A Present From Peyton

Today I was busy doing some things around home, but we needed to get flowers to take to my grandparent's grave and Thong's father's grave. Plus we needed a treat for the Memorial Day Bar-B-Que that we were going to today. So Thong and Peyton went to the store and I stayed home to get what I needed to done. When they came back, Peyton came running in the door with a bouquet of flowers for me! It was so cute! She told Thong that she wanted to get flowers for me : D. How can I not be charmed by that. My little girl is such a sweetie. And what a thoughtful thing for my two year old to think of doing. I am pretty blessed to have her! I love her so much! Thong said he had picked out another bouquet for me and she said no! And then picked out these gorgeous lillies! And they smell so good. I love flowers. What woman doesn't.

Hope you all had a safe and fun Memorial Weekend. It went by quickly but it was good! I saw Sex and the City 2 with friends on Saturday,  then I caught up on Greys Anatomy, played lots and lots with Peyton, and I even got a little crafting in. I am extremely thankful though for those that came before us and sacrificed themselves for a belief in freedom and in human rights. I am thankful for those that are still serving in the armed forces doing that very thing. Memorial Day also makes me reflect upon my grandparents and how much I miss them and how much they always made me feel like I was the most important person in the world to them. Days like this help us remember what is really important in the past so we can move forward in our lives.

Happy Memorial Day!

Lots To Talk About And Lots To Show - Peyton's Banner, Malia's Birthday And My Own Birdhouse

I have been working on this banner for Peyton's room for a few weeks. And I finally finished it on Wednesday this week. It's hard to tell from this picture, but it spells out Peyton. I have a ton of chipboard letters already, but I only had smaller ones for most of the letters in her name but the P. But I decided to use what I had on hand instead of going out and buying new ones. So the letters are small but it spells out her name nonetheless.

I am super excited to have it finished! I admit that I have been slacking since - and before - Peyton was born in decorating her room. But I really want to get it looking cute and fun for her. Her bed sits right below this and yesterday when she woke up, I found her standing in her crib staring up at it. When she saw me she said over and over "Mama, I love my present, I love it!" It was pretty cute!!!!

Here are some more pics of the details and each part of the banner:

This last picture was taken before it was hung up. I was trying to get a view of as much of it as possible without it being hung up yet. As you can tell I have used a ton of different brands to get it all put together, and a lot of fun techniques too.

Here is the list of supplies {from left to right}:

