Shhh... Mom's Busy Crafting

Craft Room Valance

2012-02-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Once again Pinterest has inspired me! My craft room was in need of curtains and I had recently bought this third coordinating fabric that matched the previous fabric I had purchased. With my hubby's help, I hung the fabric from the existing curtain rod so I could stare at if for a bit. The look of long curtains was amazing, however, my hanging scrapbook storage and magnetic rack (in the photo- on the right) made long curtains pretty much impossible.

So while scrolling through my Pinterest feed I came across this post about No Sew Curtains. Being that I know how to sew, I decided to make my own version of these using them as my inspiration. I measured my curtain rod and went to work figuring out what I needed to do. My print looked better (in my opinion) one direction than the other and so I had to piece the fabric together to make the length I needed. Instead of having a seam down the center, I used my full panel in the center and then two side panels. This way the seams would be covered by the accent strips.

After sewing those and them hemming the sides and bottom, I made a casing for the rod at the top. Once that was done, I got to work on the accent strips. For those I cut two 6" strips of fabric, sewed them right sides together, and then turned them. After top stitching along the sides and sewing the ends into a point, I added a button and buttonhole for attaching them.

Here is the finished product. I will probably be going back and shortening the accent strips to make the valance pull up a bit more like the inspiration picture. I could not be more happy with how these turned out. Walking into my craft room now I am greeted with pops of design and color instead of just lots of blue!

Ironing Board Up Do

2012-01-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

Let's be honest - who really spends a lot of time ironing anymore?!?! Definitely not me (much to my hubby's dismay). If I am really making confessions here, I think in the almost 10 years of having my ironing board I had used it less than 10 times. That was until I started sewing. If you are going to sew, you have to iron! So out it came and it is used on almost every project. I don't at all mind ironing in this sense. It is fun since it goes with my creations. Isn't it lovely!!!

Well one day while searching Pinterest I came across a tutorial from Sew4Home (which I LOVE) on how to recover your ironing board. Since I had been wanting to buy fabric to make under desk curtains I knew this could go right along with it! First I had to find just the right fabric. This proved to be the largest challenge since the JoAnn's here in town doesn't have a huge selection. Before my nephew's birthday party we decided to check out the Redlands JoAnn's and I hit the jackpot! A beautiful set of coordinating fabrics were practically jumping off the rack and into my basket. I love the color combos and the fun in the patterns.

Just a few days later I was following the tutorial to make my new cover. I am horrible at taking pictures along the way so all I have is finished project. I do have a smaller table top ironing board that I plan to recover and I will try to remember set by step pictures of that.

I love the color it adds to the room. More projects to dress up my craft room are coming. Including a sewing machine cozy and a Pinterest inspired valance. Check back soon!

I wish I had a daughter...

2012-01-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Pinterest strikes again! When I saw these ruffle butt onesies I just had to make them for someone. Luckily, my sweet friend Chelsey was just about to have her second little girl. I knew instantly what she would be getting at her baby shower. She already mentioned wanting Big Sister and Little Sister shirts her daughters could wear at the hospital. Thanks to some iron-on vinyl and pink onesies from Walmart. But they are so boring on their own.

So this is what I did to the back. This is about 5 or 6 layers of ruffles! {SQUEAL} They turned out ADORABLE!!! I must say, as tedious and time consuming as it was to cut the strips, overlock the edges to help with fraying, ruffle the strips, and then sew them all on, they turned out great & I can't wait to make more. Just need more little girls in my life!

Evolution of my Crafting Space

2012-01-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

I know what you are thinking! She has re-done her craft room again!?!?! Well yes and no. I finally have found a layout and organization for my craft room that works great. It allows me to get lots of cutting, sewing and other crafting done with ease.

So why the make-over? Well you see when we first moved into this house, the craft room was my husband's home office. Over the next several years I tried to make some different areas of our home a craft area only to always return to the dining room table. With small children at home, that was not a great solution since they quite often would get into my paints, papers, or glue. Fast forward a few years, my husband's business had grown and he decided to rent an office space outside of the home. I was then ~~allowed~~ invited into the office to have a crafting space. Hence we got this. Trying to share the space proved difficult (I have a lot of stuff!). Then there was this attempt to set the room up. But still it didn't work for long.

My hubby finally gave up any hope of having an office space at home and he moved out of the room completely (except for a TINY desk space in the corner). The result was the beginning of the space I have now. The paint color was changed to suit me SO much better and the furniture again rearranged. At the time we had hopes that the space could also serve as our homeschooling room since we would start that adventure that fall. Quickly we learned that with only 1 in school and the others being a toddler and a preschooler, that just wasn't possible. There was NO extra space to move in there!

A few changes have been made to the furniture layout but I think we finally have a winner! {Pictures will be added to this post soon, thought I had some already on my computer, but I don't and nighttime doesn't provide the best lighting in there.} So now that it is set up properly, I am trying to dress it up a bit. I have wanted to make curtains for under my desk for some time now, but I cannot find a tutorial on how to do so anywhere. Can you guess what will be coming to this blog really soon!

Thanks to Pinterest, I have a list of other craft room projects I have set to work on. But those are for another post.

Finally my addiction gets funded!

2012-01-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas is over and the new year has come, I finally have some down time. Time to sew what I want! Sew something for ME! I have long been wanting to make some curtains for underneath my crafting desks in order to hid all the ~~junk~~ storage I have underneath. While that means hours in the fabric store searching for the perfect fabric, it also means LOTS of money (I measured my desk and it will take about 8 yards of fabric to make the curtains! YIKES

So while on a quick trip to the fabric store, I decided to finally listen to my husband (the businessman and entrepreneur's advice) and test the waters in making and then selling my creations to others. Since Valentine's Day is approaching I thought about what I was doing this time last year. I was sewing Valentine Chair bags for my boys with my new machine! When I made them there were lots of Facebook Ohhs and Ahhs and I even had a few "orders" for bags. So off I went, happily sewing the bags.

Keep in mind a year ago there was no Pinterest in my world so I found the tutorial for these the "old fashioned" way - AKA - my Google reader.

Quickly, while leaving said fabric store, I typed up a quick Facebook post to test the interest level for Valentine Chair bags. Within a couple hours I had 5 bag orders! Not too shabby. A couple days later I was back at the store picking out felt, Valentine fabric, and the assorted notions I would need to fulfill my orders. Fabric was cut, piled, organized and prepped for sewing. Having a bit more sewing experience than I did a year ago and NOT wanting to fight with the bag like I did previously, I made a few changes to the original design making the bottom of the bag SO much easier to sew! Thanks to Pinterest and the amazing Copy Cat Bag tutorial (which is sadly no longer online - so glad I printed the tutorial out!) I saved myself hours of frustration and thus streamlined my assembly process.

Just a little over a week later and my bags are being delivered to customers and received with great joy (YAY- for customer satisfaction). After posting finished product pics on Facebook, I received another order for 2 bags as well as a order from a friend that wanted a purse like mine (again, the Copy Cat Bag!).

Not sure where this will lead as I do have 4 small children, homeschooling to accomplish, a house to manage, and the need for some down time, but I do know that very soon I should have my under desk curtains as well as a few other nice touches to make my crafting space a bit more friendly on the eyes.

