Saturday, November 7, 2009

Autumn Decor


I love fall.  Normally I love Halloween too, but this year, I just couldn't get into it...so when I decorated, I only put out Autumn goodies...most of the Jack-o-lanterns, bats, witches , and things that go bump in the night stayed safely up in the rafters. 


Here are a few things that are on the mantle right now.  I made those 3 stuffed pumpkins a few years ago...they were way simple and I like how they are all a little different but still the same.


When I cleaned out  ("de-baby-fied") Connor's room, there were a few 12x12 frames that needed a new home.  A few years ago we did an autumn swap a block exchange and, being the slacker I am, the  squares were still sitting in a box.  Random?  Well....a little black spray paint, some masking tape, cardboard and 25 minutes later (I had to wait for the paint to dry)...these were done.  The wreath was a prototype... I ended up making 6 or 8 of the scarecrow...My aunt made 6 or 8 of the wreath (and her stitching is better), but I used mine because there were several fabrics that were the same in each...and I'm all about the matchy-matchy!




Okay...enough stalling...I'm off to work on Christmas projects.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Ahhh...I love my Cricut


Seriously...what's not to love about that little machine?  I didn't buy a card to go with this gift...and honestly, I have a hard time justifying spending a lot of time on a card for a 3 year old...they just don't care  :)  I think simple tags on little kids gifts are a better choice...and that's where my amazing cricut comes in!






Literally 5 minutes and some scrap paper later...I had this tag and was sewing the button "cherry" onto the top.  Cute and free...you can't beat that!!

Friday, October 30, 2009

Halloween Treats


Here are a few Halloween treat jars I made.  I just filled some jars from Michael's with M&Ms and threw on some Cricut doodads or stamped them...


I like how the spider has two different sized wiggly eyes...


Here is the top of the jar...that stamp is from the Papertrey Halloween Tags set.


I love this bat stamp...it cracks me up...I don't think a bat with big ol' fangs should be cute, but he is!


Another Halloween Tags stamp....


I used a different shaped bottle and glued buttons onto the cork stopper.  The card took about 5 minutes...including gluing on those googly eyes :)



Here's a closer, (but even fuzzier) shot of the top of the bottle.

That's it for Halloween this year.  It's time to start working on those 12 million Christmas gifts that I said I was going to start on in January...I swear my middle name should be Procrastination!  Acccck!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Pumpkin Bread Tags



I made some pumpkin bread today...I used a new recipe...with 2 boxes of cook and serve vanilla pudding in it...I even made crumbly streusel topping to put on top.  I made it knowing that I was going to give it away.  I let it cool and then wrapped it in aluminum foil.  It looked naked...and generic...and unhappy  :(  So, I made it a tag.





Here it is with its tag...much better.  I made 4 tags in about 5 minutes and even raided the "Yucky... I should throw this ribbon out but I might need it someday" jar...See?  I was right not to part with that funky green raffia...It came in handy!





Here's the tag...Papertrey's 2009 Autumn Tag stamp using a sentiment from the Limitless Labels set...How perfect is that?  Homemade bread...Those girls at Papertrey are genius!  Everyone NEEDS a stamp that says ~homemeade bread~!!




Here he is with his little friends...4 little prizes and my house smells good!  You can't beat that!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

I'm still no Bakerella!


So, I made some Halloween brownie pops...they looked so cute in the magazine.  





He's a little fuzzy, but recognizable.  I used dark chocolate melts in a ziploc bag with a tiiiiiny hole cut in the corner to pipe on the faces.  I made some little stamped tags cut like pennants..It took about 3 minutes to make 12 of them...easy peasy!  ;)  Hopefully the packaging helps to hide the jacked-up faces!




Here he is with a few of his friends...I wonder what they look so afraid of?!?



It can't be Jack here, can it?

