Lori Hairston

Spring: A Year in Review for My Time Made Easy

2012-03-03T23:00:00.001-06:00

All the My Time Made Easy design team are posting today. We are mixing something old with something new. My something old is the template I used: Bouncing Baby Buggy. I know, it doesn't look much like a baby buggy here - that just shows you how Lauren's templates can be used in many different ways.

My something new are the pretty papers on the basket. These are from the Spreading Spring Cheer set.

When I was at Michaels the other day, I picked up a couple of these gold Lindt chocolate bunnies - they are so cute! I've been on the look out for mini ones, but haven't seen any around here. This one looks right at home in his pretty spring basket.

Here are the links to rest of the Year in Review creations:

Visit them all and visit My Time Made Easy, too!

My Time Made Easy Post Release

2012-03-02T23:00:00.002-06:00

I love the sweet little bunny from the new My Time Made Easy Spring is Here set. I kept the bunny white as before but changed it from brown to pink and this project is completely different in feel. I made a pretty card using a label from the Round Off set and embossed a kraft circle to go with it.

I just love Easter Eggs! When I use vinegar in something it always takes me back to dying easter eggs with my mom. For the egg display, I painted a plastic egg to look like its more expensive cousin!

The March release is available in the new projects section of the store now.

Love how the goodies from My Time Made Easy are so versatile and fit in with so many styles! Be sure to go by these blogs for more fun projects:

Happy Weekend to you!

Group Post: My Time Made Easy Spring is Here!

2012-02-29T23:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the My Time Made Easy group post, so you there are lots of goodies to see! I'm showcasing Well Contained which is just one of all the wonderful items being released today. It is so versatile with a holder and a gift bag that slips inside.

And just look at the gorgeous, rich papers from the Regal Round Up set. Well Contained went together beautifully and it holds a lot of dark chocolate nuggets!

I used a piece of clear mylar to cover the window - didn't want ANY of those nuggets escaping! The pretty tag and setiment are from the Round Off stamp set and the butterfly is from the Spring is Here set. Here's a shot of two templates with the bag sitting to the side:

The matching card was so simple to create with that gorgeous tag and pretty papers.

You can see the entire March release in the New Products section at My Time Made Easy. There are a lot more wonderful creations to see:

Enjoy looking at all the projects and thanks for stopping by!

Color Challenge at Craft Us Crazy

2012-02-29T22:00:00.000-06:00

Craft Us Crazy has a new challenge and is it loaded with COLOR! Here's the inspiration picture for the next two weeks:

Lots of pretty colors, stripes and fun flower to inspire. Our sponsor for this challenge is Robyn's Fetish.

For prize info check Craft Us Crazy for the details.

She's a cutie, isn't she? Can you imagine that darling dress and high heels to do LAUNDRY? I think you can see the influence of the inspiration picture. And I'd rather be doing almost anything other than housework - laundry included!

Be sure to go by Craft Us Crazy to see the other DT's take on the color inspiration picture.

Preview Day 2: My Time Made Easy

2012-02-28T23:00:00.000-06:00

Oh, this is exciting - my first post for My Time Made Easy! The actual release date is March 1st, but I get to show you the new Round and Round Pretty Packaging template now.

Round and Round is not only a wonderful oval shaped box, it also comes with handles to turn it into a basket! Very cool. The darling bunny and eggs are from the new Spring is Here Stamp Set - it has 31 images! (And the sentiment Big Hugs is from that set, too.)

I popped the eggs off the box a bit so that the lid would slide down inside them. I found that Round and Round easily held 3 easter eggs filled with goodies. The papers - even the shredded blue on the top - are from the March release set Spreading Spring Cheer. Aren't they springy and cheerful?

The matching card (love that bunny) uses the same stamps and one of the papers. (The sentiment is from another new stamp set: Round Off.

The pretty chevron paper is cut using the Fine Finish Tags cut files.

I had a blast putting this together - the template is a dream to work with - goes together very easily. The fun doesn't end here, be sure to check out these wonderful ladies creations:

More goodies to see tomorrow on the official release day. Thanks so much for stopping by and come back tomorrow!

My Time Made Easy DT Announcement

2012-02-27T23:00:00.000-06:00

Here's the BIG NEWS: I get to be a part of Lauren Meador's My Time Made Easy Design Team! I've been creating with Lauren's templates for several years now and I LOVE them - so I'm very excited to be joining a wonderful bunch of inspiring ladies on the design team. (See the entire list on the right side of my blog.)

If you're familiar with her store, you know the darling and high quality items. If your new to My Time Made Easy, just wait until you see the templates, papers, stamps, and cut files. In fact, you should go look now!

Sneak peeks for the March release start tomorrow, so check out Lauren's blog for all the details. My first post will be Wednesday. Can't wait for you to see it!

Easter Ensemble at The Hybrid Chick

2012-02-26T20:19:00.000-06:00

Monday is my day for a tutorial at The Hybrid Chick. I knew when I came across such darling bunny images, I would have to try printing on fabric again. Easter is so fun - it brings back memories of hunting eggs for Lauren's birthday. Her birthday is in April and we had lots of Easter Egg hunts for her birthday party.

I love this picture (from 1988, when Lauren was two) - the Easter bunny missed an egg and the expression on her face when she opens the empty egg is priceless! You can see she's got a little pout starting, even though there's quite a few more eggs in her basket.

Check out The Hybrid Chick for a tutorial on the bunnies and tri-fold card. Hope you had a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

I'm Bananas Over You!

2012-02-21T21:15:00.000-06:00

I think it's already spring here - 68 today and 75 tomorrow! I just hope it's not summer next week! You know I love cold weather and we didn't have much this year. LOVE sweaters and jackets...look kind of funny in those when it's 107 outside...

This little packet is the prototype for a friend's nephew's party - with a monkey theme, of course! The monkey and banana are part of the Create a Critter cartridge from Cricut. The invitation is on the cloud paper and it slips inside the tiny kraft bag.

Well, I need to go cut out some more monkeys! Hope your week has been good so far...

Fancy Card

2012-02-19T16:22:00.000-06:00

I've been catching up on some house~~cleaning~~ straightening (I don't know how my craft stuff ends up everywhere when it has its own room) and creating some goodies for a new gig that I'll tell you about later this month. The weather is beautiful today - lots of sun, for a change!

I want to share that Chocolate Mint Brownie recipe I mentioned awhile back. It's from 100 Best Holiday Cookies. I don't think we've baked much from this cookbook, but based on the brownies, I think we need to be using it a lot more! I have to say, hands-down, these are the BEST brownies ever and I've been looking a long time for a homemade brownie to love.

1 C butter

4 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp mint extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 C flour

Preheat to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 9" square baking pan.

Melt butter and choc in double boiler. Remove from heat and beat in sugar, eggs, salt, mint, and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour. Spread batter in pan. Bake 35 mins. until top is firm and edges begin to pull away. Cool completely.

Frosting:

Beat 6 tblsp butter, 1/2 tsp mint extract, and 2 drops green food coloring at medium speed until fluffy. Add 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 C at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 2 to 3 tblsp milk, one tblsp at a time, until spreading consistancy is reached. Spread over cooled brownies.

Drizzle with chocolate glaze (1/3 C semisweet choc chips and 2 tblsp butter melted in microwave).

Yummy, yummy, yummy!

This fancy card is made with some wonderful digital images from Made by Janet. I love silhouettes and find it very hard to resist them when I find them!

Paper Issues new challenge is Tape It Up! I've just got some washi tape from Impressions, so I'll have to get right on my contribution for the challenge. Also, we've got a great deal - if you want to shop at Paper Issues and get a discount of 20%, just use the code chouxchoux at checkout! Have a wonderful week!

Monday Linky: Make It Monday

Favorite Color/Embellishment at Craft Us Crazy

2012-02-15T23:00:00.002-06:00

It's new challenge time at Craft Us Crazy - how about favorite color and/or embellishment? That's almost as easy as Anything Goes! I say that, but I have to confess I sat there for awhile thinking: "Do I have a favorite color or embellishment?" How can I not? I've always had problems with the favorite color question. But, I can say I do love a really pretty blue/green combination - maybe teal or aqua. LOVE the color of this butterfly - so that's what I'm going with. Not sure I can even deal with the favorite embellishment thing!

For this challenge, the sponsor is Digital Delights.

The prize is a $5.00 gift voucher.

One of my longtime customers asked for a gift box and a couple of things to go inside along with some butterfly earrings she bought for a friend.

I used the Wonderfully Wrapped template from My Time Made Easy.

I also made a set of simple butterfly tags using the same butterfly from the front of the box.

And a soldered butterfly charm.

How about you? Do you have a favorite color or do you have trouble with that question, too? Be sure to go by Craft Us Crazy to check out the other DT inspiration and join in the challenge, too!

Happy Valentines Day!

2012-02-12T13:01:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day is almost here. Dennis and I hardly ever go out on the actual day. We don't like to fight the crowds at nice restaurants. And besides, Dennis can make a steak that rivals just about anywhere we'd like to go anyway!

Dennis loves chocolates - so I always get him two of the biggest hearts full of chocolates that I can find. Easy and he's thrilled!

I found this darling vintage nutcup on Etsy. I scanned it in and enlarged it a little to create a Valentine gift.

It turned out really sturdy and holds quite a few Kisses. It's really cool how it sits on folded legs.

And that little boy and girl are so very sweet.

I'm going to link my Love Banner over at Really Reasonable Ribbon. Their challenge is pink, red, and ribbon. I think it fits! And I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Card and Candy

2012-02-07T17:24:00.000-06:00

I can remember as a kid going into people's houses that would have candy dishes in the living room. I don't remember specifics just snatches of being with my mom and being offered a piece of candy from a pretty little dish. Was it the candy or the dish that made such an impression? I found several fluted heart tins at one of our local antique stores and thought one might make a sweet valentine candy dish. So maybe it was the dish, as I really didn't think about the actual candy until later!

