Stuff-n-Such By Lisa

Owl Baby Blanket

2012-01-17T01:48:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy New Year Crafty Friends!

I've been away for a bit but am happy to be back today with a sewing project that I'm excited about.

I made a self-binding baby blanket for my sweet Granddaughter "C".

I had purchased the fabric to make this blanket quite awhile ago and was struggling to find a good pattern or method to make it.

The fabric is like a stretch cotton knit and isn't typically what baby blankets are made of, so coming up with a good method for using both pieces of fabric without having them "separate" was tricky for me, as I am still somewhat of an amateur sewer and wasn't sure what would work.

Fortunately, my obsession with Pinterest paid off and I came across a couple of great tutorials on how to make a "Self-Binding" baby blanket.

The first one was here at Tea Rose Home Blog by Sachiko

The second one was here at Megan Poulton Designs

Both of these tutorials had great photos and instructions and the blankets were so beautiful but because of my lack of sewing experience, I was a bit confused and had to search for another tutorial that had a little more detailed information for sewing dummies like me! LOL!

I found this video by Googling "Self-Binding Baby Blanket".

Melanie from "Above all Fabric" made the video and also has a set of PDF instructions to go with it.

Between the awesome photos Sachiko & Megan posted on their tutorials, and the detailed instructions given by Melanie in her video and PDF, I was able to figure out this cool blanket style!

Here is a cute picture of my sweet Granddaughter "C" with her blankie from Grandma:

She really seemed to like it and the blanket stayed together well, which pleased me because I just didn't see how that was going to work without interfacing, quilting or tying.

I didn't want any of that though, because of course for a baby, you want ultimate softness and this blanket was just the ticket for my little sweet-pea!

I am so happy to be sewing again and even though I'm not that great at it, each time I do a new project, I learn more and more and having the internet for a never-ending resource certainly has helped me out when I get stuck on a step or two!

In that vein, I'd like to give a big "Thank-you" to Sachiko, Megan and Melanie for their inspiration and wonderful tutorials they posted and made available to everyone for free!

I don't know what I'd do without helpful, giving people like them.

If you get a chance, check out their blogs and see what they are up to:

Sachiko - Tea Rose Home
Megan - Megan Poulton Designs
Melanie - Melanie Dramatic (Melanie recently sold her company "Above all Fabric" where I originally found the video and PDF).

Thank-you so much for visiting me and come back soon to see what new crafty adventure I'm on!! :)

XOXO
Lisa

Sparkle-y Christmas Ornaments!

2011-12-16T03:36:00.000-08:00

What would the Holiday's be like without a new ornament or two!

I've always loved making ornaments since I was a young child and after seeing a clever idea on Pinterest for making some awesome glitter ornaments I was determined to make some with my precious Granddaughter B!

As I mentioned, I found this on Pinterest and the "Pin" led to the blog Everyday Cricut.

Here is the link to the tutorial which includes a good video.

You can also access the video directly from YouTube here.

In the video it shows them using some vinyl letters cut from the cricut machine, but as you will notice, we chose not to use the cricut this time, we just wrote the names and year on the ornaments using a Krylon Gold Leafing Pen.

Here is a picture of some of the supplies we used for this project:

(Sorry about the sloppy composition of the photograph...I had planned on taking a more organized photo at the end, when I knew all the supplies and tools that we used, but I forgot, so I was left with this mess!)

I also forgot to include the plastic wrap in the photo, but the video and tutorial at Everyday Cricut shows everything you will need.

These ornaments were easy to make and came out so pretty!

Even my 4 year old Granddaughter was able to perform most of the steps with just a little help from Grandma!

She picked out all the colors for her cousins and her Mom, Dad & Sister and the ribbon accents also.

She has really become my crafty little clone lately and we have so much fun!

Here are some photos of her doing some of the steps:

(NOTE: Be sure to follow the video referenced above for specific instructions, because I didn't get all the steps photographed here.)

Sweet Little B was mighty proud of the final product!

Grandma added a few final touches (the bows) which were a bit too tedious for tiny hands:

We experimented a little with the glitter, as the tutorial called for fine glitter, but just for kicks I made one ornament using regular coarse type glitter that is used for school projects and such, just to see if it would look okay and here are the results:

It still looked pretty and shiny, and really...from far away on the tree, you can't even tell the difference!

Just something to remember if you are on a budget, because the coarse glitter was much cheaper than the fine glitter, (at least cheaper than the kind that is used for scrapbooking and card projects).

I did find a multi-pack of fine glitter at Michaels (Creatology Brand) that wasn't too pricey, but the amount you get of each color was so small, you wouldn't be able to do many ornaments with it.

Here are a few handy tips that I learned along the way while doing this project:

1. Go easy and slow pouring in the floor solution into the balls and don't squeeze the bottle, (even though you will be tempted to because of the type bottle it is), because it will go all over the place quickly!

2. If you have small funnels, use them, they are a big help in minimizing the mess, especially if you are working with a young child. (Getting the glitter in that small hole in the ornament is not as easy as it would seem!)

3. Keep a wet/damp rag handy in case some floor solution gets on the outside of the ball, you can wipe it off easily if you do it right away.

4. If you are making the these ornaments with small children, use the plastic balls instead of the glass one's called for in the tutorial, that way if little hands slip, the balls won't break and possibly injure them. (I wasn't sure if the procedure would work the same with plastic, but I tried it anyway and you can't tell the difference. Four of the one's I made here are plastic and the rest are glass, so you tell me...can you tell which is which??!)

5. Save condiment cups and pizza box toppers (even if your Hubby makes fun of you and calls you a hoarder! LOL!). They REALLY came in handy here with this project. The condiment cups were perfect size to hold the balls while pouring in the floor solution and the pizza box toppers worked great to display the balls for photographing.

6. If you make a mistake on writing the names with the Gold Leaf Pen, don't fret...a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip will erase the mistake and allow you to fix it! (Boy was I relieved to discover that...because I accidentally wrote the wrong name on one of the ornaments and when little B found out, she was a bit upset that I had written someone else's name on the special color ornament she had picked out for cousin "J"! I was frantic at first, because we didn't have any other balls left to decorate, therefore could not re-create the color with her name, I tried scratching it off at first and that was NOT the way to go, so I just thought I would try rubbing alcohol and it worked, yay! Crisis averted! Happy Little B!)

Thank-you for stopping by my blog and I hope you enjoyed the post!

Lisa

A Christmas Tradition

2011-12-03T21:52:00.001-08:00

I am so excited about this Holiday Season!

Christmas is my favorite time of year, even though things usually get pretty hectic around here during this time.

Now that all our children are grown, I often think back to the happy memories and traditions of Christmases past with them and one of my most memorable traditions is collecting Nutcrackers with my Daughter "B".

