Karen's Crafty Corner

Baby gifts

2011-11-14T08:19:00.002-06:00

I've been learning a lot, and messing up a lot. This embroidery is harder than it looks. Here's some fun gifts I made for a friends new grandson.

A shirt that says "Pop says I'm a keeper"

Ok, the hat with a plunger has a story behind it, and my friend Dee is going by the name "Duma"....long story. I don't expect an adorable baby to wear the hat with a plunger, it was more just for a joke.

They are in Texas and what a cute burp cloth.

I did a practice on fabric and decided it was too cute to throw away so I mad a bib.

Craft Sale

2011-11-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

My two sisters and I did a craft show at the local high school. Lots of people and we had lots of fun.

My sister Mary crochets.

My sister Kathy makes bracelets.

For the craft show I had vinyl stick people, license plates, rosaries, and my rosary bracelets.

Rosary Bracelets

2011-11-02T20:58:00.000-05:00

I enjoying making bracelets but I really enjoy making rosaries, so I decided to try my hand at rosary bracelets. It's really hard to tell in a photo but I made 2 different styles. One is small and has only a single decade and 1 our father bead. The other has the entire rosary and is made out of memory wire. They are really fun and wrap around your wrist about 3 times.

I hung some from the Eiffel Tower as a display for a craft show.

I think it's the stress

2011-11-01T20:48:00.002-05:00

I embroidered this cute file, with a zebra and the stripes falling off, on a bag that I found at Walmart on clearance. The saying below is "I think it's the stress" How true is that.

Isn't this adorable!

Here's where the embroidery file is available. I think it's the Stress

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T21:14:00.001-05:00

I had lots of fun making halloween outfits for the kids.

Shirts for Jaxson and Gage and Gage even helped me make them.

I used the Bone Frame Alpha from Plannet Applique. See it here

For their name I used the Bonz font from 8clawsanda paw here

Johanna was dressed so cute in her "My First Boo Day" outfit. The pumpkin is an applique from

Kinsley was a ghost but too cute to be scary.

Monogrammed Towels

2011-10-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

My first project was monogrammed towels. It was really easy and such a nice gift. The first set they wanted first names from the Bride and Groom and their daughter.

The second set were mongrammed for friends of my daughter getting married.

My new toy

2011-09-05T17:20:00.000-05:00

I'm really excited to show you my new toy. I can't wait to post some projects, but I'm still learning and honestly I've had it for a week and haven't embroidered anything yet. I'm a little....well a lot....intimidated by this machine. The reviews I've read were great and the machine has so many cool features. I took a class last week and I have to say I was not impressed with the instructor. Looks like another hobby that I will just have to dig in and figure it out.

Well without any further delay, here's my new toy.

The Singer Futura XL400 embroidery machine.

Isn't she beautiful.

Upcoming Craft Show

2011-07-24T15:17:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a craft show in ages but my sisters both wanted to do one. We got accepted to a huge craft show at the local High School. Oh no, now I need to get organized and figure out what I'm going to try and sell.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk - Diaper Cake

2011-07-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

What a perfect gift for the mother to be that is a KU fan.

Diaper Bag

2011-07-24T15:11:00.001-05:00

Had a fun weekend making a diaper bag this weekend. I love it when my daughter asks me to sew for her. I love how it turned out and am thinking I might want to make myself one a little smaller to use as a purse. I also made a matching changing pad and a little pouch that holds wipes and several diapers.

Rosaries

2011-03-22T22:02:00.002-05:00

I started making jewelry and have now found something I enjoy even more. Rosaries! I really enjoy making them and love even more the expressions when I give them as a gift.

The first few that I have done are "Family" rosaries. I call them that because they are made with the birthstones of close family members.

Smaller rosaries made for babies. Perfect for Baptism or First Communion.

The first rosary that I made.

Vintage Hankies

2011-02-13T15:12:00.002-06:00

I have several projects that I want to do with vintage hankies. I finally finished my first project, a valance for the bedroom that I am redoing.

Next project....vintage hankie pillows.

Bath Bombs

2011-02-11T22:18:00.002-06:00

Tonight we made bath bombs. They are going to be used for favors for a baby shower. They were so much fun and so each to make. Here's the link to where we got the directions.

http://www.teachsoap.com/bombs.html

We used lavender oil and sweet slumber oil. We also used Gurlie Pink coloring, I think they actually look purple but they did turn pink when dropped in the water. Jackie had to test one out tonight. She said it made her skin feel soooo soft.

Diaper Cake

2011-02-11T22:02:00.002-06:00

I made a smaller version of the diaper cake to be used for centerpieces for a baby shower. These cakes are way too much fun to make and so easy.

Diaper Cake

2011-02-05T11:43:00.001-06:00

I needed a shower gift but also needed to decorate for the shower. Here's a fun way to do both, a diaper cake.

The cake is made with rolled up disposable diapers. I wrapped a receiving blanket around each layer and then hot glued a ribbon on each layer to hold it all together. I decorated the cake with fun little gifts.

