Pastor Gifts

I posted last week about a jar of peanut butter ice cream topping that I made for our Senior Pastor. I made some gifts for our other pastors as well. You can read about all the recipes I used for the gifts over on the Cookin' with Melissa blog.

The little stamped tags are really nothing to write home about, but I thought I'd put a picture of them on here anyway. Have a safe New Year's Eve! Thanks for stopping by!



My First Ian card!

A few weeks ago, I pointed you in the direction of a little online store, Splendid Little Company, selling Anya and Ian stamps that I just love! You can read that post here. I finally had a chance and purpose to ink up one of the Ian stamps earlier this month. This isn't what I started out envisioning, but it was quick and easy, which is what I needed that night! This card even got posted on the Splendid Little Company store's blog here! Thanks for stopping by!

J Monogram Stationary Kit

Ok, this is the last monogram box. Sorry to bore you with them for four days, but they were a lot of work! I'm very proud of them, and this is where I have to show them off! I had to wait until after Christmas though, of course. The matching pens were a last minute addition, so this is the only one where you can see the pen in the pictures. I made them to match each box though. Thanks for stopping by!




M Monogram Stationary Kit

This is my favorite of the four monogrammed boxes, and it's even my own monogram! I think I should have kept it! If you can't tell from the pictures, the lid of the box keeps it all folded up. Once you remove the lid, the front folds down to reveal all the goodies inside. The back of the box contains the ten notecards, and then the two sections for the 3x3 notecards and jumbo clips are in front of it. Then the folded down front section has the little baggie with the self-adhesive monogram seals and the pocket for the postage stamps. These were super fun to make! Thanks for stopping by!




C Monogram Stationary Kit

Here's the second monogram box I made. Yesterday, I told you I'd tell you what all is in these boxes. So here's the list:
  • 10 Monogrammed notecards with monogrammed envelopes
  • 4 3x3 Notecards with envelopes
  • 2 Monogrammed jumbo paper clips
  • 1 Matching pen (which doesn't show up until the J box two days from now)
  • 10 Self-adhesive monogrammed envelope seals (made with my Xyron machine)
  • Pocket for postage stamps (which my friend purchased and added after I gave the boxes to her)





Tomorrow I'll explain more how these boxes go together if you can't tell from the pictures. Thanks for stopping by!

S Monogram Stationary Kit

Back in early December I told you that I was going to take a little vacation from posting. Well, I did, but I was still working on some stamping projects--among other things! A friend asked me to make some things for Christmas gifts for her. Specifically, I made two birthday calendars, which I'll have to post about sometime in January, and four monogrammed stationary kits. I saw some pictures of them on a blog and the Splitcoast Stampers Gallery, so I decided to try and make some of my own. The pattern called for using a 12x12 piece of cardstock for the base of the box, but I altered it so that I could use two 8 1/2x11 pieces instead. I also got to use one of those JustRite monogram stamping kits to make these, the ones that were on sale back in November. My friend picked out some patterned papers/color schemes for each person she was purchasing the kits for, and I went from there. Tomorrow I'll tell you more about what's in each one. Here's the first one:





Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

From the Toth Family to You,
We wish you a very Merry Christmas.
Thanks for stopping by!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Topping Jar

Our pastor likes to eat peanut butter on his ice cream. I used my peanut butter ice cream topping recipe to make him a double batch for a Christmas present. You can get the recipe over on the Cookin' with Melissa blog.


I'm a pack rat and like to recycle all sorts of things. This jar was a glass coffee jar. I stripped it of it's original label and embellished it with some patterned paper. Then I decorated the lid a little. You can see the little "swinging" tag I put on it to let him know who it's from. We stuck this in his truck on Sunday morning for him to find after services. It needed to be kept cold, and it's plenty cold here right now!


Thanks for stopping by!

Just a Reminder...

Today is a big day for Stampin' Up! promotions:

Contact me if you have any questions or wish to place an order! Thanks for stopping by!

Another Candy Box


I had enough of the Peppermint Divinity left to make one more box of candy for someone special. A terrific lady watches my younger son any time my older son has a preschool party or field trip. He loves her, so this is a special box of candy just for her. Thanks for stopping by!


Peppermint Divinity Boxes

I made Peppermint Divinity as part of our preschool teacher gifts for this year. You can read about it over on the Cookin' with Melissa blog. I had some plain white cardboard candy boxes, so I embellished them a little to put with the gift. Thanks for stopping by!

Nugget Boxes

As with yesterday's post, these are also some gifts I made last year. My son's Sunday school class is taught by some women who rotate every three months. So I figured out how many teachers and helpers there were total and made up a bunch of Christmas nugget boxes for them. I was on a nugget box kick last Christmas! Thanks for stopping by!

