Happy New Year

No project today, just wanted to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!  Be safe and have some crafty fun.  Don't get into too much trouble....you know who you are!

God bless, take care and see you on the flip side!

*images courtesy of Lettering Delights new Cowabunga graphics set.

Everyday Cards Kit by SVG Cuts

Need a card quick and don't have any ideas?  Then this is the kit for you - Everyday Cards by SVG Cuts.  Mary has created a beautiful assortment of cards for just about every occasion right at your fingertips.  Here's the info on this kit from their site:

Have a great day and happy crafting!

Patchwork Poinsettia Card

Everyone looking forward to the New Year?  Man has this year flown by.  I still can't believe it.  And here I am still posting Christmas projects.  Bare with me OK.  I was kind of busy crafting Christmas. :)

I love the semi-new Merry and Bright kit from SVG Cuts and wanted to make the patchwork poinsettia card.  Of course, I can't leave well enough alone and didn't use all the files that came in the kit.

There is supposed to be three pieces to add across the middle.  I just thought I would change it up and add a ribbon instead.  I really love the odd shape of this card.  It adds a little something different, something wonderful that says "I think you're odd, so is your card."  No, just kidding.  It just makes it special like the person it was made for. 

Here is a close-up of the purdy ribbon, buttons, drops and poinsettia with the messed up Viva Decor embellishments.  o_O  I have no patience for drying pearls! 

Got that song stuck in your head now, don'cha?

The sentiment comes from the Punpkin Patch stamps set O Holy Night.  I love the Christian sayings in this set.  I can see me using these in a few cards during the year, not just Christmas.

Names swirled out to protect the guilty

The inside sentiment is also a Punkin Patch stamp but from the Gingerbread Kisses set.  This is only the second time I have used their stamps on a project.  They give a very nice, clean impression.  I am pretty new to stamping in my crafts and don't have many stamp sets.  I have to say I am enjoying these and glad I purchased. 

That's it for today.  I think I am going to take the rest of the year off from posting (yes, I know it is only one day!) and want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.  See you next year and don't eat too much pork, sauerkraut and dumplings!

Tulle Christmas Trees, What Not to Do

Tulle trees, nylon net trees, sheesh, it's all the same to me I guess!  When we were looking for table decoration ideas for the Ladies Christmas Banquet at church, we could not find instructions anywhere.  Maybe because I don't know the difference between tulle and nylon net.  Google is not all knowing, just for the record. You'd think in today's day and age a search engine could read my mind.  hrumph..Anyway, after weeks of searching we finally found one.  (Note to self, start using Bing or use the right keywords!)

Upon reading the instructions, I couldn't figure out (still at this point not understanding there is a difference) where they bought 72" wide tulle.  All I could find was 6" wide.  There is a really big length disparity there!  But we plugged away using the (all ready purchased) 6" roll.  Frustration starts here...why, oh, why I make things harder for myself, I don't know.  And poor Kathy and Sarah decided to help me.  "We can help you" is probably something they will never say to me again.

I can't even begin to tell you how we adjusted the pattern.  I think I have blocked it from my mind entirely.  It went something like we made the lengths what was called for in the width and our widths the lengths. Clear as mud?  Example, it calls for a piece 15" long x 72" wide first, folded in half, making it 7 1/2" by 72".  Then you run a basting stitch close to the fold about 1/4" in.  We made our tulle 72" long and didn't fold it.  We left it 6" (remember that was the width of the roll?) by 72" then ran a basting stitch 1/4" in.  Confused yet, yeah.  Trust me, just stick to the pattern, you will be happy and saner for it in the long run.  We started third row down since our tallest tree was 12" high instead of 18", it worked out good with that being the base.  Speaking of the base, my husband cut some hickory logs and we glued four 12", four 9" and then four 6" dowels.  That gave use three size trees for each table.

Hindsight is 20/20 right?  I should have used a lighter color paint for the dowels.  I just wanted them to kind of fade into the tree.  This color was a little more obvious.

Again, do yourself a favor and follow the pattern.  Don't do it my dum-dum way.  I even got desperate and went searching for a different pattern that used the 6" roll or an easier way than sewing.  I haven't used my sewing machine in years.  Very, very rusty I was.  None to be found.  Trust me, this is not meant to be a tutorial.  One, I stink at tuts and two, I really can't bear to re-visit this horror.

Just keep sewing the net according to the directions and in about two weeks you MIGHT have a completed tree.  Our 12" tree had about 10 rings starting at the 12" by 72" line in the pattern.  Now it was time to get to the easy part, decorating.  I found a bag of wood snowflakes at Hobby Lobby.  Painting is something I can do and it was a relief to get to that part of the project.  It meant we were also done.  That ol' hindsight again, I should have bought snowflakes in three different sizes as the large were a little too overpowering on the small trees.  I wanted this over and done with pronto and wasn't about to scrap those and hunt down more.  We did sprinkle the snowflakes with glitter to add a little sparkle.

