Someone got his first floral bouquet from a gal! *winks*

 

So someone got his first floral bouquet from a gal! *winks*

Yep...nephew #1 got some blooms from a gal who will always love him...his fave aunt (aka me)!

Does he look happy or embarrassed? *LOL*

He had to give me some obligatory shots for the family scrapbook album (which in 2020 is probably 90% on food..hehe).:)

Had fun with the little bits and bobs from the scrap pile. :)

Playing along with Stick It Down.

This week's quick Santa project

 

Hello friends! Just a quick project to share today - Santa on an envelope. The banner is a sticker. I just added a piece of patterned paper with a fish tail and Santa to the sticker banner. All done. Yep. Easy peasy.

Happy weekend friends! I'll be braving the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales this year from the comfort of my home. 

Santa on kraft and glassine bags

 

This week Santa is gracing the covers of some kraft and glassine bags! *winks*

A great way to use up paper scraps is to create a paper collage...

Then tie everything together with some fussy-cut elements, washi tape and stickers. :)

You don't always have to use Christmas-themed papers...I just went with patterned papers that coordinated with the Christmas papers I used. 

When you can't get your edges to be straight, take some scissors to them and give them a distressed look instead! *LOL*

When in doubt, go with fussy-cut elements...

They always add interest and dimension to any project. 

Mixed Media Monday - messy pages from the art journal

 

It's been a while since I shared any mixed media projects....because I haven't been doing any. *insert sad face*

Even though I've been sharing a lot of Santa projects, most of them were completed on a Sunday afternoon and then shared weekly as individual projects on my blog. Same for the recipe planner pages. 

Paint and inks and all the messy things just haven't been on my list of priority of late because there's so much to do around the house. 

The downside to everyone staying at home a lot is that things break down and need repair. You have no idea how much stuff I've fixed in the last few months - toilets, furniture, air-conditioners, minor leaks....all the little things that are totally doable but are extremely time-consuming. 

It's been pretty therapeutic just throwing paint and ink on these pages though. I need to do it more regularly.

How are you doing on your end?

Tutorial Thursday- Santa on a milk carton

 

A recent re-organization and declutter of my craft supplies uncovered some hidden "new" gems in my stash...

Like a bunch of these craft milk cartons. Which are perfect since I don't have that many gift boxes to upcycle for Christmas this year.:)

I cut some patterned paper and adhered to the carton.

For a slight contrast, I used the b-side of the patterned paper for the main design panel.

You can see that I did a lousy job cutting the circle out after adhering the patterned paper. What I should have done was trace out the circle, cut the circle out of the patterned paper before adhering the piece to the milk carton. Also, because I did such a lousy job, I decided that ONE circle window was good enough *gal was clearly lazy*. *LOL*

Even though I was going to put a clear window over the circle window, I decided that adding a little bit of washi tape would "cover up" the cut marks in case the carton got scrutinized very closely by the recipient (Yep...any excuse to use my Christmas washi tape...hehehe).

After that, of course, I decided that the clear window needed a glittered frame. :)

And since I only cut out one window, I had an extra clear window panel so I added some gold glitter and made it a shaker Santa milk carton. :)

I finished by adding some fussy-cut elements and stickers.

I think it would be great for holding some candies or cookies. And look nice as a display piece.

What do you think?

A page from the recipe planner - sourdough sandwich bread

 

Ahh..haven't made this sourdough sandwich bread in a while. It worked out well when I was using ordinary all-purpose flour (earlier in the pandemic when flour supply was scarce and that was all I could get)) but once I switched to my regular organic all-purpose flour, the bread got a little denser and drier and the complaints came in (yes, the Yams are such whiners...*LOL*). 

Organic flours tend to be more "thirsty" so I need to adjust the hydration levels. Maybe add a tangzhong to the recipe to keep the bread really soft and moist. And add a few more stretch and folds for a better rise too. :)

I should totally experiment to perfect my sourdough sandwich bread since it doesn't require any toasting to eat...perfect for the lazy members of the Yam family. 

Definitely had fun using my little scrap bits. And how cute is that bear notepaper? 

Happy Wednesday friends!:)

Make Stuff Monday - an upcycled Christmas gift box

 

Hello friends! Welcome to another Make Stuff Monday! Today's project is an upcycled Christmas gift box. Which of course, features the infamous Santa. *winks*

Just a quick update for those who are curious...I have 5 more Santas to go! I'm working really hard on finishing up those last 5 pieces on projects so that I can photograph all my Santa projects in one massive project picture before shipping them off to the recipients! *well wishes needed*

Back to today's project...which started its life on earth as a sturdy black cardboard box with a magnetic closure. :)

Now it has some colour in its life! And will hopefully *fingers crossed* bring some joy to its next owner.

I had so much fun piecing this collage of Christmas bits and pieces together.

While I'm almost done with all my Christmas projects, I have to say that the Christmas decorations are still in storage. With no plans for family/friends coming over, should I even decorate? What do you think? Have you put up your Christmas decor?

The last Yam birthday celebration for 2020

 

On Monday, we had the last Yam birthday celebration for 2020 with nephew #1's birthday. 

He got a vanilla white cake with Swiss meringue buttercream (which I am trying to master...*winks*). It looks like a really simple cake but it took me 4 hours to bake and frost it. Lesson learnt: pipe the frosting on the cake! I was trying not to waste a piping bag by just frosting the cake with a palette knife but I just couldn't get an even layer. 

The frosting on the cake would not hold up to close scrutiny but looks good enough in my scrapbook album. *LOL*

It was fun working in the little bits and bobs.

Your gal found a huge doiley stash in her collection so expect more doilies on projects!

Playing along with Let's Get Sketchy.