Handmade for the Holidays: More Word Books

Hey everyone!

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas weekend.  Was Santa good to you this year?  He was extremely generous with me!  On top of some wonderful jewelry and clothes, I got the Stand and Salute cartridge, an i-Top plus accessories (Can't WAIT to play with that one) and....my Aqua Expression!  I already knew I was getting that (since I waited in line for it on Black Friday LOL), but it was great to finally be able to open that box!  I was also finally able to play with the two cartridges that came with it, Playtime and Classic Font.  Great carts!


I know Christmas is over, but I have a TON of projects I completed last week that I want to share with you!

I made two more word books for Christmas this year for family members.  I had full intentions of making FOUR, but I ran out of chipboard PLUS they are incredibly time consuming (and frustrating when your Gypsy won't do what you want it to do!), so two was all I could manage in one sitting.



I wish I had pictures to share, but I actually finished the books on THE DAY they had to be given to family so I didn't have time to snap anything!

Jolly Snowman Ornaments

Hey everyone!  This week for the SweetSassyDiva Design Team our task was to make a last minute stocking stuffer.  I needed a last minute gift for some family members and thought these snowmen ornaments would be the perfect thing.  I originally saw this idea on Momos blog, and she has a video too!

Recipe:

*Large Glass Ornaments

*Pledge Floor Wax with Future Shine

*Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter

*Martha Stewart Obsidian Pearls

*Red and White Pipe Cleaners

*Red Pom Poms

*Orange Glitter Paper

*Glue Gun

I have to say, I love the Pledge with Future Shine trick.  It coats the inside of the ornaments perfectly.  I did another set of ornaments using this technique, hopefully I can share them with you later this week.  I originally tried this with Martha's Coarse Glitter and it did NOT cover the inside of the ball well.  I switched to the Fine Glitter and it worked great :)

I also have to add that I did not own a glue gun before this project.

I KNOW.  Crazy, right?

I just never had need for one.  I bought the Martha Stewart 2 Temp Glue Gun, for two reasons.

1.) I really wanted to try the black hot glue next Halloween

2.) It's Martha Stewart, and everyone knows I own ALL of her stuff ;)

The gun worked great and now I have a glue gun for future projects :)

Have a great day everyone!  I hope you are all ready for Christmas :)

"Homemade for the Holidays": Photo Album Word Book

Happy Thursday everyone!  Welcome to the first post for my "Homemade for the Holidays" series.  I am making a lot of my Christmas gifts by hand this year, and I wanted to share them all with you.  Hopefully you will see something that you would like to make yourself :)

My first project is a photo album word book for my friend who has a two year old son.  I thought this would be a perfect "brag book" she could take to work and keep in her office.  I made it interactive and brightly colored so people would want to pick it up and look inside :)

I used the following things to make this word book:

• Make-The-Cut to weld the book together (I made it before I got my Gypsy girl!)
• DCWV "Nana's Kids" and "All About Boys" stacks for the patterned paper
• Cricut Cartridges
• Create a Critter
• Tags, Bags, Boxes and More
• George and Basic Shapes
• Birthday Cakes
• Mini Monsters
• Cinch Binding Machine
• Walnut Stain Distress Ink
• Martha Stewart Photo Corner Punch
• Martha Stewart "Cherish" PATP Set
• Martha Stewart "Bubble Bath" PATP Set
• Martha Stewart "Ribbon Loop" PATP Set

Here's the video, I hope you enjoy it!