Forever Young Challenge

First off, mom (aka Joan), please skip this post and go to the next. You can have this little surprise on Mother's Day!



Everyone else, please scroll down...








Ok, I am thrilled with how this card came out that I made for the Forever Young challenge over at Scrappy Moms Stamps.

I used the sentiment for my inspiration. I would love a pair of these lovely heels in my wardrobe, wouldn't you? (Of course, I could never walk in them...but that is beside the point.)

I used the Forever Young cart along with some lovely paper roses (Recollections), of course my SMS, and Amy Butler paper (pink and cream polka dots). So here it is...Mom you are not still reading, right?






Keep scrolling, please...












Here we are!









Happy Monday & Happy crafting!!

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Bicycle Ride Layout

I made this fresh Spring layout for a challenge at Fantabulous Cricut. When I saw "bicycle", I immediately thought of this lovely one from the Summer in Paris cart.


I used pop dots to give the hills some dimension. The sun/hills and lovely sunflowers are from Country Life and the great grass is from Zooballoo.


I hoped to make it look like this bicycle was just waiting for someone to hop on and ride this lovely path (that was the best i could do....) up to the flower-covered hills. I also added tiny rhinestones to the flowers.





Thanks for looking!


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Monogramming

Just adding a name (or nickname) to a purchased item makes the gift infinitely more personal. I've had more people lately asking me to do some embroidery, so I wanted to post some samples of recent projects.

I bought this for my stepdaughter's sweet one-year-old and embroidered her nickname on there.

Cute, girly font, right?

These were big, pretty beach towels a friend asked me to do for her:
I love this big, thick font because it doesn't get lost in the pile of the fabric.






I've also done several of these lately. They are much-loved by the new parents. The pic isn't the best, but you can see the idea.

I even have a hard time embroidering without adding a name sometimes because, to me, that personal touch is what makes the gift so special.
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More Braids

I'm so glad I gave a long-haired little girl so I can play "salon" whenever I like and even more grateful I have a girl who loves to have her hair done!

Two new hairstyles we've tried recently:

First, what we call the diagonal French Braid.


Second, this one I found on Cute Girls Hairstyles (you've gotta check it out), the crown braid (or milkmaid braid--sweet name, right?).






I've always wanted to know how to do that one ever since I got my hair done like that at a Renaissance Fair when I was in high school. Not too hard after watching YouTube. :) I'd love to see any new braids you try!

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Stickles Organization Idea

This is a picture of the underside of my shelf over top of my working desk.





This idea came originally from BeaOriginal, but I found it on Fantabulous Cricut along with other great ideas for organizing your stickles. I used Velcro dots instead of magnets on a cookie sheet, which was cheaper for me (as I had on hand a nice supply of Velcro) and I couldn't think of any way to get a cookie sheet to stay on the underside of my shelf. They all seem to be holding nicely and it's such a pleasure to have them so handy!

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Zebra Shaped Birthday Card

I made this fun, girly little card for a one-year-old's birthday. It actually turned out the way I envisioned it! I used Design Studio and welded two shadows. I put a third shadow on top and then did the layering all at 4.5".


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Turtle Time

We studied sea turtles for a couple of weeks for our Swimming Creatures of the 5th Day Science co-op. I found this adorable cupcake cake at Betty Crocker. I mostly followed the directions except I used google eyes (which I like way more for a cutesy turtle). The kids loved it and I think
It would be great for a baby shower or beach party, too.


Here was another craft I found using terra cotta saucers and paint and craft foam: Crafts For Kids Sea Turtle


I gave the kids foam brushes and several shades of yellow, green, and, brown paint and it was really cool to see some do patterns and others do "abstract", each one a unique creation.




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