My Sewing To Do List for 2012

2011-12-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Pinterest I have a huge list of projects i want to complete! Several are for myself to dress up my craft room a bit. Here is what I am going to be working on...

-Curtains for under my desks, I need to hide all the supplies i have stored under there and add more color to the room.
- a sewing machine cover
- an ironing board cover (to match the sewing machine cover)
- curtains for the window
- just found these cute terry cloth (AKA Towel) shower curtains today!

The CopyCat Bag... Thank you Pinterest!

2011-12-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

For my birthday this year, my hubby took me to JoAnn's and let me pick out whatever I wanted. Since I was neck deep in Christmas projects I was grateful for the break and decided to spend the afternoon making myself a little something! I found this purse on Pinterest and I fell in LOVE. So much so that I even snagged the same fabric used in the tutorial to make my own.

While there is quite a bit of cutting, this was a pretty easy tutorial to follow and within a few hours I had a new purse! I added some pockets to the interior of the purse to hold chapstick and such. In retrospect I would have also put in a snap to close the bag. When I made this same bag for my sister in law for Christmas i put a snap on hers.

This purse has gotten quite a few compliments and it is roomy enough to be a perfect mommy bag!

(just tried to link back to the blog post where the tutorial was given and the page it no longer being found.)

Christmas Gifts

2011-12-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone. All the gifts were completed (by the 22nd, I might add!) Final count of projects:

13 hostess aprons

2 full aprons

9 BBQ aprons

12 Lego bags

3 robes

5 PJ bottoms

1 purse

Here is my nephew's lego bag. I LOVE how this one turned out. The shark fabric is just adorable. These are great for all children but since I have A LOT of boys to make gifts for these were perfect. Basically this is a huge circle with drawstrings in it and when playtime is over you can just pull the drawstrings and put the pouch away.

Here is some of the assortment of aprons I made. Hostess aprons were a hit among the family. Since most of my crafting is done at night I don't have very great pictures. These were pretty simple overall and the coordinating fabrics make them just adorable.

My boys just love their robes and have been wearing them around the house. I must say they look just adorable in them.

SEW much to do!

2011-09-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Christmas is a mere 89 days until Christmas and I still have not really even begun to make Christmas gifts. I have known what I was making since LAST Christmas and yet, NOTHING! I have 6 sisters, 4 brother in laws, 2 sets of parents, a hubby, 4 kids, and my close friends and their kids to make gifts for. So I have begun having craft nights several times a month. I have enjoyed these since I have been inviting friends to come create with me. Nothing better than working with friends. Last Friday I got ONE present completed and that pushed me to get 3 more started. I am on my way!

Adorable Apron

2011-09-26T13:44:00.000-07:00

I am making aprons for Christmas presents so I have been on the lookout for online tutorials. When I found this tutorial I fell in love! This is the cutest apron with such attention to detail. So one day during the boys naps I decided to test it out. I have LOTS of these to make so I wanted to see it if was possible to use this pattern.

Before the boys woke up from naps, I was done with the apron! It was that simple. Definitely going to be making these as gifts. Since making this one, I have gotten 1 more completed and 3 more are about 1/3 of the way done. Yeah!

Hero Snacks - Father's Day Gift

2011-07-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

If I have learned anything over the past few years it is that when you make gifts for guys, snacks are always a hit! Every time I have to make something for a guy, I struggle to find an idea I feel they will truly enjoy. So when I saw this Hero snack kit on a blog, I instantly knew this would be perfect!

I took a taco box from Del Taco (that is used to house their 6 taco and 6 burrito deal) and covered it in paper. It has become a habit for me to save items that I can use for packaging or a cute craft. When I saw the Del Taco boxes I knew they were perfect for something!

I then printed off the labels on cardstock, cut them out and then adhered them to the various packages of snacks with either glue dots or staples. I got snacks that I knew each guy would like (for example: Bryan's vitamin pellets were sunflower seeds but I used honey roasted peanuts for my dad and father in law).

Here is my sweetie on Father's Day afternoon enjoying his "hero juice"!

Summer Activity Jar

2011-07-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished product! Our Summer Activity Fun Jar is complete and full of fun ideas to entertain my little men all summer. Cards are color coded - blue is for easy to complete activities, green activities are outside fun, and orange are trips that involve money or a bit of notice (like a SeaWorld trip).

The boys are enjoying choosing a card each day and seeing what they get to do! My oldest is dying to pull the "silly string war" card. It will happen soon enough but for now we are enjoying doing things together.

Download the Summer Activity Fun Cards.

Sweet Girl turns 2

2011-06-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

Zachary is friends with a sweet little girl named Macy who just turned 2! Her mama has a small ~~addiction~~ love for pillowcase dresses so I knew the perfect gift for her. I found adorable bright colored fabric that matched Macy's bright and sassy personality and off I went. This was whipped up while all my little guys were napping one afternoon! Can't wait to see her in it!

Thinking WAY ahead

2011-06-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

I saw these adorable stuffed sea turtles and knew my nephew (well, his mama!) would love them. Might just have to make him one or two of these for his 1st birthday. He is only a week older than my youngest so I have quite a while to get them made.

We all know, I am a planner :)

Summer Fun

2011-06-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

My boys are already wanting to constantly be entertained now that summer is here. Without activities to break up the day, they very quickly get bored (despite the hundreds of toys, games, and books in our house!).

I saw this idea for a summer activity board and a few others on various blogs that were quite similiar. It sounded like the solution I needed to keep my little men happy and to save my sanity over the summer. I am currently in the process of making my own version. I just finished making the cards on my laptop after brainstorming a list of activities with the boys and my hubby. Now to decorate the huge pickle jar we just polished off and start using it!

Marshmallow Guns seem like a great way to entertain my rambunctious little men. I think daddy will be making a trip to the Lowe's soon for the supplies!

A Sweet & Sexy Shower

2011-06-13T22:51:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law Kim recently asked me to help her with her best friend, Amanda's personal shower. She did a great job with all the planning and just needed a bit of help with the tags and such. I was thrilled to get to help with Amanda's special day! We played the game where each guest brings a pair of panties that describes their personality. Upon arriving each person put the panties they brought in the vase and then we strung them up like a banner and had Amanda guess who they were from.

Below are just some of the shots of the things we made. It was a success and lots of people commented on how cute everything was. Kim did a great job and I was happy to be able to help her.

Water bottle wraps

Tags for the wine to go with the theme:

white was sweet, red was sexy and the blush was blush

(it is a lingerie shower after all!)

Tags for the glasses with each of the ladies names printed on them

Special glass for the guest of honor!

The yummy sweets table

(I once again forgot to take a picture once we had ALL the food set out)

Sweet and Sexy banner

"His Banner over me is LOVE..." Song of Solomon 2:4

2011-06-13T22:17:00.000-07:00

I love to craft and I love it even more when I get to create things for others. So when I saw this post for a blessing banner, God placed someone special on my heart immediately. You see my sister-in-law and her husband have been praying for a child for quite a while now. God for whatever reason has not allowed that to happen... YET! Well, after seeking medical help they are going forward with IVF this month! Our whole family has been praying that they would be blessed with a baby. I don't know any couple that would be better parents!