Here is a picture of them almost done.  They are all naked and hanging out waiting on the ornaments.  Which we hadn't purchased at this point.  I found mini glitter balls in various sizes and hot glued all over the trees.

This is a what NOT to do in making tulle..umm..I mean...nylon net trees.  For all the trouble they were, it was worth it.  The tables were simple and beautiful.  You can see the luminaries from Mason jars and Epsom salt, also the glitter ornaments (minus the clothes) on the tables too.  I used white vinyl to put Merry Christmas on one side and 2011 on the other.   I made enough for everyone to take an ornament home.  It was my gift to the ladies for coming.

Hope I didn't confuse you guys too much and you enjoyed hearing about my misery.   At least you know you are not alone when you have a really bad crafting day.  It all works out in the end, doesn't it.  LOL  Have a great day crafting!

Best Friends Bag

Since some of my friends actually think I am crafty, one of them asked if I would jazz up a bag she was purchasing from the Thirty-One party I hosted back in November.  Really, she didn't want to purchase it without making sure I could do it.  ^__^

She was buying two of the bag above for her daughter and her friend.  Only thing was, they wouldn't add the names AND the sentiment.  So I told her to get the names and I would add the "Best Friends."  I think it came out really cute.

I used the freezer paper method to add the sentiment.  If you are not familiar with this, it is very simple.  Freezer paper has two sides, one shiny and the other matte.  The shiny is the one that, when ironed, will temporarily stick to material.

All you have to do is cut (by die-cutter or hand) a design onto the paper, iron on and proceed to sponge fabric paint in the color of your choosing.  If you are using a electronic die-cut machine, make sure your paper is placed matte side down on your carrier sheet.  The shiny side will not stick. Oh and don't forget to make sure your design is mirrored.  That way when you iron it down, it will be facing the right way.

A quick note on the paint too.  I use to paint quite a bit with acrylics, so I have a ton of them.  So as not to go to waste, I purchased some FolkArt(R) Acrylic Textile Mediumthat mixes with the paint to make them safe on fabrics.  So, if you have regular acrylic paint but no fabric, buy the textile medium and use what you already have lying around to save some money.

After the paint is dry, carefully peel off the freezer paper and you have a new and improved bag!  LOL  If you peel it off before it is totally dry, it really isn't that big of a deal.  But it is better to be safe than sorry.  I know it can be exciting to see something completed that you worked hard on.

Here is the finished project.  What do you think?  The girls were able to open these on Christmas.  I am waiting to hear from my friend on how they liked them.  I really hope they enjoy carrying around all those heavy college books in their new stylish bags. 

If you like the bag and want to know more about it or check out Thirty-One Gifts other offerings, here is the link.  Be forewarned, it is not the easiest website to navigate.  I just want to say, I am not affiliated with them in any way except one of their consultants is my good friend and coffee buddy.   ^__^

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!

In the Doghouse

Hope everyone is having a great day so far!  I have for you today a cute little card that I made for my niece.  The slacker that I am from trying to finish up my Christmas party decorations, I forgot to make her a card.  My Scrap Chick asked for volunteers on Facebook to make something from her new Print and Cut line.  Everyone who volunteered got two different files to come up with a project.  Check out her page for all the wonderful projects.

She sent me this cute little doghouse and the first thing I thought of was my inability to do things in a timely manner.  I was definitely "in the doghouse" with my 9 year old niece for forgetting to acknowledge her birthday.

I did add the sentiment to his sign. I named him "mud" because that's what I felt like for not sending him sooner.  See Kira, you have proof how terrible your aunt is.  I am making a public apology. LOL

Homemade glue dots colored with markers to match the card and the wonderful I'm a slacker sentiment from My Thoughts Exactly The Birds and the Bees stamp set.  I thought the cute little bee would soften my slackery.  He does beg forgiveness with that sunny smile.  Hope you enjoyed, that's all I have time for today.  Back to slac...erm...back to creating.  Have a great day and happy crafting!

A Tree-t Like No Other

Hi everyone.  I pray you had a very joyous and crafty Christmas!  Did you get that one tool you had been dying for?  Well, I had a great time this Christmas with my family and church friends.  So great to be part of such wonderful group of people!

And speaking of wonderful people (besides you dear friends!), I thought I would show you the little gift boxes by Belinda of SVGs by Bee.

Is this stamp and twine not perfect for these gift boxes?  The stamp is from Joy's Life and twine is Trendy Twine in Candy Cane.  These are looking good enough to eat and I haven't showed you how many goodies you can shove in here yet!

Here are two of the boxes with chocolate covered pretzels and dipped crackers.  So delicious!  These fit 7 of the pretzels and 11 of the crackers.  I should have stacked the crackers better.  Looks a little messy.  I also fit 5 Buckeyes in one and 4 large cake balls in the other two boxes.  I didn't show those because it would make you question my cooking skills.  ;)

Right now, you can get these perfect little gift boxes FREE with ANY purchase.  Did you hear me?  Free with just one little purchase.  This is only for a limited time, so click on over to SVGs by Bee while the gettings good.  ^__^  Thanks for stopping by today and have a great time crafting with your new toys!