2011 Calendar

2011-01-02T20:20:00.001-06:00

It's always a great and also quick and easy Christmas gift to give a calendar. This year was really easy because I used a quick page where all you have to do is drop in the photos. I also added any important dates. I purchased the calendar quick pages from Just So Scrappy.

2010 in Review

2011-01-02T20:12:00.003-06:00

In addition to doing the P365 challenge where you do a photo a day I decided to do a year in review about my 2 grandsons. Here's a layout that I did where I journaled a little about them each month.

Template by Cindy Schneider, Year in Review Template IIIV2. Kit I can fix it by Misty Cato

Template by Cindy Schneider, Year in Review Template IIIV2. Kit by Kristin Cronin Barrows All Aboard Kit. Additional alpha from Just so Scrappy

My latest endeavor

2011-01-02T09:21:00.000-06:00

You know that saying, "Jack of all trades, Master of none"? Some times I think that's me. I received a bracelet from a friend and several weeks later he mentioned that I wasn't wearing it. Well truth be known, I love it but it was too small. I like to think that I'm "Big Boned" My sister Kathy and I had talked about wanting to learn to make jewelry so we went by a jewelry store and they were super nice and got us both totally hooked. They showed me how to add a clasp and lengthen the bracelet. Now I can wear it every day. So, here's some of my latest things that I have made.

The pink pearl one is the one from my friend, and the one right above that is one my sister Kathy made.

I actually want to learn how to make rosaries and rosary bracelets. I think I'm just about ready to jump in and try my hand at it. I'm a little nervous to do all that work and do it wrong so I did order a book. Hopefully I will be posting one of my completed rosaries before too long.

Stick People

2011-01-02T09:16:00.000-06:00

I started making these fun little stick people, perfect for the back of any car or van. I cut them using my Craft Robo. The files were purchased from PaperThreads.

Mogogram Glass Blocks

2011-01-01T21:08:00.000-06:00

I made these beautiful monogram blocks for my nieces and nephews for Christmas gifts. I cut them with my craft robo. Have I told you how much I love that machine!

I used a set of monograms that I purchased from PaperThreads

POW Bracelet Layout

2011-01-01T20:34:00.000-06:00

Back in 1972 I wore a POW bracelet that had the name of a solder that was a pow in the Viet Nam war. Here's my layout.

Fun layout of my Niece

2011-01-01T20:28:00.000-06:00

Her doggies are her babies. Here's a fun layout of my niece and her kids. This was a layout done for a challenge of "Christmas Present"

Treasure the Memories

2011-01-01T20:24:00.000-06:00

I finished this layout for a challenge "Christmas Past" This is one of my favorite pics of Christmas. This picture is from 1959.

Recipe Swap

2011-01-01T08:30:00.000-06:00

I participated in a Recipe swap and here's my layout I did. I also have made layouts for all of our family recipes and gave books to all of my kids, and nieces.

Halloween Treat Boxes

2011-01-01T06:45:00.000-06:00

We had a family reunion on Halloween so I made these special treat boxes for all the little trick or treaters.

I used Shelly's spider box that I purchased from PaperThreads.

I was even featured on Shelly's blog. Check it out Here

Airplane Boxes

2011-01-01T06:44:00.002-06:00

Perfect gift bags for a 5 year olds birthday party.

I made 26 of these airplane boxes for my grandson's birthday. They turned out super cute.

I used Shelly's Prop Plane Box which I purchased from PaperThreads.

I was even featured on the designers bog. Check it Out

Jeff's First Triathlon

2011-01-01T06:40:00.000-06:00

Very proud of my son doing his first Triathlon.

Been too busy

2010-12-31T07:53:00.000-06:00

You probably wonder where I have been. Well it's not that I haven't been creative. In 2010 I did 176 layouts, 4 mini albums. Also did many many cards and cut tons and tons of stuff out with my craft robo. Now that the holidays are over I need to get busy and update my blog. Keep checking back for updates. FYI, I don't post any layouts of the kids so you won't see that many of my layouts.

Craft Robo - not just for scrapbooking

2010-09-13T11:00:00.002-05:00

Well I needed some new house letters for our new porch and had a problem. My hubby didn't want me drilling in to the new siding but I really wanted to put up so new house numbers. Well, here comes the Craft Robo to the rescue. I was able to cut 4" numbers out of vinyl and put them on the house, with no damage to the new siding. Looks great, if I say so myself.

I figured it out

2010-07-16T22:45:00.003-05:00

I was trying to make life simpler but I have major complicated things. I decided to combine all my blogs under one email address. I guess part of it is learning as I go. I merged the 2 blogs and it worked great until I deleted the gmail account I was no longer using. Live and learn. I will get photos uploaded as I can.

Blog Problems

2010-07-14T14:38:00.002-05:00

I noticed today I have no graphics. Try and get it fixed by this weekend, I don't know what's going on.

Quilting using the Square in a Square Method

2010-07-12T21:18:00.005-05:00

I took a class about a year ago using a technique called square in a square. I used that method to make a quilt this weekend. I gotta tell you this method was so easy. I will definitely use it again.

Basically you cut all straight lines, sew straight lines.

Then you cut all the squares that you have sewn and the result is a star!

