Last of the Tiles

This is the last of the tiles, for a while anyway. I made these for my bff, she gave them to her mom, MIL and SIL for Christmas. The one in the middle is an 8x10" tile. My favorite is the terra cotta.

Christmas Ornament

I saw these on an email from Chick'n'Scratch a while back and decided to make a few for ds' Santa pics this year. Since I only made a few, I used the CM cutting system to cut the circles and the "top" of the ornament is an SU punch. The light paper is double-sided and the back is solid so I printed our message on the back.

Revised Rudolph & More

I did not like the pipe cleaner antlers so I decided to make antlers on my Wishblade. Worked like a charm and no mess! I also taped the base to itself so I could just slide the candybars in/out.

I added a little holiday cheer to my kitchen:I added a personal touch to Glade holiday candles for ds' teachers:

Rudolph

I made these Reindeer candybar holders for my bunco group. I told them they could never throw them away, haha! I followed these directions: http://www.staceystamps.com/stacey_stamps/2009/11/rudolph-the-reindeer-candy-bar.html, between my friend Jenn and I, we had the punches to make it. Although the assembly took a while, they were a lot of fun to make. I decided to use pom-poms for the nose to add some more dimension. I wish there was something different to use for the antlers b/c the pipe cleaners shed everywhere! For the next ones I make (for my son's class), instead of taping the candybar in the holder, I'm going try to just wrap the sleeve tightly enough around the candybar so that the recipient can slide the candybar out and potentially reuse the reindeer sleeve to gift to someone else.

Baby Gift

I wanted to make something special for my new great nephew. I knew I was going to make a tag blankie but found a few other things I couldn't resist. His nursery is done in a cowboy theme so I tried to find cowboy related material. I had so much fun and am very excited for his mommy to receive the package this week!!

Tag/Lovey Blankie -- I made this one a little larger than usual it's almost 17" square. I posted the website with directions on an earlier post. The ribbon on the right in this pic is a pacifier holder. It was very easy and only took a minute to do. Directions here: http://angieasplund.blogspot.com/2009/01/soother-pacifier-clip-tutorial.html

Then I made a diaper/wipes holder. I had some trouble with the first one I made b/c the pattern I found online and used wasn't large enough to hold the wipes container and a couple of diapers (the wipes contianer on its own was a tight squeeze). So, I tweeked it a little and it now holds the wipes container and two size 5 diapers so it will hold several newborn diapers and can be used for a while. Directions here: http://boogaboobabies.com/download/Diaper_Wipe_Case.pdf
With flap open:

And these burp cloths only took a few minutes to whip up. The flannel is so soft! Directions here: http://chickpeastudio.typepad.com/chickpea_sewing_studio/diaper-burp-cloth-tutoria.html

I'm so thankful for these wonderful blogs with tutorials. I do a lot better when I see pictures of the steps. I hope my sweet Great Nephew enjoys his gifts!

Fun fun fun!

I finally broke down and bought my first font. I thought this one was perfect for monograms! I made this for a friend's birthday and she really liked it. The design looks crooked in the picture but it's not in person. I didn't think to get a picture of it until right before I gave it to her, luckily I had my camera in my purse. :)

More you-know-what

Played a little more with vinyl. This 6x6 tile will be an original b/c I will not weed this design at this small size again. What a booger! But worth it, I really like how it turned out.

I don't have the lights to go in this block yet but thought I'd share what I have thus far. I downloaded the "JOY" design from a Wishblade file website. It was actually a card and I changed the size to fit the block. And, added bling! Remember: it don't mean a thing if it ain't go that bling! :) I really like this and can't wait to see it glowing with lights.

Somebody Stop Me!

