Happy Halloween Treat

 Here is a quick Halloween treat I made from the Matchbox Die.  Such a cute box.  I love Halloween stamps for some reason and this is one of my favorites. 

And of course my favorite little skeleton:)

Stampin' Up! Christmas Countdown Calendar Gifts

This year I made Christmas advent calendars for my families' Christmas presents.  I gave them out at Thanksgiving dinner so they can start using them on December 1st.  Under each window is a scripture they can read.  One a day leading up to Christmas day.  In recent years my children have gotten too caught up in the getting of presents and not enough into the reason for the season.  This is my attempt at reminding them about Christ each day.

I used the Old Testament (King James Version), New Testament (KJV), The Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants.  If you are unsure of how to find each reference, just click on the scripture and the link will take you to it online.  Each scripture testifies of Jesus Christ and his mission.  Here is a list of the scriptures I used.

1.  Isaiah 7:14
2.  1 Nephi 11:18-21
3.  Mosiah 13:33
4.  In your journal, write down your family traditions and what Christmas means to you.
5.  Alma 7:9-12
6.  Isaiah 11:1-5
7.  1 Nephi 19:8-9
8.  Resolve to be a happier and kinder person.
9.  Mosiah 15:1
10.  Mosiah 15:5-7
11.  2 Nephi 11:6-7
12.  Mosiah 16:13-15
13.  In you prayers, express thanks to Heavenly Father for the gift of His Son.
14.  Ezekiel 34:11-13
15.  1 Nephi 10:9-10
16.  Mosiah 3:5-13
17.  Helaman 14:2-3,5
18.  3 Nephi 1:6
19.  3 Nephi 1:15
20.  Matthew 1:18-25
21.  Isaiah 9:6
22.  Luke 1:26-31
23.  Luke 2
24.  Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24,  Bear your testimony of Christ.
25.  Picture of Christ (I used the last stamp (#25) in the Stampin' Up set 25 and Counting

I mostly cased this project from the Stampin' Up 2011 Holiday catalog. 

I made 10 in all.  Here is part of my assembly line.   I worked on it for over two months.  I have four little kids so I had to grab a few minutes here and there during nap time.  I found cheap 12x12 frames at Micheal's.  In some cases I put the white background on top of the glass and sometimes it was underneath the glass.  I'm not sure which will wear better over time.




Finished!  Thank you Mom for helping me tape most of these.  Whew, what a lot of work but the results are fantastic.  It is hard to get the real effect from a picture.  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

P.S.  I also made a 12 day version of the calendar as a gift.  You can read the post here:
http://findingmystamp.blogspot.com/2011/11/12-days-of-christma.html

Kids Digital Daily Checklist

I recently made a digital checklist for my little boy.  I used the square tag project from Stampin' Up!'s My Digital Studio (MDS).  I printed them out and put them on a lanyard he could wear.  He has a hard time staying focused and I hoped the checklist would help him.  I have printed little check marks that he velcros onto the colored square when he completes one of the items.  He is still learning to read so everything is in picture form.  I got the pictures mostly from free clip art I found online.  I will run through what each picture means.  I didn't have another lanyard on me so I used a clip for me daughter.  She can clip it to her clothes as she moves through the list.  I find this is easier than having the list on a wall somewhere that they have to come back to. 

  Before school he needs to go to the bathroom, wash his hands, eat breakfast and get his shoes on.  I created the sun in MDS.

 After school he needs to put his shoes away as soon as he gets home.  Go to the bathroom and wash his hands.  The apple represents having a snack and the book represents doing his homework.  After his checklist is complete he can do fun stuff of his choice.  I got the little dots encircling the 1234 stamp by laying it over the A+ stamp and then grouping them.  I had to first lay a white circle punch over the A+, then put the 1234 stamp on top of that.  Otherwise the A+ showed through.

 In the evening, he needs to brush his teeth, go to the bathroom and wash his hands.  Get his PJ's on, get into bed and say prayers.  We usually also read together but I already had too many pictures going on.  I tried to keep it to only four tasks to keep things simple for him.  The bat might seem a little odd but he loves bats and it says night time to me.

 I knew my older daughter would see his checklist and want one for herself, even though she really doesn't need one.  So here is a "girl" version of the checklist.


In the morning she needs to get herself dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth and brush her hair. 

 

After school she needs to put her shoes away, eat a snack, start homework and practice the trumpet.

 

In the evening, she needs to feed her dog, clear her dishes, brush teeth, put on PJ's and get in bed.   After that she can read for a while and then say her prayers before lights out.                                   

Stampin Up! Christmas Countdown Calendar and Wall Hanging

I was asked this year to help come up with some projects for Super Saturday (church crafting event).  I'm pretty excited to do it.  I haven't done much crafty stuff the last two years because of pregnancy and moving etc etc.   I have finally begun to craft again and realized how much I've missed it.  

The first  project we are  doing is a case of the countdown calendar in the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog.  I love the peekaboo frames for the Big Shot.  I haven't totally finished gluing everything in place yet.   I will tweak it a little before I am totally done but this is the general idea.  Not so much the quick and easy craft for an afternoon of crafting.

I have changed up many of the elements from the original to make it all a little more my style and accommodate the supplies I had on hand.  Some people are going to make the full 25 days and others will just do 12 (12 Days of Christmas).  I plan to put a scripture behind each peek-a-boo door.  Each  night we can read a scripture together as a family.   I  plan to use some of the scriptures from this church website:  Prophecies of Christ’s Coming


Once I get all the pieces cut out (there are over 100 elements on this page) I am going to do it all over again with a non-traditional color scheme of pinks, blues, and greens.  I will post pictures once I get it finished.  When I showed my sister the picture of what I was going to do, I said, "I know, I couldn't make it easy on myself and pick something easy, or possible for that matter."   She said, "You are your mother's daughter!"  And she is right, at least I come by the insanity honestly.


 
The next project is a case of a project my friend Leah Russel did a few years ago for a Christmas Stamp Class.  It is fairly simple (thank goodness) and fun to put together.  I've only added a few embellishments of my own.  I don't know where she got the idea.

I much prefer home decor and hand made gifts than cards.  I used the big shot for the cork letters, scallop square and the lined impression on the green card stock.  Love all the fun things the Big Shot can do, especially cutting through thick material like cork!  So cool.

A few random gifts

I love the Make a Monster stamp set.  The kids have a lot of fun with it too.  Here is a card I made in about 3 minutes for a little boys birthday.

 

This is a card I made for one of the teacher's at Jack's school.  He was less than appreciative of her contribution to his education and this was an "I'm sorry" and "Thank you" card all in one.  I used the treat cups from Stampin' Up.  The little tag at the top says pull and it lets the candy come out.  

 Ilana has lost another tooth.  I have a cute toothfairy stamp and used it to make a little case for the toothfairy to leave some money.

 Very quickly made Birthday gift for Jack's teacher.

A card I made for a friends wedding.

End of Year Gifts

Here are the end of year gifts I made for the my kids' teachers last year. It is a thin metal tin with their school picture and a matching pen and note pad in the teacher's favorite color. I had the kids choose the ribbon and decorate the tin with Stampin' Up rub ons.

Here are the Christmas gifts the kids helped me make for their teachers.