Jin Inspired Nancy Kubo Gift Tags

I sure most of you all know who Jin from Under a Cherry Tree is.  A crafter extraordinaire!  She recently made some adorable Christmas gift tags using Lettering Delight's new Nancy Happy Holidays graphics set.  Yes, that Nancy.  Of Create-a-Critter Cricut cartridge fame.  It was the one cart I had longed for when I had my Expression but never bought because I didn't see the need with two teenage boys.

Today for an early Christmas present, my wonderful hubby purchased me the Teacher Subscription at Lettering Delights (I home school)!  So these are the first of many projects to come for these little cuties.

Jin had asked if anyone was inspired by her tags (can you say YES!) and used her latest tutorial for making them.  Well, I didn't have the files yet (was hoping they were under the tree ^__^) but I was definitely inspired after reading how she put these together.  I had determined they were first on my to-do list.

Any of you who read my blog know I am a Make the Cut girl, all the way.  Jin used Silhouette Studio.  I do have it and it's easy to use, I just prefer Make the Cut with the Silhouette plug-in.  If you only have Make the Cut, that's OK.  You can still follow her tutorial, that's what I did and they came out great!  As you can see my Silhouette SD cut these perfect and spot on.

I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't put all the bells and whistles that Jin did.  Hubby came home early from work surprising me with a date night then over a friend's house we don't get to see that often.  Yay!  So no complaints here.  Of course, no gift tag is complete without some yummy, delicious twine!  The color used here is Twisted Lime.  I love the two greens together like that.  It goes good for Christmas too.

This will probably be my last post before Christmas, I just want to say a big Merry Christmas to you and yours.  Be safe and may you unwrap lots of crafty toys!

Say Hello to My Little Friend...

...and tell him how yummy he looks!  LOL  Here is a cute little Christmas gift idea for those of us who like to give goodies out at Christmas.  This snowman container is part of SVG Cuts December Gifts kit available now for $6.99.  He is so stinkin' cute I can't stop squeeing.

His lil' friend, Mr. Gingerbread does not come in the kit but good news, he is a SVG Cut freebie.  I almost cut tooth marks out of the side of Mr. Gingerbread's head but couldn't bring myself to do it because he is too adorable.

I forgot to cut out his bow tie.  No problem, My Thoughts Exactly to the rescue!  There just happens to be the perfect size bow in the Holly Jolly tags.  As you can see, my embossing skills need some work.  Oh well.  I would also like to say a public "THANK YOU" to Belinda over at SVGs by Bee.  She sent me the tag stamps as a Christmas present.  Isn't that sweet?!?  You are the bestest!

The reason Frosty is holding a cookie you ask?  Because he also makes an great tag for when you are gifting the goods.  I used the Holly Jolly tags once again for the back.  To make him look even more festive, I wrapped his hat and layered his scarf in Berry Blue Trendy Twine.  I ran some old white ribbon I had laying around through my Xyron and just placed the twine to give it some stability.  I wanted the ends to stand up.  It worked out really well.

Now all you have to do is write that special friend's name and you have a awesome gift to bring to brighten anyone's Holiday!  I just couldn't stop taking pictures, sorry there are so many.  He is just lovely.

Since he is so cute I am entering him in a couple challenges.  First one is the 3D Winter Challenge on SVG Cuts Facebook page.  If you don't think you would like to enter, there are some great entries.  Go take a look and comment on your favorites.  Second is the Trendy Twine December Challenge.  This one was the real reason Frosty is waving around his dessert.  I took the first row of the Tic Tac Toe board.  Don't understand what in the world I am talking about?  The challenge information can be found on their blog.

Thanks for stopping by and have a very Merry Christmas!

It's Holli-Dollar Days at Lettering Delights

Wow!  I was so not expecting an end of the year "Dollar Days" from Lettering Delights!  What an awesome way to end the year with a sale at one of my favorite places.  Here are the details from their newsletter.

Wrap up your holidays and hop into the New Year with Dollar Days! There's no better way to say "Hoppy Holidays" than by passing on great savings during our most popular sale of the year.

We won't be holding Dollar Days on a regular basis* beginning in 2012, so now is the time to jump to it and save on most everything at Lettering Delights.

• JUST $1: All fonts, alphabets, doodlebats, graphic sets, clipart, paper packs, candy wraps and more!
• $2 and up: All cut-it sets and SVGs (all items at least 50% off!)

*Though Dollar Days won't be a regular occurrence on Lettering Delights, we will offer other amazing sales periodically throughout the year. Stay tuned to our newsletter, blog and Facebook pages where all future sales and special promotions will be announced.   

Have fun shopping and happy crafting!