Pickin' Pumpkins

This weekend my family visited the Pumpkin Patch. We even tried a new one this year - and took my mom along ;). We had “fun” but both myself and my mom were just not feeling great. My mom had a really rough week. She had the “double dose” of Chemo as she calls it. She does chemo 3 Thursdays a month, and one of those Thursdays (last Thursday) she gets two different meds with her Chemo. When she gets the "double dose" she always ends up feeling pretty sick, runned down, and VERY fatigued. As for me, I don’t know what was wrong (Ok, I’m lying it was probably PMS - sorry, but true). I always love Pumpkin’ Pickin’ but I was so in a bad mood this time :( and didn't feel great. The kids had fun though!! What is it about pumpkins that make people happy?!? I guess it's all the varying sizes of cute pumpkins? Maybe the hay? No clue. But it is fun! It’s so funny, last year, Alivia was just a lil wee one who just sat there. This year, she was running all over the place. Picking up (and then dropping) pumpkins. So cute. Paige and christian were like "This one, No that one" the entire time.





Usually we’d get a giant Pumpkin to carve, but that just wasn’t in the cards for us this year. I have so many projects I'm working on for the Bargain Hunt, and I made about 35 of the Goodie Bags for my kids' classes - basically, I'm swamped!! Plus, my mom picked up this cute little wooden turkey that you paint and then poke into the pumpkin. The kids had their hearts set on decorating that and it required a smaller pumpkin. So they picked out the pumpkin for that project. Then Christian wanted a mini pumpkin to paint, and also needed another small pumpkin for school. Paige decided on a pumpkin the same size as our “turkey pumpkin” and she painted that. My little Lulu (Alivia) decided she’d be different and choose a cute little gourd that kinda looks like a giant acorn ;). Paige thinks it looks diseased and will not touch it, but I have to say, I love that little gourd - it’s so darn cute!!


Well, that was our pumpkin pickin' adventure/craft. Fun stuff. Hope you all have a great weekend!!

My weekend project...Halloween "Goodie Bags" a-la Bo Bunny

Hello there. Today I wanted to share the project I made this weekend. Ok, first thing you should know about me is that I am the mom who avoids signing up for goodie bags for my children's class parties (especially now that there are 2 of them in school!!). I'm sorry, I do. First off, it just gets too expensive and secondly (and especially) both of my kiddies LOVE making & decorating cupcakes (and it's something we can all do together), so, I usually sign up for cupcakes instead!!

Ok, that was until I saw THIS amazing project on the Bo Bunny Blog!! I have to say: Bo Bunny's "Whoo-Ligans" is my absolute fave for Halloween this year!! I just love the colors, patterns, and THOSE HAPPY LITTLE MONSTERS. (...SIGH...) I was so excited when 2Peas got it all in, that I ordered 3 of each page (of patterned paper) and a sheet of the chipboard stickers!!

Anyway, Frances made the CUTEST project ever, it was just amazing AND she included a template and detailed (easy) instructions! After seeing her tutorial, I went and signed each of my kids' names right next to "Goodie Bags" right away!! I felt like such a rebel ;).

I know, mine are NOWHERE as detailed and purty as Frances'. She did an amazing job. I was going to just go crazy, and then my hubby said "THOSE KIDS ARE JUST GUNNA EAT THE CANDY & THROW THEM AWAY"!! Now, if one of my kids got something like that, I'd keep it forever! I'd put it on my desk at work, and smile every time I saw it :). But seeing as he was probably right (he's got to be right ONCE in a while, right?!?) I decided to not go "crazy" but still cuten them up. I just didn't want to "waste" my pretty chippies...is that bad?!? Plus, I initially planned on using them for my babies' Halloween pages anyway - especially if they'd just end up in the garbage anyway (shuttering at the thought right now!!). Here's a look at mine:

For Christian's class (Kindergarten) I used this page and paper pieced all of the little monsters and their lil cute sayings - and added googly eyes for AWESOMENESS. For Alivia's class' I put my Lawn Fawn "Heebie Jeebies" Stamps to good use by stamping the Happy Halloween webbed sentiment and added the (most adorable) spider into the web for added cuteness. I added Tootsie pops and twizzlers as the treats and finished them off with "from: Christian/from: Alivia" stamped with Lawn Fawn's Harold's ABCs and punched it out with a circle punch. Wow, I'm really long winded today - sorry about that!!!! Hope you have a fabulous day!!

