Holiday Activity Day- Christmas Swags



For one of our November activities I had a dozen girls at my home,
each making their very own star swag.




JOY




LOVE




HO HO

 Even though I was the only person there above the age of 11- we successfully created 12 very pretty and unique Christmas decorations. I had several star patterns ready for the girls to trace onto a 12x12 paper, cut out and then edge each star in silver. We used sharpie pens. The girls got to try out my Big Shot tool to cut out scalloped circles on glitter card stock. We used Quickutz hand tools and dies to cut letters from the paper scraps. And then edged the letters in silver. The crinkled paper under each letter is a 2.25" x 5" length of tissue fan-folded, stapled in the center of the scalloped circle, then fanned out in a circle. We glued the circles to the center of each star. Then I helped each girl hot glue the letters onto the tissue and then hot glue each star onto a length of thick yarn.

Imagine something similar done with hearts for Valentine's, egg shapes and chicks for Easter, stars for July 4th, leaves for Autumn, pumpkins for Halloween. This was simple, inexpensive and fun. 

Merry Christmas from the Murdocks - Two Peas in a Bucket

Merry Christmas from the Murdocks - Two Peas in a Bucket

Yup- I am trying out a new feature (new 2 me) on my blog. Click on the link above to visit a gallery where I have posted one of my recent scrapbook pages. It is a contest and the prize is scrapping stuff. Scrapping stuff is important and valuable to me :) so your help is APPRECIATED! While you are there viewing my work please 'like' my page. Thank you!!

On Line Scrapbooking By Liz

This is a sample of the awesome kind of stuff my beautiful daughter-in-law creates.

Wow! I admire her talent. And I love how I benefit from her creativeness. Love these adorable guys!

New Invention? Under The Bed Venting

The problem: The furniture covers the only air vent in the room.
The solution: Redirecting air via tubing and a T-vent.

I purchased a T-vent, air duct tubing, 5 metal ring clamps, and two dryer vent caps from the local Lowe's. I cut about 6 inches of tubing to attach to the T-vent portion which I stuck into the floor vent, (after I removed the floor vent plate of course) to aid the air flow into the T-vent. I did insulate the gaps between the circular vent and the oblong floor vent with waded up fabric. I had searched for something the same size as the floor vent but I was not able to locate exactly what I had desired. So I had to put a round tube in an oblong space. I was lucky that the guy at Lowes actually helped me and that with his help I was able to locate the tools I used. Unlike the guy at Home Depot who just rolled his eyes at me when I had explained what I was trying to accomplish and what products I was searching for.

Using the circular metal clamps I then attached enough tubing to each end of the T-vent to reach the sides of the bed. I attached the white plastic dryer vents at each end with the ring clamps and faced them upwards so that the air flow is directed into the room, rather than heating or cooling under my bed.

I knew my project was a success when my husband and I could actually feel the cooling effect of the air conditioner at night. Now that it is winter it is assuring to know that we are not paying to heat the carpet under our bed. A+ for me!!!

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly offers exclusive layouts and designs so you can make your book just the way you want.

Sisters

Two of my favorite people in this world are my two youngest daughters. Among their amazing qualities is the way they keep their relationship with each other strong and vibrant even while they now live miles apart. While they both resided in the same home it was common to capture perfect pictures of the two of them together on a daily basis. What you see in the photos above is the way they lived every moment. Having the two of them in the same house was heaven everyday. Every girl deserves to have a sister as dear and true as Andi has in Amanda, and Amanda has in Andi.

Before they came to earth,

Andi and Amanda 

chose each other as

SISTERS.



I made this wood shape flower using a bit of scrap paper
from the Close To My Heart paper kit and using the technique
 I show in the post which follows this one. 



I love adding tulle, and ribbon, and bling.

I had no specific plans for this copper ribbon when I

picked it up just the other day at the sale at Archiver's. 

I decided it was a perfect touch of flourish for this page.

What is your favorite flourish for your pages?

I would love to hear from you.

Create something beautiful everyday!!!

Karen

How To Decorate Chip Board Shapes With Any Paper Pattern




Wood shapes and chip board come in a vast variety of adorable options.
The frustrating part is that they seldom come in the
color or pattern to match my current projects.

 


Using my Fiskar exacto-knife, Tombow multipurpose glue, a cutting mat,
and a bit of patterned paper I will show you how I turn
this wood shape into a beautiful embellishments to match my project.




Since I want to show the green side of this paper I will glue
my wood shape onto the reverse side of the paper.




I like the controlled tip applicator of the Tombow Multipurpose glue.




I place the glue side down and gently add pressure to insure a secure
and even bond of paper and wood. Using a stylus
I clean up any glue oozing from the sides before it dries.




Using my Fiskar exacto-knife I carefully cut the paper close to the edges of the wood shape.




When I have completely cut around the shape
it is ready to be inked, misted, glittered, or added to my project just as it is.
This same technique works great with chipboard shapes and alphabets.

I would love to hear what techniques you use on chipboard and wood shapes.

Happy crafting!

Karen