Christmas Fireplace Banner

Hello!

With Christmas music blaring in the other room, I have finished up my Merry Christmas banner for the fireplace.  I found these cute burlap pockets and red burlap ribbon over at the Craft Warehouse.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the snowflakes and letter sets and glued everything together with my hot glue gun.  Turned out pretty cute!

 

I will be filling the pockets with lotto tickets for us to scratch on Christmas Day.  Crossing my fingers that we win a little something!

 

Happy Holiday Crafting!



Wine Cork Christmas Tree

Hi, Everyone!

For those of you who know me personally, you'll know that the hubby and I do enjoy a glass or two of wine {wink, wink!}.  We are so very fortunate to live in a wonderful area of Oregon where there wineries and vineyards as far as the eye can see.  Needless to say, I have an abundance of wine corks.  I have done a few crafts with the corks and I have scoured the internet to find other ideas.  I finally found a few "Wine Cork Christmas Trees" and I do say, they were adorable! 

 

I went through my stash and found a paper mache cone about 10" tall, got out my trusty glue gun, and proceeded to get to work.  I almost ran out of corks, but the hubby and I conquered that little obstacle with ease (I believe it was a nice Dolcetto, mmm...).  I went to Walmart and found some garland, very mini-lights, some cute ornaments, snowflakes, and of course, a star to top it all off.  Voila!  An adorable centerpiece for the table was created.

 

 

 

Stay crafty, my friends!

 

 

Fall Pumpkins

Happy Fall, Everyone!

 

I love pumpkins.  Can't get enough of them in my fall decorating.  I have the pumpkin tree lit up in the family room and loads of pumpkin knick knacks in the living room.  I did something new this year with my outside pumpkins.  I made a few templates out of vinyl in my Silhouette program and used hubby's Dremel to etch out the design.  It took forever and was very messy (I do suggest doing it outside).  But the results were awesome!

 

 

 

The designs I used were from the Silhouette Online store Fierce Owl Design #32923 and Fall Border Design #5081.  The font used for the Welcome was Freebooter.  I had to ungroup the letters and squish them together in order to weld them, then made an offset of the entire grouped design and peeled the inside letters and design out.  The vinyl didn't want to stick to the pumpkin very well, but I managed to get it to stick and etched out the insides of the design and tidied it up after. 

 

 

 

I still have one pumpkin left and will do a real carving of "Trick or Treat" to be lit up for Halloween night.

 

Stay crafty, my friends!

 

 



Birthday Bracelet and Gift Box

Hey, Everyone! 

 

I just wanted to share a quick and easy gift box for jewelry, a cookie, whatever you make or bake that will fit inside.   I made this box, tag and a cute bracelet for my Sister-In-Law's Birthday this past weekend.  We spend a lovely day at a local winery for brunch with the family to celebrate her special day. 

 

 

I used the Silhouette file "Treat Holder - Petal Shaped" (Design ID #42139) and sized it so that the inside bottom of the box was 4".  I cut a strip of paper, put some slits on one side and formed it into a circle and glued it to the inside of the box to be the bracelet holder.

 

 

 

 

I made a couple of tags and welded my dear SIL's name to the bottom of one and used my sketch pens to write the birthday sentiment.  I also cut out a circle to fit the inside of the bracelet holder and sketched a cute cupcake and sentiment on it and glued down.

 



Happy Birthday, Susie!  We love you!

 

 

 

 
 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween Glitter Witch

Hey, Everyone!

I realize it's a little early (okay, way early!), but I found the cutest Halloween design in the Silhouette online store this morning and had to make it, and make it out of glitter I did!

It is the "Halloween Witch Boots Broom Ornate Frame" (Design ID #33401).  It comes in as a one-piece item, so after I cut it out of the double-sided adhesive and applied it to my cardstock, I put some extra cuts in by hand so that I could separate the boots, stockings and broom from the frame.  I left the top paper on and pulled it off one section at a time and applied the different colors of glitter.  I used a paint brush to make sure it was all stuck to the adhesive and to get the excess off of the cardstock.  Popped it in a frame and we have some awesome Halloween art work!

Hmmm, I wonder what else I can glitter...

P.S. I've updated my flickr page too with "pre-blog" craft project photos.  Feel free to check them out!  Just click the link here, or use the flickr button in the top left.

Brown Pearl Jewelry

Well, I am on a roll.  If you can believe it, these were made from a kit I found in the clearance bin at Walmart and some needle-nosed pliers.  They turned out beautiful.  I love the pearl-look in jewelry; it looks sophisticated and casual all at the same time.  Looks like I'm going to have to start dressing up when I go get groceries!

Jewelry doesn't have to be expensive to be beautiful. 
As long as you love it, that's all that matters!

Beautiful Bracelets

Hi, Everyone! 

 

Well, the week and weekend has come and gone in a flash.  I had a wonderful visit with my Mom, doing some shopping, brunch at the winery and a trip to the coast for lunch, and, of course, more shopping.  What a treat!  Our visits are always full of laughs and fun, and good old-fashioned R&R.  We missed my sister coming up this year; she had to work and was saving her holidays to spend with her sweetie.  Living so far away from everyone is kind of tough, so we thoroughly enjoy all the moments when we do get together.  I should really try to remember to turn on Skype once in a while.

 

While my Mom was here, I put in an order to Prima Bead and it showed up in record time -- it felt like Christmas!  All those goodies in there; joy, joy, joy!  I ordered the supplies to make two of their patterns, a pink/purple bracelet called Kendra and a grey/silver necklace called Hannah.  The bracelet turned out so nice, that I decided to turn the necklace pattern into a bracelet as well.  I absolutely love bracelets, so guess what I'll be making for a while! 

