Advent is a time for preparation...

Thought it was about time to get back into blogging, since I haven't posted in FOREVER!!!  Life does get in the way, sometimes!

Anyway, I love the season of Advent!  Preparing for Jesus' coming...  Celebrating His historic debut AND looking forward to His return to reign!

With that in mind, I just finished a project that my family and I can enjoy for years to come...  I was inspired by an advent calendar posted last year by a talented paper-crafter -- Sharon Harnist!  She used an MDF kit by Kaisercraft to make her own calendar and I loved it so much, I had to buy one, too!

I've been collecting little pretties for this for over a year now, and I think it came together nicely...  But, I have to say, it is IMPOSSIBLE to find any beautiful scrapbooking paper that has sacred images on it.  SO, I made do with a set of background papers by Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby brand) and then found a GREAT nativity pop-up card and some paper "scraps" at D. Blumchen Co. for the centerpiece!  LOVE DBC!!!  They have some wonderful German crafting things, including the old-style lametta tinsel, glass glitter, Dresdens, etc.!

Without futher ado, here are some pix of the finished product -- hope you like it!  To quote my eldest son, "there's a lot going on" here, but that's what makes it fun, eh?  :)

Blessings to you and yours, this Advent season and at Christmas!

M.

A Gift Set!

Here is a gift I made for my sweet little friend, whose mom asked me to be with her in the delivery room while she was being born. I must say, that was quite an honor!

And, now, little Paris is 4 years old -- hard to believe!!! Her birthday was today, and this is what I gave her to show her how special she is...

This tin is one of the mini-CD tins I got from eclectic Paperie (http://www.eclecticpaperie.com/) a while back. It was the PERFECT size for what I was planning to put into it! All I had to do was remove the innards, add a pretty designer paper to the top & Bottom, and embellish!

The background designer paper is by Fancy Pants. The flowers are Prima. Everything else is by Stampin' Up!

I clear-embossed the bird image twice, using Old Olive Craft Ink and Glassy Glaze embossing powder. This gave it a great dimensional look that I couldn't help but touch all the time! LOL!!!

This next picture is the tin opened. I cut some quilt batting to fit the top and bottom of the tin, and used Monoadhesive to stick it down.

I also made a little insert, to be used as the birthday greeting "card." It sits on top of the gift.

If you flip the insert over, it looks like this. The ribbon holds the accordion-folded note closed.

Underneath, is a bracelet and earring set I made for her. They fit so nicely -- like they were intended to be there all along!

Since garnet is the birthstone for January, I HAD to use it for this set. The other beads are gold-plate. Kind of a "regal" combination, don't you think?

Paris let me put her bracelet on her wrist today and it looked so sweet on her!

And, here is the complete set. Hope you like it -- I was was very happy with how it came out!

Thanks for looking!

Blessings,

M.

Quick Update!

Hey!

It's time for me to get back into my blogging... It's been suffering terribly from neglect, but I hope to rectify that from here on out.

Before I start posting projects, though, I want to share that my family and I will NOT be moving away from here anytime in the forseeable future. That's right... Due to the current economy and the tech industry, the Singapore Project is, for all intents and purposes, dead. We will not be moving overseas, as far as we know. Bummer for us, since we won't have the cool experience of expatriation and being able to check out so many different countries within a reasonable distance from our home, but that's how it goes. I'm sure God has a plan for all of this. I just wish I knew what it is! LOL!!!

So, that's the big news from here... Now I get to start posting some fun stuff again!

Blessings,

M.

What's in a Name... ???

No doubt you've heard all kinds of sayings about names... How important a good name is, how much better it is to have a good name than riches, etc... I've always had a "thing" about names. I've always wanted to be sure I spell others' names correctly (and that they spell mine correctly, too), always been interested in how people's names were chosen, what the name means in the original language, and so on...

So, I suppose it comes as no surprise that, now, I have a framed name picture hanging in my living room!!! LOL!!!

