confetti

just about that time!

and another quick doodle on the pen tablet!

goodbye '08...

:) lexi

this is so cool!

so here's my first play with my new wacom tablet.  so very cool!  i love being able to write and draw with a pen on a larger area instead of my finger on the trackpad.  lots more control and fluid movement.

i need to play with it much more and read about different ways i can use it in my design work, but i'm really excited about the possibilities.  do you have one and have any tips for me?  i'd love to hear them!

:) lexi

labeled laundry

i get really busy during the holiday season making christmas cards and other paper gifts, which is a lot of fun.  but i really love to get orders for non paper items like these camp laundry bags.  personalized and in camp colors, it's a really fun item to take to camp--and easy to identify too!

:) lexi

a new toy!

looky what david and the girls gave me!!  i love new toys (i mean tools!) and i've had my eye on this one for a while, but hadn't taken the plunge yet.  can't wait to play more with it!  did you get any fun new toys?

:) lexi

may your merry be very!

merry christmas from our house to yours!

:) lexi

those mischievous elves!

the elves had a great stay again this year!  since they're heading back with santa tonight i thought i'd share some of the highlights that haven't made it into other posts, starting with game night above.

their annual party with the girls' christmas toys...

they ended up hanging from the chandelier again!

they got into my birthday gift stash and wrote the girls names in two of the coke or pepsi? quiz books we've been giving.  they even filled in one of the quizzes!

hanging out in the freezer.  they must have been missing the north pole weather after the snow here was gone--on the same day it came!!

playing with the toothpaste again--at least they delivered new toothbrushes!

reading books...

and watching movies!  we'll be sad to see them go, but we look forward to seeing them and their mischief again after thanksgiving next year...

:) lexi

home for the holidays

after a quick weekend trip i'm now home for the holidays and have lots to still do!  but i thought i'd share a card i created a while back using one of the fences from the saltbox studio along with the lights from the deck the halls set paired with one of my favorite a muse holiday stamps.  i thought a lighted fence was a good addition to the lighted house!

merry! merry!
:) lexi

don't forget the reindeer!

here are some labels i made last week for my nephews' school treats.  some for reindeer food and others for a christmas version of the peeps s'mores.  we also do the reindeer food for the girls' classmates--my mom friends count on it since we've done it since preschool!  our mix consists of quaker oats and wilton sparkling sugar sprinkles in red/white and green/white mixes.  we package them in snack size ziplocs and add a label with the poem.  i've used two different versions over the years. 

the simple one above says:

sprinkle on the lawn at night,
the moon will make it sparkle bright...
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam,
This will guide them to your home!

the other one is a bit longer:

my, oh my! i do declare!
Here's a special reindeer food
to sprinkle through the air.
the oatmeal is for energy,
the sparkles are for flight,
so sprinkle it around your house
on christmas eve night!
all of santa's reindeer will
love this tasty snack
and next year santa and his
reindeer surely will be back!

i'm sure i found them both on the internet, possibly from an email list or on a message board, but i've had them for so long, i have no idea where i got them!  even if you don't do it as a treat to give away, it's a fun christmas eve tradition to do with your own kids.  after all, santa gets all those cookies, so it makes sense that the reindeer have something special to snack on too!

:) lexi

a candy village

christmas time means another chance to be creative with candy and graham crackers--remember our halloween version?  this time, our "gingerbread" houses are a bit more bright and cheery!  in order to have good designing choices, we always end up with a ton of candy, so each girlie invited two buddies to help use up (and eat) as much as possible.

they were extremely quiet while working--concentrating on their designs, sharing ideas, holding things in place while they dried.  however i can't say that they worked very neatly!  but it was worth it.  each house is so cute.  the perfect candy village!  of course, there was still candy left over...

and the elves couldn't resist adding their own extra touches to the girls' houses while we were sleeping.  and now the girls can't wait to use some of their ideas next year!

'nite!
:) lexi

merry fish-mas!

mixed in with the larger orders i've been working on, i got a request for a quick christmas card for my sister-in-law to give to her youngest son's teacher from "the redfish class."  she remembered this fish stamp that we use every summer for our "sunfish" swim team treats and asked me to stamp it in red and come up with something christmas-y with it.  how did i do?  last year, i made a tree out of penguins (scroll down a bit)--i wonder what else will work?!

:) lexi

merry birthday!

as promised yesterday, here is big sister's cake.  she went for a christmas themed birthday and had used a snoopy printable page for her invitation, so i made the cake look like the tree on that.  the garland was supposed to be popcorn, but i realized too late that i didn't have any.  luckily i had the marshmallows and they looked just as cute!  big gumdrops were perfect for the ornaments and sliced, they were just right for the lights, too.  the cake was a hit, but everyone's favorite touch was the gift wrapped board!

the girls were going to this party, too, so i needed another bag tag.  and of course, it had to match the whole theme!

not surprisingly, after i finished the cake (very late at night), the elves and reindeer got into the leftovers!  better them than me...

