On the eighth week before Christmas
My ICE Chicks gave to me…
a bunch of ornaments for the Tree!

You can have so much fun with these clear ornaments. They make a great gift all by themselves or a perfect addition to any gift to give it a personalized finished touch. I created a few examples of some ideas but really anything goes, be creative!

The best part about creating these ornaments is you can personalize them. You can use a name, a monogram, the year, or any other settlement you’d like. Here I added a name with shimmer stickers to a ball filled with iridescent filler. Just stuff the filler inside the ornament and “fluff” using a paper piercer. ***TIP*** a paper piercer is a must have tool when making these ornaments-just be careful they break very easily!

Here I filled my ornament with punched snowflakes . On the outside I used another snowflake with glitter and toped it all of with lots of fun ribbon.

I had many people ask me how I made these glitter snowflakes (also seen in week 1’s candy tin idea). Here are the step by step directions….

Punch snowflakes from cardstock

Pour glue out generously, ( I used cheap-o Elmer’s glue for this project and just a lid from a storage container). Dip snowflake in glue, you want good coverage but wipe off any heavy globs.

Place on scrap paper and heavily glitter. Wait a couple minutes and carefully pick up. (tweasers work great for this.) If you missed any spots re-dip in glue & re-glitter.

Then place on wax paper to dry. If your fingers took off any glitter in this process sprinkle a little more on. Let dry over night. You will have a beautiful dimensional snowflake to embellish with!

This ornament is probably one of my favorites. It is stripes of patterned paper rolled up and placed inside! Mix and match coordinating colors for a interesting look. I also found that papers with small designs and solids work best.


Cut a strip of paper ¼ of an inch thick. Using a paper Piercer tightly roll the paper around piercer. Drop in ornament, don’t worry the coils will loosen after shaking the ornament around a bit.


Rub-ons are a great way to embellish an ornament. Be Careful not to use any rub-ons that are very big. The curve of the ball makes it somewhat difficult to get a good image especially if the rub-on is large or has straight lines. I suggest if possible cut the rub-on in sections and piece together.

A small tag and special ribbon is a wonderful touch to this simple yet elegant ornament.

This is another favorite idea. Fill your ornament with ribbon! Its pretty and it’s a gift within a gift! For that scrappy friend make a whole set of ornaments, each can hold things like buttons, brads, bling, and so on!
wrap a label tag around the front with ribbon and personalize it with a special message!

enjoy!

***HeatheR***

Harvest Surprise

This week's Inspiration Tuesday project was created by a wonderful crafty freind of mine -Tricia Smith. Tricia surprised me the other day with this super cute harvest themed gift that I thought was so stinkin' cute and clever, I had to share.

First, the adorable card is very cute! Notice the pumpkin on the card was created with three ovals. Then there is also the super cute pumpkin decoration that I received as my gift. The pumpkin is made by covering a roll of toilet paper with fun harvest colored fabric! How cute is that?! I didn't dare deconstruct it too much, but I did take a peek to see how she made the pumpkin. She placed the roll of toilet paper in the center of the fabric. Then folded and tucked the fabric into the center of the core of the toilet paper. For the stem she rolled up some craft colored paper with one end rolled up tighter at one end. The, she added fun pipe cleaners that appear to have been wrapped around a pen or pencil to give it curlies.

Hopefully my sweet gift will inspire some of you to possibly make your own harvest surprise for another lucky person. Thank you Tricia, my wonderful friend!

Tracy :)

Thanks a latte!

On the 9th week of Christmas

my ICE Chicks gave to me...

A cute mug to hold coffee!

Better a little late then never right? Sorry for those on pins & needles waiting for the next Christmas inspiration project, my hubby & I spent 6 lovely days aboard a cruise ship visiting the Mexican Riviera…and as much as I love creating and sending you all great inspiration…I didn’t miss the computer one tiny bit; and I’ve have had a hard time getting back in the grove! BUT, I didn’t forget you…so even though week 9 is a little late, you can be glad to get doubly inspired this week (week 8 will be up in a few days!)

