Jenn's PaperCuts

M's Lego Bithday Party

2011-09-26T21:27:00.001-04:00

We have been planning this party for a few months with the help of pinterest. Now, to show you how all the planning and hard work actually present! My beautiful sister, Christa was such a lifesaver with pulling it all together, and friends, Katrina and Kim helped a LOT during the party. Thank you also to my parents, Aunt Kathy and Grandma for helping with the my babies, Mason and LissaBelle.

First, when the kids came in, I had them sit down and color in coloring books I made. I used pictures I found online and the puzzle maker at the discovery website. I gave them normal crayons and also ones that I made using lego ice molds. I started off melting the crayon wax down in a double boiler, and I got nice, even color that way. Those I used for the gift bags. For the party crayons, I used busted up crayons and put them right in the silicone mold and baked at 250 for about 7 minutes, until melted.

These are the crayons and some candy blocks I found at the bulk food store. Notice that I labeled what is for eating and what is not. I also made minifigure shaped chocolates, so I wanted to make sure there was no confusion!

The birthday boy and his buddy :)

These are the fondant covered cupcakes Mike and I made.

Check out these neat pictures. The center picture is just pixelized, but the other 2 were turned into lego images using the lego picture app available for i devices. Thank you to my sister :)
Above Michael's picture there is a legoman hiding. We did a find the legoman game. I had 9 cut out and hid, and the kiddos raced to find them. You also see tall glassed filled with sorted legos. They really looked cool.

Michael made his name out of legos for the cake table.

Gift bags made to look like legos using pop up adhesive and circles. Along the front are baby food jars sprayed yellow. The kids used the chart of faces to get ideas and drew faces on their jars.

I used bubble wrap painted green as a table runner to simulate a lego baseplate.

We also had a jar of the candy legos for the kids to try to guess how many. It held 277 legos, and the closest guess was 200.

We used a blocks on a duplo table to make bowls and after lining them, served chips from them.

The sign is made using the legorama everywhere font. The cookies are round and frosted with matching m&m's in the lego dot pattern.

I spray painted the trays green to match the decor and covered them with plastic wrap to serve on them.

The card is my invitation.

Personalized water wraps. Font is lego thick. I only served water to drink, but I had many flavors of the single serve drink mixes, for the guests to add.

Waiting patiently to hear the rules of our first game.

Find the legoman!!

Use your listening ears, kiddos!

I made legos for decorating out of card stock and pop-dots. I also made a big, red one out of wrapping paper for a photo backdrop.

Mike attempted to stand the legoman chocolate minifigures to the cupcakes. A few of them chose to lay down for a nap.

I made shirts for all 3 of my kids. I simply cut a legoman stencil out of freezer paper on my cricut (thank you SCAL) and ironed it on and painted. Lissie had a perfectly matching skirt, YAY!

Isn't my princess pretty?

See the birthday boy's shirt? On the back it says Michael, with a big 8 underneath.
Notice the lego paramedic poster behind the kids. We used that for pin the smile on the legoman. Since we had the party at the fire station, that particular legoman seemed perfect.

lego head balloon volleyball. Mike made me the poles for a party I threw for the 1st grade last year, and they are so sturdy, I'll be using them for a long time.

Mike drilled holes in a bunch of legos and the kids strung them along with beads to make necklaces and bracelets.

Michael sporting his lego necklace. I took pictures of each of the kids to "legoize." We will use them like postcards for thank you notes.

Lego chocolates.

Legoman pops. I used mostly roasting marshmallows with half a mini marshmallow on top. I dipped them in chocolate and drew faces with frosting. I tried the edible markers but they would not write on the marshmallows.

Mason, my middle child sneaking a couple cookies. He is also wearing a legoman shirt.

These were in their treat bags, along with their coloring books and any prizes they won during the game.

There are more pics to follow...A neat idea for a "guest book", my pinata, pin the smile on legoman and my invites. Stay tuned!

2011-02-28T18:29:00.000-05:00

I had fun making Valentines for my family this year, though I was a little rushed for time.

This is Mike's. I glued on the hearts first and then ran the cuttlebug over the cardfront.

This is my Mason's card. I got this great cut file from Bird's Blog to make the heart. I added an extra layer for the Kraft stock.

This is Michael's. I used the same pp that he chose for his Valentine box. I see I lost one of the rhinestones before I got it photographed. : )

And last is one of the thank you notes Mason and I made for his birthday. We just finished them up a few days ago, a month after his party, but I think my family will understand.

Valentine girl's night

2011-02-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

This was My first girl's night since November. I was so excited to get back to it! We had a wonderful dinner of chicken and salad and made some great cards and other stuff! Here are 2 of the cards...

On the butterfly card, the gems are colored with alcohol markers to give them the right color. The embossing is actually debossing and the butterfly is made from 2 hearts.

