Making a List and Flourishes Challenge

Hope you are having a blessed Sunday! I decided to share with you part of my planned small gifts to my ladies I am a "mentor Mom" to in our church. These are list makers, labeled "Holiday planners." The first is done in traditional red and golds with the candy cane striped twine on the buttons, and the second with non-traditional lavenders and aquas. The red and gold is stamped with sentiments from the Papertrey Ink set made just for these notebooks.
The mitten stamp is Flourishes, "Winter Wishes" colored in copics, then white shimmery ric rac is added along with aqua buttons topped with a snowflake and some bling. The doilies are Martha Stewart and are the perfect size to fit these Papertrey Ink notebooks. I used a template to cut the notebooks out and scor tape to glue the inserts of lined paper. They take a bit of time, but are so cute when finished!
Thank you for stopping by, I am still in the process of making Christmas cards and projects. They are my favorite to make, so mailing will still be awhile.
I am not in a hurry to get it all done, I would much rather take my time and enjoy the process. Life is hurried enough this time of year, don't you think??

Two Little Chickadees Sitting in a Tree...

The Shabby Tea Room is having a DT call and I am answering it!!

This ornament was made with the inspiration from the Victorian Teapot shown in the following post...I have two projects today, so please scroll down for the card.

I love Chickadees...and I love Christmas! When I saw the deep red and white from the teapot...I had two immediate thoughts, and one of them was Christmas!

The image of these adorable chickadees was an old note card I had and did not want to throw away. So I decoupaged it on to these glass ornaments. I followed up making a frosty scene with some TH crackle paint, flower soft for snow and white fluffy pom poms. I added a narrow line of glitter to finish off the edges and Pearl Glimmer mist to give it even more shimmer. The bow is three parts, white crochet lace formed into a bow, tied off with a button from PTI and crochet linen thread and hung with some pretty silk ribbon.

I am excited to submit this for The Shabby Tea Room challenge...and hope you will make a comment if you think I have a chance. Either way, I love these projects and have made something I truly enjoy and will use!!

Thanks so much for dropping in...have a blessed Sunday!!

What Child is This?

I love the message of Christmas. This past Sunday, our church included a Christmas card with a baby on the cover in our bulletin along with the invitation to pass it along. I was so moved by the included message that I am compelled to share it here.

This is an ornament I made for our tree this year. The stamp set is from Our Daily Bread Designs.

I hope you will read the entirety of the message.

Thank you and may you be blessed!

"Births are commonplace. They happen everyday, in nearly every community, in every corner of the world. For every one of those births, the mystery and wonder of life is celebrated by parents, extended family, and friends as they all gather to behold the baby. Yet one birth in human history surpasses the wonder and mystery of all others. Because in that birth, the God of the universe took on human flesh to dwell among us. That is what the terms 'advent' and 'incarnation' are all about: the Eternal One breaking into time; the King leaving a throne in heaven to take up a manger on earth, the Creator entering into creation. This is how, some two thousand years ago, God Himself invaded human history.

The mystery of His coming is only surpassed by the mystery of His mission: to restore hurting, hardened, and lost hearts back to His love. This is a mystery that beckons exploration, an exploration into the deepest longings and thirsts of the soul. Jesus captured the compelling nature of His mission when He said, 'Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Maybe you've heard this Christmas 'story' many times, but what if these events really are true? What would be your response? You can read about this mystery by those who were eyewitnesses of it, such as the apostle John and his gospel account in the new testament of the Bible. This Christmas, may you come and behold this mystery for yourself, and see if it is not the most meaningful discovery you will ever make."

Shadow Box Card

One of my friends issued a challenge this week from the Stamping Sisters in Christ blog to craft a card using the shadow box tutorial. The devotional this week can be found at the SSIC blog. The verse was 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see through a glass, darkly: but then face to face: now I know in part, but then I shall even as I am known. "
I was intrigued by this design, and have been hoping to use this stamp set from Our Daily Bread Designs called "Peace on Earth" since receiving it. This rich regal gold embossed paper was just right for this image, too, don't you think?? I mounted the paper first on another piece of cardstock before cutting out a center window with the Labels Four nestability die. The image was embossed with gold detail powder, then highlighted with Antique Linen ink. Gold dome accents were added. The sentiment was done the same way, then the corners highlighted with gold ink. The ribbon is from Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply store, it drapes beautifully and is great for framing images.
I loved making this card, it reminded me of gazing into a window scene and gave the image such depth. This is a 5 1/2 inch square. card. Thanks Peggysue for the challenge and the wonderful devotional.
I am so happy you stopped by today!!

Yes, we have no bananas!!

I have a few bananas, actually, still left in my freezer. Yesterday I went to a really fun Christmas workshop that my SU demo and friend held at her house. We had several projects to choose from and this is one I made a few of, a bread or goodie box! I had the box but nothing to put in it , so spent the afternoon baking up a few loaves of my favorite banana bread. I am going to include the recipe below, just in case anyone wants to try it.

This was a pretty easy project to make...but I don't have the exact directions.. I really like that it used only one sheet of paper, and then your designer paper was minimal since it only accented the panels. I like to give home baked treats at Christmas so this was a good one for me.

I just kept my loaf of bread in the little foil pan, but it was a bit big for it, so I might remove the next ones from the pan first, and just wrap in clear wrap and tie a pretty bow on it!

The picture isn't the best...we have snow outside...do you remember my last snowman post stating I could wait awhile?? Well, the next day we were hit with snow and ice, and that is early for October. It didn't make for the best lighting and two of my desk lights are out and have to be replaced before I can stamp or take pictures in my stamp room!

Okay here is the recipe from Southern Living. This bread comes out almost the consistency of pound cake and is a whiter version than most...I like the creaminess of it.

Cream Cheese Banana-Nut Bread

3/4 Cup butter, softened

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 Cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3-4 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in separate bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in mashed banana, pecans, and vanilla.

Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8 x4 inch loaf pans.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean and sides pull away from pan. You may need to shield with foil the last 15 minutes to prevent over browning.

Cool bread in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove and cool 30 minutes on wire racks before slicing. Yields 2 loaves.
Thanks for popping in, and I'll share a couple of the other projects in the next few days here. Happy Stamping!