This project is for all the Bella fans! I created this darling coffee mug using latteabella (why of course!).
You can usually find these create-your-own type mugs at your local craft store, discount store at the holidays. I also found them (very reasonably priced) here… http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=26/2154&mode=Searching&erec=2&D=coffee+mug&Ntt=coffee+mug&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Color+Your+Own%21+Dad+Artist+Travel+Mug
***TIP*** when you create your mug watch how many layers of paper you use, although different brands may vary-but my mug had less space at the top of the mug than the middle/bottom, so ended up having to change my design to get it to fit inside.
Use the original insert as your guide to cutting your background papers, you will need to have everything curved so that once inside it all lays flat and has nice finished edges (this includes any strips of paper used in the design)

To make any gift *WoW* add special touches. This is simple with handmade gifts because you can use the same supplies to create additional coordinating gifts. Here I created a pocket for some coca, a baggie of mini marshmallows with a cute topper, and a gift tag. Wrap this all up with some cellophane and you look like you spent a fortune! This is great because you can customize the gift to the recipient’s likes and personality too!

Enjoy!
***HeatheR***

Guest Designer - Courtney

Our guest designer this week is Courtney Holgate. Courtney joined in a "Trading Faces" swap with the Idaho Scrappers, where she did a layout with pictures from Heather.

Thank you, Courtney, the layout is amazing!

Imagine the pressure that I felt, after signing up for a Trading Faces swap for the first time, getting Heather, one of the most admired scrapbookers and photographers in the group, as a partner. I knew instantly that I had to really bring it in order to do the super cute pictures of her daughter Abby justice.

After going through my stack of designer paper to see what jumped out to me, I decided on a couple of sheets from Phoebe by Basic Grey.


Sometimes I find that designer paper with large elements is difficult to work with since you don't want to cover up the large portions of the paper. I mean, that's the entire point of the design paper right? So working with this paper and the enlarged photograph of Abby, I decided to cut along the large flowers of the patterned paper and layer them over the photograph and the title block. After cutting the flowers out with an Exacto knife and sliding the picture or the title block underneath the cut out portions, I used a little pop dot to add a little dimension to the over all layout. This technique aloud me to use the enlarged photo+title block+designer paper, without loosing the large elements of the designer paper that I loved so much.


After trying to think of something a little more cleaver, I finally decided on "Beautiful Ballerina" for my title, creative I know. I thought for sure I had a Making Memories rub on in white of the word "beautiful" but after rummaging through my stash all I was able to find was black. I decided that, instead of going to the trouble of hand lettering or rubbing on each individual letter of the word, I would just use the black rub on and go over it with my whito Signo Uniball pen. I love that pen! This is an easy tip to turn rub ons white or just add a little white accent here or there.





Once I finished the title page, assembling the second page was a breeze, something I was a little stressed out about since I typically do one page layouts. I chose another sheet from the Phoebe collection with a similar pattern, repeated the cardstock used on the title page and decided on two 4x6 pictures, and a 5x7 picture (the 5x7 was my favorite out of the bunch that Heather sent). The two 4x6 photos were adhered on the ends of a 6.5x12 sheet of fushia cardstock, then the 5x7 was matted on a piece of yellow cardstock and I tied some ribbon around it. Since the 5x7 was my favorite photo, I wanted it to stand out a little more, so I popped it up with pop dots when I added it to the layout.


Once the basic aspect of the two layouts were finished I decided I needed to jazz it up a bit. I added pearls in the middle of the large flowers on the title page as well as on the corner of some of the photos. I also added some Prima flowers on the second layout to give it some umph.


Even though this was a real challenge for me, I really enjoyed creating these pages for Heather and Abby. I hope she enjoys them as much as I did!

Sonic Box

On the tenth week of Christmas
My ICE Chicks gave to me
an altered box that was FREE!

This weeks project is so fun! its perfect to give to anyone, but I especially love to give it as a neighbor gift. Its so cute and clever the recipient would never even know it was recycled!
In this tutorial I am using a Sonic drink holder. however you can adapt this to any drink holder or bottle holder. I have been known to save boxes from the fancy root beer, wine coolers/beer, or those yummy Starbucks frapachinos you can get at the grocery store. (they all break down flat for easy storage till your ready for your project too!)

