A Long One!!

Oh- it's been so long!! I have many updates and lots of pictures! Are you ready? Here is one of my latest creations.

First, I painted this shelf pink and then went over it with white pearl paint to give it pretty shimmer. Then I decorated each side with sweet pink flowers with pearl stamens and added pearl strands to them. Then I slipped a string of pearls underneath the pegs and lined the top edge with yummy pink millinery posies. You can find it here :)

This piece I painted white and then layered on a champagne colored pearl. Then I put pearl strand around the top edge and accented the heart with them. Shiny beaded ribbon completes this piece for a simple, but pretty look.

These shelves were therapeutic to make. Many of you know that last week wasn't so well- as we had to go to two wakes and one funeral. A lot of moping around the house and staring at the TV went on, so we didn't get too much done. But I was able to get some time in my craft room and was grateful for the play time.

Here is a picture of the altered Rolodex card I made for the ArtHaven swap. I made 16 of these! This was my first attempt at making these crepe paper medallions!! Honestly, a couple of them did not turn out as perfect as I wanted them, but I was already about 2 weeks late getting these out!! These were more difficult than I thought they would be- I don't have a sewing machine, so I had to use some double sided tape and pray for the best :) I don't think you can tell from the picture, but there are tiny surprises on each card... you'll see when you get them! :)

This is the Ace of Hearts card I came up with for another ArtHaven swap. LOL- I loved the idea, but this too, was more difficult than I originally thought it would be!! Lace is so finicky... And lining up the pattern of the paper took some time to get just right... It's always the littlest things!!

This is the ATC I made for the Cutest Pumpkin ArtHaven swap. At first, I didn't like how it was turning out because it was just the words and pumpkin graphic, but then I had the idea to do some embossing and added the colorful flowers and sparkley rhinestones. And added pom pom trim and that tiny spider (which took forever to cut out!!)... and I think it looks pretty cute all finished.

In other news, I won another blog giveaway!!! This one was from the Lollishops blog. Sadie was giving away an original piece of artwork by herself and Design Team Kits that had been mailed out to Lollishops very first Design Team! I couldn't believe I won!!!! Actually, there were 3 chances to win and mine was the last number chosen, so I didn't think I would be receiving a piece of artwork, but then THIS came in the mail!!!!

Isn't the angel Dollie sooooooooo cute?!?!?! I love how she made this look like a couch. The paper in the background is gorgeous too!

And here is the Inspiration Kit:

I love, love, LOVE that tiny yellow velvet flower. Ummm, so much so that I had to purchase some... These came from the Tin Tiara on Lollishops also known as Christopher Pines on etsy.

And then... My popalicioustoo order arrived!!! Actually, it came right after I went to the funeral and was a wonderful surprise. Andrea makes sure to include "some surprises" with each order- but I have to say, she outdid herself!!! There were over 5 yards of pearl flower strands, vintage jewelry, those gorgeous white bells, tiny pink bears, tiny pink clothespins, gorgeous purple ribbon flowers, little cherubs, two extra dachshund magnets, and foot long white lily of the valley with pearl strands! And these were all included for free in my order!! If you need craft supplies, Andrea is definitely someone you want to buy from. Her prices are excellent, she sells items I haven't seen elsewhere- like those beautiful gowned girls- and she is one of the most WONDERFUL people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. And she loves dachshunds (like ME!!) and does dachshund rescue. A portion of your sale goes to fund dachshund rescue through Almost Home Dachshund Rescue and All American Dachshund Rescue.

I also recently got this order in the mail from Angela Harris. I was sent to her Etsy shop by Tales from an OC Cottage. And obviously, I couldn't resist!!!! Well. It was for a good cause!!! Proceeds from these tags went to support Operation Christmas Child. There are still 4 sets left in her Etsy store. Such a great price around $7 for 3 tags and 2-3 pieces of vintage jewelry!

