Advent Calendar

This is probably one of the best advent calendars I've seen. My step mom made each of my kids one of these. Each year she buys all the goodies to go in them and I put it together. Even though my son is 13 he still loves opening one of these boxes each day.

Each box is 4X4 and you will need 25 for each calendar. Only the lid is stamped. The backing is a piece of foam core board (20X30) painted black and then Christmas-y type paper used as the background on top. Each of the squares has a letter in it that spells Merry Christmas and then the name of the child.

The boxes were the hardest to attach (and make them stay that way!). I know this because my step mom used hot glue which had come off by the time we got these home. I wanted something strong enough to hold them so we could hang these on the wall.

For my daughters, I punched a hole through the box bottom and foam core and put a brad through to hold the boxes. For my sons I used Gorilla Glue and that seems to be holding well.

On each box I punch hold in the bottom on opposing sides. After I put the goody in, I ran ribbon through the holes, placed the top on and tied the ribbon to hold the box lid on nice and tight and keep prying eyes out!!

Glass Etching

This is a candle tray that I made. I was actually trying for a darker etch but was worried that something was going wrong and stopped the process too early. The little yellow flecks are actually on our desk, not on the tray.

You'll need some kind of glass, flat works best for stamping. Armor etch, latex gloves, clear embossing powder, heat tool.

Wash and dry your glass (since I used a tray that's what I'll call it from now on). If you are going to be using your tray for serving food, you want to etch the other side, not the food side.

Pick what design you want. Something with lots of details or fine lines doesn't work very well. You want something a little solid.

Emboss just as you would for paper. If you accidentally slip, just wash it off and start over. Then emboss. This took me a bit longer that I thought it would. I guess the glass had to heat up too.

After you have it embossed, get your gloves on and your armor etch. After that you will need to follow whatever directions are on your etching compound. When the etching is complete, just wash it off and then scrape off the embossing powder to leave a clear image.

When it's done and dry you have a one of a kind gift to give or keep! I'm making a couple with a Christmas design, fill the plate with cookies and give it to our schools secretaries.

Teacher Gifts

Here's a gift I made for one of the teachers I worked for last year. This is another easy project and very cost effective. The journal came from the dollar store and the pen was probably another 1.00.

It's a great use for the older Stampin' Up! Designer paper that was only printed on one side.

The "K" is sponged around all the edges and I used grograin ribbon along the edges.

The flowers are from "Got Flowers?". I put a daub of crystal effects in the center of each one and put some little clear beads.

The pen has the same paper inside as the cover of the journal.

Gift Box

Here's what I made last night. I love giving gift cards as gifts. I'm finding though, that the trick is to package them in a fantastic way.

I came up with this little box last night. It's 2 1/2 inches X 3 1/2 inches with 1/2 inch in height. It could be thinner.

The flaps on the ends just fold in. This one is for a Starbucks cards (duh!)

I'll upload the template this weekend. You could resize this box to hold just about anything!

Holiday Party Mix

This is a great gift for neighbors. You can make a big batch, it looks great in the gift jar and is delicious!!

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
8 cups corn or rice square cereal
1 cup white baking pieces
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups cashews
1-1/3 cups dried cranberries

Directions

1. In a large zip loc bag combine powdered sugar and nutmeg; set aside. Place cereal in a very large bowl; set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan combine white baking pieces, peanute butter, and butter. Stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

3. Pour butter mixture over cereal mixture; carefully stir until cereal is evenly coated. Cool slightly. Add cereal mixture, half at a time, to powdered sugar mixture in bag and shake to coat. Add nuts and fruit. Shake until combined. Pour into shallow baking pan lined with waxed paper to cool. Store in an airtight container up to 2 days. Makes about 14 cups.

Kids Version: Prepare as above, except substitute 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder for the nutmeg; peanuts for the cashews; and dried raisins for the dried cranberries. You can even throw in some M&M's or Recees Pieces.