Time to do a bit of Catching Up! Yikes!!!

This is my latest project with Scrapbooker's Paradise and I was showing how to use old bits of embossed metal that were all different colors and sizes. However, I loved the background so much for this card that I decided to make a 12 x 12 background page that I can use for a layout.

I LOVE how this turned out and I can't wait to use it for a Layout.

Just doing some catching up so here are the cards from the previous weeks.

Daryl had a Birthday so, of course, we got a Katrina Karina Cake.

His favorite movie is "The Big Lebowski"........

And what's and update without the babies.......I LOVE when we get to look after Lexi!

They are adorable together and two is easier than one. 

Mack is exhausted when she leaves but he has so much fun with her. 

Have a GREAT week!

Christmas Table Surprises!!!

I actually had a lot of fun making these Christmas crackers this year.  As soon as I saw the 'Candy Box Punch Board', I knew exactly what I would be doing with it.  We do Christmas Crackers every year and it was always hard to find some that matched nicely with the rest of the decor.  Mine were going to be filled with chocolate, candy, something personal and of course the jokes, riddles and another note that said exactly this:

"NOTE: There is no SILLY HAT in this cracker"

I love using 'Wordle' to personalize things so this is how I created my background paper. I've put up all of the instructions on my post for Scrapbooker's Paradise.  Finding the actual 'snaps' was an issue but Micheals brought some of these in for the Christmas season and you just can't have real crackers without the 'SNAP'.

The instructions for the 'Punch Board' say to trim your paper width to 7" and length to between 4" and 12". I changed the complete look for mine and added a 5^th side so I left my width at 8 ½ " and I cut an inch off of each end to keep my printing centered.  I simply followed the directions on the Board for the rest of the cracker.

Cardstock is a little thicker than the average cracker material and it still needs to 'pop' open without having to open each end so I ran a solid scor-line down each length at between 1 ¾ " and 2".  For this I just used a scoring blade in my trimmer and then I just had to make sure not to play around and tear this prematurely.  I just added a dab of glue to one side of the snap and cut the ends so that they lined up with my outer edge and finished the assembly portion and that was it!  Once I got the proper pattern figured out and my first one out of the way......it was super easy and fun to make the next dozen!

I forgot to take a picture when the table was completely set but here's how it looked with all of my crackers set out.  I just got a little busy with my guests and making sure that we didn't forget anything.  My wonderful husband cooked the entire meal!  Our awesome neighbors also brought some of the goodies and we had a fabulous meal as usual.  The 4 dogs were extremely well behaved and the 6 missing family members were missed and talked about. Traditions!!!

Give this a try for your next party or gathering.