Hello Everyone!

I thought I'd check in and say hi!  I have done lots of crafty things since I haven't been blogging.  I figured I'd share a little of what I've been doing and check in.

I'm currently working on creating a large craft room in our unfinished basement, and when that's done I may pick up blogging again as I will have lots more room to spread out and have room to film, photograph, etc.  No promises, but I may get back into posting when that finished in a couple months.

So way back for Easter I sewed my daughter a dress and used a machine to do some embroidery on a shirt for my son.  The dress came out SO cute!!!  My daughter was thrilled with it.

I have been volunteering at a rabbit shelter and made tons of things for a fundraiser they had in the spring.  I made signs, spray painted little trophies for prizes, and used my Yudu along with some iron on transfers to make some cute shirts.  Here's just a few photos.  I'm not going to share everything I made cuz it's a little repetitive. 

 

I decided to sew banners for my kids' birthdays so I don't have to keep making a new one each year.  Lots of work, but nice results.  Well... honestly I thought my daughter's came out nice.  My son's banner doesn't sit very flat on the bottom and I'm pretty irked about it, but it happens.

Here's an outfit I created for my daugher's doll.  It's one of the Our Generation dolls from Target.  She LOVES it and it was SO much more affordable than American Girl.   I LOVED making this outfit.  What a great way to use up fabric left from other projects, and so much faster than sewing "real" clothes since inside details are less important.

 

Anyways.  Just popping in.  I do still check blogs and Youtube when I can, but I'm not logged in a lot of the time for commenting and such.

So, I'm still doing projects for sure.  I'm really into my sewing lately.  

 

Right now I am working on a stamp index that is VERY time consuming but will allow me to open a binder to a page of something specific like birthday sentiments and see all the sentiments from various sets that I have.  I have also been stamping the sets on their own pages in alphabetical order, just like I store them so I can browse that way as well. 

Have a wonderful, and very crafty day!

I've Decided To Stop Blogging

I have decided to stop writing my blog and making Youtube videos. I'd just like to take a few moments to share why.  My post is a bit long, but I figure a few people I've gotten to know would be curious about all the fun stuff I'm doing that's keeping me away.

First off, let me say that it has been SUCH an amazing, fun, and wonderful experience to share my creativity with so many fabulous people. I have loved reading many blogs from other crafty people too. There is something so magical about creativity. All the kind comments have brightened my days on many occasions.

I got serious about my blogging because it was such a great outlet for me. I spent most of my time stuck in the house and it was a great way to connect with other people to write a blog, read other blogs, etc. 

As life has gotten more and more busy I have so much going on in my day to day life that blogging just keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the list, and then not done at all. I could try and push myself to make more cards and quick projects, but instead I've been doing far more time consuming things like knitting and sewing that take a long time for me to have anything worthwhile to show. Even after I finish those types of projects I didn't create the patterns so I can't share them with you so all I have to offer is a photo and maybe a quick tip or two. I know most people follow me for my cards and even though I have sweet friends who will say kind things about those projects I don't think I can provide nearly as much inspiration that way.

So, for anyone who is curious these are all the wonderful things I've been up to....

I'm working out 5-6 days a week. Currently I'm doing an awesome program called Turbo Fire that's very fun and challenging.

I'm homeschooling my kids. They are only 2 and 3 now, but I'm busy teaching my daughter to read, tell time, and working with my son on his letters, numbers, shapes, etc.

My daughter is currently in dance and gymnastics & my son just started Tae Kwan Do.

I am learning to bake from scratch and trying to cook all of our meals. I'd like to expand to starting a vegetable garden, canning, etc.

Instead of making cards my creative passions have been going towards sewing, knitting, and other more time consuming projects. Many of which I can work on easily while on the couch with my family instead of tucked away in my craft room by myself.