Secret Sister 2007

Our church's women's ministry does a Secret Sister program, and this is the gift I gave my Secret Sister last year. I had the brainstorm to coordinate the wrapping with the gifts, so I used a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper to wrap the gloves. Then I made the coordinating Hershey's nugget box to go with it. Finally, I tied up a pack of handmade cards from my stash and placed a matching card on top of it.


This particular Christmas card is one of my favorites. The stamp set is a Sell-A-Bration set from back in 2006, I think. Which reminds me... Sell-A-Bration is fast approaching in February and March. It's Stampin' Up!'s annual sale where you get to pick free merchandise for every $50 of product you purchase. Some of my favorite stamp sets are past SAB sets. Watch for more information after the New Year! Thanks for stopping by!

This owl is a hoot!

I'm not sure where this little guy originated, but he's awfully cute! I've seen him on multiple sites, and I think the original may have come from a Stampin' Up! monthly contest winner in a past demonstrator magazine. I had fun using a bunch of my punches to create him for a little boy's birthday card. Thanks for stopping by!

Candy Canes

I saw these cute candy cane embellishments with snowmen on Nancy Riley's blog here.


It was our day to take the snack on Monday, so I made candy cane Kiss cookies and sent these for the kids as well. They were talking about the Christmas story this week, so I used the nativity scene instead of snowmen. The verse on the back was part of the kids' memory verse for the Christmas program last Sunday evening. It was tear-jerking to see almost thirty little preschoolers recite:

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

--Luke 2:10-12


Thanks for stopping by!

So Many Promotions!

Stampin' Up! released its list of stamp sets being retired from the current Fall/Winter 2008 Idea Book & Catalog. You can see them all on the Stampin' Up! website by following this link.


In addition to releasing the retiring list, they are also offering them all at 10% off until Dec. 23!

And if you place a $70 order (or more) you'll get FREE SHIPPING!

Contact me if you're interested in placing an order. To receive your items by Christmas, please place your order by Dec. 16th. Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Vacation

I have really enjoyed posting to this blog on a daily basis, Monday through Friday, since I started it earlier this fall. Thank you to all of you who have been stopping by to read it, and thank you to all of you who have attended one of my events during the past few months!

Now that my events for this quarter are over, I'm going to take a few weeks off to spend some time with my boys. We have some fun things planned during the month of December. I try not to get so busy with the holiday hullaballoo that I forget to have fun with them.

I do have a few stamping projects to get done between now and Christmas, so I will try to post every now and again during the next few weeks. I won't be posting daily as I have been. Thanks for stopping by!

I was commissioned!

A few weeks ago at a friend's 8 for $10 Girls' Night, I was asked to make some items as a special order for a lady who was there. She really liked the "Season of Friendship" stamp set in the current Stampin' Up! mini catalog and asked for a dozen cards to be made using that stamp set. So I agreed to make multiple copies of three or four designs for her request.

One blog I visit, Stamper Camper's Corner, had many cards made with this set, and I really liked most of them. I chose three designs to use. Below are my CASE'd (Copy And Share Everything) versions of those cards. I was putting these together while visiting family for Thanksgiving, and the first one is my mom's favorite. The last one should look familiar, because it was a card we made at the November 8 for $10 workshop here at my house.




Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Thank You Card

Back in early November, I shared a birthday card with you. You can view that post here. I needed to make some thank you cards for that birthday boy's gifts, and I always like to make coordinating thank you's if possible. Since these are "mass produced" in a larger quantity, they don't have all the bells and whistles that the original special birthday card did. They still coordinate though and were fun to make. Thanks for stopping by!

December 8 for $10 - Close Ups II

These are the last two projects we'll be making at Thursday night's 8 for $10 workshop. See you Thursday! Thanks for stopping by!


December 8 for $10 - Close Ups I

As promised, here are close ups of the first two projects we'll be making Thursday evening. Thanks for stopping by!


Stampin' Up! Holiday Extravaganza Sale!

For a limited time, you can purchase any of the Holiday Extravaganza bundles at a special promotional price--up to 50% off! This Holiday Extravaganza Sale starts tomorrow morning, Wednesday, November 26th and will run until December 1st--or while supplies last! Visit my Stampin' Up! Demonstrator website at http://toth.stampinup.net/ to place your order today!

December 8 for $10


Here's a look at the four projects we'll be making at the December 8 for $10 workshop this Thursday, December 4th at 7pm. One is a card for holding cash, and the other three are gift card holders. Watch tomorrow and Wednesday for close ups of the projects. Thanks for stopping by!

Junior Legal Pad Wish List

I saw this project on Nancy Riley's website a few weeks ago. She also wrote a tutorial for it on the Splitcoaststampers website. My mom needs a place to keep her Christmas shopping for all of us organized, so I thought this would be perfect for her. I gave it to her while visiting for Thanksgiving. Thanks for stopping by!


Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a wonderful day spent with family and friends. Remember all the blessings the Lord has freely given you!


Thanks for stopping by!

JustRite Stampers

I've been seeing lots of great projects made from JustRite Stampers the past few months. I've liked what I've seen so much, I put a few of their items on my Christmas wish list. They started an awesome sale last week, a "Buy One For Me ... Get One FREE!!" sale, on many of the things I was wishing for! Check them out! The sale ends November 30th. If you're interested in splitting a set, please let me know. Thanks for stopping by!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

For dessert at Saturday's stamp camp, I made chocolate chip cookies. Nothing fancy, but many people love them, and I hadn't made any for a while. I'm sure lots of people think mine is a secret recipe, but it's not. In fact, the recipe I use is off the side of the Butter Crisco canister. You do have to add some extra flour and know a few basics about baking cookies, but otherwise it's a great recipe. Click over to the Cookin' with Melissa site to see it. Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Camp Lunch

I made the ladies a great potato soup for lunch on Saturday during our cd calendar stamp camp. Click over to the Cookin' with Melissa site to see the recipe for Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder. It's from a past Kraft Foods magazine. Do you get it? If not, go to http://www.kraftfoods.com/ to sign up for it. I love it, and it's FREE! Thanks for stopping by!

November Stamp Camp - CD Calendars

The November Stamp Camp project is a cd calendar. Each calendar includes a printed/stamped insert for each month of 2009, sized to fit inside of a standard cd jewel case. The case is hinged backwards to form a little easel, making it a lovely desk calendar. Who's that hard-to-buy-for person on your gift? They would love a unique handmade gift like this!

  • Saturday, November 22nd, 10am at my house
  • $20 class fee includes all supplies needed to complete a calendar and lunch.
  • Anyone who RSVPs and pays for the class by Saturday, November 15th will get an extra gift for attending.
  • If you are interested in purchasing a kit to assemble yourself, contact me for details.


Thanks for stopping by!

Nugget Box Advent Calendar

A few years ago I found the patterns for these nugget boxes on a stamping website. The candies inside the boxes are Hershey's nuggets. You can get them in different varieties, and hence different colored wrappers. I like the silver ones best--pure unadulterated milk chocolate!


Last year I decided to use them to make an advent/Christmas countdown calendar for our oldest son. He loved opening the little candy each day with a different Christmas picture on it. Now that our youngest son is old enough to eat them and see what his older brother has, I knew I had better make him one too. While I was at it, I made one for a little boy who comes to play at our house sometimes. His mom and dad are friends of ours. I think the boys will love counting down the days until Christmas with these little boxes!

To "decorate" the nuggets you use standard mailing labels. Embellish them however you wish and stick them to the little nuggets like wrappers. Yes, I could have impressed you with beautiful stamped images. However, preschoolers aren't impressed with such things, so these were done quick and easy with clipart! (Notice the tops of the boxes aren't elaborately decorated either.) Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle & Julia's workshop

Michelle and Julia had an awesome cd calendar workshop last weekend! Thanks, Ladies, for being such terrific hostesses! Everyone had a great time, and fourteen ladies made beautiful little cd calendars.


I wanted to come up with some way to store the non-current calendar cards when they were not in use. Late last week I made this little gift box, and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it! The clear cover is made with an overhead projector sheet (a.k.a. acetate). I added a Christmas tag and ribbon, and to make it extra Christmassy (Is that a word?) put the December calendar card on top to show through. Cute!

Don't forget the CD Calendar Stamp Camp is at my house this Saturday at 10am. RSVP today, please! Lunch will be served when we're done with the calendars. Watch next week for lunch menu recipes! Thanks for stopping by!

Look what I found!

Many days there's just too much going on in this household for me to have some time to myself to go down to my stamping space and work. So in order to not go into complete withdrawal, I live vicariously through other stampers who have way more time to stamp than I presently do. I visit a number of stamping blogs on a regular basis for inspiration and ideas.

A few weeks ago I stumbled onto this little online stamp store, Splendid Little Company, and associated blog, Splendid Stamping. I LOVE the Anya and Ian stamps!!! My sister and I ordered a few, and I can't wait to get the chance to ink them up! No, they're not Stampin' Up! stamps, but as most of you know, I am not exclusively a SU! girl. Thanks for stopping by!

Try the Rub-Ons!


I wanted to share with you two little projects that I made using the Stampin' Up! Rub-Ons. I showed you these little glass plant globes previously in this post. I like to embellish glass items with the rub-ons, simply because there aren't very many other ways to embellish glass. Since I tend to hoard supplies, I am reluctant to use my rub-ons on cards or ordinary paper crafts!

All SU! Rub-Ons are on sale through the end of November, and you can view the details here. Contact me if you're interested in placing an order or if you have any questions. Thanks for stopping by!