Paper Playtime, and a WINNER or two...

I am a little late with this post, as Paper Playtime day is Monday... oops... I have no excuse, I completely forgot :) This week's challenge is "Inspired by a Christmas Carol" I was inspired by Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Here is my card:



I just love this stamp! I bought it at my LSS a few years ago, but have not used it much yet. I think it is by the Artful Stamper. I stamped it with Versa Mark, and embossed it in gold. The paper is from a K and Co stack, and the Merry Christmas stamp is from Cornish Farm stamps.

You should all go over and check out what all the other queens came up with this week, and the prize this week is prett fab!! So come and play with us!

One final thing before I announce the winners of my blog candy. Any of you who saw my post from the Advent Calendar Blog Hop, will know that I was having a pity party that day. Nothing seemed to be working out the way I had imagined it. I owe all you wonderful, crafty women, who told me you loved my project, and who made me feel better about my work a HUGE THANK YOU!! My children loved the calendar, and I felt much better about ti by the next morning. I am grateful that you could see the beauty in it, even when I wasn`t sure I could. I wish I could give each of you a prize.

Now, on to my winners! I have 2 give aways today. The first is from the advent calendar blog hop this past weekend. The second give away, comes from the So Many Minis blog hop. The winner never contacted me and left no way for me to contact her except her blog, so I am redrawing for the CTMH background stamps.

So the winner of the Winter Wonderland stamp set is:

Heather said...
Love your ornaments! They are so cute!
ra6352 (at) gmail (dot) com

The winner of the CTMH stamps set is:

Sharon said...
This is just awesome Michelle! Love all those robots!! The Grandsons would love this! :)


Congrats Heather and Sharon! Please contact me by this coming Sunday, or I will have to redraw. I will contact you both and let you know you have won :)

I'll be back tomorrow with 2 more cards. Hope to see you all then!

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Advent Blog Hop

Welcome to Ruthie's Advent Calender Blog Hop. Ruthie has assembled 16 crafters, and challenged each of us to come up with an advent calender. I was so thrilled and honored ot be asked - Thanks Ruthie :) If you came here from Melissa's beautiful blog, then you are in the right spot. If you just happened upon my blog, then you should start back with Angelica's, and feast your eyes on all the wonderful advent calenders we have for you.

So, confession time: I almost emailed Ruthie at 2 o'clock this morning to back out... Do you ever have an idea that seems amazing but when you come down to executing it - not so amazing. When Ruthie first asked me to be a part of this hop, I was so excited. I LOVE Christmas. When my sisters and I were little girls, my mum used to make an advent tree. She would get a branch and set it in plaster of paris, and wrap 24 little wooden ornaments. Each day, we would open an ornament and hang it on the tree. I decided to try to recreate that idea with paper. I thought it would look so cute. Here is what it looks like:



I made 2 seperate parts. One has 24 little numbered envelopes on it, and it houses the little ornaments before they are hung up. The other is the actual tree.



The tree is cut from Winter Frolic at 18 inches, which is as big as I could make it - which I thought would be big enough. I don't have a 12x24 mat, so the tree is actually cut in 2 pieces, on my 12x12 mat. I just changed the mat size on my Gypsy, and then cut out half of the tree at a time.



Each of my little ornaments were cut at 2.5 inches. I initially tried to make my ornaments smaller, but the pieces were so miniscule, I couldn't get them to cut properly. This was the size that worked best - unfortunately they are a bit too big for the tree...



The idea is, that each day the kids will take a decoration out of the envelope for that day, and hang it on the tree, counting down till Christmas. Santa and Baby Jesus are saved for last.



The envelopes completely filled... which is how my children will see it in the morning when they wake up. Hmm... I had better put the dot on the I before they wake up. My son will notice that immediately :)



You can see the blank tree here. I used mini brads as ornament hangers. They are only pushed in half way to the paper and then opened. I taped down the back of the brad, so that it stuck out from the paper a little and wouldn't move, making it much easier hange the ornaments off it.

It looks a bit like how I imagined, just more cluttered. Tree to small - ornaments too big - strings to long, or too short - you get the idea. I had my little pity party, after hours of trying to get the ornaments to hang right, and look the way I had envisioned. Like I said, I first considered backing out of the hop, and then thought about taking the pictures and throwing it all in the garbage. During said pity party, my husband came up and asked how it was going. I told him I was really unhappy, that it didn't look at all how it had in my head. My husband looked at it, and said to me "Well the kids will love it". He's right. They will, and that is all that really matters :)

So on to my blog candy... I am giving away this cute little winter stamp set:



How do you win this adorable stamp set? It is so easy!

