Santa's New Ride

I discovered these sleighs at the dollar store the other day, and thought "what would you do with this"?  Then as I walked on it hit me (not the sleigh) what I could do with it.  I bought this sleigh for the bargain price of $1.25 plus GST.  Brought it home and sanded all the edges down.  Traced out both sides of the sleigh, cut out the pieces and Mod Podged them down, and then covered again with a layer of Mod Podge.  Once all was dry (2 days later - used too much AGAIN), I used the walnut distress ink to cover all the exposed wood surfaces.  This took a few coats and in some places the ink did not stain the same.  Once all was dry I sanded down all the edges of paper, touched it up with a little more distress ink and TAH DAH!!!!   Now what to do with it???  Why, you can make a batch of chocolate bark or something else tasty, and give it to a friend for Christmas!!!  For this I melted a large block of Bernard Callebaut white chocolate and then added crushed candy canes.  Mmmmmm, tasty.   Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Vintage Christmas Frame

I made this frame a couple of weeks ago at a class offered by my favorite scrapbook instructor Wadean, at my favorite scrapbook store Scrapbook Memories & More in Sherwood Park.  We started with a pre-made fibre board frame (I will be making another one of these and will show all products in more detail later), used Mod Podge and torn bits of 2 pieces of paper.  The center is 12 x 12 and the first layer of paper was well secured to a piece of thin cardboard.  It took 4 full sheets of the designer paper to make this project as most of the layers are at least one thickness high.  We used foam dots to elevate the centers of the big pieces, and a product called Scrapdots (a silicone - glue) to raise the smaller pieces.  Ribbon was tied to make a pretty bow, and crackle gloss over the lists to "age" it, and lots of Stickles, and Crystal Effects to make the Christmas Tree shine!  Once the frame was dry (3 days later for me as I likely used toooooo much Mod Podge) the whole frame was inked with Tim Holtz Walnut Distress Ink (again took 3 days to dry as I may have overdone this too).  I think it is beautiful and simply looks awesome next to the Red Eye!  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Dazzling Details Santa

I bought this plaster Santa to paint because I thought it was perfect for Christmas.  When I started to paint it, I decided that I would add Dazzling Details to the paint, so that Santa's coat would sparkle!  Somehow, the paint "ate" the sparkle and I ended up with a red coat.  After Santa was all dry, I put Dazzling Details on my finger and rubbed it all over the red parts of his coat and now it sparkles.  It's hard to see, but it really is pretty.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

I LOVE to bake (crafting with food)!!!  My son's lunch always has home baked goods, as I do not like all the processing and stuff added to store bought ones.  My husband and son recently cut up a pumpkin and the insides of the pumpkin were scooped out and cut up.  Today I steamed and mashed the pumpkin and made muffins.  Forty eight in total!!  Should be good for a few days of lunches.  This is the recipe that I used to make the muffins, it is a recipe that I have changed and adapted over time in an attempt to make it more healthy:


Pumpkin Chip Muffins

4 eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 cups cooked pumpkin

1/2 cup canola oil

1/3 cup ground flax seed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups chocolate chips

Cream together eggs and sugar.  Add pumpkin, canola oil and flax seed.  Mix in flours, soda, powder and cinnamon.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.    Makes 24 muffins.  Enjoy.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Christmas Paper Ornaments

Okay, so now that the cookies were baked I could focus on the task of the ornaments.  Hmmm, what to do at 2200 hours that would not require all night.  As I was flipping through a pack of paper that I bought a while back (thought organizing the craft room might help come up with an idea) I found 2 of these sheets of paper.  I took my 1 3/4 inch Stampin Up scallop punch and measured it against these trees and it fit!!!  So, I punched out a bunch of these circles, used the simply scored tool to fold the circles in half, alternated front and back sides, used lots of sticky strip and some hemp twine and made these little Christmas balls for the tree.  My son thought they were great and took them to school yesterday morning.  After school I found out that the tree had not arrived, so decorating will be on Monday.  Now, that I have a whole weekend to work on this, I might be able to come up with some really cool ornaments!!!  The challenge is on.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...


