Sassy & Sweet Notes

Happy May Day!

Happy May, dare I say, to all of you who got SNOW today!?!

Coffee!

Coffee and tea are popular subjects these days (and not just in papercrafting), so I was excited to see The Stamps of Life release dies that coordinate with their coffee themed stamp set. I put together a few projects using the new dies, and thought I'd share them with you!

First, I made a treat packet using a glassine envelope. I put chocolate covered espresso beans inside, folded down the opening of the envelope, and added a paper band around the bag to keep it closed. I used the coffee cup die to create a small gift card that I added to the front of the treat packet. The backside of the coffee cup shaped gift card is just slipped underneath the paper band that wraps around the bag of treats. The paper band holds the coffee cup card in place, and the card helps decorate the front of the treat bag. Yummy!! Yes, please!

I also made this card, using the negative shape of the coffee cup die. Using different patterned papers with the die made this card super easy to make! The coffee die set also comes with the itty bitty coffee cup die I used on the circle charm. I cut it out in chocolate brown paper and added a cute antique button to the center.

And finally, I also made this card using the label die from the same set of dies. It's a great shape, and will come in handy for all kinds of fun projects!

And speaking of coffee .... if you're a coffee drinker, what's your favorite brand and roast?

 

Supplies:
Stamps: Coffee4Two and Coffee Dies by The Stamps of Life
Paper: Neenah, Bazzil, Cosmo Cricket, October Afternoon, and The Paper Loft
Other: bakers twine, buttons, thread, tracing wheel, glassine bag

High Hopes Challenge: Celebrate!

The current High Hopes challenge topic is Celebrate! I chose to celebrate Spring!

I used the adorable Jeepers Peepers chick to decorate a clear paint can that I filled with yellow "grass", a few pencils, and some treats.

I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge!

Find all the details on the High Hopes blog.

 

Supplies
Stamp: Jeepers Peepers by High Hopes Rubber Stamps
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Neenah, Paper Accents, Bo Bunny
ShinHan Touch Twin markers: Y36, YR32, YR31, BR103, BR107, R2, R3
Other: Clear Paint Can, Ribbon, Paper Doily, Sizzix Flower Layers & Leaf die, Spellbinders circle and pinked circle dies

you're delightful....

Yup, you really are! I put together this card using the rest of the emboss resist panel I made the other day. A clean and simple design.

I just love how the watercolor paper absorbed the color sprays! So fun, and uncontrolled!

I packaged the card in a glassine envelope and topped it with a pretty paper doily.

I made a little white and yellow felt flower embellishment to decorate the baker's twine bow I wrapped around the envelope to keep the doily in place, and finally, I added a small tag with the recipient's name written on it.

Quick and easy!

 

Supplies:
Stamps: YouAre2Kind and Gum4Background by The Stamps of Life
Ink: VersaMark, Black StazOn, Stepanie Barnard Color Sprays in Blueberry, Sky, and Grape
Paper: Fabriano Watercolor Paper, Neenah, Bazzil
Other: bakers twine, buttons, thread, tracing wheel, Stampendous Kaleidoscope Transparent Embossing Powder, heat tool, craft mat, felt, glassine bag, Paper Doily, Sizzix Flower Layers & Leaf dies, Corner Chomper

The Challenge Chicks: It's Not Easy Being Green!

If you're a stamper and you like challenges, or you're new to the idea of challenges and want to give one a whirl, I invite you to participate with The Challenge Chicks! We're a small group of friends and stampers hosting monthly challenges. Won't you join us?!

Our challenge for March 2013 is being shared today: It's Not Easy Being Green!

I chose to re-purpose a few items and made something that gives my selected items an entirely new purpose! For my project I used the cardboard core from a roll of packing tape, a wooden lid from a jar candle, and chipboard from a box of Alan's favorite fiber bars to create this little "masculine" themed container.

I covered the packing tape core with paper from The Paper Loft. The base of the container is made from two scalloped die cut circles (adhered together) from a fiber bar box. The lid from the jar candle fit PERFECTLY inside the packing tape core.

This will be fun to fill with little chocolate goodies, or even a small gift for a birthday or Christmas!

Now get yourself a good dose of some "green" fun and check out the rest of The Challenge Chicks projects:

Diane Zechman
Lydia Fiedler
Jeanne Streiff
Kelli Hull
Kelly Schirmer
Anna Wight (that's me!)

And, finally, you'll find this month's challenge gallery on SplitCoastStampers using keyword CHXMAR13. We invite you to play along! Upload your project to your SplitCoastStampers gallery, add the keyword above, and your project will be automatically added to the gallery. Or join us on Facebook!

We look forward to seeing your projects!

 

Supplies
Paper: The Paper Loft
Ink: Ranger Brushed Corduroy
Other: Spellbinders Scalloped Circle die, tracing wheel, reclaimed lid, tape core, box chipboard

Springtime Wool Felt Flower

Over the years I've made LOTS of felt flower brooches for the Christmas holiday, usually in pretty reds, creams, or blues. But last night I thought I'd make a nice springy yellow flower pin.

I used Sizzix framelits dies to cut the flowers and leaves out of wool felt. Once cut, the layers were sewn together with needle and thread, which also holds the vintage mother of pearl button in place.

