Let the Festivities Begin!

Thanks for stopping by! I was at my first cookie exchange this week. Besides the fact that I was stressing about when I was going to find the time to make 6 dozen cookies, it was actually a lot of fun! And I got some really delicious cookies to boot! A few fellow Stampin' Upers decided to get together this time not to stamp but to catch up and enjoy time chatting with each other.

We had a Yankee swap of Christmas ornaments. These ladies are just so crafty and talented! Its just amazing some of the ornaments that were made!

I happened to pick the first number so I had first choice and then I was the last one to choose if I wanted to steal someone else's pick, which I didn't. Here is the festive package I picked, with the ornament it held below it. Just think, all you need is a clear ornament, a reinker, glitter and a rub-on…

Isn't that beautiful?! Not only did I go home with cookies, my upline, June was at the gathering and she gave me a gift. Here is the decorated gift bag she made:

Here is the card she made to go along with the gift bag:

These two pieces use Simply Scrappin' elements. An easy way to accessorize a card front or gift bag! This is from the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' set.

Oh and I cannot forget the beautiful card I got from Jeannine!

We learned about this technique at convention, but I forgot all about it until I opened her card! She brayered the inside of the Petals-A-Plenty embossing folder and then embossed the paper. Pretty smart, huh? The stamp is the Christmas Punch set, which is a Hostess Level 2 set.