ANOTHER New Toy

By now I'm sure you've figured out how much I love scrapbooking toys :) There are just so many cool things you can do with new toys and so many new projects you can come up with!

I'm officially taking my toy collection to the next level! After the first of the year I'm buying a LASER CUTTER!!!!! The machine is called an Epilog and they came to demo it on Tuesday! Of course I was too busy playing and asking a billion questions to take any pics! But here is a photo from their site. It is sort of like an oversized printer or large microwave (in terms of size).

I originally started looking for a machine that would cut out my Custom Name Albums for me. My xacto knife gets the job done, but it sure is a lot of work...and time-consuming! Not only will this laser cutter cut out my albums...it will do SO much more!!! It will cut thin woods, acrylic, fabrics and rubber to name a few. And it will engrave on tile, marble, leather, wood, glass, etc. etc. The list just goes on and on!!!!!! And there is a rotary attachment for etching on round items like glasses and bottles!

This machine will make it possible for me to grow my inventory so I can do more shows. As well as shorten my turn-around time for custom orders. It will also allow me to expand my business in so many ways! My mind is working over time with all the ideas I want to use this machine for!

Don't tell Jesse, but I think I'm in love :)

Wordless Wednesday-Fun and Games

Treasury Tuesday

Usually I post our team treasuries on Saturdays, but with Christmas (and no internet) I decided to wait til today to share our latest treasuries. I have three treasuries to share today!

Click on photos to see all the images up close.

EtsyBloggers: Winter by RandomCreative

Enjoy by fiveforty

Blog Away in Blue and Green by nanjodogz

Winter Beauty

Though I'd much prefer the weather to be warm and sunny, I do love to see the beauty that the snow and ice create outside.

Now if they could just find a way to keep it off the roads!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

´*•.¸(´*•.¸♥¸.•*´)¸.•*´ ♥•.*MERRY CHRISTMAS*.•♥ ¸.•*´(¸.•*´♥´*•.¸)´*•.¸

From my family to yours!

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Christmas! We spent Christmas Eve at my grandparents with my extended family playing games and celebrating :) That night we spent with Jesse's family and had a blast watching the kids open all their gifts!

Christmas day was quite a change...we stayed home all day! My parents came out and we cleaned and organized my upstairs storage area...LOL! Not quite a celebration, but we were together :)

Friday Features-Family Time

Merry Christmas! I recently had a discussion with some friends about how Time really is the best gift! We have decided to not buy many gifts this year on either side of the family. I do love shopping for the perfect gift, but I've noticed that I'm less stressed to get everything done this year and I still can't wait to spend time with my family. Who needs store-bought gifts when you can give TIME :) These great decor items say exactly how I feel... Treasure the time together -SMALL- Interior Wall Vinyl Decal by wallstickz The Best Times are always Found when Friends and Family Gather Round.....12 x 12 Ceramic Tile by ARareTreasure Together is our Favorite Place to Be --Sign by huckleberrylady Christmas Cottage Sign, ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU by familyattic

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Can't pass up a good deal :)

Break Time

Today was my last day of work in 2010!!! And I'm ready for a break! My parents are here, I have almost all of my scrapbooking caught up, and I'm ready to relax and enjoy my time off :) I hope you get to take a break and relax over the holidays as well!

Earring Cards Now Available

I've had a few special orders for earring cards lately and been told I should add them to my shop. Well, I decided to do just that! I have SO many ideas floating through my head for cute earring cards! Here are the four I added today:

Cupcake Earring Cards

Black Scroll Earring Cards

Blue Bird Earring Cards

Work of Heart Earring Cards I have a few more ready to list as well. And I recently bought some fun 2"x2" punches that I'd like to use on my earring cards too. Look for more fun designs to come!

Have suggestions on designs...I'd love to hear them!

The Latest

The girls at work have been keeping me quite busy lately :) They started out buying gifts...and ended up wanting some for themselves! Here's the latest...

This digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Team Treasury Beauty

This week's beautiful Team Treasury is brought to us by HoneyFromTheBee!

She gives us lots of great gift ideas for all our best girls :)

Click on the photo to see all the great items up close!

Friday Features-Family Time

My parents get here TOMORROW!!! I haven't seen them since Labor Day and I can't wait to give them great big hugs and spend two weeks with them!!! In honor of their arrival, today's features all have to do with things I'll be doing with my parents while they're here. We're Eating Out Tonight by Weebird44 Scrabble Tile Pendant - CASINO - Roulette by jessejanes Shopping List Journal by PaperLink

I hope you get to enjoy time with your family as well this holiday season :)

A New Section in My Shop

I've been wanting to add promotional items to my etsy shop for quite some time and have finally gotten it done!!! Well, I've gotten started at least :) The first new promo item in my shop are these cute and useful Business Card Notebooks! They are great for handing out at craft shows, sending out with orders and leaving in places you know people will see and use them! These notebooks make your business card more memorable because they will be seen over and over again each time the notebook is used! Question: I added these as a listing for 25...Do you think this is a good quantity? Should I add a few different options (10, 25, 50, 100)? Any other comments/suggestions are very much welcomed :)

Wordless Wednesday-I ♥ Candy

Warm and Cozy

We recently purchased an outdoor wood boiler and it is proving to be quite a nice investment :)

We've had a wood furnace in the basement for the last couple of years and loved how it helped with our propane bill! But we didn't like having to carry wood downstairs and the mess it left. We also didn't like that it filled the house with smoke twice! So we decided it was time to invest in an upgrade :)

The wood boiler burns wood to heat water that is then brought into the house and runs through the furnace and the hot water heater. Both the furnace and the water heater have attachments on them to make the wood boiler work, but they function the same as the did before in terms of heat sourcing. The furnace still runs through all the existing duct work.

