Top 12 of 2012

Happy New Year everyone!!!  With the close of another year, I always love looking back at all my creations and picking out my favorites of the year.  As I looked back, I realized a few new things about myself.  Yellow is one of my new favorite colors to play with.  Yellow is such a cheery color and it totally makes me smile.  I figure if I'm going to send a card to cheer someone up, I am probably going to use yellow.

Red gingham and farm animals are another favorite of 2012.  Who would've thought? They are so far away from my normal pink self, but I love them!!

Not only did I use red gingham and farm animals in cards, but I created a whole new outlet for myself!  I found that I loved creating home made cookbooks!!  Me, cook?  I'm totally loving it!!

Strawberries have always been a favorite of mine, but now I love to create with them too!!

and you can make more than just cards with them!!

I have also found that I love two and three step stamping!!  Sigh...those roses are my all time favorite for sure!

I did have to use pink at Christmas!! Pink and green is my favorite Christmas combination!

It even works for snowmen too!! I can't let this post end without mentioning how much I love Glitz Design!!  I am looking so forward to what they have in store for 2013!!

Pearls will always be a favorite, but my heart beats a little faster when I play with pearl clusters!! Sooo pretty!

Masking has become one of my favorite techniques!!  I really didn't think I'd want to spend the time with this technique, but it is so worth it!

Another one of my favorite stamp sets of the year was Flipping Out!! What a fun set to play with!

I also have to admit that I love die cuts!!  Any shape, any size....die cuts are my favorite!!  

Thanks for sharing my top 12 of 2012 with me!! I look forward to what's in store in 2013!!
Happy New Year!!
Kristii

Merry Christmas with Glitz Design

Hi again dear friends!  I have some more new cards for you featuring Glitz Design Joyeux Noel goodies!!  I am totaling loving these new papers, stickers and Whatnots!  They are simply fabulous!

In the first card I layered some papers from the Joyeux Noel 6x6 paper pad with some lace and some Joyeux Noel Cardstock Stickers.  Super quick and super easy!

I layered the stickers and then added some felt leaves and a button to add dimension.  Such a fun little touch to make the card extra special!

My inspiration for the second card was based on the Joyeux Noel Cardstock Title Sticker: A Christmas Story.  

I used PTI's Nativity Silhouettes to tell the story.  I used gold embossing powder to make the star burst shine under the silhouettes and added some gold stars just for fun!  It's hard to see just how much of an impact the gold embossing has in the photo, but it definitely adds some shine and texture!

The inside of the card tells the story:

Supplies used:
Glitz Design Joyeux Noel 6x6 Paper Pad
Glitz Design Joyeux Noel Cardstock Stickers: Titles
Glitz Design Joyeux Noel Cardstock Stickers: Journaling
Other supplies:  Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream Cardstock, Papertrey Ink Nativity Silhouettes Stamps, Papertrey Ink Simply Chartreuse Felt, Maya Road Pearls, Gold Paper, Hand-dyed Seam Binding and button from my stash.

Wishing you a very Glitzy Christmas,
Kristii

Day 7 Chalkboard Art

Hi there dear friends!  I am so behind with my 12 days posts, and I am so sorry for not being able to keep up.  As most of you know, I started a new job!!  I'm the new District Secretary for our local public schools and I love my job!! I am so blessed to be working with some amazing people and I am learning so many new things.  We also moved Benny back home, whoo hoo!  I am so happy to have him home!  Needless to say, I've been quite busy and my creative side has had to take a back seat over the past few weeks.  I'm hoping that I'll catch up soon, but honestly after the events of last week, I have really considered what is most important in this life.  Spending time with family and helping others in need is most important and card making has become secondary.  I don't know where this will go, but I do feel the need to spend some of my free time volunteering in some way.  Now that I don't spend much of my days with students, I'm thinking I may search out a way to give back to the community and work with students in some way.  I don't know where this will all go, but thanks for letting me share my heart with you!!  I appreciate you all tremendously!

I finally felt my creative energies call out to me today!  I had a blank spot on my wall that needed to be filled.  I have been admiring all the chalkboard art that I've been seeing lately, but I haven't had the time to give it a try.  Don't worry, I will some time.  Betsy Veldman has totally inspired me and I will try her techniques in the near future!  For this project, I searched online for free printables and I found a couple of good sites with fabulous Christmas Art.  Mothertime Marketplace is where I found the printable I used and this is a great site too!  Thank you so much for sharing your art with all of us!!!