Kathy

Ginger Cookies

I have heard about children who ask their moms for elaborate and extraordinary projects for school the night before they are due.  I always thought that this is what happened to people who "do not have it all together" as I do (HA!!).  While driving home from horse back riding tonight the voice from the back seat informs me that tomorrow is Christmas tree decorating day at school and that he is to bring in Christmas ornaments for the tree!!  Screeech (not quite the highway was icy)!!!  OMG.  So, I thought about this for the rest of the trip home.  Can't make glass ornaments (won't have time to paint and dry them and sleep tonight), so rationalized that 7 year old children would break them and therefore this would not be fair to the teacher.  Okay, then what is quick and easy?????  Well, my brain is odd, before I can complete something (even if it is due right now) I have to go through a sequence of things, so before one can make tree ornaments, or decorate the tree, gingersnaps or gingerbread men have to be present to complete this task.  So when we got home, I proceeded to make my favorite Ginger cookies.  The recipe is attached, and now I am off to make tree ornaments at 2200 hours on a school and work night.  I will post the results tomorrow.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Ginger Cookies

3/4 cup butter (or non-hydrogenated margarine)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add molasses and egg and stir until well mixed.  Add in the remaining ingredients mixing only after all are added.  Roll into balls and roll in sugar.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes (when tops begin to crack).  Let rest in pan 2 minutes as cookies will initially be very soft.    Enjoy!

Christmas Photo Frame

In July of this year at Michael's there was a Christmas in July feature where they had products and instructions to begin completing your Christmas projects early.  Since I love Christmas I could not resist some of these projects.  This one requires the wooden frame, a bottle of Mod Podge and some paper.  I first cut the paper and rounded the corners and placed it over the frame to make sure it was the right size.  A generous coating of Mod Podge and attach the paper.  Once the paper is down apply more Mod Podge over top.  I let it dry over night as I am generous with the use of this stuff.  I cut the Santa, Sleigh and Reindeer from the Joys of the Season Cricut Cartridge.  I Mod Podged over all of these as well to stabilize the paper.  Once these were dry the present and reindeer were Mod Podged down and over them again as well.  The reigns are from hemp twine from Stampin Up and the bells are from a package I picked up at Hobby Lobby in Billings, MT this summer.  Once all of this was dry I used foam dots and silicone dots to elevate Santa and his sleigh off of the frame.  All exposed edges of the frame were inked with Tim Holtz Walnut colored Distress Stain.  I then ran 3/8 Satin Quilted Early Espresso Ribbon from Stampin Up around the outside and the picture edge.  Finally, my son thought that a photo should be in the frame before it was posted so he did a portrait of me.  He even put a hole in the sweater (if you know me, then you'll know that's funny).  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Free Stampin Up Wrapping Paper

I recently found out that most of you did not know that with every shipment box you receive from Stampin Up you receive between 10 - 20 meters of FREE Designer Series Wrapping Paper!!!  Now, I know that many of the Stampin Up demonstrators post pictures of their children or cats playing in the boxes, yet no one seems to use the paper.  Well, I do.  Not sure if it is because I am cheap or simply because I cannot imagine putting all that paper into the blue bag, and then going to the store for brown paper for projects.  I simply iron it on a high cotton setting, and then roll it on to a left over wrapping paper roll.  When I need wrapping paper I take some off the roll and either use my Stampin Wheel or stamps to decorate and then wrap the present.  Very easy, cheap, and an excellent way to re-cycle.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Dog Beds

