homemade coasters

i tried my hand at homemade coasters this holiday season as a gift to my sisters. i started with a chipboard base and covered it with paper (scrapbook paper and sheet music) using mod podge. i then stamped sayings on 4 of them and stenciled a mustache on the other 4. i covered them again, in mod podge. i actuallt tried using a glossy spray finish, but didn't like the look so did it again in the podge.

i am the luckiest girl in the world to have such amazing sisters. i love you ladies!!

secret books

this year was a "homemade" Christmas. i had a secret book as a child, and remember fondly stuffing my treasures into the hollow space, and hiding it on a shelf to trick my sister who would, without a doupt scour my room in search of them.

i found some older hardback readers digests at a local thrift store. after covering the outside of the pages with mod podge and letting it dry, i used a craft knife to hollow it out. once hollow, i covered the inside with mod podge also.

hope the boys in the family enjoy keeping their treasures hidden from their younger siblings!

handmade childs quilt

this picture just does not do it justice!

i was working on this while the girls were in school (it was for my daughter) but didn't get it finished by the time winter vacation started, so i just kept working on it. my daughter came up to me and asked who it was for. after telling her that it was for her cousin, she begged me to make her one just like it. she said she had to have it! so i got it all finished and wrapped, under the tree (with an incorrect name on it) it went.

Christmas morning arrived and she went straight for the quilt, still wrapped and under the tree, tagged incorrectly. she picks it up and looks at me, "mommy, i know this isn't for cousin because we already gave her gifts to her. i was hoping it was for me. thanks mom, i love it!" and proceeded to tear into it.

at least i know my hard work was appreciated and she did in fact like her gift.

handmade quilt

over 10 yards of fabric in this queen sized "WSU" quilt that i made for my brother-in-law. boy did this thing give me some trouble!! it was all worth it though, hope you enjoy it scott!

my new website

it is still a work in progress, but since i have it listed in the side bar, i should probably share it with you :)
i now have a website to share my ideas on inexpensive home decor items, cheap meal ideas for your family, couponing tips, and of course, a place to sell my handmade goodies. please visit intricate simplicities.
keep in mind, i'm working on it a little bit every day, and with all the Christmas projects i'm working on, i'm not expecting the site to be fully up until after the holidays.
i will continue to post my craftiness here, and most of it can be purchased on the site.

merry Christmas! remember the true reason for the season!!

i mustache you a question

i am making some Christmas gifts for my family and came across this wonderful mustache template. my sister is just crazy, CRAZY i tell you, about mustaches.

i got this template from tiffanykelley she makes some pretty cool photo props out of them, pop on over and take a peek!

my project is not complete, so i'm not going to tell you about it, just wanted to share the mustaches. janell, enjoy!!

accidental favorites

my parents came over for dinner and it was like having an in-home babysitter!! my kids were still here, i still got to watch them play, but i got to bake and cook and actually get stuff done!

i've wanted to try this recipe for awhile now. i got it out of a rachael ray "everyday" magazine (courtesy of my mother, thanks mom!). my husband loves apple pie and the apple fritters looked like a little bite of pie (and a portion of the mess!). well, hubby didn't like them exactly as they came out, my first batch had powdered sugar on them. i guess he doesn't like powdered sugar. something about some movie ("children upstairs" or something like that), i guess the old lady gave them cookies with powder on them and they died. i don't know, i don't watch scary movies. it explains a lot though. he has always shuddered at my powdered donuts or french toast covered in white. oh well, more for me!

anyways, he wanted cinnamon sugar on his which got me thinking of elephant ears and funnel cakes. so once i ran out of apples, i filled a small ziplock sandwhich bag with the rest of the batter and squirted it into the pot of oil. cover that bad boy with powdered sugar (non for you, hun!) and viola!! just like the fair! i've been looking for a good funnel cake recipe for, i don't know, EVER?!

recipe:
Vegetable oil (for frying)
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup apple juice (or cider)
1 large egg, plus 2 large egg whites
3 apples (i used 6 & had extra batter) peeled, cored & sliced into rings
powdered sugar & cinnamon sugar for dusting

1: fill large pot with enough oil to reach depth of 2" and set to medium. in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. add 1/4 cup juice and the whole egg. stir to form a smooth paste. stir in the remaining juice and let stand until thickened (about 5 minutes). in a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff then fold into the batter.
2: working in batches, dip apple rings in the batter and fry until golden, about 3 minutes. turn to brown both sides. transfer to paper towels to drain and dust with desired sugar. serve warm.

if you like the fair, and have a hankering for funnel cake, skip the apples and put the batter into a decorating (for cakes) bag or snip the end off a ziplock and fill with batter. ENJOY!!