TFL!

My sweet baby's tutu!

2011-02-13T17:07:00.000-05:00

This is the tutu I made for Miss LissaBelle. It's so fluffy and pink! This is where I found the tutorial. I made a matching one for her cousin, too!

Valentine boxes

2011-02-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

These are the valentine boxes Michael and I made together. I made the one for Mrs Ruth and he made his. We used this great file from SVGCUTS.com and the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. TFL!

Giveaway at SVGCUTS.com

2010-12-10T17:08:00.001-05:00

Hop on over to svgcuts.com and check out their 12 days of Christmas giveaway.
http://svgcuts.com/blog/?p=7764

Lissie's room is DONE!!

2010-11-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

LissaBelle's room is complete! My dear sister came this weekend to help me get it done. Thank goodness for her, because I would have never finished without her help. I had grandiose visions of a cottage garden. The trick was transforming that into something we could put on the wall. To do that we used paint, paper, lots of glue and plain old hard work. Here are the pics.
First is a pic of Mason in what used to be his room. The "Before"

And "AFTER" We hand drew and painted the tree. The picket fence was stenciled using an scut. file we created. The flowers and leaves are made from patterned paper, also cut on the cricut. We layered the flowers and used dimesional adhesive on some.

Another view with the (mommy made) curtains open. Lissa's room opens onto a sleeping porch. We attached all of the pp to the wall using the zig 2 way glue. So far it seems to be sticking well, but still removable. If I need to , we will try some other adhesives.

The opposite side of the room. LissaBelle's crib and dresser are surrounded by patterned paper butterflies. On the changing pad are a few more butterflies left to go up. They are beautiful and sparkly. We found them at Hobby Lobby in the Christmas ornament section. I will attach them with my hot glue gun as they are a bit heavy, but I am waiting to get it back from a friend.

One more view of our tree.

I carved hubby's and my initials into the tree trunk.

Where the tree goes up onto the ceiling

fence and flowers

Lissa's crib with her quilt and boppy pillow I made. I didn't make a crib skirt because the one I made for Mason didn't fit his crib right, but I think it would fit here. I may have to make one.

Her name on the wall above her crib.

Lyssie's quilt.

2010-09-16T14:26:00.001-04:00

So, it has been verified that LyssaBelle is still a girl!! I am so excited and have finally started to really get into shopping and crafting for her. My first big project is her crib quilt! It is a simple pattern and I was able to do all the cutting, sewing, pressing and quilting yesterday. Tomorrow I will go shopping for the perfect binding and finish it, but I couldn't wait to show pics, so here's Lyssie's (almost done) quilt.

My big buy!

2010-09-16T14:16:00.000-04:00

I went to this great yard sale a few weeks ago and found a ton of craft stuff. There were big bins full of wood-mounted stamps for $25.00. The lady allowed me to pick and choose and make my own bin. Look what I got for $25.00!

sentiment, birthday, baby, girlie stuff, wedding and love

kids/school, animals, border stamps, halloween, flowers, botanical, Christmas.

misc.

buildings, structures

duplicates

BIG stamps

Bugs, summer theme!

So happy for my big score!!

CAS DT Finals...Which one?

2010-08-31T16:41:00.000-04:00

Which would you choose for Clean and Simple DT Finals? Pics aren't the greatest. I will take more after the decision is made!

Latest CAS DT challenge upload

2010-08-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever made a card for yourself? This is for me! I am pregnant with my first girl. I have 2 boys that I love more than life, but I am beyond excited to be adding my little girl to our family. After 8 years of waiting for my precious little girl, the sentiment "Precious Moments" refers to those wonderful little girl moments I can't wait to share with my baby girl. The thought of playing dress-up with her tiny little feet in my high heels brings tears to my eyes. So congrats to me!

Now to the nitty gritty, first, I apologize for the scan. No matter what I did, I couldn't get the color right in a photo. Here is a photo I took of the same card.http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ga...;ppuser=230060

The CAS DT challenge titled "Fashion Statement" was to use DP in a card, but not too much. My DP is the shoe lining and flower. The shoe is cut using SCAL and a file from SVGcuts.com. I scored a box in the white paper just outside the inner black mat and finished the corners with gems.

A shabby chic card and NEWS!

2010-08-24T20:55:00.000-04:00

I'll start off with the news...I made the semi-finals in the Splitcoast Stampers CAS Design Team search with this card.!

And my shabby chic card to show you...

The flower is cut using the SCAL program on my cricut. The cardboard came from a yogurt box, lol. Edges are distressed using a fork and brown inks. TFL.

Back to school

2010-08-24T10:56:00.000-04:00

I have been super-busy getting a back to school gift ready for Michael's sweet new teacher, Mrs Ruth. I made a bunch of teacher themed cards as well as some other cards with various themes and included them in the box pictured below. I also made a few cards for a few close friends that teach at my son's school too.

