Merry Christmas...Almost!

Welcome my blog followers,

I hope you are all snug as a bug! It is quite blistery these days.

That wind goes right to the bone....

Here are some holiday goodies I have been working on...

Most people just LOVE chocolate covered pretzels. They are so easy to make!

I used almond bark (vanilla or chocolate) and the pretzel rods for these yummies.

The secret to almond bark is to cook it very, very slowly, on LOW heat! (You can also microwave it but I haven't tried that for a big batch yet.)

I break it into smaller chunks and start the cooking!

Remember-LOW HEAT!

Next, I added peppermint oil, NOT extract, to the melted almond bark. 

It has to be an oil based flavoring or it won't set up.

The next step is to dip away!

You can dip pretzels, cookies, candy canes, brownie bites,

OR

you can dump the melted goop over popcorn, cereal, smaller pretzels, candy etc...

I often go a little crazy with this stuff! ( I have even made purple and gold covered popcorn for a school bake sale) Purple popcorn??? It sold out!

After you dip, then you decorate!

I sprinkled them with crushed peppermint candies and placed them on wax paper to cool.

This batch was chocolate with creme de menthe bits! YUMMY!

I sprinkle some on the wax paper before I lay the next ones down to get some on the "backside"

All individually packaged for gift giving!

Each brown bag contained 4 different flavors.

Out the door to deliver my goodies...

Thank you Stephanie for the quote!

 The cute heart stamps are from a new set of PTI stamps! 

I may have a new favorite stamp set!

I also have been working on paper and ribbon roses! So easy to make...

3x3 note cards

I am so energized lately! I LOVE, love, love this time of year! Could it be because my birthday is right around the corner?!? Or maybe it's the cider and crunchy apples covered in caramel...

I have been playing around with a new stamp set I found @ Michaels and 

decided on making cute little note cards.

See, aren't they cute! I like them a latte!! He he he...and I don't even drink coffee! These are 3x3 folded note cards and the tutorial can be found on an earlier post.

I used black ink for the image and copic markers for the colored areas. I used brown, blue and the lightest shade of gray for the cup "shadow".

Super simple to do, really. I will be selling these as a set of 5 on my ETSY store.  They will be packaged in a glassine envelope and a yard of string will be included! I think these would be perfect as a gift! Or imagine a coffee gift certificate with this hand stamped tag on the outside. Just use a hole punch and tie the card to your package using the included string! Very cute, indeed.

Fall tags

Edit: These are now in my ETSY store!

We have had a cold snap lately and all I can say is BBRRRRR! We have been scrambling to find gloves and winter hats. It is cold up there in the bleachers...

Anyhow-on to more crafty goodies! I am still on the Marvy punch kick and these tags were inspired by the cooler weather. Our leaves have actually turned colors in two days time...Just beautiful.

Don't you just LOVE these tags!! I do! The stamp set is from PTI and is my all-time favorite (so far...)

The set comes with 3 different wreath images plus berry clusters and tiny flowers. Imagine the possibilities!

I actually have a berry wreath hanging in my dining room.

Here is a close-up of the wreath:

I used brown ink for the twig wreath and black for the sentiment. Burnt orange ink made up the berries and I found it at the dollar bin @ Michaels! 

Here's a tip: To get the various shades of orange you see on the wreath, just stamp your image then rotate the stamp and stamp again, rotate and stamp again! Do not re-ink! The end result gives a dimensional feel to your stamped image.

To finish the tag I inked the edges with brown, like always, and tied a brown satin ribbon to the top. Enjoy!

Christmas notecards

I have been very busy lately. Crafting, cross country and soccer games have my days full! But, I wouldn't have it any other way! Here are some folded 3x3 notecards I stamped. Use a 12x12 sheet of cardstock and cut it in half ( at the 6" mark.) You end up with 2 sheets 6x12 inches long. Simply cut 3" strips and fold those in half for the notecards. The cards measure 3x6 when opened.

The cardstock is Bazzill smoothie and the sentiment is a PTI stamp. The dove stamp is from the $1 bin at Michaels, ditto for the ink. You can't tell in the pics but I also applied glitter to the doves.

The sparkles do not show up, it just looks like dirt!!! Could be at my house...

Here is a pic of my batch on the dining room table competing for space with a bunch of Legos.

Legos are great UNTIL you accidently step on one! OUCH! We must own a few hundred pounds of them, plus Nerf guns, matchbox cars and dirt!!! Back to crafting...

I will also be selling these at my upcoming fairs. I will package them in glassine bags with a stamped tag. Perfect for little gifts, don't you think?