Inspiration Push # 5

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I've been super busy with festivities this past week. Got to see some friends & spend some downtime with the family.

This weeks inspiration push is inspired by all the new goodies I received. So many times we buy or receive fresh scrap supplies & they wind up being put on the side til a later time. I want you to go grab your newest stash & use it.  Even if it was bought a month ago. Go play!

So we have:

Inspiration Push # 5

Stash: newest scrap goodies 

Quote: "For some moments in life, there are no words." ~ Willy Wonka 

Be inspired.......have fun & go play!

~Jenn

Where's Santa?

I have been doing this with my children since they were little. Here's a site that shows you where Santa is. My children are much bigger now but still like to see this! This was also very helpful to getting them asleep on Christmas Eve!

Here is the Norad Santa site:

Track Santa

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

~Jenn

A yummy cookie recipe

So I got some baking done today. I made these yummy melting moments cookies from the Joy of Baking website. You have to try them..just make sure you have a big ole glass of milk!  Also make sure to save some for Santa! Melting Moments: 1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 1/2 cup (60 grams) cornstarch (corn flour) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 cup (30 grams) confectioners sugar (powdered or icing) 1 cup (227 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Topping: 1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate the batter for an hour or two, or until firm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. When batter is firm, form into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls and place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake for about 10 - 14 minutes or until the edges of the cookies just start to brown. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack that is placed over a sheet of parchment or wax paper. Put the confectioners sugar in a fine strainer or sieve and sprinkle the tops of the cookies with the sugar. These cookies store very well. Place in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper and they will keep a couple of weeks. If desired, just before serving, sprinkle the tops of the cookies with confectioners sugar. Makes about 3 dozen cookies. Enjoy! ~Jenn

Just want to share my Christmas ornament...

Isn't it neat! Love it!

http://www.ornamentswithlove.com/

I'll be baking the rest of the day so I'll be back tomorrow with some cookie recipes!

~Jenn

And the winner is...

Berta! Congrats!!! Please email me your address to Jennsdoodles@gmail.com so I can send these goodies for you to enjoy!

Thanks for participating! There will be more giveaways so stay tuned.

Enjoy the Season! It's to be Merry!!

~Jenn

A blast from the past.....

I just thought I'd share some paper piecings I made many many moons ago. These are just a few of many. They are like my babies. I sold them all so I don't physically have them but I do look at pictures of them from time to time.
If I were a school teacher these would be like looking back at my students from many years ago. I learned so much while learning to make paper piecings. I learned shading & a steady hand. I learned a lot about color. I learned all my cutting skills for sure.(It's all when I fell in love with my Fiskars softouch scissors)
But most of all to have patience in my creating. The darn things took forever...sometimes days. I am very proud of them.
Anyway it's a new year soon & it always makes me look back. This year not only did I look back at life in general but also my scrapping. This hobby sure has come a loonnnggg way.

So enjoy my little blast from the past. 

There's more so please continue reading............

Inspiration Push # 4

This weeks stash item is pattern paper scraps. I used up mine making present embellishments. (Surprise I'm giving them away in this giveaway...Click here to enter giveaway!!!) I'm hoping by using up your scraps you will then in turn be inspired to make a card or layout using your new creation. Therefore using up more of your stash!

This weeks quote is inspired by my appreciation for all that I have in life. I consider myself very blessed.

"Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to play and to look at the stars"

So we have

Inspiration Push # 4
:Stash: Pattern Paper Scraps
:Quote: "Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to play and to look at the stars"


So there you have it. I just want to thank all of you who are following along. I am enjoying doing this each week!

Here's what I've made & will be adding to giveaway.

Ok so don't forget to click on link & enter the giveaway!
Click here to enter giveaway!!

Be inspired today.
~Jenn

A Wreath, a tutorial & a small give away!

Ok so I needed a little Christmas something to fill a spot on my wall. Was about to hit the stores on this crazy full weekend before Christmas. (What was I even thinking) Then it hit me........make something silly. You are crafty!! Looking through my stash I thought of how I wish I had the MS pine branch punch. There has been lots of talks about it lately. Well I do have the TH pine cone die. How in the world did I not realize that this looks almost the same only larger. So the light bulb went off & I began.....