I have been volunteering at a rabbit shelter across town. It's a big commitment to do this every week, but it's very rewarding. We've decided to adopt a pair of rabbits of our own and will be picking them out next week. Obviously we want to have lots of time to adore and spoil our pets and that will be a big time commitment.

We've been blessed to be having lunch with my Dad every week. The kids and I enjoy getting to see him and he always gets the biggest smile on his face when he sees the kids smiling at him.

On top of all these things of course I have the usual daily cleaning, keeping the kids entertained, etc. I schedule my days with time for chores and all of that, and the only “free time” is a few hours here or there. I've decided I'd rather spend that time playing with my kids, our future pets, or just enjoying my longer term and shorter term projects without feeling pressured to get things done, photographed, and posted. I don't want to stop being creative, I just don't want to feel like I need to constantly be producing a finished product that is original and that I can provide inspiration with.

So, even though I still love blogging, at the end of the day I love the other things I'm involved with even more. All the recent talk of Google Friend Connect going away and other things has been the last straw. I don't need a new system of keeping up to deal with. I have many blogs I adore but I keep falling behind on stopping by and leaving comments.

I'm sure I'll still be around in some capacity, but I'd rather stop blogging and be decided about it that let it keep getting neglected.  When I do something I like to pour everything into it and do it to the best of my ability, so half halfheartedly updating the blog occasionally isn't in my nature.

I might keep my Facebook page and still post there or keep the gallery or something. I haven't really decided. I still plan on enjoying all your wonderful blogs when I have a chance, but I probably won't leave as many comments as I used to.

Hugs to all! It's been an amazing ride, but I don't want to be one of those people that just tries to do way too much. I want to focus my efforts on what my top priorities are, even if the things I have to let go are still awesome I have to be willing to let some things slide to make room.  To be honest I think the main reason that myself, and anyone else for that matter, feel unhappy is when we focus on too many things.  Trying to do too much, or trying to buy more stuff.  Less can be much better.  Simplicity makes life less stressful and allows us to enjoy, appreciate, and fully savor the little moments in our lives without being so rushed to the next task.  Since I plan on homeschooling for the long haul I will have a lot of control over our daily schedule and I want to use my time as responsibly as I can to take care of my family and do good in our community.

Sewing Machine Cover

I needed a nice cover for my sewing machine.  It didn't come with a cover and I've been using a drawstring purse bag to protect it, but it's way too big and not very cute.

I found instructions on how to make a sewing machine cover with a pocket in the book One Yard Wonders.  It wasn't difficult at all and it went quickly.

Here's a side view.

I'm really enjoying sewing these days.  My creative mojo for new ideas seems to be harder to come by lately so it's nice to have a project where I just pick a fabric and follow instructions!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gecko Card

I thought this would be fun for a boy.  It would work well as a birthday card, but since the sentiment is generic it could be used for other things, like a congrats on an accomplishment.  I've left the inside blank so I can decide it's use later.

The little gecko was cut from the Cricut American Alphabet cartridge on my E2 at 3.5 inches.  Quick note here, I would NOT attempt to cut it any smaller than that.  His little feet are very delicate to remove from the mat.  I added some little tiny googly eyes to him and put him up on some pop dots.

The twine is Peapod from The Twinery.

The buttons were from the Michael's $1 section.

The stamp is from Unity's Mix Up of Cuteness set.  I stamped it in Versamark and embossed using some white embossing powder.

The paper is from My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Fly A Kite 6 by 6 pad.  

I rounded the corners on a 1/4 inch setting using my Corner Chomper.

Quick and easy!  Thanks a bunch for stopping by :)

Party This Way Card

I used Stampin' Up's set called Party This Way.  For the sign I used Only Orange ink.  It's up on Pop Dots and I used Crystal Stickles around the edges.

The balloons are stamped in Rich Razzleberry, Taken With Teal, and Real Red.  The strings are twine from The Twinery in Stone.

