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Oh, Man!  Do I have a great deal for you! You'll have to stay with me until the end of the post to see what my Silhouette Group has done this time! Let me give you a hint... we're giving away TWO machines to TWO lucky winners!! Plus, we've put together a great source of winter projects to spark some creativity in you!

But, first!  Let me show you my latest and greatest creation!  My Sister In-Law moved out to Colorado back in September.  (I swear, I'm in a time warp!  That seriously feels like yesterday!  How is it already December?!)  Anyway, I've been meaning to send out a little care package to her for days, weeks,  months!  Yes.  It has come to that.  Finally, the package was together and I included a winter banner for her to hang in her mountain apartment!

I kept it simple for 2 reasons.  

1: If I made something super complex, it wouldn't have gotten done in the nap times of our three kiddos.  That leaves too many opportunities for me to tuck it away and forget to finish it up (or for it to get destroyed by sticky little fingers!)

2: Best of all, she's like me, and likes things simple! Winner, Winner!

I love how it turned out and I think she's going to love it, too!  I can't wait to see where she hangs it!  Some of my favorite projects I have given as gifts.  How do you feel about handmade gifts?  Personally, they are my favorite!!

Want to Check Out More Silhouette Projects?

My Silhouette Challenge buddies and I are all sharing projects on our blogs today, so peruse the projects below for a wealth of Silhouette inspiration! 1. Pineapples and Pinecones // 2. Simply Kelly Designs // 3. Architecture of a Mom // 4. Just a Girl and Her Blog // 5. Two Purple Couches // 6. Chicken Scratch NY // 7. Creative Ramblings // 8. One Dog Woof // 9. Ginger Snap Crafts // 10. The Thinking Closet // 11. Please Excuse My Craftermath... // 12. Designer Trapped in a Lawyer's Body // 13. weekend craft // 14. Dragonfly & Lily Pads // 15. Practically Functional // 16. Living My Given Life // 17. My Paper Craze // 18. The Kim Six Fix // 19. Home At Eight // 20. Queen of Everything // 21. Tried & True // 22. McCall Manor // 23. unOriginal Mom // 24. Create it. Go! // 25. From Wine to Whine // 26. GetSilvered // 27. It's Always Ruetten // 28. Nearly Handmade // 29. Mama Sonshine // 30. Silhouette School // 31. It Happens in a Blink // 32. Create & Babble // 33. Sowdering About // 34. Where The Smiles Have Been // 35. My Favorite Finds // 36. Lil' Mrs. Tori // 37. Designed Decor

Silhouette Giveaway!

And I've saved the best for last.  My Silhouette Challenge buddies in partnership with Silhouette America are hosting a mega-huge giveaway for not one...but two winners!  The prizes up for grabs? First prize: The NEW Silhouette Cameo Machine and Designer Edition Super Bundle!  $406.93 value.

• Silhouette CAMEO®
• Designer Edition Software
• Dust Cover
• $25 Download Card
• Four Essential Silhouette Tools (hook, spatula, scraper, pick-me-up™)

Second prize: Silhouette Portrait Machine and Rhinestone Starter Kit!  $219.98 value. Pretty sweet, huh?  We want you to have the chance to get that Silhouette machine that might still be on your wish list. To enter: just complete the entries in the Rafflecopter widget below or at this link.  Because of my many blog friends who helped make this giveaway possible, you have 42 potential entries, which means a lot of winning power.  So, hurry up and enter! {This giveaway runs from today through Monday, December 15th at 11:59p eastern and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older with a U.S. or Canada mailing address. You can read the rest of the terms and conditions in the widget below.} a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!!

Simple Chest Freezer Organizational Board

Today I'm posting with an amazing group of ladies who #1) love their Silhouette Machine and #2) Just want to get organized this month!  So be sure to check out some of the other projects!  They are ALL pin worthy!

We have a chest freezer to keep all of our bulk items that we go through often.  The problem with chest freezers, is things tend to go into a far off land and forgotten about in there unless you know for sure what's in there and what you need.

We Like This Freezer

I've made several written lists and tried keeping it in the kitchen where I could update it each time I took something out.  This worked okay for about the first week until my helpful husband would take a large batch of items out with out me knowing or without marking the list.  He can't be all to blame, either.  I was just as guilty.  I was especially guilty of misplacing, throwing away, or hiding that list out of view.

