Winter Wonderland Blog Hop

Welcome to the

 
Today's hop is filled with winter (not holiday) themed projects.

Today's hop sponsored by

Catherine is giving away a class of the winner's choice from her great offerings
at Creativity Grows Here.

To enter the drawing just leave a comment on each of the blogs in today's hop. (And you're going to love her classes! Even if you don't win... you should check her out! Her stuff is AWESOME!) The winner will be announced on ScrapsByGracie.blogspot.com on Saturday, 1/30/16.

Now on with today's project...

I don't know if you know... but I'm having an affair. (*GASP!*) Yep! A love affair with a cold (snow)man. And I love to watch him be "Frozen". Are you getting it yet?

Yeppers! I'm in love with Olaf! Yeah... I know he's kind of last year (or two years ago, or whenever...) but I love him. He's cute. He's adorable. He's utterly oblivious to anything negative. What a positive inspiration for anyone! And since he's related to snow... He's just perfect for this Winter Wonderland Blog Hop!

Months and months ago, in a little social media platform not very far away... in a land called "Twitter," I participated in a Cricut Twitter Party! Short story... You "tweet" (answer questions) throughout the "party" using the hashtag (pound sign... [#] to us older folk) ha! even BlogSpot is showing the spelling of "hashtag" as incorrect. I know you can't see the red underline, but I sure do! Well, they sometimes hand out prizes, and... I WON! I won a digital cartridge... FROZEN!

And since then I've been playing with Olaf online placing Olaf in different designs of cards and layouts and just saved them, having no occasion to actually use him... until now.

So I got out my Handy Dandy Cricut Explore Air... and cut Olaf. And then began to glue him, making sure I glued the wrong side because we all know I've NEVER ever glued the incorrect side... the right side in a very fine line. I used some glue I've used before... it seems to work just fine.

 

Um... Is something missing? Perhaps...

... a tooth? And there it was... attached to the inside of his mouth. Oopsie! It's best to make sure you don't throw anything away until your character with itty bitty teeny tiny parts is put together, as it's extremely hard to dig through a trash receptacle full of itty bitty teeny tiny scraps to find that itty bitty teeny tiny part you may or may not have thrown away. True story.

Basically, I just put him all together on top of a pretty cut-out card... With the word "Summer" in a flourish behind him... [Insert scratched record sound here!] Wait! What!!!! I can't do that! It's a "Winter" wonderland... Not a "Summer" wonderland... Ugh.

No... I still have not cleaned or organized the craft room... I couldn't find all the bits and pieces to this really cool set of PEGZ stamps I have. (I was going to stamp out "Can't wait 'til..." on the front and move my "Summer!" to the inside...) so... I looked around and dug... and dug... and found this! Still in the brown box it was delivered in. And when I opened it and saw the receipt... I was horrified! The date? 10/14/2014! It's been in my possession for over a year and never been touched. Ugh!

One thing I didn't know... that it came with 3 Spectrum Noir pens... So I didn't have to search for those...

And because I've never worked with airbrush at all... I practiced a bit, to see what I was maybe going to do... It was kinda fun... and I was dying to take it to the walls of my room! No... I'm not a tagger...

I think I'd gotten the hang of it, so... I brushed on "Snow"... then loved playing with it so much...

... I added a couple of brushes of more ink along the edges. LOVE that look! My writing doesn't look too shabby either!

I put Olaf back on top of his card! He refused to stay down YES! There is glue on him! So...

I rolled over him! Place a clear plastic piece (so you can see what you're doing) over your item to glue down, and brayer it! (I do this with my Cricut and other mats, too...) Then just blot the excess glue that squeegees out... and you're good to go!

See? Much better...

He didn't seem quite complete, so I tickled him all over Stickled him in key spots...

And now he's awesome!

Up next is Holli! She always has something fabulous to share!

Thanks for stopping by! I sure hope you enjoy our Winter Wonderland today. I sure enjoyed him making an Olaf card. Don't forget to comment (and if you comment on all of the hoppers today, you are eligible to win a class from Catherin Pooler [I know I'd LOVE it!]) and come back and see me sometime! Have a brilliant weekend!

Today's line-up:

Theresa ~ scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com <== To start at the beginning (or missed something)

Connie ~ conniecancrop.blogspot.com
Jessica ~ craftinandstampin.blogspot.com
Alicia ~ goldengoddessdesigns.blogspot.com
Sarah ~ sarahbiswabic.blogspot.com
Anita ~ Scrappyhappymommy.blogspot.ca
Angela ~ crazy3monkeys.blogspot.com
Miranda ~ nanasscrapspot.com
Haidee ~ created2bunique.blogspot.com
Kim ~ katydidcards.com
Lisa F ~ lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com <==== You are HERE!
Holli ~ sunflowerholli.blogspot.com<===== Next Stop!
Card A Day Challenge DT ~ cardadaychallenge.blogspot.com
Jearise ~ lorbysworld.blogspot.com

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!

