Already thinking of Valentine's Day!!

First-thanks for stopping by after such a long time since I've posted! The days seem to be flying by....
Did you have a good holiday? We have--my daughter, Rori, has been home since the 23rd and we've enjoyed having her around. She lives in Chicago and loves it! So the snow that we've had here is nothing to her!
Last night she took me to Par Excellance for a pedicure (one of my Xmas gifts) and it was sooooo nice to sit and be pampered! Then we walked across the parking lot in our little flip flops they give you (COLD!) to Riccos for a glass of wine and pizza and of course-the garlic bread that is to die for! She left this morning for Las Vegas to ring in the New Year! Ah, to be young again!

I've been playing with my new stuff from Stampin' Up the past few days--this is a card I made for a swap with sidelines. It uses the NEW ACRYLIC STAMPS--yes! I did say acrylic! The stamp is actually rubber and it adheres to a clear block. LOVE THEM!! Also, notice the new punch, new embossing folder, new stain ribbon and new brads! These are from the new mini and will be available to order on Jan. 5.

I made another card for a swap for our downline meeting that I will post next. Check back soon!

More Gift Card holders!

I like gift cards. I like getting them and giving them. Here is another way to jazz them up! When you pull on the ribbon, up comes the card! So the recipient knows you put SOME thought into the gift when you make these! Use cardstock slightly bigger than the card and enough to wrap around and adhere closed. Decorate. The ribbon is added last and you fold it in half, insert the card in the fold, insert card and ribbon in folder, bring through holes punched at top and tie a knot. Easy!

Have a good day! I'm off to do last minute things for my make & take tonight....

You can't go wrong with CHOCOLATE!

Here's a gift idea that everyone will love! Wrapped candy bars! Just wrap designer paper around a chocolate bar (I used regular and giant sizes), and decorate the front...Perfect gift for all ages-male or female! If you need to make a bunch, the punched designs go quickly! It's also a good place to stick in a gift card :-)
Thanks for stopping by! AND if you aren't a follower, I'd love it if you added yourself!
Jeri

Snowflake Pixi Sticks

What a great little thing to make when you have to make alot of something! These pixi sticks are decorated with silver embossed snowflakes and layered on a punched snowflake. I sold a bunch of these at the craft fair. If you look closely, you can see that I used a silver rub-on on the class vase. I keep forgetting about those rub-ons!
Thanks for stopping by!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

At least. it's starting to FEEL like Christmas with the cold weather! Altho, it better WAIT until I make my Christmas cards! I am SOOOO behind!

Here's what we are making this weekend! The Santa is a gift card holder--there is a small bag the size of a gift card on the back. The 3-D diorama is in the middle, the snowman thank you card (making 2) and gift tags in the front. Hope you can join the fun! Be sure to save your spot asap....

Christmas Gift Card Holders

These are some of the gift card holders that I made for the craft fair in Lexington. On the right, you can kinda see that it opens up and has a place for the gift card.

I don't know about you, but it seems that every year, I give more gift cards than presents and it's so much more fun to give it in a cute holder! I think it's because my daughter and nieces and nephew are getting so OLD that I can't shop for them anymore! Anyway, they do like getting a gift card better than what I may pick out for them! (not that I don't have good taste...!)

More tomorrow, so please stop by again!

Our Thanksgiving trip up North.....

Here we are (me, Rori and Ross) at his mom's house in Michigan. Sadie (our dog) came with us and it was too funny, because she was afraid to walk anywhere where there wasn't carpet! So we had to make a path of rugs across the floor or she would've stayed in the living room the whole time!

Rori and Ross' mom..either she is really tall or she is really short! ( I think it is Rori's boots with 3" heels!)

Me, my mom and dad in Naperville, Illinois.

It was a great holiday and good to see our parents!

Hope yours was good, too!

Off to make some more goodies for the craft fair in Lexington, MO this Sat. Stop by if you have a chance!

Who says Christmas has to be Red & Green?

This Christmas card that I made uses Plum, Almost Amythst and Gold & Silver--not your traditional colors! But still Christmasy I think! In fact, this year, the colors are all over the place--from Art Deco Turquoise to light blue and purples! I say to be creative and use whatever colors you have around! And, if you are like me, make several styles of cards and different colors. (keeps the boredom at bay!)

Well, we are leaving tomorrow early for a long drive for Thanksgiving. First. stopping at Aunt Helen's in Arlinton Heights, Ill for the night (she loves to craft, so am bringing some things for us to make)-then the next morning off to Detroit to be with my husband's mom for the holiday. Our daughter is driving up from Chicago to meet us there. Then Sat. morning leaving for Naperville, Il to my folks for 1 night and then back to KC on Sunday! I have a bunch of audio books and stuff to punch and adhere in the car. (making more of the licorice leg Santas and mice). We are also bringing our new dog, Sadie--so hope all goes well with her on the long drive!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and be safe! I will be back to the blog when I come back! Thanks for looking!

