Green Eyed Girl Crafts!

Farewell To The HJ...

2012-01-15T21:08:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of my going away cake... some of you know that the last year has been pretty tough on me and has taken a tole on my feeling like doing anything crafty... Guess what... that chapter is now closed and I am off on a new adventure! If you want all of the "details" you can find them here. To those of you who have written words of encouragement I want to tell you thank you! It was your kind words and love that helped me make it through a very difficult time! Here's to some fun crafting projects and a new chapter! Happy New Year everyone!

Huggies!

Chocolate Covered Christmas Pretzels

2011-12-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Bagged and ready for delivery...

Warming the chocolate...

Note the jar Josh is pulling the pretzels from

Getting their chocolate coating...

Some had sprinkles...

Some had more chocolate...

The production line...

They were stacked everywhere...

In keeping with the Johnson family tradition of chocolate covered pretzels... we bought 2 of the big containers from Sams Club that had cute stars, trees and bell shapes (see top picture) for about $8.00 each plus about 8 pounds of white chocolate and in a matter of about 90 minutes we had over 1,200 of those bad boys completed and ready for delivery!

We are getting better with the "production" each and every time we make them. This time we decided to melt the chocolate (we bought 2 pound blocks instead of the chips) in the microwave first and then put the melted chocolate into the frying pan (it was on low) we found that this makes the chocolate stay warmer and the pretzel don't end up "swimming" in the chocolate because most of it will drip off and back into the pan... and we didn't have to keep re-heating the chocolate on the stove in the double boiler. After they were dipped we put them on a waxed paper covered cookie sheet and moved over to the "decorating" section of the kitchen.

Our next big ah-ha moment was with the decorating bags. I had previously bought bottles (they looked like smaller ketchup bottles you use at a ballgame). Kendra would put several Wilton Candy Melts into the bottle and would microwave them until melted... stirring them constantly and sometimes they would burn a little because it was taking forever to get them to melt completely. This time I bought the Wilton Decorating Bags (I think there were 10 of them for $4.00)... these worked like a charm. Kendra put several Candy Melts in the bag... zapped them for the time called for and then would "massage" the bag until all of the Melts were melted completely... then she snipped a very small piece off of the bottom and voila... the perfect decorating tool! (it's better to take just a little snip off ~ you can always snip off more if you want later).

Josh thought it was taking to long to just decorate each individual pretzel and decided they should just sweep across the whole tray with several passes back and forth with each of the colors. With this new idea they were much faster decorating than we were dipping and honestly... they looked just as good as when each one was done on its own! Some of the pans Josh and Kendra used just the sugar sprinkles and others they did just the Candy Melts and on some they did both... they all looked so festive and tasted so good!

The pretzels would have set up a lot faster had my mom not cranked up the temperature to 86* in my house. Apparently when my mom and dad first arrived (Kendra and I were both running late at work and Josh was in the shower) my mom decided that it was a little "chilly" so she proceeded to crank up the heat to 86*... She claims she didn't hear the furnace kick on... so she just keep pressing the "up" button. Josh was the one who noticed how hot it was getting and discovered that it was 86*. He first accused me of cranking it up and then my mom started laughing... she knew she was busted! Needless to say it gave us all a great laugh for the evening!

I hope that you and your family have at least one "fun" thing to do in the kitchen that everyone can do together... oh and don't forget to have your favorite Christmas carols playing in the background... you will be making memories for years to come!

Merry Christmas!

Dallas Cowboys Whoo Hooo Towel

2011-12-05T19:31:00.001-07:00

I had bought some white flocked heat transfer material over a year ago and finally decided it would be fun to make me, Josh and My dad a whoo hooo towel for the Cowboys games. I already had saved the star and the logo on my Silhouette... I just measured the places I wanted the flocking to go and cut it that size. I have never worked with flocking before and it would have been a snap had I used normal material... but all of the "loops" on the towel as well as the "lint" is not the easiest or best medium to adhere it to. I did really like how they turned out though... hopefully it will bring us better luck than we had yesterday!

Dallas Cowboy Clothes Pins...

2011-11-12T21:56:00.001-07:00

The front of the holders...

The back of the holders...

Dallas Cowboy chocolate covered pretzels...

My dad and his brothers have been Dallas Cowboy fans since their very first game. My cousins and I all have the strong Cowboys ties as well. At our Johnson Reunion this summer I asked my dad and uncles, Darrell and Ace, to bring their Cowboy jerseys for a "photo shoot". I thought it would be cool ~ and being the awesome uncles they are... they humored me! You can see the complete photo shoot here. I wanted to make them something fun to display the pictures... and this is what I came up with.

