Taken Wings

Craft Fair Season

2025-09-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I just completed a Fall Craft Fair at the Wells Junior High in Wells. We did have a good

time meeting some really nice people who are interested in our crafts. We sold a bit of our crafts but were a little disappointed we did not sell more.

Not sure we will do this fair next year. We don't seem to do well in off season fairs. Christmas is the best time for us so far. We will see if we can find another venue that we might do a little better.

I am still healing from my knee replacement surgery so it was a little difficult getting set up and taking down. Thank goodness my husband and my sisters were there so it went pretty smoothly. Oh yes , Mark, my sister's husband was a huge help,too.

Looking forward to our annual Christmas Fair the first weekend in November at the Italian Heritage Center in Porltand. We have fun there and do pretty well in selling our crafts.

My Zentangle Project

I am really into working on Zentangle projects. I think it is so cool to try and make different patterns that seem to work together to make a cool graphic. The picture to the left is a journal that I added a Zentangle pattern to give it a cool look. I like it. Did not sell any at our craft fair but will give it a try in November.

Capybaras

The cookies in the picture to the right I made for my granddaughter, Izzy. She had a birthday party where she wanted capybaras to be the theme.

I had no idea what a capybara was so I learned something. I found a site that had the cookie cutter I needed. I think they came out pretty good.

I decorated them with royal icing but forgot to take a picture of them finished. They were all gone by the end of the party so I guess they were a hit!!

I am so happy that my Framed Brooch Art sold at the craft fair this weekend. I thought he was awfully cute. I really loved making this one.

I used brooches and beads that I had on hand to make the seahorse come alive. There are many examples of Framed Brooch art on Pinterest which is where I get my ideas.

So happy someone loved this picture as much as I did.

I loved making this card for our daughter, Kristin's significant other. He does work with dogs in a neighborhood business in Colorado. Not sure of the name of the business though.

So I thought a birthday card full of dogs was quite appropriate. A card he might like, too.

I used some dies I had and found the print of the dog celebrating on line. I think the top graphic of dogs I found on my Cricket machine as a print and cut. I really like how it came out. Hope Mike liked it too.

More picture of our crafts

I love our craft table.

Been Way Too Long!

2025-08-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

New craftroom space

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Not sure what has kept me from posting. I have still been crafting in my new craft area in my home. We moved my craftroom from the second floor to the main floor this spring. I love it!

My sisters and I are working on a Fall Craft Fair on September 6th and 7th. This is the first time we have done this fair. We are excited and hope we can do this fair every year.

I have made a number of Halloween crafts since the fair falls before Halloween. We will have Christmas items too .

Framed Brooch Picture

I am very excited to have done a framed brooch picture. I saw something like this at a shop and thought, "I can do this!"

It was so fun to come up with the design and use a die cut that I have to make the window. I also did a seahorse from brooches and beads.

Pinterest is a good place to check out all kinds of designs on framed brooches. I usually just look at one for inspiration and then design my own idea. I have a board on Pinterest the is just framed brooch pictures. Highly suggest that if you like this craft you should do the same.

You can see our table set up for the Wells Craft Fair in September. The witches are made from books that you fold and decorate.

I also made a couple of skeleton treat boxes from paper and wire for the handle.

You can see the seahorse framed brooch picture on the lower right hand corner. Loved to do this design.

I am really into Zentangle. I found some notebooks that I was not using and felt that zentangle would be cool to put on the cover. Love how it came out. I hope to sell some at our craft fair in September. I have made about 6 or 7.

So I have not been able to craft much even though my craftroom is more accessible. I had a knee replacement about 2 weeks ago so I am in healing mode. I have PT twice a week with a wonderful therapist, Erin. She is so helpful in keeping me motivated and is so knowledgeable about the whole process of getting me mobile again. I only have another week or two with her and then I will do outpatient therapy at Orthopedics Associated of Portland. Can't wait to be using a cane instead of a walker.

I hope to get back to posting again. It is a great diary of what is happening in my life as well as my crafting life. With me being not as mobile maybe I will be better about posting.

Hope you are having a good summer. I know mine is memorable.

Getting Ready!!

2023-03-05T02:52:00.001-08:00

I have been getting ready for an upcoming craft fair at USM on April 22nd. My sisters and I are excited about doing a spring fair. We did this one last year and did pretty well.

A work in progress

This is a music box I am working on. I am finishing it up. It plays the tune from the Cats Broadway show, "Memories". It was super fun to work on. I wanted a different look from the other two I had made. I think this is a little different from a regular music box.

These are the other 2 music boxes I have made. One plays "Moon River" and the other one plays "Over the Rainbow". I really like how I used flowers and jewelry to make them a little feminine because who usually likes music boxes.

Front Cover

Another project I have finished is recycling books. This one is a children's book about ants. I had fun adding additional pages for students to write about ants. I also printed real pictures of ants to add to their understanding of what they look like in real life.

Inside pages

I added pages like the ones pictured here to make it more interesting. I think it gives the book more of a journal use than just reading the author's writing. I love how someone can use the book to record thoughts . It won't be just sitting on a shelf.

A plate rack in my kitchen

My husband made this plate rack for me, which I absolutely love. I have been watching "The Chateau Diaries" and noticed the plate rack in her kitchen. I thought it would be perfect for the new dishes I had purchased from Goodwill recently. I was right. It looks awesome on a wall in our kitchen. I used a spray paint I had picked out from the Magnolia line by Joanna Gaines. I love how subtle the color looks against the wall.

Valentine's Day

I just wanted to give a big hug to my husband for getting me these lovely flowers for Valentine's Day. We don't usually do much but go out for dinner, but we have been super busy so he bought these for me to celebrate. Isn't just so thoughtful??

I think this is lettuce?

I am so looking forward to spring this year. I has not been a bad winter until this last week where we had snow about every other day. Anyway, I decided to start my seeds for planting when the snow is gone. They are coming up now. I love to see them grow. My granddaughter, Izzy, helped me with planting and she is excited to see them growing. I sent her pictures so she can watch them too.

Bone china flower

I have started selling items on ebay to help support my addiction to crafting. This is a bone china flower from HomeCor. I really really like it, so if it doesn't sell I will keep it happily. I bought it at Goodwill for a reasonable price. I just love Goodwill. You can get things so much more reasonable than if you shopped new. And you are saving stuff from going into the dump that can be loved again.

Crafting with the girls.

I love having the girls with us any time we can. They are both in school now, so vacation time is best. They stayed over 2 nights. We had a ball. Here they are working on something. I am not sure what, but I love seeing them enjoy what they like to work on in my craftroom.

I will continue to work on items for our upcoming craft fair. It should be alot of fun seeing people again and talking about what we love to do. Hope the snow is melting as I sit here working.

Here's to another post....

About time I Made a New Post-Sorry!

2023-02-13T04:44:00.005-08:00

It has been ages since my last post. I think I am just lazy. I need to decide to save a day a week to work on posting on my blog. Let's see how I do...

I have just finished working on Scrapbook Albums for my granddaughters after our visit to Walt Disney World this past December.

We had such fun with the girls. They were so much fun at the parks with the rides we got to ride.

The time went so fast. We stayed at Saratoga Springs on Disney property. We had a ground floor room which was perfect for us. Alice and Ken (Kristin's parents) stayed across the hall in a studio room. We just loved it.

The albums were so much fun to make. I have not yet done the journaling. That I usually do on my computer because my handwriting is so awful.

