Marks Paper Company

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Mimi Leinbachis another one of those gals I have been blessed to have meet.  She is so talented and I am glad she lives close enough that we can get together for lunch once in a while.  She always creates such beautiful things.  Mimi created a hybrid layout using a combination of Winter Wrap Digital Kit and English Garden Collection.  I have to give kudos to my design team who stretched to design differently using both digital and traditional scrapbooking supplies.

 
What is your most remembered holiday memory?

Christmas Eve's as a child were the best! We spent the evening 

with close friends and family having a big meal, exchanging gifts 

and laughing late into the night. It always made the holiday so 

special! When we returned home my parents would let us each 

open one gift before bed...the choice of picking just one gift to 

open could almost be torturous but at the same time so very 

exciting! Off to bed we went...or at least tried to as we kept one 

ear open for Santa!

The best gift you ever received?

My Grandmother died when I was young but a few year back my 

Mom wrapped up my Grandmother's charm bracelet and gave it 

to me as a Christmas gift. I cried like a baby...I still remember 

seeing my Grandmother wear it to all her special events and it 

mean so much for me to have it.

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?

How do I pick! Pumpkin Cheesecake or Peanut Blossom 

Cookies? I can't decide!

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?

I have my own little tradition...bow night! My gift are always wrapped 

before the week of Christmas but then I hide them in containers 

in my basement so the kiddo's won't find them. On Christmas Eve 

after the kids are asleep and in bed...all the wrapped gifts are 

pulled out and decorated with lots of bows, ribbons, and little 

goodies. I love dressing them up!

What is on your wish list this year?

My weakness is anything Coach...I am hoping Santa thought I 

was good and a new purse may be in my future!

Enjoy!

Stacy

 

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

By Maggie LaMarre

Hi Everyone,
This Christmas I've been challenging myself to create tasty and fun gifts from the kitchen for my friends and family.  I wanted to share a very simple gift that you can create in minutes to give to anyone.  They are chocolate covered pretzels.

Here is what we will be creating!

You will need the following supplies:
Bakers' semi-sweet dark and white chocolates, sprinkles, parchment paper, Saran Wrap, wrapping paper, craft bag, Marks Paper Company Digital Kit, Cuttlebug machine, Nestabilities, Uhu Glue, Recollection bling, and Color Bok fluid chalk.

Let's begin!
1.Melt chocolate in the microwave for 1 minute, stir.  Microwave again for 45 seconds, stir.   Then microwave for another 15 seconds.  Be careful it doesn't burn.
2. Dip pretzel onto the dark chocolate and drizzle more by using a toothpick.  Let cool on parchment paper.
3. Repeat above steps for the white chocolate, then add sprinkles.
4. Once cool, wrap in Saran Wrap, then put them into a decorative bag.

Voila a quick yummy gift from the kitchen.

What is you most remembered holiday memory?
My mom making pudding cake and my sister and I waiting to lick the beaters yum.

The best gift you ever received?
A woman devotional bible that my husband gave me 8 years ago, it opened up the Bible in a whole different way!

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?
I go to all the churches activities in my area, from Hanukkah to Kwanza, walk in Bethlehem reenactment to Christmas Eve Service on the beach.

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?
My daughter and I attend the Ballet Nutcraker and the Christmas Carol play every year for the past 15 years.

What is on your wish list this year?
My wish list is to go to a Cropping Cruise :) not much eh!

Enjoy!

Stacy

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Only three days left in our 12 Creative Days of Christmas.  Tracy Polacheck is another talented girl I have had the privilege of meeting.  We have been friends for a short while but I am so glad to have met her.  She really enjoys expressing herself creatively and I like to see what she creates.

Tracy decided to make cookie bag toppers because of all the cookies she was giving away, and wanted to include the recipies.  So this was a perfect way to jazz up my package, plus include the recipes!

What is your most remembered holiday memory?

In 2001 I was 8 months pregnant with my 3rd child.  We opened 

gifts with the 2 boys and I had laid down in the afternoon to take a 

nap before the rest of my family came over.  When I woke up, my 

water broke, and lo and behold, my baby girl was born at 6pm!!

 The best gift you ever received?