Now for the house... If you haven't heard, I've moved! From a duplex into an actual house! We couldn't believe we got the house at such a low price per month (we're just renting). It was only $15 more per month than what we were paying for the duplex. And it is a 4 bed, 1.5 bath house! Yes, too much space, but it's ok if the heat bill isn't too bad (crossing fingers!). Here's a picture of my pink feather tree all lit up.... These two gorgeous birds came from Walmart!!! Can you believe it?!?! And only $2 for each!!! They have soooo many ornaments there- super pretty ones!- for only 1 or 2 dollars!! Again, this tip came from Tales from an OC Cottage.... I have to stop visiting her blog before I go broke!!! LOL

Here is a picture of our living room... I was able to decorate for Christmas- and then I realized how nothing really matched each other! You can kind of see my awesome curtains!! lol I love them :) They're a light beige taffeta with brownish colored embroidered roses. I got them at Burlington Coat Factory for only $25. Matt thinks they're too light because they almost get lost in the wall... I have no decorating sense- do people decorate with light colored curtains??? Or are they usually darker?

That terrible dark spot above the mantle is not my camera nor your eyes playing tricks on you!! It is really bad!!! So I went and bought stuff to make a feather wreath with to cover it up. Boy, I didn't have any idea it would cost so much!! It was about $9 for the styrofoam, $9 for each of the boas, and $4 for the bird to put on it... I could have bought one already made for less than that! Lol Live and learn I guess :) I am not done with it yet, but I'll be sure to post pictures when it's done.

Here is a picture of the vintage hobnail milk glass lamp that was left by the previous owner. (And yes, those are my cherries curtains in the background!!!)

Ok... just one last picture and I have to say goodnight!!! Here are my vintage dachshund salt and pepper shakers!! Aren't they cute kissing? :)

Lol- I just realized how many links I had to add in here :) I like to do this so you might find other blogs and stores you're interested in too! That's how I've learned about many stores and blogs I visit, so I'd like to return the favor!! Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Holiday Time

Hello friends! :) I have 2 new projects to share with you today... The first one is an ATC for the Halloween ATC swap (which I am late on...) for the ArtHaven Group!

Can you tell I just love this image?? Lol! I wondered if I should make an ATC or tag with her for every holiday! :) Um.. you just might see it happen!

And here is a holiday "Joy" tag I put together one afternoon...

If you click on the picture, you can see the tiny red beads and white flocking and lace trim better. The holly paper is not on the tag- just a background, but how I love this paper! It's from the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses line.

Speaking of which, I also made a mini album with that paper and the Dewfrost paper from Memory Box this weekend, but it's not finished, so that's for a future post :)

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

Hello, Stranger!!

Sorry!! It's been so long since I last posted... Here are some of the things I've been up to...

I made this card. Um, I was trying to make a quilt card, but this turned out more like a really pretty window!! Oh well... At least it still looks pretty :)

I added some things to my Joker card for the Art Haven swap. hehe- I thought I was being clever by adding a "silver lining" to the cloud :)

These are pictures of my latest jewelry box. It's painted white and distressed for that weathered look. Then I added cream and white flocked vintage wallpaper to the drawers. I love, love, Love(!!) flocked paper! Cream felt lines the inside of all the drawers and a white pearly knob sits in the center of each one. But the cutest things are the two german glass glittered cherubs on each side of the box! Even though I love this, it's in my Etsy store.

I have been into tag making lately... Here are my latest tags. The first one I made for my friend, Jan. I thought she might like the style since she liked the last tag I had done. The second one I made for Jan's friend who just found out she has colon cancer. Jan is awesome and is making a tag gate for her! You can read more about that HERE. I have also made duplicates of these and put them in my Etsy store.

And last, but not least, I recently bought this shabby chic mirror. And it came with 2 matching sconces that hold taper candles. It's 3' long!! And now proudly hanging in my craft room. And it was only $30!!!! I couldn't believe it. I felt like such a thief coming out of the thrift store!

I also bought a white armoire from a garage sale for only $40! No pics of that yet, though, because it's not here yet. Also, we are moving soon! Into a 4 bed, 1.5 bath house. Woohoo!

Tomorrow we are supposed to go to the World's Largest Yard sale at the fairgrounds. Now it's Jello time and then probably off to bed soon. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Lazy Summer Days...

The time is just flying by... I feel like I haven't done much lately, although I have a few projects going at once... I've actually been busy making cards. I've made 3 cards over the last week or so, but I forgot to take pictures of 2 of them. Oops!! Fortunately, I was able to get this picture of David and the card I made for him for getting his PhD.