The albums are 8 x 8 inches in size. This gives me the opportunity to really add alot of pictures. I used pockets and flip pages so that I could add more and more pictures.

The paper I used was a Mickey & Minnie Mouse collection I already had in my stash. Izzy liked Minnie more so I made that her cover, and Evy likes Mickey more so her album is on the right.

I am giving the albums to them this Thursday so I hope they really like them. I did leave room in places for them to add their own words in case they would like the opportunity to do that .

I look at tutorials that I found on Pinterest as I worked on each page. So many people have great ideas on different ways to make an album. I used the ones I liked on these albums.

I highly recommend Pinterest for tutorials on how to make your own albums. Sometimes I do buy an album and just add cool pages. But sometimes I like to make them myself.

My brother-in-law, Mark, just had a birthday. The card on the right was the one I made for him. Although he probably would have liked the unicorn one.

The unicorn card I made for my granddaughter, Evy. It is her 8th birthday. She really likes unicorns so this was perfect for her. I used glitter paper for the horns.

I cut the eye lashes on my Cricut machine, which I love using.

During the winter I usually take stock of my craft room to make it more organized and easier to find stuff. I decided to clean off the top of my craft table to make it so I could see outside instead of having "stuff" in the way.

I really like it better. But as always, I put things in different places which means, " Where did I put that??"

My friend, Elaine, says she likes it better too. She crafts with me once a week. We have great fun. We always go out to lunch at Pat's down the road. I look forward to those days with her.

Well, it is still winter here. Although spring is around the corner. The girls made a little snowman this past January. We didn't have much snow at the time.

We got more but not a whole lot. The temps are moving towards the higher 40's. I will take it as a sign that spring is near. I know.. I know... there will be colder temps here and there. It has not been a bad winter so far.

I guess this is a long post to make up for my lapse of posting. Hopefully I will be doing more.

We applied for the USM craft fair this spring and the one in November. We hope we get in. I will let you know if we do and what I will be working on. We have quite a bit of inventory cause we never stopped crafting, even during Covid shut down. We need to downsize some.

Hoping you are enjoying the last of winter. I am looking forward to the warmth. See you next week.

Hot...Hot... Summer!

2022-08-07T02:52:00.008-07:00

It has been a hot summer this year. Last year we put central air in our home, and am I glad we did. Except I do kinda miss having the windows open with fresh air flowing in. I open the windows first thing in the morning, but as the hot air begins we close them.

Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons. Then I can keep windows open and hear the birds tweeting from outside. It's August so I guess we still have some hot warm days ahead.

We took our granddaughters for an afternoon of mini-golf. They really enjoyed learning how to hit the ball. They had some great shots.

I was pretty happy with my game, too. I was able to on at least two hole hit it in to the hole in two putts. Proud, I am. I have not golfed for years. Putting was my favorite part of golfing anyway.

Izzy did a great job this time. Last year she was not impressed with golf, but this year she seemed to really want to finish the course.

Evy really tries to follow form and get the ball in. It was a hot day so I was surprised the girls lasted the whole course. It was a little busy but we did not have to hurry at all.

Mini-golf training

The ice cream at the end of the day was the best part. We watched as other families were playing at each hole. But the ice cream really cooled us off under the umbrella shade.

It was a lovely day with the granddaughters. Love this memory. We might be able to try another mini golf course before the summer is over. Hoping it won't be so hot, too.

/The front

It took me forever to make my granddaughter's 5th birthday card for her. She is into cheetahs right now so I wanted to make one with a cheetah on it. I used my Cricut to find just the right cheetah . Most of them looked like they would eat you. This cheetah looked the friendliest of them all.

I found a tutorial on how to make this center fold card. Perfect for the images and sentiment I wanted to use.

I love my Cricut. I used it to draw the sentiment you see on either side of the center.

The back

I didn't want the back to be blank so I used a running cheetah in the jungle to finish the theme.

I hope she likes it. I also hope she doesn't see it before her birthday at the end of the month. Five years has gone so fast.

This doll that was made my Christina Ruigulles is on our Etsy store now. It is a vintage doll since I bought back in the 1980's, I think.

She is in good shape as she has only been on display all these years. I really love the detail that she put into her face. She does an awesome job. I am not sure if she is still making these dolls, though.

I have a link to our store: Cooksistersdesigns on Etsy. Be sure and check it out.

Well it is going to be another really not day her in Yarmouth. The weatherman is say the humidity will be high as well at tempertures reaching 90 degrees.

I think we will be staying inside today in our central air conditioning. I would really like to spend some time outdoors but I do not like the humidity.

I hope your day is cool and comfortable.

Been Too Long!!

2022-07-23T03:59:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe I have not posted anything for so long. I feel ashamed and yet I have been really busy. I am going to try and make a commitment to posting more often and more regularly. I must set a routine to remember to post.

This summer has flown by. I worked on doing the crafts for our chuches VBS (Vacation Bible School) for most of the spring. We had over 50 kids come around the end of June. I enjoyed working with students again. They were so interested in the crafts I had set up for them.

I have been working on fewer crafts of my own because our inventory is so high right now. We are doing The Italian Heritage Craft Fair in December , but we have plenty of projects ready.

This is a decorated cigar box .

This cigar box is one example of what we have available for sale. We backed out of Cole's Corner because we did not do well there. We believe it is the state of our economy that are keeping people from buying right now.

I don't blame them with gas and food prices so high. Crafts would be way down on my list of things that you have to have. So we are just working on fun things that we enjoy making.

I have been working on cards mostly because August is a big month for birthdays in my family. The top card is for my brother-in-law, Tom. He turns 70 next month.

I used my Cricut to cut out the images on golf. The number 70 is a die cut I have on hand. I have Cricut Access so that I can find all the images I need to make a unique card.

I got the sentiment off the computer looking up on Pinterest. I is wicked cute. I think Tom will like it since he is an avid golfer. The gof cart is from Cricut also.

Love using the black and white for vivid contrast. Easy to read and enjoy the pictures.

Mike's Card

The other card is for Mike who is our daughter's partner. We hope to see them soon as they live out in Colorado. Flying right now does not sound too good, though.

The running man is from Cricut Access too. Mike is a runner and helps to set up races in Colorado. I think he will enjoy this card.

This item is for sale on Etsy.

This flattened tin can flower holder is on sale now on our new Etsy Store. My sisters' and I decided to try online sales.

We are hoping that we will do well and therefore do less craft fairs. So far it has been slow. The economy is not much better.

Anyway if you are interest in checking out Cooksistersdesigns on Etsy just put our name in the search or use this link.

Cooksistersdesigns

You will find our crafts are upscaling items, new ways to use old items , and a few items that someone else crafted and we are ready to part with them.

Hopefully you will see something that you like or will inspire you to put something of your own together.

We went on a trip to Boston in June. We went with the our son and his family, our grandchildren. It was fun. My sister, Adrianne, let us stay with them as they are in Rockland, Mass. She went with us to the Boston Aquarium, too. The kids loved The Science Museum and the Aquarium.

Adrianne and Lenny have an awesome pool that is heated. It was a lovely time. The weather was perfect.

Here are a few pictures from our trip. I made an album for each girl to be able to look back and remember what fun we had with family.

We are going to Disney World this year and I plan on making an album for each of them to put their pictures in to remember the time spent together.

When they are in high school/college I love the idea that these photos will be a way to look back and think about their awesome chldhood.

