You're My Person

Today I have a quick and easy card to share with you.  It's another card where I let my background paper do my work for me.  I mean when you're in a pinch and need to create a card quickly why not take this route?

That being said, for this card I used the Stone Age file from Marjorie Ann Designs and chose to piece together the Pebbles character.  

The background paper is from the DCWV mat stack title the Kidosaurus Stack.

The stamped sentiment is from the Craftin Desert Divas stamp set titled Happy Thoughts.

Halloween, Snoopy Style

I have not really gotten into much of the Halloween spirit quite yet.  Not that I've ever been that big a fan.  It's more my husband's holiday than mine, but over the years I've started crafting more for it.  But like I said, the mood just hasn't really hit me yet.

Although I have made my first Halloween card.   This one features that adorable cool cat, Snoopy.  He's part of the Spooky Village set by Marjorie Ann Designs.

My stamped sentiment is from the Cardz Tv Stamps set titled Frankly Frightful.

Tic Tac Drink, Nightmare Style

Last year I made a few different tic tac drink games using glass cutting boards and dessert glasses from the Dollar Tree.  I had made a couple different Harry Potter styles, Star Wars and even an Army vs. Navy.  But then I was at a loss as for what other theme to use for my last set.  I thought about a DC Comic hero vs. villain.  However I changed my mind as I didn't want to use just one hero and one villain and that could become messy.

Eventually I settled on a Nightmare Before Christmas theme.  Deciding what characters to use for the shot glasses was easy.  It was deciding what I'd do for the tic tac toe board that was the hard part.  After much thinking the idea hit me to use a skeleton arm and hand as my board diagram.

I went searching through the various skeleton designs in the Silhouette Design Store, and found the perfect skeleton by Amy Robinson here.  I welded the different bones for the arm and hand together and sized them for what I needed to create my board.  

Now the hard part was adhering the vinyl to the glass board.  Needless to say, if I ever make another one of these I will cut the four different lines separately and adhere accordingly.

As for the images of Oogie Boogie, Zero and the Jack and Sally I used in the center - those were images I found from a search that I traced in my Silhouette software.

Walking Dead Christmas Ornament

We might be two months away from the start of season 8, but it's never too early to make some Walking Dead swag for Christmas.  (The new season starts October 22nd to be exact.)

When I was playing with my alcohol inks I decided to play around with some yellow and red which gave me a perfect canvas for this ornament.  After all the Walking Dead is all about slashing those zombies while our lovable characters fight to survive.  And so the run of red kinda reminded me of that which is why I chose to create a Walking Dead ornament with this one.

The file that I used for this ornament is one that was shared in one of my Facebook groups, and is a personal use only file.  It's the second Walking Dead ornament I've made and in case you missed it, you can view my first one here.  That particular ornament featured Rick and Carl so of course this time I had to feature Daryl.  

What do you think?  Perfect gift for a Walking Dead fan?  

Skelegro Potion Bottle

The Skelegro potion is an awful tasting potion that caused lost/vanished bones to regrow in a slow and painful process.  So goes the story in the Harry Potter world.

It's been a while since I've created a Harry Potter project, but when I found these awesome skeleton bottles in the Halloween décor at Michaels I knew exactly what to do.  They're great bottles made from a polyresin and measures approximately 9 inches in height.  And while it's not the exact design of the original Skelegro bottle it's probably as close as I'll get.  At least for a bottle that I can buy and alter myself.

Once home with my new potion bottle I turned to our friend Google search (actually I use Bing) and began searching for the Skelegro label.   There were quite a few out there and I had to look at pictures I took of the Potions for All Afflictions shop in the Wizarding World at Harry Potter to make sure I chose the right one.  You see this is where I could be even more authentic in my recreation of the potion bottle.

After finding the accurate label I opened the picture in my Silhouette software, traced and created the cut file I needed.  Now the trick was to cut those silly words out in the size I needed and not lose any of them in the weeding process.  After all the space I had to work with for my label was 2 inches wide by 2 1/2 inches tall.