This is the one I chose to submit for the CAS DT search

And the gifts...

The box is cut using this svg file. Wasn't she sweet to share!? I just heard from my friend who teaches at the school and she said Mrs. Ruth LOVED her gift. I'm soooo glad! TFL!

CAS DT apple for teacher.

2010-08-23T18:15:00.000-04:00

Here are 2 card I am considering entering in the CAS design team search. Which do you think?

July girl's night

2010-08-19T16:02:00.001-04:00

So, a lot of my cards are Clean and Simple, and I think they're pretty self-explanatory. If you have any questions, however, I'd be glad to answer. Just leave me a comment.

A thank you card I made for my Aunt's wedding and shared at girl's night. The waves are one of the slim cb folders, done twice.

A small note card Anita made. Flowers are stamped with versamark.

Adorable Elmo card Mrs. Bowman brought. So clever and if you switch the color to blue, you have Cookie Monster.

Awesome card designed by Mrs. Hoffman. The dewdrop centers add some color and interest. This card was chosen as a CAS favorite!

Check back soon, I still have tons of catching up to do.

Christmas catch-up.

2010-08-18T18:35:00.000-04:00

Wow, do I have some catching up to do! Today, I'll post a bunch of Christmas cards I've designed. I've been trying to get ahead on them since the baby is due at the end of December. I think I'll be busy enough without worrying about making Christmas cards.

The trees are cut out of pp and layered on cs. I popped them up with dimensional adhesive.

Snowflakes are inked in Sea Breeze Versa Magic and trimmed with silver glitter pen.

Tree is Cuttlebugged with a swirl folder and trimmed with bling.

I love the red and white! Score lines were done with my MS scoreboard.

The tree is actually silver, a silver mirror paper.

The ornament is a red button layered with a gem.

Thanks for looking and check back soon, I have tons of cards and projects to share!

May Girl's Night

2010-05-30T12:39:00.002-04:00

This month girl's night was at Mrs. Bowman's house. She made the most delicious crab and spinach quiche and Aunt Kak's broccoli salad was awesome. They sure know how to feed a starving pregnant lady. :-)

Mrs. Bowman kicked off the evening with this adorable little bag of notecards with envelopes (I think the envelopes and bag are from the Bags, Tags and Boxes cartridge). She used PP for the envelopes and we assembled them with the design on the inside for a little surprise. The cards are stenciled using punches. What an awesome idea!

I did my projects next. Our challenge for the month was to use ugly ribbon (although I think I was the only one to use REALLY ugly ribbon). I had a horrible time using this ghastly rainbow ribbon so I made a few cards trying to get one I might actually give away! Stamped images are Hanna Stamps. The inside of the Rain card says "to see the rainbow"

I also brought a baby card, so I might have something I was proud to share. I was obviously thinking pink thoughts!

Aunt Kathy brought an adorable Birthday card that was simple to assemble, yet cheerful and bright. The circles are just layered circles of different sizes. (Not quite ugly ribbon, in fact I think it's quite cute.)

And to finish out the night, Anita shared an elegant, yet rustic Father's Day card. Love the kraft cardstock for this!

One last card which was inspired by my Aunt Kak, who has shared so much of her design expertise with me. Last month Mrs Bowman gave us this House Mouse stamp and challenged us to use it in a card. Here's mine. The inside says, "All I know, I learned from you."

Hope you enjoy this month's creations!

Guess What!

2010-04-12T20:19:00.000-04:00

I had a little surprise for my hubby when he met me for dinner tonight. The SCS ladies were sooo helpful with their advice. Good thing I will have lots of people to tell, because I have a lot of great ideas!

outsideinside

2010-04-05T09:09:00.000-04:00

So, Easter is over, but I couldn't resist posting pics of my boy's Easter bags. These were one of those projects that I tackled in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep. My Michael woke in the morning and was so excited to find his bag. His is the bunny. The sheep is Mason's.

Click Here to download the Scut2 file for the bunny. Click Here for the sheep. Each page is marked with the color I used. Please note, Each file has more than one page, and you have to pull it up under File, Open, not import svg, because it is a scut2 file, not an svg. Enjoy! If you want to resize, you could either move everything to one page, group it and resize it all together, or just play to get all the parts the right size. Mine sit on an 8.5x11 bag, to give you and idea of size.

Girl's Night, Only a month late.

2010-04-04T21:57:00.000-04:00

This is my other card from last month's Girl's Night. Our theme was cuttlebug. I also added 3 score lines with my Martha Stewart Scoring tool (which I love!) The flowers are cut with scal and are found on the Saru's Flower Ding font, but any long petaled flower will do! I ran a stylus down each petal from center to tip, to give them a little dimension. Hope you enjoy!