Here's the baby quilt it did.

Here's the amazing thing, it took me only 6 evenings to make!

Interested in the technique? Check out the web site Square in a Square

Graduation Gift

2010-05-15T19:58:00.007-05:00

Well this is a long story so I'll try and make it short. My husband's great nephew Ryan is graduating from high school and he is very in to religious history and collects bibles. When I found this out I remember seeing a family bible when Stan's Uncle Allen died 7 years ago. There our journey starts. I wasn't sure where the bible was now but I put Aunt Helen in charge of that. We found out that the bible was in the hands of Stan's cousin Jo Anne who said she would be happy to pass it on to Ryan. This is a bible that was Ryan's Great Great Grandmothers. Ryan was tickeled pink to receive it as a gift. The bible was already in a box that was Ryan's Great Great Grandfathers box for cards from his funeral, I bought a box to keep it all in and I also made a booklet to show him his family history.

Here's the book that I made for Ryan

I told Ryan today that I wanted him to pass the bible on to his Great Grandson and he promised he would.

Scrapadilly

2010-04-24T13:59:00.005-05:00

I have had an extremely productive year when it comes to scrapping. So far I have completed 118 layouts, 3 mini albums and 16 cards. Can you believe it. These ladies on this forum are so inspirational. If you are looking for a scrapbook place to call home, check it out, and be sure and say hi....I go by grammykaren.

Jeffrey

2010-04-24T13:45:00.005-05:00

He's 31 years old and I have finally done a layout of him. Here's my first born, Jeffrey when he was 9 months old. Look and him and tell me his son isn't a chip off the old block.

Donna

2010-04-11T17:14:00.005-05:00

My husband's sister passed away last week unexpectedly. As part of her funeral service I created a video with pics of her life. This picture is one of my favorites.

I used JustSoScrappy's Happy Birthday Kit

Project P365

2010-04-11T17:09:00.006-05:00

I'm doing a project where I take a photo a day. Here's my layout for March P365

I used Just So Scrappy Lady Bug Kit, I also used Lorry's Everyday Moments: Monthly Moments templates (Sunday Start)

Run Toto Run

2010-03-23T15:22:00.004-05:00

Here's a layout of a run that Jackie did. Quite an eventful day. Don't be surprised if someday you see a layout of me running.....but don't hold your breath.

Layout of my Grandmother

2010-03-23T15:20:00.005-05:00

Here's a layout of my Grandma Roberts. Photos of her are when she was about 22.
Kit is Sweet Safari by Misty Cato, purchased from SweetShoppeDesigns.com

Scrappy Weekend

2010-03-21T14:49:00.008-05:00

I had a very productive week scanning pics at moms. I also was able to do a few layouts this weekend.

First layout is of my parents Wedding

The next layout is one of Dad, one when he was little, the other 65 years later. Sitting on the same porch in the house that he was born in. Previous layout and this layout were done with Heartstrings kit by Misti Cato, purchased form SweetShoppeDesigns.com

My third layout is of my brother Brad. I had never seen the photo before but it's such a cute one. Kit is Sweet Safari by Misty Cato, purchased from SweetShoppeDesigns.com

Vinyl Wall Art

2010-03-15T20:23:00.005-05:00

A friend of my daughter in law is having a new baby boy. The room is decorated so cute with car logos and license plates. We did a vinyl VolksWagon Logo and it turned out super cute.

Dream

2010-03-02T22:21:00.007-06:00

Here's a layout that I did of one of my favorite photos of my grandson.

Layouts of Our Grand Puppies

2010-02-20T22:42:00.014-06:00

Well I decided to get busy and make some layouts of our fur babies. Well, at least our grand puppies. I enjoy so much when they come visit, but like normal grand parents, happy to see them go home with mommy and daddy.

First we have our first Grand Puppy, Murphy. She's a doll that smiles when she see's us.

Next we have Ollie and Murdock. Those two are quite the pair.

Last but not least is the newest addition to our family Eleanor. She's a beautiful Great Dane, with lots of growing still to do.

I did another layout of Ollie, just because this picture is priceless. I'm sure you can see exactly what I mean. Oops....it was Murdock. I can't tell those 2 apart. I've corrected the layout.

The Rainbow Bridge Card

2010-02-17T21:12:00.009-06:00

I made a card for a friend that recently lost a pet. I love the poem of the Rainbow Bridge and have been meaning to make this card for a while.

Used digital kits Swan Lake and Garden Treasures from Digital Scrapbook Place.

Wall Art

2010-02-09T13:53:00.008-06:00

Well did some experimenting today and so happy with the results. I used Edwardian Script Font and layed out this quote. Cut it on white vinyl and mounted it on the wall.

Project P365

2010-02-04T10:12:00.010-06:00

I am doing a project called P365. That's where you do a photo a day and post it on your blog. Well I'm posting on a different blog so you can follow it here. I got the inspiration from an awesome digi site. I'm sure you have noticed that a lot of my layouts have gone digi. Well this site has been my inspiration.

