Silver Luna

Christmas Craft Fever

2009-11-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy lately making things for the Christmas Craft shows that are coming up.. The first show I'm doing is tomorrow. Here are some of the things that I am going to be selling

I made a candy cane snuggle pod. I think it would look so cute on a little one for Christmas.

I've been making tons of Crayon Rolls

My new favorite creation is these Tic Tac Toe games for kids....or for adults if they are bored too.

The games are enclosed in a plastic pocket, so everything is contained neatly, and you can take it along where ever you want.

All the pieces are hand stitched felt. The game board itself is felt as well so they stay where you put them. So fun, if I do say so myself. I will be selling the games for $15, so if you are interested in one for a Christmas gift or something just let me know. They are a little time consuming to make with all the hand stitching so the sooner the better :)

I have a good reason for not posting for more than a month now. *wink, wink* I am 17 weeks pregnant. Due the end of April. So that has put a little wrench in my energy and creativity levels. First trimester is out of the way and I'm feeling much better now, so hopefully I will be back to my regular crafty self.

Le Grand Crayon Roll

2009-09-24T07:42:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine has a little boy in Parent Pre-school. They had been asked to bring 24 crayons to class to work with. The standard crayon rolls I make have 16 crayons in them, so she asked me if I could make her one that held 24. With a few measurements and altering of the pattern, I made up these cute crayon rolls for her and a couple other ladies in the class.
I really like the material I used on the top one. It's actually material that I bought for my older daughter's layered skirt. Which I have yet to do lol. Add it to the list eh!

I found some fun boy themed material and made up this one for her son. I didn't want to use ribbon for the closure, because i think it's a little too girly, so I used some elastic and a button. I think it turned out really well, don't you?

I will be adding these to my shop and they can be purchased for $15, that includes crayons.

New Fall Colors

2009-09-17T15:31:00.001-07:00

I have some new colors for Snuggle Pods that I was able to find, however they aren't colors I can normally get so these are while supplies last :) If you would like a snuggle pod in one of these colors for your little one I wouldn't wait.

So Precious

2009-08-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

I had to share these pictures that were taken by Rebecca Cooper using one of my snuggle pods. The baby is just a newborn so the standard size is a little big on her, but I think she doesn't mind one bit.
Makes me wish there was one big enough for me to curl up in :)

Thanks for taking these Rebecca :)

Sew Happy and More!!

2009-08-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

One of my cousins asked me to make her some crayon rolls for her nieces. So I pulled out my stuff and whipped these ones up. They are so fun, and have princess crayons too :)

This same cousin also happens to be pregnant, but not for much longer ;) So I made her one of my snuggle pods to swaddle her new little one in. Nothing could be better, they are so soft and totally washable.

I made two of the blue patterned crayon roll so I have an extra one that is for sale if anyone is interested. They are $10 ea. Send me an email if you are interested.

Ruffle Skirt

2009-08-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a holiday and my hubby didn't have to work, yay! Normally we would do something as a family outdoors, however, it was rainy :( So I decided to work on a project that I have been thinking about for a while now. I pulled out my fabric and made a cute ruffle skirt for my 4 year old using this tutorial It worked out quite well allthough I think I will make a few changes to the sizes of material when I make one for my older daughter.

I wanted the under ruffle to show a little more so I think I will make those pieces a little longer.

I added some decorative stitching and some cute ricrac to the ends to give it a little something extra. :)

I hope you like it and if you try this skirt I would love to see your version.

Little Hoot

2009-07-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who likes owls. We were going to get together and so I thought I would make her a little something special. You see, she lives very far away, so I thought she would like a little owl to keep her company :) He was fairly easy to make and so cute if I say so myself.
After I made him however, my girls started asking me if I could make them all sorts of little animals. I can tell it's going to be a long summer. LOL

Happy Canada Day

2009-07-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry this post is a little late....The celebrations around July 1st are rather time consuming. I hope you all had a splendid holiday, and hopefully some good BBQ's.
I took a picture of the gigantic flag at our town hall while we were going on a wagon ride.

I made some of these flowers to decorate the food tables with. I liked the way they turned out. My husband asked if they were fireworks.....I guess that could work too ;)

I made this wood flag at a class a friend did. I'm ashamed to admit I finished it the night before the first :o We couldn't find a compressor to nail the pieces on with the brad nailer. So my hubby suggested just using wood glue, and that's what we did.

