My first attempt at quilting!

It again has been a very long time since my last post. Thank you for coming back! I am happy to say all of the 'tests' this year brought have paid off. We are no longer paying double rent from trying to return home to go back to school. I have thoroughly enjoyed my new position as a CNA caregiver, which has totally reaffirmed my decision to change careers. The added bonus is that the entire reason we made all these changes this year has completely paid off! I am officially accepted to the nursing program of my dreams! It will be a very big undertaking, challenging me in ways I didn't know I could succeed. I can honestly say that this year has been the hardest, yet most rewarding, of my life. On to the project!

My mom has been a brilliant quilter for years. When a dear friend of mine shared the wonderful news of being pregnant for the second time, I couldn't wait to make something for her. I decided to try out my sewing skills and create something after observing my mom for so long. Shown here is my first quilted project! It is a burp cloth, quilted together by heart stitches. I knew that I liked sewing, but after creating all the four-fabric squares, it was really fun to see the pattern that came out of it by accident! (I have so little fabric experience that yes, the diagonal pattern surprised me! ;) ) Even though the edges were not perfectly straight, I was really excited to share this burp cloth with that beautiful baby boy!

Fun House Warming Present

Hello crafters! I wanted to share with you a picture I made for my friend as a housewarming gift. The flowers are a two-step stamp, and the letters, center plate and frillies are from die cut from Stampin' Up! products. It was a fun easy project that really helped to scratch my crafting itch! Please forgive the lack of focus in the picture. I hate this camera. ;)

I'm Baaaaack!

Wow! It has been a long time since my last post! So much has been going on. I moved back to my hometown to pursue a career in nursing! Tomorrow is my last day of my CNA course and I had to share what I made for my classmates! Using the SU In Color palette, I created these adorable gift boxes. Thanks to my Big Shot and exclusive Stampin' Up! Bitty Box & Envelope die, Boho Blossoms punch and Circle Circus stamp set, I think they turned out great. Since taking on this new chapter in my life I haven't had much time to do anything creative. I must have needed to craft, because this is the first time in a long time that something turned out as good as I hoped! The chocolates inside could have easily been covered in a decorated sticker label or cardstock strip, but I decided these boxes were great as is! ;) Enjoy, and thanks for looking!

Mini Scrapbook

I just love how this turned out! It was so easy, I have no idea why I didn't attempt this long ago! All I did was cut out 3"X3" squares of Mellow Moss cardstock, and attached them with a couple of strips of Pumpkin Pie cardstock. I alternated the frames for the pictures with the Scallop Square and the 1&3/8" square punch. I printed some pictures I had onto Whisper White cardstock and punched them out with the 1&1/4" square punch. To get these pictures to come out right I just modified the color with home software, and copied and pasted them onto Microsoft Word. I sized the pictures by 'right clicking' and playing with the options so that I would get the photo size I wanted. Then I stamped the flowers from "One of a Kind" stamp set with Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Mellow Moss and Close to Cocoa, using the coordinating Boho Blossoms to punch them out. I alternated using adhesive and Stampin' Dimensionals to get some texture when attaching the flowers. This project was finally complete when I attached some brads and white satin ribbon. I can't wait to give this to somone!

Final Deal of the Week!

The final Deal of the Week is here! The Heart to Heart Punch is available for the special price of $10.99! That is a 30% savings from the $15.95 original price! Deal is good through July 31st. This is perfect for sweet love embellishments, but is also very versatile. You can create your own custom flowers by attaching multiple hearts at the pointed ends! Book a workshop and I will show you how!

Deal of the Week #4!

The Deal of the Week #4 is Styled Vanilla Hodgepodge Hardware! Normally priced at $29.95, you can get this accessory kit for just $18.99! This offer is available through July 26th, so contact me soon if you would like to take advantage of this 30% discount!

Mosaic Card

I love the way this card turned out! I tried a mosaic technique where you create your own puzzle on the front of the card. The materials I used for this card include ink and paper from Always Artichoke and Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla cardstock, Baroque Motifs stamp set, Stampin' Dimensionals, 1-1/4 " Square, Scallop Square, and Boho Blossoms punch. Even though the flower punch was not designed to coordinate with the stamp set, I think it worked perfectly! After cutting the Very Vanilla cardstock into the design I was looking for I sponged the edges with Creamy Caramel ink to create dimension. I think my favorite part of this card is that I was able to make it very pretty, but can use it as a masculine card. We'll see if my brother actually looks at this blog! :)