Hip to be Square with Ornaments

I am participating in a holiday bizarre next Saturday and have been knitting and stamping up a storm and haven't had time to post! Plus we had Thanksgiving thrown in there too!

So here is a card using SU Chocolate Chip cardstock as the base. The ornament paper is something I picked up in a large pad at Michael's. I fell in love with the soft earthy colors of this particular sheet! I distressed around the paper with basic brown ink and used it on the ribbon as well. The background is also a piece of Shimmery White cardstock run through a Cuttlebug ornament embossing folder. The "Joy" is from Join in the Cheer Decorative strip Die run through the Big Shot. The holly is from an older Marvy punch.

Doggie Treats!

I am participating in a craft show on the 6th of Dec., and wanted to have something for the dog lovers. I used the Scallop Circle Bigz Die in my Big Shot and folded my card in half and laid it just below the top of the scallops at an angle to make a scallop card. The dog stamp is one I found at Michael's today in the bins where they have all the kids stocking stuffers.........for $1!!!!!!!! How cute is that!( yes, you can call me an enabler!)

I got the cute little dog bags from Clear Bags. The holly is an Marvy punch and I used the 1/4" Circle punch for the berries. The bag is stapled closed, and then attached to just the back of the card with Sticky Strip. I stamped the To:/From: inside the card.

Stampin' Up! will be having a sale!

I love surprises, do you????!!! Stampin' Up! will be announcing a sale next week and I am on pins and needles with anticipation! Demonstrators don't even know what the sale will be about!!! Make sure to check back next week so you'll be ready. You'll be able take part in this sale by placing orders through me or my site/shop 24/7 online! If you haven't tried online ordering yet, click the Online Ordering link below and it will take you to my Stampin' Up! site. When you get there, click on the Shop Now button. You will spend hours just searching around! Believe me! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me. I am here for you!!!! Happy Stamping! http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/joanhajek/

Countdown to Christmas!

How stinkin' cute huh! I love the way this turned out. I bought the frame at Kohl's. I cleaned the glass real well and leaving it in the frame so I could really line it up, applied the small Decor Element. I then cut my cardstock and applied the vinyl numbers each square. I ran them through my Xyron to laminate them. (this way they will last longer!) I know I have small white clothes pins in my studio somewhere and have to find them.......so for now I just added a small piece of double stick tape. I cut down a sheet of Ski Slope Designer paper and put it behind the mat. I added our awesome Felt Flurries by layering them and added some Ice Rhinestone Brads attached them to the frame with Pop-Up glue dots. I used our beautiful ribbon to the back of the frame to hang it up with. I might add some Baja Breeze stamped snowflakes around the mat but haven't decided yet. I used Sticky Strip and applied it to the sides and bottom of a 6x6 page protector after cutting off the holes on the side. This will give me a pocket to put all the numbers in! Now order this stuff and make your own! (by clicking on the bold highlighted words, you can see what you need to have or order!)

Here is photo of the frame I picked up at Kohl's for $14.99

Cardinal

I just let Snowball outback to do her business and saw our local cardinal in the pine tree. I had to grab the camera real quick! Pic's aren't the best but it was like he was waiting for me to take his picture!

Nature Photos

I have always loved taking pics of landscapes and nature in general. And love photos of the sky! Just trying to capture some of God's handiwork in my lens.

So I was on the road a lot over the last two weekends and took some shots. Most

of them while moving in the car.

Fudge Bites.............Yummy!

Another Demarle at Home rep shared her recipe for Fudge Bites. A moist oatmeal bottom with a little chocolate on top. YUMMY! And the best thing is you can get 3 trays of these with the Demarle Mini Muffin Tray! They pop right out!!! I put coconut on some, walnuts on the others, and left some plain.

These make great Christmas presents! Call me or email me to get yours today!

Or you can go online at http://www.demarleathome.com/ and use my id #US00005071 and order directly online.

EDITED TO ADD RECIPE:

Many of you have asked for the recipe, so here it is. This recipe is using the Demarle product, so you will have to check your times using other pans. And instead of adding more of the oatmeal mixture to mine, I just sprinke nuts on some and coconut on others and leave some plain.

