask an adult to help you do this. Push a wooden skewer through the holes – this will stop the ball from moving while you are decorating it.

2. Paint the Ping-Pong balls in bright colors. Leave to dry. If the first coat of paint looks a little patchy, add another coat. Leave the paint to dry completely.

3. Wrap braid around the center of the ball, or from the top to the bottom. Secure the ends with glue. To add glitter, dab glue on the ball and sprinkle with glitter. Leave to dry.

4. When the ornament is decorated, carefully remove the wooden skewer. Thread the needle with fairly thick thread and push it through the holes from bottom to top and then back down again to make a hanging loop. Knot the ends of the thread to finish.

and Voila! Pretty cool, huh? Ok... so my take? I am probably going to attach pics of the kids each year to various different balls, and Modge-Podge them to seal and protect. I was also thinking along the lines of beads, wire... you know... fun stuff! And! I was thinking that I could totally use my heat gun to set the glue faster and/or add embossing to them. The possibilities are endless!

Yes, you could probably use styrofoam, but... since mine would be permanently attached to my garland, I didn't want them to get crushed, so the Ping-Pong balls are perfect (and light!).

Anyway, gotta finish my organizational project for the day... Toodles for now! lisa

Santa Pop-Up Card

In keeping with the spirit of the season, I'm sharing the activities we are doing... I have a great paper-backed book called My Christmas Craft Book for Kids by Anna Murray & Lynda Watts. I used it when my older girls were little and am using it again... but this time with an adult (or more "knowledgeable") flair. After all, our techniques have advanced quite a bit since 1993...

POP-UP SANTA CARD
Cards that have a pop-up section are expensive to buy, but not that hard to make. Try making several cards, so that you can give one to each friend. Make sure you use construction paper that is firm, not floppy.

YOU WILL NEED:
Blue poster board *
Tracing paper and pencil
Scissors and ruler
Red, green, white, brown, and pink construction

paper *
All-purpose glue *
Black felt-tip pen *

1. On the blue poster board, draw a rectangle 11 inches by 7 inches. Draw a line down the center to divide it in two. Cut out the card and fold it in half.

2. Trace the patterns on page 55 (attached). Turn the tracings over and lay the body pattern on red paper, the beard on white paper, the sack on brown paper, and the chimney on green. Rub over the outlines with a pencil. The images will appear on the construction paper. Cut out the patterns and the slot in the chimney.

3. Using the body pattern as a guide, cut 2 cuffs and a pompom from white paper and a face from pink paper. Glue all the shapes on the body shape. Draw on the eyes with a black felt-tip pen and add a red nose cut from construction paper.

4. To make the roof, draw a rectangle 5½ inches by 7 inches on green paper and cut it out. Stick it to one half of the inside of the card. Cut some extra white paper to look like snow, and glue one piece to the front of the chimney and one to the edge of the green roof.

5. Fold the chimney into shape (at the flat line of the “snow”), and slip the Santa into the slot. Fold a little of Santa’s body down and stick it to the inside of the chimney.

6. Position the chimney and Santa inside the card, as seen in picture. This is how it will look when the card is open. Dab glue on the chimney tabs, then stick in place.

*Notes: I used googly eyes for my Santa's eyes. I also used cardstock and patterned paper for the pieces. My ATG gun was used for adhesive.

If you would like the patterns, please e-mail me and I will forward them to you. Or! If you are interested in the book, please click on the book's link and it will send you to Half.com.

I will post another item a little later...