Wall Hanging

Just a couple of weeks ago, I made a Halloween wall hanging. I really loved the way it turned out, so I decided to make another one for my sister-in-law for her birthday.


I mounted this on the chipboard backing from a legal pad. I used We R Memory Keepers papers and embellishments. The title is felt Thickers. I did a lot of distressing with Making Memories paint. I then used my Cropadile Big Bite to punch through it to add the ribbon. I love the way this turned out! It's a nice thing for Kristine to hang in her house featuring her nieces and nephew!

We got SNOW overnight! It's CRAZY!! Just when you think spring is on its way, BAM, more snow! I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

All Boy

I made my mom a wreath wall hanging for Mother's Day, and in the center was a photo of my girls with Princess. She really loved it. Last week my mom sent me a photo of their neighbor's son, and she asked me if I could make a wall hanging for this little boy's mom. This couple lives across the street from my parents, they are expecting baby number two, it's been rough for the mom getting to this point, and they just adore their son! I think this little boy has quite the fan club! This young couple is living pretty much surrounded by seniors, and they're all crazy about Brandon! Of course, I was happy to make this for my mom to give to her neighbor!


Sorry for the weird paint technique on his face, but since I don't have permission to post his photo on my site, I didn't want to take any chances! I used corrugated cardstock mounted on red. I attached the photo, used a My Mind's Eye denim frame that I got from Sharon, and attached a MME title and hinges. I stamped a "You Make Me Smile" ticket and "Completely Loved", both of which are Autumn Leaves stamps. The letters that spell out Brandon's name are Lil' Davis chipboard. Last, I added two large eyelets with my Cropadile, and I threaded through some rope. I can't wait to see what my mom thinks, and then of course, I want to know Brandon's mom's reaction!!


Here's a closer view. Once again, sorry for the crazy paint on his face. I love how rustic this turned out! It's totally "all boy"!!

I FINALLY got a bunch of thank you notes out in the mail today. Does anyone else have the problem with actually getting cards written out, addressing the envelope, and then mailing the card? I don't know WHY I have such a big problem with this. Even if I need to go to the post office because a card is too thick, I pass the post office all the time! It's just crazy. Anyway, I hope you're having a great day, and as always, thanks for stopping by!!

Teacher's Gift

My youngest's 5th grade award assembly was yesterday, and I am so proud of her! My daughter won the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence, an honor roll award (straight A's all year), a singing club award, and a perfect attendance award. She had a GREAT year this year! Go Jessica!


She had her 5th grade field day before the award's assembly, so she was a little disheveled at the assembly! Look at that smile! Well done sweetheart! I'm beaming with pride!


This is the teacher's gift that we put together for her 5th grade teacher. The 2nd card is for her social studies' teacher. The tin and the "don't forget" pink/green/yellow pad came from Target. We tied some pretty ribbon around the pad, and added a large altered paper clip. There's some candy too . . . YUM! We also included a Bind It All book.


Here are the gifts inside the tin. I used my big Cropadile, Mr. Big Bite, to punch through the tin and add the eyelet that is holding on the flower/ribbon stack. Jessica designed the cards to coordinate with the pad of paper. Aren't the cards FABULOUS? She used her set of "girly" ki Memories acrylic stamps on the cards.


These are the magnets that we made. We used one of my new Stampin' Up sets. CUTE! The magnets are so fun, because Jessica put them on the outside of the tin!


This is a binder clip that I altered along with the two cards. How fun! I hope her teacher likes it all.

Today is the last day of school, and they only go for one hour, and then summer vacation has officially begun! This school year went by FAST! Both of my girls will be at the junior high next year . . . I can't believe it! Have a wonderful day, and thanks for stopping by!

BBTB - Joys of the Season - Wreath Challenge

Over at Bitten By The Bug Regina challenged us to use the wreath on the Joys of the Season cartridge. Well, I don't have that cartridge, but thanks to DeeDee, I was able to participate in the challenge. DeeDee sent me the wreath in the colors that I requested! Thanks DeeDee!! Be sure to check out what the other designers created for this wreath challenge! They're all amazing!