Check out their awesome store and forum DigiScrapsDriveIn

Here's my January layout for 2010. I purchased the template from DigiScrapsDriveIn Store Also used SnoFun from JustSoScrappy

C is for Creative

2010-02-02T20:59:00.008-06:00

Well that was the challenge on the scrapadilly forum. Scrap a layout of something that you do that is creative. I've been wanting to scrap these pictures for a while so here's a layout of 2 baby quilts that I made for a great friend Amy. Figured it was time to get them scrapped since it looks like I'll need to be making another one.

Also did a layout of my second love in life. My Babies. I love making porcelain dolls. Bet you didn't know that about me. I used Hannah Banana Kit from JustSoScrappy

My special blessings

2010-01-27T22:32:00.008-06:00

Did a digital layout of one of my most favorite pics.

My Little Princess

2010-01-27T12:26:00.007-06:00

Here's a fun layout that I did of my daughter. This is a digital kit from Just So Scrappy called Madeline Kate. Love how it turned out.

Labor of Love

2010-01-21T22:07:00.004-06:00

My son and daughter in law graduated from The University of Kansas in 2006. We are very proud of both of them. I made a TShirt Quilt for my son as part of his graduation gift. I gotta tell you, I was pretty proud how the quilt turned out. Well I finally did a scrapbook layout with pics of the quilt and the night I gave it to him. Congrats Mike.

Easter 1963

2010-01-16T19:49:00.005-06:00

Can you tell I'm on a roll. I've been getting so much scrapbooking done it's scary. It is about to go on hold though because I have a few other projets that I need to finish up.

Here's another Heritage layout that I did. Sketch was from Sketch It Out Digital layout done with Fresh Mint Kit by Red Dog Digital Design

Life on the Farm

2010-01-16T13:26:00.006-06:00

Well my challenge on Scrapadilly.com/forum was to do a layout of something "Boisterous". I didn't think I would have a single picture to come up with, but after looking I had trouble making a decision. Here's the layout I came up with. I don't know all these boys but I know my uncles and I an imagine that this group of boys were quite Rowdy and Boisterous. Trouble with a captial "T"

Digital layout done with Farm Page Kit by Lauren Bavin

Brandon's First Triathlon

2010-01-15T22:14:00.005-06:00

On a Scrapadilly.com/forum that I love, we were given a challenge to do a layout in one hour from a sketch. Boy that was a challenge. Sketch was from SketchItOut I did a digital layout and used the following kits: Free Digital kit is Farm Kid Kit by Kathryn S. Balint The darker paper is from the kit Give Thanks by Marcee J. Duggar

My son in law doing his 1st Triathlon

Christmas Past

2010-01-02T17:02:00.005-06:00

Here is a kit that I purchased probably 4 years ago when I first started scrapbooking. Can you believe I finally finished.

The first picture is of Stan's mom the Christmas before she died. Next is a picture of my brother and I and then the 3rd is one that I'm so excited about. It's of Stan when is was probably 4. Found it when going through Aunt Stella's stuff. Picture of my husband are very rare from when he was little. I've only seen maybe 5 total and now I have about 20. Pretty excited about that.

Yerr outa There!

2010-01-02T16:58:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite shots of Jackie catching. She did protect that plate.

Loyal Fans

2010-01-02T10:22:00.007-06:00

WOW, don't know what's wrong with me but the scrapbook mojo is flowing. I have done 7 layouts so far in 2010 and it's only the 2nd. Here's my latest.

Chip off the old block

2009-12-26T18:53:00.004-06:00

Well, I like to think that my son is a chip off the old block, but it appears he has exceeded mom's skills with the computer.

Mike has a unique niche and is doing quite well with it. Aren't these tables the most awesome idea and what sports fan wouldn't love to get these.

Got any extra Christmas money you need to know what to do with it?
Check out his site, you can order directly from him.

Playtime Production

Christmas Wagons

2009-12-12T22:46:00.003-06:00

Well, I asked my grandson what he wanted for Christmas about a month ago. "Well Mimi, let me think about it." Later he came back and told me that he would like a little wagon. Not a big one but a little one that he could use when he digs. He loves to work outside digging for worms.

Well, I thought how hard could that be........boy was I wrong. I bought the little wagon I had about 5 years ago. I looked everywhere. All I could find was wagons about 12" x 7"......too little. I was looking for something around 24" x 12". Well I should have known to just "google" I finally found the wagons. What I was looking for was called Tot Wagons. I found them from Morgan Cycle. I ordered them and had them within a week. I was pretty excited too, they were plain red, which meant I could decorate.......so, here's what you start with.

Two unassembled Morgan Cycle Tot Wagons.

First I used the Robo Master software that comes with my Craft Robo and designed decals for the side and back of the wagons. I used the dingbat font "Vehicle decals flame art". I designed flames for the side of the wagon and then added the boys names to each wagon.

The back of the wagons have the boys' last names on them. The wagons turned out super cute. I can't wait until they get them for Christmas.

