Feeling Fallish...

Hi There!

While the temperatures around here are definitely not fall like, I've been busy this week putting up the rest of my fall decor. I don't have a lot for Halloween, but that may change if I find/create items that will celebrate the holiday without being too over the top. I thought maybe you'd like to see what I've come up with for the rest of the fall feeling in our home.

First up, I spent a few days creating the wreath you see here. It's made with a foam wreath circle from the Dollar Tree and a large roll of orange crepe paper. All you do is cut the crepe paper into four inch long strips, fold them in half and pin them to the wreath form. It takes a lot of pins, but no hot glue, which is nice. I saw the idea here and had a lot of fun creating this. I did a row of three loops, then a row of two loops and I'm pleased with how it came out.

Here's a close up of the decoration I came up with for the wreath. I'm pretty tickled with it. Burlap cut with a scallop circle Nestie. Gathered lace and gathered ribbon. I did pull out the hot glue gun for this piece.

After I got done with the wreath today, I wanted to work on another idea I've seen out there in blogland. I had picked up some frames from the Dollar Tree and chose papers I liked that fit my decor. I then cut letters on my Cricut with the Storybook cartridge and got this...

Ohhhh, I think adding the pumpkins to the apothecary jar, the wreath and the framed letters adds a nice touch to the vignette I've come up with. Yay! I found those little pumpkins in the jar at Joann's yesterday day. I got a decent sized box filled to the brim with the little guys for $5. 

On the coffee table this is what you see...

I'm not 100% convinced I like the leaf ball, it may be changing (I stuck the leaves into a stryrofoam ball). You see more of those little pumpkins in the metal basket I found this week at a Goodwill in Denver (for 50 cents or so) and I also found that cute little fabric pumpkin on the same shopping trip to Joann's yesterday.

I changed out the flowers heere and added a ceramic pumpkin from the thrift store.

And on the porch, I crocheted a bunch of leaves and added them to the poles. The picture doesn't do them justice, I don't think. 

I found a nice spot for that garland of pumpkin lights. *Ü*

Back inside...

I found this pillow at Joann's too. I admit it, I splurged, but I think it was worth it. I smile when I see it. Oh and the leaf garland (there are actually two strands) were tucked inside a bag of foliage I picked up at the thrift store. I don't pay more than a couple of bucks for a bag and I was pleasantly surprised at the treasures tucked inside!

And another little vignette by the tv. Most of the foliage you see here was picked up at the thrift store as well as the vases (but I got those months ago).

I'm happy with the mood I've created in the house. I don't think anyone else really notices, but I do smile when I look around, so it's worth it for that.

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Hope you have a great end to your week!

Looking Like Fall and a card for you to see...

Hello there! And a Happy Sunday to you. I've got a few minutes before the Broncos game starts and I thought I'd share a card front I made yesterday.

I did my thrift store rounds yesterday and found a bag of what looks to me to be leather (maybe it's fake, I don't know) on sale for $1.50 or maybe $2. Either way, it was a steal. And I couldn't wait to try using it on a card. First, here's a picture of what I bought...

Part of the bag was filled with these long 2 inch strips of what looks like leather, and this

Two decent sized pieces of this reddish leather. It's obvious it's scraps from a project. Under the leather you see a remnant of denim I picked up awhile ago at Joann's.

And here is the card I made with a little piece of the strip...

I ran it through my cuttlebug and it cut very easily. Then I took a piece of that denim and ran it through. That took a couple of passes to cut. I wanted a layer between them, so I grabbed some green tulle (also from the thrift store) and ran it through the bug, too. I knew I wanted to use the jean pocket stamp from CTMH and I really liked how it looked using the Baily paper pack from K & Co. I added Brown Bag ink to the edges of the papers and sponged a little over the jean pocket, too. Oh and that button! I found it in my stash, and you can't really tell, but the "stitches" on it are kind of gold. To attach the pieces together, I initially planned on using a brad, but I can't find the ones I wanted to use (hence the button). So, I took a needle and thread and tacked them together to be sure they stayed put, then I stitched it to the base of the card front. The button is glued because I cut the shank off. I'm pretty pleased with the look. *Ü*

I've got the card front propped up in front of a fabric pumpkin I picked up at the thrift store last week. 