I pinned the finished flower (I sewed a lapel pin on the backside) to a tag I cut using a Sizzix Bigz tag die. The tag is a piece of printed paper adhered to thin chipboard for added support. The sentiment banner and flowers were cut using Banners #2 Framelits by Sizzix.

I think this will be a fun gift to give to a friend!

Happy FRIDAY!

PS: The little grey "flecks" you don't actually show up as grey on the flower. They're little bitty silver glitter pieces that give the entire flower and tag a pretty shimmer and shine. If I use this glitter on projects, I usually spray them AFTER they've been photographed, because the glitter always shows up in photos as grey. But, this time I forgot to wait to spray the flower until after the photos were taken. In real life, it's just sparkly. *grin*

 

Supplies
Dies: Sizzix Framelits Banners #2, Sizzix Framelits Flower Layers & Leaf, Sizzix Bigz Tag
Stamp: tinytitles2stamp by The Stamps of Life
Ink: Stephanie Barnard Colorbox "Grape"
Other: Wool Felt, Vintage button, Coats Button thread, Silver Craft Glitter Spray
Paper: Chipboard, Pattern paper scraps (source unknown)

Sunnyside Up!

Made using my Whipper Snapper cling set, Sunnyside Up!

I do love springtime, and all the cheerfulness that comes with it. And this tag is dadgum cheerful. *grin*

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sunnyside Up cling set, Whipper Snapper Designs
Ink: Memento Black, StazOn Black, Ranger Distress Ink (brown)
Paper: October Afternoon, Neenah
Other: May Arts ribbon, button, string, foam dimensional adhesive, EK Success Edger Punch, tracing wheel

Taylored Expressions February Sneak Peek: Easter Doodles

Today is Sneak Peek day for the February release for Taylored Expressions, and I'm thrilled to be joining the TE design team again for this month's release. All of the new products being showcased will be available Thursday, February 7th, at the Taylored Expressions site.

Today I'm sneak peeking the new set Easter Doodles, which is a large sized set filled with you guessed it -- doodles! And very cute doodles, too! For my project I used several images along with one of the sentiments included in the set to create this treat holder. Aren't those chicks just the cutest?!

I also used the same two chick images to create this clean and simple card, which doesn't necessarily have to be an Easter card! I used Spellbinders dies to create the green and yellow shaped layers, and chose to use some pretty yellow crocheted lace as an accent.

There's lots of fun happening today, and here's a list of designers who will give you a healthy serving of goodness!

• Carole Burrage
• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Kerri Michaud
• Lynnette Kauffman
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Tammie Edgerton
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess
• Anna Wight (Guest Designer)
• Nancy McKinney (Illustrator)

 

Supplies:
Stamp: Taylored Expressions Easter Doodles
Ink: Memento Black, Stampin' Up! Kiwi Kiss, Ranger's Antique Linen Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Paper Accents, Stampin' Up!
ShinHan Touch Twin markers: Y36, YR31, YR32, YR21, PB144, PB183
Other: May Arts Ribbon and twine, Spellbinders circle, pinked circle and scalloped circle dies, Making Memories lace, Tracing Wheel, buttons and string

The Challenge Chicks: Valentines!

If you're a stamper and you like challenges, or you're new to the idea of challenges and want to give participating a whirl, I invite you to participate with The Challenge Chicks! We're a small group of friends and stampers hosting monthly challenges. Won't you join us?!

Our challenge for February 2013 is being shared today!

This month's challenge is easy:  Valentines!

For my project, I pulled out one of my Whipper Snapper cling mount sets, Bear Hugs. Dressed up in his bowtie, he looks like he's ready for some Valentine lovin' to me!

He's stamped in Memento ink and colored with Touch Twin markers. The rose, sentiment, and speech bubble are images also found in the Bear Hugs set. It was fun to create this little scene.

And, how about a bonus project!? I wrapped a conversation candy heart treat box with card stock, added a printed paper panel, and created the tag using an image from the Stampin' Up set called Gift Givers. Pretty simple, and a whole lot cuter than the printed box!

Now get yourself a good dose of some Valentine fun and check out the rest of The Challenge Chicks projects:

Diane Zechman
Lydia Fiedler
Jeanne Streiff
Kelli Hull
Kelly Schirmer
Anna Wight (that's me!)

And, finally, you'll find this month's challenge gallery on SplitCoastStampers using keyword CHXFEB13. We invite you to play along! Upload your project to your SplitCoastStampers gallery, add the keyword above, and your project will be automatically added to the gallery. Or join us on Facebook!

We look forward to seeing your projects!

 

Supplies (Bear)
Stamps: Whipper Snapper "Bear Hugs"
Paper: Neenah, BoBunny, Bazzill
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Ink: Memento Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Other: Bakers Twine, Tracing Wheel, Dress-it-Up Button, string

Supplies (Box)
Stamps: Stampin' Up! "Gift Givers"
Paper: Stampin' Up!, K&Company
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Ink: Memento Black
Other: Stampin' Up! Scallop Circle Punch, EK Success Circle Punch, Bakers Twine, Tracing Wheel

Jar of Hearts

I have a quick and easy gift wrap for Valentine's Day to share with you today. I created a heart-filled jar tag for a bag of yummy chocolates using the recently released Hugs and Kisses stamp set, and coordinating jar die from Taylored Expressions.

I colored the image with markers, then gave the entire jar a good dose of spray adhesive and added a beautiful layer of glitter over the entire tag. I love love LOVE this technique!

