Something For You, Something For Me

No tutorials today, I have a couple fun treats instead. First off, I am participating in a Pay It Forward challenge. Robyn from The Pink Stamper is sending me and 2 other bloggers a package of goodies. I in turn will send 3 lucky blog readers packs of goodies. If you'd like to join the fun and 1) you have a blog 2) you live in North America 3) you are the first of 3 volunteers to sign up below and 4) you commit to sending goodies from your home to 3 other bloggers then leave a comment on this post expressing your interest.

Next, I have been nominated by 2 blogger friends for the You Make Me Smile Award. Thanks Allison from Stampin When I Can who always keeps me up to date with the blog world and Barb from Barb's Card Creations and Other Stuff who always has something fun to share and hosted a super fun game of card Bingo. I'd like to nominate Angie from {Stampings of the Shug}. Angie/Shuggy posts some funny comics and random thoughts and always takes me down memory lane when she hosts her Saturday Night Shuggy Snacks contest. Oh yah, and she makes great cards and things too.

Pumpkin Krispie Pops Tutorial

Krispie pops are a family tradition for us. We make them for birthdays and every holiday. Here's how I make the pumpkin version. At the end, I'll show you some other examples.

• You will need: packaged Rice Krispie Treats
• Melting chocolates
• popsicle sticks
• glass bowl
• zip bag
• metal spoon
• scissors
• cookie sheet covered with wax or parchment paper

Step 1: Unwrap pops and insert popsicle sticks.

Step 2: Melt base color chocolate according to directions on package. Spread onto Krispie top with the back of the spoon.

Step 3: Spoon accent color chocolate into zip back. Seal and cut tip of corner.

Step 4: Decorate by squeezing chocolate onto pop once the base color is cool.

Let cool and place laying down or stick into styrophome.

We make Santas, snowmen, presents, and gingerbread Men for Christmas. Devils, pumpkins, ghosts, pirates, Frankenstein, and Dracula for Halloween.

Pinecone Card and Tutorial

You'll need:

• 25 7/8" x 1 1/4" strips of brown paper (not cardstock)
• Adhesive
• Double-faced satin ribbon
• Stickles or glitter
• Patterned Cardstock
• A thin strip of the brown paper, 1 1/4" long, cut with a slight angle. See the bottom of the picture on the left

Step 1:

Fold back the corners of all of the 25 strips of brown paper. See picture at left.

Step 2:

Apply a strip of adhesive to the back of the folded strips. Starting 1" from the bottom of the patterned cardstock, begin layering the folded strips like the picture to the right. Remember that the pinecone will look more natural if the strips are not placed perfectly symmetrical.

Continue layering your strips. You are aiming for something like an egg shape. You may need to angle some of your strips towards the center and fold back the top outside corners of the strips to create the desired shape.

Step 3:

When you get to the top, adhere the thin strip in the center. See picture on the left. Then, cover up the bottom of the thin strip with a folded strip. Tie ribbon into a bow and adhere.

Finish card by stamping sentiment on bottom right of card front and adhere cardfront to folded card. Apply Stickles to the tips of some of the folded strips.

Credits:

"Hoping your Christmas Season is Ever Green" stamp: My Sentiments Exactly!

Brown patterned paper: Leather Trunk from Sandylion Travel Company

Patterned background paper: Cosmo Cricket

Ribbon: ribbon store

Stickles

Poinsettia Christmas Card With Tutorial

I love making my own Christmas Cards. This is a little tutorial to make an easy Holiday card.

You will need:

• scissors
• adhesive
• paper leaves
• 2 red die cut daisies (red patterned paper looks cool too)
• a little scrap from the red paper that's bigger than the daisy center
• yellow or gold bling. They could be stickers or little brads.

Instructions:

1.  Using your scissors, cut the tips of each of the petals of ONE of the daisy die cuts. See the bottom petals of the picture to the left.

2.  Take the second flower (I'm using a blue flower for the tutorial but this one is red too.) and from half-way down each petal, cut the petals into a point.
 

3. Fold each of the flower petals from both of the flowers toward you. Then, use your adhesive and layer first with your scrap piece, then your larger flower, then your smaller flower.

The smaller flower petals should go between the larger. This will hide your scrap piece.

4. Add your bling to the center and adhere flower to card. Glue a couple paper leaves under the poinsettia.

Here's my example:
Paper Leaves: Prima
Sentiment: Hero Arts ClearDesigns mounted on K and Co paper
Cardstock: Bazzill
Background Paper: Cosmo Cricket
Ink: StaZon
Bling: Me And My Big Ideas Icons

Thank you for visiting We Grow By Our Dreams today.  I have lots more projects and tutorials here and on my other blog, The Vintage Sheet Blog. 

A Card And My Top Five List

I wanted to do something different than the usual fold on this one. So, it is like a postcard with the star unfolding to leave room for a sentiment or personal note. The Santa stamp is from Hero Arts ClearDesigns. The yellow polka dot and the blue swirly paper are from Creative Imaginations. The navy cardstock is Prism. I'm also not a big Santa fan but I thought this stamp really worked with the star theme. There's lots of sparkle in real life.

Julie informed me that today is Blog Action Day. It's a day for bloggers to do something for the environment. So, I compiled a list for you of some things about me that are enviornmentally friendly.

Top 5 things that I do for the environment:

1. I use a laundry line. Seriously, I think I'm the only person in OC that hangs my clothes to dry, but it totally makes since here since it's usually sunny.

2. I am a garage sale shopper. I bought the chandelier on the left at a garage sale for a dollar. It was super ugly. So, I took it home, spray painted it with wrought iron paint, added bulbs and voila.

3. I don't eat mammals. I guess the other word for it would be octolactofishotarian. I don't know. We grew up not eating red meat in my family. When I was 18 I dropped the birds from my diet too. So, I'm left with fish, eggs and milk products.

4. I recycle. Our city just started a program where we have different containers for trash, green waste and recyclables. Since I'm in charge of taking out the trash in my family, I've become keenly aware of where we can improve.

5. I don't drink coffee. When I lived in Hawaii , I saw first-hand the deforestation of the island in order to satiate the growing coffee market. Although coffee can be grown within forests with little impact to the forest habitat, far too often the forests are destroyed to make room for coffee fields. This is happening world-wide.

Okay, that's my top 5. Do you do anything special for the environment. I'd love to know. Please leave me a comment.

Christmas Tea

This is the card that I made for Connie's Twopeas Stamptoberfest challenge to repurpose a stamp for Christmas. I chose the Lockhart stamp company tea set stamp and made it Christmassy by adding a red gingerbread man (Papertreyink Holiday Treats) and by coloring with Christmas color prismacolor pencils. The sentiment is also Papertreyink.