Crafts

Limited Edition Silhouette Advent Calendar

1 · Nov 20, 2012 · 3 Comments

I am loving Silhouette’s tradition of creating a fun new advent calendar each year. Here is a link to last year’s advent calendar that I just adore and this year’s calendar is just fabulous!

It takes me back to my very first guest post on Tatertots & Jell-o back when I was a brand new blogger (and my photo skills were a little lacking.) Although this one was MUCH easier to create!

First you need to RUN and grab your LIMITED EDITION Silhouette Advent Calendar Kit. These babies sell-out quick, so don’t diddle-doddle.

The frame in the kit is white and I decided I wanted to paint mine red to match my holiday décor…

I busted out the ole’ Krylon Cherry Red and went to work transforming the frame from white to red. While the paint was drying, I started working on the cute little envelopes for the calendar. I decided to create a fun hybrid version of the calendar by using Rhonna Design’s new Merry Christmas Collection. This is a fun modern add-on to the Rhonna’s Christmas Junque kit from last year. I thought they would look fabulous on my advent calendar for this year.

Did you know that you can design something in the Silhouette Studio and print your design, then cut it out with either your CAMEO or your new Portrait? I will have a tutorial on how to do that sometime next week. It’s super easy. Just look how awesome they turn out…

Here’s another deal for you… Rhonna is having a fabulous Black Friday deal this week…

Sweeeeeet deal!! O.k., here's your to-do list…

Head over to the Silhouette site and order your Limited Edition Advent Calendar Kit before supplies sell out!
Take advantage of Rhonna’s Black Friday deals and stock-up on all your favorite Rhonna Design’s favorites!
Come back next week for a fabulous tutorial on how to use your image files to create a print and cut advent calendar.

On a side note… Rhonna is having a fun contest over at her site…

YOU can be the designer in the Merry Christmas Gift Tag Contest. The details will be on the blog today! I’m soooo excited… I am one of the judges!

Win the New Silhouette Portrait // Giveaway

1 · Nov 19, 2012 · 53 Comments

Have you heard about the new kid on the crafting block? Silhouette has introduced their new cutting machine, The Silhouette Portrait… It’s small in size, small in price & BIG on features!

The Portrait has an 8 inch width cutting surface and can cut up to 10 feet in length. It still does everything else that a CAMEO can do, just with a smaller cutting width. Here’s a little video showing you what this little beauty can do…

Here is a holiday decor project that I created this weekend with the Portrait…

Check it out… the Portrait can handle BIG and small projects. This is a full size cream can that I used to made a festive Christmas sign out of red vinyl for my front porch. I created the image in the Silhouette Designer Edition software…

Once I had the wording just right I added a holly berry from Echo Park in the Silhouette image library and the image was perfect! Then I worked on my small project with the small star ornament…

Again, I just cut a simple “Joy” out of the gold vinyl from Silhouette and affixed it to this rustic wood ornament.

BIG and small… this fabulous new cutting machine is perfect for any job!

What I love most about the Portrait is it’s compact size. It fits into my craft hutch drawer and is so easy to pull out and connect to my computer. You wouldn’t be able to do that with a CAMEO, unless you have a really big drawer.

Soooo, have I tickled your creative mind? Would you love to add this Silhouette Portrait to your crafting arsenal? The best thing about this new deal is the small price!! It’s $199… a price that is a little easier on the whole crafting budget. Even better would be FREE!! Who would like to win one of these little babies?

Silhouette Portrait GIVEAWAY

Follow the instruction in the Rafflecopter box below for a chance to win a Silhouette Portrait just in time for the holidays!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are some other gals giving away a Silhouette Cameo or Portrait this week too:

Sawdust and Paperscraps

Southern Hospitality

Beneath my Heart

Today’s Creative Blog

Positively Splendid

Home Stories A to Z

Makely School for Girls

Craftaholics Anonymous

Make Thanksgiving Easy with McCormick Turkey Gravy // plus Friday Flair

6 · Nov 15, 2012 · 124 Comments

The big day is almost here my friends! Have you made your shopping lists? Have you bought your turkey and all the fixin’s? I remember back when I was first married, the idea of hosting a Thanksgiving sent shivers down my back. I guess that would be a testament to the wonderful Thanksgiving feasts that my Mom hosted when I was growing up. The crown jewel of the meal was always the gravy and I was terrified to follow in my Mother’s footsteps. That is until I found McCormick Turkey Gravy.

As a child of the Martha Stewart era, the idea of using a packet just wasn’t acceptable in my eyes. That was until I tried McCormick’s Turkey Gravy. My thought at that point… why on earth have I been making this so hard on myself.

McCormick’s gravy turns out PERFECT every time. No worrying about lumps or the gravy being under seasoned or worst yet, over seasoned. You can even give it your little signature by adding “secret” ingredients like a pinch of rubbed sage, poultry seasoning, or a hit of dried thyme. I even like to add a splash of white wine or sherry to mine to give it the WhipperBerry touch. You can get even more ideas by joining the conversation over at McCormick’s Facebook page.