I don't know how anyone gets food markers to work!  I've bought 3 or 4 sets, and none of them work very well!  Maybe I'm expecting too much...I want what I make to look just like the picture in the magazine.  For all I know, the food stylist couldn't get them to work either and just pulled out a Sharpie!!  :)  Anyway,  the faces in the magazine were perfect...clear, dark, expressive...mine look impressionistic and melty...ack.  Ooooh, I guess they're just "Jack-ed" up...bwahahahahah...I crack myself up.  Sorry.  That was a total Connor joke!  He is the king of ridiculous made up bad jokes lately...I hope he outgrows it!




Here's Jack with some of his peeps.  They look pretty funny all bunched together...like Willy Wonka's personal pumpkin patch...chocolate-filled, candy-coated vegetables.  Hmmm, I bet Connor would clean his plate every night if they were on the menu!  ;)

Monday, October 26, 2009

Simple Caramel Apple Kit


Single caramel apple kits are nothing new...and they have definitely been done waaaaay cuter than this guy.  But, I made 2 of these in about 15 minutes with stuff I had at home...I had already bought the single serve caramel containers, since I knew I wanted to do this.  I was just looking for a quick prize for Connor's teacher and for my neighbor, who I thought might need a little sugar to help them get through the day :)  I know I always do!






I just used clear bags from Michael's,  a couple of scraps, and  a few stamps...easy!  Inside are an individual container of caramel, an apple, and a small bag of chopped almonds.  You could absolutely skip all craftiness and just tie the goodies up in a the bag...if your recipient can't figure out what this is without a label, then it's probably dangerous for them to have a plastic bag at all!  ;)



Thursday, October 22, 2009

Rehearsal Dinner Favors

My brother got married in August and I made the favors for the rehearsal dinner.  My mom ordered these frames for a super good deal online...they were under $1.00 each (with shipping!)
I killed two birds with one stone by just pulling the ribbon I used to tie up the package through the accent flower on top and tying it there. That way I didn't need a separate flower center...worked swell!



My husband (the computer whiz)  created  the insert for the bottom of the frame from a picture I drew and me standing over his shoulder barking directions.  I think I may have tried his patience just a smidge!  :)  It's so hard when you can see something in your head EXACTLY how you want it, and you have to direct someone else to do it.



He did an awesome job though!  Just what I wanted!  (He hated it because it wasn't centered and symmetrical!  LOL!!)  I thought it deserved its own picture even if it is a little blurry.  Thanks honey!  You rock!  :)




I also made some silverware pockets...complete with wet wipe (It was a BBQ dinner).  These looked very nice on the tables.  Round tables, white tablecloths, red  center circle accent cloths (I'm sure there is a technical name for those...but I'm a savage, so I don't know it!), red roses, the party favors, black and white boxed candies, and a sparse smattering of red and silver heart confetti...wow, when I list all that, it sounds obnoxious and over-done, but it looked good in person.  You'll just have to trust me, because no one thought to take a picture of the finished product...oops!




Here's a close up of the little silver double heart detail on the pocket. These charms were at Michael's.  They were only about $6 for 50...it was a perfect tie-in since the double heart was on the picture frame and on their invitations.  I made 60 of each of these little guys.  You know, for as much as I claim to hate mass production, I sure seem to do it a lot!!

I've already uploaded the photos for at least 5 more posts...it's so much easier when the pictures are sitting there on the desktop ready to go!  I'm going to try to be a good blogger for the rest of the month  :)  but my slacker tendencies may get in the way.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

A vase full of Pixy Sticks?!?

Okay...in theory a vase full of candy just sounds odd...and they only ended up in here because I didn't have any place else to stick them.  However, as soon as I saw them sitting there, in all their sugary goodness, I thought...Hey~that's kind of cute.  Can't you just see them with die cut flowers on top?  or hand print flowers from the kids?  Or die cut flowers with a child's face in the center and the hand print curled and used as a leaf?  Hmm...I think Pixy Sticks may be a new go-to item for me  :)

These are the treats I made for Connor to give out in his classroom for Halloween.

Pure sugar...good for carnivores and vegetarians alike!  




I used Papertrey's Boo to You set and the 2009 Halloween tags...Every time I see that company's new stamp releases, I swear they are the cutest ever...and then the next month they are even cuter!  These stamps are absolutely adorable...but the Christmas line is cute enough to put you in debt...even if you're not a stamper!  Here's the front...sorry for the blurry picture...my sad little camera doesn't do well with a macro picture  :(




The pumpkin is from Boo to You, but the face is from a different company...I just liked the eyes better than the one that came with the set...




Here's the back...I even used the Simple Alphabet stamp to put Connor's name on...not great pre-planning.  I didn't realize his name would be so long.  I should have stamped the From stamp farther over...oh well, like the average 8 year old is even going to look at the tag!?!  All they're going to see is 20 inches of sugar high!  :)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Baby Shower Goodies :)

Here are some pictures of the fun goodies I made for my neighbor's baby shower. I found these boxes at Michael's for half-price in the dollar bin...Yeah!!  The bottom was an unattractive flower print...easy fix!  I used Papertrey Spring Rain paper and some stamps to make my own pattern paper and just covered them.  That cute puppy is a hero arts stamp.  The box came with that adorable kraft colored polka dot lid.  :)  I love it when things work out like that!





I filled the boxes with baby blue M&Ms and whoppers to keep with the blue and brown color scheme.



The ribbon is just stuff I had in my stash...Everyone has enough ribbon perfectly matched to turn out 25 party favors right?!? I love the little tag.  I stamped the pre-made tags with Papertrey's Polka Dots 2 and then stamped over that with the thanks script sentiment..I think it's from Mega Mixed Messages.




Ahhh...Mass production...It's a good thing!  :)



I also made some cutesy-fied silverware holders...Just stamped that puppy onto the napkins to make it match.  




Here's that banner I made.  All hail the might Cricut!!  The whole thing is cut on that machine.  :)




Here's my present for Lucy.  It's a scrapbook.  I didn't take any pictures of the inside...but I made the tag match the decorations.  :)  And then there's the cutest thing I made....




It's a diaper cake...acccckkk!!  It only took about 90 minutes...including wrapping and rubber banding the diapers.  The picture isn't that great...but it was cute in person.  I couldn't believe how much trouble I had finding a stuffed puppy to go on the top.  I thought that would be the easiest part...I had to go to four places to find one...who knew?!?

That's it for the baby shower stuff.  I know it took forever to get it blogged...sorry Kim!!   I'm just a slacker!

Have a great Tuesday  ;)

Friday, October 16, 2009

Baby Shower Invites









Here are the invites I made for my friend Lucy's baby shower.  The bedding she chose for her son's nursery is blue and brown with puppies...so I thought it would be cute to use that as a baby shower theme.  Everything I made had either this cricut Doodlecharms puppy head or a cute Hero Arts puppy stamp on it...maybe some day I'll find my camera and be able to upload pictures of the other goodies I made...



I love cutesy envelopes...getting one in the mail is just a happy thing!  :)  I used some Papertrey star stamps to decorate the envelope and stamp the word Baby inside the invite...I also used their Spring Rain, Kraft, and Dark Chocolate paper...I really liked how stamping the word inside the card made it match perfectly with the paper and the envelope...that's what's so great about Papertrey...the whole matchy-matchy thing.  Okay, it doesn't hurt that they have the cutest stamps EVER and a ridiculously talented design team!...not that I'm envious or anything...I swear, I look at those blogs and feel like a Kindergartener...in a cast....with a blindfold on...using broken scissors...you get the idea!  :)

Breakfast recipe...

Okay, so the slacking continues...but, at least here's a copy of the recipe for that yummy French Toast Casserole my mom makes.  Maybe I'll even get the other egg-y/potato-y one posted this weekend...


FRENCH TOAST BAKE ~ from Lucy's baby shower

1/2C  melted butter

1&1/2 C  brown sugar

1t  cinnamon

8-12 pieces 
white bread 

8-9 eggs, beaten

1&1/2 to 2 C milk



Cover 9x13 pan w/butter. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon, then mix with butter in the dish. Layer the bread in the dish, then put a second layer on top of the first. Mix beaten eggs and milk, then pour over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 55-60 min. To serve, turn upside down and cut into squares.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

I miss the Lido Deck!

No particular reason...but I'm having one of those days where I miss Cruise Ship Living (yes, that does need capitalization!) !  I miss the Lido Deck, the taco bar and hamburgers in the corner, sitting in the lounge chair reading while Connor swims, someone bringing me drinks with umbrellas....it's a fantasy world really...


and I miss it!  Right now, I'd gladly trade my husband for the cabin steward who magically makes clean linens appear, whisks dirty items off the floor, and leaves chocolates and a towel monkey on my freshly made  bed....I think I need to go buy a lottery ticket!!  :)

Monday, August 31, 2009

Ummm....Is this tacky or funny?!?

So my poor mother in law, who already has more than her share of problems, got sent home Friday from the hospital and quarantined to her house for 5 days.  Why you ask?  Okay, look at the bag and take a guess...it's okay, I'll wait for it...



Yup...Swine Flu...okay...to be politically correct, it's H1N1...but really...is that cute on a bag? I don't think so.  So I put together some goodies...a box of tissues, yummy smelling Bath & Body Works antibacterial soap, a mason jar of cough drops and another of chocolate (you've got to treat the psychological effects too  :P), some cans of soup, ginger ale...you get the picture.  Anyway, I had this big pink bag to put it in.  So, I couldn't send it over plain could I?  How does a plain bag make you feel any better?  I put the pig on and decided it was either seriously funny or really mean and twisted...Final conclusion was that my MIL would think it was funny...and laughter is the best medicine right?  Okay, well,  that's what I told myself.
She did like it, and she's feeling better...she's no longer the Queen of Quarantine as of tomorrow.  Okay..I'm back to Baby Shower mass production.  No pictures until after the shower on Saturday...but then there will be an invitation, favor box, diaper cake, silverware wraps, and other assorted cute goodness!  

Have a great week!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Whoever said you can't buy happiness...

never got a box in the mail from Papertrey!!  Colorful ribbon, amazing images, endless possibilties....isn't that in Webster's as the definition of happiness?!?




Okay...so that photo is actually last month's box...but what's a little creative license among blog-buddies?  :)  My delivery this month came about an hour before I had to be at a PTA meeting...but I couldn't stand it!  I had to ink something up IMMEDIATELY!!




Okay, so this is not the cutest card ever...but look at that little spider!  Have you EVER seen a more adorable arachnid?  I don't think so!!  I can't wait to have some time this weekend to sit down and make a proper mess in my craft cubby!!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Ahhh...The joys of mass production

One of my PTA chair jobs this year was to take the First Day of School pictures for all of the new Kindergarteners. It's a great tradition at Shoal Creek that on the first day of school, each Kindergartener goes home with a picture taken of them in their class or with the class mascot. Before I took over, the photo holder was a little...ummm...utilitarian.  Simple?!?  One layer?!?  Computer generated?!?  That is just NOT how I roll!  :)

I do have to admit that last year's folder just about killed me!  120 folders with rounded corners on the folder AND on the mat...do the math...that's 1440 punches (the folders had a front and back like a card) with my corner rounder...have you lost my mind?????  So this year I was a little more conscience of my hands when I designed them...and I took people up on it when they offered to help (Thank you Kim and Aubrey !!)  


Here's a look at the pre-production accents.  Stamping and punching all 110 of them only took about an hour and the gracious Wetker girls cut out those red apples (while I was lounging on the Lido Deck!)    The cutting and pasting was a snap and our budget for 110 of the folders and duplicate pictures of all the Kindergarteners was only about $50.



Here's what the finished product looked like...okay, maybe that adorable Kindergarten picture is from a few years ago...but it is my blog!  I may be a  little biased, but I can't help it if he's the most handsome boy  I've ever made a frame for :)

Mt. Carmel has a football scrimmage tonight.  Wish them luck...and hope that Sanford doesn't hurl on the field!! :)  Man...am I a supportive wife or what?!?  :P

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Butterfly Birthday Card


Here's a card I made ages ago for a friend's birthday...I think I used one of Dawn McVey's color challenges...The whole Raspberry Fizz/Scarlett combo is soooo not something I would do on my own!


I HAD to have the Papertrey Butterfly Kisses set.  It makes me happy every time I look at it...and I'm not really all that into butterflies.  I just love how the butterflies each have a corresponding stamp that you can use to make the background all matchy-matchy...I'm a GIANT fan of the matchy-matchy!!!  The diamond glaze must not have been completely dry when I took the picture...because that nasty white cloud was NOT on the wing when I mailed the card!




I always make cutesy matching envelopes, but  I don't usually do anything special inside of cards.  I really like this...I should do it more often!!  

Blog more later!
Have a great Tuesday!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

First Day of Third Grade


Connor started Third Grade today...Holy Smack!!  Where has the time gone?    Just this summer he seems to have shot up 6 inches and lost all trace of little boy.  He was thrilled with who he got for a teacher and is looking forward to being a third grader.




Here he is with his new teacher, Mrs. Lee.





This is a little garland I made for him to celebrate the first day of school...there are just a couple of cricut-ed images and some of the photos I took this morning.





Here's a school bus...I love this image from the DoodleCharms cartridge!





Just a little note...




and here's the apple from DoodleCharms...I use this apple allllllllll the time.  This is one of the cartridges that I go to on a regular basis.  I love how all the images look exactly how I would make them if I paper pieced them from scratch (if I was artistic :P )...I think I'll save the apple and bus until Teacher Appreciation week and we can use them to decorate Mrs. Lee's door...ahhh, the joys of recycling completely worthless crafty goodness!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Treat Bags

So, this year for Connor's birthday, our plan was to take Connor and a few boys to Boomers in the morning and be home in time for him to go to Cub Scout camp at 1:00.  Well...one week before his birthday, when I finally got around to checking what time Boomer's opened, I realized we were going to have a slight problem.  Boomer's doesn't open until noon.  Oops!  I asked Connor what we should do.  He decided that he's like a real party instead.  Okaaaaay...seven day notice...middle of summer vacation...mother who is beyond uptight...probably not the best combo.  We ended up at Nickle City and it was GREAT!  We only invited people that we could call and who had a good sense of humor  :)  !  I booked the party, invited the people, made a list of snacks we'd need, ordered the cake, and made the goodie bags.  The night before the party, Connor told me he also wanted to take treats in to the boys at Cub Scout camp...having a summer birthday, he's always missed out on taking treats to school.  What could I say?  He's an only child.  It seemed a reasonable request.  It was actually nice because with no notice, I didn't feel pressured to churn out anything special...plus as long as there is sugar involved, 8 year old boys are happy :)


Here are the cookies in all their glory...I stuffed them into Party City cello bags, punched out some shapes, stamped a title, and tied a bow....24 bags in about  45 minutes...I kind of like the whole low stress, low expectations thing....




I just used a big circle punch and a big star punch for the tag...an aMuse stamp and cheap curly ribbon...I paid about $2.50 for the bags and the rest was scrap...Yeah!!  :)




Here are the treat bags for the party.  I bought the bags at Michael's, did a little stamping, spent 20 minutes with the Cricut, used up a ton of scrap paper, and poof...there were 11 personalized gift bags!




Here they are all together (no, we're not in jail, just at Nickle City).  I have to say that the one week notice thing made for a MUCH less stressful party planning experience.  Who knew?!?  Less pressure to perform I guess...Do you think I can plan on having a spontaneous party again next year?  I guess it doesn't quite work that way!!