Air Mail

Okay Christmas may be over but I think the Christmas scrapbooking has just begun. I am down to my last 4 pages of our 2010 family album and then its off the the printer, yeah!! The last 4 pages are all Christmas pages because we have 4 different Christmas' with different sides of the family. Here is the page of our BIG Christmas, the Santa Christmas. The girls asked for Barbie Bikes from Santa, and because the girls didn't actually write Santa a letter this year I had to make my own, but once they do I will be sure to scan the actual letter into my page. This will have to do for now. You get the idea.

So, they asked for Bikes and they were very good girls so that's what they got. Unfortunately, we did a trial run with bike sizes at the store before Christmas just so we would know what size to ask Santa for, Ava's size fit her perfect and Sammie was a little small. Flash forward to Christmas morning and I guess all those Christmas cookies and hot cocoa pushed Ava into a major growth spurt. Ugh!!!!!! She bearly fits on her bike. Why, why, why!!! Why can't they just stay babies?

A Little Pickup

Last week we sent this little card to one of Ava and Sammie's best buddies who had a little injury. It was so cute, Ava and Sam where so concerned about their little friend when I told them he got hurt, the first thing Ava said was, "Can we send him a card?" Of course! Now that's my girl, why didn't I think of that!?!

Not to mention I loved making this card. It gave me a chance to dust of this set that I haven't used in a while. This Loads of Love set has a very special place in my heart, it was the first Stampin Up set I ever bought. It worked perfect for a little get well card.

Hi Alyssa, hope Jack got his card and is feeling better. Talk to you soon.

Christmas Ornament

As promised, I told you yesterday that I would show you what Ashley made for the whole family for Christmas. First, look how cute they are packaged. I love that Delightful Decorations set and punch! Now, what's in the bag!?!?

Awwww. It's a snow ball ornament! Now where did you get this adorable idea?? Just kidding! Love this. And that is my absolute favorite picture of our girls together. How cute are they? And all looking at the camera. That is nearly impossible to do with toddlers. Its kinda like herding cats, if you know what I mean!

Thanks, Ash! I love it. And so did everyone else who got one. They were great!

Christmas Gift Card Holders

I know a lot of people don't like giving gift cards as gifts but to tell you the truth, they are my favorite. To give and to get. I especially loved getting them once I became a stay at home mom. Not only was I able to pick out what we needed but it was a reason to get out of the house. I love giving them because you are sure the recipient will get something they like and everyone loves to shop, right?

Okay, that's all. Just my two sense of why its okay to give gift cards as a gift. Now you know I love them;) And you can still make them creative and personal by putting them in a cute handmade card. I love these pocket gift card holders. These ones are a case of the creation by Angie Kennedy Juda. Above you will see the ones I gave out and below is a few we received.

These ones were given to Ava and Sam by my Aunt and Uncle. Thank you so much. But they were made by my uber-talented cousin, Ashley. But the way, hop on over to her blog and check out some of her creations.

Ash- I saw your new postings today. BEA-utiful!! You are so talented. And Merry Christmas by the way. We missed you guys!

Stay tuned and I will show you what Ashley made the girls for Christmas (and the whole family) tomorrow. I love it!!

Christmas Traditions

Here is the first of a few more Christmas pages I will be adding to my family album. This is a few of our family traditions, including: making ornaments, decorating cookies, hot cocoa, pictures with Santa, and of course, the Elf on the Shelf.

This years Santa picture was not the best quality picture but it worked for us. We decided to forgo the expensive mall Santa and opted for the SPCA Santa. It was great because the lines were short, we got to have our doggie in the picture, it only cost $10 (verses $30) and half of the money goes to helping homeless animals. Now that is worth it to us!

And for those of you who don't know who the Elf on the Shelf is, it is our favorite tradition!!In a nut shell, at Christmas time Santa sends an elf to watch over the kids and each night he flies home to Santa (when the kids are sleeping, of course) to report how the kids were that day (naughty or nice) then he returns each morning but finds a new place to hide, and the kids get to try and find him each morning. It's so much fun but the girls are really missing him right now. He flies away when he hears Santa's bell. But just wait until next year, when he again will reappear;)

Okay, now what to do today. To take down Christmas decorations or not???? I do need to reorganize our new toy collection. That is going to be a huge job its self. Wish me luck!

Christmas Recap

Oh I hope everyone had a really wonderful Christmas. I know we did. This was the first year that the girls got really into Christmas. This will probably always be a special one for me. Everything was just so magical. It was adorable. Here is a little Christmas recap for us:
Its all about Disney's Tangled this year. Daddy found the girls some Rapunzel wings that they loved! But oh, what a mess. I am constantly saying, " Careful girls, don't get them Tangled.".......hee, hee. And I laugh every time. And Brandon rolls his eyes............every time.