Here's the pumpkin:

Isn't it cute? I couldn't make it for $1.50! I've got it set out on my coffee table and I smile whenever I look at it.

 I've not taken out my fall stuff yet, but I have picked up a few items at the thrift store.

I just got the fabric pumpkin you see yesterday. Last week I found the wooden one, with the leaves on the top and the other one is from 2 weeks ago. I think I spent $5 total for all three of them!

Here's the bookshelf you see as you walk into the house. I'm developing a thing for pumpkins I think. LOL

And this is a garland that has plastic pumpkin lights attached! All but one of the lights work, too! I'm not sure where I am going to put it as it isn't very long, but for $1.50 I couldn't pass it up. LOL

I also changed out the foliage in the basket I have on the porch with some lovely fall leaves. 

When I go to Joann's, Michaels, etc, I  can't see spending what they want on the fall foliage when I have been sooooo lucky finding neat things for a lot less at the thrift stores.

Okay, that's it from me today! 

Hope you have a super start to your week.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Girl Birthday Card (Heidi Don't Look if You Want to Be Surprised)

We met Annabelle through swim class and she and Jessica are "bffs." Since we've stopped swim lessons, we don't get to see her (or Heidi, her mom, and Ryan, her brother) as often. Annabelle loves horses, and I don't have any horse themed stamps either, so I went on a hunt for a digital image and found a super cute one created by Meljen at Whimsy Stamps. You can find her super cute (and just my style) images here. She also has a fun blog here.

Okay, here's the card:

Obviously, I was still in the mood to color, only this time with odorless mineral spirits and colored pencils. I was kind of smart on this image, I decided on a pattern paper (Making Memories) I wanted to use first, THEN chose the colors for the image. Most often I color it first, then scramble through tons of paper to find one that will work with what I colored. LOL Not much else to say, as you can tell what I did from the card. I really enjoyed coloring it and I hope that Annabelle (and her mom, Heidi) will like it. 

I SO want to buy a ton of images from Meljen Designs, but am being strong and disciplined. (I know, boring, huh) I am making a concerted effort NOT to buy stuff for scrapping/stamping as I don't honestly NEED anything. I made an exception on this image because I didn't have anything like this (I looked through ALL my digital stuff). And wouldn't you know...Kay Miller Designs and Nitwit Collections both have new digital  kits out. It is soooooooo hard not to snatch them up. Sigh...

Oh well, thanks so much for stopping by again. The girls are off school tomorrow (teacher in-service) and so we have a three day weekend...yay.

Birthday Card for Aaron (Becky Don't Look if You Want to Be Surprised)

Hi there!

We've got a couple of birthday parties to go to this weekend and I'm happy to say that I've created cards for each. Yay, me!

In this post I'll share the one I created for our friend Aaron, who is about one month older than Jessica. The kids have pretty much grown up together as Becky and I met through a women's group and then attended MOPS together.

Here's the card:

I don't have many stamps that are "boy" related, so I went through my stash of digital images and found this one purchased from Dustin Pike's Doodle Dragon Studios sometime last year I think. I don't see it available for purchase any more. He has a blog that's fun to read. Anyway, his dragons and critters are super cute, and I was in the mood to color with markers, so that's what I did (yep, the dark blue "space" piece is colored in, too and I don't think I'll do that again anytime soon, but Aaron is worth the effort). Then I thought it might be fun to add some glitter with my gelly roll pen to spice things up. For the floating sign, I opened the image in PSE and added text before printing it off. What you can't tell is that I used pop dots on the two floating images. Oh well, at least you can see the glitter. On the inside I printed off and colored another floating sign and added "hope it's out of this world." The card got thumbs up from the girls, so I hope Aaron will like it, too.

In the next post, I'll share the girly card I created for Annabelle. (Heidi, don't look if you want to be surprised).

Thanks for stopping by!

Boatload of Bread and A Few More Cards...

Hi there!