I painted the cloths pin two coats of silver... I traced the special Cowboy star paper and used Mod Podge to adhere it to the wood. The white paper was added to the top (I'll never admit this... but you can have too many stars) and the white was the perfect pop he needed. I wished the picture showed the sparkles on the papers better... then I added a blue jute-like material for the final touch. I attached two pictures of them together ~ a front and a back... just like they are posed (top and middle picture ~ right pin). You can soo tell they are brothers! I have different pictures in mine (top and middle picture ~ left pin). Since we had the Sunday night game... I thought it would be fun to give them each a bag of Cowboy pretzels to enjoy for treat time during the game.

Fall Centerpiece...

2011-11-12T21:35:00.001-07:00

Another one of my mom many talents... flower arranging! She surprised me with this for my kitchen table... I love it!

Cowboy and Halloween Pretzels...

2011-11-12T21:12:00.001-07:00

The cute bag filled with treats...

Halloween Pretzels...

Dallas Cowboy Pretzels...

My dad and the cool Cowboy Pretzels...

In keeping with holiday tradition we made our super tasty pretzels. One of the girls at work found these cute football pretzels and thought that I should have them. Mom and I dipped with dad and Kendra were the decorators... Josh even joined in on the fun after he got home from work. We put the pretzels in these cute bags and I made a cute pumpkin tag by cutting two of the pumpkins and sticking them together (the eyes and mouth would have fallen out... by putting tape over the back of the eyes and mouth and putting the two together you couldn't see the tape... OCD I know... but it looked cuter!) a little chalking to add some depth and they were ready to go.

Welcome Post...

2011-10-27T13:05:00.001-06:00

Halloween Welcome...

Thanksgiving Welcome...

The post with sign...

Some people have asked about the post that my mom and dad built. The main post is a 4x4 cedar post... a fence cap on top and a plate that the 4x4 sits in at the bottom... a 1.4 inch maple square base that should hold up to the cold Utah weather (made by Bob Morrow - the wood man as we like to call him). The wrought iron arm post was from Home Depot and it included the little black sign holders. My dad drilled a hole in the bottom of the base and the 4x4 ... countersink the lag screw to keep it from wobbling. A coat of outdoor paint and voila... a Porch sign holder.

The signs are 2 pieces of cedar glued together... sanded and painted. Bob (The wood man who made them for us) also drilled a small hole in the top of each one so that we could screw an I kook into the top for the sign to hang from. I then used vinyl for the sayings and some older wood cut outs from The Wood Connection. The Halloween side has glitter on the pumpkin ~ ghost and star along with cute faces made from vinyl using my Silhouette. The Thanksgiving side is also an older cut out along with some wire and ribbon for the embellishments.

This year the pumpkins don't have the cute vinyl faces like last year See them here... September and part of October have been filled with lots of fun on the inside my house before painting... and finally seeing the beautiful completed project... Yeah! Finally on the 11th of October the house was Halloween/Fall ready (only a month later than normal... but there's always next year... right?)

Halloween Wood Letters..

2011-10-26T00:25:00.001-06:00

My mom is doing great at getting her Halloween and fall projects completed (I'm struggling... still!). She was kind enough to send me her pics (sorry... the picture is a little dark). My mom is not a fan of the bright colors for Halloween... so she changed to the the more "pastel" colors (can you use pastel and Halloween in the same sentence?) The pumpkin does have a cute face cut out of vinyl (I love my Silhouette) as well as the inking around the edges and the cute ribbons for the final touch. The stackers are the same as the one I posted previously... but I hated how I put the vinyl on the "apples" log... it slanted some. I like how this one turned out much better... I like having 3 different fonts!

Come In For A Spell...

2011-10-08T23:45:00.001-06:00

My moms cute front porch...

Fall flowers...

Autumn wood letters...

I thought I would post some of my moms newest and cutest fall decor. The top picture is of my mom and dads front porch and their awesome welcome post the designed and made. Last Saturday afternoon my mom came down and we designed the "Come In For A Spell" sign and on the back is the Thanksgiving side (I love two-fers). I will post pictures when she turns it around.... I love how she used the cute scarecrows and hay bales to complete her porch. Thanks mom for sharing your talents!

Dallas Cowboy Star ~ Ooops...

2011-09-22T23:15:00.000-06:00

The "plain" star...

After priming...

After spraying it with glitter spray...