Jeri

Button Bracelet

Hello!

This is a pic of the button bracelet I made last night at DeAnn's button class! You can't really see all of the detail, but I sewed buttons onto a denim fabric and there is elastic in the middle. Also, I added some beads on top of some of the buttons. I can't remember the last time I actually sewed with a needle and thread! But it was a REALLY fun class! Some people made button bouquets and some made bracelets. Several of these buttons are ones I've inherited thru the years from family members--so it is special to me.

Thanks DeAnn, for a great class! We will be thinking of you and your shoulder replacement tomorrow! Off to go work out at Curves (trying to anticipate the Thanksgiving weight gain--aagghh!)

My 100th post!!

I can't believe that it's my 100th post already! Thank you to all who check out my blog-I appreciate it! My goal is to get some more followers--so I'd love it if you added yourself!

This card is one that I came up with after getting the idea for the reindeer from a swap at convention. It is stamped in Versamark and chalked on the body, and embossed with gold for the antlers. You can hardly see, but there is Dazzling Diamond glitter along the bottom. It is stunning in person! We will be making this at the next make & take Dec. 11 and 13th.

We had a great time last weekend at the make & take--thanks to all who attended! And congrats to Kelley and Sharon for winning the stamp set door prizes!

Such a dreary day today. I'm anxious to head down to my craft room and play!!

Make and Take this weekend

The cute turkey, above, is all punched. The card next to it (photo doesn't do it justice!) has several layers and crystal effects-and uses the ornament punch. We'll be using the Stamp-a-ma-jig on the 3 ornament card. And my favorite card (think I may use these for my Christmas cards!) is stenciled and stamped. Oops! I just noticed that the bow fell off before I took the picture! It goes where you see the little glue dot on the string! Finally, the optional mouse with licorice legs!

Let me know if you plan to attend the make & take this weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

TOO Cute!

I had SO much fun making this Santa! I got the idea for "licorice legs" from a swap I got at convention--a woman made the cutest "Lady with licorice legs" (I am sorry that I don't know who you are)--SO I thought it might work for a Santa...He is all punched and sponged in black around his tummy and arms. The black cs is folded back at the top and stapled to hold the legs on. What a neat stocking stuffer or little gift!
Tell me what you think!!
I am selling kits to make 5 Santas with 1 that is made up already to use as an example for $10 (shipping $1.75) Email me if you are interested in purchasing a kit or two! RJRHolm@aol.com

Christmas card class

Hello friends and fellow stampers! You know, I LOVE making Christmas cards! And I have had the BEST weekend because I was able to PLAY and come up with designs for this upcoming class and for my upcoming make & take! I also had time to make my Christmas swap cards for my group meeting....

These are the cards for the class...we are making 18 cards for $25. That is a REAL GOOD DEAL
when you think about how much they would cost if you bought them! The class is this Sat., Nov.7 anytime between 10-4 (allowing a couple hours to make them--6 of each design). I suggest you bring envelopes and adhesive. Let me know if you are interested in coming to the class by Tuesday--I have alot of cutting to do!

Thanks for stopping by! I will post some other Christmas creations that I made tomorrow...

Ornament Punch

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth! My computer hasn't worked for a week and for some MIRACLE I actually fixed it right before I was going to call someone! Don't ask me how I did it!

These cards are one that I took a pic of at convention, because I knew I was getting this set and punch.. I am actually getting ready to go play with it now and will post them soon. I love how it offers you so many different ways to use the stamps and punch together!

Thanks for checking back after my absence!

Halloween Wreath

Hi stampers!
This wreath uses a green styrofoam ring. The Designer paper is cut into 6" x 1" strips and curled around a pencil. Use a straight pin to attach the paper to the wreath, pointing the curls in different directions. The bow is SU ribbon (I LOVE that ribbon!)
It's easy to make and goes very quickly! You could even pin on some candy here and there!
Can't you see this for a Christmas wreath, too?

Make & Take preview

These are the cards we will be making this weekend! If you haven't made a reservation for the make & take--you need to do so asap--thanks! What do you think? The Xmas one has something on the inside, also...it was all I could do to make it simple! I had to restrain myself from adding a ribbon or glitter or something else! Do you ever have that problem?

Hope to see you this weekend! Email me if you have any questions about the make & takes...

Halloween treats

These treats are cut from the SU die cut "Two Tags". Above, I colored in the stamp with markers and inserted a candy stick. On the other one, I used a rub-on. I rarely use rub-ons--well, I guess I forget about them! But they are SOOO easy to use!

