Candy Corn

This year I decided to offer a fun Halloween crafting party.  I found some rounded triangle blanks that were just screaming to be made in to candy corns.  I had a blast making my samples.  I made one with bold colors and one with a more distressed look.  I gave the attendees a few options for the words, they could choose "Trick or Treat," "Happy Halloween," or their family name.  I also gave them a choice of applying vinyl decals or using vinyl as a stencil and painting on their wording.  My first sample, with the lettering in different colors, is painted.  My second sample is vinyl lettering using outdoor rated black vinyl.  I live in the humid south and I have had no problems with the lettering peeling off.

We finished off our door hangers with fun ribbons.  I have simple taste so I just wanted one type of ribbon, but I had a whole basket of options for the attendees to play with.

Jungle Bedroom

Our home is going through some big changes.  I have a new teenager in the house who wants his own room.  And I have a little guy who is not so little any more and wants to say goodbye to mom's jungle theme.  I checked, and I had never posted a picture of my jungle vinyl.  I made a cute name for his door, but I am most proud of "No more monkeys jumping on the bed."  My brother is an amazing artist.  I envy his artistic talent.  When my first son turned one, he drew several adorable animals to decorate his cake.  I took his monkey and patiently worked until I made a vinyl design with it.  It will come off the wall soon, but it will quickly find a new home in a scrapbook.  Good buy jungle room.  Sniff.

Teacher Gift

This is not my vinyl design.  I am wracking my brain trying to remember where I acquired it so I will update my blog to give credit if I can remember.  I first put the design on a tile, and I wasn't overly thrilled.  But I loved it on a cute, decorative frame on top of notebook paper!

You've Been Assigned This Mountain...

I came across a beautiful quote.  It says, "You've been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved."  It really struck a chord with me.  I have had some significant struggles, and when I finally opened up rather than hiding my pain, I discovered several other women making my same journey.  I was shocked.  I think there is power when we share our trials, and I think if we share our stories we can provide hope to others.

I felt there was another person who could benefit from this idea, and decided I wanted to give a sign as a gift.  I found a wood sign at Hobby Lobby on super clearance.  I brought it home, sanded it until I had a new canvas, then created this design.  I experimented with several colors and in the end I decided I wanted to go bold.  I really love color.

I hope the message inspired that person.  And I hope that maybe it will inspire you.

Christmas Craft Party

It had been a while since I hosted a party for some very special young ladies that I adore.  (I call them my "adopted daughters" and I have been lucky enough to serve them at church for the past 4+ years.)  I found some really nice cursive Christmas words in the Target $1 section and I cleaned them out.  I also found some 3-D wooden Christmas trees with great crafting potential.  Then I pulled out paint, glitter, paper, bells, ribbon, and other embellishments.  I truly loved their Christmas masterpieces.  But note to self, have them do the glitter outside next time!  Lol!

Christmas Tree String Art

I was asked to put together a holiday craft for our monthly Relief Society meeting.  I was given a picture of a Christmas Tree and small ornaments made using string art.  I was asked to duplicate the craft exactly, to which I had to decline.  It didn't take me long to find the source of the picture and it was an item for sale on etsy.  I respect the intellectual property of other crafters, so I asked them to trust me and I would come up with my own design.

This was my first experience with string art and I am pretty happy with out it turned out.  Again, I really enjoy giving people options, so I came up with two tree designs and purchased several shades of green thread.  I also pre-painted approximately 40 wood boards.  That was a ton of work, but still enjoyable.  Based on feedback from the women, about half ended up brown and the other half ended up gray, but each board was unique.

The other fun outcome was that my crafty son got very excited about string art.  He is dreaming up ideas and I can't wait to see his creations.

Thanksgiving Craft Party

This morning I will be hosting a holiday crafting party!  I'm so excited!!  I expect about 10 friends over to make wooden Thanksgiving letters. I have even more coming to make wooden Jingle Bells.  (I have a second date also scheduled so I am not entirely sure how many we will have today.)   I have everything lined up and ready to go- wood, paint, paper, modpodge, paint brushes, vinyl, scissors, ribbon, buttons, and probably the kitchen sink!  Lol.  I love crafting with good friends!!  I have finished my Thanksgiving craft so that the women can look to it for inspiration, but I will also be crafting with them to complete a custom order.