2013 Christmas Ornaments

Yesterday we had class Christmas parties at the kids' school.  In my daughter's fifth-grade class, along with enjoying yummy treats, playing some silly games, and watching a short video on the giant squid (per the kids' request!), we made Christmas ornaments.  The kids were enthusiastic about making their ornaments, and they were especially fascinated by the heat embossing process. 

Shannon's Wonderful Blessing Ornament:

Details:
Stamp - Stampin' Up! - Wonderful Blessing
Cardstock - American Crafts
Embossing ink - Ranger - Emboss It
Embossing powder - Ranger - Seafoam White
Ribbon - Offray
Self-adhesive half pearls - Jolee's Boutique

Wishing you peace this Christmas!

Hugs,
Marcy

Sweater Weather Tea Bag Dispenser Box

Yesterday I decided to try something new and remembered seeing the new tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers by Heidi Baks for a Tea Bag Dispenser Box.  I just received the Sweater Weather designer series paper and thought it would be perfect for this project. 

The measurements were a little fussy, but now that I know what I'm doing, I think the next one will go a bit easier.  I really like how it turned out:

Details:
Patterned paper: Stampin' Up! - Sweater Weather
Cardstock: Core'dinations (rust); Stampin' Up (ivory)
Scalloped die: Nestabilities
Stamps: See D's
Ink: Ranger's Adirondack Ink -Espresso
Markers: Copic Sketch
Ribbon: Stampin' Up!

Stay warm my friends, & thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

With Appreciation

With the exception of Christmas cards, I think I make Thank You cards more than any other kind.  That fact is a testimony to how many wonderful people there are at work, at school, at church, who use their time & talents to help out.  I love that about our community!

Here are two thank you cards that I made for teachers, who helped make a recent event at the school even more special:

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Happy Blessings
Ink: Memento - Espresso
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (ivory); Core'dinations
Patterned paper: DCWV - My Sunshine Stack
Markers - Copic Sketch

Details:
Stamps: Crafty Secrets - Mouse Party; Altered Art; Snowbunnies
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (ivory); Core'dinations
Patterned paper: K&Company

Thank YOU for stopping by today!  Hope you have a wonderful fall weekend in store!

Hugs,
Marcy

Our New Craft Room - A Photo Tour

We still have some work to do on our new family craft room, but it's now presentable enough to share it with you.  This new room is on our third floor.  Our house is more than 100 years old, and the plaster was very rough.  We didn't have the time or money to gut it, so my hubby did patch plastering, sanded, skim coated, and sanded it again.  We used heavy-duty primer and gave the whole room a couple coats of semi-gloss paint.  (The paint is "Wind Blown" from Ace Hardware's Premier Paint collection.)

The Main Scrapping Area:

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the yellow desk & the old dinette set over the years. 

 Another View of the Scrapping Table with My Counter in the Background:

Since most of the walls are sloped in this room, I don't have the wall space I had in my old room.  I had to re-think some of my storage.

New Expedit Shelf & (not so new) Sewing Cabinet:

The Expedit shelf is one of the few new things we purchased for the room.  My mum got me the two-drawer card catalog and the Standard stamp holder at a local antique shop.  I'm keeping finished cards in one drawer and mat stacks in the other.  It's perfect!

My Counter:

My husband built the wall behind the counter.  This area was all open before.  He made an 8' x 10' foot storage room with built-in shelves and walled it in.  The door to the right of the counter leads to the storage room, where we keep all of our seasonal items.  We still need to paint the door, and when it's done, I'll hang my Cricut cartridge storage on it. 

Paper Tower:

The only annoying feature in this room is the huge chimney in the middle of it.  I'm sure I'll get used to it soon, though. Eventually we are going to carpet the room.  I'm considering carpet tiles, so an area easily can be replaced if it gets damaged.

Additional Shelving:

I keep photo storage boxes and my crafting "go bag" here.  The door to the right of the shelving leads to our walk-in cedar closet.

Kids' Drawing Table:

It didn't take long for the kids to get settled in to their own spaces.


Kids' Nook:

Shannon quickly claimed this dormer area as her own.  These windows are original to the house and are very drafty.  We're hoping to replace them before winter arrives.

Thanks for stopping by my new craft room today!

Hugs,
Marcy

The Craft Room Shuffle & Flowers in Fall

For the past few weeks, we've been working on a huge project at our house.  I'm calling it the Craft Room Shuffle. We did some major room changes, moving my craft room to the third floor and moving my hubby's home office from the third floor to my old craft room on the second floor.  It involved a lot of plaster, sanding, plaster dust, painting, splinters, more plaster dust, more painting, a few blisters, and a lot of sore muscles.

There is a lack of vertical space in my new room, so I had to rethink some of my storage, but I'm finally in the last stages of organizing and should be able to share some pictures later in the week.

In the meantime, here are a couple of cards that I managed to create amidst the chaos.

Roses for Hazel:

Details:

Stamps: Rose - Crafty Secrets; Trust God - Stampin' Up! (sentiment)
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa & Bamboo Leaves
Markers: Copic Sketch
Patterned Paper: Mariposa Mat Stack - DCWV
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (white); Core'dinations (green)
Framelit Die - Stampin' Up!
Ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs


Well-Scripted Sunflower:

 Details:

Stamps: Sunflower - Crafty Secrets; Well-Scripted - Stampin' Up! (sentiment)
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Markers: Copic Sketch
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Cardstock: Gina K Designs (ivory); Core'dinations (yellow & brown) 
Ribbon - Offray

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

1st Day of School Cards

I like to make first day of school cards for my kids' teachers.  It helps break the ice and lets them know we're there to support them. 

This card is for my son's teacher.  My daughter had her too, so I know she has a Bernese Mountain Dog.  I tried to color the pup stamp to look like a Bernie.

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Storybook Friends
Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny - Camp-A-Lot
Cardstock: Core'dinations (yellow); Gina K Designs (natural)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Die Cuts & Stickers: October Afternoon
Hemp Twine: Pat Catan's
Markers: Copic Sketch


This card is for my daughter's teacher.  She is a brand-new teacher, just out of college. My daughter's small, sweet class is the perfect start to a new teaching career.  They are smitten with her already!

Details:
Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Storybook Friends
Patterned Paper: DCWV - My Sunshine Stack
Cardstock: Core'dinations (yellow); Gina K Designs (natural)
Ink: Memento - Rich Cocoa; Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye
Die Cuts & Stickers: October Afternoon
Ribbon: Stampin' Up!
Markers: Copic Sketch
Button: Wal-Mart

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Back to School

Everyone but the pets and me went back to school today.  (Rich didn't want me to take his picture.)

Shannon off to 5th grade, and Ronan starting 3rd.

 Shannon even made a backpack for Ronan's bear, Rufus.  She made one for Plinker too.

Plinker doesn't want to talk about school.  Sometimes it's hard getting left behind, and sometimes your mum feels sorry for you and gets you a new toy, and sometimes that helps...for a little while.

Hope you're having a great Monday!

Hugs,
Marcy