Up for Another Challenge

Dawn McVey posted her second challenge this week on her blog HERE. The great thing about participating in these kinds of challenges for me is, I usually work with different combinations of colors, something new...and, I usually end up using something from my stash that would otherwise be sitting around "until I got around to it."
As you can see, the challenge colors for this week are...Brown, Teal, White and Celery.

And, here's what I came up with:
I needed to make a card for my Sister-in-law's birthday, so I used the challenge colors to get me started. I also used my new "Trendy Trees" stamp set from Stampin' Up. I love these simple designs.

Here's a close up:
The patterned paper is from (green) DCWV and (blue) Making Memories. The scalloped rectangle is a die from Nestabilities. The tree stamp is from Stampin' Up and the birthday sentiment is from Hero Arts. I love the simpleness of it. Thanks for taking a look!

Bunny Pin

I have been seeing bunnies and inspiration everywhere lately! I can't stand it...I have to create something and it's something new everyday! Inspiration is all over!

Saturday, I attended a huge community sale at a school and saw a booth with handmade felt loveliness and goodies including pins and covered onesies. Although I didn't look at everything really closely [like I should have] I did see the cutest bunny pin from across the way.

Using that as inspiration, this is what I came up with this morning.
I really wanted a brown bunny, but using what I had on hand, I found this really soft gray felt that I thought would work just perfectly.

This was really simple and quick. The pom-pom tail was attached using hot glue.

I decided to attach it to a card for presentation.
This picture shows you how I attached it to the cardstock.

Now I'm off to make a few more unless I get distracted by another inspirational idea!

Made to Order

Remember this post? Well, my neighbor saw the books I made for Cayla's birthday party and and she asked me if I would make one for each of her grandchildren. Of course I said, "Sure!"

I sent her to the fabric store to purchase the fabric and this is what I came up with.
I just love the big, juicy flower on this one.

And this one is obviously for a boy who loves "Pirates of the Caribbean" so I decided to go with the cross bones...because making a template for a skull sounded a little too difficult. Of course, I wish I could have cut the pirates to lie in the correct position, left to right, but using exactly 1/2 a yard of fabric only allows for the pattern to be cut one way so that the pieces all fit. That's why I prefer those all-over designs, there's no right-way or wrong-way.

Daisy Chain Backsack & More

I laid my hands on some Amy Butler "Daisy Chain" fabric the other day. I made a special trip to a wonderful quilting/antique store on the other side of town just to make this splurge [$15] purchase.
I've been wanting to try my novice hands at constructing a backsack for quite some time. I checked out the Vera Bradley selection at a local store but I couldn't see parting with $42 for just the bag and nothing to go with it. Plus, I couldn't decide on ONE fabric choice....all the colors were so wonderful.

So, what did I do next? I went to the computer and found a pattern to make my own. This was definitely a "live-and-learn" project, and if it hadn't been for my husband's genius mind I would have never completed it. The pattern was very lacking with the "specifics" and the illustrations were also hard to follow. As a result, we may be writing our own pattern [for a tutorial] very soon (while it's still fresh in our brains).

I'm still very pleased with the result and I can't wait to use it! For this shot, I had my little, willing and able model show it off.

Next, I had to make a matching tissue holder using the lining fabric.

Along with a change purse where I added a couple of scrapbooking felted embellishments.

The last two pieces were so easy I may make a few more for my very first GIVEAWAY! Would you like to WIN one?

Quick & Sweet

I made this card yesterday afternoon for my daughter's friend who is having an ice cream social party. I was looking for something with an ice-cream theme and found lots of inspiration from the current "Papercrafts" magazine. There's an entire section titled: "Indulge in Delicious" with the sweetest cupcake and ice cream cards.
The ice cream scoops were all hand-cut. Sometimes you don't need all of those dies, just make your own. I also scored the cone using my Scor-Pal (although it's hard to see) to give it that criss-cross pattern of an old-fashioned cone.

I wanted to break out the sewing machine, or add more bling, but I decided to keep it simple.

Too Stinkin' Cute

"Too stinkin' cute" is all I can say about this little Easter goodie basket I made today. Although I can't take credit for the chick....I did make some alterations to the egg basket pattern I found on the Splitcoast Stamper's gallery.
The chick's face and the white scalloped bag handle were made using my Spellbinders dies [circle + ovals]. The chick's eyes and beauty mark were made using a few miscellaneous punches I had on hand. The Easter sentiment is from the dollar bin at Michael's a few years back. These are so sweet, I can't wait to make more!

Featured Blog of the Week

I found out some really neat news today! I was reading through some comments posted from a few days ago and a really sweet blogger, 12 year old Anna from this blog told me she saw my blog featured on the Plaid Kids Crafts blog....I didn't even know Plaid had their own blog!

Once I did some digging around, I found out that sure enough.....I was featured on February 25, 2009 for my chalkboard painted craft cabinet. Remember this post?
Special thanks to Anna for letting me know this really cool news! I never knew until today! Does that make me special?

