Handmade Hatpins

I just love things that sparkle (my husband will attest to me being "like a squirrel") so when I saw some hand made hat pins on Bree's blog (along with a video tutorial) I had to give them a try too. If you go in search of some you'll find they're a bit expensive to buy ready made.

I only made a few to start but I'm so addicted, when I get a chance I'll be making loads more. It's really as simple as picking out some of your favorite beads and gluing them on a pin, who couldn't do that? Now I just need to make some cards and things to use this beautiful baubles on :)

Challenges

They're so much fun to play along with. I read my fair share of blogs daily and always want to join in on the challenges that some of them post but usually don't get the time to complete the projects or I forget until it's too late and miss the deadline. Well, recently there have been some good one's that I just couldn't pass up. Here's a couple of projects:

This is something I've had in the works for MONTHS(I know, what took me so long?) It's a cookie sheet that I turned into a magnetic memo board. All I did was paint the edges with some light blue acrylic paint, adhered some patterned paper (the blue floral matches a chair I re-upholstered years ago that lives in my scrap room) I added a pretty velvet ribbon and done! The little round containers have a magnetic backing and they came on my Prima Mini cans (attached to the lids)

The little frames are also painted with the same blue acrylic paint and they are being held on with those Prima flowers that I turned into magnets by first gluing them to over sized brads adding a Prima leaf and a button center and then glued the brad to a craft magnet. I plan on having hubby drill a couple of holes so I can hang it up with some ribbon. So that covers the Practical Scrappers challenge to use acrylic paint on your project.

Next is a layout of Marlee's first day of pre-school for this year (I know, again what has taken me so long?)

This page was based on this weeks Sketchy Thursdays sketch. The background patterned paper is from the Paper Studio (Hobby Lobby) and the circle, cut at 5.75" on my Cricut with George, is from the Scrapbook Wall Papers pack (Gallery Floral). It's kinda hard to read in the photo (bad lighting) but the bottom ribbon, which is pink, has words on it that say: FUN, Happy, laugh, giggle, smile, celebrate, together. I think those are all things that describe Marlee's experiences at school. She just loves it and Lilee can't wait till next year when she gets to go.

The title is store bought flocked stickers (Paper Studio) They weren't quite pink enough for this (they looked almost white on the page) so I got out my Pebbles chalks and dusted them with some darker pink chalk. Worked perfectly, in fact I'm thinking I should go buy a bunch of white ones, cuz they're on sale right now, now that I know I can make them any color I need :) The flowers are Prima and so are the pink rhinestones.

Well that's all of my challenges for today, who knows what tomorrow will inspire?

Deal Alert!

Right NOW there is a sale going on at Your Memories Here. 40% off all Bind-It-All products in stock. This sale will only last for 48 hours (or until the items are sold out) So hurry to get the best selection. No coupon needed, the prices are already marked down.

I'm Honored

Brenda has given me this award

This award is given to blogs that are exceedingly charming. These bloggers are not interested in increasing their own status, but rather aim to find friends and be friends. The hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are born!

The rules are to pass this on to 5 friends. I've got so many great blog friends but I'm going to stick to the rules and pick just 5:

Stephanie an Awesome friend, a genuinely kind and caring person.

Eileen a great person, so kind and encouraging

Leah Always so sweet

Amber Also very sweet

Enfys You always leave a lovely comment and share such wonderful stories on your blog.

I Love Shoes

Any kind of shoes! Here is a shoe I created using a template I got over at Paper Crafting Planet. But since I'm too lazy to re-size, print and cut out a template every time I want to make a different shoe I turned the template into an SVG file so I can cut it out on my Cricut! If you have SCAL you can download my file HERE. If you don't have SCAL(Sure Cuts A Lot), why not get it? It gives you limitless possibilities on cuts including shapes, cut files and ANY true type font! There is a link in my right side bar for Sure Cuts A Lot, click it to find out more and purchase directly from the manufacturer.

Anyway, back to the project. I recommend using double sided paper because you will see both sides. I didn't on this one, but the reverse side was white so it didn't really matter. However some paper companies print a grid or their company information on the back sides of their papers, so you don't want to use one of those :) I do like to have the original template on hand (either a print out or an open window of the pdf) so I can see where the score lines should be. Don't worry, the SVG template has little notches for some of the score points that aren't so obvious. After you've cut and scored next is to fold and glue. It goes together best if you attach the outside of the heel first (long tabs) then toe, then inside of heel and then the sole should just fall into place. Finally, just finish with your favorite embellishments.

On this one I used white fibers (from Your Memories Here) behind some layered Prima flowers, topped with a crystal accent (all available in my store too)

Happy Anniversary

To Me and Kevin! Today is our 6 year wedding anniversary. We got married at our favorite place, Daytona Beach Florida. Since Kevin is a parrot head and we were already in Florida, we had our wedding reception at Margaritaville Orlando. We took our immediate family and close friends for several fun filled days in Florida (We're from Ohio and Pennsylvania).

I Can Still See

I just wanted to share my excitement with you all. I went in for my 3 month post operative check up at the LASIK Plus vision center and Dr. Walsh was super excited to tell me that my eyes are 20/20 and that's how they are going to stay!! See, I had a very very very high prescription (-8 if any of you know what that means) and he expected that my eyes would somewhat revert after the first 3 months(because that is the norm with high prescriptions). Well they didn't, they are healed up great and should remain that way! It was very emotional, all the nurses and assistants in the office were cheering and congratulating me, because they all knew what a big deal it was too. I think that's the first time it really hit me that I will never wear glasses again, I'm getting teary just typing this :)

Candy Wrappers re-visited

Remember these?

I just finished making a .cut file for them in Cricut Design Studio. (click the words .cut file to download)All you need is the George cartridge. I made it so that it will perfectly fit on a 6"x6" piece of paper ;) I think the finished size is just right to fill with some candy treats or to use as a decoration. The cut file for SCAL can still be found on Melinda's blog and it is an SVG file so you can change the size of it.

Halloween Pictures of the Girls

My Aunt Diann just reminded me that I have yet to post my Halloween pictures. So Aunt Di these are for you and your co-workers ;) and anyone else who wants to sneak a peek.

Lilee was a little Devil on Trick or Treat night but dresses as a cheerleader for Marlee's pre-school party. Marlee was Snow White, she loves dressing up as a princess, Halloween isn't the only time she wears this :) The last photo is Marlee and Lilee on the couch with baby Dalenee (she was a little hot dog). Hope these photos gave you a laugh.