A gift for you...

Wow. Anyone else feel like November's just flown by? I can't believe next week's Thanksgiving already! Yikes!

Well, in the interest of trying to stay sane this holiday season, I've been making plenty of lists and attempting heartily to cross most items off my list before December so that I can really just enjoy the month with the boys and with the family members we have coming to visit. I'm so thrilled to have crossed a bunch of things off my list last Saturday at the all day crop I went to at my local scrapbook store, the ultra-awesome Treasure Box. :)

Among the projects I finished were these gift card holders for the boys' teachers (both at Options and for piano) this year:

I decided rather than making my own fun envelopes, not doing any envelopes at all or buying those cute gift card holders, I'd use empty CD cases. I just cut some of the flocked Doodlebug paper (very elegant and fun at the same time) to size, added some velvet ribbon (sorry, can't remember who makes it) and a satin reindeer (off of a ribbon roll from here) and slipped it all into the case (that has handy tab things to hold a cover built right in). Yes, I just stapled that reindeer right on there...used some brownish/gold staples I had for some reason. Anyhow, that's the cover. Inside:

Inside is a quick little bookmark from a Hambly transparency (used my Crop-A-Dile to attach that ribbon...yay, me!). I also stamped some cute lines on a piece of Prism cardstock so that the boys can write individual notes to the teacher the gift is for (haven't done that part yet, obviously). Love the stamp...it's by Cornish Heritage Farms and I can tell I'll be using it much more in the future. :) Oh, incidentally, the gift cards are to a fabulous local independent bookstore I'm trying to support, hence the bookmarks. I'll drop the gift cards in once the notes are finished. Then, on the back, I just stamped a couple quick stamps where I'll write the recipient's name, probably in red pen:

Stamps are by 7Gypsies (brackets) and Hero Arts. Yup, so proud of myself...made 9 of these. :) Really trying to focus on the little details this year, as they always make me happy and I feel badly when I get so behind that I neglect the packaging.

Speaking of details, I also made these cute little advent countdown books. All the folks at the crop I was at loved them (thanks, guys!) so I thought I'd share. :) The story behind these is that I have, for unknown reasons, two advent countdown calendars where you open a little door and pull out a wooden ornament and hang it on the tree or calendar thing each day. They're different but good. But. I have three boys. Not two. Hence the problem. :)

So, I made these simple little countdown books for each of the boys...this one, obviously, is for Asher (apart from the letter, they all look the same)...

Each day, they'll get to color a different little picture and know how many more days till Christmas. I used some free dingbat fonts and a couple from ScrapNFonts.com to make the pages, then just printed them out and cut each 8.5x11 sheet into the 8 pages. Thanks to my handy-dandy Bind It All (which, I think, counts as Tuesday's Tool being as I haven't used it but once or twice before and that was more than half a year ago), I bound all the pages and two chipboard covers I cut out (just used some paper pack backing) into these little books that will stand on their own. I added some 7Gypsies metal edging (so cool) and a quick monogram from the vinyl letters we used on the Halloween costumes...voila!

I'm really kinda excited to do these this year and already envision doing more in years to come. I think it'll be a fun little record of the boys' coloring skills as the years progress. I might even add having them write a daily note on the back of each page or something.

And, because I'm so happy to be checking things off my list...and because I love you...here's the file for the pages I made: countdown book pages. Please, just do me the huge favor of keeping it all for personal use only...no selling them or anything, okay? :)

(If you don't have a Bind It All, a simple binder ring or two would work...as would hanging them individually around a room...or clipping them to the tree with clothespins each day...or any number of other ideas.)

Now, one last thing. At the crop on Saturday, I truly found inspiration in a single new stamp that caught my eye. I think everyone should have one. :) Because Saturday, for me, was the crop of the rooster stamp, LOL. I used it about 40 times overall during the day. Silly, yes. But I'll take the inspiration where I can find it. ;)

Oh, and one other last thing. If, like me, you may be thinking that you want to make some cute gift tags this year...and, if, like me, you also happen to be one of those scrappers who keeps all the tag sheets that come with various patterned paper collections but rarely use them...I had an ah-ha moment this weekend when I realized that works well together, eh? So excited to be using them up! (Right now I have a little pile of about 50 Basic Grey tags that I'll be using this year as I wrap gifts.)

Well, happy holiday projects to all!! Comment here with what you're up to...I always love hearing what everyone else is making!

Wait for it...