Surprisingly, a Belgian waffle maker (I don't cook).  But it led to 

making Belgian waffles every Christmas morning, which I LOVE, 

so because of that gift, we have another family tradition!

 What is your favorite holiday indulgence?

They used to be my grandmothers Butter Brickle cookies, but 

since we can never find Bits 'o Brickle, second to that are my 

mom's Snickerdoodles!

 Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?

Every Christmas Eve, after church, we drive around "elf hunting".  

This consists of the kids in their jammies, getting in the toasty 

car under blankets, combing the nearby (and not so nearby) 

neighborhoods looking for elves.  Because, we all know that the 

elves scout the houses to see which ones put lights out for 

Santa, and Santa doesn't come if you don't put lights up!!  So we 

drive around for awhile looking at the lights, and hunting the elves, 

and usually by the time we get home, the elves have left us a nice 

little surprise (family present of some sort) on our doorstep!

What is on your wish list this year?

Workout clothes (can you guess what my New Year's 

Resolution is gonna be???).

Enjoy!

Stacy

 

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Beatriz Jennings is an extremely talented card maker.  She always blows me away with her designs.  Who would not want to be on the receiving end of one of her creations!  Bety used our Winter Wrap Digital Kit and created this hybrid card.

What is your most remembered holiday memory?

I miss the days when we use to spend Christmas With all my Family in Mexico,  we use to have BIG parties, now the Holidays are way to much different,  I only enjoy them because of my Son.

The best gift you ever received?

I don't know maybe one of those little tiny small kitchen and I use to play with it for hours, but what I really always wanted and my parents couldn't afford was an original Barbie Doll, I remember waking up and waiting to see the Barbie under the tree but never happened. Then when they could afford it I was around 14 years old so I didn't enjoy it... ha!

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?

Eating all day :)

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?

Just going to Mexico every year , but this year will be no trip :(

What is on your wish list this year?

Just a healthy family :)

Enjoy!

Stacy  

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

By Patricia Komarra

I was so inspired by Stacy's questions that I decided to make a little mini album to document them.

I used the Winter Wrap Digital Kit. I assembled the papers in a photo editing program, printed them onto white cardstock, trimmed out the pages and glued them to chipboard coasters. I coated the back of the coaster with glimmer mist and stamped a snowflake on each using a glimmer screen. I added the journaling, inked the edges of the coasters and added a few gems here and there. I attached all the pages with a ring and added a few ribbons.

What is your most remembered holiday memory?

That’s hard to answer, I love this holiday season and I have a lot of fond memories.  So, I’m going to go with a recent one. A friend of mine, who works for the Secret Service, took a group of us on a great tour of White House to see the holiday decorations. It was really beautiful.

The best gift you ever received?

Generally, I love getting art supplies, when I was little; a new box of 64 crayons with all those perfect tips and great smell was the best!  Who are we kidding, I still love that! But one item I remember in particular that stands out from the rest -- Fashion Plates.  I really, really wanted these.  That Christmas, I surveyed out all of the presents and started with the ones that looked like they could be Fashion Plates.  When I found them I was so excited, I stopped opening presents and played with it for a few hours before I even thought about going back to opening gifts.

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?

Well, I’m going to have to say shopping. I feel like I get some sort of license to shop without regard in December. I spend so much time browsing in stores and online, I inevitably end up purchasing many things for myself as well.

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?

After the holiday dinner at my Mother’s house, we clear the table and play BINGO for silly prizes.  Last year we added LCR to the mix as well.  There’s a pretty big group of us, I’m one of five children, so it’s always a lot of fun.

What is on your wish list this year?

Well, my sister has cancer; she had been in remission since her first round of chemo two years ago. We found out last month that it is back and she’s now doing another round of chemo.  So, what I want most is for the chemo to be really effective and for her to be in that small percentage that beats her type of cancer (primary peritoneal).  Sorry, to bring such a heavy topic in, but it’s number one on my wish list. And, to end on a lighter note, I’ll let you in on some “thing” that I’ve been hinting about and hope I get --the Letterpress L. Have you seen it, I think it looks like fun. I love the look of Letterpress, so I’m excited about the potential of being able to create the look with a small affordable tool. I heard some bad things about the plates that come with the kit, but you can create you own the same way they get made for the real Letterpress machines. If you are thinking about one too, I found lots of advice on how to get good results from the Letterpress L on the Boxcar Press blog.