You will need a drink holder, pattern papers, embellishments, & ribbon.

First you will use the box as a template. just lie on the backside of your Paper and trace, then cut. After you have all your pieces cut our go ahead glue them on. Then the fun begins…embellish! Have fun, I like to tie ribbons at the handle, and then add bits and pieces of whimsical all around the box. ***TIP*** if the pattern paper you choose does not work with the craft color of the box you can paint the exposed parts.



After your box is altered and embellished as desired, you can fill the pockets with all kinds of goodies. Here I made a pasta theme, with some sauce, noodles and wooden spoons. However, there are TONS of things you can do, make a family night box with candy, soda, popcorn & a movie, or fill with handmade cookies and candy (my favorite neighbor gift) or how about a mug with coca and a book? Be creative!







Enjoy!
***HeatheR***

You've Been Boo'd!

Fall is such a fun time of year, the leaves turning colors, the crisp cool air, and little monsters creeping out to play. Yes, Halloween is on the way! have some spooky fun by leaving a little surprise on a neighbor or friends doorstep, the trick is to not let them see you! Leave a treat and the poem below with the picture and watch how fast the boo travels!

I used this candy tin that I saved to make a extra fun surprise. ***TIP*** take a double look at that tin, box, bottle, or container before you throw it away. You never know what might end up being the perfect shape and size for your next project!

Thanks to the great inspiration over at splitcoast stampers for this spooky Frankenstein idea, and Angie at http://www.chicnscratch.typepad.com/chic_n_scratch/page/2/ I really enjoyed looking at all her cute monster creations!


Just cover your tin with green cardstock. Add a strip of hand cut hair, punch some eyes using a 1 3/8” & 1” circles. Pop a nose up using a 1” circle punch and lastly hand draw some cute stitches and mouth. Fill with candy!


This cute monster can easily be adapted to many types of bags, buckets, and baskets. he would be super cute made just out of a small green paper gift bag.



Now add these instructions and print out this cute sign and have a great time giving out some boo’s!



It all started with a little BOO
A knock upon the door and off they flew!
Halloween is almost here, the leaves are flying by
The pumpkins are ripe, there’s a moon in the sky!
We came by the light of the moon
to bring you this fun surprise.
Put your BOO sign in your window,
and pass on the fun! You have been BOO'd!


Instructions
Please keep it going by following these directions:1. Enjoy your treat.2. Place the BOO sign on your front door or visible in a window.3. Within 2 days, make 2 copies of this note, make 2 treats & 2 BOO signs.4. Secretly deliver to 2 neighbors/friends without a BOO sign.5. Keep an eye on nearby front doors to see how far and fast it spreads by Halloween




Enjoy!

***HeatheR***

Too funny

OK so I am a crime show junkie.

My daughter was watching Sesme Street this morning and I heard the familiar "chung chung" from Law and Order, I had to investigate. Oh My heck this is just too funny...

so for all you Law and Order fans out there I give you.... "Special Letters Unit"

And for you CSI fans here is "RSI, Rhyme Scene Invesigation"

Enjoy!

***HeatheR***

Teacher Jar

On the eleventh week before Christmas

My ICE Chicks gave to me,

a gift jar for a favorite teacher!

This play on words is a fun and clever idea for teachers, male or female. With a gift so easy and simple you can even spread a little cheer to other staff at school, such as the Librarian, PE & Music teachers, Principal and more!


“thanks for making me a smartie”

You could also add dumdum suckers to you jar and say
“thanks for making me a smartie, and not a dum dum”

Teachers will get a kick out of how clever and cute this simple and cheap gift is. All you need is a jar, smartie candies and a tag. You can decorate your tag to fit your teachers personality, here I added lots of bling with glitter in a fun stripe pattern to mimic the smarties. I used sticker letters for the thanks and smartie and the rest was hand written (have your child write it for an extra special touch).


Lastly I added a fun monogram with shimmer stickers and a ribbon to pull it all together.

enjoy!
***HeatheR***

Put it in writing!