Fussy cut bird

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Merry Christmas!

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Happy card

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Baby boy card

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tea bag holders

so i did mine a bit diffrent than the tutorial, mainly to save paper. paper=$ afterall :)

found a great 36pc stack of holiday paper at Michael's for $12.99. i used my 50% off joannes coupon to make it $6.50. i think that was a great price since all the 48pc stacks were "on sale" for $11.99 and not eligible for coupons.

the thing i learned with this project: bone folders can be extremely handy!

Halloween cupcakes

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great tutorial

there's a great tutorial that i came across at splitcoast stampers for making tea bag holders. we're doing a holiday dinner at our church for the ladies and i plan on making these as take away treats. check out the tutorial here and i'll post pics of mine when i get them made.

feminine & fancy

YEAH!! i love how this turned out. so shabby, so chic.

This card promotes a card class that i'm currently teaching at our local Michael's store. Lots of diffrent techniques with this class and what great supplies we use!

Tim Holtz card

once again, this was made to demo what the ink distressing Tim Holtz class is all about. Love the shabby look! i walked away from this with inky fingertips, my favorite!

Tim Holtz style Halloween

It's about that time of year again! I made these samples for the Tim Holtz ink distressing class that i'm currently offering at my local Michael's store.

these were lots of fun, but then again, i LOVE to get down and inky!!

re-vamping a rocker

BEFORE (although i forgot to take the "before" shot before i had spray painted) meets AFTER:

i am just in love with how it came out! this fabric is phenominal (thanks wal*mart for finally carrying beautiful and current appolstry fabric!!) and it matches our decor. I did my dining set (you'll see that soon) in it along with a window valance for the kitchen.

We actually had a large garage sale once we decided to move, and tried to sell all of our furniture. i was so sick of looking at it, i came to the conclusion that it had to go! well, it didn't sell. none of it. so i got to spray painting! i sprayed it a glossy white then did a clear overcoat. my aunt (thanks aunt z!) has been helping me learn to sew now that i have a machine, so i decided to take apart the padding on the current chair and re-use it with better fabric. YEAH!! i'm so proud i didn't mess it up, well, that you can see in the photo anyways. "just flip it over!", that's what i say!

PS: i'm aware that i spelled appolstry wrong. wish i could find the spell check...

Happy in love

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Just because

well, not just because. my sister came to visit (both of my sisters, actually) a couple of weeks ago. they were joined by a large part of my family. a mini-reunion, if you will. they were all in town to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and a local once-per-year festival. is your family like mine? the most valuable thing to us is our time. sooo, we grouped my mothers 60th, my sisters 33rd, my other sisters 30th, my brothers 28th, and my parents 20th anniversary all into one afternoon. it was the same weekend as "cheese days" (friday-sunday annual gathering of locals in our small town celebrating our towns heritage involving manufacturing of cheese. describing the joy of cheese days would take far too long. maybe another time...). anyways, this card was done for my sisters 30th birthday. i hope she loved it and had a fantastic birthday. love you sis! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Grown up birthday card

this was done for my mothers birthday. it's rich, elegant, sophisticated, and appears complex. just like her. i love this nature set by SU. i used blender pens w/ chalk to color it for that perfect "soft" look. colors are feminine and warm. any chance i get to use my embossing folders with my cuttlebug, i jump on. LOVE the look! happy birthday mom! here's to many, many more! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Fathers day cards

another take on the card below Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Fairy birthday card

this card was made for the sweetest little girly on her birthday. she is an absolute princess, BUT, this little fairy stamp is the closest i have to a princess. after i colored her with blender pens & chalk, i used sakura glitter pens & stickles to make it sparkle, just like her personality does. happy birthday, charley! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Fathers day card

