Just Buggin Challenge #13: Sew It!

This week's challenge at Just Buggin is called "Sew It!"...use sewing on your project (and of course include a die cut!).  You can use traditional stitching, faux stitching, stamped stitching, etc.  I decided to use faux stitching on this project.  It gives it just a little extra detail, without having to break out the sewing machine!!!

To make the card, I used an 81/2 x 11" piece of dark brown cs, cut in half, and then scored in the middle.  Then I looked through my stash of brown "scraps" and found all of these coordinating pieces which I turned into a collage on the card front!  I can't tell you the manufacturer for them all b/c they were all pretty small pieces.  But I do know that none of them were initially bought to be used with each other!  I inked the edges of each piece with Cocoa CTMH ink and then adhered them to the front.

The die cut is from Accent Essentials and I used the shadow feature to mat it with dark brown cs (Bazzill).  I added a small silk flower with a brad (Paper Studio) and a ribbon (craft supply) for extra detail and then stamped my sentiment with a CTMH acrylic stamp.  To finish the card, I used a CTMH black ink pen to draw alternating dots and lines to look like stitching, both around the floral mat, and around one of the small pieces in the collage.

Thanks for looking!  :)

Tealight Candle Lollipop!

I FELL IN LOVE TODAY...


















With this super-cute project!!!  Over at Dawn's Stamping Thoughts, I found a great tutorial on this cute tealight candle lollipop, originally designed by Kristy Dunyon.  I just had to make one of my own!

If you want a video tutorial, Dawn does a great one.  But just a quick rundown of what I did:

1.  Hot glue a lollipop stick (available at craft stores, Wal-Mart, etc.) to the back of a tea light with a clear holder (the metal ones don't make it look as much like a real lollipop!).

2.  Then hot glue a circle (either punched or die cut...I used my Cricut) cut at the same size as the candle to the back of the candle, covering where you glued the stick on.

3.  Place in plastic/cellophane bag and tie closed with string/embroidery floss.

4.  Stamp sentiment on white cardstock (I used a holiday sentiment stamp from Close To My Heart).  Mat with coordinating cardstock and punch a hole at one end.  Thread string through hole and add charm.  Tie in a knot and trim the ends.

5.  To finish, tie a coordinating ribbon around the lollipop and trim ends.

That's it...so easy and soooooooo cute!!!  Thanks for looking!  :)

Just Buggin' DT Challenge #12: Triple Whammy

This week's Just Buggin DT Challenge (#12) is called "Triple Whammy"!  The challenge: use 3 die cuts on a project.  I wanted the images to coordinate really well, but I also wanted to make sure using three die cuts didn't overwhelm the project.  When I looked at my Home Accents cartridge, an idea popped into my head...and here is the result:

Supplies used:

1.  Travertine tile (Home Depot)

2.  Alcohol Inks: Latte, Mushroom, Ginger (Tim Holtz--Adirondack)

3.  Staz-On ink: Black

4.  Cricut Vinyl: Black

5.  Cricut cartridge: Home Accents

Other:  picture stand (Hobby Lobby)

These 4x4 travertine tiles are from Home Depot and come in a box of 9 for about $5.50.  Before you begin, you'll want to wash the tile well with water and wipe clean with a cloth...these are pretty dusty when you take them out of the box! 

To ink the background, use two or three colors of alcohol ink applied to an ink applicator pad (start out with a few of each color and add more as needed).  Dab all over the tile for an "aged" look.  Allow to dry.  Then, using Staz-On ink, apply black ink around the sides of the tile to "frame" the tile. Allow to dry. 

Using the Cricut, cut desired images (I used the "home" and a flourish image from Home Accents) from black vinyl.  Remove backing and adhere die cuts to tile, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles.  And that's it!  What a super-easy and fun project!!!

Thanks for looking!  :)

'Sorry I'm Slow' Snail Card

This card is made from the Walk In My Garden Cricut cartridge...it's similar to my turtle card (see older post) but I wanted to use this cutie-patootie snail this time.  I've fallen behind on some family/friend birthdays the past month or so, so this is my attempt at saying sorry!  :)

I cut the snail out of black cs twice using the shadow feature, then used the blackout feature to cut it once in white (to mat the inside).  Then I cut it from green cs for the front and cut the layer out of patterned paper (from a paper stack, can't remember the manufacturer!).  To make the card, I glued the "tail" pieces together and bent the back piece right next to the tail so it opened easily. 