Gerbera Daisy

2010-04-04T21:50:00.001-04:00

Hi, for girl's night last week, I was totally stumped. I finally saw some of the daisy pictures on the Paper, scissors, ink site, and was inspired. Her scut files were down, so I wrote my own. I hope you enjoy. Click here to download the file. Remember, to use this you go to open, file, NOT import svg! I would add a Sentiment in the lower, right hand corner. I chose to leave this blank to stamp later, so I could use it for any occasion.

And thank you to the wonderful ladies for including me and sharing their awesome ideas!

Directions for flowers:

Run the stylus down the center of each petal on the biggest 4 flowers from center to tip. This curves them up and gives them a little shape. Curly the petals on the inner 4 flowers around a toothpick to curl them to the center. Some of the ladies left these a little more flat and they looked great too, but I really like the Gerbera look, so I did mine like this. Find what works for you!

Girl's Night!

2010-03-25T17:07:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to post pics of some of the stuff we made at girl's night! We started around 6 and I left for home at 11. It was a fun and productive night! The ladies brought some great ideas to the table. Thanks for sharing Kathy, Anita, Mrs. Hoffman and Mrs Bowman. I think I might have designed the first one, but I'm not quite sure. lol

Chandelier birthday

2010-03-04T16:41:00.000-05:00

Today I would like to share with you a pretty chandelier card I made for one of the ladies in the stamping group that introduced me to the best place in the world, Hollo's!

It's her birthday, and while this card really has nothing to do with birthdays, I hope she likes it anyway.

I am really into bling lately. I CBed the card base. The black band on the bottom is the wrong side of a shiny black ribbon. The shiny side just wasn't right. The chandelier is an scal file I found at http://scale-files.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-01-14T01:41:00-08:00&max-results=7 . There are a lot of neat files there, but you really have to wade through to find what's right for you. I hope this inspires you to dust off your cricut and get to work!

Sympathy

2010-02-26T12:52:00.000-05:00

So, I know I'm not the only one that has trouble with sympathy cards. One of my husband's coworkers lost her husband recently, and a teacher as my son's school lost her home to fire. I was challenged to make a card that was thoughtful, pretty and somewhat solemn. There is this fine line between beauty and cheerfulness that we try so hard not to cross when making this type of card. I am happy with my results. I made 5 of these and a week later I only have 2 left.

The bird stamp is from unique boutique and the sentiment is computer generated and reads:
When the future seems overwhelming, remember that it comes one moment at a time.

I am in love with this sentiment. It is appropriate in so many situations. I hope you like this card and it inspires you to create something today!

Monkey Valentine

2010-02-24T10:57:00.001-05:00

My Valentine for Mason. Black is embossed with swiss dots, red is border punched with a MS punch. Not sure of the name. Colored with Copics, and yes, I know I need practice, thanks for noticing! The monkey is from a dollar stamps set from Joann's. My Favorite Aunt Kak found me that last one. Gosh I love that woman!

TFL

Wedding thank you.

2010-02-18T10:42:00.000-05:00

So I couldn't wait to share the thank you that I originally designed for the wedding set. I love this card.

I used the curls and swirls bg stamp for the white bg and my new MS border punch for the bottom. (I threw away the box and didn't label the punch. If you know the name, please share) The thank you ovals and scalloped oval are cut using scal and my cricut. The thank you stamp is from Inque boutique's Elegant Paisley set and the branch is from Silhouettes. So tell me, do you prefer this one, or the one the bride chose (shown below)?

Wedding set teal and gray.

2010-02-18T10:30:00.000-05:00

Today I want to share with you a wedding set a coworker of my dh requested I make for her sister's wedding. They wanted something very simple, and while it was hard, I was happy to oblige. The wedding colors are (obviously) a dark silver gray and teal. I was forced to make another Hollo's run to get just the right shade. =D

The finished size of the invite is 5x7. The teal layer is 4.75x6.75. The second gray is 4.25x 6.25. The white layer measures 4x6 and is stamped in Brilliance Starlite silver with the Swirls and Curls BG stamp from Stampabilities. The printing goes on a vellum overlay that covers only the white. It is finished with a sheer white ribbon with 2 dainty silver stripes. The BG swirls show through just enough to create a very elegant effect. ( I took a pic without text because I don't know how to "white it out".)

In my next post I will share the thank you that I first designed that got initial approval, but got nixed in the end (after I had much of the paper cut). The bride wanted something VERY simple. This is not at all to my taste, but it isn't my wedding either =). I had originally planned on putting an image in the white space, but the bride asked me to leave it blank to put her thank you message in and make it a postcard type thank you instead of a folder. The writing space is small for me, but I like to write long, flowery thank you's. I do like that this is a bit different and it truly fits the bride's style!

