Life Made Creations

A {handmade} Pillowcase

2012-01-25T05:23:00.000-05:00

I have a great artist friend, Tracey, who is an amazing quilter and seamstress. She is so fantastic for inspiring me with her sewing skills. So the other day, she invited me over to sew a pillowcase, and with her help I stitched up the most beautiful pillowcase on the face of the planet {so not exaggerating here!}.

See for yourself:

Am I right?

Well it helps to start out with fabric you love, and then get a perfectly coordinating strip of yellow that your friend just happens to have in her stash, and then have that amazing friend walk you through the pattern (which, by the way, you can find at All People Quilt as part of their 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge) and give you great pointers along the way (like trim down your seam before completing the last length of stitching on the French Seam, and use a pin to pick out the corners to make them square).

Just look at these beautiful French Seams:

I am always amazed at the process of sewing: the way you stack fabric in a certain order and facing a certain way and then bing-bang-boom it magically transposes into the right thing. I have learned to not over think it, just follow the steps and wait for the magic to happen.

I can't bear to part with this pillowcase, and I need to make one more for my husband's pillow (he will be thrilled, I know). Then I will whip up one (or three) to send off to someone who could really use a pretty pillowcase.

Art Journal Week 3

2012-01-23T17:02:00.000-05:00

My littlest guy and I took some time to create last week--I in my art journal, and he on a painted birdhouse.

Here's an Instagram of our beautiful mess:

And here's my week three page:

Played around with crayon pastels (the little old Crayola kind), some watercolor paint (again, Crayola), and writing with a fine brush and acrylic. I like doing that, but need to practice to get a more consistent line.

Valentine Cards

2012-01-23T15:45:00.003-05:00

Whipped up some little Valentine's for a cutie pie to hand out to her friends next month.

So thrilled to be able to work with girlie colors, butterflies and bling!

Thanks, Shannon, for the opportunity to work on these for you and little Reese.

12 on the 12th in twenty12: January

2012-01-13T10:53:00.001-05:00

Ella Publishing has issued a little challenge that you might have heard about {but in case you haven't, click here}

I'm all over it (well it's a new year filled with possibilities, right?). 12 photos once a month for 12 months--I can manage that.

Here are today's (taken with Instagram and put into these cute little collages with the PicFrame (formerly Photo Frame) app

1) it snowed! the view of our backyard
2) Maddox making a snowman
3) my first vanilla cafe au lait made at home with new milk steamer/frother
4) Logan enjoying an after school snack of hot chocolate made with steamer

5) chili for dinner
6) cafe mocha from Panera during book club
7) sign at Panera: Make Today Better; Take a Risk
8) book club location for this month

9) at a stop light on the way home
10) catching the end of the B's on the couch with Perry
11) a day is not complete without a check on Pinterest
12) time for bed

It was fun documenting the day.
Things I noticed: the tail end of my day is more picture heavy as I realized I was running out of time to take photos--8 of my pics were taken after 6 pm and only 1 was taken between 9 and 3. Food is a big part of our day: 4 food related pics--3 of them hot beverages--we love our hot drinks! You really can capture memories with whatever camera you have on you at the moment.

Looking forward to next month.

2012 Art Journal

2012-01-12T15:13:00.001-05:00

My dear artist friend gave me a beautiful art journal last year for my birthday. It has sat on my shelf in wait of the perfect project.

This is it.

This year I hope to create a page a week. One page, seven days, fifty-two times. I can do this.

week one:

week two:

For these first two weeks, I was inspired by two quotes that I had found recently.

I'm excited for this project--looking forward to seeing how my art journal evolves over the year and to try out some new-to-me techniques and products.

a whole lotta random

2012-01-09T23:29:00.000-05:00

I have been loving every minute of 2012 so far.

Last week my new boyfriend arrived. I affectionately refer to him as Mac Daddy:

Isn't he sooooo cute? Well, most of my free time has been spent getting to know each other. You know, which buttons to push when, loading him up with all my photos and files, and exploring his little hidden secrets. He is super strong and powerful, yet gentle for my non-Mac brain. Every day I learn something new that I just love about him. His ability to recognize all my family and friends (the Faces feature in iPhoto--amazing!), how he so easily hooks up with the things I need (connecting to my wireless printer took 1 minute 45 seconds, seriously!), and he loves my touch (um, yeah, the Trackpad is super fabulous, fast, and intuitive). Yup, it's safe to say I am head-over-heels-in love. And I'm looking forward to many years of bliss together.

I've also been on a cleaning/organizing tear--blaming it on the New Year. Cleaning out the freezer, pantry, spice cabinet, junk mail, china cabinet, medicine bins. Nothing is safe from my white tornado. And knowing how temporary these things can be, I am taking full advantage before my motivation runs out.

I think I've decided to do Project365 this year. {ok, so this post is really all over the map} Not going to over-think the whole thing. Many of the photos will be taken with Instagram. Not sure exactly what I'll do with the pictures, but I'm taking baby steps with this. Maybe I'll do a mini album, or a Project Life album, or just post them to my blog. Maybe some stroke of inspirational genius will hit me (most likely while browsing Pinterest). But until then I'll just be snapping my Photo-A-Day.

Here's the first week:

one . one

one . two

one . three

one . four

one . five

one . six

one . seven

one . eight

one . nine

Anyone else doing a 365/52/12 type project?

OK, this concludes this totally random post about a whole lotta nothing. And I also know that I still owe you two more Gifts of Christmas. Don't think that hasn't been hanging over my head for the past week. I'll get them up soon, promise.

Yippee for my first blog post done entirely with my new Mac Daddy!

2012 Planner

2012-01-04T23:22:00.000-05:00

I have a thing for calendars, planners, and all things office-y organizer-ish. I remember when I was little, my mom would give me her old office datebook and I would fill in the little squares with notes of my busy childhood schedule. When my friend went off to private school, I drooled over her assignment plan book with a column for each day of the week and a box for every subject's assignments. When I began teaching, I created my own lesson plan book complete with color coding for each developmental area.