The McCormick company has taken the perfect blend of seasonings and all natural ingredients to create this fabulous addition to your Thanksgiving table. The generous folks at McCormick would like to help to dress-up your Holidays by offering a fun Giveaway for this week’s Friday Flair link party!

Follow the steps in the Rafflecopter box below to enter the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure

Now Let's Get Friday Flair Started!!

Thanksgiving Place Cards with GiftGloss

0 · Nov 15, 2012 · 2 Comments

‘Tis the season my friends… The season to pull out your GiftGloss from the FoofQueens to get ready for your Thanksgiving feast!

I made this fun place card with my six inch GiftGloss. I love that you can hang this little goodie on the back of everyone’s chair and then they have a sweet goodie to take home with them after your feast. A dual purpose place card/ party favor!!

This couldn’t be any easier thanks to GiftGloss. I place a fun heart ornament that I found at Target inside the GiftGloss with a Kraft paper gift tag tied onto it with my guest’s name. I wrote the name and drew the stripes with a white chalk marker that you can find at your local craft store. I love the simple handwritten look. Then I added a little sweet to the package with some Hershey Kisses with almonds and that’s it! I tied the two ends together with some tiny pom poms and then created a hanger with some fun Sashay yarn from Red Heart Yarn.

Now, all you have to do is hang it from everyone’s chair to decorate for your Thanksgiving Feast!

Don’t have any GiftGloss? Well, that’s no problem!! The FoofQueen’s have sent over a great deal for you guys, to help you join the GiftGloss craze!

Head on over to the GiftGloss site to stock up and then you two can dream up some fun ideas to spoil your guests with this Thanksgiving!!

Sharpie Art Gift Set // Mug A Love Hot Chocolate

4 · Nov 13, 2012 · 26 Comments

I was a guest over at Infarrently Creative a little bit ago and I thought I would share what I created for Beckie and her friends over there. A Sharpie Art Gift Set. Check out how to make this fun and inexpensive gift for your family and friends this holiday season…

Hello all my IC friends! I’m Heather from WhipperBerry and I’m over the moon excited to be here with Beckie to share my Sharpie Art Gift Mugs today. I just adore Beckie and all her amazing talents. She’s one lady I would LOVE to spend a day with, just to hopefully glean from some of her knowledge, talents & energy!! One talented lady I must say…

I love this pennywise presents series she’s running this month and I have a fun one to share…

arrow design element from Rhonna Designs

Who doesn’t love a good hot chocolate mug during the chilly months and especially if it’s a mug full of LOVE?! That’s how I came up with my “A Mug A Love” gift idea to share. Here is what you will need…

Supplies

light colored ceramic mug
a Sharpie
plastic sandwich bag
hot chocolate mix, favorite coffee blend, tea or Choffy
Kraft paper gift tag
white chalk pencil

Optional Supplies

vinyl
vinyl cutting tool (I used the Silhouette Portrait)
burlap gift bag
bag embellishments (ribbon, bakers twine, whatever you would like to use to dress up your bag)

Directions

You can go big or minimalist with this project for sure. It all depends on your style and your budget. Also, the sky is the limit as far as the design is concerned. I’ve seen some lovely hand written designs that people have created with their sharpies on ceramic mugs, plates and bowls. I, however am not gifted in the hand writing area. I have decent handwriting, but I’m too much of a perfectionist and I would blow through 150 mugs, (I’m sure,) trying to get it just right!! I decided to create a vinyl stencil so I didn’t have to go through that headache. If you are artistically inclined, you can just skip this step and free-hand your design.

I created a design using my Silhouette Designer Edition software and cut the vinyl on my Silhouette Portrait.

This way I had a custom stencil for my Sharpie art. I placed the stencil on the mug and then carefully colored in the design…

I say carefully because, even with the vinyl the Sharpie ink can bleed through and mess up your crisp lines. What I learned is to press on the marker lightly and trace the edges first. By doing that your design will come out perfect!

Once your design is complete, place it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes to set the ink. This way your design will become permanent and whom ever you are gifting it to can wash it, run it through the dishwasher, you name it and the Sharpie ink will not smudge!! How fun is that?

I did two different versions… A Mug A Love and Mug A Love, basically because I couldn’t decide which one I liked better. Yep… commitment issues.

Like I said before, it’s up to you and your budget as to how you dress-up your bag that goes inside the mug. You can take the minimalist approach and put your mix in a basic bag with a gift tag which would look lovely, or you could dress it up however you like. I chose to put my hot chocolate mix into a small burlap bag and dress it up with a small crocheted red doily paired with a simply Kraft paper tag. I wrote Merry Christmas on the tag with a white chalk pencil that you can find in any art supply store. It’s has a finer tip than your basic stick of chalk so it looks a little better.

Now all you have to do is fill it with your desired hot beverage mix and voila, you have a personal, yet inexpensive, not very time consuming gift to give to your friends and family.

Come on over an join me at WhipperBerry… I have all kinds of simple crafts and fun goodies to share for this holiday season and any time of year really. Plus, I love to make new friends!! Thanks Beckie for having me over today, I had a ball!!

Here are some more gift ideas from WhipperBerry…