Fudgie Bites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Place Mini Muffin Pan on Perforated Baking Sheet Combine: 1cup melted butter 2 ½ cups flour 2 ½ cups brown sugar 1tsp salt 2 eggs 1 tsp soda 2 tsp vanilla 3 cups oatmeal Scoop 1 Tblsp oatmeal mixture in each mini muffin Press down with Shaper. Melt together: 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups) 2 Tblsp butter 1 can sweetened condensed milk 2 tsp vanilla Optional: add 1 cup nuts or 1 cup coconut. Pour 1-2 tsp chocolate mixture in each muffin cup. Place a small amount of oatmeal mixture on top of each. Bake 12 minutes. Allow to cool before popping out. ENJOY!

Blog Candy Time!

What happens when you find things in your studio that you aren't using ??? Well, I think you make them BLOG CANDY!

So here is what you can win!

But there is a CATCH! You have to take this picture that my son Connor drew and create a card with it. Then post a link to your card here in the comments, (or you can mail it to me *grin*) and then I will pick a winner from Random.org. Please be sure to leave your name and email address as well!

Deadline to leave a comment with your card's link will be 11/29 and a winner will be picked on 11/30!

Have fun!

Rudolph is poised and ready for Christmas Eve!

This is another card that was demo'd at the VA Beach regionals. I love the simplicity of this card. Mine doesn't have the stamped image that was shown, or ribbon, (since I didn't have it) and I needed these for a swap on Saturday. I added a red nose by mixing Real Red re-inker with some Crystal Effects.

The deer is from Winter Post and the sentiment is from All Holidays.

Paper Pins

Jenn Balcer did a great tutorial on SCS making paper pins. I have the UTEE pot so I knew I had to try these. It is a rainy, dreary, dark day so the pics aren't that great!

The cardinal is made by stamping onto DSP, the poinsettia is actually retired SU DSP that I just cut out and layers, and the flower is a layers of stickers!

Merry Christmas Frame

I loved some of the demonstrations at the VA Beach Regional seminar and wanted to try some before I forgot what they were. This technique is done using just the very edge of the brayer. Just run it across your stamp pad, and then across your paper. Create stripes, plaids, etc. I used Real Red and Glorious Green here. I stamped the "Merry Christmas" from the Winter Post set, and used the Wide Oval Punch to cut it out. It is then surrounded with a wreath made with the Martha Stewart Branch punch. I added the striped red grosgrain ribbon to hang it with and put a little bow on the bottom with a glue dot. Simple.......

3 D Ornament

Yep! It's the Big Shot again! I love this thing! I used the Big Shot with the Circle 3-D Ornament and uses the Designer Series paper called Frosty Day. I used a large brad from Hodgepode hardware, and the brown felt ribbon from the Alpine group. It is my first attempt so I will get better at them as I do more!

What fun!!!!

Virginia Beach Regional Seminar

Make a Smilebox slideshow

This is just a sampling of the photos.....will post more later!

Out of the Wreckage, The Pop Stories

Barbara Blanks (St. Flossie) is someone I would consider a friend. We have conversed via emails for years on the same rubber stampers list. We have never met in person. Over the years, Barb has shared many stories of her life with us. Her humor is something that gets me very time. She has a way with words. She now has a published book, hence the title of this post. This book is a must read for anyone and everyone. It will make you laugh out loud, and cry too. I highly recommend this book.

You can get the details by clicking this link:

http://www.lulu.com/content/3677822

Halloween Gathering

Since Halloween fell on a Friday night this year, I decided to throw a block party. I went and bought an outside fireplace at Target. Everyone brought their own Spirit (beverage of choice!) and a dish to share. It was soooooo warm for October, but then got chilly later so the fire came in handy! The kids made smores and the adults ate, drank, and were merry! Katie came in costume!!!! She sure showed the Halloween spirit! (Hi Katie!) The house was decorated and John McCain and Sarah Palin stopped by as well. It was a fun way to celebrate the Fall season.