Christmas Idea Exchange!!

Turkey Day is officially over...which means that it's time for the Christmas Idea Exchange! Wahoo! I hope you all share what you're doing this Christmas, because, big or small, we all need some ideas!



I'm gonna kick off this exchange with two gift ideas. The first is for little munchkins. Can you guess what it is?



First, you'll need to gather some:

• felt (or flannel, but I prefer to sew with felt b/c I need easy!),


• a little vinyl for sewing,


• some little trinkets,


• and some poly pellet beads (bought mine at Joann's with 40% off coupon for $4).


• grommets (optional)


• binder rings - 1" (optional)

Cut out your template (I'm including several files today). Cut two felt of the outer edge and then cut out the middle on one piece of felt.

Sew the vinyl very close to the edge on the inside hole. I bought my vinyl at Wal-Mart for a total of .46 cents! And it made 7 of these so far! (I bought the heavier kind)

Next, sew around the outer edge, leaving a hole to stuff treasures inside.

If using grommets, cut a small hole toward the edge of your bag.

Place the grommet as directed and hammer into place.

Stuff the bag with the trinkets and the poly pellet beads (one of these bags makes at least 7-8).

Sew closed. Type on cute paper the items hidden inside and laminate so the child can actually play a game with it instead of just looking.

Voila. I Spy bags for your little kids...or nephews and nieces...or husband... to help them keep quiet in church or meetings, etc. Make more!!

Here are some files for the I Spy bags.

Frog - .svg

Flower - made with a font I have...you can use any flower and put a circle in the middle

Bird - .svg

Car - .svg

Football - .svg

Here is the other idea I have for you.

I thought this could be used for anybody! Just change up the saying for friend, neighbor, etc. In case you're wondering about the closure, here's what it looks like!

And here's the file:

Christmas Tree Box - .svg

Christmas Tree Box Saying - .jpg

OKAY, peeps. It's your turn! Show us what you got!! Use the McLinky below to give us a link to your blog or another site where your project is posted! Don't have a blog? Let me know in the comments and I'll have you email me your pics and I'll post them for you! Just don't let your projects go unnoticed and help your fellow crafters at the same time! I can't wait to see what you do! You can add your links until December 20th.

Decorating for Christmas...ALREADY!

Well, I've got little kid decorations for Christmas, but I don't really have much in the way of adult decorations. I've wanted the cone trees for years, but I didn't want to pay $30 for one (and of course I wanted two). I also wanted some glittery balls I found at Roberts last year, but it was $12 for one color. Yikes! When Christmas was over, I bought them for $3 for one color. Much better.

I originally had them in this hurricane holder...but I felt I needed to change it up. When I saw Just A Girl had bought some styrofoam cones and decorated them with yarn, I thought,

"I can DO THIS!"

So, I bought the styrofoam cones (I used a 50% off on one, cuz I'm super cheap like that) and I got to work.

I painted the cone the color of my first box of glittery balls. I even had some help from the kiddos!

Then I hot glued the balls on starting from the bottom in rows.

Then I cut out a piece of felt the color of my balls, using a 4" diameter circle that I cut from my cricut. :) I use that machine for EVERYTHING.

And here's the result. I love them and I'm now super excited to finish that little area. I think pine cones are in order...and who knows what else...maybe a vinyl sign?

Don't forget...

I hope you've all remembered this! I'm excited to see what kinds of ideas you come up with. I've got a few on my list...one is a homemade box (of course) for neighbors, friends, teachers, etc. and the other one is for the little goochie goos on your list (that's mom talk for little munchkins). I also have a decorating idea (woo-hoo it's way cheap!) and a few box files that I'm altering to put up on here. I just have one problem...my laptop (which I use for all of my cricuting) no longer has a cord that works! I've ordered one, but I don't have it yet...so I may have to CRAM these in at the last minute! At least the ones I have for the Idea Exchange.