A naptime project...with vinyl! Woohoo! This was so much fun. The Wishblade will cut any true type font (TTF) so I found this free font online and went to town. The hard part is "weeding" the design, which I didn't realize my overhead light wasn't on until I was finished, so that may have had something to do with it. It was also difficult trying to center it on the tile, I had to remove/reapply about 3 times. It doesn't seem straight in the pic but it's the camera angle, it looks great in person. I'm sure there's a trick, that's my next google. I bought the tile from Lowe's, got the tumbled look so it's not a smooth finish. I inked around the edges with a dark chocolate ink and heat set it and glued dark brown felt to the back. The sides and backs of most tiles are not attractive so I think that helped make it prettier. I'm not going to seal this and see what happens, may need to do that on future projects, I'm still learning what the vinyl can tolerate on different surfaces.Anyway, LOVE how this turned out!! I'm almost finished with my next project: glass block, so stay tuned! :)

Train Bank

You guessed it...more vinyl! When I get on something, I stay there until I'm tired of it (so you'll definitely see more vinyl through Christmas since I plan on a lot of vinyl presents, hehe). This is a train bank I made for a friend of mine's son. He loves trains and I imagine has every Thomas the Train gift there is so I went for something unique. I hope to find a $2 bill to drop in it tomorrow before I give it to him.

I used a smooth-side Ball jar (can find at HL), brown vinyl with a train pattern I made myself, and PP covered chipboard for the bank top. I tried to cut a coin slot in the metal lid insert but it didn't work very well.

More Vinyl Fun!

This pic is not the greatest but it was worse with the flash on. I made this train silhouette with my Wishblade and vinyl for ds's room. Then, I saw the bridge idea online and created it as well. I love it! It runs along the top of the cribrail and the best part is, when he transitions to the big boy bed, I can just peel it off. I love it!! Now on to my next vinyl project: glass blocks, pics coming soon.

Vinyl Words

I have had so much fun with my Wishblade lately!! I decided to make vinyl words to go around this picture group. I used Scriptina font for "Together" and American Classic font for "IS OUR FAVORITE PLACE TO BE". I usually like things centered but tried offsetting this for a different look. I really like how it turned out. The great part is, if I get tired of it, it's removable and I can try something different. Love love love it!! :)

I'll post the other things I've been working on later...they aren't quite done yet.

Craft Party

I went to a craft party today hosted by my friend Paula and a SU demonstrator. We made these neat blocks. We were supposed to create "faith" or "hope" but all ended up doing names and something else on the other side. I made these to go in either my great room or kitchen. As you can see, you can stack them vertically or horizontally. We used SU DP and misc. embellies. The demonstrator used the Cricut to cut out the letters, that's a pretty cool machine. It was a fun project and would be nice to do as gifts. My advice: have a paper/color scheme in mind in advance, it will make it a lot easier if you're like me and have a horrible time matching papers/embellies.

Hanging Treat Box

I made these hanging treat boxes for my ds' teachers for their first day back to school. I used the Deja Views paper pack that Archiver's gave out as a free gift this past weekend. I didn't have to stamp anything, which made these very quick and easy.

Tutorial found on SCS: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/hanging_treat_box/

Another M&T

I went to Archiver's Make & Take today and made this cute card and an 8x8 scrapbook page.

Crayon Roll

I made 2 more Crayon Rolls. I used the directions from this blog again: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/ but tweaked the measurements a little to make one that holds 18 crayons and one that holds 8. I also changed the closure to an elastic loop, it's not as cute but I think it will be more functional for me.

Nap Mat Cover

My mom brought me a sewing machine this past weekend. It's amazing how fun sewing can be when you have a machine that works! :) And this one is neat, it has cruise control, haha! Anyway, my ds has to use a nap mat this year and I wanted a cover made for his mat. I know we could use a crib sheet but that wouldn't be as much fun, would it? He has a 2" thick mat, length and width are typical dimensions. We layed the mat on the fabric (which mom also brought, thanks!) and cut. We used 2 pieces of 26"w by 60"l fabric and 1 piece of 45"w by 16"l fabric (for the attached pillowcase, travel size pillow). She did an envelope opening on the end to remove for washing, we didn't use Velcro, it doesn't seem necessary right now. These dimensions leave enough room to fold the mat to carry and remove the mat easily for washing, it's not a tight fit. I am going to make 1 more just for kicks. It's a great way to practice for other projects I'd like to do. Envelope opening:
My ds, the ham, I can't imgine they are actually going to get him to sleep on this mat! :)

