handmade cass

It has been eight weeks since I had my sweet baby boy, and I managed to start and finish a sewing project. I think I can declare - I'm back! Thanks mom, for watching the kids so I could actually finish these throw pillows. Is it sad that I was proud of myself for actually taking out the iron and ironing board to get the seams sewn properly on the fold over backside? Either way, I'm happy that it all turned out well, no pattern and about 90 minutes later. I found the zebra print as a fat quarter at my favorite quilt shop, Fourth Corner Quilts . I picked up a few more Tula Pink fat quarters while I was there for additional pillows ( Tula Pink Acacia Pixel Dot and Tula Pink Fox Field Foxtrot ), but may end up using them for a different project. The sunburst backing fabric was a steal at $5/yard at Joanns. Here's another little secret. Instead of craft store pillow forms I used IKEA pillows at $4/each.

While on vacation earlier this year, my daughter fell in love with a play mailbox that included some letters and postcards with velcro stamps. When she kept talking about it a week later I knew that I had to make one for her. So this was her Valentine's Day present this year. I found a wooden mailbox at Joann that had magnets on the door and a flag that moved - perfect! She insisted that the color of the mailbox should be blue because that was the color of the one she originally liked. It was easy to take the mailbox apart for painting and finishing it with a couple coats of clear spray paint (my new favorite thing!). And she was happy to help me go through some fabric scraps to find good pieces for her "envelopes". My favorite part are the snail stamps.  She has actually played with this so much more than I expected! This kid loves getting mail just as much as I do. If you ask her what kind of mail she gets in her mailbox, she will usually tell you that she go...

I had the privilege of reviewing a kit for making leather baby booties, and I loved the experience! First Baby Shoes sent me the "Nina" kit in brown leather and I had so much fun making these for my baby boy that will arrive any day now.  The full review will appear on Craft Critique and I will update with a direct link as soon as it is published. Please let me know if you have any questions about First Baby Shoes. You can see that my favorite crafty helper got in on the action. And by that I mean she made me stop sewing so that I could watch her go down a slide and read books to her dolls. As part of my preparations for the new baby I made her a "Big Sister" bag that she will get when she visits at the hospital. I'll post all the details on that soon.

A few new reviews have been posted to Craft Critique . Click through to see the full reviews and project photos. Clover Wonder Clips Tulip Spray Dye Kit for Tie Dye The Brushstroke Handbook

I recently decided to expand my DMC floss collection because I have been doing more stitching on my paper crafting projects . And my mom happened to have an extra floss organizer...so I spent the last couple nights winding up floss while watching TV. Only problem is that I can now see which colors I am missing (navy blue, red, purple, and coral just to name a few). Not that I need them right now - but I can see that I am missing them! I also love doing art projects with my daughter, and she was kind enough to let me use her Do A Dot markers on a doily while she was creating her masterpiece (on the green sheet underneath). The end result on the scrap paper under the doily is what I really loved. It gave me some ideas for future painting, misting, distress, etc. I'm still loving doilies, long after Valentine's Day.

I have a new love! And it is the metallic gold embossing paste from Wendy Vecchi  (Dreamweaver). I got it as a Christmas present and am just using it for the first time. It was something that Jennifer McGuire started using and I thought that I had to have it. She was right. I made my own chevron stencil by cutting a few layers of card stock with my new Stampin' Up punch. It ended up a little wonky, mainly because my distress stained background paper was warped. But I still in love with the result. I actually have a real chevron stencil , but have not found it since moving last year.  I used a new stamp set and punch from Stampin' Up - "Simply Celebrate" stamp set and Chevron border punch.  And a few older items - Radiant Rain gold shimmer spray (mixed with the Distress Stains) and the Amy Tangerine "Capture" embroidery stencil kit.  Supplies : Tim Holtz Distress Stains - Ranger Simply Celebrate stamp set - Stampin' Up Chevron border punch...

I made this doughnut card for my husband for Valentine's Day this year. This was the conversation that followed... Him: I really like this card. That donut is awesome. And I still like it even if it isn't true. Me: No, it's true. Him: Aww. That's nice. I love you too. Me: I actually like cinnamon rolls more than donuts now. Him: Oh. Makes more sense now. I tried using my Distress Markers with a water brush for the first time on the donut. I'm not so sure about the technique.  Jennifer McGuire makes it look so easy!  Supplies : Stamps - Hero Arts | Stampin' Up Dies - Papertrey Ink Ink - Memento | Ranger Archival Ink Markers - Tim Holtz Distress Markers Glitter - Stickles

When I first saw the Paper Pumpkin kits from Stampin' Up last year I was intrigued. I liked that they gave you the supplies to make specific projects in a short amount of time (they say a 30 minute creative escape). And the fact that each kit comes with a mini stamp and ink set is awesome. This was the suggested card  for the first kit: I got a coupon to try the first two months for $10 each (half price), so I took a chance. I was pretty sure that everyone got the same kit as their first one, and I'm not crazy about it. The ink splotch stamp is not my style and I will never use it, so I used my own birthday stamp from Paper Source. But I really like that the embellishments that are included are actual stickers instead of punch out cardstock that you have to trim and adhere. And being able to match the kit colors to Stampin' Write markers that I already have is an added bonus. And this is what I came up with for the first card - 3 more to go. Now that I'm loo...

I had the best of intentions when it came to putting together a little Christmas package of crafty love for a friend, but I was late. Really late. Sorry Christine! So I changed themes and made her some tags for Valentine's Day instead.  Supplies: Embroidery Kit: Amy Tangerine for American Crafts "Capture" kit Washi Tape: We R Memory Keepers Stamps: Simon Says Stamp "Envelope Sentiments", Lawn Fawn "Critters in the Forest" & "Bee Mine", Avery Elle "Party Animal" Twine: Peppermint Divine Twine from Whisker Graphics Tag Die: Papertrey Ink Ink: Hero Arts Neon, Hero Hues Chalk Markers & Pens: Stampin' Up Stampin' Write markers (heart ombre), Copic (fox), Sakura Glaze  Cardstock: assorted scraps