THANK YOU GIFTS

WE WHISK YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

The clear bags are from The Dollar Tree.  Pack of 20 for $1.00.

There is a WHISK in each bag with candy stuffed between the tines.

Also inside the bag are marshmallows. 

Of course you could always include homemade fudge, cookies, etc. as well.

The tags were made with FROM MY KITCHEN.

The white tab is on page 61 cut @ 3 1/2" and 2". 

The green frame is on page 66 cut @ 3 1/2" and 2".

Whisk on page 42 cut @ 4 1/4" for all 3 tags.

Jingle Bells!  :) Janis

Christmas Recipe Mini Album

Welcome!!  

For my project, I decided to make a PAPER BAG RECIPE ALBUM.  This project doesn't take a lot of time or money and would be such a treasure to that newly married couple, your daughter, your granddaughter, your best friend, or even adapted for a "Kids Recipe Album", etc.  Here are some pictures:

I've included written recipes on the pages as well as blank recipe cards in the bags all along the way.
Recipe cards, pack of 20, $1.00 from Dollar Tree
Red paper bags pack of 40, $2.00 from Target
Stickers, embellishments and even papers all from RAK  $0.00
I left the last page blank in this photo, because I am going to write a message to the person who receives this.

Jingle Bells!
:) Janis

SLEIGH RIDE

Flaunt It Fridays has started a new challenge today!  It's all about Flaunting the SLEIGH cut on page 74 of PAPER DOLL DRESS UP.

My sleigh - and the reindeer - is adhered to a goodie bag full of homemade Christmas Fudge.  So festive!
The sleigh is cut @ 4"
The Reindeer is on page 73 and cut @ 4"

Jingle Bells,
:) Janis

CCC #54 Circle Card - No Red or Green

Here is the first card I made for the Cricut Cardz Challenge, but I wasn't really happy with it.  

This week over at Cricut Cardz Challenge, we are to make a circle card with no red or green.
I used Create A Critter to cut some circles on p. 67 cut @ 5" on Real Dial Size that I attached with a ribbon closure.  The outside was cut from from Paper Doll Dress Up on page 76 cut @ 5" on Real Dial Size.  The stamped sentiment is a clear stamp from the dollar bin at Michael's.

Here is the second card I made for the challenge:

Winter Frolic page 57 BORDER feature cut @ 4".  All the goodies on it like the glittery "HO HO HO" and the shiny snowflakes and the glittered pink stocking are all from a friend.  (THANKS!)

I strongly believe God puts people in our lives for a reason.  Recently I was told from a new friend that God put me in her life at a time when she was thinking of ending it.  Of course I had no idea what was going on in her world at that time.  But it blessed my heart so much to know I helped her through a dark time even if I didn't know I was helping.

And yesterday I had a "girlfriend chat / cry" with my BFF.  As women, don't you find it weird that sometimes we just need to cry and then suddenly we feel so much better, the world is a brighter place to be in and everything is going to be alright?  I know God put her in my life. She accepts me for me.  The good days, the complaining days, the days full of laughter, and the ho-hum days.  It feels good to know you are appreciated for exactly who you are.  The good, the bad, and everything else.

So to my BFF, let me say:  I love you not because you send me gifts, but because you think of me.  I love you not because you make me laugh, but because you share your stories with me.  I love you not because I can tell you my secrets, but because I know you respect me enough not to spread them around.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read by blog, look at my projects, and leave me such sweet comments.  You make me smile.

Hugs and Jingle Bells,
Janis

P.S.  I made my Secret Fudge yesterday (I mean, what else is a girl to do when she's down in the dumps than to surround herself with chocolate?).  Mmmmmmm  Yummy.... See the recipe HERE.  You'll think it's gross, but I promise you, people who eat it always love it and ask for the recipe.  They can't believe what the secret ingredient is.

Sneak peek on future post:

52Q WEEK 19

Hello all my bloggy, crafty friends!  It's time for this week's 52Q!
To find out more about 52Q CLICK HERE.
This week's question is, "DURING THIS TIME OF YEAR, ARE YOU MORE OF A BAKER OR A DECORATOR?"
Here is the page I made...

And here is the tag insert I made...

 I really think I'm BOTH a baker and a decorator this time of year.  I love to decorate a Christmas tree and sit in a dark room at night being mesmerized by it.  I love lights on the outside of the house.  I love going "yard viewing" and singing Christmas Carols.

Gingerbread cookie FROM MY KITCHEN p.65 cut @ 3"
Chocolate Chip cookie FROM MY KITCHEN p. 65 cut @ 3"
Tree PAPER DOLL DRESS UP p. 73 cut @ 4"
Apron PAPER DOLL DRESS UP p. 73 cut @ 3"

This year we put up a real tree.  I am so excited.  We haven't put up a tree in a few years, so this is a real treat for me.  And it was so much fun because all 3 of us (me, my husband, and our special needs daughter) helped shop for the tree, the decorations, the lights, and put it all together.  Tom and Bonnie even put up lights outside on our deck.  We got a huge pack of assorted ornaments from Lowes that are different sizes and colors and some have glitter on them.  We also bought a pack of 24 candy canes and hung them on the tree.  Yes, I've already eaten one of those.  LOL

But I also love to make Christmas goodies.  Maybe I should share my secret Fudge recipe with you?  Hmmm, wouldn't be much of a secret then, would it?  Oh well, I'll share it anyway.  Now most of you are going to look at the ingredients and say YUCK, but I PROMISE, I get so many compliments on the creaminess of this fudge every year.  It's really, really good.  Trust me!