When they do get blessed with a little one, Angie said she would decorate the nursery in brown and pink or brown, blue, and green. With that information, I was off to the fabric store in search of fabric for her very own blessing banner. As some of you may know, IVF (invetro fertilization) is not an easy process and it involves hormone shots. This was quite scary for Angie and Tim. I wanted to get the banner made before she started her shots so she would have something positive and encouraging to focus on.

Once I picked out the fabric, I cut out rectangles in each of the patterns as well as smaller white rectangles. This is where our family would all write our words of encouragement, Bible verses, etc for Angie and Tim. Once all the cutting was done, the rest came together pretty quickly (sorry, but I am HORRIBLE at remembering to take pictures of each step as I work!). I sewed on the top flaps of coordinating fabrics, then the banner was sewn onto a wide ribbon. To finish it off I tied a few different size and colors of ribbon in between the panels.

Here is one side of the finished banner before the family wrote on it. There were 8 panels for writing and then the center was a panel with a pink heart on it. As I was pinning the banner together, God placed the verse, "His banner over me is LOVE..." on my heart. That is the perfect verse for this project. It was a project to show people that we love very much that we are here for them and behind them in all they are going through.

If I only had a girl!

2011-06-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

...she would LIVE in pillowcase dresses! Now, I really do love being a mommy to my 4 adorable and energetic boys. They are loving, helpful, super sweet, and stinkin' cute! While I would love a daughter, I wouldn't trade my boys for anything.

But, when I come across adorable crafting projects for little girls I can't help but dream about how a little girl of my own would look sporting a huge hairbow or a homemade skirt I made for her. I have always been a fan of pillowcase dresses. Several friends of mine have precious little girls that model them often. So one day, while wandering around JoAnn's in search of inspiration, I decided I would make a pillowcase dress for my sweet friend Tracey's daughter, Emma who was turning 3. I found an adorable fabric, grabbed some coordinating ribbon and I was ready to sew!

After a quick search on Google for a tutorial, I whipped up a pillowcase dress in no time (well, almost no time. I had to stop at one point and wait until I went to JoAnn's again the next day for some bias tape). These dresses are SUPER easy to make. And of course I had to make hairbows to go with it! Since Emma was having a sweets themed birthday party, she needed candy hairbows!

I would make one of these for every occasion...

if I only had a girl!

Mother's Day Gifts 2011

2011-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

It was that time of year again. Time to create presents for the mom's in my life. This year TWO of my sister in laws were mommies so I made these frames for them.

I didn't take pictures of the presents I made for my mom and my mother in law. They actually aren't fully finished yet for a couple of reasons. 1. Bryan needs to drill holes in the frames and 2. they are just adding on to the picture frames of all their grandkids from this post. My mom had one new grandson born this past year and my mother in law gained 2 new grandsons. Needless to say, they needed more frames added to their gift from last year :)

Sweets Themed Baby Shower

2011-03-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

My sweet sister-in-law, Kim is expecting her first baby mid-March. She LOVES candy and so when deciding on a theme for her baby shower, a candy theme immediately caught her eye! It was so much fun planning the invites, candy bar, centerpieces, and wall decorations!

Candy Bar - all Kim's favorite kinds of candies in various glass containers.

Guests took home bags of their own candy mix! It was a hit!

Centerpieces - Diaper cake, paper plate lollipops, and washcloth lollipops

Favors - a little lollipop with tags we made

LOVE the Dum Dum topiary!

It was super simple to make and looked adorable!

Basket for books for Josiah

Nice jar for raffle tickets for those that brought diapers and wipes

Valentine Chair Bags

2011-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

I saw these bags on this blog and I knew immediately I had to make them for the boys! Such a cute way to remind them how much I love them during the month of February. They really weren't too hard to make and the boys loved waking up each morning to a little treat inside!

I had lots of leftover felt so I made a few "girlie" versions of the bag with ruffles for some friends. I sold them for $20 each. One of my friends came over and told me they sell these at Pottery Barn for WAY more than that! Might have to make more of these for next year. Mama could get lots of craft supplies with just a few orders!

Coloring Book Bag and Crayon Roll

2011-03-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

For my nephew's 4th birthday I made him a coloring book tote bag and a crayon roll. These are great things to take with you anywhere and keep a child entertained!

Inside view of the bag (with pocket to hold crayon roll).

Crayon Roll

My Crafting To Do List...

2011-01-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

I have already been busy searching for fabrics for next year's Christmas gifts (hey, I am going to be a mom of 4 children ages 6 and under come March and Christmas comes VERY quickly!) I figure if I make things little by little I can be stress free come November (here's to wishful thinking! LOL).

So far on my list of things I need / want to make:
coloring book tote bag - for my nephew's bday in January (crayon roll is already made)
Valentine chair bags for all 4 boys
burp rags for my SIL
a book sling for Zachary and Ethan's room (made from the 2 valances I don't need)
baskets (again, out of a valance that goes with the boys new bedding)
nursing cover for myself :)

Next Christmas gifts:
Lego sacks for 9 boys and 4 girls (their's will be Barbie sacks)
BBQ aprons for my BILs
aprons for my sister, mom, MIL and SILs (and Bryan too)

Better get busy!

Mama's Got a Brand New...

2011-01-02T19:52:00.000-08:00

SEWING MACHINE!!!

For a couple of years now, I have wanted a sewing machine for Christmas but other crafting gifts has preempted it - my Cricut, my Gypsy. Since our family is about to grow to 6, we are in need of a large vehicle so I figured Christmas wasn't going to be a big deal this year. Boy was I wrong!

My hubby surprised me with a fabulous sewing machine! The 26th of December that puppy was out of the box and I was reading the instruction manual. After quickly figuring out how to thread the bobbins and the machine, I was off. I had some fabric scraps on hand and I set about finding patterns I could download.

I soon got to sneak away to JoAnn's for some fabric and I found some amazing things! I found fabric to make the boys tote bags for their Awana books, fabric on clearance for purses and for next year's Christmas gifts (Lego sacks) and the like!

I have had the machine a little over a week and have already made the following:
3 purse type bags for "my" girls (my BFF's daughters)
2 tote bags for the boys' Awana materials
2 Buttercup bags
a crayon roll
a nursing cover

Christmas Crafting

2011-01-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

So I made all the gifts we gave away for Christmas, however, I didn't take pictures of ANY of them :( So horrible! I guess I need to get back into blogging so I am in the habit of taking pictures of my creations.

Coming Soon...

2010-06-28T08:52:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the ladies over at How Does She? Their blog has given me LOTS of inspiration for projects. I am in love with all the 2x4 crafts they create and have been wanting to try some of my own.

I have an idea up my sleeve for an adorable 4th of July decoration, so check back soon! I am hoping to get a bit of crafting in this afternoon. I will try to take some pics. Waiting on vinyl from Expressions Vinyl to arrive so I can do lots of cute projects!

My Hubby - The New Cake Boss!

2010-06-07T20:37:00.001-07:00

Nope, this cake did not come from a magazine (ok, well the idea did). It came from my kitchen and my hubby! B has gotten VERY into cake making lately - we TIVO all the cake shows like Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. It all started with our second born, CJ's, birthday cake. Then he made a cake for our friends 2 & 4 yr olds birthday party. And finally THIS creation, no this masterpiece!!! I am so proud of him and can't wait to see what he does next!!!