Well, I am getting my Sunday School lesson ready for this week. So I will sign off and hope that I will be on again soon.

Hope everyone is having a great summer. It will be gone before we know it.

Happy New Year!

2021-12-30T03:51:00.001-08:00

I have not been blogging for awhile now. Feeling guilty, so I am starting before the New Year to get me off to a good start. My New Year's Resolution is to keep up my blog on a weekly basis. I think I can put that in my plans now.

Sisters' Designs now has a small area at Cole's Corner in Wells to try and sell our crafted items. We are excited about this venture. Diane, the owner, has been so nice to us as we try and create a niche that will attract people to our endeavors.

This is a music box that I made using a prebought box from Tate's in West Bath. It was perfect for this lovely little song, "Love Story". I love the pink rose on top.

Music Box for sale.

I made another music box , but I actually made the box from chipboard and decorated it with Graphic 45 paper called, "Love Notes".

It is an awesome collection of paper that is perfect for Valentine's Day.

This music box plays " Somewhere Over the Rainbow". Love the little feminine accents such as the pearls and the pink shoe. Could it be any prettier?

I think this would be great for anyone looking for a gift for someone to give on Valentine's Day. I am thinking of charging $30.00 for each music box. If they don't sell, I plan on giving them to my granddaughters for Valentine's Day. So either way I am happy that I made them.

Music Box for sale.

I also took some small ball jars and decorated them with snowmen using my Cricut machine to cut out the images in my SVG file.

I thought they were super cute especially for a saleable item this winter. Who would not love receiving these little guys. I am thinking that the jar could be filled with candy, or soaps, or anything that would be fitting for a gift or a favor.

I like recycling items so they do not end up in the trash. This idea is one of our driving thoughts for my sisters and I. We plan on trying to use our talents in making old items new again. Not an easy task I will tell you.

Snowmen gift idea!

On a side note, I am please as punch, to show you my new acquisition for our bedroom. This is a storage solution I found on Amazon for my scarves, winter sweaters, and whatever does not fit in my bureau.

It fit perfectly in this little area outside of our bathroom door.

I love how the handles are a wooden color and show off the black of each little cubby.

I can't tell you how it puts a smile on my face to be more organized than I was before this item was put together by my DH.

We had such a fun Christmas with our kids this year! It was good to be together and enjoy the happiness of seeing our grandchildren open their gifts. This picture is when they saw the innertubes their parents gave them to use on our hilly hills around the area. They have tried them out for real and you can imagine how much fun they had.

Fun at Christmas....

I hope everyone stays well and has a Happy New Year. I know we are going to try and see the silver lining in all things.

Stay positive and healthy.

Where Has Summer Gone?

2021-08-05T01:34:00.004-07:00

Summer has shot by like a rocket. I have been busy doing gardening work and crafting. The hydrangeas are coming in quite well this summer. We bought two more because they do so well here.

We hired our neighbor to use his tractor to pull two mini lilac bushes away from our shed and help us plant them in the front . What a job!

Still gotta take out the other plant.

They seem happy in their new place.

Cool tractor!

We were so happy to have him work with us cause we were pooped. We could not have done it without him.

I really like how everything came out though. I plan on planting flowers in front of the shed.

It is raining now so no planting until it clears off. I will use flowers from my other two beds to help with the cost of buying new flowers. I love how I can move plants to where I want them because I have so many.

I have also been using my Cricut Machine to make August birthday cards. Whew! I have alot of family with birthdays in August. This is just one for my brother-in-law. He is an avid golfer so this is perfect for him. I bought the SVG file from Lori Whitlock. It was so easy to put together.

The front

The golfer on back is a stamp I have from Stampin Up. I just fussy cut him out after coloring him. I like how it came out.

The back.

I am excited because Sisters' Designs

Candlestick with moulds

got accepted into the Kennebunk Craft

Fair for 3 Saturdays in August and September.

This is new for us so I hope we do well and have fun meeting new people that like our crafts.

This candlestick is one I was working on. I used moulds from IOD . I glued them on and then painted them a mineral chalk paint color. I decided that using a white was on the whole candlestick would give it a beachy look. It came out great.

You will have to come to the Pavillion on Main Street Kennebunk to see it in its finished form.

Banana holder is now hold a basket.

Here is another piece I am trying to sell at the Kennebunk Craft Show. I used a

transfer on the bottom. I added a lacy handkerchief to the basket to make it look a little more elegant.

I love that mineral color and use it alot. I need to buy more.

You could hang anything you want from the hook, but I really like the small basket.

Our granddaughters are growing up but we still love babysitting them whenever we can. This is a great picture of them having fun together.

They are so sweet and kind to each other. Such a joy to be with on these days. I try and take pictures each time to keep a memory .

Hope you have had a good summer so far. Maybe I will see you in Kennebunk Artisan Market Place on August 14th.

February Fun~

2021-02-18T02:11:00.002-08:00

This is the weather outside our home this February. We have had
snow and more ice.

This month has been a busy month so far. We just got back from our trip to Florida, which was a fun trip.

We quarantined and then got out Covid test which proved negative. Amen.

We were able to see our grandkids again which is always fun. It is good to be back to our regular routine again too.

We have not had alot of snow this month, but have some of the light fluffy stuff which I will take any day compared to the heavy snow. I HATE the ice because of my fear of falling. However, it is pretty on all the trees and shrubs. We did not lose power which I am so grateful for in this cold weather. Not as cold as Texas though. Praying for them down there.

Love these drawers. Not from Ikea.

My DH was so good to me this month. For my Valentine gift he put these 4 drawers together and the 4 cubbies on top. He anchored the top to the bottom which is awesome because it makes the whole unit so strong. I love them.

These drawers are not from Ikea, though. I purchased them from Wayfair. They were ten dollars cheaper than Ikea and free shipping. Color me happy. I am still moving things around to fill these drawers. I have not labelled them yet til I am done moving. But I absolutely love them. They look so clean and neat. I have organized the rest of my craftroom around this inspirational drawer organization. I feel a halo about to land on top of my head.

Valentine Cards

I worked on these Valentine cards for my family. I used my Cricut machine to cut them out from My Scrapchick file that I bought. I have not heat embossed the sayings yet onto each card. I was waiting for my Versa mark pen to come so I could finish them. One said, "Toadily Awesome, Lovin every inch of you, Bee mine, and Love Bug". I thought they were wicked cute.

Happy Valentine's Day

I also made these candy

boxes for my grandkids.

This was also a file I bought from My Scrapchick. She was having a sale so I got them for half price. She is great for having sales on occasion. I love her files. Most of them are super cute.

These boxes were easy to make and held about 8 pieces of chocolate. This was perfect as we were going to celebrate Evy's 6th birthday the next day.

Birthday Girl!

Sharing

Evy is into Transformers as you can tell from her shirt. She has a new haircut too which looks adorable on her. We had great fun watching her open her gifts. She is such a good sister to , Izzy. Izzy would play with one of her gifts as Evy opened another one. Evy was fine with sharing. Both girls are so sweet to each other most of the time.

Tags for Evy's gifts

I made these tags to go on Evy's gifts. I think they are so cute. I bought them from Wish so I do not know who makes them. I colored them with my Copic markers which was fun. I did not have any Transformer stamps so this would have to do.

I will end this post with a picture I took while in sunny Florida. The weather was so great while we were there. Thanks Chris and Tom for a wonderful visit. Hope we can do it again next year without masks and hand sanitizer.

