this n that + my little helper

Isn't the long weekend wonderful?? We woke up Saturday morning and said how nice it was to still have two extra days! We made pancakes and had a leisurely morning today. Babies are sleeping.. and it's quiet in the house except for the Christmas music I have playing.

Did you all enjoy your Thanksgiving? We split up our traveling over two days this year. We normally visit both my family and my in-laws and it was so nice not to feel so rushed this year.

I just saved a ton of pictures from my digital camera and came across this cute one of my little helper packing up an order with me. Isn't he the cutest little helper? :) They're both doing well although they have runny noses and they're so congested at night that they've been keeping us up for the past 3 or 4 nights. I'm exhausted but I feel worse for them when they wake up and have a hard time breathing. Poor things.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends!

I hope you enjoy a family-filled holiday. We have so much to be thankful for and we're especially thankful for each of you who keep coming to visit and shop with us too! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

Spool Wreath Kit

Remember how I said a while back that the babies were sleeping through the night? Well, over the past few weeks they've reverted BIG time! They had been getting up 2 and 3 times a night each! I was loading up on extra caffeine. :) Last night they both slept through the night and I feel so refreshed this morning. It's a good day.

I just wanted to share this adorable project that Laurie created with one of our kits. Using Melissa Frances products (a fave of mine!) I think it's my favorite new item of the season. She said it comes together very quickly too so you can't beat that!

The kits are available HERE (and only $12 bucks!)

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She even made a couple extra projects with the leftover items in the kit.

Giveaway over at We are THAT Family

Welcome 'we are THAT family' readers! We're excited to be featured on Kristen's blog and to sponsor a fun giveaway. Head on over for a chance to win a gift certificate to our shop! I really enjoy Kristen's blog. I subscribe to it so I get it in my inbox when she posts. She has giveaways pretty regularly but she also posts some great information (and I love her stories about her kids!) Head over to her blog to enter the giveaway.

And I thought I'd post some of our favorite projects for any new readers heading over here. Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!

Project for Kids

Most of the time I don't know what people are going to do with their letters or shapes (I do love seeing what you do!) It was neat to come across this article about the use of our letters teaching children. I've always thought the letters and shapes are great for kids projects. To read the full article you can click HERE.

More Fancy letters

I have tons of projects to post so I better get moving! Chrys and Carrie are next with the NOEL fancy letters. Each is so different and beautiful!

I love how Carrie went with a simple approach painting them all black and adding a few embellishments. Her 'E' is really sweet with the frame dangling from the center. I especially love the painted letters because they're quick and easy!

And Chrys' are all glittery goodness and PINK! I love how pink has been added to the Christmas colors, don't you? As always, thanks for checking in.

Shop Update + Yummy Bauble Ornaments

Where did the week go? It's Friday though. Yippeee!! Tonight, Steven and I are actually having a date night. That hasn't happened in I don't know how long. We're going to see a play, Guys and Dolls at one of the local theatre's. Can't wait!

I updated the shop with new KITS and a few new shapes including the most adorable pair of mittens!

This is our brand new Christmas collection of ornaments, The Bauble Ornament Collection. Do you love 'em? They range in size from 6 to 10 inches. And they just happen to be a project the Design Team got to play with. These are Kory's. I love the crackle paint she used and I think my favorite of the three is the little pink and green one. She used a fun mix of Elsie papers on these. Take a peek...

Enjoy looking and have a fun-filled weekend Everyone. Thanks for checking in!

Ornament Swap update

We opened up a 4th group for the Handmade Ornament Swap. There's still 2 spots open if anyone is interested. You can get all the information HERE. [EDIT: Swap is FULL.] I'll post pictures once we start swapping!

Babies, Giveaway Winner + Fancy Design Team Project

I feel like I have a lot to share, just to warn ya. :) Today the babies are SEVEN months. I really can hardly believe it. Last year at this time I was hugely pregnant. Though I do have to say that my nurses and doctor kept telling me I was small for twins but I didn't believe them! Two months later I was on bedrest. Man I don't miss that one bit! I remember trying to pack up orders lying on the couch.. writing my little notes and trying to carefully pack everything up. Thank God for my sister in law who would come over pretty regularly to help. This photo was taken one morning last week. They are so sweet. They hold hands a lot when they're close together. It's more Bella grabbing for him but it's still so cute. Bella has two teeth now and Steven has one. They are more fun each day. Today we had family visiting from Canada and they really do well being passed from one person to the next. I hope that stays the case as they get older but we shall see.

I'm rambling here so I'll move on to our giveaway winner!! Yippeeee!!! I did one of those random number things and our winner was #25 - Michelle Allen!! You'll be getting a gift certificate to the fabulous Lyn Livy's webshop! Congrats Michelle and have fun playing!

Design team posts are my favorite part of the month! I've been getting pictures of projects over the past week and I just love seeing what these girls come up with.

