the cram-it-in-before-christmas post.

this is the one where I share more than I should in one post.

no time for chatter - let's jump in, shall we?

First up: teacher gifts and MIM tags.  Oh, and some chalkboard art.  No holiday is complete in our home without a decorative chalkboard... I mean, if we're being honest, that wall-of-chalk is as much for me as it is the kids...

Back to the tags.  I used PTI's tag sale 5 die to cut these tags, and they open up to reveal a little christmas message to each teacher in Thomas' preschool.  The tags themselves are all 1 layer tags.  I had fun using masks and layering stamps to make it interesting, but still non-bulky.

I created 4 designs, and made the little gingerbread tag twice - he's so cute :)

Inside the jars?  A homemade hot chocolate mix, topped with a layer of milk chocolate chunks, mint chocolate, and chopped up candy canes, topped with a layer of jumbo marshmellows - yum!

Thomas also gave each of his little friends a tasty treat - and I don't know if this exists on any blog out there, but I think it's pretty genius.  I made some gingerbread cookies, then melted some hersey's candy cane kisses and spread a layer of the melted chocolate on each cookie.  The mint and gingerbread combo is delicious!  And they look so festive  - although the color scheme is a bit girly for Thomas to be handing out... I only thought about it afterwards... hee.

Not to be outdone, Sofia filled 22 of these long cello bags with holiday-colored jelly beans.

The toppers were simple enough that she could actually do the work all by herself (except the stapling).  I think she did fantastic!

If you made it all the way through, whew!  Thanks for looking!

sewing tags, part deux

I'm posting out of order.... I finished sewing the base of these tags yesterday, although I had no idea what I'd put on them for a focal point.  That almost never happens to me.  I usually decide on a focal point first and then layer from the top-down, as it were...

Searching through my stash, I found these little die-cuts that I had stamped with some images from "everyday button bits" - borrowed from a crafty friend!  They add such a sweetness to these sewn tags!

Soooo, I didn't sew those tags today, but I did sew something:

I had some scrap fabric that I sewed into a ruffle and then secured to a soft band... perfect frame for her chubby little face, don't you think?

birthday tags & sewing machines.

There was a lot of under-the-breath-muttering that went into this project.  I must have sounded pretty bad over the phone, because my sister packed up her 2 kids and ran over to help me out with my machine.  We're not friends, let's put it that way (my machine and I, obviously... I like my sis just fine.)   But I'd like for this relationship to work out...for so many reasons... but let's start with paper, I guess.  Work my way up to fabric later on...

Love the look of stitching on cards.  I know my stitches are far from perfect, but I think they're pretty cute.  In a "look what I finally accomplished" kind of way :)

I've never even tried the zig-zag stitch on my machine before!  I feel like I just ran a marathon.  I need to eat some chocolate to calm my nerves.

I look forward to becoming better acquainted with my sewing machine... tomorrow.

Here are the deets on my birthday tags:  I stamped the tulips from "friendship jar spring fillers" and the "happy birthday" greeting is from tag it's 1.  The tag shape and papers are all SU.  I need to use up some of my stash. Why do I keep buying more papers without using up the old ones?  It's inexplicable... some women can't resist a new pair of shoes - it's patterned paper for me :)