Craft Fair Goodies!!!

I went to my first craft fair this morning!  Okay, it was actually an expo for moms to showcase their businesses, but there were customers!!!  So even though the focus of my display was for Close To My Heart and sharing the classes and clubs I'm offering, I wanted to make a few little "goodies" for sale as well.  :)

I didn't sell very many, but I think they'll make cute little treats to give out on Halloween!  The first item I made was the peppermint patty spider...I've seen these several places, but my inspiration came from Dawn's Blog...I just love the super-cute projects she posts!  The one shown on her site was made with punches but since I was making 40 of them and didn't want to cut out 100s of shapes, I decided to use my good friend, the Cricut.  Here is my result:

I used the scallop (blackout) circle from the Storybook cartridge for the body, and the parenthesis from the Opposties Attract cartridge for the legs.  I cut mini circles to back the googly eyes and cut mini red paper noses as well.   The peppermint patty is hidden between the scallop circles!

The second item I made was the Sesame Street character play-doh.  I got the idea from Kerry's Blog and fell in love with these little guys! 

They were as simple as cutting a tag from Storybook, folding it in half and attaching to the baggie with glue dots.  Then I made the sesame street guys using the same scallop circle as the spiders, and added various sized circles for the facial features.  A little ribbon added some color to the tag.

The third item I made was "Ghost Poop"...hah!  I found this little poem online and came up with this design myself:

I again used the tag from Storybook, folded it in half and then glued it to the bag with glue dots.  I printed the poem on cardstock, matted with purple cardstock and attached.  I tied a ribbon around, then cut a ghost out of patterned paper and matted with a larger purple circle and adhered it with a foam dot.  That's it!  Here's the poem:

"Ghost Poop"

I hear that you've been playing tricks,

So listen here's the scoop...

I'm running short on candy treats,

So this year you get Ghost Poop!!!

My table at the craft fair:

Just Buggin' Top 3 Pick!!! WOO HOO!!!

I just found out I made the Just Buggin' Top 3 Pick for Challenge #7!!!  WOO HOO!!!  The challenge was to make anything I wanted, except for a card.  Given my recent interest in home decor projects, I entered my little paper pumpkins and I earned a Top 3 Spot!  :)

Another Cupcake Giftcard Holder

Here's another cupcake...I can't get enough of these little cuties, which is a problem because it makes me want the REAL thing!  :)  I used CTMH supplies for this one and I think it's the best yet.  I love the pink and brown combo of the More To Adore paper collection.  It's one of my favorites!  For directions, look here at my previous cupcake post and there's a link to video instructions.  Thanks for looking! 

Decorative Name Tile (Vinyl)

So much for my "veil of anonymity"!!!  This is a 13x13 inch tile I bought at Home Depot...I used the Calligraphy Collection cartridge (Cricut) to cut all letters and flourishes from Cricut Vinyl (in black).  Then I just stuck them on and ta-da!  It rained cats and dogs all over it the day after I made it and it stood up just fine...can't wait to make some of these as gifts!   Thanks for looking!!!  :)

Decorated Grapevine Pumpkins

I saw this idea in the Simply Handmade Oct/Nov. issue...and I've been looking for these pumpkins ever since!  Then the other day I was browsing the Target dollar bins and guess what???  THERE THEY WERE!  So I obviously stocked up, thinking to myself that I would probably never be able to find them ever again!

To dress them up, I cut various sized leaves from Doodlecharms (Cricut) from patterned paper.  Then I cut several 1/2 inch strips of double-sided CTMH paper and wrapped each one around a pencil to make spirals.  I used my hot glue gun to attach the leaves and spirals to the top of the pumpkin.  Then I added some CTMH paper blooms with a chocolate brad in the center to hide the glue glob. 

That's it....quick, easy and CHEAP!!!  :)

Stamped Tile Coasters

My CTMH Upline showed me how to do these....although I must say that hers are much better.  But since it's my first try, I'll cut myself some slack!  :)

These are tumbled marble tiles from Home Depot...I used alcohol ink in three colors to saturate the background of each tile.  Then I used Staz-On ink to stamp the sentiment and flourishes.  My Upline recommended baking them at 250 degrees for about 20 minutes to set the ink, but since I'm not completely happy with them, I didn't bother!  I did spray them with acrylic sealer, just so they didn't ink anything that they may come in contact with.  Then I added cork to the bottom.

That's it!  Thanks for looking!  :)

Live, Laugh, Love Paper Mache Balls

I made these decorative paper mache balls for a little centerpiece for my scraproom...in the black and white color scheme.  I used three styrofoam balls (Hobby Lobby) and coated them with Modge Podge.  I tore up several pieces of black and white patterned paper and sprayed them with water from a spray bottle.  When they were somewhat pliable, I layered them onto the balls and pressed with my hands until they were somewhat smooth.  When dry, I covered each with another coat of Modge Podge.