Happy Monday morning! Had a fabulous and productive weekend...need to finish off a couple things and photograph a couple others and then will be back with a jam packed post...hopefully today, possibly tomorrow. You'll want to see it. Honest. :)

Thursday thoughts...

Time for another "totally random things I keep meaning to mention" post... ;)

1. Still having a grand time over on the CK site at my Month by Month Scrapbooking group! Daily giveaways, challenges and sneak peeks! Still time to join the fun...plus, I'll have another little announcement there on Monday, so don't miss it!

2. While I really wanted to do all of the daily challenges that I set out, life and time are intervening. But. I have managed to finish these two:

(Made it a thumbnail so that hopefully when you click on it you'll be able to actually see the journaling.) This first one was for Monday's challenge...scrapping a childhood memory that goes along with a specific month. Here, I journaled about how my boys' "city" fall leaves experiences differ so much from my own growing up in the country.

Cardstock: Prism Papers; Sheer leaves: Maya Road (off of one of their 12x12 sheets); Fonts: Impact, Century Gothic.

This second one is for today's challenge to do a layout about service. The boys and I did this giving tree project last year and I wanted to record the experience.

Cardstock: Prism Papers; Pen: American Crafts Precision Pen; Pencils: Koh-i-Noor Gioconda soft pastel pencils; Font: Rockwell.

3. Turns out we live in the best place to raise kids in Colorado...according to Business Week (scroll down to Colorado). Pretty cool. :)

4. I'm behind on Jessica Sprague's Stories in Hand class...haven't been able to play along at all yet. :( But I'm so excited for when I get a chance to catch up!! Have you been participating? How's it going?

5. Micah has been so talkative lately (which is truly saying something, as the kid talks up a storm anyhow). One of my very favorite things, though, is how he refers to others...he says "who-body"...as in "who-body there?" (in response to "knock, knock") and "who-body did that?" Silly kid. He also has taken to saying "avoid" instead of, well, other things you might say...like "don't hit that tree!" except he says "do avoid that tree!" And he's very fond of "not exactly" and "actually" right now, too. I wish they'd all stop growing up.

Oh! And he's decided "Mikey" is an unacceptable nickname. Constantly hearing "Don't call me Mikey!" around here, as I can't seem to break myself of the habit. I call Asher "Ashey" pretty often, too, and Micah's even taken to correcting me there..."don't call my brother Ashey!" (Asher, fortunately, doesn't mind if I call him Ashey.) Love how he always sticks up for his brothers, too..."don't talk like that to my brother!" is a daily thing around here (said to Noah about Asher or vice versa, often back to back).

6. Asher was the Star of the Week this Monday at his Options class. It was basically an individualized show and tell. He was so excited to bring some of his favorite toys, his little picture album of our family vacation last summer, and a drawing of a dragster he'd designed. Micah and I stayed to watch his "presentation"...so happy!

7. I'm going to an all day crop this Saturday and am so excited! Hoping to get a bunch of little holiday projects knocked off my list! Speaking of which, did you know that there are only 42 more shopping days till Christmas? Oy.

8. I just finalized travel plans for CHA Winter (this coming January)! I'm even more stoked about that than the crop Saturday, lol! This will be the first CHA I've been able to attend (it's a craft and hobby show for those unfamiliar with what I'm talking about). I'll be at the CK booth and hope to also walk the floor and visit with folks. Yay!

Okay, that's probably enough randomness for the moment. I'm sure there were other things I've been meaning to post but they've slipped my mind again. ;)

The official start to the holidays...

Well, I think it's official. The boys found the Christmas CDs today and spent much of the day playing them at top volume and "dancing" (aka running crazily around the house in close proximity to each other whilst I try not to keep saying, "be careful!"). They also started picking which Christmas songs they'll play on the piano for their winter recital. Noah's already gone through his entire Christmas music for the piano book trying to make up his mind.

Not that we haven't had plenty of holiday prep stuff around here already. But the music really does it, I think. ;) So. Since I'd really rather not go insane this winter, any good recommendations on kid-friendly Christmas music? (We have a bunch but variety is always better, right?)

Jump start on Monday...

Yes, it's just really late Sunday night right now, but my morning's going to be busy and I'll be in and out all day. So. I figured I'd post now. :)

As mentioned, today is Monday. It's also the start of the online promotion hoopla for my book over at Creating Keepsakes! If you haven't already joined my group over there, get on that! You won't want to miss out on the sneak peeks, giveaways and challenges!!