Thing-a-Day 2012: #17 Felt Dahlia Pins

#17 Felt Dahlia Pins

Another felt craft from my huge stash. These are 4" pins, 3 layers of leaves with 2 small 4 or 5 petal flowers in the center covered with small beads.  I didn't have any pin backs in my stash so when I go to the craft store again, I'll pick some up so I can finish these. Only one of these is mine. The other will be used as a gift package decoration. I plan on making another one in purple and possibly one in yellow. I haven't quite decided. I think they are really pretty and they were super easy to make.

Thing-a-Day 2012 - #16 Zentangles

#16 Zentangles

I discovered zentangles quite by accident several years ago. They're a fun way to relax assuming you don't stress yourself out deciding which patterns to use! I was given a book about zentangles for christmas a couple years ago and I love all the patterns that can be made with simple shapes and lines. I didn't stress too much over today's design. Being that it's February, hearts seemed to be the only way to go :)

Thing-a-Day 2012 - #12 Nail Paint

#12 - Nail Paint

It's been a long while since I've bothered to paint my nails. The Girl got this nail art kit for Christmas and I thought today would be the perfect day to give it a try. So I painted my base in a lovely Vintage Blue from Avon and I did the designs in Blue Me Away by Sallen Hansen Xtreme. There is definitely a learning curve. I couldn't get the entire design to transfer, and by the time I figured out what I was doing wrong, I was on my next-to-last fingernail. Ah, well. Until next time!

Thing-a-Day 2012 - #11 Hair Extensions

#11 Hair Extensions!

This is my friend Carrie. She's been wanting to put some red in her hair but she didn't want to mess with bleach and dye and having to repeat the process constantly to maintain her color. So I offered to put extensions in her hair that would allow her to keep the same, vibrant color until she was ready to take them out. We spent about an hour this morning putting the base extensions in and then she went to the salon to have them texturized and faded into her hair, since I am strictly forbidden by my sister to ever put scissors to hair. Then later she came back and I added some light, off-weft extensions to her hairline to help make the overall look a little more complete. It was so much fun, I can't wait for her to change colors :)

Thing-a-Day 2012 - #9 Felt Valentines

Felt Valentines

I saw somewhere on the 'net some felt valentine ornaments, but I am running out of places to hang things so I left off the ribbon and made these to nestle in a bowl. Unfortunately, the bowl I wanted wasn't available, so I stuck them in my mondo mug. I think they're cute and I got to practice my blanket stitch again :)

Also, they were made completely with supplies I had on hand AND they are stuffed with scraps! Waste not, want not. I used up the scraps from these hearts in 3 of them and then pulled out a bag of fabric scraps from a bag I made a couple years ago. Yes, I kept my scraps for that long. Yes, I always keep the scraps. You never know when you may need a patch, or a small bit for another craft :)

Thing-A-Day 2012 - #8 Felt Heart Bunting

#8 - Felt Heart Bunting

I had a huge stack of felt that I bought several years ago for another craft that I never got around to finishing. I've seen these heart buntings around the 'net for awhile now, not only in felt, but paper as well. It took me longer than I thought to hand cut all those hearts and in the end I had to cut some more to complete the entire room. On the up side, I did use up most of my felt bits and instead of tossing all those scraps I stuffed them into an old mason jar, tied it with a bow and called it "bonus craft!"

And later I can pull those scraps out and do something else with them ;)

There is nothing better than making something awesome out of scraps that would normally go in the trash. 

Thing-a-Day 2012 - #3 Circle Ornaments

Paper Circle Ornaments

I've seen these around the 'net and in several magazines lately, so I thought I'd give them a try. And goodness knows I have plenty of paper laying around to play with :)

Kids Photography

I LOVE giving my kids the camera and letting them take hundreds of pictures! They have such an unique perspective and they are not afraid to lay on the floor or hang from weird positions to get the picture they want. I can't wait to see their pictures and videos when I get the camera back from them. Our point-and-shoot pocket camera has got to be one of the best investments we've made in the last couple years. Here are some of my latest favorites:


This is actually a picture of The Girl. Little Man had the camera this time. When I loaded this photo my first instinct was to delete it, but then I really looked at it. I know no one will know who is in this shot, but I could use it for any number of applications, including as a background for scrapbook page.


For this shot they either set the camera on the floor or one of them got down on the floor. They've seen me lay on the floor for pictures before so maybe I'm rubbing off on them a little :) Now they just need a little primer on the Rule of Thirds.

Inspiration Station: Upcycled TP Tubes

found on flickr

Isn't this amazing?! Who would have thought that the lowly, empty toilet-paper tube could be turned into something so lovely? I think I might start saving those cardboard tubes and have a little fun :)

2010 Top 10

In celebration of the last year, here are my Top 10 photos of 2010. Making my "2010 Favorites" file was so fun. The last year has seen a lot of changes for our family. So many good memories here! I'm excited to see what 2011 brings!

This photo is fun because you can see us in the reflection in the left lens of Mickey's sunglasses.


Our home away from home: Winter Garden Little League fields


Little Man at baseball camp, knocking out some batting practice


The Girl's new hair cut, with some fun color :)


Little Man in his All-Star uniform


Friday morning coffee dates


Making the trek north to Michigan


Enjoying the fall colors


The first big snow storm of the year


Playing with Christmas lights

INSPIRATION OVERLOAD!

Everytime I get my new Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine my fingers just start itching to create something,

anything. I just need to get out the paper, the pencils, the markers, the glue. I dig out the paints and the brushes. I find my inks and my stamps. I go through the stash, looking for anything I might want to work with. And then I remember...I have no place to work. If it doesn't fit on the kitchen table-ette and it can't be done while perched on my end of the couch, then it's not gonna happen! So I have all these ideas, bubbling around in my head and they're just stuck there. They tool around, sticking themselves into my conversations. They poke their heads out when I try to read a book. They wag their tongues when I start smaller craft projects, screeching with indignation that I chose to do something else. It really does get noisy and crowded up there.

I suppose it's a good thing this whole full-time RV life is coming to an end soon. Just not quite soon enough for my creative self. (She gets a little crabby when I take away the scissors.) So, until that day comes, I'll stick to knitting on the couch and putting pictures into my Project 365 scrapbook.

Fun and Free Ephemera

mosaic maker at BigHugeLabs

All of these images were found on *The Graphics Fairy*. She has found some of the most amazing ephemera and taken the time to scan it all in, sometimes even doing some editing work! Talk about a treasure trove of goodies! These are just some of the lovelies I saved. And there are many, many more. Go check it out :)

Zentangles!

This is my first Zentangle. It's the opening page of my "scribble book". I read an article about Zentangles in the December issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. And then a few weeks later I saw some new Zentangle postings on Craftster. And of course, I felt like I needed to try this out. I used to make these types of doodles all the time when I was younger, and I remember doing something similar for an art class in college. I have so many projects going at once I don't know how often I'll be doodling, but when the urge strikes I'm already set up to go!