Please read more for supplies used, the tutorial & how to easily enter my give away.

THE Gingerbread house of 2010

Ok so here's my Gingerbread house I made last year from scratch. I'm sharing last years because I simply do not have enough time to dedicate to making one this year. It took over a week & lot's of trips to the store!

 I will be picking up some Gingerbread kits for the kids this year so they can have a little Christmas fun. I'll be sure to set time aside next year.

The pond was made by making homemade sugar candy & the stained glass windows were peppermints melted in center of windows. The back of the house is actually white cardboard cut to fit with an opening. I of course had to make it light so I needed a way to insert battery operated lights.

At one point the front broke completely in half. I was in tears but alas I fixed it with some icing & put a fruit roll up to cover. Very crafty on my part LOL.

My favorite part I think is the melted snowman. And the fact that my daughter lent me some of her figures to decorate. How sweet of her. Oh I also loved the pond. Was a little scary boiling that candy though LOL

We had tons of fun making this last year. Something we will always remember. I actually let the kids help decorate. (I'm OCD & this was hard for me LOL) I still need to scrapbook this. What a fun adventure it was creating. I was so proud of my gingerbread house when it was complete! Although a very expensive gingerbread house I might add. Who knew....i.e. the many trips to store. 

Wish my scrap supplies weren't packed away last year. As I'm looking at these pictures I'm seeing so many opportunities....especially if I used my Cricut!

Below is a picture of it all finished. Please click the ~read more~ as I have uploaded 24 pictures. 

Enjoy & Thanks so much for letting me share. If you have any questions please ask, I'll be more than happy to answer.

~Jenn

A Scrapbooker's Christmas

Someone posted this on the 2 P's MB & I just had to share! What a hoot & how true!!

 Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.

I'm wondering what Santa, brought just for me;

... could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?

or a cricut? I said with a smile on my face!

and that's when I heard him..."HI SANTA," I said.

"you know good little girls should be in their beds".

I know I should Santa, and now I've been caught!

but I was excited, to see what you brought.

Well, let's take a look in this room where you work.

he shook his head quickly and left with a jerk!

I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear...

"You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!"

Author~Unknown (wish I did so I can give the person credit)

~ Jenn

Inspiration Push # 3 + 2009 School Pictures layout

Ok so for this weeks inspiration push I chose eyelets..........ya know those little things we use to use & wake our families up in the middle in the night while trying to hammer them ever so quietly. Thank goodness for the crop a dile!!!!

The quote I chose to use was inspired by my Christmas spirit!

"Amid the hustle & bustle of Christmas, may you be surrounded by the love & laughter of all those you hold dear"

This quote can be used for your homemade cards or even just a sentiment written in your store bought cards or even on a layout of family & friends.
This quote can also be used for Hanukkah.

So we have

 Inspiration Push # 3
:Stash: Eyelets 
:Quote: "Amid the hustle & bustle of Christmas, may you be surrounded by the love & laughter of all those you hold dear"

Now I didn't have a chance to make a new layout for the inspiration push this week but I do have one I made a while back. I used lots of eyelets in this one. I made an embellished border with them all.  

                                   

And here's the reason why I did not get to make a new layout yet. (See photo below) I also have boxes & boxes of Christmas decorations.................EVERYWHERE!!! My kids laugh because my house becomes a winter wonderland. I even caught my daughter showing her friend some of the boxes & decor I had out & she said "Wait till you see what my Mom does with this house, this ain't nuttin" LOL

So I'm getting ready to blast the Christmas tunes & dig in those boxes!!

My Blank Canvas.......

Even my bunny Bugsy gets in the spirit of things!!

So I hope you all Enjoy! 

I'll be buried under the Christmas lights!

Stay tuned I'll be back all week! Next week is baking....So I'll have some cookie recipes!

Get inspired & use up some stash!

~Jenn

Christmas Advent Calendar

My Christmas advent calendar…FINALLY! Had a lot of  fun  making all these little circles. Got to use up tons of stash. My favorite is the Christmas Eve….it has the key for Santa to get in the house Hehehe! 