How fitting that this week's "My Memories" challenge is about family traditions!

I couldn't wait to get in on this challenge, as just last Christmas, my precious Granddaughter "B" also became very interested in the story of the "Nutcracker" after seeing a Barbie Holiday Movie "Barbie in The Nutcracker"

I was excited to share this tradition with her and immediately got out all of the old Nutcrackers that me and her Aunt had collected when she was a child.

I snapped a few photos of precious little "B" playing with the Nutcrackers and hugging them like dolls!

I even bought her one of her very own Nutcracker's for Christmas, to get her started on her own collection.

Here is the layout I created for this challenge:

(Note: if you click on the layout, you can see a larger version)

I made it using the My Memories Suite (v.3) and it was so much fun and so easy!

I just love all the options it provides and how quickly a page can be completed.

I have SO many photos and just don't have enough time to do them all in the traditional scrapbooking method everytime.

It's nice to be able to do some "digital" scrapbooking as well and get some memories documented quickly, before the photos get put on the back burner and left behind.

As you can see, these photos are a year old and I hadn't yet gotten to them to scrap in a book.

Another great thing about the My Memories Suite is that you can have your pages/albums printed professionally, so that you can have them handy to show-off to others just as you would with your traditional paper scrapbook!

If you don't yet have this awesome Digital Scrapbooking Software, you can get it for $10.00 off by clicking on the blinkie below or on the ad in my sidebar and using the discount code that is below it.

CODE: STMMMS91285

It comes with lots of great templates, backgrounds, embellishments, etc. as well as options to add other digital content.

Their site contains lots of "freebies" too and other templates and quick pages that you can buy for a very reasonable price!

The options are limitless with this software and you can create other items too, like cards and calendars.

I do need to add a disclaimer here:
I was fortunate enough to have been given a copy of this software earlier in the year to review it for the company, but I can honestly tell you that I love it and would not promote it here if I did not think it was a wonderful product!
I am amazed at what it can do for such a reasonable price and it's much easier to use than the more complicated and expensive programs such as Photoshop.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my Nutcracker Tradition and looking at my layout!

So happy you stopped by and I'd love it if you'd like to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

XOXO
Lisa

Thank-you Card for Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge 65

2011-11-26T02:24:00.001-08:00

I have been trying to get this post up for awhile now and I apologize for the delay.
I have had some unplanned obstacles in my way this past week, including almost 3 days without Internet Service!
My provider couldn't even give me a straight answer about what was wrong and they kept promising it would be fixed "soon".
I finally gave up and figured they were stalling because of the Holiday.
Sure enough, come first thing Friday Morning (right after Thanksgiving was over!) my service was magically restored!
Oh well...it probably did me good to be away from the internet for awhile.

Another issue I had, is a bad allergic reaction to some medication I took last night.

Me & DH ended up in the ER, but thankfully it went fast and had a good ending!

They had to give me some Prednisone which really helped.

I was actually working on this post when it happened, my face began getting real hot and tingly and at first I thought my BP was up, then I finally went and looked in the mirror and almost screamed!
My face had swollen up and had big welts on it (hives I am assuming).

Thankfully, all the drama is over now and I can FINALLY get this project posted and in the challenge at Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge Blog!

Now on to my project for this challenge...

This challenge is a sketch with a TWIST!

Here are the requirements for the challenge:

Create a card OR layout based on the sketch & use

PAPER PIECING in your project!

Not sure how to paper piece?

Using your stamps, stamp individual elements onto different papers and "piece" them together!

There's a great photo tutorial on SplitcoastStampers website - go take a peek, then check out the inspiration over at Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge Blog from their fabulous Design Team!!

Peachy Keen Stamps are not required for this challenge,

but if you've got them, they would LOVE seeing how you create with them!

Project must include basic elements and layout from the sketch (feel free to flip anything!) and the twist (Paper Piecing)
Project must be new, created for this challenge
Link up by November 28th {the collection closes at 11:59 pm Central on 11/28}

I really love Peachy Keen Stamps, but I have to admit that at the moment I only have the faces for the Cricut Dolls and one Easter Stamp, so I didn't actually use one of their stamps for this challenge, because I had a specific person in mind when making this card and wanted to use owls, so that is why.

But I can assure you, I will be using them soon, because they are just adorable!

If you've never seen them, you gotta go check them out!

Their "Winter Friends" Bundle is so stinkin' cute!

It's my favorite at the moment and I'm going to have to get it!

They are having a 25% off sale on most of their items right now and 35% off on their exclusive Thanksgiving Bundles through November 28th!

Here is a collage I made of how I paper pieced the Penney Black Heart/Owl Stamp on my card:

If you've never done this technique and need a good tutorial, you can go to the SplitcoastStampers tutorial that I linked above or there is another VERY Good video tutorial on YouTube by Stamped By Hand (Joanne B) that you can see here.

You can also check out Joanne's awesome blog at: www.stampedbyhand.blogspot.com

Here is a photo of the tools and supplies I used for this project:

Recipe for the card:

White Card Stock (GP Image Plus 110 weight)

Patterned Fleur de Lis (White & Lime Green) Cardstock (From stash on hand)

Dark Red/Pink Cardstock (Colorbok - Bright , 8-1/2" x 11" Non-Textured Cardstock)

Purple Card Stock (Colorbok)

Blue, Green, Pink, Lt. Green, Golden Yellow & Brown Cardstock (Various Brands from stash on hand)

Patterned Paper, Pink/White, Gingham

Patterned Paper, Purple, Damask

Grosgrain Ribbon, Lime Green, 7/8" w, (Celebrate It - By Michaels)

Stamp, "Owl Be Yours" (Penney Black, #40-045)

Stamp, "Heartfelt Thanks" (Ditto, Studio G, #IC0098)

Pearl Brads w/Silver Lined Edge, 2 ea. (Eyelet Outlet)

Copic Multi-liner Pigment Ink Pen, Size 0.1

Glitter, Blush Rose (Recollections Signature Special Extra Fine Glitter)

Gel Pen, Orange

Pigment Ink Pad, White (Studio G)

Pigment Ink Pad, Lt. Brown (Studio G)

Pigment Ink Pad, Dk. Choc. Brown, (Studio G)

Ink Pad, Hot Pink (All Night Media)

Dye Ink Pad, Black (Inkadinkado)

Stamping Block, Pink Acrylic, 4"x6" (Apple Pie Memories)

Stamping Block, Small Acrylic, 2"x2" (Not sure of brand, but think I purchased it at "Oh My Crafts")

Water Color Sponge, Natural (Royal Langnickel)

Glue Pen, (Zig Two-Way Glue, Squeeze & Roll)

Glue Dots, Mini, 3/16"

Glue Dots, 3/8"

Zots 3-D, 1/2" (Thermo Web)

Glue Tape Runner, Small (Scotch)

ATG Glue Gun (Scotch)

Zip Dry Paper Glue

Mod Podge

Tools Used:

Paper Trimmer (Fiskars)

Bone Folder (Provo Craft)

Scissors (Fiskars)

Small Detail Scissors (Cutter Bee)

Paintbrush, Size 00 (Grumbacher)

Metal Spatula Tool, Small Flat

Toothpick

Hope you enjoyed my project and if you are inspired will join in on some of the Peachy Keen Stamps Challenges!