The finished star... I have to admit... you really can have TOO much glitter. I should have just left it with the silver glitter spray paint on the base of the star... instead I went over the top of the cardstock with glitter spray (it was a different kind of spray paint that has a lighter mist)... and this is what it looks like now! You can't tell... but I had white - grey and blue Bazzill cardstock... now it's a mess! I spent $1.99 per sheet on the star paper and it took several sheets because I wanted the stars to be exactly horizontal and look like Cowboy stars (if they are on their side or upside down they look funny). My mom asked if I was going to blog the star... I started laughing and said... yes... we need to blog about our failures as much as our successes! So this is a post about what NOT to do. I will probably go back over it all again someday ... and see if I can make it look more like a Cowboy star... until then...

Yellow It Is...

2011-09-22T22:59:00.000-06:00

The "new" lamp...

I almost forgot to take a picture before I primed it

Basket...

Wood frame...

Lately I've been in the mood for some color... I really like the purple/yellow combo and so yellow was my choice to go with my new bed spread that I got for my birthday from my family. I have to admit it might not be the perfect color of yellow to go with the bed spread... but hey for $5.00 for 2 cans of yellow spray paint I'm not going to complain and to be honest... it really is growing on me! The lamp I've had for years and well as the wicker basket and greenery. The frame was one I had on hand... I'm still trying to find the perfect quote to put into it... but all in all I really like my new pops of color!

Commercial Break...

2011-09-22T22:24:00.000-06:00

A big Thank You to Suzy at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom for her kind words and for spotlighting my blog today... I haven't posted much lately... but I promise good things are ahead!

My New Love...

2011-09-11T17:00:00.003-06:00

Have you all heard about Pinterest? I'm sure you have.... but if your haven't... Oh my... what can I say? I'm hooked! If you have a few minutes (or several hours) you should check it out. You can find anything from crafts to fashion... art to travel and food to nature. I even found some good ideas on apps for my iPhone.

Have you ever found a really cute project that you wanted to "duplicate"... but when you posted your version on your blog and wanted to give the person your "lifted" it from proper credit... you couldn't remember where you saw it? With Pinterest... you don't have to worry about that ever again! I have a "Pin It" button located on my toolbar so all I have to do is click on the blog post (not on the home page of the blog... or it may take you a while to go back and find the one you are looking for) make my notes and select the "board" that I want it stored under... and... VIOLA! Pinterest will give the blog that the item came from their proper credit on each and every pin... how cool is that!

You can "follow" people who have the same interests... so when they pin a cute card... it will pop up for you to see on your wall. If they have "boards" that you are not interested in... just un-follow that board... you can pick and choose... it's great and I'm so happy that I found it!

If you haven't checked it out... take a few minutes to check it out... and let me know what you think...

If you have checked it out... let me know so I can follow you! I think bloggers have the greatest ideas... and who doesn't want some great ideas these days? If you'd like... you can follow me... just click on the Pinterest button on my side bar and it will take you right to me...

I'm off to watch the Cowboy game with my dad... I can't wait to start my new Dallas Cowboy projects this week... I'll be sharing soon...

Custom Dallas Cowboy Mailbox...

2011-08-29T22:59:00.001-06:00

Front and right side...

Back...

Front and left side... it sits so close to the neighbors mailbox

that I didn't put the street number on this side...

Front...

Side view...

A "thank you" on the inside lid so every time

I get my mail... my mail carrier gets a thanks!

My inspiration! Okay lets be honest... Tony is a cutie... but my true inspiration came from his "throw-back" helmet!

I figured it was time for a new look from last years Cowboy mailbox makeover - see it here. I used my Silhouette to cut out all of the vinyl and Josh put it on the post today so we are ready to go... I don't know about you... but I'm ready for some football! Woohooo!

Altered Clipboard...

2011-07-31T21:40:00.001-06:00

I'm sorry there are sooo many postings today... I've been so far behind and finally decided that it was time to make blogging a priority! I've been super busy at work! "Work is the place that we are supposed to be able to go to and work hard for 8 hours to make a living so that we can live life"... instead the last 7 months "I have been living at work and having no life" - I'm not going to lie... I'm BURNED out! I've worked over 190 "comp" hours (since I'm salary) that I will never get back... I still have 240 hours of vacation to take before the end of the year or I lose them... Thus far I have taken 7 hours off... 7 hours in 7 months and that time was part of my "comp" hours. What am I thinking... what am I doing... Does anyone at the office appreciate my personal sacrifice for the company... I don't think so. I called my dad the other day when I left work at 3:00 and he said "Did you get fired"? He's used to me calling him at 8:00 at night. I had some injections in my knees a few months back... I didn't take sick leave... I went right back to work and worked straight through the day with ice bags on both my knees. I am so tired of coming home at night and being mentally exhausted... I'm too tired to go down the stairs to my studio for days at a time. Weekends... I just want to be a bum... I don't want to go anywhere or do anything!