End of the Year Gifts

2010-06-07T20:14:00.001-07:00

My oldest son just finished his second and final year of preschool. It is both exciting and sad at the same time. Exciting because that mean we are heading into school years and I will be embarking on the roller coaster that is homeschooling. Will it be challenging, yes. But will the rewards outweigh the challenges, definitely. I can do all things in Christ. He has led us to the decision to homeschool our children, and He will equip me (yes, a credentialed teacher needs to be equipped! Teaching YOUR OWN kid is VERY different from teaching a room of 35 sixth graders).

Above is the adorable card I made using my Cricut (have I told you lately how much I LOVE that little machine!). CB (my oldest son) was certainly blessed with TWO #1 teachers this year! What a blessing they were.

For the gift, I had saved this one for just this occasion! As some of you know I have a large list of blogs that I read on a regular basis. When I see an idea that I love I save it in my Delicious list (an online bookmarking list, so your bookmarks are available anywhere that has Internet.) Anyway, a few months ago while I was peeking at Nap Time Crafts I saw this beautiful idea! You can't get much more simple than that: crayons, some Tacky glue, and a shadow box frame.
I cut out each teacher's first initial in a very large font so I would have a guide for where to place the crayons. I backed that paper with black so the letters would stand out. I love the All Mixed Up font cartridge! Such a cute font!!!
They loved them!!! I was so happy with how they turned out and even the wrapping was super cute. I had found bags that were covered in apples in the Dollar Spot at Target a LONG time ago and had put them away for teacher gifts. When I started planning on making these, I thought the bags would be too small since I was going to get 12x12 shadow boxes. However, when I was at Michael's I didn't see any I liked so I grabbed these 8x10 frames. They fit just right in the bags!!! With the addition of a bit of yellow and green tissue paper and a cute bow, they were the perfect way to say thank you for all CB's teachers had done this year!

My 1st Giveaway!!!

2010-05-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Become a follower of my blog! I want to know that people are reading so become a follower of my blog, start making comments on things you like, and tell me what you think! Once I get 25 followers, I will post a giveaway of something I will make just for the lucky winner.

So click on follow (over on the right, scroll down some) and tell your friends!

Beautiful Bows

2010-05-18T16:24:00.001-07:00

So you might be asking yourself, "What is a mom of 3 boys doing making bows?" I too, for quite sometime was NOT interested in making bows. Call me bitter for not having a sweet little girl with beautiful hair to put them in, but I just didn't want to start making bows when I had no use for them. Then suddenly, just before a friend's baby shower, I realized that I KNOW a lot of little girls so I could just make bows for them!

Off to Michael's I went in search of the perfect ribbon! I was going to make a bow board and a few bows for my friend Chelsey who was due to have her first sweet baby girl in March. Well, I succeeded in finding ribbon (I confess, I have a bit of a ribbon obsession) and about $60 later I set about making bows.

I started with some simple "Classic bows" that I found directions for making. On that site I also found directions for making korker bows (the super cute curly ones!!!) and made a few of those as well. So long story short (too late), my passion for bow making was ignited!

Here are a few of my creations:

Red, White and Blue Korker Bows

Daisy Clip, perfect for attaching to a headband

Tri-Loop Bow with Button Accent

Butterfly Clippies (I can't make the antenna, they just catch on fire!!!)

Classic Bows, LOVE this ribbon!!!

Double Layered, Tails Down Bow

Disney Tails Down Bow with Bottle Cap Accent

3-in-1 Pink Polka Dot bow, Minnie Clip can be removed

Minnie Clip (from the above bow)

Bow boards I made for my dear little Emma, my friend Tracey's daughter

Mother's Day Gift with Tutorial!

2010-05-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

For my mom and mother-in-law I decided to create these adorable linked hanging frames that I saw on HowDoesShe? I LOVE this blog! The ideas are so cute and I am storing a bunch of them for future use! So here is what I did to make this project my own :)

While we were in San Diego on our anniversary trip, my hubby took me to IKEA! He sure knows the way to his woman's heart. Anyway... I saw these frames and knew they would be perfect for some kind of craft project, so we grabbed 3 packs (that is 9 frames). At the time I just wasn't sure what. Fast forward a few weeks and now it is time for Mother's Day crafting. These frames turned out to be just the perfect project. I had exactly the amount I needed since my mom has 4 grandbabies and my mother-in-law has 5.

I began by having my sweet hubby drill small holes in each of the corners. This is where the eye screws would be placed to link the frames. His drill was already out since he was hanging all my shelves and rods in the SCOR.

I painted the frames with a cream colored paint to go with the papers I had selected for use.
I traced the frames onto the back of my paper (I had taken the plastic from the center where the picture would sit).
My paper choices. My boys have "colors" that I have assigned to them so I used those. The purple was for my niece and the yellow was for my nephew (because that is his favorite color!).
Here are the cut out frames for my mother-in-law's gift.
Using Mod Podge (which I LOVE) I glued the paper to the frame. I also cut out each grandchild's name on white paper using my Cricut. Those were then applied to the corresponding frame. This one was for my newest nephew!
Next, I screwed the eye screws into the predrilled holes. I did that on all four corners.

Using cream colored ribbon, I tied the eye hooks together to link the frames. Lowe's didn't have any eye hooks or I would have used those (although the ribbon junkie in me LOVES how the ribbon looks).
To hang the frames, I just tied another long ribbon. Wish I had a nice metal handle like the one on HowDoesShe? but no biggie!
There you have it! You can totally add to these as well (although 5 was pretty heavy so I might would just start another one!). Since only 2 of the 6 kiddos on my hubby's side have had kids, I am sure I will be making another one of these somewhere down the road!

Washer Necklace For Teacher Appreciation Week

2010-05-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea a while ago and have been saving this project for teacher appreciation week. These washer necklaces were SUPER easy to make (and fast - only took about 10 minutes). To finish them off I sewed each end of the ribbon through an extra washer. I didn't like the idea of tying a knot since I felt that would be irritating against the wearers neck. I used all ONE size washer but the tutorial called for various sizes. Either way, it is super cute!
My Cricut was chirping as it cut out these school building and letter for the teacher's card. Not my favorite card creation, but it was pretty cute.
*Sorry for the bad photography. Eventually I will figure out where to take pics of my creations so the pictures come out better! I had forgotten to take a pic of the necklaces so I was doing this at a light on the way to my son's school! LOL*

Little Teacher Appreciation Baskets

2010-05-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea here and made it my own using all the baby food containers I have been saving! I didn't use all the sayings but I did fill the containers with paper clips, mints, change (for a soda), a post-it notepad, and cute magnets from the dollar bin at Michaels. To bundle them all together I put them in baskets I found in the Dollar Spot at Target.

Teacher Appreciation Treats

2010-05-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

The preschool asked for parents to help with making their staff feel appreciated during Teacher Appreciation week. I asked what was involved and was told that for Wednesday the "theme" was yellow & lemons. So in true Allison fashion, I took that and ran with it.

