2010 Desk Calendars for the New Year!

In the end of November, I showed four projects I had planned for a December Stamp Camp. This desk calendar was one of them. I originally saw the idea for them on Lorri Heiling's blog and Nancy Morgan's blog.

My calendar ended up being a combination of the two. I ended up mass producing about twenty of these for miscellaneous Christmas gifts. The "A Tree for All Seasons" stamp set is one of the very first stamp sets I ever got from Stampin' Up!, and it's still a favorite. The current stamp set, "A Flower for All Seasons", is an alternative stamp set to use for a calendar like this.

The pictures below show each of the four panels of the calendar. Click on the photo to see a larger image. After the first six months of 2010 are over, you simply untie the ribbon, flip the calendar "inside out" and retie the ribbon for the second half of the year. I have a few extra ones left, so if you'd like to purchase one to start of the New Year, they're $6 each.


Happy New Year! Be safe tonight! Thanks for stopping by!

Polly's Christmas Card

My most regular workshop attender and stamping friend, Polly, gave me this great reindeer Christmas card. Thanks, Polly, for always coming to my workshops and being a great stamping friend!

Card from Barbara

One of my newest stamping friends, Barbara, gave me this adorable card last week when I dropped off her Stampin' Up! order. I just love it! Thank you, Barbara!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Nanetta!

A dear lady is celebrating her 80th birthday today. I made up two cards for her:

One from the family...

(Inspired by a card on the Stampin' Up! Demonstrator website
by Anne Steinmetz.)

...and one specifically from my youngest son. She's his Indiana grandmother, and they have a special relationship.



This card uses a non Stampin' Up! stamp from The Greeting Farm. I developed the card from this sketch on the Taylored Expressions blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Honey Jars

I posted some pictures yesterday of honey jars we gave as part of my son's Christmas gifts for his teachers. Here are a few more jars of honey that I added some patterned paper, tags, and decorated lids to and used as Christmas gifts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Kindergarten Teacher Christmas Gifts

Last week, my son's kindergarten class had their Christmas party. We made up some gift bags for his teacher and the two aides that help out in his classroom.

These are the cute jars of honey we made for them. The honey is from my hive this summer. We added some peppermint patty treats and candy canes as well.

Then we packaged them all up in little bags. Thanks for stopping by!

Merry Christmas!

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

Christmas Cookies for the Pastors

Last year I made an assortment of Christmas treats for the pastors at our church. You can see them here and here.


Yesterday, the boys and I delivered cookies for the pastors for this Christmas. I did some really simple packaging on them, because I'm running out of time! I mostly recycled some plastic tubs that we bought salad greens in. They're great for cookies!


Have a blessed Christmas Eve! Thanks for stopping by!

More Pillow Boxes

Last week I showed you the pillow box treats we made at the December 8 for $10 workshop.

The pillow boxes looked the best with the green peppermint patties sticking out the sides against the red flocked paper. After using all the green foil-wrapped candy, I had a bunch of red ones left. I decided to reverse the colors and make some more pillow boxes using Garden Green DSDSP for the belly band. They aren't quite as plush looking as the original ones, but they're still cute. Thanks for stopping by!

More Candy Cane Treats

Yesterday I showed you some candy cane treats that I made for the ladies who came to the December 8 for $10 workshop last week. I made up a bunch more over the weekend to put with all my Christmas gifts. However, this time I decided to put the tags on the top like the picture shows, with the candy cane making a "J". Remember the real reason for the Christmas holiday. Thanks for stopping by!

Candy Cane Treats

I first saw the idea to make cute little treats out of these mini candy canes on Becky Roberts' Inking Idaho blog. I whipped up a bunch one afternoon last week to give to the ladies who attended the December 8 for $10 workshop.

I bought a box of these little candy canes at Walmart. They were $2.50 for a box of 100--what a cheap little treat! My boys love candy canes. I think I will whip up a bunch to give to the kindergarten kiddos at their Christmas party later this week. I'll probably make a few to add to the gift tags on some of my Christmas gifts too. Thanks for stopping by!

