Tiny Little Christmas Gifts

I wanted to share some small gifts I made that were truly appreciated by the recipients.  First off, here is a gift card holder I made for my beautician.  I included a gift card to IHOP, her family's favorite weekend eatery. 

I used the Cricut Christmas Cards cartridge and cut the card at 5".  I cut the envelope at 5 1/8", just to be sure there was enough room to easily slide the card in and out.  I made the red strip to hold the gift card by cutting a piece of cardstock 4" in length.  I then used the Martha Stewart floral vine punch.  I trimmed it after determining how much room was needed to actually hold the card.  I cut it approximately 1 1/2" below the punch cut.  The cardstock was attached using my ATG.  The stamps are from a set I got from Michael's.  On the red strip I used green ink to stamp the holly leaves.  (Probably overkill, but oh well!)  The patterned paper came from the DCWV "The Christmas Combo 180 Stack". 

The next gift is a container of bath salts that I made for my sister and my mom.  I got the glass containers from Walmart and the bath salt supplies and ribbon from Michael's.  I designed the labels using the Cricut Design Studio and the Cricut Lite cartridges Lacy Labels and Splish Splash.  The "Relax" came from Splish Splash.  I welded the words to their frames.  All of the circle elements were sized at 3", while the square elements were 2 1/4".  The "Relax" was initially sized at 1" and had to be adjusted to fit within its frame.

This last gift was so fun to make.  I have to thank Nubian of Nubian Crafter NC for introducing me to the idea and for pointing me to Andrea's blog Love is in the Details for the instructions.  These cocoa cones were a hit!  I made them as gifts from my son for his daycare teachers, the young kids in our family, and his grandmother.

For each cocoa cone you will need:

• 2 12" disposable decorating bags
• 3 1-ounce packages of hot chocolate mix
• hot chocolate "embellishments" (I used mini chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, and mini marshmallows)
• 2 clear elastic bands
• ribbon
• a tag   

Please visit Love is in the Details to get the complete instructions.  I made the tags with the Very Merry Tags Cricut cartridge, cutting them at 4".  The patterned paper also came from DCWV's "The Christmas Combo 180 Stack", while the cardstock came from their "The Christmas & Winter Combo Cardstock Stack". 

Now let's see if I can get these Christmas pictures scrapped...

Merry Christmas!!!

Wishing you and yours a very Blessed Christmas Day!


"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)  And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)  To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.  And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.  And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon the, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:  and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great job, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Luke 2:1-14

Glitter Ornaments

I just discovered that this post never posted.  I had scheduled it for the 13th, but I apparently hit "save" instead of "schedule."  Oh well.  Here ya go!

I have been wanting to make these ornaments for some time.  They are quite popular on the Cricut message board.  And it turns out they are easy to make!  All you need are ornaments, glitter, and floor wax.  I bought a 12-pack of Tree House Studio plastic ornaments from Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago when they were on sale 50% off.  I knew I needed the plastic ones with a 2 year old afoot!  I also bought a package of Tree House Studio ultra fine glitter using my 40% off coupon.  I used Mop & Glo Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner.  On the Cricut boards, the Pledge with Future Shine is most often used, but it was more expensive and I had a coupon for the Mop & Glo.  I wanted to spend as little money as possible, in case I messed up the ornaments.

So, I started with this:

And ended up with these:

To make them, remove the ornament cap.  Pour a small amount of the floor cleaner into the ornament.  Swish it around and make sure it covers the entire inside surface of the ornament.  Then pour the excess out.  (Pour it back into the bottle to be reused!)  I then set the ornament upside down on the floor cleaner bottle and let it drain well.  (I also used an empty yogurt container so I could have two ornaments draining at one time.)  One thing I noticed, if there is any excess that pools in the ornament, the glitter will be concentrated in that spot.  Pour a good amount of glitter into the ornament.  Twirl the ornament around until the inside is covered.  Add more glitter if necessary.  It does take a lot!  I made a little cap of aluminum foil and placed it on the ornament so I could turn it upside down and make sure there was good glitter coverage near the top of the ornament.  Pour out any excess glitter (again, saving it to be reused!).  Replace the ornament cap, and you're done!

Here are a couple of close ups:

I'm debating whether I want to get some vinyl and cut out phrases such as Merry Christmas, Noel, Peace, Joy, etc., and put on the outside of the ornaments.  I've never used vinyl before, so I'm not sure.  If I do, I'll be sure to post the final creations!

Thanks for visiting!  Have a great day!

