Amanda and I were chatting that it would be fun to SCRAP our Christmas lists… I mean, really, we scrap everything else, doesn’t Santa deserve the honor? So… we did! LOL! We may have been inspired because we have these fabulous new kits from Dani and Shawna (they are coming December 1!!), for a new Year of Memories. Those of you die-hard Dani Fans know that she did this last year, too.. 12 kits to represent each month, with a calendar included. This year, Shawna Clingerman and and Dani decided to team up on this big project, and let me tell you, the results are sooo cute! Amanda and I both used the December kits in our lists, but all of them are just darling… Definitely check them out! (You can check out Dani’s Year of Memories from last year here)

Okay, on with the begging!

Amanda’s list is much longer than mine, but she has nice stuff on there like world peace and more hours in the day. Read closely, though, because I think she may be appealing to more than just Santa…

Fun, huh? I love the little gingerbread men- makes me hungry! LOL!

Okay, next up is mine. I have just ONE item on my list this year, but it is a biggie.

Yep, just a printer for me, just a little ‘ole printer. Do you think I have earned it? Of course I have!

Anyone else interested in scrapping their Christmas list? We would love to see them, and a random participant will receive a gift certificate as an early present! Link us up!

Here I am again for another exciting round of “Who is my secret pal???” We have three cards again today, so heeeeerrreeee goes!

First up is a darling card for Melissa by Tania.

I am so in love with the button border in this kit (Cheer). I seriously have such a thing for them… there is one in Dani’s Cabana Boy kit, too, if you happen to have my same thing! LOL! Great job, Tania, and Happy Holidays, Melissa!

Next up is a very cool card from Amanda (G) for Tania!

This is the Joy kit in action again, with the very cool mosaic from Dani’s Scrappers Toolbox shapes (LOVE THEM- they are like Dani-fying your LO, and if you have seen any of her LOs, you know that is a VERY good thing)

Last up, we have a darling card from Jacque for Amanda (H).

Love the placement on the ribbon, and those cut snowflakes are too cool! Nice job, Jacque and Happy Holidays, Amanda!

Okay, as promised, we have a special treat for YOU, our loyal blog readers! Jacque, being the “over and above” kind of a gal that she is, created a .png card for her secret pal, too! We decided since it was sooo cute we would share it…not only with us, but with YOU, too! I used Dani’s pic to show it off here, since she didn’t get a card! LOL! Happy Holidays, Dani!

This is a .png file, which means that all you have to do is plop a pic behind the file(just like I did with Dani’s pic here!), add a greeting and go! You can get it here!

Download Here!

Happy Holidays to you!

Well, the girls and I are definitely starting to get into the holiday spirit. Perhaps it was the FABULOUS Scraps of the Season Line that Dani released over at thedigishoppe (have you seen ‘em… go, go, go…they ROCK!) In honor of the season, we decided to do a secret pal card swap this month instead of a photo swap (well, mine has a photo on it, but that is a whole ‘nother story! LOL!) So… I emailed everyone with their “secret pal” and we all got right to work creating a fun card for them! They are being revealed here, on the blog, for the first time! So let’s get going!

I have three cards for you today, starting with a lovely one for Jacque, created by our guest team member, Melissa Lewis!

I just love all the greetings that are included in these Scraps of the Season kits (this one is Joy), they are just SCREAMING to be used on cards! I so love the shape on this… I am such a sucker for squares, and those hanging balls- just fab. Nice job, Melissa, and Happy Holidays, Jacque!

Next up, a darling card from Amanda (H) for Christel!

Again, another fab greeting from the kit (along with papers from the Kitchmas Cheer kit) and just darling card. I am soooooo diggin’ the snowman- isn’t he cute?? Very cool, Amanda, and Happy Holidays, Christel!

Last but not least is my card for Amanda (L). Mine is a little… um…. different, but I sure had fun making it! Tee hee! Love ya, girl!

I did not use the greeting, but there is a cute one in the kit (Cheer)…it is shaped like a tree, even, kinda like the lovely earrings that Amanda has on! LOL! Happy Holidays, Amanda!

Okay, girls, that is all for us today, check in again tomorrow for another round of fun cards, and quite possibly a little FREEBIE for you from us! Happy Holidays!

Here are three more scraplifts from our Guest CTM’s gallery here at DST.  Remember, you have one more day to get them done and post your link.  Come play along with us!!

Our first layout is by our own crazyscrapper, aka Jacque.  Isn’t her daughter just the cutest!!  She lifted Melissa’s layout here.  I’m loving the stitching and the frayed heart!!  She used Dani’s awesome Quiet Comfort kit from the This Love Collection.

Great minds think alike and Tania and I chose the same layout to lift!!  See Melissa’s original layout here. Tania’s pictures of JT are just so funny…those crazy boys.  She used one of Dani’s new kits, Scraps of the Season: Cheer available at Dani’s store at The Digishoppe.

Here is mine…  I just love doing these multi-photo layouts so thank you Melissa for the inspiration.  I used Dani’s new Scraps of the Season: Peace kit available at Dani’s store at The Digishoppe.