:) lexi

seven is heaven!

i'm still on that crazy ride of christmas orders, but there is an end in sight and at least i'm feeling better!  the day before i got sick, i baked two cakes for a friend who was throwing her two girls' birthday parties on the same day.  i also did the invitation for the first party--isn't it heaven to be turning seven?  the first part of the phrase was the mom's idea and i immediately thought of my cloud paper and cupcakes--a perfect match! 

i also recreated my blue skies cake to go with, adding a few fondant cupcakes to float with the clouds.  and since my girls were attending the party, i created a bag tag too...

i love it when things fall into place easily!  i'll be back tomorrow with big sister's cake...

:) lexi

sweet treats inside!

have you been following the advent of christmas posts on the a muse news blog?  members of the creative team were assigned a different day and mine was this past monday.  this is such an easy, cute box and i have loved seeing the various takes on it using the different red and green a muse papers and ribbons and fun christmas stamps.  now you get to see what we put inside!  i always need a little chocolate this time of year and nuggets were one of the first projects i created when i started stamping over ten years ago.  a little splash of red and green on a strip of labels made for fast work--such a festive outcome for very little effort!

merry! merry!
:) lexi

let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

after a couple of days under the weather (and the covers!), i got back to busy yesterday feeling completely overwhelmed!  but today a little unusual weather for new orleans turned out to be the best pick-me-up!  it's amazing how a little snow where it doesn't ever snow can just make you so excited.  everyone was happy and smiling about it everywhere today, kids and grownups alike.  and it just felt that much more like christmas time.  of course, i took lots pictures...

 

 

the elves pressed their noses against the window watching the snow fall, too!  and although it all fell between dropping the girlies off at morning carpool and lunchtime--and they got a chance to play in it at school--there was still enough on the ground for them to scrape together a little snowgirl when they got home in the afternoon...

snow much fun!!  i hope you had a happy day, too...

:) lexi

vmaa ~ a night of christmas movies!

* a christmas story challenge *

in the midst of printing and baking last night, i played along with the amuseaddicts during the vmaa.  i just stayed up even later than i would have to make up for it!  the challenges were all taken from various christmas movies.  this one from michelle was to create a card for a child.  i used our mischievous houseguests as inspiration!

* the polar express challenge *

this challenge from geeta was to create a "winter-y" card using primarily blues, whites and lots of glitter.  i love the pop of a red cardinal on a snowy blue and white scene, so that's what i did.  i used liquid applique and glitter to create my snow drifts--apply it, dip into glitter and heat set.  i wanted to stamp some small snowflakes in the sky too, but i forgot!

* scrooged challenge *

rhonda chose a scene from scrooged, when frank told the set hand to staple the antlers to the mouse because the glue wasn't working.  so we had to make a holiday card using staples.  it took me a while to start on this one, but finally inspiration hit--and a christmas tree of staples was born!  i started by stamping the star and stapling the shape starting just below it, then cutting it all out.  it took me a couple of tries to get it right, but i made it just in time!

* home alone challenge *

this challenge from jennie was to create a card based on childhood christmas memories.  i decided to showcase some of my favorites in a series of squares instead of just one--visiting santa, choosing a tree, and putting cookies out on christmas eve.  i love christmas magic!

* the bonus round! *

so we thought the night was over and then came the bonus round--create a card based on your own favorite christmas movie.  i was stumped, didn't have the right stamps for the first movie that came to mind and then i spotted my guy the rock star and i remembered love actually.  it's been on my list of movies i have to watch at christmas ever since it came out.  this scene is near the end when the aging rock star has to make good on his promise to sing his christmas song naked on tv if it hits number one.  i've dressed the rock star for many occasions, but undressing him was a first!

fun challenges!  now, back to work...
:) lexi

the elves are coming!

remember the elves, missy & caroline?  they haven't arrived yet like several friends' elves and the girls were worried that they might not know that we moved.  but today we received a package of their stuff that they shipped ahead, so we think they may be coming soon!!!  check out the return address and billing!  who knew that ups had north pole service?  this will be our 3rd year of elf magic and the girls are so excited for it to begin.  after unpacking the box, we decided to set up their new home away from home...

nice and cozy, with touches to remind the elves of the north pole.  the paper snowflakes were particularly fun--and messy!  it's such a happy treat to walk through the back hallway.  hmmm, maybe tonight's the night...

:) lexi

joy to the world

another christmas quickie in the midst of christmas busy!  i love this angel from the saltbox studio.  it's actually from the americana set released during the summer, but it's so perfect for christmas--especially when paired with one of the sentiments from the recent release, like this one from joy to the world.  a muse star twinkle stickers are the perfect size to place over the stars on the dress for a little bling!

back to busy...
:) lexi

'tis the season to be busy!

i've been attached to my computer all day, designing holiday cards and invitations for various clients, while these boxes are staring at me from the next room.  why i was so excited for christmas to begin???

:) lexi