• White Flower Knobs - Hobby Lobby
• Ribbon - blue and brown polka dot is my stash, brown satin - Stampin' Up!, pink scallop purchased from Material Girls fabric store in South Jordan, pink striped Making Memories, blue and green gingham is my stash, caramel satin ribbon Stampin' Up!, green wrinkled satin blue velvet scallop trim American Crafts, orange grosgrain Stampin' Up!, green lace trim My Minds Eye, pink and white tool is from Joanne's, pink gathered Stampin' Up!, brown large width grosgrain is my stash, brown, blue and pink striped Making Memories, yellow polka-dot Making Memories,pink gingham Making Memories, brown polka-dot grosgrain Stampin' Up!, artichoke grosgrain Stampin' Up!, sky blue and white polka-dot grosgrain Stampin' Up!, pink stitched grosgrain Stampin' Up!, yellow satin is from Easter packaging of mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups : D, pink paisley from Walmart, hot pink organza Target Dollar Spot, rusted twisted wire {this holds the whole banner together and is strung from each large chipboard base to the next with the wooden spools over them}.
• Chipboard - large circle BasicGrey, large scallop flower Scenic Route, large letter P BasicGrey, large bird mini album Stampin' Up!, letter e Heidi Swapp, chipboard flower Maya Road, letter y Heidi Swapp, brown polka-dot frame American Crafts, letter t Heidi Swapp, mini tree and bird Imaginisce, green bird with white flowers American Crafts
• Wooden Spools - Roberts Crafts
• Patterned Paper - {around first spool} BasicGrey, yellow fabric paper Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, pink polka-dot {around second spool} Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, brown polka dot with roses {on large scallop flower) Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, Old Olive and Whisper White cardstock Stampin' Up!, brown with paisley {on large bird} BasicGrey, blue and white polka-dot Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, red and pink strawberry {used on rose} Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, pink and white polka dot American Crafts, green and yellow flower {cut as half scallop circle} BasicGrey, brown polka-dot bird Stamin' Up!, orange and green flower My Little Shoebox, pink and dark pink polka-dot October Afternoon, blue and white graph October Afternoon {scallops behind large circle and as part of the Scallop Circle flower over the doily}, green with brown circles BasicGrey, green graph with the black and yellow bee BasicGrey, green and white white damask American Crafts, brown and pink polka-dot October Afternoon, pink and white flowers {around spool after the letter n}, yellow and white polka dot Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, cream with pink, blue, yellow and green flowers BasicGrey
• Fabric - blue and cream Joanne's Fabrics
• Adhesives - cool heat glue gun, pop dots, glue dots, liquid glue, glue stick, tape runner, crystal effects
• Accessories - green leaf head pins Imaginisce, tree branch and bird with heart stickers Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, silver paper clip Stampin' Up!, blue button BasicGrey, brown and white string, gemstone brad, Stampin' Up!, blue flower Prima, metal flower All My Memories, cream crocheted flower Imaginisce, pink velvet flower Prima, white paper doilies Wilton, buttons are my stash, white damask flower sticker Heidi Swapp, flower sticker BasicGrey, green flowers Bazill Basics, pink brad All My Memories, pink glitter Stickles, brown brad Bazill Basics, metal flower and brad 7 Gypsies, decorative head pins Making Memories, pink corduroy button Stampin' Up!, pink gem stickers My Minds Eye Lush line, crocheted flowers Dear Lizzy for American Crafts, green gem brad K & Company
• Inks - Soft Suede, Old Olive and Rose Red all from Stampin' Up!, coffee alcohol spray ink Tattered Angels
• Tools - Crop-A-Dile, sponge to apply ink to paper and embellishments, fabric starch to make paper flowers, needle and thread to make ribbon ruffle flowers, glue gun, 1/16" hole punch, foam brush
• Punches - Bird, Scallop Circle and 1 3/8" Circle Stampin' Up!, butterfly Martha Stewart
• Die - Flower Fresh Stampin' Up! for Sizzix Big Shot
• Paint - cream acrylic Apple Barrel

What a list of supplies! I went absolutely crazy when I saw the Dear Lizzy line of fabric paper. I think it is an awesome idea. And I love that it is adhesive backed! It saved so much time not having to sand the paper down to fit the chip board. And I love the look of the fabric. I think it gives a fun and vintage look to the projects they are used on.

I love using the fabric paper to make the twisted flowers. I put one on the bird with the letter t and then another on the circle with the letter o. They are really easy to make but a little time consuming. I have mentioned before Liz Kartchner did a video tutorial on how to make them for American Crafts. I apologize, I don't have the link anymore but it is on her blog and it is a link to You Tube.

On the first circle on the left side, I am still not sure what to put there. So I will figure it out shortly. But I wanted to hang it up now anyway. I noticed now that it is hung up too that there are some ribbon bows that I want to change the size of, some of the pin wheel flowers that are popping up and some other mistakes that I would like to fix. But for the most part, I just love it!

Here is my adorable niece Malia in all her birthday glory! She wore her "Birthday Princess" crown throughout pretty much the whole party. And she was excited when her mom told her she could wear it to school the next day because that was her actual birthday. She did take it off for a bit in the party when her and her cousins were singing and dancing because she said she didn't want it to get ruined. It was pretty funny. But she is such a cutie all the way! Love you Malia!