Florida

January Blues

2021-01-11T02:22:00.001-08:00

Mark's Card for his birthday

January has been a ho hum month. We have gotten some snow, but the warmer weather has brought rain which has taken all the snow pretty much away with just an inch or two left.

I like it to snow the light fluffy stuff so that I can go out and push it around and not worry about my back going out. Oh well, we will just have to wait for it.

In the meantime I am crafting for birthdays that occur in January and February. I am loving my Cricut for cutting out these awesome pieced to make a beer mug for my brother-in-law, Mark's birthday. He collects beer mugs for fun and he has quite a collection. This will be perfect for him.

I love how realistic it looks with me inking the suds a little to give it more on an authentic look. Even the gray paper I used for the actual mug gives it a realistic slant. Hope he likes it. This beer mug comes from Dreaming Tree SVG files. It only costs about , I believe, around 2.50. Much cheaper than a die.

My friend, Cindy, just bought a Cricut for herself. I went over to help her move files to her Design Space. She is a quick learner and has sent me pictures of the projects she has done since my visit.

She graciously made this "cozy" for my Cricut. It is so cute. Love the tassels that go around the outside. It will keep dust out of my machine and give it an awesome look. Thanks, Cindy!

Knobs

Happy Birthday Card

I made birthday card for my daughter-in-law, Kristin, Her birthday is in February. I used the eclipse technique again. I really like how this technique looks on cards. You can also use it to make a frame sampler, too.

I used my Stampin Up Tranquil Tulips stamps. I really like this set cause it reminds me of spring to come.

Look up the eclipse technique on Pinterest and some awesome projects come up to save.

Great technique

This well wishes card was super fun to make. I used my watercolor paint to dab onto the paper in a haphazard way. Then I used my Stampin Up stamps called Dandelion Wishes. This is a great stamp set for cards. I also used it on making coasters, too.

I purchased some knobs from Hobby Lobby cause they were on sale. You got half off most of the selection. I use them for music boxes or any box I might like to open.

The small black knob I am using on the top of my lantern as a decoration. My DH has to cut off the screw a little bit cause it is too long, but it will work great. Love a sale.

I am hoping that we will have a Spring Craft Fair to go to at USM in April or May, not sure when it might be. My sisters and I are working this winter on the possibility that we might be able to participate in it.
So I have been looking at ways we could display our work for customers to see our projects better.

Display stand

I put my wooden stamps in drawers that are labelled so that I could use this graduated stand for our goods. I think it might work. It will surely save space on the table and give the customer a better view. We will try this come spring , if we are able.

Well, I guess I will get back to work on making a new card called Outside the Box. My Favorite Things coined this name. They are selling a die for 50.00. My sister and I are making a similar card using out Cricut machine. We can make it larger or smaller which is awesome for us . Will post pictures next time.

Hope you all are well and happy. Keep safe.

After the Holidays are Here!

2020-12-30T02:38:00.001-08:00

It has been a busy winter so far. I wrenched my back shoveling the heavy wet first snow. It laid me up for about 2 weeks. No shoveling for awhile. Then I got a cold and was tested to make sure it wan't Covid-19. It wasn't, thank goodness, but it has taken awhile to get over it. I am well and back to crafting again.

I have been making these 4 x 4 frames and putting some interesting poems/ quotes in them. They are so easy to make and only take one sheet of 12 x 12 two sided decorative paper. It is all about the scoring and folding. Here is a link to the gal that gave awesome directions that I followed. It is from Mixed Up Crafts. This gal does some fabulous projects and does a great job with her videos. This one was on Youtube.

I recently made this sympathy card for my friend Helen. She lost her brother this past week. I wanted to reach out to her and let her know we are thinking of her during this difficult time. I thought these tulips from Stampin Up's Tranquil Tulips collection would work well with the eclipse technique using square dies and mounting with strips of foam adhesives. Love the way it looks. Planning on making more using this technique.

We had a lovely Christmas with family. We usually get together with my brother and sisters,but due to Covid we decided to forgo that this year. So we spent Christmas with our son and his family. It was a lovely time. One of the best gifts I got was a picture of our granddaughters. They are such sweet girls. I love to see how well they play together when we babysit once a week for them. We are so blessed to be a part of their lives. The girls love to craft in my craftroom. They make amazing projects. I thihk it is a good thing to have them start early to appreciate their creativeness.

I will end my post with a recent purchase I found on Amazon. My sister, Chris, told me about these tea lights that come in a disc that is remote controlled. I thought this was a super idea for some of my 3d projects. You can place it inside a lantern or a Christmas tree and use the remote to turn it on instead of opening it every time. Love it. You have to make sure and not lose the remote cause there is no way to turn the lights on without it.

Well I hope to post more often now that I can use my laptop in my craftroom to actually sit down and do it. I hope everyone has a happy holiday. Praying for everyone to get the vaccine as soon as possible. Happy crafting...

Fall is Here!

2020-10-28T12:41:00.002-07:00

I love crafting with my grandchildren. We are inside more now that it is the last of October. The days are shorter and colder now. The girls like to paint so I decided using Q-tips would be a cool way to do it differently. Gonna hang them up in my craftroom when they are done and paint is dry.

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I have been busy with so much going on.. I bought a Cricut since my last post and love it. It is a cutting machine that you can buy files for and just extract them and you have the most wonderful project to put together.

This is a file that I bought for a few dollars from Lori Whitlock's SVG site. It was so simple to put together the hardest part was putting in the lights.

I love the nativity scene that is in white. The Cricut machine cuts out the shapes and parts, so you just put it together. It is time consuming but well worth it after you see the results.

I have so many projects going on. I never know which one to work on next. I am trying my hand at quilling but have not finished the project on the letter C with quilling flowers and leaves around it.

As you can see in the picture below that I have started it. I really like how the tulip came out but I have way more to do...Will post a pic when I am done. Not sure when that will be with Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas around the corner.

What a great Halloween cat!

I am so looking forward to having Thanksgiving at our house. We will have our children and grandchildren for dinner. I am planning on making Pilgrim hats for our place settings. I think it will be cute. I know the girls will like it. I will post pictures when I get them done.

Evy taught me how to make this cat that she did at school for art class. It is wicked cute. We used heavier paper and google eyes. She also like using the pom pom for a nose. She was a very good teacher. Such a cute project. The girls played with the cats for most of the afternoon.

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This is the Halloween card I made for the kids. I really like the witch's hat, bat, and stockings. These are dies that I own. The spider web borders are a Martha Stewart punch I have. Happy Halloween die I bought from Wish. Not sure who made it. But I love it.

The Witch's Hat box was made from an SVG file along with the large Witch's Hat.

Happy Halloween card

For the grandchildren

For the kids

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Love seeing my grandchildren playing together.

Sorry It's Been So Long!

2020-06-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

Our Grandchildren

We are missing our grandchildren so much. This is the last photo we have of them at our house. We have been social distancing for the last 4 weeks. We have Face timed with them and our son and daughter-in-law.
I have also been recovering from total hip replacement on March 10th. Doing really well at this point. Walking with a cane but transitioning without now. It has been a long haul with so much pain before the surgery and getting through this recovery time.
Thank goodness I have my papercrafting to work on when I feel up to it. Lately I have been doing more than a few weeks ago.