Now I'm not in school, I don't teach, and I don't have business meetings to schedule. But my love for planners has not wavered.

Meet Planner twenty-12:

Blue Sky Weekly-Monthly Planner featuring egg press artwork

We only met yesterday, but I am madly in love.

The pretty floral design, the tabbed dividers

This little baby is my new BFF. My take everywhere, use every day, to-do list keeper, memory jotter, goal reminder, health tracker, task manager, inspiration book.

I began my book with some resolutions/goal setting. 2012 is my year for creativity, health, completion, simplifying, and family, so I came up with some goals/reminders for each of those areas:

Each section of this planner begins with the month. Here's where I can jot a little daily note/feeling/memory of the day. The notes column is perfect for monthly goals like my completion goal (an unfinished project that I would like to finish that month), to keep a tally of the scrapbook pages I complete, to note the book I am reading, and to track my progress for Christmas Cards completed.

Then each week is laid out in a double page spread with plenty of room to keep track of appointments, to-do's, tasks, and even space for some doodles and sketches. I will track my water intake, my daily exercise, my POTD, daily house cleaning chore, and daily note of gratitude.

I'm excited to see how this book fills up through 2012. It will be a fun recording of our year to look back on.

Day 10: Yo-Yo Tree

2012-01-04T22:16:00.001-05:00

I have a good friend who celebrates her birthday on December 26th. When I told my son her birthday his reply was, "Really? She must get tons of presents. {pause for thinking} Wow, she's practically Jesus!" Kids are so funny!

This year I made her one of these:

I first discovered a handy dandy yo-yo maker tool in November at a scrapbooking crop. One of the girls there was whipping up yo-yo's like nobody's business. I was intrigued and inspired and went right out to purchase one of these little tools for myself.

purchase here

There are so many things you can do with these cute little yo-yo's.

Like this gorgeous yo-yo blanket

Source: red-brolly.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Or this fun yo-yo garland

Source: etsy.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Or this beautiful yo-yo embellished pillow

Source: bhg.com via Michelle on Pinterest

And even this cute little yo-yo bracelet

Source: freshpoppydesign.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I opted for a bunch of green yo-yo's fastened to a styrofoam tree form with pearl-tipped pins.

For the base, I wrapped a wooden dowel in brown gingham ribbon, used an empty thread spool covered in ribbon, and attached that to an empty ribbon spool covered in patterned paper. This second spool also serves to hold a little sentiment for my friend.

Yo-yo's made with the Clover template come together very quickly, but the template is not necessary. Heather Bailey has a fabulous photo tutorial here.

Day 9: Gift Card Holders

2012-01-03T10:53:00.000-05:00

I don't really like giving gift cards for Christmas, which is strange because I like to receive them. Sometimes it just has to be done, and who said GC's have to be given in their boring little envelopes they come with?

Here's a round-up of fun gift card holders:

fabric holders

from Sew 4 Home: tute

snow globe holder

from The Creative Mama: tute

pretty little package holder

from Crafting Confessions

altoid tin holder

source

pocket holder

from Ink & Scissors Etsy shop

cupcake holder

from Scraps of Life: tute

sliding drawer box

from Heather Bailey: pattern

crochet hat holder

from Coats & Clark: pattern

burlap bags

from Vintage Indie

Day 8: Christmas Ball Wreath

2012-01-02T22:00:00.003-05:00

I went from never having made a wreath in my life to making two this holiday season. When I spotted this one on Pinterest, I knew I had to give it a try.

Stringing them onto a wire hanger? Seriously?! Could it really be this easy?

Yup, it sure could.

I grabbed one of hubby's wire hangers from the dry cleaners, stretched it into a circle shape, untwisted the twisty top and began threading on some plastic ornaments I picked up in the dollar spot of Target. Wove a length of ribbon between the ornies and tied it off in a bow.

Easy peasy! I'm keeping this one for us (after all I fashioned it from a wire hanger and cheap plastic ornaments!). But I will be making this again with pretty glass ornaments.

Day 7: Cookies

2012-01-01T15:24:00.000-05:00

Do I have your attention? COOKIES!! The greatest invention ever. Little bites of deliciousness and perfect for gift giving.

We have lots of favorites that we rotate through each year. Most of them come from this cookbook:

These are the cookies that made this year's cut:

click for recipe

These couldn't be any easier: Lay pretzels on cookie sheet (I used a mix of plain round ones and peanut butter sandwich ones), top with kiss, pop in 200 deg oven for 3-5 minutes (just enough to get the kiss soft, remove from oven and press M&M's into kisses. As you can probably tell from my photo, I botched this one this year. I set the oven to 350 and put them in for 5 minutes--totally overheated the chocolate (which makes it dry out and get hard). They still tasted good, though!

1c sugar
1c butter, softened
1 egg
1t peppermint extract
2 1/3c flour
1/4t baking powder
red food coloring
green food coloring

Cream butter and sugar 1-2 minutes. Add egg and extract; beat 1-2 minutes. Combine flour and powder separately then gradually add into butter mixture. Divide dough into thirds. Color one green and one red. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill (I do it for overnight). Divide each dough into thirds again and roll them into ropes approx 1/2" thick. Layer one of each color and slice into 1/4"slices. Place on cookie sheet and bake at350 for 9 to 12 minutes.

click for recipe

1/2c butter, softened
1/4c shortening
1c sugar
2 eggs
1t lemon extract
2 1/2c flour
1t baking powder
1t salt

Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs and extract and blend 1-2 minutes. Mix flour, baking powder and salt separately. Gradually add to butter mixture and mix until dough forms. Chill overnight.
Divide dough and keep one chilled while you roll out the other. Roll to 1/4" thick and cut with cutters. Bake at 400 for 6-8 minutes until golden. Do not over bake.

click for recipe

The cookie recipe linked above is identical to the one in the Land-O-Lakes book I have except for the glaze. I thought mine was a bit too sweet, so the recipe above will probably be perfect.

I have an idea figured out for next Christmas from this pin:

Source: deliacreates.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I'm going to test out some of our favorite cookie recipes to see how they bake up. I'll keep you posted.