I'm happy to report that we were able to attend Math Night last night and I didn't miss a minute of the finale of America's Got Talent. *Ü* Steve even got to do his regular "old man's workout" with his buddy Dave, too! The school had scheduled two sessions for the evening, so that parents could attend a session per child. I got to thinking, after my post, that each of us could attend a single session for each girl and be done sooner. Steve was quite agreeable. So, we were finished much earlier than I earlier thought. And as a super special bonus, the parent teacher group has been holding a raffle of baskets full of educational fun stuff as a way of raising money for the group. Of course, the girls want to enter. Well, we found out (after we left) that Amy's name was drawn as a winner of one of the baskets! I'm not sure what all was in it, yet. I'll see it when I pick her up from school today. I'd call last evening a success all around. And, it was a pure treat to see the expression on the winner's face at the end of the show last night.

Now, onto the boatload of bread part of my title. In my continual quest to shop frugally, I remembered today to actually GO to the Oroweat bakery outlet not too far from our house. And I was SO glad I did! Look at all this bread I picked up:

The Italian bread is a recent find from the grocery store. I'm sure it's always been there, but I hadn't paid attention until I tried a recipe where it called for that type of bread. It sure is yummy and the girls have chosen it for the sandwiches they want in their lunch. I got both of the loaves for less than the price I paid for a single loaf! The Rye bread is a treat for Steve ($1.39) and the sourdough loaf is a treat for me (99cents). The Thins (next to the bagels) we haven't tried because they are at least $2.50 in the store, here 99cents, great price to at least try them! In fact, the rest of the items were 99 cents a piece. I got one of the muffins free for spending over $7. Grand total spent: $8.64 with tax! Can't get this stuff in the store for anywhere near that amount! The muffins alone went up to almost $3.50 a package a week or so ago. I was so doing the happy dance after that visit  (quite possibly almost skipped out to the van) and you can be sure I'll remember to go regularly.

*Ü*

And now, onto the cards. This first one is my re-try at sewing. I opted not to do a zig-zag as the image is large and I decided it would look too busy. This is Sparkle's super sweet Swimming Ruby image. I lurve it!

And...true confession time...I had a little extra birthday money and I picked up a couple of Copic markers at Hobby Lobby with it. One color is E00 I think...a skin color. I also got a light gray and a light blue for going around the images when I use markers to color. The other markers used on the card are either Bic Mark-its or Sharpies. I'm really happy with how the coloring turned out!

As you can see I DID try the zig-zag on this next card. My friend, Kari gave me the tip to practice first on a different piece of cardstock. Slap me upside the head, I didn't even think to do that yesterday. Thanks, Kari!

The image is one that Kathi sent me a long time ago. I've been hoarding them, but you know what? I decided to just go for it and colored up a bunch of images last Sunday while watching the Broncos game. Again, I used markers on this image. I'm so glad I didn't mess it up, though. I pulled out the Nesties, oval and Labels One.

That's it from me today. I hope you are having a terrific day.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Thinking of You and Thanks So Much Cards

Happy Wednesday to you! 

Today, after I did a little housework, I decided to work on some cards. I'm sharing two of them, but I made three. I sewed on the third one I made, but decided that I really need to go back and try again with the sewing as I think it looks horrible (Methinks zig zag stitching and I don't get along too well). I just didn't have time to go back and do it again today.

I was completely enamored with the card Barb shared today on The Buzz. And I decided to case it, but with my own little twist. For my birthday, my friend, Kelly, sent me a Michael's gift certificate and my brother, Jim, sent me a check. I combined the two to purchase the Cindy Loo Cricut cartridge (on sale, whoohooo). I wanted to use it in my thank yous. This is what I came up with for Kelly.

I used DCWV's Linen Closet paper and a bit of Twilight ink (CTMH). I finally got to use some of the lace I picked up in Sioux Falls. Adding the little pearls finished the look I was after, I hope.

This next card is my version of one I saw on Pat's Just4Fun2 blog here. I really like how the black pops off the white.

I used a Hero Arts stamp and some ribbon from my stash that I purchased at Michaels a long time ago. The Thinking of You is from a Verve set. I originally stamped the sentiment onto the card, but wouldn't you know, I stamped it crooked! So, I covered up the boo-boo.

I was kind of bummed when I realized I needed to clean up for the day and go pick up the girls.

