Last-Minute Gifts Blog Hop

Welcome to the Last Minute Gifts Blog Hop!  You should have arrived from Holli's Blog what a great name to have at this time of year!. If you are lost this is the beginning Alicia's blog.  As we approach the holiday season, I am sure we are all scrambling to find unique gift ideas. We hope as you hop along you are inspired by each bloggers ideas.

First, we would like to say a HUGE THANKS to our sponsor today.

Theresa is giving away a $20 Stampin' Up Gift Certificate to one lucky winner
AND

take 10% off any order placed through her (not available on website)
by December 31th. 

Email her at scrapsbygracie@gmail.com with your order. 

All you have to do to win this fabulous prize is comment on each of the blogs.

That's it! It really is easy.  

Of course, we would love it if you became a follower too. 

Comment buttons can be found at the bottom of the post (on most of the blogs).

Now on with the hop!

Now, now... if you know me or even if you don't know me and think you do, you may know think that "I" am the Ultimate Procrastinator... the Queen of Procrastination... By all means... get the words out while you can, because I don't take it personally. 

We all have so much going on (I know I do!), that it's hard to remember everything at every moment, so sometimes... someone/something slips through the cracks. NOT TODAY, FOLKS! This is how you cope with that last-minute-putting-together-little-something. I do it all.the.time.

First things first. Duh. Why do people say that anyway? Have little things around. Purchase yummy smelling candles and smallish, quality items that can always be put together in a basket-type things. 

Make lots of little "french-fry" bags, ready to go... (I made these in my Christmas-in-July post... using We R Memory Keepers; click here to find out how! using We R Memory Keepers; click here to find out how!) Add labels, insert candycanes and more tags tags are all the rage!, put it in a dollar-section little gift bucket, and voila! You've got a "last-minute" gift... to GO!

And then... if you're like some people I may know or not know... Food gifts are definitely the way to go. This is a simple (but festive-looking) delicious braid. Absolutely ANYONE can do it even my less than culinary friends!

Open up 2 cans of COLD refrigerated crescent roll dough (Pillsbury works best... and NO, I'm not paid to say that...) Separate the dough into the triangles; lay them out like the picture, overlapping them; pat the center down but if you're OCD like me, you can roll it... what the heck... it's just one more thing to wash, no biggie...). Mix together 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 8 oz. softened cream cheese. Spread down the center of your masterpiece. Scoop pie filling (this is Comstock Cherry Pie Filling) on top of the cream cheese follow the picture as a guide, folks... 

Starting at the "top," fold across the corners of the dough to the other side, until they are all folded over and it makes a faux braid. Pinch the top and bottom ends "closed." If you'd like an egg wash (to make it shiny and pretty and sparkly...), simply beat up and egg and brush it all over the pastry. Bake at 375F for approximately 22 minutes, or until golden brown all over.

Doesn't that look DE-LISH??? I honestly don't know who wouldn't want that!

FYI, if you'd like to make it a cream-cheese only (no fruit filling), increase the powdered sugar to 1/2 cup. That's all there is to it. Simply said... It's awesome! Sometimes, I have to make two... otherwise the person I was going to gift to never gets it... if you know what I mean... 

Next up is Jearise! She's always so much fun! Have a Jolly Holly-day with her!

If you get lost along the way, here is the entire lineup:

Alicia ~ http://goldengoddessdesigns.blogspot.com/

Amanda ~ http://salnclts76.blogspot.com/

Sue ~ http://suek86401.blogspot.com/

Kim ~ http://katydidcards.com/

Holli ~ http://sunflowerholli.blogspot.com/

Lisa ~ http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com/

Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/

Card A Day Challenge blog ~ http://cardadaychallenge.blogspot.com/

Theresa ~ http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/

Last Minute Gifts Blog Hop

Welcome to the

If you arrived here from Sharondalyn, then you're perfectly on time. Or... if you arrived here just because you did from a post or tweet or whatever and would like to start at the beginning, please feel free to start at Theresa's Blog, where it all begins...

We've got some awesome ideas today to create those last minute holiday gifts. Each of the bloggers has one or more great idea for fabulous, easy gifts that can be created at the last minute for those holiday gift giving opportunities. You may want to create a few of them to have on hand in your "Gift Closet." Doesn't everyone have a gift closet full of gifts ready to give? We just can't have a hop about gifts and not give a few away, so be sure to hop to and comment on each of the blogs by Wednesday 12/30/15. Theresa at ScrapsByGracie will choose 5 winners.

