Easy Snowman Magnet (with free Silhouette files!)

I saw this on Pinterest a while back, and while she made hers into pins to wear, I wanted to do some little magnets for our fridge! 

I did a test run with my Mom's Day Out class earlier this week and just loved the results. I had the kiddos help draw the little faces and glue on the pieces. It was a simple craft they could do but it ended up looking really cute.

The trick with these is to use glue dots! It makes it fast, easy, and clean! 

Stickles add a little dimension and sparkle. 

And look how cute he is when he is lit up! 

I made some Silhouette template files for this, however, I have no idea how to share them on here for you to use. If you would like the files for cutting out the face, hat, and scarf for the tealight snowman, just send me an email at 2blackflipflops@gmail.com and I will send it to you! :) 

Wonderful time of the year . . .

I LOVE this time of year!!!  There is so much I enjoy about the holiday season but what I treasure most is the traditions we have created within my own family.  Growing up my parents were big on traditions & continue to be so even now.  To be able to share these with my own children & create new ones of are own is such a gift!!  Each year we head over to a nearby nursery that sells Christmas trees.  I used Noel's Glad Tidings kit to document our trip there . . .



The kit has such a wide array of gorgeous patterned paper that I layered up but I REALLY enjoyed playing around with the title work.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the layered "wonderful" and topped the "o" with a chipboard star & decorative circle by Carta Bella.  Such a fun accent!!!  Below I added the rest of my title using the adorable scrabble tile letter stickers within the kit.



Whether you are working on your December daily albums or simply your everyday albums - make sure to take some time to document those special traditions your family does year after year.  Such fun memories to scrap!!  Thanks for stopping by :)

Dear Santa...

The years when my kids wanted to sit on Santa's lap have come and gone {insert sad face here}, but something interesting happened right before thanksgiving...we saw Santa at In-n-Out right late one Friday night after a football playoff game. THE very Santa that my kids told what they wanted for Christmas so many years ago. So, when I ran across these photos of my kids sitting on his lap, well, I had to tell the story of our meeting with the off-duty Santa.

The journaling reads: Seven years ago my kids were right there sitting on your lap telling you what they want for Christmas. Today, just days before you begin another season of being Santa I meet you at In-n-Out (you have good taste) and learn you are just as kind out of costume, are recognized all over the U.S. by those that have sat on your lap and you are about to publish a book about your 40 year career playing Santa!

He really was one of the best Santa's that we had while the kids were growing up so it was fun to meet the man behind the beard (well, it was real but you know what I mean)!

Every thing used to create this layout is from the Glad Tidings kit, except for the twine on the banner which is from the Student Council kit. The Glad Tidings kit is sold out now, but if you missed out you can pick up a Glad Tidings paper only kit, which is pretty amazing too. Seriously, amazing colors and prints...you won't be disappointed!

What kind of stories will you be telling with your Glad Tidings kit? I can't wait to see...post them in the forum!

Countdown to Christmas- December Planner

Tomorrow is the 1st of December! Can you believe it?! Are you ready?

I'm not... but I'm trying to be better prepared. Today I want to show you one of my little tricks for (hopefully) keeping me better prepared and organized for Christmas this year. 

I bought a Pink Paislee Portfolio album from Noel a few months ago, and saved it for now. (She's out of stock on it right now, but she has several other albums that would work well!) 

I decorated the cover with the Glad Tidings kit (sold out except for the paper only pack- which is still pretty dang awesome.)

On the cover, I used one of the beautiful designs by Rhonna Farrer for My Mind's Eye. Because my album is smaller than 12x12, I cut part of the design off of the rest of the page and incorporated it into this part of the design because it was all so lovely! (You can see it in the little bird & "all is bright" tag below.) I love that this album has a protective sleeve around the outside.... normally I would take it off, but because I plan on carrying this album around with me, I'm keeping it on to help it be sturdier.

I used one of the inside photo sleeve inserts to make a quick little cover sheet. I may add to this... I don't feel like it's quite "done" yet. Or I may leave it. We'll see. I did put some sequins in one clear pocket and then tape it shut with decorative tape. I love that fun little element! 