REMEMBER...the Christmas Idea Exchange is going to start on Saturday, the 28th of November! So, get crafting and creative and let's see what you come up with!!!

Getting organized

For those of you who do food storage, I think you'll know what I mean when I say it's hard to find spaces to put it in. When we first moved into our home, we had NOWHERE to put anything...not even a regular pantry. So Jaren made us a pantry and some shelves above the washer and dryer. And this little section became our clutter area. (But of course I cleaned out most of the junk before I took this picture) When my husband had some left over alder and melamine from a job he did, we decided we needed more cabinets to store the many jars we canned this year.

Here's the result:

Isn't this little family sign cute? We did this at a family reunion...but I bet with your handy dandy cricut, you could do your own much easier than we did ours! We actually traced the letters onto paper and cut it out before mod podging it onto the painted wood!

This year we canned salsa, strawberry and peach jam, peaches, pears, and apple pie filling. Do you wonder where we kept it all? Me too! It seems like every time we make more room it all gets filled up!

Our cereal stash...we got each of these boxes for 1.00 or less!

And there it is! One more area cleaned up...now for my craft area...

Cut File Freebie - Week #27

Well, here's the box I've been excited about! This time, Cindy from http://mrsbscraftroom.blogspot.com/ did up this little cutie. If you've never been to her site, you need to go check her out! She's got some seriously great crafts!!

Isn't it darling?! I could eat it! I eat a lot of things I shouldn't these days! :) Thanks Cindy for an amazing job!!

You'll notice the file is a little different than the one pictured here. Cindy also gave me some great feedback on how to change this file so that it went together better. I also put some holes on the top. Cindy came up with the idea to do an advent on the Christmas tree with these little guys! I hope she does it so I can see her beautiful tree!!

Here's the file:
Ornament Shaped Box - .svg

I'm also super excited about this!!

Right after the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm gonna host a Christmas paper/vinyl craft idea party...and you probably have no idea what that means...so let me tell you! I'll provide a new file, with a decorated version to show you, and ask that you all play along!

You can choose any file on this site or create or use your own (but it has to be free and available to everyone!) and decorate it to give away for Christmas. Then you'll put a link on the McLinky I put up so that everyone else can get ideas for cute Christmas give-aways! It could also be a sign, a piece of clothing, etc. Anything that uses your cricut and that has a file to share...or if you don't own a cricut, but have a great craft and want to share a tutorial on it, please do! Let's all get great ideas from each other to make this holiday special without spending too much money!!! This will start on Saturday, November 28th!

Cut File Freebie - Week #26

Yes, I've got ANOTHER box for you! I decided I would try to put up all the boxes with the flutter type top on them first...but I don't have the small one for you yet because I got some good feedback on how to change the file. But, I do have a triangle for you! This one could be used as an icicle for the upcoming holidays, an ornament, or a carrot for Easter.

Denise Hill was super kind enough to make these for me! If you can believe it, she apologized for making it so simple! Wait, what?! Simple...? Try beautiful! The one above she made like the flutter top box so that the little half circles stuck out of the box.

This one she actually had the half circles go INSIDE the box...and I love that look too!! Ingenius! I love the metallic cardstock with the embossing! Doesn't look plain at all to me...but of course, I've always loved Denise's work! She's the one who made the cookie carrier file to fit the small cookie towers in. You can visit her at http://paperpastime.blogspot.com/. When you go, you'll find that she also does a lot of box files...creates them, I mean, and offers them for free too!

Here's the file:

Carrot/Icicle Box - .svg

PS I've got a Christmas box coming soon that I'm pretty excited about! Have fun crafting...

Blog Award

Hi all! I was lucky enough to receive this award from both Susan at http://spartansusscraper.blogspot.com/ and Denise at http://paperpastime.blogspot.com/.