Scrapbook Heaven Reveal Day!

2012-01-01T10:02:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

Have you made any resolutions this year? I know many people hate them, but I personally love resolutions--they give me something to strive for, some goals to work toward, a reminder that there is always room for improvement, and the wide open feeling of possibility that exists in our lives.

This sums up many of my hopes for this year nicely:

original source

A new year, a new month, a new set of kits at Scrapbook Heaven.

Here are the beauties this month

And here are my creations this month

Elite:

Petite:

this handmade snowflake garland is included in the kit

I am hoping to be back later today to catch up on Days 6 & 7 of the 12 gifts of Christmas.

Wishing you a fantastic start to 2012!

Day 6: Christmas Cards

2011-12-31T14:21:00.000-05:00

Once in a while, I let my blog feel like work. I start myself on these little projects (like a card a day, or a layout a week, or Pinspire Me Monday}; all wonderful little projects, filled with good intentions. And then life with a husband, three boys, a home, and all the wonderfulness that comes with that side of me bounces me right back into reality, and reminds me why I should not commit to such {little} projects.

So here I am playing catch-up on my 12 Gifts of Christmas. It's only 12 days, you wouldn't think it would be so hard, right?

Christmas cards: I love to design them, kinda like to assemble them, don't really like to address them, love to send them, and LOVE to cross that task off my list.

This year's card:

The base is made from a standard-sized business envelope following the measurements for the larger pocket from this tutorial.

This creates two pockets one perfect to hold a 4x6 photo (trimmed down just a tad), and one for a little pull out greeting.

Day5: Crochet Dishcloths

2011-12-30T23:29:00.001-05:00

One of my first crochet projects was a dishcloth. I like crocheting dishcloths for lots of reasons: they're green (when they get grody, you can toss them in the washer instead of the trash can), they're simple to make, they whip up quickly, there are a slew of patterns available for free online (just search "crochet dishcloths" and you'll find enough patterns to browse through for days or find hundreds and hundreds easily organized on Ravelry), they make dish washing fun.

And they make a great gift, especially when fastened to a fancy bottle of dish detergent.

pattern here

Many granny square patterns also make great dishcloths. Something with a bit of a lacy feel will help the cloth to dry a little quicker.

pattern found in this book #76

Added little coordinating gift tags to complete the gifts:

Day 4: Altered Pants

2011-12-29T22:55:00.002-05:00

Our youngest son is an Angry Birds fanatic. He was first exposed to the game last December when I bought my iPod. It was instant love. He has now cleared all the levels in all the Angry Birds games that exist, owns nearly all of the plush toys, several shirts, 2 keychains, a board game, some figurines, 2 posters, tatoos, a magnet set...I'm sure I'm forgetting something here. He used polymer clay to sculpt a set of Angry Birds and pigs. He duplicated levels with Lego blocks and knocked the Lego pigs down with Lego birds shot from a popsicle stick slingshot he glued himself. Nearly every piece of his artwork in pre-k contained some rendition of an Angry Birds level. He once sat and wrote a 10-page book with drawings of levels and descriptions of their difficulty that he dictated to me to write down for him. Yup. He is {just a little} obsessed.

Enter the pants:

While Christmas shopping this year he spotted this pair of super fluffy Angry Birds pajama bottoms in the men's department of Target. They were a large. In men's. He of course insisted that I look for his size in the kids' section; complaining about the injustice of it all: "But grown-ups don't even like Angry Birds, Mom. It's for kids. Why don't they make them in kids' sizes?" There are some questions in life that have no logical explanation.

My little crafty wheel started turning in my brain wondering if I could alter these to fit him, and my sewing skill brain tried to put the brakes on the whole project and say, "Nah, you could never do that." And then I looked at my little guy rubbing his face into the pants to feel their softness and that's all it took. I tossed them into the cart when he wasn't looking.

Altering them wasn't really all that hard, even for someone like me with minimum sewing skills.

The Task:

Turn these men's large pants (left) into a child's size small (right):

Yikes! That's a really big difference.

The First Step:

I started with the elastic by snipping into the pocket the elastic is threaded through. I snipped right around being careful not to cut the elastic so I could reuse it.

Easy, right? Until I realized these were really well-made pants and the elastic was sewn into the pants on the top. And the bottom. Grrr for well-made pants that I am using to tear apart.

So me and my little seam ripper got to be really good friends, and I tore out the stitching in both sides of the elastic.

Step Two:

Then I simply laid a pair of his pajama pants onto the Angry Birds ones to figure out where to cut. I lined up the inseam since I wasn't going to alter that and sliced leaving about 2 1/2" for the hem and 1/2" for the side seam. I folded the hem up twice and sewed it with a zigzag stitch to catch it and then a straight stitch 1/4" below that.

Step Three:

To figure out how much elastic I would need, I just measured against his pants and snipped leaving just enough to join the ends (about 1/2" total).

And this is all I had completed that day he was at school. I stuffed the pants into my closet for 3 weeks procrastinating the waist band. Sometimes I make things out to be so much harder in my head than they really are. But when I did return to this project, I had completely forgotten about taking step-by-step photos. {whoops!} So on we go, photoless.

Step Four:

The waist band. I cut off just the bit of waist that I had hacked up to get the elastic out and folded down about 1/2" pinned and sewed. I then folded down about an inch and stitched that to create a pocket leaving a space through which to thread the elastic. I attached a safety pin to the elastic (a trick I learned from my mom as a little girl--see Mom, I did pay attention to what you taught me about sewing!). Once it's all threaded, unclip the safety pin, stitch the two ends of elastic together and sew the opening closed.

That's all there was to it! I will definitely do something like this again--beware humongous men-sized pants covered in child-loved characters!

The best part--he LOVED his new super fluffy and cuddly Angry Birds pants.

{photo coming soon}

what kind of a {~~crafty person~~} mother am I, not taking a picture of my {~~amazing seamstress skillz~~} son in his new favorite jammie bottoms?

