Katie's Graduation Announcement

I managed to get Katie's announcements done today.....well some of them! LOL. It started out really simple with just the layers of cardstock. Then I added the stamping. I couldn't figure out what to do with the top black square with the limited graduation stamps that I have. So I decided to get my cricut out and cut out the year. At first I was going to rest the cap like a hat on the first 0, but then I got the idea to hang it and take up some of the space below the year. I love that part! LOL Then I added the stars at the bottom, which are brads and the yellow brads at the top. I wanted to spruce up the very bottom so I punched holes along the bottom and added a little dot between each hole with my glitter pen. I put yellow cardstock behind the holes so they would show up nicely. The card looks much better in person. My camera is yucky! LOL What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Recipe Box #2

Here is my other recipe box. I like this one better. This isn't the one I am teaching in my class because the people taking the class don't want the dimension on the top. So this is for my own personal use. This one is made the same way basically. I didn't mat the letters on the front and I cut out extra fruit and raised them with pop dots on the lid. I also added a ball to the top to look like a handle. My dividers will look a little different but I haven't finished those yet. I will post those pics when I get them done. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Star Book

I am teaching a class in June on the star book. I was going to use the other star book that I made but decided that one was too much work for a 2 hour class so I came up with this one. I love the colors!

I used book board for the front and back covers and I used mulberry paper and a glue stick to cover them. The ribbon is attached with red line tape. The stamp on the front is from Hero Arts (my favorite company right now). I used chalk, a glitter pen, and markers on the cover.

On the inside pages, I used a variety of stamps including Hero Arts and Kodomo. I used a lot of different chalk colors around each page. The stamping was done with markers and NOT ink pads so I could get a variation of colors on the stamp. After "coloring" the rubber, I "huffed" to re-moisten the ink and then stamped on the cardstock. I really love how this one turned out. Star books are easy to make. Depending on the size you make them, you can use very little paper. This one is 4x5 because that's what size the book board was. That stuff is really think and hard to cut so I just changed the size of the cardstock.
What do you think? Thanks for stopping by!

Recipe Box

It's been a while since I've posted! Sorry about that! I am anticipating that June is going to slow down for me as far as work goes. At least I hope so! My boss is supposed to come back to work on June 3rd, but I haven't heard from her in three months so we'll see if she does come back! Her vacation was supposed to be 2-3 months long and she is taking the whole 3 months. How nice, huh?

Anyway, I don't want to get started on that whole story! I have managed to make some things during my absence! The only reason I did however, was becuase they are samples for classes! LOL

The first one is this recipe box. I love how it turned out! I found this great box by Darice at Michaels. It's larger than the average recipe box. It will accomodate 5x7 cards. I dont' know about you, but I can't fit an entire recipe on 4x6 cards! LOL. The paper is from Flair Designs and I found that at Joann's. They have several different papers that coordinate in this "food" motif. The look aged so it makes the box look like it's from your grandmother. Of course, I added chalk ink to all the edges to further emphasize age.

I used my cricut to cut out the letters to spell recipes and for the dividers I used letter stamps on my Stampa-ma-jig.

I used a glue stick for the entire project, including the tabs. I used my craft knife to go around the hinges and the inside of the lid. I attached cute little feet to the bottom as well.

I just love this paper! What do you think?

PIctures of the fall...last year

Boy I am just finding all kinds of pictures this morning! LOL. I came across these while posting the mural pictures and I had to share them! These are pictures from last fall in an area about 30 minutes from here. This is my favorite time of year! Vermont is just amazing in the fall. Some years, the colors are more vibrant than others and I am not sure what determines the changes every year, but I have to take pictures! Last year though, was our first official leaf peeping year. We got in the van and went driving for the purpose of looking at leaves! LOL. Aren't they just gorgeous?


These next pictures are in a different area, still about 20 minutes from our house. This is in a town called Jericho. I love this picture of the church off in the distance. It was a little hazy that day but still beautiful! This picture of the road is in a neighborhood on the other side of the church.
I love the bright orange leaves!




































This old mill is in Underhill, I believe. We were driving through town and passed this on our left.
I had to stop and take a picture. See the stream that flows next to it? You don't have to drive very far to see some amazing landscape!! Have you visited Vermont yet?? :)

Dogs...

Look at my dogs! This is hershey and he is laying in a bed that is too small for him. LOL He is laying on his back with his head hanging over the left side! What a dork! Then later, I caught Jazz on the couch in the basement! He's too big to be on the couch! Just wanted to share....

A Mural I Painted

Good morning! It rained all weekend and today is supposed to be nice and sunny and much warmer. Right now it's at 44 degrees! Still a wee bit chilly! Didn't do much over the weekend. Just hung around the house. Actually, I did clean quite a bit yesterday. Mopping, vacuuming, vacuuming the stairs....YUCK.......I hate that! Laundry is never caught up though!


I wanted to share with you some pictures of a mural I painted last year. I think this was before I started my blog so I didn't post them. I came across them this morning and thought......"I should post these since I mention painting on my blog..." The picture you see here is a before picture of a paint store. This is a children's area they set up in the back of the store. They wanted something more vibrant and colorful. The owner definitely wanted a beach scene, and wanted it to span across the two walls. Well I love love love painting murals so I was so excited to do this! His request was to keep a chalkboard area on the wall and I said, "no problem."
After many sketches we came up with a plan for palm trees, beach, sailboat, mountains, island, greenery, a dog, and kids playing in the sand. Well.......I don't do people!!! So I was really nervous!! I started with the sand and water, tree trunks, and a little bit of greenery...easy and fun! I decided to move the position of the chalkboard from the wall on the left to the wall on the right. You can see a tiny portion of white wall remaining where I planned on putting the chalkboard. Then I worked on some clouds; clouds are fun too!
Then I started on the island and mountain and the palm trees.
The following day, I started on the sun, the umbrella and chairs.
I left a space for the sailboat. Here is the space I left for the chalkboard....and added a tiny little island above that. Islands, water and sand are really easy to do. I kept the hard things for last......like people! LOL
Then came the doggie and the ball.


I am not thrilled with the color but I like that he is running through the grass. I think he came out too dark.

Everytime I tried to lighten him I wasn't happy with how he was turning out, so I left him alone. The only way to make him lighter at this point was to white him out and start over, and I didn't want to do that. I do like how my ball came out though. :) Then I added my little sailboat....isn't he cute?
LOL I put the palm trees on the island as well. I like making crooked palm trees. It drove my husband crazy but I told him "they can't be too straight!"
After that, I made the waves on the shoreline. That was fun! Sorry about the shiny spot in the middle! It was really hard to photograph after I put the topcoat on.
Here you see the canopy of the palm trees. Palm trees are really easy. And they take up a lot of space! LOL
Here is the end result. I can't show you a close up of the people...LOL. You can see them though on the left. LOL. The big black square is the chalkboard paint. It's a really cool thing, actually. Just paint it on like regular paint, let it dry, and then you can draw on it with regular chalk! Love it! Here is the wall on the left side.
Overall, I am happy with how it all came together. I am no Picasso and don't claim to be one. I got a lot of ideas from various websites. This too me 4 full days, if I remember correctly. Notice how the color of the floor matches the colors on the mural. That wasn't intentional. People have asked me if they replaced the floor after I painted, but that floor was already there. There was just an area rug covering it. And while I was painting, I had it covered with a dropcloth so I didn't notice that it was matching! LOL. I would paint another beach scene in the future but without people! LOL
















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I think I fixed it!

Okay, I had to change my layout, which I am not too thrilled about, but I think I fixed the comment and link problem! Maybe someone could try it and let me know????....

Work Week #1 is over!

What a long week! I can't even tell you what a mess I walked into at work! 4 weeks of having substitute managers who all do things differently in their own stores has wreaked havoc at mine! Two of them left piles of paperwork for me to do and it's hard to describe what this job entails and how much work it is! Twice I worked until 7 pm and I should be leaving at 5:30. I even put in a few hours yesterday and we were closed! I am about 80% caught up and hopefully I can get things running smoothly again by the end of this week.

As far as this blog goes.......I might have to transfer everything over to a new blog because I still can't fix this comment problem and it annoys me to no end that I can't click on any of the links down the left side of my blog! I know that you can't see any of the tutorials or anything and it's frustrating that I can't get an answer from Blogger! So I will definitely let you know what I plan to do about it. I am sorry that this has been such a hassle!

I hope that everyone had a nice weekend! Weather here for the past couple of weeks has been amazing! 70's and sunny! Well, it's back to reality for a bit.....rain today thru Wednesday and below normal temps......49 for a high on Wednesday! YUCK! Maybe my next two days off the weather will be nice again and I might be able to plant something! :)

Have a wonderful day, and week, and I will keep you posted! Thanks for checking in!

Still having issues with commenting

Hi all,

I am sorry, I haven't been able to fix the link and commenting problem. I am waiting for another reply to my question on the blogger help group thingie so hopefully I can get it fixed soon! It's rather annoying! LOL.

Our weather has been awesome lately! Yesterday I took the kids to the home and garden show at the fairgrounds because Dale Jr.'s racecar was there and my son loves racecars so I thought he'd get a kick out of seeing one in person! I took a few pictures that I will post later.

Heading back to work on Tuesday!! I dropped by yesterday and met one the several managers who filled in for me. This gentleman was from Maine. Another was from Connecticut, and another was from Massachusetts. I am not sure where the other one came from. But I received lots of feedback from the man I met yesterday regarding our store and it's layout and the whether or not my own manager was coming back from her vacation! I am guessing from what I gather from the fill-in manager and my employee that she isn't coming back. Which would mean that this would turn into my store! Which I don't mind but personnel just needs to tell me that and stop leaving me in limbo here. Don't you agree? So I will give it a few weeks and if my manager isn't back then I will have to call personnel and find out what the deal is. I will keep you posted on that.....

The kids are on vacation all this week! Sucks that I have to go back to work! Daddy has plans with them for his days off this week, so they will enjoy that.

Anyway, gotta run for a bit. Have some things to do.......thanks for stopping by and checking in. I will post some pics later tonight. Have a great Sunday!

Lauren is done with training wheels!

I just had to share with you all that Lauren is done with training wheels! Yay!! Yesterday daddy took them off and she just took off! LOL She's a big girl now! Next is working on show laces! LOL

Having trouble leaving comments and clicking on links....

Hi Everyone! I am sorry that you aren't able to click on the links or leave comments. I have posted my question/concern on Blogger Help and I hope to fix this problem soon! Thanks for your patience!

Tooth Fairy Box!!

Finally I have pics of my tooth fair box. Sorry it’s taken me so long to post them. Still recovering and still pretty sore! Not having a good time with this gall bladder thing! LOL

Can you guess what I used to make it?
I had seen many examples of tooth fairy boxes on SCS. Click on scs to check out the gallery there. Many of them are made from altoid tins. Well if you don’t have access to free altoid tins, it can get quite expensive if you plan to sell them at craft fairs! So I began to brainstorm and many ideas popped into my head; cardstock…which wouldn’t be very long lasting because they are easily squished! The tiny tins you often find in the bead section of a craft store that have a clear window top….which are more economical than buying individual altoid tins. Cardstock popped into my head again and I thought about using embossing powder all the way around it to provide a stiffer box….and then I thought of those unfinished wooden boxes or paper mache boxes that are found at Michaels but again you have to buy them individually and that can get expensive.
I wanted something small…..I wanted something sturdy….and I wanted something inexpensive!!! And then my idea came to fruition. I ran (well I didn’t literally run….just trying to make it sound more exciting) I ran to the aisle where you find the wooden pieces like blocks and balls that come in bags………and there it was…..on the bottom shelf……..calling out to me……….a tiny wooden, unfinished, napkin ring!!!!!!!!!! Can you see it?

Well as you know, napkin rings are open on both ends, so I had to come up with a top and bottom. I knew I wanted felt on the bottom but it had to be sturdy. So I looked at the felt options. I chose the stiff felt that has adhesive on the back. But it still needed more stability. So I looked at all those bags of wood pieces and came across the round discs in many sizes. I picked the 1 inch circle discs because they fit within the napkin ring.

You can't see the disc in the pictures because it is sandwiched between two pieces of felt; one for the inside and one for the bottom.

Then I needed a top. I found a disc that had a rounded top and a flat bottom! Yay! How much easier can this get, I am asking myself!! They are called domes and I found two in a bag.


The one inch disc fit nicely on the flat side of the dome so that when the lid is placed on top it is held still by the circle disc.





Next, I needed a handle for the top. They had these cute little pieces called knobs. Rounded on the top and flat on the bottom. They come in different sizes so I just picked what fit on the dome lid. And there! I had all my pieces. Next came the assembly...

I did the Polished Stone Technique on a piece of glossy cardstock and set it aside to dry.

I then picked paint colors that matched the polished stone piece I just did and painted all the wooden pieces, including the inside of the napkin ring. I wanted some contrast, so I chose a different color for the handle and the disc on the inside of the lid.

Once those pieces were dry, I attached the felt, the 1" disc, and a second piece of felt to the bottom of the napkin ring. I used my EK Success circle punches (1 1/4 and 1 1/2 inch) to cut the felt to the size I needed.

(I used E6000 glue between the two layers of felt).

Then I cut a strip of the glossy paper to fit around the ring. I used red line tape to attach it.

Then I attached the knob to the lid and the disc to the under side of the lid.

Then I used a toothpick to pick up some E6000 glue and placed a small amount along the edge of the glossy cardstock and stuck tiny micro beads all the way around. I tried diamond glaze first but that is too runny.

Once that was dry, I was finished! I love it!!! Very easy and fast to make. The circle punches make all the difference in the world. Without them, you would have to trace and cut out the felt and that would take longer if you needed to make a bunch of them.

What do you think?????

About Vermont

Jennybug asked me awhile ago about Vermont........I can't believe I missed your comment! I am so sorry!!!! For some reason I am having difficulty with my blog and I can't click on any of the links and I can't post a comment where I found yours.....so anyway... about Vermont......
We've been here since 2001. My favorite time of year is Spring and Fall because of the color changes! Winter lasts a good 6 months here. I love winter and I love the snow so personally I would visit during winter as well. But not everyont likes snow; like my husband! LOL For Springtime visiting, I would say that May is the best time. And for the Fall, mid October is the best time. The reason I say May is because we can and do get snow in April. And if you want comfortable temperatures then May is it. My daffodils and hyacinth are just sprouting, so I have tiny little foliage popping up and it's already mid April, so Spring takes a while here! LOL This is a great website and it has a TON of info on it. It's called Vermont Vacation. Stowe and Smuggler's Notch is a beautiful area. It is in the mountains and it's known for skiing. There is a ton of shopping and restuarants. When I say shopping, it's not malls and highrises. It's small, locally owned, quaint little businesses. If you want malls visit Burlington. Downtown, there is an outdoor mall, and in South Burlington, there is an indoor mall. Those malls have all of the typical stores you find in other cities. Vermont is also great for hiking and camping, fishing, and cycling. And of course, winter sports. There are 52 state parks here which are just amazing during the spring and fall! Check out this picture taken in one of the state parks. Here's a great article on Vermont's famous Maple Syrup. Not many people may think of Vermont as being wine country, but we do have wineries here as well! We also have a great Fairground here. Check this out. We have huge craft fairs there in the spring and fall. My sister-in-law, from Florida, said she hadn't seen anything as big as our fall craft fair at the fairgrounds!
Summertime, we have a ton of mosquitos! And they all find me! I hate them! But we don't have any poisoness snakes are spiders so that's great! I grew up in the desert in California and I couldn't touch anything there! We have a ton of wildlife, my favorite is the moose! This website also has a lot of info.
So I hope I answered your question! :) If not, don't hesitate to ask away! It's a great place to visit and it's also a great place to raise kids! Thanks for stopping by and thanks for your comments!

Lauren home today...

Hi all! Haven't posted in a couple of days...sorry about that. Haven't ventured down to my craft room in a few days.
Today Lauren is home sick. She was running a fever last night and she is still relying on motrin today to keep her fever down; poor thing! So looks like she will be home tomorrow as well.
I did manage to make something today though! Can you believe it? I made a cute little tooth fairy box; it's drying right now. It's not made out of an altoid tin and it's not cardstock. You'll have to check back in to find out what I made it out of! :) Katie has my camera so I can't take any pictures now!
Having weird things going on with my incision since yesterday. Just below my incision there is a five inch wide by 2 inch tall area on my belly that is completely numb; can't feel a thing. Jared was poking at me yesterday with my eyes close and he kept moving his finger around and poking and asking me, "can you feel this??....." And below that area where there is NO incision, my belly is extremely senstive and the skin is actually sensitive, so when my clothes swish across me, it hurts! I called my doctor this morning who said that this is normal after surgery and it will go away. So okay. Have to wait for that to go away.
Weather here is rather chilly today. In the forties. Yesterday and the day before we were over 60! Supposed to get rain coming in Friday and for 7 days following that! I had mud season! YUCK!
Anyway, rambling now. Check back later. I might be able to post tonight pictures of my tooth fairy box. I am supposed to go to a jewelry party at my friend's house tonight, so we'll see if I make it down here after that.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by! :)

One Sheet Wonder Template

I hope this looks okay. I scanned this on my computer but later I am going to take a picture of it and post that as well in case that is easier to see. Thanks everyone for your compliments and interest! Enjoy!

Alcohol Ink Cards

Have you all tried the alcohol ink technique? If you haven't, you must try it! It's super easy and the results are amazing! Depending on the color combination, you can get very vibrant results or more muted backgrounds. Sometimes you put some colors together, and the end result isn't what you expected but they are all beautiful. I taught this class the night before I went to the ER for my gall bladder and there were 5 people who took the class. Everyone used the same colors that I did on each card but EVERY card was different. They were all so pretty!
The technique is wicked easy! You can find a tutorial here. I also use this technique which is very similar called the Polished Stone technique. The Alcohol Ink tutorial is done using a metal tin, and the Polished Stone tutorial is done using glossy cardstock which is what I used for these cards.
For my cards I used a combination of alcohol inks and re-inkers. Yes I break the rules and mix the inks up. I will use a combination of inks on one card! It still works just fine! Don't be afraid to experiment. LIke I said, you may not get the color you expected in the end but the results are just amazing!