1) Follow my blog (if you don't already)
2) Leave me a comment on this post - You have until midnight on Monday November 29th to leave a comment.
3) Check back on Tuesday to see if you have won! My last blog hop, a winner did not contact me, so I will be redrawing that on Tuesday too!

I had a really pretty "next blog button", but my computer skills leave something to be desired, and I could NOT get the the button to work, so NICOLE is the next stop along the way. Thanks for visiting today!

Here is a list of all the participants in today's hop, just in case you get lost:

Angelica http://handmadebyangelica.com/
Dawnica http://dawnicakorner.blogspot.com/
Gale http://www.thehappystamper.com/
Janie http://www.typicalscrapbooker.blogspot.com/
Joanna http://scrap-making.blogspot.com/
Joy http://joyslife.com/
Mary http://cardztv.blogspot.com/
Melissa http://www.apaperjourney.blogspot.com/
Michelle http://www.mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/ - you are here
Nicole http://primpedinpaper.wordpress.com/
Raven http://love4stamps.blogspot.com/
Theresa http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/
Tracy http://www.craftjunkietoo.com/
Yolie http://yoliebean.blogspot.com/
Denise http://cricutmyway.blogspot.com/
Ruthie http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/

** Edited to add** I forgot to list my supplies - sorry :) I am not home right now, but here is what I remember, I will update later:
Gypsy
Alphalicious
Winter Frolic
Christmas Cheer
Joys of the Season
Doodle Charms
Lots of paper, including K and Co, Stampin Up, and various tings from my scrap box.

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Advent Blog Hop and Awards!

What an exciting day! I am in another blog hop this weekend, and I got an blog award from some wonderful and talented ladies! First, the blog hop. It is an Advent Calendar Blog Hop, put together by the amazing Ruthie. She has inspired a group of wonderfully talented crafters to make a unique advent calendar to celebrate the season. There will be lots of inspiration and blog candy to be had along the way. It starts this Saturday, and I can hardly wait!!



Now on to my surprise awards!! Four wonderfully talented ladies sent me this award, so my deepest thanks to Sharon, Jenny, Tara and Gigi! Thank you so much ladies :) You should all hop over and vist these special, talented ladies if you have the time!



Here are the rules to this award
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pay it forward to 8 blogs you have recently discovered
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about the award

So eight things about me:

1. I love to cook and try new recipes. Some day I want to take cooking classes.
2. I could happily spend aal day, every day crafting - making cards and scrapbooking (which I am SO behind on!!) Forget the job! I just want to craft.
3. I have never been west of Toronto, even though my sisters both live in Vancouver, and I have only been to the US three times in my whole life.
4. I adore movies. My favorite movie ever is Anne of Green Gables - I but Sound of Music and Love Actually would be close behind on the list. I am a huge sucker for romance.
5. My favorite color now is pink, but I used to hate it. I thought it was too girlie.. funny what having a little girl will do for you :)
6. White Point Beach and our family cottage are my 2 favorite places in the whole world. We feel so at peace there.
7. Christmas is my very favorite day in the whole year. I love the music (sacred music, not so much the Santa Clause is coming to town stuff), the time with family, making cards, and getting presents for every one, but most of all the excitement in my children on that day.
8. I grew up surrounded by music - my father and mother are both classical musicians. I sang in tons of choirs and played the cello in a symphony orchestra.

And the 8 amazing bloggers I am passing this forward to - These are all women I have recently discovered, they all inspire me!

Gale - The Happy Stamper
Michelle - Scrappin With My Bug
Paula - More Thank Favors
Kassidy - Inking It Up Crazy
Brigitte - Bricolage de Brigitte
Corri - Bug Lover Cards
Jennie - Earthy Scrap
Liz - Liz's Paper Loft

I have to get off the computer and get started on my Advent Calendar! She is created on my Gypsy girl, but not cut out at all :) I must get cracking...


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Paper Playtime Thanks

It feels like a month of Sundays since I posted, but it has really only been 5 days. Time flies!! Today over at Paper Playtime the challenge is to create a Thank You project, which you can interpret however you want. We have a great sponsor this week too! Digital Delights is offering a $10 gift certificate! I thought this little elf was so cute, that I decided to try my hand at a digital stamp. My second time ever... here it is:



Isn't she adorable?? I colored her in with my Prismacolor Pencils, using the baby oil technique. I also used a stamp from Stampin Up, and the paper is all Stampin Up. I am really pleased with how she turns out!

