Just Stinkin' Cute!

Good morning! Last weekend I got this surge of energy to clean. In doing that, it also gave me some crafty mojo! Since I spent all Saturday evening cleaning, I decided to spend Sunday crafting. A few weeks back I had ordered this stamp set from Unity Stamp Company. As soon as I got it, I stamped out a ton of the images and colored them up! So last Sunday, I sat down and made four cards using the poo images and two cards from my Jars of Love set from Stampin Up! online class (by Robyn Cardon). I also did my Project Life scrapbooking for May, June, & July!!! Talk about feeling accomplished!! Lol So without further rambling, here are pics of the stamp set and all the cards I made. I've "censored" them because I don't want to offend anyone. :)

Jar of Love Thank You card

Hello!! About a month ago I signed up for an online class that was offered by a Stampin Up! demonstrator. The kit for this class included the Jar of Love stamp set, framelets, 2 ink pads (with an option to add a third), materials to make 6 cards, and a link to a private tutorial video showing how to make the cards. I got my kit and fell in love!!! I haven't made the cards shown in the video but it did give me inspiration. I need to make a whole bunch of thank you cards. Since I need them in a large quantity, I wanted something simple but still cute and thoughtful. I took sheets of Neenah Bright White card stock and cut them to 4 x 5 1/4. For my image, I stamped the baby's breath in Memento: Toffee Crunch, the stems in Memento: Bamboo Leaves, the jar and thanks sentiment in Memento: Tuxedo Black, the water in Stamin Up!: Soft Sky, & the flowers were stamped in Stampin Up!: Calipso Coral & Real Red. I only use the framelets to cut out the flowers. I just used a little Tobow Multi Mono Liquid Glue to adhere them. I thin realized that I didn have enough colored card stock to make all the card bases the same so I decided to just make the first one for a special friend. I took a piece of blue 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and cut it in half. I scored it down the middle, folded it and rounded the corners, I rounded the corners of one of my images and adhered it with ATG. For the rest of my cards, I picked up a few 12 packs of card bases/envelopes from Walmart.

Jar of Love Thank You card

Hello!! About a month ago I signed up for an online class that was offered by a Stampin Up! demonstrator. The kit for this class included the Jar of Love stamp set, framelets, 2 ink pads (with an option to add a third), materials to make 6 cards, and a link to a private tutorial video showing how to make the cards. I got my kit and fell in love!!! I haven't made the cards shown in the video but it did give me inspiration. I need to make a whole bunch of thank you cards. Since I need them in a large quantity, I wanted something simple but still cute and thoughtful. I took sheets of Neenah Bright White card stock and cut them to 4 x 5 1/4. For my image, I stamped the baby's breath in Memento: Toffee Crunch, the stems in Memento: Bamboo Leaves, the jar and thanks sentiment in Memento: Tuxedo Black, the water in Stamin Up!: Soft Sky, & the flowers were stamped in Stampin Up!: Calipso Coral & Real Red. I only use the framelets to cut out the flowers. I just used a little Tobow Multi Mono Liquid Glue to adhere them. I thin realized that I didn have enough colored card stock to make all the card bases the same so I decided to just make the first one for a special friend. I took a piece of blue 8 1/2 x 11 card stock and cut it in half. I scored it down the middle, folded it and rounded the corners, I rounded the corners of one of my images and adhered it with ATG. For the rest of my cards, I picked up a few 12 packs of card bases/envelopes from Walmart.

Crochet owl

Hello everyone! I'm so excited about my owl! My niece is obsessed with them so I searched YouTube for "how to crochet an owl" and came across this tutorial from a channel that I follow. The channel is Stitch Stitch Boom. I tweeted the pattern a tiny bit (on accident lol) but I still think it came out so cute!! I just used yarn that I had on hand (I have quite a bit) and two buttons I had in my hoard stash that I got from a now retired shop. The tutorial was super simple to follow! I encourage you to try it!!

Crochet owl

Hello everyone! I'm so excited about my owl! My niece is obsessed with them so I searched YouTube for "how to crochet an owl" and came across this tutorial from a channel that I follow. The channel is Stitch Stitch Boom. I tweeted the pattern a tiny bit (on accident lol) but I still think it came out so cute!! I just used yarn that I had on hand (I have quite a bit) and two buttons I had in my hoard stash that I got from a now retired shop. The tutorial was super simple to follow! I encourage you to try it!!

Operation Valentines

In my binge YouTube watching, I came across a video that mysisterscrapper posted about Valentine cards that she was making for a great cause I'm Mel B's channel. It's called Operation Valentines. Here is a link to Mel's video. This really got me excited!! I jumped up and ran to my craft room and got some ideas! I have a cute stamp set from SP&Co called "Candy Hearts". Now I've been watching a lot of Kristina Warner & Sandy Allnock. They use Neenah card stock for their Copic coloring and it just so happens that my Walmart has started carrying it. So I bought a pack to test it out. So I grabbed a sheet, stamped a bunch of hearts Using Memento ink in "Tuxedo Black", & colored them with my Copic markers.

I have to say that coloring the small ones seemed fine but when I colored the bigger ones, it didn't seem like the color went on very smooth. Anyhow, I spent about an hour doing all the stamping and coloring then it was most definitely time for bed! So after I awoke this morning and got some housework done, I sat down to start cutting (I don't have a die for the hearts). It took me about two and a half hours!! This included stopping to walk the dogs and put away laundry.

I used my memento marker to clean up the edges. Then I went to my paper stash and found a yellow paper that I liked. I used the 1/2 inch side of my corner chomper just on the bottom corners of the card and patterned paper. Then I used my Tombow multi wet glue (also new to my Walmart) to adhere the hearts to the card. The sentiment on the front of the card is from another SP stamp set called "Love Rocks" and the inside sentiment is from the candy heart set. They are both stamped in Ranger Archival ink in "Red Geranium".

Now all I have to do is wait for Mel to email me back with her address so I can send them to her! I really enjoyed making these cards knowing that they were going to a great cause!!

First cards of 2016

One of my goals is to have more cards on hand! Last weekend we were "snowed in" (we could have left the house, it really wasn't bad) so I decided to use the day to make some cards! I tootled around on Cricut Design Space and found a bunch of images. I created a few card bases and loose images. The great thing is it is all stored on my CDS account so I can recreate them if needed! Here are the five that I completed!

So far so good!!

So I have to say that I am VERY proud of myself! So far I have kept up with everything pretty well! I'm striving to put things away as I finish using them. I have made it a point to put EVERYTHING in my planner and check them off as I do them! I've started writting out all my bills on the "morning" section of my payday so that I can sit down THAT evening and pay them all. Once I've paid it, I check it off. Once it clears the bank, I draw a line in it! I use little post its for reacurring things like checking ads, making cards, or ordering pics. I used a Scentsy star punch and some red glitter washi to mark days that I need to look at the daily layout. I've also kept up with laundry!! When it comes out of the dryer, it gets put away!!! I feel so much better each day coming home from work, knowing that I just may need to tidy up and then can relax! I've watched the CHA videos and ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT WAIT for the new Happy Planner stuff!!

2016 Goals

Happy new year!! I failed at accomplishing my 2015 goals but I'm going to try even harder this year! Last year I wanted to be more organized, keep up with my scrapbooking, spend less money, make more cards and build up my Scentsy inventory. Scentsy is the only thing that I really succeeded on lol! I have more specific goals this year! Un-crafty related, I want to be a better housekeeper- I need to put the laundry away as soon as it comes out of the dryer. I need to toss the junk mail right away instead of letting it pile up on the table. When I receive an online order, it needs to be put away and the box tossed out.

Use my planner! I want to write all appointments, trip, etc. in my planner! I believe this will help me to not over commit and stress less. I tend to commit to projects and things and not realize how they overlap.

Put things away when I'm done with them or at the end of the day. If I haven't finished a project, I leave all my supplies laying out. I want to try putting everything away each day. Even though I will have to pull it all back out, I think this will help me stay organized.

Use what I have and spend less money. I have loads of paper and embellishments. I need to use up what I have before buying new stuff!

Keep up with my scrapbooking. Maybe not on a weekly basis but I definitely need to scrapbook once a month! I'm going to use the "Collect" app on my phone to help with this!

Make and send more cards! These are just a few cards that I've received over the years. I save every card that is sent to me! I cherish them! I want to be more thoughtful of others and send cards at random, not just for family members birthdays.

This is the BIGGEST! Stop hoarding so much! I save every little scrap of paper! My goal this year is to stop saving all those little 1/8, 1/4, 2 inch strips of paper. If I'm not using it right then and there, it needs to go in the trash!

So what are your goals for this new year? I pray that you all are well, warm, full, and blessed! Happy New Year everyone!

Winter Cleaning!!!

Wow! I was watching my "2015 Goals" video that I posted last year... My craft room was a mess then too! I did get it cleaned up and organized somewhat. But soon let it get out of control again. Over the summer I found a huge leak in the ceiling and had to shove everything into boxes in corners to make way for the repairs. I've started crafting in the dining area because I just don't want to be in my craft room. We moved to a bigger apartment so that I could have a room for crafting and not using it is just not conducive. I'm on vacation this week so I'm cleaning away!! I woke up early Saturday and did some housework. We babysat my niece & nephew after church so the rest of the evening was spent relaxing. Sunday morning I got up and started cleaning bathrooms. My determination must have rubbed off because my husband got out of bed and started cleaning the kitchen! After feeling accomplished we sat down and enjoyed the day together in the living room. When I got up this morning, I started the last load of laundry, vacuumed the apartment then tidied up in the kitchen (dishes from hubby cooking dinner) After taking a break to eat some breakfast, I stood up and opened my craft room door {{{insert scary music here}}}. Once I started, it started to go pretty quick! You may not be able to tell by these pics, but I made A LOT of progress. I can now see my desk(most of it) and I can walk all the way around it. I can also see the counter under the window!! I'm not sure if I'm going to continue or pick it back up tomorrow. I should probably just continue. But at least I've started! I hope everyone is having a great day! It's cold and snowy/icy here.

Homemade Body Scrub

I needed a gift for two friends. I had really wanted to try making my own body scrub so I scoured YouTube lol. I found a very simple recipe with only two ingredients, sugar and coconut oil. That's it! The best thing about this recipe is that it's all natural and edible. So if my friends grandson got his hands on it.... No problem! So to make this, I took two mason jars & filled them with granulated sugar. I put about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of coconut oil in a mixing bowl and microwaved it for about 15-20 seconds just to soften it up. I then dumped both jars of granulated sugar into the bowl and mixed it up real well. The labels I made on my Cricut Design Space software. I just fussy cut them out though. I didn't want to get my machine out. I ran the labels through my Xyron sticker maker and there you have it! A quick, simple, cute Christmas gift!

2015 Christmas Cards

I made all my Christmas cards this year! I did two different designs. The first is an image from Lawn Fawn called "Winter Fox". I colored this image with my Copics as follows: Fox - E50, E51, E53, E97,& E95 for the cheeks. Cup/Coffee - BG11, BG13, BG15, E33, & E35. Scarf - BG23 & B23. I used open stock paper from Hobby Lobby and inked around the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink in "Tea Dye". I also used ribbon from Walmart. I stamped the sentiment on the inside of the card in Memento Ink "Toffee Crunch" (the first stamp pictured below). For the second card, I used an image from a My Favorate Things stamp set called "You Gnome Me". I am SOOOOO proud of my coloring on this one!!! I'm super scared of coloring with red. But he turned out super cute! I used the following Copic markers: skin - E000, E00, & E02. Shirt - C00 & C1. Pants/Hat - R24, R27, R29, & R56. Suspenders- G05, &G09. Beard - W00, W1, W3, & W5. I also used my Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Chrome for the suspender buttons. I used open stock papers from Hobby Lobby. I inked the edges Tim Holtz distress ink in Peeled Paint. I used ribbon from Hobby Lobby and stamped the image inside with Ranger Archival Ink in Geranium. (the second stamp in the image below). I also used a circle die from My Favorite Things called cross stitch.