{Pinwheel} 4th of July Summer Wreath

Hi Crafters,

Happy Summertime!!  I've been off from school for a few days and my poor backdoor needed a facelift! My husband painted it red a few weeks ago and I hadn't put a wreath back up yet.

I've been enjoying all the pinwheel projects floating around! I took off to see if I could find a free file, lo-and-behold I found this great one Free Pin Wheel SVG file from Sure Cuts A Lot

I cut the 3 pinwheels at 5,6, and 7 inches high. I used a brad to hold the outer points together.

I cut out some stars using the stars I had available on the cartridges I already owned to make a star banner across the top. I hot glued those to 3 pieces of patriotic Trendy Twine and used the twine to hold the wreath on the hook.

It's a perfect addition the back porch! I will be spending quite a bit of time in that amazing hammock swing my husband got me for my birthday this summer!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Crafting,

Easter Banner with the Cricut Explore

Hi Crafters,
I love quick little home decor projects. We have a post on the side of our fireplace between our great room and kitchen. I have a little screw that I use to put up seasonal decor. Here's some fun spring Easter decor I made last weekend.

I started with 3 simple banner pennants and used several cricut images to make it perfect for Spring.

The egg is from Gypsy wonderings. It's cut from a thick glitter paper, I used the custom glitter paper setting on my explore and it cut perfectly.

The rabbit is from Give a Hoot.

The little chicky is from A Child's Year. I cut it first in cardstock then I used some heat and bond on the back of felt and cut it on the felt setting using the strong hold mat. It did well, it struggled a bit with the feet but I wasn't planning on using those so it was no sweat!

Thanks for stopping by,

Spring, Where Art Thou? {Spring Wreath}

Hi Crafters,

My door needed a quick little update from my Valentine's wreath. I made this wreath with the Flower Shoppe, Martha Stewart Elegant Cake cartridge, and Birthday Bash cartridges.  I traced some pennants from the Birthday Bash cartridge on to fabric. I sewed close to the trace marks and then cut out the pennants with about 1/4 in allowance.

The butterfly cut I cut out the pink and green pieces as the blackout version. I cut the green slightly smaller than the purple layer. I attached all the layers to chipboard because it was going outside. 

Valentine's Wreath

Hi Crafters,

One of my favorite holidays is coming up! It allows me to use as much pink and glitter as I want and it's artistically acceptable.

Here's a wreath I made for my poor backdoor that still had my autumn wreath up!

I took a wire wreath form and a bunch of scraps I had in the loft. I used ribbon, cotton fabric from a jelly roll, deco mesh, jersey scraps, and tulle. I cut them in strips and tied them around the wreath filling it out. The middle was looking a bit bare so I cut out a bunch of hearts on my Cricut. Most of the hearts are from Sweethearts. I glued the hearts on some bakers twine and tied that to the wreath. I had some larger heart cuts that I glued onto the wreath proper. It's perfect for Valentine's!

Thanks for stopping by love bugs!

Muffin tin {Advent Calendar}

Hi Crafters,

This is a super fun challenge over at Cut it Up! Make a count down or advent calendar using a die cut. I had seen the mini muffin advent calendars the past few years. I tucked the idea away and thought this was the perfect time to try it out.

I started out by cutting out scalloped and regular circles that were sized to fit over the holes of the tin. I then used ALL sorts of fonts to cut out the numbers. I cut out scalloped squares and regular squares to layer over the base. I used a printed stack from DCWV called Crafted Christmas for the patterned paper. I accented these with buttons and some Pez-a-Bling.

I got some magnet material with adhesive on the back to attach everything to the cookie sheet (and this makes it reusable). I cut this slightly smaller than the original circles so the magnet would not show.

I finished it off with some smaller circles to fit inside the cups. I didn't want to glue those in so I put a small magnet on the back of those as well. I put a die cut on top so it would still look pretty as I counted down to Christmas. These little images came from Christmas, Christmas Cheer, Designer Calendar, and Gypsy Wanderings.