My solution?  A huge dry erase board that would be located right on top of the freezer door.  Using command strips, I was able to attach the board to the freezer semi-permanently.  Now, out of sight, out of mind is no longer an acceptable excuse!

I made the grids using fine tip permanent markers.  Then, used my amazing Silhouette machine to cut out the letters.  I used just a classic black vinyl for the contents and a silver vinyl for the titles of each category.  The best part is, if we ever stop buying an item, I can easily peel off the letters to make room for something else.  I also left some extra spaces at the far left to be able to write in items (with a dry erase marker) that we don't typically keep, but happen to have in the freezer at the time.  I used a fine tip dry erase marker to easily write in the numbers as well as easily wipe them off in a hurry.

Have you been using January to get organized once in and for all?  I have a confession to make... this is the only thing I've done to become a little more organized.  But I'll tell you all about that big announcement later ;)  Can you guess would it could be?  I've taken a pretty long blogging vacation ;) 

Want to see a blast from the past (or this summer?) Check it out:

Garage Car Maintenance Board

Well, please visit my dear friends and see what sort of organizing they have been up to!  (They have far more energy than I do, that's for sure!!)  Be sure to hop around and leave some blogging love comments!

Until next time,

Janice

DIY Window Shutter Mail Organizer by Weekend Craft

Kids' Art Wall by Tried & True

Organizing Silhouette and Craft Supplies by The Happier Homemaker

Simple Recipe Organization by It's Always Craft Time

Put a Label on it! Herb Names for Plant Stakes by Get Silvered

Super Simple Linen Closet Labels by Two Purple Couches

Beware of the Animals Vinyl Toy Box by A Tossed Salad Life

Child desk accessories by Architecture of a Mom

Organizing & the Important of Labels by The Turquoise Home

Index Card Organizer for Easier Meal Planning by Chicken Scratch NY

Create Craft Room Labels by Dragonfly & Lilypads

Simple Storage Solution for your Christmas Ornaments by Vintage News Junkie

Organize this: DIY Planner Covers, Tags & Dividers (made with Cereal Boxes) by Black and White Obsession

How to Make a Cut File into a Print & Cut by Create & Babble

Simple Chest Freezer Organizational Board by Nearly Handmade

Vinyl Your Kitchen Canisters! by From Wine to Whine

Nursery Closet Dividers & Silhouette Cut File by Creative Ramblings

Make Custom Box Templates with a Silhouette for Drawer Organization by One Dog Woof

Organizing the Craft Room by What's Next Ma

Vinyl Wall Calendar by Crafts Cakes and Cats

Personalized Toy Storage Bins by Lil' Mrs. Tori

Personalized Routine Chart by Work in Progress

Blog Planner Sheet Dividers + Free Cut Files by TitiCrafty by Camila

Simple Project Calendar by Little Blue's Room

Dry Erase Photo Frame Menu Board + Free Cut File by Essentially Eclectic

Receipt Organization with Free Cut File by The Thinking Closet

Cute and Easy Labels by Life After Laundry

"What's For Dinner?" Menu Planning Board by unOriginal Mom

Mixing Organization and Function: An Easy Conversion Chart by My Paper Craze

Why do my cookies taste so bad? A lesson in baking. by The Life and Times of a TAP

Custom Drawer Dividers by Please Excuse My Craftermath...

The evolution of my labeling system by feto soap

Ikea Drawer labels by McCall Manor

Glass Etched Vinegar  & Oil bottles by Terri Johnson Creates

Organize It: Bathroom Closet by The House on Hillbrook

Ombre Butterfly Magnet Board by Sowdering About

Recycled Glass Jar Advent Calendar

I have so much to share with you today PLUS a giveaway for $155 Amazon Gift Card.  So be sure to stick around all the way until the end to find the entries for your chances to win!

So let's get to my Silhouette project, first! 

I have this obsession for collecting empty jars from spaghetti sauce, sauerkraut, salsa, you name it!  Not often, but every once in a while, I come up with a use for these jars collecting in the bottom of my craft closet.  I used silver spray paint to give all of my clear jars a coat of color and left my perrier sparkling water bottles green.

Once dry, I simply cut out different sized numbers out of Silhouette Vinyl with my "magical machine" to turn ordinary glass jars into an Advent Calendar!