Weekend fun!!!!

Good Monday everyone!! Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was great!! On Friday night our church had the youth group babysit and so Sal & I went out to dinner to celebrate my Birthday (today). I can tell ya, 31 doesn't feel any different from 30;). We had a really nice time. I love my babies to pieces, but I really, really, appreciate being able to actually have a quite conversation with my man without being interupted or having to dicipline someone once in a while.

Then on Saturday afternoon we went to Sal's company picnic, which was really fun!! They had bounce houses, rock walls, a band, food... you know the usual company picnic type stuff. Here are some pics of the kids there. Alivia would only stand still long enough to get ONE stinkin picutre of her...sigh... Paige and Christian really loved the rock wall.





On Saturday night, we got awesome - club level - tickets (courtesy of one of the attorneys in my office - WHO OBVIOUSLY ROCKS!!) to the Florida Panthers (Hockey) game. We took my son & father-in-law with us. My son just LOVES hockey, and last week was actually my father-in-law's birthday, so it was kinda his gift ;). My mother-in-law kept Alivia over night, so we could stay out late and spend time with just Christian and not worry about being back at a certain time. Let me tell you, we. had. a. blast!! Best time ever!! We had amazing seats, free food & drinks, and my son was so well behaved!! He said it was the best day ever, and I'd have to agree that it was definately one of them!! We usually have 3 kids everywhere we go, and alot of the time that means at least two of them are fighting, and Christian is ALWAYS one of the two. He's a rambunctious boy, what can I say. He's an awesome kid!! It's hard to always appreciate that when he's in time-out for the 3rd or 4th time. I think (hope) he'll remember this day forever!! It totally rocked.

Here's a pic of all four of us: And then here are a few more pics of my sweet spunky boy. Just enjoying the game and basking in all the joys of his momma and daddy's undivided attention & love. AND enjoying all the perks having a "friend of a friend" who hooks you really good up sometimes!!




Ok, well I'm off to work my Birthday away (BOOO!!!). Hope you have a wonderful day!!

P.S. I also got MAJOR crafty this weekend - like alot - even with all the busyness and fun we had this weekend. Oh! We also visited the Pumpkin Patch!! I'll share more of that tomorrow. God bless!!

Another "Bargain Hunt" project

Good morning!

Today I am sharing another project I made to sell at the Bargain Hunt. This is actually a nice gift item. I got the metal recipe tin from Joanne Fabrics for $2.50 and covered it in Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper and used Garden Variety's element page/chipboard stickers, and American Crafts Thickers (letter stickers) (& October Afternoon's Mini Market for "OUR") to decorate the outside of it.

On the inside, I got really creative :D!! For the recipe card dividers first I took some Bazzil (white) cardstock, and this adorable Salt & Pepper Shaker stamp from Unity Stamp Co. Next, I stamped it onto the white paper using Ranger's (Distress) Embossing Ink and heat embossed it with American Crafts clear embossing powder. Then, I used a variety of Ranger's Distress Inks and my ink blender tool and inked away! Now, I am NOT AT ALL a pro at inking/distressing with this tool. I've practiced a few times. I think I'm really getting the hang of it! I like how it came out, but I'm definitely no Tim Holtz or Jennifer McGuire - THAT'S for sure!! Ok, so, lastly, I punched out tabs using my EK Success tab punch and the Garden Variety 6x6 pad, stamped on the dividers using Lawn Fawn's Harold's ABCs, and stapled them to the cards. Here's a looksie at the entire project: I really like how it came out. I think it's so bright & fun! Hopefully it makes lotsa money for the Relay for Life ;). I'm going to make another this weekend (I bought 2 of them), but think I'll use all of Cosmo's Early Bird on that one. Hope to share more next week!! Have a great weekend!!

