February Calendar Girls 2013

Welcome to our February Calendar Girls' Blog Hop. Its absolutely amazing when you do a google search the interesting facts you may find. Such a find is special and unique occassions throughout the year!!! These unique holidays are our inspiration. As Neil Sedaka sang in his song "Calendar Girls" - "February you'll be my valentine".

The hop starts with Kimberly at http://scrappingrookie.blogspot.com. You won't want to miss a single calendar event!!!!

The line-up for February includes:
Kimberly - Http://scrappingrookie.blogspot.com
Edwina - http://edwinascreations.blogspot.com/
Janet -  http://www.ladyluvbug.blogspot.com/
Miriam - http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com
Vicky - http://crafting-vicky.blogspot.ca/
Lynne - http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
Lucy - http://love2createitall.com
Tabetha - http://tabethascreations.blogspot.com/
Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com


February Occasions We Wish to Share:

• American Heart Month  Kmberly  
• An Affair to Remember Month
• National Cherry Month - Edwina
• National Children's Dental Health Month -Janet

2 Ground Hog Day- Edwina
4 Thank a Mailman Day - Miriam
5 National Weatherman's Day
7 Send a Card to a Friend Day Kmberly
8 Boy Scout Day - Vicky
10 Umbrella Day - Lynne
11 Make a Friend Day - Lucy
14 Ferris Wheel Day - Janet
16 Do A Grouch a Favor Day~
17 Random Acts of Kindness Day - Miriam
20 Love Your Pet Day - Jearise
22 Walking the Dog Day~
26 Carnival Day- Tabetha
26 Tell a Fairy Tale Day
28 National Tooth Fairy Day - Lynne

We have a super sponsor this month - The Stamping Chef, http://thestampingchef.oo.gd/index.php?route=common/home, who has graciously offered 3 digis of the lucky winners choice who comment on the Design Team Blog at http://thestampingchef.wordpress.com/and become a follower.

For Thank a Mailman Day I made a card for my mail lady. I used a digi that I got for free from being a fan of Fresh Brewed Designs on Facebook! I printed the digi directly on the card, colored it in with Crayola markers (cause I still can't find my Prismacolor pencils), poked a few holes to add some flowers, added some 7mm bling to each corner from my supply shop, and a Thank You stamp from Stampin' Up.

My other day was Random Acts of Kindness Day. I am in an amazing group on Facebook called Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) in which we send each other mostly cards, but sometimes other things. I thought I would make a nice card to randomly send someone in the group. Here it is:

The bracket svg I got here. The sentiment is from the Hot Air Balloon Collage set from TPC Studios. I then added a button (which I colored with ink) and a charm (attached with a brad) both from that I have received from people in the RAK group. The 7mm clear bling and the 5mm light brown bling are from my supply shop.

Your next stop along the way of the calendar is Vicky! Thanks for stopping by and mark your calendar again next month to see what Holidays to Celebrate on March 9, 2013, for the next Calendar Girls Blog Hop!

White as Snow Hop

Welcome to the White as Snow Blog Hop where the idea was to either create something that has white as a primary color or as the background. I'm sure some of these crafty bloggers got creative and combined both but you will only be able to find out by hopping along with us today...

Our hostess for this hop is Jearise from Lorby's World (link to - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com) and it's a good thing to start at her blog because she has a special give away of her own and all the details are on her blog.

We also have a guest blogger, Anita from Anita and Bugs, who also has an awesome give away on her blog.

Our wonderful sponsor for today's blog hop is THE CUTTING CAFE so please make sure you visit their online store to see all the wonderful cutting and printable files they have.

The Cutting Cafe is giving away to one lucky winner 3 files of their choice. To qualify, you need to visit The Cutting Cafe store and then "like" The Cutting Cafe on FACEBOOK and let Regina, the owner, know that you came from the White as Snow Blog hop. I can tell you now that if you like printable sayings and cutting files, you will love her designs and she has specials going on all the time on her FACEBOOK page.

Now on to the hop...

I used Vanilla Cream Core'dinations card stock for the base of my card, then added some beautiful lace that is 5" high, some 5, 7 and 10mm flat back pearls and some mulberry roses. This card was simple to put together, but I find it to be very elegant. I meant to put the sentiment, "True Love" on it, but I couldn't figure out how to weld in MTC. The lace and pearls came from my supply store, Miriam's Crafting Supplies, and the roses came from my friend Adele Garcia who sells them!

Thank you so much for joining us today and your next stop is Jaime's blog.