Using my Oracle 651 vinyl, it took two different cuts and a couple play arounds with sizing of each line, but I got it.  And now I have a great, fun new potion bottle to add to my collection.

Cinderella's Slipper

Have you seen the recently released At Midnight file by Marjorie Ann Designs?  If you love all things princess this is a must have addition to your paper piecing stash.

While this particular file has your favorite Cinderella princess, prince charming and fairy godmother, it also includes Cinderella's carriage and glass slipper.  Oh and let's not forget the castle or pumpkin.  With so many great options in this file it was hard to decide which image to play with first.  But as you can see I finally settled on the glass slipper.

Since glass slippers are just that.  Glass.  I decided to use a scrap of vellum I had for the slipper image.  I love the way that it turned out as it gives that sheer image you would expect of a glass slipper.

The sentiment I used for this card is from the Jaded Blossom stamp set titled Enchanted. 

To finish off my card I decided to add a couple of stream colored skittles from DoubleClick Connections.  There's just something about those skittles that I love and you can bet that I'll use them every chance I get.

Christmas Carolers

I have another quick and easy ornament to share with you today.  I decided that this year I would try using the alcohol ink rather than glitter method for my ornaments.  If you've never used alcohol ink for your ornaments check out the video how to here.  It's so simple that you'll be asking yourself why you didn't try it sooner......at least I did when I saw how easy it was.

When Silhouette was running their Christmas in July store this Carolers Silhouette file by Hero Arts was one of the many files that I purchased.  It's a fun file, easy to cut and absolutely perfect for this alcohol inked ornament.

Little Biker Man

After a couple months of my heat press being "packed up" I was finally able to break it out and play again.  Because it had been so long I was actually nervous about using it.  I had to remind myself about how to cut my heat transfer vinyl and what settings to set my press for.  Something that I used to be able to do without even thinking.

Fortunately I didn't have to think too hard and getting back into the swing of using my heat press was much easier than I anticipated.  Thank goodness too because I've been holding on to this awesome Biker Pack file from Apex Cuttables just waiting to create a little boy's tee with it.  

This amazing file has five different designs and each one of them are just as cute as ever.  I love the way that this particular design pops on this baseball tee.  Those red sleeves and this great little biker go so well together don't you think?  

I love this one so much that I need to go buy a few more tees so I can cut the other designs and create a complete line of little boy biker tees.

Rock Painting

So I thought I'd try something new - again.  Over the past few months I've noticed a growing trend in painting rocks.  First it was just in my FB group Universal Studios Annual Passholders.  But then one of my friends started sharing pictures almost daily. 

And then my son and I each found a rock.  Well that meant I had to join some group on FB so that I could post pictures letting the painter know that we found them.

Being in that group meant that I had to start checking out pictures on Pintrest.  That lead to my husband and I both being on the lookout for rocks that I could paint.

Are you seeing how this all "snowballed"?  😀

Seriously though.  I just decided one day to start playing around and paint a couple of rocks to see how I'd like it.  Of course they looked like a child painted them.  After all I am not a painter.  But I still hid them and started painting my next set.  To this day I don't know if those first ones were ever found.  All I can do is imagine someone without a computer or FB did find them and are enjoying them somewhere.

Since my first attempt at painting rocks I've bought new brushes and paints.  I hear some people use markers and sharpies but if I'm going to paint a rock I'd rather just 'paint' it.  I've improved a little but really it's about having fun.  It's been a great new outlet just sitting there thinking about nothing but painting that silly rock that someone will hopefully enjoy.

How about you?  Have you tried painting and hiding rocks yet? 

Jurassic Layout

Today I have a layout to share with you.  I still have so many pictures from out trip to Universal Studios that need to be scrapbooked.  And yes, that's after I've already filled up one book.  I guess that's what happens when you visit your favorite place every year.

This layout features pictures that my husband and I took when we visited the Jurassic Park section of Universal Studios.  Tucked in between Camp Jurassic and the Discovery Center is an area where you can meet a 9 foot tall raptor.  It's a fun non-ride experience and we do it every time we go.

So for my layout I thought it would be fun to use pieces from the Dinosaur Park file by Marjorie Ann Designs.  Mix in some fun dinosaur background paper from the DCWV Kidosaurus Stack and you have a winning layout.

It's a Chicken Thing

Chickens and kitchens are a pairing that I've seen around off and on for a long time.  So when I ran across this Hei Hei inspired embroidery sketch from Thanks for the Adventure I had to add it to my stash.

Lately I've been stitching out towels for Christmas.  And those towels have been stitched on a waffle weave style towel.  Well this time I decided to do it all completely different.  This time I stitched out my rooster on a flour sack towel.

Now I'm not sure how I feel about these flour sack towels, but there are people out there who just love them.  Or so I'm told.  😀  So I figured why not.

All in all I do love the way that he stitched out.  The colors of thread I used are not 100% accurate but I used the closest colors I had.  But then isn't that what "inspired" is all about?  Taking the real thing and creating something based on it?  Either way I'm loving how the colors I used pop against each other on that white background.  And maybe next time I'll come up with some clever saying I can add to the design....

Snowballs in August?

I thought I'd venture out and try something new again.  I mean, why not?  Especially since I've toyed with trying this for some time now. 

Several years ago when I bought my first embroidery machine I came across a pattern for creating Snowman Snowballs.  The Embroidery Garden is the company that sells them and I first heard about them when I purchased a copy of Designs in Machine Embroidery back in December of 2012.  In that magazine was an article that featured a Nativity Flameless Tealight Cover set.

Since then I've often visited her website, looking at her various patterns but always too afraid to try them.  Until now........

Armed with some white fleece, the Snowman Snowballs Set 2, a sewing and embroidery machine I set off to stitch out a couple of these snowballs that have haunted me for so long.  And now that I've completed these three I'm left scratching my head wondering why I was so afraid give them a try.

They're definitely a bit larger than I expected but that's okay.  Now I just need to decide if I want to make little hats for their heads or just leave them as they are.  I'm thinking I'll leave most of them as they are and when I get more made I'll look for a bucket that I can package some of them with and then just sell others individually.  In a town where we never see snow these are bound to be a hit. 😉

It's a Hero Thing

I love it when I can combine my love for papercrafting along with my love for embroidery.  Today's project is just such a combination.

A while back I added the Little Heroes file from Marjorie Ann Designs to my stash.  And over the course of a month I created three other such card and burp cloth sets featuring Superman, Batman and Captain America.  But today, I get to share a set featuring the Hulk.

The stamp set I used for this card is from the Jaded Blossom stamp set titled Super Hero (same set as the revamped, but before it was 'revamped').

For the burp cloth, I used the recently released Hulk applique from Stinkin Cute Applique.  He was absolutely fun and easy to stitch together and I tell ya her designs just keep getting better and better.

Since my other heroes were stitched on a cloud print flannel I decided to stitch my Hulk on the same print.  It's a flannel print that I found at Hobby Lobby and is appropriately called cloud print. I think this is one of my favorite flannels that I have found for use with my burp cloths.

And there you have it.  Another collision of two of my favorite crafts.

Peter Pan Burp Cloth

I'm not gonna lie.  I love Peter Pan.  Not that I'm a fanatic about the cartoon, but I love the story and characters.  And so whenever I get a chance to create a craft that features Peter Pan or one of his companions I jump at it.

(Did you see the lantern or night lights I made last year?)

Today I have another burp cloth that I've made and this time it features the delightfully fun Peter Pan himself.  The Peter Pan sketch is another inspirational design created by Thanks for the Adventure.  Just like all the other designs I've stitched out he stitched beautifully.

Now I just need to decide what I want to stitch on the remaining 10 or so cloths that I need to finish....

Tiana Sketch Baby Dress

It's been a while since I've embroidered on an article of clothing.  I'm still not that comfortable with it as I have difficulty placing clothes on my hoop.  But when it comes to doing these little baby dresses it's not so bad since I can just place the stitching at the bottom of the dress.

And so today I share with you the last of the baby dresses I have on hand.  I had purchased several of these cap sleeve dresses in different sizes, and colors, from Hobby Lobby.   The smaller ones up to about 6 or 9 months were perfect, but I discovered that the one year dresses had an issue with the opening for the head.  I had one I made for my granddaughter that I could not get to fit over her head.  To remedy that I had to cut a slit and create a button hole.  Needless to say, I reached out to corporate about the issue and they said they'd look into it.  Either way I won't be buying anymore of the larger sized dresses.  Too risky.  The shirts they sell though have been wonderful and I will be working with more of those in the near future.

For this dress I found this great sketch of Tiana over at Thanks for the Adventure.  Since I had just made a greeting card with Tiana I thought I'd make a little dress too.  I have always loved how beautifully these sketches stitch out and this one was no exception.

Princess Tiana - You're Awesome

Today I'd like to introduce you to the latest princess in my Princess themed card collection.  This beautiful princess file is from Marjorie Ann Designs and is titled A Princess and Her Frog.

When I first saw this file I just fell in love with it.  The princess is absolutely gorgeous in her green shimmery gown.  Of course I was out of shimmery paper so I had to create my own shimmer by using my white gel pin to add some accents of white pops.

But oh, up against that background paper I found in my Once Upon a Time stack by DCWV I think she pops even better.  The picture doesn't really do my card much justice but if you could see it in real life you'd be able to see all the shimmer of the lily pads on the background paper.  I mean, really how perfect was it that I found a lily pad print paper for this princess?  

And my stamped sentiment?  Well that's from Jaded Blossom's stamp set titled Super Hero 2.

And with that I am off to enter my card into the following challenge:

Friendship - Cut it Up - Ends August 9th

Thing Two Burp Cloth

Can you believe that today is August 1st?  That means it's just 52 more days until Fall begins and 146 until Christmas.  So for those of you that participate in the craft shows that means our time for getting ready is about over.  My first show for the season is always Oktoberfest and that comes one week after Fall begins.

As you've probably guessed by now I'm trying to fill a different niche this year.  While people love homemade greeting cards and such they don't sell very well in my area.  Since I had played around with embroidery a couple years back my husband decided it was time to give it another whirl, and so he bought me a new machine.

I'm not quite ready for embroidering clothes yet.  Goodness knows I've tried.  Some have turned out and others have failed.  Either way I'll continue to try as I grow and learn.  For now though I'm enjoying other projects - like baby burp cloths.

When my children were little I quickly realized I could never have enough burp cloths, and the same rang true with my granddaughter.  It was this aha moment that prompted me to find a nice sewing pattern that I could use for making my own cloths rather than using diapers or other style blanks.  I wanted something unique and all my own.  

Now that I've told you my story, I share with you another burp cloth I've created.  As with all my burp cloths I use a pattern I found from Simplicity, pattern 2924.  It has a lot of great baby accessories and perhaps I need to begin making some of them too.

I loved the way that my Thing One burp cloth turned out last week so I decided to use the same flannel fabric for Thing Two.  It's a nursery flannel with Grey Baby Words that I purchased from Joann's.  In between my flannel is a cotton batting that is perfect for that extra absorbency.

The Thing Two applique is from Stinkin Cute Applique.  It's a relatively new shop on Etsy that has some really cute designs.  I've stitched out several of them now and they just keep getting better and better.  So if you like to do embroidery you should really check out their shop.