I painted the tin and used silver and red chenille stems for the handle. Glittered it up, too! At this point, my daughter is thinking, "Oh, no!" She likes vintage things in their original condition. And for a lot of things, that probably is best. But...this heart tin is getting a new life and will be loved! I'm thinking I should have put some of those cute circles on my kisses to cover their bare bottoms!

Oh, aren't valentine cards fun to create? Such sweet images - love all the angels and cherubs. The glitter's a little easier to see on the card. Must have had better lighting!

The bottom part is a flashcard from Iralamija. Hope you're having a great week! Off to work on some other things....

Thank You, Beatriz

2012-02-05T15:55:00.000-06:00

WOW! Okay, so excited here... I won 12 collage sets from Beatriz Jennings! I was like a kid in a candy store going through her Iralamija shop making a list of her beautiful collections. Now my mind is going crazy with all the creative possiblities! By the way, it was my heart pincushion that won the day. Thank you, Bety, for you generosity!

Yes, this card also includes an image from Iralamija. Isn't she a cutie? I actually used this sweet little girl several years ago to make a Valentine decorative hanging. So she and I go way back... The papers behind her are also images from collages in the Iralamija store.

I've been oh, so busy this weekend getting all my Valentine orders finished (there were twelve to finish of this card alone). I think I'm done and now need to make deliveries over the next couple of days. Hope you've had a lovely weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy!

2012-02-01T23:00:00.000-06:00

Anything Goes - well, that's pretty easy! The sponsor for the Anything Goes challenge at Craft us Crazy is Bugaboo Stamps.

The prize is 7 digi images!

This oh, so sweet strawberry girl is from Bugaboo Stamps and they have a lot of wonderful digi stamps to offer. I made a strawberry basket using a template that was designed by Lauren Meador when she was designing for Papertrey Ink. I believe it's still available there. It's super easy to put together.

And of course, I thought the basket needed a strawberry as big as the one in her wheelbarrow! Be sure to check out all the projects at Craft us Crazy and link up one of your own "Anything Goes" projects!

Ahoy, Me Hearty!

2012-01-29T21:09:00.000-06:00

Yes, that's pretty corny, I know! But this little guy is so cute and I started thinking that the viewmaster pocket had wavy blue lines kind of like water, so....

Wow, I had a great party today! It was wonderful to see lots of friends and they've certainly ordered enough goodies that I'll be busy for months! I'll share recipes and food pictures soon. I found a wonderful homemade brownie. I've tried different recipes over the years and they all seem dry. This one also includes a wonderful mint icing that is scrumptious!

I just can't believe that this is already the end of January. Where, oh where, does the time go? By the way this image is a wink bear from Pixie Dust Studio.

Have a wonderful week and thanks for stopping by!

Fabric Sweet Heart

2012-01-25T17:21:00.000-06:00

It worked! And amazingly easy, I must say. In my last post, I mentioned that I had tracked down some freezer paper to try printing on fabric. I ironed heavy linen to the shiny side of the freezer paper and ran the fabric/freezer paper through my printer. Then I just peeled the freezer paper off. It seems the freezer paper makes the fabric just sturdy enough to go through the printer.

I used the same image I used in my previous post. She is one of the collaged hearts from Iralamija's shop. I thought she'd make a cute hanging pin cushion. I also think she can stay out year round - what do you think? I made a flower from the linen and I added a trio of Maya Road heart pins.

I'm certainly going to do some more printing on fabric. I'm just so surprised that it worked as well as it did!

SweetHeart

2012-01-22T15:55:00.000-06:00

Wow, the wind is howling right now! Our house is so old that when the wind really blows, the curtains billow in and out! When the Christmas tree is up, sometimes the ornaments blow on the tree! I know that sounds terrible, but it's really not that bad. It's just almost impossible to keep up with all the repair these old windows need. We love our old house - in spite of it being a money pit!

I just got a set of the sweetest heart collages from Iralamija's shop. I glued one of the hearts to ecru notebook paper and trimmed around it with my old "seagull" Fiskar scissors. I'm not sure why, buy that paper makes me happy!

The theme at Paper Issues is All We Need Is Love. Lots of inspiration to see and you can link up your own projects. Check it out!

Right now I'm going to try printing on fabric using freezer paper. Have any of you done this? I have a little anxiety about it working, but after driving all over town to find freezer paper, I have to try it!

Valentines and Animals at Craft Us Crazy!

2012-01-17T23:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, there! It's the grand re-opening of Craft Us Crazy! The theme is Valentines/Love and/or Animals. Okay, that makes it pretty easy to link up your creation. Our sponsor this week is Stamp Fairy.com.

The prize is a $10 gift certificate for items of the winner's choice!

I just love old stuff and I adore rocking horses! We keep a rocking horse in our library that Lauren's grandpa made for her when she was little. This rocking horse is based on a 1940s nutcup party favor.

Above is the back side. You can see I slipped in a bag of M&Ms instead of nuts. Just used plastic wrap tied with ribbon. I love the smell of M&Ms when I open the bag...is that a childhood thing?

I'm sharing the template below that I (with my husband's help) put together to create the rocking horse. You can click and save the image below. I'm not sure (maybe someone can tell me) if the scan is the right size. My horse is sized at about 5" long at the rockers. Of course, it could be made bigger - any smaller and it might be tough to get goodies inside!

Okay, don't laugh! It's a litte rough, but it will do the job! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to go by Craft Us Crazy to see the other DT inspiration!

Valentine Decorations for The Hybrid Chick

2012-01-14T20:06:00.000-06:00

Hi! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend! Ours has been pretty quiet...I've been creating and Dennis has been taking down the last of the Christmas decorations. I think I've got the better deal, don't you?

Monday is my day to post a tutorial over at The Hybrid Chick. I used these cute retro valentines from The Digi Chick shop.

The papers and sentiments are from the shop, too. If you want to see more pictures and the how-to just click over to The Hybrid Chick on Monday. I love retro valentines, pretty papers, ribbon, and wooden spools! Together they make a cute, easy valentine decoration!

You're Doggone Cute!

2012-01-10T17:30:00.000-06:00

Hearts, cute little puppy, pretty papers and a bag from an envelope....what could be better? You've probably seen this bag from an envelope idea, but if you haven't there is a tutorial video here. I used a long business size No. 10 envelope and changed the score to 3/4" from 1". Other than that, I think everything I did was the same as the tutorial. Oh, I also changed the top a bit.

The cute little puppy is from a digital download set from LoveCreationGal. I've posted several cards using her downloads. She's got some cute things, I tell you!

Thought I'd give you a side look at the bag, so you can see how it folds in.

On the back, I clipped a simple card made from the Jot It Down set from The Cutting Cafe. Left a little space for that sweet love note... Thank you for coming by!

You're Sweeter Than Jelly Beans

2012-01-07T10:14:00.000-06:00

I love the sketch at Mojo Monday this week! When I saw it, I knew I wanted to create with it, but wasn't sure I would get to it before the cutoff to actually play along. I made it! Here's the sketch:

You know I also love the vintage viewmaster pockets I found at a local antique store, so combining one with the sketch seemed like a good idea. I remembered this cute Easter line from We R Memory Keepers that I've had since last year.

And, voila! A cute Easter treat was created. Love sweet little bunnies and Eastery colors...

It is a little early for Easter, but I'm getting ready for my spring holidays show, so I have to work way ahead. We're having amazingly lovely weather here for December - high 60s! Looks like spring out there already!

Look Who's Five!

2012-01-04T17:01:00.000-06:00

What could be better than a sweet little girl with a sweet little kitty? Especially for a five year old birthday! This is a special request card from my neighbor, Amanda, who has two darling little girls. She also just had another baby, but I haven't heard yet what it turned out to be. They wanted to be surprised. I think it's a lot of fun to not know. We didn't find out when I was pregnant with Lauren and it was so exciting to finally find out that it was a girl!

Although I think I knew what she was somehow, because a few days before she was born, I told Dennis to be sure to get the It's a She Hershey candy bar covers. I didn't even realize what I had said until later.

I'm going to link this card up at Paper Issues as the theme is still numbers! Come join us!

Marsha's Fairies #3

2012-01-02T09:17:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! Did you have a big New Year's Eve? I can say that we did not! I was sound asleep at midnight when I awoke to gunfire. I'm sure you've already figured out that what I was really hearing was fireworks. But, to my sleepy mind it was gunfire. Dennis hadn't been feeling well, so I don't think he appreciated it when I woke him up to hear it, too!

Awhile back, I shared two other fairy cards for my cousin, Marsha. This cute zinnia fairy image came from Curious Crow Creative. The cool thing is that there is a flower fairy for every letter of the alphabet! A little bit of the vintage crochet lace I picked up at the Paramount in Wichita is peeking out.

Happy New Year to you and thank you for stopping by!

We've Got Your Number at Paper Issues

2011-12-30T14:39:00.000-06:00

Time for a new challenge at Paper Issues! Anything to do with numbers. I have a lot of old bingo cards (lots of numbers, right?) and decided one would be perfect for this challenge. I hadn't really planned on a Valentine card so soon after Christmas, however!

I picked up this cutie valentine at one of my local antique stores and he was sitting there looking like he just NEEDED to be a part of this card!

We had my mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary party last night. It was just wonderful! So many of our best friends and family to help us celebrate my parents' 50 years. Lots of good memories and so heartwarming. We made a cake just for them similar to their actual cake with their wedding cake topper that my mom has kept. We made a huge cake to cut for the party.