Jolene Johnston is first up. She was one of our guest designers a little while back and we're thrilled to have her on full time now. Jolene had our new NOEL set with that Fancy 'N'. It's soo pretty! She did a beautiful job. Here's a little info about her letters. She'll also be posting more specific info on her blog about the products she used. I love the glitter outline on them.

For many of my altered letter projects, I paint all the letters the same base color regardless of what patterned papers I am going to use. For this set, I painted the letters to match the main color of each paper - two red, one ivory and one green. I love the end result! The papers are from the new Little Yellow Bicycle "Sharon Ann Christmas Magic Collection" which help accentuate the elegant feel of this graceful font style. Each letter is outlined with Holly Stickles which helps unify the classy look. A few simple embellishments finish this set of letters - they are ready for holiday decorating or gift giving!

Just beautiful Jolene. I think the papers are a perfect compliment to these fancy letters.

Thanks everyone for checking in. We'll be posting more projects throughout the week.

Guest Designer, the talented Jennifer Beason

This month we have two wonderful Guest Designers. Each project is so different I love it! Jennifer is such a talent. I love visiting her blog and seeing all the altered projects she shows us. Too much fun! Read on to learn a bit more about her and you can also check out her tutorial for a stunning wreath project.

Hello everyone, my name is Jennifer Beason. I live in beautiful Florida with my wonderful husband and three kids, Demetrius 17, Jaiden 4 and Jacob 2 1/2.

I'm so excited to be a guest designer for "Say It With Letters" this month as I have been a big fan for a while now. I have been paper crafting for about four years, and love all aspects of it, from scrapbooking and card making, to altering any and everything. I also love to draw and often get to use my designs in my cards and layouts. I have been blessed by being on various design teams and published in magazines such as BHG Holiday Crafts, Cards and Paper Trends.

A little Holiday Magic Wreath

Products used:
· Say It With Letters
o Wreath cut out
· Outline Rubber Stamp Co.
o Large and small leaf stamps
· Basic Grey
o Patterned paper and cardstock
· Making Memories
o Paint
· Fancy Pants
o Circle (Holiday Magic) cut out
· Hobby Lobby
o Berry picks / spray, crackle medium, diamond glaze, wood stars, ribbon and glitter.

Instructions:

I. Apply a coat of green paint to the wreath. The ribbon section of the wreath was also painted on the sides and then covered with some matching cardstock.

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II. Next coat the top section of the wreath with some crackle medium. When the medium is dry apply a top coat of contrasting paint to get a crackled effect.

III. To create the leaves, use both the large and small stamps to stamp the imprint on the back of the cardstock and patterned paper. Cut the leaves out, then scrunch and fold them to give a more realistic look.

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IV. Using a glue gun, glue the leaves around the wreath, leaving the crackled paint area clear.

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V. Form a bow with some ribbon, then take a spray of berries and push in to the knot of the ribbon. Use some glue to secure the spray and ribbon together and then glue the “Holiday Magic” cut out to the center of the bow. Glue the finished bow to the wreath.

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VI. Embellish the wreath with some wood stars that have been painted, covered with some diamond glaze and glitter. Then take another small spray of berries and cut a few of the stems. Apply glue and then tuck the stems under the leaves so the berries poke out amoung the leaves.

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Optional step:
For a more personalized look.
VII. .Use your computer software to crop your photo into a circle, approximately 3 ¾”. (I also blurred the edges and muted the color slightly to give a more old fashioned feel to my photograph.) Print out your photo and glue it to the back of the wreath.

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Thanks Jennifer for the inspiration and playing with us this month! :) Check out Jen's blog for some lots of fun projects.

Guest Designer, the fabulous Heather Nichols

I am so excited about this month's Guest Designer. Heather has such a wonderful style, it's clean, fresh and always inspiring to me! Please read on to learn a bit more about Heather and to get her step by step instructions for creating your very own 12 Days of Christmas Wreath (is this an adorable project or what?!)

Most people know me from my blog as pine (which came from my online username pinefeather) or in real life Heather Nichols. I live in St. Cloud, MN with my husband Chad and daughters Tacy (8) and Hana (5).

I began stamping when I was about 12 years old. I was given a tackle box of stamps and supplies for Christmas that year and have been going ever since – needing more of a room now than a tackle box to store all of my supplies! I majored in graphic design in college and have always had a huge interest in printmaking, bookbinding, and paper arts in general. I went to my first Stampin' Up! Workshop in 1997 and became a demonstrator in 2002 (and continued until this past summer.) Soon after I joined the online community www.splitcoaststampers.com and had the honor of being a guest designer and then a part of their Dirty Dozen design team. After being on the team, I started doing design work for other paper crafting companies and also was published in Card Creations and Stamp It! magazines. In 2007, Nichole Heady approached me to be a part of the design team for her new company, Papertrey Ink, and it has been a perfect fit. This past August I launched my own stamp line with Papertrey Ink called Pinefeather Press.