Lenny' s Birthday Card

I have been working on my brother-in-law's birthday card for this month. I really enjoyed making a tropical theme cause I know that is where Lenny would like to be right now instead of inside all the time. I had these palm trees in my stash and I used some dies for the water and the hammock. The hammock is from Elizabeth Crafts Designs.

I really loved making the tropical shirt which I had made before but had not made lately. The directions are on Pinterest . It was easy to find.

Inside

We have alot of events in our family for April. Not to mention that Easter is a biggie. I worked on Easter baskets for our grandchildren before my surgery which helped alot .

Before my surgery I bought an Explore Air 2. I absolutely love it

I made this card in the box for Easter. It was from Dreaming Tree.

This company is awesome. Every project has a video for you to follow so you cannot make a mistake. I learn something everyday that I work on something.

Sometimes I make a mistake but I learn from that too.

Another Project

Love this card.

I would recommend this company to anyone looking for 3D projects. They have cards and print and cut images too.
I am working on vintage woman cards that are really wicked cute.

Evy's Easter card

This is a card I made using my dies. I cased this card from Pinterest. I changed it a little with the 2 little bunnies on the sign. I think Evy will really like these bunnies. I have a bunny collection so I am over the moon with this card.
I am working on Izzy's card now to go with their Easter baskets.
I think we will put their Easter baskets on their porch and ring the bell but stand way back or get in our car and watch them see what is in their baskets.
So hard to do. I want to give them all a big hug. I have been praying for them and the rest of my family this whole time we have been "staying at home".

Album in a box

We were planning on doing a spring craft fair in April but it was cancelled due to this virus. So we packed everything away for next April. It was to be at USM in Gorham to support their athletic program.
I made this Album in a Box for the fair. I really had fun doing this one. I used paper from Stamperia.
Well, I have to go do my exercises now to help my hip to get stronger. Will try and post more often now that I am doing so much better.
Stay safe and pray this end soon.

Christmas Fairs Are Here!

2019-10-30T03:26:00.001-07:00

We are so excited to finally be packing our van for setting up for The Italian Heritage Center Christmas Fair this Saturday November 1st in Portland. We have been working all summer towards getting ready. Time seems to go so fast when you look back.
I think we have a better set up than last year. My DH has helped us make some really great displays. He made the screens and peg boards so that we could hang our lighted frames and put shelves up to place our Christmas cones.
We also use bookcases to house our new fairy dolls that
we hope do well at the fair. They are so cute. We have

This pegboard was made by my husband.

This bookcase holds our fairy dolls

great fun making them, I even put
a doll inside a
frame that is
about gardening.
I really like that one.
We have some really cute gift boxes that would hold small gifts or candy.
There are lighted luminaries that would look great as a Christmas decoration.
We have coasters that we made from pictures of Maine's seacoast. I really like them cause they show lighthouses. My sister, Rochelle, took those photos. Putting them on coasters really makes them look even better.
We made more Christmas stars from fabric so they will last a very long time. It is pictured on the right hanging from the edge of the pegboard.

Japanese art of fabric tucking

These Christmas cones are a new addition to our crafts. We love making these too. They are time consuming but well worth the effort when they are done.
We already sold the Nativity one to my niece. I will make another one if sales on these go well.
This technique is called Kimikome. Not sure I am spelling it correctly. But it is the Japanese art of fabric tucking. You find a design you like and transfer it to the cone. The cone is not styrofoam but smooth foam. Then you choose your fabric and tuck pieces in to make the picture pop. You really get creative here.
We have the 15 inch ones in the picture but we also sell 9 inch ones too.
Of course we are selling our cards, Christmas and other occasion cards. I love how we used our ladders, that my DH made, to display them this year.
We decided to box them together and label the occasions so that people could peruse them instead of a turnaround display. Hoping this is a better way to use space.
We also made boxed sets of Christmas cards this year. We did not do that last year. I love how we used acetate to not completely cover the box so you can see in to the design. The sentiment is on the back so you do not have to open the box at all.
We have large and small gnomes this year. I think they are adorable. You can see them on the left of the picture. The small ones have a poem on the back for gift giving.

Charlotte's Birthday card

I just had to show you the birthday card I made for my sister-in-law, Charlotte. I used a new technique that I had never done before. It is a combo of an easel card and a step card. I know how much Charlotte likes the ocean so I chose to use all my dies on this theme. It folds up to a square card that you can send through the mail, but we were going to New Jersey for the football game so I decided to hand it in person.
Well, in closing I hope I see some of you at our Christmas fair this Saturday. We have one more the next weekend in Windham at the High School. This is a two day fair so we should be really busy. We have never done this fair so we are a little nervous. Wish us luck...

Christmas in Summer?

2019-07-21T07:11:00.000-07:00

I feel bad that it has been so long since my last post. I didn't realize it has been since March.

A purple gnome

In my defense, I have been wicked busy with summer activities and projects.
We are getting ready for two Christmas fairs in November: One at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland and the other one is a fair we have never done in Windham. They are a week apart so we are working like busy elves preparing for them. We have made more gnomes like the one in the picture to add to our inventory. I love making them. Their noses are the cutest.

Happy Birthday, Adrianne!

My sister, Adrianne has a birthday at the end of this month so I made this diorama card for her. I have not used this die for a little while. I love making this card because Becca Feeken's tutorial is so easy. I think I might make a few more Christmas cards using this die for our fairs.

One version of this card

Another diorama card I made using Katelyn
Lizardi's die. I got it for 15.00 marked down from 34.00. I could not pass it up. It is a diorama card but different from Becca Feeken's die. The ends are open and you make the bottom of the card the part that you add pieces to make a scene. The die cuts are from Night of Bethlehem from Stampin Up. Love this stamp and die bundle. I plan on using it for many projects for our Christmas Fair.

Here is another version of this die.

My husband and I decided to take out the bricks that we had in our front yard patio. The water would pool there when it rained right in front of our steps. It would freeze in the winter and be treacherous. Russ fell and hurt his shoulder and had to have surgery. It was a smart move on our part to have it done before the heat wave showed up.

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Our neighbor, Don is really good at working on these patios with this type of stone work. I love how it looks like we put down little smooth rocks and then we put stone dust down. It is a much bigger patio now. We will have an easier time snowblowing come winter, too.
We were able to put our patio furniture there and add a bench and two Adirondak chairs to the seating. Love it... If the weather would cool off a bit, I will be able to spend more time out there.
A new addition to our inventory is the Advent Box. It is a lovely box that uses drawers that you make and add pulls. The pulls are from Tim Holtz.

An Advent box

The hardest part to making this box is getting everything straight. I had to have my sister, Chris, guide me as I was putting the sections together to get a better fit.
I just love how it came out...

I have a lovely time with my brother and his family up from New Jersey. They stayed with us a few days and then headed to Boothbay where they had rented and Air BnB. It was located overlooking a cove. It had lovely flower gardens, too. We had a barbecue with them on their last day there. I will leave you with a picture that shows you how beautiful Boothbay, Maine is in the summer.

Boothbay in summer

Westbrook Spring/ Mother's Day Craft Fair!!

2019-03-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

A great fair

My sisters and I are so excited to be at the Westbrook Spring/ Mother's Day Craft Fair this April 27th and 28th. This is our first time there so we are super excited to meet other crafts people and new customers. The organizers have been so helpful and seem to really know what they are doing. We are hoping it will be one of our annual events.
It looks like there are many talented crafters there with great items for spring and for Mother's Day gifts. Hope we see you there!