When she told us what the challenge was, I looked online to see what the cut looked like, and I thought it would make a GREAT frame! So, I picked out a photo to frame for my mom for Mother's Day, and I asked DeeDee to send me the cut in smoky shades of blue with a black shadow. I used a photo of my girls that I took in November. I just love the photo, and I knew my mom would love to display it as a wall hanging.


I chalked the layered lighter shades of blue a little bit. I added a Prima and one of Emily's crocheted flowers with a glitter Making Memories brad. This flower is actually hiding some of the background too. Because the opening is round, and the photo is rectangular, there was some background showing through. "Grandma's Girls" was done on the computer, and it's also hiding some of the background. I finally used some of the gorgeous Kaiser pearls that Kristy sent to me. I added four of them to the corners of the sentiment. I then set two large eyelets with my Cropadile Mr. Big Bite, and I added American Crafts ribbon so it could hang. My mom LOVED it!

I'll have my Mother's Day recap to share with you tomorrow. My husband and my girls spoiled me, and I loved it! Believe it or not, I didn't take one photo! I always like to get photos of me with my girls, and it just didn't happen! Oh well! It was an awesome day anyway!! I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Mr. Big Bite

Well, I got the Big Bite out of the package, and I read the directions, but I just haven't had a chance to use it yet. A lot of people have commented on the size of this new tool, so I thought I will show you some photos for size comparison!

This is my QuicKutz, my original Crop-A-Dile, and Mr. Big Bite (he's quite impressive, so I'm calling him Mr. Big Bite!)


This is are I and II side by side. Yep, the size difference is pretty significant!

The Big Bite is more comparable in size to the QuicKutz squeeze. A lot of people commented on how hard it was to get it out of the package. Well, I open a lot of Cricut cartridge packages, and it was about the same amount of difficulty. What was difficult was getting the directions out of that triangular section on the bottom of the packaging!

I hope to actually use Mr. Big Bite later today. I'm going to be running out the door in a couple of minutes to chaperone a band field trip. We're going to see an orchestra. I can't wait. I thought for sure school would be canceled today . . . it's unbelievably cold! The actual temperature is -2 right now with wind chills around -25. Whew! That's cold! The wind last night was almost scary. It was really windy all night long. I'm totally behind on blog hopping, but I hope to catch up with all of you this afternoon / evening. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello, Big Bite!

Look what arrived yesterday from HSN. The Big Bite, also known as the Crop-A-Dile II is here!


I'm looking forward to trying it out later today or tomorrow. LOVE all the eyelets and rivets that came with it!

This morning is a little busy with both of my daughters participating in musical pre-contests for singing (my oldest), and playing an ensemble piece (both girls). The actual contest is February 9th. My oldest plays the flute, and my youngest plays the french horn. Their ensemble pieces are played with a friend that plays the same instrument. They've been practicing quite a bit, so this pre-contest today should go very well!

I have some goodies and a scrapbook page to show you. I need to get some photos taken. Thanks for stopping by!

Snowman Soup!

Have you all heard of Snowman Soup? It's another item I'm working on for the craft fair. It's a packet of hot chocolate, a small bag of mini marshmallows, a candy cane, plus a cute poem about the Snowman Soup. It's an idea that my friend Jana told me about, and it's been done on many Internet and blogging sites. Nichole Heady has a super cute version, but using tins and repackaging the hot chocolate wouldn't be cost effective for the craft fair in which I'm hoping to participate. So, this is my version for the craft fair.

This is the shopping bag from Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More (TBBM) cut on my Cricut at the largest size. The packet of hot chocolate has to go in on its side in the shopping bag, but the handles on the bag sure are cute!


This is the inch bag at the largest size. It is also cut on my Cricut using TBBM. In this one, the packet of hot chocolate can go in vertically.

