SST Christmas and Countdown to the New Year Blog Hop!

Christmas is coming and so is the new year! To get you in the spirit of the season, the divas of Sistas Scrap Too! have come together for a Christmas and Countdown to the New Year blog hop! There are 17 blogs in the hop, so make sure you use the links below this post to hop to all of the participating blogs. No worries if you miss one, you can always go back! These 17 divas have a lot in store for you. From exquisite creations to offers of blog candy, you will enjoy hopping your way to all of the blogs involved! Don't forget to leave some blog love for the creators -- they love getting feedback on their designs!

I decided to make a few treat bags for Christmas & a journal for the New Year - gotta cover all the bases right!










For the treat bags, I used K. I. Memories & DCWV papers from "Christmases Past" LOL! I was also blessed by the HR Director of my agency with some Making Memories embellishments and I thought they would be the perfect addition to the bags! I learned about these really easy to make bags from Dawn Griffith's video on Youtube and I fell in love with it! These bags will probably be filled with some holiday candy & sent to school with my daughter to give as gifts to her friends, but you can make them with any paper or cardstock and use them for any occasion.










For the journal, I also found my way to my DCWV papers (yes, I am M.M. DeZigns & I am a paperholic!). This time, I took a standard spiral bound notebook and removed the spiral. Being sure to keep the paper and the back cover lined up, I removed the front cover. I cut a piece of black chipboard to about 3.25" and scored it the long way at 1.5", flipped it horizontally and scored it again at 1.5" (leaving about a quarter-inch as the spine - the perfect size for the notebook to fit). I took my hot glue gun & applied a line (or two) of glue down the chipboard (in the spine area). As I let the glue dry, I turned on my YourStory Book Binding Machine. Once the YourStory was ready - it beeped - I added the "notebook" to my "spine", lined it all up just right, and placed it in the YourStory machine. In about a minute, the machine beeped again to let me know it was all done - it had remelted the glue to allow the pages to settle in to the spine, forming my "book". I sat the "book" into the cooling rack, and after a few minutes, I was ready to decorate it! I plan to use this journal to track my goals (or what some may call resolutions) and progress towards those goals in 2011. I am a list maker, so I see this journal as a supercute place for me to keep my many lists of goals & thoughts & ideas for the New Year!

Thank you for participating in the Sistas Scrap Too! first ever blog hop! Remember to visit all of the blogs and leave blog love -- you never know where you'll find candy!! Here is a linked list of all the participating blogs:

1. Treva's Craft Corner
2. Stampin' Dymonz Creative Space
3. Nubian Crafter NC
4. My {Life}, My {Blog}
5. Step Into Nita's World
6. Sweet Lil Scrapper
7. P-Kaysunshine Creations
8. Sharing My Stuff
9. Yaya Philly Craft World
10. Cassie's Crop Corner
11. M. M. DeZigns
12. Made By Dee
13. Riley's Custom Creations
14. It's A Family Affair!
15. Cuttin' Up
16. Stamping On The Road
17. In Shelly's World

I'll be giving away a personalized version of my New Year's journal to someone... could that be you? Want a chance to win?

Simply (1) become a follower of my blog AND (2) leave a comment on my blog letting me know one of your goals for 2011.

Want extra chances to win? Leave a separate comment letting me know which other blog on the hop has a project that you love.

You can enter until 11:59pm EST today. I will use random.org to pick a winner.