Merry Christmas!

I know you are probably tired of hearing this, but, once again I find myself asking "where has the time gone???"!! I can't believe we have arrived at the end of another year already. Life around our house has been super busy since ... well, since forever. We went home for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time visiting family. My husband and I went to the Georgia vs Georgia Tech football game on that Saturday. This was our 16th year going to the game together. After that relaxing break, it was back to school full speed ahead. My littlest bit had a huge fundraiser at his school last week and I was in charge of doing individual and group art projects for his class. Then there was the volunteering for set up, etc. Next came the middle little bit's book fair at her school, where I worked for a couple of days. Then the biggest bit went to honor band in Alabama and I went to that concert. And of course, I am deep into decorating for Christmas, wrapping presents, planning a dinner party, etc. I joined the handbell choir at church, only to come to find out that we have two, and only two, rehearsals before we perform before the church. And I've never played handbells before. Oh, and there seems to be this crazy thought in my house that I still need to do laundry and cook food and do carpool and clean house and take care of little bits and sometimes even shower. Whew.... I think I need a nap.

So, with all of the goings on around here, unfortunately my stamping and blogging have been pushed, yet once again, to the back burner. I want to stamp. I even got some new organizers for my crafting space. But finding the time to do so has been difficult. I actually put aside my to do list yesterday and crafted for almost two hours. Can you believe it?! I am trying to come up with some fun, easy, and inexpensive gift ideas for my littlebits' teachers this year. Between school and church for 3 kids, we have quite a lot of teachers that I like to try to give a little something to. I can't afford much, but I want to thank each of them for the time they give to my children. I was out shopping at Sams (a wholesale club type store) and I found these cute containers of mints. They are only about $1 a container. I wanted to come up with a way to dress them up a bit for giving them as gifts. And here it is:






I broke out the Simple Seasonal Thanks snowman again, because I LOVE snowmen. I masked off the words on him and stamped him in black. I used Brilliant Blue and Bashful blue to color in his hat and scarf, Pumpkin Pie for his nose, and I added a little of the Bashful Blue to the sides of his body to add a bit of depth. Then I cut him out. I made a very simple open top box for the mints and stamped it with some snowflakes from the Serene Snowflakes set in Bashful Blue. The Merry Christmas comes from the Four the Holidays set and it is stamped in Brilliant Blue on Bashful Blue paper. I made the notches with a square punch turned at an angle. I think I may make the boxes out of Bashful Blue paper next time. What 'cha think? Isn't he cute?

I wanted to make some cards yesterday that were the "step it up" kind, where you start with a simple card and then step it up to a moderate card and then up even more to a complex card. I only had time to do the first two steps though. Maybe I'll have time to do the third one before Christmas gets here.

The first card is basically CASED from the demonstrator magazine that I get each month from Stampin' Up! I used the same layout and stamps, but changed the color scheme.

I used Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Ruby Red and Taken with Teal. The base card is textured cardstock, which I think adds a nice touch on a simple card layout. I used the paper piercer to punch the little holes that make the "thread" for the ornament. The stamp sets are Four the Holidays and Delightful Decorations. The ornament punch and 3/4 " circle punch were also used.


Here's the "stepped up" card. I used the same color scheme and stamp sets, but I changed the base card to Ruby Red, added some Holiday Lounge DS Paper and popped up the sentiment on it's own little banner. I simply used the ticket corner punch for that and added brads. And obviously I added a second ornament and punched two rows of holes. Still easy to do, but just has that something extra to make it a little more special.

I guess that's it for today. The littlest bit is home with me today and has been demanding chocolate milk since I started working on this post. I think I better be off to serve his highness before it gets any uglier. It's a good thing he's so darn cute.... ;)

I'm not sure how much I will get to post between now and the first of the year. After the kids get out of school, I usually take them to see my parents for most of the break. So, just in case, I'll go ahead and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Stamptacular New Year!