Baby Tag Lovey

I decided to practice sewing by making baby tag lovies. There are several people having babies soon and I thought they would make sweet gifts IF I can learn to sew straight. I read these blogs for instructions and hints:

http://mamasdoodles.blogspot.com/2008/08/twiddler-tag-blankie-tutorial.html

http://www.chicaandjo.com/2008/07/22/make-your-own-taggie-blankets/

http://ideas4fun.blogspot.com/2009/03/make-your-own-tag-blanket.html

http://craftblog.com.au/2008/07/04/appliqued-ribbon-blanket-tutorial/

When I get the hang of sewing straight, I'm going to make one using minky for my great-nephew, he is due in Nov. so I have plenty of time to practice. It irks me, though, that I can sew straight on a scrap piece of fabric, ugh! I bought the fabric and ribbon at Joann's. I learned to test the ribbon before using it on this though, one of the ribbons "pulled" when I ran my finger across it-not good for chewing on. Anyway, pretty I'm happy with how it turned out and look forward to making more of them.

More Quick & Easy

This is the rest of the teacher gifts. I used the SU rubons and a glass vase/container I found at the $ Tree. I learned something with the rubons...making it not so quick but a great lesson learned. I used a large flower and it came out bubbly, which I didn't like at all. So, I scraped the rubon off with my fingernail then wiped the glass clean with alcohol on a papertowel to remove any leftover traces of the rubons. Then, I chose a different design that didn't have such a large, solid design. I like how these turned out.

Quick & Easy Cards

Well, quick once I figured out what to do. I made the monogrammed cards as part of my son's teacher gifts. I found the cards at Michael's, used SU and misc. cardstock, SU ink and ribbon and JustRite alpha stamps. They turned out the way I pictured them in my head but I needed help from my friend, Jennifer, to execute it properly. I was using circles that were too big and a border around the letters. She helped me to make it more uniform. Thanks Jenn! :) I'll post the rest of the gift tomorrow.

The top two cards were very easy as well. I used SU rubons for the card on the left and added a little bling. For the card on the right, I used new CM paper flowers and an SU rubon. Those flowers are really cool! I like how they are paper, they'll probably hold rubons, bling and ink better than fabric ones. Thanks Amy!

Anniversary Gift

I saw this at the LSS and thought it was a perfect anniversary gift for my brother and SIL. I used an 8x8 paper pack from CM called the Valentine's pack for the clock face and 3 squares. The stickers used on the 3 squares were also from this pack. I used SU rubons for "love, friend, happiness" and the heart in the middle of the flower. And I used MM rubons for the clock numbers. I put these on the glass and love the way it gives dimension. There are dots for the other numbers but you can't see them well in this pic. A fun project that the couple loved! They have been married for 25 years...what a great accomplishment!

Wedding Card

I made this card for my nephew, who is getting married this week. The card is from a pack from Big Lots that already had the windows in them. I gave them a batter bowl with lid, the dry ingredients from this recipe and a gift card to buy the rest of the ingredients and dinner. I printed the recipe card on the computer and stamped the flowers. I used Stickles on the flower centers, around the sentiment and on the tux/dress.

Baby Shower

My dh's cousin is having a baby girl, the first one in the family since her. How fun! Having a boy myself, I couldn't wait to get my hands on all things pink. I made a diaper cake and clothes line to be used for shower decorations, then made a gift for mom of thank you notes and a coupon holder. I had a ton of fun!

This is the clothes line. I made these cardstock diapers and used punches to include the baby's name. I printed the letters on the computer. I found this idea and template here: http://www.scrapjazz.com/gallery/image/layout/313078.html The dresses and shoes on the mantle are the mother-to-be's from when she was a child. I thought that was so sweet!

This is a gift tag I made to add to the gift bag. I recycled the gift bag and luckily the CS matches perfectly. I don't remember the name of this stamp set but I borrowed it from a friend a while back and stamped a bunch of images. This is my last girrafe, maybe she'll let me borrow it again. I colored it in with colored pencils and of course added Stickles!

This is the gift set for mom. I made 10 than you cards, my friend Jennifer showed me how to make the box. I still think my coupon holder is an original idea from when I made one for myself 2 years ago. I folded CS to make pockets and used the BIA to put it all together. Each pocket is labeled with a different baby item using the cute Baby Firsts stamp set from SU.

