Christmas Gifts Under the Tree

 

It's Christmas here at Gabriella Daisy. And there are already gifts under the tree: Love, Hope, Dreams and more.




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Happy Crafting,

Why I Like Thanksgiving

 
Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays of the year. The autumn colors have set in, weather temperatures have cooled off, its the opening day to the Christmas season and I get to... (wait for it)...

1. Eat delicious food ... for several days
2. Take off from work...for several days
3. Sleep in... for several days
4. Shop for good deals
5. Put up the Christmas tree
6. Watch football - ROLL TIDE!
7. Enjoy friends and family
8. Create new craft projects
9. Lounge in my PJs
10. Catch up on reading on my Nook

What do you enjoy most about Thanksgiving?



Happy Thanksgiving,
Gabriella Daisy
http://www.GabriellaDaisy.com

My Favorite Paper Things 2012

Ok, Oprah has her favorite things, so why can't I have my own version of My Favorite Paper Things? Alright, are you ready for the list? There's so much...Let's get started!

 

 

The Scent of Heaven Candle Co.

My Craft Channel

Rosette Christmas Tree
 

 

Gabriella Daisy - Personalized Memo Pad



Archiver's Card Workshop






Gabriella Daisy - My Favorite Paper Shop
 



Heidi Swapp Memory Display Stand - Calendar Display

Gabriella Daisy - Small Notepad w/ Pen

 

The Cinch

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Happy Crafting,

To Do List - FREE Printable

So much to do; so little time. Does anyone else run into this dilemma? I always find that I'm creating make-shift to do list on sticky notes and any other available paper. Then, I lose it. So, I decided to create my own official to do list print out. I'm sharing with you all, too. Click the pic to get your free to do list. Hopefully, this will help us to maintain some order. Enjoy!

To Do List, Click Here!

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Happy Crafting,

Free Mini Cards

So excited about these FREE (yes, free) mini cards. I enjoy all things paper, so I had no problem creating the OLD whimsical business card (below). I wanted something different, so I opted for a round card on a glossy cardstock. But that round, whimisical card is in the past now...its history.  It's been replaced by a FREEBIE!  I recently got an email from Etsy - they're hosting a promo along with Moo for free mini-moo cards. See more below pic...

Somebody say FREE!  That's my favorite 4-letter word.  After getting the Etsy email about the free cards I whipped up another quick and fun design and uploaded it to the Moo site.  Check these out.  Aren't they lovely?  Here's my print proof!

 

Check out the Gabriella Daisy shop:  http://www.GabriellaDaisy.com

 

The cool thing is each card can have a different design.  That's a nice option to have.  That way you can include different pics of your products on each of your cards. 

 

Here's the link to Moo and also, you can get 10% off too! http://www.moo.com/share/sr92q5

 

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Happy Crafting,



Graduate to Heaven...

Hey paper-lovers and bloggy fam,

Thanks so much for everyone's support.  I've been away for a while - 4 deaths of fam and a close friend over the last month.  Which means Hubby and I have done quite a bit of traveling around to funeral, after funeral, after funeral, after funeral.  But never the less, I find comfort in knowing that they're all in Heaven, singing, rejoicing and praising God.  They graduated from life on earth to joy, peace and happiness in Heaven.   

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11a
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
He hath made every thing beautiful in his time...





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Happy Crafting,

My Cupcake and Cookie Wars

Hey gang,

I just had a week full of baking. Wow, and I had a lot of fun. Here's the catch: I don't really cook...matter of fact I don't remember the last time I actually cooked. My hubby is the chef here. He luuuuuuuvs to cook and he's pretty awesome at it too. Any hoo, I was invited to a recipe party and opted to bake my favorite cookies - chewy pecan supreme cookies.

Hubby even bought me a cute little handheld mixer :o)  .

Here's the recipe:

1. __1-1/2 sticks of butter, softened

2. __1 c. sugar

3. __1 c. flour

4. __1 tsp. cinnamon

5. __1 egg, separated

6. __1 tsp. vanilla extract

7. __1 c. pecans, finely chopped

DIRECTIONS: With your electric mixer, cream butter until light. Add dry ingredients sifted together. Add egg yolk and vanilla, mix well. Spread in 18”x13” dish. Brush tops with egg whites, sprinkle liberally with pecans. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until light brown. Cool, and then cut into desired shape.

