Best Present Ever

I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas! We had the best sleepover with Miss Amelia last night. She and I watched (most of) a movie, then played outside before doing a little last minute grocery shopping. When we got home, we had pizza for dinner, then watched another movie with Mike, and then drove around to look at the Christmas lights.

There are several homes that are seriously decorated. One is on the way to her dad’s house, so we see it a lot. I discovered another one on the way to my parents’ last week. It looks like a gingerbread house, because every inch of the house and yard is decorated – and there are Christmas trees in every window! It’s her new favorite now. It’s like a fairy land. Of course, seeing it with a child made it even better.

After she went home this morning, I visited my parents. Dad is still in the hospital. He was very weak and a little confused again last week. They discovered his sodium was very low, so they wanted to keep him for a day or two. It took quite a few days to get his sodium up, and after almost a week in bed, he was very weak. But – good news! He’s coming home on Christmas Eve! They’ll have a home care worker help for a while until he gets his strength back, but I think he should get better very soon after he gets home. Mom has stayed with him, and I’m sure she’ll be glad to get back to “normal” as well. At the very least, sleeping in their own bed will be a huge relief. And I’m so glad they’ll be home for Christmas, because no matter how great the care is in the hospital, it’s not home.

So now I’m finally home and able to show you, as promised, the last two entries for our Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator team challenge.

Isn’t Liz’s card gorgeous? And look at that background paper! Wait – it’s not background paper. It’s a napkin. I had forgotten that Liz took home a napkin from the meeting in November and used it as a background for her card. Simply use plastic wrap and an iron to adhere the napkin to cardstock, creating a beautiful background.

But wait – there’s more! The red and gold ornament was a tag from a pair of socks. How cool is that? Liz’s card is so elegant and beautiful, don’t you think?

And here’s Kathy’s card.

I wasn’t sure Kathy understood the challenge when I saw her beautiful card. I kept looking for a non-stamping, “household” item. She had to pint it out. The silver is tape for HVAC ducts. How clever is that? She added it to the card ad embossed it. Gorgeous! Before the meeting, Kathy showed us the cards she made for her “You Used What?” card class. I was totally wowed.

I hope you’ve gotten some inspiration from the “household products” (aka “trash”)  used on the cards. Before you throw anything out, look at it with a critical eye to see if you can use it in a creative way. (This may be why my house is full of “stuff” I can’t bear to throw out.)

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!