Cork Trivets

A spring sampler

We are working on many items for this event that we think customers will enjoy!
These cork trivets are so much fun to make.
My husband makes the frame and I have been cutting the corks to fit. You have to boil them in order to make it a little easier to cut.

This spring sampler is another example of items we will be selling at the fair. I absolutely love making these. I use die cuts that I own to embellish the theme. My husband makes the frames for me. He is so talented and so good to me.
We have many unique cards. The ladder that my husband worked on to make it easier to see these wonderful Father's Day cards is perfect in order to see and touch cards

For Dad

for fathers.
He added the strips across the ladder to keep cards from falling. The cards you see here are the shirt cards. I also see an apron card and a pocket card.
I cased these other Mother's Day cards from Pinterest. Love how it looks like a dress with pears that a mother would have worn. I made the next one a little bigger.

Mother's dress card

Mother's Day card

Eclipse cards

I will end this post with the two cards I really liked doing for this craft fair. It is the eclipse method. If you look it up on Pinterest, there are many posts that will tell you how to do this technique. I used a Stampin Up stamp set; can't remember the name of the set though. It has a two step method of stamping. I like the shimmery red back paper. I think these will be a hit at the fair.

Will be posting more about our offerings for the fair in weeks to come. Be sure and check them out. Thanks for stopping by.

February Here and Gone!

2019-02-24T11:52:00.001-08:00

Working on craft fair items.

I cannot believe how fast this winter is moving along. We have had alot of wet snow lately. Today it is raining most of the day now.
I am working on items for our craft fair either this spring of this fall. I love Stampin Up's dandelion set. I used this set to make these 5 cards to put in a box to sell.

A finished project

My sister, Chris, got me interested in doing these frames with added embellishments. I love looking for quotes that add to the frame. You cannot tell from the picture but the inside is recessed so that the extras don't stick out. I plan to make more like this one.

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I have been having fun making these baskets from a die I bought from Wish. It really cuts out the fine design quite well.
You cut out 4 pieces and glue the edges together to make the basket sides. Then you cut out the bottom and glue that on.
I cut out an inch strip to make the handle and then added the ribbon and flowers. It really makes me think of spring. Now to add something to the inside.

The front

The back

The most fun I have had this month is making my granddaughter, Evy, her birthday card. I made a card in the box using some castle towers and flags. I used a punch I have to make the turrets. I have the knight die from, I think, Marianne Designs. I also used the dragon on the back.

I added two unicorns on the side which you can not see here. The girl I just printed out from my computer after searching pics of princesses. I think Evy really like it.

I also made unicorn decorated sugar cookies to go with the theme of her party. I must say that they came out pretty good.

Unicorn cookies

Evy's birthday party was alot of fun watching the kids play and interact with each other. Really made the month of February a fun month.... I will leave you with some pictures of her party.

Birthday Girl

Festive decorations

Izzy helping her sister.

2019-01-19T06:57:00.000-08:00

A New Year! More Fun!

The New Year is starting off with a bang! My sisters and I are hoping to get into a Spring fair . We have applied to the USM Gorham Spring Fair that is held in April. Won't know if we are in until after February 15th , so we are working on projects in hopes we are approved. Time will tell.

My sisters and I started a company called Sisters' Designs. Calla Lily Studio My sister, Rochelle has a blog, too. She is over at Creative Corner Studio. Here is a link to her projects: Creative Corner Studio

Our Logo

We enjoy crafting so much that we get together once a week to share and explore new ideas in crafting. We do not have a website but each of us has a blog. My sister, Chris's blog is Calla Lily Studio. Here is a link to her projects:

We are all gearing up for this year's events. Our goal is not so much to make alot of money but to help offset the expenses for our addiction: Crafting. Our husbands are a big help when it comes to setting up for fairs and taking it down. We really do appreciate their help.

Here is the latest card that I have made for my brother-in-law, Mark. His birthday is in January.. We go out to dinner to celebrate all our birthdays when they come up.

Happy Birthday, Mark!

I used some stamps that my son and his family gave me for my birthday. I love the ship and the compass. I cased the layout from a card I had saved to my board on Pinterest. I think he will like it.

Happy Birthday, Tatum.

My niece, Emma, has a daughter whose birthday is in February. I love making cards for kids. So fun. I used the stamp and die set from Stampin Up called Birthday Blast. I had the large number die set from Stampin Up and the sentiment. Wish I could make the party but will be away to Florida at that time.

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These luminaries are just two of the ones I am hoping to make for the Spring Fair. The one on the left has a handle on it and the one on the right my sister, Rochelle, made . She showed me how to make it , so of course I had to buy the die which is a Spellbinders die, I think. I am hoping to make more of them . I like using flowers and ribbon to embellish since it will be spring.

My Studio

My goal or resolution for this year is to get more organized with my crafting supplies. I am pretty happy with what I have done so far. I plan on stamping every set of my stamps in a notebook to help me find just the stamps I need for a project. I will put this in a notebook and have info on where they are in my studio

My other goal is to post more on my blog. I have not done as much this past year because of a surgery and health issues. I am feeling more like myself with foot and health issues really much better. No vertigo for ages now. Also, my hip may have piriformis syndrome. I think I spelled it right. Stretching has really helped me.

Looking forward to a wonderful year with family, friends, and crafting.

What Happened to November?

2018-12-01T06:20:00.003-08:00

I cannot believe I have not posted since October. I guess I was super busy with preparing for the Christmas Fair that I have been resting and Christmas shopping since the first of November. Time goes by too fast.
The fair was a great success! It was well attended and we made money to help pay for our hobby fun. We plan on doing the spring Italian Heritage Fair and the Christmas one next year. We also are going to do the Windham Christmas Fair. I am working on projects now to get ahead of the game, as they say.

Winter Luminary

This huge lantern made from 100 lb weight card stock is a blast to make. It sits in a base and is quite sturdy. You put a tea light inside to give it a glow. I used vellum that I put through an embossing folder. I love using materials that I have not used in awhile.

My sisters and I got this idea from a tutorial we found on Pinterest. The gal who does it did a fantastic job . The biggest problem I had was making sure I got the top part of the lantern into the base straight. I was pretty successful.

More lanterns

The other picture is of the lanterns my sisters made. It is so much fun to decorate them and turn the lights off and see how they glow. Love 'em. Here is the link to the tutorial.Large Luminary Lantern

Visiting Santa

We took the time to go with our grandchildren to the L.L. Bean winter activities where they have Santa there for photo ops. Evy would not go see him last year. This year she was braver and we got good shots of the whole family. Even Izzy was curious about him.

My craft room at its cleanest

I will end this post with my lastest great idea. I can have more than one. Anyway, I was tired of putting mats down to save my desk top, so I went to Lowe's and bought an acrylic sheet to size. They cut it for you free of charge. I was a happy girl. It only cost about $30.00. But I love the clean look it gives and easy to make it shine.

I hope to post more often now that I have break. Maybe even before Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

October, Already!!

2018-10-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how fast the time is going. I have been working hard on our up coming Christmas Fair that will be the first Saturday in November at the Italian Heritage Center in Portland. My sisters and I have been working super hard to get our display ready and our ideas for projects done.

Our Display

More of our display

Here are a few pictures of our display so far. We have set up in my sister, Rochelle's home to help us have a good idea of what we want to do the night before the fair in setting up .
We are still working on items to finish up and get placed on our table. As you can see we have been busy. It has been fun though sharing our ideas and seeing how everything looks.

