4th of July

You probably don't remember the picture from THIS post. I talked about making a printable with the picture I took.

Here is what I came up with!

Download 8X10 HERE

Download 5X7 HERE

Spring Wreath

I have been wanting to make THIS wreath from Jones Design Comp.

Isn't it fantastic!?! I love everything about it. So, I rounded up my supplies and here is my new wreath hanging on my front door! Booyah!

Secrete Santa Gift

Hubby's work does Secrete Santa every year. He has always had a woman, so I have made the gift every year. This year, it was a woman again and word has gotten out that if Dave is your Secrete Santa his wife will make you a cute decoration. He is in high demand now and has been informed he is being fought over;) Here is what the lucky winner gets this year. Using THIS printable I made last year, I cut it out in vinyl and placed it on a tile. BUT I think for myself it will be put on a distressed wooden board:)

Sorry about the lack of Magical Day of Make Believe Series, I have been down for the count with a wicked head cold. I am working on it and will have it done beginning of next week:)

More Changes

Here are a few more changes I made with my Christmas decor. Front door in years past:

Front door this year, with a new stain, wreath hanger, and wreath.



















The nook in years gone by:



















Nook now:

Because of my nativity scene, I needed things to be a little less glittery and more rustic. So I switched out the wreath. Using an idea I saw Craftaholics Anonymous, I added cinnamon sticks to some candles.

I have wanted the Willow Tree Nativity set for longer then I can remember. This year for my birthday I got the starter set. I will be collecting it slowly:)

Putting up Christmas

This is my mantel from years past. I was never really crazy about it, but it worked and it was cheap.

Here it is now (the candles in the fireplace I Photoshopped in because I will eventually get around to doing something like that:)

My mom gave me some decor from Costco (reindeer and tree)

 I made these with a stencil a few years ago and I love them as much as the day I made them:)

 Another change was I purchased a tree skirt for the very first time in 8 1/2 years of marriage;)

Counting Down to Christmas

This year I am starting the count down to Christmas early and with a BANG!!!! The idea is for you to have time to get these ready in time to enjoy them for the Christmas Holiday:) For a limited time only (until Dec. 05, 2011) I am offering the following for free download to all my followers! So get it while you can!

11 X 14 Christmas Advent Calendar (no longer available for free)
I printed this out at Costco and hung it on my refrigerator and used a magnet to mark the day.

Christmas Plates (no longer available for free)
(these are all scrunched together but I wanted you to see what the files look like:)

Just print (if you have a lazer printer you can do this at home, BUT if you have an ink jet print out at costco, wal-mart etc) cut circle the size to fit plates and mod podge onto red salad plates from Target

Fireplace Mantels

With Christmas just around the corner I have been looking for ideas for our fireplace mantel.  Here's what it looks like now.

Of course Pinterest has tons of great ideas here are a few of my favorite. Get out your magnifying glasses I spent an hour trying to get the pictures bigger but I was having glitches today. 

Gobble Gobble

I was feeling board one afternoon and whipped this up. He turned out pretty cute don't you think!?!

Download 5X7 HERE
Download 8X10 HERE

I think I am going to link up to the parties on the side bar:)

Halloween Printable and tutorial

Today I will be offering 2 new printables. The Halloween plates and the happy Halloween sign!

You will need mod podge, vinyl lettering, a frame, and 3 plates.

I don't remember what font I used for the Happy Halloween but I really like it in "house sitter's club, impervious, or claudia jean" These are all free fonts I got HERE. The font I used for the plates was Papyrus.

I realize many do not have a vinyl cutting machine. So, I have found a solution, although it will be a little more work for you:) I created a jpeg that you can print out and use as a stencil to cut out from vinyl or black contact paper with scissors or an exacto blade. Please keep in mind you will have to size the file to fit your plates and frame.

8x10 frame

plates


First download the following 4 files.
Definitions #1
Definitions #2
Definitions #3
Definitions #4

I printed them off at home on regular paper with and ink jet printer. I think I made 5 copies of each file. Maybe more. Next, you will rip the paper into little pieces. There is no method to it. Smaller pieces work best. I liked it better with more words showing and less empty space. Here is a close up of the background.  See the open spaces with less writing, I don't like it, but I like it where there is lots of writing.













FRAME:
Take out the glass from the frame:) Arrange the pieces of paper onto the glass, mod podge as you go. After the entire piece of glass  is covered with the words, put your vinyl lettering on. Then spread a thin layer of mod podge over the entire thing. Place back in the frame and hot glue a cute ribbon onto the back. Hang up and enjoy!

PLATES:

Cut out a circle the same size as the center of the plate. I used light weight card stock. Mod podge the torn pieces onto the paper. After the entire circle is covered, cut of the excess that might be hanging over the circle. Put a thin layer of mod podge onto the back of the circle and place in the center of the plate. Smooth out any bumps or bubbles. Place another plate on top and add weight. Leave the plate to dry over night. Place the vinyl onto the circle and spread a small layer of mod podge on top.