As you Requested, Sweet Girl

Saturday, my dear, sweet Abby asked me to make her a tooth fairy pillow. Actually, I felt a little bummed that I hadn't made her something already....she's lost two teeth and has a wiggly 3rd right now. I found a cute pattern and this is what I came up with.
Here's her cute little face, close up.

I added a ribbon from the original pattern so that she could hang her pillow from her nightstand and that way, the "Tooth Fairy" doesn't have to struggle to find the tooth under her pillow.

And here's a shot of the backside with a sweet little heart pocket to hold her tooth and the loot she'll receive from her sacrifice.

This was a enjoyable, easy project and she loved how it turned out...that's the most important thing. :)

A Challenge I Couldn't Resist

A blog I visit often for inspiration is this one. Dawn McVey's cards are wonderful! And her photography for those cards is exceptional! I love everything she does! While I was browsing today I saw that she posted her first color challenge. I couldn't resist....here are her challenge colors:

I quickly went to my paper stash, ribbon and flowers, which happen to be my favorite design elements for cards, and this is what I came up with:

This is a great challenge and a good way to start your creative process. Thanks Dawn!

Whatcha been up to?

Hey there! I'm still here! I spent the afternoon yesterday primping the front yard for some Spring prettiness and this morning I'm working in the back yard, but I've given myself a deadline so that I can get in here and "work" on a few projects [and have something to show you].

I started reading this book last night. I can't believe I found it at my local library.



Lots of really cute ideas to think about.

I also got a request last night from my youngest daughter (who has a very wiggly tooth) to make her a personalized tooth fairy pillow. (I felt a little bad because she didn't have one yet.) Because she does better with a visual, I went to Google and found this cute image.

The blog also included directions for a larger pillow and a stand-alone tooth pillow. This should be an easy afternoon project and then she'll have her very own keepsake!

Well, I'm off to get started on the day. Have yourself a good one!

Gifts of Green

I played around with some St. Patrick's Day treats today. I didn't really have any ideas coming into the craft room this afternoon, but with limited time and needing to get 100 different things done, these are what I came up with. The first thing is a little lunchbox treat for the girls. I will hide these treat bags in their lunches tomorrow, but first, they will read a few hints about their surprise when they open their school agendas in the morning. They are crazy for these sour gummy worms, so I thought they might enjoy them. There's only 5 in each package so they don't get so "sugared up."

I made these next treats for four special teacher friends. I looked at Target for candy that was the most similar to the gold coins you would find at the end of a rainbow. I thought these Rolo candies looked perfect!

The die cut for the basket is from Stampin' Up and the pot of gold stamped image is from Studio G. I simply attached the tag and a glittered shamrock. I was trying to keep it quick so that I could get dinner on the table at a decent hour. See you later!

Scrappy Quick

I thought it might be neat to use some of the fabric scraps from the banner project to make some flowers. My technique is super simple. Cut various sizes of fabric circles, stack them up and then stitch them together with needle and thread...to finish embellish with a button, brad or whatever.

On this card, I also used my favorite Cuttlebug embossing folder, a stamp from the Stampin' Up "Sweet Little Sentiments" stamp set and a scallop edge punch.

Super quick!

Celebrate in Style

Woohoo! I'm loving this project. It was a cinch to put together and now all I can think about are the endless possibilities for making more. Let's see, "Spooky" for Halloween, "Welcome" for an Open House or at beginning of school in a classroom, or how about an all green for St. Patty's Day? These 7x9 flags are so easy to cut out and sew together and then everything is connected using bias tape.
I also lucked out by using my Cricut machine to cut the 4 inch letters to use as patterns for the black felt. I chose my "Cuttin Up" cartridge because I liked the chunkiness of the letter style.

This project came in under $10 and I still have several pieces of fabric left. Hmmm...I see tissue covers in the future...they would make cute Easter basket stuffers.

Inspirational Colors

The bright colors of Spring are inspiring me to try this project....I'm "working" at the house today taking care of things like laundry, cleaning, and hopefully finishing a project using these fun colors of fabric.
Don't you just love them? They make me smile!

Days like today make me appreciate being a SAHM (stay at home mom) even more....what a great life!

Artwork by Salvation Army

I popped into the Salvation Army store yesterday looking for a few things. As I browsed around I was just about to head to the cash register when I spotted this cute framed print on the shelf in the "red" section. (At my Salvation Army all the knick-knack items are put in order by color.)
I knew as soon as I saw it that the size of the frame would be perfect to display a collection of butterflies. I quickly took apart the picture and asked hubby to sand the frame down for me so that I could re-paint it. My original idea was to paint it pink, but as I looked at the colors available in my stash, I opted for black. I used "asphalt" by Making Memories....it's a great solid black. My goal was to use what I had, and not buy anything.

