crafts

Since I made Paxton a birthday shirt this year, I didn't want Ayla to feel left out.  She picked "butterflies" as her party theme, so we took a good old Garanimals t-shirt and turned it into a butterfly party shirt with a reverse applique design and some scrap fabric (actually, I think they were hankerchiefs)!

Glad I could get this smiley picture of her.  She was in a silly face mood yesterday:

I finished up this 3-6-9-12 month framed collage this afternoon, displaying Paxton's first year portraits.  Rather than matching Ayla's framed collage, I ended up going with a completely different frame style and photo opening layout.  I figure...different kid, different project.  Separate and unique, but equal.  Paxton's pictures were all horizontal anyhow, so it was kind of necessary to do something different. :)

Initially my intent for doing this was to show how much each kid changed over their first year, wearing the same white onsie with a black background (and I tried to include a prop - flower for Ayla and stuffed monkey for Paxton...but that didn't go over well after 3 months!).  It's funny how in the end, these portraits actually ended up showing how much they looked the SAME all year! Though Paxton does get a little rounder in each photo! Perhaps if I had to do it over again, I'd choose to dress them differently each time...nah, probably not.  I still think it was a good idea even if it didn't turn out quite like I planned. :)

Here's Ayla's, which I did several years ago - the openings are wallet sized w/one 5x7:

And Paxton's - which has four 3 1/2 x 5" openings:

So there we go.  Two kids, two frames, two first year collages -- done, and hung. 

With all the pictures I take, it's about time I framed a few. :) 

I've had this collage frame sitting in my "to do" projects forever, and finally decided that a bathtime baby bathroom collage would be the perfect use for it.  So, I printed several bathtime baby photos of both of our kids in black and white, added some patterned paper & Imaginisce "Splash Dance" rub-ons and stickers and viola!  A cute little bathroom collage.

While I was working on this project, I flipped the Splash Dance packaging over and was surprised to see a familiar face looking back at me! 

Cool, huh? :)

One of my April goals was to make baby gifts for 9 babies born in the last couple of months.  Finally, they've all been born, and the gifts have been sent! Whew.  And now I can show you what I made for them!  

DIAPER BAG TAGS --

They’re inexpensive (use your scraps), easy (they can be partially pre-made), and have just the right homemade touch that any new mom will love (ahh…alphabet stickers)! With a decorated design on one side and the baby’s name on the other, diaper bag tags are a perfect way to distinguish one bag from the next at day care and church nurseries.

Supplies Used:

• double-sided patterned paper
• cardstock
• chipboard alphabet
• baby-, boy- or girl-themed die-cuts, stickers, silk flowers (or other embellishment)
• ribbon
• circle punch
• white gel pen
• ink pad
• corner rounder
• clear plastic badge holders (available at office-supply stores)

Instructions:

1. Choose a double-sided patterned paper and cut it to fit inside the pocket for the clear ID badge holder.  Mine were 3.5” x 2.5”.
   
2. Use a corner rounder to round the edges of each card.
3. On one side of the card, add a 1.25” x 2.5” strip of cardstock and a circle punch to anchor your themed embellishment of choice.  In the two examples above, I used a car sticker for the boy tags and a silk flower and button for the girl tags. 
4. Ink or outline the edges of all the paper elements, making sure to detail both sides of the background card (in different colored inks if you wish!).
   
5. Assemble the decorative side of the tag, adding your themed embellishment.
   
6. On the opposite side of the tag, adhere a chipboard alphabet monogram and the name of the baby.  On the boy tags, I used alphabet stickers to write the name, while on the girl tags, I simply printed the names on white cardstock strips.
   
7. Insert the tags into the ID badge holders.
   
8. Add a ribbon to the pre-cut hole at the top of the ID badge holder.  This can be used to attach the tag to a strap on a diaper bag.  A more versatile option (for those who change diaper bags as often as they change purses) would be using a key ring or zipper clip.

While I was at it, I also made some neutral baby-themed tags using the Crate Paper Little Sprouts collection of papers and die cuts, for my “not-finding-out” friends!