Remember all the stamped "name frames" that were REALLY popular a year or two ago? I sort of took that idea and built on it a little... Here's what it looks like and what I did:

My surname is now Japanese, thanks to my DH, and my maiden name was German! I like to tease him that our union represents the "axis" nations in WWII... Weird, but true! LOL!!! Never mind that we BOTH are citizens of the USA, and our families had been, as well, before WWII! LOL!!!

Anyway, wanting to create a piece of framed art based on our surname, I asked a dear friend, who is from Japan, to do our name in Japanese calligraphy (kanji) for me. She sweetly obliged and her work is featured in the top portion of the piece.

The other section of the piece spells out our name vertically, with each letter of our name as the first letter in a Bible scripture that means a lot to us. I tried to come up with scriptures that were representative of our family in some way, and here is the result (all from the KJV):

A -- As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, o God. Psalm 42:1

R -- Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice. Pilippians 4:4

I --It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect. Psalm 18:32

M -- Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with singing. Psalm 100:1,2

A -- And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Psalm 9:10

I printed the verses out on a transparency sheet, then backed it with a piece of brushed gold CS, attaching it with gold mini-brads.

After creating the art panel, my next step was to cover the mat with some washi paper that coordinates with my family room decor.

The frame with the filleted mat is actually one I picked up at Fred Meyer(?), with a different piece of art in it. I just liked the frame and, since the picture was on a great sale, I figured I could remove the original work and insert my own! I have to say, though, that installing the fillet back onto the newly-covered mat was a little tricky! There has to be a way to make it a little easier... I just haven't figured it out yet! LOL!!!

Anyway, I'm very pleased with the result!!! Hope you like my little experiment, too!

Blessings,

M.

Birthday Gift for a Nephew...

Happy Labor Day! I want to take a minute to remember all the hard-working members of American society and thank you for your contributions to the American way of life! We really DO live "the American Dream," for the most part, and the USA really IS the greatest country in the world -- thanks, in part, to our citizens and the hard work done to make it so! OK -- Enough blabbering about the good ol' USA! LOL!!!

I want to show you another project I made recently, for a nephew of mine. I didn't make the bag -- just the card to match it! He asked for a University of Utah hoodie for his birthday, so we obliged and got it for him, along with a U drawstring bag, for hauling around all of his sports equipment, etc. The funny thing is that he lives in Colorado, so it's funny sending him Utah stuff! Oh well... Guess he's a fan! LOL!!!

For those of you who do not know, the University of Utah is known around "these here parts" as "The U." Thus, on the card is the "Happy Birthday 2 U" pun that I just couldn't resist! LOL!!!

This card is made with all Stampin' Up! products...

Stamps: Happy Everything; Letterpress Numbers; All about U; Party Punch

Ink: Basic Black craft; Real Red classic

Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White CS

Other: Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder; paper snips; dimensionals; bone folder (for distressing edges); 1-inch circle punch

It's pretty simple, so I'll spare you the detailed directions! LOL!!!

Anyway, happy birthday, Bret!!! Love ya!!!

Sympathy Card -- Psalm 23

Hey!

It's always hard to do sympathy cards, isn't it?!? Seems like it takes me a while to come up with something. However, it's nice when one has an inspiration source! I don't remember where I got the inspiration for this card, but I saw a great card made with the Psalm 23 stamp I used on this one, and knew I HAD to have the stamp!!! I love the script font and the oval shape!

I made this card for the mother of My DH's BEST FRIEND from forever ago... She and her husband were sheep ranchers, then cattle ranchers... But they've always had sheep! Seems kind of appropriate, eh?!? LOL!!!

Anyway, here it is:

And here is the recipe:

Stamps: Psalm 23 by Stampabilities; Lovely as a Tree by Stampin' Up!

