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...

The e-mail that is going around re: gift cards and stores closing

Do you remember that e-mail...? Most of us received it via a forward from friends, family, etc. Well... I didn't give it a question mark, as the economy is kinda out of it... Now, I'm definitely giving it a second thought.

I receive a news bulletin through a "crafty" site, and yesterday's article alerted me to the actual Snopes.com article regarding this e-mail . It's really too bad people feel the need to overexaggerate the situation and make today's economy worse than it already is.

I just thought reading this might help some of you throughout the holidays, as I know some folks are hard to shop for. Good luck to you all, and have a happy holiday season! Toodles for now! lisa

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Whelp... I know it has come and gone, but I wanted to make sure you all (including my sole two followers - Hi, April and Moira!!!) knew that I was thinking of you yesterday. Not all of you have Turkey Day (Thanksgiving), because you're not all here in the States, but I wish you well and leave you with holiday blessings, nonetheless.

So... after dinner, I rounded up a kid or two and flew to Michael's. I could not resist the sale of Cricut cartridges for $29.99! And so I got a couple... Joys of the Season (for me!), Alphalicious, Animal Kingdom, and Tinkerbell and Friends (all for my kids, as they have been asking for these for a while). Sigh... they didn't have Hello Kitty and Hello Kitty Font there, but oh well. It was still a small fortune spent, and my kids are excited. I'm excited about the pricing! FYI... the sale is through Saturday. It's a great price, that you pretty much can't beat! The Jukebox is also on sale for $49.99! Woohoo!

Another FYI... if you are interested in a Cricut, WALMART has a bundle on sale! You get the machine and 2 cartridges (unknown as to which carts they are giving) for $199!!! Can't beat that... so if you are wanting... do some serious hinting and/or asking!

I'm still full from yesterday. I ran to my mom's Wednesday night to begin prepping, got some awesome pics with my nephew and my 3-year-old (will post them later), got some rolls baked for my bro's celebration and got some cards created prior to leaving my house. Whew! That was a lot to do! I forgot to take pics of the Thanksgiving cards, but maybe some of those receivers can post a pic, or send them to me to post myself.

I am thankful for each and every one of you. I appreciate you all and hope for the best for you in all you do. That said... it is time to start the holiday season, so no matter what religion (or not) you come from, festivities are sure to come! Enjoy the holiday season (no matter where you are) and happy shopping! (Personally, I think I'm skipping it this year, as the "good deals" appear to be mostly on big-ticket items... of that I am not purchasing.) So, if you are going out and hitting the Black Friday/Weekend sales (don't forget Cyber Monday also!), I wish you luck and safety.

I just took down the Thanksgiving decorations and am working on laundry (missed it yesterday due to the holiday) and decluttering (gotta make room for it all!). So check out Flylady and see how to go about the holiday clutter cleanup with me... and hopefully will be putting up Christmas by the close of the day... Wish me luck and I'll do the same for you! Toodles for now! lisa

Oops! Here it is...

My last of my swaps that were turned in... or so I thought! I was cleaning off my scrap/dining room table and found my camera next to the package (yes, it was under a bunch of stuff!)... So I ran to the post office to send it off (long overdue!). Here is my take on the Christmas Blues/Silvers Title Topper...
I did this on a transparency. I am satisfied with the final product. It took FOREVER to get it semi-right. No matter what I read and tried... the transparency kept curling and melting, even with rotating heat. They ended up a little wavy, but I tried it over something, and was happy with the way it worked. Hopefully... everyone else will be, too!

This is a "Merry Christmas" and a tree trio (stamped twice) stamp done in metallic silver over bright blue streaks. Both colors were embossed.
The blue does not really show through the silver this much (in real life). Then I added a little Martha Stewart bling to give the impression of "stars".
To anyone on this swap... the blue cardstock (underneath) is just meant to hold it. You can cut the transparency down to whatever size you are scrapping and re-adjust the bling and the brads. The transparency can be put directly on/over your layout, allowing your layout colors, design, or whatever to show through.


Unfortunately, these pics don't really do it justice. But that's how it goes, when I'm pointing and shooting and not really worrying about the picture quality. So sorry...


Ok, so here's the blog of the day for Friday (since I just posted yesterday's)... THERE WERE GOOD TIMES, & SCRAPPY TIMES. This is done by another fellow Scrapbook Bingo member. She is HILARIOUS! She has a ton of wit and inspiration... no matter what she says... lol! Thanks, April for sharing your charm!

I seriously have got to work on tomorrow night's dinner (crock-potting it!) so I won't be cooking when I get home around 6 or 7'ish...

If there's something you'd like to see or read about... don't hesitate to let me know! Gotta go! Toodles for now! lisa