 

Supplies
Stamps: Taylored Expressions Hugs & Kisses
Dies: Taylored Expressions Hugs & Kisses Jar
Ink: Memento Brown
Paper: Neenah, BoBunny
Other: ShinHan Touch Twin markers, bakers twine, red grosgrain ribbon, button, string, paper doily, Martha Stewart Crystal Glitter, Aleene's Spray Adhesive, glassine bag

More Handy Dandy Pouches!

I've finished more Handy Dandy Pouches, and have listed several of them (varying prints) in the shop.

You'll also find some cute Valentine Tissue Cozies, perfect for keeping the winter sniffles in check!

Handy Dandy Pouches

This weekend I made these CUTE little pouches!

And these sunny pouches! These two remind me of life in Eugene, Oregon!

And these funky pouches! They measure about 4.5x5.5 inches, and I had fun choosing fabrics from my stash.

I love how they turned out!

They can be used to hold any number of things that get tucked into purses... a phone, lip gunks, notepads, coupons, etc.

It's always nice to have a little "catch all" in your purse, I think!

What a handy, dandy little pouch!

I found a pattern online, and then altered it a bit so that the final product ended up being the size I wanted. Purdy darn cute, if you ask me!

Taylored Expressions January Sneak Peek: Rose Bouquet & Valentine Doodles

Today is a Sneak Peek day for the January release for Taylored Expressions, and I'm thrilled to be joining the TE design team for this month's release. All of the new stamps being showcased today will be available tomorrow, January 8th at the Taylored Expressions site.

I gave you a peek at this project yesterday, and thought I would share it in full with you today.

I stamped Rose Bouquet on Fabriano watercolor paper and painted the image with Twinkling H2O's. If you've never used Twinkling H2O's before, I encourage you to give them a try! They are little pots of pigment that are saturated with a wonderful shimmer. They apply very easily with a damp brush, and leave you with a wonderful shine.

They can be used as the primary color on your project since they are quite pigmented. With a damp brush, just pick up a little bit of color from the color pot and apply it to your image. You can add depth and dimension by adding more layers of color over already dried layers. These little pots of color create beautiful results every time!

I also have this project duo to share with you, as well! These two projects feature images from the new full size stamp set called Valentine Doodles. The set is filled with lots of cute images and sentiments perfect for, well, Valentine's Day! *grin*

Since I had so much fun making the pet themed treat toppers for Christmas, why not have some treat toppers handy for Valentine's Day, too!? I chose the cute little dog image along with the Puppy Love sentiment for my topper.

The treats inside are people dogs love to eat, and according to Daisy and Twiggy really are quite delicious. There are mailmen, policemen, dog catchers, etc. And honestly, they crack me up! Find them at Dollar Tree, and the best part is they're made in the USA!

There's lots of fun happening today, so here's a list of designers who will give you a healthy serving of goodness! Check back tomorrow, for release day happenings!

• Carole Burrage
• Charmaine Ikach
• Jen Shults
• Kerri Michaud
• Lynnette Kauffman
• Sankari Wegman
• Shannon White
• Shelly Mercado
• Stephanie Kraft
• Tammie Edgerton
• Taylor VanBruggen
• Wanda Guess
• Anna Wight (Guest Designer)

 

Supplies (Rose Bouquet)
Stamp: Taylored Expressions Rose Bouquet
Ink: StazOn Black
Paper: Fabriano Watercolor Paper, Cosmo Cricket S'More Love, Neenah
Other: Twinkling H2O's, May Arts Twine, Taylored Expressions Designer Mini Tags die, Tracing Wheel

Supplies (Puppy Love Treat Topper and Card)
Stamps: Taylored Expressions Valentine Doodles
Ink: Memento Black, Memento Sand, Ranger Antique Linen Distress
Paper: Neenah, BoBunny, Bazzill
Other: ShinHan Touch Twin markers, May Arts Twine, Spellbinders circle, pinked circle, scalloped circle and label 17 dies, Dress It Up Buttons, Tracing Wheel

Chipboard Snowman: 2012

Hope wherever you find yourself today, you're keepin' cozy!

Christmas Wrapping for Pets

Christmas is for the pets in our family, too. Here are some treats and a softie I wrapped up for Gramma's dog, Mattie. Make gifts fun to open by tucking in a small bite sized treat they can find when the gift is opened. Tearing apart tissue is lots more fun when there is a tasty morsel hidden inside!

The tags were made with a cute image by Stampendous, colored with Touch Twin markers. I used various Spellbinder dies for the layers, and my Martha Stewart holly leaf punch for the leaves.

Woof woof!

 

Supplies:
Stamp: Stampendous, Studio G (alphabet)
Ink: Memento Black, Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen
Paper: Neenah, October Afternoon, Paper Accents
Shinhan Touch Twin markers
Two-Way Glue Pen, Ultra Fine Glitter, Button, Martha Stewart Holly Leaf Punch, Spellbinders label, circle, and circle dies, tea dyed retail tag, bakers twine, clear treat bag

Treat Toppers for Humans

So.... you liked my treat toppers for dogs, but don't really have a need for creating dog themed goodies? How about using the same general idea and tools, but make treat toppers for humans instead!

I don't know one single person who doesn't like snowmen.

And hurray for chocolates!