I actually started out using my heart shaped cookie cutter, then realized that would waste too much of my yummy cookies. So, I used my handy pizza cutter to cut the big cookie into individual bars.

I actually started out using my heart shaped cookie cutter, then realized that would waste too much of my yummy cookies. So, I used my handy pizza cutter to cut the big cookie into individual bars.

A few days later I had a luncheon at work (yes, I work full-time) and I baked cupcakes. Now, this was fun because I'd been wanting to make cupcakes for a while. I chose to make the mini sized cupcakes (that way I could eat 2 and not feel bad...gotta hold on to this size 6 that I achived over the last few months, LoL).

These are butter pecan (made from the "cake in a box"). I added cream cheese icing and topped some with chopped pecans and others with candy butterflies.  They were actually pretty yummy before I added the icing. 

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Happy Crafting,

Birthday Bash in Savannah

Well, I had a bit more notice about this trip. We left on a Thursday headed to Savannah, GA. What a beautiful drive. I love seeing open fields, farms and animals. Love it! Keep in mind that hubby is very good at keeping secrets, so I had no details. We arrived and checked into the historic Marshall House in downtown Savannah. BEAUTIFUL!

We ate at B&D burgers – I enjoyed a turkey burger and hubby had a veggie burger. It was so good that we ate there 2 days in a row. Then we went out on my b’day date and ate at a Salt Water Grill on the water and we enjoyed tasty seafood. Umm, umm, umm. Of course, I did some shopping at some of the local shops. One that stood out was Nourish, a candle and soap shop. We also dropped by the City Market to shop, it’s more of a tourists type shopping place. Well, hubby disappeared one morning for about 30 minutes and came back with a mountain (yes, a mountain of gifts). But, before I could open any, there was a knock at the door. Who is it? It was a florist from Garden on the Square with a beautiful bouquet of flowers for me. Awwww. Now, back to the mountain of gifts.

Mountain of gifts

Like a kid, I got a lot of new clothes and shoes. Why? Because I recently lost about 15 lbs, and hubby wanted to make sure I looked good. I’m tooting my own horn here – beep, beep! I’m officially a size 6 again! Wooohooo, yeah, yippee! I’m so happy. Alrighty! So, the birthday bash in Savannah was a hit. We even tried out this pizza place where you get to make your own pizza from scratch. Yummy! As you can see we ate a lot of good food. Paula Deen’s, a staple in Savannah, is always nice for good eats, too. We dropped by River Street for candy and more site seeing and ate the famous pralines. They are good!

Views of River Street

Views of River Street

Here’s a classic view of the many “Squares” that exist on each block in Savannah – small historic parks.

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Happy Crafting,

Summer Treasures from Chattanooga

Are you wondering where I’ve been?  Well, let me tell you.  My hubby left a sweet little note for me a few weeks ago, after he’d left for work.  It wasn’t just any little note, but he actually purchased a notebook/journal (he knows I love journals).  Anyway, he wrote the note in the journal telling me to “pack a bag” because we were leaving for a trip.  Yipppeeee!  I love traveling.  I proceeded to pack my new 31 gifts bag with clothes for the weekend to a place unknown.  Well, what do you know!  We ended up in one of my favorite cities, Chattanooga.  We stayed at The Chattanoogan hotel, where it is just lovely.  We ate at a nice little restaurant where we had the typical southern, happy foods:  collard greens, macaroni and cheese and salmon.  Deee-lish!  Then we headed over to the fun craft market to shop for different arts and crafts.  So much fun!  My husband is an awesome bar-be-cue genius, so we went to a bar-be-cue competition where there were more arts and crafts, kettle corn (my fave) and a whole pig roasting. Whoa – what a site!  I had a blast!  Finally, we made our way over to the North Shore and visited all of the neat shops – many support local artists.  We had cute cupcakes, good Mexican food and even enjoyed the park.  My favorite stop was Blue Skies – an eclectic artsy shop.  This is where I found my summer treasure.  I got this “Soar” memo board with butterfly magnets.

