christmas cheer

and some extra time!

always a great combination!!!!

these are really simple...but thought i'd share.

gift card holders. perfect for using scraps! if your gift card came with a card...just use that as your template. voila!

i covered some chocolate bars with paper. easy! just like wrapping presents...but actually easier...no fancy corner folding. add a ribbon. i used some ranger dimensional pearls to write "yum!". doesn't it look like chocolate?! {i have to add....the paint is dry...and still shiny!}

and so fun to do this! inside is a packet of hot chocolate. i didn't add anything fancy here. unless you consider a sticker fancy. i think a swirly stamp or even a christmas themed stamp would be cool on the plain cardstock.

i still have a huge box of chocolate bars and coffees left over from the playschool fundraiser. i had an idea of maybe dressing up the bars a bit....maybe use more scraps....and sell the whole lot?! i just hope it does the trick. they don't taste bad...but everyone sees the bar as just another fundraiser....

my friend, Heather, always says to not hoard your favourite supplies. i am so bad. i fall in love with paper and its' accessories so easily. unless it is for a layout or project that i have total confidence in...i have a hard time putting that first cut in the paper or even opening that new package. it sounds so ridiculous when i type it out....but it is a big problem for me. for real.

so i'm working on it.

hopefully you'll soon see some evidence of this.

i have the biggest stacks of OA, PP, and SFL....i'll just keep chanting "must use, must use, must use...."

i have been so amazed at how much i have been able to do with the Basic Grey Wassail paper, die-cut stickers, letter stickers and chipboard shapes.

i made three banners. one set of framed letters. you may have also recognized it on the above photos {chocolate bars and hot chocolate wrappers}.

i only bought one of each of the patterned papers.

then i bought more! some of my friends keep asking me to show them how to do some of my paper crafting. the banner was so easy and fun, i hosted a banner making class with them! and now i have more of the good stuff left over. i'm thinking Christmas cards for next year....

but i still have lots of Christmas photos to scrapbook....

i used some of the fun stuff on these layouts.
this photo was from last year.

i think it as Heather and Roslyn {my Thursday night gals from the last year} that mentioned the awesome-ness of the sakura glue pen. i've probably mentioned it before. those girls are so smart!! i used that pen to draw my swirls and then added white doodlebug sugar coating glitter. my new friend, Heather KP, used these little microbeads on one of her albums at the store. i tried them with my glue pen...success!! aren't they neat-o?! and i traced the chipboard letters with the pen...and Martha Stewart glittered them. and one of my first layouts in a long time that did not have ribbon. there was a time - not long ago - that i never used any form of glitter. i guess that day is passed...

this is the 'santa photo' from this year.

all Basic Grey Wassail...

more microbeads....

and some ranger distressed stickles.

and some Jenni Bowlin to mix it all up! lol.

i also used to use "hidden journalling" ALL the time. i brought it back into this layout. it was a last minute entry!

i almost forgot. i think i'm going to make one more ornament. using the same papers. go figure! we'll see if that ends up happening....