Christmas In July!

I thought I was retiring from the Christmas ornament business,

but came across these two just begun snowballs,

I knew I had to finish them.

They will be available in my Etsy shop.

I also have two sets of 6 dried gourds each

now available for purchase

in my Etsy shop.

Happy July 25Th!

hugs,

Kim

Help Me Choose

Should July's ATC swap theme be:

1 - Christmas in July

2 - Mermaid Lagoon

Vote by comment on this post.

thanks & hugs,

Kim

12 Months Of Christmas - February 25th-ish

February got away from me,

but here is a peek at a few Christmas gift tags 

I managed to get done.

The plan is to keep working on them this month.

These 2 tags were thrown together with scraps on my worktable.

wishing you a beautiful weekend, my friends,

Merry hugs,

Kim

SOURCES:

top 3 tags: paper and stickers: Maggie Holmes/Cratepaper

teddy tag: teddy die: Cottage Crafts;

merry die: Tim Holtz/Sizzix

paper: Bo Bunny

rose tag: rose die: Maggie Holmes/Cratepaper

ornament dies: Ebay

12 Months Of Christmas - January 25th

I am sure many of you are thinking

"REALLY!?!?"

It feels like we just did the whole Christmas thing.

It seems that lovely time of the year goes at the speed of light,

and my creative spirit feels let down when it's over.

So why not make 2019 the year

 to carve out one day each month to play with my Christmas craft stash?

I can't think of any good reason not to.

The plan is to share on the 25th every month.

I may actually get my cards made before December 20th this year.

Merry hugs,

Kim

For anyone interested:

background paper, chipboard words, bottle brush tree, and deer

are by Tim Holtz;

cute little girl image

is from Lisa's Altered Art on Etsy;

wood shelf is from a vintage Scrabble set;

mercury glass balls are vintage;

everything else is from my stash

Merry Christmas Wishes!

Before the maddening dash towards Christmas takes full control,

I thought I would pop in to wish each and everyone of you

a beautiful, magical Christmas!

Merry hugs,

Kim

Etsy Cyber Sale!

 I am joining the Etsy Cyber Sale!

Both shops are on sale beginning right now,

and ending on Cyber Monday.

That's 7 days of savings

on everything in both shops!

Handmade,

Supplies & Vintage,

Kits

are all 20% off with any $25.00 purchase.

I will combine purchases made from the two shops,

simply make your purchase and I will refund you the 20%.

Merry Shopping!

hugs,

Kim

Stash To Treasure Saturday

Stash To Treasure Saturday has returned!

This piece was made back in early 2016,

and sat unloved in my shop for a bit of the 2+ years since.

A little overhaul was called for,

okay, more than a little.

Lots of new bits from Tim Holtz 

were combined with vintage items I have collected.

Funny side note,

these icicles are vintage (sadly, the last bit of them),

but Tim Holtz has a reproduced version.

I kept the vintage "wallpaper" backgrounds the same,

but went over everything else with a light coat of chalkpaint.

"Oh What Fun!" this project was.

It is available to purchase at

aJOY2bheld.etsy.com

Wishing you a blessed weekend!

hugs,

Kim

12 Monday's 'til Christmas

 Here is a little look at the first of my 2018 Christmas cards:

These 8 cards use paper from

LET IT SNOW by American Crafts.

It is an older pad (2015) and is most likely no longer available.

This paper, with its updated retro vibe,

was a perfect challenge for me this past weekend.

I was excited to use my Christmas supplies,

and decided I would make 8 unique cards 

using a different stamp and/or die set for each.

I used half the paper pad

(I line my envelopes,

 so at least 2 sheets of paper were used for each card)

With the other half paper pad,

I created this little paper crafting kit.

It's perfect for card making,

tag making,

journaling,

December daily,

or scrapbooking.

Thanks for visiting today!

Warm Autumn Hugs,

Kim

Stash To Treasure Saturday #10

I worked on this special order for a customer this past week.

She wanted an advent calendar made up of little bags filled with trinkets.

These are some of the bits I gathered from my stash to include,

but truthfully, some of these were too large for the bags

and were returned to my stash.

I began by creating these tags,

die cut from old manila file folders,

and embellished with wood cuts from last year's Target Dollar Spot,

and vintage Bingo numbers.

My lovely customer requested muslin bags

that she intends to hang from twine with clothes pins.

I found a nice piece of cotton calico fabric,

which I liked better than the muslin,

and went about sewing 25 bags.

Each bag is filled, tagged and tied.

I was so happy working on this project,

it was actually something I had been thinking of for a few years,

but never had the opportunity to make.

It may be early,

but I am still about to say it,

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily? Really? What Was I Thinking?

December's daily activities have taken over

and my responsibilities leave little time to document the month.

This is probably the reason I talked myself out of 

making a physical December Daily.

Sorry that I haven't been able to keep up.

I hope that your daily December activities

are filling your heart with the Christmas spirit!

My shops

(click the buttons on the my right sidebar)

are still open.

It's too late for special orders or requests,

but I am shipping everyday.

There are only a couple more days

to order in time for Christmas.

Merry hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 9th

December 9, 2017

Let the decking begin!

All new pink pieces

in an older terrarium.

(deer is from Target

and the bottle brush trees are from Target and Hobby Lobby)

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 8th

December 8, 2017

I made this little sign

using ink stamps from Avery Elle,

embossing powder,

washi tape,

a bit of chalk paint (for the frame),

a length of cord,

and a craft store chalkboard.

It might actually start to look a little like Christmas

around here this weekend!

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 7th

Throw Back Thursday

Our entry foyer last Christmas.

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 6th

December 6, 2017

Miss Gracie is back from the groomer,

at least one of us is ready for Christmas.

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 5th

December 5, 2017

Today I scrapped our tree outing.

I joined the

Hip Kit Club,

these papers and embellishments were from the November kit.

I don't do much scrapping,

but I love kits like these for card-making.

I was inspired by 

Missy Whidden

on YouTube,

check her out if you are interested in paper techniques.

She is an amazing scrapbook artist,

my attempt pales in comparison.

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 4th

December 4th

I am already a day behind,

so in an attempt to play catch-up,

I am sharing a favorite ornament

which is new to my Etsy shop this season.

The plan is to be back this evening

with another post,

wish me luck.

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 3rd.

December 3, 2017

(a little late)

This is the day that has become known as:

"The Most Wonderful Day Of The Year!"

Our 30th cut-your-own tree

is quite a milestone!

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - the 2nd

December 2, 2017

First group of 

Christmas cards

are ready for the mail.

Merry Hugs,

Kim

December Daily - The 1st

Have you heard of a December Daily?

It is kept as a daily diary/journal/scrapbook 

to document all of the hustle and bustle 

that accompanies this joyous month.

I was considering keeping my own 

December Daily this year,

but have decided to share it here,

as my own cyber-version.

December 1, 2017

This box is packed and ready to ship to 

Send A Smile 4 Kids

Along with my daily post here,

I will be sharing the 

25 Days of Christmas Cards

on Instagram

I hope you join me on my 

little Christmas adventure!

Merry Hugs,

Kim

White Christmas Shop Announcement

Popping in to say

I have opened

aJOY2bheld.etsy.com

up as a White Christmas shop.

I confess, 

I don't POP quite as quickly as I use to,

as the shop has been reopened since last month.

I hope that this post finds all of my creative friends

doing whatever makes you happiest!

Autumn hugs,

Kim