Gold & Silver New Year Party Ensemble by Julie Warnick

You will be ready to celebrate the New Year in style with this classic Gold and Silver New Year Party Ensemble by Julie Warnick! This fun and festive set features a banner, party hat, party blowers and a card/invitation! The banner will look fabulous hanging in your home anywhere you want to add some sparkle! You can create the decorative bottom edges of the banner pieces using the Labels Collection Framelits. The party hat can either be worn or used as a focal point in a centerpiece. And don’t forget party blowers! You can make them yourself to coordinate beautifully with your party décor. They are simple to put together and make any event a celebration! For the finishing touch, the matching card is perfect for invitations for your friends and family to come and ring in the New Year!  For full step-by-step instructions head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to the month of December!

Cookies In The Kitchen

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Take Your Creativity Into The Kitchen!
Sometimes I crave something sweet.  Usually I don't eat a lot of sweets, but when that craving comes it needs to be satisfied :)  I eat a vegan, gluten-free diet, so I need to get creative when I bake!  These cookies have no eggs, dairy or wheat!  I made them with ingredients that would meet my needs including garbanzo bean flour and quinoa flour, some applesauce, a bit of banana, vanilla, dark chocolate chips, coconut and walnuts.  They have a touch of added raw sugar - an ingredient I have reduced each time I make the cookies and they still taste wonderful!  Sometimes it is a lot of fun to take your creativity into the kitchen...and then into your tummy :)

Watercolor Play

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Follow The Art Impulse!
I was on a work trip earlier this week and had an opportunity to go to a contemporary art museum and take in some art and inspiration!  One of the paintings that drew me in was by Mark Rothko and it had a combination of colors that spoke to me - orange, grey, a touch of red and black.  It spoke to me so deeply that I just HAD to make some art...but I was ill-prepared.  I had my usual little kit with me - some black markers, washi tape, a glue stick and scissors.  But I wanted color!  I guess I could have found some magazines or paper to cut up that included the respective colors, but somehow the urge took over to be able to brush pigment onto paper.  Next stop?  The museum gift shop!  I went straight to the section in the back that was for kids...after all, the kid in me wanted to play!  And there they were - smiling at me - a set of watercolors, brush included - for $8!  Nirvana!  I bought that set and went straight back to my hotel room.  I filled up a glass with water and opened my new set and off I went in my small sketch book!  Follow the art impulse!  Let it take over!  Find the colors you need!  You will be glad you did :)

Snow Day Party by Buffy Cooper

Unless you live near the equator – or Florida – you’re going to have snow in the winter.  It’s inevitable, so you might as well enjoy it and have a party with this Snow Day Party set by Buffy Cooper!  Here are some fun – and “out of the box” - ways to use the Gift Box Punch Board and All Is Calm suite from the 2014 Stampin’ Up! Holiday catalog to make party favor boxes and a basket of snow party refreshments.  Add a fun invitation and a sparkly snow banner using the Build a Banner Simply Created Kit, and you’ll have the best party ever.  If you live in an area that doesn’t get much snow, or your party is in the spring or summer, it’s easy to switch it to a “no snow” or beach party just by changing the designer series paper and colors.  To see the entire project and to get full step-by-step instructions, head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to the month of December!

Mini-Collage Challenge #17

Today's lesson from the craft room: Experiment!

This mini collage started with a new little jar of paint that I bought at the art store the other day - Pebeo prisme paint - I just had to try it out! Sometimes you can be inspired by one little blob of paint that looks like a moon or a planet or something you've never seen. Show up and experiment!

Mini-Collage Challenge #16

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  It's All About Losing Myself
My mind was full of twisted wires.  Crissing and crossing.  Confusing.  I needed a break.  I could have gone for a swim.  Could have taken a nap.  But what I was led to do was to head into the craft room.  A place where I can lose myself.  Where my thoughts turn from twistedness to serenity.  Where my focus turns to what color to apply.  What tool to use.  And everything else melts away.  There are days when I question why I create.  Today I knew the answer.  It was all about losing myself in the process.
This is the next mini-collage in my 2" x 2" mini-collage challenge that I have set for myself.  I began by experimenting with a thin layer of crackle paste - it didn't quite crackle.  The layer was too thin.  But it created a nice "toothy" surface to work on.  So I stamped and colored in with some metallic Sharpie markers and found some suitable words in a book I've been cutting up.  As always, the perfect message always appears.  If I lose myself and allow the process to take over.

Under the Tree Window Treat Box & Money Holder by Laurie Zoellmer

Fill this festive Under the Tree Window Treat Box & Money Holder by Laurie Zoellmer with your favorite goodies for the perfect gift!  These boxes are easy to make, but sure to impress – and the window in the front adds just the right touch!  The coordinating money holder makes this ensemble the perfect gift for anyone on your list!  Head on over to Craft Project Central and subscribe to the month of December for full step-by-step instructions!