Valentines Treat Bags

Countdown Gifts for My Grandchildren

As soon as my grandchildren started opening their Christmas advent presents they began asking about Valentines and Easter countdown gifts. 

I really should have seen it coming. There is no way I can repeat the elaborate Christmas advent for each holiday, so I made little gift bags. The same concept, just a smaller scale so that I can actually follow through. 

Fortunately, I had already purchased adorable Valentines Treat Bags from the Close to My Heart Seasonal Expressions catalog, along with a cute stamp set. 

The treat bags are now safely on top of their 'fridge (where all parents put items they don't want gotten into, right?), waiting for tomorrow morning. We took them out to dinner so that they wouldn't drive their parents crazy until bedtime. 

Of course I made a video showing how the little treat bags came together. If you need any of these items for yourself, I have direct  links to all of the them on my CTMH website, listed below the video.

Supply List
Valentines Treat Bags 
Love Ya Silly Stamp Set 
EZ Dots Adhesive Runner 
Barn Red Exclusive Ink Pad 
Hollyhock Exclusive Ink Pad 
Outdoor Denim Exclusive Ink Pad 
Thistle Exclusive Ink Pad 

Are you doing any special crafts for Valentines Day? Let me know in the comments below.

ADVENT CALENDAR

Completed Just in Time!

2014 Advent Calendar for grandchildren

I had a lot of projects going on in November, but this advent calendar had to be finished before December 1st! Each box was cut using the Close to My Heart Artiste Cricut Cartridge which helped speed things up. My mother also decorated the majority of the boxes while I cut, folded, and glued. 

How long did this take? Let's just say that I am happy for the little box that streams Netflix in my craftroom. We are now on season 1, episode 8 of "Once Upon a Time." Neither of us had ever watched it before, and now we are hooked.  

We delivered the box last night shortly before A and F's bedtime so that they wouldn't drive their parents crazy all day wanting to open all the boxes. 

Each box contains a little note with a clue to the present it represents. The presents are all wrapped and numbered, hidden in my daughter and son-in-law's room. 

Last night the comments were: "We can only open one each day??", "Can we just peek at the presents in mom and dad's room?", and my favorite "I hope one of those boxes is extra computer turns." 

They look very innocent, don't they?

The little angels woke up at 5 am to open their first box this morning. The note in the box said "You're in Trouble, play a game." They found one of their board games and began to play. Of course there was a gift that my daughter gave them - a Trouble game. 

If they wake up every morning at 5 am for the next 24 days, I may be in a little bit of trouble myself.

 

DIGITAL SCRAPBOOK LAYOUTS

More Studio J Layouts with my Favorite Subjects

 I found some time yesterday to make a few layouts in Studio J. I had a couple of fun days with my grandchildren that had not yet made it into their scrapbooks.

The first was a trip to the Children's Museum in Houston that sadly took place a few years ago. I think the layouts turned out nicely, and I'm happy to have the them finished. 

As soon as you finish your Studio J layouts they send you a jpeg, so I am able to share with you while I'm waiting for the finished products to arrive in the mail.

 This trip to the museum was shortly after my granddaughter decided to cut her own hair. It's a memory we will all be glad to have photos of. I will likely add journaling in my own handwriting once this two page spread arrives. There were so many pictures of this day that I ended up with three 2 page spreads.

 

 I loved how fun this paper collection was, and the gears and hexagons were perfect for a day at the Children's Museum. We all had such an amazing day, and I know my grandkids will enjoy flipping through their photo album, and remembering all the fun.

The other event that I needed to scrap was our trip to the pumpkin patch this year. Since I have started scrapbooking I try to keep up with the new, and go back to the older photos as I can. 

I decided to use the Pathfinding paper pack for this layout. You will note that my grandson has become hard to track down for photos, but my granddaughter will holler "take a picture!" as she poses at every possible location. I would have preferred to scrap the same amount of photos of each, but his reluctance to be in photos with be a memory we laugh about also.

 I really was reluctant to try digital scrapbooking. It didn't seem as personal, or as much fun. However, I love the way these layouts turned out. I also love that Studio J will size my photos to fit in the layouts I choose. I did not have to run out and have my pictures printed  and then crop them to fit in my layout. All of that work was done for me. If you would like to see how easy Studio J digital pages are to make, check it out here.

