"Crimson Tide" Elephant Mugs

It's nice to finally be getting back into my craft room after being away for almost two weeks.  I've been out sick, on vacation and then yesterday celebrated my birthday and had the best one I've had in a while.  Not only was I surprised with a fabulous get together with my husband and children but I was also surprised with one of my children moving back home!  Talk about one happy momma - that was definitely me. 

 

Last night after work I sat down at my crafting table and started putting together some of the projects I've had planned for Christmas.  And today, I'm sharing with you my set of "Crimson Tide" Elephant Mugs.  I'm a big Alabama fan, right along with several of my in-laws.  (My husband and his sister are the only Auburn fans in the family.)  So with that being said when I saw this Elephant Alabama Cuttable Design from Apex Cuttables it was a definite must have.  This was so very easy to piece together and I LOVE the way that the design turned out on these white mugs. 

 

I used my go to Oracle 651 glossy vinyl for these mugs.  Not only is it a more "permanent" vinyl but it's more resistant to fading and can withstand the handwashing better than a generic type vinyl.  Now I just need to get some more brown vinyl so I can make some of the ones with the football design.  That's right there's several designs to chose from in this file.  Four total to be exact, and they're all cute as can be.

 

 

And on the flip side of my mug I just had to place the Alabama "A".  As for my mugs, well those came from the Dollar Tree.  Gotta love the deals you can get there. 

 

Now to go get some more of these cuties made....

Beaded Fairy

I made several of these Christmas fairies last year.  Only they were done in the traditional red and green colors.  These days I'm seeing quite a bit of blues, silvers, pinks and other soft/cooler colors as the norm for Christmas decorations.  So with that in mind I decided to make a few of these up in a teal and peak color.

 

I bought this kit years ago from Mary Maxim and now it's no longer available.  A company called The Beadery made this kit and still makes several others.  Over the years I've purchased several of their kits and have always loved how easily the ornaments were to put together.  Thank goodness I saved the patterns so that I'd have them for when I wanted to make more.

 

As for my beads, I buy them from a craft company called Bolek's Craft Supply.  They have great prices and fast shipping.  I've been buying supplies from them for 30 years now and have never been disappointed.

Feel Better Harvey

Perhaps it's because I am under the weather myself but today I have chosen to share a simple get well card with you.  This one is simple because I allowed the pre-made, embossed card blank to do all the background work for me.

 

For this card I used one of the adorable hippos from the Harvey Under the Weather file by Marjorie Ann Designs.  There are six different 'poses' to choose from in this file but I decided on the one with the soup since I've already had chicken noodle soup from Chic-fil-A twice this week.  When I'm not feeling well there is nothing better than their chicken noodle soup.

 

It doesn't show up all that well in picture but I embossed the steam coming off the soup with my swirls embossing folder.  I then lightly brushed some blue ink across the embossing to help the steam stand out somewhat.

 

The stamped sentiment is from the stamp set Tissue Time by Craftin Desert Divas.

Bulbasaur Mugs

Today's project was inspired by a posting I saw in one of my crafting groups.  One of the crafty divas in the group has posted a picture of some coffee mugs she altered to look like various Pokémon characters.  And since some of my boys, my husband and a couple of friends play Pokémon I thought I'd try my hand at making some as well.  But first I had to find colored mugs.

 

My first trip to the store found me a couple of green mugs, so I decided to start my collection off with a couple of Bulbasaur mugs.  Bulbasaur, I have learned, is a grass/poison Pokémon who is part of the seed species and that the "growth" on his back is actually a seed.

 

After doing a google search, I found the image I wanted to use for his face.  I opened the picture in my Silhouette software, selected the image, inverted the colors and then did a trace.  Then using my Oracle 651 from The Vinyl Spectrum vinyl I cut and layered the pieces on the mug.

 

I'm really pleased with how simple this one was to create and hope that I'm able to find other colored mugs so I can have a couple different sets.  And so the search begins.

Snowbuddy Like You

Hello my fellow crafty bloggers.  Today begins another fun Anything Goes Challenge over at Cardz TV.  

 

You have until Thursday, November 24th to be inspired, create, and link up your anything goes masterpiece.  So c'mon and play along with us.  But first let me tell you about my project for today's challenge.

 

I used this cute little snowman with his ornament from the Snowy Christmas file by Marjorie Ann Designs.   I do admit that instead of piecing together the intricate pieces to create the reindeer for the ornament I opted for an easier solution and used printed paper.