Final Line Up

1. Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/2013/01/white-as-snow-blog-hop.html
2. Anita  ~~~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com
3. Lucy ~ http://love2createitall.com
4. Jessi ~ http://mylifeinartsncrafts.blogspot.com
5. Jenny~ http://cccjalessi.blogspot.com
6. Tabetha~ http://tabethascreations.blogspot.com/
7. Penny (Kindred Hearts) ~ http://itmakestotalcents.blogspot.com/2013/01/whit-as-snow-blog-hop-with-lorbys-world.html
8. Tee ~ http://tee-myspot.blogspot.com/2013/01/white-as-snow-blog-hop.html
9. Miriam ~ http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com/2013/01/white-as-snow-hop.html
10. Jamie ~ http://craftygirl21.blogspot.com/
11. Lynne ~ http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
12. Amanda ~ http://cricktncrafts.blogspot.com
13. CallyAnn-http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com

Calendar Girls January 2013!!

Welcome to ourJanuary Calendar Girls' Blog Hop. Its absolutely amazing when you do a google search the interesting facts you may find. Such a find is special and unique occassions throughout the yea!!! These unique holidays are our inspiration. As Neil Sedaka sang in his song "Calendar Girls" - "January you start the year out fine".

The hop starts with Edwina at http://edwinascreations.blogspot.com/. You won't want to miss a single calendar event!!!!

The line-up for January includes:

Edwina - http://edwinascreations.blogspot.com/

Miriam - http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com

Lucy - http://love2createitall.com

Janet - http://www.ladyluvbug.blogspot.com/

Kimberly - http://scrappingrookie.blogspot.com

Lynne - http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/

Anita - http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com

Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com/

Tabetha - http://tabethascreations.blogspot.com/

Vicky - http://crafting-vicky.blogspot.ca/

January Occassions We Wish to Share:

• Hot Tea Month - Edwina
• National Oatmeal Month - Miriam
• National Soup Month

3 Festival of Sleep Day - Vicky

3 Fruitcake Toss Day

5 National Bird Day - Lucy

6 Cuddle Up Day - Janet

8 Bubble Bath Day - Kimberly

11 Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend's Day -

12 National Pharmacist Day: Lynne

14 Dress Up Your Pet Day: Anita

15 National Hat Day: Jearise

17 Ditch New Years Resolutions Day: Tabetha

18 Winnie the Pooh Day -The Birthday of Winnie's author A.A. Milne: Lynne

20 Penguin Awareness Day:Anita

21 National Hugging Day: Jearise

21 Squirrel Appreciation Day- Tabetha

23 National Pie Day - Miriam

27 Chocolate Cake Day - Lucy

28 National Kazoo Day

29 National Puzzle Day: Lucy

29 National Cornchip Day -Janet

31 Backward Day

We have a super sponsor this month - The Stamping Chef, who has graciously offered 3 digis of the lucky winners choice who comment on the Design Team Blog at http://thestampingchef.wordpress.com/and become a follower.

For my first holiday I did National Oatmeal Month. I love oatmeal and I eat it every day for breakfast, but I thought I needed to do something a little more fun for this project that a layout of me eating breakfast. So, I made a treat box for my daughter for Valentine's which has oatmeal cookies in it. The backing for the treat box was made out of a 5" by 7" card shipper (available from Miriam's Crafting Supplies). I took the side flaps off of it so that the sides would be open, put the whole thing on my Cricut mat and lined it up to cut a heart out of the front of the box using MTC. I cut it higher than I anticipated, so instead of transparency I used card stock to back it. Then, I cut the same heart out of paper and covered the kraft paper mailer with patterned paper (it is from a Recollections collection, I'm not sure which). I had to use a blade to cut the opening out of the back of the shipper to put the tab in to close it. The card stock I used to back it with is part of the scraps from my next project. Inside the box I taped a 5 by 7 cello bag (also available at Miriam's Crafting Supplies) that I filled with cookies and closed up.

The other holiday I made a project for was National Pie Day. I searched for a mini pie box svg and found this one at All Things Crafty and Delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make a mini pie, but those don't stay well, and I think that this will be my son's Valentine's Day gift, so that's ok. There is a piece of transparency over the opening on the top of the box. Instead of a ribbon in the slits meant for that on top I used twine.

I am entering these is the Creative Cutting Challenge - Valentine's Not A Card

Your next stop along the way of the calendar is Lucy. Thanks for stopping by and mark your calendar again next month to see what Holidays to Celebrate on February 9, 2013, for the next Calendar Girls Blog Hop!