I added flower brads on the antenna, and a black brad for the eye.  To finish him off, I added a small bow and printed "Sorry I'm Slow" on cs, used a circle punch to cut it out and matted it with a scalloped circle, all layered together and adhered to the top of the bow.

Thanks for looking!  :)

Just Buggin Challenge #11: Into The Wild

Here is my first project as a new DT member for Just Buggin!!!  Challenge #11 is called "Into The Wild": use a Cricut animal die cut on your project.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this polar bear from JOTS and so this was an easy decision for me with the upcoming Christmas holiday! 

Supplies used:

1. Patterned paper and coordinating cardstock: Magic Of The Season Paper Pack (Hobby Lobby)

2. Polar bear die cut (with shadow and layer): Joys of the Season (Cricut)

3. Tag die cut: JOTS (Cricut)

4.  "Peace" (tag) and winter flourish (on bear body): stamps (CTMH)

5. Adhesive rhinestone: craft supply (Hobby Lobby)

6. Glitter glue (Hobby Lobby)

7. Glue pen (to coat stamps): Martha Stewart Crafts

8. Crushed velvet flocking (Doodlebug Designs)

This card was relatively easy to make.  I cut the polar bear, the shadow and the layer (scarf) and adhered them together.  Then I stamped the bear using glue on my stamp instead of ink and added flocking to it and heated with my heat gun...this added some extra detail and dimension.  I stamped "Peace" on the tag, added a rhinestone and adhered it to the scarf.  Then I attached the bear to the card base with foam dots.  To finish, I added bits of sparkle to the background paper with glitter glue.

Hop on over to Just Buggin and check out the other DT examples...there are some really great projects!!!

Thanks for looking!!!  :)

EXCITING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!

I have some exciting news!!! NOOOOOO, I'm not pregnant!  :)








I just found out I was chosen to be part of the Just Buggin Design Team!!!  WOO HOO!!!  I am so absolutely honored to be a part of this team and I can't wait for the challenge and inspiration to begin...

Polka-Dot Etched Margarita Glass

I just couldn't resist this project when I saw it over at Christmas With The Cricut!!!  What a fab idea to make a polka-dot pattern on stemware!  I've seen similar glasses that cost a FORTUNE!!!  But not these...these cheapo margarita glasses are from Target (or somewhere comparable...I bought them a LONG time ago!).  But now they look like they came from Pier 1 or somewhere oh-so-ultra-cool.  :)

In keeping with traditional Christmas colors, I'm just picturing them filled with a yummy, frozen strawberry margarita (red) with a little lime wedge (green) on the edge....how cute!  And wouldn't a set of these glasses and some custom wine charms just make the perfect gift???  :)

Christmas With The Cricut has a great tutorial on making these (see link above) but here's just a quick run-down of what I did:

1.  Cut 1" circles out of vinyl (contact paper) 15 times from the Cricut Plantin Schoolbook cartridge using the Roly Poly feature...this cuts the circles into rings.

2.  Adhere rings randomly onto glass, being careful to smooth any ridges.

3.  Apply etching cream to inside of rings, being careful not to go outside the ring edge.

4.  Wait 15 minutes then rinse and wipe with water.  Remove rings and wash with soap and water.  Ta-da!

Thanks for looking!  :) 

Please Vote For Me!!!

Those of you that visit me regularly at Organize Chaos have probably seen one of the paper cupcake giftcard holders I've posted.  If not, here is the first one I made:

I got this idea from a YouTube Video (please see original post for link) and just fell in love with this project!

Well, Michaels Arts and Crafts store is having a Handmade Christmas Contest where you enter a handmade project for a chance to win a $250 giftcard to Michaels (who couldn't find $250 to spend there?!?!?!?) AND a chance to win a trip to NYC to see the Martha Stewart Show...woo hoo!!!  There are also weekly winners of $100 giftcards as well...and I'd be perfectly happy with that, too!  :)

This is where you come in...visit this link to my project and click on the snowmen at the bottom (5 snowmen is the highest rating).  The number/rank of ratings comprise a portion of each entry's score...so please vote for me!!!  I appreciate your support!  :)

Wine Glass Charms (Stamped Shrink Plastic)

These are another project I'll be presenting at one of my CTMH Home Decor Club meetings...shrink plastic wine glass charms!!!  These are super-simple and super-fun and they're inexpensive enough to have a set for every occasion!