I wrapped Hershey's Nuggets using Avery 8160 labels and Microsoft Word. I shaded all of the labels with pink and added the clipart image. I like how they turned out and they were so EASY!

And last, but not least, the diaper cake. I love making these. I usually make them where the diapers are wrapped in a blanket and gifts are stuffed everywhere but since I wasn't what the mother-to-be would preferred, I made a simple version. I love how it turned out!

I think she really liked how everything looked.

Archiver's M&T

Another Archiver's Make & Take. They are so sweet there, they insisted that I do the card even though I had my 20 month old son with me. He sat in my lap and the lady helped me with the embossing and adhering the bling. It made my day, the simple things right? :)

Post-It Note Holder

I put an Easter basket together for ds's daycare teachers. In addition to the candy, I thought I'd make post-it note holders with the teachers' initials on them. I didn't really use a pattern, just fit the CS around the post-its, I've seen so many of these on SCS. It was a very quick project! I used all scrap paper, scallop and circle punches, paper piercer, some leftover stickers and of course, stickles. :)

Live & Learn

This was a "free" make and take at Archiver's that cost me an hour of my life...ugh!

Tool Turnabout

This is the Pampered Chef Tool Turnabout that I used in my kitchen for a while, then repurposed it as my craft tool turnabout. I love this thing! It holds most of my scrapbooking/crafting tools. I put it in a drawstring bag to take to crops and know that I have most everything I need. I decided to use some old SU rubons (surprise, surprise!) and dress it up a bit. I love this color and all of the flowers. To some, it may be too many flowers but I love it. Of course, I used my nifty Basic Grey rubon tool and it made applying the rubons so easy. As soon as I get to Archiver's to get some multipurpose glue, I'm going to add some bling to some of the flower centers on the bottom tier.

Fun Project

We celebrated a good friend's 40th b'day tonight. He loves guitars/music so we threw him a surprise b'day dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I helped set everything up and decided to make a centerpiece for the table. I used my Wishblade! I was so excited. I found this guitar file from http://pabykincreations.com/. It is the free "guitar hero" file. I only used the guitar part of the file. You see the full guitar in the centerpiece and only the outline to make the guitars that are glued on the can (which is a formula can, without the label it was already silver and worked perfectly). I made the guitar amplifier myself. I used Crayola's stardust sticker paper that you can print on for the label that is supposed to look like the metal screen. My dh said it didn't look like an amp at all but once our friend looked at the centerpiece he said "look, there's even an amp". So haha! The guitar picks were part of the party favors, I used the extras. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Card for Mom

I made this card for my mom using the SU rubons again. I have really had fun with these lately. The card/envie was from the clearance wall at Hobby Lobby. And of course I added the bling and did some outlining with a new pen, I think it's called Stardust. It glides on like paint, I love that pen! Anyway, I wish I hadn't put the stem flower in the middle of happy day but it'll do. Mom will love it no matter! :)

Make and Takes

Visit my friend Jennifer's blog to see the Archiver's make and takes. I did the circle card, journal block and mini album as well-piggy backing on her post b/c she already has all of the photos uploaded, hehe! :)
http://createdbyjen.blogspot.com/2009/02/free-make-and-take.html
http://createdbyjen.blogspot.com/2009/02/more-make-and-takes.html

Other than this and the card I just posted, I haven't done a whole lot of crafting, time to myself is at an all time low right now. But, I printed a ton of pics recently and am organizing them for my scrapbook. At least I'm getting something accomplished!

Like Butta

Inside of card:

So after using the Basic Grey rubon roller at the last Archiver's make and take, I bought one and have fallen in love with it, it glides so easily! I used it for this card, which is for my BFF's birthday and it was so quick and easy-no popsicle stick hand cramps or stresses in the paper. It was awesome! Everyone really needs one of these things. And, I also used a little adhesive/rubon eraser that I really liked. I have the square adhesive eraser but haven't liked it lately. I found this other one on sale and thought I'd try it and really like it, but I don't know who makes it, it's a little green stump. Anyway, the pink passion paper and rubons are SU. I used pieces of several different rubons to fill the front of the card, it was fun. And of course, what card is finished without Stickles and bling?! :)