Hey Cupcake!

I love cupcakes and polka dots lately.  So after visiting the message board, I stumbled upon a post where a mb member used this video from Fabulously Artsy to make cupcake gift card holders.   My niece’s Bat Mitzvah was coming up and thought this was an extra special way of presenting her gift.

The money holder and Star of David was created using a Cricut .cut file and the circle using my nestabilities.

It’s not hard per se but is time consuming.  I love the end result and will probably make more of these for special friends.  You know, the ones that understand and appreciate hand-made gifts?

Check out the video and her website.  Pretty creative!

Until next time,

Playing with my camera

I am trying to convince J that I NEED a new camera. You know, one of those fancy schmacy DSLRs like this one here:

(That's the Canon Rebel T1i. Isn't it SWEET?)

My little ones aren't so little any more and they rarely stand still which makes it quite difficult to get a good NON-BLURRY picture. A new camera with faster fps (frames per second) would come in so handy, especially since the girls are getting into sports! Mostly, I'm tired of shooting on Auto and want more control over the camera. While I would LOVE a non-crop DLSR, it's just not in the budget now. Maybe. Later. In. Like. Ten. Years.

I have been trying to get more out of my little P&S and using Photoshop Elements 3.0 (come to think of it, it's time to upgrade that too!). Tell me your honest opinions. What do you think of my images below?

E's first time back on a bounce house since she was diagnosed with cancer in 2007

Can you guess how old S is right now?

Our peach tree blossoms

Do you think I could convince him? Give me some suggestions on what I should say to him. When I bring this up, his standard answer is, "But honey, you already have a camera. You don't NEED another!"

Grill Master

I can’t believe it’s been since OCTOBER since I last posted! I know I’ve been busy but I didn’t know it had been THAT long. I’ve still been crafting, scrapping and creating, just not blogging! I’m setting a goal of posting at least once a month to get me motivated again. Maybe I’ll post more than that! We’ll see.

I’ve finished several projects: Seattle Mini book for big sis, graduation cards (2) and several cards including another wallet like this one, but alas, have FORGOTTEN to take pictures of them. *EEK!*

So, I thought with this being Father’s Day this weekend, I would start the new year of blogging with my gift to J and a chance to win over at Today's Mama and Cricut:

This was so incredibly EASY to do!

I think I've mentioned I have a die-cutting machine, right? It’s the Cricut Expression. I’ve not used it as much as I would have like as I got it right before E' was diagnosed but I’m trying to make up for lost time using it whenever I can!

Do you remember freezer paper as a child? We used it as kids for arts and craft projects. It’s so versatile! Well, I saw (on a blog of course!) tee shirt creations using freezer paper as their STENCIL. What an awesome idea. The shiny side of the paper adheres to your fabric so it makes a great barrier and when you’re done you just pull it off.

So, I used:

• Cricut Expression
• Freezer paper
• Acrylic paints
• Fabric Painting Medium
• Iron

I designed what I wanted in Design Studio, remembering that text must be REVERSED and FLIPPED in order to be able to read the text after it’s ironed on:

I then cut it out on a 12x12 mat with the freezer paper shiny side UP as the shiny side will not stick well to the mat.

Then once cut out, you then place it on your fabric item where you want it and take a hot iron and iron it on place. Don’t forget if you have letters I, E, O etc that you need those INSIDE pieces.

I then took my arsenal of acrylic paints (if I lay them out it’s like a rainbow!) and mix two parts acrylic to one part fabric medium. The fabric medium is what makes them fabric paints! No need to go out and purchase the expensive fabric paints. Just mix in a little medium and volia! Then paint away! Here’s what I used in case I’ve confused you.

Here is a picture of E’s shirt to her daddy just after she painted it before we took off the stencil.

Isn’t the freezer paper so cool? Will you try it? Come back and comment if you do! I’d love to see what YOU create.

Cards for our Troops

I've always wanted to participate in sending cards over to our troops but haven't had the time with E's treatment. I finally made the commitment to do 10 cards. It's not much but at least it's a start. Right now they're asking for holiday cards with BLANK insides so the troops can use these cards to send back home to their loved ones.


Knowing not everyone celebrates Christmas, I did 5 Santa cards and 5 snowmen cards. I figured the snowmen were pretty generic to use if someone didn't celebrate Christmas. The inside of the Santa cards say "Merry Christmas" and the snowmen cards say "Happy Holidays." I decided to jazz them up a little and use crushed velvet for the snowman's scarves and hats and for Santa's hat and coat.

I appreciate each and every member of our armed services for keeping our country safe. They put their lives on the line every day because that is their job. Thank you!

Sweet Baby

While I post mostly cards, I do scrapbook. I've been doing more cards I think just because it's faster and I get instant gratification!




However, Loreen at Wish on a Scrap has changed things for me. She has these AMAZING scrapbook kits that make putting a layout together so easy. Here is one of mine:






Everything but the "little giggle" stamp (Studio G) and the journaling stamp was used for this kit. And the title, Sweet baby? THICKERS! These things are awesome. Maybe you'll see more layouts from me soon!

Thanks for checkin' in!

Think Pink

As you know, E was diagnosed with cancer last year. In that time, I've had so many people that have supported my family, prayers spoken and just shoulders to cry on. One of the ladies, whom I consider a dear friend, was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks ago. She wasn't going to tell me (!) because of all I've been going through with E, but I asked how she was doing. In talking to her, I felt a sense of peace, not panic, that things will be OK for her. She is an amazing woman and I am blessed to know her.

After she told me of her diagnosis, I immediately felt the need to make her a card. This is what I came up with:



I took my Papertrey Ink Perfect Match paper (background and paper piecing) and ribbon, Spellbinder Nestabilities & Tags, and My Favorite Things stamp set, Think Pink to make this card just for her so she knows how much I care and am praying for her.

Warm Heart

In the last year since E's diagnosis of cancer, I haven't had a lot of time (or energy) to scrapbook. Only recently have I started to really spend some time at my table. Since I am a mom that works outside of the home, I often feel bad if I do any type of creating when my little ones are awake. I feel that time should be devoted to my family, not doing something for me.

So, I decided to put a small table in my room so that the kids can craft, color, cut, etc in the same room with me. Previously it was in the kitchen and I just spent too much time going back and forth to get what I needed from the other room. They have their own set of stamps and stamp pads (washable but I disagree with that label!!), paper, makers, scissors (though I keep those away until requested) and glue. This makes it much more productive for them to get their "supplies" out and create and less hassle for me too!

So I took a picture the other night of the girls at their table. It warmed my heart to see them together, concentrating so intently on what they were doing. The table? The table my sister and I used as kids! E is getting so meticulous with her scrapbooking (or card making), spending hours (if she could!) on one project. Many times I must gently prod her to finish up! I get requests constantly, "Mommy, can we scrapbook tonight?" and that just melts me. S is still in the "what can I stick down with glue" and "how many pieces of scrap can I make using my scissors" but like her sister, I know her time for creative genius is not far behind!

Tell me, what hobby do you like to do and how have you included your family into it? How does that make you feel? I know that life is so precious that it is hard for me to waste a minute!