Then- the insides! I made some printables to share with you today! I'm not a pro at this but I wanted something customized and couldn't find what I wanted. You could print these on whatever you wanted- I chose kraft cardstock and cut it down to size. 

The next set of pages are pocket pages- I cut paper the right width, but longer than the album, so I could fold up the excess and make pockets. Thank goodness for pretty double sided papers!

The page on the right is for me to jot down anything handmade that I would like to make for our own family traditions or decorations...

and the next page is for handmade gifts or wrapping items. 

The pocket pages will become useful when I stick in other notes, receipts, coupons, and odds & ends as we go through the month. 

I plan to use the rest of the album as a memory album- not exactly a December Daily, but something akin to it with a little less structure. I'm really excited to see how this evolves for me and I plan to share it with you!

If you're interested in using any of these printables, here they are linked below! 

Week By Week PDF: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByynLz6eGtoec2lBNHMtQl9lSFE

To Do List: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByynLz6eGtoeeVdLdkRZNndPLTg

Shopping List: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByynLz6eGtoeRGhHSTJUSkVzazQ

Handmade Gifts: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByynLz6eGtoebVJwTFUwS2F3Rm8

Handmade Decor: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByynLz6eGtoeSjJsMDFqM1lCTk0

Event Food Planner (with spot below to attach recipe card!): https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByynLz6eGtoeMWlueXV6dERuTVU

Happy Thursday!

Happy Thursday everyone!

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and are now gearing up for Christmas!

Have y'all already received the Glad Tidings Kit?

I hope so, because it's already out of stock!!  But don't despair, it looks like Noel has put a special addition of the kit that has just the papers in it.  And let me tell you, the papers knocked my socks off.

Today's post is all about the circle journal that is going on over on the message boards.  I got the fabulous Melanie's journal in the mail the other day and her mini is all about quotes.

I absolutely love a good quote and my pinterest board devoted to quotes says it all.  There's quite a bit of em...lol.

So Melanie asked that we scrapped a lil about our favorite quote and mine is truly something that I believe and that I actually live by:

Absolute perfect I find those words to be :)

And who would have thought this was made with a Christmas Kit.  It just goes to show how versatile Noel's kits are.

Now what is your favorite quote??

It's a Wrap!!!

Hello everyone!! Today I decided to venture off my usual crafty path of layouts & create some cute, easy holiday wrap ideas using the NEW December Glad Tidings kit.



When I found this little gift bag on the web, it was termed a "one sheet wonder bag".  With one 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock, you can easily create this bag & then embellish it up as you'd like.  I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit giddy over all those fabulous green sequins in the kit :)  I found they worked perfectly with this particular patterned paper, fitting right into the existing pattern!!



When you open this bag, inside you will find quite the yummy surprise!!!  Such a great bag for holiday candies, cookies or even a gift card!!  Interested in making your own??  Find all the details HERE.



My second holiday wrap idea is actually some easy origami at work.  This folding technique was meant to create a paper cup, but it works pretty well as a snack holder too :)  I embellished this "cup" by adding an adorable Lilybee sticker, along with a little homemade paper ribbon.  Love those enamel dots at work - such a fun little accent!!  All the details on making your own origami "cup" wrap can be found HERE.



Thanks for letting me pop in to share some holiday wrap ideas for all those yummy treats in your house :)  Having a fabulous Wednesday!!!

Fall Subway art

Hello everyone! I'm here to share my last project with the Willow Creek kit and final fall project of the year.

I've been admiring some subway art lately and decided to give it a whirl with my Silhouette Cameo. Here is what I came up with:

To create my art I drew a rectangle a little bigger than the opening of my frame and then typed different fall themed words in various sizes and fonts in the rectangle. For a little variety, I decided to add a couple leaves too.

Once the words and leaves were cut out, I backed each one with patterned paper. The deep rich colors in the Willow Creek kit were perfect for creating a fall feeling to my project. To finish it off I added a piece of fall flair from my stash. Make sure you check out the flair available in the shop, it adds the perfect little touch.

This was really easy (and fun) to put together. I can see switching this out seasonally for some variety in my home and it is a great way to use scrap paper too!