So I finally got my birdhouse finished!I am so in love with October Afternoon right now! All of the papers but 2 are their brand. The red rose at the top is Stampin' Up! and the yellow polka-dot around the window is American Crafts Dear Lizzy. Most of the October Afternoon paper is from the Fly A Kite collection. I love everything from the colors to the patterns. They have such a great vintage feel. They make me want to rummage through some of the belongings of my mom's mom that I have. I have a small red tin that belonged to her with some old plastic beads and things. Nothing of great value to anyone else but

me :-).

Seeing the above picture makes me think of Friends episode with Monica's dollhouse and how she won't let Phoebe play with it because she brings her great big huge dog that is taller than it. I say that because of the ceramic green bird off to the right side of the picture. It's huge compared to the birdhouse that it is next

to :-).

I also can't get enough of these adorable bird houses. They are extremely inexpensive and so fun to decorate. Now Peyton wants one for her room too. I will have to get a shelf in there high up so she can't get to it. She is in a "take apart anything that she can" phase right now!

Here are some more close up pictures:

I am so glad I got this bird punch from Stampin' Up! I absolutely love it! I use it all the time. I have a die also that has a cute bird on it, but this is so much easier!

As I have said many many times, I am totally addicted to these paper flowers! They are so much fun to make and I am getting speedy at them. It occurred to me that I could also do the flowers with the Scallop Circle punch. They are made pretty much in the same manner as the regular roses. I promise now that I have these 2 projects out of the way, I will do my tutorial. Husband, I am recurring you to help me take pictures so I can do it :-D

 This time I used the Martha Stewart Lace border punch to create the trim on the sides, as well as the grass at the bottom. How cute would it be if grass was really polka-dotted like that!

Here are the supplies used for making the birdhouse:

• Birdhouse - Roberts Crafts
• Paint - Cream from Apple Barrel
• Patterned Paper - October Afternoon, Stampin' Up!, Dear Lizzy for American Crafts
• Brad - Circle Gem Stampin' Up!
• Punches - Bird, Scallop border and Scallop Circle from Stampin' Up!
• Ribbon - green wrinkled American Crafts, brown gingham and green polka-dot are from my stash
• Tools - foam brush, file BasicGrey, low heat glue gun
• Adhesives - Mod Podge, Crystal Effects Stampin' Up!, Pop Dots Glue Dots, glue stick

I will probably end up adding some kind of banner to the front of it hanging from the roof like I did with my mom's. But I couldn't decide so I just decided to leave it for right now.

I am super excited because I have been talking about making a Christmas Village for forever. And finally I found the perfect houses to do it! Hobby Lobby has the cutest raw houses to use! I have 2 so far and then I plan to get about 5 plus then I want a building for a church. Now I just need to find the perfect Christmas paper to use! I can't wait!!!

To switch gears, I get excited this time of year because as the weather gets nicer, my DVR gets more free space. This is all because I am watching hardly any TV. From fall to spring, I am a TV junkie! But once my favorite shows end for the season, there are only a few shows that I have to watch in the summer. So that means more time for things like reading, audio books {which are perfect for listening to while crafting!}, going to the park, having a BBQ, taking Peyton swimming... I love warm weather. I think I was made for it. It's hard in the winter because I am so not a fan of the cold Utah winters. I love the long days and short nights. I hope summer comes before July this year, because the last few Junes have been super cold here. So hooray for summer! I hope it's here sooner than later!

Last thing before I am off, I am loving my ipod right now! {not that I ever stopped} But I can't get enough of Ingrid Michaelson, Muse, Blue October, She and Him and pretty much any singer/songwriter I can get my ears on. Hope you guys like my playlist here on the blog!

Have a great Memorial Weekend!

Looking At My Splitcoast Stampers Gallery

I completely for got about the fact that I have a Splitcoast Stampers gallery. When I first started blogging I used to share my projects there. During my long break from blogging I pretty much forgot all about it. But tonight I was going through older posts and saw that I had a post about my gallery there. Sure enough I clicked on the link and I logged in and to my surprise I found photos of projects that I hadn't ever posted on here. So what better time than the present.