As always, for detailed credits on these layouts check out the Design by Dani/Your Favorite Pair gallery and while you’re there do some browsing to see all the awesome layouts done by using Dani’s products.

Before I unveil the gorgeous lifts that my team members did, I wanted to say a big congrats to Dani on her arrival at The Digishoppe.  Such a great place for her and her fab designs!!  So, you can now find Dani’s stuff both at her Design by Dani store and at The Digishoppe.  

OK….back to what you were coming here to see…LOL. Here are some of the scraplifts we did to welcome our new November Guest CT, Melissa Lewis. 

The first is Christel’s awesome lift of Melissa’s original layout here.  Christel used Dani’s awesome new collection: Scraps of the Season.   This one is aptly titled Joy and can be found here at the Digishoppe.  I love this Christel!!  It is such a cute picture and what a perfect title.  It also shows how versatile these kits are – can be used for much more than holiday or snow pictures!!

Our next layout is by the fabulous Robin.  She lifted Melissa’s layout here and used Dani’s new Scraps of the Season: Love.  How sweet is this….You gotta love those little buddies and how cool to get some pictures of them and make a layout about their friendship.  Great idea, Robin.   This kit is perfect for those pictures and I’m really loving this color combo and those felt hearts. 

I’ll be back with two more lifts tomorrow. 

Remember, get busy lifting Melissa’s fab gallery here so you can be eligible to win a gift certificate to Dani’s store where you can pick up one of these gorgeous new kits!!  See details in posting from November 15th.

Well, I’m a little late this month but nonetheless wanted to invite you all to scraplift a layout from our November Guest Dani Girl – Melissa Lewis.  She has an awesome style and fabulous gallery.  Here’s what you do…pick a layout from her gallery here and then post a comment below with a link to your scraplift.  You have until next Tuesday, November 21st at midnight EST to post your link.  We will put all names into a hat and draw a winner at random to win a $5 gift certificate to Dani’s store.  You definitely don’t want to miss this opportunity as Dani has some new gorgeous stuff in there.

Stay tuned…..Tomorrow, I will show off some of the fabulous layouts done by Dani’s Girls as we are playing along with you scraplifting Melissa!!

So you think you are starting a little project but doesn’t it always turn into something much bigger? I had a brilliant idea to make a little book for my brand-new nephew from all his aunts, uncles and cousins. The little book turned into a week long project- LOL! But I am very pleased with the results and know that I will be doing this one again.

I had the layouts printed as a 5×7. I cut some chipboard I took from Michael’s (they let me sneak it out) into rectangles and painted them white. I added the ribbons next so I wouldn’t bend the photos. Then I stuck down the photos. That was the easiest part!

And since it is hard to see the actual layouts here they are:

I used Dani’s Fresh Air kit (my favorite!) and her felt hearts and various fonts.

And I have another little project to share. It is from the other Amanda! She made the digital image inside and then framed it with microscope glass. How cool is that?

That is all for today. If you have any “little projects” using Dani’s designs link us up! We would love to see them!

If you are anything like me there are probably a ton of Christmas gifts to buy on your list. There are Sunday school teachers, preschool teachers, great-grandparents, grandparents and the list goes on and on. Since there is not a money tree in our backyard I am being resourceful this year and making many of our gifts. When I started this I never realized how inexpensive small but meaningful gifts are. You can’t beat Oriental Trading! And it felt good to get my hands dirty (shhhhh…don’t tell Dani!).

My first project was a simple frame. I bought an unfinished wooden frame at Michael’s for a buck. Next I printed out a few papers of Dani’s and went to town with the glue. I added a little trim with the sticky back and some ribbon. I covered a little wooden star (also from Michael’s) and stuck a Santa on it. The Santa is actually a tiny ornament.

Next I slightly altered tiny take-out boxes I found at Michael’s. They were less than a dollar. I tied on ribbon left over from last years festivities (yes, I am THAT woman that saves every bit of ribbon) and added a tag from Dani’s new Christmas kit. Now I have a cute little gift box!

I ordered clear checkbook covers from Oriental Trading to give as gifts for my grandmothers. You know how they love to show off pictures in the middle of the aisle at Wal-Mart. Maybe mine are just weird like that. I made my canvas to fit the size of the cover and scrapped away. The top half I did upside down and included a calendar. The bottom half has the month and seasonal pictures and papers. They are marvelous! Now they can switch out the inserts and have a new checkbook every month! The gift that gives all year long!

My last project is my favorite so far. I found these little paper mache boxes at Hobby Lobby. They were begging for some Modge Podge. I printed out various papers and started gluing away. I put a layer of glue on top as well. When they dried I added a few embellishments. They will be perfect for teacher gifts. I am going to add a cute bracelet or necklace. They are the perfect size for jewelry and will make great trinket boxes.

I hope I gave you a few ideas to get your gift giving started. You know there are only 53 shopping days left. But don’t worry! I’ll be back next week with more ideas and a project or two from a few of Dani’s girls. Happy crafting!