Sneakie Peeks

2011-12-28T10:12:00.001-05:00

I've been back at the craft table for the first time in a few weeks playing with the January Elite kit from Scrapbook Heaven. I absolutely love this kit (and it may even be available in the store already--wink, wink).

Here are a few sneakies

I'll be back on the first with the full reveal!

Day 3: Samoa Bark

2011-12-27T23:50:00.002-05:00

Let's talk yummy treats for a minute.

I usually make some type of foodie treat to give to the administrative staff at the boys' elementary schools.

Last year it was instant lattes in a jar:

The year before that, it was trail mix in a jar:

And then the chocolate dipped spoons:

And these little ornaments attached to boxes that I think were filled with Lindt truffles:

This year, I made some Samoa Bark from Cookies and Cups. You can get the recipe here.

I did a trial run of this one just to make sure it would all work out and that it tasted good. I substituted milk chocolate for the dark chocolate that the recipe called for--just my personal preference.

Chill in freezer

Here is why I am not a food blogger: I miss photographing steps. This is where you will melt the caramels and mix it with the toasted coconut.

Here's where I used semi sweet chocolate chips for this step. I also put the melted chocolate into a baggie and snipped off the corner to make it easier to drizzle (not those pictured up there, though; notice the big glops of chocolate?!)

Chill in freezer and cut or break apart.

One thing I did learn on my third batch (figures the first two batches were fine, but I messed up the third). You really want to press the cookies into the melted chocolate and then you want to press the caramel coconut layer firmly onto the cookies. I didn't do that to the third batch and my layers separated when I cut into it. I also found that breaking the bark was very difficult (I might have gotten distracted with another project and left it in the freezer too long...maybe), so cutting it with a pizza cutter worked much better for me.

Then, wrap them in a cellophane bag

Place them in a gift bag

And add a coordinating hang tag

All ready to be given away.

These were very yummy, and I think they will be in next year's holiday cookie rotation.

Enjoy!

Day 2: Rag Quilt

2011-12-27T23:12:00.001-05:00

So yesterday I might have told a little lie.

It wasn't really yesterday, it was sometime early last week when I seemingly had some time on my hands before the holiday last minute chaos of baking, final wrapping, grocery shopping and cooking. I had really hoped when I wrote that post that I would have been writing the 12 Gifts posts in advance and just scheduling them to post each day. Well, that was all good in theory, but truth be told, yesterday's post was the only one I had ready to go before Christmas.

So now I will be flying by the seat of my pants and writing these up each day while the three boys are home on break from school and the house needs to be undecorated and post-holiday parties need to be attended (like yesterday and tomorrow night's) and hockey tournaments need to be played and watched. Ahhhhh {deep exhale}. I promise I will do my best!

Now for Day 2: A Rag Quilt

It had been a long time since I used my sewing machine for actual fabric, and forever and a day since I had made a quilt. But this is kind of a "cheater quilt." I won't lie and tell you that it went together quickly. It didn't (but as quilts go, you can't get much faster than this.). I will say that I loved making this quilt and will definitely be making others. Why? Because it's not difficult, there is no quilting through several layers of fabric, it's all done by machine, and my favorite part: there's NO binding!! Oh happy day. I loathe binding quilts, um probably because I never really learned the proper way to do it.

On with the how to. Click here to be brought to Jera's fantastic tutorial for creating a rag quilt.

I used 1/2 yard cuts of flannel shirting and cut them to 6" square. I am guessing that I used a yard of 6 different fabrics to create a quilt about the size of a crib (but please don't quote me on that, my math for fabric measuring isn't very good as is evident by the fact that I had to return to the fabric store to buy more fabric and also had to scrounge in my stash for some scraps of flannel. My sandwiches were three layers of flannel with the front and back being identical patterns. Somewhere I had read to avoid any kind of polyester-type fabrics (ie. felt, fleece, poly batting) because it does not fray well/at all.

You can't tell from the photo below, but I made my snips about every 1/4" to 1/2" (wish I had taken a photo of that). The washer and dryer worked its magic to create this fabulous fringe look:

This blanket is soft and snuggly and perfect for my nephew to curl up with in front of a movie.

See you in a few hours for Day 3!

12 Gifts of Christmas {day one}

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first day of The 12 Gifts of Christmas here at Life Made Creations!

I made some homemade gifts this year that I just couldn't share with you until they were given. So now we get to extend the holiday season for 12 more days, with none of the stress (since most of these posts I drafted before Christmas and scheduled to go live each day). So grab yourself a hot cuppa something and enjoy!

For day one I'm going to share probably my most favorite gift of the season:

It, of course, began with this pin:

Source: lindamade.com via Michelle on Pinterest

which originated from this tutorial from Good Knits. Lisa has a fabulous step by step photo tutorial to walk you through wrapping the wreath with crochet. I then crocheted a scallop edging by repeating this pattern: [sc, sk 2, 5dc, sk2] around the whole wreath.

I used various patterns to create the flowers.

First flower on left was made by following this video:

The other two red flowers come from this fabulous book by Linda Permann (who happens to be the one who made that bright green wreath above)
On the smaller one, I inserted a grey center made from 8sc worked into a ring, and on the larger 8-petal layered flower, I created a bobble from 6dc, leaving loops on the hook after each dc.

The 6-petal grey flower was just a simple little pattern I made up:

sc12 into magic ring, sl st to close
ch3, sk sc, slst into next sc repeat around to have 6 ch3 loops
in each loop: 2sc, 4trc, 2sc
slst in 1st sc to close
attach bobble (as made above) to center

And the shaggy grey flower is a variation on this flower by AnneMarie

I started with a ch4 loop, and s10sc into loop
Working in front loops only, I sl st, ch5, sl st in every sc around.
Then repeated the pattern in the back loops around. Another bobble in the center to finish it off.

This was a really fun project, and I will definitely be making more of these soon--like a pastel on for spring.

Hope you'll come back tomorrow for day 2!