Baby Quilt

2009-12-12T22:43:00.006-06:00

Well I'm going to be a Great Aunt, for the 3rd time so I made a sweet little rag quilt for my new Great Nephew. I love making rag quilts. They are so simple and turn out so nice. Photo isn't that great. The quilt is made of all flannel. I used a jungle print, giraffe print, plaid and a solid. I did learn one trick researching on the web. If you use flannel for the batting you cut it the same size as the squares and it's not necessary to actually quilt the squares. What a time saver. I made this quilt in 4 days, working only in the evenings.

Through the eyes of a child

2009-10-30T21:56:00.005-05:00

My grandson snatches up the camera when ever he gets a chance. I decided to highlight some of his work. I particulary like the picture of Papa.

I designed the film strip myself and cut it out on my craft robo. The heart was a free file that I downloaded from Ileana's Blog. check it out here
http://iscrapdesigns.blogspot.com/

Memories Of Brad

2009-10-26T21:12:00.004-05:00

It's taken me a while but I finally put together a book about my brothers short battle with cancer. I had journaled everything on my personal blog, which I no longer have and I didn't want to lose all those memories. Some people as, why do you want to remember. Well, not all the times were bad. We had some fun times and it is memories with my brother. No matter what the memories, I don't want to forget a minute with him.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Halloween Treats

2009-10-26T20:53:00.004-05:00

Here's a special little halloween treat container that I made with my craft robo. Have I told you how much I love this little machine.

All of the cut outs are dingbat fonts that I cut out with black vinyl. They work fantastic on the craft robo. The hardest part of this whole project was finding the candy corn. Can you believe it!

Car Magnets

2009-10-25T17:42:00.003-05:00

Ever thought of expanding your craft knowledge to business. Well we started with the busines first, then my scrapbook addiction started. After playing and learning to use my craft robo, I decided, I could do this, large scale. We have been contemplating expanding what we do in our home based business, which is large format printing, so what could be better. We found a Roland Vinyl cutter on ebay and nervously purchased it. I wasn't completely sure I could do this but I did. It's actually pretty simple, and is along the same lines as using my craft robo, just on a larger scale.

Here's a car magnet that I made for my cousin's business.....and if you need any home improvement, they are the people to call.

Baby Shower Accessories

2009-10-23T18:13:00.003-05:00

Ok I know I start every posting about my craft robo this way but did I tell you how much I love this tool. This is the best scrapbooking investment I have ever made. Here's my most recent. I had a girlfriend ask me to help make baby shower invitations. She wanted a baby bottle. I purchased this baby bottle and made a few modifications to it. I'm sure you realize this but the black background wasn't part of the card, only used it so the bottle would show up on the scan.

I also had another baby shower that I did and made some accesories. I also found some clip art and added the babies name. I love the feature of print and cut that you can do with the robo. You print out the clip art and then feed it through the craft robo and it cuts it out for you.

A fantastic designer at paperthreads.com, Jen Adkins, had a free file and that's how I made the pacifier.

I glued the baby bottles and pacifiers on to candy. A really cute accent.

I cut out letters on my robo of the baby's name and made a fun table decoration by hanging the letters on ribbon with mini clothes pins. The mommy and daddy to be loved it and decorated the baby's room with it.

Someday

2009-10-05T21:56:00.003-05:00

Here's a layout that I recently did. Gotta tell you it is a total scraplift from a fantastic scrapbooker Dee. When I saw her layout I fell in love with it. I especially love the poem. Getting pics of the boy's feet was a little challenging but after about 20 pics I got one that worked. I tried taking pics in the grass but the baby didn't like the feel of grass on his feet so that plan didn't work.

How to Stuff a Wedding Pinata

2009-09-08T16:51:00.002-05:00

Well, that's the question. How to stuff a pinata for a wedding rehearsal! The theme for the rehearsal dinner was "Mexican Fiesta". Well at a Mexican Fiesta you have to have a pinata.

We stuffed the pinata with Hershey "Kisses", "Bliss" candy, candy that looks like "Wedding Rings", Mr & Mrs Mints, and then we made some really cute bottles of wine. That's right. Bottles of wine. Don't worry, they were plastic bottles.

I purchased the bottles from the following website:
Essential Supplies

Here's the cute label. The poem was written by a dear friend Debbie to the Bride and Groom.

Notice the bottle in the middle has a red band. Those were special for kids and pregnant guests. Cranberry juice. Pinata was a big "hit"

Wedding Invitations

2009-08-23T15:24:00.004-05:00

Just recently finished some beautiful wedding invitations. This is for a friend's son and his fiance. With the bride to be, my friend Carolyn and myself....well also input from the groom to be, we brain stormed and came up with these very beautiful wedding invitations.

First we stamped with a leaves stamp on white cardstock. We then scanned it in and adjusted it's opacity in photoshop elements. We wanted the burgandy leaves in the background. One problem of changing the opacity only was it made the burgandy look pink. Had to also adjust the levels so that it would be a deeper color. Once we had the leaf background we added the text using Murray font.

Added a beautifuly ribbon down the side and attached it with dark copper brads.

The leaves were cut out of copper scrapbook paper on my craft robo and then attached to the invite on the ribbon with glue dots. Turned out perfect, don't you think.

To tie the RSVP cards to the invite we added the same burgandy leaves to the background.

