Gifts Galore!!

Happy Monday to you all!  Have you all recovered from your turkey-pie-stuffing-dessert-meal barrage, hee hee?  I know I ATE WAY too much that's for sure and I gotta run some extra miles this week me thinks.  I'm putting up all my Xmas decorations this week and I hope to be done by Friday so on Saturday we can go and "hunt" our real trees (2) at Snicker's Gap Tree Farm here in Virginia.  I'm praying for good weather on Saturday as well cuz' its not as fun when it's freezing cold and/or raining KWIM!  I went to Target yesterday evening to get some replacement Xmas lights and can I just say that place was "GUTTED", LOL!  It looks like the Friday shoppers took ahold of the store and emptied it I tell ya---I couldn't find much of anything so I'm hoping our Lowes has lights in stock or I'll be in TROUBLE--yikes!  Every year I struggle to find lights and why the heck the stores don't get more in boggles my mind I tell ya---when you start putting out Xmas stuff in August I guess the shelves get bare.  BUT RETAILERS HEAR ME NOW---I DO NOT shop for Xmas stuff in Aug/Sept! NO WAY!! LOL!  I also don't shop for Halloween items in July--it's just bizarre I tell you!  I don't get it at all and it drives me insane---looney, hee hee!  Does it bother you too?!!

NewsBitz:

-I am loading up over 50+ of my paper projects to my Etsy site--I have loaded a bunch up but more will be loaded this evening!  So if you are interested in purchasing any of them you can visit my Etsy Store HERE!  But remember I will have more up tonight after 10 pm EST, so check back!  I want to clear out my shelves, lol!

-Remember to check out my Copic Classroom CMC Holiday Special going on thru Jan. 4th--a great way to gift yourself or a friend to copic classes!  See below post or on the main page of my classroom HERE for all the details!!

-Teri of Spunky & Tadpole was my Gina K winner (see below post) but I haven't heard from ya yet!  I'll give you a week and then I'll have to choose another winner, so if anyone knows Teri please give her a holler :)

-I've got a FABULOUS blog post coming later this week (crossing fingers) that NONE of you will want to miss!  It's exciting, fun for you and fun for me, hee hee!  Just you wait :)

********************************************************

Wine Lovers Celebrate!!

This gift set was made by me early in March for the magazine that I publish with my pal Marti, "Through the Craftroom Door".  But since it's gift giving time I thought it was the perfect time to share it on my blog with you all!  I created it with my mom in mind because she loves wine and has a glass at dinner a few nights a week (and no she's not a wine-o I swear, lol, she'll shoot me for saying that, hee hee)!  But she is a bit of a wine connoisseur and I thought this would be a wonderful gift to recreate for a wine-lover in your life!  The set includes a wine towel (to wipe up drips or wrap around wine bottle), wine glass charms, wine glasses and matching card!  The stamps are all by Paper Trey Ink's "Damask Designs" which is a timeless and traditional set to add to your collection (I loveee it)!!  This set was for Mother's Day but it's super easy to change/add any sentiment for any holiday or occasion you need it for!
 

 I bought a set of 4 wine glasses from Target that were of nice quality but inexpensive!  I cleaned them good on the outside and let them dry completely and then I've stamped directly onto the glasses with my PTI stamp using alcohol ink and a Palette Ink refill mixed together.  Instead of putting the acrylic stamp on a block I held it in my hand & dipped it into my ink mixture, then carefully wrapped the stamp onto the wine glass gently and lifted off quickly.  I love the watery look of the stamp on the glass.  Then I took a crystal clear Viva Decor Glass Gel Pen and added dimensional beads to my design on the glasses--gives it an extra sparkle!
 

I created my card base out of a transparency to echo the look of the wineglasses and it just looks COOL! LOL!  I used the PTI stamp set (Damask Designs) to create the background on the blue cs to make my own patterned paper to match.  The beautiful sentiment is from the PTI set "Mother" --you could easily change out the sentiment for any holiday/occasion that you need!  The pearl accents were made with my Viva Decor Pearl Pen in ice white (on sale 15% off now)---easy & fun to use!

Wine glass charms are so much fun to make and so easy too!  For these I bought all my supplies at my local craft store.  The ring bases are actually round metal earrings (bought in packs) that I added coordinating beads and charms to.  They easily hook on and off of your glasses and you can make them to match for any holiday or home decor!  You can buy these pre-made in stores in sets of 6 for upwards of $25---I made 6 of them for under $6!!  Great gift idea! And I loved that the charms matched the damask of my stamp set too!

The wine towel I bought plain and then I've embellished it with washable products.  The images were stamped on with Palette Ink which is perfect for fabric and washable!  Then I added some more pearl trim with the same Viva Decor Pearl Pen (that I used on the card)--these pearls are heavy duty and will NOT wash off!  So it makes a pretty addition to the set and is quick & easy to make too!

See ya back here tomorrow!!