 

Supplies:
Stamp: Inky Antics (snowman), Stampin' Up! (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Black, Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen
Paper: Neenah, October Afternoon, Paper Accents
Shinhan Touch Twin markers: PB144, PB185, R28, R3, YR23
Two-Way Glue Pen, Ultra Fine Glitter, Button, Martha Stewart Holly Leaf Punch, Spellbinders label, circle, and pinked circle dies, tea dyed retail tag, May Arts twine, clear treat bag

Treat Toppers for Dogs

I made a few stocking stuffer treats for some of our family-friend dogs. If these look familiar to you, I made similar treat toppers last year. You'll find those posts here and here.

This year, I chose to use a Penny Black image, "Good Boy!" from 2004. The image is stamped in Memento ink and colored with Shinhan Touch Twin markers.

I used papers from last year's Holiday Style paper pad by Cosmo Cricket for the die cut layers. I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the holly leaves, and added a threaded button as the holly berry.

When purchasing store-bought treats, I recommend looking for treats made in the USA or Canada. For these, I have used Sergeant's brand chews, which are made in the US.

Primitive Snowman Ornament

Check out these fatties.... *grin!*

Winter/Christmas Themed Tags

More holiday tags, and they're being featured on the Inky Antics blog today. How fun is that! Consider these a bonus project for this month's Challenge Chicks theme!

 

Supplies
Stamps: Inky Antics
Paper: Neenah, Simple Stories, Stampin' Up!
ShinHan Touch Twin Markers
Ink: Memento Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink, Gathered Twigs Distress Ink
Other: PTI tag die, twine, buttons, Tracing Wheel

The Challenge Chicks: Christmas Tags

If you're a stamper and you like challenges, or you're new to the idea of challenges and want to give participating a whirl, I invite you to participate with The Challenge Chicks! We're a small group of stampers hosting monthly challenges.

Won't you join us?! Our first monthly challenge is being shared today!

This month's challenge is timely, and easy: Christmas Tags!

I used a couple of my Whipper Snapper cling sets to create four coordinating gift tags. I'll tell ya who's great at making tags ... Danielle Lounds

I used a Sizzix die for the base of the tags, and Spellbinders pinking and standard circle dies for around the image. Old mother of pearl buttons and some punched out holly leaves add a little bit of detail to each tag. These tags will come in handy later this month!

Check out the rest of The Challenge Chicks projects:

Diane Zechman
Lydia Fiedler
Jeanne Streiff
Kelli Hull
Kelly Schirmer
Vicki Gee
Anna Wight (that's me!)

 

And, finally, you'll find this month's challenge gallery on SplitCoastStampers using keyword CHXDEC12 . We invite you to play along! Upload your project to your SplitCoastStampers gallery, add the keyword above, and your project will be automatically added to the gallery. We look forward to seeing your holiday tags!

 

PS: Please excuse the odd lighting in these photos. I have two different kinds of light bulbs in the lamps on my desk, and it's really playing games with the light sensor in my camera.

Note to self: buy new light bulbs!

 

Supplies
Stamps: Whipper Snapper "Gardening Snowman" and "Think Snow" cling sets
Paper: Neenah, October Afternoon, Paper Accents
ShinHan Touch Twin Markers
Ink: Memento Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Other: Sizzix tag die, Spellbinders dies, Martha Steward holly punch, string, antique mother of pearl buttons, Tracing Wheel

Tags!

Tags are so fun to make! I made these cuties using images from Inky Antics.

The images were all stamped and colored, with glitter added to some areas for extra sparkle and shine.

These tags were featured on the Inky Antics blog in October, during my guest designer series. I think they're pretty darned cute, if I do say so myself!!

I get requests from readers who want to purchase paper projects I've made. Because I try to do what I can for you, I will be posting some of my paper projects in my Etsy shop. I can't always sell my projects for various reasons, but I will do my best to keep the shop updated w/ things I can sell!

Hope you find something you love and want to have for your very own. I think these tags would be a great gift for a teacher. Wrapped in a cello bag, what a fun little gift!

Supplies
Stamps: Inky Antics
Paper: Neenah, October Afternoon, Paper Accents
ShinHan Touch Twin Markers
Ink: Memento Black
Other: Spellbinders and PTI dies, Rayon Seam Binding, Bakers Twine, antique mother of pearl buttons, Shabby White Jingle Bells, Ultra Fine Glitter, Tracing Wheel

High Hopes Challenge: Gift Card Holder

The current High Hopes challenge topic is to make a gift card holder or small gift box/bag. I chose to make a gift card holder, as I actually have a gift card on hand! I used the Small Stackable Santa image on the medalion, and tied the holder together with bakers twine.

To create the holder, I cut a piece of cardstock 3" wide x 10.75" long. Make score lines at the 1", 5", 6", 7" marks. Fold the sheet so you create a 1" flap, and a 1" mountain fold in the center of the holder. Adhere the short center piece together, leaving enough space without adhesive so you can insert the gift card slightly. Using a punch or cutting blade, remove a portion of the center fold so the gift card can slide into place.

I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge! It's not a bad time to get started (if you haven't already) on your holiday projects!

Find all the details on the High Hopes blog.

 

Supplies
Stamp: High Hopes Rubber Stamps
Ink: Memento Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, The Paper Loft, Paper Accents
Other: ShinHan Touch Twin markers, Bakers Twine, PTI layering circle dies, Stampin' Up! Word Windo Punch, Tracing Wheel

Beaded Bracelets -- pretty, pretty!