This pictures makes me smile. They're both trying hard not to laugh! My parents had a great time last night and I'm so glad everything was so nice. My parents have set a terrific example for my husband and I and my daughter and her husband to follow. My daughter said, "Just 47 years to go!" Dennis and I will be celebrating our 30 this year. Where does the time go?

Be sure to go by Paper Issues and check out all the inspiration: We've Got Your Number!
And have a Happy New Year!

Hope You Had A Wonderful Christmas!

2011-12-27T17:45:00.000-06:00

Did you have a wonderful Christmas? Mine was oh, so lovely... We had Christmas Eve dinner at my mom and dad's and then breakfast Christmas morning at our house, and dinner at Linda's (my son-in-law Paul's mom). Lots of laughter, fun and eating!

I have a couple of cards I forgot to post... Both cute vintage snow people images.

Now I'm getting ready for my mom and dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party this week. We're going to leave all the Christmas decorations out, so it should look pretty.

I have my mom and dad's wedding cake topper, so Dennis and I are going to make a mini wedding cake for it. Hope it turns out like I see it in my mind. Dennis is a wonderful cake decorator, so I'm sure it will be lovely! We've got the menu planned, so the next two days will be filled with cooking (and tasting) for about 40 people. Gotta run - lots to do! So glad you stopped by!

Jolly St. Nicholas

2011-12-22T17:52:00.000-06:00

My Christmas holiday has begun! I'm off tomorrow! And the best thing is that Lauren and Paul arrive tomorrow, too! The lighting was a bit of a problem when I photographed these two cards. Some days I just can't seem to get it right! Hard to see the pretty glitter on the letters here. Oh, well... Love this Jolly St. Nick postcard - it's just the way I picture Santa in his workshop.

When Lauren was little there was a wonderful Santa at one of the malls here in OKC and he dressed a lot like the one pictured here - not in the traditional red suit. His beard was even real!

Certainly looking forward to tomorrow. Do you have family coming in or are you going to visit?

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Sweet Children

2011-12-21T07:19:00.000-06:00

Sweet children, sweet pastels, vintage... lots of the things I like.

How about that sweet heart trim? My great aunt Jane sent it to me. Thank you, Jane! I love it!

It's still Christmas at Paper Issues and Craft Us Crazy. Link up your projects!

Hope you're having a wonderful week. I still have several errands on my list. (One to pick up one of our candle sticks that Dennis accidently knocked off while decorating for Christmas. He was worried, but evidently it was a fairly easy fix.) Thanks for stopping by!

Rain, Rain Go Away at The Cutting Cafe

2011-12-20T17:58:00.000-06:00

It's time for the weekly inspiration at The Cutting Cafe! This week we're all using the Rain, Rain Go Away set. It has some darling images.

I used the Little Ducky image and sentiment from the set. I didn't really set out to make a baby card. But, that's what it looked like to me, so I added the little heart with Baby on it. Then I thought it needed some cattails. What do you think?

Regina will have all the DT inspiration up Wednesday evening at The Cutting Cafe Blog. And I'm sure if you stop by, she'll have a special for you!

Jingle Bells

2011-12-18T17:34:00.000-06:00

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All the Way... I've always loved that Christmas carol! We're feeling very Christmasy with our house all decorated and the trees so pretty. I love when it gets dark and we turn on the trees - just love those soft white lights!

I think I have all the presents, but I haven't wrapped anything yet. I got some pretty red and white gingham paper, so that ought to look pretty under the tree. Got to get busy!

I love this sweet image and that gorgeous Jingle Bell sheet music! The Paper Issues theme is still Christmas - so go link up your Christmas creations!

Monday is my day to post at The Hybrid Chick. I created a "flag" wreath. You can see more pictures and tutorial at the blog. Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas at Craft Us Crazy

2011-12-14T21:19:00.000-06:00

Jeri is hosting a special challenge at the Craft Us Crazy blog. It's all about Christmas! And you've got two whole weeks from December 15th to link up. The sponsor is KennyK Downloads.

The prize is 5 digis - winner's choice!

My contribution to the Christmas challenge includes one of my favorite angel images. Every time I see it, I think, "Oh, this is so sweet!" That little fawn and bunny just add to its sweetness. The background is a pretty Prima journal card and I added some embossed snowflakes and a pink poinsettia cut with my Cricut.

So Craft Us Crazy is the place to add your Christmas projects. Can't wait to see them!

New Year's Time at The Cutting Cafe

2011-12-11T15:01:00.000-06:00

How are your Christmas preparations going? I just got through baking and decorating sugar cookies for our office Christmas lunch tomorrow. It's been quite dreary today and now I hear raindrops falling. (We still need rain, though, after our drought this summer.)

Regina has quite a few New Year's sets available at The Cutting Cafe. I used the Happy New Year's Frame from the Happy New Year's set and the circle from her new set It's New Years Time. I think this little tag would be perfectly happy hanging from either a gift bag or a bottle of wine.

Ginger Scrapstreet Magazine has included my circus train in their Circus fun section. If you haven't seen the December edition, check it out!

My daughter, Lauren, had a recipe published in Ruche's A Homemade Holiday. It's a really cool publication, you might like to take a look.

Regina will have all the DT New Year inspiration posted Wednesday evening at The Cutting Cafe blog. And I'm sure she'll have some sort of giveaway - check it out!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Five

2011-12-08T23:30:00.001-06:00

Wow! It's already the last day of Visions of Sugarplums! I want to shout out a big THANK YOU to Regina, Beatriz, and Cassie for sponsoring us with wonderful giveaways this week. You are all so generous and so very sweet!

First up are some tiny ornaments that would be darling on a little tiny tree. I whipped these up in no time, but in spite of that I think they are darling!

I used 1 1/2" glass domes (bought on etsy) and a sheet of digital images from Made by Janet. I printed the circles at 1 1/2" and then cut them with a circle die. Put a thin coat of Diamond Glaze on the glass and pressed the circle to it. The hanger needs to go on now. I taped and glued red jute to the back and covered it with a stamped manila circle.

All that's needed to finish them off is a little ribbon, button, and twine.

So sweet!

How about another really quick idea, perfect as a stocking stuffer for all the sweet girls in your life? Peppermint lip gloss! I don't really have a recipe, but here's how I made it: First scoop out a heaping spoonful of petroleum jelly and warm it up in the microwave for one minute. Add a couple of drops of peppermint extract and one drop of red food coloring. Mix. Wash your tin and fill it up. That's it and it tastes lovely and has a pretty shine. A simple stamped image finishes it off.

I think wrapping it with a bow and putting in a stocking is perfect!

Cassie hosted our giveaway yesterday. The winner of a Pink Paislee Snow Day kit is:

Tanya - Tanya email me and I'll make sure you get your prize!

Now I'm giving away two prize packages. The winners are:

Tanya and Lisa M. - email me and I'll mail you all the goodies! Thank you to everyone who left such lovely comments!

There's still more sweet stuff to see! Here's who's blogging today:

Visit Christina at I Gotta Create, Lauren from The Past on a Plate, Mika from Mika's Pantry (she has some darling recipe cards to download), and Jennifer from Just Wedeminute.

A BIG THANK YOU to all my wonderful friends (who made Visions of Sugarplums such a pleasure!

Merry, merry Christmas to you all!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Four

2011-12-07T23:30:00.000-06:00

Can't believe we've already reached day four of Visions of Sugarplums! I've so enjoyed going to my friends' blogs and seeing their wonderful creations. Hope you're enjoying yourself, too!

This is my crepe paper wreath. The technique will take you right back to grade school! When I was in 6th grade, I wrote a report on Washington D.C. and one of the pages has dogwood trees with tissue paper blossoms. I still have that report and the technique is exactly the same! I wrapped a styrofoam wreath with cream crepe paper. Then, the fun begins! I cut LOTS of 2" strips from the crepe paper roll and some more from a turquoise roll. Wrapped them around a pencil to scrunch them and glued them on. I hot glued the little silver balls and a clip to the back for hanging.

The middle decorations can be as fancy as you like. I went pretty plain (on the tree especially), as I was going for simple in the middle. It's so pretty and retro!

I love this little tree! It was fairly simple to make and I want to make more!

I wrapped the spool in a vintage ice coupon (a whole book of coupons is in my giveaway) and used hot glue to decorate the tree. It's just so sweet!

Yesterday's giveaway was two digital collage sets from Iralamija's shop. The winner is:

Ros! Thank you for visiting, Ros... Email me and we'll get your digital sets.

For my giveaway, check out the previous posts. I'll be announcing two winners on Friday.

Now for today's giveaway - it's from Cassie at Paper Issues! It's a Pink Paislee Snow Day kit - it includes 24-6x6 papers from Pink Paislee Snow Day. 1 full package of layered sticker embellishments, 1 full package of wood embellishments, 5 yards each of 3 different colors of Baker's Twine from the Twinery in Maraschino, Pink Sorbet and Cappuccino. Wow! You can see everything at the Paper Issues store. All your comments for today here and on all of today's participating blogs will enter you in the drawing for this awesome kit! Thank you, Cassie!

Cassie is also posting today, so be sure to go to by Something From Cassie to see her Christmas creation. Ira is posting today - I'm sure she'll have something fun! For another fabulous recipe, Mika's Pantry is the place. And be sure to make a stop at Jennifer's for another fun-filled post about family and tradition.

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Three

2011-12-06T23:00:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much for joining us for Day Three of Visions of Sugarplums! Hope you've been checking out all the blogs and enjoying the posts. The fun continues...

On Monday, I showed part of my giveaway and it includes two viewmaster pockets. I decided they would make darling gift card holders.

They are the perfect size, they are already a pocket all you have to do is add some fun embellishments.

I'm going to leave the reel in mine and just slip in a gift card. Cute, huh?

Regina, who hosted our giveaway yesterday (winner below), has some awesome Christmas pockets at The Cutting Cafe. One is a mitten pocket, which I've used to create another gift card holder. I have to tell you - I like gift cards! I like to get them and I like to give them. But, I want to give them in some really cute packaging.

I added the pretty mitten paper behind the cutout, along with some felt for cuffs.

I aso added a coin envelope with a Dennison label, because I wanted to put a little note in this one.

This last gift card pocket is made from digital images from Iralamija's Shop. Love her vintage image collages. I check quite often to see if she's put something new in her store.

I printed and sewed two images to make the pocket and enlarged a flashcard to make the tag. Beatriz Jennings of Iralamija's Shop is hosting our giveaway today! She is giving away two digital collages of the winner's choice.   All of today's comments left here and on today's participating blogs count as an entry to win the two digital collages. Thank you, Beatriz!

The winner of The Cutting Cafe's Christmas treat boxes and three sets of your choice is:

Karel!   Karel, email me (address in right side bar) and we'll get you your prize!
My giveaway winner will be posted on Friday. Check out the past two posts for the contents. Today, I'm adding red crinkle ribbon to the stash. Remember all comments left here and on participating blogs count as an entry.

Linda is also posting today.   She calls her blog My Happy Place and it certainly is! I love visiting her blog, not only is she very creative showing fabulous projects, she also displays the most wonderful photography. Mika is sharing her third (actually 4th) recipe today. The others have wetted my tastebuds - can't wait to find out what she's showing now. And Jennifer will share more family traditions - have so enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures of her family.     Visit them all!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day Two

2011-12-05T23:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome! It's Day Two of Visions of Sugarplums. We have quite a few treats scheduled for you. Hope you got to see all the posts yesterday!

I'm sharing snowflakes today. This first ornament uses book pages and I can't tell you how hard it was for me to tear out a page from a book the first time I did it! I LOVE books and it just seems so wrong to tear one up. It made it a little easier that someone gave me some pages that were already loose for the first project I did a couple of years ago. Now, I tend to keep books that I didn't enjoy very much and don't seem to feel quite so bad about those!

To make this pretty snowflake, you'll need 16 strips 1 1/8" x 5 1/2", then die cut one edge on each one. Fold 8 in half with a crease and staple open end. Make a loop with the other 8 and staple the open end. Hot glue the pieces to a piece of cardstock.

Then you can age and add glitter to the edge. I added a snowflake purchased from Michaels (and glittered gold), a scallop red circle and a vintage image in the middle. Hot glue seems to work best for adding the gold snowflake to the book page snowflake.

Or you can create a pretty snowflake without the book page part.

These snowflakes come white and they take glitter pretty well. I like to let a little of the white show through. It seems to add some depth to the snowflake.

If you would like a copy of my snowflake middles you can click and save the image below.

How about a couple of very simple projects using snowflakes? This tag is oh, so easy, but cool, too!

Love the contrast of the felt and the green gem. I die cut two tags and glued a piece of felt between. Clean and simple (which is actually a little hard for me to do)!

What do you think about these snowflake clothespins? They are stamped with Versamark Ink and heat embossed. Can't wait to add them to a project!

Today, Regina from The Cutting Cafe is giving away a wonderful collection from her store. Regina has so many digital files and templates to choose from and her creations are terrific! For every comment left here and on all of today's participating blogs you will get an entry to win the following treat boxes: Christmas tree, Peppermint Candy, Snowman and Present. On top of that, you get to select three other sets from the store! WOW and thank you, Regina! Be sure to visit her blog to see other goodies made with templates from her store.

Here is the snowman treat box I made from Regina's set:

And there is even more fun! Ira is posting today. Her creations are always a must see. I'm practically speechless when I see them! She sent me some preview pictures and let me tell you her candles are beautiful. Be sure to see them! Christina from I Gotta Create, is posting some cool napkin rings. Can't wait to see them! Mika has another Christmasy recipe to share and Jennifer has wonderful family tradition ideas. If you haven't seen my giveaway, check it out in the previous post. Here is today's addition to my giveaway:

This cling stamp set will be added to everything pictured yesterday! Remember, all you have to do is leave a comment here (and any comments on the participating blogs above count, too) for a chance to win one of two identical giveaways. So glad you stopped by today!

Visions of Sugarplums - Day One

2011-12-04T22:03:00.000-06:00

Hi and welcome to Day One of Visions of Sugarplums! Join us all week long for fun projects, recipes, traditions and giveaways! More about that in a moment...

We've been decorating the house off and on for the last week and it's like seeing old friends. I love opening the boxes and even though I already know what's inside, I still feel so happy holding the old ornaments in my hands. And every year, I just have to add new decorations, too! A favorite around our house has always been "The Night Before Christmas." So, I created a Night Before Christmas Puzzle Tin.

The idea is to place puzzle pieces in the tin and beginning on Dec. 13th, remove a piece. Two puzzles are complete on Christmas Eve. Then, the poem can be read. This is when I wish Lauren was still small enough to snuggle with me drinking hot chocolate, reading together with the twinkle of the tree and light of the fireplace!

Maybe I can talk her into snuggling with me anyway! How about it Lauren?

The puzzles are the front and back cover of the book. If you're interested in making something similar, you can download my magnet squares here.

Just right click on the image above and save. I really like a heavy duty magnet. I buy mine in rolls that are 60 mil thick. I think 30 mil would work, too.

The book pages are available here.

I printed the book pages at about 4 1/2" x 6". The cover is 7 1/4" x 11 folded in half. Then I sewed right down the middle to bind it together. The puzzle pictures were printed a little larger than 3" x 3". Then I used a free puzzle svg to cut the puzzles to 3" x 3". At that size each piece will fit in the mini muffin tin. I made this in July and have made four more since then. It seems like a lot of pieces, but it goes pretty fast.

Now a little info about the giveaways. There will be a giveaway here each day Tuesday - Friday. I'll pick a random winner for my giveaways on Friday. Every comment you make here between now and Friday night and every comment made on every participating blog will be an entry for you into the drawing for my giveaways. For the sponsoring giveaways, your comments will count for that particular day. For example, your Tuesday comments will be an entry for the Tuesday giveaway. Your Tuesday comments also count for my giveaways. I will give away two packages that are identical. So, everything you see in the following pictures (and all the items I'll add throughout the week) will be given to two people.

I must say I love the vintage viewmaster pockets. I've been using them like crazy as cute pockets in hodgepodge books and I'll show you another use on Wednesday. This picture shows 3 vintage bingo cards, wooden buttons, 2 viewmaster pockets, 5 vintage red Dennison labels and an assortment of vintage Dennison Christmas labels.

This picture shows 28 recipe cards, Martha Stewart label assortment, frame, 5 vintage postage stamps, vintage ice coupon book, star cookie cutter, sweet elf, peppermint candy cards, 2 Christmas tags and a box of 5 vintage Dennison Christmas tags. I'll be adding to this collection, so keep watch!

I have some other wonderful people blogging with me today. Visit Mika's Pantry for a wonderful recipe to spice up your Christmas Eve dinner. I can always count on Mika to have great recipes, especially breakfast and dinner. Lauren (my daughter) from The Past on a Plate is sharing an old-fashioned (what's old is new) way of involving your husband in some Christmas fun: Baking Kris Kringle Cookies with your Husband. When I talked to her this weekend, the dough was chilling, so I can't wait to see how they turned out. Jennifer from Just Wedeminute will be sharing a family tradition. Be sure to visit and leave a comment for them, too!

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for more Visions of Sugarplums fun!

Visions of Sugarplums (This post will stay at the top until Dec. 5th)

2011-12-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

Do you have Visions of Sugarplums dancing in your head yet? We do! Mika, of Mika's Pantry and I are hosting a fun Christmas blog party and you're invited! We'll have recipes, traditions, Christmas creations and how-tos. Ira, Linda, Jennifer, Lauren, Regina and Cassie will be joining us along the way. And we can't wait to see their posts!

We'll even have giveaways: Regina from The Cutting Cafe will be giving away some of her awesome Christmas sets, Beatrix Jennings from Iralamija's Shop will offer two collage images of your choice, and Cassie from Paper Issues will have a treat, too. I'll have two huge giveaways that will include vintage Dennison goodies!

Be sure to join us Monday December 5th, when the fun begins and come back each day through Friday, December 9th to see all the fun of Visions of Sugarplums!

Christmas Treat Boxes at The Cutting Cafe

2011-11-29T17:37:00.000-06:00

This is the cutest box! Actually, it was a really hard choice choosing among all the cute Christmas boxes at The Cutting Cafe. The Snowman Treat Box won out, because I love snowmen!

The box went together beautifully and then it was just pure fun to embellish. I made clay candy canes and thought he looked like he needed one!

All the design team's boxes will be up Wednesday night at The Cutting Cafe blog. Be sure to check it out - I'm sure Regina will have a special offer for you!

Thanksgiving Place Cards and Swing Photo Display for The Hybrid Chick

2011-11-26T16:50:00.000-06:00

Hi! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was fabulous...just having Lauren here is always the best! Add that to getting to have everyone else over and sharing a wonderful meal and great company - well, it doesn't get any better than that!

I got the idea for using door knobs from the cover of Somerset magazine. I wanted to make my Thanksgiving placecard holders a little less permanent - I might want to use them for something else later! So, I totally changed up how they are decorated.

I used large paper clips as the holder for the Thanksgiving postcards. (Just wrapped masking tape around the bottom of the paper clip to hold it inside the knob.) Then I wrapped the knobs with pretty hand dyed seam binding and added tags with our names.
Here, you can see mine with the place setting:

Simple, but pretty on the table!

Monday is my day for a tutorial at The Hybrid Chick. My grandma loves to get photographs of Lauren. I thought a swing photo display would be a great way to add to her collection.

You can see the entire thing and a tutorial to make it on Monday at The Hybrid Chick blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T07:14:00.000-06:00

Hi! I'm stopping by for just a moment. The bread dough is rising, the pie dough is waiting for all the sweet parts, last minute dusting and mopping out of the way - a quick break and then back to all the fun!

Wishing you and yours a very wonderful Thanksgiving!

December Daily at The Cutting Cafe

2011-11-20T10:42:00.000-06:00

I see a lot of people are working on their December Daily albums. It is such a nice way to document and enjoy the festivities and joys of December. The inspiration at The Cutting Cafe this week is the December Daily sets that Regina offers. I decided to do something a little more concise than a full month of pages. I decided to go with twelve. Perhaps I was influenced by the Twelve Days of Christmas! First I created journal cards using the numbers from the Christmas Daily set and the scallop frame from Jot It Down.

Then I printed sentiments from Christmas Daily and December Daily 2. I created the book from a Canson art paper so it has a nice heavy textured feel.

I binded the pages with red and white twine. I'm not quite through with it yet, but these pages will show you the direction I'm going with it.

I added a tag to this page that can be removed so I can use the front and back of the tag and add a picture to the journal card. Here are pages two and three:

Whatever you decide is your take on the December Daily Album, Regina has the sets to help you out. All the other DT inspiration will be up on Wednesday evening, so be sure to drop by the blog.
We went to the Farmers Market yesterday and no one had Sage! Apparently, everyone lost their plants due to the extreme weather we've had. Finally, we found a package at the new Whole Foods Market - they only had one package left! So glad we found it, I think fresh sage makes a huge difference in the dressing. I'm getting so excited as its getting closer to Thanksgiving - can't wait for Lauren to get here!

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-17T18:28:00.000-06:00

This turkey label is a favorite of mine - I used it last year to make our placecards for Thanksgiving Dinner. This year, it's a card.

Love the fabric on this. I last used it to make a purse. I also love those pinky orange leaves! We're having our Thanksgiving lunch at work on Monday. I have to remember to take goodies to decorate the table. I better make a list of everything I need to take - otherwise I'm sure to forget something!

Thanksgiving Day at The Cutting Cafe

2011-11-15T12:13:00.000-06:00

It's time for the weekly inspiration at The Cutting Cafe. For this week, we are using images from Thanksgiving Day. I think this would make a darling place card at a Kid's Table. Not that I have a need for a Kid's Table right now...but I still think it would be cute.

That cute turkey, the Happy Thanksgiving frame and the gobble background are all from this set and there are still many more images to choose from. Regina will post all the other inspiration Wednesday evening at The Cutting Cafe Blog - check it out! Are you going to need a Kid's Table this year?

Second Fairy for Marsha

2011-11-12T07:27:00.000-06:00

It's taken me awhile to get back to the fairy cards that I did for my cousin Marsha. This card also has a postcard image from Iralamija's store. Isn't she a sweet?

She's so sweet on her own that I really didn't need to do much - just added my favorite ribbon, a little tag, and a felt rose.

Can you believe it's already Thanksgiving time? Are you cooking or traveling? Or both? I take off the day before Thanksgiving, so that Dennis and I can get a lot of the cooking done. My husband is actually the one that loves to cook, so Thanksgiving is a great "project" for us to do together. My daughter usually drives in that day, so it ends up being the three of us in the kitchen, which is even better!

Thanksgiving Dinner Planner

2011-11-09T00:00:00.002-06:00

I'm guest blogging at Passionately Artistic today! Maggie is highlighting Thanksgiving themed creations for the month of November. Dennis and I began cooking Thanksgiving dinner for our family a few years ago. Our notes and recipes are all over the place, so Dennis asked me to create a book that could house all of our important Thanksgiving dinner papers. So, I came up with this Thanksgiving planner. Warning - there are quite a few pictures!

I'm not quite through with it - I need to add our recipes, pictures, and lists. I plan on doing that sometime this weekend...or at least before Thanksgiving! The planner is full of little goodies that make me happy: like vintage images,

and all kinds of tags,

and pockets.

I delivered several of these to friends at the beginning of the week and it was so nice to hear how excited they were at the thought of having a keepsake to pass on to their children.
This pocket is made with a brown lunch sack - simply folded up and sewn.

I was able to use my vintage, really thick bingo cards to create one of the pockets - love that!

I can't wait to get started on the next stage of adding all of our traditional recipes and all the little notes that we've made to make cooking all that wonderful food easier!

Thank you for having me, Maggie! Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Jot It Down at The Cutting Cafe

2011-11-06T13:54:00.000-06:00

This week we're using the Jot It Down set for The Cutting Cafe inspiration. I used quite a few images from the set, but there are still a lot more cute images included. There are 43 in all!

A very special lady who has seen some of my other hodgepodge books asked me to make one for favorite baby girl pictures. When I looked over the Jot It Down set I realized that the sentiments could be used for lots of things, including the baby theme I needed. You can see on the cover two images from Jot It Down: the memories circle and the label with the butterfly. I folded and sewed three dotted kraft bags for the pockets. She also wanted me to included some vintage images

and this is one I just picked up this weekend at an antique store.

It's so cute - an ad for Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. I think a sweet picture can be placed right on the back of the ad. You can see two more images from the Jot It Down set: Love Notes and My Story.

Most of the images are printed on Simple Stories Baby decorative papers.

Regina's images work so well with the papers and journal cards from Simple Stories. It's hard to tell which are "professional" and the ones I printed! Another vintage image from a nursery tales decal set:

And here are the tags (front and back) that are inside the kraft sacks in the top pocket:

These are the tags in the side pockets (those cute half circles are from Jot It Down):

That's a lot of pictures! Be sure to check out The Cutting Cafe blog for the inspiration on Wednesday and for the details on the giveaway I'm sure Regina will have. Thank you for stopping by!

Circle Sentiments at The Cutting Cafe

2011-11-01T12:13:00.000-05:00

This week's inspiration at The Cutting Cafe is circle sentiments. I chose the So Very Thankful circle from the So Thankful Circle Word Stamp Set. I sewed a pocket from a brown paper sack to create this treat bag.

It has two pockets, so it could also be used for silverware and napkin at the table. Or perhaps a note in the front pocket and a treat in the main pocket. Very sweet for Thanksgiving!

Be sure to check out The Cutting Cafe blog for other projects tomorrow evening. And don't forget that Regina is offering three December Daily sets for free through Wednesday at midnight!

Happy Halloween and a Fun Surprise!

2011-10-30T17:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you have a good one. Here are a couple of cards I haven't posted yet. On this first card, I got to practice with my Copic markers.

That sweet little witch image was awfully fun to color. I'm still such a novice though and I don't practice nearly enough!

And, of course, I love the vintage image on this one.

She's trying to blow out the candle with only one puff. 'Cause that's the best fortune, of course!

And now before I forget, Regina has a great giveaway going on at The Cutting Cafe. There are three sets available for free right now through Wednesday, November 2nd at midnight. The three sets are a December Word Daily Book, a Christmas tree book and December Daily numbers. They are fabulous sets and they are free! Be sure to check it out.

I just got a fun surprise! Over at I Gotta Create, Christina is highlighting the Bewitching Crafts winners. I'm honored to be one of them! Thank you to all of you who voted for my Halloween Countdown! Happy Halloween!

Halloween Greetings!

2011-10-26T21:59:00.000-05:00

I need to find out if our neighborhood is trick or treating on Sunday or Monday night. Need to get candy, too! I have to say it's not quite as much fun as it used to be when Lauren was little and we had a Halloween party every year. I guess I get my fun now by creating cuties like this year's Halloween hanging decor!

Isn't she the sweetest little witch? I ended up making several of these for friends who wanted to give them as gifts, but needed two because they wanted one for themselves, too!

I love these glittery yellow sticky thingys (well, obviously I don't know what they really are) that I picked up at Michaels awhile back. They added just the right touch.

Can't believe how fast this year is flying by - I made the first November time cards today - which really alerted me to the fact that Christmas is just around the corner... But for now, it's Happy Halloween!

Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe for The Hybrid Chick

2011-10-24T23:55:00.000-05:00

It's time for my monthly tutorial over at The Hybrid Chick blog. I love to play games and I remember playing Tic-Tac-Toe a lot when I was a kid. Using a couple of darling kits from The Digi Chick ,I created a magnetic Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe game.

You can find all the details on how to make one at The Hybrid Chick blog. It would be fun for family game nights during the month of October.

Since it's magnetic, the pieces just store right on the gameboard and it could also be played in the car. Fun!

Breast Cancer Awareness at The Cutting Cafe

2011-10-23T10:28:00.000-05:00

Regina, at The Cutting Cafe, has several really cute and hopeful sets to use in your creations for Breast Cancer Awareness. I have been extremely lucky in that it has not touched my family directly. I have known two wonderful women who have gone through the trial of breast cancer - they are both brave and were candid in sharing their experience. I think of them quite often.

I found these pink ribbon lollipops at Michaels and created around them. The box I used is the Long Window Box (I didn't cut out the window). The Hope tag and hope background are from You Gotta Have Hope.

The owl is part of the Think Pink set. Regina will post all the DT inspiration on Wednesday evening. Be sure to check The Cutting Cafe blog to see all the wonderful creations and also to see the giveaway or special. She's always very generous! Here's wishing you not only a wonderful week, but also health and happiness for always!