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Our next designer is Jennifer Davis.  You have to love her style... clean lines, perfect stitching and great handwriting!  I am jealous!  Jennifer creates such nice pieces for her family.  She created this 8.5 x 11 layout using Old Fashioned Courtship Collection and the English Garden Collection. 

What is you most remembered holiday memory?
There is no one specific Christmas that stands out from when I was younger...but they all were special.  My dad (at the time I didn't know it was my dad of course!) would always go on our roof and jingle bells in the evening hours on Christmas Eve so that I would hear Santa's sleigh land on the roof...I remember going out caroling with neighbors on the evening of Christmas Eve.  We really concentrated on trying to have a true old fashioned Christmas.  When my husband and I first moved to where wenow call home I knew that it was a special place just in the way that the community celebrated the holiday season.  We have horse drawn carriage rides around town, hot roasted chestunts on the square downtown and an ice rink for the kids to skate on near the park.  All the local businesses get in on celebrating and it's a real family event to do your holiday shopping locally here.  After our first Christmas here I knew that this would be where we would call home and stay to raise our daughter.

The best gift you ever received?
I remember the first Christmas after our daughter was born, things were pretty tight for us financially and my husband and I were living in a tiny apartment and just starting out together on our own as a little family.  My parents visited us over the holidays and brought in a HUGE wrapped box...they could barely fit it in the door it was so big.  We had no idea what it could be and when we opened it we were tickled to find it plum full of special food items...you should have seen the look on my husband's face...he was so excited!!! 

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?
I would have to say Brie cheese and Cranberry Cheese...with some red wine.  For some reason we only get this cheese and drink wine around the holidays and it's a special treat!

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?
When I was little my mom would always make a big pot of chili on Christmas Eve and now I do the same for my family.  Tapioca pudding with cinnamon is an evening treat for afterwards.  We celebrate the month by going through the story of the Jesse Tree with my daughter (something I did when I was young) and after hearing about the bible story she will place an ornament on the tree for each day leading up to Christmas.

What is on your wish list this year?
Hmmm...SNOW!  Usually we have at least 3-6 feet of it by now and we have nothing!! 

Enjoy!

Stacy

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Cathy Pascual is another one of our talented designers.  She has had lots of blessings this year...  a new home and the birth of her second baby girl.  Cathy always finds time to create beautiful projects.  In this case, Cathy created two for us to enjoy.  Cathy created a 12 x 12 hybrid layout using the English Garden Collection and the Digital Kit.

Her second project is a 8.5 x 11 digital layout using Winter Wrap Digital Kit.

What is you most remembered holiday memory?
Several years ago (before I had children), I spent Christmas in Australia with my husband and his family. Not only was it so exotic and strange to celebrate Christmas during the summer, it was my first trip "down under". Definitely a memorable Christmas!

The best gift you ever received?
The trip to Australia mentioned above!

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?
I love Christmas Day dinner - usually with a turkey and all the trimmings!

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?
I like to get at least one new Christmas ornament for the tree each year - sometimes with a photo in it, sometimes handmade by me. I think it will be fun to reminisce about them over the years.

What is on your wish list this year?  An electronic die-cutting machine (silhouette SD) for hybrid projects!

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Love the bag....I'd never be able to do something like that!!

Posted by: Glenda H | December 06, 2009 at 07:57 AM

 

Please contact us with your address so we can get your tote bag out to you ASAP!  Thanks for participating!  Keep an eye out for the next give-away!

Enjoy!

Stacy

 

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Hello again.  Continuing on our countdown to Christmas, our next designer is Deanna Kroll.  She came to us as a Digital Designer.  She has a great style and Deanna always makes something great with our digital kits.  Today Deanna made a cute frame to decorate for the holidays.  She used the Winter Wrap Digital Kit, printing out all the pieces she wanted to use and created her project.  This is great because you can print out only what you need with little waste.