The card base is just Kraft.  I rounded the top 2 corners on a 1/2 inch setting using my Corner Chomper.  Then I went around the edges to do faux stitching using my Sakura gel pen. 

I Sewed Some Makeup Bags

I think these came out really well!

What's nice about a project like this is that since the bags are a rectangle you can just use sheets of paper to make a pattern.  I made 3 different sizes to make this gift set.

I purchased most things at Joanns.  The fabric and the zippers at least.  I didn't get a photo of the insides but they are just plain brown.  What's nice about these bags is that the way they are sewn the edges look beautiful inside just like they do outside.  I learned how to make them look nice on both sides by watching this tutorial. 

The only things I would note is that for this type of fabric I found I couldn't sew the zipper too close or it wouldn't open and shut easily.  Also, this fabric frayed easily while working with it so I couldn't really rip out a seam and fix a mistake.  I made a bag the same way out of cotton before and it was MUCH easier.  

Here's a closer look at the little zipper pulls I made before I attached them to the bags.  I just used some beads I had laying around in my jewelry supplies and I think they made an awesome finishing touch.

After spending many hours getting these bags done I really wanted to present them nicely so I made a custom gift box.  Before assembling the box I stamped all over the lid with a Fiskars set called Winter Wishes using Stampin' Up ink in Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip.  I also made a gift tag using my Nestabilities Labels One dies.  The back layer is embossed with the Cuttlebug folder Divine Swirls.  Here's the completed box they went in all tied up with pretty grosgrain ribbon.

So, there ya have it.  A custom gift set of makeup bags.  I'm very pleased with how they came out and think they made a perfect gift.  I may make more in different colors for other friends in the future.  I'm trying to do more sewing :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I'm linking these up to the following parties:

Cutie Pie Card

I decided to use the adorable image called Cheeky Cherry Pie from The Greeting Farm.  I stamped her in some Rich Cocoa Memento ink, all but her lips.  To get just her lips to stamp red what I did was ink up the whole stamp in the brown, and then I used a damp paper towel corner to very carefully remove the brown from her lips.  After the lips were clean I quickly rubbed on some Real Red using a Stampin' Up maker.  I just had to have red lips on her.  I colored her in using a variety of copics.  For a finishing touch I added some Diamond Stickles to her eyelids and apron ruffles.

I used my Nestabilities to cut her out and layer her onto some scallops.  I used my paper piercer to push holes in the scallops.  I pop dotted this up onto my card base.

For the card base I rounded the top 2 corners on a 1/2 inch setting.  I went around the edges with faux stitching lines using a Chocolate Chip Stampin' Up marker.

Along the bottom of the card you see a piece of patterned paper from the Echo Park Little Girl Collection and a sticker from the same collection.  I went around the edges of the paper with some Icicle Stickles.

The scallops along the bottom are actually part of the inside of the card.  I just trimmed a little off the bottom of the card front before decorating it.  I used the EK Success Open Scallop punch.  This is a cool effect because the scallops show on the outside of the card, and also help make the inside cute.  I added the same marker stitching lines to the inside of the card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dinosaur Layout

I wanted to play with my Copics so I colored up this awesome dinosaur from the Dinoroar set by Stampin Up.  I hand cut him and glued him to a piece of cream cardstock that was cut into an oval with my Nestabilities.  I sponged it with Close to Cocoa ink.  I layered that onto a piece of kraft that was cut with a scalloped oval Nestabilities.  This was pop dotted up onto a layer of cardstock that was embossed using the Oriental Weave Cuttlebug folder.  The dinosaur border was an EK Success punch.  I stamped a sentiment from the same Dinorar set using Chocolate Chip Ink - it reads "Roar! (that means happy birthday in dinosaur)"  I added a bit of brown grosgrain ribbon. The corners are all rounded on a 1/2 inch setting.

All the cute stickers are from Little Yellow Bicycle.  I also used some Stampin Up rub ons to create a border of circles on my kraft cardstock before journaling with my Chocolate Chip marker.