You can find out more about me and the projects I love to create at my blog Pine is Here

I was excited to be asked to create a project as a guest designer for Say it with Letters! I hope you enjoy this project creating a 12 days of Christmas Wreath!


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I colored the wreath shape directly with my ink pad. Rub the pad all over until you have the coverage you want. You could also color your wreath by painting it or covering it with patterned papers.

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To color the edges of the wreath, squeeze some reinker onto a sponge brush and paint it right on. After your wreath is colored the way you want, let it dry.

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Next, I stamped snowflakes onto the wreath in a darker green acrylic paint.

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.I also stamped dots with white acrylic paint and brushed the edges of the wreath with a white paint dauber. After all your painting and stampin is complete, let it dry.

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I created 12 tags for the 12 days of Christmas using cardstock, punches, number stamps, other embellishments, ribbons, eyelets, buttons, and other fun holiday embellishments. I made all of my tags differents, but you could keep them all the same too. To hang them on the wreath, you will want to layout the tags where you want them on the wreath, make a mark where the nails should go, and then hammer nails right into the wreath. [edit: we recommend lightly starting a pilot hole to not crack the shape.]


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The bow part on the wreath is covered with a patterned paper and then the ribbon bow and button is attached to the top.

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And that’s the finished wreath! During the holiday, I will take all of the tags off of the wreath and then add a tag for each day for the 12 days of Christmas countdown!

What a fun idea. This wreath shape is one of my new favorites. We'll be posting design team projects all week. Wait'll you see how different (and gorgeous) each one is! You can find the wreath shape HERE if you'd like to create your own.

A special thank you to Heather for the inspiration. You can visit her blog to get your stampin' fix! :)

Winter Wonderland Handmade Ornament Swap

Welcome to our 2nd Annual Ornament Swap!

We had our first swap last year and it was so much fun and very well received. So much so that I've already had a few e-mails asking if we'd do it again. Sooo... here's all the details!

I'm going to open it up to (2) groups of 5 for a total of 10 people so you'll only need to send 4 ornaments and get 4 back (you can make an extra one of your own to keep for yourself.) [EDIT: The first 2 groups are full but we'll open a 3rd group if we get four more people.]

The guidelines are simple:

1. Sign up for the swap by sending an email with the following information to debdamboise[at]comcast[dot]net by November 14th using ORNAMENT SWAP as the subject line. Include the following information:

- name

- address

- email address

- website or blog, if you have one

- whether your are willing to ship internationally

2. On November 15th (or sooner if it fills) you'll receive an email from us containing the addresses of 4-5 other swap participants to send your ornaments to.

3. Design an ornament that you can create multiples of and make your ornaments. The theme is Winter Wonderland which you can interpret however you'd like. Remember, you want to send something you'd be happy receiving yourself. Put some love in it. :)

4. Package your ornaments well...especially if you create anything fragile. Last year we had a few glass ornaments break in the mail so take care in packaging them well.

5. Send one of your ornaments to each person on the list of 4 other swap participants in your group by December 5th.

6. Sit back, relax and wait as you receive your happy mail of 4 beautiful handmade ornaments!

Questions?

Is the swap open to international customers?

YES! Please let us know in your email sign-up if you are willing to ship internationally.

What sort of materials can be used?

Anything! Paper, wood, glass, sew, paint..have fun!

Who are the other people I'll be swapping with?

The other people on the swap list you receive on November 15th.

Will my address be on the internet anywhere?

No. The only people who will receive your address are the people you are swapping with.

What about shipping costs?

You are responsible for shipping costs for your ornaments...just as others are paying to ship ornaments to you.

For those of you new to swapping, it's very simple and a lot of fun! You will send out 4 ornaments, you can make five if you want to keep one for yourself, and you will receive four different handmade ornaments in the mail. How cool is that?!

Other questions? Email me! debdamboise[at]comcast[dot]net

Giveaway Time again! Wanna PLAY?

I'm so excited about our new giveaway!! It's a two part giveaway. We've partnered with Stacey over at Lyn Livy's Arthouse. She's giving away some of OUR products and we're giving away something from her fabulous online shop! I've posted about Lyn Livy's before. If you're in the San Antonio area, you should really check it out. And her online shop has some fun kits and art supplies for kids. AND a ton of things are on sale - some 50% off.

OK.. here's the GIVEAWAY scoop! Leave a comment here between now and Sunday, November 9th and we'll chose a random winner. What'll you get?? A fun goody from Lyn Livy's online shop! NEXT - head on over to Lyn Livy's and post a comment there and you'll win a set of our PLAY letters. Fun, huh?? Here's a couple examples by our design team of what you can create with your letters.

Oh, and I posted some new kits in the shop. You can check it out HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by!! And welcome Lyn Livy readers! Good luck and Happy Creating!!