To embellish, I wrapped each ball with a coordinating ribbon.  Then I cut three scallop tags from the Home Accents cartridge in blackout.  I also cut the words "Live", "Laugh" and "Love" from the same cartridge.  I set a Soft Set Eyelet (CTMH) through each tag, and attached the tags with ribbon...

Thanks for looking!!!

Water(melon) Baby Layout

This page is based on this week's Friday Sketch Challenge from ScrapSketch...I love this sketch!  As soon as I saw it, even though it is obviously based on a Halloween theme, I thought of a watermelon, then thought of this paper I've had for a while, then thought of the cutie-patootie watermelon suit The Mess Maker had that first summer after she was born, at 6 months.  She was soooooooo cute!  (And still is of course!)

I used my Cricut to cut the layered circles for the watermelon slice, and narrow ovals for the seeds (George), then cut each circle in half.  I cut the pink glitter circle into four "slices" (triangles) and trimmed them a little so the yellow would show through.  I also used my Cricut for the title (Opposites Attract)...then layered the words on strips of yellow cs to make them pop a little agasint that patterned background.

Everything's inked on the edges and even though the paper already had a good amount of sparkle to it, I added stickles to the word "melon" and also to the green rind of the watermelon.  A few buttons and a little rickrack later, and I was done!  Thanks for looking!!!  :)

Original Sketch:

"Celebrate" Birthday Card (CTMH) ScrapSketch Card #4

I made this card both for the ScrapSketch Challenge (though a little late!) and as a card example for my CTMH Home Gathering this Thursday!!! 

The photo is a little fuzzy, but the stamp on the right has a list of events (i.e. Birthday, Anniversary, Everyday Life, etc.) and I placed a brad on the box for "Birthday".  I also stamped the "Celebrate the occasion" and the border stitch from the same stamp set:  My Acrylix Everyday Celebration which came with the Everday Celebration Cardmaking Kit.

All supplies are CTMH except for the thin brown ribbon...this is from my own stash, purchased at Michael's I think.  Thanks for looking!  :)

My First Etched Glass Project

I decided to try my hand at glass etching...using my Cricut of course!  :)  Here is my result:

Below, I placed a piece of black cardstock inside the glass because it showed the etching better in the photo:

I cut a leaf at 3" from Accent Essentials out of plain contact paper. I lifted the inside pieces of the die cut up with a piece of scotch tape to keep them evenly spaced. I applied the negative image of my die cut to the glass, then taped the inner pieces down, adhered the contact paper to the glass, then lifted the tape...perfectly spaced pieces! This was my stencil.

Then I applied etching cream with a foam brush, waited five minutes, and washed/wiped the etching cream off of the glass, rinsed it and dried it.  Here is the result...there is a little spot where it didn't "etch evenly", even after I went back and applied more to that area.  Not sure what went wrong...but I suppose for my first try it's okay!

Thanks for looking!!!  :)

More Photo/Stamped Coasters (Better This TIme!!!)

This was my second attempt at these and I must say they came out MUCH better than the first!!!  :)  I got tumbled marble instead of Travertine.  That was a HUGE improvement.  Then I used less Modge Podge, spread it with my finger so the brush lines wouldn't show and let the photos dry before attempting to put a layer of modge podge over them.  :)

I also only put one coat of Modge Podge over the photos instead of three, and used an acrylic sealer (spray) to seal them.  I like the finish of these a LOT better than the others.  The directions can be found on the Split Coast Stampers site. 

I'm thinking Christmas presents....  :)

Shrink Plastic Charm Bracelet-CTMH

I decided to try my hand (hah...no pun intented) at making a bracelet using shrink plastic charms!  Using my "You've Got Flair" stamp set from Close To My Heart, I stamped the images using Staz-On black ink onto shrink plastic (Hobby Lobby).  Then I turned the sheet over, colored the images using colored permanent markers (Hobby Lobby), then cut them out.  I used a mini hole punch to make a small hole in the top of each charm.

To shrink them, I used my heat gun (I protected my work surface by putting the pieces on a small cookie sheet with a pot holder underneath).  I held each one down with my craft tweezers and heated until it shrunk and became hard.  I let it cool, then lifted from the cookie sheet.

I bought a premade bracelet and little silver rings (Hobby Lobby) and attached the charms every four holes on the bracelet.  And that's it!  I love the personalized look it has and plan to make more.  I think my next one will be with some jumbo letter stamps, for the Mess Maker's teachers at preschool...  :)

I wonder if the Cricut markers would work on shrink plastic???  Off to the Cricut Message Board to find out...

My First Accordian Album From Scratch!

Closed and Tied

Partially Open

Fully Open
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I will admit that I spend WAY too much time looking at crafting blogs and websites in my "free" time....and when I say "free" I mean using the time that I should be cleaning my house and doing laundry.  :) 

ANYWAY, I found THIS BLOG by Syrena and fell in love with these accordian albums, because they aren't the typical accordian albums you find everywhere.  I love the way Syrena angled the papers to give it the unique shape...the pages are on the diagonal (diamond shape) instead of the typical square/rectangle!