The photo mats are sized to work with 5 by 3 inch photos and leave a nice yellow border.  I will round the corners of the photos when I get them printed as well.  I had the photos on my computer in front of me when doing the layout, but I need to send them for printing.

Follow Your Heart Maze Card

How fun is it that this card has a little maze on it that you can actually play?!

The maze is available from Stampin' Up.

The stamp set is designed to coordinate with the maze and is called Totally A-maze-ing.

I stamped the pink background using Pixie Pink ink.  Then I went in with a Real Red marker and added some stitching lines and doodle dots.  I filled the little heart in the center with Fruit Punch colored Stickles.

I layered the maze onto a piece of white cardstock that's 3 inches square with corners rounded on a 1/2 inch setting using my Corner Chomper.  The stitching lines were drawn with a Real Red marker.

The card base patterned paper was given to me by a friend.  I have no idea what brand it is.

The banner along the bottom was simply hand cut.  I stamped the sentiment from the same Totally A-maze-ing set using Real Red.  The glittered chipboard heart is from DCWV and has been in my stash from a kit I purchased a long time ago.

I'm feeling the love in the air for Valentine's Day :)

Thanks for stopping by!

I am also sharing this today for...

Tigger Layout

My scrapbook pages are usually very quick.  That's the only way I get them done.  I'm a good year or more behind at this point since I like to do TONS of pages so it's time to get my butt in gear and really scrap as often as possible.  I was excited to scrap this ADORABLE photo of my son flat on the floor passed out.  I'm not crazy about the overall dark feel that the photo has with black coming in from both sides so I made sure the page itself was bright and vibrant.

Here's a quick layout I did.

The polka dot paper is from Echo Park's Little Boy collection.

The orange paper is from the SEI Zoo Pals stack and is punched with the Stampin' Up Scallop Edge Border Punch.

The green paper is from a DCWV Stack - can't think of the name.

The Tigger embellishment is by EK Success.

The photo is cropped to 4 inches square and then I rounded the corners on a 1/4 inch setting.  The photo mat is also rounded.

The tag is cut from a sheet of the Echo Park Little Boy collection.  I added a metal embellishment from a Jo-ann Essentials pack, the theme for it is Love & Wedding.  I journaled using my Old Olive marker from Stampin' Up.

The Sky's The Limit Card

Ink colors used for this card all from Stampin' Up:

Marina Mist

Cherry Cobbler

Rich Razzleberry

Close to Cocoa

Stamps used:

Hero Arts Clouds Background Stamp

Stampin' Up set called Up, Up & Away

I also used Versa Mark Ink and black embossing powder on the sentiment.  

I used a Close to Cocoa Marker to do the stitching lines around the edges and also to make a cross hatch pattern on the baskets.

For a finishing touch I added some Diamond Stickles to all the white parts of the hot air balloons.

Thanks for visiting!

Some Welcome New Additions to My Craft Room

My husband built this for me this past weekend.  I wanted storage for all my stamps - stored in DVD cases.  I wanted shelves that were the right size and not way deeper or taller than they needed to be.  These shelves are the PERFECT size for the dvd cases without wasting space.  I have plenty of additional space on the shelves so I won't have to change them as my collection grows.  For now that extra space works to store a few other odds and ends and display some cards.  I notice when I put my cards in boxes I forget I have them and don't send them to anyone.  I'm hoping maybe displaying them will help with that problem.

The desk you see a little of in the photo was also built by my husband.  He was using it in his office and let me have it for sewing.  The photo is pointing towards my new organizer from The Container Store.  It's one of their Elfa storage pieces, which I LOVE.  Nice and sturdy.  I just have to put the labels on the drawers and they'll be done.  I have a thread organizer on top.  The drawers hold all my sewing essentials, scissors, bobbins, patterns, pins, sewing manual, etc.  I love that they are RIGHT there so I don't have to get up every time I need to get something out or put something away.  The desk has plenty of space for cutting too, so I put my rotary cutting mat above these shelves.