Inks: Palette Noir hybrid; Creamy Caramel dye ink; various markers

Papers: Very Vanilla, Creamy Caramel & white vellum CS

Other: Black detail embossing powder; vintage mini-brads; Moss organdy ribbon; Distressor tool; Sponge wedge

I colored the oak tree image by first inking it on the Creamy Caramel pd, then applying green and brown markers to different spots, direct to rubber. I stamped this in the middle of the vanilla panel, followed by the Psalm stamp in black. After it all dried, I used a sponge wedge, inked with Creamy Caramel, to create the oval of color around the tree, using the script image for a guide and leaving the center un-colored, to highlight the tree. Next, I distressed the panel edges with my distressor tool and sponged that with caramel as well.

After tying the moss ribbon around the panel and affixing the panel to the caramel base with mini-brads, I decided it needed a little something more. What to do? I finally decided to emboss the oak leaves on vellum card stock and color them on the reverse side, for a subtle touch of extra color. I cut the leaves out and affixed them to the vanilla panel using mini glue dots. Tah-dah! All done!! It's a pretty simple design, but I think it works...

Another Manly Man Gift

Hey -- am I on a roll, or what?!? LOL!!! This is several posts in a row... Amazing!!!

Here is another gift that I made for my DH's birthday. This one was from me and contains not one, but TWO gift cards. Here it is:

This was made from a CD holder that Daisy (eP) sent me. It's fabulous with those little pockets already made! Since it is white already, all I had to do was embellish it!

My inspiration was my husband's love of sports, particularly football. He played in high school and was a full-back. Never mind that he got his knee blown out all three years; he still loves the sport for some odd reason! LOL!!!

The colors were inspired by the designer papers I used.

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Rough & Tumble (ret.); Lexicon of Love (ret.); It's Your Birthday (soon to be ret.)

Inks: Palette Noir hybrid

Papers: Basic Grey Urban Couture DP; Chocolate Chip CS; copy paper

Other: Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware (soon to be ret.); Chocolate & Cranberry grosgrain ribbon; Antique Brass Jumbo Eyelets; Tab punch; 1-inch circle punch

Urban Couture papers were adhered to both front and back covers.

The angled band was made from one of the tags in the Urban Couture packet. I just took another piece of the same paper and made another tag, a little longer, to attach to the wide end of the first tag and make a band. I placed both tags on Chocolate Chip CS, measured out 1/4-inch, and cut out the contrasting paper. This was attached to the CD holder with sticky tape I got from Taylor VanBruggen at a great price! After that, I attached jumbo eyelets at each end, for the tie.

Does it look football-ish?!? LOL!!! You know how the uniforms have all these ties and things on them, right? I was going for that look! LOL!!!

I knew I wanted the ball carrier guy from Rough & Tumble on the front, so I stamped him, colored him with watercolor crayons, and cut him out. The front needed just a little something else, so that's when I came up with the contrast panel to his side. I stamped that with the "Celebrate" sentiment, added the hardware to the top of the panel, and tied it off with cranberry grosgrain. Voila! The front was done!!!

I covered the inside of the holder in a similar manner as the outside, using various coordinating DPs, one for each section.

The sentiment was stamped on copy paper and adhered to the inside of the front panel.

After covering the white space, I needed to make little folders to hold the gift cards I'd be giving. The folder for right-hand side is square after being folded, and I attached the cute circle paper after punching it out with the tab punch. I made 2 tabs, so it would be easy to open the folder, and

offset them a little, placing the rear one a little lower than the front one.

The left-hand folder is also square, after folding it, but I decided to use a slightly different pull on it. Since it goes into the pocket with a circle-indent, I punched another half circle in the center front of the folder, to make a cohesive look. Then, I attached a jumbo eyelet in the back sid eof the folder, in the center of the punched circle area, so it would be "framed" by the punch. The last step was attaching a chocolate grosgrain ribbon to the eyelet, to help pull the folder out of the pocket. Done!

OKAY, now, I have a question for all of you bloggers out there! I seem to have trouble getting my paragraphs to be paragraphs... All my words are running together, regardless of how many spaces I put between paragraphs. What's up with that? Anyone have a solution for me? TIA!!!

Hugs & blessings,

M.