I made these milk carton treat boxes for Christmas cookies and figured they would be perfect. I saw the idea here and figured out how to make them. (see tutorial below) Inside of the carton, I made cake mix cookies from lemon cake mix - box of cake mix, 1/2 c. oil, and 2 eggs. The teachers LOVED them. Really, they were so easy! To top it off I added in a water bottle, embellished with the scrap paper from the treat boxes, and a packet of Crystal Light.

Milk Carton Treat Box Tutorial

Maybe one day I can get this on video or do a better job of explaining this but for now this is all I got :)

1. Using a 12x12 sheet of sturdy cardstock, you will cut to size and score lines for the fold. These treat boxes were 4 inches tall so I cut the paper down to 8.5 inches tall by 12 inches wide.

2. Score paper 2 inches from the bottom.

3. Next, score paper 2.5 inches from the top.

4. Score paper 1 inch from the right side. This will make the flap for assembling the box

5. Continue vertical scoring lines measuring each one 2.75 inches from the last. (2.75 x 4 = 11 inches) This will make the sides of the carton.

6. Fold paper along all scored lines. Cut the the 2 inch lines on the bottom. Fold the 2nd and 4th flaps into triangles.

7. Glue box sides together. Fold bottom flaps in to create the bottom of the box. Then fold the triangle flaps up and glue it all down. You now have the bottom of the carton created.

8. Bring the front and back top edges toward the center, folding the sides in (like a milk carton top).

9. Hole punch the top and tie closed with a ribbon (after filling with some treats, of course)

I know this isn't the best tutorial :( I will try to post pictures that go along with each step soon. Might even try a Flip video if I can find a camera person.

Teacher Appreciation Treats coming soon!

2010-05-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

The gifts for Chris's teachers are done and I am hoping to post pics and a tutorial for the milk cartons tomorrow. I am just WAY too tired tonight since I was up until 1:30am last night getting them done. Who is the crazy lady that signed up to make treats for the Preschool staff?!?! Oh, yeah, that would be me!

It was all worth it seeing how it brightened their day today. Chris and Cameron paraded around the school passing out the milk cartons (full of lemon cookies) and water bottles complete with Crystal Light Lemonade attached. They were blessed so all my hard work paid off! Teachers work hard and they deserve to be pampered a bit!!!

Check back soon for the treats and the tutorial!

Craft Room Reveal

2010-04-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

It's done! My craft room is finally done! Almost a year ago (for Mother's Day) Bryan told me the home office could become my craft room. He no longer needed a home office since he has his business office now. With the boys being so curious, crafting in the dining room wasn't working. Leave anything out for a bit and they were getting into it. So now a year later, the room is done! As you can see from previous posts, this has been a long time in the making. I moved things around several times, we got new furniture, I purchased cabinets and drawers to put it all away, and the last step was to paint!

Here is the finished product!!!

SCHOOL AREA

This is what you see when you stand in doorway. The left side of the wall is the school area. Bryan and I are calling the office the SCOR, school-craft-office-room. I am homeschooling Christopher next year so I wanted a space to work for him that is away from the distractions of the other boys. Cameron also has a desk for future schooling. He can work on some preschool type activities while Chris does his school work.

Chris's desk is on the left and Cameron's desk is on the right.

CRAFT AREA

View from the doorway looking at the right side of the room, my crafting space!

Lots of cabinet space for supplies - stamps, adhesives, embellishments (eyelets, brads, tools), etc. The clear boxes at the bottom are for pages that are being worked on for the boys' scrapbooks. Hoping to get scrapping very soon and get closer to being caught up on their albums.

This cute buckets are from my wedding! They were the centerpieces on the tables in the reception. Now they are repurposed for craft supplies. These have chipboard, stickers, and rub ons. More are in the cabinet underneath that hold small letter stickers, various scissors, and more.

This is my main workspace.

From top to bottom:

top shelf - paint & CM cutting system

long shelf - various sizes of ribbon (the boxes are FULL!!!)

hanging rods - flowers, buttons, pens, tools

underneath - Cricut machine & drawers for bow stuff, cards, and ongoing projects

This is more workspace!

More storage on the walls!

The tall cabinets hold scrapbooks that are in progress, idea binders and tear files, more paper pads and scraps, Cricut mats, 8 1/2 x 11 paper, and TONS of alphabet stickers.

Notice all the pictures I need to scrap on the left. They are FULL of pics from Jan of 2008 - February 2009! I need to get busy.

Close up of the wall storage over the work area.

Small trash can for little pieces of trash and a bin for little scraps.

Lots of stickers - now I can actually SEE what I have!

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!!!

Thanks to my wonderful husband for 1) giving me the space to be creative (and relax!!!), 2) for painting the room for me on Monday and Tuesday nights after working ALL day, and 3) for putting up all the shelves and rods all afternoon today.

Bryan, I love you so very much. You are always willing to go above and beyond to make me happy. Thank you so much for loving me!

Check back soon...

2010-04-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

I will be working all next week on gifts for Mother's Day and Teacher Appreciation Week! Check back soon to see the final products. They can't be posted until after they have been given ;)

Cowboy Party Decorations

2010-04-13T15:28:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks! For my son's 3rd bday, he wanted a cowboy party. I was thrilled this was his pick since I had a few Cricut cartridges with adorable cowboy themed designs! For the sign on the front door, I used the Old West cartridge to cut out a large sherrif badge and then the Howdy shadow and word. First, I was going to just put it on a solid background, but I found that to be too plain. As I was working on the banner (see below) I had some scrap patterned paper so I used that to create a "patchwork" quilt look behind the sherrif badge. I LOVE the way it turned out. (NOTE: please excuse the bubbling of the Mod Podge! I was in a BIG hurry trying to get all the decorations done so there was some bubbling and lifting)
This is my favorite banner I have created so far. I used 2 shades of brown and cut out (using the Old West cartrdge) a rustic, western poster. Then found several papers that looked western to add some color. The font is also from the Old West cartridge. On the ends, I took a left over barn and sun and cowboy from the invitations to embellish the banner a bit more.
At Michael's they have wooden unfinished frames for $1. I purchased two and created menus for the food and drink. These can be reused for a Old West BBQ by just changing out the paper in the frame.
For goodie bags, each child had a brown lunch sack with their initial on a sherrif badge. I tied it with some rustic rope and that was it! So simple. Inside was a water gun, a foam sherrif badge the kids made when they arrived, and some gummie worms. The children also received a bandana (red for boy and pink for girls) as they entered so they looked the part! So easy and yet so wonderful!

Recent Card Creations

2010-04-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

My Cricut machine has paid for itself several times over already! I have owned a Cricut for about a year and a half and I don't think I have bought a card since then. I make my own now!!!

As soon as I saw the Everyday Paper Dolls and Paper Doll Dress-Up cartridges, I knew I needed them and would use them for so many different things! In my mind I envisioned cute birthday cards for the little ones in my life, birthday card invitations, and scrapbook embellishments.

This is a card I made for two sweet friends that have little girls that are turning 2 in the next few months. There are so many cute outfits and backgrounds I can't wait to make more!
I was looking through the book that comes with the cartridge and I discovered a Mom-To-Be outfit for the paper doll! So cute. I have a few pregnant friends with showers coming up, so I made two of these and have them stashed away for the right mom.

