I'm Celebrating 100!! And a There's a Free Giveaway!

Hoorah!  Today I'm celebrating 100 blog posts on my blog!  At the end of the post, there's an awesome Giveaway!  Here's how you can celebrate with me!

1.  Did you know that you can "Pin" any of the photos on my blog?  This will help others see my photos and direct them to my site.

 2. You can leave comments on my posts!  I love reading what you have to say.  So go ahead, and write to me!  I'd like to know what you think! 

3.  You can become a "follower" of my blog if you'd like!

4.  You can shop in my Etsy store.  Right now, there's not a lot in there for sale, but keep checking back and there will be more!

5.  You can be entered in my latest Giveaway!  From time to time, I like to have surprise giveaways.  Pick your favorite post from my blog and tell me which one that you like the best.  Leave your comment on this post and...

You will be entered into a drawing to win a $15 Gift Craft Card of your choice!  Pick from Hobby Lobby, Joanns, Michaels, Walmart, AC Moore or Stampin' Up!

But don't delay!  The drawing will be held on Tuesday, November 7th at 12:00 pm (EST).  I will let you know if you win and you can choose your gift card!  Good luck!  The drawing is over and Christy A, you're the winner! 

And thanks for reading my blog!  Here's to 100 more!

Box Cards for Fall

You may have seen some of these Box Cards, but I wanted to try my hand at making one!  I used some fall colors with the stamp set, Fall Fest.  The papers are from the Motley Monsters designer set.  We made this project along with the envelope at my last stamping class.

The incredible thing about this Box Card is that it fits in a standard card-size envelope!  Here is a photo the card all folded and being tucked into the envelope.  When the recipient receives the card, it's a surprise when it stands up like a box!

Here is the whole set that we made- the Box Card and envelope, another fall card and a decorative candle. 

Here is another variation of the same set.  This time I turned the paper over and made jack-o-lanterns out of the pumpkins!  Don't you just love the teal-colored pumpkin? 

We also made some magnets for the fridge by adding transparency adhesive sheets on the front and back along with a magnet strip.  Then we finished them off with a bow!

Chevron Runner

Ha ha!  Guess what I finished making yesterday?  Another table runner!  It's actually a dresser scarf that I made it to fit the top of my dresser for my room.

I recently had some painting done in my home and chose some soft grays for my bedroom.  I picked out a light-colored gray for the top of the wall and a medium gray for the bottom.  I added a white chair rail to divide the two colors.  It has a nice peaceful look to it.

For the dresser, I wanted to make a runner with some sort of chevron design. I found this pattern on Pinterest.  It has a chevron that sort of runs sideways, but it was easy to make and I like how it came out!

Do you decorate with grays?  What colors do you like to put with it? 

Getting a Head Start on Christmas

This week I held my first Christmas card-making class for the season.  I'm not one to make things too far ahead (Ha ha- I procrastinate everything!) but I wanted to give the stampers a preview of some of the new Christmas stamps and papers that are available.  Here's a sampling of some of the sets that I took out to make cards with.

At the end of each class I always ask the ladies which card or project that they liked best.  This week almost everyone voted for this card.  It's a quick and easy card that can made in multiples.  I love the contrast of the pine cones against the greenery.  It's so peaceful.  I usually go online and get some ideas for cards to make.  I got this idea from Dawn Olchefski.

 I love cards that are easy to make and have a simple look to them.  There is a new tree punch from Stampin Up.  I had so much fun making the trees for this card.  You don't even have to have the stamp set that coordinates with it to use it.  I made the trees in different sizes and embossed some to give them texture.  We had made a variation of this card at my last demonstrator meeting.  I copied the idea from my friend, Deb Valder.

At first I tried to paint in color on this bauble stamp, but I couldn't get the details to look nice.  So I changed up the card and just stamped the ornament onto designer paper using a contrasting raspberry colored ink.  I added the strips along the edge to give it some color.  I am really happy how it came out.  I combined the ideas from two people- Vicki Burdick and a demonstrator named Melissa (no last name). 

Last, but not least, we used the Home for the Holidays stamp set to make this card.  I stamped my houses onto designer paper and used the foil paper from the All is Calm paper set for the snow.  Somehow this new greenish-aqua color called Lost Lagoon has worked its way into a Christmas color!

In person, this card has a nice shimmery shine to it with glitter on the roofs and the snowman.  Designing the "town" reminded me a bit like playing with Colorforms when I was a girl.  I guess I'm dating myself now by admitting that.  :)

Have you started on your Christmas cards yet?  How many handmade cards do you send out each year?

Basket for the Bathroom

 Recently I had the bathrooms painted this pretty soft aqua color.  I am going to decorate them using an ocean themed decor.  The closest ocean to where I live is about 3 1/2 hours away so I don't get there as often as I'd like.  So I have to bring the ocean to me.

I had this basket on the back of the toilet before I painted the room, only it had a pink fabric lining in it.  I took off the lining the other day and looked through my fabric scraps.  I found these two aqua pieces and sewed them together to make a new lining.

I'm not totally sure what I am going to put in the basket just yet, but I love how it came out!  Here it is pictured with some face cloths and one of my favorite craft magazines.

There will be more ocean items to come!

More Table Runners?

Okay, I admit- I have a love for table runners!  I think they dress up an area and give it a warm and comfortable look.  I like them tables, counters and dressers.  And more!

I worked on this runner for my son and daughter-in-law for their living room and gave it to them for their anniversary.  It fits perfectly on their console table and coordinates with the runner that I gave them last year for their coffee table.

Here's what the previous one looks like.  They both contain the same colors so that they match! Wait until you see what matching item they get for Christmas! 

Do you like to use runners as part of your decor?  Do you have any in an unusual place?  I'd love to hear new ideas for places to put them. 

More Cheetah

My daughter loves homemade items made using cheetah and animal prints.  So this year for her birthday I made her some projects using her favorite fabrics.  Her walls in the dining room are a pretty golden yellow so I added that color in, as well.  Pinwheels are one of my favorite quilt blocks to make and I just love how this runner came out.  It will look great on her dining room table.

Last year I had made her a runner for the coffee table in the living room.  Here is what that looked like.  Same colors, only different blocks.  Now the two areas will coordinate!

I also made her a quilted cosmetic bag and a zippered wallet from the animal prints.  And let's not forget the matching key fob! 

 

Do you like animal printed fabrics?  If you do, which animal print is your favorite?