We just found these adorable storage containers at Target.  Purple is my favorite color so I was pretty excited.  They hold things for embroidery, cross stitch, knitting, crochet, and jewelry making.  I didn't like too many random things loose on the shelves so I think this looks better, and it's also practical since I can carry an organizer over to a work space if I want.

The reason for the new additions is that I have been dabbling a lot more with my sewing, knitting, and other types of crafting lately.  I really needed to re-arrange my craft space to better accommodate the sewing in particular.  

Thanks for stopping by.  I know, I stink.  I haven't been posting many projects and I keep falling behind on visiting all my friends to see your beautiful work and leave you nice comments.  I promise I still love ya'll.  I'm just going through a phase of getting into new habits and haven't adjusted yet. I could go on and on about all the fun things my kids and I are doing,but I'll just say it's been AWESOME and worth it.  I just need to find some balance when it comes to getting my time in my craft room too :)

Good Friend Card

The papers are all from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky 6 by 6 pad.  I have left this pad on my desk and have been playing with the scraps created from other cards.  This is the 3rd post in a row using that paper and I think all the cards have a different feel.  I need to use scraps right away like this more often! *LOL*  Less waste and it's very efficient.  Once I put the scraps away I tend to forget about them and they go unused.  If I use them right away I save time and waste.

I used my Stampin Up Scallop Border punch for all the layers along the button.

The green buttons were from the Michael's $1 bin and I threaded them with purple embroidery floss.

The stamp is from a Stampin Up set called Good Friend that is now retired.

The bird brads are from Oriental Trading.  I'm not sure where the purple brad in between them came from.

 

I used a Sakura Stardust pen to do some stitching lines.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I know I haven't been around much lately.  I've actually been crafty.  Just not much to show off.  I have been working on a crochet project, but it looks pretty gosh darn boring right now - It will eventually be a snazzy gingerbread house.  I've also started knitting, which so far I am horrible at!  *LOL*  No worries, I'm stubborn and I'll keep practicing.  I've also been messing around with my sewing.  One of these days I'll actually have something nifty to show you from all that dabbling ;)

Patterned Hearts Card

All the patterns used are from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky 6 by 6 pad.

I cut 3 hearts in each pattern from the Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge.

I wanted to make them as even as possible so I used some strips of paper adhered with removable adhesive around the edges to help keep things as even as I could.  It's still not perfect, but far better than I think I would have done without some guidelines.

After I had all the hearts in place I started drawing the lines with my Sakura Gelly Roll pen.  I wanted to create a kind of frame.  When I was done drawing the lines I didn't like the way the corners looked, so I added some pink dew drops.

The sentiment on the bottom is from SP & Company's set I Love Love.  I stamped it in Versa Mark and then embossed it using white embossing powder.

I rounded the top 2 corners on a 1/2 inch setting on my corner chomper.  

As a finishing touch I decided to add Diamond Stickles to the pink hearts.

Thank You Teacup Card

Hello Everyone!

Today I have a sweet little thank you card.

The base is Kraft cardstock and it measures 4 by 4 when folded.  The top 2 corners are rounded on a 1/2 inch setting using my Corner Chomper.

The stitching lines were done with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen, truly it's my very favorite gel pen.

 

All the patterned papers used were from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky 6 by 6 pad.

The teacup was cut using the Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge.  I custom created the scalloped part by using my Stampin' Up scallop border punch and then cutting little slits in the top so I could make the curve to match the teacup.  I was inspired by this Stampin' Up stamp set to use polka dots and then scallops:

 

 

  Sometimes I find inspiration that way, when I like a product but am not sure I will get it I search for ways to get a similar look with things I already have. The stamp set is called Tea Shoppe and it's in the Occasions Mini catalog that runs until April 30th if you happen to like it and want to get it.  I'm not a demo, just passing along the info.

