All Things Alicia

Preschool Teacher Gifts

This year I have two preschool teachers and a second grade teacher to give gifts to.  For my son's second grade teacher, I went above my normal teacher budget and got her a new, heavy duty use, electric pencil sharpener.  I decided to do that because she really, really needed one, and because she's a decent teacher, so why not.  I know she'll appreciate the practicality and it'll save her some classroom headaches.

As for the preschool teachers, I dolled up some of the same apple soap that I made for teachers last year in this post.  Since my daughter is at a different preschool, those teachers haven't yet been recipients of the apple soap, and I had a few on hand.  Win, win, right?!

I did package them differently this year.  I put them inside brown paper bags that I stamped and made a cute tag for.  I attached the tag with a glitter clothespin, au la Pinterest.

Here's a closer look at the tag:

The stamp set I used is Winter Post and is currently retired, but I love it and still use it a lot.  I used some whishper white and very vanilla craft inks on the bag and crumb cake and always artichoke on both the bag and tag.

The paper I punched the tree with was leftover from a Christmas or two ago.  I'm also using it in my December Daily album so I had scraps of it lying around.  I think it was called Deck the Halls.  I definitely know the scrap of fabric I used to tie the tag at the top is Deck the Halls and you can get it now in my online store for $0.99 for 3 fat quarters!!!

The glitter I used is champagne glass glitter and I just put it on with a two way glue pen.  I probably should have let it dry longer.

Need the glitter or ink?  Or that fabulous fabric on the cheap?  You can get them in my online store!   I also use those fabrics to wrap loaves of bread for gifts.

Stay tuned tomorrow for neighbor gifts, quick and adorable!

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December Daily 2012 Days 3 and 4

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December Daily 2012 - Days 1 and 2

I know that sounds like I'm really far behind already, but I swear I'm not.  I have several pages sketched, and/or pics and/or ephemera together waiting for assembly, and/or partially assembled waiting for one or two more items, etc...  That's just how I end up rolling every year. ;)  I AM more organized with collecting my stuff and ideas as I have them this year and that is helping me immensly in the time and finishing category.

I haven't done the cover yet.  I've known exactly what I want, I'm still looking for one small piece of trim I have in mind for it.

And forgive my pictures on the couch for this post. 

Here's day one:

I have to say, when I was at a scrapbook store a while ago, I saw these adorable pin embellishments that had shapes on the ends.  I totally thought, "I can make those!"  One determined mind and a pair of my husband's wire snips later, I made my own for this number embellishment.  I have ideas for more in my head so you might see them again in this album and in future projects. 

Here's a closer look at that journaling and what I'm talking about.

 For day 2 I did a two page spread because I wanted to capture my son's science lab (even though it's not Christmassy) AND our church series that I am totally loving.  They don't really go well on the same page so I split them into two pages and used coordinating paper and colors to tie them together.

I had one of those moments on this spread where I made a mistake and it turned into an embellishment.  I tore the "King Jesus" from the cover of our church bulletin, it's kind of newsprintish.  When I glued it on I got a little too much on the upper left corner.  Since I was using two way glue, it stayed tacky once dried.   So I put some light irridescent ice embossing powder on it to soak up the adhesive and it made a nice little pairing with the stamped crosses in the background.  Then the button is placed nicely like the glitter is meant to be its background, but the button is really just covering a bubble in the cardstock from too much glue. ;)

Anyway, I will probably get to my next several days during the next several days.  He he. ;) 

I'm also busy prepping some new ideas for the new year, finishing up my One Little Word (Fearless) from 2012, and getting ready for some things in 2013.  I'll have more posts about each of those later on, as well as more December Daily posts.

By the way, my online store is were you can find that Irridescent Ice embossing powder, 1" circle punch, and Christmas papers that I used for page two.  All the buttons from both pages and the fibers also come from there.

How About Adorable Gift Card Sacks?

When I give a gift card I like to make the packaging especially cute.  Gift cards have a bad rap as non-personal, but I think hard about which store, etc...  I want my packaging to express the greatness of what I'm giving!  I found these small paper sacks and decided they would be great for gift cards!  A little cuter than the cardstock wraps they come in at the store.

I absolutely LOVE almost everything in the Holiday Mini this year!  The sweater trim, woodgrain texture folder, bronze buttons, my list goes on, and on, and on....

It's absolutely fabulous.

Anyway, I made these for my Etsy shop but you could whip up a few pretty quickly if you like.  Just shop my online store for your supplies. 

But I really posted these to get some feedback.  I was thinking of offering some kits for these in my Etsy shop.  Anyone interested in a kit with a few small bags, those card labels, some bits of trim and buttons, etc...?  Leave me a comment or e-mail me and help me decide. :)

Get $125 of Stampin' Up! Product of Your Choice For Only $99!

Did you know that you can get the Stampin' Up! starter kit for only $99 and fill it with $125 in YOUR CHOICE OF PRODUCT?!?

I seriously don't know why anyone who wants a bunch of Stampin' Up! stuff wouldn't take advantage of this deal!

You pick what you want, you get it at a discount.  You either stay an active demonstrator to keep getting your discount on future purchases, or you make money with it (I can help you with that), or you drop in 6 months.  There are no requirements if you want to drop! 

BUT, if you DO want to turn a profit, let me know and I'll help you out as much or as little as you need!

OH but wait, there's more!

For August only you can get a bonus project kit when you sign up!

You can sign up at my website where it says "join now."

You can also e-mail me at stampified@sbcglobal.net with questions (please put 'starter kit question' in the subject box) and I'll answer you usually within 24 hours.