Box Time at The Cutting Cafe

2011-10-18T11:14:00.000-05:00

Regina has asked us to use one of her boxes this week for the inspiration at The Cutting Cafe blog. Trust me, she has a lot to choose from! I've had my mom and dad's 50th Anniversary party on my mind and when I saw the Tic Tac box, I thought it would make a perfect party favor.

The tic tac box comes in two forms - one a type of wrap around and one a box with a lid. I want to keep this fairly simple, since quite a few will need to be made.

Be sure to check out the box selection at The Cutting Cafe and the inspiration at The Cutting Cafe blog. Regina will have pics up Wednesday evening.

Fairies for Marsha

2011-10-16T16:27:00.000-05:00

Every year my cousin, Marsha, participates in a Women's Dinner. She designs a table for five that represents the current year's theme. The theme this year is miniature. When Marsha asked me if I would do cards again this year (she gives them as gifts to the women at her table), she mentioned fairies. So Marsha is getting five fairy cards. The postcard image is from Iralamija's shop.

The papers I used are from Glitz Design and My Mind's Eye. I used a Papertrey Ink polka dot stamp to stamp my diecut heart.

I bought those leaves at Hobby Lobby several years ago. I'm hording them now...can't seem to find anymore. Well, I need to get the fairies packaged up for Marsha. (I'll show you the other four later...) Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Halloween (on the LARGE side) and RECIPES

2011-10-14T14:10:00.000-05:00

Are you having fall weather where you are? We've had some gorgeous days lately. I see that next week the highs are in the 60s and I'm really looking forward to that!

This Halloween card is a little on the large side - about 10 inches tall! I picked up a package of Halloween goodies at Michaels and this coffin was part of it. I decided to turn it into a card. I think I LOVE black glitter! It is just sooo pretty... Love this glittery black bat!

I sewed a pocket on the inside so that two Halloween suckers could be popped in for a sweet treat.

Now, let's talk desserts! I mentioned in my previous post that banana pudding might be my favorite dessert. Now, I 'm not talking anything that comes out of a box! We made cute individual banana puddings in mason jars for my party a couple of weekends ago. Love how they looked! We also had perfect chocolate cake cupcakes filled with icing that looked like a candy corn. And, of course, we had our famous sugar cookies. When certain people RSVP the first thing they say is "Are you having your sugar cookies??" I think I would be in big trouble if I answered No! Mika and her husband were at my party taking pictures. She has a wonderful cooking blog and all of our delicious party recipes are posted today on her blog, Mika's Pantry. Be sure to check it out!

Ellen Clapsaddle Halloween

2011-10-11T17:43:00.001-05:00

I love Ellen Clapsaddle images. Especially her Halloween sweeties! I buy them whenever I see them. I was lucky enough to just purchase an Easter Ellen Clapsasddle postcard off of Ebay that I can't wait to use in some creation. I love this little girl so much I've even purchased her in other forms (Made by Janet has her available in a very cute postcard image. I haven't got around to using it yet.)

I also really love this May Arts ribbon. It feels so nice and ties so easlily. Here's a closeup of the book page flower and the cute swirly button thingy that I picked up at Michaels.

Are you ready for Halloween? I've put out some things at work, but haven't quite got it together at home yet.

Thank you, Linda, for the blog award! I'm so honored. There are some questions to answer, so here goes:

1. Favorite color? Seriously, I don't know!
2. Favorite song? You're My Best Friend by Queen
3. Favorite Dessert? Tough...Banana Pudding?
4. What ticks you off at the moment? Politics
5. Favorite pet? Kitty-Boy (Although Lauren and Dennis think he's a little evil.)
6. Black or White? Black (reference Kitty-Boy above)
7. Biggest Fear? Losing someone dear to me
8. Best feature? Really tough...Seeing things more than one way
9. Everyday Attitude? Be as nice as I can be
10. What is perfection? Rainy afternoon snuggled up reading a wonderful book with Dennis
reading close by
11. Guilty Pleasure? Hamburgers
12. When you're upset you? Oh, the worst, even when I'm mad, I cry!

Halloween Goodies at The Cutting Cafe

2011-10-09T15:56:00.000-05:00

Halloween is in abundance at The Cutting Cafe - so many darling sets to choose among! You'll have a hard time choosing just one! I needed a quick little Halloween gift and I love the spider from Halloween All Around.

I also love chocolate and it's often my gift of choice. I "mummified" a chocolate bar by wrapping it with gauze and finishing it off with a bow. (I think white crepe paper would work - although a bow might not be so easy to tie!)

Had to use those googly eyes again, too! The circle tag is backed with green and black polka from Halloween Mini Colored Set and the circle sentiment is from Halloween Toppers.

Regina will be posting Halloween inspiration on The Cutting Cafe blog on Wednesday. I'm sure there will be all kinds of cute projects to see!

Tutorial for Halloween Nut Cup

2011-10-09T10:19:00.000-05:00

This is a tutorial for the Halloween Nut Cup I posted awhile back for the Paper Issues Blog Hop. I had several emails asking and this tutorial will also be posted by Lowri at Tip Junkie later this week. Okay, here goes:

Start with three nutcups. I like three, because it makes the bottom quite a bit sturdier than only one. Just a drop of hot glue between cups to stick them together and then a drop to hold the styrofoam ball.

To make the handle, twist together two chenille stems.

And then hot glue the chenille stem handle to both sides of the nutcups.

For this nutcup, I kept the bottom decoration pretty simple. Start by pleating the crepe paper and when a few pleats are done start gluing it to the nutcups. (I use a liquid glue.) Black velvet ric rac ribbon is glued around it.

Be sure to back your image for sturdiness and also a little of it may show in the back so select something pleasing. I almost always use old manilla folder.

A serrated knife is perfect to create a slit in the styrofoam for your image to slip into.

Remember that you will be covering the styrofoam with flowers, so place your image high enough to be seen. The fun part is the decoration. Crinkle ribbon tied on along with other ribbon, button, and tag are held in place with embroidery floss. I always add the flowers last. Some of the flowers are stuck in the styrofoam, while others are put into place with hot glue. Be sure to cover the white rim of the nutcup base with flowers.

Creating a nutcup decoration is actually pretty easy. These are great for gifts or to decorate your own house. Have fun!

Halloween Time at Paper Issues

2011-10-06T17:51:00.001-05:00

It's a whole month of Halloween at the Paper Issues blog! Plenty of time to join in and link up your favorite Halloween creations.

This little number is a Halloween Countdown. I called it 13 Days to Halloween based on one of my favorite Halloween children's books of that title by Carol Greene. It includes 13 darling Halloween themed glass magnets, a framed countdown board,

and a box to keep the magnets safe. I created the magnets with Diamond Glaze and glass domes I got from Karen's Craft Supplies. The pictures are from Land of Enchantment and The Timeless Garden.

I bought a metal sheet from Lowes and cut it to fit the frame. That way the magnets stick! Here's what it looks like without all the magnets.

And this is who kept me company while I was taking pictures outside.

That's KittyBoy - doesn't he look like a Halloween decoration? Okay, I'm heading to the craft room to make more of these for friends and family that decided they want one, too! Have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

Monsters (cute ones) at The Cutting Cafe

2011-10-03T18:06:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a weekend - I had one of my parties to show what I've been creating. Had lots of sales and special orders, but the best part was getting to see people I don't get to see very often. Of course, I also enjoyed people that I get to see a lot! Friends and family are important and it's nice to have them over, ply them with goodies and have fun things to share.

It's inspiration time at The Cutting Cafe. We are using the cute monster sets to create our projects. Regina will be posting all the inspiration on Wednesday. I used A Bunch of Monsters set to embellish an old View Master pocket. The cute little monster and the sentiment are from the set. (I added "I have my eye on you".) I had picked up a packet of the colored googly eyes at Michaels and I even remembered that I had them! I'm addicted to these View Master pockets. You'll be seeing them again - I created some cute Christmas gift card holders with them! Be sure to visit The Cutting Cafe blog. Tomorrow Regina will be posting the new card to case and you can win free sets from The Cutting Cafe!

Skeleton Cutie!

2011-09-29T17:12:00.000-05:00

I love Halloween! And I love this little guy! He posed for his picture on the pumpkin that Dennis got on Saturday. He was pretty easy to make and I actually had fun putting him together. His body is cut from a good quality black cotton fabric and his bones are cut from felt.

He's good size - almost 17" from the top of his head to his feet. Patterns are available at Dolls and Daydreams on Etsy. She's got cute doll patterns and clothes for them, too!

Home Sweet Home

2011-09-25T16:42:00.000-05:00

Has your weekend been lovely? I've only left the house one time and that was to go to Michaels. I've been creating away... It's a good thing I like being home!

Love these sweet little girls doing domestic things. It seems I hardly ever have time for "domestic things." Could the problem be that I look for other things to do? I don't have to look further than my craft room for plenty of things to occupy my time. And way more fun, I must say! Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week. I'm off to create something else...

Sweet Gift for a Friend

2011-09-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

It's inspiration time at The Cutting Cafe. This time we're all using one of the Bingo card sets. I'm using the Hot Cocoa bingo card from Fall Time Bingo Cards.

I also used the Hot Chocolate Holder Template to create my friendship gift. The funny little girl is from an old Tobler Cocao ad and the sentiment is from the template set.

This template is really cool - it holds two hot chocolate packets or two bags of homemade hot cocoa mix (which I didn't have time to do before taking this photo).

When you want to tell someone you appreciate them, this might just be the sweet gift to do it. The pockets are plenty big enough to slip in a personal note or even a gift card. All the inspiration photos will go up Wednesday at The Cutting Cafe blog. Also Regina has started a new challenge called Case It Tuesdays at The Cutting Cafe. She posts a card for you to case ( you don't have to use Cutting Cafe files) and the winner gets to choose three Cutting Cafe files! So, be sure to check that out. Thanks for stopping by!