My weekend projects...

As you know, I've been working on projects to sell at the Bargain Hunt that my church is having on November 13, 2010. I participated in one they had over the summer. I didn't do so well, but I didn't really know what to expect and decided to do it VERY last minute. So, this time I have a plan! With the Holidays coming, I'm focusing on holiday related items or items that someone may want to give as a gift for the holidays. I've made a few Christmas/Holiday cards, so far, and will be making more along the way, but this weekend I focused on on gifty stuff. (PS on all of the projects I make for the Bargain Hunt, my goal is to use up my stash only - no buying new products!!). Ok, I'm officially determined. Especially because all my proceeds (except for the 10% donation to the church) will go directly to the Relay for Life I'll be doing in March.

This first item is an Ornament I made using a chipboard star from a Maya Road coaster mini. I covered it with My Mind's Eye Christmas paper left over from last year. I just love this paper!! In fact, I have a couple sheets of and some chipboard stickers left over, and will be making gift tags out of them :). Anyway, I chalked the edges of the star in orange ColorBox, and made a "flower" using a Fiscars scalloped border punch. I also added some thin wire, that I has curled on a skewer and popped up some cute little stars (stuck them on using Glossy Accents). And I HAD to finish it off with a beautiful banner and sentiment from my Lawn Fawn Cozy Christmas Stamps (LOVE!!) I just love how it came out so much!! I like the colors - so bright and fun!!

For the next ornament, I took a Jenni Bowlin chipboard bird/wing and traced them onto empty/flattened boxes of...fruit snacks. Yep, fruit snack boxes. I'm also doing a heaping of recycling here. Been saving them for a few months now. They work great. They're kind of thinner than chipboard but very environment friendly - especially with the plethora of fruit snack my kiddies go through - and, once you cover both sides in paper, they do get thicker. You can do this with cereal boxes, rice boxes, heck...scalloped potatoes, whatever - you get the point! I used a sheet of My Minds Eye from another collection left over from last year. I actually wasn't crazy about this paper by it's self - I got it in a kit - and thought I'd never use it. At least not on a scrapbook page, but I really like how this came out! I also chalked the edges of this lil birdie in brown Colorbox, and finished it off with a Prima jewel for an eye. Then I completed both ornaments by stamping "Merry Christmas 2010" using a Hero Arts stamp and Momento Ink. Enjoy - hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Studio Calico (October) Kit Page

Happy Tuesday ;). Hope everyone had a great weekend. I made a few cutsie things this weekend. I made a card using Bo Bunny's Peacock Lane & Lawn Fawn's Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments stamps, to submit to the Paper Crafts Mag. submissions call - can't share it yet, but it came out super cute!! Then I worked on a few things I plan on selling at the Bargain Hunt (on November 13th) at my church. I'll share those things tomorrow, but today, I wanted to share the layout I created using this month's Studio Calico Kit, On the Easel. As I mentioned last week, that lil polaroid pic stamp just made my heart skip a beat, I tell you!! I love it so much! Anyway, so they had a sketch challenge on their blog this week. Here's a looksie at the sketch.
I just thought it was so cute, and I really have been wanting to use the little "You & Me" card that came in the kit. It really inspired me, and I've been having an itch lately to scrap some wedding pics of me & my hubbs. And, the "title" section of the sketch was screaming for my favorite lil Lawn Fawn Stamp (Bannerific) and paper piecing!!!

So, this is what I came up with based on the sketch: Everything is from the kit, except for the October Afternoon "Mini Market" letter stickers and the bling/staples. I just HAD to use that little bracket off the scalloped paper - it was too perfect to pass up! The pic of the two of us is my absolute fave from our wedding. It was taken on one of those table top disposables. It's just candid and fun & I love it!! I like how it tuned out. Well, hope you have a happy day. be back tomorrow to share some more goodies!