I hope you all hop over to Paper Playtime, to play along with us, and see what all the other queens came up with this week. I am working 12 hour evenings today, and tomorrow, so I will probably not be back till Wednesday. See you all then :)


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Recipe: How to make Venezuelan empanadas

A short video with step-by-step instructions on how to make Venezuelan empanadas from scatch using harina P.A.N. (pre-cooked corn flour).

Simple and quick to make, the half-moon-shaped corn pockets are filled with cheese, shredded beef or chicken, minced beef and even cheese and black beans (called a domino) and then fried.


Easily the most popular snacks in Venezuela, they are eaten as a

Look What's At My Walmart!!

Yesterday, my daughter and I went to pick up a couple of things, and you will never guess what they had!! NEW CRICUT STUFF!! 6 new lite cartirdges, and beautiful new expressions in pretty colors! I whipped out my cell phone and took a few picks, I am sure the Walmart worker thought I was insane! The pics are not the best, I apologize in advance, but I was so excited!! Nova Scotia NEVER gets anything early...





This one was in my cart to buy, but I didn't, not yet. I will though, it's on my must have list. The little girls are SO cute, and there are dancing animals too. Adorable!!


















Sorry, this one is terribly blurry! They look a bit like stained glass windows. The layer is a phrase.



I apparently forgot to take a picture of the front of Holly Jolly, but it has REALLY cute christmas pictures. It was in my cart too. But I came home with nothing.



These all look so pretty in real life! I especially like the purple colored one, however a new Expression is not in my budget.

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CCC #51

It's challenge day over at Cricut Cardz Challenge. The challenge today is to create a Thanksgiving card using any cartridge, and the colors brown, yellow, white, orange and blue. Here is what I came up with:



Thanksgiving was last month here in Canada, and one of my Dad's favorite Thanksgiving treats is Pumpkin Pie. I decided to make this cute little card in honor of him. The pie is from Smiley Cards, the free Gypsy download. The paper is all from Stampin Up. The stamps are from My Pink Stamper (yummy) and Stampenduous (Happy Thanksgiving), the ribbon is from Michael's. I used some chalk to try to give the pie some color, a real pie has color varitaions, and parts that have darkened a little more - it did not work exactly how I had hoped, but it looks OK. I cheated a bit on the colors - I gave the pie pink cheeks - it occured to me later that I could have used peach :) I also used some black, especially for the ink. I find color challenges especially hard. Every time I am told I CAN'T use a color, it is all I want to use - silly, huh?

I hope you all head over to Cricut Cardz Challenge, take a peek at what DT #2 has come up with, and play along with us.

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Fantabulous Cricut #36

A month or so ago I got an amazing new set of stamps called Simply Sweet Stamps, as soon as I saw the "caught a bug?" sentiment, I saw this card in my head:



Isn't it cute?? The jar was cut from Doodlecharms and the bug is from Create a Critter. The pink paper is from Stampin Up, the patterned paper is CTMH, the ribbon is from Michael's, and the stamp from Simply Sweet Stamps.

The challenege this week at Fantabulous Cricut is to make a Get Well card. I think this fits the bill. I am also entering this into One Stitch at a Time challenge, to use your favorite colors. Little Red Wagon has an anything in threes challenge, I used 3 little jewels.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to see my Design Team submission for Cricut Cardz Challenge. Have a great day!

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Kisses and TWO winners!

First of all, I want to welcome all my new followers. It is so wonderful to have you all here! Today is challenge day over at Paper Playtime. As many of you know, I am one of their Queens (DT members) I had a project designed on my Gypsy girl, and all ready to cut. With the chaos of 2 blog hops last weekend, I forgot about it (gasp!) So I cut it out today. The theme today is "PS I Love You". Here is what I came up with:



I originally planned to weld this shape together on my Gypsy, and make a shape card. My brain could not figure out the best way to weld it, so I gave up on that idea, and came up with this instead. I still think it's really cute! It cut it from Smiley Cards. The "smooches" is from Scrappy Moms Stamps, the paper and ribbon is all Stampin Up.

Some challenges:
CES - think pink
Other Lovelies - "K" - kisses

Now onto my blog hop winners!

So Many Minis winner:
Pink Cricut said...
I just became a follower and I love this robotz album--b/c I just got that cartridge!! I am always making mini albums for my daughter , but never my son-so now I have no excuses! :)

Cooking With Cricut winner:
Amy said...
Your gift tag box turned out great, may just have to make a few myself! Thanks for the inspiration and the chance to win some goodies! I'm now a follower and I will be back! LOL

Ladies, please contact me by Wednesday Nov 17th, so I can get your stuff in the mail before I go back to work on Friday, and congrats!!