EMPTY YOUR SCRAP PILE!! super easy cards. i got the idea from a card i saw made by layering ribbons. i decided to use paper instead. i dug through my scrap drawer & pulled out the colors i liked together and cut one edge with a scallop border punch. ink distressed them all and there we have it! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Fathers day card

this was made for my fantastic mr. he is the kind of guy who loves to get dressed up and collects ties. he is also the kind of guy who adopts his wife's kids from a previous marriage to make sure they have the best father figure around & that they always know that he considers them "his" kids. the kind of guy women dream of meeting. yep, he's a pretty fantastic guy. know what else he is? MINE. i made my own patterned paper (background) by stamping ties in a pattern on white cardstock. these stamps are 2-step stamps. that means the outline is one image & the fill in is the other. for the main image of the tie, i stamped just the outline onto patterned paper & cut it out. the rest of it is layered & ink distressed. to all the fathers out there, happy day to you! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Be original card

so this was me trying to be creative. honestly, i'm not too keen on the outcome. started with white cardstock. stamped the fish in walnut ink and the original fish in a yellow. then i got out my sponges & chalk ink to play for a bit. started sponging at the bottom of the paper with the darkest blue,worked up to mid blue, finished up top with lighter blue. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Watercolor bday card

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BBQ invites

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2 page wedding layout

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Anniversary card

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2 page layout- wedding

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Single page, wedding

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Child bday card

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I'm pregnant?! One page layout

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2 page Easter layout

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1 page layout

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Vintage mothers day card

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Single page layout

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Double page christmas layout

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Baby shower invite

A big thank you to my sis-in-law for making my baby shower invitations, they turned out super cute! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Vintage Mothers Day card

Yeah!! I love it! Used vintage sheet music as the background, ink distressed with tim holtz frayed burlap. Stamped sentiment on a nestability cut out of ivory (also ink distressed), embellished with pearls. Used lace and ribbon for the finishing touches. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Fathers day card

Another super simple card. The great thing is, just change the color scheme for a feminine card. Tag (SU) is stamped in brown, used twine to keep it with the thick chocolate ribbon. Used my SU scallop edge punch on the green patterned paper then punched edges in it using crop-o-dile. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Tissue paper birthday card

Well, the focal point is obviously that ginormous, incredible yellow flower!! It's yellow tissue paper, folded over several times, ran through the cuttlebug using a flower sizzix die. Kept it together and embellished at the same time with a rhinestone brad. Patterned paper is feux stitched, layered on white cardstock that was dry embossed with dots. Sentiment (SU) is stamped with pink on white, layered on green. Used pink ribbon to tie it all together. Happy birthday, Lexi! Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Juicy color thank you card

Another simple card. Great colors though, right?! stamped flowers (SU) on scrap pieces of white in the different colors. Stamped flowers blue on blue for side panel. Sentiment (SU) is stamped on another scrap. The hardest thing about this card was getting those cute little buttons on that darn floss. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Blue bird card

Get it? This birdie is blue cause it's thinking of you (and it misses you)! :) Background piece is embossed with cuttlebug then sanded for that distressed look I love so much. Birdie (SU) is paper pieced with some great blue paper. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

Grocery bag card

Super simple card, right here. To save time, money, and paper, I go to my local michaels store and buy their card/envelope sets that are blank inside from the $1 bin. This is cheaper than just buying envelopes, plus then I have the right sized cards already made and just have to make a "card front" to adhere to it (saving my white cardstock). The background is actually cut from a safeway grocery bag, I used the inside of it. I stamped buggy (stampin' up) on front and again on a piece of patterned paper. I fussy cut only the basket part of the buggy out of the patterned paper and adhered to the card front on top of the other stamped image. Layered ribbon (from $1 bin at michaels) & adhered. This card would be super simple to mass produce, I'll just have to go shopping first to get more grocery bags =D Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android