One winner will receive a class of their choice from today's hop sponsor:

One winner will receive this:

One winner will receive this:

 One winner will receive this:

and One winner will receive this:

Now on with the projects!

I originally had one project done... then found out my daughter (the 10yo) reads this blog... So I had to scrap that post.

Then I finished another project. But found out that my friend who had never EVER EVER reads this blog started reading this blog and was amazed and didn't know about all the things I do/did. Oh, hi, Andreea! lol!, so... I had to scrap that post, too!

Couldn't have my "secrets" be divulged, now, could I?

So... This project really truly is a last-minute gift like the last-minute-procrastination-type of gift. And that's ok. It just didn't give me time to make it as perfect-looking as I usually like (or am known for... lmao!).

First... to look through my stash. We all have a "stash". Don't deny it. You know it. And I know it. Oh and don't lie, either. Lying is worse than denying. And you know "... he sees you while you're sleeping," "he knows when you're awake..." Kinda creepy, huh? lol. So back to my stash...

I found this:

Clearance at Joann's. I bought a cart-full handful and have used some, but I pretty much left them Plain-Jane-ish. I mean... They are kinda spectacular all on their own. I happen to love Heidi's stuff... You know, like I totally know her personally... or not... but, I'm not creepy and not a stalker, so don't even think that. This photo holder is just pretty and sleek. But... I have a "FFF" (that's code at my high school for Fine-Feathered Friend!). It's like a secret pal that we have for a semester. I give mine LOTS of things. It's fun and I love it. Oh, I receive stuff, too... but from someone who secretly got me. So this week is our big reveal (end of the semester, finals, all that jazz and the last week of school before three [count them... 1, 2, 3!] weeks off from school!!!!!) and I was already done with her many gifts of reveal, but I knew I could always add more.

Out of the box, it looks like this:

And then... I added a little glue (I squeezed it out in strips, following the Chevron pattern, then spread the glue with a Q-tip)... and some teal glitter (my FFF's fave color is teal...) and zig-zagged that glue through, doing a couple of lines at a time (so the glue didn't dry out),

then pouring sprinkling glitter to completely block that stuff out cover the glue,

then patted it softly, and let excess glitter slide off.

I had this left and had to let it dry 24 hours to allow the glue to be completely done. Because all that excess glitter left on the shiny-non-glued parts was going to make my OCD sent me in a major tizzy. So I walked away...

And it was just like I left it 24 hours ago...

So I tapped it. Nope. Still there...

So I brushed it with a soft (and dry) paint brush. It came off beautifully. But now I have to wash the paint brush because I just can't have glitter on it and blowing on it and tapping it just doesn't seem to do the trick, and I just hate washing stuff!!!! Christmas is next week, and I just don't seem to have enough to do... Ugh.

I put it back in the box... and now it's ready to wrap and give away unless I decide to keep it afterall... um... no... it's Chevron, and I don't much care for Chevron patterns. They hurt my eyes, even after just a couple of minutes.

If you have LESS time, it could easily be inked... Instead of all of the above. But that's up to you...

So you have that!

And just so you know, I'm totally young. Yes. I am. I was having an extremely difficult time moving yesterday (and last night), when I had planned to make all of the rest of my Christmas cards to distribute today at school. So... I woke up this morning and whipped out 16 of these puppies cards in 40 minutes. Not so bad... if I do say so myself.

So I guess I can be Queen of Last-Minute Things, should I want to be... But this was totally stressful to me, so I don't believe I'll make it a habit. Yes... I procrastinate all. the. time. but not that bad!

Thanks for hopping by today, don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into
the drawing for the 5 great prizes. And now... (do you hear the drumroll?) on to Jearise! I'm sure she has something totally great for you (or your friends) to do for their last-minute gifts. OOps! Did I say that? (In my best Urkel voice.)

Here's the full blog lineup, so you can view everything for your last-minute needs:

Theresa ~ http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com
Kim ~ www.katydidcards.com
Jessica ~ www.craftinandstampin.blogspot.com
Charmagne ~ www.sanurascraps.blogspot.com
Barbara ~ http://barbarab3.blogspot.com
Sharondalyn ~ http://clippingsbysharondalyn.blogspot.com
Lisa ~ http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com (You are HERE)
Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com (Hop to HERE)
Rhonda ~ http://craftingwithblue.blogspot.com
Alicia ~ http://goldengoddessdesigns.blogspot.com

Cookies for Santa Blog Hop

Welcome to the Cookies For Santa Blog Hop.