Sunday Sayings -- Dreams

"A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams." -- John Barrymore

Lately I've found myself reminiscing on the "old days" and wondering what happened to the dreams I once had.  Well I know what happened -- I failed to pursue them.  Wouldn't it be nice to keep those lofty dreams we had as kids (or at least the ability to dream big) before life and reality and other people shot them down?  I can't say I have regrets, but I do wonder "what if...?"

We're never too old to dream.  We're never too old to pursue a dream.  Keep dreaming everyone!

My First Blog Award!

One of my friends and fellow Sistas Scrap Too! blogger M.M. DeZigns has given me the Stylish Blogger Award.  I was beyond thrilled when I received notice of it.  I can not adequately express how much the support of my Sista friends has meant to me during my crafting and blogging journey.  Be sure to visit M. M. DeZigns and see what an amazing crafter she is!

This is a pay-it-forward style award. Here are the rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards.

So here are 8 things about me:
1.  I work as a layout designer of computer chips in order to support my crafting habit.
2.  I would love to take the 2-week Master Course at The Wilton School in Illinois.
3.  One day I am going on an Alaskan cruise!
4.  I met my husband on a blind date.
5.  I played saxophone and did colorguard (flag, rifle, and sabre) in jr. high and high school.
6.  When I was young, I wanted to write a book about my life.  I had (have) my title and pen name all picked out.  Maybe someday....
7.  When I grow up, I want to develop a non-profit that will introduce minority girls to engineering, and support them in a difficult, male-dominated field.
8.  I've always wanted to learn how to play the piano.

And here are the 8 bloggers I would like to pass along this award to:
1.  Greenbean's Crafterole
2.  Treva's Craft Corner
3.  Joy's Life.com
4.  Nubian Crafter NC
5.  Yaya Philly Craft World
6.  Cricut Mini Albums
7.  Scrap InnoVations
8. Okieladybug's Scrap N' More

I must say, there are a couple of blogs that I really enjoy, but M. M. DeZigns had already awarded them, and I didn't want to double-tag them.  And as I listed above, there are many other wonderful blogs created by wonderfully creative people!  Be sure to visit the above blogs and enjoy and be inspired by their crafts.  Thank you again M. M.!

Blog Candy Reminder:  Aman, I need your mailing address so that I can send you your blog candy!

Blog Candy Winner!!

Thank you to everyone who visited my blog during the SST Christmas and Countdown to the New Year Blog Hop!  I appreciate all of the comments that were left, and I thank you for your support.  There were 25 comments left before the blog candy cut-off time, and random.org chose Aman's comment!  Aman, please contact me with your mailing information, and I will get your blog candy out to you immediately!

Thank you again for visiting Riley's Custom Creations.  I hope you continue to visit.  Have a great day!

Sunday Sayings -- Be Proud of Yourself

Yesterday I participated in the SST Christmas and Countdown to the New Year Blog Hop.  While I was excited to join in, I was a little intimidated.  The ladies that hang out on the Sistas Scrap Too! thread on the Cricut message board are extremely talented, and I was worried about playing with the big dogs.  If you haven't already, take a look at my previous post and look at my projects.  Take your time, I'll wait. You're back?  Okay, now really, how hard is it to cut a title with the Cricut and put some pictures on a page or two?  Was that even worth taking everyone's time and having them stop by my blog?  I did have an idea for a bigger project, but in the end, I just didn't have the time to do it.  (I am hoping to get that idea done before the holiday season is over.)  I was a little embarrassed that my simple layout and sour cream container is all that I had to offer.  But you know what, I got into scrapping because I wanted to document the life of my child.  He has brought so much into my life, and I want to capture it all.  I have so many pictures yet to scrap, some of big moments, some of him just being him on an average day.  I know that my scrapping style will evolve as I learn more and experiment with more techniques, but the truth is, I am always very proud of my work, regardless of how it measures up to others'.  In the end, I've accomplished what I wanted to do.  I made a great, though simple, layout that portrays my son's excitement while opening gifts on Christmas morning.  I now have that set of pictures in a place where they will be seen, not just shoved in a box, or kept on the computer.  I know I will continue to see others' work and make note of the technique to try later, or see a new project I want to try, and that's okay.  I want my crafting skills to grow.  But I'm also happy with what they are at this time.

So today's Sunday Saying is this: Be proud of Yourself.  Don't compare yourself to others.  While learning from other is a great thing to do, don't compare your accomplishment to theirs.  Take what you've learned from them and make it yours.  Be proud of what you've done.  It, and you, are worth it!

SST Christmas and Countdown to the New Year Blog Hop!

