handmade cass

It feels so good to finish a project!  I had this banner done in almost one afternoon and I was so proud.  I had seen a Martha Stewart project for a baby shower that had a mini flag banner as a table decoration and wanted to do something similar but on a bit bigger scale.  So when I found myself with a Sunday afternoon to work on crafts (because it was WAY too hot outside) I dove right in. I remembered that I had some Basic Grey chipboard letters from a while back and was happy to learn that they are self-adhesive!  Did a quick paint job with some Adironack acrylic paint on my trust craft mat. Followed that with a generous coating of the Tim Holtz Distress crackle paint in my favorite copper color.  It took a long time for that layer to dry and crackle - but you can see that it turned out pretty nice!  After about an hour I sanded the edges to get rid of any excess and they were ready to stick right onto the flags. I had a stack of fall themes cardstock ...

Spent the last week making some baby shower invitations and I love them!  Pink vellum overlay with a Stampin' Up woodgrain background in pink pearl ink, and a couple forest animals from Hero Arts and Amuse.  To keep it from being "too pink" I used copper accents with the ribbon and some punched leaves (Marvy Uchida punch with Stardream metallic paper).  The cardstock backing is 100% recycled, as is the kraft envelope.  I showed my husband and he actually giggled when he saw the squirrels.   I've also been sewing some bedding for the crib in our baby room.  The fabric on the top right (from Alexander Henry) is the main one and I have some green batik fabric and an orange print that coordinate like a dream!  Right now I have all the pieces cut and in various states of assembly for a bumper and crib skirt.  Also bought some coordinating fleece for a stuffed hedgehog toy that I saw in Stitch magazine - which is my new favorite!  More pictures ...

With lots of help and moral support from my mom, the quilt that I started two years ago is done and ready for snuggling.  It would actually still be in pieces if she hadn't taken it from me and finished it herself!  I did all of the quilting on the long arm by myself, and helped with the binding (a little).  But it turned out great! Frank has already made himself at home with the quilt and says that he prefers the minky backing for his naps. My mom and aunts coached me on the long arm part of the quilting and made me practice my design on a white board beforehand - that was a good idea because it was harder than I expected!  I decided that I wanted contrast thread colors so you could see all of the hard work I did on the quilting: orange on top and brown on the back. And to finish it off I signed my name in one of the bottom squares.  So glad it's done so I can start on a new project!

I've had a number of reviews go up recently and I've fallen behind on my own personal blog. So here are the links.  Felt Comparison: Acrylic vs. Wool (lots of project ideas) Omnigrid Foldaway Cutting and Pressing Station Westcott Scissors and Paper Trimmers Enjoy! Hoping to show more progress on my Alaska scrapbook soon. Although I'll admit that I've already gotten sidetracked making a picture book on snapfish.com with pictures from a different vacation. It's always something!

I had a few new things that I've been wanting to try, including the Tim Holtz popcorn stamp that I'm convinced was made for me.  There are many days when all I want for dinner is a nice big bowl of stove-popped popcorn (using my Whirly Pop ...no Jiffy Pop in this house).  But back to the crafts... On this mini card I used a scrap of Creative Memories red cardstock from about 15 years ago, the Tim Holtz stamp, some Papertrey ink "vintage touch" ink along the edges before using the Making Memories distress tool, a Copic marker and Sakura Glaze pens to color in the image, and a bit of Distress Stickles on three of the popcorn kernels that I had cut out for extra dimension.  Now I just need to have a movie night so I can use this as an invitation. I've also made a resolution to finish up my Alaska scrapbook from our vacation three years ago.  As soon as we got back I was excited to get started and had printed all of the pictures, but then one thing or another go...

I am in LOVE with all that Hambly Screenprints has to offer (as evidenced by a very small sampling of their products that I have been hoarding). This lovely California company got some great press this week that included a behind-the-scenes slideshow of their screenprinting process.  Enjoy! And PS - the latest word on the Hambly blog is that they will be offering some great deals this Saturday, May 1st in honor of National Scrapbook Day.  So be sure to check it out this weekend.

My second official Craft Critique review is up!  This time I discussed my experiences with Clearsnap's Smooch Spritz, and you can see the whole review here . And I also learned that Stampin' Up is starting to sell Smooch Spritz, so I'll be using it in some of my club classes soon.  Can't wait to get more project ideas for it! disclosure statement