Girlie Creations

2010-02-17T21:30:00.001-08:00

I finally have the chance to make some girlie items for a few friends with events coming up. The elation of getting to use various shades of purples and pinks and ribbon is almost more than I can bear! I have no daughters, no nieces, and haven't had any real reason here lately to make something for a little girl.

One of my friends is having a sweet baby girl very soon and her shower is this weekend. I cannot yet post pictures of what I made / am making for her little one since I don't want her to sneak a peek, so you will have to just wait until AFTER the weekend so see what I have been busy working on. Tomorrow I will have to pull out my Cricut and whip up a card to go along with the gift. My hot glue gun will also be heating up to finish the second part(s) of the gift that will make it complete.

Another friend has a daughter with a 2nd birthday that is fast approaching. I am also making her what I am making for the shower this weekend but I have some time to get that one finished (plus I need another Michael's coupon to make the project a bit more in my budget).

So check back soon... I have been busy crafting, just can't let you see what I have been busy making quite yet!

Craft Room - Reorganized!

2010-01-09T21:32:00.001-08:00

You might be thinking to yourself, "Didn't Allison just redo her craft room?" Well, yes, you are correct. It wasn't that long ago that I purchased several cabinets, spent a few days putting them together, and totally overhauled our home office to make it into an office / crafting space.

So why am I organizing it again you ask? Lots of time recently has been spent in the craft room as I worked on Christmas presents and various other things. I quickly realized that 1) I still had lots of organizing to do - the mess was driving me crazy & 2) Some of the cabinets were not arranged in a functional way. I found myself having to stand up each time I needed something out of the drawers since they were stacked on top of the cabinets. Plus, with the 6 foot table in the middle of the room, it was feeling a bit cramped!

Most of my Saturday was spent moving cabinets, organizing the closet so all office supplies were in there thus making more room for my craft supplies in my cabinets, and then getting settled in. You can find pictures of what the previous "redo" looked like here.

Rearranged and Reorganized

My half of the office

A view of the newly arranged cabinets

View from in front of my craft table

My Cricut, how I love thee!

With it on the rolling cart I can wheel it over to the table easily.

I so wish I had a wall full of ribbon! For now, this will have to do.

Next year, this will become the office / craft room / school room.

In order to prepare for homeschooling CB, I made him a little desk area of his own. The pocket chart was hung so I can post sight word for him to practice or words he wants to use to write notes. I gave him the organizer on the desk and CB put in all his "stuff". Too cute, but OH SO VERY like his mommy!!!

The left side of the closet

Rolling cart full of MORE craft supplies and wooden crates with art supplies for the kids.

Right side of the closet

Office supplies, no longer taking up my craft space in the cabinets!

We will see how this works out. I am sure it will need some tweaking, but I am planning on trying to get some scrapbooking done over the next few weeks, so I will be in here a lot.

Christmas Creations, completed

2009-12-31T14:15:00.001-08:00

I was busy all throughout December working on Christmas presents for my family and friends. I didn't get pictures of the sugar scrubs I created, but they were a huge hit. Not to mention they were super easy and inexpensive!

Sugar Scrub

16 oz plastic jar container (ordered from here)

1 1/2 cups white granulated sugar

3/4 cup olive oil (EVOO was used since it had less of a color than regular)

1 mL Essential Oil - I used grapefruit scent! (ordered from here)

For the brother in laws, we made movie night coupons complete with $1.10 taped inside for a Redbox movie! They also received a popcorn container from Target, 2 packages of microwave popcorn, and a king size pack of Red Vines!

For my new nephew, Joshua who was born on November 22nd, I made a picture frame. I got the idea from this blog, but since I never got over to Lowe's to get the wooden blocks cut, I used this MDF picture frame instead. I got the frame at Michael's, covered it with Mod Podge and some paper from a paper pad I already had. I then used my Cutting Up Cricut cartridge and cut out his name, birthdate, time and weight for the frame. To make his name stick out I cut a shadow of the letters about 1/2 an inch larger than the name.

For my mother in law, I wanted to make a family tree. With Bryan having 5 sisters, he has a large family that will only continue to grow. Only 2 of the 6 siblings have children so our number will significantly grow from the 18 people we have now. I had just gotten the Stretch Your Imagination Cricut cartridge for my birthday and it had an adorable tree on it with leaves that could be cut in a layer (a different color). I knew it would be perfect for making a family tree! I cut out the tree to be 11 inches and mounted it on a tan piece of 12x12 cardstock. I then dressed it up some with a bit of patterned paper. Using my Gypsy and the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge I designed the word family and welded it together (made it cut out as one piece instead of individual letters).
To finish it off, I placed each of the leaves on the branches adhering them with glue dots. On the leave with names, I used foam mounting square to make them "pop" off the page a bit more. I wrote on each of the names of the family members, clustering the leaves by the families. I put Bryan's parents in the center and from there, you will find 6 other clusters of leaves (our cluster of leaves was the biggest with 5 family members).

For my mom, I made another set of seasonal word blocks like I had made for my mother in law for Mother's Day (seen here). Here is a link to the post where I got the idea. Unfortunately, I didn't take pics - they got finished literally hours before I had to give them to her on Christmas Eve - so I will have to try to sneak a pic of them on day while I am at her house. Hers are a burgandy wine color with patterned paper behind the letters. She like them a lot and immediately displayed them on her table as you walk into her house. They currently say "blessed" since she said that is how she feels!

Still working on a set of paper dolls for some precious little girls (we haven't yet done our Christmas celebration with their family yet). I will take photos of those when I am done. The Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge is stinkin' adorable!

Christmas Creations

2009-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

I have made some really cute things for Christmas presents. The bad news... I can't post pictures because they are gifts and I can't ruin the surprise (should a recipient read the blog). You will have to wait until after Christmas to see what I have been up to.

Happy Birthday Jesus Banner

2009-11-29T21:21:00.001-08:00

One of my friends had a great idea and I stole it to use with my children this Christmas. Last year, she decorated her house for Christmas with balloons like a birthday party for Jesus's birthday! I love this because it is yet another reminder of the TRUE meaning of Christmas.

My friend wanted to come over and use my Cricut to cut lettering to make a banner this year to add to the party decorations. I got "bored" on day (well kinda, how bored can a mom of 3 boys really get!) so I started on my own banner while the boys napped. Within 24 hours, mine was done.

I wanted to use bright and fun colors for my banner. Once the basic banner was done, I decided it needed a bit of embellishment so I put my Cricut to work and cut out some party hats, ballons, cupcakes, and presents to add to it. Instead of stringing the banner on one long string, I tied each letter to the next with colorful ribbons. I LOVE the final product!

This has got to be my favorite letter! The J for Jesus is embellished with a crown! I think that is fitting, don't you???

Finished Turkey Cards

2009-11-29T21:17:00.000-08:00

With a bit of ribbon and some rub on lettering, the handprint turkey cards for Thanksgiving were complete. Two were given to my son's teachers, two were for each set of grandparents and the final two (which were a bit different) will be used in my older boys' scrapbooks for Thanksgiving pages.

Thanksgiving Banners

2009-11-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

As a little thank you for my son's preschool teachers, I made banners that say "Give Thanks". Using my Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge to cut out the letters. From one set of lettering I was able to make both banners. I cut the other shapes with my Creative Memories cutting system. With a few pieces of grosgrain ribbon, the banners were complete! The teachers loved them and they cost me virtually nothing since I already had all the materials.