Christmas cards are done!! Now onto other projects!

Well I got all of my Grandma's Christmas Cards off to her last week, and this weekend I finished all of my cards too! Woo Hoo!! now, I'm just waiting to take the pics of my kiddies to stick onto the cards - which won't be, at least, until the beginning of next month - then, finito! So, I did 47 of them. Ran out of the red paper for the fire places. I may go check out one of my LSS' to see if they've gotten Basic Grey's Jovial line in yet (I originally ordered from 2Peas) and then maybe I'll bust out another 25 (later). We'll see about that!

First of all, hope everyone had a great weekend! I got the coolest stamps from Studio Calico that I wanted to share with you!!

Ok, this was the first time I've ordered a Studio Calice Kit!! Exciting! I just LOVE their blog, and design team - so many crafty ladies in one place!! Love their vibe! So, I was browsing what their DT was doing with this month's kit - and, well, WOW! Awsome stuff over there. The kit is amazing, but this adorable little polaroid picture stamp is what sold me - I HAD TO HAVE IT!! It's so cool! When I ordered the kit, I also added on those amazing alphabet stamps!! There is just something about them that I adore! Aren't they just too cool!?!?!?

Well, I've been dying ALL weekend to use that polaroid stamp especially!! I mean, literally, I've been filled with inspiration waiting to burst out with that little guy! The problem was that I had to finish my Christmas cards first (I just had to!). Finally yesterday, I had the opportunity to break it out. So, my Christmas cards are finito, but my church is having a "Bargain Hunt" in November. It's like a big thing where a bunch of venders, crafters, etc get tables and you can sell or buy goodies.

I've decided to get a table and sell some cards/crafts (wish me luck - wink). I thought that since it's in November, maybe Christmas Cards would be the way to go! I've pre-made quite a few (Thank You, Happy Birthday, Thinking of You, etc.) cards and plan to sell them as well, but for here on out, I want to focus on making Christmas Cards for the Bargain Hunt. I also have a few little crafts in mind, but will share those later.

So, I was digging through my stamp stash and found these cute little Hero Arts Owl Christmas stamps I picked up from Michaels last year (50% clearance - after Christmas). I honestly didn't even remember that I had them! So, I had this scene in my mind. How cute would a little polaroid snapshot of these cute lil owls playing in the snow be?!? Well.... this cute!

I started with a black card base, it just seemed right. The patterned paper is something my mom gave me last year from her stash. I used my EK Sucess punch - with some glue and silver (Martha Stewart) glitter - I think it worked perfectly as snow. I then paper pieced the hat/sweater on the owls and used flock (Doodle Bug) for the lil guy's hat. Now, obviously, I am NOT a flock expert (1st timer, actually). I would've liked to get it on there a little thicker - hopefully next time. Then I added some pretty ribbon from Michaels and a sentiment (have a warm winter) from my Lawn Fawn - Cozy Christmas stamps on the outside of the card, and used one of the sentiments (Wishing you all of the magic and joy of the holidays) that came with the Hero Arts owl stamps. I like how it came out. Took quite a while to make but it was fun! I also decided to hold one back for my former boss/friend who is Jewish. Usually my Christmas cards say "Happy Holidays" but this year I totally went for "Merry Christmas" so this'll work perfectly for him.

Thanks for peeking. Hope you ghave a great day!!

Aaaaahhh... the fruits of my labor (of love)!

I had a great night last night! Hope everyone else did too! My hubby actually went to the Dolphins game and the kids and I just hung around the house. So we did homework, played, did "tickling and stuff" (what my son calls me running around tickling them). By 8:45pm they were both in bed - and it was mommy's crafty time! I had it in my mind to AT LEAST finish my Grandma's cards, so I can get them off in the mail to her, nice and early, and I did - woo hoo!! I made her 3 different styles. All using Lawn Fawn's Cozy Christmas stamps, and the Basic Grey Jovial line. This is the only Christmas paper that I purchased this year. Usually there are at least 3 lines I'm dying for for Christmas pages and such but this year, not so much. I really like the colors and the distressed/aged look about it. Plus, all the colors worked perfectly for me. And the plaid - well, I just love plaid so much!!

