Thanks snow much card

I needed a quick, cute little card to send a few Christmas thank you's out. I've seen a take on this but couldn't find the exact design I wanted so I came up with this little card.

Supplies:

Blue construction paper

White construction paper

Orange scrap paper

"Thank You Snow Much" created on word and printed out.

Black and Red marker

Ribbon

Silver sparkle glue

Cut your card to size. (I simply folded a 8 1/2 x 11 paper in half length wise and cut in half to make two 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 cards.)

I used scrap paper to free hand cut the bottom and head of the snowman. 

Add two eyes on top, add the nose pointing up to give it the illusion of looking upward. Add the smile.

Add your Thank You Snow Much on the top.

To put on the scarf I used glue dots, one on each side of the 'neck' then secured the ribbon. 

Next it is time to add the snow! I love my 'Stickles'. They are the best glitter glue that I have found. They flow easily, create a great look when they dry, and rarely clog up.

I just added little random dots of sparkles all over the page to create the look of falling snow.

Finally, instead of traditional buttons on my snowman, I was feeling extra loving and decided to add little heart buttons instead.

Now you have a cute and fun way to say 'Thank You'.

Cinnamon tortilla chips (a little bit healthier and gluten free)

I am just like any other person, I love a good sweet sugary snack. Today I was craving some cinnamon tortilla chips. Thought I would take a moment to share with you how I make them just a bit healthier. 

Cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. 

You will need:

8 corn tortillas

Cooking spray

1/3 cup sugar

1tsp ground cinnamon

Also a knife, cutting board, and cookie sheet.

Before starting preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take a pile of corn tortillas and slice them. I prefer to cut them into 8ths. I find that to be the perfect size for me. 

Mix cinnamon and sugar together.

Spray one side of the tortilla with PAM. Coat it well but don't drench it. 

(this is where my recipe strays from many of the others. Most call for dipping the tortilla triangles in butter. Yes, that may be yummy but adds much more fat and calories.)

Sprinkle the cinnimon sugar generously on the sprayed tortilla. 

(Side note, I used to do both sides if the tortilla but I now only do one side. It still tastes just as good but it saves you on calories and sugar intake.)

I prefer to maximize my work area and I spead them out, spray them all at once, them drench in sugar. 

Place them on a cookie sheet (I line it with parchment paper to make cleanup easier).

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them the last few minutes. Undercook them and they'll be chewy, over cook them and they will burn. 

When you pull then out they won't feel super crispy. Let them cool about 5 minutes and then you should have nice, crispy, warm cinnamon chips ready to eat. 

I've heard if people making a cream cheese dip or making dessert nachos by topping with strawberries and chocolate. However you chose to eat them, enjoy!

Photo board demo

Supplies: 

Cork board or foam board, fabric, ribbon, hot glue, decals (such as buttons or clips, etc)

Tightly stretch fabric and hot glue the edges snuggly behind board. 

 

Tack ribbon to corner behind board, stretch snuggly across front and tack onto back. 

Repeat with ribbon until you have desired crisscross pattern on the front.

Add decals if desired.

Just for some extra storage and a nice border I added a black ribbon along the outside edge.

I also covered the edge of the material on the back just to give it a nice finished look.

Now it's ready for you to insert photos, cards, or any other momentos.

Snowman tealight

This year I wanted to give a small but cute little gift to some friends and co-workers. I was inspired by the many versions of snowman tea lights I'd seen on Pintrest. 

Start with battery powered tea lights, black puff paint, ribbon of your choice, and black construction paper. (Not pictured, scissors and hot glue gun.)

Cut a length of ribbon approximately 12 inches long. Fold in half and tie a knot about 2 inches down. This will be the hanger.

Put a dot of hot glue on the side of the tea light and adhered the knot. 

(After telling a friend about my burnt finger tips she suggested suing glue dots. Genius! I will be doing that next time. Also, it would make this craft much more kid friendly.)

Next tie the ribbon around the sides of the tea light and secure with glue.

Trim the ribbon but leave a little bit of hanging. This will be the snowman's scarf.

Cut a hat from black construction paper. I did not use a template. I just free handed it and sized it till i was happy. Once I was satisfied with the size I used it to cut the rest of the hats. 

Glue the hat on the top of the candle in front of the loop. 

Use the puff paint to make eyes and a mouth for the snowman. 

Now you have cute little snowmen ready to give away.

Kcup Elf Legs

I needed a quick gift for a coffee loving friend, but wrapping a box of K-cups just didn't seem festive enough. I used the fact that "Elf" is this persons favorite holiday movie and ran with the idea.

1.) use a small piece tape and make a mini roll and stack 4 cups together. Repeat so you have two stacks.

2.) Cut a 12x12 piece of card stock in half into two 6x12 inch rectangles. Use a Cricuit machine (or you can cut out by hand if you are really good) two elf shoes. These measure about 2" by 3 1/2"

3.) Lay the cuts on their side and roll them into a tube.

Wrap them so that the top of the paper is even with the top Kcup. The bottom cup should stick out.

4.) Tape the shoes onto the bottom of the 'pant legs'

5.) I taped the legs together so they would stand.

Here is my dog being very curious about these elf legs standing in the kitchen.

Here you have a fun set of Kcup Elf legs for the coffee lover in your life this holiday season!