Halloween Printable

Friends, I have gathered you all here today to show you why with the up coming holidays you should always use a ladder when getting boxes of decorations off the top shelf in your garage.

A piece of wood that I couldn't see was sitting on top of said box. It slid off and smashed into my face. Everything went black, I was dizzy, I had/ and still have a massive head ache. I stumbled around for a bit. My eyes were watering like crazy. I went into the bathroom to blow my nose (from the watery eyes). And realized I had a double nose bleed and a very swollen nose. After getting everything under control, I took stock of my nose and realized I would have a very large and unattractive scar if I didn't get it closed. So, 1 trip to the urgent care and I look like this with a swollen nose and a black eye forming. BOO! Feel free to feel lots of sympathy for me. It is as painful as it looks.

So, onto less important business!  Lets annouce the winner of the Halloween giveaway via random number generator! Drum roll please............................Congrats to Jessica who said:

I totally love #1. You ever need to talk girly, contact me on FB. I have stories to tell you about depression and all that dark stuff. Love you like family as always!

I made this 2 years ago, BUT I am officially offering it as a free printable this year! YIPPEE!!!

Get 5x7
Get 8x10

Stay tuned later this week to get the printable for the Happy Halloween sign and another surprise!

Happy Halloween

Is it too early to be promoting Halloween? I don't think so because you can get all your decorations ready now! I drew this for a Halloween craft for my sisters found HERE.
 I decided to just offer the SVG file I made. I also left it in a png and jpeg file for those of you who might prefer it that way.
As always this is for personal use only. You may not sell any items made or modified from this file. You may not sell this file and you may not modify this file for monetary gains. Please respect the time that went into making this.

Download PNG

Download JEPG


Download SVG



***Don't forget to enter the Halloween vinyl giveaway found HERE. ***

Make and Mingle

My sisters and momma are planning on coming to visit me in October. As usual, they want to make crafts with me. Last year I spent most of my time on the computer getting the everything ready to cut vinyl for them. This year is over the top crazy for me right now, and I am loving every minute of it. I always enjoy crafting for other people when they are paying for it because I get to do what I love without breaking the bank:) The plan is to get everything ready for them to paint and apply vinyl. That way we can spend much more time hanging out together. Here is a line up of our up coming crafts! I even have a few surprises for them that I whipped up. BUT sense they read this blog I won't tell you what it is until they come to visit.

My sisters and momma are making this. It's reversible.

 I decided I wanted to make this frankenstein instead. Mine will be reversible too!

 This is what will be on the opposite side of mine.

 This little guy is going on spare tile from my floors.

 We are going to put this one in a floating glass red frame

 This one we are putting on a piece of metal instead of wood and I have frosted vinyl. It should be very cute! I hand drew the pattern and scanned it in and turned the file into an SVG file.

 This one is double sided, but they haven't told me what they want on the other side yet. I am thinking something Easter.

I fell in love with this advent calendar. It is super-d-duper cute.

So, I have it all laid out, I just need to finish cutting the vinyl. It is a slow process because my cricut isn't really fast and I have to cut out 5 of each thing. So there you go. That is what I am up to. Next I will be sanding and maybe priming a few things. Oh the things we do for those we love:)

Finding Joy

I wanted to show you these 4th of July decorations I finished 2 days before the holiday;)  I framed the printable I made HERE.

I whipped up these from a Pick Your Plum deal. They sent me the wood and star and I painted them and added the hemp. Lurv it!

I just wanted to wish you a happy 4th of JULY! May your day be filled with good company, good food, and fireworks. God Bless the USA! I find joy in the simple things in life. For instance, I love watching fireworks. even better is watching my kids watch fireworks. Priceless.


















There is joy in receiving a package from Pick Your Plum because there is always a piece of candy for my little ones to share:) Our 4th of July package had a tasty laffy taffy;)

Reading a good book. Recently, I have been reading this one and LOVE it! So interesting. It's not about depression. It's about sugar sensitivity and how it can cause a multitude of problems, but also affects addictions (drug, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, work, etc).

My water bottle because I take it everywhere and always have a drink when I want one. I usually use Polar Bottle, but when I am in the car, camel back is best because then I can drink without tripping my head back, taking eyes off road, and the water bottle hitting the roof of the car.

I was at The Container Store and found the most glorious thing. Bags made out of old tires! It made me squeal with delight! I had to share because they are wonderful!

I only had my crappy camera phone, but look at how cool they are.

There was also these ones that were a little more like pots with handles.

whoopdwhoop.com  is my new favorite. It's a place to trade crafty goodness. I have gotten pictures, hair accessories, cards, and jewelry. I have been using up stashes of craft supplies to get my 'whoops' to trade;)
And those are a few things that have brought me pleasure today.