Christmas is coming and so is the new year! To get you in the spirit of the season, the divas of Sistas Scrap Too! have come together for a Christmas and Countdown to the New Year blog hop! There are 17 blogs in the hop, so make sure you use the links below this post to hop to all of the participating blogs. No worries if you miss one, you can always go back! These 17 divas have a lot in store for you. From exquisite creations to offers of blog candy, you will enjoy hopping your way to all of the blogs involved! Don't forget to leave some blog love for the creators -- they love getting feedback on their designs!


So without further ado, here are my Christmas projects.

Grand Opening Christmas 2009

This is a simple layout of my DS opening presents at his Grandparents' house on Christmas morning last year.  I've found that when scrapping my DS, I like to use multiple pictures and keep the layout itself relatively simple, letting the pictures speak.  In this one, I really like how his enthusiasm and action are captured by the blurry movements of the ripping paper.  I used paper from the DCWV "The Christmas Combo 180 Stack."  I used the Pooh font Cricut cartridge to cut the "Grand" and "2009" at 1 1/2 inches.  The Gypsy font was used and welded to cut "Opening" and "Christmas" at 1 1/2 also.

Stocking Stuffer

This is DS's stocking stuffer for this year.  I made a large sour cream container to wrap it.  This paper also comes from the DCWV "The Christmas Combo 180 Stack."  I needed to cut the 12x12 sheet down to 8 1/2x11, keeping in mind that I wanted the reindeer pattern to run vertically.  So I proceeded to measure and cut my paper -- in the wrong direction!  Ah, that's okay.  I think it looks better this way anyway!  I crimped the ends and used my Crop-a-dile to punch a hole in one end.  I then used the Very Merry Tags cartridge and made the reindeer tag.  I cut a base tag shape at 3" using brown paper, and then cut the reindeer design out of red paper, although it looks more orange in the picture.  I attached the tag with red "Merry Christmas" ribbon that I found at Michael's.


Blog Candy!!
  

As a small token of my appreciation for everyone that has taken the time to stop by my blog and leave a comment, I have this small package of blog candy that I will give to one of my visitors.  It's a variety of Christmas embellishments that I thought would be fun to use.  In order to be eligible for the blog candy, you must be a follower of my blog, and you must leave a comment under this post before 11:59 pm EST tonight.  I will randomly select a winner and will post the winner on Monday, December 6th. 

I hope you've enjoyed my projects and I hope you've seen enough that will make you want to return to Riley's Custom Creations.  This is a new endeavor for me and a work in progress.  I would love for you to join me on my journey as I learn to further my scrapping, crafting, photography, and blogging skills!  Have a wonderfully Blessed day!

Thank you for participating in the Sistas Scrap Too! first ever blog hop! Remember to visit all of the blogs and leave blog love -- you never know where you'll find candy!! Here is a linked list of all the participating blogs:



1. Treva's Craft Corner

2. Stampin' Dymonz Creative Space

3. Nubian Crafter NC

4. My {Life}, My {Blog}

5. Step Into Nita's World

6. Sweet Lil Scrapper

7. P-Kaysunshine Creations

8. Sharing My Stuff

9. Yaya Philly Craft World

10. Cassie's Crop Corner

11. M. M. DeZigns

12. Made By Dee

13. Riley's Custom Creations

14. It's A Family Affair!

15. Cuttin' Up

16. Stamping On The Road

17. In Shelly's World

Reminder!! Blog Hop and Blog Candy

I just wanted to give you a quick reminder to stop by tomorrow, Saturday, December 4th, starting at 6:00 am EST for the Christmas and Countdown to the New Year Blog Hop. 

I have gathered together a small package of Christmas embellishments to give away to one of you who stops by tomorrow.  I found ribbon, brads, decorative tape, and poinsetta embellies that I thought would be fun to use, so I'm giving them away!  A picture will be included in tomorrow's posting.  In order to be entered into the drawing, you must be a follower of my blog and leave a comment under tomorrow's Blog Hop post.  I will randomly select a winner and the winner will be announced on Monday, December 6th.

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the projects my fellow bloggers have made and hope you join us on the Hop!

Blog Hop Coming Soon!

Be sure and check in on Saturday, December 4th, for the SST Blog Hop.  SST (Sistas Scrap Too!) is a thread on the Cricut message board.  We've gotten together and are having a Christmas and Countdown to the New Year blog hop.  We currently have 17 ladies participating.  Some, including me, will have blog candy to be won by one of our visitors.  I'm still working on by blog candy package, but I assure you I am trying my best to make it something you will be excited to use in your crafting.

The blog hop kicks off on Saturday, December 4th, at 6:00 am EST.  So stop by and join me and my fellow SST bloggers for a day filled with Christmas and New Year projects and ideas!

