Blogging Take 3 AND A Challenge!

It's been a long while since I've posted...too long, in fact. But, I'm back -- Take 3 on this blogging thing! We're finally getting settled into our new home and having a great time here in Annapolis. The girls have found a wonderful friend in their nanny Maryellen; I'm finally getting into the swing of things at work, though a recent promotion is keeping me more than busy there; and Kirk is -- as always -- fantastic. All the adjusting meant taking a brief hiatus from stampin', but after attending Stampin' Up!'s Leadership Conference in Phoenix in January, and with Sale-a-Bration finally here, I'm totally pumped up about the wonderful opportunities that a career with Stampin' Up! offers. Our goal is that my Stampin' Up! career will provide us with enough extra income to afford a housekeeping service 2 times a month...for now. But that's just the first step in my plan to take over the world and turn everyone into "Happy Stampers!" LOL!!!

So, I had my first workshop in a very long while on Saturday with a fantastic group of creative women. And I issued them the following challenge...which I now issue to you. Make the project pictured in this post, and give it away to someone -- anyone. A teacher, a friend, a complete stranger. It's such a simple project -- it'll take 10 minutes -- but the smile you'll receive and the warm, fuzzy feeling you'll get inside will be worth it. That's the beauty of handcrafted gifts -- they bring people joy!

After you've completed the challenge, come back and post a comment, sharing your experience. Everyone who posts in the next two weeks will be entered in a random drawing for a fabulous stampin' prize (a Stampin' Write marker of your choice -- perfect for journaling in your scrapbooks and writing notes in your cards)!

Here's the project...a sweet little Cookie Holder! (pardon the image quality...our camera is non-functional for the time-being, so I uploaded these from my cell phone)




Instructions:

1. Cut a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of Melon Mambo card stock in half vertically to end up with a piece of card stock that's 4 1/4" x 11".
2. Score the Melon Mambo card stock at 5 1/2". Then turn the card stock over and score at 5" and 6".
3. Fold the card stock following the score lines. Using your Crop-a-Dile tool, set jumbo eyelets at the top of the each side of the holder, with the eyelet facing outward.
4. Cut a 4 1/4" x 2 1/4" piece of Shades of Spring Designer Series Paper. Create a scalloped border on one side of the paper using the Scallop Trim Border punch (Sale-a-Bration catalog, p. 9). Adhere the Shades of Spring Designer Series Paper to the bottom of the front side of the cookie holder.
5. Cut a scrap of Whisper White card stock 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" and stamp the tree stump and owl from the Love Bandit stamp set. (Alternatively, you can cut a 2 3/4" x 2 1/4" piece of Whisper White and stamp the tree from Love Bandit (Occasions Mini catalog, p. 16) on it. To get a multi-colored image from your tree stamp, simply ink the entire stamp with Certainly Celery. Then color in the tree trunk using the brush tip of your Chocolate Chip Stampin' Write marker. Next you can stamp the owl on a scrap, cut it out, and adhere it using a Stampin' Dimensional.) Stamp a sentiment from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set (here I used "Just for You" and "Friend to Friend"). Adhere your stamped image to the front of the cookie holder.
6. Inside your cookie holder (on the back), run two strips of Snail Adhesive, one across the bottom, and one just under where the eyelet is. Adhere your cello bag to the Snail Adhesive strips. Place one or two cookies or other treats in the cello bag.
7. Punch out a flower using the Extra Large Fancy Flower punch (Occasions Mini, p. 13). Run a bit of Snail Adhesive along the top of the flower and the bottom of the flower, and use it to seal your cello bag.
8. Close the cookie holder, and tie it shut with a piece of Organza ribbon.
9. Share your sweet treat with someone, and watch them grin from ear to ear!