Walkin' in a Frosted Wonderland Double Dog Dare

This month's challenge in I Double Dog Dare You to create is a Frosted Wonderland In the meadow, you can build a snowman, but the only question is will it be a one-dimension, two-dimension, or letting you creativity explode to do 3-d Wonderland... stay warm but we want it frosty . . . do you dare ????

We have a super sponsor this month - The Stamping Chef who has graciously offered 3 digis of the lucky winner's choice.

We have a wonderfully talented group of ladies that have arisen to the challenge for you this month!!!

1. Lynne Kirsch ~ http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
2. Miriam Meserve ~ http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com
3. Lucy Kelleher ~ http://love2createitall.com
4. Maria Matter ~ http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com
5.  Lisa Peters ~ http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
6. Anita Cannon ~ http://anitaandbugs.blogspot.com
7. Janet Smith ~ http://ladyluvbug.blogspot.com
8. Lisa Woodward~ http://mycraftyspaces.blogspot.com
9. Crafting Vicky ~ http://crafting-vicky.blogspot.ca/
10. Edwina Brown ~ http://edwinascreations.blogspot.com/

My project for you is my seasonal clock. I had planned on making a bunch of 3D snowflakes to hang in my living room to turn it into a Frosted Wonderland, but the time slipped away from me. So, I worked on my clock, which needed to be done anyways! I used the Snowflakes 3 file from Bird's Cards. This site was introduced to me by the lovely Lynne from who's blog you have come here (or should have). I used 10mm clear bling in the center of the blue snowflakes, 7mm in the center of the solid white and blue and 5mm in the center of the ones with the diamonds in the center. All the bling and much more is available at my supply shop! I also added some blue Stickles to the outside of the ones with the diamonds.

In case you want to see the one snowflake I did, here it is:

 
Thanks for stopping by on this wintry day and glad you could sit a spell but I must send you on your way in the frosted wonderland to the lovely Lucy's blog. We hope you enjoyed our challenge and perhaps, you too would love to be "double dog dared". Just leave a comment on Her Craftiness (http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/)

Next month, the challenge gauntlet has been thrown with the challenge, My Life is a Song on January 26, 2013. Hope to see you come on back!!!

Welcome Winter Blog Hop

   Welcome to my take on Welcoming Winter! You should have found your way here from Janet's blog. If not, head over to the beginning at: http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com, you'll definitely want to start there to get details on blog candy!!

     December 21st, the beginning of the beginning. The first day of Winter when the world sleeps for awhile to refresh itself for another cycle. This day means a lot to me. 7 years ago today my daughter was born. I have never been a big fan of the holidays, but now I have one I am truly happy to celebrate. This was the day a couple became a family in my world.

     So, I decided to make a card that honors both Winter and family. It will be my daughter's birthday card.

The polar bears were created by finding a png file on google images and converting it to svg in Inkscape. On the larger bear I used Stampin' Up pastels to darken the underbelly and back of the legs. The stamp is from Stampin' Up and I used Platinum Planet Brilliance ink to stamp it. The pearls and rhinestones are from my own store!

     Now, head on over to Candace's blog to check out her project!

In case you get lost, here is the full line up:

Ashley - http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com
Kim- www.puppiesandpapercrafts.com
Melissa - http://iamapapermaniac.blogspot.com/
Michele - http://michelescraftroom.blogspot.com/
Haidee~http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/
Gabrielle - http://www.gabyspapery.blogspot.com
Tabetha - http://tabethascreations.blogspot.com/
Sandy- http://scrapbookblessings.blogspot.com
Amy E - http://www.scrapthissavethat.blogspot.com
Christine - http://hotberrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Vanessa http://wwwpaperkraftsunlimiteddesings.blogspot.com/
Janet http://janetscreativeworld.blogspot.com/
Miriam http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com
Candace www.papercraftsbycandace.com
Crystal - Http://crystalscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Hot Cocoa Blog Hop

Hot cocoa on a cold winter's night will warm us through and through and fill us with delight. That is what we hope this hop will do for you so grab a cup of cocoa and start hopping along.

Jearise from http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com is our hostess and she has a special give away on her blog so make sure you start there to see what she has and how to qualify for the drawing.

Let's get warmed up here...