Oh well, I know I can go back to it another day...maybe tomorrow??

Do any of you watch America's Got Talent? Tonight is the finale, where they will announce the winner. I've really enjoyed it all season. That talent has been super and varied for sure. All 4 of the acts in the running are very, very good. I suspect the 10 year old opera singer might win as she has an absolutely gorgeous voice. She sang Ave Maria (spelling?) and gave me goosebumps. Up until last night, I thought Prince Poppycock might take it all, but I do believe he blew it on his final performance. Michael Grimm, who sings jazz/blues, is also very, very good. He sang great last night. Fighting Gravity has such a unique act, too. I can't imagine how one goes about selecting a favorite because their talents are all truly unique. I hope I don't miss the finale. They are starting it one hour earlier and wouldn't you know, we have a school function to go to that ends at the time the show starts!  I don't have a DVR and our VCR doesn't work well, either. I'm sure they won't announce the winner until the very end, so I shouldn't miss that part.

Okay, that's enough from me today.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I sure appreciate the visit.

More Organizing and a Card!

Well, I worked some more today on getting things organized in my crafty space. And I've got pictures! I measured again and the switcheroo of the bed and computer desk wasn't going to work, which is just as well because Steve wasn't too keen on the idea anyway. 

This is the file cabinet I moved from the garage into the house. I may end up making some sort of cover for the top as it is pretty ugly. I've been trying to figure out what to put in that two tiered basket. The vintage buttons in there now are the third attempt to put something in there. I got the buttons at the thrift store. They were included in a huge plastic bag full of all kinds of buttons and other notions. I think I paid $2 for the bag!

I initially put all these little containers in that two tiered shelf, but quickly realized that was a huge mistake. I would never rummage through all the containers. So, I took two old and very used cookie sheets and put them on those.These containers have magnets on the bottom. I had them on the metal door in the garage. The cookie sheets fit nicely on the keyboard shelf on this old computer desk in the corner. The desk is now acting as a tv stand. Anyway, the trays tuck away nicely.

Here's the left side of the hutch. I've put something in just about every jar I've picked up at the thrift store!

The shelf above my Cricut is where I had the boxes that hold the cartridges. I took the cartridges out of their box and put them in the white basket. Then I took the keypads and put them in the white notebook you see there. Right now, they all fit pretty well. And it all takes up much less space. Yay!

Here's the right side of the hutch. That top shelf has a ton of buttons. I need to start USING them!

Here's the current status of the left side of the closet. Lots of ribbon and more buttons. I don't need to buy another button in this lifetime!

In the garage, I organized, too, but it's not nearly as exciting, so I didn't take pictures.

When I was finished for the day, I treated myself to making a card. A simple card.

I was inspired by a card made by Kelley Eubanks (of the My Front Porch blog) that was published in the current issue of Papercrafts. I used the same stamp, but different embossing powder. I don't think you can tell very well, but I used glitter pens to fill in the spots on the butterfly. I am really pleased with how it came out. Maybe if you click on it, you can see it better.

That's it from me, today! Imagine that, two posts in as many days! Wow.

Have a good one, and thanks for stopping by.

Organizing Garage Room/Crafty Space

Last night, the hubby asked me if I could work on clearing out some space in the garage room  this week for the soon to come weight bench. I got to work right after my breakfast.

I needed to clear out under the table that was positioned like a peninsula in the garage and tuck it away. To do that, I needed to clear off some modular shelves I had sitting on it. I got an idea to use those shelves in the closet in the house for storage. Okay, for more efficient storage. I took some pictures of the closet before I got started and again as I finished up for the morning. And I'm willing to share the ultra embarrassing photos, just in case it might inspire someone else.

Before:

Top portion of the closet. Sort of had some organization there, but stuff still ended up getting stashed haphazardly

Middle/bottom of wire shelf unit. All of those milk jugs with water are for the fish tank (20 gallon, I think) when Steve cleans it. He changes the water every single week. It used to be just one shelf, but for some reason, he needs a lot of water for the task. Oh and he warms the water up, too, before he puts it into the tank. Spoiled fish, huh? LOL

Okay, the shelf above all the water had Steve's rockets on it and a couple of kites that belong to the girls. Oh and a pair of ice skates for Steve. All of this stuff got moved out onto the same shelving unit in the garage.