What are you waiting for?  Go sign up now so you can get all your holiday supply stuff at a discount!

Crazy Things From Convention...

...crazy cool that is! 

Here's on of my favorite things ever on display at convention:

 

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE burlap!  And I totally love the spice cake fabric too!  This is an awesome purse!

 

 

burlap and spice cake purse

  And how about a corset?

 

Deck the Halls Fabric Corset

This one is so cute.  The detail on the little bicycle seat is to die for (it's Beau Chateau fabric) and check out those tiny little catalogs in the basket!!!!

LIttle Beau Chateau Bicycle

A ruffled Dress:

ruffled ribbon and fabric dress

Or check out this doll house someone made!

paper doll house

DIY Washi Tape With A Cute Summer Treat Bag

Washi tape, paper tape, tissue tape....it's called many things and it's hot right now!  I have a quick video tutorial to show you how to make your own so you can match any project and make just what you need.

 

 Remember that you can get all your stamping supplies from my Stampin' Up! website.  And with the new catalog out, there's lots of great new stuff to get!

Apple Soap and Gift Tag

Y'all know I like apple soap from Bath and Body works!

With teacher appreciation week and the end of the year right around the corner, I thought I'd make one of these for a favorite educator. ;)

It was a cinch to whip up with the Two Tags die and my Sizzix Big Shot.  The red piece with the cute edge is an extra piece from the Matchbox Die (which is retiring ;(....)  and the lined paper is from Just Add Cake (also retiring) which I love to use for school related stuff.

I purposely kept the tag simple enough to be used for other things too, not just teachers. 

I adorned the sides of the punched pieces with those cute whtie flower buttons from the neutral designer buttons and threaded the cherry cobbler baker's twine through the holes. 

If you want the Matchbox Die or Just Add Cake paper you better get them now.  They're only available while supplies last!  (And I believe the paper is discounted right now too!).  Just head on over to my online store and get what you need while it's still available!

I also put an extra one of these in my Etsy shop if you need one like now!

 

Gardening Journal From A Composition Book

I'm getting to that point with my gardening that I need to keep track of what I'm thinking.  My brain is less able to keep track of what I planned to put where, what I want to try next, and what did and didn't work. 

To remedy this situation I pulled out a grid paper compostition book from my stash.  Now, I always prefer the grid paper ones, I'm just wierd that way, but I also chose it specifically for this project so that I could sketch things out easily. 

 
I used the Paisley Petals DSP for the cute accents because I LOVE this paper! 

I started with last year's stuff in the pages because I wanted to put down what I could manage to remember from then to help me plan out where I was putting things this year.  I want to keep track for a mini -crop rotation type of thing. 

I used some sketchy letter stamps to denote pages for the year, notes, planning, sketches, etc...  The alphabet stamps I used are retired now but if you don't have some you like, you could use our current Janes Type Alphabet or Spencerian as well.  Those might retire soon too so I'd jump on that if I were you. ;)

I have also discovered that I like just taping in those things that come with the plant so I remember what kind I planted. ;)

I made a second one without the stamped titles, but I added pocket pages to it.  This one's going in my Etsy shop and would make a perfect gift for a gardener!

Don't forget you can order supplies to make your own gardening journal/altered composition book here at my website.

Or you can just buy the one you see above in my Etsy shop.

Seed Packet Organizers - Made From a Pinterest Idea

I saw on Pinterest that someone suggested using one of those mini albums for a seed packet organizer. Genius! But of course I had to make a cute one for myself.   I can't just do a plain ol' anything that can be jazzed up in my stamping space. :)

I used one of those mini albums, and then gussied it up with some on-hand supplies.  I used some raven lace from last year's holiday mini catalog.  Sorry, it's no longer available, but I do have some left is someone wants to buy it.  E-mail me (stampified@sbcglobal.net) and I can get it to you by the yard. 

I also cut out the word "seeds" with my Big Shot and the Billboard Alphabet decorative strip die. 

I actually made two of these!  One for me, and one for my Etsy shop!  You can see it with more pictures here. 

You can also purchase the Billboard Alphabet through my online Stampin' Up! store here.

And don't forget that right now is Sale A Bration!  You can get free stuff with your purchases!  It ends March 31st (which is approaching rapidly!). 

2012 Memory Jar

I know I'm not  the only one who's in love with Pinterest these days!  I have actually made quite a few things I've pinned. 

This jar is one of those things.  The idea is to jot down things I want to remember throughout the year and stick them in the jar.  Then, on New Year's Eve, you take them out and read them and remember your year.  I LOVED this idea because it's so much more doable for me than scrapping and journaling everything I want to. 

I'm looking forward to this as a new New Year's Eve family tradition!  It's easy to involve the kids, I can throw in a pic or two if I want, etc....

I'm also thinking about whether I want to keep making new jars each year and collect them on a shelf or some other cute arrangement, or if I want to take them out when the year is over to make a "year in review" type page and then re-use the jar for the next year.  I could take the tag off and use it as the scrapbook page title and put a new tag on the jar for the next year.  Hmmmmmm...I have a year to decide.

I had enough of these materials to make 2, so I'm putting one in my Etsy shop!

If you want to make your own, you can get the materials in my online store (and check out the clearance rack while you're there!).  I used the Paisley Petals Designer Series Paper and the coordinating colors of cardstock, buttons, ribbon, etc... I also used my Big Shot to cut out those letters.

The year is rolling right along, so get your jar made (or bought) today!