Hybrid Chick and a Winner

2011-09-19T07:26:00.001-05:00

Hi! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Today is my first tutorial for the Hybrid Chick. See those sweet pinwheel flowers? That's a template available from The Digichick and the pretty papers are from the store, too!

Be sure to go the the Hybrid Chick blog to see a tutorial on making the cute little guy right there in the middle of two flowers:

I've put up step by step directions to make this sweet kitty.

Wouldn't he make a cute Halloween decoration?

Now for the winner of the October 31st Cricut cartridge!

Random selection done the old fashioned way!

It's BusyMartha! Be sure to email me with your address and I'll get the cartridge off to you right away! Here's wishing everyone a fabulous week!

It's a Paper Issues Blog Hop!

2011-09-16T07:30:00.002-05:00

Hi and welcome to my first Paper Issues blog hop! Not only will there be wonderful projects to see, but there are also a lot of giveaways! More details on that shortly. I've joined the altered items category - started out with a nut cup and ended up with this:

Doesn't look much like a nutcup now. Amazing what a couple of chenille stems, ribbon, and pretty flowers can do. And isn't she a cute little witch? She and her kitty, as well as the moon, are a part of one of my vintage postcards. I think she'll be an adorable Halloween decoration. I loved Halloween as a child (although costumes were always a pain) and I just can't get enough Halloween cuteness as a grownup! Now on to that giveaway...

It's the October 31st Cricut cartridge. If you would like to win, tell me in your comment that you would like to have this cartridge. Please tell me that you want it, because some will already have it or not need it and that way I'll know who to include in the drawing. Also, for this hop, we are including your name twice if you are already a follower of my blog or if you become a new follower.

Visit the Paper Issues Etsy store and get 25% off! Just use the code HOP25.

To see all of the Paper Issues Creative Team projects in all the categories go to the Paper Issues blog.

I'm so glad you stopped by - now hop on to Susan Tutt to see her wonderful altered item!

Back to School at Craft Us Crazy!

2011-09-14T23:00:00.000-05:00

The new challenge at Craft Us Crazy is Back to School! Our sponsor for this challenge is Meljen's Designs. I used the Back to School circle sentiment to create a teacher gift card holder. Nothing like giving a little gift to say looking forward to a great year!

This gift card holder is very easy to make: Cut a piece of 81/2 x 11 paper in half lengthwise. Then score and fold at 2 3/4 inch intervals. Bring the middle sections together and glue or sew around the edges.

Die cut an opening large enough to slip in a gift card.

Cute and easy! Be sure to check out the Craft Us Crazy blog for all the prize and challenge details. And, of course, to see the other DT projects. Hope you're having a wonderful week!

With Gratitude at The Cutting Cafe

2011-09-12T17:45:00.000-05:00

With Gratitude is an awesome new set from The Cutting Cafe. While I put this little hodge-podge Gratitude book together, I reflected on some of the things I'd like to write about or pictures that I'd like to put in it. I know I've said before that I've lived in a happy home my whole life and sometimes I just take that for granted.

A little book like this is perfect to remind me what wonderful people surround me... my parents, my husband, daughter, her husband and his family (who are now our family), to people I see at work each day and also to people out there in blog land who leave such sweet comments. I couldn't be luckier! The With Gratitude set comes with lots of sentiments to inspire your journal.

The sweet little girl is sharing one and then another on the banner. The journal cards have space for journaling and pictures and also have another sentiment from the set.

I certainly went hodge-podge on this. See that sweet View-Master pocket?

When I take out one of the journal cards, you can see that the reel is in there, too!

Love the circle sentiments in this set, you see one on the cover and one on the envelope.

The definition on the last pocket is also part of the set.

Got to show the back - that's included, too!

Whew! That's a lot of pictures. The DT will be using the With Gratitude set this week for the inspiration on The Cutting Cafe blog. Check it out on Wednesday.

Happy Anniversary

2011-09-08T17:53:00.000-05:00

Oh, the week continues to be wonderful! Highs in the 80s and I've actually had goosebumps going out to car in the mornings! ( I hear 90s are coming up next week, but I'm not thinking about it!) This must be the year for 50th wedding anniversaries. I've had several people order cards for that this year. My own mom and dad will be married 50 years come December 29th. We're planning on giving them a wonderful celebration! I have their wedding cake topper and a little swan that holds a rice bag. I'm planning on using both of them as decorations. This is one of the cards I did - simple, but pretty.

I really like that border die - it's from Cheery Lynn. Hope you're having a wonderful week, too! It's almost weekend time - Friday's coming up tomorrow!

Halloween Treat Bag

2011-09-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

The new inspiration this week at The Cutting Cafe is to use any set of our choosing. I chose to use a sampling of Regina's Halloween sets. The trick or treat bingo card and the bat are from Halloween Time. The circle sentiment is from To My Boo. Halloween is in abundance at The Cutting Cafe - several great sets from which to choose!

The large Halloween tag is clipped to a glassine bag with a small clothespin. I love that I can size the Cutting Cafe elements to exactly what I need and that the sets coordinate perfectly with other Halloween items (stamps, embellishments) that I have. It's so cool when I can combine things that I really like into something I love! Check out The Cutting Cafe blog on Wednesday for all the other inspiration projects. Now I really need to get some treats to fill that glassine bag!

A Lovely Weekend and a Winner

2011-09-04T10:45:00.000-05:00

It's been a wonderful weekend! Lauren and Paul came in Friday and we had a fun day yesterday celebrating Linda's (Paul's mom) birthday. We made homemade banana icecream and put out fresh strawberries, nuts, and chocolate along with some Piourette cookies for toppings. YUMMY!

And today is just beautiful! It's breezy and cool - I actually got goosebumps when I went outside!!! Could this be the end of triple digit heat? I HOPE SO!

This happy girl is another image from Love Creation Gal.   I turned her into a birthday card. I think the postcard image is from Cosmo Cricket.

On to the winner of the Tooth Shaped Card set from The Cutting Cafe:

      Claire

Thank you to everyone who left such sweet comments on my tooth pillow! Claire, I'll email you this set later today....

Check out The Cutting Cafe blog for all the details on the Labor Day Sale.   It's a buy one-get one until midnight on Monday, Sept. 5th! What a great deal!

Fall Colors at Craft Us Crazy

2011-08-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

It's time for a new challenge at Craft Us Crazy: Fall Colors (or favorite embellishment). Your have two weeks to link up your project. The two sponsors for this challenge are Digital Delights and Sweet and Sassy Stamps. Be sure to check the blog for all the prize detaiIs.

I love Halloween, so when I saw fall colors I had to go with it. I started with a black library pocket (The pattern is from The Cutting Cafe - I just made the back a little taller.)

Isn't the skeleton cute? He's an Inkadinkado stamp. He was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed. The other stamps are from Papertrey Ink and Waltzingmouse.

I think the suckers are darling - they are from Michaels.

Be sure to go to Craft Us Crazy to see all the DT projects.

And I have some hope that we might get a break from our over 100 weather - I just heard that on Sunday it should be in the 80s. I'm almost afraid to say it - let's hope I didn't jinx it!

Learning Curve at Paper Issues

2011-08-29T17:06:00.000-05:00

Hi there! Hope you've had a nice Monday... This is a repost of a card I did a little while ago. It's going to be featured at Paper Issues sometime soon ( I think this week).

The theme is learning curve. Be sure to check out the blog and link up your own "learning curve" creation.

I'm really looking forward to the holiday weekend. Lauren will be coming home, so you know I'm excited!

Tooth Pillow for The Cutting Cafe

2011-08-28T16:05:00.000-05:00

It's inspiration time at The Cutting Cafe! This time it's a litte different though. All the participating designers will be giving away the set they use! So if you leave me a comment saying that you would like to win the Tooth Shaped Card set, I'll enter you in the drawing. I'll close the comment section Friday, Sept. 2nd and announce the winner on Saturday, Sept. 3rd.

I used Regina's cute little tooth fairy image to make a tooth pillow. I just enlarged it to use as a pattern and cut two from white fleece. The image on front of the book is the image I used.

The pocket for the tooth is actually in the star of the wand.

The circle sentiment and the pages of the book are also a part of this set.

There is a tooth shaped card and 28 other images! Be sure to visit The Cutting Cafe blog later in the week to see the creations and sets used by the other designers. You will probably want to comment on their blogs for a chance to win other sets!

You are so Beautiful!

2011-08-25T17:52:00.001-05:00

A friend told me today that Christmas is 4 months from today! It really is right around the corner. Maybe we'll get some relief from this heat by then!

I love this sweet little girl and the card that says, "Before I forget You are so BEAUTIFUL."

She's part of a digital set I got from Love Creation Gal. I printed two images, so that I could pop her up a bit. I love the how the orange dyed ribbon twists across the top. A tiny drop of tacky glue here and there seemed to do the trick! Well, it's coming up on Friday... Hope yours is wonderful and your weekend is, too!

Gumballs at The Cutting Cafe

2011-08-23T17:07:00.000-05:00

It's inspiration time at The Cutting Cafe! How about gumballs? Regina has added three fun gumball sets to the store. I used the cute heart gumball machine from the Little Gumball Machine set to make a tag.

Be sure to go over to The Cutting Cafe blog where the other inspiration projects using gumballs will be up later this week. Also, there's a challenge going on right now through September 4th using the Fun with Silhouette set. Check out the details here.

News: I'm a Hybrid Chick!