Finally, the response card. Simple. Finished size measures 4x6.

Valentine Pixie

2010-02-16T16:25:00.000-05:00

Hi! Today I am sharing a valentine I made for my sweet husband. The red layer is embossed with the Swiss Dots CB folder. Black is stamped with Stampabilities Swirls and Curls in Brilliance Moonlight white. The image is Pixie pie is catching hearts from the Pixie Dust Studio. Colored with copics. I won't bother to list the copics, because I am brand new to copics and I doubt you will want to copy my less than beautiful coloring.
I just love the black, red and white together. I am challenging myself to use them together more. I hope this inspires you as well!

Build a Light Box

2010-02-09T13:27:00.006-05:00

Hi! Today I want to just leave a quick post to share how I made my light box. My pics aren't great, but it's so simple, I don't think the pics are that important.

All you need is a cardboard box, some white fabric or tissue paper, a box cutter and a piece of posterboard. My box measures12.5"*12.5"*19". It seems to be the perfect size for taking pics of cards, but you can use what you have on hand. Depending on what you are photographing, you may want your box to be smaller or bigger.

First, measure in one inch from the edges of the top and the sides of your box. Cut a window on the top and sides, leaving that 1" border. It doesn't have to be perfect. I'm not good with a box cutter, so I just did my best. (dh watched me like a hawk, waiting for the blood to start spurting, but I insisted on doing it myself!)

Next, cut a piece of white fabric or tissue paper to cover the openings. I used white flannel because I had it on hand.

If you use tissue paper, you may have to layer it to get the right light diffusion. I used hot glue to attach it to the outside of the box. Pull it tight. It shouldn't warp the box, but you don't want it so loose that it casts shadows.Cut your posterboard hot dog style to fit the box. You want a gentle curve at the bottom back of the box, not a crease. This will give you a seamless look. I used masking tape to attach my posterboard, only at the tippy top.

Right now, I only have a few lights . I point one in the top of the box and the other in the side. I face my cards toward those lights. Because I was only using what I had on hand, I just have CFLs in the lamps. I will trade them for a daylight bulb when I get to the store. I will also pick up a couple more fixtures, probably clamping shop lights from Home Depot or Lowe's.

This picture is shot in the box, using only my flash. I wanted to see what would happen without the outside lights. My flash really washes it out. I do like how white the bg looks, though.

This is taken using the outside lights as well as the flash on my camera. Some people will tell you not to use your flash, but with my camera, I get the best pics with it. Maybe this won't be true when I get more lights, but for now I just do what works! I will continue to tweak. I hope this helps anyone who has been thinking of building a light box.

Light box

2010-02-07T21:56:00.001-05:00

So, I'm not sure what rock I've been hiding under, but I just found out about light boxes for photography. I didn't want to spend money to buy one (although one of those collapsible tents would have been nice) nor did I want to wait for one to show up in the mail. I decided to make one from a cardboard box, some white flannel and a piece of posterboard. It is soooooooo cool, and didn't cost me a dime! Check out my photo comparisons.

Before

After

Before

After

So, what do you think?

M&M birthday cake

2010-02-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

So, we took Mason's m&m birthday theme to the extreme with lots of bright colors, balloons and m&m's galore. This banner is bright cs cut into 11.5" circles cut with my cricut. I then cut out the letters in m&m style and glued them on.

Here is his personal cake. My sister, a friend and I put all of those m&m's right before the party. Notice the little M for Mason! For the guests we made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes frosted in bright m&m colors and sprinkled with powdered sugar through a cricut cut stencil to look like m&m's. Never one to underprepare, I made 48 cupcakes. Oh, well. We had cupcakes for breakfast!

Mason is just eying his cake. We blew out the candle and you can tell he is just wondering where to start!

See the adorable birthday hat I made?! I forgot to put it on him, and when I remembered, he just wasn't having it! The puff is a yarn pom pom I made, and of course all of the paper is cut with scal and cricut.

Okay, enough of the hat, mom! Let's eat!

My little boy made quite a dent in that cake!

All done! Thanks for visiting, and thanks so much for all of the thoughtful comments that have been left over the last few days. Every time the little red light on my BlackBerry flashes, signaling that one of you left me a sweet comment, I smile. Thank you for making me smile!

Cuttlebug giveaway at SVGCUTS

2010-02-06T18:47:00.004-05:00

I love svgcuts.com. They have awesome free files for SCAL, and great, reasonably priced files for purchase. Check out my princess card featuring one of their designs. And now they are giving out some blog candy! Check it out!
http://svgcuts.com/blog/?p=4939

treat bags!

