Busy, busy ...

I've been a busy lil' elf today. The smell of butterscotch chex mix is in the air, my kids are wrestling, my hubby left for the Pitt basketball game, and my scrap room is a mess! It's been a productive day ... although I still don't have my Christmas tree up. I'm secretly hoping that my hubby will pull it out tomorrow. He and my boys have made it a tradition to get it decorated every year. Keeping my fingers crossed. Here is a small sampling of several of the projects I completed today. The tags, of course, were inspired by Tim Holtz's Twelve Tags of Christmas. The pop-up gift card was inspired by a fast scrap at ACOT. And, lastly, I created another gift card holder for Austin's bus driver. Fun, fun!

Getting there

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the holiday craft tunnel. I completed these two gift holders for my two adorable nieces. What else? A few more book marks, one more gift card holder, and then, my holiday chex mix. I'm waiting for my sons to decide which of their lucky teachers will receive the mix this year. Now that they are in high school and middle school, we pick and choose the teachers. Sometimes, there are teachers I would like to treat, but I have to follow their lead ...

Sassy Lil' Sketches' November 28th Reveal

Sketchabilities #36

I've been trying to finish my 2006 albums. I had already completed my Thanksgiving pages as well as Austin's. However, poor Clay's page was never finished. When I saw this sketch from Sketchabilities, I knew it would give me the incentive to finally put the last touches on Clay's 2006 Thanksgiving page. So, here it is in all its glory and splendor.

Crafting Up a Storm

Well ... sorta. I keep getting these bright ideas about what I want to give my friends for Christmas - as little add-ons, but I forget how long it sometimes takes me to complete a project. I'm too much of a perfectionist so by the time I have completed the craft, my allotted time frame has been exceeded. And, for some reason, my crafts don't always look the way I imagined them. I have such grandiose expectations of my abilities that I disappoint myself time and time again. I've been trying to let that need to succeed roll off my shoulders a bit. Don't get me wrong, I want to be successful, but I don't want to miss out on the enjoyment and fulfillment that crafting affords me.

I put together a cute little gift card holder last night. I, of course, found it on Dawn's Stamping Studio's website. Love her ideas ... she has sooooo many! I'm glad she shares her inspiration.



I was also intrigued by a bookmark fastscrap at ACOT's last on-line scrap weekend. Tracey, one of the scrappy chicks, made this adorable corner book mark. Since I didn't have the Martha Stewart punch she referenced, I started playing with the punches I did have in my possession. And, being the procrastinator I have become, I started searching for corner book mark ideas on several of my favorite scrap and card sites. I found this tutorial by Beate Johns. Both ladies gave me great inspiration. This is what I created with their help: