Creative Warcraft

Quick vinyl project

2011-03-16T09:23:00.001-04:00

We had a new front door installed back in the fall. It looked really plain so I decided to jazz it up a bit. I saw a post on Fantabulous Cricut a few months ago that I loved and thought it was the perfect thing. It was a simple initial with a flourish next to it. I couldn't find a scroll I liked so I opted for a crown. I used the latte colored vinyl from cricut and cut an "S" from the Happy Hauntings cart. I believe it was the spooky font because I like more gothic type things. The crown is from Rock Princess.

It turned a boring door into something a bit more regal. :)

Saving for Disney

2011-03-14T20:28:00.002-04:00

We have been yearning to go back to Disney World ever since we left there after Thanksgiving. To save up and keep all the spare change from getting lost in the couch cushions, we are using an old glass bottle from a water cooler. Although no one in this house needs reminding what the bottle of change is for, I decided to cut out vinyl from the Mickey and Friends cart. I told the girls that there was a hidden Mickey in the house when they got home from school. They had fun trying to find it and now the spare change is starting to pile up.

Challenge Me Monday #51

2011-03-14T20:16:00.001-04:00

Here is my submission for this week's challenge over at Fantabulous Cricut. The challenge is green and gold on a square card. Somehow out of all my cartridges (which isn't many) I don't have one that has a shamrock on it. So I busted out DS and welded three hearts and a "C" together off of the Jubilee cart. Hope you all like it! :)

Cutie Patootie Valentine Shirts

2011-02-02T18:55:00.010-05:00

I had these two little t-shirts laying around since before Thanksgiving and I had planned on making them for our trip to Disney, but time got away from me. So I figured I better use them before my two little ones grow out of them. :)

Here's an up close of what the hearts look like. I wanted something a little more than a plain heart so I made it gathered.

I cut a six inch heart out with my cricut. I traced it onto my heat n' bond and cut it out.

I then ironed the heart onto the fabric.

Waited until it was cool and then cut the heart out and then peeled the paper backing off.

I then ironed it onto the t-shirt. To secure it even more I stitched around the heart. The other shirt I ran a zig zag stitch around the heart. I thought this shirt needed something else so I added the wide brown grosgrain ribbon to it. I, of course, gathered that too.

To attach, I just ran a stitch down the ribbon and cut the ends to fit to the heart. And here are the finished shirts.

My two girlies couldn't wait to put them on when they got home from school. :)

I'm linking up with:

Wacky Wednesday #23-Color Challenge

2011-01-27T19:07:00.001-05:00

This is my first Wacky Wednesday Challenge at More Than Favors. The challenge is to use the colors pink, green and brown. I cut the boot from the Paisley cart and the flowers were cut from Pagoda. These were actually the second set of flowers that I picked out to use. The first bunch looked atrocious when I started putting the card together. I hate that! I have something in mind and then it just doesn't look right when I put it together. But I think these flowers turned out pretty cute. :)

Challenge Me Monday #44

2011-01-27T17:06:00.002-05:00

This is for the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday #44. I chose to use my poor neglected Pagoda cart. :( I also used some dazzles which I have had forever and never used. I made this card for my mom, hopefully she won't check out my blog before I give it to her.

Embroidered Valentine's Banner

2011-01-25T15:06:00.004-05:00

I decided against another wreath on my front door. So... I made a felt banner and embroidered it with ribbon. It took me about three evenings in front of the TV to do all the hand work but it was worth it.

This little wooden ornament I picked up from Michael's in one of their dollar bins was my inspiration. I wanted to cut all the intricate details but they were just too small to make it work.

As I was stitching the hearts on I decided to stuff them for some added dimension. I used 1/8th inch satin ribbon for the flowers and stems.

I'm linking to:

Challenge Me Monday #42 at Fantabulous Cricut

2011-01-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

"Winter warmies" is the challenge this week. I used the Gingerbread cart for the hat base and Paisley for the flowers that made the pom-pom at the top. :)

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #41

2011-01-05T10:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't had a chance to participate in one of the challenges for over a month because of nasty germs running through our house. :( We were all healthy by Christmas though. Yay!

So here's my submission for this weeks challenge. I used the Winter Lace cart for the snowflakes and the Trim A Tree cart for the ice skates.

My Pink Stamper Design Team 2011 Challenge

2011-01-02T11:02:00.001-05:00

Here is my submission for the My Pink Stamper design team. The challenge is to make something with your Cricut or Imagine with the colors pink, green and brown. I hope you all like it. I had fun making this card. I love how the girl turned out, she's soo cute!

The recipe is:

Rock Princess Keahi cut at 4 3/4 inches

Paper from The Paper Co. for the girl and metallic paper effects by Canson for her crown

The green paper is also from The Paper Co.

Embossed with Sizzix large snowball folder

The pink striped paper is a piece of scrap I had laying around

Bronze heart brad from Eyelet Outlet

Ribbons are basic spools from A.C. Moore

Sentiment is from an older stamp I have but I'm sure there are many sets that have this saying out there.

And a little glitz on the crown. :)

Epcot

2011-01-02T10:22:00.002-05:00

This is a test. I have been having problems publishing pictures. I've got it straightened out now. :)

I will be back

2010-12-06T09:01:00.000-05:00

I feel bad that I haven't been able to post since I've been back home. I'm getting over bronchitis and I have felt awful. I will have some posts coming up soon. :)

Back from Disney! Yay and boohoo!

2010-11-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

I love Disney but am soo glad to be home! I'll have some new posts later this week.

Magnetic Travel Games

2010-11-16T05:47:00.001-05:00

Here are the travel games I said I was working on from last week. They turned out great!

I bought a game three pack from my local bargain outlet for $6. It had bingo, two card games and checkers/tic-tac-toe.

I also bought a few packs of magnetic sheets. I put them on the back of the bingo cards and then covered with a cute paper.

I did the same to the checkers/tic-tac-toe board, but I had to pick which game to use. Since my girls are still little they haven't really played checkers, so I covered that side and used the tic-tac-toe.

I added magnet buttons to the markers for tic-tac-toe.

For the bingo markers we're just using the plain magnets.

Linking to:

Sleigh Ride

2010-11-12T05:00:00.006-05:00

Every year it seems like I have less and less Christmas decorations. Does anyone else have this problem? Well I have been making some each fall to fill in.

This was a cheapo black frame that I painted white and then aged it with a smoky glaze. Then I just took a piece of glittered card stock as a background. I cut the sleigh and the holly from the Christmas Cheer cartridge and the snowflakes from Accent Essentials. The mat was a plain white so I added a white metallic paper over it and wrapped it with silver thread.

Now I just need to find the perfect spot for it.
I'm linking to these parties.
Show and Share Day at Just a Girl.

Goody Bags for a road trip

2010-11-11T05:00:00.002-05:00

Road trips can stink when you have kids that are bored. Yes? So I'm trying to put together some things in a bag that they will get the morning we start off on our journey. Because sometimes movies just don't cut it in the car. I bought some plain red gift bags and decorated them Mickey style.

I used the cricut for the circles but I had to freehand the Mickey gloves. Not an easy feat for me, the non-drawing person in this house. Anything else artistic I can handle but I can barely draw a stick figure. Anywho...I glued them on and added glitter. I added a Disney phrase sticker on the backside and have started filling them up with coloring books, crayons, notebooks, autograph books for the characters to sign, a little toy. Next week I will have another post on how to make a travel game which will also going in the bags. :)

Road trip blankets

2010-11-10T05:00:00.005-05:00

As I said the other day we are taking a vacation to Disney soon, and I want to have a few things for my kiddos on the road. Since we are driving rather than a quick flight my girls will definitely want pillows and blankets with them. I decided to find some small throws for them instead of big blankets that will take up tons of room.

I picked up these throws at a bargain outlet store for 7 dollars apiece. But I wanted them to be a little more special for my girls. I added Minnie Mouse silhouettes to them.

Soo cute! I was worried because the care instructions say "no iron" but I had to try anyway. :) I used the Cricut design studio and welded three circles together. I ironed my fabric to my Heat N Bond. Then just put it onto my Cricut mat. The glue side of the fabric down against the adhesive mat worked great. I cut four and then decided that the Mickey logo wasn't enough.

They had to be Minnie so I cut four bows from the Rock Princess cartridge. I ironed them all on but I used a tea towel over my throws and images.

I know my girls are going to love them!
Here are the linky parties I'm joining.

Be Thankful

2010-11-09T05:00:00.007-05:00

I've been working on this project for a week or so. I finally finished it last night. I embroidered the words on a piece of muslin, then sewed the embroidered fabric to a pretty fall fabric and made it into a pillow. Easy and if you don't count the time embroidering, quick to put together. It only took me a while because I did the needlework at night while watching TV, with many interruptions. :)

It's not perfect but I love the homespun look of it.
Here are the parties I'm linking to.

Strut Your Stuff

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #35 and Cricut Cardz Challenge #50

2010-11-08T19:43:00.002-05:00

I used the wreath cut from Christmas Cheer and used the middle of the cuts as the extra ornaments.

Check out the other great projects at Fantabulous Cricut and at Cricut Cardz Challenge

Camera Strap

2010-11-08T10:56:00.003-05:00

I finally made myself one of the ruffled camera straps that have been floating around the crafty blogosphere. We're taking a vacation soon, and I really need a camera strap. Can you guess where we are going? :)

I just covered the old strap that I didn't use. I put a little batting in it too. Nice and comfy for my neck and oh so stylish for Disney. :)

Birthday card

2010-10-22T06:18:00.000-04:00

This was for my little red head's birthday last week. She wanted the motorcycle girl from the Rock Princess cartridge on her card so, of course, I obliged. :) I added the flame from the flaming heart on the same cart. Love this cart, so many possibilities with it!

Saint Nicholas already?

2010-10-21T05:30:00.002-04:00

I don't have many wall hangings for holidays. Mostly figurines and other knick knacks to put around. I'm changing that and making my own holiday wall art. I got this great graphic from the Graphics Fairy. Added some pretty scrapbooking paper on top of the mat. And since the paper wasn't big enough to cover the mat in one piece, I put the lace and ribbon over the "seam". Put it all in a frame I wasn't using anymore. Easy, easy.

Vintage Looking Christmas Ornament

2010-10-20T14:38:00.005-04:00

I know it's a little early for Christmas stuff but I've had this project sitting and waiting for me for a year now. I made these as little gifts for my family last year at Thanksgiving but never made myself one. (Isn't that how it always goes?) It is made from an empty spool of ribbon, a little paint, a vintage looking Christmas card, scrapping paper, ribbon, and glitter glue.
Linking to these parties.

Sumo's Sweet Stuff "Market Yourself Monday"

Thanksgiving card

2010-10-20T14:30:00.001-04:00

I'm entering this card I made with both the Happy Hauntings cart and the Accent Essentials cart into the Falling Leaves challenge at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog.

Yummy cupcakes

2010-10-18T09:40:00.000-04:00

My daughter had her 7th birthday this last week and these are the cupcake treats I sent into school with her. They turned out so cute, I couldn't help but post them on here. :) I used the Rock Princess cartridge to make the picks to put in the cupcakes.

Sleepy Hollow Silhouette

2010-10-11T19:57:00.010-04:00

I bought some inexpensive frames last week at Walmart for my daughters' school pictures but when I got them home I decided I wanted some nicer ones, or should I say more durable. My husband likes the headless horseman cut out on the Happy Hauntings cartridge so I made him an awesome halloween picture. A tip for this headless horseman cut (there are two different horsemen on this cart) is to double it's size if you want it large. I cut it first at 7 1/2 inches and it was way too small. For the size in the frame I cut it at 14 inches. (the frame is 11x14) The RIP was cut at 2 1/2 inches and I used some chalk on it to give it a mossy look, although I'm not sure it shows in the picture. The background paper was one I found at Jo-ann's in a clearance bin. I'm entering Challenge #31 at Fantabulous Cricut and linking to these parties.

My Pink Stamper Challenge

2010-10-10T21:17:00.000-04:00

Here is my entry for the winter challenge over at My Pink Stamper. Hope you like it. I had fun working on it and now I'm in the mood to make more Christmas cards. Yay! Maybe I can get ahead of schedule this year. :)

Spooky ghosts

2010-10-04T17:24:00.003-04:00

I was inspired to make something today and I wanted to use my Happy Hauntings Cricut cartridge. I went rummaging in the garage for a piece of wood. As luck would have it, I found the perfect piece and then painted it black.

I cut the Spooky phrase from the Happy Hauntings cart at five inches. I tried it with plain white paper before I used my good scrap booking paper, just to make sure. The ghosts, I cut one at five inches and the other at four inches.

Then I mod podged everything on.

I sanded the edges for a distressed look and then used distressing ink around it.

To finish off I stapled wire to it and curled the ends of the wire and added a few ribbons.
Here are a few parties I'm linking to:

Scary Door Wreath

2010-09-28T14:21:00.001-04:00

We love Halloween in our house, especially the more macabre aspect of it. Usually I put up a floral door wreath for fall, and I still will after Halloween is over but I made a more gruesome one for the 31st.

I used a wire wreath form with ribbon and a boa. Then I attached chains I found in the bead and jewelry section of A.C. Moore. I also added a few jewels that I thought would look good. The skull key in the middle is an ornament from Michael's.

Scroll saws and paint and wire...oh my!

2010-09-27T22:12:00.000-04:00

I get all these great catalogs but can't afford to buy everything. So I asked my husband to show me how to use a scroll saw to cut out the hat, shoes, and the end cuts on the wood strips. Then I just painted everything and attached it with wire, and a little glue. Easy, easy!

Finally I'm back

2010-09-23T14:06:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long hiatus from my blog. I enjoyed summer with my four girls to it's fullest. Also I have been having trouble getting my pictures off of my camera for quite some time, but no more. I will be up and running come Monday with a new project I'm working on for Halloween. See you then. :)

i heart faces-pets

2010-06-28T09:00:00.002-04:00

I really had a hard time choosing a photo. I have so many that I like of our Bob. I enjoy taking pictures of our pets, they are so much fun.

Go to i heart faces to check out more great photos.

Barn frame with vintage label

2010-06-27T16:57:00.006-04:00

I have been trying my hand at woodworking lately. FUN!!! Here is a small project I started and finished in about 4 hours including painting and drying times. The frame is from plans off of Knock-Off Wood. I adjusted the plans to fit the label I have. The label is actually from an old dollar store calendar. I bought it years ago and loved the vintage labels and kept it to use sometime. I have finally got around to using at least one of them. I painted the frame with a cream color first and then sanded it and then put a wash of plum over that. Then I sanded just the edges a bit to let the cream color come through a bit. I thought it needed a little extra pop. I used a little metallic finish that rubs on. I went sparingly with it around the edges and around the inside of the frame. It's hard to see the gold from the pictures but it really makes the difference.

I am loving this frame!! The plans for the frame are here.

I'm linking to these parties:

i heart faces-celebrating teens

2010-06-21T09:08:00.000-04:00

I snapped this shot before we left for a mother daughter tea. It is one of my favorite pictures of my oldest daughter.

Check out other great photos at:

Anniversary card

2010-06-19T09:54:00.001-04:00

This last week was my parents' 41st anniversary. I made this card with Accent Essentials and Plantin Schoolbook cartridges. I used DCWV paper from the Luxury Stack. I love how it turned out.

Coloring Briefcase

2010-06-07T13:49:00.007-04:00

Who doesn't like coloring? Here is a cute and quick take along coloring briefcase for your kiddos.

Here's what you need: 3/4 yard of quilted fabric

1/4 yard of coordinating fabric for trim

thread

crayons

coloring book

Cut a rectangle from the quilted fabric 12 1/2 by18 inches (front and back).

Cut two rectangles from the quilted fabric 6 1/2 by 12 1/2 inches (inside flaps).

Cut two strips from the quilted fabric 2 by 13 inches (these are the handles).

Cut two strips from the coordinating fabric 2 by 13 inches (these are the handles).

Cut a rectangle from the coordinating fabric 3 1/2 by 10 inches (crayon pouch).

Cut two strips from coordinating fabric 1 by 12 1/2 inches (trim for the flaps).

Cut two strips from coordinating fabric 1 by 18 inches (trim).

I've used 1/2" seam allowance unless otherwise stated.

I started by putting the trim on everything first. With right sides together pin 1" x 12 1/2" strip to one of the inside flaps. Sew together. Fold trim in 1/4" and press, then pin on other side of flap. Stitch together.

Do this for the other flap and for the long edges of the front and back piece of the case.

Do you have everything trimmed out? Cool. Moving on. :)

Now for the handles. With right sides together pin a 2"x13" quilted strip to a 2" X13" coordinating strip. Sew both long sides together then turn. Press. Make the other handle the same way.

With the right sides together and the handle sandwiched in between the front/back piece and the flap pin it all together on one side. We still have more work on the other flap.

Take the 3 1/2"X10" piece of coordinating fabric and press down 1/4" of the long edges. Stitch that down. Now press the remaining three sides of the fabric down 1/4". Position the stitched edge on the flap away from the trim. Pin the pouch onto the flap and stitch the three sides down.

Now you have one big pouch. Divide the pouch into eight small pockets for the crayons, approximately and inch apart. I put a pin for each row and then stitched them down.

Almost done. With right sides together and the handle sandwiched between the front/back and the flap with the crayon pocket, pin and sew. Sew the other side also. Turn them right side out and your done.

I'm linking to all these great sites:

i heart faces-play

2010-06-06T15:43:00.001-04:00

No Bake Dessert for Summer Peanut Butter Cups

2010-06-01T18:51:00.001-04:00

Here is a yummy recipe that I've made for Christmas usually, but I dug it out of my mountain of recipes yesterday for a no bake dessert during the heat. I hate using my oven in the summer, so I'm pretty sure I'll be making this more often in the hot months rather than just at Christmas time. I know my peanut butter loving husband will be pleased with that decision.

This is all that is left from yesterday. Trust me, they will go fast!

2 sticks of margarine or butter which ever you prefer. I use butter, that is all I bake or in this case no-bake with.

1 lb. powdered sugar (3 1/2 cups)

1/3 lb. graham crackers crushed (11 full crackers)

2 cups of peanut butter (chunky is what the recipe calls for but I never have that so again it's your preference of creamy or chunky)

12 oz. package of chocolate chips (I use milk chocolate but once again you choose the kind you like)

Mix the first four ingredients together well and spread in a 9 X 13 pan. Melt the chips and spread over the peanut butter mix. I put them in the fridge for about ten minutes to let the chocolate set a tad and then cut into squares and EAT!

Real easy and real good!

Cute dino card

2010-05-29T10:50:00.002-04:00

Here's a cute little card I made the other day from Create-a critter.

Father's Day challenge at My Pink Stamper

2010-05-29T10:46:00.000-04:00

Here is my Father's Day entry over at My Pink Stamper.

I used Plantin Schoolbook, Accent Essentials and Paper Pups.

Mail Bag Organizers

2010-05-16T20:23:00.005-04:00

I needed something to organize my "little cabinet" which is where all our mail goes in the house. The top of the cabinet is a catch-all for everything. In fact right now I even have corn seedlings on top of it.

See, I was serious. :) This is actually a good day with the cabinet. It is usually much worse, which is why I made these.

This is where our mail is going from now on. I love how these turned out. I got the pattern from the book "One Yard Wonders". I elected to use muslin that I tea dyed first and then picked a couple of great clip art pieces from The Graphics Fairy.

I only used two graphics because I get a little ahead of myself sometimes. I originally printed out three beautiful pages to put on my pouches but I wasn't thinking and didn't mirror the image before I hit print. Duh! So I had to scrap those three and I only had two pages left. In the meantime my oldest needed to print an essay for one of her classes so when I went to print again I got her bibliography on one of the pages. :( Okay so I finally got what I wanted except that I wrote Paris by hand with a sharpie on the pouch above. I'm very proud of that one, I have poor handwriting and I practiced a lot before I got the courage to write it permanently on the fabric.

I thought I would put a few more embellishments on it but once I started positioning a few things on them, they really just did not need anything else.

Mother's Day treat bags

2010-05-10T10:36:00.000-04:00

These are a few treat bags that I gave to my Mom, Grandmother and Aunt.

The flowers sticking out of each of the bags are bookmarks.

Photo Challenge Smiles

2010-04-25T11:15:00.000-04:00

I took this while at a playground where we live. I love the sheer joy she has on her face.

I'm participating in I heart faces photo challenge this week. Go on over and check out all the other great photos.

TV Dinner Seed Starters

2010-04-24T16:28:00.001-04:00

I like to eat Lean Cuisines, Smart Ones, and Healthy Choice meals for lunches. It's an easy quick lunch for me and I keep all the containers from them, usually to use for my paint palette. But I have another use for them now. Seed starters.

I enlisted the help of my little ones who are always ready to play in the dirt. First I poked a few holes in the bottom of them for drainage.

Easy enough but be careful. Then comes the fun part, at least to my girls, fill it with potting soil.

We decided these were big enough to start six plants.

We covered the seeds and then watered them.

And of course we labeled them. Once they come up and are ready to plant in the garden we can recycle the containers. Yum! I can't wait for all the fresh veggies later this summer.

Chirp, chirp, peep

2010-04-12T07:00:00.006-04:00

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a few weeks and I have finally got around to executing it.
I'm really into birds, maybe it's just because of spring, I don't know, but I wanted to make a bird to go with my nest I made a month or so ago.

I started by sketching out a bird. I cut it apart to make it into a pattern.

I made a copy of the pieces and drew cutting lines around them.

Amazingly enough this is all by someone who doesn't draw well at all. I'm really good at stick figures.
I pinned it onto three different fabrics.
Once I had it cut out I pinned and sewed the three pieces onto a 12X12 piece of muslin, but I left the edges out. I washed it so the bird's outline would rag. I had to cut the edges down a bit before I washed it.

Not bad but it needed something. Of course a beak, which I embroidered on.

It still needed something. So I started playing with ribbons.

I thought I had some stitch witchery around but I couldn't find it, so I cut thin strips of heat n' bond and attached the ribbons.
I could've stopped there but no, I didn't want to make feet for this bird. Nest? Perfect. I just picked up a remnant of burlap at Jo-ann's the other day.

I hand stitched it on with a few gathers and stuffed with the burlap strings. I then used my distressing ink on the nest area for a contrast. I trimmed the muslin to fit my frame.

Lastly I thought I would pull the burlap over the bottom of the frame to add a bit more dimension.

I had originally wanted to bring the burlap up the entire back of the frame and make a bow at the top with it, but it was way to bulky to do that. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Here is the pattern.

Pink, Green and Black Challenge

2010-04-11T19:41:00.001-04:00

Here is my entry to My Pink Stampers pink, green and black challenge.

I used the Paper pups cart for the tree and Plantin Schoolbook for the flowers.

Birthday cards

2010-03-24T15:29:00.000-04:00

I love my Paper Pups cart for the cricut. Here are a few cards I've made with it.

I made this one for my little one who turns 5 this weekend. The puppies are so stinkin' cute!

Here's another simple card made with it.

Easter treat bags

2010-03-23T15:29:00.001-04:00

I was originally making these for my youngest daughter's birthday to give out at school, but we couldn't decide on what to put on them. We compromised, she's taking cupcakes for her birthday at school and she's giving these out at her Easter party.

Aren't they cute? I love the little chick! I cut everything from the Accent Essentials cart. I kept it simple because I made 18 of them.

I want a goose that lays gold eggs for Easter

2010-03-19T19:03:00.000-04:00

I saw this egg on this site and fell in love with it! Of course I had to make one.

I love it but now I need a nest for it.

Cards

2010-03-11T09:08:00.000-05:00

Here are a few cards I've been making.

This one was my first card, very simple. It's actually my favorite.

This card was made using the Paper Pups cartridge. Out of my three carts Paper Pups is my favorite.

A St. Patrick's Day card. I got a some ink on the white while I was stamping the saying. :(

I'm starting to get a little more details on my cards. This one was also made with the Paper Pups cart.

A knitting fool

2010-03-08T15:11:00.000-05:00

I'm really not, but it does seem like I've been knitting a lot lately. The projects I've been working on have just been quick ones. I just finished another star crossed slouchy beret. This is my third one.

Finally...

2010-03-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

I have a few pictures of a couple of gifts I knitted for Christmas. The first one is an Irish hiking scarf I made for my Dad.

This next one is a shawl I made for my Mom.

Ravelry.com is a great knitting and crocheting community that has a lot of shared patterns. I found the scarf pattern on ravelry by Adrian Bizilla. The best is you can keep track of your projects, needles, stash of yarn, pretty much anything to do with knitting and crocheting.

Knit shrug

2010-03-04T19:20:00.000-05:00

I finished my little one's shrug. I think it turned out great.

This is a pattern I got off of Ravelry.com called Mon Petit Shrug by Jessica Salonen.

The pictures were taken in very poor light, sorry about that.

Busy week

2010-02-28T19:11:00.005-05:00

I have been busy this week with a few projects. I started knitting a shrug for our Emma which I hope to have done by Tuesday. I made the Robin's egg frame from the earlier post this week. I've made a few cards that I will post tomorrow. Oh and I almost forgot about the London collage for Katherine. But I have finally got around to working on my jewelry box.

About a month ago I had taken all the jewelry out and pulled all the hardware off, but I put it aside because I had no place to paint it due to the weather. The weather was good today and nice enough I could paint it on the deck. I'm not finished by any means but here are a few pics for a sneaky peek at it.

I can't wait to get the painting part done. I'll have to make a quick run to Jo-ann's to find a pretty fabric to reline the drawers.

London calling

2010-02-24T13:58:00.002-05:00

I made a collage of Paris for my oldest daughter at Christmas and my next oldest liked it so much that she wanted a London one. It has taken me awhile to get one done for her. I wanted it similar to this one.

But I wasn't feelin' a romantic/older look for the London one like I had wanted to do. This is what I came up with.

I'm hoping daughter number 2 loves it.

A robin's nest

2010-02-22T17:44:00.001-05:00

I found this in the Victorian Trading Co.'s catalog and needless to say I absolutely love it!

But...I don't want to pay the price plus shipping for it. Instead I made my own version of it for about $14.00 total. Woohoo!

Organizer from a file folder

2010-02-10T18:03:00.001-05:00

With all the snow we have been getting there is nothing else to do but craft. So I saw this great project quite awhile ago but haven't had the time to do it. (Forgive me I don't know where it was I found it) It's not totally done because I want to put a couple of notepads in it. We can't get out of the house due to the weather... yes we are in Snowmageddon.

Here's my sweetheart snow blowing our walkway.

So here is the organizer. :)

the front

the back

I love it and already have put my coupons and a few receipts I need to keep in it.

Easy Valentine's

2010-02-01T10:51:00.001-05:00

This is nice and easy especially if you have little ones. My girls (5 and 6) stamped the hearts and punched the holes. I made the hearts and the card on the Cricut but it would be easy enough to do without it. I did use a little double sided tape to keep the lollipop in place. Then just a piece of ribbon to tie it up.

My girls signed their names on the back and we are all ready for Valentine's Day. They are very excited to give these to their friends especially since they helped make them.

Jewelry box before

2010-01-27T10:23:00.004-05:00

I want to start refinishing old furniture or at least my old furniture but I'm a bit scared to start. Plus I have a hutch being stored in my parents' garage that I got for free that I want to redo. (and I'm sure they would like it out of their garage.) So I've planned a beginner project for myself of refinishing my old jewelry box. I've had it for a good 20 years. My parents gave it to me for Christmas when I was in high school and I love it, but it has seen better days.

It doesn't look too bad in the picture but it has scratches and other small imperfections from numerous moves and kiddos going through it. So hopefully if all goes well I will have this refinished by next week.

Valentine's Craft Redo

2010-01-25T15:36:00.002-05:00

Here is what I made about eight years ago, and they are still cute but they needed updating. They look a little worse for the wear and have been packed up pretty much since we moved into our house six years ago.

But instead of actually redoing them I decided to make more, just with a different spin on them.

A much more up to date look don't ya think?

So then I found a couple of styrofoam cones that didn't get used at Christmas time and put it all together for a little Valentine's decor in the house. I usually don't put anything up for Valentine's day. Which is strange because I love hearts and the color pink. Anyway... here it is

i heart faces-Best Face Photo

2010-01-11T09:29:00.004-05:00

I took this January 3rd. The day before everyone went back to work and school from Christmas break. The little ones were bored and yet didn't want to go back to school even if it was only preschool.

Check out other photos go to i heart faces

Easy Collage Gift

2010-01-08T15:58:00.006-05:00

My oldest daughter is obsessed with Paris at the moment. She's taking french in school and loves it! So for Christmas I made her a collage.

With just a dollar store frame and a few scrapbooking items this was a very inexpensive and quick gift. I got a few of the pics from The Graphics Fairy. The other items were scrapbook papers and sticker sets.

Now I've been commissioned by my eleven year old for one of London.

Turn your old blankets and pillows into pet beds

2010-01-04T14:08:00.004-05:00

I have been wanting to make beds for our cat Quita and our dog Bob but with all the holidays I just hadn't gotten around to it. So over the weekend I set out to make them their own little beds.

I recycled a pillow and four blankets that weren't being used.

This is Quita's bed. I took an old pillow the stuffing was starting to come out of and balled it up. I put the pillow on top of an old fleece blanket and cut about 4-5 inches bigger all the way around the pillow.

I did a running stitch to gather the fleece around the pillow, then flipped the pillow over.

I cut the blanket around the pillow again and gathered with a running stitch. It ended up looking like a paper bag waist on a pair of pants. I sewed it all together by hand and then sewed a ribbon around it.

It was free except for the ribbon which I didn't need to put on there, but I think it makes it much prettier for our kitty.

Bob's bed was just as easy.

I had a bunch of old baby blankets and an old comforter that had just been hanging around taking up space in our hall closet. I folded the comforter in half (it's a twin size) and in half again. I laid two baby blankets on top of the comforter and then tacked them all together with embroidery floss on each side and in the middle.

I did buy some fleece for the outside of this bed only because it was on sale. (of course after I did, I found another fleece blanket that had been shoved waaay in the back of the closet) I cut the fleece about an inch or two larger than the blankets I put together. I got out my sewing machine and stitched it together like a big pillow case, turned it right side out, and inserted the pad of blankets. Once the padding was inside I stitched up the opening by hand. I might go back later and put a zipper in so I can wash the outside.

He loves his new bed, really... can't you tell by the look on his face? :)

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T22:08:00.000-05:00

Wishing you the best for 2010!

Hilarious Outtakes Photo Challenge

2009-12-28T15:07:00.002-05:00

This weeks Challenge at iheartfaces.com is hilarious outtakes. So here are a few of my favorites out of the many I found.

Entry 1

Dancing for Santa coming through the neighborhood on a fire truck.

Entry 2

This is from a long time ago, I don't know what my oldest was doing.

Entry 3

I thought I was catching her doing homework, who knew I'd get her smelling her pit.

(I'll be in a lot of trouble for this one.)

Entry 4

I guess the milk didn't taste too good.

Entry 5

My husband wanted a nice photo of all our girls for his desk. It took a little while to get one.

Want to see more outtakes? Go to iheartfaces.com

My first Cricut project

2009-12-28T11:32:00.001-05:00

I know I'm going to love this machine!

It's not the most creative thing but I'm getting the hang of cutting and transferring the vinyl.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T22:30:00.000-05:00

to all, and to all a good night!

Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas season!

i heart faces-pets

2009-12-15T20:13:00.004-05:00

This is my first time entering a photo at i heart faces. To see more pet photos at i heart faces click here. The challenge this week is pets only. This is our cat Quita. We've only had her a couple of months but she fit in with our family immediately.

A couple of little gifts I've been working on

2009-12-04T22:17:00.000-05:00

I thought I would post these two cuties. I made these for my two oldest and snoopiest daughters. (if snoopiest is a word) Yes, they found out I was making them.

I found the toast plushie here. The cupcake pattern I made myself. I should have made it smaller but I think it turned out fine anyway. I'm normally not one for hand sewing but I really liked making these. I'm definitely going to make more felt plushies in the future.

Lucky me

2009-12-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

My mom put my name in for a raffle at her Christmas party for Catholic Daughters and lo and behold I won, a beautiful afghan.

What a nice surprise!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T12:59:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone a wonderful and yummy Thanksgiving!

Crafting my butt off

2009-11-18T20:20:00.001-05:00

I will post soon. I've been very busy working on Christmas gifts. I'm trying to get them done so I won't be knitting furiously ~~fingers almost bleeding, hope they liked their gift~~ when I should be nestled all snug in my bed waiting for Santa. : )

Any quilters out there?

2009-11-11T09:44:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I was cleaning out my laundry/craft storage area when I started going through an old box of my Grandmother's patterns. (Mostly quilting patterns with a few other types of patterns thrown in.) I remembered seeing one of the quilts that I found the pattern for and I knew I had it somewhere in the house. Well last night I found it in a different storage area. We're getting ready for a yard sale and are going through everything in the house. Anyway...the quilt is torn on the left side corner. I was wondering since I'm not a quilter but I really want to preserve this what I could do to fix it.
I've had this for a long time, but sadly never noticed until last night that my Grandma Jo put the date when she finished this onto the quilt, 14 January 1941. So if any quilters out there would like to give me a little advice as to what I can do to fix this I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance for any help.

OMG!!! The best chocolate cake ever!

2009-11-02T18:30:00.001-05:00

Triple Chocolate Layer Guiness Cake. Chocolate and Guiness, I knew when I found this recipe it was the perfect thing for Kevin's birthday. I'm not the best at frosting cakes and I was in a hurry to get this on the table for my sweetheart. But looks aren't everything. This really is a most excellent cake and I don't really care for chocolate cake normally. I got this recipe from Hope Studios.

Kat's new hat

2009-10-25T16:41:00.001-04:00

I finally finished Kat's new slouchy beret. It's only been a month and a half. Sorry kiddo! I got sidetracked by some other projects. I got the pattern off of Ravelry.com It's called Star crossed slouchy beret by Natalie Larson. It's very easy and fun to make. This is actually the second one I've made.

Here is a peek at the first.

Yummy Mummy!

2009-10-23T10:19:00.003-04:00

These are the cupcakes I sent to school for Emma's birthday. They were so easy! I found them here at Hope Studios.

Finally got my Halloween things up

2009-10-22T18:17:00.001-04:00

We've been so busy lately helping my parents move that I haven't had much time for anything else. I actually got a whole day at home today with no interruptions. Hooray! Here's my ladder that Kevin made me all spookified.

Simple pumpkins

2009-10-04T21:18:00.001-04:00

I don't remember what site I saw these on, but it was a few weeks ago and they have just stuck in my head as something I would like to do. And it was soo easy. I didn't measure it and just had Kevin cut a 2x4 where I had marked it. Then he drilled a hole in the top of each block to match the stick I cut for stems. I sanded all three pieces down and rounded the edges a tad. I painted them and glued the stem into place and let them sit to dry. I distressed them with watered down black paint and rubbed it on lightly with a rag. I cut a strip from a remnant and pulled the edges to fray it. Tied it on and voila!

Quick Halloween decoration

2009-10-03T20:24:00.001-04:00

I saw a post on The Graphics Fairy where someone had made Halloween potion bottles so I thought I could come up with my own more macabre creation.

I saved a couple of bottles from the recycling bin and soaked them to get all the labels and sticky stuff off.

I had two paper mache skulls that had been rolling around the house waiting for me to do something with them. First I cut a hole in the bottom to fit the bottle cap. I painted them red and black, let them dry, then applied crackle medium. Once that was dry I painted over the black with a subtle yellow, and over the red I painted white.

While they were drying and doing that magical crackling effect, I found some vintage looking Halloween labels on Love Manor's flickr group, but you can find many different ones online. I printed them, cut them out and then made them into stickers using my Xyron machine. I adhered the labels to the bottles and then dripped paint in and on them for added interest.

Now to make a spooky vignette somewhere in the house. I will post pictures when I get it all together.

Sweet delight

2009-10-01T12:54:00.002-04:00

I have had a craving for lemon squares lately, and luckily (for my tastebuds not my hips and thighs) I happened upon a wonderful site a few days ago called Bakerella.com So I had to make the lemon squares recipe that was on there. It was delish!! The girls loved them and I think we will be making them more often. Check out all the really great ideas that are on the site. I'm going to try the cake pops for Emma's birthday treat at school. I want to try the pumpkin pie bites too!

Halloween is a coming and Emma already has her costume done.

2009-09-26T08:59:00.003-04:00

It really turned out cute, although it's hanging sort of funky on the right side in the picture. I don't have mad sewing skills and it has three different greens but I like it and more importantly Emma likes it. (Especially the tutu) It cost me $12 to make it, not to bad for a costume considering I usually spend about 20. Gotta love remnants and coupons. On to Katherine's devil costume, it is similar but with a few changes.

Tutu Mania

2009-09-09T15:18:00.002-04:00

I made tutus for Maggie and Emma over the weekend. I found a few patterns online but sort of took a little from each and did what I like best. Most of the ways to make them involved ribbon as the waist but I'm lazy and don't want to tie these things every time the girls want to wear them. So I bought some non-rolling elastic and cut it to fit each of them plus an inch. I marked them just so I wouldn't mix them up.

I took out my trusty sewing machine and stitched the elastic together. This could be done by hand also, but I hate hand sewing.

Now for lots of rolling and cutting. I bought 8 yards of tulle for each tutu. Roll the tulle into a tube and cut it every 5 inches or whatever size "curlers" (as Maggie and Emma called them) you want.

Unroll the tubes and cut each strip in half.

Fold a strip of tulle in half and loop around the elastic, pull the two ends trough the loop and Voila! Keep going until the elastic doesn't show. I made mine really full and floofy (if that's even a word) but if you don't want it as full just don't use as much tulle.

Here's Emma in her tutu. This is the start of her Tinkerbell costume for Halloween.

And here is Maggie in hers. She's going as a ballerina princess this year.

Lace-up gloves

2009-09-01T19:47:00.000-04:00

I found this great pattern on Ravelry.com for these Lace-up Opera Gloves by Ysolda. This pair is for Kat but I'm in the middle of making another pair for Mary Kate. I had to change my needle size from 5 to 8 because the first glove I made was way too small. Also instead of repeating the pattern rows 12 times I had to cut that down to 8 times, otherwise they would have been up to her armpits. This was a really easy pattern except for figuring out how to do the left thumb gusset but that is probably just me. :) For the lacing I just got a 6 yard spool of grosgrain ribbon.

Jonas Hat

2009-09-01T14:38:00.006-04:00

I want to share all the other crafty things I do besides making soap. So to start off, here is a hat I just finished knitting for Mary Kate. She is crazy about Joe Jonas. (Okay more like obsessed.) Needless to say he had a hat on similar to this one in a picture she has and so I dubbed the hat I made "The Jonas Hat". I know, what an original name but she loves it and it looks great on her.
The hat is a pattern I got off of Ravelry.com called the Star Crossed slouchy beret by Natalie Larson. I love the pattern and it was the first time I've tried doing cables. Very easy and fun!

Yummy! Is it frosting or body butter?

2008-12-06T20:56:00.002-05:00

Mary Kate said they look and feel like frosting. I made these the other day and already are my new favorite thing. That's a little Oprah-esque. Oh well. This stuff is great especially now with how dry my skin gets in the winter.

Craft Show at St. Peter's Church in Libertytown

2008-11-08T20:24:00.003-05:00

Fun day in Libertytown. Katty, Nana and I had a great time!

My first craft show

2008-10-18T18:27:00.004-04:00

Today was the first day of the Country Peddler Craft Show. We (my mom, one of my daughters, and myself) had a lot of fun.

All sorts of new lip balms

2008-09-26T09:25:00.002-04:00

Razzleberry plum
Stay toasty coconut
Bubbly Bubblegum

I got crazy the other day and made 11 flavors of lip balm. I had so much fun! These are just a few of them. My favorite of the day was the juicy watermelon. It smells delicious!

The unveiling of peppermint and pumice

2008-09-14T16:59:00.008-04:00

Here's the soap just out of the mold. Let me tell you it smells up the whole room just like a peppermint stick.
Cutting the soap.
Here are all the yummy bars. They will sit for four weeks until they are ready for use.

Check out our new site!!!

2008-09-11T16:20:00.001-04:00

We've moved to our new home!

Come and see our new site daisymousesoap.com

My soapmaking process

2008-09-11T09:24:00.019-04:00

This soap I'm making in these pictures is Peppermint Foot Scrub with pumice.
My liquid oils-olive, castor, rice bran.
Fragrance oil- this one is Peppermint Stick
Here are my solid oils and butters starting to melt- shea butter, palm oil, coconut oil.
Lye water with aloe.
Almost finished melting.
Pouring in the lye water.
Here's what it looks like when you first pour the lye water in with the oils.
Blending away.
In this picture I've already added my colorant (in this case, titanium dioxide) and the pumice.
Now I'm adding the fragrance oil. It smells just like a candy cane. Yum yum!
Pouring the raw soap into my 4 pound loaf mold.
Gotta get the very last drop.

Covered over and waiting 24 hours until I unmold it. I hate the waiting.