2010-02-06T11:50:00.005-05:00

Wow! Two days in a row! Today I want to share the treat bags we handed out at Mason's first birthday party. They are pretty simple and not nearly as embellished as I would normally make, but I had to make 30 of them at 11:00 and couldn't go to bed until they were finished, so you get what you get (one of Michael's favorite sayings).

We decided on an m&m themed party since Mason loves m&m's (thanks Gramma!) One baggie has m&m's and the other has m&m themed magnets. The big ones are images I found on Google images and printed, the small ones are m's I cut with my cricut, glued on m&m colored paper. Then I just used Tombow Mono Aqua to attach the paper to the back of a glass half-marble, hot glued on the super-tiny rare earth magnet, and there ya go!

A word of caution, make sure to keep these tiny magnets away from small kids. Mine are adhered really well. Remember when all of those magnetic toys got recalled because of kids swallowing them? If you use a small, powerful magnet with small kids, there is always some risk. Just be careful!
My sis and I wrote the poem. She was in the car making her four hour trip home, and I was babysitting a friend's kids. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least.

Being 1 is so much fun.

There's lots of things to do!

I climb the stairs when Mom can't see,

and sneak some kibble too!

I skipped right past the walking,

and now I run so fast!

Can't wait to see what next year holds!

More trouble than the last?

Here's a bag of goodies,

to leave you with a grin.

With love from Mason Cade.

Let the fun begin!

Okay, so I never said I was a poet!

Princess Elise and the 4th Birthday tea

2010-02-05T18:06:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time there was a princess named Elise who had an Aunt Jennie who loved her very, very much. Aunt Jennie wanted to make her 4th birthday very special, but since she lived in a far away kingdom, she couldn't be there to celebrate with princess Ellie. What she could do is to send beautiful and very "princessy" invitations for the princess' friends! Each on comes complete with a wand.

I cut the card with scal, but I didn't save the file because it was so simple. The main card is just 2 circles welded to a 5x5 square. The white half circles are one 4.5" circle cut in half with a very narrow rectangle. The castle is an svg from svgcuts.com and it comes from a bundle pack of princess birthday. When I get more of the things from the bundle, I will post them. I hope this inspires you! I was inspired by this cute card by RennieC1

Overall invites

2010-02-05T17:33:00.007-05:00

I am so excited to share with you the overall invites I used for Mason's first birthday party and the SCUT file I used to make them. The file has 3 pages, one for the overalls, themselves, one for the pockets and neck band and one for the "t-shirt". For mine, I borrowed my famous Aunt Kak's distressed stripes cuttlebug folder for the texture on the front. I was going for a corduroy to match the adorable overalls he was to wear for the party! The neckband is actually a circle that is cut to fit. The cuffs on the pants and t-shirt are simply strips I cut with my paper trimmer and then trimmed to fit. Play around with it to find a width you like. My pockets are glued at the sides and bottoms and are actually functional. The snail and I love you message are removable. Enjoy, my friends! And don't forget, you can change the colors and make an adorable little girl card, too. (I hope one day I will need girl cards!)

Bear Hug Valentine

2010-02-05T17:01:00.000-05:00

I have been searching for ideas for my son, Michael's, kindergarten Valentines. I was sure I wanted to do something with robots (to use a new set I just had to have). During that time, I saw an adorable Bear Hug card. It was on Splitcoast, but I can't find it anymore. From my memory I tried to recreate it into an SCAL file. This is what I came up with. Here is the link to the download if you want to try it out. The file has 2 pages and they are labeled with a darker brown and lighter brown so you know which is which. I used googly eyes, and I drew on the nose and mouth. I will put a greeting on his belly, but Michael hasn't chosen what he wants them to say. The arms are scored at 3" and 6 7/8", and don't forget to ink your edges. I did one with clean edges and I hated it! It sure is a lot of inking when you are making 24, but worth it, I think! One more thing, I popped his nose out with dimensional adhesive. It really pops. Happy crafting and I hope you enjoy!

Here comes the Bride!

2010-02-05T16:17:00.001-05:00

Ok, so it's not me. I already found and married my prince charming, but when a coworker of my husband asked for help with her sister's wedding invites, I jumped in head first! She thought she knew what she wanted, but I couldn't wait and I wanted the fun of designing myself, so I worked this up, and guess what!? She loved them!

Here they are, so simple. I don't think they need much explanation. I didn't have a swirly bg stamp, so I used a cuttlebug folder and put together a bunch of my swirly clear stamps. The printing is on vellum.

Her colors are a darker teal and dark silver, so I will have to tweak the colors a bit. This is as close as I can get with what I have. Do you know what that means?

A TRIP TO HOLLO'S!

Let me tell you, this is heaven to a papercrafter! I was just there on Saturday, and I can't wait to go back! So, Aunt Kak, it's a date! And thank you for introducing me to my Nirvana!