We have two tables this time which meant we had to work hard to get enough goods to fill the tables. I think we have done it.
We have tile coasters, Advent boxes, wine cork holders, fabric angels, fabric pine cone ornaments, just to name a few things. There are lots more for people to see and think about for the upcoming Christmas.

Even More of our display

One of my favorites

We have frame samplers which I think are really fun to make. I get alot of good ideas from Pinterest. This "Snow" Sampler was super fun to make. I had alot of different ideas in my head, but these squares seem to work well together. My husband made a frame for this one which I painted white. It is not pictured here so you will have to come to the fair to see it totally done.
Another framed bit of art is another idea I saw on Pinterest. It is a lighted picture. I was not sure I could do it, but the tutorial I saw was a huge help.

Love the lights.

My husband made another frame for me which held the battery pack on the back. I have not painted this one yet, but am thinking a blue color.
The die cuts are from Stampin Up's Night of Bethlehem die set. Love it.
I used glue dots and foam squares to attach the die cuts to the paper. You have to be patient, but it is worth it.

Cute little guys

The most fun I had was making these gnomes . I used socks, wooden balls, fur, and the hot glue gun to construct. No sewing. I think they are adorable.
The easiest project was the one with a frame and Scrabble tiles. I saw this somewhere on Pinterest. I had an old frame hanging around, so I put dark paper on the inside and added these tiles to spell, " Oh Holy Night." How easy was that. I love it. If it doesn't sell I plan on putting it on my mantle this Christmas. I love how simple it looks. Yet tells a story.

Easy to do.

Well, I guess I need to get back to my craftroom. I am working on finishing a mini album, an altered cigar box, and making more note cards. That should keep me busy.

I want to share some of the highlights from our granddaughter, Izzy's birthday party this past August. It was so fun to watch her enjoy her day. She is a delight.

Birthday Cake-Yum

Her own cake

Opening gifts

Trying out her toys

Izzy is growing up too fast. Her 1st birthday has come and gone. She is walking on her own now. We just love her so much. Sometimes I wish time would slow down a little .

Both our granddaughters are a joy. We look forward to babysitting them any time at all.

Well on that happy note I hope you have a Happy Halloween. We are trick or treating with two lovely little girls and their parents. Happy Spooking.....

It Can't Be September Already!

2018-09-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

I have been so lazy keeping up with my blog. Sorry it has been since June . No excuses ...just have been so busy with having some fun this summer. Now it is over and kids are back to school.
My sisters and I are going to do two more fairs this fall and winter, so we are getting ready for these events now.

Christmas note cards

The note cards you see in the picture are mini cards. I bought the mini pizza boxes from Stampin Up. I decorated them with designer paper and a bow. I used stamps from Penny Black, in this picture, to make some cute little thank you notes or tags for your gifts. We are planning on selling them at the fairs.

No sew fabric ornament

We are also making the no sew fabric ornaments that you see in the picture. I used jelly roll fabric that is 2 1/2 inches wide. You cut the fabric into 2 1/2 squares. The gal in this video does a great job explaining the directions. She wants you to buy Jingle Pops by Hoffman, but they are expensive. I just went to JoAnn's and bought their jelly rolls which were much cheaper. Here is the video:No Sew Fabric Ornament Tutorial It is on Pinterest.

A Framed Sampler

Another project I finished was my Framed Sampler. I used my Stampin Up succulent dies. I have a board on Pinterest where I have saved so many examples that help me create my ideas. It is my inspiration. I like the white frame cause it really helps the squares pop.

Marianne Designs Mice

These mice are too cute. I bought the Christmas accessories that go with them and the winter clothes. I will post what they look like all dressed up and ready for Christmas.

I hope to do some projects using them to sell at the fair. Who does not like cute mice??

For Adrianne

This is a birthday card I made for my sister, Adrianne. Her birthday is in July. I got it to her late but I got it to her. I love these Stampin Up pandas. Too cute. I will be using these pandas on projects for the fairs. Not sure what I will do but it could be cards like this one. I liked it that much.

Coasters

The tiles that you can get at Home Depot are perfect for making coasters. I used designer paper and glued them on with Mod Podge. Once dry I sprayed them with an acrylic sealer. You should do two or three coats. I put cork squares on the back that I bought from an Etsy store for 10.00 for 30 squares with adhesive backing. I thought that was pretty reasonable.

My sisters and I have made more with different types of paper and we also are stampin them, too.

Well, I guess I have to make dinner now. I will leave you with a few pictures of my busy summer.

Swimming in my sister, Rochelle's pool

Cindy's French shower

Going to the beach with family

Shopping in Kennebunk

Yarmouth Clam Festival

My niece, Cindy's French bridal shower invites

Evy checking her fairy garden.

Playing with Izzy

Evy's field trip to Smiling Hill Farms

What a busy summer!

Craft Fair Fun!

2018-06-26T05:35:00.001-07:00

What fun we had at the recent craft fair in Portland, Maine. We had a table at the Italain Heritage Craft Fair. Everyone was so nice and helpful. This was true of staff at the Center staff
, fellow crafters, and customers. This was our first craft fair and we felt pretty happy with the results. Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say hello and check out our table. It was alot of fun for us.

Just a peek at our recent craft fair table.

Now that we have one craft fair under our belt we are looking ahead to the Christmas Craft Fair season. Hoping to get into at least one or maybe two fairs. We are taking it easy for the month of June.
However, I am working on some fun projects that may be on our craft table. Here is a Framed Sampler that I did for fun. It is relaxing for me to work with combining color and design in one project.
This frame was just hanging around, so I decided to make it into a work of art. I just love the combination of color here. The paper succulents is from the Stampin Up die. The butterfly was in my stash, as was the pink flower. The sentiment is from Stampin Up, too. I used white chipboard for the backing and added the cardstock colors. Pretty happy with this one. May keep it for my walls.

A Framed Sampler

This is a card I made for the craft fair that did not sell.

Mermaids are in....

I really love how it came out. I am hoping it will sell
at our next craft fair.
I used Karen Burniston's Twisted Panel die to make
this card.
I bought the mermaid stamp at Michael's where they have the stamps with the dies in one package. I do not remember the company's name .

Inside this Twisted Pop Panel

Stamping on tile

The inside of this card is so cute. I got the idea to cut out the mermaid as a silhouette from a Pinterest card I saw. Karen Burniston's die is awesome. Her video on how to put it all together is so easy to follow. I have done this card manually but it did not always come out right. This is perfect every time if you use her tips and tricks.
A new project for me is stamping on tiles. This is my first attempt using Stampin Up's High Tide stamp set. I love this stamp set. It is so versatile. I plan on using is on alot of the projects I am planning. I used an archival ink .You have to let it dry for a couple of hours or more. Most sites say to use Modge Podge and/ or then use a clear coat spray. Not sure what I am going to do next. Still waiting for it to dry.
I will then make it into a coaster with cork on the back. Love doing new things with my stamps.
Well, I am not out of the boot you say in my last post. I am wearing a compression sock and sneakers. My foot is still swelling after a time of walking so I am careful how much I am doing. But it is so nice to be walking normally.
We are back to babysitting on Fridays for our grandchildren. Missed doing that while I was laid up. They are growing so fast. I will leave you with a picture of them with their mother.

Love this picture of the 'Girls".

Working Like a Dog!

