Classroom Santas

You can't bring a gift to the teacher, and not bring treats for the entire class. So once the teacher gifts were sorted, I got to work making petal cone die Santa's for Jay to give to his classmates. While I didn't mind making them, they did use up all my Real Red cardstock. Guess what I will be ordering before Valentine's Day!

Teacher gifts- Canvas Santas

I'm so glad my son is still little enough to want to give Christmas gifts to his teachers.  (My teenage daughter has so outgrown that!) This year I decided to do the Note pad covers on a much larger scale. You know what I'm talking about.....like these seen Here.

I have really been into the canvas art lately, and I thought creating a santa based on the note pad idea in a larger canvas art would be a great update. I think the teachers liked them, but even if they didn't, they were so much fun to make!

Cookie Exchange Gift

So, for the cookie exchange party at my house, I thought it would be fun to send everyone home with a copy of the recipes used to make the cookies they received during the exchange. Of course, being a paper craft fanatic, I couldn't let them just get a blank recipe card....I had to give them something pretty to keep them in, so I decided to make these recipe boxes.

I loved the added touch of using the snowflake bling as one of the O's in the word cookie. But it still wasn't quite fancy enough.....then I realized I had all those snowflake ornaments from the kit that was sold in December. That was exactly what this box needed. I loved the way they finally turned out, and I believe the guests liked them too!

Gingerbread Invites

So a couple of years ago a friend invited me to a cookie exchange for Christmas. We each brought several dozen cookies and traded with the other attendees, so when we went home, we had several different kinds.

Since I was feeling better, I  thought this would be a wonderful way to get the neighbors and friends together for a girl's day.

The first thing I had to do was get invitations made and handed out. I saw the gingerbread punch art idea on line, and thought that would be perfect for the cookie exchange, but the rolling pin invite was all my own idea. (I know, something I didn't case.....can you believe it?).

I really loved the way these turned out, and since the party happened a month ago, I can tell you that it went very well. We had a blast, and remarkably, no one brought gingerbread men! I definitely think this may be the start to a yearly event.

Another Thanksgiving project

I don't know how many of you purchased the bow die from Stampin' Up!, but I got it on one of their super weekly sales. I had been looking at it, but I just couldn't see spending the money.....and then Kirsteen Gill had to create this adorable Turkey using it and I was hooked!

It felt like Christmas waiting for it to arrive, but once it came I got straight to work. I made ten of these suckers as gifts for teachers, neighbors, and of course friends!

While Jay was disappointed his turkey didn't have as many candy pieces as his teachers, he soon got over it when I told him we had one here at home he could eat after the holiday.

November Rocks!!!

I love November....maybe because it is full of Fall weather (my absolute favorite time of year) and the color orange (my absolute favorite color) and FOOD!

Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays ever, but if you ask me, even better is the day after Thanksgiving. What is it about Thanksgiving leftovers that tastes so much better the second time around?

Anyway, to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, Jay asked me to make Turkey's to take to school. I found a few ideas on the web, but nothing that really struck my fancy, so I took the best parts from several of them and mashed them all together in my own version of a punch art turkey treat.

I think they turned out pretty cute, and even though I am sure most of them didn't make it home without getting their legs ripped off.....Jay insists the kids enjoyed them!

Oh, and something important I learned this year that is definitely worth sharing. I used to buy large bags of M&Ms and sort them by color to make sure I had the right ones, but this year, on a whim I found a huge bag of Reese's Pieces......They definitely are fall colors....and no sorting involved!

Final Halloween Project

This is my last Halloween share for 2013.

The Sunday before Halloween I found myself glued in front of the TV watching football with nothing to keep my hands busy. The next thing I knew, I was putting together these candy holders to pass out to my "special" trick or treaters in the neighborhood. (I told you once I started I couldn't stop!),

You know what I'm talking about. There are those neighbor kids that always get a bigger handful of candy or a special treat just because you actually know who they are.

My kids and hubby lovingly called these my Halloween Tacos.....and I can see why. Notice the curly paper technique also is making a reappearance in this project as well as a little more punch art!

Unfortunately we had a cold rainy trick or treat day, so some of my treats didn't get to be passed out......but never fear, Jay took care of the candy they were holding, so at least that didn't go to waste!