It's in the Details

Happy July 4th everyone…

2009-07-04T15:55:16Z

My daughter Terri and her fiance Laren are certainly starting the 4th off with a bang… and this is the reason why…. Terri and Laren are now the proud parents of a seven week old English Bulldog puppy named Lola. And let me just say Lola has everyone hopping.

It seems all she wants to do is sleep in your arms and if not she lets you know it with a very loud cry. I received a phone call this morning at 3 a.m. from Terri letting me know how perfect and smart Lola is about going potty outside. Oh and FYI… Terri lives on the 4th floor. So she will be getting her exercise going up and down those stairs. Anyway, as I was talking to Terri I could hear Lola crying in the background. I think she feels her crate isn’t quite fit for the Princess that she is and would rather have that really nice bed of Terri’s. Terri was doing everything she could to get her to sleep in her crate. It was so cute and a bit funny as I know all to well how that puppy stage can be. But Terri out lasted her and Lola finally decided to go to sleep in her crate. After all it is full of t-shirts, stuffed animals/toys and a bone you can warm up and turn on that has the sound of a heartbeat.

Yes there is a new Princess in town and her name is Lola a.k.a Rico saw her dancn’a cha cha.

You will be seeing many more photos down the road of this little cutie… I’m thinking pink tulle and tiaras are in her future

What a great day…

2009-07-03T14:42:01Z

Yesterday my niece Amanda arrived. I picked her up from the airport at 10 a.m and we did not stop until 10 p.m. She will be going to college in the fall so the first stop was IKEA… lots of great fun there. Then she wanted to hit Marshalls as this girl can never have too many shoes. Then we ate lunch and headed over to Target. Once we finished there we came home and made this…. well it was more like Amanda not me… I just grabbed stuff for her to use. I think she created the cutest doll. Now to find a little glass plate for her to sit on. I have been wanting to make one of these dolls since I saw them online here… actually, I still want to make one since I just sat and watched Amanda make hers…

After this, Alan cooked out on the grill and we hit the Mall… 2 hours later we were home. Amanda and Alan then made fried Oreos and bananas. Not only is Amanda crafty she is also a great cook and a problem solver as you will see below. If you want to try frying Oreos and bananas all you do is dip them in prepared pancake mix, drop them in a deep fryer then once they start floating take them out and sprinkle powdered sugar on top… so yummy. And since I could not find my sifter for the powdered sugar (here is her problem solving moment) Amanda suggested I use my tea infuser! I would have never thought to use this… never, never, never!!!

FYI… this thing worked like a charm.

Today she is headed to Fort Worth to stay with Terri. Looks like it will be another grand day for everone.

Home Sweet Home Class Underway…

2009-07-01T18:45:13Z

First off… where did June go? I really want to know. I cannot believe it is already July 1st. My Americana Workshop is starting to wind down. Talk about fun. I had a great time sharing all those red, white and blue projects.

My “Home Sweet Home” class started today. Everyone is underway working on today’s class assignment. Today’s class assignment features one of my favorite techniques. I love learning new techniques. How about you?

Also, I am the Guest Designer at Scrap-Diner for the next few weeks. I will be sharing lots of tutorials over there during my visit. If you’ve never visited Scrap-Diner check it out. Sherine has a great sale going on right now… 50% off all patterned paper starting today July st - July 5th.

And here is something exciting…. Maya Road is hosting a Recipe Card Contest. From now until August 10th, 2009, Maya Road is accepting submissions for projects to enter in their contest. If you are one of the top 5 finalists, your project will be featured on their website as a downloadable recipe card! Of course, there will be a bunch of fabulous prizes associated with this contest including:

Overall winner: $250 in Maya Road goodies
First Runner up: $150 in Maya Road goodies
Top 3 Finalists: $50 in Maya Road goodies

Wishing you all a great day! It’s gonna be a scorcher today in my little neck of the woods.

I’m not sure who…

2009-06-29T19:07:42Z

is having more fun running to the mailbox me or Madelyn. Here are the two cards she has sent me so far. I think they are so cute. Madelyn created these all by herself with scrapping supplies I gave her. Not too bad for a nearly six year old (she might be reading so if I say 5 well… you know how that goes)

I love her butterflies… to me there is nothing cuter than kids art. I just love, love, love it.

And then of course there are the hilarious topics of discussion. Today’s card made me laugh out loud. Buster is our dog and Zeus is her dog. Glad he was just sleeping and that she isn’t drinking hot chocolate considering it was over 100 in Beaumont a few days ago. The top portion inside the card has 5 tic tac toe games and a score board so I can play with Ansley. She said, “I hope you win.”

I so cannot wait for next weeks card.

Lately, I have been busy with CHA projects and a few other things that I will be able to share in a few days. Sorry for the lack of tutorials but they will be back soon.

Guess who is celebrating a Birthday…

2009-06-25T03:46:35Z

On this day in 1942… inside this quaint little house in Salem, West Virginia, a little girl was born into the Childers family.

She is the youngest of three kids.

Grew up with the nickname “Dickie”, dressed her kittens in doll clothes and pushed them in her doll carriage for hours. She loved to roller skate, draw, color and play outside.

After High School she went to Beauty School… found out she married Santa Claus and well… the rest is history.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I hope your day is great!
I love you

Summer Pen Pal…

2009-06-24T12:40:55Z

Do you have one? I do and it is my 5 year old, no excuse me my almost 6 year old sweet little niece Madelyn.