Christmas Nails

2009-12-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

I got this great poem from Vicki at Bountiful Blessings. She has a great setup that she can print and attach the nail. What an awesome idea! I changed it up a bit to give to my family and friends and also to use at my last few craft shows of the season. Wish I found it sooner! Anyway, this was pretty simple for me. I printed the poem, cut it to size. Next, I cut a frame and a shadow frame to fit with my cricut on scal. I used a frame from 09kutups. The nail is a masonry nail, found at Lowes or HD, and actually not all that heavy. I hope you enjoy! The poem follows... thank you Vicki!

The Christmas Nail

Each year on my Christmas tree,
I hang a nail for all to see.

It’s for all the nails
In the manger where He lay,
And for the nails piercing
His body as His life drained away.

It’s a reminder of His love
Midst the green of the tree,
Of the gift that was given,
For you and for me.

Hanging there brightly
On it’s little red cord,
Telling of Jesus,
Our Savior, our Lord.

"Resticky" your Cricut mat.

2009-12-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

I know there are ideas everywhere about how to recondition your Cricut mat. There are a ton of ideas, but I want to share what has worked for me. I use the Zig 2-way glue. It comes in different sizes from a pen, to the one that I use that is almost an inch wide. First you clean your mat with dish liquid, water and a sponge. I Dry it with a non-shedding cloth and lay it out to dry for about an hour. (it can be shorter if you just can't wait) Then I lay the glue on, completely covering the sticky part of the mat. Be careful not to get it out on the non-sticky part. It will gum up your rollers. Let it sit overnight, uncovered. In the morning you will be ready to go. I love this stuff! When you use it, it actually holds the paper better than the original adhesive and lasts longer, plus I think it releases easier. I have torn many sheets of paper trying to get them off the mat, but with this glue, it sticks when you want it to, but it releases when you pull.

I have been using the same 2 mats for a year and I use my cricut every day for a few hours most days. I finally have to retire one because it is warped from going through the machine so many times! This stuff really works. As always, do your research to decide if this is the method for you, understanding how it affects your warranty. Hope this helps you get a lot more use out of your mats!

M&M Christmas poem

2009-11-29T21:19:00.000-05:00

This is the m&m poem that is circulating the crafting community. Great for church craft shows. Of course, I somehow forgot them when I did one this weekend! Enjoy!

As you hold these candies in your hand,
and turn them, you will see...
The M becomes a W, an E, and then a 3.
They tell the Christmas story. It's one I'm sure you know.
It took place in a stable a long, long, time ago.
The E is for the East, where the star shone so bright.
The M is for the Manger, where Baby Jesus slept that night.
The 3 is for the wise men, who came bearing gifts.
W is for Worship. Hallelujah, praise His name!
So as you eat these candies, or share them with your friends,
Remember the meaning of Christmas. It's a love story that never ends.

As always, I am happy to give credit where it's due! If this is your poem, let me know.

Coupon code for SCAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-24T14:40:00.000-05:00

New coupon code for scal is 9794821. I have tested it and it is active! It is for 10% off and brings the price down to 67.50. The link is in my sidebar. Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

2009-11-17T10:51:00.001-05:00

Magic Reindeer Food

The poem is as follows:

Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home

I mixed one big container of oatmeal with red and green sugar sprinkles and a little non toxic (in case the kids eat it) glitter dust.

I will be making this for my son's kindergarten class. How cute!

Beaded Glass block Light

2009-11-16T20:08:00.001-05:00

I have recieved a ton of questions about my glass block lights, so I hope that this tutorial will help to clear those things up!

First, I can't take credit for the idea. I saw it on SplitCoast, only without the beads. Then, on pennywise arts (my source for the beads and tape sheets) I saw a beaded one. So I am just sharing my process. The credit for the idea lies elsewhere!

Supplies:
Glass Block- I get mine from a local building supply. They are 8*8 and we drill the hole for the lights. If you are only doing a few, you may want to get the predrilled variety available at Hobby Lobby. A bit of advice we got from the glass block supplier is not to use a glass drill bit as sometimes suggested. Instead we use a Dremel with a diamond grinding stone. My DH keeps it lubricated by dipping it in baby oil occaionally during the process. We drill the hole just big enough to fit the lights, about 1". It is in the bottom of the block near one edge. Because the block has raised edges, there is room to run the cord out without the block tipping. After your hole is drilled, you will need to rinse out the block, and then leave it to dry. Mine took about 24-36 hours.
Picture- 6"*6". I use computer images, printed on a lightweight computer paper, so the light can shine through.
O'so Sticky adhesive Sheets- Available at www.PennywiseArts.com
Microbeads- these are available in different sizes. I order mine from Pennywise, and they are the mini microbeads. They are about the size of a grain of salt.
Lights- I like to use a 35 light strand of Christmas lights. A 50 light strand heats the block too much. You could get burnt. If you are making a child's night light, I would use the LED lights, as they let off virtually no heat

How to: the fun part
Insert your lights through the hole. I do this first so I don't have to mess with it after I get the beads on.