Something you don't see too often... David actually smiling in lab! Lol :) He's been working his butt off for the last few years, so it's really great to have this picture. It's been a hard, long road. I guess most research is!

My boss called me up about 2 hours before the event and wanted me to pick up a card. I made one instead, but only had an hour to do it!! And you know me... it takes hours of thinking for me to even begin to create something... lol :) This card was pretty simple- except for I am really particular about using the embossing as a background. I have to have exactly the same number of dots (I used the swiss dot folder) on each side of the text!! I think I almost annoy myself sometimes! And I was super lucky that I picked up that ribbon along the edge at Michael's earlier that morning because that's the only navy ribbon I had!

Last night I finish this fouffy shelf.

As you can tell, I love mirabou! And pearls. And rhinestones. And shimmer.

Here it is holding some of my supply jars and vintage lace.

Pretty flowers!

It almost looks Christmas-y, don't you think? I want to make one in pink, but there is no pearl pink paint. Well, I haven't seen any at the stores... I might just have to make my own. I love the pearl paints- they really cute-n things up. Hehe, yes, I am making up my own words today. This is what happens when you don't blog for a while! lol! Have a wonderful day :)

Slacking...

Yikes! I have really been slacking on my blog :( Sorry!!! I think tonight I'll share a funny story with you... :)


A weekend or two ago, I finally cleaned up the upstairs bedroom and bought a 6' (haha I almost typed 6") table... So now I have a new crafting space! Yeay!! But you know, we should always remember where we came from, so I won't be changing the title of this blog! Anyway, soon enough, I set to work on some jewelry boxes I was trying to make for my Etsy store. I loved the idea of feathers and flowers, so I bought a mini glue gun- one of those $3 ones from Michaels. When I bought it, my first thought was "I wonder how many times I'm going to burn myself on this thing..." and my second thought was "Wow, only $3... Wonder if it will even work!!" But I plugged it in and squeezed the trigger and soon enough it was pumping out the sticky stuff! It worked well with my feathers and then the flowers so I was pretty happy with my $3 purchase. :)


Until the next day. When I went back into the room and Matt found out I had forgotten to unplug the darn thing!! And a hot puddle of glue was sitting on my brand new table.


Needless to say, we went to the craft store that day and Matt did not let me leave without purchasing a glue gun mat.

Lol. And wouldn't you know- I did it again!!!

So now I have to develop an OCD about checking to make sure it's unplugged. (It's not on right now. I SWEAR!)


While looking through my HUGE Google Reader list, I found June's blog candy! She is offering a ton of different goodies such as round inkable pendants, metal letters and frames, rub ons, ribbon, stamps... the list goes on!! Visit her blog, pick up her link to post on your blog, and leave a comment to enter! Plus, you'll get to see all the wonderful Artwork she creates, which is candy in itself!!


And while I was there, I found MORE blog candy! Such a cute necklace! I looked in Val's store, but there isn't another with the same colors. However, there are many other super cute pieces, so check it out!

Lastly, after my glue gun story, I bet you want to know how those jewelry boxes came out... Lol :) Here they are!

Ah... Flickr mosaics :) I love em!

Mail Anyone?

I just finished my mail holder project! I love how it turned out! (Very excited- can't you tell, hehe)





Wooden Distressed Crackle Paint Shimmery Velvet Wall Pocket Mail Holder

This was really fun to make. I love the shimmery paper- it's so elegant! And of course, I love the velvety ribbon :) I started out with the crackle paint- I knew I wanted it on the sides. Then I put the paper on the front, but it was a little bit difficult at the top because of the way the wood is cut. Then I cut out paper diamonds from the paper with the old letters on it and distressed the edges a bit more. I edged those with the velvet ribbon and did the accent pieces topped with a velvet bow. Stamped the sides and a coat of matte varnish to finish it off. I bet I could make this in 3 days now... It just takes longer the first time cuz you don't know what to do with everything!

Ok- so I know I've been promising sparkley things, but I have had such a hard time with the glitter!! It gets all over Everything!! Especially places I don't want it to be.... I've spent a couple hours picking all the glitters off one by one with my craft knife... What a painstaking job, but it really annoys me when there is a little fleck here and another one there and so forth. Funny- I would get them unstuck, but then I'd blow on them to make them go away, and they'd just fly onto a different piece where they shouldn't be! I need a bigger table! Or a bigger brain! :)

But anyway, I should be able to post pics of them tomorrow. I varnished over the glitter so it wouldn't rub off on everything it came in contact with, but I want to make sure it's completely dry before I put everything back together. Then they just need some finishing touches and voila! Pics for everyone :)

Yeay!

