It's almost December...

Hi Everybody!  I hope you all are doing great!  I have been doing just fine, but have been super busy.

I know that the blog has been neglected lately, and I'm truly sorry about it.  I like doing the blog, sharing my projects, and sharing things I have learned and done through the help of other wonderful crafters in our crafty cyber world.  I have taken on some more roles at work, doing some charge and education duties and we are currently gearing up for another orientation-residency program.  It has been fun, but had taken a toll on my crafting and free time.

So, here is the plan.  I really have to take a little minor break.  I need a bit of time to get some things organized and settled.  (Yes, I know I have already taken time!)  My intention is to get back into the swing of things and start being a better blogger starting in January.  I will do catch up posts and let you know what I have been working on, and show you my projects in progress.  You will see some Halloween and Christmas in January, but really, can you get enough of Halloween and Christmas??

Thanks for sticking around for me.  I appreciate everything...all of the page look-sees, all of the comments.  Thank you my friends!!

Stay crafty, and I will see you again really soon!
💚💛💜
Michelle

Framed Halloween Art

I have been working on several Halloween projects lately, and I wanted to share some super simple props that I made.

I'm sorry for the glare on the pictures.  This first one was an awesome deal.  I was at my local Fred Meyer.  I always go through their clearance aisle because you never know what you will find.  I found this awesome 12x12 frame on clearance from $40 to $10!  I picked it up and knew that this would be perfect for a Halloween picture.  This paper came from a paper pack by Recollections, and it is gorgeous.  Really, the picture doesn't do it justice, but it has hues of purple and silver and it looks great.  Not bad for just a few dollars!

 The next pictures I made came from images in a paper pack by My Mind's Eye, "Frightful".  I had the frames, I just had to add the papers to them.

 They are on the wall in my nook area of my house.  This is a wider shot of where they hang.

This is also from that same paper line, and it fits beautifully in my kitchen.  This is the ledge above my sink.  It works perfect with my crow!!

I have more in store for you, so stay tuned.

Stay scary, my friends!

My Vintage Halloween Crow

 Oh yes, I am into the vintage thing this year.  I love how this turned out!  I loosely followed a tutorial by Tangie Baxter.  You can find the whole tutorial here.  There are printables available, but I didn't use them.  I didn't even look at them.  I did, however, use the instructions to make the collar.

 The crow is from Michaels.  The box is a cigar box that my friend gave me several years ago.  I was saving it for the perfect project.  Taa Daa!!!  I made the collar with papers from Echo Park, "The Apothecary Emporium" and used some paper tags from the leftovers from the Collections Box that I shared with you a couple days ago.

 The flowers are from Recollections, the ribbons are also Recollections.  I added moss to the bottom to help cover the wire that keeps the crow upright.  The pumpkins, the bottle inside the box, and the skull pendant are all by Tim Holtz.  I also used some distress ink by him as well.

I am not sure where the skull came from, but it is a bead that I just love and use them a lot in my Halloween stuff!

Thanks for stopping by.  Stay scary, my friends!!

A Haunted Collections Box

I bought a kit by Recollections, a Mixed Media Box.  I thought it was super cute, and looked like a fun project.  It is vintage style, and had a lot of possibilities.  So, I decided to make it and add a few things to it.

Most of the embellishments came in the kit, and as a matter of fact, I didn't use them all!  I had quite a few bits and pieces leftover.

I just left the box the kraft color it is, and wrapped the outside of it with some burlap and lace "ribbon".  I added bottles, a spider and pumpkin by Tim Holtz, and some candy 3D stickers by Jolees.

It came out cute.

I am sensing a theme...looks like this year I am into the vintage style decorations.  I wonder where this is going to lead...

Stay scary, my friends!

Vintage Style Halloween Star

 IT'S HALLOWEEN SEASON!!!!  YIPEE!!!!!

Ok, you all know that this is my favorite holiday...and I have been making some new things to decorate my home with.  The first project in my new decoration arsenal is this vintage style halloween star.  I have seen these all over the net, and have seen one in a store that I just loved.  So,  came home and made my own version.

 It's awesome!!!  I made a barn star, put it on a doily shape that I got from Silhouette, made a rosette and added a spider web, also from Silhouette.  Then I layered some embellishments!

 I used a Tim Holtz hanger to hang it with, adding a nice little Jack-O-Lantern charm to it.  I also used some Stickles to bling it up a bit.

The papers I used were from Bazill and American Crafts. The decorative papers and die cuts are from My Mind's Eye, the "Frightful" collection.  I love how it turned out!!

I am making a lot of cool things, and I am planning on making a video of our house after it is completely haunted...I'm soooooo excited!

Stay scary, my friends!!!

My Mini Desk Caddy Project

 I Got a little bored one day and I decided to make a project.  I decided to do a little recycling and some stash busting and create a mini desk caddy to organize things while I am doing a project.  I also decided to show you all how I did it.  I had these Crystal light boxes and the leftover papers and stickers from a class I took at a Creating Keepsakes Convention by Farm House, and thought that this would work great.

 I first glued the boxes together and then used Washi to cover the edges.

 I cut the papers so that all of the corners would be covered.  I measured and then added extra for tabs to wrap around the boxes.  This added more structure and support to the boxes.

 I also made a chipboard base to put on the bottom of the box.

 Then I decorate with the leftover stickers and chipboard die cuts that I had.  

 It turned out super cute, and as you can see, it holds a lot of big and heavy stuff!

 Very cool, huh?