This was made out of a framed magnet board, some magnetic strip tape & lot’s of my supplies.

• First I cut all the circles out of  medium weight chipboard on my Big Shot
• Then out of the pattern papers I chose. Love the Big Shot I was able to cut 6 sheets at a time from    my 1 ½ inch circle die.
• Then I gathered all my Christmas embellishments & went to town!
• Then added some magnet strip tape to back of chipboard using my trusty hot glue gun. (the tape will not hold on it’s own)
• Added the ribbon to the frame along with the stamped images of Santa & snowman using my versamark ink pad. I then embossed images using thick embossing powder. (I used some leftover packaging to stamps images on)
• Added some poinsettias & plastic snowflakes (both bought in dollar store)
• Finally added the numbers & TaDa!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But of course I didn’t end there.

Found a leftover box I had from some jewelry & decided to embellish with inks, pattern paper, ribbons & a layered Happy Holidays sticker!

Now I have a place for all the circles to go in while anxiously awaiting to be put on each day!

Counting down to Christmas is going to be a little more special this year & years to come!

Hope everyone gets on Santa’s Nice list this year!

Enjoy

~Jenn

A simplistic Christmas layout

Here's just a simple Christmas layout. This is last years pictures. Out of about 30 pictures taken.......THIS was the only one they weren't goofing around or beating each other up in LOL. Yeah I keep it real! If you notice the  look on my son's face you'll understand. Gotta love em!

Loved doing the white on white for title & year. Reminds me of snow drifts.

Enjoy & Thanks for looking!

~Jenn

Inspiration Push # 2 + Goof Balls layout + Special Love layout

Ok so here goes week 2!

As requested the item from your stash is...... Chip board accents. I also again have tons of this stuff. Considering how much of it usually comes in a package it seems I can never really get through it. Here's an example....

The quote is coming from a cardstock sticker that I fell in love with from Glitz.

"Today is worth ten yesterdays"

I'm actually in the middle of a layout that will have this incorporated into it along with some more chipboard accents. Which I will add to this post later on today.

So we have:

Inspiration Push # 2

:Stash: Chipboard accents

:Quote: "Today is worth ten yesterdays"

So have fun digging in your stash!

Get inspired.....

I have already done one layout using some chip board accents.....Goof Balls. We love to goof around, especially when there is a photo booth in sight. We are always having fun!

OK here's the other layout. The sticker just didn't go so I guess I'll have to make another layout :)

This layout was also featured on Craft Gossip. You can see it here

Special Love on Craft Gossip

Enjoy!

Still working on my Advent calendar. I'm conflicted on which numbers to use. Other than that it's all done. Will post during the week.

~Jenns Doodles

25 done & I'm beat

Tomorrow I'll add the magnets & get started on the frame. I'm beat.....Until tomorrow.....Sweet Dreams

Sorry about the picture quality.was taken with phone.

~Jenn

In process.......

Here I go....

Cut my circles on sizzix & gathered my pattern papers. Advent calendar is underway!

And here's the blank canvas..Not sure how I'll decorate this. I'm thinking on painting it, we shall see as the creative process progresses.

Got my 25 Days of Christmas on the tube too. I'm good to go. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas........

Now what will I snack on???????? Hmmm

Meet my elf Murry

Found this guy in a local store & decided that I'm going to use him for my elf on the shelf. Even though my kids are a little older I think this will be a hoot. Wish I caught on to this craze when they were younger but oh well....a new tradition will begin. I am a prankster at heart so this should be interesting. I especially love pranking my kids. Who are 11, 13, & 16 by the way. Can't wait for the mischief to begin!

Murry the Elf

(Get it...Murry like Merry as in Merry Christmas, I crack myself up!)

Whaddaya think? Advent Calendar?

I am going to attempt an advent calendar out of this. Had a framed magnetic board & bought a magnetic strip roll from Staples. Plan on each day being little magnets. Will be getting some scrapping done this weekend. YAY! Hope this advent calendar works out....... We shall see.

I will post the finished product & the steps I took when I'm done...........providing it's not a disaster. :)

BTW I haven't even decorated the house yet so I'm not late on this......Well at least Im real early for next year HAHAHA!