This is one of the signs I made a couple of weeks ago...a birthday present for a 12 year old girl, who just got a brand new bedroom:

Side one -- Her first name painted with her middle and last name as patterned paper overlay:

And the "fun" side two - Twilight (ooh, don't we ALL love Twilight?) with a patterned paper overlay:

and my favorite touch...the silver blood drops---oooh, chilling! :) 

The cool part about this sign is that it can be hung on the wall and flipped to whatever sign she's "feeling" that day OR you could use the eye hooks to hang it from hooks & chains from the ceiling to enjoy both sides at the same time. 

We held a silent auction at church this past weekend to raise money for a mission trip to Honduras and I was shocked and flattered to create quite the bidding war for one of my personalized signs.  It turns out three people bid $95 for a personalized sign!  Who am I to stand in the way of worthy cause fundraising?  Instead of donating one, I just went ahead and donated three signs to the top bidders.  I'm happy to help raise money for a great mission. 

So, as a result, I've been a painting fool this week getting the auction signs done as well as some regular orders (providing immediate confirmation of  the old "give and you shall receive" mantra). 

Here are a couple that I can share now...the others will have to wait since I believe they are suprise gifts!:

3ft x 6in

A Bridal Tea gift for the bride...
1ft x 6in

The weather is great for painting right now! Place your orders. :)

Since Ayla has a birthday banner, I knew I'd need to make one for Paxton as well and since his birthday is only two weeks away...well it was time to get crackin!

This canvas pennant banner from Maya Road was the perfect product to make it with (especially since his name fit so perfectly on six pennant triangles!)

I painted each triangle either orange or brown with acrylic paint, and then alternated colors to create the background for the banner.

I added his baby photos, chipboard letters to spell his name, and used the Little Sprout collection kit from Crate Paper as well as several zoo stickers from Doodlebug and monkey stickers from Reminisce to decorate each triangle. 

Since Paxton's nursery is decorated in zoo animals, and his monthly photos are taken with a stuffed gorilla, I figure it's only natural that his banner have the same theme.  I plan to use the banner every year on his birthday -- maybe not for party decorations (because I doubt the zoo theme will keep his interest for much longer), but at least I can use it for family birthday breakfast decorations!

And the other side:

DIsciples Fellowship is doing a silent auction this weekend to raise money for a mission trip to Honduras.  Last year, my cards were fought over by several bidders (yay!), so I had to submit another set this year.  I used the beautiful Brook Collection from Crate Paper to make a set of 9 cards:

I'll also be donating a custom sign from Signs by Andrea.  The weather is great again, wedding season is starting, and it's time to start painting some more signs!

My new retail job requires rather excessive accessorizing (for me anyway), so it was a good excuse for me to organize the jumbled mess that my jewelry box had become. 

I took everything out, got rid of a couple of things, and put the smaller pieces (rings, small earrings & bracelets) back into the jewelry box on my dresser. 

Then...I needed a visually accessible (and jumble-free) solution for my larger earrings & necklaces.  And of course I wanted it NOW, so I looked for stuff I had on hand.  After a trip to the garage and digging through my craft stash of stuff, here's what I ended up with:

My solution: an old frame, some scrap fabric, black wire, duct tape and a few nails!  It was about a 15 minute project.

1. Find a wooden frame with a mat-board backing.
2. Remove the glass and set it aside (surely there will be a need for it some day!)
3. Wrap the mat-board backing with fabric, attaching with duct tape to the back of the mat-board.
4. Spiral wrap the fabric-covered mat-board with wire (I used heavier wire to be sure that it would hold up well).
5. Twist the wire to itself on the backside to secure it and put a strip of duct tape over it to keep it in place.
6. Insert the mat-board back into the frame.
7. Add nails to the wooden frame at the top & middle of the sides (for neclaces).
8. Find a convenient place to hang it up & add your jewelry!

I put mine in my closet, next to the full length mirror.

Instead of doing all the things I *should* be doing today, I was inspired to make these photo tags for each of our Christmas stockings as I was in the middle of decorating the house for the holidays:

I made Paxton one too...but he doesn't have a stocking yet!  I gotta get on that...

Supplies: 

• Pressed Petals Chip Chatter Alphabet
• Imaginisce Polar Expressions Rub-Ons
• Imaginisce Polar Expressions Ribbon
• Clear Scraps acrylic circles
• Crop-a-dile
• large white eyelets
• alphabet beads
• artistic wire
• StaZon black ink
• glue dots