Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope to have many more ideas and blessings to share in 2010. God Bless you!
I found these super glittery ornaments in a box of 20 at Wal-Mart. I have 19 co-workers so this worked out great. I simply replaced the cheapy string on each one with some nicer ribbon and added a handmade tag. I wanted to show my co-workers some Christmas cheer and this fit my budget wonderfully.
Now, here's the rest of the story. Remember I told you they were SUPER GLITTERY? Oh my goodness. If you click the picture, you can see the loose glitter that has fallen inside the clear envelopes I presented them in. I was having a serious GLITTERPHOBE moment doing these. It was BAD! I had to use almost half a roll of wet and dry paper towels trying to wipe up the loose glitter on the table. It was also on the floor, on me, on the dogs and who knows where else. I know Connie once bought me a rubber stamp that says "I am the glitter queen."....but I'm not so sure. I felt like I needed a trip to ER for some Xanax to calm my "glittery"(jittery) nerves. LOL! I was happy with the end result, but man was it hard to touch it all. Gives me the willies thinking about it now. *snicker* (I photographed these after they were contained in the clear envelopes as I couldn't bear to touch them any longer.)
For our annual Christmas dinner, Dr. D suggested we have an ornament exchange. Each person was to bring an ornament already wrapped. We all drew numbers and took turns picking an ornament or stealing one from someone who had already picked one. This is the ornament I made to take. It is a clear glass ball with strips of patterned/glittered cardstock rolled up. I added some clear sticky bling to the outside in a random pattern and tied ribbon at the top.
Ah, and there's more to THIS story, too. Since there is an ongoing joke in the office about me being a curious person and lover of Curious George, I had to play a trick. When Dr. D said the ornament we brought could be nice or a white elephant gift, I took that bull by the horns! ha This is the gift bag I put the "white elephant" ornament in to exchange. It looks quite innocent, eh? Well, see below..... LOL!!!!!!!!
The person who picked my package would receive THIS REAL BANANA "ornament". I used my paper piercer to poke the top and threaded the ribbon through with a large needle. How ingenious of me, right? Well, at least it made me giggle a lot. I have a Curious George rubber stamp set that I got ages ago in the Target Dollar Spot, so I used it to make two matching tags. I was really hoping Dr. S would get the joke banana since he aggravates me the most about my curiosity. Instead our practice manager picked it. She was actually tickled to get a real banana. If a banana stays on my desk too long at work, I give it to her. She loves ripe bananas. Well, most people got the joke right away and I was laughing the whole time. What everyone didn't know is that I had a "consolation" prize for the person who really ended up with the dumb banana. Dr. S stole it from Kathy and then Kathy stole it back eventually. So, the original person took home the banana and was delighted when she got the pretty bling ornament, too. I told everyone thanks for letting me play my joke and it was still funny how Kathy was tickled to have this dumb banana. She did eat it, too, by the way. LOL!!!!!!!! But, only after it had more freckles. Eww...I don't like really ripe ones.
My dad's birthday was in October. Ya think I'm a little late showing this one? LOL!! Not sure if you can tell, but the front cover is cut off about 1/2" and the patterned word paper strip is adhered inside the card. Today's post is short and sweet. See you again tomorrow! Check back to see the projects I made for an ornament exchange at work.
At work, we draw names and exchange $10 gifts. Terra wanted a Wal-Mart gift card, so I decorated a clear pillow box to present it in. I used Old Olive textured cardstock and ribbon, plus a pre-printed sticker from Basic Grey. Everything is adhered with glue dots.
I also needed an extra gift card holder for the winner of a fun contest Katie and I did at work. We both work in medical records and had saved all the 08 year stickers this year from the charts. We counted them and put them in a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Whoever came closest to guessing the number of stickers won this gift card to Panera Bread. If I remember correctly, we had saved about 5,300 of them! Some day our practice will go to electronic medical records and we'll no longer have to change year stickers. Everyone sure got a laugh out of it. OH and yes, the winner also got the bag of stickers as a gag gift!! Wonder if they'll ever show up in a white elephant exchange somewhere. LOL!
I made two cards like this for two dear friends who have December birthdays. I loved the paper from Basic Grey and used my Stampin' Up! cardstocks and inks that matched wonderfully! I love when I can use SU! goodies with other brands. Makes me smile. :)
I added faux stitching with my white gel pen and some copper Stickles to add some subtle bling. A girl can never have too much bling or too many Stickles in her stash!!
I added more copper Stickles to the back of a clear button, let it dry completely, then tied embroidery floss through it. I adhered it over the ribbon using glue dots. 
Merry Christmas from our little family! 
Yeah, we're nutty!
Mwwwwaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh! *kissing sound*
My dear friend and co-worker lost his brother unexpectedly on Tuesday. I made this card for everyone at the office to sign. Thanks, Mom, for the pretty ribbon you shared. It was perfect just when I needed to make this card. Click either pic for a closer look. Thanks for stopping by!