And here they are with their BIG gifts. These ones Santa left by the chimney. They thought all the presents were over and then they found these. They squealed with delight and were jumping up and down. And me, the big softy that I am....I teared up a bit. It was kinda funny now that I think about it. Just caught in the moment I guess.

Okay, I do have more goodies to share but just give me one day to recoup and I will get back on track, I promise. See you tomorrow!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! As you can imagine, I am taking the day off to enjoy this wonderful day with my family. But this video has became a favorite in our house, so please turn it up and enjoy. God Bless!

A Couple of Vintage Beauties!

Okay, I think we are down to the wire with showing you Christmas cards but I still have more to share. I may even have a few stragglers after Christmas. I just didn't get them all posted in time. So today I have a two for one special.
This first one was made by my cousin Lorraine. Everything Lorraine does is beautiful, including this card. And I love how simple it is. Nice job!

And this one is from my uber-talented Upline, Beverlee. Very vintage, very beautiful! And I am hoping that stamp set sticks around for a bit because it is really, really calling to me.

I love both cards, thank you so much!

Believe!

Okay, for those of you with little ones at home or for those of you that know someone with little ones I have a couple of very important websites for you to check out. If you are not in the Christmas spirit this will definitely do the trick. Check this out:

Portable North Pole- This one left Ava and Sam completely speechless! You can create a email directly from Santa. He knows all about them, knows if they have been good or bad (you can actually put them on the naughty list if they have been bad) he know what they have been working on or need to work on and of course he tells them that he is working on that special gift for them. It was so cute!!


And this one you will want to mark for Christmas Eve:

NORAD Santa Tracker- That's right! It counts down the time until Santa comes and then once Santa's sleigh takes off for the present delivery you can track his sleigh using Google Earth to see exactly where Santa is at the moment and how far he is away from your house.

Ahhhh, now if your weren't excited for Christmas before hopefully you are now. Santa comes tomorrow night!!!! Whoooo Hoooooo!!!

Christmas Case

Well, I have used the Candy Cane Lane DSP right down to the bits. I loved that paper! But while cleaning out my tornado (I mean scrapbooking room) I came across a stack of cards I made back at the cabin. I dont think I showed this one to you yet but if I did, oops. This one is a case of a Becky Roberts card. Yeah, she does great stuff. It just kills me how talented some people can be.

This card is fairly simple too. Just a lot of layering. I also love the Scallop Circle Die (which I dont have but was able to borrow from my demo sisters at the cabin.) It kinda looks like a doily (or however you spell that.) We just used a handheld hole punch to punch holes in each of the scallops. Cute, huh?

Somethin' for the Teachers

We at the Toll household love to give gifts. Giving gifts are so much fun! I wish I could give to everyone but I am sure my husband would be really mad at me and it would break the bank for sure! So I have to be frugal and a lot of homemade gifts go out from us. Those are the best kind, right? Well at least we think so! But the teachers and staff at our Pre-School are in top priority for us. It is very important that they know how much we love them. So here is the goodies we will be delivering this week.

I came across these adorible glove toppers on splitcoast and I fell in love. I thought they were adorable! And I liked the idea of giving gloves as well. Somethin' comfy! That works nicely with the whole "Comfort and Joy" sentiment to, huh? Click here to see my original inspiration. Mine look a bit different but the idea is the same and her's were adorible. Check it out!

But that's not all. Just inside the gloves I slipped in a Starbucks gift card and some seasonal lip balm. Now we are talkin' comfort, right! Hope they like them.

Merry Christmas

Okay, I know I told you I was done with this set for the year. But I lied. Just one more card, I think and then I will give it a rest for the year. At least I can say I got my money's worth out of this set, right? This card was part of a set for my mom. She asked if I would mind making her a stack of last minute Christmas cards for her to send out. Hmmmm, let me think. Umm, okay! Oh and by the way she said, "I love those little reindeer!" Good, so do I!

It's a pretty simple layout and a lot of coloring but it's the kid in me that still loves to color so I enjoyed making them.

Okay, what to do today!?! Stay inside and stay dry or brave the weather just to get out? I don't know. Ahh I know, clean my tornado that has become my scrapbooking room (or stamp-booking room as the girls call it.) Yep, clean and create again. Gotta finish those teachers gifts too. Stay tuned!

Double Slider Card

Okay, I gotta be quick this morning, lots to do. But this card is called a double slider card and it was part of the Not Your Average Card Class series. I now only have one class kit left. If you are interested in the class kit let me know and it's yours! These double slider cards are too fun and definitely a wow for the recipient. Once you learn how to make these, you will love them. Now gotta run, off to pick up the girls from Grandma's house. Enjoy your Sunday!

