Merry Christmas!

My work here is done! It's Christmas Eve, very late and I have wrapped the last present and put it under the tree. I wanted to take a picture to document my efforts and because it seemed so peaceful. Looking at our tree with all of the gifts piled underneath it I felt very blessed. I hope that this Christmas has left everyone else feeling the same and that the coming year is even better. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Retro-Reversible Christmas apron

Here is a picture of my retro style reversible Christmas apron. I'm at work in this picture. I made the apron with the idea that wearing it would help me get into the Christmas spirit. The other side is black with poinsettias. The green with Santa fabric I found at Joann's and it is very cute and cheery. I designed the pattern after I saw some really cute Jessie Steele hostess aprons. Here is a basic instruction: If you already have a apron pattern or one at home that is a typical "work apron" simply trace it on some paper and determine how long you want it to be at the front midpoint. Now with your pattern fold exactly in half you can come up with your own scalloped edge. Cut the apron from two different fabrics and pin together at edges with seam binding that coordinates. You will do this with the right sides of the fabric facing out. Stitching the binding on will sew the two pieces together. Once you have done that choose the 1 inch double fold seam binding to make your neck strap and the waist ties. Determine the length on yourself or a mannequin and stitch those on continuing the seam to stitch the binding closed. If you choose to add pocked do so before you stitch the apron together with the binding. Once completed wear and be cute. I'm sure you'll receive lots of compliments on your cute apron!

Vintage Shiny-brite

Last Christmas I became obsessed with vintage Christmas ball ornaments. I love the artwork on the boxes and the patina that the ornaments have. I was able to amass a small collection but I am always on the hunt. I thought I would share a couple of my favorites...

Holidays!

I don't think that anyone can deny that there is a certain magic about Christmas. Everything has a new sparkle to it and we anticipate all the season brings. Thanksgiving is starting to get lost in the mix, Christmas decorations are out before Halloween is over and we all rush to fulfill our holiday obligations. My Grandma always hosts Thanksgiving and I was trying to come up with a nice gift for her to start off the season and to let her know how much we appreciate all the effort she goes to during the holidays. I always buy the clear glass ball ornaments and use them for various projects and gifts. This year I suspended pictures of Clayton sledding in the snow and filled the bottom with a mixture of large and small flake snow, diamond dust (glitter), and mica snow. It is like a sweet little time capsule to hang on the tree. The snow even gives the picture a slight shimmer and it only took about 10 minutes to put together. Try to be a little creative this year when you send or give out those holiday pictures and turn them into something that will be a holiday treasure for years to come.

Blinged out skull rings

So Halloween is a bit of an obsession for me. I love the holiday and for anyone who lives in Arizona it signals the end of the oppressive heat. I bought a bag of those plastic rings that come in spider, bat and skull shapes and I was instantly inspired. The spiders and bats creeped their way onto a spooky Halloween banner for a class that I'm teaching at "A Scrap 'n Time", and the skulls got a little sparkle. I used Swarovski crystal rhinestones to add some Halloween glitz and a jaunty little black bow. I love them and will probably be dropping them off at a couple of the stores that carry my jewelry. If you love them or want some for yourself I can sell them direct, just post to my blog or email me. Happy Halloween!

Baby book

I made this as a baby shower gift for one of my friends. Simply take brown lunch bags (3) folded in half and alternate the open ends and closed ends. I then stitched a chenille cover to the outside bag and then stitched down the middle of all three bags to bind the album. If you use a lot of embellishments on your inside pages you might want to reinforce this with ribbon or eyelets whatever you prefer. Then add cute scrapbook paper and anything else your heart desires to your inside "pages". The lunch bags also give spots to tuck in other items that the new mom might want to save such as cards, hospital bracelets, etc.

Tag Book

Camping is not my favorite thing, but I do it out of love for my husband. Our first family camp out is captured in this little tag book. Made with mailing tags and wooden tag shaped covers it brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. These are fun and easy to put together and make great gifts.

Decorative Canvas

This is an example of a fun way to incorporate photos and scrapbooking into your decor. I took a 12x12 inch canvas, painted the edges with acrylic paint and gave it a crackle effect. Then I added scrapbook paper that worked with my theme and decor and added photos and embellishments. This is a great way to fill up your wall space and display those precious photos.

Fun tags!

I have found a fun new resource on the web for craft ideas, tutorials, and patterns. It is: www.craftzine.com If you register you get their daily craftzine. The variety of craft mediums they cover is great and it's trendy! They recently were running a submission request for tags, I managed to whip up a couple. Quick tip: you can create your own ephemera! I have some vintage aprons patterns and I just love the artwork because it is so nostalgic. I took the pattern envelopes and some cardstock to my local copy store and made color copies. I used vanilla colored cardstock to go with the vintage, antique look. They turned out great and I cut out one of illustrations to use on one of my tags. These would be cute when making a heritage type album. In fact I have some great photos of my grandma from the 50's and it would be really cute to incorporate these charming pieces of the past into a mini album. Perhaps you will see it in a future post...

First Design Team Project

Project: Circle of Love
This is the first project that I have completed for the Mystic Paper Design team. This project features 7 Gypsies paper, and a Petaloo round scrapbook box with 5 inch accordion album. I love the paper and was inspired to do something with my wedding photos for this project. Here are some photos, but better yet check out the real thing at the Mystic Paper Store in Mesa.

Design Team

Attention paper crafters! If you need any of the latest and greatest supplies for your projects whether it's scrapbook or altered art check out Mystic Paper in Mesa down on Main St. I was fortunate enough to be selected along with some other incredibly talented gals to be a part of their first Design Team. Check out the store's website at www.mysticpaper.com for information on new products, classes and design team blogs. Each month the store will be stocked with wonderful projects that we hope will spark your creativity.

Yeah, I figured out how to post a photo. This is so great because I hope to post photos of some of my favorite projects. I am enjoying a quiet Sunday evening. My little one is in bed and my older son is enjoying staying up late because school is out. I think they're so quiet because they are in a brownie induced coma.

First Post!

Okay, I have to thank my friend Jenny for teaching me how to set up my own blog. I have been curious about this for ages and never even thought it would be this easy! Soon I will add pictures and share with you some of my crafting adventures!