Retro Santa

2009-08-20T20:07:00.002-05:00

Played around with a free GSD file that I downloaded from http://mamawslegacy.com Very cool file. Here's a sample of a Christmas cards that I made. I embossed this one with snow flakes.

Fun with Digi

2009-08-20T18:39:00.003-05:00

Well not sure what's going on but my creative juices have been flowing. Here's another digital layout that I did. Photo of my mom and I. My mom made our outfits. Aren't we cute.

I also did another layout of my brother and I. I journaled his battle with cancer on my personal blog and decided that I wanted to have a lasting memory so I have started creating layouts. This is my first layout of my brother. The journaling is my entry that I made on my blog.

Christmas Cards

2009-08-16T18:54:00.002-05:00

I'm getting way ahead of myself, can you believe it. Starting to work on my Christmas Cards!

New Digital Layouts

2009-08-16T18:47:00.002-05:00

I've been busy this weekend getting caught up making some digital layouts. Here's a few that I got done.

The first layout is of Jackie and her first Triathlon. Good thing that I haven't printed this yet because I just realized I spelled Triathlon wrong.

I had a challenge to do a layout about the angels in my life. Here are 3 of them.

The last layout is a fun Saturday afternoon at the lake with friends.

Wedding Celebration Invitation

2009-07-13T22:12:00.002-05:00

Have I said how much I love my Craft Robo. I'm sure I have. We are having a party for my Son and my future daughter in law prior to their wedding out of state.

I really like how they turned out. Standard white cards, red roses scrapbook paper cut to fit. I then matted one of their engagement photo on black card stock. Topped it off with lettering mounted on pop dots that I printed and cut with my craft robo.

My Craft Room

2009-07-04T21:07:00.002-05:00

Ok, it's not normally this clean but I have been working the last 2 days to get my room organized. I thought I would share my ideas for organization.

First of all, I share my craft room with my kitty, Jesse, so even his house got in on the action. He doesn't seem to mind. I took the door off of the closet so that I could have full access and hung a shower curtain. Makes easy access the the closet.

The wood cabinet is an old computer desk that holds my sewing machine. Nothing like recycling furniture that you no longer need. The baskets on the shelf hold the current projects that I am working on.

I bought the shelves that hold all my stamps at a garage sale for $5 total. That was a great find. The large wood cabinet is a shelf that we had made about 25 years ago so that our console tv fit perfect. Needless to say we don't have the console any longer but the shelf works great.

The best thing is the shoe organizer hanging on the back of the door. Helps hold misc things that don't fit anywhere else. The blue thingy(don't know what it is called) holds photos. I found it at an outlet store for $1 in the teachers section so I'm not sure it's original use but it works great for displaying photos waiting to be scrapped.

Little white basket by the door holds all swaps that are coming in so I can keep track of them.

Graduation Card

2009-05-26T22:23:00.002-05:00

I have a friends daughter getting ready to graduate from the University of Kansas, GO JAYHAWKS. I did a graduation card for her using a Jayhawk stamp from Morning Star Stamps. I also added a graduation hat which is a Sizzlet that I trimmed down to size to fit the Jayhawk. Then colored in the tassel with my White Signo pen. (Love that Pen)

Congrats Maria Elena

Candle Holder

2009-04-27T22:06:00.002-05:00

I previously decorated a glass candle holder with my Craft Robo. Well, it worked perfect for the wedding shower but it was the wrong color for the rehearsal dinner. We decided to change the color to a "hot pink" which will match perfectly. The font is Lauren Script and the flowers are from the Silhouette CD Wildflower. I actually took one flower from the CD and made 2 others in different sizes.

Special Tribute to a Great Aunt

2009-04-20T14:48:00.002-05:00

My husbands Aunt recently passed away and prior to her passing we had been cleaning out her house. Growing up in the depression must be a trait that people hoard things and buy in multiples. I found quite a few rosaries and decided that I would pass them out to each of her Great and Great Great nephews and nieces. Here's the card that I attached to the rosaries.

Craft Robo not just for Scrapbooking

2009-04-19T23:28:00.003-05:00

Have I told you how much I love my craft robo. It is so versitile. I've used it for everything from making layouts, decorating my daughters wedding, to making cards. Today, I used it to decorate my centerpieces for a wedding shower. I started with a plain glass candle holder. I then cut a red heart and vinyl lettering from red vinyl and applied to the glass. I gotta tell you, it was a huge hit. So much so my sister is using them for the rehearsal dinner.

Heart is from the Silhoette Sweetheart Portfolio CD and the font is Lauren Script, one of my favorite.

Fun Shower Invitations

2009-04-19T14:38:00.002-05:00

Ok, these are fun wedding shower invitations that I did for my nephew's shower. They were done all digital and I added the text and border in Photoshop Elements. I went with the same color scheme and "Dreams Do Come True" as the theme for the shower.

Got My Card Making Hat On

2009-02-28T08:30:00.002-06:00

Ok, they aren't original but I did use my stash. Here are 2 cards that I recently did for a swap. I found out that a friend at work, Patty, was a Stampin' Up Consultant and had tons of ideas. She has graciously shared them with me. So, here's 2 cards that I made for a recent swap. Keep in mind I used everything that I had. I'm pretty proud of myself that I bought nothing to do these cards.