Each day, the kiddos are so excited to find what I was able to tuck inside each jar. My little monsters are still young (three and a half & one and a half) so I basically just replaced one of their special "snacks" they may receive during the day and plopped it into a jar.  I'm not against candy, but even one piece of candy for the next 25 days adds up...

Some ideas for Advent treats to stuff inside (that's not chocolate):

• Mini Raisin Boxes
• Granola Bars
• Baby Food Pouches
• Fruit Snacks
• Yogurt Covered Dried Fruit Snacks
• Clif Kid Fruit Rope
• Annie's Bunny Graham Friends
• or any other single-serve snack!

For the days that are "flower vases" I like to do a larger surprise that I keep on hand like a oatmeal raisin cookie or let them have their favorite lunch.

So far, it has been a lot of fun and definitely a statement piece in our kitchen that makes me smile because I finally found a unique use for my recycled jars!

If you're looking for more creative Silhouette projects (and I know that you are!), check out these amazing ideas below in this beautiful collage for your convenience.  Be sure to leave them some comment love and have fun discovering some new (to you) blogs!

1. 2013 Snowman Christmas Card by Please Excuse My Craftermath...
2. Christmas Hoop Art by Lil' Mrs. Tori
3. Silhouette Nativity Advent Candle Box by One Tough Mother
4. Christmas Party Photo Booth Props by unOriginal Mom
5. Another Stenciled Tea Towel by Cutesy Crafts
6. Silhouette Gift Tags by Rain on a Tin Roof
7. Snowflake Pin / Ornament by Coley's Corner
8. State Sign Couple Gift by It Happens in a Blink
9. Mason Jar Christmas Ornaments by Vintage News Junkie
10. Merry Christmas Wall Decor by One Artsy Mama
11. Deer Head Holiday Banner...featuring Santa's Reindeer by The Thinking Closet
12. Restore your UGGS (with PAINT) by From Wine to Whine
13. Monogrammed Snowflake Ornaments by Architecture of a Mom
14. Christmas Countdown Sign by The Girl Creative
15. Elf Chalk Sign: "The Best Way to Spread Christmas" by Weekend Craft
16. Glittery Christmas Subway Art by The Turquoise Home
17. Sketch Pen Labels by Sowdering About in Seattle
18. Snowflake NOEL Sign by My Favorite Finds
19. DIY Holiday Hostess Gift by Everyday Paper
20. Folding Nativity Backdrop by Chicken Scratch NY
21. Recycled Glass Jar Advent Calendar by Nearly Handmade
22. Reindeer Card: Double-Sided Print & Cut by GetSilvered
23. Personalized Block Ornament by Suburble
24. Paper Medallion Christmas Tree by Create & Babble
25. Mini Mid-Century Homes by Tried & True
26. Glitter and Vinyl Minecraft Christmas Ornament by A Tossed Salad Life
27. DIY Countdown to Christmas Refrigerator Style by My Paper Craze
28. Reversible Recipe Holder/Block Frame by The Sensory Emporium
29. DIY: Lettered Christmas Pillows by The House on Hillbrook
30. Simply Charming Christmas Ornaments by Life After Laundry
31. No Glitter was Worn by GiveMeAPaintbrush
32. Make Easy Ornaments from Paper Circles by Bringing Creativity to Life
33. Cutting Machine Embroidery Applique by Terri Johnson Creates
34. "Believe" Christmas Banner by Daily Dwelling
35. DIY Christmas Nativity Card by Pitter and Glink

Looking for Silhouette inspiration, support, trouble-shooting? Interested in joining us for our group posting event next month? Then, we'd love to have you join our Silhouette Challenge Facebook group. To join, simply fill out the new member request form, and Lauren from The Thinking Closet will get you squared away.

Are you still with me after all of that information? I sure hope so because we have a great giveaway for you!  Starting today, December 9th, until December 16th, we are hosting a giveaway for a $155 Amazon Gift Card!  Yup!  $155 that you could spend toward a Silhouette machine of your very own or even some fancy new supplies.  Just in time for Santa to deliver a little special something... just for you!

A few details:

• Giveaway runs from Monday, December 9th until Monday, December 16th at 11:59pm EST.
• You must be 18 years or older to enter and this giveaway IS international so everyone can play along!
• You have 31 possible entries so if you complete all of them, so that's a lot of potential winning power!
• The winner will be contacted by Lauren from The Thinking Closet by email and you will have 48 hour to respond.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck and have a wonderful week!