 It just took me a little time, but was fun and easy.  I am going to use it during projects.  I tend to have a mess on my desk when I am actively working on a project, this will help contain the mess a little more!

Stay crafty, and organized, my friends!

I fixed my Duck Jammies!

 I love my Duck jammies.  How could you not, right?!?!  But, this Gramma has kind of sort of altered her size, and the jammies were just a little too tight.  I personally think that the jammies shrunk, not that I got bigger in any way.  HAHAHA!  Anyway, I found a post on Pinterest that showed how to increase the size of a t-shirt.  The post was on CrafterHours and I decided to try it.

So here is the result, and I love it!  I can now wear my Duck shirt and it is so comfy!  I used another t-shirt that I found on clearance at the craft store, the color was perfect.

That's it for today...stay crafty, my friends!

Cards for the Grandkids

 I just wanted to share the cards I have recently made for my grandkids.  All three girls had their birthdays, and turned two years old!  I made princess cards (for my "Princess Posse").  They are all files I bought from Silhouette.  I love that machine!!!  Casey loves Minnie Mouse, so I tried to incorporate her into the card.  It is a variation of a box card, and the castle is 3D!

 Folded up, it looks like this.

 On the back I put a large picture of Minnie.  I think it turned out great!

 The twins are also turning two years old, and I wanted to make them another castle card, but theirs is different.  I made the pencil card for their brother.  They all live in Colorado, and when I send one a present, they all get presents, so since he had just started first grade I made this pencil card for him.

 These are also Silhouette files.

Thanks for looking, and have a wonderful day, and don't forget to stay crafty!

Fairy Jar Lanterns

My daughter sent me a link to a video, which you can see here, by Nifty.  My twin granddaughters are in their new bedroom, which is a fairy themed room, and Grandma is making these Fairy Jars for them.

 Here is a picture of my set up started.  I sent this to my daughter, so she could see that the project is finished.  I found the jars at Target for $3 each.  I painted the lids silver, and used white paint inside the jars.  I had some Silhouette fairy files, so I used them, grass and butterflies for the project.

 After I adhered the die cuts inside the jars I had to test them out.  I used a larger battery operated candle inside the jar.

 Here are different views of the jar...

 ...One of the fairies had mushrooms, so I used them too!

 I wantend to add some flowers to the project, so I decorated the lid.

 Here are the finished jars.

 I used a coat hanger for the handle.  The flowers are from Recollections.  The brads are, I think, Basic Grey.  The white floral embellishments are from Jolee's.

 I don't know where I got the leaves, sorry about that.  The silver glitter Washi tape is by Heidi Swap.

 I painted a wooden base to set the jar on, and thought that it needed decoration with the flowers.  I think it turned out very pretty!

 Here is an inside shot of what it looks like.  I added moss inside, which filled out the bottom and made it look very cool when I put the candle back in it.

I hope you enjoyed looking at this project.  It was super fun to make.  Now I just have to figure out how to get it to the girls through the mail without destroying them!  Wish me luck!!!

Stay crafty, my friends!!

My new TYPEWRITER!!

 OMG!!!  Have you heard of this new wonderful toy!!!  I have been thinking about getting a typewriter for a long time.  Yes, a typewriter!!  I have been regretting that I ever gave my old one up...but I couldn't find ribbons anymore, and it just sat in a closet.  Now I have one and I LOVE IT!

We Are Memory Keepers has come out with a Typecast line of papers, labels, tags, all sorts of things to go with this typewriter and it is beautiful and awesome!  They also have multiple colored ribbons that you can get...All come with black, but then there is white, gray, teal, blue, purple, pink, red, and brown. I hope I didn't miss any.

It is manual, so no electricity needed.  It comes in pink or black, and it is sold at Michael's.  It's a bit spendy, at $199, but it is sooooooo worth it to me.  It works great, looks and types in a vintage style, and, GET THIS...it takes 12x12" paper!!!  The possibilities are ENDLESS!!!

Oh, and I am writing this review on my own, I am not being paid to do this...I just think that this is the best thing since sliced bread and Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter!  :)

 As you all know I also love, love, LOVE my Happy Planner by MAMBI, and I decided to make a little project using my typewriter for my planner.  I love that I am going to be able to type things for my planner, even type ON my planner pages...Can you tell I'm giddy about this?

 I took a paper, cut it in half, and used some washi tape by Recollections to cover the edge, then used my punch.

 I put it into my typewriter, and taa daa...

...I made a shopping list!!!  It looks sooooooo cool, I just can't stand it.  I later added my list to it, and used it at the store.  I can add the list to my planner and add to it when I remember something, then remove it and put it into my shopping/coupon planner when I go to the store.

There are a lot more uses for this wonderful little toy, and I will be showing you all more things later.

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to stay crafty, my friends!

Repurposed Aprons

Hey all!  You know that I am a huge fan of repurposing items and creating new things out of old things.  Well, I have another project for you today.

 This started out as a jeans turned skirt project.  I have always hated these jeans, they never fit right.  So I made a skirt.  Then I tried it on.  NOPE!

I was trying to keep the pockets, but it just didn't look right, at least on my figure.  So, what to do?  I couldn't just throw this project away.  I spent too much time on it.

I cut them in half, front and back, and I used bias tape on the edges.  I added ribbon to the front apron for ties, and added the bib and ruffles to make it bigger. The back apron I didn't have to add ruffles, as the bib was wide enough.

I gave one to Jackie, and I am keeping one for myself, BFF APRONS!!!  They look awesome on, and they will be perfect to cook in.

Thanks for looking, and I will see you all later!

Stay crafty my friends.