This was a fun project! It has over 100 cricut cuts. It is for sure the most cricut intense project I've created so far.

As usual we have some great prizes to give away...

$25.00 gift certificate from Pez-a-Doodle

and 

a $10.00 gift certificate to Kaboodle Bug Designs

Be sure to stop by Cut it Up! to link up your count-down project for a chance to win!

Happy Christmas Crafting,

{Giving Thanks} Thanksgiving Project Cut it Up!

Hi Crafters,

This challenge over at Cut it Up is all about Thanksgiving.  Be sure to link up your Thanksgiving project using a die cut!

I love setting a pretty table! It's in my genes, my Grandmother and my mom both had a knack for table decor.  I decided to make some place markers for my mom's table.  I used the cartridge Flower Shoppe to cut these maple leaves at 2.5 inches. 

I outlined the leaves using a brown cricut marker.

I used the Martha Stewart score board to score the leaves in half.

I folded on the score line and put ATG glue down the side and assembled them together with the fold going in.

I used a gold pen to write the names on the side.

I had some left over strips from my paper so I trimmed the strip down to 2x5.5 to make napkin rings. I glued a matching leaf over the seam.  I'm so looking forward to a beautiful Holiday season filled with family and many blessings!  

Check out our fabulous sponsors for this challenge...

Win a $20.00 coupon from As Cute as a Button

OR

Win some fun goodies from

Norma Pimentel (Stampin' Up Demonstrator)

Thanks for stopping by...

Happy Crafting,

Custom :monogramed: stool

Hi crafters,

I am in the final stages of getting my craft loft in order! We got the island pieces last week using gift cards from my birthday. I went to Michael's today to pick up some canvases while they had them on super sale.  While I was there I found this fabulous adjustable stool on clearance for $20.00. They also had a black option.

It adjust to fit under a table or go counter height, which is perfect for my sewing area and the island.   It was very easy to assemble with no tools required. The wheels don't roll quite as well as my desk chair but that's the only thing I found I didn't like

It was just screaming for some vinyl so I used Mini Monograms and Opposites Attract  to make a monogram. I'm happy with the way it turned out!

Happy crafting,

Deco Mesh :round one: {ding}

Hi Crafters,

If you are here for the Cut it up! Dr. Seuss challenge Click Here

My poor back door was looking so sad with just a wreath hook.  I made an impulse purchase yesterday at the store with not a lot of background knowledge about deco mesh.

 Deco mesh is very easy to work with! I was surprised about the edge of the material though, it caught on everything, including my clothes.  I used a styrofoam wreath form and floral hooks to attach the mesh to the form.

The J is from Opposites attract. The Welcome cut is from Lacy Labels and the little spring duckling is from Create a Critter.  I cut chipboard first and layered the paper on top to help it hold up to the weather.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy crafting,

It's a {Jungle} Out There Nursery Canvas Monogram

Hi Crafters, 

I made this 3 monogram canvas set for my nephew's room.

The two smaller canvases are 8x10 and the larger canvas is 11x14.  I painted the canvases and let them dry.  I then cut out the monogram using the Lyrical Letters (center) and Opposites Attract (outside) cartridges.

The animals are from Create a Critter. I used my xyron sticker maker, atg gun, and zig two way glue pen to adhere the letters and animals to the canvas.

Happy Crafting,

{Sailboat} nursery decor

Hi crafters,

Here's a follow up from the baby shower sailboat invites I posted a few weeks ago.

The boat is from B is for Boy.  

I used Lyrical Letters for the monogram and the name.  This is just card stock that I used my ATG, zig 2 way glue, and xyron to adhere to the painted canvas.  I used markers to outline the monogram to define it a bit more.

The sails and flag are embossed with the cuttlebug.  I used glue dots to attach the buttons.

Happy Crafting,

{Prelude to Fall}

Hey Crafters,

I did a little pre-fall shopping this weekend! I stopped by a few nurseries and got some pumpkins and a pot of mums.