Janice

Silhouette Challenge: Time Zone Bathroom Art

First, I'd like to take a minute to thank all of the Veterans who protect our family and our Nation on this Veteran's Day.

So, it's been a really long time since I've mentioned the kid's bathroom.  We have been busy dragging our feet putting the finishing touches on everything.  That's real life.  It happens, and it's amazing.  Unless, of course, you were holding your breath waiting for this bathroom art that I just finished for the kid's bathroom.

I decided I wanted to use clocks somehow.  I found these inexpensive clocks at Target for just $6.99 each.  From there, I was stuck for a couple days trying to figure out what else this bathroom needed.  I liked the idea of keeping it less rubber ducky or under the sea theme and more educational.  Which, realistically, I doubt the kids would ever even notice the walls anyway.  That's real life, too!

After a little searching around, I couldn't believe I came across (and didn't already know!) about a cute blog called Dream A Little Bigger.  It was there, that I found a ton of hard work already done for me (and you!)  Allison already traced out all 50 states for our Silhouette-ing pleasure!  I couldn't have been more thankful to have found this gem!  You can get them all here!

I had to resize them all a bit to fit into a better scale with the rest of the states.  This took way longer than I would have ever expected, but it was so worth it!

Of course, so many states fall into weird half-in-half-out of time zones.  I didn't stress about it too much.  I typically just moved the whole state into the time zone that most of it fell into.  It definitely wasn't as messy of divides as I expected.

I used craft paper from Jo-Ann's to cut out the shapes using my Silhouette Machine.  I then, Mod Podged it all onto painted scrap wood I found in our lumber pile.

The strip of wood below the states is also a scrap I was able to paint.  I tricked my husband into hanging it for me.  He simply drilled it into all of the studs on the wall and I was able to go back and fill in the holes with wood putty, sand, and re-paint.  The hooks are from Home Depot and I tricked my husband into centering them up under each board.  I'm a firm believer wisher that the kids will be able to hang up their own towels soon.  We even hung them lower than usual to accommodate the little ones in our lives.

This is the first month I've had the privilege of participating in the Silhouette Challenge!  I couldn't be more excited to be apart of this wonderfully creative group of ladies!  If you're interested in joining, we'd love to have you!!  Simply fill out the new member request form, and Lauren from The Thinking Closet will get you squared away!

If you're looking for more creative Silhouette projects (and I know that you are!), check out these amazing ideas below!  Be sure to leave them some comment love and have fun discovering some new (to you) blogs!

Janice

DIY Ironing Board Hanger by The Turquoise Home

Santa's Christmas Countdown by Tried & True

Nautical Anchor Pillow Tutorial by The Thinking Closet

Christmas Card Ornament with Free Cut File by unOriginalMom

Thanksgiving and Christmas Dual Sign by Architecture of a Mom

Itching to Etch by Get Silvered

Snowman Tag ~ Silhouette Challenge by Whats Next Ma

Thanksgiving Sign by Chicken Scratch NY

DIY Horse Silhouette Pillow by Rain on a Tin Roof

Sketching on Fabric by The Sensory Emporium

Paper Leaf Garland by Lil' Mrs. Tori

DIY Blessing Board - Silhouette Challenge by One Tough Mother

Christmas Pillow by Create & Babble

Glass Painting with Reverse Stencils by Givemeapaintbrush

Chalkboard Thankful Tree by Cutesy Crafts

Bottoms Up! MYO Wine Tag by From Wine to Whine

'Happy Holly-days' Tags for the Swap by An Elegant Touch...

Thank You for Dinner (Card) by Everyday Paper

Advent Star Christmas Countdown by My Favorite Finds

Geometric Fabric Bowls by Please Excuse My Craftermath...

Paper Carnival by Home At Eight

Silhouette Cameo Tutorial: Dual Sided Business Cards by Black and White Obsession

In Case of Emergency Baby Bag Tags by Tossed Salad Life

Christmas On My Mind by Creative Turn

Jingle all the Way! by My Paper Craze

Christmas Lights Garland by Making Home Base

We Are Thankful by 4 You With Love

Seattle Skyline Silhouette by Sowdering About in Seattle

DIY Stenciled Mugs by Coley's Corner

Additionally, I linked up to these great parties:

The Inspiration Exchange {No. 25}