Gift card holder that I was making in my Jeep yesterday. :)  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture when I wrapped a ribbon around the top but I assure you, it was very cute! (yes, you read correctly, I was working in my Jeep! It totally slipped my mind to make the holder a head of time and yesterday was the last day to give my son's teachers their gifts.)

These are so simple to make and really will only take you about 5 minutes!  

To make:  cut a piece of cardstock to 4"x7".  Score at 1 1/4" and 4 1/4".  cut paper choice at 3 3/4" x 2 1/2" and 3 3/4" x 1".  Adhere paper and any embellishments you'd like and then tie a ribbon around the top portion to keep the flap closed!  Really, it's that easy! :)  I used a glue dot to keep the gift card in place. 

Patterned paper and cardstock from close to my heart. 

Season's Greetings!  It's one week away from Christmas and I am STILL making my cards! I've sent out many of them and I'm down to the last of my list but I'm feeling the pressure to get them finished and in the mail.  (As I should be, hmm? haha)

Here's one that I did this morning.  I love snowmen! :)

The important stuff:
Gypsy Wanderings - Snowman
Queen and co. - Bling
PP - My Mind's Eye
cardstock - Hobby Lobby & D
Ink - Doodlebug Design
Punch - Fiskers
Twine - purchased on Etsy  (super cheap and received a ton!  Leave a comment with information if you'd like her store!)
Sizzix dots embossing folder

Handmade Christmas gifts/cards

The weather has finally (finally!) cooled down here and I'm itching to make some Christmas gifts and put up our decorations!  I usually wait until the day after Thanksgiving to put everything up but this year I'm really feeling the spirit early. :)

I haven't been scrapping much lately, but I have been able to make a few Christmas cards and two sets of DIY coasters.  Making your own coasters is so easy!  I used scrapping booking paper for these, but I plan on making a few with a cute stamp as well. (seriously, just do a Google search and you'll find tons of tutorials that show how easy!)

I took this picture last night so it's not the greatest but you can get the gist of it. :)

All you need to do this is:

4x4 tiles from any home improvement store --I bought these for 16 cents a piece!
scrapbooking paper --1sheet will finish 9 tiles
Mod Podge -- can be found at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, etc.  Use a coupon!
Acrylic Sealer
Foam brush
Felt pads or cork board for backing

I'm trying to finish enough cards that I won't have to buy any this year, and I'm on a pretty good role so far. Here's a few I've done!

And so begins our journey...

Last week I started following 2 Teaching Mommies in hopes of finding great ideas for homeschooling our lil' man.  He turned 3 in July (wow, where does the time go!?) and I've been searching for lesson plans that incorporate God and not just the regular "abc" material.  I am so happy I found their blog!!

Madonna and Amber make it so easy to teach.  Other than working with the Korean children while we were stationed in Korea (their material was already determined), I haven't had any experience.  I was so excited to find their weekly lessons FREE for download which also includes extra optional ideas as well as all the links you'll need.  How handy is that!?   Plus, they have a free giveaway that goes perfect with their first weekly lesson.  Head on over and check them out!

A few pictures of P in action:

We colored the letter B and he was gluing pictures of different body parts onto the B. He also glued pom-poms onto the number "2" but for some reason, I don't have pictures of that.  Hmm...sneaky pictures.

Today we'll be finishing up the 3 day lesson plan and will begin week 2 - my family, my home.  I can't wait and neither can he! :)

Thinking of Ewe

I've been wanting to play with the Songbird and Just Because cartridges and I finally got a chance today.  I love the font on Songbird and Just Because has some fun options!  

Materials & Techniques:
Sheep and "Ewe" - Just Because cut at 5.5"
"Thinking of" - Songbird cut at 1.25"
Patterned papers - My Mind's Eye-Summer Song 
Pen - Creative Memories
3 dots embossing folder - Sizzix
Ink - Studio G
Dimensionals - Paper Studio
Gypsy

You Wind Me Up!

How cute is this card from Recollections?  It's perfect for a fun boyish LO or card...and those are sometimes hard to find!  


For this card I used Fancy Pants Star paper.  I stamped the robot twice and then cut the body out to add a little extra to the card.  I used dimensionals to raise the card stock as well as the body of the robot.  

Wow! That's all I can say!

I'm a huge fan of Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes over at www.skinnytaste.com as some of you may know.  (I'm not going to lie, I talk about it a lot. haha)  Tonight I tried her recipe for Grilled Peaches and wow!  It was so delicious!!  I had to restrain myself from licking my plate. :)

This was the first time I tried greek yogurt and I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was pretty good!  Click "grilled peaches" above for the link to the recipe.  You won't be sorry!