For my birthday I made myself some pretty beaded bracelets and had several requests to put some in my Etsy shop for holiday shoppers. Well, good news! They've been posted, and there are several to choose from! I told you this little elf has been busy, busy, BUSY! *grin*

This one is similar to one I made for myself, that I can't even be bothered to take off (other than for showering). It's very comfortable, and goes with everything I wear since I'm a jeans wearin' kind of gal.

Maybe you'll find one you like, or one you think a friend might like!

Country Candy Cane Ornaments

This holiday elf has been busy, busy, busy! I've posted a few new primitive candy cane ornaments in my Etsy shop!

Get um' while I've got um'!

Holiday Deer "Poop" Jar

What's a holiday without a little poop humor between friends!?

I filled this empty spice jar with brown Jelly Bellies, and decorated the jar with a strip of designer paper. The image (by Inky Antics) was colored quickly with Touch Twin markers, and the tag was created using Spellbinders dies. The sentiment banner is just a narrow strip of paper with the ends snipped. Easy peasy!

Oh how I love subtle holiday poop humor...  *grin*

 

Supplies
Stamp: Inky Antics (deer), A Muse (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Black, Ranger Antique Linen
Paper: Neenah, The Paper Loft, Stampin' Up!
Other: ShinHan Touch Twin markers, repurposed spice jar, twine, vintage mother of pearl button, Spellbinders dies, Tracing Wheel

Inky Antics: October Guest Designer

Not only do I get to have fun celebrating my birthday today, but today Inky Antics announced me as their guest designer for the month of October! I've been having so much fun creating projects with their stamps. Inky Antics were some of the very first stamps I purchased when I started stamping so many years ago. I have always been drawn to their cute, whimsical style of art, and they continue to be some of my favorites.

One of the projects I made as guest designer is this small treat jar. I used the last bit of spices in this jar earlier this year, washed and saved the jar to use for a future project. It came it perfectly handy for this idea! I filled the jar with a good mix of Jelly Belly candies, wrapped the jar with some cheery designer paper, and attached my tag with twine. The image and sentiment I used on the tag are from the Prepping Chefs clear set, which is full of images I LOVE!

Pop over to the Inky Antics blog to see another one of my projects they are showcasing today, and enter yourself in their blog candy drawing for a chance to win the Prepping Chefs set for yourself!

Fun, fun!!

And BIG thanks to Inky Antics for helping me celebrate October!

Paper Loft

I've got a fun little announcement to share with ya! I was asked to be part of the Paper Loft design team, to create projects that feature their paper lines. Whaaa-hooo! How fun! The members of the design team are being announced one by one on the Paper Loft blog.

I think it's a perfect fit for me, as their paper lines have a lot of my favorite colors in them. They use rich, earthy colors that are just perfect for the kinds of projects and cards I like to make. I'm excited!

This month their Halloween paper lines are on sale, so I did a project using a few of their Halloween papers. You can bet that the spider print totally freaks me out. Ack!

My absolute favorite line is Funkysaurus. Not necessarily for the one dinosaur print in the line, but for the fabulous colors and patterns of all the other papers in the line! Seriously ... so perfect for fall, boys, farm, garden, ... me!!

Happy Friday!!

Oh, and if you're wondering about Lucy, she's still prego. No baby YET. Come on, Lucy! Any day now! *grin*

Rustic Snowman Fabric Ornament & Card

Saturday is the last day to enter the current Touch Twin challenge. It's a fun challenge, easy enough to participate in! Get all the details on the Touch Twin Challenge blog.

The stamp image I used on my project is my own "Rustic Snowman", available at Whipper Snapper Designs. I stamped the image on natural cotton muslin using Ancient Page Coal Black ink. The image is colored with ShinHan Touch Twin markers. Difficult to see in the photos, but the ornament is sprayed with silver craft glitter for lots of sparkle and shine.

To present the ornament, I added it to the front of a simple card with a very light removable adhesive, making this a nice holiday greeting, AND gift! The sentiment I used on the front of the card is from the Snowy's Woodland Pals clear set from Inky Antics.

Homemade Salsa

Tomorrow is the last day to enter the current Touch Twin Markers & More challenge. You can find all of the details on the Touch Twin Markers & More challenge blog.

The topic for the current challenge is to make a project in a food theme with some type of shadowing technique. I chose to dress up one of my jars of homemade salsa with a piece of muslin, twine, and a tag featuring an image from my Whipper Snapper cling mount set called Garden Fresh.

The Garden Fresh stamp set has the jar with a blank label, along with various fruits and veggies you can add to the center of the label. I chose to use the fatty tomato on my jar's label, of course! All of the shadows on the image were created with markers. There are no additional layers used on the jar or label to add dimension to the stamped image. Just a lotta coloring!

Cheers to the weekend! Hope you have big plans, and have a GREAT time!!

High Hopes Challenge: Bookmark or Name Tag

This week's High Hopes challenge is to make a bookmark or name tag. I chose to make a desk name tag, for one of the little gals in our town. She'll be starting school soon, and I thought she might like a cute name plate for her desk. Find all the details for this challenge on the High Hopes blog.

The backside of the name tag is scored about half an inch from the top. The two pieces are adhered together at the top, giving the entire project a bit of stability.