I received the most wonderful package from a friend of mine, Suzanne, who sent me Wplus9 Folk Art Flurry stamps and the Simple Snowflake Die.  I love them soooo much and I just had to use them in my new wall art project!  First, I printed out the chalkboard art, then I embellished the print with stamps and die cuts.  So easy and soooo much fun!!  Don't you just love the snowflakes?  They are fabulous!

  I added a Filigree border die to the top and bottom of the print, a banner from the Glitz Design Joyeux Noel Line, and a floral and bow from my stash.  It took only a few minutes for me to put the project together and now I have a full display that will shine during our holiday celebrations!

Thank you so much for stopping by and Merry Christmas!

Kristii

Day 7 English Toffee

Happy Sunday evening sweet friends! I am a little behind on my 12 Days of Christmas posts and I'm sorry for that!  It's been crazy busy the last few days and I will keep posting as I can.  Thank you so much for being patient with me!  I've started my holiday candy making and thought I would share my English Toffee recipe with you.  This recipe has been a family favorite for years and I know everyone looks forward to it each and every year!  I hope you love it as much as we do!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cut sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 cup coarsely chopped almonds
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds

Melt one cup butter in a heavy saucepan.  Add sugar, water and corn syrup.  Cook over medium heat to 290 degrees, stirring frequently.  Be sure to watch carefully after 280 degrees.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in coarsely chopped almonds.  Immediately turn into a buttered 13x9x2 pan.  Wait for 2-3 minutes and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  When chocolate has softened, spread evenly over toffee and then sprinkle with finely chopped almonds.  Chill until chocolate is firm and cut into pieces.

Enjoy!!!
Kristii

Day 6 - Fast and Easy Tags

Happy Day 6 my friernds!! Today I have some quick and easy tags to share with you!  These tags literally took me 10 minutes to make and will be gorgeous on any package or gift!

 I started with 2 different die cut tags and layered them with a glitter covered die cut snowflake.

I stamped two bells on patterned paper with Versamark ink and embossed the bells with ultra fine gold embossing powder.  So elegant and classy!  I added a stamped sentiment and bow and that's all it took!

Supplies used:
Glitz Design 6x6 pads:  Joyeux Noel and Hello Friend.
Papertrey Ink Tag Sale Dies: #3 and #5
Papertrey Ink Damask Snowflake Die
Papertrey Ink Bells and Boughs Stamps
Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream Cardstock and Ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!!
I hope you have a great day!!!
Kristii

Day 5 - Vintage Wall Art

Happy day Five of the Twelve days of Christmas everyone!  Those of you who follow my blog know how much I love Lisa Pace's Antiquated Line of stamps by Pink Persimmon!  I've been wanting to do a few wall art pieces this Christmas to decorate my walls and I thought that I would mix several stamp sets to create a family art piece.  

I took an old vintage frame that I had and cut out out an oval patterned paper background using Rhonna Farrer's All is Bright papers by My Mind's Eye.  I die cut some trees out of embossed paper and some felt greenery.

I stamped and colored all the images and die cut the lamp post.  After I die cut the lamp post, I inked the lamp post with Versamark Ink and embossed it with fine black embossing powder.

 I just can't get enough of these Sweet Little Girls!!  I think they are my all time favorite stamp set for sure!!

Supplies Used:

Pink Persimmon Stylish and Fashionable Stamps

Pink Persimmon Sweet Little Girls Stamps

Pink Persimmon Holly and Mistletoe Stamps

My Mind’s Eye All is Bright Patterned Paper by Rhonna Farrer

Tim Holtz Alterations Holiday Lampost Die by Sizzix

Black Embossing Powder

Red, Cream and Green Felt

Vintage Lace

Embossed Paper

Tree Die

Yellow Cardstock

Black Cardstock

Gray Cardstock

Cream Cardstock

Pearl

Distress Ink

Copic Markers:

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

Kristii

Day 4 - A Little Christmas Cheer with Glitz Design

Happy 4th day of Christmas my sweet friends!!  I just love this time of year and Glitz Design has made Christmas Card card designing as easy as pie!!!  Their new line Joyeux Noel is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for all your Christmas projects!!

My first card mixes the Joyeux Noel collection with my favorite florals from the Hello Friend line.  I always love mixing papers from different lines, and Glitz Design makes it so easy to do! The green and pink combination totally fills my creative heart with joy!!

There is a lot of layering going on in this card!  I used the Joyeux Noel 6x6 paper pad and the post card and star from the Joyeux Noel Whatnots package.  I fussy cut the flowers and die cut the deer and the trees.  Then I stamped the sentiment and added a little piece of the Hello Friend Paper Garland and a little bell to embellish.