2011-08-21T08:41:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to tell you that I've been asked to be a Hybrid Chick! The Hybrid Chick is a blog for the DigiChick store, combining digital and "real" elements. I'll do a tutorial once a month on the blog. My first tutorial will be in September. Be sure to look through all the wonderful digital elements, papers, and templates available at The DigiChick. They've got a huge selection that is added to every week! The Hybrid Chick features a tutorial almost every day...it's also a great resource for inspiration.

This card is a special order sewing card. The pretty fabrics on this card are from The Sugar Pink Boutique. I stamped the dress form right on the fabric, cut it out and glued it on. I'm pleased with how that worked.

I'll let you know when my first post goes up at The Hybrid Chick...in the meantime don't forget to check it out!

It's Still Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy!

2011-08-17T23:00:00.000-05:00

It's time for a new challenge at Craft Us Crazy - but we're making it easy: two more weeks of Anything Goes! The sponsor for this week is Robyn's Festish. Be sure to check out the blog for all the challenge and prize details.

I've got a Christmas ornament card to share with you. Actually, I guess it's more of an ornament postcard because it doesn't open like a card, just has a back like a postcard. I think it could take the place of a Christmas card and then be hung on the tree. I cut three ornament shapes on my Cricut and adhered them together so it would be thick and sturdy.

Then I added some of my favorite things like a vintage image, ribbon, buttons, and glitter! Check out the other DT inspiration projects at Craft Us Crazy!

Silhouette Magnet with The Cutting Cafe

2011-08-15T17:36:00.001-05:00

Regina has added some pretty silhouettes to The Cutting Cafe site. I chose to use this beautiful butterfly from the Fun with Silhouettes set to make a clothespin magnet.

I printed the butterfly on vintage ledger paper and cut it out. Then I printed it again and cut out a heart. I cut three more hearts and then sewed it all to the pink gingham. I also cut a butterfly and hearts out of the Graphix clear craft sheets so that each layer would stand apart.

I painted the clothespin pink and glued a magnet to the back.

Here's that sweet magnet holding an old picture of the three of us - I think Lauren is three (maybe four) and she's now 25! Love those big glasses on Dennis - he looks so young! So do I, for that matter! (I WAS young, only 25 or 26!) I love the combination of the butterfly silhouette and the black and white picture. Darling for the front of the fridge or on a magnet board. This week's inspiration will be up soon at The Cutting Cafe blog - be sure to check out the other projects using pretty silhouettes!

Hello, Friend!

2011-08-13T16:44:00.000-05:00

I got this butterfly die recently from Cheery Lynn. Isn't it pretty? Thought I'd whip up a quick little card to showcase it.

The red carnation "Affection" image is from Iralamija's shop. She has some very pretty things in her store. I've really loved everything I've bought from her.

We had a little break in our heat wave earlier in the week. But, 100 degree weather is back, right along with all that humidity. I heard a newscaster say that July in Oklahoma City was the hottest July on record of any city in the U.S. ever! I believe that must be true! Hope you're having a nice weekend and staying cool!

Halloween Rhymes

2011-08-10T22:00:00.001-05:00

It's still Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy! The sponsor this week is Di's Digi Downloads. I used 4 of her images to create this little book. The house is colored with copics and I printed the moon on new Echo Park patterned paper. The other papers are from the new Bo Bunny halloween collection. The ghost (from Inkadinkado, so is the kitty) is stamped on white felt. This is a short book - perfect for little ones.

I love the idea of having that sweet coloring and writing to keep forever. I would include a picture in the front - maybe of the little sweetie in costume.

I added the text for each page to the image before I printed it.

The book is bound with my zutter machine.

The last page could be used to write name, date and each rhyming word. Be sure to check out Craft us Crazy for all the challenge details and this week's projects!

School Days with The Cutting Cafe

2011-08-07T09:36:00.000-05:00

This week's inspiration at The Cutting Cafe centers around school. I thought back to when I taught school to decide what to make. When I taught first grade, I used these boy and girl shaped craft sticks for bookmarks. I created an apple box using the apple from All About School.

The heart sentiment is from The School Years set.

I printed two apples and then used the bottom of the smallest nesting box template (adjusted the size a little) to create the box inbetween.

I painted the boys and girls and stuck them into styrofoam. This would be a sweet little teacher gift that could be kept right at hand to "save your spot." Be sure to check The Cutting Cafe blog later this week for all the other school projects. Hope you saw the dress projects last week, they were awesome!

If you're like me and you're stuck in this amazing heat wave, I hope you find a way to stay cool this week! I'm glad you stopped by...

Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy!

2011-08-03T23:00:00.002-05:00

We are continuing with our theme of Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy! That makes it really easy to link up your project...

We have two new sponsors this time. For the first week it's Kelly's Kids.

The shop has many digitial stamps to choose from and you know I would go right for the silhouettes!

The second sponsor is Di's Digi Downloads, where I also chose a darling digi stamp to showcase next week.

I love this sweet silhouette of the two kids on a bike. I needed a summery type of decor to put in my office. I keep a frame with chicken wire in it and I trade out different projects depending on the season or holiday. The outdoor adventures card and the background paper are both from Simple Stories. This sweet little project looks great clipped to my chicken wire frame with a clothespin! Be sure to check out Craft Us Crazy for all the prize details and to see the other DT projects.

Baby Dress Banner

2011-07-31T16:10:00.001-05:00

For this week's inspiration at The Cutting Cafe, we're using either the Dress Shape Invite Card Set or Dress Shaped Card 2.

I used the Dress Shaped Card 2 to make this baby girl banner. I cut the dress shape four times with my Cricut. I went around the edges with Fiskars scalloped scissors. The embossing folder is from Cuttlebug. The letters were cut using Cricut cartridge Cindy Loo. Added that lovely seam binding ribbon and vintage buttons.

The dresses are attached using mini clothespins adorned with either a butterfly or a pink pearl.

Check The Cutting Cafe blog for all the inspiration (it will be posted later in the week) and for giveaways, specials, and challenges. I can't believe it's already time to start a new week (and a new month)! Time is going so fast - I'm not sure where the weekend went - or for that matter the whole month of July! Enjoy your week...

Vintage Blue and Pink

2011-07-26T18:12:00.000-05:00

Love these silhouette digital images from Made by Janet. Aren't they rich in detail? These cards fill a request for two special cards in pink and blue that are almost alike...

What do you think? The background papers are also digital - from the new CD, Creating with Vintage Patterns, by Crafty Secrets.

The stamps are from Papertrey Ink. I added the double frame to the images (one of those things that I'm not sure why, just like the look).

The doilies are cut with Papertrey Ink's die Parisian Doily. The eye pins are from Tim Holtz (I think those are pretty cool!)

All of these supplies got me to thinking about when I first started papercrafting and my husband said, "I thought this was SCRAP - booking...Why do you have to BUY anything?" Well, he quit saying that a long time ago...

Boy Onsie Card

2011-07-24T12:28:00.000-05:00

Hope your weekend's been lovely. I've been working ahead on fall and winter holiday things. Like to have several things ready for my September show. It's so funny to think that it's 104 outside and I'm working on black cats and snowflakes!

I just love this Baby Onsie Card from The Cutting Cafe. I had a request for a baby boy card and after making a girl onsie wanted to make a boy one. I used my Cricut to cut the card and the blue gingham top.

I cut the sleeves a little short to make a little cap sleeve on the onsie. The stamps and giraffe die are from Papertrey Ink. Be sure to check out the new Cutting Cafe blog for inspiration, giveaways, and fun! Thanks for stopping by...

Anything Goes at Craft Us Crazy!

2011-07-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

It's Anything Goes for the challenge at Craft Us Crazy! You can link up anything your little heart desires... My heart desired Little Red Riding Hood! More on that in a minute...

There are 2 sponsors for the challenge:

For the week of July 21 - July 27th it is Digital Delights. The prize is 3 digital images of the winner's choice!

For the week of July 28th - Aug 3rd it is Sweet and Sassy Stamps. Prize details to be announced. Back to Little Red Riding Hood...

I bought the most darlingest, way cutest vintage Dennison wrapping paper on Ebay.

Still in the package!!

Look at those sweet scenes. I couldn't resist! Can you believe it only cost 25 cents? Then, not now, of course!

Here she is on her way to Grandma's. I scanned a page from our old Grimm's Fairytale book to create the tag. I can't wait to use the other scenes from the wrapping paper - so cute!

Be sure to check out Craft Us Crazy for all the challenge details and prizes and to see other Anything Goes inspiration!

Window Cards at The Cutting Cafe

2011-07-19T18:03:00.000-05:00

Hi, there! Regina, from The Cutting Cafe, has created a new blog. In celebration, Regina's having a give away! Go the the blog for all the details and leave a comment on this post. Also, be sure to check out the window cards from the store: they include butterflies, stars, flowers, shapes, numbers... I used the bracket shape to create this birthday card.

I had a couple of requests for guy birthday cards. After I finished this, I thought "Oh, boy...it's got glitter!" I ran and asked Dennis his opinion. "It's fine," he says. "Judicious use of glitter." Okay, I'm going with that! Let's hope the other guys can go with it, too!

Izzy has a Cake!

2011-07-17T14:28:00.000-05:00

How's everybody doing? We've had a pretty quiet weekend - stayed home, created several cards and made chocolate chip cookies. This is one of the cards I finished.

Izzy is from Stamping Bella and the postcard and background paper are from Iralamija. Isn't Izzy a darling image?

I colored her with Copics - I took an online class, but I seem to be branching off with my own ways of doing things. Actually, I think that's what makes a great class, when you can take what you learn and make it yours. Even though it's over 100 degrees, I'm still craving hot tea. Is that odd or what? Off to have tea - have a wonderful day!