I chose to use this sweet kitty image called Sitting Kitty with Posey. Adorable, isn't she!?

Hand Dippin'

Made a mess in the kitchen hand dipping my country candles, but it smelled divine!

And look at these cuties! They're even chocolate scented! Just in time for spring displays. YUM!

Find them here.

Claudine!

I've been busy busy BUSY, crafting up some Claudine shelf sitters! Claudine is my own design, and I do love her so ... so much so that I made a flock!

I've posted these clucky friends in the shop.

Cluck, cluck!!

UPDATE: All the Claudine's have flown the coop!

Henny Penny Potholder e-Pattern

It's about time I got her finished, isn't it! *grin* Find yours here.

Cluck cluck!

Meow, Meow, Meow!

Surprise! One by one, another litter made their way to my Etsy shop! I've been working on these wee ones all week, and must say that they smell so good, and turned out cute as can be!

I also put together an e-Pattern, if you are so inclined to want to make your own litter, which is also available in the shop. It is a 3-page document that includes full instructions, a supply list, pattern, and my tea dying technique for the kitty, seam binding ribbon, and paper tags tags.

Purrrr!

Girly Kitty Themed Pillow Case

Seems I'm on a bit of a kitten kick these days! Here's another kitty themed project I have to share. Alan and I know a girl who really seems to like kittens, so when I saw this fabric Saturday at Joann's, I picked up a yard to make a pillow case for our young friend.Tonight it was raining CATS and dogs (haa!), so it seemed a good time to do some sewing.

I made this case a bit fancier than usual by making the decorative strip along the cuff a ruffle instead of just a coordinating color band. I like how it turned out, though it does make the case a bit heavier than usual. The fabric I used for the ruffle (a Michael Miller print) is from my stash, and the pink/daisy print I used for the cuff is another piece I picked up at Joann's on Saturday. Their calico wall was on sale, and I do love a good fabric sale! Hard to tell in the photos, but the pink/white daisy print matches nearly exactly to the pink color in the kitty print. The green polka dots coordinate just as nicely! Yay!

I also spent quite a bit more time on this case than usually required on pillow cases -- every seam is a french seam, and the ruffle has a double top-stitch. For the amount of time and miles of sewing done on this, I could have finished 4 or 5 regular cases. *grin* But I love how it turned out, and it is certainly worth the extra time and finishing touches.

Hope you've enjoyed your evening ... I had a good time sewing! And I'm looking forward to seeing the rain gauge tomorrow!!

Fabric Coiled Coasters

Last night, just for fun, I thought I would make some fabric coiled coasters. I used this tutorial, but stopped short of forming the bowl that the tutorial continues on to make.

I've never made anything like this before, and it was fun! Some of the coasters I made use 1 fabric print, and others have several different prints for more of a "scrappy" look.

I think they turned out pretty fun, and now I have another project on my "what to do on a rainy day" list.

Tonight I'll be making more kittens! Stay tuned!

Purrrr.....

Sorry for the silence for the past couple/few days, but I've been busy sewing and stitching and baking! Meet Milla, Mabel, Berry, Chutney, Maude, Mille, Lemon Breath, Mocha, and Lola, all posted in my Etsy shop.

Phwew.

Meow!

New Prim Kittens!

 

I had so much fun making the primitive snowmen earlier this week, I decided to make a litter of kittens! Meet Clover, Ginger and Nutmeg.

MEOW!

One by one, they found their way to my Etsy shop! *grin*

Prim Snowmen Bowl Fillers

Last night I pulled out my sewing machine and stitched together some primitive snowman bodies, stuffed them fat, tea dyed them and baked them up in the oven.

Pretty cute how the tea settled around their faces in the shape of a heart!

To their scarves I added my homemade rusty bells, pins, and tags.

Alan watches Dr. Who... all I can think of when I see this photo is "EXTERMINATE!"

I think they turned out pretty cute, with their stick arms, and primitive assembly.

This project was inspired by lots of prim projects I've linked to on Pinterest.

what's with the moose...

Below is a comment Dad made on THIS post that's not to be missed, and a little visual help with a rotated photo to give you his perspective:

"Great pictures and Memories, during one particularly loud giggle session I walked in to see what got them going and saw things from the "wrong side" of the table. For fun go back up through the pictures and check out the Hula girl upside down or stand on your heads....  I thought she was a freaked out Moose.....and the "coconuts" were the eyeballs....  so I said "what's with the moose" Ma?.... What moose? was the reply. So I picked her up and turned her upside down and promptly got laughed out of the shop! We see lots of confused meeses around here in the spring..... I went back to my ham samich and my fishin show.... Love, Dad"

Haa! Thanks for more laughs, Dad!! *grin*

Christmas 2011 Crafting

Finally got photos taken of SOME of the holiday crafts made up and Mom and Dad's this Christmas. I didn't get photos of everything, though.

This year we focused on felt projects. Some we made with shapes cut out using metal dies, and others we made with free-hand cut shapes using hand-drawn patterns or ideas from books and magazines. Usually we take over Mom's dining room table with our project mess, but this year we got to enjoy the new quilt room Dad built for Mom. We spread out our supplies along the counter, and pulled in the old (retro-old) kitchen table as our work surface. There was a large stack of felt on the counter, as well as boxes of felt from Mom and Aunt Patty's stash, too! I brought cutting dies from my house to use for our projects (why pack clothes when I can bring craft supplies instead!), and we used Mom's die cutting machine. There were beads in every color imaginable, buttons galore, and every embroidery floss color, all right at our fingertips.