 

For my snow covered ground I ripped two pieces of white paper to use as my ground.  I ran these through my Xyron machine and then covered them with two different Martha Stewart glitters - crystal fine and snow.  

 

My sentiment is from the recently released stamp set titled Winter Cheer by Cardz TV Stamps.

 

Now that you've seen my project be sure to the check out the other wonderful designs our team has created for you.  Then create your own, link up and play along for your chance to win a free stamp set.

 

I can't wait to see what you create.

Daddy's Lil Monster

Do you ever have one of those days where you know you want to craft something but you don't know what? I mean you have the supplies and everything sitting in front of you but you think to yourself, "now what"?  I had that experience going on with this last jar I had for turning into a night light.  I've made several of them by now and was running out of ideas for what to put on them so this one just sat. 

 

That is until I found this awesome Halloween Skull Girls file at Apex Cuttable Designs.  Talk about files that are perfect for not only the Halloween fan, but the one who's a bit "goth" or how about someone who loves Harley Quinn?  I mean that's what I thought when I saw the skull I used for today's project.  This would make a perfect Christmas gift don't you think?  I know some of my kids will love it.

 

If you agree, keeping reading because here's how I made my jar night light:

 

I used one of the glass jars that I found at Hobby Lobby.  After wiping down my jar with alcohol I cut out my design using Oracle 651 from Vinyl Spectrum.  I decided to add some verbiage to the design and decided on the verbiage from the T-shirt that Harley Quinn wore in the movie Suicide Squad.  For this I used a font from dafont dot com called Alice and the Wicked Monster.

 

When you peel back the vinyl and weed everything to place on the light be sure to keep the thin heart shape from the eye.  That's what I used for the heart accent just off from the verbiage.

 

Once you have the vinyl adhered to the jar all that's left is to spray a bit of frosted glass on the jar.  I used Rustoleum brand for my project but there others out there that work just as well.  Just remember to clean the jar with a soft cloth.  Immersing in water can damage the finish - especially if there's soap or other agents in the water.

 

To finish off my light I took two strands of fun fur - one red and one blue - and tied them around the top edge.  Add in a small, battery operated tea light candle, and there you have it.

 

A quick, fun gift giving idea just in time for Christmas.

Tiger Baby Dress

My husband is a HUGE Auburn fan so it's no surprise that he wants to buy Auburn clothes for our grandbaby.  But since he bought me a new embroidery machine last month he's been playing with it as much as I have.  Now that's a surprise. 

Today I share with you a little dress that my husband appliqued for our granddaughter.  We found the dress at Hobby Lobby this past week.  Who knew they had baby dresses there?  I mean we knew they had onesies and that's what we were looking for when we found these.  Needless to say we picked up a few in different colors and sizes.

 

The Tiger Baby Girl with Football is from Applique Corner.  They have a wide variety of appliques to offer so if you do embroidery/applique and you haven't checked them out yet you should.

 

The fabric is one of several collegiate prints we picked up in the Applique Collegiate Bundle #1 from TJ's Fabrics.  (I was so excited when I found that the Sewing Center had opened up just down from where I work. Needless to say, that's where the bulk of my purchases are now made.  You can't beat the prices, quality and definitely not the customer service!)

 

The one thing we did not have was a fabric suitable for the football.  So I was again surprised when hubby was adamant that we go off in search for some fabric.  Now this was a Sunday afternoon and that meant that Hobby Lobby and the Sewing Center were both closed.  That left Joann's.  Luckily we found some vinyl upholstery fabric on the red tag rack that was perfect.  And since it was tagged at $9 a yard we bought a yard. 

 

With all fabrics needed now in hand, hubby whipped up this little dress and I could not be more proud.  He did such a wonderful job that I forsee us fighting over who's going to get to use the embroidery machine.  LOL

Easy Loom Knit Infinity Scarf

Today I have an infinity scarf that I'd like to share with you.  This is a scarf that's very easy to knit.

 

For this scarf I used the small, pink, 26 peg long loom.  Using the figure 8 stitch I knitted my scarf to the desired length I wanted for a double wrap infinity scarf.  After binding off the scarf I sewed the seams together and there you have it.

 

Not sure how to do the figure 8 stitch?  You can watch the video here, and she uses the same loom in the video as I used for my scarf.

 

As for the yarn I used, it's a Pink and Gray Rainbow Boucle by Buttercream.

Magical Pencils & Holder

I thought I'd have a little fun - Harry Potter style.  A while back I bought this fun craft book called The Unofficial Guide to Crafting the World of Harry Potter by Jamie Harrington.  There are 30 different fun crafts including Butterbeer Lip Balm (which I'll be making for Christmas gifts), Dementor Soap (which I've played with - be on the look out for that post at a later date), Lumos/Nox light switch cover (you've seen my take on these), Pencil Wands and so much more.

 

Today I'm sharing my pencil wands.   Not only have I made a few of these but I thought it would also be fun to make a holder for them.  I have a couple of  small apothecary style jars that have been sitting on my shelf for weeks just begging for me to do something with them.  Finally it hit me that they were the perfect size for a pencil holder.

 

Using a file from one of my FB groups I created my decal for the jar.  After applying the decal I sprayed the jar with some Rustoleum brand Frosted Glass spray and viola.  I have some fun pencils and a pencil holder to give as a gift to a special Harry Potter fan.

Have Yourself....

 

I decided to sit down with my new embroidery machine and try my hand at towel embroidery.  So starting small I decided to use a blank bar mop style towel and stitch out a fun Christmas design.

 

This design is from the Applique Corner and is called Have Yourself a Merry Christmas Embroidery Design.  For a short time it's on sale with a lot of other great designs.

 

I went with the 6 x 10 design which is over 21,000 stitches.  After attending a stabilizer class with Debbie Homer-Hofhines I learned what stabilizers to use with different fabrics.  I also learned that the number of stitches determines the number of layers of stabilizers needed to support the project.  With that being said, I hooped some Perfect Stick stabilizer and then placed my towel center on the hoop.  I then added a layer of Heat n Gone topping on the top of my towel and floated a piece of tear away stabilizer underneath. 

 

Of course I still have a lot to learn but for now I love the way this stitched out and I can't wait to play with some others.  After all, practice makes perfect.  Lol

Today's Menu

How about another fun, quirky, witty, sarcastic cutting board today?

 

I was scrolling through Etsy when I came across this fun Take It or Leave it Chef file from My Casual Whimsy.  Of course it didn't take long before I purchased the file and got started on cutting the design.

 

I love the way this turned out and if I was brave enough to give it a try I'd try putting this design to canvas or one of the wood signs that are so popular right now.  For now though I'm pretty pleased with how this looks on my cutting board. 

 

And the great thing about this is that it is perfect for so many things so it's great for making projects to give as gifts or for sale at craft fairs.  As for me, I'll probably do a little bit of both.

Holiday Hello

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Now that it's November you're once again going to be seeing quite a few Christmas projects.  Christmas is my favorite holiday and I absolutely love crafting for it.  Not just Christmas themed projects but projects that are perfect for gift giving and whatnot.

 

With that in mind I do have a Christmas card to share with you today.  This is another card in the shaped card series from Marjorie Ann Designs and is called Santa Bear.  I absolutely love her shaped cards and this one was no exception.

 

The sentiment that I used on my card is from the Merry Everything stamp set from Cardz Tv Stamps.

 

Now I'm off to enter my card into the following challenge:

 

Hiding in My Craft Room - Freestyle Challenge - Ends November 5th

Superhero Night Lights

Now that November is here it's time to get cracking on all those Christmas gifts we need to get made.  Some of my boys are die hard comic fans and so when I saw this awesome Superhero file at Apex Cuttables I knew I had to have it.  There are seven heroes included in the file and these are just three of them.

 

The way that these designs are done they'd be perfect for use on glass blocks, jars, car decal, t-shirts (which I hope to be able to do next month) and night lights like I've done.  Why you could even use these to decorate stockings for Christmas.

 

 

These are night lights from the Dollar Tree.  They call them fashion night lights because initially the round cover has a printed graphic.  But with a minimal amount of swirling the cover around in some acetone nail polish and light rubbing with a paper towel or cotton ball, the graphic is easily removed.  After removing the graphic I wash my covers with dish soap and allow to dry.  (IMPORTANT:  Do NOT allow the cover to sit still in the acetone as it will cause the plastic cover to "melt")

 

 

While the covers dry I find the design I want and cut from vinyl.  (I use the permanent Oracal 651 from Vinyl Spectrum) 

 

 

And now I have a fun, made from the heart stocking stuffer item for my boy's this Christmas.  It doesn't get much easier than this.