My post today will take a sentimental journey to arrive at the crafty portion of the project.  In the fall of 2000 my husband decided we needed a dog.  I agreed as the dog would stay in the garage and yard (right ?), however, he believed a puppy should grow up in the house.  So, in moved Cleo.  She was a black lab mix of some kind and over time I learned that she was not really a dog, but more of a little girl trapped in a dog suit.  She always wanted to be around people, came running for kisses and "Big Hugs" and carried a sock where ever she went.  She is still the only dog I have met that could run and pee at the same time!!!!  She ate everything!  Everything was fair game for her to eat and chew except for Milk Bone biscuits that she would dig holes to hide them in, rather than eat!!  When Cleo had only been with us for a few weeks, my husband left for a job that took him away from home, and although the plan was to take the dog with him, she was still too young.  So, she stayed with me.  I worked a lot of 12 hour night shifts at the time, and when I would get home to sleep Cleo would howl until I came to be near her.  Sleeping on the floor next to a dog kennel is not comfortable (really, try it some time).  So, eventually, it became easier to let her out so that I could sleep.  Cleo would crawl into bed with me.  Again, eventually it was easier to let her sleep with me than argue.  What to me will always be special about Cleo is that she never received any helper dog or medical dog training and yet she saved my life on several occasions in her time with us.  I would be woken from sleep to Cleo licking my face and no matter how much I would try to move her she would keep licking my face.   Once I was awake I would realize that my blood sugar was low.  For a dog who ate everything, when I would be on the floor spilling juice everywhere and trying to lick it up she would stay by my side and never drank the juice.  Once I was better, she would clean the floor for me, but never before I was able to get up on my own.  After when I was cold she would snuggle with me to keep me warm.  At almost 5 years of age on Thanksgiving Day we noticed a lump in her neck.  Knowing how she liked to eat things we took her to the Emergency Vet clinic to find out what she had swallowed.  We were told that it was cancer and that she had 4 - 6 weeks to live.  We looked into various options of which she qualified for chemo, but when I asked about this and how it would impact her long term lifespan I was told that after 26 weeks of radiation and chemo she would have an extra 6 months to live.  I chose to provide her palliative care which included high doses of steroids as I was told that this would be the kindest option for her, however, she would not likely make the 6 weeks.  She only made it 4 weeks.  To this day, I cry when I think about her, and I really do believe that sharing your life with a dog is one of the many truly great rewards of our lives, and so to this day I try in every way possible to help/assist dogs in need.  Our son knows of my connection to this dog and he has a deep sense of love for all animals and always tells people that he wants to grow up and be a Doggy Doctor.  So, as many of you know, I love to quilt.  As I am in the process of quilting there are always small scraps of fabrics and loose threads  that I collect and once I have a blue bag about half full I get some denim or corduroy fabric and sew cases in which to stuff all of these loose scraps.  These dog beds are then donated to various charities around Edmonton to help dogs in need.  This weekend my son and I attended the Scars Christmas Bazaar and donated 2 more of these beds to deserving dogs.  Above is a picture of my son stuffing the beds as he always wants to help with this project.  Hug your dog, and Hope this inspires your own creativity...


Kathy

Concept Homes STARS Lottery Home Christmas Tree

My dear friend Marion called me up the other day to ask if I would sew a tree skirt for the Concept Homes STARS Lottery Christmas Tree at the Sherwood Park Festival of Trees.  Of course I could not say "no" because this is my friend, secondly after all the years I worked at Stollery, I know, value and understand the importance of STARS and the VERY important work that they do.  So, it became an honor to be a part of this project.  You can read more about the effort involved in making this tree at Concept Homes, along with the notoriety that this tree placed 3rd in the competition (placing behind the green house, and the school division).  All of whom I am sure had more than a week to put this together.  The red portion of the tree skirt was pre-sewn, so all I had to do was applique on to a satin  polyester blend the letter H.  The letter H is present in all four compass points, and the whole Concept (bad pun) for the tree skirt is to resemble a helicopter landing pad at a hospital site.  The white underlay is added in to make the ring around the landing pad, and make the whole project look bigger.  The Helicopter ornaments were not made by myself as I was too busy with work and extra curricular activities so another of Marion's friends made them and I think she did a marvelous job!  They are so pretty.  The STARS helicopter at the top of the tree was wired so that the rotor would even spin.  Overall, I think it is a SUPERB tree, and the planning meeting for next years tree will be June 2012 (right.... Marion????)!!!  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Mystery Christmas Quilt Clue # 3

This is mystery quilt clue # 3.  I got it done today as yesterday in the mail was clue # 4.  Aggghhh, I'm falling behind.  Now if only I could get the binding on the one from last year before this one is finished.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Slider Card # 8

'

This is the last of my slider cards.  The first picture shows the dimensions at which I score the cards.  This is loosely based on a pattern template that I picked up about 5 years ago in Grand Junction Colorado at a craft store there.  The second picture shows what creates the slider (a ziplock bag because you can get a billion of these for a dollar at your local dollar store - you will have to cut about an inch off of the end and secure the pieces with sticky strip to create the tube).  When placing the tube to the cards remember that one portion of the tube is on the card front and the other is on the opposite cards back so that each card slides around the stump in the middle.  Dependent on your bags you may have to adjust the stump in the middle to create smooth sliding.  Fold the card up and decorate as you like.  Again, I used up last years paper!!  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Slider Card # 7

Almost the last.  Tomorrow I will post the instructions on how to make these beauties and the last one!!!  Knew y'all would be happy about that!  This one again uses retired Christmas 2010 Designer Series Paper, the Bells & Boughs stamp set and the Bright Hopes stamp set from this years catalogue.  The scallop punch was used to cut out the bells and the images stamped in old olive.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...