I will still continue with traditional, and pocket scrapbooking, but add some digital layouts in also. I like the idea of a scrapbook with different types of layouts. 

Have you tried digital scrapbooking? Are you a traditional scrapper, or maybe a Project Life, or Picture My Life scapper? I would love to hear which you prefer, and why.

FALL FUN AT THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Pumpkins, scarecrows, and grandchildren

We had a great time, as usual, selecting the perfect pumpkins. Last year my granddaughter was all about the cute "bitsy" pumpkins. This year she tried to select one that her dad could carve for her. What a difference a year makes.

 Another difference this year was that my grandson did not want to pose for pictures. This pout was in every photo. He did, however, try to get the largest pumpkin just like last year. 

I need to get these photos in a scrapbook, but I'm having trouble selecting the right paper collection. I am debating between two.

Scaredy Cat

Pathfinding

 Which one do you think I should use? I'm leaning towards Pathfinding, because there is a stamp in the Workshop on the Go that says "Smile it's the best day ever." I think I should stamp that next to my grandsons frowning face. 

You can see all of the paper collections on my website . Be sure to leave a comment and let me know which paper collection you prefer. 

MY GRANDCHILDREN ARE CRAFTY

My grandchildren love all things Halloween, so when I saw the new Scaredy Cat paper collection and Creepy Creatures stamp set I knew they would love them. I set everything out on their play table and let them make whatever they wanted. My daughter made a video of the end results, and once I stopped laughing I decided I needed to share. I think you will agree they are very talented. All of the items they used are from Close to My Heart except the imaginations of a 5 and 7 year old.

SCRAPBOOKING ALL OF THOSE RANDOM PHOTOS

I'm sure I am not the only one who has a large collection of photos that just don't really go together. Maybe you went out to lunch with your children or grandchildren, and took one or two photos that day. These photos aren't really enough for a scrapbook page, but they are too special to just stick in a photo box and forget about.

Today I gathered all of the random photos I have of my grandchildren that, for one reason or another, did not make the cut for a scrapbook page. I have decided to put all of these photos into a mini album of wonderful, ordinary moments. In fact, that just might be the title of the mini album.

 I have several Zutter mini album covers that are designed to work with my bind-it-all. I bought them for less than $2 each on impulse at Tuesday Morning (shhh! Do not tell my husband I impulse buy craft supplies) because who could pass up that deal? Not me. This seems like the perfect opportunity to put one of those covers to good use.

My creative process is very messy! Right  now I have papers, pictures, stamp sets, embellishments, and ink spread out over my work surface. Once I have the color scheme selected, I will narrow the supplies down, and get to work. I will be posting my progress with the "Wonderful Ordinary Moments" mini album, so stay tuned.

What do you do with these random photos? Do you simply add them into your Picture my Life, or Project Life, albums? Are they sitting in a box like mine were? I would love to know how others deal with their random photos, so be sure you comment below.

The Benefits of Being a Grandparent

(Are you looking for "5 Things I couldn't craft without"? That post can be found here:  http://dedras-crafts-for-a-cure.blogspot.com/2014/08/5-things-i-could-not-craft-without.html )

I became a mother for the first time a few weeks before my 23rd birthday. I became a grandmother for the first time a few weeks before my 43rd birthday. It is  definitely easier being the grandmother! Since I was such a young grandmother I really wanted a cool name, but no such luck. My grandson had trouble with the G sound, so I am, and probably always will be, Bamma. Lots of great benefits come with the title though.

1. You never have to be the bad guy. If it looks like you might have to get tough just say you are really tired and need a nap.

 2. If the kid grows up to be a delinquent it is never your fault. You didn't raise him/her after all.

 3. You don't have to stress about buying new shoes, paying the dentist, or funding college. You can just buy them presents!!

The last time my grandchildren spent the night, we were watching cartoons lying on the sleeper sofa with the lights low. My 5 yr old granddaughter said to her brother "I think it's past our bedtime." His answer was "Shhh! It's special at Bamma's." By the way, Bimpa was already in bed asleep. I gave birth to four children who are all adults now, yet I only have two grandchildren. Something is wrong with that math.

My daughter asked them to pose for pictures and these are the results.

What? You don't have grandchildren? You will need to get some of your own because I do not loan mine out.