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Holiday Baking Mini

Today is challenge day at Cricut Mini Albums. The theme this week was holiday baking. Thanksgiving was a month ago for us, so I focused on Christmas baking. Honestly, we don't do much other than cookies for Santa. Every year I set out with grand plans to bake, and they crash and burn, but I do have some favorite cookie recipies... Yummmm! This week I decided to make a toilet paper album. Each page has a tag tucked inside it. I followed THIS tutorial from Mary of CardzTV. Here is my little album"



The paper I used is all from a Chritmas stack from K & Company (I think...) I thought it was just adorable paper.



I topped each tag with black, and a ribbon. You can just see the edges of them, because they are tucked inside the toilet paper roll. Clever eh??



The side that has the patterned paper, will have some pictures on them. I have cute pics of the kids doing holiday baking from year to year.



I ran the toilet paper rolls through my Big Shot, to help flatten them. Then covered them with paper that was 6x4 (the width of my rolls).



The tags were cut at 4 inches from Sweet Treats. I will use them to put recipies on.



The rolls are held together with 2 eyelets at one end, for the rings to go through. The other end is left open for the tag.



I used lots of cartridges for this album. Sweet Treats for the tags, Cutting Up, From my Kitchen, Making the Grade, Sesame Street Font, for the words. Doodlecharms, Smiley Cards, Winter Frolic, Christmas Cheer and Mini Monsters for the little decorations on each page.

I think it turned out really cute! I may use it as a stocking stuffer for my mum. I think she'd really like it! Come back tomorrow for the winners of the blog hops!

Some challenges:
Bunny Zoe Crafts - christmas not a card
Easy Craft Projects - red
wee memories - use patterned paper
2 Sisters - christmas
Crazy 4 Challenges - christmas
Creative Cottage - for someone special at christmas

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Mini Album Blog Hop

**If you are looking for the Cooking With Cricut blog hop click HERE.**

Welcome to So Many Minis Blog Hop, hosted by the wonderful and talented Mary, of cardz TV fame :) If you have arrived here from Ruthie's beautiful blog, then you are in the right spot. If you just happened upon our hop, then hop on back to Mary's blog, and feast your eyes on all the beautiful mini albums we have created for you.

A few months ago, I made my daughter a Hello Kitty Halloween Mini Album. My son took one look at it, and asked where his book was. One of the ladies who commented on my post that day, suggested that I make my son one using my Robotz cartridge. So I did! Here is is:



I designed this album on my Gypsy. Most of the paper is Close to my Heart, although some of the patterned paper is from my scrap box.



"My buddies" is Zoobaloo, cut at 1.1 inches.



The word "friends" is welded to the top of each page. The pages are from George and Basic Shapes.



The robots are also welded to the side of the pages. I lay everything out on my Gypsy, and that way, I know how big the robots can be, and where to weld them on the page, so that the book show each Robot when all the pages are closed.



It is also how I knew how big the letters on the word "friend" had to be, and how I could fit the whole word on only 4 pages.












This is the picture of one page on my Gypsy. I laid everything out, and moved things around when I wanted to cut it out.



Here is a picture with every page visible on my Gypsy girl. You can see how I lined it all up so I knew the "friends" would fit and you could see all the robots. It looks like a chaotic mess when you look at all the layers :)




I then cut the pages out with cereal boxes, and cut out the cover papers. i used glue stick to adhere the pages. I know there are lots of fancy adhesives on the market, but this is cheap and effective. I roll the paper with a brayer after I glue it on. It takes care of all the bumps.

I was pretty happy with how it turned out, and my son is thrilled with it! That is the most important thing.

On to my blog candy. I am giving away these cute background stamps from Close to my heart. Here is a picture of it:



So how do you win you ask?? It's easy!

1. Become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already)
2. Leave a comment on this post before Sunday at 6pm EST. I will pick a winner early next week.

The next stop on this wonderful hop is Gale, so pop on over and see the wonderful mini album she has created for you. And just in case you get lost along the way, here is the list of particiants in our amazing hop.

Mary http://www.cardztv.blogspot.com
Drew http://www.scrappyhappiness.com
Corri http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com
Janis http://www.pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com
Raven http://www.love4stamps.blogspot.com
Nicole http://www.primpedinpaper.com
Jenni http://www.jenccreationstation.blogspot.com
Ruthie http://www.septemberninth.blogspot.com
Michelle http://www.mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com
Gale http://www.thehappystamper.com/
Sue http://www.suescraftymess.blogspot.com
Roxy http://roxpaperscissors.blogspot.com/

After you hop through all our amazing Mini Albums, I hope you come back and hop along with the Design team of Cooking With Cricut. You can find it in my next post. Have a great day!


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