December 8 for $10 IV

This is the final project from this month's 8 for $10 workshop. I CASE'd this card from Gretchen Barron. Her card is all in gold, but I changed up the gold paper to black.

This is probably the project the ladies liked best this month. You can't tell very well from the picture, but the stamped images are embossed with gold embossing powder. It's a really rich-looking card in person. We tried making the card in silver too, but everyone agreed that the gold was better. A few of the ladies want me to remind them of this card for next year so they can make it as their Christmas card. It was pretty simple to make. The embossing took the most time, but I think it's fun, so it was a fun card to make.

Thanks for stopping by!

December 8 for $10 III

I really like this Dasher stamp from the last page of the current Stampin' Up! Idea Book & Catalog. SU! has been offering some really great individual stamps for less than $10.

This card layout was CASE'd from a card Gretchen Barron shared on her blog. She received it from a swap. The card was created by Jennifer Turoff. I changed up the color scheme with some patterned paper from last year.

Thanks for stopping by!

December 8 for $10 II

The ladies that come to my workshops always like to do some sort of gift card holder at Christmas time, so we made this one last night.

I first saw this idea to use the Top Note die for the Big Shot to make a gift card holder on Andrea Walford's blog. The rest of the design came from various cards I saw in the Big On Christmas stamp set gallery on the Splitcoast Stampers website.

This stamp set is my mom's, so thanks, Mom, for letting me borrow it!

Thanks for stopping by!

December 8 for $10 I

The rest of the week I'll be showing you the four projects we made at the December 8 for $10 workshop here at my house last evening. Some new ladies attended, and we had lots of fun and Christmas cookies to eat!

This little treat is made with the Pillow Box die for the Big Shot. I first saw these on Shelli Gardner's (the CEO of Stampin' Up!) blog last year. She had done a short spot on a local tv station in Utah and this was one of the little projects she demonstrated. These can be made with card stock, but they're so cute made with acetate (i.e. overhead projector sheets) so that you can see the Christmas candies inside. The flocked paper from the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog made it especially rich feeling.

By the way, the Mini Catalog ends January 4th, so if there's something in there you have your eye on, email me right away to place your order! Thanks for stopping by!

Mom's Christmas Card

The first Christmas card I got in the mail last week was from my mom. She picked out this Scenic Season stamp set and the card in the current catalog on page 35. Isn't it great? You can get such terrific inspiration from projects in the catalogs. Thanks, Mom!

Thanks for stopping by!

12 Days of Holiday Sales

From December 11-22 only, get 15-25 percent off select Big Shot dies and materials! Visit the Online Store to see what's on sale.

Check out the Clearance Rack while you're there.

The Holiday Mini Catalog will retire in early January. Check to see if there's anything you'd like to purchase before it's gone.

I will be placing an order on Tuesday, December 15th, so if you want anything please email me with your order by Monday, December 14th.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gift Card Holders

I have a few customers who like to purchase items that I've already made, never purchasing Stampin' Up! items at all. I'm always happy to custom-make gifts or sell any of the handmade cards and other projects I have on hand.

One lady in particular wanted to purchase some assorted greeting cards and gift card holders this week. I was happy to get them all together for her. The gift card holders were mostly leftovers from a workshop last December. I have more, so if you'd like to purchase any, they're $1.50--the same price Wal*Mart is charging for their mass-produced gift card holders!

I wanted to package the greeting cards and gift card holders in cute packages, so I whipped up this quick purse bag and simple decorated brown lunch bag. Thanks for stopping by!

December 8 for $10 Workshop

The December 8 for $10 workshop is this Monday evening at 7pm here at my house. If you need to get out of the house and have some "gal time", come on over!

Many of you were unable to attend the December Stamp Camp, so we're going to be making the peppermint patty treat pillow box and gift card holder from the stamp camp. In addition, we'll be making two Christmas cards.

RSVP today if you're planning to attend. I'll be sending out an email on Friday about a special sale. Watch for it! Thanks for stopping by!

Another Tractor Card

Back in October I showed you a tractor birthday card I made for my dad. He likes green tractors, but Jim's dad likes red tractors. Jim's father's birthday was over the weekend, so I made up this card to send to him.