A sketch layout {plus one more}

2011-12-18T14:23:00.002-05:00

Somehow I managed to scrapbook a page yesterday. I sort of have this ominous feeling that I have forgotten something--forgot to get a present for someone, forgot to wrap something, forgot a chunk of my Christmas card list. It just doesn't seem right that it is the week before Christmas and I had time to scrapbook. I'm waiting for that middle-of-the-night-jolt-upright-in-bed moment to strike....

Here's the layout:

the colors are a bit off--the background is white and the green is not neon

I coupled the December Petite kit with this sketch from Nuts About Sketches

I wish I had more time to play with this kit this month--it's a cute one! I did do one other layout with this kit that I don't think I posted:

I used alcohol inks to color the bird and then painted it with diamond Stickles.

I have one more little project that I'm working on with this kit--hope to have it done this week.

Enjoy your week!

More Elf Mischief

2011-12-16T15:40:00.001-05:00

This month is whipping right by. I think I am finally at a place where I can let out a little sigh of relief.

The cards are mailed

Many of the handmade gifts are finished:

The stores have been shopped, and the presents we have are even wrapped (amazing for me as I'm usually a Christmas-Eve-at-10:30 wrapper).

The chaos seems to be winding down and the lists are more check marks than not.

So here's what our mischievous Wilfred has been up to lately:

Sipping juice in the fridge. The boys thought he might be cold so they gave him a blanket:

Caught with the Expo marker after doodling on the boys photos:

Climbing up the tree to get his hat back from the Angel:

Playing DS:

Getting a shoulder ride from Santa:

Hanging from the Christmas card garland:

Fishing:

Fresh from the shower:

He's a silly one, that Wilfred!

I know I haven't posted all that much this month, but the stUdio has been more like Santa's workshop lately and it would be like peeking at the presents if I posted what I've been working on. I think I'm going to put together a 12 days of Christmas to kick off on the 26th so I can share the projects with you.

Please stay tuned.

A little Pinspiration

2011-12-09T06:30:00.000-05:00

The other night I snapped some photos of our tree:

And then I came across this pin

Source: elizabethhalford.com via Michelle on Pinterest

So last night I gave it a try. I set-up the tripod and set the aperture (f-stop) to 22 and the shutter speed (exposure time) to 10 seconds. I used the timer mode to eliminate camera shake. This is the result:

Much more twinkly, right?

Here's a little side-by-side:

I took a few other shots just to try out my new-found knowledge.

A tree close-up:

Our front door:

I love when I get to be all nerdy with my camera! Give it a try and please let me know how you make out.

Our Home for the Holidays

2011-12-08T14:18:00.001-05:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas {even though it hasn't really felt it here in the northeast}. Jules, one of the DT prompted us to take some photos of our holiday decorations, and I'm so glad she did.

Here's what Christmas looks like in our home:

I played around with these fun {and FREE} actions from Pioneer Woman when I edited these photos. And the girls at Texas Chicks give fantastic instructions (with video) to download and install them!

Elf on the Shelf

2011-12-08T13:54:00.001-05:00

Two years ago my aunt gave us this

for Christmas, and so began the tradition with our beloved elf, Wilfred.

This year, I think the little elves at the North Pole have spent their summer learning how to be silly and mischievous little critters. Or maybe they all sat on their computers and browsed through Pinterest.

Here's what I mean:

The wait is over; Wilfred announces his arrival on the kitchen chalkboard.

After dumping some trash on the floor, Wilfred plays "garbage man" and drives around trying to clean it all up.

There's nothing like reading a good Christmas story in the wee hours of the night.

Ahhh, chillaxing in a tub of mini-mallows after a long trip back from the Pole.

It snowed, it snowed! Let's make snow angels {on the kitchen counter with some powdered sugar}!

Wilfred vs the Santas!

Looks like we know who's winning.

Wilfred gets in some writing practice.

What a cute little student.

Scrabble, anyone?

The boys wake early each morning to see what this crazy little elf has been up to while they slept. Can't wait to see what else he has in store for us!

Scrapbook Heaven December Reveal

2011-12-05T13:37:00.001-05:00

I've been working feverishly all weekend to create my projects using this month's kits. So far I've delved into the Elite kit and am about to tear myself away from it to get moving on the Petite kit. But first I'm taking a short breath of air to post these projects. Hope you like them!

This is the December Elite kit:

and you can buy your very own here for $24.99.

In the order in which they were created:

you can see the contents of this in my previous post

The papers in this kit really lend themselves to fussy cutting, like the string of lights above.

Couldn't resist "hanging" these ornaments from some stitched threads.

That felt flower was hand created by DT member Jules. There are three of these beauties included in the kit.

My December challenge: hand lettering--your title, your card sentiment. You can submit your layouts to this thread.

Absolutely love the fun colors and papers included in this kit!

I still have tons of paper left over to play with for more layouts and cards and maybe even another mini or some altered art.

December Organizer

2011-12-04T14:28:00.001-05:00

As part of my kit projects for Scrapbook Heaven, I decided to create a December Organizer. Let's face it, this time of year, I can use all the organization I can get!

I started with a wooden box designed to hold 4x6 cards and painted it to match the papers in the kit. A bit of embellishing with papers and a felt tree, and it was ready to fill:

I listed out the categories I wanted the organizer to have, and created divider cards for the box:

Here's a look at each section and what it will organize:

a place for daily reflections on the season

a place to record everyone's wishes and help me organize what I need to buy

a place to keep snapshots of our decorations

a place to keep photos of our elf's daily crazy antics

a place to keep the list of cards we need to send

a place to keep recipes and photos of this year's holiday treats

a place to record and photograph handmade gifts

I'm off to go put my organizer to good use!

Thanks for looking!

Handmade Christmas

2011-12-01T12:57:00.001-05:00

Happy December!

It's December 1st, and for the last couple of weeks I have let the season get the better of me.

The first stage was the denial: how could it already be Thanksgiving? I was still mourning the end of summer.

Then came panic: Oh, my gosh, Christmas will be here before I know it, and I am so unprepared.

Then the overwhelm: Christmas cards, gifts to make, stores to shop, lists to make...

And now it is December and I am vowing to enjoy this glorious month.

Lists are written, items are getting checked off, cards are started.