One of the projects we made was made with the Gift Card Envie die from The Cat's Pajamas. We made needle keepers that we decorated with various cut flowers, beads, and embroidery. On my needle case, I used the Sunflower Rosette die from The Cat's Pajamas to create the large flowers for the front of the case.

The backside is embellished with two buttons that also act as the closure for the case.

Inside, yellow felt "pages" work perfectly for keeping my needles safe and secure.

We also made cookies! I remembered seeing this idea on Linda's Catered Crop blog last year. Her project turned out so cute, I knew I needed to bake up my own batch of cookies! If you do a Google image search for "felt cookies" you'll find all KINDS of great ideas! It's amazing how long a project like this takes... it might actually be faster to bake real cookies! *grin* But using metal dies to cut the felt into shapes works great! We used Spellbinder dies for our cookies and frosting.

I made a gingerbread girl using the Sizzix gingerbread die, and various other dies for embellishment. My favorite is the Icing die, by The Cat's Pajamas! It's the perfect size for these little woolies! To create her dress, I sandwich'd her between two pieces of red felt and carefully cut out the shape of her dress. Once cut, I hand stitched the side seams of the dress together, as well as the arms and shoulders. The white scalloped collar was added last.

And of course I had to make a gingerbread boy, too. Dressed in tidy overalls, he's ready to hang on our tree. A quick way to create clothes for the boy is to cut out a second gingerbread body using the color you want to use for the clothing; for my project I used blue. Then just chop off the extra parts on the colored cut-out, like the feet, the arms, and a little area to create the neckline. Easy peasy, you've got overalls shaped perfectly for your fella!

By FAR, the funniest project completed during the week was this hula gingerbread girl that Mom made. Quietly working away, Mom used the small Sizzix gingerbread die to cut out two body shapes from brown felt. She did a short row of blanket stitching for hair, and embellished the body with two mother of pearl buttons, green embroidery floss for the skirt, and two beads for eyes. It's perfect in every way! We laughed and laughed when she showed us what she had been secretly working on!

Aunt Patty made pretty red felt cardinals and attached lapel pins to the backside. Here, mine is pinned to my sweatshirt, all festive and cheery!

Using a project from one of her many books as inspiration, Mom made this cute little partridge ornament. Won't she be a cutie on the tree!

Using a Spellbinders flower die I made this snowman face ornament.

On the backside, I used the beautiful Snowflake die from The Cat's Pajamas to quickly and easily embellish the back. I love the stark contrast between the black and white wool felt.

And finally, using an idea from a magazine article Aunt Patty brought with her, I made this snowman face mug rug. The mug is one that I hand painted years ago at a paint-your-own-pottery shop, and just happened to be the mug I used this morning for my coffee!

Each scallop on the mug rug has a simple snowman face -- two knot eyes, and a quickly stitched carrot for a nose. The sample in the magazine article was so perfect, I didn't change a thing!

We sure had a ball creating our projects this year! Wonder what we'll dream up for Christmas 2012!

a look back at some favorites...

I thought I would share some of my favorite holiday projects from recent years past. I made this card using the "scrap" of a die cut tree and old sheet music with one of my crystal snowflakes added for embellishment.

A holiday tag using a Crafty Secrets snowman scrap. Chubby little cuttie!

A wooden shape covered with paper and felt, with buttons for eyes and a nose.

Wooden hearts covered with paper strips, made to look like quilted heart blocks.

A scrappy holiday card made with various Crafty Secrets images and stamps. Lots of glitter for sparkle.

Country holiday tag, made with my Rustic Snowman stamp from Whipper Snapper.

Gingerbread boy tags, made with Sizzix dies, old sheet music, and designer paper. Again, lots of glitter for sparkle and shine!

My Sizzix snowman, made with chipboard and sheet music... Fa la la la la!

An altered birch bark candle, embellished with one of my crystal snowflakes.

My owl feltie ornament... love him!

Altered wooden snowflake, with lots of crystal snowflakes added to the center. Rustic jingle bells on curly wire add a bit more holiday cheer.

Tiny Tim's Santa coat... heheheeee!!

Quilt themed holiday card, made with my winter quilts stamp set, from Whipper Snapper.

A 4x4 handmade gift box filled with tea, cocoa packets, and peppermint sticks. Yum!

A Santa Christmas card, using the High Hopes Santa face stamp image. Ho ho ho!

A cowboy snowman card, made with this cutie image from High Hopes. Still, a personal favorite.

Hope you enjoyed this look back at some of my favorite holiday projects!

Zooooom!

Why is it that December always seems to just slip away from me? I need to put a pause on a couple of days, and catch up with life around me, and my to-do list! Monday I catch a flight up to the northwest for the Christmas holiday. While I don't ever look forward to the flight, I always look forward to the time spent up north. I have a fistfull of project to share with you, but haven't had time to get photos taken. Soon, I promise!!

A while ago (October? November?) I mentioned that I made some cinnamon dipped primitive candles, but at the time didn't have a photo to share. Well, I snapped this one the other day at the local shop these are sold in, so you could see what I was talking about. The candles are sold in pairs, wrapped with a festive piece of homespun fabric. And they smell sooooo gooooooooood! I made them in two sizes, and am presenting them in two old bread tins from my kitchen cupboard. *grin*

Holiday Treats for our Furry Friends Part 2

I finished more critter treat packets! This time, cats and big dogs.