In the second card, I embossed the rustic cream cardstock panel and added some die cut trees and snowflakes layered along with a Glitz Design Joyeux Noel Cardstock Sticker.

I added a striped panel to the top of the card and layered it along with a die cut border and some old fashioned rope tinsel.  I topped the card off with a little bow and some vintage silhouettes.    Way fun!!

Supplies Used:
Glitz Design Joyeux Noel 6x6 paper pad
Glitz Design Hello Friend 6x6 paper pad
Glitz Design Joyeux Noel Cardstock Journaling Stickers
Glitz Design Joyeux Noel Whatnots
Glitz Design Hello Friend Paper Garland
Other supplies:  PTI Rustic Cream and True Black Cardstock, PTI In the Meadow Dies, PTI Holiday Photo Finishers stamps, PTI Damask Filigree Border and Snowflake Dies, Melissa Frances Rope Tinsel, hand-dyed seam binding and a jingle bell from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Kristii 

Day #3 Bleach Bottle Santa

Happy 3rd Day of Christmas dear friends!  I have something a little different for you today!  For those of you who love to use recycled products in your crafts I have the perfect jolly old elf for you to try!

Supplies:

1 white bleach bottle

1-2 skeins white yarn

41 white pipe cleaners

Red felt

Flesh colored felt

2 google eyes

1 white 1/2 inch pompom

Scissors

Ice pick or nail to punch holes

Glue

Instructions:

·      First remove the label from an empty and clean bleach bottle. Then cut the bleach bottle in half length wise through the handle so that each section has half of the handle and half of the spout.

·      Make the hat. Cut the red felt into two triangular pieces with a base of 9 1/2 inches and height of 15 inches. Sew the long edges together and then turn the stitched side in. Cut 9 pieces of yarn 4 1/2 inches long. Fold the yarn pieces in half. Place the looped end on the tip end of the hat with the loop extending about 1/2 inch on to the tip. Tie in place with another short piece of yarn. Glue the hat in place along the side to side seam line on the outside of the bottle.

·      Next make the hair and beard. You will be making 41 looped yarn pieces. The measurements are for the length of the loop not the length of the yarn piece needed.

·     You will need:

10 - 12 inch loop pieces

2 - 10 inch loop pieces

2 - 9 inch loop pieces

2 - 8 inch loop pieces

3 - 7 inch loop pieces

2 - 6 inch loop pieces

2 - 4 inch loop pieces

2 - 5 inch loop pieces

16 - 2 1/2 inch loop pieces

·      Make the loops by winding the yarn around a piece of cardboard the length of the loop pieces needed by using 20 loops for each. Secure in the center of the loops with one pipe cleaner, twisting to hold tightly.

·     Punch 7 holes about 1/2 inch apart, 1/2 inch from the edge, down the sides of the bottle. Punch ten holes across the bottom of the bottle about 1 1/4 inches from the bottom. Punch 16 holes across the middle of the bottle directly under the bottom edge of the hat.

·      To make the face: Glue the flesh colored felt to the bottle between the bottom of the hat and the holes on the bottom and sides. Cut to fit. You may do the next steps of making the face now or wait until you've attached the hair. Glue the pompom 2 1/2 inches from the edge of the bottom of the hat and 4 3/4 inches from the side edges for the nose. Glue the two google eyes above and to each side of the nose. Cut three circles of red felt one inch in diameter. I used a water bottle lid as a pattern. Glue one on each side of the nose for cheeks and one 1/2 inch below the nose for the mouth. Punch a hole under the nose between the nose and mouth. Insert one of the 7 inch yarn loops here for the mustache.

·     To do the hair and beard:  Insert one of the 2 1/2 inch loops in each of the 16 holes under the bottom edge of the hat. Twist the ends together in the back. Starting with the 4 inch loop going down the sides, put first the 4 inch then 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,and finally the 10 inch loops in each of the 7 side holes on each side of the face. Now insert the ten 12 inch loops in the ten holes across the bottom.

·     Create a loop out of extra pipe cleaners and attach to the back of your santa to hang.

Thanks for joining me in today's 12 days of Christmas celebration.

I'll be back tomorrow with some Glitzy Inspiration!!

Kristii

Day 2 -Cranberry Cookies

Happy Sunday dear sweet friends!  It's time for Day 2 of the Twelve Days of Christmas!!