One of My Favorite Ornaments - A Snowman

One of my favorite projects from my early days of crafting on my own...

I love snowmen and snowflakes. The first one is the only type of man that you can totally create to your liking and won't talk back (don't ya'll just l.o.v.e. that!). The second? The only type of flake that I like (besides corn of course!). 

Years and years ago... (over 18 years ago), I got a wonderful idea for an ornament. It was based on these top hats I saw in the Bridal section of a craft store (I believe the store was in Reno, Nevada). It was an a-ha moment for me, but I made a couple with fervor, after finding all of the supplies I needed, both from the craft store and my local grocery store.

What you see here is a Sugar Ice Cream Cone. It has been basted approximately 10 times with Modge Podge (and is still sturdy and good after all these years!). It gets really soft when you first apply, just don't add pressure, and all will be good. Also... let it dry thoroughly between each coat to build up a good tough hardness.

A larger styrofoam ball was whittled down do fit in the cone, then another smaller one glued on top. I then covered both balls, and made a "drip" effect with SnoEffects (glittered) down the edges of the cone. (btw... the SnoEffects still hasn't discolored, either!)

I quickly stuck in a small portion of an orange pipe cleaner and black beads (eyes, mouth and buttons) and snatched off a little glittered twigs for the arms. I glued the top hat and let it all dry... and still... to this day, he sits in my branches of my Christmas tree every year. I love him. He will always be with me. (Ok, so maybe there are a couple of things I'd do different with my current knowledge and experience, but hey! Don't judge... I still love my man, and he won't melt away!)

Winter-y Bags - A JW Story

The Incriminating Stockings

I help a lot in the Kindergarten class... Yeah, my 5yo is a kindergartener, so why wouldn't I? So... yesterday was their holiday party, no "holiday" in particular, buy yeah... you all get the meaning, right? Christmas! Shhh! Don't say that too loud! We don't want to get in trouble for mixing Church and State/School/Government... whatever... but, there are those kids whose parents practice other religions. You know... like "JW" (Jehovah's Witness). And our class has two kids whose parents do...

And so... in all of the hustle and bustle of putting together the party, getting all the stuff together, stocking stockings, wrapping presents, etc., I kind of didn't even think about it. I know... very ignorant of me, but hey! I'm not perfect.

Paper stockings were made for the class (by some AWESOME parents - not me) and stuffed with lots of wondrous things, candy canes included.  The teacher's gifts to the children were wrapped in beautiful foil ornament paper. Um... yeah.

My Non-Holiday Solution

My solution? I quickly downloaded a picture of a snowman (with Christmas trees and stars and holly) in PhotoShop and ps-ed all of the symbolic stuff O.U.T.! (even the holly! because, well... if I look for the symbolism in almost everything, then I know someone else might, too!) Then I filled in the coloring, re-drew some lines, and came up with the above.

Still have to re-wrap the gifts, but ya know? I think this'll do... what d'ya think?

What it all comes down to is... I believe in the country I live in. I believe in the freedom of religion. I also believe that kids should be allowed to be kids and live as children, experiencing the "fun" of childhood. It only happens once. So... if I need to change a little bit the prep that I do to accommodate them and allow them to be allowed by their parents to enjoy the "other" things that other kids get to... I will. Enjoy all of the season and winter-y goodness.

What's Your Favorite Christmas Song?

Mine is... HECK! I can't remember the name of it! Years ago... in 199-something, Mervyn's (do you remember that store?) had an excellent cassette tape (yes, it is THAT old!) that they sold around Christmas time.

I remember it had a bunch of "different" kid-type Christmas songs on it. Most were sung by the same man.

But this one song... it was so cute and fun! It was about a toy. It was the most wonderful toy (or something like that). But the man with the catchy-tune voice sang about all the "Zip and a whirl" and the "clacking" and other fun noises this wonderful toy made. I just loved this song so much... I can't believe I forget the words, or even the name of the song.

I had the tape for two full years... and then it disappeared. I've moved several times since then and de-cluttered and purged several times, as well. And I never found this tape. I am so sad. And the sounds and the spinning of the whirly-gig-type noises keep repeating in my head. If only I could find this song...

*Sigh*

So, if I can't pick THAT song (because, well... I can't find it, can't remember the words, and can't remember the name or even the artist who sang it or the album it came from...), then I guess I'll have to stick with the original "Frosty the Snowman" from 1950 (sung by Gene Autry). Other versions have been changed and flipped around, but the cleanest simplest version was the original. Sometimes, singers/celebrities need to just leave well enough alone. Enjoy!  But, if you happen to find something along the lines of "the most wonderful toy", please, PLEASE!!! shoot me a line... Thank you!

Too Cute Not to Share (especially with Yahoo having its problems!)

IF A FAT GUY GRABS YOU AND PUTS YOU IN A BAG, DON'T WORRY, I TOLD SANTA I WANTED A GOOD FRIEND FOR CHRISTMAS!