4 in 14

Ok, so I started off the year with the best of intentions regarding my grand 4 in 14 idea. FAIL. It has gone off the rails, as life has just been crazy. In fact, hubby and I now literally refer to this as the worst year of our lives. Anyone who is privy to all we have been through this year agrees.

Regardless, we are still here plugging along one day at a time.

So, this month I got at least a little back on track and set up my pretty shelf.

The only new item I purchased this year was the pumpkin. The wood was left over from a decorating project at work, so I covered it in chalkboard paint (LOVE!) and decided this was the perfect thing to use it for. The orange tea light with the dancing skeleton design we have had forever and is one of my favorites. We use battery operated candles for safety.

Box Card Project

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was touring through blog-land the other day and discovered so many fabulous crafty people. I stumbled upon Cardz TV and their challenge to create a Halloween card that was not a traditional fold. One of the options they gave was a box card. Never in all my crafty years had I attempted one. Not sure why. Just hadn't. So, I gave it a shot.....

Inside

Outside

I wanted to stay with all one piece so it is a simple 12x12 cardstock with the corners cut away and scored to fold. I used some scrap pieces to mat the outside. The 3-D embellishments were some I picked up on a recent trip to Michaels. 

I also scrounged around in my sticker drawer and found these word tiles. 

I think the entire project took me maybe 20 minutes. It went a lot faster than I thought. Now I just need to find a little treat to put inside before I give it to my munchkin next week. 

Challenge Accepted

A couple of days ago I was lost in blog fabulous-ness following links from one to the next to the next. I discovered some very crafty ladies. Among them was a challenge to create a card using Purple, Orange, Lime, Black, and any sort of Die-Cut. I do love my Cricut machine....I know a lot of my crafty friends have moved on. I just can't let go. Anyway, I cut out a few different things, played with some ideas, used only scrap paper in the assigned colors and here we are.......

The words are a layered Die-Cut from my Cricut machine, and the squares were also cut with the machine, but happened to be left over from a previous project. Although it look more yellow in the photo, the paper behind the yarn is actually lime. Now I just need someone to mail this to......

Any takers?

Fun with Letters

Although I am not quite up to an entire 31 day challenge, Randi has certainly inspired me to get some of my wood project done.

Sale Letters!

I got these on sale at Hobby Lobby a while back, and although I knew pretty much what I was going to do with them they have been sitting longer than I will admit. 

Shiny!

I didn't need all of the smaller letters, so I will need to think of something to do with those later. 

All Done!

The base coat of black is actually chalkboard paint (my new obsession) so I can draw on the "G". I put a nail above my door bell, and right now it says "Trick or Treat" and is hung up with a Happy Halloween ribbon that I just wrapped around the top and tied in an bow. I am super happy with how it turned out, and it really only took me a few minutes outside of drying time.

Wedding Day Kit

Recently I attended a destination wedding in fabulous San Diego. I don't know about you, but I hate traveling and realizing I forgot something. Especially for events. And because I didn't want my friend's special day to have any hiccups, I came up with my own version of a Bridal Emergency Kit.

The Bag

This is the bag I decided on. It is pretty heavy duty, and as you can see I had her name put on it. I ordered it well in advance from my fabulous friend Laura. And as anyone who knows me can attest, the next thing I did was scour Pinterest for ideas of what to put in this kit. 

Idea List

This was the list I originally came up with. Some were suggestions from Pinterest, others were things that I thought of from past disasters, spills, awkward moments, etc. Once I realized that not all the items on my list would fit, I prioritized them to make sure I had the most crucial covered. 

First Aid

Aches, Pains and Ailments

Beauty Essentials

Respect the Gown

I added some little notes, and grouped things in plastic sandwich baggies. I felt it important to mention I hadn't tried the powder trick, just to make sure I wasn't giving her advice that could potentially ruin her dress! (Gasp!) I also added a granola bar and some small bottles of liquid courage for good measure. 

Have you ever made a kit? If so, what did you put in yours?

Stampy Storage Solutions

I have struggled for years to find the best way to store my stamp collection. Yes, I am old school like that and still have wooden block rubber stamps.

My collection

I could never decide or find the right bin or box to keep them in - until now!! I honestly can't remember where I saw this idea (Becky perhaps?) or in what application it was used but this little thing is my new BFF!

From Home Depot

I put some thought in to the fact that I didn't want a repeat of a previous problem - that if I can't see them I don't know what I have. So first I grouped similar stamps together to see what I was working with. Then I started dividing them in to drawers to make sure I maximized space and made sure the bigger stamps had a home. Then I did something that took forever.....ok, like 3 days but still....

Prints

I once bought out an entire Michael's bin of these chipboard albums. At ten cents each you would have done it too and you know it, so don't judge. Because I have so many of them, they were perfect. So I stamped. 

And I stamped.......

It took me several of these little albums to stamp them all but I finally got there. The images on a single page correspond to a single drawer in the little "dresser". And the cute tape? Identifies which drawer to go to!

Almost there..

So now I have these handy little flip books of images to peruse when I am looking for a stamp. And since they are grouped, deciding which "Happy Birthday" one to use is a snap! Then to make sure that the books were kept within quick reach I grabbed some Command Hooks. 

Ummm.....yes that would be the dresser full and my clear stamps waiting their turn to make reference books. You know what that means! Back to Home Depot (thanks Adam!) 

Fabulous!! I even had some of the smaller drawers still empty at the top so I added a few stickers to the front. 

Star Brads

The stickers help me remember which type of fun tidbit I have tucked in there. And finally, Adam the Amazing hung my organizers on the wall next to my book shelf. 

All Hung

Now I can find my stamps and inks quick! I love this new wall system! The rest of my craft room is under reorganization too, so who knows what else I might come up with! How do you organize your crafty corner?

Mother's Day Totes

My mom, the avid Pinterest and Facebook user, decided to "hint" at what she wanted for Mother's Day by posting the Pin on my Wall. Subtle, right? It worked. She got what she wanted, although it was a couple of weeks late because on the first try, my daughter was unhappy with the results. (Not too unhappy since she kept it for herself) So, handy (ha ha!) tote bags it was.

Dad

Mom

Part one of this process was that Adam and I had to stamp our hands on the totes. After that came the kiddo and a couple of details. Sadly I didn't get a finished picture of them, but I used yellow fabric paint to make a swirl in the center, and green to do the outline of a leaf in the corner of each.

Drying

When I mailed them I was a little nervous about the paint sticking to itself in the envelope (it's over 100 degrees here) so I made sure to fold them design out and they made it to their respective locations just fine.