Below, I tied a skeleton lollipop onto it. These are great to hang on a Halloween tree and/or hand out for Trick or Treat!

More Halloween ideas....

A tree is a great way to display handmade Halloween goodies like these matchboxes! They are made with the Big Shot die and designer paper. The embellishments are rub-ons, and they are filled with Tootsie Rolls. Tomorrow, I will show you the other things that are hanging on the tree, so come back and look!

Halloween ideas

I've been working on things for the Weston Apple Fest--and here are a few of the items I'm taking. Above, I've decorated the beer mugs with SU wall decor and filled with candy. It's very easy to put wall decor on glass! Makes a fun "guy" gift!

These are giant Pixie Sticks that I've added some halloween stamped images to--great to hand out for Trick or Treat--or to give to a friend. Twilight anyone? These Dracula's have candy in them and are cute for display. The face is made with punches.

I'll have more to show you later! Thanks for stopping by!

Went to the Craft Fair....and got a dog!!!!

Hi! I'm back after a long absence--went to France!! But more about that soon...

Wanted to show you our new addition! I went to the Overland Park Craft Fair and adopted this adorable Akita/German Shepard mix! Her name is Sadie and she is about 3-4 years old. She is SOOO sweet and calm and trained! It is SO nice to have a dog again--we had to put our other dog down over a year ago and it's taken forever to convince my husband to get another. He fell in love her her at first sight!

Check back soon for France news and new Halloween ideas!

Make & Take preview

Here are the cards we will be making this weekend at the Make & Take!

My Digital Studio--first try!

I just got My Digital Studio in the mail! It's Stampin' Up's newest product and I LOVE IT! I have to admit that I was VERY worried if I'd be able to figure it out...WELL, it is EASY!!!! I wish I had nothing else to do so that I could sit here and play with it all day!
This format is one of the ones you can pick from--It's a 8 1/2 x 11 layout. I added Designer paper and changed the colors, added a bow, and changed placement a little. THEN I can't believe that I was able to save it in a folder and post it here! I also printed it off on Whisper white paper to see if that worked--and it did!

You must think about purchasing this! I'm already thinking of calendars for Xmas gifts! And framed pics! It is $79.95 (which is a good price compared to others out there) AND you can get it for a discount with a $400 workshop!

"Wicked"ly cute!

This cute witch (weird to say a witch is cute, isn't it?) is a swap that I WISHED I had gotten at convention-but luckily Pam did and I took a pic of it at our hotel room! Sorry I can't give credit to who created it! It uses the Big Shot Top Note die for the face and the hair. (How clever to use it for the hair!) Circle punches are used for the eyes and the oval punch for the nose. She is shaded (sponged around the face with green ink) and it really pops!
These would be great on a window, on a gift bag, or made into a box--many ideas!

HO HO HO

This picture doesn't do the banner justice--it is SO SPARKLY! I have it hanging in the doorway for my Open House last week and everyone that came was awed by it! And the great thing is, it is only $12.95 for the package of 1 set of punch out HO HO HO's and 9 medium Ho's. They are silver glittered heavy chipboard and ready to decorate and hang! You also can't see here that I added some snowflakes here and there on the HO's. I punched a hole at the tops of the letters with my crop-a-dile, ran some cord thru and hung on a red ribbon. EASY! And a great gift! You can find this in the mini catalogue...
One person said that if you stood on the other side and had mistletoe there, it could be OH OH OH!
Ok, I'm going to have to go and order some more of these right now!

Fun at the Girl's Craft afternoon!

We had so much fun a couple of weeks ago! I hosted a Girl's Craft afternoon for 9 girls (with the help of my friend, Elaine, and they made several items...they covered a clipboard with designer paper and decorated with ribbon and punched flowers, also the same with a notebook for school, and they stamped a birthday card, made a matchbox with a punched lion on top (filled with candy of course) and finally made this ladybug box (also filled with candy). They were so creative--it was fun to watch them make their items! Hopefully, we will be doing another class before the holidays.

Butterfly mobile

This butterfly mobile was on display at convention--I thought it was a geat idea for girl's to make for their rooms! It uses the Butterly Die Cut, designer paper and fishing wire.

I loved seeing all of the ideas at convention!

So sorry that I have been missing in action for a week! Was preparing for my Open House last Sat, and the trying to get caught up around the house.

Sweet Centers

Aren't these neat? There is a plastic cup that fits into the stamped images and you fill it with candy! The stamp set is called "Sweet Centers" and also includes a Valentine and ornament stamp. I tried these for the first time today and they are SO easy! These in the pics are from a display at convention. AND you get 12 cups for $2.95! What a deal! You just need the 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out the center for the cup. Also, they have special padded mailing envies if you want to mail them...