Yeay! I've posted my first wood item on Etsy! I think I started thinking about how this would look a few weeks ago! It's cool to see it really materialize...

Pink Hello Kitty Jewelry Trinket Treasure Box with Mirror

I love the mirabou :)

I got these papers from a Hello Kitty origami pad I had from way back when, aren't they so cute?

Last night I was trying to make another one of those wooden signs. It looked really cool. Before I decided to coat the whole thing in varnish!! Well, the varnish wasn't the problem... It was how much I put on!! I basically slathered the whole thing up and left it on my craft sheet- but it pooled onto the back of what was to be a two sided sign... So that wasn't good!! I ended up throwing it out... Yes, another thing I had to throw away!! I have another piece of wood though, so hopefully I can just make it again today. I am also really close to finishing two other pieces, so that's great! It is kind of fun working on more than one thing at once. But I wonder if I worked on the same kind of piece and just did a bunch of them if it would go faster. Hmm... I will have to think about that. The auction for the charity event is tomorrow, so I'm trying to get stuff listed in my store so that it's kind of ready if people meander there on Saturday... That and tomorrow night I start working until like 11pm at work. Ugh!!! 2-11.... I will have to do all my crafing tomorrow morning! I was trying to find something to be able to take all of my stuff with me, but so far, I've only acquired a cropper hopper for all my papers, ok, not all of them, but most of them!! Oh, and those tackle boxes for my embellishments. Matt says he has a bag I could use... Maybe I will see tonight if everything will fit in there. haha- Crafting at my desk at work :)

My First

Last night I actually put my first item in my store :) Actually, it wasn't what I thought it would be either!! I listed 4 of these Hello Kitty tags.



Luxury Distressed Hello Kitty Tags- Pearlescent Green, Cream

These came out really cute and were pretty easy to do. I love the gold ribbon on the top. I think it pulled everything together. Let us hope there are more Hello Kitty fans out there!!

This weekend, I went to the Allentown Arts Fest. I guess it was an arts AND crafts show, but I really didn't see too many crafts. This one lady was selling these painted wood pieces- they were all shiny and black with hand painted teeny tiny flowers and things on them. I couldn't believe they were made of wood! They looked like they'd be heavier somehow. Other than that, there were lots of paintings and jewelry... Basically, things that were waaaay too expensive for my budget!

I gave Rachelle her jewelry box and my mom her card, and I ended up giving her the Home sign, too. My mom was surprised I was into crafting. Rachelle said the jewelry box smelled like Matt's cabin! I thought that was funny :)

I didn't end up putting my clothespin and jewlery box in the store because they weren't perfect. Actually, I ended up disassembling the jewelry box so I could take the flowers back. I think I'll hang on to the clothespin though. I'm working on a recipe box to go with the clothespin, so if that comes out well, I'll probably just make another pin to go with the box! I also have a couple other projects going, too but I'm finding I have to buy more stuff to accomodate each one! Like, I'm making a treasure chest for my friend, Mauricio, and I had to buy this one compass stamp. But then I decided I wanted to emboss it, so I have to go get embossing powder. And I had to get red felt to line the inside of the box. Even though I see all these things that are on sale and I think I'll need them so I end up getting them, I always need something else!! Thank God all the stores have 50% off coupons this week!! I think the people working at Michaels see me everyday! Matt and I end up going to Valu almost every day, too!

One problem I'm having is getting ribbon to stick to the wood. I was using Mod Podge to glue it on there, but if you put the ribbon over it too early, it will soak thru the ribbon. But if you put it on too late, it won't hold. I have this spray adhesive, for my cricut mat of course, which Matt said to use on the felt lining to stick it in the box- because the super glue I used leaked right thru the first pieces of felt I put in there- so I was thinking of using that for the ribbon, but the ribbon's so thin as well as the wood pieces. So I'm not sure if that's the best idea since the spray from the can is pretty wide. Everything will be sticky! So any suggestions would be helpful. :) Thanks!