 

What is you most remembered holiday memory?
The one year that I remember best is when my sister and I were younger, I think I was around 4 or 5 years old. We were by my grandparents house and we helped them put the tree up and also the decorations on the tree that year.  Once we were done helping out, my grandma pulled out all of her handmade aprons for me and my sister to play with, and we dressed up and made the aprons our dresses. We looked like two girls who belonged in the era of "Little House on a Prairie". It was really fun because my grandparents took photos of us and then shared them with everyone on Christmas day and we got such compliments for being so "creative".

The best gift you ever received?
The best gift I ever received for Christmas, that is a hard one because so many of them have been good. I guess the one thing  I would have to say that has been the best Christmas gift I ever received was my son. Although he was born 8 months before Christmas, I feel that he was my miracle baby, because just before I had him, I lost my first baby to an  ectopic pregnancy, and was so afraid that I wasn't going to be able to get pregnant again. I was elated the first year I was able to share Christmas with my son.

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?
My favorite holiday indulgence is Egg Nog. I LOVE my egg nog drinks on Christmas, it's tradition to be able to have it every year, even though I know it's not that healthy for me.

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?
The first Christmas that my son and I were moved and settled into our new home, without his dad being with us for the first time as a family, we decided that every year we were going to buy ourselves a new ornament each year for our Christmas tree. It had to have meaning to us in some form.  The first year, we bought an angel ornament. To me, this meant that this was my guardian angel who watched over me and helped me through my divorce and the one who will continue to watch over me and my son. We've bought an ornament last year and this year already and will continue to do so until my son moves out of my house. 

What is on your wish list this year?
I don't have anything specific that is on my list this year.  I just want to be able to spend another with my parents, my sisters family  and for my son to have the best Christmas possible. As long as we are all
happy and healthy, that is good enough for me!

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You only have until midnight tonight EST to post to win our tote bag.  The winner will be announced December 9th.  Good luck! 

Keep your eye out for our next give-away!

The 12 Creative Days of Christmas

Designer

Patty Schaffer

Patty is one of our talented designers.  She has been my best bud since... lets say I knew her longer than my husband and I have been married almost 18 years.  Anyway, she is a traditional scrapbooker, hybrid scrapbooker and an all around super talented gal.  Patty created a digital layout using the Winter Wrap Digital Kit.  This is a beautiful layout remembering one of her traditions at the holiday.

 

What is your most remembered holiday memory?

No specific year, but just the memories of my early Christmases, when I was younger than ten years old. I can remember how I would always look forward to helping my mom put out the decorations. She had a Rudolph decoration that my grandmother made and I loved that thing! It was made out of Styrofoam and then covered in plastic holly... kind of tacky I guess but it was special (and this was the early 70's!). It had a red glass ball nose and that was my favorite part of him.

I also remember how I loved getting the Christmas tree lights out of their box. They were big tree lights... again this was the 70's!... and they had a certain smell that I immediately associated with Christmas.

The best gift you ever received?

Last year my husband surprised me on Christmas morning with a digital SLR camera. I was not expecting that - I asked for a pair of brown bedroom slippers! His gift made me cry because money is tight for us and those cameras are expensive. He told me I was worth it and he knew I would use it. I was completely and totally surprised and his thoughtfulness and kind comment made the gift even better.

What is your favorite holiday indulgence?

The food! I try to eat healthy (I don't always succeed, but I try!) but there is so much to sample at this time of year. I love my mother in law's nut tossies and cut out cookies. I LOVE homemade stuffing with gravy. Green bean casserole. My Gram's chocolate chip cookies. Okay, my mouth is watering......

Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions?

I always have one night when everyone else is asleep where I turn off all the lights in the house except for the Christmas tree lights. Then I'll just sit there for a while and enjoy the glow and the tranquil holiday atmosphere. It's very peaceful and beautiful.

What is on your wish list this year?

hmmmmmmmm. That is a good question! I usually ask for little things (like brown bedroom slippers!) and I must confess that I have nothing in mind for this year. I always feel that as long as my family is happy and healthy I don't need anything more. Anything I get is a bonus!

 

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There is still time to enter to win our Winter Wrap Tote Bag.

Post here until December 6th midnight EST.  I will pick the winner by random drawing and announce it on our blog on December 9th.  Good luck!

 

Enjoy!

Stacy