This little guy arrived in the night:

And these handmade gifts are well underway.

Yup, it's going to be a glorious Christmas season filled with love, gratitude, giving, and peace. So long stress and overwhelm; you are not welcome here!

Oh, and one more thing: have you seen this

from the adorable Jessica Sprague? Class starts on the 5th and it's FREE!

Pinspire Me Monday: Tiered Cake Pans

2011-12-01T12:07:00.001-05:00

Happy ~~Monday~~ Thursday!

Wish I had a good excuse as to why this is so darn late.

It's too late to claim a turkey hangover, or to say I got tangled up in the Christmas lights.

Really I've just been up to my tree topper in handmade projects (more on that later).

And who knew that in late November, Massachusetts would have mild-enough temperatures to be spray painting outdoors. Originally I had planned to do a Pinterest Recipe-Roundup for this week, but when temps hit the 60's over the weekend, I grabbed the half-empty can of spray paint and got busy on a last-minute

Here's the original from Alissa Fast:

Source: alissafast.typepad.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Genius, right? As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted it.

So I headed to the dollar store for three different sized cake pans. Then it was off to the wood store for some wooden candlesticks. No luck, so I had to improvise by piecing together some little wooden gizmos. Wish I had taken pictures of the pieces before I assembled them, but I can tell you the topper is two pieces, and the other two are made from 4 pieces each: a bell-type piece, a little rail, and two mini candle cups.

These are great for holding craft supplies, but how about make-up and perfumes in the bathroom, or jewelry on the dresser, or as a serving try at a party (minus the spray paint for that one), or the kid's little toys and figures. Lots of possibilities with this one!

I'll be taking the rest of December off from Pinspire Me Monday so I can keep my sanity getting ready for Christmas. We'll resume in January with more Pinspired projects.

Gratitude Album

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

It has become a tradition in my family to take note of what we are grateful for on Thanksgiving.

To go along with this tradition, I create some sort of gratitude holder.

Last year it was this Gratitude Box:

The year before, this little suitcase (which somehow never got posted to my blog):

And in 2008, it was a meander album {instructions are here}:

This year, I decided to create some simple tags:

The backside looks like this ( I simply ran regular manilla shipping labels right through the manual-feed tray of the printer):

Each tag has a different quote about gratitude.

Since I had to come up with 24, I kept the designs simple and made them all with DCWV Harvest Gathering papers and some paper doilies.

They will hang from a branch in a cranberry-filled vase so that everyone can take one down and fill it out:

And then they will all be bound together in this little envelope mini:

so we can flip through it next year.

Pinspire Me Monday: Altered Birdhouse

2011-11-21T07:30:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I poked around on the Zutter Bind-It-All Handmade Blog Hop, and came across this adorable project. I loved it so much I pinned it:

Source: andreascreativepapertrail.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Then last week, I visited For the Luv of Art and discovered that they had a Pinterest crop going on. One of the challenges was to glitter something. So here's this week's

I created this little sparkly birdhouse.

It was really fun to do, just kept layering things on: patterned paper, paint, pompom fringe, lace, ribbon, tinsel trim, buttons, punched snowflakes, pearls.

And then topped it all off with some chunky glitter and some painted-on Stickles.

And of course a little banner strung across the front.

Thanks so much for Pinspiring me, Andrea!

Your turn: link up your Pinspired projects in the sidebar.

Some Crazy Croppin' Fun!

2011-11-18T13:36:00.000-05:00

We are drooling over some delicious recipes and taste-tempting foodie photos over at the Scrapbook Heaven Cornucopia of Cards crop. Stop by and play along!

Here are the challenges and cards I created for the crop:

Main Course: SWEET POTATOES

source:http://www.beckyhiggins.com/recipes/?p=50

Sweet Potatoes have always been part of our Thanksgiving dinner--my mom made them and before her, my grandma, and they always called them yams. It was one of the few things that never made it onto my plate. That and the boiled onions (yuck!). But I do have a sweet challenge for you to go with sweet potatoes!

Create a card that uses something sweet as its focal point: candies, cakes, chocolates, cupcakes, cookies. Here's my sample using product from the November Petite:

_______________________________________________________________

Side Dish: MASHED POTATOES

source: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_mashed_potatoes/

Heap on the mashed potatoes! This is one food that I have loved my whole life (funny that I married a man who despised them; he'll eat them now because he has no choice!). Use the colors above inspired from mashed potatoes to create your project. Here's my sample:

_______________________________________________________________

Dessert: PUMPKIN CAKE TRUFFLES

source: http://www.madeinmelskitchen.com/2010/10/pumpkin-cake-truffles/

I have not tested this recipe as of writing this post, but I'm hoping they taste as delicious as they look. And they certainly are inspiring. For this challenge, I want you to drizzle some paint onto your project. Splat, drip, drizzle--go for color, but also texture. Be sure to give yourself some time for the thick paint to dry! Here's mine using product from the November Elite kit:

And a couple of sketches I created for the event:

Completed projects for these challenges must be uploaded to the forum by midnight on November 30th to be eligible for prizes.

Medallion Ornament Tutorial

2011-11-15T14:55:00.001-05:00

This morning I went through the Scrapbook Heaven Gallery to find a project to feature for layout of the day, and came across this beautiful ornament in the archives from PJstamps:

I knew I just had to make one for myself, and figured I would do a little tute in case any of you wanted to make one for your holiday decor. It's really quite easy.

You will need:

scallop circle punch

paper doily

strip of paper to create accordion flower for center

cardstock for backing

pretty button or brad for center

paper glue

ribbon

scoring board (not required)

One:

Punch scallop circles (mine used 18, but this will depend on the size of your circle)

Two:

Score the circles as shown. If you're using a scoring board place two dots along one of the score lines--makes it easier to line the scallop up each time.

Three:

Fold the circles along the score line, but don't crease. Add a little adhesive to the bottom portion and pinch. Cut a circle from cardstock to use as backing (I used a Sizzix diecut scallop circle)

Four:

Dry fit your rolled circles around the backing.