This a one day hop with 10 stops along the way that will be filled with all different kinds of cookie projects. You will see cards, layouts, altered art, recipes and all kinds of amazing wonderful projects. Remember this is the time of year when the gloves come off in the kitchen, no low-cal nothing, no skimping on the sugar or the sprinkles. It's the best kind of baking, high test, holiday baking. So be sure to grab your favorite cookie and beverage and hop through this yummy tasty blog hop with us. And now on to my project... Or not... 
Whelp... If you know me... then you know this was no small production and something may (or may not) have gone wrong. Let's start at the beginning...

My friend saw these really REALLY cute cocoa-mug-hot-chocolate-packet-holder-card-thingies. Yeah... It can hold tea bags or hot cider packets or.. or... but who the heck thinks of all that when you see a mug and a snowman? She wanted to give them for gifts to ladies of her Bible study. They were kind of expensive ($3.00 each and you had to put the thing together yourself!). And if you know me, like she does... I'm super cheap, thrifty, frugal, whatever you wanna call it. I can replicate almost anything. *Disclaimer* We were/are not going to sell these... They are for personal use only! And since I recently got the Brother Scan-n-Cut2, I thought my job would be easier.

It wasn't. And that's NOT the end of the story.

It'd be great if I plugged it in first...

First off... Somehow, somewhere, in the transition and re-organization of the new craftroom, I lost the examples or I left them in my car and my husband cleaned it out or I left them in her car or I put them in a safe place and can't remember where that might possibly be because it's so safe. So I looked for a wonderful specimen throughout the internet to cut on my Cricut Explore Air. Don't worry... the BSNC2 story isn't over yet either! And I got THIS:

It's way too fat and too big, and I could only squeeze one out per 12x12" paper. Ugh. What a waste and not so cheap.

So I searched more... and found THIS:

Love it. But... it prints on the cardstock. So obviously, you'd have to cut it by hand, and we all know I'm way too lazy to cut out 8-10 of these by hand. Ugh. Ugh. And if you think YOU would do it, don't you know how busy people are with the holidays all upon us?

So I thought I'd scan it with my new Brother Scan N Cut 2 (BSNC2 for now on... because I'm way too lazy to keep typing all that out) and got THIS:

But I went through all of THIS:

to even get there.  And it cut out the mug like THIS:

Hahaha! How flippin' funny. It's still in one piece with sporadic cuts all around. So... I recalled how Julie Fei-Fan Belzer (Scrapbook Soup, people! Get a clue!) had used a dark black pen and re-traced some lines of things she wanted cut out. And I did the same (on a new WHITE sheet, this time... Oh. And I cut the printing off, since the machine had chosen to cut some of the type on the other try...) And re-scanned it in and pressed cut... Success!

So then, I began putting my Cricut elements together because I still couldn't find those examples and looked every flippin' where and with all that I just went through with the BSNC2, I wasn't about to be doing all that. I'm on a busy schedule, ya know?

I picked out a cute Santa (via Subscription), an Angel (via Subscription), and a Snowman (via Subscription). Can you tell the Subscription is an awesome thing to have? So... this is the way Santa's beard and stuff comes out to cut. I am cheap, remember? not a paper-waster. So... before you click "GO", you can use the mouse (or your finger, if you're on the app) to move items closer or rearrange, so you're actually paper-saving. Trust me... every little bit helps when you make cards or scrap or do any type of paper "work".

And you end up with THIS:

The face I stamped with a Peachy Keenstamp (so adorable... I just love those guys!) and rouged his cheeks with a Baby Pink ink don't tell me you can see my fingerprint in there... I'm in total denial as I was too lazy to open a new pack of blenders.

I applied Frosted Lace Stickles to the whole beard and 'stache... and let it dry a bit...

Then covered up half of the stamped face...   Put on the beard and 'stache...

ended up trimming the face underneath, because I had a duh moment and realized I'd stickled the wrong side of the beard... reversing it? um... doesn't quite match up with the facial base. Ok then... fudge it and trim. We are good.



Added a "che[e]rry" nose, a hat and the white trimmings... And it all ends up looking like THIS:

And my Santa requested THESE:

My Santa loves cinnamon roll (cookies!)!!!