2018-05-15T08:29:00.000-07:00

Covered notepads

My sister's and I have been wicked busy making items for the upcoming Italian Heritage Center Fair on June 9th and 10th in Portland, Maine.
I just finished these folio like notepad covers. I used Graphic 45 paper. A small magnet closes the front. I made about 5 of these.
This is our first craft fair so we really aren't sure what people are looking for in paper crafts.

Mickey Mouse birthday card

This card was so fun to make since I am a Disney person. I have some Mickey paper in my stash. I also used a die cut I bought in Florida of the fairy godmother. I will have to look to see who makes this die cut.

For Aunt Linda

In the midst of all this fun work, I had to make a sympathy card for my Aunt Linda. My Uncle Myron passed away. He was my mother's brother and was the nicest man. He struggled with diabetes for years. I shall miss thinking of him in Small Point taking care of Head Beach and his campgrounds.

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I started making these block cards. I had not made these before . They are super easy and so cute. I made this one to sell for a boy. The little boy stamps are from Stampin Up. The paper is from Graphic 45. I used the little picture of a baby from this collection.
These cards fold flat so they can fit into an envelope. If you think you would like to make one, here is the link to the tutorial:
Block Step Card Tutorial

I made a baby girl one out of pink paper with about the same idea for embellishments.

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My dear husband has been helping us with displays for our craft table. He made these two card holders to set on the top of the table. They are perfect for our specialty cards. He also made a book case that holds our card in the box cards and other box like cards. Our table is going to look awesome.
Once we have finished setting it up, I will post pictures. Thanks, Dear!!

In the boot

Up date on my foot surgery. The doctor said I was doing really well and put me in a walking boot. I have about one more week and then I can get rid of the knee walker and just use the boot. Two weeks after that I can use a shoe.. Amen!
It has been alot harder than I thought it would be. Your feet are very important to have healthy. I miss working in my garden, but will be out there pulling weeds soon.
Happy Spring!

Feeling Better!

2018-04-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since my last post due to bunion surgery I had in March.
The surgery went well but the recovery is forever. I am in a cast and I have discovered that I do not like not being able to do for myself. My husband has been great. I think he misses the old me though. I even miss cleaning house, believe it or not.

Spring colors

I have been busy with my paper crafting once I was able to
get around on my knee walker better. My hobby has kept
my sanity during these last weeks. I am so thankful for that.

For Elaine...

I made a birthday card for my girlfriend, Elaine, before my surgery thank goodness. I really like how it came out. I was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.

Double Z card from a different angle

The Happy Birthday die is from Elizabeth Crafts, I believe. I made the flame for the candles from Stampin Up's bird punch. I love how it folds flat so you can put it in an envelope and send it , if you want. I handed it to her where we craft together once a week. I embossed the background with a folder I have. Not sure which one, but can check it out if you are curious.
My sisters and I have decided to set up a table at the Italian Heritage Fair in Portland on June 8th and 9th. We are hoping to just make money to help pay for all the fun materials we have purchased this year and to meet some fellow crafters. We are excited.
That is why I have been working so hard on making items to sell.
Again, this has helped me get through these difficult weeks thinking about our sale table.

The front

These cute treat boxes hold candy and you can put a gift card in the top, too. It is very simple when you follow the video. I made one a Father's Day treat box and the other is a birthday one. Here is the video on Youtube, if you are interested in making these on your own.Treat Box and Gift Card holder

The back

I bought the Elizabeth Crafts frame die. It is the smaller sized one . There is another one that is larger and more expensive. I love it cause it is so

Love this new die.

easy to use. I made this black frame and decorated it with snowflakes and used white enamel for snow drops/

The picture is a Penny Black stamp called Dressed in Snow. It is so pretty. I watched a video to help me use the inks and masks to make it look good. Love how it came out and it was my first try. Here is a link to that video on Youtube by Penny Black. She does a great job on her tutorials. Dressed in Snow

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This is the name of our endeavor on our business cards. We hope to have them on our craft table ready to hand out for people to get to know us. We purchased them from Vistaprint. Great people to deal with online.

Center Stage Scene Card

Our Logo

Today I am working on our Logo. I need to make it black and white in order to have someone make it into a stamp we can use on our sale items.
I also plan on making a sign to go over the top of our table for people to see using this graphic of us: Sisters' Designs.

Here are a few more cards I have finished for the Fair. The beach themed birthday card took me a little time because there are so many elements to it. I love how it all folds down flat for mailing.
The dragon cards are so cute and wicked easy to make. I found my inspiration on Pinterest.

I have more pictures of our projects and all but my foot is bothering me so I guess I will save it for my next post. I will not wait so long in between posts this time.
The weather is improving here. I miss walking around my gardens. I think it may be another two or three weeks before I get walking boot. Can not wait. We are anxious to babysit for our granddaughters again.
Happy Spring!

It is February Already!

2018-02-12T07:20:00.001-08:00

I just got back from Florida and what a good time we had. We spent some time with my sister and her husband in Northport. The weather was not as warm as I usually like it, but it wasn't snowing.
I have to tell you that the farmer's market was
so good in Northport. I could not believe how great

Farmer's Market

the strawberries tasted; so sweet and delicious.

Me by the Sea

We had fun shopping and eating . Two of my favorite things to do. The seafood was so fresh and yummy. I ate shrimp until my nose turned pink.
We then went to our time share at Disney and had wicked fun. The weather was a little warmer but still had light jackets on at night.
We went to Animal Kingdom alot cause it has all the new rides. The Navi River ride and Flight of Passage were awesome. We had a fast pass for it all, but if you didn't you had a 3 hour wait on Flight of Passage. No ride is worth that wait.
The Tree of Life has always been a favorite of mine. But now they have a show at night which is

What a show!

beautiful. It projects a story of nature which is so amazing. We loved it. Animal Kingdom at night is so different now

My attempts at cookie decorating

I have been working on cookie decorating with my sisters. We are practicing any chance we get. Holidays or birthdays are the best chances for making and giving away cookies since we do not want to eat them all the time.
This is my practice for my granddaughter, Evy's birthday celebration. I can do better though. I will be practicing this week to make Marshall from Paw Patrol look a little better. I will post pictures when I am done.

A Brag Book

I am working on making Brag Albums for a craft fair my sisters and I hope to do this next Christmas. This is one that I have finished. They are wicked easy to make and can slip into your pocket book or just out on your coffee table. Love them. They take only 3 sheets of 12 x 12 paper and you do not use the full third sheet. I got the directions from Country Craft Creations.

For Evy

I made this carousel for my granddaughter, Evy's birthday card. I am going to put it in an explosion box. My sister, Chris made one for the baby shower for my other granddaughter, Izzy. Evy really likes it so I told her I would make her one. Chris has the die cut that makes the top and I just used straws to hold up the top and a toilet paper roll for the center. It was wicked fun to make. I will post pictures of the completed project.

Mark's card

My last project was a birthday card for my brother-in-law, Mark. I tried to make it a little masculine. I used a design I saw on Pinterest. I was pretty happy with the results.
I am working on some crafts for craft fairs my sisters and I are thinking about doing for next Christmas. We get together once a week to work on some aspect of your crafting. It is great fun. This week is cookie decorating.
We have come up with a logo that I am working on.
This is the logo I have come up with that we all seem to like. I plan on putting this logo on the back of our business cards.

Our logo

I will post the completed business cards once I have finished everything. We are excited about our new venture. Will tell you more with my next posting.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!