I have some fun crocheting projects I'm working on.....I'll be sharing them later on this week.

Dragonfly

2009-06-18T10:52:00.000-07:00

I just can't stop making these adorable dragonfly bows. I think they are so cute and I think I may even like them better than the butterflies.......Hmmm, maybe I better make some more butterflies and then decide ;) They are very cute don't you think??? Now I just need some more ribbon to make more cute bows :)

Garden Party

2009-06-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

I decided to do a garden party theme for my daughter's party. Here are some of the pictures from her day. For the decorations I made some balloon flowers and hung them from the ceiling in the living room and dining room. I also decorated with butterflies on the patio door and pendant light above our table.

For the craft we put together these fun little flower pens.

I just wrapped floral tape around the pen and the stem of the silk flower. The girls loved them.

I made these little bug clippies to go in the treat bags for each girl.

I found these fun felt house treat bags at the dollar store and filled them with the goodies. As well each girl took a pinwheel home too.
I finally decided on a ladybug cake, and had a friend help me make up the icing. (I've never done red before) I think it turned out quite cute. The spots are junior mints, the eyes are green gobstoppers, the legs and antennae are black nibs cut in half and I used oreo crumbs over chocolate icing for the head and body to make it black.

One of the girls commented that it was the best birthday party she had ever been to, so I think it was a hit :)

Canada Day Bows

2009-06-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

I sat down to make some bows to give the girls who are coming to Sadie's party, and needless to say I didn't really get them done. I was distracted by making these. I haven't put them on the alligator clip yet because I didn't have any. I had to go to a friends to get some from her stash. Thanks Heather :) First I made these
And Then I made these to go in my girls hair for the Canada Day festivities. The 'blue ribbon' looking ones happened by total accident, I was going for a flower looking bow and this is what I ended up with. However, I totally think they are cute so it was a good accident. :)

Now I have to actually get the bows done I was going to do. I'm going to attempt some bugs, I'll show you how they turn out when i'm done.

Feelin a Little Patriotic

2009-06-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

It's starting to creep up on me. Canada Day, that is. In the small town in which I live, this day is a 'big deal'. We have tons of community stuff going on around that day. I'm not going to bore you with the list of events. My kids favorite though is the parade. I bought a new countryfied (is that even a word?) hat to wear at said parade. I love having a little fun once in a while ;)

I think that I was feeling a little of the patriotic vibe when I made this card. It however is a south of the border vibe slightly based on the colors. Nonetheless, it still made me start to anticipate the coming events.

Flowers on the Brain

2009-06-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

It is my oldest daughter's 7th birthday on June 13th. I have decided to go with a garden party theme. Now I'm trying to think of all the details to make it the "perfect" birthday party. Cuz that's what we do right? Go all super mom crazy trying to throw our kids the best birthday's ever.......Or maybe this is just me, hmmm. Anyways, it should be fun and different from princesses, which I think I will just have to die rather than throw another princess party. She's turning 7, she should be over princesses by now right? I sure hope so. I will post some pictures of some of the decorations after the party. In the mean time, I am open to any suggestions you may have regarding the decorations, or games and all that good stuff. ;)
For now I leave you with a flowery card. And I do hope you have a wonderful day.

Peace........

2009-06-02T14:28:00.000-07:00

........This is something that is hard to come by at the moment, LOL. Summer is almost here, it stays lighter much later and it seems the kids will never go to sleep at night. Which makes it harder for me to find time to create. On the flip side it is beautiful outside so if they will play outside "nicely" without tormenting each other too much, I should be able to squeeze some creative time in somewhere. It was by such means that I was able to create this card the other day. I hope you enjoy it and don't have to feel the sorrow of losing someone.

If however you have lost someone dear to you then I hope someone will make you a special card from their heart, to help ease that pain.

Spring has Sprung

2009-05-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

And with spring comes new babies. I have so many friends who are pregnant right now or have just had a beautiful little baby. I made this set as a gift for one of my good friends, who just had an adorable little girl last week.