The picture above is shower favors I had made for the baby showers that were given for me. I figured it was the least I could do for the people coming and for the ladies that put together my showers. Thanks ladies!!!!

The supplies used were BasicGrey, Stampin' Up! And Hershy's. Yum, yum!

This above card was made with the retired mini catalog set from Stampin' Up! called Doodle That. I don't remember the name of the patterned paper but it is also retired Stampin' Up as well as the "Happy Birthday" sentiment. It's kind of fun going through my older pics!

This card also used the Doodle That set and the same word stamp set as the card above. Probably the same paper line too. I used to put transparency sheets on everything! Kind of makes  me want to bust them out and use them on some stuff right now. 

This was one of my favorite card templates to use. I like the fun shape and that it is a trifold card. This set from the 2007 Sale-A-Bration from Stampin' Up! remains one of my favorite stamp sets. It is really hard to tell from the pic but there is Crystal Effects on the center yellow flower. I love this epoxy glue. I have been  using it lately mostly to hold the paper roses together that I have been making.

This card was a lot of fun to make. I remember being so excited about using the oval punch to make flowers. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. It also contains Stampin' Up! products.  

This last card also contains a transparency as you can see. Gotta love Stazon ink! I had attached the ribbon to it by stapling it flat and then tying the knots around the staple. These supplies are also Stampin' Up!

I will start posting again on my Splitcoast gallery. I had fun there and it was full of really cool people. If you want to check it out and explore it a bit, click here.

I loved taking this little walk down memory lane. Super fun! What projects do you have that you never posted? No time like the present!

A Crown Fit For The Birthday Princess

My cutest niece Malia is turning five on Monday {she is my only niece but she is the cutest nonetheless : D}. As I have already shown, I made her the Mod Podged hatbox for her birthday presents. And here is the “Birthday Princess” crown that I made her as well. Isn’t it the gaudiest, ugliest, cutest, funest, cutest, birthday princess crown ever! I keep seeing these birthday crowns – mostly for adults all over the web. So I knew with Malia’s birthday coming up that she needed one! Not quite sure how the 5 year old will react to it yet, but I think it turned out pretty cute and ugly in a good way : D.

Close Up's:

Here are the supplies used:

• Princess Crown – Joanne’s unfinished crown {it cost me $1!}
• Paint – Making Memories acrylic {get paint color}
• Fabric – vintage inspired bird fabric Joanne’s brand
• Tissue Paper – my stash
• Stickers – American Crafts Dear Lizzy Line
• Jeweled Flowers, Brads and Stickers– Imaginisce, K & Company, Doodlebug Designs, Prima
• Patterned Paper – American Crafts, Dear Lizzy, October Afternoon
• Paper Doilies – Wilton
• Ribbon – BasicGrey {blue and brown}, my stash {wish I could remember the manufactures of all the ribbon remnants that I have!!!}
• Letter Thickers – American Crafts {aren’t these the cutest Thickers ever!}
• Die Cut patterned paper Flower – Daisy D
• Adhesives – Glue Dots, Pop Dots, Mod Podge, Crystal Effects, glue stick
• Punches – Curly Label from EK Success, Bird from Stampin’ Up!
• Inks – Soft Suede classic ink and Chocolate Chip marker from Stampin’ Up!
• Tattered Angels coffee color
• Stamp – Happy Birthday To You from Stampin’ Up! {I used the marker to just color “Birthday”. That was the only part stamped onto the paper}

I found this fun vintage inspired print at Joanne’s of all places. Not only are they getting in a lot cuter fabric but they are making it themselves too! This print and the polka-dotted prints are their own line. I saw them, and I knew I wanted them for the crown. My original idea was to make the hair bows I always make with my Big Shot to go on the crown. The fabric inspired the color pallet for the project. But when I got the bow put together, I couldn’t get it on the crown without covering up more of the points of the crown. So instead I used the tissue paper flower, and then took a strip of fabric and stitched it at the bottom to get it into the big poofy ruffle. I was sad I couldn’t make it work, but I still am giving Malia the hair bow for her birthday anyway. Sshh! It’s a secret until tomorrow!