Craft Room Makeover

2009-10-23T15:48:00.001-07:00

For Mother's Day, Bryan gave me a very thoughtful present. On top of my standard gift of scrapbooking supplies, Bryan also decided to turn his office into my craft room. He put a sign on his office door and told me that after he cleaned all his things out, I would have a craft room. Part of his motivation for this was the fact that when I would scrapbook or craft, I typically haul all my supplies from the office to the dining room table. When I would leave things out the boys would get into my supplies and would even routine my crafts sometimes.

So here is the problem with what my sweet husband did.... I could NOT work in that office! It was so disorganized and dysfunctional that my OCD brain couldn't focus! Recently I have felt the need to purge and reorganize the ENTIRE house. This started with the craft room (I am hoping to get buy making crafts for Christmas). With just a bit of money and a lot of organizing and purging, I would be able to have a space I could work in.

Here is what the office looked like about 2 weeks ago:

It was sort of a dumping ground for all sorts of things: Bryan's work stuff, old college textbooks, my teaching junk, kid art supplies, scrapbooking supplies - you get the picture!
Bryan's old desk that he cleared out completely for me. So loving - but this is NOT a desk that is conducive to crafting since there really isn't much actual desk space. So instead, it became where I dumped all the stuff I needed to file, work on, etc. Walking in the room and seeing this made me nuts!
My workspace. A table where I could spread out and really scrapbook since I like to have lots of space to work. This became where Bryan would set up and work when he needed to keep the boys from bothering him.

Here is what the office / craft room was transformed into:
I cleared off the desk for Bryan so he could still have a workspace in the office (at least for now, this time next year this area will have a desk for homeschooling).
My new Closetmaid cabinets and shelves! This makes my heart skip a beat! So many places to put things and so many ways to organize my supplies.
These shelves are for paper storage and scrapbooks in progress. Each of the boys has a clear 12x12 box where I keep the pages I am working on.
A rolling cart for scrapbooking supplies to stay organized in. Each drawer houses different supplies: embellishments, adhesives, cutting system parts, scraps, etc.
The finally product (for now). I would still like to paint to make the room a bit more serene, but that will have to wait!
Lots of shelves for scrapbooks, paper, accordion files, pictures ready to be scrapbooked, and supplies for gifts.
The boys even have a space that has been reorganized for all their craft supplies. The drawers are now complete with labels too!

Autumn Banner

2009-10-22T21:52:00.001-07:00

I saw the idea for a cute holiday decoration on Nannygoat and I have been wanting to make one for quite some time. Since the ladies at Nannygoat used chipboard letters I was waiting to use those. However, since I was never really able to find large chipboard letters at Michaels and it was suggested on the blog, I just pulled out my handy dandy Cricut machine and cut out my own letters.

Using my Creative Memories cutting system, I cut out the backing circles and wavy edge circles. I also cut out some fall shapes on the Cricut (leaves, apples, acorns). It was all put together with Mod Podge. With the banner being entirely made of paper, I wanted to add some stiffness to the banner and seal all the layers together well. To string the banner I used some thick twine that I had on hand and then to add some finishing touches to it I tied on some grosgrain ribbons in two different widths.

World Card Making Day! UPDATED

2009-10-22T21:29:00.001-07:00

As a mom of three, I have learned I have to get things done well in advance. So I used World Card Making Day to get ahead. I made 5 cards for our pastors for Pastor Appreciation Day the following Sunday. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of those. The boys and I also made Thanksgiving cards for Chris's teachers and a few others. Out came the box of paints, foam brushes, cardstock, and of course, the little hands! The end result... well, honestly they aren't completely finished, but I just need to add a few embellishments (ribbons, brads, rub-on transfers, etc.).

I started by cutting some dark brown cardstock to make a 6x6 inch card. Then over that the tan cardstock would be placed with the handprint turkeys. Next, I used CB's hand (the biggest one) and did two layers of "feathers" using his handprints. Notice I only used the fingers and not the thumb for the feathers.

After two layers with the larger handprints, I did two layers of CJ's hand (smaller handprint).
Here is a picture of the completed feathers.
I then used CB's hand again, this time the entire hand including the thumb to make the body of the turkey.
Stay tuned for more pictures of the finished product!

World Card Making Day!

2009-10-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (October 3rd) is World Card Making Day. I am hoping I can find some time to get to work on some cards. Pastor Appreciation week is coming up so I need to make cards for that, a little guy has a bday party this month, and I would love to just have some cards made and ready to go for the future!

We shall see if I have time to craft. As you can tell from this blog and the lack of posts, there hasn't been much crafting time lately!

Ribbon Storage

2009-05-29T07:50:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to think of a way to organize and store my ribbon without them being in bins. I have seen several great ideas but just never found one I thought would work for me. So one day I was pulling into the garage and I happened to look over at my teaching "stuff" that is taking up space against the wall. This small video organizer caught my eye. I instantly knew it would be perfect for my ribbon. Now I just need to get more to fill it up!

Mother's Day Presents

2009-05-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

I found this tutorial for a stationary box and wanted to try it out. After about an hour, the box was done. Next it was time to fill it up with gift tags and note cards. It made the perfect gift for my mom for Mother's Day. She frequently writes notes and letters to her sisters so I knew the cards would get put to good use.

Her Mother's Day card: I added the word MOM outside.

Stationary Box

Front Flap (folded open) the pocket holds stamps and I included Post-It notes.

Small gift tag

View of the box when open, complete with 5 notecards in the back.

More Teacher Appreciation Gifts

2009-05-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here are the finished magic boxes for CB's teachers at preschool. Inside boxes are filled with apple shaped post-it notes, tacks, paper clips, and Hershey's hugs. A simple white gift bag with a quick tag and ribbon finish it off. On the tag, I made sure to note that the boxes should be opened carefully so the contents doesn't spill out all over!

Mother's Day Presents

2009-05-06T20:10:00.001-07:00

I made these blocks for my mother in law for Mother's Day. The whole project probably took me an hour. A few months ago, the idea was posted on Little Birdie Secrets and I saved it knowing I would one day tackle this project. The great thing is that these 7 blocks can make a total of 16 words. So that my mother in law would know what words can be spelled out, I wrote them on the bottom of the blocks. The best thing is: these are very inexpensive! Each block at Michael's cost $1.29. I already had the antique white paint and mod podge. Using my Cricut and a piece of patterned black paper, the letters were cut out in no time. Now I just have to find a way to wrap them so that the blocks can say "mothers" when the package is opened!

The Wild Card Cricut Cartridge

2009-04-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

When my friend, Jen, first showed me this Cricut cartridge, I was amazed! I currently have four cartridges (they are expensive!!!) and a couple of them make cards. My card making has just begun and I either use what I have or just make my own. Recently, with the addition of embellishments like ribbons or buttons, the products have come out pretty adorable, but nothing like what experienced card makers can create!

So Kammy, another crafty friend of mine, has the Wild Card Cartridge as well and she so graciously offered to let me borrow it anytime I desired. That time came this week. With so many events happening in May (Teacher Appreciation Day, Mother's Day, birthdays, weddings, etc...) I figured it would be a good time to test it out. Kammy also told me that it is now available at Michael's so hopefully I will be getting one of my own soon!