Stay crafty my friends!

50th Birthday

Hello!

We celebrated my hubby's 50th birthday this week.  He isn't much into parties and stuff, but I did feel the need to make some decorations!  My Mom is in town for a visit, so we just went out for a nice supper and some wine.  Hubby loved the decorations and his presents.  We were very glad to celebrate his 50th birthday -- he had a stroke last year and almost didn't make his 49th.  No worries though, he is doing fantastic and was very lucky to not have any lasting bad effects from the stroke.  He needed to change his lifestyle and his work habits more than anything as high blood pressure and hypertension were the demons he was battling.  While in the hospital, we found out he had sleep apnea (which is a major contributor to high blood pressure), so he had a sleep study done and now uses a machine to help him breathe properly at night.  It's not as loud as I thought it would be, it's actually quite quiet.  Our Pug, Emma, snores louder than the machine! (Yep, she sleeps in the middle!)  I'm quite used to it now, kind of like bunking with Darth Vader.

 

Happy Birthday, Honeybear!

 

 

Oh, the flowers are from the 3d Fall Flowers collection at SVGCuts.com and the grapes and happy birthday are from the Silhouette Online Store.

 

 

Girly Rock Star Birthday Party

Hey, Everyone!

I just wanted to share a few things that I made for my niece's daughter's 6th birthday.  She wanted a pink and purple Rock Star themed party, so on went my creative thinking cap and I found some sites with great ideas.

 

I used the Neon Chic paper pack from DCWV.  It has some awesome animal prints and was perfect for the decorations.

 

I used the Silhouette Tattoo paper for the "Rock On" tattoos and they were easy to make.  I tried one out and it lasted the whole day, and came off easy with water.  They are a little pricey, so I recommend waiting until a promo code coupon comes up at the Silhouette Store before purchasing.  I'm going to source out some others as well and I will share with you what I find.

 

All the shapes came from the Silhouette library and I think they turned out pretty fun!  The guitar box centerpiece is my favorite :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Special Delivery Gift Box

Hello!

 

I want to share a gift box I made as my project for a fun challenge that I am participating in with my Cameo Friends group on Facebook.  The group decided to start up the challenges again with the hopes that all of members who are still getting to know their Silhouette Cameo can get a little more comfortable with creating and a lot less intimidated by it.  My Cameo is a workhorse and a wonderful machine, and the Silhouette Studio software is fun to play with.  Hopefully, these challenges will be helpful in the learning process and not bum anyone out!  I am looking forward to seeing what everyone makes! :)

 

We are using the Free Shape of the Week for this challenge which is the "Mail Stamp Set" (Design ID #45943) from the Silhouette Online Store.  This shape is a bundled set and looks like it can be very versatile.  I just used a bunch of scraps from my stash and the box is big enough to fit something nice in it for a friend or would be perfect for a baby gift.

 



 

Stay crafty, my Friends!

Luxury Handbag

Hello!  I hope everyone had safe holidays and lots of fun to boot!

The wonderful folks at SVGCuts.com are running a promotion to "Make a Luxury Handbag, Earn a Gift Card!".  I absolutely love Mary's creations, so I hopped on the bandwagon, dug through my stash of papers and came up with a lovely version (if I do say so myself!)  It would make a cute gift card holder, or just look pretty on my dresser.

I am pretty sure I'll end up buying the entire kit of purses.  So darned cute!

Thanks for looking!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day, to my American Family & Friends!

I apologize, but I didn't go all out with the decorations like I had planned.  I got a little sidetracked with the birthday and Canada Day decorations, and then I got crafted out and thought I had better tackle some laundry and get some groceries.  I'm thinking for tomorrow, slow-smoked ribs on the Traeger with some honey-dijon potato salad.  Mmmm!

Anyway, I did create a nice wall hanging in the spirit of the holiday.  I promise, next year, I'm going all out!



































I found this nice quilt block in the Silhouette Online Store (Design ID #43671) and it was a cinch to size and cut out.

Have a wonderful 4th of July, be safe and have fun!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day, to my Canadian Family and Friends!

 

I may live in the U.S., but I am still very much Canadian, eh?

 

A little history -- July 1st is a Canadian national holiday which celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the Constitution Act, which united three colonies within the British Empire into a single country called Canada.

 

Happy Birthday, Canada! 

 

I wish there was a Canadian television station available to watch some of the fireworks and celebrations throughout the nation.  Thank goodness for the internet -- I'm sure I'll find some pictures there!

 

Not much celebration going on where I live, so to celebrate in my crafty fashion, a decorated fireplace mantle is always a good place to start!

 

I created everything with my Silhouette Studio software and beloved Cameo, and used the lantern and hot air balloon files I purchased from SVGCuts.com to bring some fun elements to the décor.  Nice, eh!

 



 

To my Sister, have a cold Kokanee beer for me and make sure you wear sunscreen while boating on the lake!

Have a safe holiday everyone!

4th of July Birthday

Happy Summer, Everyone!

 

I have been busy crafting away (and also learning how to blog), so welcome to my first official posting!

 

My great-nephew is turning 1 this year, so his Mom & Dad asked if I would make some decorations to celebrate the occasion.  His birthday is a few days after the 4th of July, so what a great opportunity to throw him a fun and patriotic party!  I went hunting online for ideas and came across a wonderful website called Spoonful.com, which happens to be a part of Disney.   Jackpot!  They happened to have exactly what I was looking for.  I found some great Mickey Mouse and Friends printables for table decorations and candy boxes.  I used my Silhouette Studio software and my trusty Silhouette Cameo to work their magic, and Voila!, the projects came together perfectly.

I encourage you to check out their website -- they have some great recipes too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Welcome!
I will have some crafting goodness for you soon!