The butterfly is one of the patterns out of the Amy Butler sewing book I reviewed in this post. It came out ok I thought. I'm pretty sure subsequent butterflies will be a little more polished though. I added bells in each of the wings so it makes some fun noise too. It's fun trying out new patterns, I really enjoyed it. I'm trying to get up the courage to try one of the bags. :)

Ribbons and Bows

2009-05-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

A friend invited me over the other day to make bows. I was excited because I have looked at lots of stuff on the internet about how to make your own bows, however I'm a visual learner and it helps me out a ton to see things done right in front of me. It was lots of fun to get out and visit with other women, while making some cute little bows for my girls hair. Here is what I got accomplished.

My oldest is really into blue right now, so I thought these would be very fitting for her. No girly pink, but a pattern that still gives it femininity.

Then I had some fun creating this cute butterfly. It had a learning curve that took a little time to figure out, but once I got that it wasn't so bad. I really wanna make some adorable little ladybugs, but I need to source out some red ribbon with black polka dots. Anyone have any suggestions of online sources for some inexpensive ribbon?

Pajamas Take Two

2009-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

I made a set of pajamas for my son for Christmas. It was pretty much the first time working with children's clothes. I'm not sure if you remember the lesson I learned with pattern matching. It was funny to me when it happened. I'm so used to trying to get the most use out of a sheet of paper with as little waste as possible. Well when I was cutting out the material I adopted the same theory. Little did I know that you needed to watch the pattern of the images on the material and keep them going the same way.

I give you Exhibit A - Note how some of the penguins are upside down and others are upright. Hahahaha. I know what you are thinking. I totally should have known better. Ah Well. That's what I have to say. It's not like my son will care one bit, right?

I made another pair for him and this is how they turned out. I will have you note that I did everything right this time. :) The stripes are going the same way. I must be getting the hang of sewing clothing Eh! Isn't he just a little cutie. He points to each ball saying "see ball?" over and over.

Similar......Yet Different

2009-04-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Spring has sprung around here for me and I couldn't be more pleased. I have planted my seedlings to start growing indoors, and I can't wait to get my garden planted outside. I put together two cards that were very bright and fun. They use similar concepts and paper but are different. I like doing this sometimes because it's nice for my brain to only have to come up with one type of card and then tweak it a little so that it's different. Thinking of You

and a Thank you card.

I can't wait to sample some real cherries soon. Delish!

Birthday gift for a Princess

2009-04-20T13:41:00.000-07:00

My niece had a birthday a little while back, and I made her a crayon roll to go with a coloring book. I've been really trying hard to make handmade gifts for birthday parties this year. I guess that the coloring book isn't handmade, but we will just look the other way on that one, because there is no way any child would want to color in my drawings lol. I found some really cute princess crayons that I thought would be very fitting for a little princess to color with as well.
I saw a crayon roll made by someone else on the web, forgive me I can't remember who :( But she hid the seam lines and I just love the way it looks. So shamelessly I copied, I admit it. Genius whoever she is cuz it makes it look so finished and beautiful.

I love making these, they are so fun, and easy too. Perfect to take with you anywhere to keep little hands busy.

Baby Legs Tutorial

2009-04-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

I know there are lots of tutorials out there on the web for these, but I thought I would just add mine to the mix lol. I am one who is all about simplicity, so mine is a little different from the one you find on flickr. So here goes...Find a sock that is for an adult and comes to just below the knee. I got these at AE on clearance for $2.50 nice eh! Cut off the toe portion and the heel like in the picture.

You should then have two pieces that look like this.

Turn the smaller piece wrong sides together to form the cuff.

Insert that piece into the larger tube with right sides together. (see picture)
Pin in a few places around to hold things together properly.

Sew around those edges using an edge finishing stitch.

Pull the sock right side out and you are done. Voila! Easy Peasy, just what I like.

Here's a shot of Ellie wearing them, don't they look cute. My girls wear them when they are playing dress up, but want to keep their legs warm as well. They also wear them under their nightgowns for the same purpose.

I made another pair that I stuck on Vanden, he thought they were great, Dad however, didn't think they were that awesome :)

I however think they accentuate his chubby little thighs quite perfectly. ;)

Back in The Saddle Again

2009-04-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't quite found a place for everything in my new craft room. My hubby put up some shelves in the closet and I used some crates stacked for my material and yarn. I hope to get it totally organized soon. Then I will show you a picture. I have a card to share with you that I made the other day. It was quite fun. I got the inspiration from Heather's blog (click the Ustamp button on my sidebar to find her)

The stamp set is from Rachelle Anne Miller and the Papers are SU. I used watercolor paper to stamp the image on with Staz-on Black ink and colored her in using my ink pads and waterbrush. The ricrac ribbon is CTMH. The sentiment is a rub-on.

