Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Christmas Treats

I had so much fun with this year's Christmas treats.  First, let me share with you the Gift Card Holders I made.

Just before Thanksgiving, I stopped in at Starbucks to treat myself to a Caramel Macchiato.  That's when I saw these cuties.


Isn't it adorable????  I just had to use these for gifts at the office this year.  

I used this tutorial to make these gift card holders.





The lid pulls out to reveal the gift card.

 

I used a variety of products: A Muse Studio cardstock (cherry, sugar, kraft), Stampin' Up Confetti Cream cardstock (retired), Stampin' Up Christmas Punch stamp set and matching punch, May Arts ribbon, double-sided adhesive and foam adhesive.

(I made one change to the tutorial when making my holders: instead of using a 4 1/4" x 1" white piece, I used a 4 1/4" x 2" piece and folded it in half.)

Everyone just loved these Gift Card Holders.  

My second Christmas Treat were Santa mugs filled with hot chocolate goodies.  



I first made these to send to the A Muse Consultants who participated in my Recipe and Calendar swaps as a "thank you" treat.  Then, I ended up making more to share with friends and family.  I ended up making 55 of these adorable mugs.




I made all of the templates for the different pieces to the mug (mug, face, beard, mustache).  The hardest part was tracing and cutting each piece.  It would have been a cinch if I had an electric cutter, which is on my Christmas wishlist. :)
Then, it was just a matter of adhering all of the pieces together.  Sticky tape just wasn't strong enough to keep the mug adhered together.  Unfortunately, I didn't find this out until after I shipped the ones to the consultants.  I ended up using Aleene's Tacky Glue and it did the job. 



The mug piece needed to be cut from a 12x12 piece of cardstock.  I was able to get 2 mugs per cardstock.  I used an unknown red cardstock from Stampin' Up.  The pieces for the face were cut from A Muse cardstock (sugar, shell, onyx shimmer).  I used punches to make the eyes and nose.  I also used an oval punch to make the hole in the handle.

That's it for now.  I really need to get some presents wrapped.  

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas, filled with many blessings.








Monday, December 16, 2013

Splitcoaststampers Calendar Swap

I can't believe next week is Christmas!! I am so not ready. Work has been keeping me pretty busy.

In addition to hosting a calendar swap with A Muse Consultants (posted HERE), I participated in a calendar swap hosted by my good friend, Sassy, on Splitcoaststampers.  It was a fun swap.  I made 2 calendar pages.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to take pictures of everyone's pages to share with you, but I can at least share with you the pages I made.

February:

I used A Muse Studio Cherry and Sugar cardstock.  The designed paper is from the Carta Bella Devoted collection.  The buttons are from A Muse Studio as well.  The die is from My Favorite Things.

    


I used various Copics to color this cute Valentine Mouse from Peachy Keen.

PK-281 Valentine Cupids

Here's a close up of the wings...colored it with Sakura Gel Clear pen.


And....here's my calendar page for May:


The image is Penny Black Hedgey Gift colored with various Copic markers.  The base is Winter Sky cardstock from A Muse Studio.  The patterned paper is from an unknown company.  The pink border was made using A Muse Studio Bubblegum Shimmer cardstock and a Martha Stewart Punch.  The flower is from A Muse Studio as well that was colored with a Copic marker...with the center bling from Want2Scrap.


72 Count - Hot Pink Rhinestones - Self Adhesive    hedgey gift picture



That's all I have for today.  Now, I gotta get some house chores done. :)


Blessings,

Sunday, December 15, 2013

December Spotlight Special

December Spotlight Special
Welcome to the A Muse Studio Spotlight!


Where each month, selected stamp sets will share the spotlight with a gorgeous color palette to create projects that showcase the versatility of paper crafting.


For December, the following stamps are 10% off regular price:


Here are some fun projects for this month:





Spotlight pricing is good through 11:59PM Eastern time, December 31, 2013.


Contact me to place an order or if you want more details about these projects.  bjlee717 “at” comcast “dot” net.
If you order more than $150, you MUST order through me to receive the hostess benefits.