To make the charms, I stamped a flourish from the "You've Got Flair" My Acrylix Stamp Set in Staz-On ink onto a shrink plastic sheet.  I turned the stamped sheet over and colored in the images with colored Sharpie markers.  Then I cut out the images and used a Crop-a-Dile to punch a small hole in one end of each one.

Using my heat gun, I heated the image until it shrunk and became hard (about 30 seconds).  Once cool, I attached a silver ring to the charm.  To assemble the wire hoops, I put six beads on the wire and attached the metal ring with the charm on it in the middle.  Then I looped one end of the wire and then bent the other end of the wire so it would hook into the loop.

You can make different colored charms for each guest in your party and no one will confuse their drinks!  Just a note, though:  darker colors (greens, blues, purples) don't turn out...they appear almost gray or black once shrunk, so stick to lighter colors like red, orange, yellow and pink.

Thanks for looking!!!  :)

Stamped Mini-Tile Magnets

I made these stamped mini-tile magnets for my first Close To My Heart Home Decor Club gathering.  We're going to be stamping on regular tiles to make coasters and then on these mini-tiles for refrigerator magnets!

To make the magnets, I purchased a "mosaic" 12x12 tile from Home Depot, which is basically a bunch of mini-tiles held together with some sticky mesh.  It's used to make backsplashes in kitchens, but the tiles separate from the mesh fairly easily.

I cleaned them with a little water and let them dry.  I then stamped mini images using Close To My Heart stamps and Staz-On ink.  When dry, I carefully colored the images (if applicable) with permanent Sharpie markers...these can smudge the Staz-On ink, so you have to be really careful as you're doing this.  Then I added some rhinestones/ribbon to dress them up a bit.

To finish, I hot glued some magnets (also from Home Depot) to the back.  Ta-da!  My personal favorite is the flower, but I think any of these would make really cute gifts, and could be customized to any home decor style and color scheme!  Thanks for looking!!!  :)

Nickey's Journey

Nickey's Journey is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that donates a new portable DVD player, case and a Wal-Mart gift card for the purchase of movies to children newly diagnosed with cancer.

Children spend hours at the hospital and clinic having chemotherapy treatments, transfusions and waiting for procedures like bone marrow aspirations and lumbar punctures. Having the DVD player is a gift that can help them pass the time and maybe, just maybe, bring a smile to their hearts and let them forget for a moment why they are at the cancer clinic.

Nicky's Journey has been blessed to be able to give 200 portable DVD players to newly diagnosed children so far. But, your help is needed. As the economy has slowed down, so have donations. Unfortunately, the number of children being diagnosed with cancer hasn't.

You can help by making a donation at:  http://www.nickysjourney.com/

You can help by sharing this with someone who you think it will touch.

You can help by keeping the children who are so courageously fighting cancer in your prayers.

Any donations are greatly appreciated!!!

Too CUTE To Spook!

We didn't make it Trick or Treating this year, but we DID manage to get the Mess Maker to put on a costume this year...woo hoo! Amazingly, the BabyStyle 2T chicken (last year's snubbed costume) still fit, even though she's in 4T now...go figure! And the Noise Maker was a little dinosaur...both of them too cute to spook!

I also took one of the three babies (the Noise Maker and his older (by 10 days) cousin and his younger cousin (by two months)...now that's a Kodak moment!!! :)

Fall Fun!!!

The kids were super-excited about all the leaves at grandma and grandpa's house this weekend...we don't have any mature trees in our neighborhood, so they'd never really had the opportunity to play in a REAL leaf pile!!!

I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of the fam...

Our First Family Photo

The Noise Maker has been around for about 7 months now...probably time for a family photo, don't you think?????  :)

Here it is...our first "official" family photo:

The Noise Maker's Baptism

We had the Noise Maker's (who is, at this exact moment, REALLY living up to this name) Baptism this weekend.  We decided to do a private ceremony because of the amount of children in the fam.  It went off without a hitch and here are some photos of the occasion.  Thanks to Father Steve for making this a very special day!  :)

Father Steve, The CFO, me, the Godmother and the Godfather:

Father Steve and the Noise Maker:

The Noise Maker and me:

The Mess Maker and her uncle (doing a GREAT job at keeping her quiet), praying:

The cousins (the Mess Maker on the left in the back, and Noise Maker on the left in the front):