I hope you enjoy her she made me feel very much like spring.

Give Away at Yummy Mummy

2009-03-26T10:11:00.001-07:00

My good friend Tisha is an amazing seamstress. She's who I call when I have no idea what i'm doing, need advice on my projects, and for a good chat. She has just set up a website www.yuumymummymaternity.ca and has an awesome sale going on as well as a give away. You can click the button on my sidebar or go to http://iamayummymummy.blogspot.com for details of the give away.

Long time comin'

2009-03-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

I should be packing.....but I deemed it necessary to take a break :) I'm sorry that I've been neglecting to post anything as of late. Life has been way too busy. I promise to be much better after we've moved and settled in to the new house. Here are some of the items that I have completed in the last month or so. This is my nephew, isn't he just adorable. He loves to be snuggled in at night but always ends up kicking his blankets off. My sister asked if I could make him a snuggle pod so that he would stay warm and snuggled in at night. I thought it would be so fun to make one for him as he just turned 1. Seeing him in it made me giggle, i'm used to little babies being snuggled up in them. He thinks it's pretty cool and she says that he now stays snug and warm at night. I had fun playing with the stripes too.

I finally got around to making myself a pair of slippers. I decided to make them a mary-jane style with a strap. They turned out great I think and they keep my feet nice and warm. I may work on some kids sizes too, now to find cute buttons to go on the straps. :)

I've had these cute little buttons stashed away for so long now. I think they fit quite nicely with my new slippers, don't you think?

I had a gift certificate to amazon and I scored some very cool books. I Can't wait to plunge in and make some of the beautiful projects in them. Here's my take on the books, just so you know what to expect if you get them. We'll call it a book review.....lol.

Bend the Rules Sewing (Amy Karol) - you can find her blog at http://angrychicken.typepad.com
If you are anything like me and you don't always follow all the instructions to the letter then this may be a good book for you. She gives you a brief rundown of sewing instuctions and tips which I thought was great. I learned a thing or two, who am I kidding I learned tons. The projects are fun, whimsical, and not too in depth. The patterns needed for the 30 projects are templates in the back of the book that you photocopy increasing the size of some. Generally though most projects are based on squares or rectangles that can just be measured and cut from the fabric.

Seams to Me (Anna Maria Horner) - you can find Anna at http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com I love her fabrics and her playful nature. You will see this in her book. She gives you an in depth run through of all things sewing in the beginning. Which I thought was great, since I still consider myself a newborn to sewing. Her projects are fun, eye-catching, and stylish. I can't wait to make the Bo-Peep skirt for my girls, so cute, and the bags, Ohhhhh the bags (It's a fettish of mine, bags, purses and pouches, oh my) I'm just looking for the right fabric to make some of these. 24 patterns are all in an envelope pouch at the back, no copying and up-sizing, which is awesome.

Amy Butler's Little Stiches for Little ones - You can find her at http://amybutlerdesign.com Who doesn't love Amy Butler's fabrics, I mean come one they are all the rage these days. So calming, beautiful, and elegant. Her book gets right in to the projects with a few tips here and there. The projects are perfect for those expecting a little one or if you have little ones underfoot. It gives you projects for everything you may want to have for your baby, yet stylishly done. She also rates the projects based on skill level. These handmade beauties will be cherished and passed down from generation to generation, i'm sure of it. 20 patterns are in a pocket on the front cover of the book, once again no re-sizing needed here.

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My dear husband surprised me one day and told me that I could finally purchase the camera I've been wanting for so long, pretty much since we got married 7.5 years ago. I now have the Nikon D90 in my possesion. It's awesome, I love it. I kinda felt guilty buying that much camera, but the thing that sealed the deal is that it will shoot HD quality video. The salesman said that they didn't have camcorders in stock that could compare to the quality this thing will do. I was beaming. We've been debating getting a new camcorder for a while now. We have the type that uses tapes, but I wanted to be able to put them on my computer. I still have some reading to do in the manual yet. I just discovered today however that the pictures it takes are of such a high quality it will take blogger forever to upload them :( Anyone have this problem and know how to solve it? I wanted to post a picture of our new house, but can't. I'm sure I can "dumb down" the quality a bit if I know that i'm not going to enlarge the picture or anything. Hmmmm just thinking outloud here. Anyone have any ideas?

Big News

2009-03-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

I have created in these last few weeks, I just haven't been able to take pictures and find time to post them. I have a huge hooray to share though. We have sold our house, can I get a woot, woot. And found a house that we like and are buying. I can't wait, I will have my very own (I mean all to my little self without hubby's computer desk) room to dedicate to creating. Ooooohh I really can't wait the anticipation is killing me, we move on the 30th of this month. I will post pictures as soon as I can take some :)

I'm thinking I want to paint the room before I move all my *stuff* in there. Any suggestions on colors????? I kinda like this, and this is fun, not sure if that's what i'm aiming for though. I've been thinking about green a lot lately. Supposedly it's supposed to be calming and if you know me then that's a good thing ( I seem to stress out a lot ) Check out this site, it was kinda fun. My personal style is 64% Mountain Lodge, 17% Classic, 16% Cottage Chic. What did yours turn out as?

Lastly I have created a facebook group here where I have pictures posted of the items I'm selling. I should be adding more items soon, well after the move that is. LOL

*smiles*

Another Site I love

2009-02-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

Make and Takes is a site I frequent quite often. So I thought I would add it to my list of Sites that Inspire me, can't believe I forgot about it. So hop on over and check out her blog because she has a give-away going on to celebrate her 2nd birthday of blogging. Some really cute stuff that you are gonna want to try to win. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T23:31:00.001-08:00

Sorry this is kinda late, it's been a crazy day. Here is the Valentine that I made for my hubby this year. It's pretty simple, because I made it in between putting my sick daughter back to bed like 3 times. Poor girl. I stamped the vine image on the cs and then used some red stickles glitter glue to highlight some spots. I used my clear glitter glue around the edge of the heart that was stamped and popped off.
The inside was kinda fun. It is an accordian fold and I added a couple elements to the folds that stuck out. Simple and fun, just what my hubby needs. He brought me breakfast in bed this morning. What a sweety.

Valentine Wrap Up

2009-02-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

On the first card I used the same corner rounder to make the scallop edge, but I inked the edges up to make it stand out. On the second card, I had some die cut flowers that I stamped some images on the petals and then layered them to give the flower dimension. I distressed around the edges with ink as well.
I hope you've enjoyed two weeks worth of Valentine Cards, that will hopefully give you some inspiration of fun techniques to add to your own cards. Tomorrow I will share the Valentine that I made for my hubby this year.

Dress it up

2009-02-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

Some simple Valentines for you. The first one I random stamped the background using the flourish stamp. I used some of our shimmer paint with re-inker to paint the paper flower to match. The second card I stamped the image in one color and chalked the inside of the heart to add a pop of color. I used my corner rounder with the guard off to make the scalloped edge and my hole punch to make it look like an eyelet border.
Fun techniques and tools can really add a little something extra to your cards.

Another Masculine Valentine

2009-02-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a simple yet neat looking card that can be given to a man. In fact I gave this to my hubby last year. You could also switch up the colors and use ribbon instead of hemp to tie the pieces together.
I know some of you may be thinking, my husband won't really like a card, but my hubby has kept every one I've ever given him. He has them stashed in his dresser with his other "treasures".

Be My Valentine

2009-02-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Once again these are some cards from last year. I hope you don't mind. :)

On the first one I used my embossing folder with the Chocolate CS and then lightly sanded the raised image to bring out the white core. I stamped my sentiment on the twill ribbon. The fairy couple card uses a lot of tearing which is fun, and I added glitter to their wings with a glue pen and glitter.

Valentine's Cards

2009-02-09T13:04:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling under the weather, so I am posting some cards that I made last year at Valentine's Day. I hope to be feeling better and up to creating again soon.
I think these cards are pretty self explanatory as to how I made them. On the love card I used an edge distessor to rough up the edges and I had the polka dot patterned paper in stock and I added the hearts to it with my stamps. It's an easy way to spruce up some basic paper. I used a glue pen and superfine glitter to add the red sparkle to the heart on the other card.

Crocheted Valentine

2009-02-09T12:51:00.001-08:00

Today I have a Valetine Project for you. I wanted to make my daughter a beanie cap with a brim. I think these are just adorable, and I have a little girl who loves all things pink. I made this last night while she was asleep so I didn't really get the size perfect. It's all good as far as i'm concerned though, because I wanted it to cover her ears, and it will fit her for years to come.
Top View

She isn't the most excited person when having her photo taken. She's always making crazy faces, so this is her "just hold still" face.

Side View

I was sick yesterday so as I was laying on the couch I made two of these to go in the girls hair for church. I attached it to one of those small goody snap clips. (Not sure what the correct name is lol) These are quick and so easy to make, and it uses up any leftover scrap yarn you may have lying around.

Faux Pleated Ribbon Card

2009-02-08T14:20:00.000-08:00

I think this technique looks so neat on a card. I took a strip of patterned paper 1"x12" and pleat folded it until it was the width of the card. I then sewed across the paper to hold all the pleats in place. I added my image and a small sentiment stamped in white pigment ink. Then mounted the card front on my card base that way the stitches cannot be seen on the inside of the card.
A little tip - I took the pieces of thread that were hanging over the paper and taped them to the back, that way nothing will come unraveled as I didn't do any backstitching.

A Heart For You

2009-02-07T08:53:00.000-08:00

I had fun making this Valentine Card. This image is just so cute. I stamped her in Chocolate and the solid heart was stamped in Blush. I colored her dress and shoes using my Blush marker. I added a heart and the sentiment from these & these rub-ons. I've been having tons of fun with rub-ons lately, love em. I then added some Chocolate brads to balance out the heart.
I think this Valentine is just so sweet, don't you think??

Masculine Valentine

2009-02-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

I like to give my husband a card on Valentine's Day, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't want one that is all pinks and reds with hearts and Cupid's on it. So for today's card I created one that is worthy to give to that special man in your life, that he won't turn his nose up at.....hopefully. I took some Desert Sand CS and placed it over top of one of these metal bookplates. Then using my embossing stylus, I rubbed around the texture to make the image stand out on the CS. I then sanded the raised image lightly with 220 grit sandpaper. I used the same technique on the score lines on my base. This reveals the white core in the cardstock. I took my stipple brush and distressed using Cocoa ink on the base and the bookplate, then stamped the sentiment in the box. I attached the bookplate piece using some Antique copper brads. I know my hubby wouldn't be disappointed with this Valentine. I hope your would like it too.

Shaker Valentine

2009-02-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

I created this card around the shaker box. I had my daughter punch out a bunch of little red hearts. She always wants to creat cards with me so I thought this would be a good thing for her to help me with. I added some sparkle jewels in red to the shaker box to give it some bling, as well as a little 'love' rub-on. I mounted it on the patterned paper which was mounted on black (kinda hard to see against the black background ) Wrapped some red grosgrain ribbon around that to finish it off.
Shaker boxes are so fun to make and add a little something special to your card.

Ms. Sweetheart

2009-02-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

I just love this stamp set, it has images that would totally be good for Engagement, Wedding, Valentines and Love. Once again I used some patterned paper that I've had kicking around forever. Very fitting for a Valentine card I must say. I mounted the image on Hollyhock CS and punched out some circles in Hollyhock and Blush CS. I added some brads to the circles and a sentiment from the same stamp set. I could have colored in the whole image (which I was really tempted to do), but I wanted the heart to really pop out so I left the rest monochromatic.

Purple Love

2009-02-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

I have had this patterned paper for quite some time now. It actually came in a Halloween themed paper pack. In my efforts to seriously reduce the amount of paper I have in my stash, I decided it would be perfect for this Valentine Card. I stamped the Heart image and the Valentine Sentiment using black pigment ink. I covered it with clear embossing powder, and embossed the images. (This technique works when you are in a pinch and don't have the right color of embossing powder) I mounted the image on a black scalloped square and popped it up using dimensional foam adhesive. I tied a ribbon on and attached a charm using White Hemp.

What are some ways that you have used items that are "outside the box" ? I would love to hear of ways that you have used items that didn' t normally go together.

Stitched Valentine Card

2009-02-02T08:04:00.002-08:00

I saw a card similar to this one out in blog land and I really loved the simplicity of it. I first drew a heart on my white CS using a pencil. Then using my paper piercer, I made the holes for the embroidery thread. I erased my heart guide and stitched using red embroidery thread. To finish it off I used the ticket corner punch and a Love rub-on for the sentiment.

I hope you like todays card. Check back tomorrow for another V-Day card

Valentine's Countdown and a tutorial

2009-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today I have a tutorial for you making a heart using eyelets. I got the inspiration for this card from the Jan/Feb issue of Papercrafts Magazine. First I drew a heart on my cardstock and arranged my eyelets on the heart how I wanted them to look. I was sitting there thinking....."this is great my eyelets are all set out, now how am I going to remember where on earth they go after I've punched holes". Well I decided to take my paper piercer and pokes holes inside the eyelets as they sat with a varying pattern per eyelet. I poked three little holes for the flower eyelets, two for the stars and small, medium and large holes for the different shades of regular eyelets. I hope i'm making sense. Take a look at the picture and you should be able to see what i'm talking about.
Erase your heart guide with a white eraser. Then I started with one style of eyelets at a time. I made the holes for the stars and then set them. Then I made the holes for the flowers and set them, and so on.

Now I have all my eyelets set in the exact place that I wanted them to be.

Here is my finished card. I feathered the edges with some red ink and a sponge. Added some ribbon, and some rub-ons for the sentiment and accent. There you have it, a cute eyelet heart card worthy of much praise from the recipient.

I am going to be posting a card a day counting down to Valentine's Day. I hope it will give you some inspiration for your own Valentine cards. So check back each day to see the new card.

Pretty Up your Purse

2009-01-28T20:45:00.001-08:00

My old checkbook cover was starting to get some tears at the fold. I had seen some of these on the web and figured they really couldn't be that hard to make. So I measured out my old checkbook cover and figured out how I needed to put it together. This is what I ended up with, cute eh!

Then I decided that I needed to make a matching tissue cover using this tutorial. So easy let me tell you, and how much prettier does this look compared to a regular package of tissues.

Now my purse will look way nicer sporting these pretty little additions.

I also wanted to post a picture of the little boys ensemble that I made for the newborn kits. I love how these turned out.

V-Day is coming

2009-01-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

I don't always decorate my house for every little holiday that comes up. Now the reasoning behind this is that first I have little kids and keeping their little fingers off my decorations is a tough thing to do. There is a part of me deep down that has "Martha" screaming to be let out. I had to figure out a way to allow my creativity to come out in a fashion that didn't cause me a lot of stress if little fingers were to get ahold of my creations. So today I have a simple decoration to share with you that won't have you leaping off your chair when your toddler crawls up on the table with that mischievous grin on his face, eyes aglow as he reaches for your centerpiece.

Felt stuffed hearts, not really that spectacular I know.......BUT if I were to make something spectacular, i'm sure I wouldn't want the kids to touch it. These are so easy to make, anyone could do it. I cut out two pieces of felt using a cardboard template. Then using embroidery floss I stitched the edges together, pausing when there is an inch opening left to stitch. Stuff them with some fiberfill and finish stitching it closed. These are cute, and fun and could be used many ways to decorate with. You could string them up together like a banner, hang them from some ribbon in random places in your home, the possibilities are endless. There's still time for you to make some......I would love to see what you come up with and how you choose to decorate with them.

Thinking of You

2009-01-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

I had a lady call me the other day looking for a vase stamp, so that led me to making this card with some springy (springish? springlike?) Oh well you get what I mean. I'm looking forward to spring, I'm kinda sick of winter and there's still a couple months to go. I stamped the flowers twice on White Daisy CS and cut them out. The vase is stamped, cut out and pop dotted on. I wanted the flowers to have dimension so I layered them & curled the petals up a little.
Here's a close up shot of the flowers. Looking at this picture now, I see that I took it before I added little sparkles to the centers of the flowers. LOL I'm a deep rooted blonde, I guess. So just imagine cute little sparkles in the centers of the flowers. There you go....I think this would make a nice little pick me up for one of these soon to be colder dreary winter days.

Have a daisy of a day. :)

Newborn Baby Kits

2009-01-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

I've been working on making some newborn baby kits, that are being sent down to Peru (I think) They are going to be given to the women when they have a baby so they have the basic necessities that they will need for their newborns. My mother in law got the sleepers, socks and soap. I put together the cloth diapers, onesies, diaper pins, and made some of the items. This brings me to what I want to share with you. I made this flannel blanket, burp cloth, and bib. I just used a burp cloth and bib I had to make my pattern. They were really easy to do. I have a boy themed one to make for the second kit, it has little animals on it.