This first card is much like the cards I'm making for myself. For this card, I also used Lawn Fawn's Bannerific (for the banner, of course). I just love the look of it, and the twine bows just make me happy! The stockings were a dilema for me. My Grandpa passed away last year the day after Christmas, I know this may be a tough year for my Grandma and I didn't want to use 2(definately not 1) - just didn't seem right. So I decided on a neutral 3 stockings per card.

For this next card, I used the Cricut to cut out this little bracket on a light olivy (dono the real name for it - it was just sitting in my stash) green Bazzil cardstock. Then I used distress ink (Fired Brick) around the bracket and to stamp the sentiment. It seemed to go really well with the paper, much better than a bright red. I have to say, I was super excited to use these little fire-men stamps ;). Are they not the cutest thing ever?!?!? (The log is October Afternoon paper). I used Kelly Marie's (AKA Mrs. Lawn Fawn) technique with my twine and the Tim Holtz tiny attacher. It was a super easy way to attach the twine - looks super cute too! I used a big glue dot behind the bracket to make sure it stayed in place.

This last card, I shared with you yesterday, however, my red/white twine came in, (WOO HOO) and I thought it looked more complete with some purty twine on it!

Well thanks for peeking. I hope this tuesday finds you blessed and having a wonderful day!! PS> you should totally go to the Lawn Fawn Blog today!! There is so much to see. Kelly Marie has posted videos for the past few days showing their new releases and techniques!! So much Holiday goodness going on over there!! Check it out - you wont be disappointed!!!

I confess... I had no clue what I was in for!

Ok, who knew and didn't tell me?!? Was it you??? I spent this whole weekend (on and off, of course, during my down time - mostly during Alivia's nap time or when the hubbs took the kids outside to play) stamping... cutting... CUTTING... embossing... corner chomping.... well, you get the idea!! WOW! So ambitious of me. Yeah, sure, I'll make 50 Chirstmas cards for myself and 25 for my Grandma. Not just cards. 75 intricately paper pieced cards. OMG!

Ok, I DO realize that I have oh about 2 months to complete these cards. And that I DO NOT have to finish them immediately. But... well, my undiagnosed OCD says that I can't leave a project (no matter how huge) undone! I guess that's what's happening here. I thought the 300 tiny (adorable, I might add) pieces I cut last weekend were alot... well those got me about 25 cards. So, needless to say, I spend this weekend in cardmaking mode. Yay World Card Making Day! Oh, I'm not bitter. Just kinda tapped out, I guess. I already have all of the card bases ready to go. They're all lined/covered with their patterned paper.

Oh! I did finish one set (10) of cards I made for my Grandma. I scraplifted (is it called that when your card making too?!?) a card from Lindsay's blog AKA Mrs. Note to Self, herself. I used a white card base for this one, with some Antique Linen Distress ink, Basic Grey's Jovial paper and Lawn Fawn's Cozy Christmas stamps. What I love so much about this stamp set, is that you can make so many different phrases. They actually separated all of the words so that you could piece them together however you'd like. I love that!! So here's a peek. It's no where as georgeous as hers (she had lace, twine and bling) I just loved the look of it, and decided to go simple and easy (so I could at least finish SOME cards this weekend)
I thought I'd share some pics of this weekend's creative journey. Nothing new to anyone here, I'm sure. But... it gives me something to do ;).



I also used the scraps from the Kraft cardstock to make mini cards to stick on a few extra special gifts. My boss gave my husband tickets to tonight's Dolphins/Patriots game, so after the kiddies go to bed, I'll get to do the fun part and piece all of the little cuties onto cards. I'm hoping to get a lot done. Now we're talkin!