My scrapbook room is currently 74.5 degrees...and I'm lovin' it :)

Congrats to PruittHandCrafts

Linda of pruitthandcrafts is our featured EtsyBlogger for the month of December. Congrats Linda!!! Linda runs three shops on Etsy as well as a blog! And she stays just as busy in her home life...with 25 grandkids! Here are my favorites from each of Linda's shops: Cute Birdie Print Cup Cozy from pruitthandcrafts Rose Swarovski Bicone Flower Earrings from PruittDesign Pink and Yellow two inch yo yo's from PruittSupply And make sure you visit Her Blog to see what else she is up to. And give her a big congrats for being our featured EtsyBlogger :)

It Runs in the Family

My mom has always told me that she isn't creative and that I got all of my talent from my aunts. For the longest time I believed her because she never was much into crafting...or finishing a project anyway :) And one of my aunts was my 4-H leader and taught me a lot of what I know. My thoughts all changed when I got an email from my mom on Friday. And along came this photo: (She's going to kill me for sharing this...but I love it! And I'm proud of her creativity!) They had an ugly sweater contest at work Friday and my mom decided to participate. But she didn't wear any ordinary sweater...she created one! The base of the sweater was already pretty "adorned" but she added a few more fun features. She tied on a fishing santa. Added battery operated lights to the Christmas tree. Added jingle bells and a santa ornament. And the best addition...Rhonda Reindeer on her shoulder :) There was no question as to who won this contest :) I am proud to say that I get my creativity from my mother :)

Team Treasury-Christmas Lights

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is drive around town and see all the beautiful lights! I hope to one day be on a normal schedule (I work nights) so we can hang outdoor lights and have someone actually enjoy them...LOL!

Until then, Linda of pruitthandcrafts has curated this beautiful Christmas Light and Favorite Things Treasury for our EtsyBloggers Team:

Thank you for including my New Red and Green Paisley Holiday Recipe Book Linda!!!

Friday Features-Egg Nog

In my Wordless Wednesday post I showed you one of my favorite holiday treats...Egg Nog! Today's finds also have yummy egg nog in them as well! Enjoy a treat this holiday season :) Vegan Lip Balm Brandy Rompope by pinkquartzminerals New Egg Nog Flavored Bon Bons for the Holidays by sweettreats10 Egg Nog SOY Tea Light Candles (Set of 4) by boardwalkcandles Eggnog Fudge 1 lb by sweetmelissasmn

Custom Rememberance/Memorial Albums

I recently made 6 Custom Memorial Albums for a friend at work who had a brother pass away a few years ago. She wanted one for each member of her family to keep special photo of him in. She thought it would be a great way to share the photos and keep them out all year so they get looked at more often :)

This is the second time I've been asked to make a rememberance album and I think they are a great idea! What better way to remember those we've loved and lost! I decided to add these as a Custom Listing to my shop. I love custom work because I get to work so closely with my customers, but these albums are extra special. When someone asks you to make them something so personal and close to their heart, it really makes you feel special too!

Wordless Wednesday-Holiday Treat

Wire Wrapped Ring

I was searching around on Etsy the other day (as I do quite often!) and came across a really cool wire wrapped ring that I just had to have! It was in my colors...and I think the shop owners secretly had my name on it :) I just love the design! The coils are bendable, so I can wear it on any finger. But the base is sturdy, so it holds shape well. Check out thecuriouscupcake to see other color combos in this cool design! Merry Christmas to ME...a little early :)

Holiday Recipe Books

I hope I'm not too late in the season to post these, but they were too cute to pass up! I found these great recipe cards and made fun covers to go along with them! Perfect for gift giving or storing your own favorite holiday recipes in! Pink, Blue and Red...A great color combo! Red and Green Paisleys Gingerbread Men...All in a Row I have enough cards to make a fourth book and I think I'll make one to give as a gift :) Are you making any handmade gifts this year?

Generousity

A couple of weeks ago I featured Pink Christmas Finds and featured really cute Wine Bottle Gift Bags! The owner of the shop, Riki of RLG1282, was so generous and sent me some great Loot Bags as a thank you for the feature!

Pink is MY color and these are so cute! They even have glitter on them!!! These would be perfect for gift cards, jewelry, stocking stuffers and so much more! I already have 2 of them used and plan on finding other small gifts so I can share the others as well!

Riki even sent me this cute reindeer ornament! How thoughtful! He is sitting on my computer desk as I type this making my work space a little more festive :)

Thank you so much Riki! Your generosity is much appreciated :)