tea

SVGCuts Gift Boxes

Hi Guys! Come on in and see what I’m doing today! I’m making SVGCuts Gift Boxes from their Mom’s Garden Gifts Kit. I got an order for 35 small boxes for a bridal tea party shower.

Above is a screenshot of the box lid and bottom. With SVGCuts files, you have to remember to change the scorelines to score and to attach them to the pieces.
Above are all the box lids and bottoms cut out. I used open stock cardstock from Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Joann’s – I went to all three craft stores because the color scheme is pink, cream and mint – I had a difficult time finding mint cardstock for some reason.
This is the box bottom assembly steps. The top left pic shows a bottom with all the folds along the scorelines. In the top right pic, I put white Scotch glue on the tab. The bottom left shows the tab glued in place. The bottom right shows the box bottom assembled – 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . . Easy Peasy!!
The box lid has two separate steps. The left pic shows a lid with all the folds along the scorelines. The center pic shows glue on a tab and the right pic shows the tab attached to its adjacent side.
Part two is finishing the lid. The left pic shows glue along the edge flap, the center pic shows the flap folded over, and the right pic shows all the flaps glued down.
Here’s a finished box.
Above is a box with three teabags inside – how cute is this????

Hey, if you’d like to see some of my other projects, check out my Instagram and Pinterest board, and I would LOVE it if you would follow me.

As always, I’m Livin’ the Moments . . .

Deer vs Pickup Truck Birthday Card

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Hi Guys! Come on in and see what I’m doing today!

I used my Awesome Cricut Explore to create a Deer vs Pickup Truck birthday card for my brother-in-law. He goes to work at 4:00 am and has hit a few deer on his way – which may or may not explain the pickup with the plow on the front of it, lol.

Above is a screenshot of Cricut Design Space showing how I laid out the design.

The grass is from Cricut’s Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. The pine trees and deer are from the Disney Classics cartridge. I got the pickup truck image from Google.

The deer and pickup truck are print and cut pieces, and the font is Cricut Alphabet in the writing style.

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Here are all the pieces ready for assembly . . .

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I used my Xyron Create a Sticker MAX to put adhesive on the back of the trees, the deer, and the pickup truck.

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These are the tools I used to complete this project: Scotch ATG 700, Xyron Create a Sticker MAX, heidi swapp’s Color Shine in Citron, and an eraser to remove the lingering adhesive from the Xyron.

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Here is the front of the card – there’s the deer camouflaged by the grass and the trees. Man, the lighting is horrible in this photo – the card base is a dark gray, layered on top with light gray and the trees are an olive green, hmmmmm . . .

I used Close To My Heart Cardstock in the following colors:
Sweet Leaf
Whisper
Pear
Fern
Slate
New England Ivy
Black
Topiary

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Here is the inside of the card. If you have ever pieced together Cricut images from cartridges, you will understand how tedious it can be. I LOVE PRINT AND CUT for this reason. The images aren’t so thick, they look professional and oh, so, nice!!!

It’s a silly card, but perfect for the person and the occasion, lol.

Hey, if you’d like to see some of my other projects, check out my Instagram and Pinterest board, and I would LOVE it if you would follow me.

As always, I’m Livin’ the Moments . . .

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Queen Mary Tea Room

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Hi Guys! Come on in and see what I’m doing today!

When my daughter lived in Seattle, WA, we found the adorable Queen Mary Tea Room. Whenever I visited, we went there and I was hooked for life. I’ve always been a tea drinker rather than coffee – however, I do have a caramel macchiato occasionally (for the caffeine . . . okay, they taste realllly good, too).

So . . . every Christmas, I order Queen Mary’s Holiday Harvest tea – it is a spice tea and by far my favorite tea . . . EVER!

See how pretty the package looked when I opened the box, sighhhhh . . . . . . .

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This is a bookmark that is included in every order. I love it when new studies come out proclaiming the benefits of drinking tea regularly. According to these studies, I am super healthy because I drink a pot of tea every day – all year long – even in the summer – it’s how I start my day . . . put a kettle of water on . . . brew for 3 or 4 minutes . . . aaaaaaaahhhh . . . calmness reigns . . .