Center your picture on the face of the block. Attach with a small amount of adhesive on the corners. (I like AdTech tape runners).

Peel the backing off of your trimmed adhesive sheet (sized to fit over your image, in this example 6"*6"), and carefully place over the picture.

Peel off the remaining backing sheet and sprinkle your beads on. Press firmly. Pour off excess beads. Repeat on the other side of the block if desired. I make mine 2 sided with a different pic on each side, so it's reversible.

Last but not least, I wrap mine in ribbon and tie a bow. If you need a bow tutorial, try you tube. I stink at bows!

Enjoy!

Nov. 14 Craft show. Solon PTA.

2009-11-16T14:04:00.000-05:00

My 2nd craft show was this weekend and I would say it was a success. I sold out of a few items, and I even sold a few of my glass block lights. One thing I will ask as I book future shows is how many jewelry vendors there are. At this show, of the 109 vendors, there were at least 25 jewelry vendors. It was just too much. They weren't selling anything so they were grumpy, and I think it affected the shoppers. Also, because they were upset with their sales, they were packing up and leaving early, effectively ending the show an hour early and depriving me of an hour's worth of sales. But, I would still call it a smashing success! Mike and I had a great day, really enjoying eachother's company, and we met some other great crafters, and made some good customer contacts.

Our Halloween Costumes, Wizard of oz

2009-11-03T19:14:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post a pic of our costumes. We have dressed up as a family for the last few years. I had a lot of fun sewing these, but I was a little disappointed at how my costume came out. I actually added an inch and a half to my skirt, but I still felt uncomfortable in it! Don't my boys look handsome?

Hmmm...Artistic ability?

2009-11-03T16:24:00.000-05:00

When I went to the school to pick Michael (6 yo ds) up today, the principal brought him to me. He had written on the bathroom floor with a crayon. He claimed the scribbles, but not the smiley face. lol. The kid is in sooo much trouble. Right now he is writing apology letters to his teacher and principal. His principal is keeping him in from recess tomorrow to clean the floor. I think he needs practice. Maybe I will have him practice on my floors tonight.

Grinch Pills

2009-11-03T13:43:00.000-05:00

Had a few requests for the grinch pills poem, I didn't write it, but I can't give credit to whomever did, because I found it all over the place, so I don't know who to credit!
Here it is...
Feeling kinda grouchy?
Holiday spirit can't be found?
Just try these little "Grinch Pills"
They're the best medicine around.
Whether eating a whole handful,
Or eating one or two,
These tasty little "pills"

Take the Grinch right out of you.

Tile Coasters

2009-11-03T12:30:00.000-05:00

I have received some questions about my tile coasters, so I thought I would post the answers here!
This is how I make them...
I have used 3 types of tile for these, please learn from my mistakes. Do not use any tile that has ANY type of a coating. The first ones I used had some texture and didn't look glossy,so I thought I would try them, but they run, even after my stringent baking process.

My favorite are the 4x4 Chiaro tumbled marble from Lowes. They are shrink wrapped in groups of 9 for 4.86. These are natural tile and you may get some that are pretty pitted. A moderate degree of pitting is ok and just adds to the effect IMO. Lowe's won't take back singles, but if you get a lot and can come up with a group of 9 to return, they will exchange them for you (if you get deeply pitted ones you can't use.)

On to the crafting...
I wipe these down with a baby wipe and lay on a towel to dry. When they are dry, I stamp my design with Stazon ink. I think it's very important to bake after this step to set the ink so it doesn't run when you color. I bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (If you aren't going to add color, bake an extra 30 min, to really set the ink.)
Let cool. This will take a while, these babies hold the heat.
Now you can add color. I use colored sharpies to color them in.
*tip* yellow seems to bleed.
After they are colored, bake for another 30 minutes, and let cool in the oven. I don't add any kind of coating, like clear coat and they don't run. IMHO a clear coat impedes the tile's ability to absorb the liquid, one of the reasons these coasters are so great!

When they are cool, I add cork to the bottom to keep them from scratching the table. I get a roll of already sticky cork from Lowes for about $10 that does at least 12 sets of coasters. you can also get the little sticky things you get to put on chair legs and put on all four corners.

My first post!

2009-11-03T11:30:00.000-05:00

I just can't wait to get blogging. My goals for this blog are...

1. to share crafting ideas

2. to discuss life as a mom

3. to share product reviews about products I feel strongly about

4. to share tutorials

5. to make some blog friends

It's overwhelming to start a brand new blog, but today I start, and I will continue, one post at a time!