Five:

Adhere the "petals" in place. I didn't worry about aligning the edges all the way down the petal. Rather, make sure the top edges touch and leave a gap between the bottoms.

Six:

Glue the paper doily to the center and embellish with an accordion folded rosettes, scallop circle, and decorative button or brad. If you're not sure how to make the accordion rosettes, here is a quick and easy video tutorial. And glue on a ribbon for hanging. Done--wasn't that easy?

Let me know if you give this a try!

Pinspire Me Monday: Thanksgiving Placecards

2011-11-14T11:15:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday!

This year, I was going to host Thanksgiving for the first time. I was sweating it a bit because, let's face it, Thanksgiving is ALL about the food. Yes, we think about what we are grateful for, and we are happy to be together with family and friends, but at the end of the day (when our bellies are stuffed fatter than the turkey was), we look back and think about how delicious everything was.

So when my aunt mentioned hosting the holiday this year, I graciously and gratefully handed over the ~~baton~~ errr, turkey baster (and then I said a little prayer that I am spared from having to cook a 28 pound bird, 14 side dishes, and 7 pies for at least one more year). I will bring whatever her little heart desires


like Wegman's scrumdiddlyumptious pumpkin layer cake

and I will also be making the place cards for the table, which brings us to today's

This week's pin comes from Martha Stewart:

Source: marthastewart.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I picked up a few sprigs of fall doodads (technical crafting term) at the craft store, gathered up some sticks, and created a little label template in Word.

Some hot glue and these were a snap to put together. Martha gives directions on her website linked above, but I do have one tip for you:
if you find that your assembled sticks tip over, add a dot or two of hot glue to the underside to create a little "foot" for the piece to stand on.

Thanks so much for checking out this week's project. And don't forget to link up your Pinspired creations in the sidebar (pretty, pretty please!).

Cornucopia of Cards Crop

2011-11-10T13:26:00.001-05:00

If you enjoy making cards, or like to have a challenge to inspire you when you create, then you will want to head on over to the Scrapbook Heaven Forum for our upcoming Cornucopia of Cards Crop. The fun begins next Friday, November 18th.

The Deets:

You're invited to Scrapbook Heaven's Cornucopia of Cards Crop! The DT has cooked up a smorgasbord of deliciousness. It's a Thanksgiving feast like none you have tasted and is sure to whet your creative appetite! Join us beginning Friday, November 18 for entree items, colorful side dishes, and technique-filled desserts. Who knows, you may even pick up a new recipe or two for your cookbook. See you at the banquet, and don't forget to bring a friend (and your creative appetite!).

Here's a little sneaky peeky of the projects I created for this crop:

I hope you will stop by!

Oh, and while I'm here I have one more November Elite kit LO to share with you:

I created this page for my technique challenge for the crop, but then remembered...duh, it's a CARD crop! Thought I could sneak it in anyway, but those DT girls at Scrapbook Heaven run a tight ship ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Pinspire Me Monday: Cracked Marble Pendant

2011-11-07T08:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday!

Time for another...dum da dum dum...

Are you growing to love Monday's? I think I am.

So here's this week's pin:

Source: craftster.org via Michelle on Pinterest

Aren't those purty!

When I read how to do this, I just had to try it for myself--it seemed too easy to be true.

I baked mine at 325 for 20 minutes and plopped them into a bowl of cold water. It worked, though I don't think I achieved quite the same faceted effect as the gorgeous ones above.

I topped it with a bead cap into which I inserted a rounded wire and threaded it onto a satin rope.

I'll be playing with this just a bit more to see if I can get more cracks in my marbles. Just what I need, right--more cracks in my marbles!

ETA: go ahead and cook them up at 500 degrees for 30 minutes to get more 'crackage.'

If you've been pinspired by something you pinned on Pinterest, please link it up in the sidebar.

Happy Creating!

November Challenge: Paint a Journal Spot

2011-11-03T08:42:00.000-04:00

I pulled out some acrylic paint for the first time in a while and it was fun!

Doesn't take much to make me happy, huh?!

Anyway, my challenge to you this month is to paint yourself a little journaling spot. Just a tiny dab of paint dry brushed onto your page (this is perfect for those dark colored backgrounds) becomes the perfect place to jot down your memories. Hope you'll give it a try! Here's my example using product from the November Elite kit:

Happy creating!

And you can link up your page in the comments here, or in the forums at Scrapbook Heaven.

Scrapbook Heaven November Reveal

2011-11-01T06:30:00.000-04:00

It's reveal day!

Aren't these kits beautiful:

Here's what I created with the kits:

November Elite:

scraplifted this layout I had Pinned from Bella Blvd.

November Petite:

If you would like to have some kits of your very own, please visit The Store.

I'll be back tomorrow with my November Challenge.

Pinspire Me Monday: Christmas card album

2011-10-31T12:08:00.002-04:00

Happy Monday, and to those of you celebrating, Happy Halloween!

It looks more like Christmas around here than Halloween, though.

Yesterday we woke up to this:

And then the sun warmed things up to reveal the colors of fall against the pure white snow:

It was really quite beautiful. But the storm knocked out our power for about 7 hours.

So on with this week's Pinspire Me Monday.

I just finished my project (when will I learn to not be such a procrastinator?).

Here's my Pinspiration:

Source: allendesigns.typepad.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I love finding new ways to use/save our holiday cards:

using card fronts as gift tags or accents on scrapbook pages
turning artwork into new cards
slipping them into photo sleeves

I loved the idea of binding them all into a book--the boys love to look through the photos throughout the season, and even the year.

So here's my Pinspired Project:

Although I loved the ease of simply punching holes in the cards and sticking rings on them, I somehow feel the need to take a simple project and put a complicated spin on it.

So here's my process:

Match up cards according to size
Glue card pairs together along one side (the side opposite the one the binding will go into)
Cut strips of cardstock wide enough to fit the binding (I used 1 1/2" for the Bind it All)
Cut the strips to the same length as each card pair
Glue between card layers
Punch holes for binding and bind together (I created a front and back cover from chipboard)

I love how the cards still open to reveal the greetings inside.