Let's Get Cookin'

Okay, well baking actually. On Thursday night we got a chance to fulfill one of our Christmas traditions. Baking and decorating cookies. I know, we make a lot of these dipped Oreos but they are super toddler friendly and Oreos are my girls favorite so we always have tons on hand.

We also made a big batch of Peanut Butter cookies too. Those are my favorite. Yum! And here they are all done and getting ready to be packaged up. Those plates may look a little familiar. They are the Decor Element plates I posted a few weeks ago. Click here to see the original post of the dishes. And before you say it, yes, those are Martha Stewart cookie boxes in the back ground. I know, I will slap my own hand on that one. But they are really great. Stampin Up had some treat bags last year and I swooped them up. We need some more!

And here are the goodies all packaged up and ready for delivery (which was yesterday.) We totally missed judged the timing of the storm. We baked on a clear day and made deliveries in the rain, ugh! Oh well, I think everything survived.

Here is a close up of the tag. Pretty simple. Now go finish up that Christmas shopping, if you haven't already and try to stay dry today!

Filled With Love

Okay, I know Christmas isn't even here yet but its time to start thinking about the next fabulous holiday that is just around the corner. Especially because Stampin Up has just announced an awesome new promo to help us jump start our creating. Its the Filled With Love Promotion and you don't want to miss out! Here is what you get:

Filled With Love Stamp Set

(Available in both Wood and Clear)

Love Patterns Designer Series Paper Pack

12 sheets total: (3) 12 X12" sheets of two double-sided designs in Real Red and Pretty in Pink
(you can also just buy the paper if you already have the stamp set)

and if you order now through January 24th you will also get

FREE Bitty Buttons

Now remember Valentines Day is the 2nd biggest card giving holiday of the year so we need to get ready! Love is in the air, I can feel it!!

Click here to view or print the promotional flyer.

Wish Big

As part of our Not Your Average Card Class we made this birthday explosion card. There is a lot of folding and cutting with this one but the results are certainly a wow! If you missed the class and would like to purchase a class kit let me know. I still have a few available. There are still two more cards in this series. I hope to post them in the next few days.

Sorry for the quicky post this morning but I gotta run, off to pre-school. (Not me, the girls.)

SU! to the Rescue

I love SU! They are so good to us. Did you know that Stampin Up gives free wrapping paper with your orders!?! Yep, I love it. That's so nice of them. This great wrapping paper doubles as craft paper for your little ones too. It's great! Yesterday, the girls and I made some ornaments and the "wrapping paper" worked great for protecting our table from the paint.

Okay, truth be told it's just the packing paper;) But it works great. Just smoothen it out and set it aside until you are ready. Its perfect, you can stamp on it too (Ava and Sam do) and
if you use some raffia or twine as your ribbon it looks like one of those adorable old fashion packages. You know, sorta the ol' Sound of Music,"Brown paper packages ties up with string, those are a few of my favorite things..." Your welcome that this is all typed and you don't actually have to hear me singing. Anyway, be a little green, save a little green and reuse this fab freebie from SU! Remember to place your Stampin Up orders today to get your FREE paper!!

Stampin Up has also come to the rescue of some of my broken ornaments. With the help of the girls, the dog and the cat, I will be lucky if about half of my ornaments survive the holiday. But I am trying my best to stay on top of the carnage. If you have a household like mine, you may want to add some Crystal Effect and Linen Thread to that order too. It makes for a great "Ornament Repair Kit."

Now if only Stampin Up will come out with an easy swing kit that would be great! My stockings used to have beautiful tassels on them. Not anymore after this move from the girls! STOCKINGS DONT ACTUALLY GO ON YOUR FEET!

Oh well. Their having fun and I'm goin' crazy over here. Happy Holidays, right!?!

Stylish Blogger Award

Thank you so much the Kelly at Always Stampin for this award she gave me. Whoo Hoo! I am glad I inspire you and you enjoy my blog. Of course, I had to pop on over your way and ditto for you and your wonderful blog. I am flattered, really. Thank you so much.