For the cat toppers, I used the Whipper Snapper image called Sanders. Perfect fit, and perfect image for such an occasion.

I filled the packets with catnip flavored Temptations. Mmmmm! And festive, too!

For the big dogs, I used the Whipper Snapper image called Smiling Lab. I tucked a wrap into a long, narrow cello bag, and added the topper.

Labs of all colors!

You will find my first post of holiday treats for our furry friends here.

And by the way, I'm entering these toppers in the current Touch Twin Markers & More challenge.

Holiday Treats for our Furry Friends

I started making this year's pet themed holiday treat packets last weekend, and was able to put the final touches on these three last night.

We don't have a lot of kiddos in our family, and only a few of my friends have kids, but there are lots of furry friends between us all! They are always on Santa's "Nice" list, so we put a little something in their Christmas stockings!

I used this cute little dog from Whipper Snapper (Wriggley) to create "toppers" for small clear envelopes that I tucked a couple of small-dog friendly chews in. I used papers from the recently released Holiday Style paper pad by Cosmo Cricket for the die cut layers. I used a Martha Stewart punch to create the holly leaves (one of my favorite holiday punches!), and one of my small tea-dyed tags for the sentiment.

The images were stamped in Memento ink and colored with a combination of Touch Twin and Copic markers.

I used my trusty Karen Foster Snap Stamps to create the sentiment on the tags.

I have no doubt these will be enjoyed come Christmas morning, if not sooner!

More critter themed treat packets to come!

Snowman Faces

I love snowmen, if you can't tell... *grin*

I made these snowman face magnets, using this project on making reusable gift tags, as inspiration. That project was also the inspiration for the lapel pins I made. I loved her idea but I just borrowed her "face" and made something completely different. Oddly enough, when I was in college I used to make snowman face lapel pins out of clay that look just like these magnet faces. Some had hats, some had scarves, some had ear muffs, and some were just faces, like these.

To "present" the magnets, I punched a hole in some of my tea-dyed tags and poked the magnet through the hole. The magnets stay put on the tag, snug as a bug in a rug.

I painted the faces with an off-white paint, added the face, roughed up the edges of the discs a bit with an emery board, and then gave them a quick spattering of brown paint using a tooth brush.

I wonder what I'll do with all these cuties!?

Cheery Snowmen Ornaments: Need New Homes

I finally finished some new snowman ornaments I've been working on. These took soooo long to make (days!), which is why there are only 6 finished!

It has been like an elf's workshop here, non-stop!

Painting and sanding and glittering and sewing and gluing and baking... their heads and scarves are hand painted wood, their noses I created out of clay. Their hats are felt, and their candy canes are dyed chenille. Each one was made with love.

Each one is a one-of-a-kind.

Even their cute felt hats were handmade, and their chenille candy canes were baked up right here on the farm.

I love every one of them... but if you'd like to have one for your very own, or perhaps you'd like to have one packaged up and shipped off to a friend as a secret santa gift, you can find them in my Etsy shop.

Here is a photo of one of them not on the tree.

Ho ho ho!

More Candy Cane Ornaments

I've been busy making more candy cane ornaments. I love them so!

I've listed a few of them in my Etsy shop.

I think you should adopt one. *grin*

Magic Reindeer Food

The idea of Magic Reindeer Food is certainly not new, or my own, but I think it's a good one and wanted to put my own spin on it. I packaged up some oats, colored sugars, and holiday "jimmies", and added toppers to the bags. You can't see it in the photos (because I did it after I took the photos), but these also got a spritz of super fine gold glitter for lots of shimmer and shine. Oooo la la!

I found lots of samples of Magic Reindeer Food on SplitCoastStampers by searching the gallery for "reindeer food". Some people used a poem, and others didn't. I found a poem I liked and then edited it a bit, just because.

The images of the reindeer on the front are from two different Recolections stamp sets I picked up at Michael's during a 50% off sale. The art reminds me of older Stampin' Up art that I LOVE, and I'm guessing were illustrated by the same artist that did the halloween set I used on these cards. Yup, I'd lay money on it, even.

Stuffed and Stuffers

I hope you and your families had a great Thanksgiving feast! We had a nice late lunch with Alan's parents, got stuffed, watched a bit of football, took short naps, and then carried on with our day. It was a pleasant way to spend the holiday.

This evening I made some felt poinsetta brooches to sell in the local antique shop. I think the local ladies will like them... I know I do!

I used some of my absolute favorite buttons in the centers. Old, worn, mother of pearl buttons, that add a bit of country charm to each flower.

In addition to the rich red flowers, I also made some natural colored flowers as well. I love how they turned out!

I made a charming blue-grey flower too, just because the felt was handy in my stash and it's such a great color.

This one might just be my favorite.

All of the flowers are attached to one of my homemade tea-dyed tags ready to go to new homes, perfect for stocking stuffers, or keeping for yourself.

I hope these little pretties sell! I'm tucking away the money I make selling my handmades to pay for my flight up north to Mom and Dad's for the holidays. Yahooo!

Just shout if you'd like one of these to make it's way into my Etsy shop as a custom order for you! I'd be delighted!