I got to play around with cool stitch functions on my sewing machine and chose this one to topstitch with. It's like a wavy vine with leaves, so cute.

And.....I can't help but share....check out the new flooring in my craft room. My hubby and I put it down on Saturday. Took about 5 hours to do, that includes clearing out the room and putting on the baseboard. I love it. Now I just need to stay perfectly organized so it doesn't get cluttered again. Notice I didn't include the desktop in the picture!!!!! Yea, that's cuz it's covered with stuff. I am on a mission to organize, because I feel way more inspired when things are nice and neat.

Snuggle Pod

2009-01-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

I am going to be custom making these adorable little snuggle pods for those that may want one. They make a wonderful baby shower gift also. I make them with a super soft textured yarn that will surround your little bundle in warmth. I made this one for my nephew who is my cute little model. Most infants love to be snuggled up and this snuggle pod combined with the hat does just that. Send me an email, if you would like to order one. I am selling them at $30 for the set.
Here are the colors that I have on hand to choose from. If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. They show a tad darker than actual life, number 11 is a really dark eggplant purple, but the rest are what you see.

Simple Bow Holder

2009-01-15T09:50:00.001-08:00

I made this really simple bow holder the other day. I've seen really cute bow holder boards where they put material and ribbons on a board so you can have tons of bows organized. I wanted to do that, but in an effort to thwart my perfectionism, I decided to make something simple and easy for right now. My girls don't have a ton of bows 'yet', oh yea they need hair first before they can have tons of bows. That is another story all in it's own. Anyways.......to make this I took a 2 inch wide piece of organdy ribbon that i've been moving around on my desk forever, because i'm gonna use it for something, someday. Wow I'm revealing a lot of character flaws today...yes packrat is one of them. Back to the directions, I double folded the bottom, tried a new fun stitch on my sewing machine, and sewed it up. I then attached a photo hanger (CTMH out of my scrapbook stash) to the top of the ribbon, folding it and putting the brad through the ribbon so it is secure. Tied some pink ribbon (yet another piece that has been floating around) to the top to finish it off nicely and yer done. Add your bows, clips, and what-nots. I hung it with a push pin on their wall and now they can't tell me they don't know where such-and-such bow is.
Just a side note - I had to delete this post and re-post it because some person posted a spam comment. Lame, eh!! So from now on I guess I will have to approve comments before they get posted. Don't people have better things to do with their time, I mean really.

Crocheted Cuteness

2009-01-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

About a year ago I bought a book.... Amigurumi World. Seriously Cute Crochet I am finally getting around to making some of the items out of that book.

This cute little egg shell pattern is in the book and she has a little chick that you can crochet to go inside. The egg pattern I got from here I folded it up and stuffed it in the shell. My kids have been playing with this a ton. My daughter asked me if I was going to make a whole set of 12.....hmmmmm, we'll see about that lol. Eventually i'm sure I can make a whole set some with chicks inside some with little fried eggs.
This little cuppycake is a pattern out of the book as well. I love it. I made it to hold my sewing pins, because the little tomato one I had just didn't work that well (you know the one, i'm sure all those who sew have had one of these) This one works much better and it's ten times as cute.

I am having so much fun with these little projects, they are cute and don't take a lot of time to complete. I'm sure you will be seeing much more of these in the future.

A New Year....A New Chapter

2009-01-09T22:02:00.000-08:00

As 2008 is now behind us and 2009 is just beginning, a new chapter has emerged in my life. Over the past about 4 months I have really grown and learned so many new things. I wanted to share them all with you, but my blog Ink and Paper was mostly dedicated to papercrafts, and my family blog is private, leaving me with no logical place to share these fun creations. So I've decided to start a new blog where I can combine things and simplify my life a little. I have been researching selling some of my creations online as well, but for now this blog will also serve that purpose. I will post pictures of the items i'm selling on the sidebar, and will do custom orders for now until I can get a website up and running. I'm excited to take a new step, and a little hesitant at the same time. I will continue to post the paper creations I make on here and the labels will help to sort my creations making it easier to find inspiration. I hope you will join me on this crazy journey, it's bound to be a fun ride.