Janis' Mystery Fudge:
1 lb. butter
1 lb. Velveeta cheese (no substitute)
4 boxes confectioners sugar (4 lbs.)
2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

*Melt butter and Velveeta, mix together
*Mix cocoa and powdered sugar in large bowl
*Stir in cheese mixture until well blended
*Working quickly, stir in vanilla extract (and chopped nuts if desired)
*Spread onto large cookie sheet and place in refrigerator until set
*Slice and store in refrigerator
*Can be easily halved or quartered or even doubled if desired

I would LOVE for you to share your Holiday Recipes with me.  I'm always looking for easy recipes for goodies.  I'm going to attach a link button below.  Please feel free to either post your 52Q page OR a Holiday Recipe with the link OR BOTH!  Thank you so much!

Jingle Bells!!
:) Janis

Paper Playtime Challenge & Flaunt It Fridays Blog Hop Winner From Pause Dream Enjoy

It's MONDAY!  You all know what THAT means, right?  There's a BRAND new Challenge starting today over at Paper Playtime.  The challenge this week is to use SNOWFLAKES somewhere on your paper project.

Here is the snowflake project I made.  It's just a little pocket size mini book with decorative pages and blank pages to keep with you while you're out and about this holiday season.

You can use this book for taking notes for gifts like shoes sizes, etc.  It can also be used to keep a list of what you've done and what you still need to do.

I used WINTER FROLIC for the snowflake cover and the pages.  This cut is on page 28 using the "Tag" feature cut @ 2 1/2".

Hope you'll pop over to Paper Playtime and play along.

If you participated in the Flaunt It Fridays blog hop last Friday, then you are probably anxious to hear who won the Market Street stamp, "Too Many Martinis", from my blog's give-away.

But first I want to say thank you so much to EVERYONE who left such nice comments.  You guys are so encouraging.  Thank you!  The Winner is..... BONNIE from A SCRAP ABOVE.  Congratulations, Bonnie! Please email me at northrose@slowar.com with your USA mailing address.

I hope everyone has a fun day!
Jingle Bells,
:) Janis

O CHRISTMAS TREE, O CHRISTMAS TREE...

Look what we did today!

Tom did his weekend, "Y'all ready to go?" this morning.

I love it when he does that!  It means we are off on a surprise adventure.

The adventure this morning was breakfast at The Skillet (yummy) and Real Christmas Tree shopping.  I was so stinkin' excited!

So, the real tree is in it's stand with the water and we bought lights and ornaments, Christmas star for the top, candy canes (which I'm sure will slowly be disappearing as we eat them between now and Christmas), and some lights for the deck.

We have not put up a tree in several years, so this is a very REAL treat!  Bonnie (our special needs daughter) and I had so much fun.  Tom put all the hooks on the ornaments, Bonnie put up all the candy canes and some of the ornaments, and I put up the rest of the ornaments.  Then since Tom is so tall and Bonnie and I are so short, he put up the Christmas Star on the top.

Smells good.  Looks good.  I love it!

We also got a Poinsettia for the table.  Beautiful.

Here are some birdies we saw napping in the tree really close to our deck.  Don't they look all snuggly and content?

Hope you guys are having a fun December.  

I think tomorrow Bonnie and I will bake some Christmas goodies.  I love Christmas baking!

I think it's time to sneak a Christmas tree candy cane.  Shhhhh.... 

Jingle Bells!

:) Janis

Paper Playtime Blog Hop December 11th

You are invited to join us for Christmas Blog Hop Fun on December 11th!  Our Paper Playtime Queens (a.k.a. Design Team) will have spectacular ideas for great gifts for that someone you want to do

 "a little something for."

Here is the list of awesome crafters you'll be hopping over to visit on Dec. 11th:

1. Paper Playtime - http://paperplaytime.blogspot.com
2. Janis - http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/
3. Sheree -  http://cravinscrappin.blogspot.com/
4. Carley -  http://www.the-real-icarley.blogspot.com/
5. Pam -  http://simply-pam.blogspot.com/
6. Mary -  http://cardztv.blogspot.com/
7. Maria -  http://joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/
8. Sharon -   http://meemeescreations.blogspot.com/ 
9. Michelle -  http://mumoftwoblog.blogspot.com/ 
10. Corri -  http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com/
11. Lisa -  http://www.crop-and-create.blogspot.com/
12. Kathi -  http://www.blogbykathi.blogspot.com/ 
13. Alex -  http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/ 
14. Sandra -  http://www.365daysofcricut.blogspot.com/
15. Melissa -  http://www.apaperjourney.blogspot.com/ 
16. Abby -  http://www.scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/ 
17.  Theresa - http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Who likes BLOG CANDY?!  We have an assortment of prizes to give away!  Want to know how you can get MORE chances to win?  Go ahead an put our BLOG HOP button on your blog / Facebook and leave me a comment on PAPER PLAYTIME'S BLOG HOP POST BY CLICKING HERE with a link to where you posted it.  1 entry for posting it on your blog, and 1 entry for posting it on your Facebook.  That's 2 extra chances you'll have to win!