I have also joined a link-up party at Robin's Creative Cottage and have submitted this project/card there.

Thank-you for visiting my blog!
:)

Lisa

Christmas Craft Haul

2011-11-20T20:41:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again...The Holiday Season is upon us and of course for me that means at least a shopping spree or two at one of my favorite Craft Stores, Michaels!

I have been so inspired and excited by some of the awesome projects I have been seeing and "pinning" on Pinterest the last few months, so I decided to pick-up some supplies to keep my creativity flowing this season!

Check out my video of my most recent craft haul and see all the goodies I got!

It's a bit long, but I had fun making the video, because I love to talk about crafting!

Actually, I love to talk in general! LOL!

Hubby is probably awfully glad I did this video today...saved him from having to hear all my babbling! :)

He is such a great Husband though...he always tries his best to listen...even when I go on forever about nothing!

Thank-you all for checking in with me and I will be back soon, (hopefully tomorrow) with a posting about the latest craft challenge I am entering!

Storybook Video for Granddaughter

2011-11-15T20:20:00.001-08:00

As most of my loyal followers already know...I usually post about crafty stuff, but that usually includes some tidbits about my beautiful Grandbabies as well and since this blog is also about the "Grandma Life", I'd like to post a little bit about that today.

God has blessed me and Hubby with 5 beautiful Grandchildren and sadly, we don't get to see 3 of them very often because they live far away.

Because of this, I started thinking of ways that I could stay "in touch" with them more often, besides just a phone call or "Skype" call. (Not that these are not GREAT...I just wanted something more to let them know I am always thinking of them!)

So, awhile back, I started video recording myself reading stories to them, just as I would if they were right here with me!

At first it was a bit hard for me, because I do not like to have my picture taken and I REALLY don't like to see myself on video.

But, I realized that my Grandchildren love me just the way I am, flaws and all, so I just went with it!

At first I just sat in front of my webcam and read the stories and just did a simple video, but as I went along, I decided it would be fun to add music and titles and make it look a little more formal.

Recently I got one of those little "bloggie" type HD cams, (JVC Picsio) and I've been experimenting with it to see how it might work for some of my crafty blog videos.

I decided to try it out on one of my Storybook videos for my Granddaughter "J" and even though I wasn't thrilled with the lighting in the room, otherwise, the video turned out pretty good.

Check it out and let me know what you think:

The best part is...My DIL sent a picture of "J" watching it with her Dog "Simon" and she looks so happy watching it, which just tickles me pink!

That is all that really matters...is that my Grandbabies are well and happy!!

If you are interested in seeing any of the other "Storybook" Videos I've recorded for my Grandbabies, just go to my YouTube Channel and you will find them all there!

Thank-you all for joining me, I love talkin' about my babies!

XOXO
Gramma "Gigi" Lisa

Yay! We Have a WINNER!!!

2011-11-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't get as much participation as I would have liked for my recent giveaway, but that's okay, I still would like to thank all of you who did come by and visit me and sign-up for my free software giveaway sponsored by "My Memories"!

We have a winner....(Drum Roll Please....)
And the winner is....

#9 KIMBERLY!!!!

Congratulations Kimberly!

I will be contacting you soon for details and instructions on how to download your full version Free "My Memories" Software.

I am so excited for you to try it out, because I know you are going to LOVE it!!

Thanks again to everyone who entered and if you would like to purchase a copy of the software, please use my link on the sidebar and you will receive $10.00 off on the software plus it comes with a $10.00 coupon good for any of the design packages in the store! (Be sure to type in the special code below the box on the sidebar when it asks for a promo or coupon code.)

If you have any questions or need any assistance, just let me know.
You can e-mail me by clicking the "Contact Me" link at the top of my blog.

Lisa

Giveaway! Giveaway! First Digital Layout & Software Giveaway!

2011-11-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

I am so excited today to share with you my first digital scrapbooking layout and a fun giveaway!

I have dabbled a bit in "digital" scrapbooking in the past, but could never seem to find suitable software that made it easy and yet look good.

Well, recently I was contacted by a wonderful company called "My Memories" who asked me to review their digital scrapbooking software and see how I liked it and I was really impressed!

Their software is rated #1 on Amazon for Digital Scrapbooking and it is so reasonably priced.

Here is the layout I did using their software and it took me less than 10 minutes to complete this album, which consisted of 6 pages:

This layout features my gorgeous Granddaughter "J" of course and I couldn't be happier with the results!

I used one of their included pre-made templates that came with the software and it was so simple with the "drag and drop" interface.

They have tons of templates and backgrounds to choose from, along with more you can buy or get for free on their website.

You also have the ability to start from scratch and customize your layout anyway you'd like.

You can even include music and videos into your layouts!

This software package does so much more than just scrapbook pages.
You can create calendars, posters, cards, invitations, personalized books and more!

I love that you can turn your album pages into a beautiful personalized book that can be ordered in multiple copies and shared with all your family and friends!

If you'd like to see more about this amazing software, check out their YouTube site at: http://www.youtube.com/user/MyMemoriesSuite

There are some great videos on there that really showcase everything the software can do and it's pretty impressive!

Now here is the exciting news, they have given me an extra copy of the software to giveaway for FREE to one of my loyal followers!

If you would like to be eligible to win a copy of this Digital Scrapbooking Software Program, then here are the requirements:

1. Be or become a follower on my blog.

2. Go visit the My Memories site at: http://www.mymemories.com/ and make note of your favorite template or kit, then come back here and leave a comment stating which is your favorite from the site. (Be sure to include an e-mail address or a way to get in touch with you in case you win!)

3. For a second chance entry, please "Like" their Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593

4. For a third chance at winning, please follow the My Memories Blog at: http://www.mymemoriesblog.com/

5. For a fourth chance at winning, please follow My Memories on twitter at: http://twitter.com/#!/MyMemoriesSuite

(NOTE: After doing steps 3,4 and 5, make sure to leave a comment for each, saying that you completed the step...this is to make sure you get your extra entries!)

Remember to be eligible to win, you MUST do at least steps 1 and 2, all other steps are for extra entries!

This giveaway opportunity will be open through Sunday November 6th, 2011 and I will choose a winner via Random.org on Monday November 7th, 2011.

