Charismatic GIFTIE thingies!

hiya gang! what's shakin'?
busy week here, with holiday luncheons and trying to squeeze in as much learning as i can, because next friday is my last day at the branch before i kick things off at our brand new location! it's so exciting, but i've really gotten to enjoy working with the people there, so i know i'm going to miss them. i'm not, however, going to miss getting up at 5:15 in the mornings, or getting home at 6:45 in the evenings. i love my job though, which makes the commute bearable, and i NEVER dread going to work. :) i don't think i've EVER said that about any job before.

okay, so on with the crafty stuff!

it's CHARISMA CARDZ CHALLENGE DAY today!
we want to see something that's NOT cards or scrappy pages... we want to see GIFT HOLDERS, or GIFTS! (yes, we know you give cards as gifts, but usually a card accompanies a gift, so that's what we're talkin' about, kids!)

i had some fun playing with a bunch of new yummies, but i was SO disappointed in myself because i had made a slew of these (from the same line) last week for the craft fair, and forgot to photograph them. so i came up with BETTER templates than the ones i'd used, and here are my little creations:


some close-ups...



(that one's a gift card holder)






lemme tell ya, these little stinkers are FUN to make, espesh with the Mawtha scoring board! and they're perfect for gift cards, jewellery, candy or little trinkets (even crafty gifts for your fellow cardmaking pals!).

everything you see here is from SEI, except the baker's twine and the dark green cardstock. if you haven't played with the Kris Kringle line, i HIGHLY recommend it! such fabby patterns and the quality of the papers is just WONDERFUL. and it's festive and FUN - perfectly out of the ordinary and just my style!

so do you wanna play along with the Charisma Gals? make something for someone (or a box in which to put something you buy for 'em), and you could win...

3 digis of your choice from MAKE IT CRAFTY! (and if you've been paying attention, you know i LOVE the digis from Zoe's shop, and i absolutely LOVE being on her design team, among so much crazy awesome talent!)

$10 to spend in the Tellen's Place ETSY store! some truly FUN and quirky images - perfect for those who like to add a little humour and/or wit to their crafting! not to mention, the owner, Terry O is one fabby, funky gal!

play along with the Charisma Gals this week for your chance to win! my teammates have done some GORGEOUS, inventive, adorable things for their projects, and i TOTALLY urge you to CLICKIE HERE to check 'em all out! i'd be SHOCKED if you weren't instantly inspired to make something equally wonderful! you have until next WEDNESDAY to play with us - still time to squeeeeeeze in some holiday crafting, so join us!


i decided to play along at Paper Sundaes, as their theme is "GIFT IT!" - i'm gonna be sticking stuff in these boxes and giftin' away! :)
and this little set is for the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - they gave us the general theme of CHRISTMAS and i wasn't just going to opt for a plain ol' card! :)

simple CPS goodness

THANK YOU, CPS! for inspiring this card - i know JUST who i'd like to send it to this Christmas. :)




here's their sketch #196:


so when you folks die-cut or punch things from your paper, do you keep the "frame" - i.e. the negative from your cut? the grey "frame" is just that. i die-cut a shape, and figured i'd get some mileage from the paper, because i LOVE the stuff (it's a Bazzill cardstock, and i wish i could go swimming it all its yummy texture!). the card kinda resembles a framed photo or painting of a little old country village, doesn't it?

anywho, there that is. photos from the craft fair are forthcoming. it was FANTASTIC, and i made a nice little profit! i am definitely going to apply again for the 2011 fair!

the craft fair has ARRIVED!

for those of you who have been visiting over the last couple of months, the big Craft Fair of which i've been yammering has FINALLY arrived! i will be up in a few short hours and on my way HERE... it's gonna be HUGE, apparently, and i am still so excited that i was INVITED to be a vendor by one of the two women in charge!

anywho, i plan to take some photos, and i'll give you all a little run-down of the event once it's over and done with, and that will be the last you'll hear about it (until this time NEXT year, i hope!)... i know, i know... it's about time! well, send me some positive energy, my darlings, because i hope everything squeezes into the space, and i hope my banner stays where it's supposed to go! i'm a little worried that it's not going to do what it should, but i think everything else should look pretty good! oh, and it would be AWESOME if i could make a bit of profit, too! ;)

thanks for all the encouragement, friends! (especially YOU, Holmes-Lovie!)
enjoy the weekend!

my LASER PRINTER is the pits.

so i'm on the hunt for a decent PHOTO printer so i can do some actual scrapbooking. the photos i've used on my pages over the last year and a bit have all been printed on my laser, and the quality is TERRIBLE. i don't get it!

are any of you using a laser? if so, what kind of printer, and what paper do you buy? i am going to do a factory reset to restore the default settings, but i don't think we strayed too far from the original settings in the first place, so i doubt it will help much, if at all. everything always looks washed out and colourless, and it's upsetting!

so if i can't work this problem out to a point where i'm actually happy with the results and feel like printing some new pics to scrap, i will be looking for a photo printer. suggestions?

congrats to my HOPPER, and a new Some Odd Girl challenge!

THANK YOU to all of Some Odd Girl's Friends and Followers! i hope you all enjoyed the Hol-Odd-Day blog hop as much as we did! each of the Odd Girls gave away the digi they used on their Hop card to one commenter who showed a little love to ALL of the featured Blog Hop participants... i used the fabby Sign Kaylee on my card:


and my lucky winner is.... KRISTA! congrats, my crafty friend! i hope you have lots of fun with her! all you have to do is send a quick email to Kristy@SomeOddGirl.com and she'll get you hooked up so you can add this little cutie to your digi collection!

join us TODAY for our new UBER-GIRLIE CHALLENGE, where we want to see you add those accents that make your projects scream out "I WAS MADE FOR A GIRLIE GIRL!"... be it lace, frills, flowers, bling, a shopping theme, ribbons, girlie colours, whatever! CLICK HERE for our challenge, and check out what our Oddies did with this one! you have until Wednesday, December 15th to play along for more Some Odd Girl freebies and LOYALTY POINTS!

oh, and didja see the new FREEBIE?! :) can't wait to colour THIS one up! i hope my family's not reading my blog, 'cuz they'll be seeing this image in the mail soon enough! :D