This one is my favorite cards. Here's the card ready to mail.

Here it is all opened up. So simple. Basically it's circles connected with brads.

I Did It --- I Did It

2009-02-25T22:28:00.002-06:00

Having a little more time to play with my craft robo I decided to try and convert a cute jpg file to a file that could be printed and then cut on the craft robo. Keep in mind that a Silhouette uses the same software and you should be able to follow the same instructions.

I was successful and it is so simple.

I can't take credit for it. Click HERE for the directions.

First of all I downloaded a file from PC Crafter. They have some adorable clip art.

Next I followed the directions and here is my results.

I have a little bit more experimenting and learning to do and I definite can see that I need a new blade too. This poor machine has had a lot of abuse during my learning process. I'm just so excited that I had to post.

Photo Books

2009-02-22T17:15:00.001-06:00

I love doing photobooks. They are so quick and easy to make and are great gifts. Here's my latest done for a friend.

Click to View The ABCs of Lauren

Click to View Jackie & Brandon's Wedding

Dingbats and your electric cutter

2009-02-15T21:51:00.002-06:00

Did you know that you could use dingbat fonts to cut on your cutter. Whether you have a Silhouette or a Craft Robo it's as simple as typing in a letter.

I'm working on a layout that I needed a tree and here's what I came up with.

This is the dingbat font wmtrees. All you do is select to add text like you would any other word you are adding. Be sure and select the dingbat font wmtrees. The tree I really liked was the letter M. You also can specify how tall you want the tree to be. You can download the font here.

I actually cut out 2 copies. One in brown and then another in green. I then cut away the trunk and branches of the tree from the green and glued the green on to the brown.

Check out this Blog

2009-02-12T21:13:00.001-06:00

Crop-a-holics Creations is purging some of her stash. There's a drawing where you can win.

Check it out

Crop-a-holic Blog

Wedding Invitations

2009-02-10T21:29:00.001-06:00

Here are the wedding invitations that I recently made for my nephew.

I printed everything on my printer.

Tools I used:
Craft Robo

Paper Cutter

Scor-Pal

Cuttlebug

Christmas Layout

2009-02-01T08:39:00.001-06:00

I'm in a Christmas layout swap on a scrapbooking forum that I am on and here's what I did for the swap.

This is what you call frugile scrapbooking and using my stash. Part of my new years resolution. I am using left over ribbon from my daughter's wedding, and the title and santa are from Christmas cards that I got for 90% off.

I can't wait to get the other pages from the other ladies in the swap and I will have my Christmas 2008 Album done.

Scor-Pal

2009-01-19T21:40:00.001-06:00

Ok, I did it. I purchased the Scor-Pal. I was able to purchase it today with a 30% off coupon at Archivers. I know I didn't really need it......but did I want it. Of course. I have wedding invitations to work on have they have 3 folds on each invitation. I decided this would save me a tremendous amout of time. Here's a video

Once I have time to play, I will post some things that I have made with my new tool.

Craft Robo / Silhouette

2009-01-15T21:24:00.001-06:00

I'm so excited. My friend Deb has just purchased a Silhouette and it has gotten me inspired to pull out my Craft Robo and start learning more about it. The Scrapbook Page actually has free classes on how to use it. The Craft Robo is identical to the Silhouette. If you didn't see a label they would look identical. They also use the same software.

I've had my Craft Robo about 2 years and have done very little with it. Sorry, but last year was a crazy year and time just got away from me. What I have done was fairly easy to do and it is a fantastic tool.

I've added some likes to my side panel on where I go to get free files. There are 1,000s of files out there and there are lots of yahoo groups that you can join that have gsd files to share. As soon as I get a little organized I will post some of mine that I have created and I would be happy to share my files with you.

Christmas Poem

2008-12-13T17:37:00.001-06:00

Twas the night before Christmas, I'm glued to the tree.
I'm wondering what Santa brought just for me.
Could it be cardstock or chipboard or lace?
Or punches and stamps, I said, with a smile on my face.

And that's when I heard him, "Hi Santa, " I said
"You know....good little girls should be in their beds."
"I know I should Santa, and now I've got caught.
But I was just so excited To see what you brought."
"Well, let's take a look in this room where you work.
He shook his head quickly, And left with a jerk.
I heard him exclaim as he put it in gear.
"You've got enough crap, I'll see you next year!"

Surely Santa couldn't be talking about me !

One of my first craft projects

2008-12-07T12:27:00.002-06:00

When I was in grade school we were constantly doing things in Camp Fire girls to raise money. Here's one of our projects that we made and sold to go to camp.

Marble Mice I can't remember exactly, mom correct me if I'm wrong but we sold these for around 35 cents. We made thousands of these silly mice.

Software that I can't live without

2008-11-27T22:00:00.001-06:00

Software is a necessity whether you do digital scrapbooking or not.

#1 on my list is Photoshop Elements, this is a fantastic photo editing tool. You can also do so much to add and enhance your photos. Things like changing the colors to sepia brown tones, making the photo black and white and then highlighting with subtle color, merging photos.