On a happier note...just wanted to give my Weight Watchers update. I am down 17.4 pounds now! I have a hard few weeks ahead with all the treats that will be brought into our office. I just have to keep this body movin' and try to say no! God sure has given me a lot of strength to keep pressin' on toward my goal. I just want to be free of the baggage and find a new me! I love being on the treadmill with my MP3 player that is filled with all Christian songs. He always finds a way to whisper in my ear (literally!) the words that I need to keep going strong. Thank you, Lord!
Mom makes different kinds of chocolate candies. For this idea, she made white chocolate dipped pretzels and added a cute Santa ornament.
Here is her Santa close up. she bought glittered cardstock at Joann's so she didn't have to use loose glitter. She also added the fun googly eyes instead of ones made from cardstock.
Christmas gift delivery might be delayed this year, kids! Santa got stuck in Riley's jaws tonight! ha ha He was running around with a little Santa finger puppet I have. LOL! This dog is a thief of many things...including my heart! Isn't he adorable!!??? You can't see it much, but he has on his new handsome sweater. It was a dollar, too. Love that store!
The real Santas live here. I found these silly hat/collar outfits for dogs at the dollar store. For two bucks, it was well worth the rolling belly laugh I got when they posed tonight. Of course, it took several tries and at this point I think both dogs had pulled off their hats a few times. Ready, set, pose! ha ha Jack hates dress-up time. His Momma tortures him, huh? Not. Riley is more tolerant, but Jack really detests when I do this stuff. It's scrapbook worthy so I do it!
And, now....Riley would like to sing a little tune. Ok, Riley...go for it.
I made this chipboard brag book for my co-worker Terra. She is returning to work today after an 8-week maternity leave. (I know it will be hard for her to leave Ryder, but her mom will be his babysitter.) She can put his newborn pic, plus one pic for each month of his first year of life. I hope she likes it.
I added his stats and name to the first two pages.
I used rub-ons to designate each month, then put Happy 1st Birthday where his one-year-old pic will go.
I stamped the back and signed my name. You can also see here how the back side of each chipboard star has alternating cardstock colors. I did the same for the fronts. Scroll back up to the first pic to see. Thanks for stopping by! I need to journal a few scrapbook pages, then I can post those hopefully sooner than later!
Kevin giving Jack some good lovin'. I tell ya...this dog could be petted 24/7! 
These are two very sleepy dogs that morning. I gave Riley a bath so he'd be all clean and fluffy. Jack got a good brushing so he'd be super handsome.
Jack, Riley and Tucker. The little ones have changed so much in a year! They are so much lighter in color. Riley is about 9 pounds, Tucker about 6 pounds.
My sister Rhonda and her two daughters, Julie and Brooke.
Mom, Dad, Steve, Rhonda and I. Steve and his rocker shirts!
Julie, Josh and Tucker
George (Charles' first cousin), Charles (my nephew) and Steve (my brother)
Our little family
I am grateful for my husband Kevin. He truly is unconditional. At times we drive each other nuts, but in the end we're truly best friends. We've endured some very stressful past few years with his job layoffs, plant closing and general life stuff. Through it all, we've always had each other to hold. God has blessed us immeasurably and for that I am grateful! We have a home filled with the pitter patter of silly dogs, a pantry that's always full enough, bills that are always paid and most importantly we share a love for the Lord. We're not perfect by any means, but he is perfect for me! I love you, Kevin!
I will be taking this basket of candy favors to work today. Each one is filled with a bit of chocolate goodness. I want my co-workers to know how much I appreciate them, so I have stamped a Bible verse on each tag. The secret is that on the back of each tag, I have written a personal note telling them something in particular about them for which I am grateful. For example, on Dr. D's I wrote that I am grateful for his example of determination. He has gracefully dealt with some difficulties from his neck surgery and rehab that really stands out to me. I have watched him work hard this past year in getting back in full swing at work. His determination speaks volumes.
This is our Halloween card from Joan. This stamp cracks me up, because it reminds me of little Riley. He doesn't bite, but he likes to jump up and nip if you don't give him attention. He's a rascal! I love how she layered the punches for the sentiment.
This is our Thanksgiving card from Connie. I love the color combo and the curly label punch behind each circle. I am grateful for both of these wonderful ladies in my life! 
These fun dog patterned papers from Basic Grey, along with a crazy dog picture made this one fun to scrapbook. That Jack sure keeps me laughing!
I only had one sheet of the dog paper, so I simply found a dog to cut out that was behind where the photo would go. An easy way to get more bang for your buck from one sheet of paper....a simple embellishment from your patterned paper. The only other things I added were some tiny Making Memories alpha stickers, four yellow brads and some faux stitching. Silly boy!!
All credit goes to Patty for this idea. I browse her blog regularly and was thrilled to find this idea. My friend Claire just had a baby girl. Her name is Natalie Claire. She wasn't named after me, but I still love the name. You see, mine is VERY similar. I am Natalie Clare (without the "i"). I sent this card to the Klein family to welcome baby Natalie. 