3 Onesies

My DIL had some white onesies for my granddaughter and asked if I could create some iron-ons for them. I looked up some saying ideas on Pinterest and Google and came up with these 3. I had so much fun making these and will definitely be making a lot more. The lighting was so bad today, but all the onesies are really white.

Halloween Back Pack

We have a fun file to create with this week (well, let's be honest, they are all fun!) and I can't wait to see what the rest of the design team came up with.

Since it's close to Halloween, I decided to make a Halloween back pack using Cutting Cafe's Back Pack Template and Cutting File. These would be fun for any holiday or season. Fun to give a teacher, a teacher's aide, and/or children of all ages.

The flaps close with velcro and the front pocket would hold a sticky note pad or Ghiradelli chocolate

Would you like to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from Cutting Cafe? Be sure to stop by the Cutting Cafe blog tomorrow and see what the rest of the design team created with the back pack file. Then just leave a comment while there and you will be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your own choosing from the online store. 

BOO Notepads

This week is free week for the Cutting Cafe design team challenge. I created this fun notepad and added a scented pen that would be perfect for any age.

 

For my files, I chose Halloween and Fall Basic Shapes for the cute little ghost and "Boo" is cut from Halloween Mini Words Printable Stamps.

The notepad is covered front and back and makes a great gift esp if you want to give something that isn't loaded with sugar. ;)

Be sure to stop by the Cutting Cafe blog tomorrow and see what the rest of the design team chose to create with. Don't forget to leave a comment while there to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store. 

My First Iron On Onesie

I made this onesie for my granddaughter's first birthday.

Fabric Checkbook Covers

We have a fun challenge at the Cutting Cafe this week. The design team is using the cutting file Checkbook and Registry Set and we are making them with fabric. How fun is that?!

I know not everyone sews, so I cut the checkbook cover out of white cardstock and used mod podge to adhere fabric to the cut out. After that dried, I used mod podge again to seal the fabric. This keeps the edges from fraying. Then I just trimmed the excess fabric to the cut out and put together with adhesive. This is so easy to create and I think it would be fun to make one for every season and switch them out. 

 The bottom pocket is where the checks go, but I took it out since it had personal info.

Be sure to stop by the Cutting Cafe blog later today and see all the other back to school inspiration in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store. 

Book Review: A Man Called Mr. Smith

I had the opportunity to read this book early from the author Tanya Williams. "A Man Called Mr. Smith" is the 3rd book in her series. Even though this book was great on it's own, I definitely want to read the first 2 in the series.

The author does a wonderful job in writing in a way that makes you want to keep reading and not put the book (or in my case Kindle) down! You feel like you are right there with the characters and know them personally.

 The story has your emotions going in all directions! In the beginning,  Mr. Smith has just buried his wife and is left behind with 2 very small children. He remarries, but his 2nd wife does not love his children. They have children and you can guess how she treats them vs. his children from his first marriage. The family is very dysfunctional and it seemed like there was one misfortune after another.

One of the things I liked the most, was that I couldn't guess the ending. I like reading books that take me by surprise. I don't want to give too much away, but I highly recommend reading this book.

You can get the Kindle edition for only 99¢ on Amazon.

Back to School

Hard to believe it's already August and many will be heading back to school if they haven't already yet. This week at the Cutting Cafe we are creating projects with a Back to School theme. 

I used Apple Treat Box that would be fun to fill with caramels or apple flavored candies for a teacher or a student.

I hand cut a leaf to add to the apple and tied off with some raffia.

Be sure to stop by the Cutting Cafe blog later today and see all the other back to school inspiration in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store. 

Christmas Count Down

Welcome to the Cutting Cafe Christmas in July design team challenge. I have a fun project to share with you today using Christmas Bag Toppers and Stitched Tags.

The "strips" are wood covered with scrapbook paper and I used mismatched old black buttons for the eyes and red tinsel for the nose. "days 'til Christmas" is cut from a font I have.

There are more tags stacked behind the "2" and "5" so you can count down from 29 days if you like. I thought this turned out cute. What do you think?

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

Ugly Sweater with a Twist

Hello! Today we have a fun challenge with the Cutting Cafe. We are creating a project using the Ugly Sweater Shaped Card file, but there is a twist. We can't make a Christmas card. :)

I chose to pair this file with the 4th of July Printable Stamp Set 1 to create this patriotic sweater card.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

BLESSED altered Dollar Tree Sign

Hello and welcome back to another Cutting Cafe challenge. This week was a free week for the design team. We could chose any file we wanted to work with.  For my project, I chose Blessed Word Shaped Card File to make this wall hanging.

