2011 Holiday Tags

Edited for questions: Yes, the Front and Center die does fit through the Cuttlebug. It's sized just large enough to fit through. The vintage jingle bells I use on my projects are hand made by me. I will be offering them up in my Etsy shop under my Noel Notions creations very soon.

Today I'm mixing it up with a whimsical project created for Papertrey's second Group Post for this month. The team is featuring 2011 Holiday Tags and Wonderful Words: Holidays + the coordinating word dies. I also used the new Front & Center #1 die. Our assignment was to create a tag & card using a combination of both the new sets.

I used all the products to create a tag and card with coordinating pocket.....all within one project. The patterned papers are from Crate Paper's 2010 holiday collection.
Let me show you a break down of all the pieces and parts. First up I created a pocket to hold an A2 size card using the Front & Center #1 die. I'm telling you, I love this die and I know you will too. I die cut two pieces of the yellow polka dot patterned paper, trimmed off the bottom and then stitched around three sides to create a pocket. I embellished the card pocket with a bundle of loopy ribbon, jingle bells, a green ornament and red and white baker's twine.
Here's the tag portion of my project made from the Tag Sale #5 five, another new favorite die of mine. I topped it with a *merry* die cut word from the Wonderful Words: Holiday die collection. I saved the die cut oval that comes from the main Front & Center #1 die. It's the perfect little accent to add a stamped word to. A glittered clothespin was added for some bling along with some machine stitching.
Another fun accent on my card pocket is a second pocket made from an Aqua Chevron Bag from my shop. I adhered it to the pocket front before stitching, trimmed about 1" off and then did my stitching. I love the pocket on top of a pocket...so many fun places to tuck in little tags. I used another oval on the bag front with a stamped holiday image.
And here is my simple card that slips into the card pocket. It's made up of 3 stamped tags from the 2011 Holiday Tags stamp set, with stitching on two of the tags.
All of my little pieces make a perfect little gift because you have a card + a tag + a gift pocket all in one. Add in a gift card, a candy bar or some other fairly flat goody and you're good to go. Hope you enjoy!! I think we'll make up a bunch of these for the girls' friends at school....or maybe teacher gifts. They're just so fun to make!
Please visit the rest of the Papertrey team to see their creative takes on today's featured products.

• Nichole Heady
• Heather Nichols
• Dawn McVey
• Lisa Johnson
• Betsy Veldman
• Melissa Phillips
• Maile Belles
• Jessica Witty
• Erin Lincoln
• Danielle Flanders

This girl....

This sweet girl of mine. She's your typical 12 year old. But she's also so much more. She loves sports and clothes and friends and Angry Birds. She loves to laugh and play practical jokes. Her room is messy most of the time. She bites her fingernails to my dismay.
She also loves to create small works of art and garden and play with her kittens. She loves to take photos and cram them into her Smash book. She doesn't sit around texting or watching tv much. She'd rather be out in the garden with muddy feet helping me pick beans or check to see if the new pumpkins are growing. She doesn't care about wearing makeup or if her hair is straightened. She'd rather be sewing a quilt out of old vintage sheets.

She gets up at 6:00 am in the summer time instead of sleeping in. She doesn't roll her eyes much when asked to do chores....many times she does housework without being asked. She cares about people and loves to listen to her grandparents' stories about the old days. She loves to bake and help out in the kitchen. While I was at Stamp-a-faire, she sent me a photo of some cookies all laid out so cute. She told me she was practicing for when she gets her own blog.
She's got a kindred spirit, that's for sure. I look at her in a group of kids and I know that she is special. I know that she sees the bigger picture. A brighter future. I can see the wheels spinning in her mind. I know there are big things planned for Jordy even though we don't know what they are yet. I am so proud to be her mother.
While I was away on my trip, Jordy was hard at work back home. She created more of her adorable little house on the hill collages and I just have to share them.

(this piece has sold)

The little stinker is quite the entrepreneur. She sells her artwork to friends and family to earn her own money. She also knows that it's nice to give them as presents too.
This time she's saving up for an Ipad. She's got about 3/4 of the money saved up. She'll get her little box out each day and count up how much more she needs.