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The Holiday Harvest Tea description on their website is: “infused with orange slices, cardamom pods, pink peppercorn, clove, cinnamon, coriander and apple pieces. Rudolph’s favorite.”

Now check out their Orange Spice Tea description: “This rich black tea is blended with succulent orange slices, tart apple pieces, cardamom pods, coriander, pink peppercorn, clove and a touch of cinnamon.”

I . . . guess . . . the Holiday Harvest Tea is the same as their Orange Spice Tea . . . Too funny!!!

On the package, the ingredients are listed as: “Queen selected black tea, apple pieces, cinnamon bits, coriander, cardamom pods, orange slices, pink peppercorns, cloves and vanilla bean.  Contains caffeine.”
Hmm . . . vanilla bean . . .
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I also purchased two of their other holiday teas.
I got Creme Brûlée, which is “inspired by the Queen Mary Tea Room’s famous Burnt Cream Dessert, this tea features a buttery sweet flavor that has no parallel.”
Its ingredients are listed as: “Queen selected Ceylon and Chinese black tea, marigold flowers, vanilla and custard flavoring. Contains caffeine.”
It is reallllllly good!!!!
I also got Christmas Chai, which is a “warm blend of chai spices with cinnamon, peppercorn and thyme. As cozy as it is fragrant, this black tea will bring delight to any chai lover.”
Its ingredients are listed as: “Queen selected Chinese black tea, cloves, citrus peel, thyme and pink peppercorns. Contains caffeine. “
This tea is good with cream and sugar added, yummy!

I love that they put “Queen” in their descriptions . . .

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So . . . at the bottom of the box is all this pretty, pretty shredded paper mixed with some purple metallic strips. I HAD to show you how lovely it is!!

Hey, if you’d like to see some of my other projects, check out my Instagram and Pinterest board, and I would LOVE it if you would follow me.

As always, I’m Livin’ the Moments . . .

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December Daily 2015 Week 1

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Hi Guys! Come on in and see what I’m doing today!

This is my first December Daily 2015 Week 1 album this year. I am using the Simple Stories Holiday Planner.

Above is the cover of the album. I attached a piece of paper over the Kraft section of the cover, added a red piece that matched the binding, and created a tag using paper from the Simple Stories Claus and Co collection and added a sticker, also from Claus and Co. I added some snowflake stickers from my stash and some Close To My Heart silver shimmer trim.

The red planner tassel is from hautepinkfluff – she has the biggest, fluffiest tassels ever!!

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Here is the November monthly view. I started my album officially on Black Friday – the day after Thanksgiving. I added some washi tape along some of the vertical lines, and some stickers from Claus and Co.

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Here is the December monthly view. The number stickers are from The Reset Girl’s Jolly Holiday Kit. The big snowflake, snowman and trees are from Hobby Lobby.

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The page on the left is a dashboard from Cocoa Daisy’s Document December add-on. The clear acetate with green circles is also from Cocoa Daisy, and I made the teacup from Cricut’s “Wall Decor and More” cartridge.

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So . . . Here’s the first day – November 27 – Black Friday. Black Friday shopping is so much fun . . . My daughter and I have made it a yearly tradition. We get up really early (3:30 am) and hit the mall. The last two years my son’s girlfriend (now fiancee) has gone with us, and my other daughter meets up with us later in the day (not a morning person). We go out for brunch afterward and recap our day. It is the official kickoff to our holiday season, and something we look forward to.

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The next day, I did my holiday treat baking. I made Creme de Menthe brownies, Chex Mix, Nutty Noodles (that’s what we call them – not sure if there’s an official name), and caramels.

Over the years, we have had caramel wrapping sessions, where all my children helped. It’s dwindled down to my youngest and my wonderful husband (yes, he can be . . . ).