What's Pinspiring you lately? Please share it in the side bar!

Thanksgiving Banner: a class & a kit!

2011-10-29T04:30:00.000-04:00

Give Thanks Banner: Class & Kit

Thanksgiving is a time for family gatherings, counting blessings, and fabulous food. And at the heart of celebrating is your home. How about a special handmade banner to decorate your home this fall season?

In this class, you will make the trendy banner pictured above. You’ll learn how to create layered medallions, fashion a beautiful pearl-centered flower from paper, and upcycle the pages of an old book into a project you will love to hang in your home for the fall!

This class is being offered at my home stUdio. But for those who aren't a stone's throw from Boston, I have put together a few kits for sale right here on my blog. This is my first time using Pay Pal to take payments, so we'll be finding out together if this is going to work!

Here are all the goodies included in the kit (plus two green leaves for the flower--forgot to add those to the photo):

Kit contents:

11 sheets of book paper
11 sheets of cardstock (from the DCWV Harvest Gathering Stack)
11 assorted pre-cut and scored strips to make paper rosettes
11 assorted scallop cut circles
pre-cut letters to spell "Give Thanks"
3 large and 3 small die cut flowers to make paper rose (colors may differ from the yellow pictured above)
3 pearl beads for flower center
1 length of twine for hanging
2 templates for cutting the pennant shape

Supplies you will need:

scissors
double sided adhesive or glue stick
liquid adhesive for paper
hot glue gun--you can use liquid adhesive, but the hot glue makes speedy work of the rosettes.

Everything will come boxed up and arrive right at your doorstep:

SOLD OUT!

~~To order, use the PayPal button below~~ to choose one of the shipping options ("no shipping" if you live locally and would like to pick up your order, "shipped to you" if you would like the kit to ship directly to you (the extra $5 covers s/h). Currently, I am only shipping within the US, but please email me for international shipping rates.

The project is pretty self explanatory, but I'll be posting a video that walks you through assembling one pennant and the dimensional flower next week.

Page Maps Sketch and a BIG peek

2011-10-28T13:55:00.000-04:00

It's been a loooong time since I played along with Page Maps.

But this sketch caught my eye:

Maybe it was those cute little acorns, or the November Scrapbook Heaven kit product I was surrounded by. Or maybe it was this fab prize package Becky has up for grabs:

Whatever it was, I had fun putting this simple page together:

And with this layout being created with only product from the November Elite kit, this is a BIG sneak peek of what's in store for November.

Thanks for looking!

November Kit Sneak Peeks

2011-10-28T13:11:00.001-04:00

October is blowing out of here and leaving a dusting of snow as it says goodbye here in New England. How did this happen? I haven't even put away the shorts and bathing suits and I already need to pull out the snow pants and mittens. I don't like it. Not one little bit.

Well, it's almost time for new kits to hit The Store, so here are some sneakie peeks for you:

Got a bit happy with the Tim Holtz rosette die this month.

Come back Tuesday for the full reveal!

Pinspire Me Monday: crochet owl pouch

2011-10-24T13:44:00.000-04:00

It's Monday! Time for another Pinspire Me Monday.

Can it be? Monday may just turn into my favorite day of the week!

So here's what Pinspired me last week:

Source: a-crochet-ninja.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

A little crocheted owl coin purse from A Crochet Ninja. Is he not the cutest?! The owl was simple as pie to hook up (and now that I'm looking at him, I forgot his little beak and feathers--whoops!). It was that zipper that had me procrastinating this project until just this morning. I've never done a zipper before. I was scared.

But I conquered my fears, bought the zipper, consulted with the nice woman at the cutting counter of the fabric store and set to work on it. Only took me two tries to get it right. Third times a charm, right? The first time I sewed the zipper to the liner inside out--whoopsie! The second time I hand-stitched the zippered liner to the owl a bit off center. Let's just say my seam ripper is my new BFF.

But here he is all zipped up and ready to use (minus the beak and feathers I'll be adding shortly):

Itn't he cute! I'm toying with the idea of adding a crocheted strap to him to make him a wristlet.

Now it's your turn. Link up one of your Pinspired projects in the sidebar (it's very empty and sad over there...). Remember it can be anything you've found on Pinterest and tried for yourself: a recipe, a decoration, gift-wrapping, a photograph...anything!

Can't wait to see what you're finding Pinspiring these days!

Sketch Crop

2011-10-21T17:00:00.000-04:00

There's a sketch crop going on at Scrapbook Heaven! If you are a fan of sketches, hop on over to the forum to check out

Here are the sketches I created for the crop:

The idea for this crop is that you can use each sketch for both a layout and a card, and then you can flip or rotate the sketch to create a whole new project. Fun, right?

Here are the projects I created with my sketches:

a layout with a cute little banner

Then I took the banner portion of the sketch and put it on a card:

Here's my second sketch from above.
The card:

turned into a layout:

So if you're inspired and have some time to create this weekend, join us over in the forum. There's a fabulous prize package up for grabs if you upload your projects before midnight on the 31st. Hope to see you there!

Halloween Treats Tutorial

2011-10-20T09:00:00.000-04:00

I love getting ready for Halloween. The decorating, the costume making, ...the CANDY! Ok, yup that might be my most favoritest part.

Every year, I create a little goodie for the boys to take into their classmates. It will be sad when they are too old to do this (like my middle-schooler this year).

Here are this year's treats for my youngest's kindergarten class:

Here's what you'll need:

And here's how you make them:

click on photo to see larger

10. Fill with treats and give!

Enjoy!

Farm Invitations

2011-10-18T10:00:00.000-04:00

Moo, Baa, Cluck! Here's what was on my desk this past weekend:

I love when I can collaborate with a client to create an invitation to fit perfectly with her party's theme.

In this case it was "Fall on the Farm": apple and pumpkin picking, hay rides, a corn maze, caramel apples.

It took a couple of tries:

not "fall" enough

getting warmer, but how about some leaf paper and a cornstalk

Ahhh, perfect!

Signed, sealed and delivered!

Have a very happy 9th birthday, Savannah!