Toy’s Haven

Ghoul day, friends!

I cannot believe that it is October 31st already!    Crazy!  Well, we woke up to bright sunshine and fair warmth today.   The snow that fell the last few days is melting fast.   I am so glad, as I was worried about our little trick or treaters.

Since I only have four young kids in our little court, I decided this morning to make them each a little goodie bag.   I have seen these little frankenstein goodie bags all over and thought they would be perfect!   I actually made six of them and took a couple over to my aunts’ house for their little neighbor kids, too.

These are so easy to make.   It’s all punch work.   The nose is a round tab punch, the eyes are three different sized circle punches and the hair is my EK success wavy peirced punch.   The front is a 4 1/4″ x 3 3/4″ piece of Kiwi Kiss, sponged on the edges.   The back piece is 4 1/8″ x 3 3/4″ of Kiwi Kiss.   The bag in the middle is a tiny paper sack (I found them in black last year at Hobby Lobby and snagged a bunch!).

I wasn’t going to do much decorating this year, but when I got to Hobby Lobby this morning, they had all their Halloween decorations at 50% off!   I went a little nuts and bought some really cute stuff.   Now I have to go decorate!

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Thanks for stopping by!   I hope you have a spooktacular Halloween!

~~ Holly ~

Good morning, friends!

Well, it’s the final day of our blog hop sneak peeks.   It has been so much fun this week working with all the new releases.   Jessica did it again!   Today’s sneak peek is of a new set called Penguin Love.   I cannot believe how many images are packed into this set.   Oh the possibilities!

If you’ve arrived here from Gretchen’s blog, then you are right on the spot.  If not, you may wish to start back at Dawn’s blog to get the full show.   These girls are going to knock your socks off!

There are penguin stamps all over the place, but the difference with this There She Goes set is the accessories!   A girl loves to accessorize, right?

I couldn’t stop at a card.   I needed to make a tag to go along with my card

Here are my deets:

Stamps:  There She Goes‘ Penguin Love

Colors: Pacific Point, GP White, Paper Pizazz dp

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, copics

Accessories:  ribbon, 1/2 pearls, snowflake ef, snowflake punches, snowflake border punch, circle punch, oval nesties, dimensionals, frosted lace stickles

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Now it’s time to pop on over to Faith’s blog to see what goodies she has to share!   Thanks so much for stopping by!   Have a blessed day!

~~ Holly ~~

Good day, friends!

Is your head swirling with all these new images, yet?   Well, we’re not through!   Today we are sneak peeking the new mini sets from There She Goes.   If you have arrived here from Gretchen’s Blog, you’re spot on.   If not, please start back at Dawn’s blog.   You won’t want to miss a thing!

I have four, yes.. FOUR cards to show you today.   Two are with the new minis and two are with older sets.   I am lumping them together in this one post as this week’s TSG challenge was to make CAS cards and all of these fit that category.   The TSG minis are perfect for CAS cards!

This first card comes from the new HSH Happy Hanukkah set.   I was really excited to see a Hanukkah set as I have absolutely no images for Hanukkah cards.

I wanted to add a little interest to the basic gray piece, but wanted it to be quick, so I just added a few diagonal score lines.

Here are my deets:

Stamps: There She Goes‘ Happy Hanukkah

Colors: GP White, Night of Navy, Basic Gray

Ink: Night of Navy, Versafine Black Onyx, copics

Accessories: ribbon, dimensionals, scoring blade, moracan border punch

The next sample comes from the new Stick Together mini set.   I love snowflakes.   Even after the last 24 hours of snow snow snow here, I can say I still love it (as long as I don’t have to drive in it!).

For this one, I stamped the images, covered it in versamark and added dazzling diamonds.

Here are my deets:

Stamps: There She Goes‘ Stick Together Mini

Colors: GP White, Night of Navy

Ink: Night of Navy, Versamark

Accessories:  ribbon, dazzling diamonds, snowflake border punch, dimensionals

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Now these next two are made with older mini sets, but I have not shared them yet.   The first is made with Polka Dot Blooms.

Here are the deets:

Stamps:  There She Goes’ Polka Dot Blooms

Colors: GP White, Basic Black, SU dps

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx

Accessories: ribbon, eyelet border punch, circle punch, dimensionals

This last sample is made with the TSG Ice Cream set.   How yummy, huh?

Here are the deets:

Stamps:  There She Goes’ Ice Cream Mini

Colors: Real Red, Chocolate Chip, SU dps, GP White

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, copics, white gel pen

Accessories: ribbon, circle punch, scalloped circle punch, candy dots, dimensionals

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Now it’s time to send you HOPPIN’ on over to Faith’s blog.  I am sure she will have something gorgeous to share!   Thanks for stopping by!   I hope you have a blessed day.

~~ Holly ~~

Good morning, friends!

Welcome to There She Goes’ blog hop day #2.   Your head is really going to be reeling from all the new stamps coming this week!   Today we are showing off the new Home Sweet Home Holiday Additions set.   This set has an incredible 42 stamps included!

