A Gift Idea and Challenge!

We're on DAY 8 of a major celebration!! My bloggin' bud Sharon Johnson over at No Time To Stamp celebrated a huge milestone recently and now the festivities are underway to celebrate! She hit one million on her blog counter!!!! So, she invited her Stamp Simply design team along with some wonderful friends along to play! There will be candy and challenges and plenty of gift giving ideas ripe for the holiday pickings for 12 whole days!

Today, I'm up to bat for the Stamp Simply Challenge! Do you need an idea for a small gift to give to someone you want to honor for all they do no matter how big or small? Well, how about some cozy brew -- you know, my favorite-- a coffee concoction! I decided to make some Fireside Coffee and dress it up in a glass canister with some hand stamped details!

I bought the canister at Hobby Lobby for $4 and then just grabbed some stamps, paper scraps, ribbon, a button, a pre-punched tag and some rhinestones and went to town!

The main piece was done with the Labels One Nestabilities Die in a small and larger size. I stamped the fireplace on a scrap from the Lizzie Anne Designs set called Rockin' Holiday, colored with Copic markers and accented the stockings and fire with Diamond and Crystal stickles and added tiny red rhinestones to the "garland" on the fireplace. Afterward, I cut it out and popped it up with some foam tape and added it to the smaller white label. I punched some holes on each side of the matted label and strung the wire-edge ribbon through. I added a star button and tied on the small tag that was stamped with Warmest Wishes from the Paper Trey Ink Holiday Treats.

Here's a close up! I even tried to color on some bricks on my fireplace. That was fun! And, here's a peek at the top! These stamps are also from the Holiday Treats PTI set. Want to make your own Fireside Coffee container? Here's the recipe!
2 cups of Cocoa Mix
2 cups of non-dairy creamer
1 cup of instant coffee
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of cloves
1-1/2 cups of sugar

I will warn you, this makes about 1-1/2 quarts! Enough for a a few canisters! But its a fun creation that I really find rather tasty! :-)

So, here's the challenge today! Show us your favorite small gift ideas! Create a new one that has been floating around in your head or link up to a creation that you've already posted on your blog or gallery! What I would love is for a list of ideas that people can turn to for holiday gifts in a pinch!

EDITED TO ADD: I forgot a deadline in my original post! Sorry! Let's do one week - so you have until Sunday night -11:59 PM. I'll post a winner sometime Monday during the day. Also, some have commented that they don't have blogs so they can't play. If you want to play, all you need to do is make a small gift idea, take a photo and upload it to a gallery. You can even upload it to a photo sharing site and provide that link! Whatever works! We just want to see your ideas! I'll put together a link list so that you can find all the ideas in one spot without jumping from comment to comment.

Meantime, you can see more great examples from these talented ladies:
Leslie, Deb, Joan, Barb, Jennifer, Tammy, and Sharon!

Remember! If you want to try your hand at a challenge, you can upload projects and link to your blog in a comment or you can upload to Splitcoast using the key word SSC08!

Today - it's me giving away the candy! All you need to do is leave a comment showing your favorite small gift idea with a link to your blog or gallery! Like I said, it doesn't have to be a new creation - it can be an oldie but goodie too!

Here is what is up for grabs- some of my favorite things! Cards dressed in white with satin ribbon like sashes, glitter that stays on my nose and eyelashes, An elegant stamp set that reminds me of spring, these are a few of my favorite things!

You'll get this stamp set from Impression Obsession along with some glitter and a bundle of satin ribbon in spring shades. Sharon Johnson - No Time To Stamp? - has more.. yes... more BLOG CANDY offerings!

And, if you want to stay up to speed on different daily challenges and blog candy giveaways, click HERE to travel to "Party Central!" That's where you'll find a daily rundown of all the Stamp Simply Celebrates happenings!

That's it for today folks! See ya back here tomorrow! Hope you make time for play time and leave a comment for my candy and challenge!

Santa loves a little shimmer(z)!!

Gosh, I can't believe we are getting really close to crunch time for Christmas cards! I know some of you out there are probably saying -- HUH? Well, normally I make my Christmas cards in the summer so that I can sit back and not worry. I mean, don't we already have enough on our plates during the holiday season?

So, this weekend I got some holiday creating done! Today's card is one that uses images that I think are just too stinkin' cute!!! I didn't have any Lizzie Anne Designs stamps and now I really think I need more! They are nicely etched rubber and stamp wonderfully!

So, I made this little number using the Rockin' Holiday set! I wanted a kind of spunky layout - something off center and just whimsical. I love how the set includes a little cookie and milk plate! I popped it off to the side so that it was "waiting" for Santa! I used a circle cutter, a 1/14" punch and my scalloped circle punch from SU. One thing you can't see in the main photo is just how much Santa sparkles! I colored him with Shimmerz paint!
Here's a close up! I used Royal Red on his suit, Angel Wings on his beard, Coal to his boots, candlelight to color the milk, and added some Mocha to the chocolate chips! I also added some white Liquid Applique to his hat and jacket to give it that fuzzy feel. Before the applique was heat set, I did sprinkle some prisma glitter on it so that Santa's hat would sparkle too!
The rest is decorative paper, some fun Christmas ribbon and some red bling!

How are you all doing on your Christmas/holiday cards? In the envelope ready to be addressed? Or, scraps of paper not even close to being created? I'd love to hear!! Happy Monday! Hope you had a fabulous weekend!

Make It Sparkle! ssnotime30!

TGIF! Wouldn't be a Friday without a Sharon Johnson Stamp Simply challenge! This week is dedicated to the divas! The women who love a lot of glitz and glam in their stamp room! All you need to do it glitter up any part of your card - use prisma glitter, Stickles, or even glittered decorative paper! You could even use an embellie that's already glittered!

Click on over to Sharon's place HERE for all the details!

While you're at it, check out Tammy's card HERE

My card is dedicated to a little diva in my life... my 4-year-old fairy and princess lovin' daughter. She and I had our nails done today and I mean to tell you, her nails have just about as much sparkle as this little stamped fairy! I'm not going to show this to her- I want to save it for her 5th birthday. It may be a few months away, but it's PERFECT for her!
This image was in a pile of stamped images I got from one of My SBS5 sisters. We did an image swap. How fun! She's a little fairy from Lizzie Anne Designs!

The glitter background is decorative paper from K & Company. The fairy was colored with watercolor pencils and then "painted" with Duo Glue. It's a glue that dries tacky. I did the wings first and then covered it with Prisma glitter. I then painted the skirt with the glue and covered it with pink glitter. Boy, am I sparkly right now! I always manage to get glitter EVERYWHERE! I used my circle and scalloped circle Nesties and layered it with pearl paper and pink pearl paper. The saying is a Papertrey saying from the Holiday Treats set. I thought it was perfect! The saying was attached with a corsage pin that I added some beads to. After I put the pin through my ribbon knot, I did take some wire cutters to cut it down. I don't like that exposed sharp end! And.... that's pretty much it!

Here's a close up...

Hope you make time for play time! I'd love to see what you cook up for this challenge!