The rules are this: I need to pass this award on to five people, post on their blog to let them know I left this award, and then I need to answer this list of questions in ONE word:

1. Where is your cell phone? home (I'm at school)

2. Your hair? graying (aaaaaah!)

3. Your mother? classy

4. Your father? goofy

5. Your favorite food? chocolate

6. Your dream last night? ? (never remember)

7. Your favorite drink? chocolate milk

8. Your dream/goal? new house!

9. What room are you in? classroom (investments)

10. Your hobby? crafting

11. Your fear? failing

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? done being prego

13. Where were you last night? couch

14. Something that you aren't? confrontational

15. Muffins? apple (from Costco)

16. Wish list item? wheat grinder attachment for KitchenAid

17. Where did you grow up? San Diego

18. Last thing you did? e-mail

19. What are you wearing? maternity business casual outfit

20. Your TV? scratched

21. Your Pets? none

22. Friends? the best

23. Your life? hectic

24. Your mood? disappointed (just got back my midterm)

25. Missing Someone? EVERYONE (I don't play anymore)

26. vehicle? SUV

27. Something your not wearing? my food (there's a first for everything, right?!)

28. Your favorite store? Roberts

29. Your favorite color? changes

30. When was the last time you laughed? few minutes ago

31. Last time you cried? every other day

32. Your best friend? 3

33. One place that I go to over and over? Just A Girl

34. Facebook? seldom

35. Favorite place to eat? Red Robin

K, so I cheated...I used more than one word and even added parentheses. I guess I should have used longwinded to describe myself!

Here are the five people I've chosen:

Just a Girl

SugarEd

The Frosted Cake'N'Cookie

Mel Stampz

Ellies Stamp Garden

Freebie Cut File - Week #25

OK, ladies, get ready for this! Amy at http://sensationallychicboutique.blogspot.com made this incredibly cute box for me. There's a reason sensational is in her blog url!

Isn't this little penguin adorable? She said she was going to put in candy canes and hot chocolate! What a great idea! Especially perfect for those of us without a whole lot of time on our hands for making something homemade! Incredible job Amy! Thanks again!!!

Here is the file:

Tall Flutter Top Box - .svg

P.S. I, once again, kept out the window shape in case someone needs it for a way to wrap something so that the inside is not seen! Simply add a rectangle or other cute shape in there if you need it!

I have also given a smaller version of this template to someone else to decorate...so if you're in need of a shorter svg...keep a lookout!

Freebie Cut File - Week #24

My weeks are going by fast aren't they? I'm trying to get caught up with all the box files I had people cut out for me! I hope you guys are as excited as I am about boxes, cuz that's where we've been and that's where we're gonna keep going for at least a little while longer! This file was requested by Gail...and I'm glad she did!

This first one was designed by Dawn at http://dawnday.blogspot.com. She also did the chocolate box you saw before. When I first saw this as a pdf, I thought it would be so cute to have patterned paper for his little "outfit". It turned out darling! And thanks to Dawn too for the tip on fixing the svg so it cut out right!

This second one was designed by Celeste at http://scrappingbutterflymom.blogspot.com . She's the same lady who designed the cute book box earlier. I love seeing how different people interpret these boxes! I thought she did a great job with changing up the face...giving him a mouth, a cute red nose, and changing up the eyes!

So fun ladies!!! Thanks again!

Here's the file:

Santa Claus box - .svg

P.S. There was someone who left a comment about not being able to open my files in scal. I can't find it now cuz I have no idea which post she left it under...but here's the answer! You have to open scal first. Then you can either go to file, open or file, import svg depending on what you downloaded. Then just browse until you find where you downloaded it on your computer. If this doesn't help, please leave a comment again (I promise I won't lose it this time!).

Freebie Cut File - Week #23

Calie designed this box for us using the Tall Rectangle Box file I gave her. Isn't it darling? The acetate is a really fun way to use this box...and I love her little bands at the top and bottom AND the sentiment! Thanks Calie for such a cute, fun idea for the fall holidays!!!

Here's her blog if you want to head over, check out her stuff, and say hi! http://caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com

Here's the file:

Tall Rectangle Box - .svg