 I also went to Michael's and got a few fake pumpkins as well.  I thought mixing those in with the real ones helps to throw off the fakeness.  I used vinyl to do our name on the large pumpkin.  The cute jack-o-latern accent came from Teresa Collin's Chic and Scary cartridge.

The smaller pumpkin says "Grateful" and that cut came from Gypsy Wonderings.

Here's the whole ensemble with the wreath from a few weeks ago.  Im welcoming fall with open arms!

Happy Crafting,

Summer to Fall Wreath

Hi Crafters,

I spent a lot of my 3 day weekend working on various crafts.  It was a perfect way to take a break from school!  Here's a wreath I worked using the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  I started with a plain grapevine wreath from Joann's.

I thought these colors were a great transition from summer to fall.  The remind me a little bit of mums. 

I used the cut that is typically designed to use in the center of the flower.  I cut two different sizes and wrapped the smaller one first.  I then wrapped the larger one around the outside for the larger flowers. The small flower just has just 1 cut. Inking the edges of the petals helped add a bit extra detailing.  The button finished off the center perfectly!

I free hand cut some felt leaves and used hot glue and string to attach the flowers to the wreath.  I used raffia and some Martha Stewart ribbon to hang it from the wreath hanger.  This is our back door.  We don't use our front door very much, and I wanted to look at it everyday when I came home!

Happy Crafting,

Custom Bench Cushion

Hi crafters,

This past week has been rather warm!  We had a bad storm roll through last Friday and we didn't have power until Thursday evening.  I must admit I am spoiled and had a generator running the fridge and ceiling fan as well as a gas hot water heater so it was more like camping.  I'm so grateful for all the extra help our power company had from all over North America to help get power back as quickly as we did.

I found this tutorial from the CSI Project and the directions where so clear that I decided that I could make one for our bay window.

The bench is counter height seating for the table.  It is about 10 feet long and 21 inches wide.

My supplies all came from Joann's

3 inch foam 2x10 feet (came from joanns.com) $45.00 shipped

Indoor/outdoor canvas $35.00 (3.5 yards)

Piping 7.5 yards $20.00

Upholstery thread $5.00

Topstitch needles $5.00

Velcro 18 inches (I can't remember the price)

At one point when I was gathering my supplies I decided to research if it was actually going to be cheaper to make this rather than having someone make it for me.  I found an online company that does custom cushions and after playing around with that I determined it would cost around $300.00 to get the cushion I wanted.  I did end up saving some money.

My husband used an electric carving knife to cut the foam down for me.  He tried a razor blade first but the foam was too dense.

The project took me about 2 days to complete.  When we didn't have power I cut out all the fabric and started pinning to get things ready for the sewing machine.  I suppose part of this is my novice sewing skills but it always surprises me how long it takes to cut things out!  It could be that cutting has NEVER been my favorite (I think it's because of my left-handedness).  I suspected it would take some time to get all these pieces cut and I was right.  It was probably good that I didn't have access to a sewing machine so that I didn't try to rush through the cutting process.

I did of course make some modifications to suit my needs.  I did not use any batting around the cushion (which I think probably saved my tail I just barely had enough fabric). I also did not do piping around the bottom which saved me $20.00.  When it came time to attach the pieces together I pinned it all then I traced where the foam was with a marker so I had a good idea where the seam needed to be since I did not have the piping to guide me.

So here are my final thoughts and comments,

It was a relatively easy project.  The zipper foot was a critical piece when working with the piping.

I ended up using the upholstery thread on the top and a regular weight cotton/poly blend in the bobbin.  My machine did not do well with the heavier thread in the bobbin. The velcro did not do well with the upholstery thread at all! I switched to regular thread for those pieces.  My cushion was also much longer than the tutorial so I used pins to put the fabric onto the cushion that helped keep everything in place when I was pinning to make sure everything fit correctly.

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Crafting,