I used one of these wall hangings from the Dollar Tree, removed the raised decor item and covered it with designer paper from my stash using mod podge. I cut the word from the file and and mod podged it on as well, then decorated with ribbon and buttons.

Regina has many word files to choose from and it was hard to decide which word to go with. :)

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

Donut Fun

** edited to add: because today (June 7th) is National Donut Day, Regina is offering this cut file for FREE until Saturday June 8th. You can find the details HERE.

Regina with the Cutting Cafe has designed the cutest donut set called Donut Fun and this is what the design team is creating with this week. The set has cutting files as well as fun printed files. I created 3 cards using the cut files and printed files.

These first two cards are the two different shaped donuts available. I also printed the sentiments from the file and then I printed the sprinkles page and then ran it thru my Silhouette to cut the frosting shape. I colored the donut in the sentiment with colored pencils and markers.

This card uses one of the sentiments as well as the donut background print. The donut is colored with colored pencils and markers from Tombow.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

Brewing a Birthday Wish

It's all about coffee and tea for Cutting Cafe's design team challenge this week. I created this fun card using Coffee Cup Shaped Card 2 Template and Got Coffee? Printable Stamp Set.

I used the Coffee Cup Shaped Card for the base of the card and printed the Brewing  up a Birthday Wish...circle image from the same file. For the little coffee cup, I resized the image from Got Coffee to fit inside the sentiment circle and then printed it on designer paper to go with my yellow and aqua theme.

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I have friends and family who are and this would be a fun birthday card to include a gift card to their favorite coffee shop.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

I am also linking to these challenges:
Coffee Lovers spring/summer blog hop
Cupcake Inspirations - Shaped Cards
Thankful Thursdays

Happy May Day

Here is one of the baskets I created for May Day this year. I used a peat pot for the basket, added some trim and a cute pinwheel from Cutting Cafe's Pinwheel Sentiment Template. All the baskets were a little different. Some painted, some with grapevine handles, some of the trim was spanish moss, etc. But they all had a pinwheel, tissue paper, May Day tag, and treats.

Because we have been having crazy weather and my crab apple tree has not bloomed yet (I like to give branches filled with pretty pink blooms of it on May Day), I made the baskets with Hersey eggs and a Peep bird sitting on top. The birds are so plentiful and singing most every day here.

I am linking to this challenge: Diana Larson's Anything Goes

Gifts for Baby Girl

Today I'm sharing several fun items I have made for my sweet granddaughter. I crocheted some booties for my granddaughter's baby dedication.

a sewn fun block with lots of textures for her baby shower

Her first doll and a reversable bib for her Easter Basket.

You Are My Sunshine Books

I had a couple of friends over and we painted the covers of some books that is all the rage on Pinterest. Here is the set I made. I love how they turned out!

Cutting Cafe and Joy Clair Collab

Hello! This month some of the Cutting Cafe design team members are joining the Joy Clair design team for a collaboration. The CC design team chose a Joy Clair stamp to use with a Cutting Cafe file. I chose Hello Sentiments Clear Stamps from Joy Clair to use with Cutting Cafe's Gable Box Template.

The Gable Box is one of my favorite files as there are so many occasions that you can use it for. The sentiment is from the Joy Clair stamp set as well as the "hello" that I used to create a card to go with my box.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog on the 21st to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

Bunny Egg Carton

I have a fun project to share with you today. Easter will soon be here and the design team is sharing Easter projects with you this week. 

I used the bunny from 3 Easter Treat Cup Cards. I cut the bunny out of designer paper as well as a cereal box to give it dimension. I painted the top of this little carton that I got last year at Target.

Fill the eggs with fun treats and you have a great gift.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

St. Patrick's Day Crafty Treats

An altered notepad,,,this was actually a Christmas notepad that I picked up at 90% off after Christmas at Dollar General and I covered the front that had the Christmas design on it.

Hershey shamrock (tutorial from QBee's Quest)

and a yarn wreath with felt flowers

Popcorn Box

Hello and welcome back for another Cutting Cafe challenge. I had to take the last challenge off as our computer crashed. We have a new one and are now back up and running. 

