Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Well, how was your Christmas holidays? I love Christmas but I try to keep it low key and stress free. I don't decorate a ton. I don't do/go to a bunch of parties. I don't shop a lot. I try to keep it simple and focused. One way I do this is by giving each child only one or two gifts. If the gifts are really expensive (like they were this year) then each child only gets one gift. They don't suffer because they have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who give them gifts as well. They end up with a bunch of gifts in the end.

Here's what the children got from us. Smartie Pants got this:
Miss Diva got this:
Little Miss got this:


I have a technology-loving family. We are all decked out in hand held technology. And, although I wanted a Bind-it-all for Christmas I got this:
Which I needed SO MUCH. I'm hoping that I'll become more organized, less stressed, more focused so I can save time, money, and effort in order to be able to scrap and stamp more. At least that's my hope.

Check this out:
This is called the Ghetto Pint Glass available online at the Urban Outfitters. What's up with that?

More Christmas gifts, cards, and calendar to share

I've been into making calendars for myself and as gifts. This is a calendar I made using a Junkitz base board and calendar grid. The base board is made of masonite, I think. The grid is blank except for the month. I used stamps for the numbers and embellished with stickers, doodles, and chalk. Across the bottom is a phrase on vellum that says, "Live Well Laugh Often Love Much".

I tried to decorate each month differently. I like a dimensional look so I used foam dots to mount some of the stickers. Here's February.
I'm not sure if this calendar will stay in my studio or go in my office. I'm also making small desktop calendars for colleagues. Originally I made them as to fit into CD cases. This idea changed when I discovered that the pages were too fat to fit into the case. Instead, I made hard covers from leftover chipboard and bound them with book rings. Here are some examples.
If you want the month template, just send me an email (see side bar) and I'll be happy to send it to you for the years 2008 and 2009.

At yesterday's crop, I focused on making Christmas cards. This is a criss cross card design which I got from the Splitcoaststampers web site. This is an amazing site full of ideas, tutorials, and samples of things made with Stampin' Up stamps.

I used these materials to make this card:

Stampin' Up -- flower from In the Spotlight stamp set, Christmas sentiment from Star-Studded Season stamp set, Round Tab punch, Pink Passion craft ink, Hologram Highlights embossing powder
Autumn Leaves -- swirl from the Swirls stamp set
Whispers -- green ink
Die Cut With A View -- green and pink card stock
Bazzill -- white card stock
Creative Memories -- circle punches
Michael's -- ribbon
Staples -- gold brad

Here are some more cards I made after lifting the designs from Splitcoaststampers as well.
Again, I used Stampin' Up and Autumn Leaves stamp sets. I'll just keep making these designs over and over again until I run out of supplies. Then, I'll create a different design. I'm trying to use the hoard of supplies I have now instead of going out and buying new things. Also, making the calendars are a great way to use your cut paper and odds and ends.

I'm hoping Santa will bring me this

as well as this

and this


and finally this

so I can make my own books. This would have been handy for binding my desktop calendars. Maybe I can do this next year.

Well, I'm off to make some more Christmas cards. I've got a ton to make and only a few weeks left.

Holiday special -- get a free gift!

When you submit a net retail order of $150* or more December 7 - December 25, you will receive an exclusive Ribbon Iron Kit from Pebbles, Inc. valued at over $30.00 - absolutely FREE!! Each Ribbon Iron Kit includes one innovative ribbon iron perfect for ironing out all of those pesky ribbon wrinkles, plus two assorted ribbon packages featuring 10 yards of vibrant grosgrain ribbon! This fabulous Ribbon Iron Kit is only available to consultants and customers during the holiday promotional period - this item will not be available for purchase through MemoryWorks. Take advantage of this great value to purchase your favorite scrapbook supplies and receive a free holiday gift for yourself!!

To place an order, please email me (see the sidebar).

Christmas gifts, crops, and monthly kit.

I'm working on Christmas gifts for colleagues and teachers. I'll post some pictures a little later. I've decided on giving calendars. I have 10 co-workers and 5 teachers on my list. If I'm really feeling motivated, I could make some for a couple of local friends as well which would bring my total to around 20.

I had another great time at the Scrap Diva crop in Bowie. They are such wonderful people. If you're in the area, I recommend you attend one of their crops. But, you'll have to book it early because they sell out fast.

I've noticed that a couple of crops in the area have made changes for 2008. The most obvious change has been a price increase. I'll have to save more pennies to go to those crops. I've decided to make a change at my crops as well. No, it's not a price increase -- it'll be the same price of $30 for 8 hours. To make my crops more unique, I'm going to give prizes that are one-of-the-kind items. For example, my grand prize will be an album created by me. I love to make specialty albums that come in different formats such as accordian, canvas, or mini album. I don't get to use all of them and hate to see them unused. This would be a perfect solution. I still get to create and someone will get to enjoy. I invite you to join us on the second Saturday of each month for an 8 hour crop. Email me for more information (see the sidebar).

Memory Works offers a monthly kit of coordinated products to help make scrapbooking easier and quicker. I recommend using coordinated kits to get your projects done fast. You don't have to spend time worrying whether or not colors and patterns go together. With a coordinated kit you know everything matches perfectly! Here is December's kit.

This month's kit includes a bare explosion box which would hold layers of pictures and memorabilia in a clever little package. All you would do is use the coordinated papers in the kit (or those you have on hand) to finish the project. This would be a wonderful gift for someone special or to have around the house. Here's an example, made by a Memory Works designer, of what you can make using the papers in December's kit.
You can buy kits by the month, after seeing a preview. Or, you can subscribe and receive each kit automatically. For more information, please email me (see the sidebar).