So I decided to try and figure it out on my own and I was actually able to re-create the album, though mine isn't as detailed as hers!  So here's what I did...using three sheets of cardstock, I scored each one in half both vertically and horizontally, to make four even squares.  Then I scored two squares diagonally (opposite of each other) on each piece of cs.  I folded the cs along all score lines.  Then I adhered all three sheets together, making sure the diagonal score marks were on the top and bottom of the layout.  I had to play around with folding it until I got it right.  It's hard to explain, but the two outer sheets kind of fold in toward the patterend paper side, and the middle sheet folds sort-of back toward the cs side.  I know that probably makes NO sense! 

To embellish, I matted each diamond with a piece of patterned paper...I used CTMH papers (Jingle Collection).  I added either layered strips of paper, photo corners (punch) or snowflakes (Cricut--AE) on each piece.  Then I added glitter glue to all the embellishments.  Thanks for looking!  :)

Family Tree Layout

I've been needing to make a family tree layout for the Mess Maker's baby scrapbook and I poured over designs in magazines until I found one I liked...then I changed it!  This is another one that is loosely based on an example I found a while back in a scrapbooking magazine, but I can't remember which one.  I changed up the layout, added patterned paper, made it into a 2-page spread, and used leaves on the tree (the original used only circles).  I matted the photos on adhesive-backed metal rimmed tags.  I used Accent Essentials to cut the leaves.  I used George for the title, various-sized circles on the tree and for the circle flowers.  It's missing four pictures, but is otherwise done.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.  Thanks for looking!  :)

"Little Pumpkin" Layout

Another layout made on my scrapbooking retreat...the orange scallop edge cardstock square was cut with my Cricut.  I like that I can make any color of cardstock into a decorative edge piece, instead of paying a higher price for pre-cut shapes!!!  :)  I also used my Cricut for the title.  Thanks for looking!

"FALL" Layout

 This is a layout I made at my weekend scrapbooking retreat...it's based on a design I found in one of my scrapbook magazine subscriptions from a while back and I honestly can't remember which one.  I used my Cricut to cut the letters and used the negative space from each letter to trace the letter onto my photos.  I cut them out, then matted them with cardstock and trimmed around the edges.  I also cut some pumpkins (Doodlecharms) for accents.  Thanks for looking!  :)

I love these little pumpkins!

I made the original paper pumpkin (pictured in a previous post) for my CTMH Launch Party...but I just had to make more...I just loves these little guys!  I decided to make several to display in a bowl on my table for the fall season.  I made two from orange cardstock, one from brown cs, and one more patterned pumpkin to match the original (with a different colored leaf and different sentiment)...here's how to make them:

1.  Cut 12 strips of 1" x 6" paper (cardstock isn't as easy to use for this project, but I made it work)
2.  Stack the strips of paper and punch a hole using a Crop-A-Dile at both ends of the stack.
3.  Place a brad through the holes and fasten.
4.  Carefully fan out and arch the paper strips until a round, pumpkin shape is achieved.
5.  Layer 2 pieces of ribbon and fold in half.  Tie a piece of hemp around the ribbons to form "stem".
6.  Using glue dots, attach all four ends of the stem to the top of the pumpkin, covering the brad.
7.  Cut a leaf (Doodlecharms on the Cricut), punch a hole in it, and set an eyelet.
8.  Using the hemp, tie the leaf around the stem of the pumpkin.

That's it...super easy and super fun...can't wait to make more of these!!!  :)

P.S. This project meets the requirement for this week's Just Buggin' (Challenge #7) & the Creative Belli Blog Challenge, too!

Directions for TP Roll Mini Album

I've received requests on how to made these Toilet Paper Roll Mini Albums...so here are the directions!

1.  Flatten five TP roll tubes (you can crease with a bone folder, lay heavy books on them, clip them with binder clips, etc.).
2.  Once flat, cut paper to fit each side of flattened roll (just measure the dimensions of the flattened tube and cut accordingly).  You can also wrap a piece of paper completely around the flattened tube, but I like to have a different pattern on each side.
3.  Ink the edges to disguise the cardboard edges.
4.  Using a Crop-A-Dile, punch two holes on one end of each tube.  Use O-rings to bind the tubes through the holes. 
5.  Tie rings with coordinating ribbon.  Use stickers, die-cuts, pieces of inked paper, etc. to embellish each page/tube.
6.  For the tags, I used the scallop tag on TBBM (Cricut) and cut them at 4 1/2".  I added ribbon though the holes, stamped and embellished each tag, then inserted them into the flattened tubes.

That's it!  A great, inexpensive gift!!!  Thanks for looking!  :)

P.S. This is also an entry for the Just Buggin Challenge (#7) this week...

Projects From My Scrapbooking Retreat!!!

I was lucky enough to get almost three full days of scrapbooking this weekend....without any distractions!!!!  Wow, I'm one lucky girl!  Just wanted to share some of the projects I made.  The projects pictured below are all made with CTMH products...and will be featured at my Launch Party in a couple of weeks.  Check out my CTMH Website for more information...thanks for looking!  :)