Hello dear friends,

Today I made Valentine goodie boxes for my sweet college daughters and their friends.  I started out with these...

Yep, those all too familiar mini mailboxes from Target. I had a few red and pink one sin my stash that I thought would work.

I covered them with pretty "Tilda" paper I purchased from Traci at Art Attack and embellished with my flowers, seam binding and pearls for a shabby kind of look. I also thought I would fill them with fun sweet treats and goodies.

I added a couple of pillow boxes filled with treats

I also added a couple of cards. I packaged everything in floral decorative boxes.

These were so much fun to make...and give. I love the floral boxes. The girls can use them for storage in their dorm rooms instead of just getting a throwaway cardboard box that would have to be recycled...and they're so pretty!

Thanks for visiting today.

Out With the Old....In With the New

Wow, I can't believe it..2015 is here! Time is flying by so fast, I feel a need to get moving with a few personal goals I've harbored over the past few years. I'm excited, and quite frankly a bit anxious as well, but very determined to make the most of this bright shiny new year.

So....backtrack to last night -- New Year's Eve. We had a blast! The 4 of us celebrated at home...in our pajamas!  We created our own little celebration complete with banners, party hats, party food and sparkling cider. We watched New Year's Rockin' Eve (not the same without Dick Clark, but still fun - oh, and I love Fergie!) and laughed and danced through it all. We counted down as the ball dropped and set off noise makers at midnight. A part of me was missed not getting dressed up and going out on the town for a "real" holiday celebration, but I got over that really fast! ...I loved our little party!

There are so many things I'd like to accomplish this year, but one of the biggies on my list is to keep up with this poorly neglected blog. Looking forward to sharing with you all...Thank you for visiting and taking this journey with me. Stay tuned!

On This Eve...

"Twas the night before Christmas,

and all through my home

was a feeling of love

for a King on His throne.

A gratitude so strong, for a gift from above,

Christ Jesus was born out of God's mercy and love.

A gift so precious, we must never forget,

to live our life without any regret.

God's spirit of giving with love beyond reason,

is the true meaning of this holiday season.

To all family and friends both far and near,

together let's spread some of that Christmas Cheer!"

Wishing you all a wonderful, blessed Christmas. May Christ's spirit be with you!

On Veterans Day...

"Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.” – Abraham Lincoln

A Special Birthday....

Happy Sunday everyone...Today is the NYC Marathon and the long-anticipated Manning-Brady football showdown, but it's also a special day for the Cunninghams. Happy 50th Birthday to my forever "plus one". He wanted a quiet celebration and that's what I have planned. Brunch with his Mom and Dad, football, movies and dinner. Quiet, quaint and very special in its own way. Hope you all are finding something special to celebrate as well.

Coffee Sleeve Mini Album

I love Starbucks; Venti One-Shot Skinny Vanilla Latte - that's my standard drink and the one the barista usually starts making as soon as I approach the counter. They know me well at my local Starbucks, and I'm happy to have made many friends while visiting there.  So it's probably no surprise that I have a TON of coffee sleeves, and when the opportunity came to partner with someone for a swap using these little lovelies, I jumped at the chance. Here's the project I finally completed for my friend Sara. I used Prima's Nature's Garden collection - oh how these papers make my heart sing! There are oodles and oodles of goodies to play with; gorgeous paper, flowers, wood pieces, die cuts, journaling tags...the possibilities are endless. I think I may have to hoard the leftovers (no surprise there either...lol)

Here's a peek at some of the pages. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your day!

A Little Sneaky Peeky.....

I had so much fun making this little coffee sleeve mini album for a swap over at MAS. I can show the entire album once my swap partner receives it. I sure hope she likes it! 

Oh how time flies! I left a part of my heart in Pennsylvania today. My sweet Mandy headed off for college yesterday and we moved her into her dorm today. She has grown into a lovely independent, strong young woman and we love her so much. I'll miss her but am happy that she is excited (and hopefully well prepared) to embark on this new adventure. I used the My Creative Scrapbook July kit for this layout - it's filled with lovelies from the Carta Bella "Beautiful Moments" collection. I love the rich colors and all the fun images that are ripe for fussy cutting.

Collaged Chipboard Tutorial

Here's a recap of a quick tutorial I posted on the Be Yourself Creations blog today on how to make collaged chipboard stars. 

Collaged Chipboard Technique:

 I don't know about you, but I always cringe when I'm faced with "naked" chipboard! I have mists and paints and such in my stash, but I'm addicted to patterned paper so I always prefer to use it as often as possible. Here's what I did to make the stars...

Gather your supplies:

"naked" Chipboard 

patterned paper scraps (little bits and pieces are fine to use)

liquid adhesive (one that dries clear is crucial)

craft knife & self-healing mat

Sanding tool

ink for edges 

Cover the chipboard completely with liquid glue

                                       

Begin adding scraps of paper to chipboard. Do not over think this - just grab a scrap and stick it down. It doesn't matter if it overlaps other pieces - just stick it down!

                                     

contine covering...

 When you're finished your chipboard should be unrecognizable! Let it dry completely.

Spread a small amount of liquid glue over the entire piece. Make sure you're using glue that dries clear! Let the entire piece dry completely before going to the next step

                                     

Turn the chipboard over and using your craft knife, cut the excess paper away

Your chipboard should look like this now:

Now you can begin sanding the edges. I always make sure the edges are flush to the chipboard. 

Check to make sure that the edges are not "lifting"..if they are, even a little bit, use a tiny amount of glue to keep them down

When the top coat of glue is dry and you are sure the edges are down completely, begin inking around the corners.

Ta-da! You're all done! Your star should look something like this now...isn't it cute?

And here it is on the project. I added a smaller star from the same package on top of this one on my final cover

I hope this helps! Enjoy your weekend.