You can read about the original card by Jackie Topa and the clouds sponging technique by Gretchen Barron in my post from October.

I made Jim's dad some Quick and Easy Fudge for his birthday too. You can see the recipe on my Cookin' with Melissa blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Retiring Stamp Sets

Stampin' Up! released a list of dormant stamp sets that will soon be discontinued. You can see the list below. They were in previous catalogs. If you don't have an older catalog, but would like to look at one, let me know. I have some leftovers.

If you were at the November 8 for $10 workshop and liked making the card shown below with the Branch Out stamp set, it's on the retiring list. If you'd like to purchase it, do it now before it's no longer available!



Dormant Stamp Sets Discontinued on January 4, 2010

As promised, many of the stamp sets currently on our dormant list have been available for a year and now it is time to say goodbye. The following stamp sets will be discontinued on January 4, 2010.

113407 Back Woods
114492 Beautiful Baby
114486 Birthday Wish
113200 Branch Out
114496 Celebrations
113732 Central Park
113206 Classic Sketches
113226 Classy & Fabulous
114498 Flowers in Silhouette
113405 Font of You
113216 For the Bride
114494 Forever
109425 Friend by Definition
114488 Fun Flowers
113716 Garden Greetings
114490 Glad Friends
111580 Grand Soiree
113242 Hit the Road
113710 Lexicon of Leaves
113236 Man's Best Friend
114423 Ocean Commotion
113728 Playful Petals
109276 Polka Dot
111544 Putt Putt
113240 Quilt Quips
113754 Really Retro
113403 Sip by Sip
113726 Sweet Stems
113250 That's Funny
113688 Wonderful Watercolors
114028 Para la novia
114032 Acuarelas Maravillosas

If any of these stamp sets are on your wish list, make sure to purchase them before they are gone for good! Contact me to place your order, and we'll share the S&H charges. Thanks for stopping by!

December Stamp Camp

There will be a December Stamp Camp here at my house on Saturday, December 5th at 10am. Attend the class and make two each of the five items shown in the photo above:

• 2010 Quarterly Flip Calendar
• Holiday Notepad
• Pillow Box filled with Peppermint Patties
• Gift Card Holder
• Gift Bag with Tag

The class fee of $20 includes the 10 Holiday Gifts you will make along with lots of Christmas snacks and goodies made by me! Please RSVP by Sunday, November 29th.


The pictures above show each of the four panels of the Quarterly Flip Calendar. Click on the photo to see a larger image. After the first six months of 2010 are over, you simply untie the ribbon, flip the calendar "inside out" and retie the ribbon for the second half of the year.


Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Gift

My son's kindergarten teacher had a birthday on Monday. I wanted to do something quick and cute for her. I made her this quick little decorated bottle full of Hershey's Kisses along with a color-coordinated birthday card. The card was inspired by Lorri Heiling's card in this post on her Confessions of a Stamping Addict blog. Thanks, Mom, for lending me this stamp set!

Don't forget to RSVP if you're planning to attend the December Stamp Camp next Saturday. The deadline to RSVP is this Sunday! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I made these Blessing Mix treat bags as Thanksgiving treats for the ladies who attended the November 8 for $10 Workshop last week. I made enough to also give some to my son's kindergarten teacher and aides along with family we are visiting for the holiday.

The Blessing Mix poem and samples of ways to package it can be found on Anjie Juda's Chic N Scratch blog. There's a link on the right side of the page for "Blessing Mix." She makes it for her family every year, and she always has a cute box or something made to give it in.

I've seen lots of goodie bags made with the Stampin' Up! Top Note die, so I decided to give it a shot myself with a simple "Happy Thanksgiving" medallion in the corner. I made about twenty of these, so they had to be simple and quick!

I wish you a blessed Thanksgiving holiday, remembering all the things the Lord has lovingly bestowed upon you. Thanks for stopping by!