Jingle, Jingle!
:) Janis

FLAUNT IT FRIDAYS 1ST CHALLENGE & BLOG HOP!

Any ideas what I can do with this mess?  Hey, I know, I'll turn it into a project for a new challenge blog I helped create with Sandra called Flaunt It Fridays!

Today is our very first post for our very first challenge! 

Each Friday we will post a challenge with a certain Cricut Cartridge and cut (including page number so you can find the cut in your manual).  Your challenge is to show us how you can flaunt that cut!  Of course if you don't have that cart, you can use a similar cut from another cartridge.

Our design team will be showing you how they flaunted that cut in their projects to inspire you.  Sounds like fun, huh?  

But wait.... there's more!  (I sound like an infomercial LOL)

Since today is our first challenge, we are also making it a BLOG HOP!  Yeah!  More details on that right after I show you how I FLAUNTED this week's cut choice.

This week your challenge is to use the Cricut cartridge WINTER FROLIC and the snowman cut on page 29.  Show us how you can flaunt this cut!  Here's what I came up with:

Card base is Kraft cardstock

Background paper from DCWV The Christmas Combo 180 Stack cut @ 5 1/4" x 4"

"Happy Holidays" cut from same DCWV Christmas stack from a page of various sentiments.

Button and jute from Joann's.

Solid colored papers from Recollections

WINTER FROLIC snowman page 29 cut @ 3"

Now... onto the BLOG HOP!

If you have arrived here from Sandra's blog, you are on the right track.  If not, CLICK HERE to start at the beginning.  Here's a list of the Entire Design Team on the hop:

Flaunt It Fridays - http://flauntitfridays.blogspot.com/ (start here)

Sandra - http://365daysofcricut.blogspot.com/
Janis - http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/ (YOU ARE HERE)
Theresa - http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/
Amanda - http://www.myscrappinobsession.com/
Christina - http://cardcreationsbyc.blogspot.com/
Stephanie - http://www.alwayscrafting.com/
Jess - http://myscrapdiary-jess.blogspot.com/
Ruthie - http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/
Dorcas - http://4craftyangels.blogspot.com/
Laurel - http://www.blog.littlepeaceofmyheart.com/
Raven - http://www.love4stamps.blogspot.com/
Flaunt It Fridays - http://flauntitfridays.blogspot.com/

For my BLOG HOP project, I made a MINI ALBUM using cuts from WINTER FROLIC.

Ornaments on pages 64 and 65 cut @ 3"

Tag on page 77 cut @ 3"

The inside of the album is made with creative folding and cutting 1 piece of 12" x 12" pattern cardstock.  Be sure to use cardstock with a pattern that can be "right side up" any way you turn it.

The covers are made with chipboard cut @ 3 1/4" and covered with pattern paper.

Here is a video of how to cut and fold the paper for the inside pages.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at northrose@slowar.com.

Who likes BLOG CANDY!?!

For a chance to win a STAMP SET from MARKET STREET STAMPS, just leave me some comment love on this post and have a USA shipping address.  Easy Peasy!  I'll announce the winner on Monday.

I will be giving away a stamp from Market Street Stamps called "Too Many Martinis".

Want even MORE good news?  When visiting one of our sponsors, Market Street Stamps, use the coupon code "FLAUNTIT" at checkout for 10% off your order!

Thank you so much for hopping along with us!  Now, I'm sending you to Theresa who is your next stop on the hop.  Remember, if you get lost along the way, CLICK HERE to start at the beginning.  Don't forget to leave comments on every stop along the way, and leave a 2nd comment on the Flaunt It Fridays blog saying you've visited everyone and left them comment love for a 2nd chance to win the Grand Prize sponsored by Peachy Keen Stamps and Market Street Stamps!

I'm having a blast!

:) Jingle Bells, Janis

BEST FRIENDS MINI

MERRY DECEMBER 1ST!  JINGLE BELLS!  JINGLE BELLS!  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

Here is a very simple mini album I made for one of my "Besties". I used purple cardstock from Recollections cut at 4 1/2" x 11"; scored @ 2 3/4", 5 1/2" and 8 1/4" and folded accordion style.

All decorative papers from We R Memory Keepers, Retro Collection.  Each panel is 4 1/2" x 2 3/4" so each decorative paper is cut 4" x 2 1/4.  Embellishments from same Retro Collection or K & Company.  There is lots of "blank" space for photos or journaling tags to be added.

On one of the panels is a journaling space where I wrote, "Thank you for being my friend."

Sending love in the mail is fun!

Jingle, Jingle!
:) Janis