Personalize a Holiday Treat



Candy filled photo containers

It's not too late to give a personalized photo gift... make it yourself with a recycled container, ribbon and hot glue gun.  The hardest part is choosing which photos to use.

This year's batch of delicious chocolate bark (a Family Fun Magazine recipe) was gifted to friends in a recycled cardboard container.  What a great way to share photos from special events!

Festive Chocolate Bark Recipe 

Enjoy,
Tracey

Tuck-It Boards

Artist Henri Matisse has always been an inspiration.

The Green Line

Fauvism:  Color, pattern, bold portraits full of symbolism- what's not to love.



Beasts of the Sea

And more recently, I am inspired by his paper cuts like Beasts of the Sea.  Brilliant.

I make my own paper cuts into functional art called.... The Tuck-it Board.

The Tuck-it Board is like a French Memo board, except that the Tuck-it board is a hand- made, one-of-a-kind work of art by me!  

The Tuck-it Board: How it all began

I made the first Tuck-It Boards for my friend Jenny who was about to have a baby.  I designed her paper owls and birds to give as baby shower favors.  She needed a fun way to display them, so I made a ribbon "memory board" designed with cut paper trees.  Jenny clipped the owls and birds onto the ribbons, and her shower guests selected the one that they wanted.  Now Jenny has those two boards to hold all sorts of special memorabilia.

The Tuck-It Board: Jenny's Shower

As it goes, someone saw Jenny's boards and asked if I would make one for her.  Absolutely, and the orders keep coming.  I love to give them as baby gifts, birthdays, or for any occasion.  A gift card underneath the ribbon of a board makes a gift worth receiving. 

I love to create the boards; they are an artistic challenge of composition, color and pattern .  I make boards to keep up inventory, they are usually designed as a play on nature and childhood.  Most of the boards that I make are custom orders (and a lot of fun to make.)  Just request a size, color scheme and theme, and I'll do the rest. 

Interested?  Contact me for details and pricing at

traceyjdean@verizon.net

Check out my current inventory on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24094&id=1560647575&l=74609cac90

Hand Made Ornaments

This year family and friends will recieve an ornament to top off their gift.


Recycled Idea :)


Reindeer Candy Cane
                                      


Recycled Objects

Bottle Cap Snowman Ornament







Bottle Cap Snowmen Magnets and Pins



Reused Items: Fiber Filled glass bulbs that have been sitting in a craft drawer for years

Glass Snowmen ornaments



The Ornament Game

My sister-in-law Laura gets all the credit for this great idea and now it's a family tradition.

Here's how it works.

Each member of the family buys or makes an ornament.  Usually we choose ones that we know someone will want (that covented Hallmark Star Wars ornament that Jamison and Uncle Sean both want, or fish/tool ornament that all of the men in our family fight over).  Don't wrap the ornament, it needs to be seen as a teaser!

Gather all who are playing with thier ornaments in hand to a location that allows everyone to: sit in a circle, view the ornaments, and reach two dice that will be rolled.

The youngest player goes first, then take turns clock-wise.   Once everyone has had a turn, it's a round.   

On your turn, roll both dice.

Rolling a 7 or 11 let's you switch your ornament for the one of your choice (trade ornaments with the person holding it).

Sometimes we'll change it up, if you roll a 3, everyone passes their ornament to the left, etc.

Create your own rules.

We get quite competitive in our family, so be sure to set a round limit before you begin.  (Someone always wants to keep playing if they didn't get the ornament that they want :))  We usually play 3 rounds (everyone rolls 3 times) at the end of the three rounds, the ornament that you are holding is the one you keep. 

Enjoy,

Tracey