MY FINAL PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS POST: Farewells and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

It's been quite a wonderful ride thoughout all of the posts here over the past many years. It's led me to creativity beyond measure and an amazing pen pal, too! I hope you continue to search previous posts on this blog to spark your imagination and provide inspiration from all of the creative and talented folks from around the world whose work has appeared here.

As I look forward to all the adventures and creativity that 2018 has to offer, I once again close out the year with my favorite poem for stamp artists sent to me by my friend, Michele:

Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.

I’m wondering what Santa will bring just for me.

Could it be new card stock or ink pads or lace?

"Or stamp sets," I said, with a big smile on my face.

And that’s when I saw him..."Hi Santa," I said.

To which he replied, "You should be in bed!"

"Oh, dear!" I said, "I’ve just been caught...

But I was hoping to see what goodies you brought."

He took a brief look at my room where I work.

Then he shook his head quickly, and left with a jerk.

...And I heard him exclaim, as he put it in gear,

You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!

Thank you for taking this fantastic ride with me on this blog. I wish you continued creativity as you make others (as well as yourself) do a happy dance as a result of your handmade paper crafts and culinary delights! 

Hom hugs and happy crafting, KT

PIN IT FRIDAY FAVS: Purses and the Very Best of Pinterest Pins

I saw a wonderful purse tutorial on Pinterst using the Envelope Punch Board and knew I had to make one for my dear sister in her favorite color: Any shade of blue!

Original Pin HERE

My purse turned out like this:

...and I made a matching card

to go with it:

I finished everything and realize that the purse really needed the bow that was shown in the original pin and video tutorial. Those finishing touches can made a BIG difference!

It helped me quite a bit to mark all areas ahead of time for the sticky tape placement using a pencil and to fold the velcro flaps before the purse was assembled. For my own future reference, here are the areas with adhesive tape:

I also increased the handles length to 10 1/2".

This purse started with a 12" x 12" piece of DSP and resulted in a final purse size of 4 1/2" wide x 6 1/2" high without the handles. With the handles, it was 8 1/4" high. That resulted in a large purse for any gift-giving occasion!

Next, I made a small version from a 9" square of DSP punched at 1 7/8" to hold a candy treat:

Here are a few more purse pins that caught my eye:

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

Original Pin HERE

...and finally...some handcrafted Thanksgiving cards

from friends who made me do a

happy dance: