Teacher Cards

If you read my blog....you would think I am crazy about Valentine's Day!  Actually the opposite is true, I have really never been crazy about the holiday but for my kiddos I usually try to go all out:)  Brett who is in 5th grade, is not crazy about giving his teacher a gift this year...I am sure I will be dropping that one off..but Andy is super pumped!  The gift I have not gotten together yet but that is the easy part...we had to get the card together first.  These are very similar to the Christmas cards I made for both teachers. 

I started out by cutting the layers for the cards.  I LOVE this size of card....I have created this card for so many things...birthday cards, invitations, and thank you notes.  It is a fun size, doesn't take much paper, and can be used later as a magnet or placed on a memo board.  The card is cut at 4x4, the second layer is 3x3, the third is 2 1/1x 2 1/2, and the fourth is 1x1. 

 The above picture does not show the first layer of paper...the base layer is pink.  The second layer I have stamped around the edges with pink.  Each piece of paper I sand paper across at least once and distressed the edges with tea stain distress stamp.   Next I used a printed piece of paper and attached with double sided sticky tape.  On the one inch square I used a Creative Memories stamp from my collection.  At the bottom I half-stamped the paper with another stamp from the collection, on the one inch square, I distressed the edge with pink instead.  Spray glitter was used on the entire card after it was taped together.

 I will print out something for the back of the card and of course will use a font from my favorite place Kevin and Amanda.  They have the best fonts on the web, so check them out!!!

Thanks for stopping by:) 

Hearty Crayons

I have to start this post by telling you the story of "the lady in Hobby Lobby"  so that is what we will call it....The Lady in Hobby Lobby!  After an exhausting search for plaster of Paris through every single aisle and back again...I finally asked a sales associate for assistance.  Needless to say, I suppose my age really showed when I asked for this product.  She gave a half-hearted look through a few aisles and said..."guess we don't have that!"  Back to looking again..I was finding this plaster of Paris!!!!  The lady in hobby lobby that was in the same aisle when I asked the sales associated for assistance finally broke down and asked me..."so what are you going to do with this plaster?"  Politely, I replied...."making chalk for my son's Valentine's bags at school." and to this she replied, "wow, you must have A LOT of time on your hands!"  and then proceeded to insist that I could go buy a big bag of chalk for ninety-nine cents on the next aisle over!  If you know me...you realize this did not go over well with me:)......then I found out she was making candles,  she then asked for my assistance in picking out the supplies. How could I be upset with a fellow crafter....I guess:)  This was over a week ago and I am still mentioning it to my husband everyday, this story really doesnt have a point except to tell you that instead of chalk, Andy and I made large heart crayons for his classmates....too much time on my hands, whatever!


This project turned out to be a cheaper solution and was way less painful than looking for plaster of Paris:)  Andy and I took out all of his old crayons, unwrapped them and broke them into pieces.  You would not think this would be lots of work for an eight year old since they are pros at breaking things...but after about six crayons, he was tuckered out and needed to watch t.v. and lay on the couch!  I already had this silicone mold from last year, the hearts are large....but they do sell smaller ones that would work great as well.

I suggest filling each to the top, it does take quite a few crayons for this project.  I had a helper...if it were only me making the crayons...I would have stuck with one color and added in one contrasting color.  We put the silicone mold on a cookie sheet before placing in a 200 degree oven for about fifteen minutes.  

When taking these out of the oven....please be extremely careful, they will be in liquid form and VERY hot!  It will take several hours for them to return to solid form....pop them out and you are done.  Super easy project.......once I get the entire goody bag together I will be posting more pics....

Thanks for stopping by:)

Trash to Treasure

My husband and I eat almonds like there is no tomorrow, needless to say we are left with these empty containers after all the almonds are gone.  I have kept wondering what I could use the empty containers for and thought...what about my craft supplies!  After scraping off all of the label that would come off with just my fingernails, the goo gone came out and it came off with ease! 

The lid was a green color....I knew this would bug me so I painted the lid with a spray paint meant to cover and stay on plastic, this was used as a primer. Later painted a cream color with regular spray paint and sprayed with spray glitter.  

I measured the area where I wanted paper placement and began cutting paper to fit the area.  The paper used is from Canvas Corp  After cutting the paper, I rounded the edges with the Creative Memories corner rounder, lightly sanded each piece, then antiqued with a Tim Holtz distressing pad(tea dye).  

The Canvas Corp glue works great for stacking the papers, this glue makes it stick....and stick well:)  It also will not wrinkle the paper when it is drying.  Normally I like to let each layer dry just a bit before placing another layer on top. The middle of the layer is two round circles that were cut out with the Creative Memories circle punch.  The top circle was stamped with a circle stamp that reads "from the heart".

To finish off the top of the project, I found ribbon that was used in my tassel project, and hemp cord from Canvas Corp.  A chipboard embellishment that I found in my supplies was dyed to match the ribbon with a stamp pad.  Letting the chipboard dry, I tied the ribbon around the top and heated up the glue gun!  Then attached the chipboard with hot glue.  

Below is the entire finished project!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gift Card Holder

While digging through some of my scrapbooking supplies, I came across this template to make a card/holder/envelope.  I started with pink paper, traced the template and cut out the shape. 

 

I measured the inside to cut a square, used double sided sticky tape to attach the paper to the inside of the card.  This is the inside of the card and can be used for the personal message.  

On the outside of the card, I stamped a smaller card with a stamp that reads "always loved", it resembles a postage stamp and I love this entire stamp set.....I threw away the packaging but I'm sure it was a cheap set from Michaels.  After stamping, spray glitter was applied, punched a hole in the top of the small card and tied a ribbon to the top.  The small card was attached with double sided sticky tape to the larger card.  It is the perfect size for a gift card, throw it in, and send off to your Valentine:)  This one is going to my mother!

Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Genius

It turns out I am not the only creative genius in the family!LOL  Andy made Jon and I this bowl for Christmas, he was just now able to bring it home because it had to be fired first.  Well he brought it home yesterday and asked me if I could blog about it...so, I am!!!  If you see him, please let him know how great you think his bowl is:)))

Greens

I made greens and cornbread muffins the other night for the family....unfortunately, I ate so much my belly hurt till the next morning:)  If you don't like greens or have never tried them, try these...they are delicious!!!!  Found the recipe on Paula Deen.  Here it is:

8 strips bacon (about 8 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium Vidalia onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 stick butter
2 cups water
2 pounds collards, rinsed and drained, stems removed, leaves cut into 1/2-inch strips
Salt
Hot sauce

Directions

Cook the bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and butter and cook until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes more. Add the water and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the collards and cook until very soft, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and hot sauce, to taste. Transfer the greens to a serving bowl and serve.


My only suggestion is either cook the bacon till it is VERY crisp...or use bacon bits!  I think the bacon grease is what gave me the bellyache, well that or my three bowls:)))

Thanks for stopping by!

Obsession with the letter "R"

My decoupaging madness is still raging on....another letter R has hit my bookshelves.  My friend Tina over at Oh, the places you'll go needed a few art supplies sent to her in Germany. So, I ran my happy little self straight to the local Hobby Lobby picked her up a few supplies and one letter "R" for myself:)  If you remember I created  letters for gifts a few months ago.  This letter was created in the same way.  My first step is cutting out the paper to fit the letter.  Paint the letter,  I usually use a base coat of white.  Rough up with sand paper afterward.  Attach the paper with mod podge and let dry...with paper attached, air bubbles out of paper,  rough off the edges of the paper in case of any over hang.Use a distressing pad or antiquing gel around the edges of your letter. Brush on another coat of mod podge over the letter.  Let dry and sand paper again to rough out any ridges.  Spray with a clear coat sealant, let dry and attach embellishments!  On this letter I used spray glitter(if using spray glitter, spray on before sealant)...lately I have sprayed it on everything:)

This first picture is before the last coat of mod podge and before, I still had over hang on the letter and used sand paper to take it off. 

 The finished project is below!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Dumplin's

Last Sunday when Southern Alabama was calling for snow and freezing rain, I made chicken and dumplings for the family!  They did NOT mess around with these things!  I am fairly certain there were a few stomachaches afterwards but boy were they good.  I made chicken and dumplings a little different than most so I am sharing my recipe.  The reason I make them this way is because I do not like touching chicken...I know it is a weird thing but I just do not like it.  So I use about three large containers of chicken broth, two to three cans of chicken(yes, canned chicken...I realize I could be kicked out of the South for such a thing!), bisquick for the dumplings, salt and pepper to taste.  I normally make two batches of the dumplings and I mix those up first.  Then in a large pot I pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Then throw in the canned chicken...bring to a rolling boil and start adding dumplings by the spoonful.  Usually the dumplings are still to big, so I tend to cut them up as it boils.  Let boil for ten to fifteen minutes and continuously stir and separate the dumplings. Turn down heat and let simmer for about ten minutes, this will allow the dumplings to set up and not be runny(my picture was taken when Brett had to have a plate), Salt and pepper to taste, ladle into bowl and enjoy!!!  Hope you enjoy them as much as my family does!

Mascarpone Oreo Cookies

Warning: These cookies are DELICIOUS!!!!!

Amanda over at Kevin and Amanda has truly outdone herself...I read her story and recipe on her blog about these cookies and knew I had to try them.  Let me tell you what, they did not disappoint!  So head on over and get the recipe!

Holiday Memories

Now that I have successfully taken and downloaded all my photographs...yes, I still need to get them printed out..but two out of three definitely is not a bad start!  I decided I needed a mini holiday scrapbook to put all those photos in.  Over our Christmas vacation Jon and I made a deal...if we take the hour and a half trip from my parents to Fayetteville, AR to buy Razorback gear, he can take me to a Signed, Sealed, Delivered in Rogers, AR:)))  I believe it was a fair trade...trust me both parties involved suffered dearly!  This was so fun to make...here is what I started with:  Canvas Corp paper, and I bought LOTS, they have some of the best paper I have ever used!  Chipboard album that I picked up on clearance at Michaels for $2.00.  

I cut my paper to match the chipboard then used Canvas Corp paper and mounting glue, awesome glue that when you put on pretty much anything...makes it STICK!

 After sticking the paper I used a sandpaper block to rough up every page, then distressed with a distressing stamp pad...around the edges.  

 The first page I set up with a Merry Christmas stamp that I have had for a few years, cut out, stacked on a patterned piece of the same paper, then used spray glitter, and finished it off with a ribbon.

The bird stamp that I had never used was another in this same set.  I would tell you the name but the package was thrown away and I have no idea...Im fairly certain it was a cheap set I picked up at Michaels.  Below is the first page on the inside of the album.  Used ribbon I bought at Target for a dollar.

 Hit a mental block when I got to the third page, I layered ribbon and that was it:)

 Finally by the fourth page.....I was back on track. The letter stamps worked great, and I used the circle cutter from creative memories to make these perfect circles on the bottom on this page!

I stacked ribbon again on this page then used the circle cutter, snowflake stamp, and my favorite...the spray glitter!

 For some reason I always have one page in my scrapbooks that just look like....wow, what was she thinking!LOL  Well this is that page:)  Going through my stack of stuff, I saw these rub-ons and decided to use them!  Personally I love the page...Im hoping you have the same reaction!

The "tis the season" page turned out so cute.  I love the coordinating papers with the stripes and dots.  I layered ribbon and stacked the cardstock.  To stamp the "tis the season"  I used the opposite side of the cardstock.  Normally I would not waste precious printed cardstock but I wanted it to match.  Also, I should have mentioned earlier that on all the cut outs of the cardstock that I stamped, I used the sandpaper and distressing pad on those as well.  To distress the paper, I only go around the edge...I feel like that gives it more of an antiqued look.   Spray glitter was also used on this stamped cut out. 

 This stamp, I LOVED!  Found it in the stamp box and had to use it with the "I believe" ribbon.  

The back of the album is ribboned, stamped, and spray glittered!  Used another stamp from my found Christmas collection!  Around the ring of my album, I cut different strands, and various lengths of the ribbon used throughout the album.

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Just a Few!

I wanted to post a few of my favorite holiday pictures, I doubt you all enjoy them as much as I do but they are pretty awesome:)  Here they are...and as promised it is only a few...three to be exact!  This first one is my hubby, he is pretending to assist in the kitchen.

My mom and Jill were more than happy to cheese it up for the camera and I thought this was a great shot.

My niece, Bella is three and it is very difficult to catch her at a moment of rest...I did manage to catch her not moving her lips...I'm fairly certain she was deep thinking:)

Lots of folks have been asking where I edit my photos, so far everything is done in Picnik.  Just started working with Photoshop today and I wanted to throw a tantrum like a two year old!  


Thanks for stopping by to take a look, see ya next time!


 

Great Bloggin' Ladies!

I have been thinking about this post for awhile now. I wanted to let you guys know about some great blogs that I have recently ran across in the past couple of months!

Tiffany over at IffyScraps has a great tutorial on her page, it is a Valentines craft and would be super cute on a scrapbook page, or baby headband!  

Over at the MagPie Cottage...they just have stuff I LOVE...period, I LOVE IT!!!!

Michelle over at Sweet Sensations has awesome recipes on her blog...check it out if you need some inspiration in the kitchen!


Ms. Tina at Oh, The places you will Go! blogs all about her adventures in Germany! It will make you want to update your passport and take off:)

At Design Intervention, so many projects!  Lots of ideas, and upholstery projects.


Of course I won't leave out a few of my tried and true favorites....the first being Kevin and Amanda, can't say enough about this blog...just the fonts alone are amazing!  The Pioneer Woman, has so much to see...photography, food, and she homeschools her children.


Hope all of you enjoy the list!  Thanks for stopping by to take a peek:)

Home for Christmas

I did not put decorations up  this year...knowing that I would not be home!  My mom has always decorated like a mad woman so I decided to share the pictures from her house with all of you.  

These next few are all items from the Roundtop Collection, made out of metal, then painted, and glittered up!

 This HEN basket was on the kitchen table, if you are a loyal reader you will notice the acorns in the basket...you can find out how to make those by looking here at one of my earlier blog pages.

 She uses simple touches all around the house to give the entire house a Christmas feel.  The bucket is also from the Roundtop Collection, mom added her own greenery and a santa.

 Around the mantle she place lots of santas, snowmen, and reindeer that she has collected over the years.

 Mom has collected so many ornaments over the years, I snapped a few shots of them on her tree.

 Mom picked up this bench a few years ago at a flea market.  It is from Russia and looks great with all of her Christmas items arranged.

 Normally the entire house is decked out in Christmas, but mom hurt her knee and the she worked on it till she was literally down in a chair for a few days!  I think it looks great!   I snapped this shot of her clock...her and I both love clocks and this one is from Timeworks.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!!!!