Here are some of the cards I was busy making yesterday:

For my mom, who has been visiting her sisters for a few weeks.

Teacher Appreciation Day card and envelope

Thought this was just beautiful! I ran out of navy

cardstock or it would have been a bit more embellished.

This was the card I gave the secretary at Chris's preschool

for Administrative Professionals Day. She also got a disposable

coffee cup with coffee beans and a Starbucks giftcard!

Magic Boxes

2009-04-29T20:44:00.001-07:00

My Google Reader gave me a pleasant surprise the other day! One Pretty Thing is a recent addition to my blog roll and I LOVE it. If you don't know, it is a site that many crafty and creative people send in their projects and then they are shared with the world! This project from Skip to my Lou caught my eye. These magic boxes seemed like another amazing gift for teacher appreciation week. I am not yet sure what I am going to fill each compartment with but I think I might do something like this.

Magic box: What is so magical you ask???

Remove the lid and four compartments unfold!

Lid off

Top view

Still need to add some ribbon and embellishments, but I think they turned out pretty cute!

Teacher Appreciation Day Gifts!!!

2009-04-29T20:33:00.001-07:00

Teacher appreciation day is coming up so I decided to start working on gifts for CB's teachers. File folder organizers seemed like a cute idea for a teacher so I headed to Michael's for some adorable paper! To personalize them a bit I added their first initial on the front. In order to make them a bit more durable, the entire organizer in Mod Podge. It added a nice sheen to them too!

Wedding Card

2009-03-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours got married at the end of March. Here is the card I made for them. I used the Opposites Attract Cricut cartridge.

Top: envelope

Bottom: card

Rainy Day Art

2009-02-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

It was a very rainy weekend this past weekend and Chris wasn't feeling all that great when he woke up Sunday, so we ended up not going to church. Since it was raining I took advantage of a cute craft idea I had seen on a blog. First, you have the children color a picture using markers and be sure they cover most of the paper with color. I think Cameron had more marker on his hands than he got on the paper, but he had fun! That is what matters.
Next, you hold the paper out in the rain for a minute or two until the drops start to spread the marker. It gives it a watercolor look. The harder it is raining the less time it will take for your art to take shape!
Finally, let it dry and enjoy! The boys made several pictures. It is hard to see exactly how they turned out from the pictures but we had fun and made some cool pictures!

File Folder Menu Planner

2009-01-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

For my sister-in-law's bridal shower, I decided to put together a "basket" of cooking items. She got dish towels, pot holders, a cookie cookbook, and it was all put into a cute lime green colander that I found at Marshalls. She really likes to cook and so that got me thinking. A file folder organizer doesn't just need to be used for a Christmas Planner or an organizer. I decided to make it into a menu planner. The four pockets became holders for various recipes: appetizers, main dish, side dish, and dessert. The look on her face when she opened it was great! She loved it. This is something I can continue to add to for her as well by typing up more recipes and giving them to her!

Girlie Birthday Cards

2008-12-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

One of my dear friends has twin girls that turned one at the end of December. It was wonderful to get to make some very girlie cards. There are lots of pinks and purples in my paper collection, since they don't get used in the boys' scrapbooks. I used the Plantin Schoolbook Cricut cartridge to make the tags on the envelopes and to cut out the flowers.

Christmas Crafting

2008-12-15T21:00:00.000-08:00

This year I found a wonderful website to help you get organized for Christmas. If you know me then you will know that I LOVE anything organizational, so I was excited about getting all organized for Christmas. Anyway, part of getting organized is to make a planner. I used a binder but I saw the idea for making a planner using a file folder. My initial thought was, "That looks like it would take WAY too much time!"

Fast forward about 2 months... My SIL is getting married in February and I am thinking about her shower gift. I wanted to give her a few recipes but in a cute way. So again, I was drawn to the file folder pocket file. I decided yesterday to try it out. I was amazed to find it only took a couple of hours. The first 30 minutes was just trying to get the measurements right for the folding. Today I made another one and was able to do it in just an hour. These are very versatile and fun. I am already imagining the different ways I can create these for people as gifts.

Here are the directions:

1. Take a regular file folder and score it so that it will create 4 sections. From the middle you measure 4 1/8" to the left and score it. For the right you measure 4 1/4".

2. Score the folder 3" from the bottom and fold up to create the "pockets".

3. You have now created the basic shape. Next comes the fun part... adding color!

4. Using decorative paper, cut out the papers to fit the outside of the file. (Note: I discovered that the "tabs" can be cut on once and used on the front and back. This saves you a step and extra cutting. I just use the same paper for the front and back.)

5. Glue the paper to the outside leaving the "pocket" part unglued for now.

6. Glue the papers to the front of the pockets.

7. Add coordinating papers to the inside of the files.

8. Fold and your book is almost done! Here is the finished inside.

Here is the outside.

9. Finish with two eyelet holes on the front and back covers and lace with a ribbon. I have not yet done this step since I don't have an eyelet punch or ribbon that coordinates with this paper. Stay tuned for more!

I can't wait to make these as gifts. This one is for a special friend. She knows who she is and she knows why this one is for her!!!

They Are Finished!

2008-11-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished a set of Jesse Tree ornaments. I added the ribbon so they could be hung on the tree. On the backs I wrote the day that corresponds to each ornament and the scripture passage that tells the story of Creation to Jesus's birth. I can't wait to start the devotions each day with the boys and placing the ornaments on the tree! I pray this is a tradition that will be kept for years to come and passed on to their children.

Jesse Tree for Christmas

2008-11-14T21:57:00.000-08:00

I have started to create ornaments for a Jesse Tree. I read about this on a blog and immediately fell in love with the idea. Starting about 4 weeks from Christmas you sit down as a family for an advent devotional. For each passage of scripture there is a person and an image that corresponds. You then place the ornament on the tree. I decided to use felt to make them since I don't have a sewing machine. The ones below are not completely finished and I have since made 7 more. I will keep you updated as we get close to starting our Jesse Tree this year!

Scrapbook Palooza!

2008-11-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

So today the moms group had a craft day. My friend Heather was too sick (Naughty little June Bug) to come and we missed her, but Jen did come over for several hours this afternoon. I had started working around 7:30am and I got several pages done today. Jen worked on peppermint soap that made my kitchen smell so yummy! It was a wonderful day that could only have been made possible by my amazing hubby who watched the boys all day.

I LOVE fall!!!

2008-09-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

Why do I live in California? The leaves don't really change color. It doesn't really get cooler until winter. So to make it feel like autumn inside (since it is still in the 90's outside), I went to Michael's and bought tons of fall decorations. I got fall leaves garland, small pumpkins, and have pulled out the decorations I already had.

I was missing a wreath for my door. For a couple of weeks I search to either find a wreath that was way too expensive or ones that looked really cheap and ugly. So with the Michael's ad proclaiming great sales, I headed out on a mission: to make my own. All the materials I needed were super cheap so for around $7 I made a beautiful decoration for my front door. The best part: it gets to be there from September to November! Another reason to love fall: it lasts so long!!!