Sunday Sayings -- Giving Thanks

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is winding down.  Everyone is returning to their homes and "normal" lives.  While it's great that we have a holiday designated as a time to reflect on the many Blessings we've been given, and are given a chance to celebrate with family and friends, every day should be a day of Thanksgiving.  Even in tough times, we can all name a Blessing we've been given, no matter how small.  Sometime the kindness of a stranger holding the door for you and telling you to have a nice day is just the pick-me-up we need after a trying day.  Being reminded that it's the simple things that matter, as you watch a small child play with a cardboard box.  The Blessings of children as they give you that heart-melting smile.  Relaxing with a cup of coffee or tea.  Receiving a phone call (or email or text message) from a dear friend.

As the Christmas season kicks into gear, we often find ourselves stressed out from the gift buying and holiday preparations.  Don't forget to stop and give thanks for having others to buy gifts for, for having the food that needs cooking, for having the house that needs cleaning, for having the money to buy the gifts, for having all that you have.  And give thanks just for being.  We can all name someone who is no longer with us this holiday season.

Just remember to give thanks.

Weekend Plans and Free SOC Magazine

I hope everyone had a Blessed Thanksgiving and is recuperating from full bellies, tense football games, and Black Friday madness.  I experienced all three and love it!  I spent Thanksgiving with my husband's family and then went shopping EARLY yesterday morning.  For me, it isn't officially the holiday season until I've done my Black Friday shopping.  I will have watched a few college football games before the weekend is over.  Now I'm actually thinking of decorating the house this weekend.  I usually decorate much later, but I guess I've caught the holiday bug a little early this year!

My plan is to do some crafting today, so this blog will soon have crafty postings, but until then, here's a little craft-related something for you!

Get your FREE subscription to Scraps of Color Scrapbook Magazine today! All you need to do is visit their site at http://www.scrapsofcolor.com and sign up! That's it, no strings attached! They have a SUPER Creative Team ready to thrill and delight you throughout 2011! First, issue arrives February 2011!

How cool is that! I'm already signed up!

Stay tuned for their page call announcement and a wonderful December filled with ideas and inspiration by the fabulous SOC Girls and a super BIG BLOG GIVEAWAY! Don't miss a minute of the scrappy inspiration!


And I want to give a big shout-out of appreciation to my first two followers, who are from the SOC community.  Thank you for your support!

Helping Others

Yesterday I spent most of the day at my church preparing Thanksgiving boxes for pick up today.  The boxes included everything needed for a Thanksgiving dinner, plus a few extra meals.  When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING!  Not only do the recipients get the cake mix and frosting, but the eggs and oil too!  Like using evaporated milk in your mac and cheese?  It's in there!  Don't forget to put some extra butter on those yams!  Turkey, stuffing, green beans, peas....  There are 79 families that now do not have to worry about not being able to have a great Thanksgiving meal.

The Thanksgiving boxes have been a project for the Sr. Mission II of my church for some time, although this is just the second year that I've participated in packing the boxes.  The lady who has overseen this project the past few years is looking forward to some well-deserved rest, and is grooming some of the younger ladies to take over, meaning the Jr. Mission group of which I am a member.  There is so much to keep track of and a lot to prepare, but in the end it's worth it.  I don't know if I'm ready to be responsible for such a big project, but I will definitely continue to participate if I can.

As I continue to decide what form I want this blog to have, I have decided that on Sundays I will have "Sunday Sayings."  I intend for the "Sunday Sayings" to step away from the crafting world for a moment and hopefully give you a little bit of inspiration for the other areas of your life.  The Sayings may be a verse of Scripture, or a meaningful quote, or even just a tidbit of conversation I caught as I passed by.  Packing the Thanksgiving boxes helped me to remember how blessed I am and how fortunate I am that I can provide a Thanksgiving meal for my family, and also help someone else provide for theirs.  While crafting is a great hobby and can be a wonderful escape from some of life's realities, there really is much more to life.  Hopefully the "Sunday Sayings" will help us to remember that.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to Riley's Custom Creations!

Hello and welcome to Riley's Custom Creations, my feeble attempt to enter the world of blogging and to give you a peek into my creative creations.  While I had previously posted some pictures here, just to be able to post them elsewhere, I have now decided to make this an active blog.  So this is my first real posting!

This blog is a work in progress, so please bear with me!  I am preparing for a blog hop on December 4th, so I am getting this stop along the hop together and  presentable.  I am looking forward to this becoming a place where crafting ideas are shared and inspiration is found.  I am so glad you found me and I hope you visit again!