Princess Madelyn's Dance Recital

This post was created mainly for my baby sister, Sandy, who listened to me for over a month as I created this labor of love. But I thought some of you might be interested in seeing one of my "non-Stampin' Up!" projects, too.



This is a special gift that I made for my granddaughter, Madelyn, for her second dance recital this past June. This board book came shaped like a purse in plain white chipboard. I added the patterned paper (purple, of course! DUH!), the embellishments, and the photos. This cover shot features a Princess Tiara that flashes with mini lights and the fabric covered heart-button that served as the closure for the book.

I have a new posting program on my blog which is causing me all kinds of problems placing the photos. Please forgive the awkward spacing while I learn how to manipulate this new program. Isn't Madelyn adorable?!?!?

Madelyn is taking dance lessons from Mary Beth Snow at The Dance Place in Ocean City, NJ. Her mother, my oldest daughter, Kristie, studied dance at the same studio under Miss Mary for 12 years while she was growing up in Ocean City. Isn't that cool?

I had to keep the embellishments to a minimum so that the book wouldn't get so thick it wouldn't close! I used mostly shear ribbons around the handles and patterned paper punched into flower shapes. The journaling is printed by hand along the handles. I thought that gave it a nice personal touch that Madelyn can save and treasure for years to come.

The outside back cover of the book has a photo of Madelyn and her adoring Mimi cut out with a heart-shaped punch and a stamp saying "Created for you by Mimi 2009."

~Alice

POST-IT NOTE HOLDERS

We had a great time at my last workshop with Faith and her MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) Group. (Hi Faith!!) She wanted to make a simple 3-D project to show her friends how to stamp, and let them know a little about Stampin' Up! and the great business opportunity it can provide. These Post-It Note Holders were easy to stamp and easy to assemble. They make a cute little gift for a friend, or a handy notepad for yourself on the kitchen counter, or maybe in your car! We made this one using the beautiful bird image from the Level 2 Hostess set, WINGS OF FRIENDSHIP. The sentiment was cut out using the MODERN LABEL PUNCH.

This image is of another holder I made using the CIRCLE CIRCUS stamp set, showing how to use small stamps to create your own patterned paper. It's all wrapped up with MELON MAMBO 1/2" POLKA-DOT GROSGRAIN RIBBON and centered with layers of punched circles and a FLOWER DESIGNER BRAD. The small gel pens were found at Staples, thanks to Dawn Griffith and her blog which can be seen here.

If you and your friends would like to have a fun Girls' Night Out with stamping, creativity and some refreshments, contact me at Angelsme@aol.com. I would love to come over and show you how you can make creative projects designed especially for you and your friends!

~Alice

Stampin' Up! Retired Stamp Set List is here!

The Stampin' Up! Retired Stamp Set List is here!

And... all retired sets are

10% OFF December 9-23!!

And... you get

FREE SHIPPING for all orders over $70

Just click Here to go see the list of stamp sets that shows the 10% discount so you can see how much you're going to save! It's very easy to shop. Just go to my website here and click on SHOP NOW in the upper right hand corner.











LAST REMINDER...





Be sure to send me your Holiday Wish List so that your friends and relatives can contact me to do their Holiday Shopping! The deadline is tomorrow, Dec. 10th. I will deliver the merchandise, wrapped and ready to place under your Christmas tree! Won't it be nice to know the gifts you receive this year will be exactly what you wanted?!?!




Also...

GIFT CERTIFICATES are available in any denomination. These make a great last minute gift for family and friends who craft. Just e-mail me right now! Angelsme@aol.com











Now... I know you're looking for another idea of what to make for last minute gifts, right? Well, I won't disappoint you. My grandson, Braiden, loves Sour Patch Kids candy. So I bought 3 boxes of it, and wrapped each one individually with some of the Holiday Prints Designer Series Paper (DSP) from the Holiday Mini Catalog (which is only available until December 31). Then I stacked them one on top of another, and wrapped the stack with a belly band made from another piece of DSP and topped that with some 5/8" Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon.


Then I had lots of fun adding some SU! Felt Flurries, snowflakes from my Cricut and Martha Stewart punch, all topped with a rhinestone snowflake I picked up last year somewhere. I attached them to the ribbon using one of the Small Library Clips from the Clips Assortment on page 184 in the SU! catalog and only $6.95. What a great stocking stuffer!!


























Ooooooops, how could I forget???!!! It's time for BLOG CANDY!! And I was supposed to pick a winner YESTERDAY!!! I am soooooo sorry. Let's go to random.com and pick a number for our winner! I'll be right back...

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:2
Timestamp: 2008-12-09 18:16:05 UTC


OK... the results are in. It's number 2 which means derr.sandy@gmail.com is our winner! CONGRATULATIONS! Contact me with your snail mail address and I will send you the promised BLOG CANDY!!

Thanks for being so supportive and for coming to my blog regularly. One of my new year's resolutions for 2009 is to be better about posting new ideas and tutorials to my blog. Hey... it's better than trying to stay on a diet, right? hehe
That's it for today. See you next time!

~Alice

GypsyCrafter is moving on...

A few of the demonstrators with our Hawaii Ink group got together last week to say goodbye to our dear friend Kim (see her blog here), who is moving with her family to northern Florida. They are military, so I think they know how to go through moves better than us "normal" people. I mean... that's not to say that military people are not "normal"... I mean... ummmmm... well... you know what I'm trying to say, don't you? Military wives seem to know how to make friends easily and quickly, maybe because they know they don't have much time to get acquainted and settled in, and then it's time to pack up and move again.

<-- Whitney looks on as Kim opens the beautiful journal/scrapbook tin that she made for her "dear kind and wonderful friend" using the ALL HOLIDAYS stamp set, a DVD tin, and silver embossing powder. Only Whitney can create miracles with a few tools and accessories as gorgeous as this keepsake! You can go see Whitney's blog here.

Here Kim holds up the notepad holder that Lisa C. made for her using an On Board Clipboard. Hmmmm, maybe I should consider moving so that I can receive all these awesome Stampin' Up! gifts!?!?

And here is the card I made for Kim. It's really an ornament attached to a card front. On the back of the ornament there is a frame for a small photo to be inserted, thus creating not just a decoration, but a cherished memory. I can't take credit for the Origami tree. I found that on one of the gazillion blogs I peruse every day, but can't remember who to give the credit to. Sorry! When I remember, I will update here so you can all go get the directions from the original artist. I used some retired DSP to pull this all together, and slid it into place on the card front using the slit punch. Cute??










I know Kim, her DH (<-- that's Darling Husband for those of you new to blog-language),Paco, and their two daughters are excited about moving to a new place, with a new home and new friends. Kim will be in an area where there are no other Stampin' Up! demonstrators. That is... for now! Once she gets settled, Kim will be teaching classes, techniques and the love of card-making to all who want to learn. Then she'll have an entire downline of her own to nurture and instruct. Good luck, Kim. We'll miss you, but we know you'll keep in touch. Right? Good friends are never really gone, just re-located.


~Alice

OCTOBER CARD CLASS

Card class was held just before the World Card Making Day event began. This month was a bit special, as we made 12 cards PLUS a box to hold 4 of the cards. This makes a nice gift set for a friend, as a hostess gift, or even to keep for yourself!

The cost for all this was only $15! Where can you get a bargain like that -- AND have fun at the same time?!! Check out my Calendar of Events on my Stampin' Up! website at www.alicehancock.stampinup.net to get more information on how and when to sign up for the next class. I hope to see you here!

~ Alice