Once I had the frame painted I went to my stash of large papers and decided to use this cork paper that I've had for almost 10 years. I used my Cuttlebug butterfly die and two different embossing folders to add texture to the patterned paper. (I'll take a better picture tomorrow in the daylight.) The last thing I did was to add one decorative rhinestone to the center butterfly. This piece was made with a total investment of $1.99.

Quick Circle Card

I can't remember where I found the idea for this card. I knew when I saw it that I wanted to make one....and I quickly sketched the idea on a piece of scrap paper. This morning while I was cleaning the clutter off of my desktop I found the sketch.
I used a piece of kraft cardstock for the front and back and then I went to my scrap paper bins for the remaining pieces. Using my Coluzzle to cut the large circles (kraft and green) and my circle punch for the smaller circles (pink) this card came together in minutes. The last piece I added was the punched butterfly using my Martha Stewart punch (one of two). The card opens and closes using a mini brad.

Roll Up Art

I have a little one coming to the party tomorrow so I thought I would take the left over fabric (see previous post) and make her a crayon roll. These are made using the same design as the colored pencil and drawing pad holder, just a little bit smaller scale.
I'm really happy with the results, and I was so happy to find a new box of crayons in my school supply stash. I always buy a few extras when WM runs them for 18/cents a box. Can't beat that!

Next, I'm headed to the Dollar Tree to find her a fresh new coloring book. I hope she likes it!

Artist on the Go

I found this really great tutorial for a colored pencil and drawing pad holder on Skip to My Lou's blog and immediately got started on putting together 6 of these for the upcoming birthday party we are having on Saturday. As my girls get older, and their friends celebrate their birthdays every year with them, I like to do different things for their goodie bags or party treats. For this birthday party, I decided to sew 6 of these "Artist on the Go" covers.

The tutorial was fantastic and the sewing time is very minimal...I was down to 15 minutes per cover as I got near the end. The left side of the cover holds 12 colored pencils and the right side has a pocket for a 6x9 drawing pad. I found my colored pencils and drawing pads at Target. With the size of these covers, you can get two complete covers with 1 1/8 yards of fabric. I also added simple felt embellishments to each cover. I used my new Stampin' Up chipboard collection to create a pattern for the bird and the small hearts.

I love this cute bird....he's so cheerful. The butterfly and cloud were from my own handmade stencil collection....really easy. Making 6 was a bit of a time investment, but I know the girls will enjoy them and I can't wait to get back to my sewing machine. I've got another project from Skip to My Lou's blog that I want to try tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Candles & Cake

We celebrated Cayla's birthday last night with dinner at home (her favorite meal prepared by Daddy) and a simple cake that I put together at the last minute. She told me that she was "tired of cake and frosting" so I wasn't going to do anything...(we will also celebrate her birthday with a party on Saturday where we will have a cookie cake) but my instincts told me I needed to do something. So, in the afternoon while she was at school, I took this mini cake out of the freezer, used some frosting I had on hand and put together this really yummy cake with a Littlest Pet Shop "Sugar Glider" cake topper. She loved it and was really excited. Oh...and she asked for seconds! :)

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you! Here's a quick picture I took this morning while Cayla was still in her jammies. She wanted to open a few of her gifts and save some tonight for our family celebration. She is so quick to guess what's in each package, even without unwrapping them, I decided to trick her this year by hiding one of her Nintendo games in a Cakester box.
She didn't know what was going on. She said, "Did you get me food?" Aha---you gotta be quick with this clever Mom. She's off to school and we'll share the rest of the day when she gets home.

Something Strange

Well, I just posted something new....and now all of my posts have disappeared from my cover page. I'll test with this post to see if something strange is going on. Help!!

Cakester Coverups

I just finished putting together 18 of these "Cakester Coverups." One of my girls is celebrating her 9th birthday this week and we decided to go very simple for her classroom treats. Actually, her class is in the middle of major testing this week, I'm subbing in 2nd grade and I've also got a really great sewing project "in the works" for her birthday party on Saturday [pictures coming soon]. So, while we were at the store yesterday picking out some treats, she decided she wanted to pass out Oreo Cakesters.
I couldn't just hand them out "as is" so I took a little bit of time this morning and covered them up with some patterned paper and punched out embellishments.

They were so easy and came together really quickly. The pattern I used measures: 5 1/8" by 7 1/2". I love decorating treats for the kids!

New Color Combos

I've been trying to experiment with some new color combinations with my scrapbook pages and cards. I'm a matchy-matchy type "A" person so it's a bit of a challenge. I've been using my color wheel and looking for inspiration everywhere. Here's a card I put together the other night while watching American Idol. I never, in a million years, would have automatically thought about putting aqua, magenta, yellow and white together, but I think it works. What do you think?
The current Stampin' Up catalog also has some wonderful ideas to "borrow" from. {I would have loved to add some stitching to the patterned paper piece, but I was too lazy to change the thread on my sewing machine.}