Here are some gifts I made this Christmas. The first photo shows some glass jar canisters with the Stampin' Up! Decor Elements Oval Chalkboard Labels. I copied this idea from my friend, Lorri Heling, as Lorri had given me the same gift this summer. I have used the jars over and over again. I have filled them with Halloween candy and written "Trick", "or", "Treat". I've also used them individually by filling one with candy, and written the word "yum" on the chalkboard label. I even used one in my library at school .... I am selling wristbands in the school colors with the school name .... filled the large jar with the wristbands and wrote the price in the oval label. Endless possibilities and great gifts! 
This next handmade gift is a case from Heidi at Blue Eyed Blessings. She has a wonderful, detailed tutorial HERE. These were seriously so easy to make ... I made six of them in very little time .... under an hour. The Jingle All the Way Decor Elements were applied to the glass of the shadow box frame (easy peasy!), applied designer paper to the back panel of the shadow box frame, added the jingle bells and Stampin' Up! Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.
Things are movin' and shakin' at the Riley house! Winter break has begun for Drew and me ... finally! I feel like I've been living at my job, and need to be home doing Christmas things. I have a little bit of shopping left to do, and haven't begun wrapping. Seems like every time I turn around, the kids or I have a celebration of some sort to attend, and the kids' and John's work schedules are insane! The coolest thing going on here is that my mom arrived in Phoenix yesterday! Her sister flew with her to make sure she got here safely and then flew back home the same day .... what an angel! I am very much looking forward to spending Christmas, and my mom's Christmas Day birthday with her, my kids & hubby, and my foster sister & her family! (I spent last Christmas in Omaha with my Mom in a blizzard away from my kids and hubby.) We are going to have so much fun!About the above photo .... I picked up these jars at Ikea a few weeks ago, stamped one of my favorite images on it (Merry & Bright, retired), colored it, punched it out, tied a ribbon around the neck of the jar, then filled it with candies, and gave them to some of my co-workers last week. I got such a kick out of some of them ..... "them" as in "non-crafty people". Although I've seen these little jars over and over again on stamping blogs throughout the years, these simple little jars were spectacular in the eyes of their non-crafting recipients. What I considered a quick and simple project became a wonderful reminder of how much joy our crafting can bring to others!I have some catching up to do on my blog reading so iPICKS may be a day or two late. :(
As I mentioned in this post, we had our annual weSTAMP demonstrator group Christmas party last week. In addition to delicious food, wonderful & talented friends, and an out-of-this-world, over-the-top gift exchange, we made these festive holiday houses designed by the incredibly talented Rachele Sanclemente. Rachele is a weSTAMPer that makes everyone's jaw drop with each and every one of her creations! Rachele spent an enormous amount of hours tweaking this project and gathering and preparing supplies for 20+ stampers. This above photo shows the three sample houses Rachele made for us. Each of us made one of the large houses. THANK YOU, RACHELE !!!
Welcome to iPICKS where I post a selection of my favorite Stampin' Up! cards and projects by other talented stamping artists. There's no formal rules or guidelines ... just inspiring projects that catch my eye, clever ideas, and exceptional designs. These are projects that inspire me and I hope they inspire you too! Please click on each link to go directly to the artist's blog for more information about the artist and their project.
iPICKS #110 ...
from Karen Laub ... 
from Gaylene Dickinson ... 
from Wendy Janson ... 
from Leah Sinatra ... 
from Karen Motz ... 
from Sandy Braddock ... 
from Teresa Kline ... 
from Barbara Welch ... 
from Barbara Welch ... 
from Karen Thomas ... 
from Karen Giron ... 
from Lorrie Reid ... 
This next handmade gift is a case from Heidi at Blue Eyed Blessings. She has a wonderful, detailed tutorial HERE. These were seriously so easy to make ... I made six of them in very little time .... under an hour. The Jingle All the Way Decor Elements were applied to the glass of the shadow box frame (easy peasy!), applied designer paper to the back panel of the shadow box frame, added the jingle bells and Stampin' Up! Striped Grosgrain Ribbon. 
* Filled with Love Set (page 43 of Holiday Mini Catalog). After January 3, 2011, this set will only be available as part of the Filled with Love Bundle.
* Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack - contains 12 sheets total of two double-sided designs. 
* FREE Bitty Buttons (page 186 of large catalog) - contains 64 buttons total, 16 each of 4 styles ... a $4.95 value. 
NOTE: You can purchase the Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack for $9.95. However, the FREE Bitty Buttons are only included with the Bundle.
Things are movin' and shakin' at the Riley house! Winter break has begun for Drew and me ... finally! I feel like I've been living at my job, and need to be home doing Christmas things. I have a little bit of shopping left to do, and haven't begun wrapping. Seems like every time I turn around, the kids or I have a celebration of some sort to attend, and the kids' and John's work schedules are insane! 
As I mentioned in this post, we had our annual weSTAMP demonstrator group Christmas party last week. In addition to delicious food, wonderful & talented friends, and an out-of-this-world, over-the-top gift exchange, we made these festive holiday houses designed by the incredibly talented Rachele Sanclemente. Rachele is a weSTAMPer that makes everyone's jaw drop with each and every one of her creations! Rachele spent an enormous amount of hours tweaking this project and gathering and preparing supplies for 20+ stampers. This above photo shows the three sample houses Rachele made for us. Each of us made one of the large houses. THANK YOU, RACHELE !!!