Since it's Sunday, I have another fun recipe that's going into my Family Favorite Recipe Cookbook to share with you.  Every December, before the Christmas baking begins, we start the month off by making these delicious Cranberry Cookies.  They are a family favorite and I hope they become a favorite of yours too!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt 
• 2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped 
• 
  
Preheat oven to 375F.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Beat in milk, orange juice and egg. Separately, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, then blend well into the butter mixture.  Stir in the cranberries.  Drop dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, remove from sheet to continue cooling.

See you tomorrow night for day three!!

 Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!

Kristii

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Happy December 1st my friends!!  It's time to start the celebration and begin the 12 days of Christmas celebration!!

I have a fun little project for you today featuring Lisa Pace's Antiquated Line of Stamps, Sweet Little Girls.  These stamps are some of my all-time favorite stamps and I thought they would be oh so cute as little angels!  Stamp, Color, Cut, and add wings and glitter...What do you think?

I thought it would be fun to make these little beauties into a little banner to hang on my little heart peg shelf.  I made three panels and used three of the little girls stamps to make the angels.

I stamped around the edge of the star using Papertrey Ink's Love Lives Here: Holiday.  The little pine branches and hearts are a sweet little touch.

I used the McGill Pine Bough punch to make the greenery and added buttons and twine to add more color.

I used Papertrey Ink's Seeing Stars dies to die cut the stars that are in between the panels.  I just love the look of distressed cardboard stars!

Supplies used:
Lisa Pace's Antiquated Stamps by Pink Persimmon: Sweet Little Girls
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy Patterned Paper, Rustic Cream Cardstock and Simply Chartreuse Cardstock
Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here Stamps
Papertrey Ink Seeing Stars Dies
McGill Pink Bough Punch
MemrieMare: Wings

Thanks for stopping by and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow for the second day of Christmas!!
Kristii

Perfect for a cold winter's day

Happy Sunday sweet friends!  It's time to add another page in my "Make your Own" cookbook series.  and today I am going to share my Minestrone Soup recipe with you.  There is nothing that warms your heart during these cold winter days than a nice bowl of homemade soup!  Minestrone has become one of our favorites not only because it is good for you, but because it just plain tastes good!!

Garden Vegetable Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup green beans, trimmed and chopped
2 stalks celery
3 carrots, sliced

1 zucchini, sliced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon salt

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

6 cups chicken broth

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup shell pasta

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

Directions:

Heat olive oil in large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic, green beans, celery and carrots and cook until they are soft.  Add zucchini, oregano, basil and salt and cook until zucchini softens.  Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in kidney beans and pasta and cook until pasta is tender.  Top each serving with Romano cheese.

Such a delicious and hearty meal and made even better when served with Garlic bread.  

Yields 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Kristii

Step by Step Saturday with Glitz Design

Happy Saturday dear friends!!  It's time for a new Step by Step Saturday post, and since Thanksgiving has come and gone, I think it's time to start thinking about Christmas!! Today, I have a quick and easy snowman card and matching ornament made using Glitz Design's Hello Friend 6x6 paper pad.

The idea for this little card and ornament set started with Glitz Design's Hello Friend Envelope paper from the 6x6 pad.  I am totally in love with the postal border and the beautiful roses in the corner!!

Step 1. Cut a piece of white cardstock to 4 1/4" x 11" and fold in half.  Place the die on the cardstock lining up the line on the die with the edge of the paper and run through your die cut machine to create the card base.

Step 2.  Die Cut three snowmen from the Envelope paper strategically placing the rose in the bottom, right corner of the die. Then, cut one snowman out of chipboard for the ornament base.  Glue one of the die cut patterned papers to the front of the card base and glue the other two patterned paper cuts to the front and back of the ornament to cover.

Step 3.  Embellish the front of your card with a hat, arms and mittens.
Step 4.  Stamp the face and color.
Step 5.  Add ribbon, flowers, pearls, punched greenery, and stamped sentiment.

Step 6.  Decorate the front of the ornament as desired making sure to cut out two hats and four mittens to embellish the back side of the ornament as well.  When attaching the hat, add a knotted piece of twine to hang.  Decorate the back of your ornament as desired.

Supplies Used:

Glitz Design Hello Friend 6x6 Paper Pad

Chipboard

Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select White Cardstock, twine and Cream Felt

Papertrey Ink Shape Up Dies and Stamps: Snowman

McGill Greenery Punch

Roses, ribbon, buttons and pearls from my stash

Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a very Glitzy day!!

Kristii