     I made a snowman out of baby food jars that were left over from my son. I never throw out things like that since I know they will become useful one day, much to the chagrin of my husband. It's not my idea I had seen projects like this done before. I'm sure if you do a google images search you will find quite a few. So, in the top (smallest) jar I placed the hot cocoa mix, in the next one down will be mini marshmallows (as soon as I get some), and in the bottom one Sixlets (cause that's what I had around).
     To get the right color for the jars I used Mod Podge to adhere the inner piece of a napkin (just one layer) to the jars. I also used some American Crafts Spark tinsel glitter that I won from Craft Warehouse mixed in with the glue to give it some sparkle! Then, I used 5mm black pearls for the eyes and mouth and a 7mm red rhinestone for the nose (guess it's an apple instead of a carrot)! The pearls are all from my Facebook Store. The scarf is a piece of ribbon from my stash, the belt some twine I bought from the truly angelic Jill Angel, and a button that used to be my grandmothers. The hat I made using MTC. I just made a donut shape and a long rectangle....

Thank you for hopping and please continue on to...Ashley's Blog!

In case you have gotten lost, here's a map!

1. Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com
2. L. Miriam - http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com
3. Ashley - http://thebloghopprincess.blogspot.com
4. Lucy - http://love2createitall.com
5. CallyAnn - http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com
6. Robin - http://scrapandchat.blogspot.com/
7. Melissa - http://papershenaniganz.blogspot.com/
8. Lluvia aka misses crafty- http://sweetbirdmemories.blogspot.com
9. Cicily - http://pinkdalmationscrapper.blogspot.com/
10. Amanda - http://cricktncrafts.blogspot.com
11. Lynne - http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
12. Sandra- http://365daysofcricut.blogspot.com/
13. Lisa - http://handmadewithlove-lisa.blogspot.com/
14. Katie ~ http://ktsangels.blogspot.com/
15. Anita ~ http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com

Calendar Girls December 2012

Welcome to our December Calendar Girls' Blog Hop. Papercrafts Presents 365 Cards magazine which is our inspiration for these monthly hops which thus became the Calendar Girls. The magazine has Creative Ideas for every day of the year: occasions, holidays, and celebrations including 42 unique holidays!!! These unique holidays are our inspiration. The December unique holidays are:

The hop starts with Lucy, http://love2createitall.com . You won't want to miss a single calendar event not to mention the weddings, graduations, birthdays -- ok, you get the idea!!!!

The line-up for December includes:

Lucy - http://love2createitall.com
Jearise - http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com
Lynne - http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/
Anita~    http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com 
Edwina - http://edwinascreations.blogspot.com/
Miriam - http://miriamscreations.blogspot.com/
Janet - http://www.ladyluvbug.blogspot.com/
Kimberly - http://scrappingrookie.blogspot.com/


December Holidays
National Tie Month: Lucy
Spiritual Literacy Month:
1 Earmuff Day: Jearise
5 Bathtub Party Day:
6 St. Nicholas Day: Lynne
7 National Letter Writing Day:  Anita
8 Hanukkah: Lynne
12 Gingerbread House Day: Edwina
14 Monkey Day: Miriam
16 National Chocolate Covered Anything Day: Janet
18 Bake Cookies Day: Lucy
21 Winter Begins: Miriam
21 Humbug Day: Janet
21 Crossword Puzzle Day: Lynne
25 Christmas: Kimberly
26 Boxing Day (Canada):
28 Pledge of Allegiance Day: Kimberly
29 Tick Tock Day: Jearise
 30 Bacon Day: Jearise
31 New Year's Eve: Jearise

Here is my monkey project. I had the half done project of making something with my 1" by 10" cello bag full of peanut butter M&M's. (Bags available at Miriam's Crafting Supplies). I cut the sock monkey out of Stampin' Up paper from the B is for Boy's cart at 3". Then, I added a 10mm pearl to the top of the monkey's hat to try to make her look more Santa like, but I don't think it worked too well. So, I added a hand cut base to make the circle I had cut (at 4") look like a snow globe and added 5mm white rhinestones too simulate snowflakes. My idea for this project is the candy tube can be inside a stocking, and the top can peek out. It's a stocking peeker! If anyone else has come up with this idea before me I'm sorry I didn't give you credit, but I thought of it independently.





For my Winter Begins project I made a diamond fold card. I think that I originally found the directions for this project on Splitcoaststampers, but I'm not 100% sure. I used some paper that I got on a Facebook selling group, so I don't know what company it came from. The tree stamp is from Stampin' Up (a set that has a tree for each season). The owl stamp, and the Happy Owl-idays, is from K. Andrews. The letters are from a Martha Stewart alphabet set. Not sure about the snowflake. The first day of winter is a special day for me since it is the birthday of my oldest child. I think of the solstice as the beginning of the holiday season.

Stop by and check out these holidays as I am sure you are going to want to remember these holidays and include them in your card making projects!!!!!Thanks for stopping by and mark your calendar again next month to see what Holidays to Celebrate on January 12, 2013, for the next Calendar Girls Blog Hop!