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After the first few pages, I decided to change my approach. I’m trying to remember that I’m recording the moments, not making an elaborate art project. So . . . from here on, I’m going to simplify my pages and write more reflections. Like most journalers, I hate my handwriting, but it is what it is, lol.

So . . . here is our tree. I made Photo Booth props with my AWESOME Cricut Explore – we put them in the tree so we would know where they were, not forget to use them in our photos, and they look pretty awesome in the tree, as well.

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I am a tea drinker and I love my Spode Christmas Tree china . . . a sign that Christmas is coming . . .

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These are mini photo booth props I made for my album – Aren’t They Soooo Cute????

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A highlight of the week is when I pick up my grandson from day care – and then I spend the rest of the evening with my daughter and her husband. Yeah . . . definitely a high highlight . . .

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I stole a little time from party planning this week and got a manicure – it’s a no chip – it’s red – it’s glittery – it’s AWESOME!! I love pretty hands, lol.

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I have gone to the Lambs Farm Craft Show for 20+ years – it’s a seasonal traditional that I fight for – this year I had to take a day off work (a real hardship, lol) because we had a family party out of town on Saturday. I wouldn’t miss it!!!!

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First holiday party of the year. Here are all the attendees – 21 adults – 9 children – 1 dog – it was so much fun seeing everyone again!!!!

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This is our 2015 Christmas Card edition. Yeah – it was much warmer then, lol!!!

So, that’s my December Daily Week 1 – what do you think? I got caught up quickly once I stopped obsessing over making each page perfect! It’s about recording the moments . . .

Hey, if you’d like to see some of my other projects, check out my Instagram and Pinterest board, and I would LOVE it if you would follow me.

As always, I’m Livin’ the Moments . . .

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Queen Mary Tea

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Disclaimer: I am NOT a tea expert – just someone who loves tea 🙂

June 10 was National Iced Tea Day – I LOVE TEA!!

About seven years ago, when my daughter lived in Seattle, I discovered the Queen Mary Tea Room. I was taking a trip out there and was looking for area places we could walk to because we didn’t have a car. The website pictures looked really cute (queenmarytea.com) so we loaded my granddaughter into the stroller and set off to check it out. It more than lived up to my expectations.

I believe it’s been renovated since I was there, but back then it was decorated with bone china and lace. Each person gets their own pot of tea and there were many, many choices. If you go on your birthday, you get to wear a crown and are treated like royalty (pretty awesome). You can also order food from their menu, featuring teatime selections – I can’t remember what we ordered, but we were nevertheless hooked.

Here is how they label their tea products:

“The Queen’s Rules”
1. Bring freshly drawn water to boil.
2. Pour boiling water over tea. Use 1 teaspoon for each 6-8 oz water.
3. Allow to steep for . . . (this is different for different types of teas). If a longer time is allowed, the brew will not become bitter, only more flavorful.
“Important points to remember”
1. For best results, use the purest water available; filtered or bottled.
2. If you are using an infuser, use one that is as fine as possible.
3. Always use clean instruments that are dedicated to preparing tea.

They also list the ingredients (good to know) and whether the tea has caffeine or is caffeine free. Their motto is:  “Be Well, Drink Tea”.

Some of my personal favorites include Irish Breakfast, a “hearty blend of golden tip Assam and high grown Ceylon teas,” Orange Spice, black tea blended with orange slices, apple pieces, cardamom pods, coriander, pink peppercorn, cloves, and cinnamon. For iced tea I’m drinking their Raspberry Peach Tulsi, caffeine free, that is tulsi with hibiscus flower, and elderberry and organic flavors (they no longer have this on their website – bummer). Last but not least, in my list of favorites is the Holiday Harvest that is only sold in the late fall for Christmas. It is very similar to the Orange Spice except it has “cinnamon pieces” vs “cinnamon bits” and “flavouring” (not sure what that is, but suffice it to say, it is very tasty).

Check out queenmarytea.com and try some of their tea. And, if you’re ever in Seattle, they’re definitely a place to visit at 2912 NE 55th Street, Seattle, WA.

As always, I am Livin’ the Moments . . .