Ringing in the New Year!

Well, hello!  Long time, no see!  A faithful friend and blog follower (hello, Star!) pointed out to me yesterday via e-mail that it's been almost a month since I posted.



RCCL Grandeur of the Seas -- one of our favorite ships!
We sailed from Baltimore to St. Kitts, Tortola, San Juan
and Labadee (Haiti)

I apologize!  We all have reasons, and fortunately for me, mine were nothing but sweet ones. Hubby surprised me with a pre-holiday 10 day cruise in the Caribbean ... and that meant not only getting ready and packed for that, but also getting my Christmassing done, as we would not return until Christmas Eve. 

Granddaughter Charlotte, at Christmas, waiting for Santa

So I got no cards mailed. None! For a cardmaker!!  Can you believe it?  To my friends and family who might expect one, I hope to send a personal non-holiday greeting as soon as I can. I'm sorry! 



This bald-headed eagle was spotted in the tree-line behind my
stepson's home in suburban Philadelphia .. .what an omen!

The cruise was one reason, and "life" is just the other. Even good things like the Eagles heading to the play-offs next weekend takes my attention. Such is the life of a diehard fan!

 

So now we're on the cusp of the New Year, when I really do hope to be more diligent about posting more regularly. I have some tutorials in mind, some ideas ... and would love to hear from you about what you visit here to see. Let me know, will you?

Our New Year's Eve is planned to be quiet. I'm hoping to get another bottle of Yellow Tail's "Pink Bubbles" to celebrate the New Year.  Oh my word, daughter Emily bought a bottle to serve with Thanksgiving dinner, and it's my new favorite.

And what better to serve it in than a champagne flute like this, custom made using The Buckle Boutique's Rhinestone Resin Sheets in ice blue. 

To make this glass (one of a set of four), I designed the 2014 using Silhouette's Designer Edition software, and cutting the resin sheets on my Cameo. The sheets are self-adhesive, just peel and stick. For the little blue resin dots, I just punched standard paper punch holes from the Dazzling Diamonds, and viola!

No matter how you ring it in, I  hope your New Year is filled with peace, love and joy; good health and prosperity, and lots of crafting adventures!! 


DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,

No better bling than a Granddaughter's Smile!

Can you believe this cutie

is three years old today?!

 

 

HaPpY birthday

to my dear granddaughter,

CHARLOTTE!

 

 

 Today, Charlotte and her Mommy Emily and I are going out to see the new animated movie, "Frozen."  It's the first time Charlotte is seeing a movie in the theaters and we think she's ready to handle it. Charlotte is a little bit afraid of the dark so she said she'll bring a glow bracelet and a "fwashlight" just in case. 

 

Tomorrow is the party with more family -- Daddy Josh, Pot (my hubby John), Bubba (Josh's Mom), Grandpa Steve (..and Josh's stepdad), and Uncles Nick and Matt. The theme will be a surprise to me; depending on the weather I think, Charlotte tells one of us or the other that she wants a Doc McStuffin party, an Ariel party, a dolphin party, a Minion party or a Princess party. All I know for sure is that she wants "balloons" and "cake ... lots of cake!"  (late breaking news: I'm told the cake is MINION!!)

 

Pot and I gave Charlotte her own "pink iPad" for her birthday. It's actually my 1-yr old iPad but she has more apps and videos on it than I do. So we upgraded the case to a heavy-duty pink "childproof" case and gave it to her last week when she visited.  We have a few other "prezzies" for her, but none is as nice as the gift she gives us all year long.  She gives us life ... joy ... and makes the air so much sweeter to breathe. Being a grandparent is THE BEST!

 

Now a little bit about crafting, just because that's the reason you stopped here. Charlotte's Mom Emily asked me to make the Age Shirt for kiddo.First I backed the cute bubble fabric with Pellon Light adhesive interfacing. Then, fabric side onto the mat, I cut the fabric using my Cricut Expression 2, and peeled the adhesive backing off the "3" and ironed it onto a shirt from Old Navy. I machine-appliqued the number using a tight zig-zag stitch on my Husqvarna Diamond Viking sewing/embroidery machine.