November 8 for $10 Workshop IV

Here's the last card from last week's November 8 for $10 Workshop. Polly requested that we make a Tag Punch Star card, so we did. You can see this Tag Punch Star Tutorial on the Splitcoast Stampers site to see how you make it.

I browsed the gallery associated with the tutorial to get some inspiration and found this card. If I have the time, I may try this technique to make a poinsettia. Thanks for stopping by!

November 8 for $10 Workshop III

Here's the third and final fall card we made at the November 8 for $10 Workshop. The fourth project we made was a Christmas card, and you can stop by and see it tomorrow.

This card was inspired by Nancy Riley's card here on her iStamp blog. I really like this Stampin' Up! Season of Friendship stamp set. I was glad to see it in the current catalog after it was introduced in the 2008 Holiday Mini Catalog. We made a card with it at last year's November 8 for $10 workshop. You can take a look at that one here. I remember that night like it was yesterday. I can't believe that was a year ago!

I also used this stamp set to make a set of cards for a lady who attended a workshop that a friend of mine hosted. She asked me to make some holiday treats for her too, and you can read about it and see the cards on this post from last year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stampin' Up! Online Extravaganza

Stampin' Up! is running an Online Extravaganza this week only. From November 23-30, get amazing discounts--up to 50 percent off--on over 40 products and product bundles! Visit the Stampin' Up! Customer Website to see what's on sale. Email me with your order by Saturday, November 28th.


Stampin' Up! is also running a Holiday Extravaganza promotion until January 4. Use the Stampin' Up! Holiday Extravaganza Gift-Giving Guide to find gifts for kids, teens, neighbors, card makers, scrapbookers, and more--or to find the supplies you need to create special handcrafted gifts. From November 1 to January 4, receive a FREE Décor Elements piece (up to a $16.95 value) when you spend $50 on products in this guide! Email me if you have any questions or would like to place your holiday order.


Don't forget the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack! If you were at the November 8 for $10 Workshop last week, the felt snowflakes we used (Little Felt Flurries Accents and Elements) for the Star Punch Christmas Card can be purchased from the Stampin' Up! Clearance Rack. Email me to place your order!

Have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for stopping by!

November 8 for $10 Workshop II

This is the second card I want to share with you from last week's November 8 for $10 Workshop. I really like this Autumn Splendor stamp set from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog. The Mini Catalog ends January 4th, so if you want something from it, you had better order it soon!

This card was inspired by Mary Brown's card that you can see here on her Stamper Camper blog. She used the same color scheme as the Autumn Meadows Designer Series Paper in the Holiday Mini Catalog. When I first saw it, I sort of cringed at that bright Tempting Turquoise combined with the more traditional fall colors, but now I think I like it. I really enjoyed making my own patterned paper with the stamps from this set. Thanks for stopping by!

November 8 for $10 Workshop I

This is the first card I want to show you from the November 8 for $10 Workshop here at my house last night. This was the first I used the Stampin' Up! Branch Out stamp set. I will definitely be using it again in the spring with that cute tire swing stamp that's included in the set.

This card was inspired by Lorri Heiling's card that you can find on her Confessions of a Stamping Addict blog post here. Visit again next week to see the other cards we made last night. Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Thank You Cards

I showed you a birthday card last week for a special 3-year old. These are the thank you cards I made for his birthday gifts.

We celebrated here at home on his birthday, but he will be having more birthday celebrations when we visit the extended family next week for the Thanksgiving holiday. My boys get to have about three different birthday parties by the time we celebrate here at home in Indiana and then with each side of the family in Pennsylvania. My youngest son gets to party at Thanksgiving in PA, and my oldest son when we visit for Christmas.

The inspiration for my card came from this card I found in the Splitcoast Stampers gallery. I put the little caboose image from the Stampin' Up! Choo Choo stamp set on the inside of the card as well. Sometimes I forget, but I try to embellish the inside of my cards with some stamping as well. Thanks for stopping by!

November 8 for $10 Workshop

Here's a sneak peek at the four cards we'll be making at the November 8 for $10 Workshop on Thursday here at my house at 7pm. Make sure you RSVP by Monday if you're planning to attend! Thanks for stopping by!