If you don't win, don't fret!

My Memories has given me a discount code and allowed me to share it with you if you decide to purchase the software:

CODE: STMMMS91285

I'm looking forward to experimenting more with this fab scrapbooking software and sharing my results with you, so please come back again and see what I'm up to!

XOXO
Lisa

Dollar-Store Halloween Luminaries

2011-10-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween to all my crafty friends out there!

Just thought I'd post this cool and thrifty craft that me and my 4 year old Granddaughter "B" completed the other day for Halloween.

It's so easy, yet turns out looking so nice and only costs a few bucks to make!

I originally found this idea on a cool blog that I follow called "Mod Podge Rocks" and I "pinned" it to my Pinterest Board so I would be able to find it again later.

I was glad that I did, because when I decided to try and come up with a fun Halloween activity for my Granddaughter, this one immediately popped in my mind, as funds have been tight lately and I had remembered that this one was cheap to make!

I took a quick trip to the dollar store to get the glass votive holders, battery tea lights and Halloween napkins (Total: $4.00 w/o tax!).

I had the other supplies needed already on hand.

Here are the supplies we started with:

As you can see, my precious Granddaughter was very excited about getting started with our "Crafty" project.

She is such a sweetheart and brings me so much joy!
I really love that we can share crafting together!

I wanted to show a lot of pictures of her doing this with me, so that you all know that this is a craft that can be done with Children with a little supervision.

I was pretty impressed at how much of it little "B" was able to handle on her own and she was really in to it!

I am going to lightly skim over how we made these, but if you want a better, more complete tutorial check out The "Maiden D'Shade" blog post/tutorial here.

(The Mod Podge posting directed readers to the Maiden D'Shade tutorial also.)

We started out by cutting out the strips of orange tissue paper to cover the glass votive holders.

Then we mixed a little bit of water with some Mod Podge:

Next, we began gluing on the tissue paper strips with the Mod Podge:

This part was a bit tricky at first, because we tried "dipping" the pieces in the MP and placing them, but they tend to tear and come apart that way, so then we decided to just lightly glue them first with a brush...just enough to get them to lie down on the glass and then after they were all on there, we went over the entire thing lightly.

After the first coat of Mod Podge, we took them outside on the front porch to dry:

(NOTE: Don't try this if it is a windy day, because obviously dirt, sand and other foreign objects could stick to the wet Mod Podge and give your project an unwanted design addition!)

We were under a little bit of time constraint, because "B" was making hers for her Mommy for Halloween and we needed to get it done kind of fast.

Putting it outside in the sun definitely helped dry it enough to get us to the next step.

"B" wanted a cat on her pumpkin, so we got out the Cricut Stuff and she picked out one from the Seasonal "Pumpkin Carving" Cartridge.

If you don't have a Cricut or would just prefer to cut out designs for yourself, Better Homes & Gardens has some great Stencils for carving Pumpkins that can also be used for this project, you just have to size them down a bit on your computer before printing them out.

Click HERE for the link to the stencils.

Sweet "B" has done a lot of "Cricutting" with Grandma, so she can actually operate it with a little help from me.

She chose the cat with a circle around it and the Cricut Imagine Machine did the work for us!

B's favorite part is "scooping" the finished product off the mat!

I sometimes have to help her a little with this part, if the design is particularly intricate, as one slip of the hand and the design can easily be torn!

She is getting pretty good at it though...an old pro!

The next step was to attach the cut-out to the pumpkin/luminary.

By now the first coat of Mod Podge had dried enough to continue.

"B" brushed on the MP to the back side of the cat cut-out:

I helped her glue it on the votive holder, as it was tricky to get it to lay flat on the rounded edges:

I had to hold it in place for about a minute or two so that it wouldn't slide around when I coated it with the MP.

Also, I had to fold and tuck under a tiny bit on each side to make it fit to the round shape.

I probably could have cut it smaller and would not have had this problem, but like I noted earlier, we were under time constraint, so I just did what I could do to make it look alright.

After adhering the cat, we covered it with a layer of Mod Podge and let it dry:

I did my Pumpkin next and just tried to experiment with something different.

I decided to try and cut out a design from a Halloween Napkin.

These are the napkins that I got at the dollar store:

I cut out the ghost with the word "Boo" on it:

Then I attached it to the pumpkin with a little bit of MP:

A bit of a warning here...go VERY easy on the Mod Podge with napkins, I was forgetting that they are a bit more delicate than tissue paper and I over-did it and made a crinkly mess out of my ghost!

Also, I put the second coat of MP on too early, before it was dry and it made the face part of the ghost too transparent, which I guess would have been fine for a ghost, if the bottom half had matched!

I didn't realize this until it had dried completely the second time, so there wasn't much I could do to fix it at that point, but at least I learned something from my experiment!

After the luminaries were completely dry, we added one LED Tealight Candle to each.

The tealights we used were purchased in a pack of three from the dollar store:

Here are the luminaries lighted:

I have to say, my Granddaughter's turned out much better than mine and I am so proud of her!

She is pretty excited about her gift for Mommy!

We had so much fun making these and I can't wait to make some more next year, or perhaps make some for Christmas!

Thank-you all for joining me and sharing in my fun craft time with my precious Granddaughter!

Baby Grandson Layout

2011-10-28T03:14:00.000-07:00

We have been so very blessed this year!

Earlier this year I posted about the arrival of our two newest Grand Babies and I posted the first layout I did for our Granddaughter "C" who was born in March and I have been working on a layout for our Grandson "A" who arrived one month later in April and I'm proud to say I finally got it done, despite all of the other projects I've been working on lately (crafty & non-crafty!).

It's a bit late, seeing that he was born in the spring!

I'm not too good on keeping up with my Scrapbooking...I haven't even finished scrapbooks for my children, who are all grown now!

I love to do it, it's just I am so darn particular about planning the layout that it takes me forever to actually get it done on paper.
(I am a tad bit OCD...just ask my Kids!) :)

Here is the layout:

I used a new tool for the first time, the sew easy piercing tool.

It was pretty cool and reminded me of those "lacing" cards I had when I was a very small child.

I know I am dating myself here...most of my young readers will probably have no idea what I'm talking about.

I don't think they make them anymore, at least I haven't seen any in a long time!

Okay, I stand corrected...I just checked eBay and there are LOTS of sewing cards on there, newer ones and old vintage ones like this one:

Anyway...I am getting sidetracked here I know...but doing that little bit of sewing/lacing on this layout really did bring back that memory, so I just had to mention it!

I kept this layout fairly simple, because the paper itself was so darn cute and of course the subject (My Awesome Grandson!) was so cute that the page really didn't need a lot of embellishment.

The paper is from atd/Momenta and the pad didn't really have a descriptive name, it just says "Super Paper Pad" and has a number on the back tag #PA2327,

so I'm going to include a picture of the pad in case anyone wants to try and find it.

I purchased it at Ross, which is a discounter, so I'm thinking this particular pad might not even be around anymore, but I did check the Momenta website and there is a similar set/pad called:

"Cuddle & Coo"

#PA-2385

It appears to have some of the same pages in it that my pad does, but there is less pages in the Pad (48 vs. the 90 that was in mine), and does not show the exact page that I used for this layout.

Here is a picture of the pad I purchased at Ross:

After I cut out the font/lettering with my Cricut Expression, I decided it needed a little more "oomph" so I inked the edges of the letters with Azure Blue Ink to give the font some depth.

It was a little tricky on the inside of the letters, so I used the Loew Cornell Sponge-it Sticks to get the ink in the tiny areas.

Here are the tools/supplies I used to create this layout:

Recipe:

Cricut Expression Machine

Scotch ATG Tape Gun

Ad tech Permanent Bond Glue Runner

Sew Easy Piercer Tool

Loew Cornell Sponge-it Sticks

Cricut Cartridge "Boys will be Boys" (Block Font, 1-1/2")

12 x 12 Paper by atd/Momenta (Super Paper Pad - Pictured Above)

7-1/2" x 5-1/2" Piece of Brick Red Scrap Paper from Stash (Photo Backing/Frame)

Light Blue Cardstock, from Stash (For Font)

Sew Easy Fancy Floss, Sunrise,Variegated

Recollections Foam Adhesive Squares, 1/4"

Memories Direct Mini Stamp Pad, Azure (Blue)

It's good to be back to posting more often and I promise I'll try to do it even more now that summer is over and the cozy stay-inside weather is coming around!

Keep coming back to visit, I will be having some awesome giveaways soon!!

XOXO

Lisa

Happy Nieces!

2011-10-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd give a little update on my last completed projects.

I made a Doll Sleeping Bag for my niece "K" and a Baby Doll blanket for my niece "H" and recently went by to see them with gifts in tow.

Here are some photos of them with their dolls & new accessories:

I think they were pretty happy, which of course made me very happy!

They are such sweet and beautiful little girls and I love them so much!

If you'd like to see my post about the doll sleeping bag, you can see it here.

I have not had a chance yet to make a post about the doll blanket, but when I do, I will update this post with a link.

The blanket was partially made with an old shirt of my Hubby's, so it's an "up-cycled" or "re-purposed" project that was pretty easy and fast.

I have been trying to do more sewing lately, but I am so critical of my work that sometimes I talk myself out of even starting.

I need to change that and just get motivated and SEW!

I really love it...and my awesome Hubby just bought me a brand new, fancy-smancy sewing machine, so I need to get busy!

Perhaps I will post about that new machine too!

Thank-you all for checking in with me and staying around...I will try to be more regular about posting.

XOXO

Lisa

Doll Sleeping Bag & Pillow

2011-09-30T00:24:00.000-07:00

Hey There loyal followers!

I am finally back with a crafty post after a bit of a "vacation" of sorts.

I have been busy with school and other summer activities, such as going to Disneyland with our precious Granddaughter "J"!

Here is a picture of us at Disneyland:

I'm hoping to get a layout done soon of our wonderful adventure and share it with you all!

For now, I have a sewing project to share with you that I have finally finished after working on for a few months.

It should not have taken that long, but with everything else that was going on this summer, I didn't get to work on it as much as I wanted to.

Here it is...

It is a doll sleeping bag for a 18" Doll, like the American Girl Dolls.

I made this one particularly for my sweet Niece "K".

She recently received her first American Girl Doll and just loves to tote it around with her everywhere!

Her Mom had seen a couple of one's I had made for my daughter "B" when she was a little girl and asked if I would mind making one for "K".

Of course I didn't, but it had been so long since I had made the one's for my daughter that I wasn't even sure if I still had the pattern.

Here is a picture of my precious Granddaughter "B" with one of my daughter's AG Dolls and one of the bags I had made for her (my daughter) years ago:

(I passed down my daughter "B's" AG dolls to my Granddaughters (J & B) and they received a sleeping bag with them also!)

I was thinking If I had to, I might be able to "re-create" the pattern, from the actual bag that I still had, but I am not that great of a sewer (self-taught) and I was not too keen on that idea.

I could not find the pattern at first, so I went to the internet and found several websites that had tutorials on how to make doll sleeping bags and some videos on YouTube.

The one's I found though, did not have the zipper in them, which I wanted to use, so I kept looking around the house and eventually found the old pattern in one of my sewing stash boxes.

Here is the pattern I used back then and now:

Simplicity 9833 - Simplicity Crafts, Andrea Schewe (©1996).

I was really glad to find it, because when I checked eBay, there weren't too many of these around and they were going for around $20.00 at the time! (Yikes!)

This pattern is really pretty easy to sew, with the exception of the zipper, which isn't too hard if you've done one before, but it's a bit tricky to get it just right.

It is basically two contrasting pieces of fabric with batting in between.

Here is a picture of the project at that stage:

I used Mountain Mist Quilt-Light Batting and the fabric was purchased at a local fabric store.

My niece really loves Zebra Print and that is why I chose this fabric and the colors just happen to match her room perfectly!

I did not take pictures of all of the steps in this construction, since this project was done using a purchased commercial pattern.

But here are a few more photos of the process:

The pattern calls for top stitching on the bag to give it a "quilted" effect.

My sewing machine has been acting up lately, as it is pretty old (early 80's), so my top stitching does not look as nice as I would have liked.

I used 3/16" narrow satin ribbon for the ties.

The pattern called for a larger width of ribbon, but I liked the way this ribbon looked with this particular fabric.

For the pillow, I decided to use a contrasting fabric on the back, instead of making it all out of the zebra print.

I added some pretty black lace for the edging on the pillow and then stuffed it with Fairfield 100% Polyester Fiberfill.

The finished product!

I haven't given this to my sweet niece yet, when I do, I will take some photos and update this post.

Thank-you all for checking in and staying with me!

XOXO
Lisa

Sorry I have been Away!

2011-09-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hello my Crafty friends!
I have to apologize for not posting in awhile.
I have been so busy this summer, several out-of-town trips, lots of family coming to visit and school.
I am working on a project right now though that I hope to have up on my blog soon with pictures!
Don't give up on me...I haven't gone away!
XOXO
Lisa

Winner Announcement!! 100 Follower Giveaway

2011-07-25T00:53:00.000-07:00

We have a winner in my 100 Follower Giveaway!!
Drum Roll please....
And the winner is:

#13, Christy from Christy Blade Handmade!!!
Yay! Congratulations Christy.
Please e-mail me with your mailing address so I can get your goodies sent out to you!

Here is a short video showing how I picked the winner, in case you are interested.

Sorry about the quality of it, I used my webcam and it usually does a decent job, but I guess because I was filming the computer screen it didn't work so great.

Thanks again to all who entered and who have come to visit my blog!

Goal Reached - 100 Followers!!

2011-07-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

Yay!!! (clap, clap, applause!)

I've reached my very first blog goal of 100 followers!
I am so excited!

My 100th follower is Scrappin' Annie!
She is a new crafty blogger, so if you get a chance, check out her blog and follower her also!
Thank-you for visiting my blog Annie and following along!

Now, as I had stated in my blog candy post, I am leaving this giveaway open until 12:00 Midnight (PST) today/tonight (22nd).
I will pick a winner after that time using random.org.

Thanks so much to all of you for coming here and becoming a follower!

It is just so awesome to have friends who share in my crafty endeavors!
I hope to be better about posting more often.
I recently decided to go back to school to learn graphic arts and that has kept me very busy, along with being a stay-at-home Grandmother and Wife!

Take Care my crafty friends and please come back soon!!
XOXO
Lisa

Ikea Julen Cards

2011-07-08T00:26:00.000-07:00

I recently won some blog candy from Scrappin' Delta Diva's blog and one of the items that was in the awesome bag of goodies I won were these cute little blank cards from Ikea:

I never even knew that Ikea had cards!

I was pleasantly surprised to find these little nuggets in my gift bag, as they are different and a bit unusual, which inspires some creativity in me.

I really liked the stitching on the envelopes, it adds an elegant touch without being distratcting.

I tried to find out some more info on these cards online, but couldn't find anything.

I was curious to know what they are made of, because they feel almost like they are part paper and part fabric!

I couldn't wait to try them out and see how the fibrous material reacted to different mediums.

I knew that I wanted to make "thank-you" cards as these are the perfect size for that, so here are the results:

The catepillar card was made using a digi design from my dear bloggie friend Nikki at Melonheadz Illustrating.

She is SO very talented, if you get a chance, check out her blog and see some of the awesome digital images she offers.

Incredibly, she does not charge for most of them, but she does accept donations on her blog site and I hope you will donate if you like and use her images.

I started out by experimenting with some stamp pads and a natural sponge on the background of this card.

I wanted to bring out the natural texture of the card material and see how it would look.

I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, it looks almost like it is lightly tie-dyed!

I sized down the digi from Melonheadz to fit my card and then printed it out on white cardstock and cut it out.

I colored it using copics sketch markers and then gave it dimension by coating it with glossy accents and adding pop dots to the back to adhere it to the card.

The word "Thanks" was cut from one of my cricut cartridges, but I'm not sure which one, as it was from my "extra" stash of cuts.

I embossed the word "thanks" to give it a bit of pop.

I added a strip of ribbon and small purple flower brads to finish the card with a bit of charm.

Here is a picture of the items used to make this card:

Recipe:
Cricut Cartridge - "Thanks"
Blank White Card, Ikea, Julen (2-3/4" x 6")
Digital Image, Catepillar - Melonheadz Illustrating
Ribbon, Berwick Offray, Sheer Petit Dot C5 Kiwi, 9.0mm x 4.5m
Flower Brad, Purple, Creative Impressions Bright Flower Asst. Item #90666
Glossy Accents, Ranger Inkssentials
Embossing Powder, Super Fine Detail, Clear, Ranger #SFJ06954
Embossing Ink Pad, Clear, Emboss-It Inkssentials, Ranger Ink
Stamp Pad, Pigment, Lime Green, Studio G
Stamp Pad, Pigment, Yellow, Studio G
Copic Sketch Marker, Y13, Lemon Yellow
Copic Sketch Marker, YG03, Yellow Green
Copic Sketch Marker, BV13, Hydrangea Blue
Copic Sketch Marker, R29, Lipstick Red
Zots Clear Adhesive Dots, 3D, 1/2", Therm-o-web
Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive, Beacon Adhesives
Zig Squeeze & Roll, 2-way Glue Pen

Tools Used:
Cricut Expression Machine
Heat Tool, Marvy Uchida, Model #2500
Sponge, Watercolor, Large Coarse Sea Sponge, Royal Langnickel (From Set #R2098)
Awl/Scribe
Cutterbee Scissors
Flat Spatula Tool, Metal
PSA Essentials Custom Stamp

Now, for the second Thank-you card:

The bow on this card was made using a technique I found on a fellow-blogger's site Seongsook's Creations.
I am terrible at tying bows...especially tiny ones and this tip was a big help!
Here is a photo of the items I used to make this card:

Recipe:
Cricut Cartridge: Flower Shape & "Thank-you"
Blank White Card, Ikea, Julen (2-3/4" x 6")
Patterned Paper, Diamond/Argyle Lt. Purple/White (Unknown brand from stash on hand)
Satin Ribbon, 1/8"(3mm), Spool-o-Ribbon, Offray #RN1991 Orchid
Rhinestones, (2 ea.) Purple, Stick-on (Unknown brand from stash on hand)
Glossy Accents, Ranger Inkssentials
Copic Sketch Marker, #YR68 Orange
Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive, Beacon Adhesives
Zig Squeeze & Roll, 2-way Glue Pen

Tools:
Cricut Expression
Cutter Bee Scissors
ATG Tape Gun, Scotch
PSA Essentials Custom Stamp

Of course I stamped the back of both of my cards with my custom stamp by PSA Essentials.

Thank-you for checking out my blog!

Hope you'll return soon...don't forget my follower giveaway posted on my sidebar and here.

I am almost at my goal of 100 followers!! Yay!

Card for OWH - Sending Love Your Way

2011-06-23T02:53:00.000-07:00

Hello crafty peeps!

Sorry I've been slacking on postings.

I recently started going back to school and it's kicking my behind!

I'm struggling to find crafty time for myself these days.

I recently started making cards for a cause that is near and dear to my heart, Operation Write Home (OWH).

As most of my readers know, I have a son who is in the Army and is deployed to Afghanistan, so I am so grateful for this organization.

If you haven't heard of them, go check out their site here.

Their mission is: "Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them."

Here is the latest card that I have made for this cause:

I am kind of slow at card making right now, because I haven't been doing it long, but I hope to get better and faster at it so I can send LOTS of these off to the shippers at OWH.

I started off using a card map from the OWH Stars & Stamps bloggers circle to help get my creativity flowing.

This is the one I used OWH Sketch #72:

As you can tell though, I changed it up a bit, but these card maps are great to get you thinking about where and how you want to start, especially if you are a newbie card-maker like me!

Here is a picture of the tools and supplies I used to create this card:

Recipe:
Cricut Imagine Machine - Better Together Cartridge
Cutter Bee Scissors
ATG Tape Gun
Scribe/Awl
Provo Craft Bone Folder
Blank White Card, 4"x5.5", Recollections
Printed Diecut, Square with contoured edges, "Sending Love Your Way", pg. 3, Better Together Cartridge
Patterned Paper, DCWV Citrus Matstack, 4.5" x 6.5" Pad
Card Stock, Light Olive Green (Unknown Brand, from stash on hand)
Paper Flowers, Orange Brown, Olive Green, Oriental Trading
Lace Ribbon, Matilda (Cream/Off White), Really Reasonable Ribbon
Pearl Brad, blue/green, Eyelet Outlet
Zots, Glue Dots, Medium, Singles
Foam Adhesive Squares, Recollections

Thanks for visiting me!
Happy to have you here!

XOXO
Lisa

P.S. Don't forget to check out my 100 Follower Blog Candy! Click HERE or look on my sidebar.
More followers would make me so happy, so tell your friends!

Beloved Pet Layout

2011-06-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

Today I am posting a layout that I made about a month ago, but am just now getting around to posting here on my blog.

I was going to enter this layout in a challenge, but ended up finishing it late and didn't make the challenge.

I was pleased with how it turned out and since it honors our sweet beloved and departed dog Cookie and her lifelong companion, our Daughter "B", I decided to post it anyway and see what you all think about it.

These pictures were taken a little over a year ago, right before our dog Cookie passed away at 16 years old!

Our Daughter was home from College on a visit and luckily got to spend some time with her before she passed.

These were the very last photos taken of her and I was so happy that "B" was with her in the pictures, because when we got Cookie as a pup, "B" was only 7 years old and she always considered Cookie her dog.

(We had another dog at the time and our son "R" adopted him as his own.)

We sure do miss Cookie, she was a sweetheart and a true friend to all of our Children while they were growing up!

I Googled "Pet Poems" to find the poem shown, but I cannot remember now what site it was, but it did say the author was anonymous.

You can click on the last picture if you want to be able to read the poem better, the picture should enlarge for you.

I apologize for not having a list of materials used for this project or a picture of the materials used.

I usually like to do that, but at the time I was making this layout, I was in a big hurry, because I was trying to make a deadline (which I didn't!) so I forgot to write anything down or take any pictures of the supplies.

If you want to know any info about what I used or any techniques used, just ask, I might be able to "recall" certain things...even in my old age! LOL!

Really Reasonable Ribbon's Summer Blog Candy Giveaway!

2011-06-04T01:10:00.000-07:00

Hey There bloggie/crafty friends!

Just had to let you know about this awesome giveaway going on at Really Reasonable Ribbon.

One of my fave craft sites!

They have tons of awesome ribbon that is perfect for all your card and layout projects and the best part is, their prices and selection are great!

Just click on the photo below to go to the posting on their site which will tell you all about the cool giveaway!

You can also visit their store here.

Hurry over to their blog site to enter this great giveaway! You have until Friday June 17th at 12:59 PM EDT to enter.

You don't want to miss out on this one!

If you want to see some of the awesome ribbon they carry, check out my craft haul video from a couple of months ago by clicking here or on the video below.

While you're at it...don't forget to enter my 100 follower giveaway also!
(See the photo on the right side bar top or click here.)

Thanks for stopping by!
XOXO
Lisa

Winner of the Blog Candy from OWH Memorial Day Weekend Hop!

2011-05-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

First, I want to thank all of you who came and visited me on my VERY FIRST blog hop!
I was so excited to be participating in a Operation Write Home Blog Hop for my first one.

I just recently found out about their organization and am committed to contributing to their cause, which is near and dear to my heart.

Of course those of you who hopped with us probably already know all about OWH, but for those of you just coming to my blog for the first time and you want to know more about OWH and their mission, please visit their site here.

Okay...now on to our winner of the blog candy (Dazzles Kitchen Stickers & Kitchen Time Heartwarming Vintage Cuts...

Drum Roll Please...

#72

Silvia

sillyscrap.blogspot.com

silvia said...

Beautiful card!! The tribute you posted on Sgt. Brent Maher brought tears to my eyes.
God bless your son Rickey!!

Congratulations Silvia!

Please e-mail me at: lisastuf at gmail dot com with your full name and mailing address and I will send out your prize this week!!

(Just a note to all of you who hopped along: I originally asked that you be a follower in addition to leaving me a comment to win this prize, but wouldn't you know, Blogger was having MAJOR issues with their follower widget on Saturday the 28th, the first day of this hop, so because of all the problems and some people couldn't follow when they tried, I decided to include anyone who left a comment on this post up until 10:00 pm today - 5/31/11. Thank-you for understanding!)

I still have not reached 100 followers, but I am SO close! So if you get a chance comment on the post for my 100 Follower Giveaway and become a follower and you could still win some awesome blog candy!

Thanks again to everyone for visiting me and leaving such nice comments!

OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop

2011-05-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hello & Welcome to the OWH Memorial Day Weekend Blog Hop!

So glad you are here!

(If you get a chance after reading my blog hop post, please scroll down to my post from yesterday for a tribute to a fallen soldier.)

If you came here from Kristin at Creative Syzygy then you are on the right track.

If not and you have stopped by here for a visit, or have gotten lost on the hop...please start at the beginning of the hop and start from there.

Just click on the picture above and it will take you back to the first stop on the hop which is Operation Write Home.

Here is the card I made for this hop:

I used the Cricut Cartridge Cindy Loo to cut out the heart and sentiment.

Below is a picture of the other supplies & tools that were used to make this card:

I am offering up some blog candy for this hop!

A 12x12 Set of Kitchen Stickers from Dazzles & a Set of Kitchen Time Heartwarming Vintage Cuts

All you have to do to be eligible to win is be a follower and leave me a comment, with a way to get a hold of you if you are the winner.

(I'm sorry but I have to limit the giveaway to U.S. residents only, due to high shipping costs for overseas)

I will be picking the winner on Tuesday using random.org

Now onto the next blog on this hop:

Alex at Paper and String

Thanks for joining me on my very first blog hop!

Be sure to visit everyone on the hop, there are some beautiful cards from some very talented crafters that you won't want to miss!

Memorial Day Tribute

2011-05-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

With Memorial Day almost here, I wanted to pay tribute to all Soldiers past and present who have served our country so unselfishly and bravely.

In particular those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, like Sgt. Brent Maher.

Sgt. Maher served with the Iowa National Guard, 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry and his unit was serving in the same area of Afghanistan as my son Rickey, who is also in the National Guard serving with the 2-45th ADT from Oklahoma. He died in an explosion from a roadside bomb.

You can read the story here.

The picture above is from the Fallen Soldier Ceremony held for him in Afghanistan on April 18, 2011 and was taken by Sgt John P. Sklaney who is a member of the 2-45 ADT.

Here are some more photos from the ceremony (also taken by Sgt Sklaney):

Please remember these brave Men and Women in your prayers, they give up so much for us.

My Son Rickey is my hero also, he sacrifices precious time with his Wife and beautiful little Daughter (My precious Granddaughter J!) and risks his life everyday to defend the Country he loves.

Thank-you to all who serve!

We are forever grateful and hold you dear in our hearts!

Stuff-n-Such Blog Candy Follower Giveaway!

2011-05-26T23:04:00.000-07:00

I'm hoping to take my blog to a higher level and gain a few more followers, so as a Thank-you to my current and hopefully new followers, I will be offering some blog candy when I reach 100 followers.

To be eligible to win all you have to do is:

1) Be or become a follower
2) Leave a comment on this post.

I will pick a winner using random.org when I hit 100 followers.

I plan on doing this the day that I hit that mark, so if you are commenting on that day, you will be included in the random pick (even if you are follower 101 or later). The giveaway will close at 12:00 Midnight (PST) on the day that I reach 100.

(Note: I'm sorry but I have to limit this to just U.S. Residents, because of the super high shipping costs involved with international shipping.)

I'm looking forward to connecting with more crafty friends!
Thanks for reading!

Lisa

Card for Dylan

2011-05-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Today I want to tell you all about a very worthy cause I found out about a little while ago and hopefully some or all of my craft buddies out there will want to contribute.

I came across this through a blog I subscribe to called Free Digital Stamps.

One of the designer blogs that they regularly feature is Dustin Pike's Blog.

Dustin also has a store web site here.

Anyway...he recently posted about a young boy named Dylan who has an inoperable brain tumor and he is collecting hand-made cards for this precious boy and has sent out a call for cards.

He is also offering a free digi of his if you'd like to use it in the card you make and a free exclusive set of his digi's if you make and send a card.

You can go to this link to find out more.

You can also visit Dylan's site to learn more about his brave journey.

Dustin is accepting the cards until the end of the Month and will be hand carrying them to Dylan.

I am working on my card right now and will update this post when I have finished it.

In the meantime, here is the card/coloring page that my 3 year old Granddaughter B made for Dylan...using one of Dustin's Digi's:

Thanks to Dustin for bringing this to our attention, this little boy deserves all the love and support in the world!

Update: 05/25/11 - I have finished my card for Dylan and mailed it out yesterday along with B's cute coloring page.

Here is the card I made:

I picked a basketball themed card that featured the Utah Jazz logo, as this is Dylan's favorite sport and team.

I found the Jazz logo by doing a Google Image Search and printed it out in color on some white card stock.

I cut out the logo and then outlined it in Patina Stickles.

The cute bug is a digi stamp from Dustin Pike.

I colored in the digi with Copic Markers and carefully cut it out with my Cutter Bee Scissors and another pair of small scissors.

I stamped "My Hero" on the banner card the bug is holding, using a stamp set from Pink By Design called "Our Troops".

I trimmed the middle section of the card with some bright orange ribbon to match the patterned paper and to go along with the Jazz Logo.

The small oval embelli on the left of the bug was made from a previous cricut cutout that I had leftover from another project.

I lined the oval in Orange Peel Stickles and wrote Dylan's name in the center with two stamped hearts.

I added a bit of Glossy Accents to make the name & hearts stand-out.

I stamped a sentiment on the inside using a Studio G i-Cling stamp and left plenty of room to write a personal note to Dylan.

I am showing the back of the card only because it is the first time I am using my new personalized stamp from PSA Essentials. I just love it!

Here is a picture of the items I used in making this card:

Recipe:

Pre-Made Blank White Card, K&Company

Memories Forever patterned paper (Basketball)

Paper Reflections, One Pound Scrap Pack (Various Pieces)

Digi Image/Stamp by Dustin Pike

Copic Sketch Marker, R29 Lipstick Red

Copic Sketch Marker, W5 Warm Gray

Copic Sketch Marker, YG07 Acid Green

Copic Sketch Marker, B39 Prussian Blue

Copic Sketch Marker, B34 Manganese Blue

Copic Sketch Marker, YG03 Yellow Green

Pink By Design Clear Polymer Stamp - "My Hero" from the "Our Troops" Set

Basic Grey, Bitsy Clear Stamps, Heartthrob

Studio G, i-Cling "Thinking of You" stamp, #V54911

PSA Essentials, Peel & Stick Custom Stamp

Inkadinkado, Dye Ink, Ink Pad, Black

Red Ink Pad, Small Square (Unknown Brand)

Woven Edge Ribbon, 3/8", Bright Neon Orange

Ranger Stickles, Orange Peel

Ranger Stickles, Patina

American Crafts, Slick Writer, Medium Point, Black

Ranger Inkssentials, Glossy Accents

Zig 2 Way Glue, Jumbo Tip

Glue Dots, Glue Lines, 1"

Therm O Web Zots, Clear Adhesive Dots, 3-D, 1/2"

Scotch ATG Tape Gun

Cutter Bee Scissors

Small Scissors, (Unknown Brand), 3-1/2"

(Please ignore the embossing powder, brush and tray in the picture...I had previously made an embellishment and embossed it, but did not like the way it turned out and didn't use it in the card. However, when gathering the items for the picture, I forgot to put these items away and they ended up in the photo...sorry about that!)

I hope Dylan will like my card and I hope you all liked it as well.

Please say a prayer for Dylan and his family or send good thoughts his way!

Thank-You!

XOXO

Lisa

New Blog Design

2011-05-17T01:43:00.000-07:00

Hey crafty friends!

I'm sure you have noticed by now that I have changed my blog design a bit.

I'm not experienced enough yet or rich enough to design or purchase my very own design, so I am using a super cute background design from The Cutest Blog on the Block.

I just recently re-enrolled in College to try and learn Graphic Design, so hopefully one day I will be able to make my very own unique blog design, but until then...I think this one is pretty cool!

I need to design a new header though.

The one I had before was one that I threw together quickly from a photo I had taken and then overlayed it with my blog name in a font called "Crazy Girlz Blonde".

I really liked that font for my logo, so I may use it again, but I want to change the background of the header and use something different than the photo I had.

Also, you may have noticed that I changed the name just slightly, from "Lisa's Stuff-n-Such" to "Stuff-n-Such By Lisa".

I hope you all will like all the changes, let me know if you have any suggestions or advice, I want to make this blog enjoyable and easy for my followers to read, so your input is important to me!

Thanks for stopping by...and come back soon, I will be offering up some blog candy to say thanks to all of you and to try and attract a few more followers!