#2 This is a new software package that I just purchased. Actually bought it on Craigs List from a retiring Creative Memories consultant. It is Memory Manager. This helps you easily find a photo. Needless to say I love taking pictures. In fact, I've been organizing them since I got the software and so far I have over 3,000 photos of my first grandson. He just turned 3!!

#3 Creative Memories Story Book Creator Plus. This package is used to create photo books. So far I've done 4 of them and they are so much fun and so easy. This is a package that I just purchased and honestly I could do everything I am doing in this software in Photoshop. The only difference, Creative Memories has free templates and this package is so much easier, especially for a rookie.

Sesame Street Font

2008-11-27T18:16:00.002-06:00

I found a great font online called Sesame Street.
http://www.fontspace.com/fontasyland/fl-sesame-street
Only problem that I saw was here's how the font turns out when just typing and I wanted the characters and letters filled in.

So, with a little time and playing with photoshop elements, here's what I came up with.

Then I did one that was a little more girlie. If you are interested I can send you a zipped file with all 26 letters, they are png files and should work easily with a variety of softwares.. Let me know if you want boy or girl or both. Just email me and let me know.

I used the font in a Christmas present, can't show the finished product yet though until after Christmas, someone may be peaking.

My Crafty Corner Blog

2008-11-26T17:44:00.001-06:00

I spend a ridiculous amount of time on the computer, my hubby says I'm a computer-a-holic, which I won't deny but I thought it might be fun to have one place to keep all of my stuff organized. No one may ever check out my site but I thought it would be easier for me to keep track of where all these fun links and web sites are. So if you are here reading and enjoying I hope you find these links helpful. Let me know if you have any fun ones that you like. I'd love to check it out.

Just a little about me

2008-11-26T17:08:00.001-06:00

I like to consider myself a jack of all trades or (crafts) but the problem is I am a master of none. I think I have tried just about every craft known to man. At least I like to think that.....that way I won't be looking for anything else.

Let's see, I'm trying to think of when it all started. My mom after me driving her nuts pleading sat down to teach me sewing. That's all it took. I ran with it and I love to sew.

I remember sewing Barbie clothes for my 2 little sisters for Christmas gifts. I thought I was being so sneaky and years later I found out they were sneaking in my room, going through my closet and were so excited about all the clothes that I was making.

In High School I sewed all of my clothes. Even things like coats and under garments. That was part of clothing class but it also gave me the ability to have really nice clothes on a very economical budget. My Senior year in High School I even won "Seamstress of the Year".

In grade school I also took a summer class in knitting. Ok, that was not my speciality. Didn't really care for that. I did go to my Grandma's one weekend and she taught me how to crochet. I love to crochet and try to always crochet a blanket for a new baby. One year my mom decided that she wanted a Christmas tree decorated with crocheted ornaments. The only problem, she didn't crochet. I made her an angel tree top, and lots and lots of snow flake ornaments. I even got ambitious one year and crocheted her a doily table cloth for her round oak table. The only stipulation was that I wanted the tablecloth when she no longer wanted it. It is now in my possession.

I continued to sew while the kids were little. Especially for the twins. The problem was finding something cute for a girl and boy set of twins that was affordable, so needless to say, I got busy sewing.

I also started doing ceramics. That was a good way of making things for my home and gifts for everyone. Don't know whether or not everyone liked it but the usually got something home made from me. I still enjoy ceramics but don't do it as much as I would like. I do still own 2 kilns.

One year I ask my dad for a band saw. He was afraid that I was going to cut off my fingers so he bought me a small scroll saw. I had that burned up within 3 months. I then got the band saw that I wanted. I went through a phase where I did all types of wood working including making shelves. Most of the time I did tole painting on the wood that I cut out.

hmmmm.....what was next. Probably porcelain dolls. I must say, this is probably my favorite hobby and I still dabble in it. If I ever have a grand daughter I will definitely be getting back in to it. I just don't think my grandsons would appreciate it.

When we moved in to our home that we are in now we have 2 walls that have stained glass in them. So guess what? I took stained glass classes. Well, all I have to say is I love it but I totally understand why they charge so much for stained glass. It is well worth and they aren't getting paid for all of their time.

About 2 years ago several girlfriends and I were out shopping where we saw some beautiful quilts. We all started talking and didn't realize that we all had a genuine interest in learning to quilt. One of my girlfriends mother agreed to teach us. We still meet once in a while in our little quilting group to keep the fire burning. It is a wonderful art.

Now for my current addiction. Scrapbooking! Whether it be digital or paper, I am definitely hooked. I started digital scrapbooking about 8 years ago. It started with family geneology, I did a digital scrapbook of family heritage, all the way back to the 1700s. I didn't understand why anyone would want to do paper scrapbooking. Well this addiction to paper started 3 years ago when my first grandson was born. Little did I know how addictive a hobby could be. There's just something about the feel of paper......ok Rebecca, you were right.

Now my latest interest......bottle slumping. It is so cool. I'm thinking this might be something fun and different to try. I'll keep you posted.

Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see what next little craft I will come up with.