Love You More

Posted on | December 4, 2011 | 5 Comments

I was a bit giddy when I saw one of the stamps in the new Love You More set that is being released tomorrow by WPlus9!

Back in the days, before I knew such a quote existed, I used to say to hubby, then boyfriend, “I love you more today than I did yesterday”. Fast forward to 2011 and now and then we’d say it still. So, when I saw the stamp I knew who I wanted to give the first creation to. I did show it to hubby before I photographed it and he went “awwww”.

Love it, Dawn! I now have a stamp with my favorite quote on it!!

This is a short and sweet post. Do though visit the other DTs to see what they created today!

She Got Teary Eyed

Posted on | December 2, 2011 | 10 Comments

Because I made her the above. I’ve never seen Emma so happy to receive a handmade item from me and so all the work (up until 2 a.m. and spent a good two hours just cause I suck at sewing) was completely worth it!!! I left the book on top of her uniform yesterday morning and while not captured on camera, the excitement that I saw on her face was just like Christmas morning — probably better!

Card making’s fun, scrapbooking makes preserving memories prettier but the best part of crafting is making something that would make Emma smile (and Jovie too when she understands/appreciates more). Yesterday’s event is really making me want to (non-paper) craft more which basically means I need to toughen up a bit and learn how to sew and crochet better and take some knitting lessons. I’d love to make the girls a cute fabric play tent/house, a knit hat or arm warmers, and cute dresses with awesome (designer) fabric. I’d love to cross stitch more too and do some hand appliques on the girls’ clothing. Maybe I can make this as my 2012 goal! I hope!! {::SMILES}.

I’ve been wanting to make this for ages. Since school started. But obviously I never got to it until the other night. It’s not that I haven’t had the time but the sewing made me a terrible procrastinator. The cloth covered book idea came from Sarah Martina (and she did insist I could do it) but instead of all the way fabric, lace and buttons, I went paper, twine and a bit of ric-rac.

I used WPlus9′s VERY new Heartfelt Mix and matching dies + new dies for the older (but still awesome) Love Birds set. To adhere everything I used dimensionals and fabric glue. So far they seem to be holding up but we’ll see!

I LOVE the fabric. I know it’s a designer fabric but not sure who. I got a few different bits from an Etsy seller some while back. I made an apron for Emma with one piece and the rest are still untouched.

I hope you enjoy this little project. Don’t forget to visit the other DT’s page to see what they did with these new goodies from WPlus9.

Take care and more tomorrow!!

My Photography Biz

Posted on | October 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

The last few months I’ve been busy with my photography business. I’ve done a little bit of behind the scene stuff but mostly I’ve been trying to shoot as often as I can and if possible with a model. In photography term I’ve been portfolio building.

For one of my neighbor friend, a maternity and couple session, I put a few pictures onto a CD. While the original intention was to slip the CD into a protective case, none could be found. I looked and looked and finally decided to make one using a piece of 12×12 paper that came with my Scarlet Lime Frugal Fab kit. Using a Scor-Pal (YES! Second time using this since I got it 2-3 years ago), I scored the paper (5″ x 5″). Then I fold and later trim according to size.

See how simple the back is? I just used my corner rounder, glue and a cute little blue brad. I wanted to use velcro to adhere the flap but couldn’t find any and so I just used dimensional adhesive. It closed really well but it can only be used once or twice. Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, right?

Enjoy your Thursday and until next time!!

House Mommy

Posted on | October 22, 2011 | 2 Comments

We all can’t be June Cleaver. Hubby would go broke if I even attempt it. I mean the hairdresser alone would give our pocket book a nice dent!

I did attempt it though last Saturday. I went to gymnastics and then the market with proper ladylike clothing and even a pearl necklace. I did my hair too and dug out a proper handbag from my closet!! June would have been so stinkin’ proud of me!

I’ve been dressing up a bit the last few weeks. While I wanted to look a bit more presentable, the hubby and the M have been griping about my looks. Hubby’s the kind of guy who changes into day time clothes soon after he gets out of bed and I can stay in my PJs (whatever t-shirt I can find and flannel pants) all day or even two days in a row (I used to go to my college classes in the clothes I slept in too). Emma loves to dress up and I’ve pretty much been wearing the same thing every four days – whatever’s on top of the clean laundry pile whether they match or not. More than once my 7-yrs-old have told me to go change because I looked embarrassing.

Yesterday I had a little sweater, nice slacks and a tidier hair do. Emma loved it. She said I looked very nice. Then after I got M from school I changed into some old t-shirt, pants and a house coat that’s full of stains (from my ink pads mostly). I went to see M for something and soon after she saw me she said, “Ahhh, it’s house mommy again. I love it when you dress up nice.” She seriously looked disappointed that I changed.

Maybe I have been taking “casual look” a bit too far. It’s just hard to get all dolled up when I know I have (dirty) chores to do around the house and a 2-yrs-old who can lay her dirty fingers on me at any moment. I’d like to be able to sit on the floor, the grass, etc. without worrying about my light colored pants getting dirty.

This whole dressing up thing did make me wonder about those living thousands of years ago. I wonder if husbands/children back then ever complain about their mom’s loin cloth skirt. I wonder if there was a village style icon that the ladies look up too.

Do you ever think of things like that?

Anyhoot, a little altered piece that I did using pieces from Scarlet Lime, the main October kit. FUN project I did here!! This was a gift for a little girlie. It’s a regular, soft cover, writing book that I covered and did a bit of simple decorating. It took me 30 minutes to do, more less, and from what I heard, the recipient loves her gift.

Flowering Jasmine Tea

Posted on | December 5, 2010 | 1 Comment

Guess what we all did yesterday? NOTHING! Hubby and M made our $9.95/mo Netflix subscription totally worth it yesterday I think. Since hubby woke up, him and M have been watching TV. M loved it (even though all they watched were documentaries and Dirty Jobs) because it’s not something I let her do. Also, she doesn’t see her daddy much because of his work schedule so she was soaking it all in. I got a nap in and Jovie… well, it was another busy day for her as usual: She made a lot of mess and I picked up here and there {::SMILES}.

Today I have a little candle project. This was my place settings at Thanksgiving. I know, not Thanksgiving colors but hey, after all the earth tones a dab of color was refreshing. This project was pretty simple. I cut a 12×12 paper to size the height I wanted and used a border punch to beautify it. The seam binding and twine + button finished this up. The candle was a Yankee Candle, the small jar, and I thought it was perfect for a little giftie.

Oh, see the bit of painting on the background there? M did that. I love her art work! The base had a 50% off sale some months ago and we got some real artist canvas and acrylic paint. M felt so grown up using them {::SMILES}.

Last but not least, I want to show you this tea I drank when I went to London to meet up with our friend at the dim sum restaurant. It was a flowering Jasmine tea and I wasn’t quite ready for the tea I ordered. Have you had one before? The taste was great as long as you don’t sip the last few sips an hour later unless you love strong bitter tea.

Materials:

Pattern paper: SEI
Accessories: Martha Stewart border punch and seam binding, jute twine from Etsy, and button from stash
Tools: Sizzix and tag die-cut