Here they are together. I definitely like both versions, and I will continue making both versions for the craft fair. I made the "Snowman Soup" round tags in Word Art, the snowman is clip art, and I cut them out with my Coluzzle. I used my Cropadile to punch the holes in the tags and in the inch bag. I don't have the candy canes or the mini marshmallows yet, and my oldest daughter is finishing up an original poem for the gifts. The paper I used is from the DCWV Glitter Christmas Stack. So, what do you think? I think the little kids will love these for siblings, parents, and teachers. Well, at least I'm hoping they like them!

Thanks for stopping by!

55th Masculine Birthday Card & Post #100!!

OK, let's get a card posted! My husband's uncle is 55 this weekend. I completely forgot to make a card, so I just whipped this one together this morning. I used the George cartridge on my Cricut to make the 55. Since it's a milestone birthday, I wanted the numbers to be HUGE and slightly obnoxious! I think I succeeded on the obnoxious part, don't you?? This card is BIG. It's 8.5" x 5.5", and I cut the numbers 5" tall! The striped paper is We R Memory Keepers, and the Happy Birthday stamp is Stampin' Up. I ticket punched the card front, and I added little dots of Stickles to the corners. I added two large eyelets to the sentiment with the Cropadile. That's it! Easy! I really struggle with masculine cards!

On another note . . . This is post #100! Woohoo! Cue the confetti and start the celebration! Thank you, thank you! I need to work on some craft fair projects this weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Card

I sent this card to my not so secret sister on the Cricut message board. It was easy to create, and I love the way it turned out.


The card base is a DCWV card base that either came from Michael's or Joann's. I love the shades of blue on it. I added some self-adhesive Primas that I distressed with brown ink. I used my Cropadile to set two blue eyelets, and I threaded some brown dotted ribbon through the eyelets and tied a bow. I stamped "hello" with my snap stamps. Finally, I added some dots of blue Stickles. Easy but cute!

I listed 35 items on eBay yesterday, and I just can't believe how time consuming it is! I was literally exhausted by the time I finished! I have a lot of rare Little Tikes small toys that are ready for new homes, and I figured I would get better prices on eBay rather than a garage sale. I just can't believe how long it took me to list it all! I have TONS of other items that I want to list, but I'll have to see how this first batch goes first. Whew! I hope all of my auctions do well! Does anyone else get like me, and you're actually sad to see toys leave the house? There are so many memories that involve the toys. My girls spent HOURS playing with them, and now that my girls are getting older, it's just time to send them to a new home. However, it makes me sad. Know what I mean? It's a little silly! I guess I'll just think about the next little girl that's going to have them and how happy they're going to make her!

Thanks for stopping by!

Smile - Birthday Card

A while ago, I made a very large (8.5" x 11") birthday card for my nephew / godson. I thought this super large size was perfect for a six year old! He did seem to like it!


I took two full sheets of cardstock, and I used the Cropadile to punch and set 5 eyelets to keep the two sheets together. I stamped the background of the white card front in red with one of my Stampin' Up small background stamps. The very cute large puppy and the word "smile" were cut on my Cricut using Paper Pups. I mounted "smile" on torn cardstock with inked edges. I set four eyelets and used some ribbon from Michael's to finish off the sentiment on the card.

I was thrilled with the way this turned out. I love the LARGE card for kids. I really love that happy puppy face! His smile is just fantastic!

Thanks for stopping by!

I Like Your Style!

I wanted to use one of my NEW Stampin' Up sets that I just got from the flea market to create a card. Sorry, but the photo of this card doesn't do it justice. It's so vibrant and pretty in real life! I love the pink and orange!


I used the "I Like Your Style" set for the sentiment and the flower background. I was inspired by the chipboard piece. Isn't it pretty? It's an Autumn Leaves French Twist journaling panel. I bought a box of them at Archiver's with my coupon, and I just love them! I don't have any of the papers, but I figured I would use them with some solid cardstock. Anyway, I used a pink card base, and I stamped the flower background in orange on the orange card front. I used my ticket punch on the card front. I used the Cropadile to punch through and set two eyelets in the chipboard journaling panel. I used some American Crafts double-sided ribbon, and I layered two Primas with a brad.

I really like this card! Thanks for stopping by!