Okay, here are the rules. I have to tell you 8 things about myself that you may not know and then pass this one to 8 of my favorite blogs:

About me:

1. I am a mom of two beautiful little girls. (if you follow my blog, you probably already know that)

2. My girls are 2 and 3 (13 months apart. On purpose too.)

3. I was born on Halloween (My brother was born of the 4th of July too. )

4. I met my husband when I was 14 (started dating him when I was 17)

5. I became a wife at 22 and a mom at 25.

6. My mom is my best friend (Hi Mom! I know you are reading this)

7. I am a Licensed Real Estate Agent (same as my mom)

8. I am completely addicted to Stampin Up. I think about it all day every day (I am sure you already know that too)

and my inpiration:

1. Stampin All Day With Bev

2. Stamp Your Dream With Julie Ramos

3. Lorraine's Stampin Corner

4. MacRae: Lynn Designs

5. Hand Stamped By Ashley Romo

6. Creations By Mercedes

7. Emi Nakagawa

8.I stamp, I create, I have fun

Don't Forget

Don't forget! Today our fearless leader, Shelli is appearing on the TODAY show. Last year she was on too for the TODAY Show Annual Holiday Toy & Gift Drive. As you know, Stampin' Up! believes in giving back to the community and making a difference in people's lives. Be sure to stay tuned and see her in action. Though she will only be on for a few brief minutes it is still very exciting!

You can stay connected with updates by following the Stampin Up Facebook and Twitter pages. But as of right now the latest Tweet says, Shelli is in the green room getting ready and should be appearing at 9:23 AM (EST)

Birthday Bakery

Here is card number one in the Not Your Average Card Class. This is an Easel Card and these are super easy to make. For our class we made a total of four cards and each card got a little more challenging. I think the ladies like the cards and enjoyed the class.

If you where not able to make it to class last Thursday and would like the class kit please let me know. I did make a few extra. Kit costs are $4 + shipping if needed.

Now go enjoy your Sunday, I will see you tomorrow.

One More Ornament

Okay, just one more ornament, I promise. I am now officially out of clear bulbs. Above you will see what I have left of my Candy Cane Lane DSP. This was by far my favorite DSP. I loved it and so did everyone else. This pack actually sold out. But I loved this paper so much I couldn't even bear the throw the scraps away. So here is what I did......

No, this isn't my idea. You may have seen these before. There are lots of them floating around out there so there is no one person I can give credit too. But I love this idea. It was easy, saves on garbage, and has a really cute finished product.

Okay, I'll get back to some cards now. I still have some great cards that the ladies made at our last class to show you so stay tuned. Now I gotta run we are off to a special viewing of the Polar Express, yeah!

Christmas Cards, ugh!

Christmas Cards this year have been just about the most stressful thing. It's too bad because I love making my Christmas cards. But I have felt like this huge clock was hanging over my shoulder just screaming, "TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK." Aaaaaahhhhhhh! My aunt even said to me, "where is your Christmas card, this is so unlike you!" I know.
Well, problem number one: I wanted so bad to do a MDS card and I spent entirely too much time trying to design the right card. They when I was finally done I thought,"but what if they don't come in time, and what about all this great Christmas supplies I have!?!" Okay, scrap all plans and start over, ugh!

So here is what I went with. I just couldn't bear not to use all these great supplies: Candy Cane Lane DSP, Candy Cane Fabric and Candy Cane Big Designer Buttons.

My favorite part of these cards is that each one is a little different. And just to save a little paper and be a little "green," I made these cards post card style. So they don't actually open. The greeting is just on the back.

But the bad part is, I only made about half of the cards I wanted to make. I wish I had time to send out about twice this many cards but like I said, big huge clock hanging over my shoulder!

So now that they are done, in the envelopes, and addressed, I will actually take them to the post office today. I promise myself. TO THE POST OFFICE!

Christmas Note Book

I don't think I ever showed you this one. I made this a long time ago when I went to the cabin. I love this little book and it is little. One of my demo friends, Patricia, was making one of these and she brought enough mini books for all of us. So we all made one and they were all different.
Very cool!

This works perfect for keeping track of my Christmas lists, to do lists and groceries. Oh, and it was fun to make too.

Okay, gotta run. Off to drop the girls at school and come home to prep for tonight's class. Don't miss it!

Somethin' For Emi

Okay, I was really bad on this one. Emi was so great to me on my birthday, she gave me this great little gift. You saw it here on my blog and I knew her birthday was coming up and I had to make her a little gift too. But it passed right by me and I was late. I am so sorry Emi. But luckily I really wanted to stop by her an Alyssa's Holiday Boutique last weekend and so I brought it with me to give to her.

The bag its self was a case of a project that was done by Julie Davidson. Inside is one of our cello bags with some toffee popcorn. If nothing else maybe it was a little snack while she was busy working;)

The card, I am not 100% happy with but oh well. I do want to mention, a few days ago, when I posted about Emi and Alyssa's two blogs I forgot to post one of them. I noticed it yesterday so I went back and made some corrections to that post. Now you can view both of their blogs. Sorry about that, and happy belated birthday Emi!