This week the design team is going to be sharing their take on Cutting Cafe's Popcorn Box Template. Since St. Patrick's Day is coming up, I decided to use that as my theme. I will fill this box with a sweet and salty popcorn. I had the "sweet or salty" sticker in my stash and thought it was perfect for this.

I used the large popcorn box option which measures about 6" tall. I'm still trying to get used to using a laptop and not a desktop and a new photo editing program.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog tomorrow to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

February/March Goals

I can't believe it is March already! Although it is not feeling like spring is around the corner at all.

My February goals were:

*do another declutter challenge: I joined a FB declutter challenge hosted by Erin Tannehill. It was for the month of February and I loved every minute of it. She is an awesome host and was so encouraging to everyone. The members of the group have all been wonderful and we all cheered each other on.

*have another mini party with friends: I hosted a "Gal"entine Party

*exercise 3x/week: I did better, but not perfect

*keep working on craft room: I worked very hard at this. On the days that the declutter challenge didn't apply to me, I worked on the craft room. I have 5 bags plus more ready to go to Goodwill.

*make a new recipe: I made homemade crackers from THIS youtube video (I made it according to their recipe plus I added dried chives). These were VERY good and I'll be making again.

I also made Red Velvet Crepes, also very yummy. I filled mine with homemade hot fudge, homemade whipped cream, and sliced strawberries.

*do a craft project: I didn't get this done as I spent more time cleaning and decluttering my home.

March goals:

*go through the declutter challenge again on my own

*join a mental declutter challenge (this is hosted by the same gal as the declutter challenge I did for February)

*take bags to Goodwill

*crochet booties for granddaughter's baby dedication 

*make a new recipe

*host another gathering

You're a Blessing

A project I made at a Stampin' Up! gathering.

Bee Gift Card Holder

Gift card holder I made using Inky Antic's Gift Card Clear Stamp Set #11232MC

"Gal"entine Party

Today I hosted a small and fun galentine afternoon party. Sorry some of the photos are a little blurry. Homemade chocolate candies (orange truffles and Bing), homemade crackers with cream cheese and cranberry jalapeno relish, and red velvet crepes with homemade whipped cream and homemade hot fudge and strawberries that were amazing! I have made whole wheat crepes for years, but these were even better. A fun time spent with friends and lots of laughter.

Heart Treat Boxes

Hello on this very cold, snowy, blustery morning! BRRRR! While the temps outside are freezing, we are trying to stay warm inside. I have some cute Valentine treat boxes to share with you for my Cutting Cafe design team challenge. This week, we are all sharing projects with a Valentine theme and we got to choose any files to work with we wanted.

I chose the Heart Treat Box file. I cut them from different floral cardstocks that all came in a paper pad. This is very heavy cardstock and was perfect for creating these boxes. I will fill with some candies and other treats as soon as I can get to the store.

I cut some hearts from felt and hand-stitched around them, added a cut gold arrow (also from the file) and some fun heart stickers, paper doily, and sequins.

Be sure to visit the Cutting Cafe Blog later today to see the design team's projects in which you can leave a comment to be entered into a drawing to win 3 FREE sets of your choice from the online store.

January/February Goals

I can't believe we are already well into Feb! I wanted to pop in and let you know how I am doing on my goals.

My January goals were:
*completing a declutter challenge for the month of January. I chose to follow this one: 30 MINUTE, 30 DAY ORGANIZATION CHALLENGE.  

Yes! I did this.

*decluttering and organizing craft room

We have had a LOT of cold weather and the upstairs (where my craft room is) is not heated. So while I didn't get to work up there as much as I wanted, I took advantage of every "warm" day we had and put a big dent in getting it done.

*friendships: 

          *have some friends over for a cup of tea/coffee "just because"

This was fun. I had a couple friends over for a Winter White party. You can read about it here.

          *send a card to someone letting them know I'm thinking of them

I didn't send a card, but did send several messages.

*my health: I had a lot of health issues that happened in 2018 and are carrying over to 2019, so my goal is to keep better notes of what is going on when and to increase my exercise to 5 days/week

I didn't exercise 5 days/wk, but did exercise a lot more than I had been. Also on the days when I was gone all day out of town, I would park far from wherever I needed to go in and walked to get in more exercise.

For February, again I'm keeping it simple...

*do another declutter challenge

*have another mini party with friends

*exercise 3x/week

*keep working on craft room

*make a new recipe

*do a craft project

Cow Cards

Fun set of cow cards I made for a friend when she won a cow milking contest at the fair.