I used the same border punch along the bottom.

The stamp is from a set called Short and Sweet from Stampin Up.  The ink color used was Mellow Moss.

 

I think this will make a nice card for a friend :)

Thanks for stopping by!

The button is from the $1 section of Michael's and the ribbon was in my stash.  I threaded the button with embroidery floss.

Baby Boy Card

I started off with a kraft colored card base.  I rounded all the corners at a 1/2 inch setting on my Corner Chomper.

I added a layer of paper from Echo Park's Little Boy collection.  It was cut to 4 by 5 and 1/4 and I also rounded the corners at a 1/2 inch setting.

Once the two layers were together I grabbed a Not Quite Navy marker from Stampin' Up and did some stitching lines around the edges of the card.

For the center I grabbed a tag from the Same Echo Park paper line.  I used a stamp from Pink By Design's Baby love set and stamped it in Real Red ink from Stampin' Up.  I felt like it needed a little something so I found this swirly green clip and added it too.  Then I pop dotted the tag onto the card.

For the banner along the bottom I used a Stamp from SP & Company's Ultimate Sentiments 1.  I used Stampin' Up's Pumpkin Pie ink and some green bling from my stash.  I hand cut the banner and then used the marker I had handy to help me curl the paper.  I used 2 layers of pop dots under the part I wanted to stay up.

You Are a Lovely Friend

I started off with some vanilla colored cardstock.  I stamped a journaling area using Stampin' Up's Creamy Caramel ink.  The stamp set used was Close to My Heart's Key to My Heart.  I cut the tag out by hand.  

 

I grabbed some Smoothie colored ink to stamp the heart from that same set.  It is pop dotted up and I added some Star Dust Stickles to the swirls in it.

The sentiment was also stamped with the Smoothie ink and the stamp set used was SP & Company's Mix N Match: Friends.

I popped up the tag onto a layer of paper from Echo Park's Little Girl collection that I rounded the corners on.

For the card base I used Kraft and rounded the corners.  I also stamped a woodgrain background using the Creamy Caramel ink and a Hero Arts background stamp.

Confetti Card

Happy new year!

I hope your holiday season was filled with fun and lots of love.

Today I set out to make a new year's themed card with confetti, and that's not exactly the direction it went in.  Now I think this card might be used for a thinking of you, a get well, or maybe for a young girl's birthday.

I started off with a standard A2 sized card base in light pink.

I cut a green layer at 4 inches by 5 and 1/4 inches.  I used a Nestabilities die to cut out a circle, and then I embossed it using the Cuttlebug folder called Spots and Dots.

I laid the green layer on top of the pink and lightly traced the circle with my pencil so I could see where to place everything.  I used the pencil mark as a guideline for where to stick my flower down.  It is a K & Company embellishment.  After sticking the flower down I erased my pencil marks.

I grabbed a Stampin' Up Sweet Treat Cup and filled it with confetti.  Then I peeled off the backing.  The tricky part is sticking down the cup without spilling what's inside.  I held the cup up at an angle and lowered my card base down on top of it.

After my Sweet Treat cup was on I glued down my green layer over the top.

To create the gumball machine I used the Stampin' Up set called Something Sweet.  I stamped the gumball machine in Pink Passion ink.  I attached it using pop dots.  To embellish it I added a couple pink rhinestones and I covered the white parts of the machine with Star Dust Stickles.

I added some more pink bling in the top corners, and then finished off with a ribbon and bow along the bottom.  To get the bow to sit perfectly straight I attached the ribbon by itself.  It has ends taped to the back of the card.  Then I tied a little piece of twine around the ribbon where I wanted to stick the bow.  You don't see the twine, it just makes the ribbon go inward like it would if you tied the bow with it.  I used my Ultimate Crafter's Companion to tie a perfect bow and then attached it with a glue dot.