I am not a very good journaler, but a few things have made me really think about how important it is to write things down. My daughter was here visiting a couple weeks ago and we were talking about things from her childhood. There are so many things that I have forgotten and wish that I could get back. She had an imaginary friend at one time and for the life of me, I cannot remember the name that she had given him. I just know it was something she made up.

A week or so ago, my sister pulled out an old photo album of my moms and brought it over. We don't know who many of the people in the album are or where many of the locations are that are in the pictures. So, what do we do with these pictures? No sense in keeping them, with no one to tell us who they are. Of course now we are really curious and would love to know about the photos. If they were important enough to take a picture, develop, and put in an album, then I am sure they meant something to my mother. I now am learning to at least write on the back of pictures, and make sure I know what pictures they are before it is too late to find out.

Along with this album, there were many things that I could see were my mothers own style of scrapbooking and remembering. She had newspaper clippings of many events and copies of things such as my high school diploma and pictures that my daughter had drawn for her. The one thing that really touched me, was one of the napkins from my wedding that she had saved. She didn't write anything about these items, but it was nice that she had saved them.

I also found some old letters from various family members. I have decided that letters(anyone remember when we used to write actual letters?) are the best journaling ever! The old letters told so much about what was going on with the writers, and in their own handwriting!

I have so many reasons(excuses) for not journaling; I don't like my own handwriting, I will do it later, I don't want to waste time and paper to just print out one journal at a time, and so on and so on. I have decided that I am going to make a concerted effort to keep a book of some sort and just start writing things as I think of them or as they come up when I am talking to family members. I am also going to at least write down the main points when I am doing a layout, even if I just write in on a piece of paper, tear it out, and put it in with my layout.

If any of you have a great idea to help those of us who are not very good about "putting it in writing" please let me know.

Nancy

Halloween Patties

Are these not the cutest things you’ve seen?!? When I saw this DARLING idea from casegj on splitcoast stampers I knew I needed to make some up for myself!

These are made using the same concept as the Peppermint Pattie Tin gift idea.(from last week, week 12)
Supplies: scallop punch, a ½ inch circle punch a standard hole punch, a corner tab punch, and a white pen.

Enjoy!
***HeatheR***

Peppermint Pattie Tin

On the 12th week before Christmas,

My ICE Chicks gave to me...

A tin full of candy!

Each week ICE will be bringing you a inspirational gift giving idea as we countdown the weeks to Christmas! (I can't believe we are less than 12 weeks away already!!) Make sure to keep checking back each week to find ideas for teachers, co-workers, neighbors, friends and more.

First I do have to have a small disclaimer here, although I am a creative & crafty person not all ideas here are original. There are so many awe inspiring ideas out there from amazing crafters all over the country and the world. As I find ideas I'm inspired, some of those inspirations may end up here.I will give credit where credit is due when I can. However ALL projects shown are handmade and created by me, Heather, unless otherwise noted

Of course ideas here are for YOUR inspiration, so feel free to CASE away! (Copy And Steal Everything) If you post your creations on a blog or web I just ask that you acknowledge where your inspiration came from, a link to my blog is always nice too!

And lastly we really do enjoy hearing your comments. let us know if this project inspired you! if your project is posted on a blog give us a link we want to see too! If you have any tips, tricks, or additional ideas tell us! Just click on the comments at the end of each post and follow the prompts. Its easy, I promise!

This weeks gift is so easy, cheap and so so cute!

These cute patties are all the rage in the stamping world at http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/

You will need a circle scallop punch (mine is Stampin' Up!), a 1 3/4 circle punch, chocolate peppermint patties, pattern paper, & embellishments.

After punching 2 scallops per pattie, embellish the front as desired (I went with a snowflake theme with lots of glitter & bling!). Use adhesive to adhere one scallop to the back of the pattie and one to the front so you have a little sandwich.

Like this!


Now do it again about 15 more times!



After all your patties are dressed. You can house them in a cute tin, the one here is recycled from my scrapbooking stash (it originally held chipboard). There's lots of way to display your patties from diecut boxes & bags, celophane, to altered recycled items like crystal light containers!

Have fun!

Enjoy!
***HeatheR***