handmade cass

I couldn't wait to start stitching some brightly colored hearts, using the Concord & 9th Sew In Love die set. My first stitched piece was finished right in time for a mother's day card. It was a serious pain to get all the die cut holes poked out, but less than 10 minutes of work with a needle tool meant I didn't have to deal with dots flying everywhere while I was stitching. This brightly colored DMC embroidery floss grabbed my attention the last time I was at the craft store. I always love to see the back of stitched pieces. I have an ongoing competition with myself to try to keep the backs just as neat as the front. I trimmed the stitched piece down right before mounting it on a square card with foam tape. It is currently in transit to my mother in law in Hawaii. She loves raspberry pink, so hopefully this makes her smile. Supplies : white cardstock - Neenah Solar White 110 lb pink cardstock - Papertrey Ink Raspberry Fizz embroidery floss - DMC tapestry needle (blun...

I had to give up my plan for homemade Christmas cards again this year. Life just gets too busy sometimes. But I did order a gold foiled photo card, and I have some special tags ready for Santa's delivery on Christmas Eve. If time allows I plan to make a few sets of gift tags to give to some crafty family members. Supplies Die set: "Sew Seasonal Dies" by Concord and 9th Sequins: "Pixie Dust" by Simon Says Stamp, Darice Adhesive: Mutli Medium Matte by Ranger, Scotch Foam Tape Stickers: Dymo Embossing Label Maker, vintage

I'm done! I am so happy to have all of my Christmas cards in the mail and I love the way they turned out. I didn't have to buy any new materials (aside from the postage and photo prints) and got to use some supplies that I really love. Hooray!  They were done on December 1st but it took me a few days to get photos.   I wanted to use clear envelopes without mailing labels, so I needed to address the dark purple metallic paper that was the card backing. Originally, I tried using copper ink and pens to tie in with the copper metallic thread I used, but the white stood out much better. The return address was stamped with Hero Arts Unicorn White Pigment Ink and then embossed with WOW Super Fine White Embossing Powder. I had to learn the hard way that the white pigment ink never dried on the metallic paper. My Christmas cards evolved a bit from the sketch I made a few months back . After I started die-cutting all the layers and did a test version, I streamlined the process ...

I was so inspired when I saw Jennifer McGuire's shaker card that was all shaker and no card. For the Simon Says Sparkle and Shine Challenge I decided to make a gift tag for my sweet daughter who loves all things shiny and crafty. I don't have the Fuse tool that Jennifer McGuire used in her video but sewing works just as well. I had initially tried to do this tag in a circle, but I need to stick with sewing straight lines for now. This one turned out much better! Supplies : Page protector - Staples Sequins - Advantus Cardstock - DCWV Ribbon - Creative Impressions Sewing Machine - Janome

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 was really glad that Craft Critique was re-launched right before the CHA Winter 2013 show, because the timing was perfect for me to attend as a reporter.  It is such a special conference for any crafter to attend - full of all the latest and greatest products, tons of inspiration and projects, and even some celebrity crafters.  Here is just a small portion of what I saw.  At CHA I made a beeline to the American Crafts booth to check out the new Amy Tangerine line " Yes Please".   LOVE the new stitching kit from the "Yes Please" line.  This set has chevrons too!  Amy was doing a make and take project, so we could test out the stitching kit.   Loved the Amy Tangerine travel kit that I have seen online.  Perfect for vacation mini books! Smitten with the colors and patterns in "Lucky Charm" from Dear Lizzy and American Crafts. My favorite color is glitter.  And I can't believe how awesome the POW glitter paper is...