Blessings,


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Fantastic A Muse Studio Giveaway from Ali Edwards

Ali Edwards has a GREAT giveaway and a 20% discount code.  Sorry for the late notice...you have until 9AM December 6th to enter.  The discount code is good until December 31st.  Check out the details HERE



Sunday, December 1, 2013

Swap-Mania!

As I stated earlier, I hosted 2 consultant swaps.  The first was a Holiday Recipe swap which included holidays within the months of October and March.  The second was a 2014 Calendar swap.

Just like the swaps in the past, the ladies did an amazing job!!! I was so excited to see all the pages.  I actually resisted opening any of the packages until I had everyone's swap in my hands. Now, I call that will power!! LOL!!

Without further ado....


HOLIDAY RECIPE SWAP

I'll start off with my recipe page:

I made the turkey using punches.  Basically, I cut scallop circle pieces to layer the feathers and then used 2 different sized circle punches for his head and body.  I hand-cut his beak and used onyx jewels for the eyes.  The background was stamped with Woodgrain Background stamp using French Roast Ink. I added some orange jewels on the side and bottom. The cardstock colors for the recipe page are Orange and Apricot.

Here are the pages from the lovely consultants:

Nancy: 


Tobey: 


Sylvia:


Seleise:


Laura: 


Jane: 


Kim: 


Candice: 


Sharon: 


Tyuana:

Fantastic job, ladies!! I can't wait to try out some of these recipes during this holiday season.  Thank you for participating!


2014 CALENDAR SWAP

Several ladies from the recipe swap also took part in the calendar swap.

Seleise:


Kim: 


Nancy:


Sharon: 


JoAnne: 


Rita: 


Sylvia: 


Tobey: 


Kamila: 


Laura: 


Jane: 


Mine: 

I'm so sad to know that the snowflake dies were discontinued from last year.  I think it's one of my all-time favorite dies!!  I sponged some Winter Sky Ink for the sky and also used the discontinued Sugar Ink.  The snowflakes were cut from Shimmer Bermuda cardstock.  And I added a little sparkle to the stars from the Santa's Flight image with some clear dots (jewels).  The image was colored with various Copics.

I made a snowy hill using Clear Crystal Glaze and Diamond Glitter.


Again, incredible job everyone!!

Thanks again!!

***********************************************

I also participated in a Calendar Swap that was hosted by a dear friend on Splitcoaststampers.  I will be posting pictures from that swap when I get them back.  Hopefully, they will be here soon...so don't forget to check back. :)




Blessings,

Tammy's having a huge sale on hundreds of stamps!

Just thought I would 1) help spread the word and....2) be an enabler. LOL!!!

Tammy from Handmade by TLC has hundreds of stamps for sale from various companies like Sylvia Zet, Meljen, Crissy Armstrong, Kenny K, Elizabeth Bell, Jo Davies, Magnolia, LOTV, Sarah K, Mo Manning and so many more.  

Check it out HERE

A Muse Studio Consultant Challenge

For November's consultant challenge, the theme is Gift Tags.  I wasn't sure that I was going to have time to take part in this challenge, but the due date for entries was extended to midnight tonight and a fellow consultant, Tobey, encouraged me to make a submission. :)

I couldn't resist ordering every single color of sequins not too long ago.  I love all of the colors we carry!! Here's what I ended up making:



I used the a|s die set - vintage labels 2 to make the tag base and the sentiment is from Essential Sentiments set.

I'll be back later this evening to post about the consultant swap....this time, I hosted two at once: a holiday recipe swap and a 2014 calendar swap.

Be sure to come back to check them out.



Blessings,

A Muse Studio Cyber Monday Sale!!


Cyber Monday pricing begins at midnight on  Monday, December 2, 2013 and ends 11:59PM EST on December 3, 2013.

These sets will be shipped in clear cellophane bags (no hard case).

You may place an order directly HERE



Contact me to place an order or if you want more details:  bjlee717 “at” comcast “dot” net.
If you order more than $150, you MUST order through me to receive the hostess benefits.


Blessings,