If you’ve arrived here from Gretchen’s blog, then you are right on track.  If not, you should start back on Dawn’s blog to get the full show.   Considering the number of stamps in this set, you are going to see a wide variety!

I am going to confess…. I really did not feel like making a card for this set.   I had in mind to make this little box and put some yummy Pumpkin Spice cookies inside for friends this coming holiday (Thanksgiving).    I had every intent to wake up this morning and make a batch of cookies.   My plans were foiled.   My son’s computer died last night, while I was asleep, so we had to hit Best Buy (Geek Squad) first thing this morning.   Then I got a call that my doctor wanted to see me.   By the time I got around to domestic things, I had a massive headache.   I took a couple of tylenol and sat down for a few minutes and poof, it was gone.

For this box, which measures 3″ square, I simply took a piece of cardstock 6 x 6 and scored at 1 1/2″ on all sides.   Form into a box bottom and set aside.   For the ”wrap”, I cut a piece of heavy designer paper at 3 1/4″ x 10″ and wrapped it around the box bottom, securing it with sticky tape.

For the yummy cookies to go inside, I have a recipe for you!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

1/2 c. shortening
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 c. canned pumpkin
2 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger

1. Cream shortening until light and fluffy. Gradually add brown sugar, mixing well.

2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Stir in pumpkin.

4. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger into pumpkin mixture. Chill dough.

5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet.

6. Bake. Cool. Temperature: 400 degrees. Time: 10 minutes.

ICING:

1/2 c. butter
4 to 4 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
1/4 c. boiling water
Pecan or walnut halves (optional)

1. In saucepan, heat butter until light golden brown.

2. Add powdered sugar and boiling water. Beat until mixture is smooth.

3. Frost each cookie and top with pecan or walnut half, if desired.

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The box is the perfect size for three cookies (line with tissues paper).    Ok, now it’s time to hop on over to Faith’s blog to see what fabulousness she has to share!

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Here are my deets:

Stamps:  There She Goes‘ Home Sweet Home Holiday Additions

Colors: Chocolate Chip, GP White, Abbey Road dp and Paper Studio dp

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, copics, Tim Holtz tea bag distressing ink

Accessories: ribbon, 1/2 pearls, nesties, dimensionals, sticky tape, scoring blade, dauber

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Thanks so much for stopping by!   I hope you have a blessed day

~~ Holly ~~

Good evening, friends

It’s time for some There She Goes’ release blog hops!   Over the next four days, we will be hopping and showing you some awesome new things.   If you arrived here from Gretchen’s blog, then you are in the right spot.  If not, you may wish to start back at Dawn’s blog to get the full show.

Every one of us are always looking for a way to store the cards we make, am I right?  Yup, I think so.   Well, There She Goes has the coolest card bins!   They are made of corregated cardboard and are easily altered.   These babies will hold a ton of cards and you know my cards are chunky!    And the price is right too!   For a mere $2 each, they are super affordable.

I altered my first bin to hold all the Christmas cards that I make.

As you can see, I did not assign the tabs just yet as I am not certain how I want to sort.   I am thinking I will do them by categories such as Christian, Santas, Snowflakes, etc.

Here are the deets:

Stamps:  There She Goes‘ A-Z and 123’s

Colors: Handsome Hunter, GP White, Paper Pizazz dp

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Old Olive, copics

Accessories: oval nesties, dimensionals, sticky tape, snowflake punch

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Now it’s time for you to hop on over to Jessica’s blog to see her design.   Thanks for stopping by!   I hope you have a blessed day!

~~ Holly~~

Good afternoon, friends

I was so hoping to wake up this morning feeling like a million bucks.   Ehhhhhhh, wrong.    I was also hoping to have a leisurely morning in the studio as I have lots to accomplish this week.   Ehhhhhhhhh, wrong.    Finally, I was hoping this morning’s Technique challenge would be an easy one, because I am technique challenged.    Ehhhhhhhhh, wrong again!

Today’s challenge was to create a retiform background.   The instructions for this technique can be found HERE.   I was hoping my result would look something like the fields on a farm.    Well I tried, but they didn’t quite come out like I had hoped.   I tried again.   Same result.   What I ended up with is a hot mess.

That’s ok.   I winged it from there and pushed on.   I was so disappointed in my result that I let it sit on my desk all morning and now half the afternoon.   In the meantime, I worked on another project that was kicking my butt, too.   Maybe I was not suppose to stamp today afterall

Here are my deets:

Stamps:  Artful Inkables‘ Down on the Farm

Colors: Kiwi Kiss, GP White, Real Red, Regal Rose

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Kiwi Kiss, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, copics

Accessories: ribbons, candy dots, oval punch, circle punch, sticky notes, brayer, embossing folder

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Thanks for stopping by.   I hope you all have a blessed day!   I am going to take a nap and hope the stamping fairies are with me when I wake!

