Christmas Cards

After sitting in this stage for a few days...

They are finally complete and in the mail! Yes, they made it out with time to spare. I love the soft pastel colors in this card. I hope everyone enjoys them and all the love that went into making them.

I like to consider my handmade Christmas cards my gift to those far away.
Merry Christmas... and I better get busy designing next year's cards so I won't cut it so close.

...a lot like...

The process has been slow, but they are coming right along.
The embossing and bow tying are complete as well as the embellishments for each letter.

Will they get completed on time??? Stay tuned....

...To Look...

Whew... after taking all the supplies I chose for my cards, I had to make something out of them.... so here is the next phase.I've cut out all my paper for the card base, background and letters. I embossed and punched the white background, and I've embossed the "O" with white glitter.
So now to put them all together.....

Its beginning....

Here's how my Christmas card began it's life this year...

I originally picked out red and green paper for my cards. Most of the time I buy the paper not having a specific design in mind...
But for some reason I was very un-inspired by the paper I chose.
So one day I was browsing the paper isle and saw this beautiful shimmery foil-like paper in pastel pink, blue, green and silver.... It truly sang to me... (no joke)
My mind immediately began racing with ideas of how to use these papers on a card. So I browsed the store for other ideas to go along with my delicious paper...
Here is what I finally ended up using
I mean just look at those yummy embellishments... I could seriously eat them up....So now what??? How will I put all these to use???
Stay tuned for more....

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to share a simple card I put together for Ryan to give his staff at the office.
Fun and simple to create!

Sweet 16

A friend called me a couple days ago and asked if I would be able to make a cake for her daughter's 16th birthday party. She wanted it red & black and modern looking.
After a bit of brainstorming this is what I came up with...The bottom layer is Styrofoam. I added it just to give it the oomph it needed
The other layers are chocolate and vanilla both with vanilla mousse filling. I created the 16 topper and monogram A on the bottom just to give it a little bling and personalization, not to mention a little frill with the bows. I also glimmer dusted the entire cake for more sparkle. She seemed very pleased with the design. I hope the birthday girl is just as happy with it.
I had a lot of fun creating it even if it was a last minute design and creation.

Love at Home

Along with my Fall decor and Conference Talk Highlights I decided to do a little extra for one of the talks.
I chose the talk given by Elder David A. Bednar , More Diligent and Concerned at Home
I created a little Post-it note holder to give each sister.
Inside I have highlights of the 3 steps Elder Bednar suggested.
1. Show Love
2. Bear Testimony
3. Be Consistent

Then I have a Post - it pad for them to use to write little love notes to their family.
I wrote on the first page with ideas of where to leave the notes.
Now I just need to make one more for myself so I can practice what I preach!

FALL

In case you haven't noticed (because you live in Las Vegas) .... It's Fall!
I love everything about Fall...
The weather, the Holidays, the Baking and the gifts.

For Visiting Teaching this month we are supposed to teach about a talk from Conference.
It's sooo hard to choose just one sooo...
I chose 4 and decided to present them in a little fall decoration for the house.
I liked it so much I created one for myself too.
(As I've mentioned before... it's a huge motivator for me to go if I have a gift to give them)

So here is the Front with the Fall decoration
Then on the back I created pocketsInside the pockets I printed 4 talks from Conference (a bit abbreviated so they would fit)They can use these as FHE lesson ideas for each week in November or as a personal reminder of the talks given. To get them started I also created a little handout to go along with one of the talks ...(photo coming soon)

Now they are ready It's time to get my visits done!

Ghoulish Goodies

I went a little crazy this year making Halloween goodies.
Without having a class room party to bring treats for I had to find a substitute "class" to receive my treats.
So Miranda's Seminary class received a treat a day
and Smart Night kids and tutors benefited too...

Oreo Suckers
Special tags created for the Smart Night Tutors
Chocolate dipped Sugar Cookiesand the ever popular.... Peanut Butter EyeballsI just love the fun treats for Halloween!
Now.... what to make for Christmas???