Hope you have a sweet, sweet Saturday! Next up... Barbara, with all her tasty treats!

Here's the lineup... In case you get lost... or wanna start over, or missed someone, or... or...
 1. Lisa ~ http://honeybearzdesigns2011.blogspot.com
  2. Theresa ~ http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com
  3. Haidee -http://created2bunique.blogspot.com...
  4. Charmagne ~ http://sanurascraps.blogspot.com
  5. Anna ~ http://grumpygrandmacreations.blogspot.com
  6. Lisa F. ~ http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com (You are HERE.)
  7. Barbara http://barbarab3.blogspot.com            (Next stop on the Tasting Train!)
  8. Jessica - http://www.craftinandstampin.blogspot.com
  9. Rhonda - http://craftingwithblue.blogspot.com

Recycled from Fast Food! A Change-able Box for a Little Girl

You know how you order the family pack at a local fast food place? You know... the kind (say... Del Taco or Wienerschnitzel) that has multiples of your faves in there to satisfy your family or at least part of it... or maybe just yourself (that's me!)? I collect those. I have my friends collect those for me, too! Why?

Well, they look like little A-line houses. Or boxes. Or fun little things to put other little things in. And... they look like they have LOTS of potential. And so... I have a large stack or two sitting around my craft room, ready to go... whenever I need them.

Sometimes, I wrap them. Um... take that back. I cover them. I cut the paper to fit, so the recipient can re-use it. (Wrapping just means you fold it all over, and the recipient would have to tear it all off... Making the box back to square one and looking just like the fast-food box it started off being.)

Other times, I have a little more fun with them...

Marissa was invited to a birthday party. That's what kids do. And of course... She wanted to just throw the gift in a bag with some tissue paper or no tissue paper at all. But... I'm her mom, and I just don't do that. (Of course, not!) The birthday girl's favorite color is turquoise? Alrighty then! I had some left-over turquoise chalkboard paint that should do the trick.

And paint it, I did. Three coats of it... the red from the box kept bleeding through. So... my recommendation to YOU, if you should decide to do this: Prime it first. Then it should only need one coat of the more expensive paint.

 I had Marissa wrap the gift in tissue (that way, I rationalized it as a compromise... she got the tissue part, didn't she?) and put it in the box.

 Put a shiny pink curly-ribbon bow on (and sealed it that way, too!)

And had Marissa doodle in pink (the birthday girl's "other" favorite color).

Reusable box to last for many years that can be changed on the outside? I think so! And... since the birthday girl plays softball (and the gift was a pair of batting gloves...), it was a hit! A Grand Slam!

*** Just a Note ***

For many of you that have written to me or commented regarding my grief... Thank you. I know there are no words that are the "right" thing. And just thank you. Some of you have sent me treasures, cards, and always kind words. I really appreciate it.

This post was meant for back in December... but it didn't make it. I am going to keep trying to catch up to life and the real world, even though all this life stuff has been pretty real for me. I just keep trying to go back to what makes me happy.

I have been crafting, on several occasions. I try to take pics... it just never seems to make it to here, my blog, where you all can see. Only because a friend's post of an RRR item today made me think... "Dang... it's been quite a while!" I didn't realize it had been since JANUARY! Ugh. I'll catch up a little at a time. (Thank you, Michelle, for inspiring me to post something!)

But again... Thank you. For all your thoughts, prayers (if you pray), and for just simply coming back here.

A Little Bit of Birthday

Today (Friday), I turned 43. The day is almost gone, but I've started a whole bunch of new beginnings. 

I went to work at the high school and enjoyed my last day as a substitute with my afternoon teacher. His regular aide will return on Monday, after a leave of absence, and I've grown and met so many people, thanks to this opportunity. Don't fret... I still have my day job. I will miss the kids and the teacher. I hope I made them all feel as confident and loved as they made me feel. And I'll REALLY miss English. I'll only have math left... Ugh. 

Since I had broken my toe last week, I noticed the coloring had finally subdued itself. It definitely was a lighter shade of purple... But the "fracture blister" is still there. (Avoid the pic if you don't want to see!)

Blech! And yes... Don't hate on the Flinstones toes!

I got my kid to get close to a lobster

And I got my hubs to finally update our stove/oven/range:

Isn't she a beaut? Btw... Three years ago, I got him to finally update our washer/dryer. He called it my birthday gift. Household... Ya know? He "gets it" now. He informed me the range isn't my birthday gift! Yay! Old dogs CAN learn new tricks!