~~ Holly ~~

Good afternoon, friends…

I made the mistake of pushing myself today.   I have been itching to stamp for days and couldn’t stand the idleness any longer, so I went for it.   I am paying for it now.   My mom always said, when you’re feeling better, give yourself an extra 24 hours after that to regain your strength, before doing your normal routine.   Well, I didn’t listen.   I woke up in the middle of the night and I couldn’t sleep, so I got on Splitcoaststampers and found the Inspiration challenge for today.   My mind just started churning.   I wanted to get up then and stamp, but I knew that was a bad idea.

So, when I got up this morning, I put my plan in motion.   Only problem is, my body wasn’t cooperating with my mind.   It took me about three hours to get this project to come out even remotely like I had envisioned it!

I chose THIS piece as my inspiration…. or rather it chose me!

Now, I know someone is going to ask for directions on this, but I really winged it (no pun intended), so if you want a pattern, I will have to draw one up.

Here are my deets:

Stamps:   Artful Inkables‘ Bird’s Song

Colors: Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, GP White

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Close to Cocoa, Tim Holtz’ distressing ink, copics, black fine tip sharpie

Accessories: ribbon, 1/2 pearls, eyelet border punch, numerous hole and circle punches, straw, sticky tape, scoring blade, dauber, twine, oval punch, scalloped oval punch

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Now for the good…. I had an appt with my doctor yesterday and the lab work came back NEGATIVE for anything serious.   The bad news is, the infection persists.    He put me on a more aggressive antibiotic and more pain medications.   Now we take it day by day.

Thanks so much for stopping by!   I hope you have a blessed day!

~~ Holly ~~

Hi Friends..

I just wanted to pop on and let you all know that I am temporarily out of commission as far as stamping goes.   I had an emergency surgical procedure done on Monday (minor) and it has left me without the use or my left arm.   Well, I can type ok, but not much more than that.   I go back to the doctor tomorrow to find out more, and will let you know.

In the meantime, I am going to share with you a card I made for this week’s Artful Inkables tutorial (faux stone).   You can find the tutorial HERE.

While I am unable to stamp, I am very excited about some new stamps I have just received and am dreaming up ideas on how to use them!   I will be back soon!!

Thanks for stopping by!   Hope you have a blessed day!

~~ Holly~~

Happy Sunday, friends

I am so confused.   Last week, we winterized the lawn and turned on the heat.   Today’s forecast is for the mid 80’s.   No wonder everyone around here is getting sick!    I think mother nature is a tad looped.

I really got excited when I saw that today’s Featured Stamper on SCS is DancerRiley.   She is one of my favorite peeps!   Congrats, Riley!!   I chose THIS card of Riley’s to case this morning.    I love the multiple layers :).

For my card, I changed the colors, the papers, the image and shape of image panel.   I moved the sentiment, moved the ribbon and added to bling.

Here are my deets:

Stamps:  Our Craft Lounge’s Reindeer Kisses

Colors: Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Cream, Paper Studio dps

Ink: Copics, white gel pen, black sharpie, Tim Holtz’ teabag distressing ink

Accessories: ribbon, 1/2 pearls, candy dots, circle punch, scalloped circle punch, oval punches, MS snowflake punch, stickles, dimensionals.

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Thanks for stopping by!   I hope you have an abundantly blessed day!

~~ Holly ~~

Happy Saturday, friends…

I was really hoping for a lazy Saturday here in Colorado.   The sun is shining and the temps are decent.   I want to get out and do something.   Loveland is famous for it’s sculptures and there are a couple of sculpture parks here.   Today would be a great day to tour those.

But, as I began talking with my DH this morning, his list of things he needs to do grew as did mine.   It’s so funny, because usually we ask each other what we want for dinner and then the hilarity ensues as we argue back and forth.  Well this morning, when the question was posed, we both said FISH at the same time.   That NEVER happens!  I guess we’ll be grilling some fish tonight!

I started my morning with a cup of coffee (I only drink it on the weekends now) and some stamping.   Today’s Inspiration Challenge comes from the Xenia Taler website.   I chose THIS piece as my inspiration.

The image is a montage of different things.   First I used the branch from the Flowers of Happiness set from There She Goes’, then I used the small flower from the same set, stamped and cut out.   Then I used a smaller hole punch (the pieces that come out) and adhered them.   Then I went even smaller with a fine tip sharpie and a white gel pen.   Finally, I covered the whole thing with UTEE in two layers and embossed.

Here are my deets:

Stamps:  There She Goes’ Flowers of Happiness, There She Goes’ Branching Out (sentiment)

Colors: Basic Black, GP White, Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue

Ink: Versafine Black Onyx, Versamark, white gel pen, black sharpie

Accessories: ribbon, 1/2 pearls, Victoria embossing folder, scallop punches, oval punches, dimensionals, Utee

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This is for you, Sharon.  Bless your soul.   Keep up the good fight, my friend.    Blessings to all.

~~ Holly ~~