I actually had the crown all painted this golden color from Making Memories also but I decided it wasn’t girly enough, and painted over it with the pink. Gotta love acrylic paint for that reason! Then I sprayed it with the Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Coffee color. I also sprayed the tissue paper flower, although the alcohol ate through it a bit, but it survived. I was totally going for the junky, vintage feel and I think it turned out so ugly that its so freakin cute! Hope you guys agree!

Here are the pictures of the fabric and hair bow started the whole crazy process:

Now I am off to a diabetes walk at the University of Utah Diabetes Center {Go Team Parker!}, a dance recital for Malia at Riverton High School, a semi-pro football game for the Utah Shock and family time! And then I will head on over to Barnes & Noble to get Malia a Fancy Nancy book to complete the present!

Have a good weekend everyone!

A Present Box For Malia

My cutest neice Malia is turning 5 this month. So this weekend and then tonight I was working on part of her birthday present. While shopping down at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi a few weeks ago with my mom and sister-in-law, Lindsi, we came across some of the cutest things. But one thing I particularly remembered was this adorable present box that was covered in tissue paper. I knew that I wanted to make one for Malia's birthday. My box really looks nothing like the one I found at Thanksgiving Point, but I loved the idea so much, I came up with my own version. Also check out Amber Lafata's blog and see the adorable ones she made for her mother for Mother's Day.

Malia has a purple and pink bedroom. I knew I wanted to make the box match her bedroom so she could use it to keep things in even after her birthday. When I was going through my paper stash, I came across this paper from Crate Paper. I just love this brand! I don't use it a whole lot but I need to start to more often. The colors in this line are perfect for Malia's room.

Here are some more close up pictures:

As I have said several times, I am addicted to making paper flowers. And now I am addicted to tissue paper flowers too! This flower is super easy to make. I used 6 layers of tissue paper cute as a square. Fan-fold the tissue paper. Fold it in the middle and then tie a string around it. Gently pull the layers up, careful not to rip them. As you do this the flower will start to form. And there you have it! Easy easy easy flowers!

I also made 3 other types of paper flowers. What can I say, I am an addict! If there was a paper flower support group, I would certainly join : D. So I also made a twisted flower, a rosette, a layered diecut flower and layered paper rose. The last 2 were cut from the same Stampin' Up! die for Sizzix. The die is Blossom Party. If you are interested in ordering it, you can contact Cindy Peterson. She is an awesome Stampin' Up! demonstrator! You will love her : D

Here are the supplies I used for the box:

• Paper Mache Box - Robert's Crafts
• Patterned Paper - Bliss Collection from Crate Paper
• Thickers - American Crafts
• Gems - clear gem flowers from Imaginisce; Purple gem brad from Stampin' Up!
• Punch - I don't know the actual name of it, but it is this pretty curvy Paper Shapers label punch from EK Success. I looked for it on their site, but couldnt' find it.
• Die - Blossom Party and Large Scallop Circle from Stampin' Up!
• Stamps - Well Scripted and Tiny Tags from Stampin' Up!
• Classic Inks - Soft Suede, Perfect Plum and Pale Plum - Stampin' Up!
• Glues and adhesive - Mod Podge, Pop Dots, Crystal Effects {used to hold the paper rose and twisted flowers together}
• My Stash - brown and white twine, large grosgrain brown ribbon, pink tissue paper

A thing to remember about Mod Podge - As I said on a prior post - is that it can be a little tricky to work with. It doesn't dry quickly. As much as it may not be something I want to do, when I am working with it, I try to let the project dry overnight before working on embellishing it further. Most of the time, the bubbles go away and the paper dries smoothly to the surface you are working on. It doesn't always happen, but usually you should be OK. I was a little worried with this box, but once it was completely dry, the bubbles were gone.

