I am super excited to show you my project today.  It's not a new concept or even one I came up with, but I was really, really pleased with the results.

In Stampin' Up!'s current holiday mini catalog, the company introduced fat quarters of fabric...cute fabric too!  I purchased some a while back but it wasn't until last night I actually opened it.  While recently perusing the endless amounts of project ideas and information on the SU website, I came across the idea of fabric coasters.  LOVE them!  So easy to make and very easy to personalize for a special gift.  I am heading to AZ for a few days to visit with my favorite Stampin' buddy and fellow demonstrator, Kelley.  I decided to make a coaster for each of us to place our drinks on during our endless hours of stamping time together :) Look how cute they came out:

 
Here is a close-up of each one:

Aren't these super cute?  Unfortunately the lighting wasn't good when i was taking the pictures and I see now I should have put them on a dark surface, but I hope you can still see some of the detail. Each coaster was made from Stampin' Up!'s Candy Cane Christmas fabric and cut out using the Big Shot and scalloped square die cut.  There is a piece of cotton batting between the two squares to give it a quilted feel.  In addition, although hard to see, I stitched around each letter to "poof it up" a bit. 

Because I love everything personalized, I monogrammed each coaster with our first initial. The letters are also made of fabric (the "M" is not SU fabric, but the "K" is).  The absolute coolest part of this project was using the Big Shot Fabric Adhesive.  AWESOME stuff!  I am totally hooked on it and it made monogramming this project so easy.  The directions come with the roll of adhesive and area very easy to follow.  If you have ever worked with iron-ons before, it uses the same concept.  If you have questions about the adhesive, drop me an email and I would be happy to answer questions. And finally, the letters are from the Serif Alphabet die cuts and are a perfect size for these square coasters.

I see quick and easy Christmas presents in my future!
Thanks for stopping by!

In an effort to do my part to raise money for breast cancer research, I made these pink and white M&M "skinny bags".  Each bag holds roughly 25 M&Ms.  My dear friend has offered to sell these for me at her various fundraiser events which I am SO grateful for. Take a look:

 
The tags were made with Pretty in Pink card stock.  I cut the oval out with a punch and then ran the oval through my Big Shot using the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder.  I then stamped the ribbon (non-SU) in Pretty in Pink ink onto white card stock and cut it out and adhered it to the oval with glue dots.  The adorable rhinestone ribbons were part of a bracelet kit I bought a number of years ago from Oriental Trading.  I'm not sure if they are still available, but I wanted to use them on this project.  And, finally, I tied it all together with Stampin' Up!'s 1/8" white taffeta ribbon. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Two posts in one day?  Craziness!  It took 7 months for one post, now it appears I'm getting over zealous and trying to make up for lost time!  No...that's not the case.  I'm just excited to showcase my latest creation.  Take a look:

Isn't this clever?  I found an awesome tutorial by Lisa Somerville here 

This was so much fun to make.  I had these plastic test tubes from Halloween last year.  They are made by Martha Stewart and I believe I got them from Michael's.  I've seen them this year too, so I know they are still out there.

My friend, Kelley, accuses me of over embellishing everything, but I felt this was justified.  Stampin' Up has the BEST accessories!  The razzleberry ribbon looks SO rich against the black and the bat needed a little bling.  It's hard to see in the photo, but I also have a small library clip on the sentiment and a bow made of fiber from pieces of ribbon. 

Try it out.  I know you will enjoy making them too!

Have a great Monday.

I didn't expect my blogging sabbatical to last 7 months - weeks maybe, but not months.  It has been so long I actually forgot my blog sign-in and password!  With that cleared up, I am happy to be posting again.  While my intention is to post on a regular basis, I've noticed that as soon as I commit to it, life derails me and I once again look like a blogging idiot. So, just shy of committing, let's just say I hope to post more often than every 7 months.

In late August I received an invitation to return to a retirement community to teach rubber stamping.  I say "return" because I taught there for nearly 4 years until 2008.  I returned to many of the same ladies that were in my class previously and a few new faces too.  It was a great class and a great day!  It rejuvenated me in unexpected ways and I now find myself excited about stamping and teaching again.  That feeling has been a void in my life for a long time.  So without further ado, here is a "class photo" of my first camp in nearly two years!  A big thanks to these ladies and their community for having me back!

There...I did it.  My first post in ages.  Check back later today so I can show you the cool Halloween project I just finished!