(still available has sold)

I so badly want to toss in the rest of the $$ she needs....but Eric and I told her she needs to earn this by herself. So she patiently waits for her stash to build up.
She mows Grandma's yard, she's saved all of her birthday money...she spends sparingly on little trivial items.

(this piece has sold)

I'm so proud of her for doing this all by herself. She even has to spend her own money to purchase the frames for her artwork.
I think it's great to encourage your children to EARN things they want. Life should not be about hand outs. It's about working hard, instilling a good work ethic. It's never too early to teach children to be responsible.

(still available here)

It's also a great thing to encourage children to turn off the tv and phones....and to do something productive, stimulating for the mind + soul. It's also critical to tell children they they are good at something...like Jordan's artwork that she loves to create.
Thank you for letting me share a little bit about my sweet little red. She couldn't wait to show me her creations.....and they were too cute not to share with the world today.

Have a great week everyone! I had so much fun at Stamp-a-faire.....it's so refreshing to know there are so many nice people in the world....who just love to stamp! Keep on creating...

More artwork from Jordy...

After spending several days at Grandma's house, Jordan is finally home.....and she's just like her mama.....itching to craft so she dug right into her goodies.

Up in the Etsy shop is another summery tiki hut framed piece. So cute when hung by the door with cute swimming suits.......or on the porch with paper lanterns.....perfect centerpiece for a summer time party.....or near the pool shed. I love the thatched roof.

And this one makes my heart melt. I've yet to get one of these babies. Lacey, hand stitched and oh so pretty.
I need to pick out the fabrics for her to make me one. I've got just the spot.

Stay tuned for some more Pretty Place Settings coming up too. Have a great day everyone!

Jordan's artwork...

Edit: Jordan told me to tell you that she will be making more Love Shacks. She went right to work after school. She is tickled pink, I tell ya! Thanks for all the nice comments!

Happy afternoon everyone. I just got back from town with my folks. I took them in to a church garage sale, we went to eat at Wendy's and then went to Walmart. Such an exciting life we lead!

Here is my sweet, wonderful, little red named Jordan. She's 11 and is cute, smart, popular, athletic, funny and oh so crafty. (Hey, it's my blog and I'm the mom.....of course I'm going to boast about my daughter. Jordan is not into cell phones, emailing and Ipods too much. What she loves though is to be crafty and creative. I wonder where she gets that from??

Here's Jordy working on her first quilt...a black and white quilt composed of squares. We're to the tying point but haven't completed it yet. And that's Boots, our tom cat offering his assistance.
Here's Jordan, capturing a rebound at a recent basketball game. She's still limping around this week because she's so physical on the court. Oh how we love the sports!
And here she is second from the left pictured all sassy with Josey and some friends. Last Sunday was the KU/KSU men's basketball game and it was a battle to the end. And I'm talking sister vs. sister....you should have seen the game too!
Onto the crafting....Jordan likes to make stuff. Lots of stuff. And then more stuff. So much stuff that we've resorted to taking photos for the scrapbook and then we have to get rid of some of it. Her latest venture is her framed houses made of fabric and found objects. Her first Valentine creation is front and center in my Valentine decor this year. So cute!!
Here it is up close. Lots of fabric, buttons, felt.....she spent hours and hours cutting felt hearts and hand stitching them....picking just the right buttons...making sure everything was just so. I call these creations The Love Shacks.
She's set up permanent residence in my craft room with her own table and supplies. Here's her new sewing box that Santa brought her.
And here's just one of the messy little piles that is evidence of her crafting ventures. Looks kinda like my table, come to think of it.
I told Jordan that I would post her art from time to time in my Etsy shop. But no guarantees of a sale. This morning, I posted one of The Love Shack creations in my Etsy shop and then had to run to town with the folks. When I came back, her creation had sold!!!!! She will FLIP out when she gets home from school. I am so excited for my budding little artist! She wants her own sewing machine realllllly badly so that's what her earnings will go to. A big, huge thank you goes out to wonderful person who purchased Jordan's artwork. You'll be hearing from us soon!!

I am certain that Jordan will go into mass production mode now....so be looking for some more of her creations soon. I think I'll start charging her rent for her space she's taking up in my craft room. Or maybe I can barter for a framed piece of green artwork for my craft room. :)

Thanks for visiting....Jordan will love to read any comments you leave!