Kathy

Slider Card # 6

This is slider card six.  Again, uses the retired Christmas 2010 Designer Series Paper, and the stamp set is Bells and Boughs.  Colored with Stampin' Write markers in old olive, cherry cobbler, real red and so saffron.  Label punch was used again for the greeting.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Slider Card # 5

And now for card number 5.  This card again uses last years Christmas Designer Series Paper.  The stamp set is the Bright Hopes.  The wreath is colored with marker to get two colors into the image and the snowflakes are stamped in old olive.  The Bright Hopes greeting is stamped in old olive, punched with the label punch, and then adhered to red DSP and cut around.  I liked the striped paper border as I think from a far it looks like a ribbon.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Slider Card # 4

Meet slider card 4.  Again, this was created with last years Christmas DSP.  The holly image is from the Bells and Boughs stamp set and the snow flakes and wreath are from the Bright Hopes stamp set.  All images except for the snowflake are colored with the markers.  The greeting is also from the Bright Hopes stamp set.  The wreath is off set with an early espresso label punched piece of card stock.  The holly image edge is sponged in early espresso ink as well.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Slider Card # 3

This is slider card number 3.  This one was again made with last years paper, however, I did use a current stamp set for it.  The stamp set is the Bright Hopes set.  For the front of the card I stamped the tree in Versa Mark and then embossed with Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder.  Rhinestones were added to the front to create sparkle on the tree (and cover up where I oopsed on the embossing powder).  The wreath I used the Stampin' Write Markers to color the stamp so that I could get different colors on the completed image.  The markers were old olive and cherry cobbler colors. The greeting is from the Bright Hopes set as well and then punched out with the label punch, adhered to old olive card stock and then cut around very carefully to add accent color.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Slider Card #2

This is my second slider card.  I will post the instructions for this later in the week.  I did use the new Simply Scored Tool, and loved it as it did make these cards so much easier.  For this card I used the Bells & Boughs stamp set and colored it with Stampin' Write Markers (old olive, cherry cobbler, real red, and so saffron).  The presents are made with the 1" punch from the new Holiday Mini and the bows on the presents are made with white bakers twine.  The greeting on the front is made from the label punch.  The paper of course is still with my theme of using up last years paper!!!!  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Look What I Found!!!!

Look what I found!!!  While in Fabricland (remember only there because could not find brown Minkee at any of the local quilt stores) I saw this as I was waiting in the check out line, and I immediately  thought of last years Christmas Designer Paper from Stampin Up.  Now, I can hear all the gasping and clutching of chests as you exclaim "she has last years' paper - oh my"!  Well, not only do I still have last years paper, over the next few days I am going to show you cards that I made with it, and sadly... there is still some left, so it might show up again!!!   I love to make slider cards, they are so much fun to make and the end result is something I would classify as "top drawer".  For this card, yes I used last years Christmas paper, the Four Frames stamp set, the  Bells & Boughs stamp set, and the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set.  The majority of the coloring was with the Stampin' Write Markers, and the images were stamped with black StazOn ink.  I think that this card of the ones I made is my favorite, partly because of the fabric, and also because it just has a "classic" look to it.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

p.s. yes the fabric is going into the "stash" (fabric - not cookie), and some day it may be seen...

Remembrance Day

Today's post is going to be a little bit different than the others due to the nature of the day.  You will notice that my post today occurs at 1100 hours not the usual 15:45 hours that I usually post at (this post makes me think of shift change - so the perfect time of day for a new post).  I have mentioned previously how much I love things with red maple leaves on them because it makes me feel very proud and patriotic of my country.  I have had this idea for a card floating around in my head for a while, but Canada Day is a really long time off....  So, I decided I would make it and post it for Remembrance Day.  Now for any of you up on your history you will know that the Canadian Forces used the Royal Union Flag and or the Canadian Red Ensign until 1965.  This is the only flag that I of course know, so it is my tribute for the day.  The poppy of course is self evident in it's meaning, and now I shall go read John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields".  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

I Found My Mittens!