I can't wait to get Malia a Fancy Nancy book to go in the box along with a crazy gaudy princess birthday crown for her to wear at her birthday party! It will be a lot of fun. She is a sassy little thing and she loves her birthdays! And I love her!

OK, so my next post isn't my tutorial. Sorry guys. I was attempting to take pictures for it again that were not blurry, but the pictures just haven't turned out yet. So it's happening, but just not quite yet. So I admit I may get a few more projects posted before I get the paper rose tutorial up and running. I will probably enlist the help of my husband with taking the pictures.

I Won!

So I entered the birdhouse I made for my mom, on a contest on the Scrapbook Trends Magazine Blog called "Show Me What You Got". And I am so excited to say that I won!! Check on the post by clicking on the link.

Also check out this super cute scrapbook page by Cheryl Nelson on her blog. I loved it so much and her blog, that I have added her to my list of favorite blogs! You will love her page!

And check out my friend Amber Lafata's blog. She started blogging again! Yay! I am so excited. She is super talented and you will love her stuff! I promise!

Hope you guys had a great weekend and a super Monday!

Bless This Nest Mobile - My Little Shoebox

 

So here it finally is. I got the elusive My Little Shoebox project finally finished that I have been talking about over and over. It was so much fun to make this. I have been picturing it in my head but I really didn't know exactly how it was going to turn out. I can say that I am deffinitely pleased. It wasn't without some bumps in the road. But for the most part, I am way excited with the final result. The final touch was the beads added on. I have been trying to get them added for some time, but I didn't have the right head pins. Then I realized I didn't have wire. Then I finally went and got the final touches, came home, sat down to work on it and realized the beads had too big of holes to work with the head pins and to top it off, I bought flexable beading wire instead of regular old wire. Argh! But I figured it out in the end : D.

Do you like how neither of my dogs are looking at the camera! My husband set up the camera on auto timer. It was our first attempt at it and it took some practicing, but we finally figured it out!

A few things to note. The whole project started with the first little black birdhouse with white polka dots. I made it and knew I needed more! But just how I was going to keep making them and tie them all in together, that came later. The next thing is, I am so addicted to making these paper roses! Now that I have this project finished, my next project is the tutorial to make them. So stay tuned. Be kind, it will be my first tutorial ever!  : D As you can tell, I used them all over the place. Plus I made one out of the scallop circle punch. Speaking of the Scallop Circle punch, I also used it to make the heart banner above the photo. I also did this on the birdhouse I made for my mom that I posted a few posts ago. The next thing is, My Little Shoebox paper is filled with all sorts of cute and fun images of birds, houses, flowers, lamps : D..... I could go on and on. I used these images though all over the place. I created the little scenes on each birdhouse and on the top of the mobile basically by cutting out the paper. Who needs fancy embelishments when the paper is so usuable!!!!! And I love the patterns on the reverse site. The black with cream polka dots is so my favorite. But they are all so cute!

        

     

Here are a bunch of close ups since there is so much to show!

 

Here are the supplies:

• Patterned Paper - My Little Shoebox {from 2 different lines. The names are escaping me right now so I will update them A.S.A.P.!}
• Chipboard - Fancy Pants
• Glitter Stickers - My Little Shoebox
• Punches - Scallop border, Scallop Circle, bird, 1" Circle, Boho Blossoms: Stampin' Up!
• Die - 8 petal flower  {used to make paper roses} and Milk Carton: Stampin' Up! for Sizzix
• Adhesive - Pop Dots, craft Glue Dots, glue stick
• Ribbon - all ribbon is left over from former projects {wish I could tell you manufacturers for these, but I can only guess}
• Beading Supplies - beads, copper beading wire, copper crimp beads, copper jump rings, copper chain, copper jump rings
• Brad - Stampin' Up!
• Button - my stash

I love My Little Shoebox and can't wait to see what they come out with next! Hope you guys like this too.