All Occasion Card

I love making these all-purpose cards.

It can be used as a thank you, thinking of you, just saying hi, get well . . . 

You get the idea.

I threw this one together really quickly as the sketch was so easy to work with.

I followed it pretty much exactly, but the possibilities are endless and I will likely use it again.

It's Card Patterns Sketch #155.

What's Card Patterns?

An amazing weekly card sketch blog!

You should check them out, tons of inspiration to be found:

Card Patterns

But wait, there's more.

I sewed on this card. SEWED.

Well, kind of.

I sewed the buttons to the flowers.

It took more time than it should have because the needle did not want to go through those flowers.

I am happy to report that my fingers are all still here and I didn't bleed on anything.

I'm starting to think I'm in the wrong hobby for one who doesn't do well with sharp things.

Have a happy Tuesday!

My favorite snack!

I'm trying something new today.

It's not crafty, but it can be.

I want to let you know about one of my all time favorite foods.

Corn relish.

You heard me right, corn relish.

It's good on crackers. It's great with grilled fish.

It's amazing straight our of the jar with a spoon.

(It must be cold!)

My parents make it.

My sister and I have been known to smuggle jars into our suitcases when we visit.

I always thought it was some extraordinarily difficult secret family recipe

that would have me slaving in the kitchen for hours 

after growing my own corn and peppers.

Nope.

The following recipe is from the Ball canning website - freshpreserving.com.

You will need:

2 cups white vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
4 cups cooked corn kernels (about 8 ears)
2 cups diced mixed red and green bell peppers (about 2 large)
3/4 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 small)
1 Tbsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

1.) PREPARE boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.
2.) COMBINE vinegar, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add corn, red and green peppers, celery, onion, mustard, celery seeds and turmeric. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
3.) LADLE hot relish into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.
4.) PROCESS filled jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

I will confess that I have not made it myself yet.

I'm afraid it just won't taste the same.

So, it's time for a trip and some extra room in my suitcase!

I do plan on trying it someday, let me know if you do, too!

Oh, and how can it be crafty?

Well if you're able to part with it you can make a tag & bow for the jar.

If you're able to part with it.

Simple Flower Tutorial

Disclaimer: This technique has probably been done a thousand times by people in every corner of the world.

I have not seen it done before, but that does not mean it's not out there.

I'm simply sharing a fun little flower that I made a few days ago.

Handmade flowers are all the rage it seems.

What I like the most is that they can be as simple or as elaborate as YOU want them to be.

All you need to make this one is a circle punch and some scissors.

Don't have a circle punch? You can cut some circles with your Cricut.

Or you can trace the bottom of a glass and cut it out.

Just get yourself two circles that are the same size.

I'm going to let the pictures show you step-by-step how I did it since I pretty much stink at giving instructions.

^Those are kinda cute. Add something to the center and you have yourself a darling little flower.^ 

Any question, please ask. 

These are so easy and fun to make!

Once you make one you will likely make a "few" more.

Oh, and use scrap paper! You know you have tons of it.

Don't you dare cut into new paper to make these flowers,

they're perfect for using up scraps.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, let me know if you give it a try!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner, Part Deux!

I guess I'll have to stop saying 

"I never win anything."

Another package full of goodies!

This time from Jenn over at Jenn's Doodles.

I won her Valentine's Day giveaway . . . 

Love! You see that washi tape? Squeeeeeeee!

I haven't used it yet, I've just been petting it.

So, THANK YOU to Jenn.

Go check out her blog, she's a super talented sweet lady!

A Special Birthday Gift

Yesterday we celebrated our daughter Megan's 11th birthday.

The wonderful age that is too grown up for toys and games,

but not quite old enough for makeup, iphones and laptops.

We decided to get her gift cards to her favorite stores.

And, of course, I could not simply give her a gift card in an envelope.

This is a tin that held hot cocoa, it was a regifted Christmas gift.

I used the gorgeous October Afternoon papers that I received from Jolaine's giveaway.

I used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the tin and a coat over the top to protect it.

Here are the sides of the tin  . . . 

I'm going to add a monogram to the lid.