While I was down for my sweet niece Amanda’s High School Graduation (yes, lots of girls in the family… 5 to 1 poor Brittain) Madelyn and I decided we would be summer pen pals. So each week we send each other a handmade card.

At first I kinda freaked because I feel like I have to make over the top cards complete with machine stitching, inking, glitter and all the other things I think I have to do but then I came to my senses and realized all Madelyn really wants is mail… nothing over the top. Just a card from me to her. So here is the second card I made her. I punched out butterflies from an old Charlie Brown Kid’s Dictionary and added a Roller Rink Thickers letter “A”. Super simple and I know she will be thrilled.

I am going to add one letter from her name on the front of each card. Then when she puts all her cards together they will spell her complete name. I am wondering how long it is going to take her to figure out that I am spelling her name. I bet not long and most likely right when she receives this card.

On the inside of this card I asked her if she could find 7 Summer words on the Butterflies… Pool, Vacation, Sun, Hot, Beach, Swimming, Suit. I thought she might enjoy a little game along with my rambling.

I hope she doesn’t wonder why “War” is on her card… the “m” got cut off of the word warm. Ooops!

So if you don’t have a Summer Pen Pal… find one. It’s fun and don’t stress… remember, all they want is mail!

A new online Class is coming…

2009-06-20T21:17:53Z

The sentiment “Home Sweet Home” can make you think of many things… special items in your home a spring garden and most importantly those special people and pets. This project highlights all of the special things that help make our home a “Home Sweet Home”. Showcased in my album are photos of my brother’s trumpet, family members, flowers from our garden, Sonny and Buster our special canine companions as well as a few family quotes.

In this four day altered class we will be altering a Maya Road Townhouse and Mini Album using a faux mosaic created from 4 beautiful Webster’s Pages patterned papers. Then accent the house and album with lots of Maya Road products such as their Vintage Sequins Edging, Pom Pom Trim, Double Stitched Velvet, Blossoms, Jewel Pins, Buttons and Rubons. Vintage items such as Seam Binding, Bakers Twine and flocked flowers help accent the house and album perfectly. I will show you how to accent each page of your album using Stickles and basic hand doodling. Once completed your finished album can be stored neatly inside the house or left out for all to see.

This four day online class begins July 1st. Those of you that sign up on or before July 1st, the online class will end July 29th. Those of you that sign up after July 1st your class will end four weeks after your sign up date. So no matter your sign up date you will receive 4 total weeks access to the online class.

This four day online class comes with a complete supply list, step by step instructions and color images of the Townhouse and each Mini Album Page. Plus I added Notes and Tips I learned via trial and error that will assist you in the creative process. The cost for this online class is $19.95.

Please remember as with all my workshops this project can be recreated using a lot of items you might already have on hand.

To sign up, follow this link! See you soon.

Lottie, talk about a cutie…

2009-06-17T14:28:50Z

I love this time of the year as all the manufacturers are buzzing with new products. I like to check out what new items my book sponsors are creating and when I saw this new doll stamp Lottie by Pink Persimmon yesterday, well my jaw dropped. I love that this stamp set is named after their crafty Grandma Lottie. Such a sweet gesture. I think I see a new workshop in the future.

And here is something fun! The girls at Pink Persimmon are hosting a Paper Doll Challenge using this very stamp. I say give it a try as the winner will receive vintage embellishments and papers. That right there would be enough for me to give it a go. And to get you jump started Darcy even created a PDF so you can download images of two outfits. Too Fun!!!

(image property of Pink Persimmon)

Okay off to work on some projects I have due… wishing you all a wonderful hot summer day!

Back Home…

2009-06-16T21:11:59Z

We had a great time in Beaumont visiting family. It was an action packed week to say the least. So this week will be full of family type blog posts for those family members that live so far away. A few sneak peeks of some Americana Workshop projects will be thrown in here and there too. I cannot believe we are already into week 3’s projects.

But first I must say being 2 and 5 sure is fun when school’s out for the summer.

Isabella and Madelyn did a lot of this each day…

They each loved it when I would pull their feet to get them swinging. Not sure what it is about that but they always wanted me to start them swinging in this manner. I guess it is the thrill of feeling as though they might be pulled out of their swing… something I would not like one bit. I am certainly not the thrill seeker in my family.

Then there were days of old fashioned sprinkler fun… no fancy water toy gadget just a regular oscillating yard sprinkler. Lots of running, laughing, giggling and yelling. It was so fun to watch them play.

The afternoon was topped off with goldfish, lemonade and sandwiches… such a perfect summer day for these kids.

And for us adults creating projects for July 4th is pretty fun too… thanks so much to all of you who have joined me in my Americana Workshop. I have another workshop up my sleeve that I am pretty excited about. I will let you know the details soon. But for now here are a few sneak peeks of projects we have completed last week.

Wishing you a wonderful day.

Vintage Jello Molds…

2009-06-11T03:48:21Z

I found these cute vintage jello molds in one of my favorite antique stores. I saw the cutest project made here and have to make some. If I lived closer I would have taken this class in a second. I want to make some of these little Pixies as Christmas gifts for the girls in my family so I am collecting the needed items now. I think these little vintage pixies are so super cute and creative.