I love this snowman set, however, when I look at him I think why did he go to the effort of putting on a hat, scarf and even boots for a snowman?  Then it dawned on me that either his mommy (or wife) had forgotten to do a final inspection before he went out for the day.  He forgot or lost his mittens.  So, I fixed that!  He is now finally dressed to play outside.  I made this card using Garden Green card stock, whisper white run through the Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Cherry Cobbler 3" scallop square from the Elegant Edges Cricut (all you Big Shots out there will have a scallop square die that is the same size), and of course the Winter Wishes Stitched Felt Mittens.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Christmas Kittens Pillowcase

I think my grandma may be very close to officially being the old cat lady.  She also tells us that she thinks that she used to be a crow in her previous life as she loves everything that is glittery or shiny.  I saw this fabric at Jo-Ann's this summer in Billings, MT and immediately thought of her.  The fabric is full of kittens, and there are gold strands all throughout it.  I knew she would love it!!  Now what to do with this when Christmas is only a little over a month away??  I know, make her pillowcases.  So I put these together yesterday evening, and by the end of the month the box of presents should be ready to ship.  I know she will be THRILLED to get these.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...


Kathy

Christmas Popup Card

I love these cards, they are top drawer!  One of the things I love about having hobbyist status with Stampin Up in addition to getting my 20% off, the Stampin Success  publication every month, and a sneak peak at all the new products is something called Stampin Conneection on the demonstrators website.  This website is only for demonstrators, but has tons of awesome ideas available for "scraplifting", and lots of videos on how to make really cool things.  This card is one of those technique items.  I made the card using the Christmas Lodge stamp set in forest green, cut out the tree and placed on top of  a piece of Frostwood Lodge Designer Series Paper with foam pop dots.  The label at the bottom was stamped in Versa Mark and then embossed with Cherry Cobbler Embossing Powder.  The entire card was placed strategically in the Snow Burst Embossing Folder.   Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Christmas Treat Holder

I LOVE candy.  I know that there is irony somewhere in there, but it's true I really do love candy.  It is not often that I find a candy I do not like.  Of course there are those awful Carmel things in the orange packages that are given out at Halloween, and those designer flavour jelly beans that taste like dirt, wet sock and yesterday's fish, but most candy really is good.  I decided that I need to make a jelly bean holder because I really had nothing better to do this morning.  I started with a Window Sheet and cut it 2.5 " wide and 8 1/4" long, I scored it with my new Simply Scored Tool at 2/4/6/8/ 8 1/4" (the last score is for the sticky strip to hold it together).  The box base and top are a 3" square scored at 1/2" evenly around and secured with more sticky strip.  The base is anchored to the Window Sheet with more sticky strip to hold in place the lid is just put on top for now.  I used the sticker pack from the Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' Kit to decorate the box.  Then I filled it with the jelly beans I had left over (amazing).  Hope this inspires your own creativity...


Kathy

Christmas Mini Scrapbook

Today I decided it was time to brake into my Christmas Lane Simply Scrappin' Kit not just for stickers.  I decided that I would see if and how quickly I could make a mini scrapbook.  The entire project was less than an hours, I used only products that I had easily accessible, and so in under an hour I had the whole project completed.  The cover is half of a 12 x 12 sheet of card stock scored with the Simply Scored Tool at 5 7/8 and 6 1/8 for the seam binding.  The fold out portion of the album is 11 x 11 scored length and across at 5 1/2 " to get the four equal squares.  I did make a cut along the seam on the left hand side between the top and bottom layers to allow for easier closure of the book.  The pages are decorated with the Designer Series Paper and cards tock included as well as the sticker packages.  For the cover I ran a piece of early espresso card stock through the Snow Burst Embossing folder, stamped the Christmas Lodge Stamp set in Cherry Cobbler and Early Espresso ink and sponged the edges with early espresso, used a bit of 3/8 Quilted Satin Ribbon and foam dots to raise off of the embossed background.  A really quick and easy to make Christmas gift I think.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Birch Tree Scrapbook Page