Personal Gen Con Kit

I thought I would share a little ditty I put together for the sisters I visit teach. We were able to visit them the day before General Conference (talk about getting it done the first of the month) and I thought this little kit would be fun since I'm not one to show up Visit teaching empty handed too often. Besides, if I have a gift planned it helps me remember to go!

Here is the card....

Inside the basket I had, Microwave popcorn, Take 5 candy bar, Lotion and Bath Gel, Extra gum and a notebook. Each of them coordinated with the saying on the note.
Just a simple little way to let your sisters know you are thinking of them.

The Reception

Kara & Glenn's reception turned out so beautiful...
My Brother in Law Harlen designed, engineered and set up the entire decorations...
When you first walked in this is the view...
Such an elegant presentation. Once inside, you entered a beautiful park-like setting
There were park benches to sit on and two beautiful fountains that just added to the atmosphereBecause it was set outside, the sheer walls just gave you the feeling of being included in a special garden. The center of the space was their cake underneath a lighted archway
The food was simple but also beautiful (and color coordinating) Sheetcake and chocolate dipped sugar cookies (made by yours truly) As it got darker, the walls glowed in different colorsIt was so beautiful and a perfect evening!

Wedding Card

Just thought I'd show the card I made for Kara and Glenn. I wasn't able to use their announcement this time, but I did use their wedding colors.

Young Women Centerpieces

Miranda was asked to decorate small cupcake holders for centerpieces at the Young Women in Excellence. All they asked her to do was tie the bows onto the holders.
They told her that they would be in the center of a table and the girls projects would be displayed around them.
I got to thinking (as I often do) that the cupcake holders would be too short to see around the displays.

So... I tried to think of a way to elevate them.
(hang with me now while I explain my thought process....)

I thought first about the large vases I had that could be a platform for the holders.

Then I thought they would be cute stuffed with tulle that coordinated with the YW Value colors.

Then I remembered they mentioned they were going to put lights under the tables so I knew the vases needed the push lights inside to illuminate and match the decor.
(are you still following me here?)

Next I thought it would be cute to have a pick in the top cupcake that displayed the value name.
But wait... even better... how about cut vinyl out for each value and put it onto the vase.
(Whew... sometimes it's exhausting to think about my brainstorming head)

So that's what Miranda and I did...
She designed and cut each of the names and I adhered them to the vases.
Miranda even had a lesson on bow tying ( she will be able to carry on that family trait quite well as it was passed on to me by my mother)

And so here is the final results....
And here is how they looked with cupcakes and illumination....The girls placed their display around the value that matched their project.Everything looked so elegant and tied into the YW theme so well. I just love to see all the value colors represented all together.

Bishopric Wives Dinner

Since Ryan is now in charge of all Stake Activities, I get the opportunity to do help him out. His latest assignment was the Bishopric Wives Dinner.
So I came up with an invitation to set the theme I also designed and put together the favors for each of the wives.
The Quote "Choose This Day" is from a talk from President Eyring.
After arranging the centerpieces, All that was left was the set up.
Fortunately Ryan has an awesome head chairperson who had many entertaining supplies (yep, more than me) She provided the tablecloths, goblets and plates. She planned the menu and did all the shopping.
All the wives had a wonderful evening and loved to feel special for that night.

Flowers and frosting and Cake oh my!

I've been working on flowers and cake for my niece's wedding this weekend.
It's been fun and challenging at the same time.
Everything is finished so thought I'd share .....

4-Grandma corsages..3-Mother wrist-lets
4-Floral decor...(I completely forgot to take photo's of the 6-boutonnieres and the 3- bridesmaid bouquets)

1-Bridal Bouquet...And finally the Wedding Cake....Simple but elegant.
The fondant even came out smooth as a baby's bottom (love it when that happens)

I just have one more project for the reception - making my famous chocolate dipped heart sugar cookies (in purple and blue of course)
It's been fun working with such a vibrant color combo.
Hopefully they are happy with how everything turned out!