I signed up for something I'm thrilled to try and launch into a new adventure (I'll share more later...)

And I'm doing my first whole blog post from my phone! Um... It's sure to be less wordy, as my fingers are rapidly tiring. It's much easier on a computer keyboard. 

I sure hope all of your birthdays can be as good as mine was. Love, family, friends, food, and new beginnings make every year different and life-changing. Change IS good...

Finalement Friday! Birthdays Galore... and MORE!!

And yes! It's Finally Friday!!! Not that it means much, as summer has started here... but... here goes!

 

I've decided to catch ya'll up on our goings-on... since it has been 6 months... It's a bit of jumping around, as it's hard to move things (I'm not familiar with a finger-type mouse) and I've just spent tons of time making these "simple" collages... lol! Supposed to be easy, right? Not...

 

Here... you'll see some of the cards I've created for various birthday parties.  Each of these were for kiddos, so... I have Marissa (she's now 8) color 2 "coloring pages" that I've whittled down, then cut them and mount with my fave... Silicon molding gel. I still believe this stuff is great. It's so much cheaper and easier to manage than pop-dots.

 

Some, I distress... others I simply embellish. All have a personalized message on the inside, whether it be poetry or just a cool comical sentiment. Each and every one of them has inked edges or features.

I had some issues recently... the hubs decided to tell me (after all these years...) that "nobody cares and it doesn't matter that I make or wrap things... homemade cards are just going to get thrown away... and nobody reads them anyway... it's time wasted..." Well, hmmmph!

 

These two beautiful productions were asked about right in front of him! The asking party did not know about the "issue".  My daughter came to me, asking for a custom card, which is here (on the right), and asked if I'd do one of my fancy wraps for the gift for a baby shower. Of course I would! I even wrote a custom insert in the card, specifically from my daughter to the new baby.

One MAJOR thing that has happened... my picky, picky daughter (yes... the 8-year-old) finally, FINALLY decided to start wearing denim. You have no clue how excited we all were. She previously would only wear t-shirt type knits (leggings, skorts, etc.), as she found "everything" else to be itchy and irritating.  Ugh... We all think she looks cuter than a button.

We still go to Sea World San Diego at least once or twice a month (gotta get the best use out of those passes, ya know?). And below... you'll see a bit of what we've been up to. Once of her favorite rides is Manta... Usually, it's so quick to finish and disembark, I can't whip out my camera phone.  But... on Easter weekend, it was a little behind, and so I did just that. And snap, snap... fun photos to share.

Baby Shamu (who still has yet to be named... btw... if you'd like to help name the latest edition to the Shamu family, there's a contest going on at: https://www.facebook.com/seaworldsandiego?v=app_317836181596979) is a HUGE attraction since he was born on Valentine's Day. Hurry! It closes today!

She also has gotten to pet the tail of a beaver (see photo), follow around a porcupine (not pictured... as it preferred to hide in the shrubbery), and visit with many other animals.

And of course... what theme-park visit wouldn't be complete without photo opps with "characters"? And so... Walking, talking Shamu... Where are YOU?

This weekend, we'll have some AWESOME pics and maybe even some video, as Miss Mo got straight A's, Perfect Attendance, and the Principal's Award so... she earned the reward of swimming with the dolphins at her favorite place. So back to Sea World we go... 10:45 am Saturday morning, with a high expected of 68 degrees F, there... Brrr... (and it's SUMMER-TIME!!!!).

Way back in January (yes... it's been that long ago...), our little 7-year-old and my last child turned 8.  I had stuff to do at my mom's and had her with me.  When we arrived back home, my oldest daughter (and her accomplices) had filled up Marissa's netted bedroom tent with 250 balloons. Some had confetti... some had glow sticks and looked AWESOME in the dark... some were clear... and there was LOTS of color.  She claimed it was, "the best birthday EVER!" and so...

almost 6 months later... some of those balloons are still in there... still blown up (although I have to admit the Leprechaun popped quite a bit of them when he made his appearance, but more on that later...). She's taken to popping a couple here and there, because... well... Mom's just sick of the mess.

 

There's so much more, but... I can't figure out how to access my dang external hard drive on the network where all the rest of the pics are. Oh well... another day.

 

So for now... enjoy your Friday. I'll enjoy mine!