Other half of the closet. Stash and dash, what can I say?

Too much stuff in too small of a space, for sure. It has been a bugger to get that ironing board out, I can tell you. Good thing I don't do much ironing or I might have to break it in frustration. LOL Steve irons his own shirts. Am I a good wife, or what? LOL

And now some after, but not quite finished pictures:

Top shelf area.

Mid shelf, where all the rocket stuff was.

Other side of the closet...I think the ironing board will be easier to get in and out of the closet now. 

Yay, for Steve!

And the top portion of that side.

I also moved into the house another filing cabinet I had under the table that is now tucked away in the garage. I took the drawers out and lugged it into this room. Then I had to keep it on its side so I could put the drawers back into it, before tilting it into position. Why did I have to do that? Because the bed that is also in the crafty space got in the way. I can't open the drawers all the way, but enough to make them functional. I need all the storage space (preferably hidden) I can muster in the room. I took a picture, but it's super blurry, so I'll have to take it again later.

I'm going to ask Steve if we can move move the bed to where the computer desk currently sits, and move the desk along the wall where the bed currently resides. Then that file cabinet will be fully functional. I'd do it myself, but I don't want to mess with the computer stuff. She says, with the voice of hard learned experience. 

And that's all the time I had today to devote to the project.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a great week.

Thanks So Much, Card and a Thrifty Find...

Hi There!

Thanks for the belated birthday wishes sent my way. You are so sweet!

I've been trying hard to get back into a housekeeping routine, but I haven't quite gotten in the groove, yet. I'll get there, but sometimes I feel like I am spinning my wheels. LOL

And since I finished the top I crocheted, I've been sort of spinning my wheels about what I want to work on next. I've started a couple of things, but not sure about them yet. Looking forward to getting into a groove there, too.

Today Steve and the girls went on their annual hike with our friend Dave, which meant I had a quiet house after I was done with my thrift shopping. *Ü* I've been on the hunt again for some storage items for the crafty space as Steve now wants to use the garage room for a weight bench and treadmill. That means I have to reorganize the storage in the garage to make room for those items. Today, I found something that will work great for most of my non-CTMH clear stamps! And it was under $3! Whoohooo!

I've also got my Nestabilities in there, too. It spins really smoothly and I'm so glad I found it. 

While I wanted to work on cards all afternoon, I also knew that I needed to move a few things back into the house, so part of my time was spent doing that. But, I did manage to create one card before everyone got home.

I let all my magazine subscriptions run out several months ago and I'm not renewing them, so it's been a long time since I've looked through a papercrafting magazine. A few weeks ago, I was inspired by a card I saw on Aaron Brown's  Booth #32 blog, here, She was inspired by the recent issue of PaperCrafts magazine. She took a picture of the card in the magazine that inspired her. Love how that works. Anyway, the next time I was at Joann's, I took a peek and saw several card ideas I liked, so I bought it, with a coupon, of course! 

Today was the day to go through the magazine again and decide which design I wanted to try. As you can see, I chose to use the Cuttlebug embossing strips that Alanna gave me (thanks again, Alanna!). I really thought the embossing looked great on the kraft cardstock on the card in the magazine. I also used the crimper. Can anyone tell me just how you keep the cardstock straight while you run it through the crimper? I have a feeling I once knew, but I honestly cannot remember. The inspiration card used yellow and white gingham ribbon, and I KNOW I have some, but one of my boxes of wound ribbon has mysteriously vanished and I'm sure the ribbon I wanted to use was in that box. Sigh. So, I decided to use this American Crafts ribbon instead. The background cardstock is textured and is from DCWV's Linen Closet stack. I embossed the straight lines and chalked them so they would stand out more. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Mixed Messages set stamped in CTMH Autumn Terracotta.

I was all set to start another card when the troops came home and my quiet time was done. Ah well, getting one done is a whole lot better than getting none done, right?

I hope to be back soon with more to share. Thanks so much for stopping by! I sure appreciate the visit.

In closing, I thought I'd share a photo that Amy took while on their hike. I thought it was sweet.