The lid would not fit on top due to the height of the tags (measure twice, cut once?),

so I punched a hole through the lid and the side of the tin and tied it on with some Doodle Twine.

I can't remember where I got the phrase stickers, EK Success maybe?

I've had them for a while and I thought the sentiments worked perfectly for this project.

Then it was on to tag making.

I won't bore you with all of the gory details, but it involved lots of Glimmer Mist,

stencils, ink and ribbon.

Then I adhered the gift cards to the backs of the tags . . .

It was the perfect gift for the perfect girl.

Her face lit up and she said, "I can't believe you would go to all of this trouble just for me."

Oh, if she only knew. We'd move the Earth for them, wouldn't we?

Tomorrow we tackle the mall. Wish me luck!

Anniversary Card

I've seen so many gorgeous monochromatic projects lately

that I just had to sit down and create something of my own.

It's tricky working with such a limited color palette,

but I'm really happy with the way this card turned out.

My Big Shot got A LOT of use on this card!

Looking at it now I kind of wish I hadn't added the greenery,

but I still love it.

I used three different sets of Spellbinders and layered them.

I embossed the bottom and top layers using some Cuttlebug folders.

The rolled flowers --  who knew they were so easy?!

I cut out a circle with my circle punch and cut a sloppy spiral.

Then rolled it up and added a pearl to the center.

Easiest. Flower. Ever.

Here's the sentiment on the inside:

I'm entering this in the challenge over at Charisma Cardz.

http://charismacardz.blogspot.com/2012/02/challenge-6-anniversary.html

Products Used:

Spellbinders Foliage

Spellbinders Rose Creations

Spellbinders Eyelet Circles

Spellbinders Fleur De Lis Motifs

Spellbinders Blossom Tags and Accents

Cuttlebug Folder D'vine Swirls

Cuttlebug Folder Stylized Flowers

Liquid Pearls Silver Pearl

Zva Creative self adhesive pearls

Hello!

Today I wanted to see just how many of my fun new toys I could cram onto one card.

Some masking with a new stencil and chalk ink,

layering with some new Spellbinders, 

and a whole family of butterflies. 

The twine is new, too. Isn't that the most gorgeous shade of blue?

It may look like a jumbled mess to some,

but I love all of the different colors and textures.

Unlike so many of my cards,

this one can actually fit in a regular envelope

and go straight into the mailbox.

I'm very excited about that!

Products Used:

Spellbinders - Blossom Tags and Accents

Spellbinders - Butterflies

Doodle Twine - Swimming Pool

Liquid Pearls - Silver Pearl

Distress Ink - Black Soot and Vintage Photo

Patterned Paper - DCWV Citrus and Natural

Doggy Love

Happy Heart Day, friends!

I will admit to not being a huge fan of the holiday hoopla.

I'd rather receive a bunch of daisies on a random Thursday

as opposed to an $85 vase of roses on Valentine's Day.

In honor of this day of love I am sharing some pictures

of two creatures that definitely have my heart.

They are Daisy (she's the one with white on her face) and Brodie - 

our adorable, silly, trouble making Boxers.

You will rarely find one without the other and as you will see

they usually have to be touching each other.

I hope the pictures make you smile!

Graduation Hat Card

First, let me apologize for being such a horrible blogger.

The sun was hiding from us for a long period of time which completely zapped my creativity.

Yesterday the glorious sun returned to us and kindly delivered my mojo back to me.

A neighbor over on Scrapbook.com asked a question regarding graduation cards.

A quick Google search led me here.

Of course I had to try it and I'm so glad I did!

Isn't it adorable?!

Here's what it looks like when you open it up:

I want to find some sort of stamp for the top.

I'm sure Michael's will have something available soon in their $1 spot.

I just did a simple "Congratulations" on the bottom

which leaves plenty of room for a personal message.

I'm going to play around with it because I bet a cut in the top

of the large white piece of paper would make a perfect

slot for a gift card.

My favorite part of the card is the cute little tassel.

You can buy those tassels,

but this one was essentially free because it's just a piece of ribbon!

Watch the tutorial and you will want to make one, too!