Dusk Flutter, October Card Swap

It's that time of the month where I get to share the card I made for my Card Swap group. October's theme was add an ATC to the front of your card. I have always admired ATC (Artist trading Cards) but I have not made one before. I even have a stamp for the back of my card that says ATC and you fill out the artist name, name of design & 1 of 10 (or, how ever many you are making). ATC are passed out and traded similar to a calling card.

My design is two part. Since we added the ATC to the card front I wanted it to be removeable. However, that was not a guideline for the swap. The only guideline was the ATC had to be the standard size of 2.5x3.5! My ATC is secured onto the card by slits in the card front and under the ATC is a surprise ...


To make the slits in the card I used my Basic Grey handle notch & die cutting tool. Something when it first came out I HAD to have! But, rarely ever use. Hmmmm, I need to put some wear on it. Anyways, it is an easy tool to use. I rarely think of using it tho. It was perfect for this card.

Most supplies used to make this card are from Stampin up! Ink, card stock, stamp sets & embosslit.

Painted Pottery

A month ago Zachary and I went back to our favorite spot to paint pottery. We have lots of ideas for gifts from the painted pottery store so I'll have to wait to share most of the ones we created until after Christmas but, this particular plate we made for Zachary to give Santa cookies on Christmas Eve.

Hopefully it is obvious what we did. But, just in case, Zachary's precious hand is Santa's beard. And, the rim of the plate is Santa's belt. The words on the plate say: "Dear Santa, Enjoy the cookies. Merry Christmas. Love, Zachary."

I didn't take a picture of the back of the plate. However, we did paint the back to look like a candy cane with red and white stripes. I love to cover ever inch of the pottery with designs or paint!

Christmas is near! Christmas is near!

Thanks for visiting, have a GREAT day!

Halloween Cards

I've had so much fun with the Stampin' Up Howl-o-ween stamp set. I made two different Halloween cards (and, a treat bag I'll show you another day). The set has the cutest "scary" figures. They make me laugh when I look at them. They are so ugly they are cute.



Thanks for visiting!
Happy Halloween!!

Burlap

Don't you just love fall?! I am enjoying it so much. Having Zachary, my son has helped me get into the spirit of decorating. And, to me Burlap screams FALL!! I love the texture and the worn look of it!

I decided to spruce up my handmade $1store hurricanes with a burlap wrap!



Also, while I had the burlap and hot glue gun out I created a new style (to me) of flower to top the hurricane wrap with. And, two extra flowers out of the Stampin' UP! Designer Fabric to use on top of gift wrap. I totally can see that I will be wrapping a few gifts in brown craft paper and top it with one of these adorable burlap flower bows!

Hmmm...wonder what else I can do with all this left over burlap?!

Tea Wallet, Sewing

Ever since my obsession with tea started I do my very best to keep tea bags in my purse, especially in the winter cold months! Now I have a handy dandy way to keep them organized and close at hand!

Check out this easy peasy tea wallet!!! OMG(squared)

This was my first attempt at making the wallet. And, it was pretty simple to do. However, I have learned a few lessons with them and when I get busy creating more (yep) I have some more ideas on how to make it just a little better. But, for now, this tea wallet will make me VERY happy!!

Candy Zipper Bag

OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG!!! Okay, Okay, Okay...so, can you tell I'm excited about this delicious zipper bag? Years ago I saw someone selling these handy bags at a local fair. I wondered how in the world did they do it?! I found instructions and set out to accomplish the task. Halloween is approaching so this candy zipper bag seems very appropriate :))

Supplies needed:
2 candy bags
7-9" zipper
Iron on Vinyl
iron
liner fabric
sewing machine

I do need to confess I broke 4 sewing machine needles making this tiny itty bitty bag. It has been YEARS since I attempted to sew anything other than paper. It took me awhile to figure out the settings on my machine, thread the bobbin, etc. And, I don't think I have sewed a zipper on since high school. Needless to say I am grateful I had a stash of extra machine needles laying around.

The next time I make this candy bag, yes, there will most certainly be a next time, I will use the bigger bags of candy. I found the personal size bag to be too small for my inexperienced hands. I am collecting candy wrappers & candy bags to give this crafty project another try! I hope to be a pro at them before I am over it and moving on to my next obsession.

The bag does end up looking wrinkly after all the sewing and pulling inside out. But, the vinyl protects the bag from getting torn. Total cuteness!!

SU Hostess Club, October Projects

Hello! Just last night we had our latest SU Hostess Club October meeting. And, I created a Christmas Card Shaker box & Halloween Treat Bag projects. We had so much fun catching up with each other and getting our crafty on.

The NEW Stampin' Up! Mini Catalog is full of great ideas and a bunch of new products! One of them being the new foam circle Shaker Frames. It has been ages since I myself have made a shaker box for a scrapbook or card. So, it was fun pulling out these new shaker frames to make the Christmas Card below.

The foam frames make the technique a real breeze to do!

Also, we made these treat bag toppers using the NEW SU 1x8 cellophane bags. And, my beloved "howl-o-ween Creeps stamp set. A-Dor-ABLE!! The treat bag design is right out of the mini catalog.

Tea Cup, Bird Feeder/Bath

OMG, this little crafty project was soooo very easy to do! And, I LOVE it so! Is it because I love birds? Is it because I love tea? Or, is it because it was easy?! OMG, hmmm... ALL the above!!

The only supplies needed were...
decorative wooden post
tea cup & Saucer
hand saw (yes, I used it all by myself)
glass glue

The wooden post I purchased was already painted white. The only prep work I did to it was saw off the nodule on the top to give me more surface area to glue to my saucer. I let the glue cure for 48 hours and now it sits in a pot on my deck. Eventually it will make it down stairs into my garden. But, until then I can't wait to capture a picture of a bird using my handmade tea cup bird bath.

Fabric Covered Brick, Doorstop

Christmas is fast approaching and I'm on the search for handmade gift ideas. With the help of the coolest site on the internet, I have been collecting ideas and supplies for weeks! I'm slowly making way through my pin board "to do" list.

I remember my grandmother having doorstops throughout her house. Hers were covered in fabric and the toppers were decoarted with needlework. The one I made isn't so elaborate but I enjoyed walking down memory lane as I put this fabric covered brick together.

Did you know Stampin' UP! has fabric?! I have been hoarding one of the SU Designer Fabric sets. It was finally time for me to put it to use. I have since made quite a few crafty projects with it. And, I will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks.

The covered brick was so easy it is shameless! It required the following supplies:
glue gun
fabric, I used SU Designer Fabric in Springtime vintage
Double sided InnerFuse fusible interfacing
Iron

Also, while I had everything out & handy, I made a fabric flower broach too:

The center of the flowers are Stampin' Up! accents.