I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, so sweet hubby bought it for me.  It’s hanging on the wall in my craft room  and I’ve been putting it to good use –I’ve added all of my craft show dates for the year, upcoming projects and works in progress, too.  Now, that’s just a short breakdown of my summer treasures from Chattanooga.  It was a beautiful trip.  Stay tuned to find out where I went for my birthday bash.  Hint:  its further south than Chattanooga.  I’m a true Southern girl.

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Happy Crafting,

Sweet News for Mother's Day

I have SWEET NEWS to share:

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:30, 31 kjv

Now, that's really good news and worth sharing, too!  This is a "Sweet News" candle and the scent is "Sunny Days", which is an energizing combo of lemongrass, patchouli, black currant and sugar cane.  The beautifully, decorative labels were created by yours truly, me.  This is an awesome Mother's Day gift, birthday gift, bridesmaid or "just because I was thinking about you" gift.  Sweet news and a sweet scent all in one!

Click the candle above to see more "Sweet News".  I'm sure Mom would love it for Mother's Day or any other day that you choose to give.  :o)

 

Visit online for more.





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Happy Crafting,

I Can Do All Things!

Ever wondered if you could really do it?...If you could really accomplish your goal?  Can I really tackle this dream, can I achieve it?  Well, if you can believe it, then you can achieve it.  Sometimes we all need a little encouragement - a little reminder that YES, we can do it!  Here's how I encourage myself - I take a scripture and insert my name.  This makes it personal. 

 

So, now ask yourself again.  Can I do it?  Sure you can.  How do I know?  Because Philippians 4:13 says so.  I, you, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  How so?  Because "we are more than conquerers" (Romans 8:37).

 

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Happy Crafting,



I've Been Chevron-ing

Isn't this the cutest?  I've been trying to create my own chevron patterns using a graphic editor program and I have finally found time and have succeeded (BTW:  Success is sweet to the soul).  I've been chevron-ing all day.  I'm actually planning to use the design for some upcoming jotters that I'm creating.  But, in the meantime I've added a bright pink chevron pattern to my logo (currently featured in my Etsy shop).   

Now, on to the other little pretties.  Spring has arrived and I wanted to create something with bright, warm Spring-like colors.  These are my new chevrons that you'll be able to see soon on some of my new creations.  I've created tiny patters, small patterns and regular wide chevrons, too.  My favoites are the "growing" chevrons.  These are the ones that seem to get larger as your eyes travel down the pattern.  I even threw in a few Easter-inspired colors.  

Wooohoooo!  The chevrons were featured over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff!

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Happy Crafting,

I Dream of Paper

I like tea. It's comforting, soothing, relaxing and is great on a winter day or on the couch in front of the fireplace. That's nothing new - I've always liked tea, but what is new is my new love of mugs. Yes, I've been collecting mugs lately. My latest and greatest has an awesome quote on it that describes my life perfectly. Hubby and I went on a trip recently for a quick getaway and while doing a little local shopping I found the mug below.

My newest mug...added to the mug collection
The quote:  "Sometimes on the way to a dream you get lost and find a better one"

 I realized that while pursuing one dream another was being birthed.  Yep, the birth of my paper dream.  I dream of paper.  But not just any paper.  I dream of  all kinds of paper:  personalized stationery, notecards, memopads, notepads, journals and jotters, too.  I can't stop dreaming, so I started making a few pieces for fun; for me.  I even bought a new printer (and it prints nice and crisp, too).  Then, I  got really bold and decided to open an online shop.  Now, that was scary and exciting.  I've not told anybody (other than my hubby and you guys) about the shop.  I wanted to see how far I'd get without sales from family and friends.  Well, to my surprise, quite a few items have sold and I'm still excited.  I'm beginning to believe that following my paper dream may not have been such a bad idea at all.  I received an order yesterday from Hawaii.  Wowzers!  That was very encouraging.  So, why am I telling you this?  To encourage you and tell you to keep dreaming, chase your dream and have fun while doing it.  So, what's next for me?  I plan to keep following my paper dream and see exactly where it'll take me.  But in the next few weeks I will have completed my next endeavor - little chevron jotters (like the one in the pic above; behind the mug).     

 


My round business info card: I wanted to attach something to each product package (hence the hole at the top of the info card), but I didn't want to include the typical rectangular business card, so I chose a round shape. It has more character.


Stop by the shop and order something fun and feel free to email me if you have questions.  I dream of paper.  Tell me, what do you dream of?






I Dream of Paper,