So, while most of people are making Christmas cards and Christmas scrapbooks, I am making summer ones.  I must be confused..... (for those of you that know me - you know this is no laughing matter, but more a way of life), and I digress.....   I bought the Designer Series Paper pack of Frostwood Lodge because it has beautiful cottage Christmas prints.  A must have item.  However, one particular piece of paper did not put me in the Christmas mood, but more of a nostalgic summer one.  As a child my favorite part of summer was going to Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National Park (PANP).  It is still the best lake I have ever been to.  Waskesiu Lake in PANP is at the edge of where the Aspen Forest meets the Boreal Forest and there are lots of birch trees amongst the Coniferous Trees.  So when I saw this piece of paper I knew I had to do something with a lake theme.  This summer we were fortunate enough to find one almost alright lake in Alberta called Crimson Lake and it is located at the edge of the Rocky Mountains but in an Aspen like region as there were lots of birch trees there as well.  So, although it is early November I had to make a scrapbook page about Crimson Lake.  For the layout I used the 12 x 12 sheets of Cardstock from the 2011 - 2013 In Color series; the background is Pool Party, the lake is Island Indigo, the grass is Garden Green, and the sand is crumb cake with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz sprayed over top to look like glistening sand (ooooohhhh top drawer).   Stamp sets used were Summer Splash and Sunny Fun both from the Summer Mini.  I left the photo mats as plain white to possibly resemble clouds in the sky and will sponge the edges a bit once the photos are matted.  Then I had a left over piece that I had tried to score and make a lolly like all the cool people are making right now - that did not work out, so I made it into an umbrella and a toothpick wrapped in a glue dot holds it all together quite nicely.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Mystery Christmas Quilt Clue # 2

These are the two blocks that were made as part of the Mystery Quilt mail out that I am participating in from The Quilt Patch in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.  I am expecting clue # 3 in the mail any day now, so thought I better get these two done.  There are also stick arms for the snow people that I have not cut out yet as they are attached later in the process and knowing me if I cut them out of the fabric now, it will be 2065 before I find them again!  The bodies of the snow people are cut from flannel and they are sooooo cozy.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Halloween Cupcakes

My son's class has been allowed to have a Halloween party during school hours this year due to good behavior in the classroom.  Of course my son wanted me to make cupcakes for the party.  I looked all over Edmonton but was unable to find string black licorice as he wanted spiders on his cupcakes.  I made the chocolate cupcakes, the icing, painted a black stripe in the icing bag so that the icing would have a black/grey edge to it as I piped it out, and then put Halloween sprinkles on top thinking that would be great!  However, he took one look at them and the big blue eyes looked at me and said "Where are the spiders"?  Hmmmm, how can I disappoint that face.  So, out came the icing bag and this time black icing was made and I drew spiders on top.  Now, my drawing is terrible so these are the worst spiders ever, but it is Halloween, so I think that they just might do.  Kid response to these:  COOL.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Grade Two Treats

These are the Halloween treats that my son gave his Grade 2 class for Halloween.  I made these cards to fit over a treat size package of popcorn twists.  I did not realize until right now that only the french language portion shows!!!  The cards are standard size cards.  The base is Old Olive card stock, followed by a layer of basic black and then Designer Series Frightful Sight paper (except for the star paper which was in my paper stash - not cookie), and then layered with 1/4" black gros grain ribbon.  I used my Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to cut out the ovals (white in 1 1/2" and old olive in 1 3/4").  Now everyone knows I love my Cricut, so when I saw that Close to my Heart was partnering with Cricut I got very excited.  I placed an order for this cartridge and the deal of the month at the time allowed me to get the "Wicked" stamp set for $5.50.   I thought that was a great deal.  The black cat on the oval is stamped from this set.  I am however a little disappointed in these stamp sets.  First I do not like the sticky feel to the stamp image, secondly I did not like the slipping that occurs with these images when they are stamped.  As most of you will know I use any product that is of good quality and am not "loyal" to any one brand unless I think it is clearly superior and in this case I do now believe that Stampin Up does have a better stamp. Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Halloween Pail and Foldout

Last week I attended a class by a Stampin Up demonstrator here in Edmonton named Krista Frattin.  I originally saw her pail creations at Regionals here in Edmonton.  After a few attempts at these pails with measuring tape and Exacto knife I decided it was time to learn how to properly make these pails.  So, I looked up her website (see link above - she has several class options for you) and booked into this class.  She also planned for us make this lovely little scrapbook foldout, and if you look closely on the first page there are mini clips with which to anchor photos, so that you can change these out yearly (and you all thought I just forgot the clips there didn't you?).  My son was not sure whether to use the pail he made at his kids scrap booking class or mine, so he simply decided that this pail could wait in the car in case we needed another trick or treat pail!  I think this is a pretty top drawer production, and so it will now sit on top of my shelf in the craft room until next year.  Hope this inspires your own creativity...