For the cute sneakers -- Charlotte's "Chucks" -- Emily traced a paper template for the toes. Then she lightly taped the template onto the Dazzling Diamond rhinestone resin adhesive sheets from The Buckle Boutique* and cut the clear "diamonds" using regular scissors. She peeled off the paper backing and applied the sheet -- no individual rhinestones, no choking hazard -- GREAT for kids' and adult shoes alike!

 

I made the crazy bows and sewed them onto crocodile hair clips. The Chucks were laced with satin ribbons and the removable bows were added for the pictures and party.

 

 

Here's Charlotte's month-by-month progression, from 2 years to 3, almost all in 2013.

I have a massive crush on this girl!!

Happy birthday,
darling Charley!!

LOVE ALWAYS,

 

Gii
also known as

What's in Santa's bag for the Krazy Craftin' Crew? Blog Hop December 1!

Have you been a good girl or boy this year? Are you on Santa's Naughty or Nice list? Better yet, would Santa know what to get the crafters who made it onto the Nice List?  After all, it's the Elves who are really the handy ones, you know.

The Krazy Craftin' Crew comes together today to present things we're either like under the tree, or things we'd make for the fellow crafters on our gift list.

First up, let me show you what's on my Christmas list -- and it's something that I think every scrapbooker would want.


The Canon Selphy CP900 is a very small (the size of a shoebox) wireless photo printer that promises to get the photos off your cell phone or iPad and into those scrapbooks. Optionally, there's even a battery for photo printing on the go. The printer is self-contained, and the consumable is the pack of paper and ink that is purchased complete. The pack that Santa's bringing me will print 108 4x6" photos. There are other sizes available as well. Together -- with the printer and one pack of refill paper/ink, this gift is about $100 USD. 

Use the Canon Selphy in tandem with Close To My Heart's newest Scrapbooking On The Go program called "Picture My Life", due to be released after the first of the new year. With "Picture My Life," I plan to use the divided page protectors to insert designer elements (art, journaling spots, titles, etc.) and my Selphy pics to finish pages quickly and easily -- without the fuss and muss of design, glue, scissors, etc.  The new CTMH Picture My Life program is also on my Wish List!

Now, for the gifts you want to make for your crafty friends, why not get a cute pink "Adhesive Tape Gun" (ATG) by 3M, and bling it up with Dazzling Diamonds adhesive rhinestone resins from The Buckle Boutique?  That's what I did to my own ATG, here:

While I hand-cut (regular ol' scissors) the silver/clear background here and the flowers, I wanted my name to be set a little more formally. Did you know that Dazzling Diamonds can be easily cut using your Cricut, Pazzles, OR Cameo?!  This time, I used my Cameo to cut out the word Ellen (yes, my real name!) for the ATG. It makes me smile each time I sue this gun.

If  you'd like to try out some Dazzling Diamonds, The Buckle Boutique is offering a shopper's special this weekend in celebration of Black Friday - Small Business Saturday - and Cyber Monday.  Go to The Buckle Boutique and enter the promo code happyholiday15 to get 15% off your order now through December 2. 

Would  you like a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the store of your choice??  Comment on every Hop Stop's post, and follow their blogs. Our blog hostess, Lissa Marie of So Many Crafts is sponsoring the prize -- check her blog for more deets.

Now it's time to send you down the blog hop lane to see what other goodies the KCC would like to see in Santa's bag. Your next stop is:  Robin Lane at Create-A-Latte. 

In case you get lost along the way, do start at the beginning (www.somanycrafts.com), or hop into the fun by jumping into this list: 

Lissa ~ So Many Crafts, So Little time

Ciclily ~ Pink Dalmatian Scrapper

Ellen ~ Card Monkey's Paper Jungle

Robin Lane ~ Create~a~Latte

Janet ~ Janet's Creative World

Lori ~  Scrappin' my Stress Away

Christina ~ Crazy about Scrappin'

Paula ~ Precious Pages by Paula

Robin ~ Scrap n' Chat

Thanks for joining us ... and Merry Christmas!

DeFiaNtLy DiFfeReNt & CreAtiVeLy Yours,