I made a big decision this past week... I am no longer going to work more than an 8 hour day... and I am going to use my vacation... all 30 days before the end of the year. I'm going to make sure that I make it to my studio each and every night... if for nothing else but to "catch up" on my friends blogs. I've got so many projects I want to get started on... I'm hoping by putting this in writing I will make sure to follow through on my decision... and not feel pressured to have to stay at work to complete the next project handed to me... if it can't work it in to my 8 hours... oh well, I guess someone else will have to do it instead...

With all that said... we have all new pricing which gets really confusing. I made us all binders with all of the pricing in it... but it's so big and bulky and the customer feels like we really don't know what we are doing or talking about. I remembered I had bought a clip board years ago and one night decided to hit the studio and make a board that I could put a "cheat sheet" on that would sit off to the side of my computer and away from the customers... so I can actually quote prices and sound like I know what I'm talking about.

First I painted the edges and in about an inch all around with purple paint. Then I traced the board onto the back of my scrapbook paper and cut it out. I used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the wood on both the front and the back and let dry. I ended up cutting a little too much off of the top in the front... so I used some sticky backed mesh over the top... I can't decide if I like just the ribbon on it... or if I am going to go back and put silk flowers on instead... since I'm OCD... I'm betting I will be adding flowers later... lol. But can I just say... it works like a charm.

Rooster Plate...

2011-07-31T19:55:00.000-06:00

I thought the plates were a little plaint and needed a little something... since the majority of my "rooster stuff" is on top of my cabinets... I thought I would just add this little pop to the plate to keep the rooster theme continuing down below too...

Altered S&P Shakers...

2011-07-31T19:46:00.002-06:00

I bought a new set of dishes at Christmas so

these just don't match anymore...

Red...

Since I have changed my kitchen into the "rooster theme" a few months back... I thought it might be fun to change my old salt and pepper shakers up a bit. I didn't have any primer... so I just sprayed away. I plugged the holes with toothpicks so the paint wouldn't get inside of the shakers. I added "bling" and I'm still surprised how long it has lasted... I thought for sure with as much use as they get they would fall off quickly.

Altered Glass Bowls...

2011-07-31T19:29:00.001-06:00

What fun... I am so in love with spray paint these days. Josh loves to make fun of me and I keep teasing him... you sit still long enough... I will spray paint you too! These are just the glass bowls from the $1 store... so simple but adds that splash of color... love it... love it... love it!

Smiley Face Bucket - Redo...

2011-07-31T17:36:00.002-06:00

As many of you know who have been following me for a while know I have OCD... When I gave this bucket to my friend a few months back... he was tickled to death... however, I hated the smiley face... it didn't have the little doohickey things in the corner of the mouth and the smile part was too wide... (see bottom photo). So when Silhouette came out with their new "cute" smiley faces I asked him for the bucket back... and cut him a new face... (the top picture is the newest version)... I'm now very much happy with it now... I told you I had OCD...

Keep smilin' and...

Josh's Baseball Mitt

2011-07-31T17:23:00.001-06:00

The Mitt...

The lacing up close...

Josh... and his mitt

2 Weeks before Josh's birthday mom and I had our haircut appointments in Salt Lake which means... we get to make a stop at the Wood Connection. I kept looking at the mitt each time we are there... but this time I decided I was going to buy it and make it for Josh. He is such a sports nut it would be perfect. He loved it (even if he didn't he would never have told me he didn't...) and it looks great in our downstairs along with all of the Dallas Cowboy ~ Utah Jazz ~ Seattle Mariners and NASCAR memorabilia.

Look What I Won...

2011-07-25T11:13:00.001-06:00

I am such a lucky girl!

In May my friend Melanie had a giveaway on her super cute blog and I was the winner! She was even sweet enough to deliver it to my office (I of course... was in a meeting with my new boss and didn't get the opportunity to meet this wonderfully talented woman!) She gave me my choice of what I would like to have her create... and since my favorite holiday to decorate for is in Red- White and Blue she made me this beautiful wood flag. It's perfect and it looks so cute in my entryway! Thank you Melanie for having such a fun giveaway!

Patriotic Pretzels...

2011-07-04T23:06:00.001-06:00

All netted up ~ ready for delivery!

The sticks...

Mass production... almost 2 full bags dipped!

Mom and dad decided that since Kendra and I had so much fun decorating the pretzels... they wanted to help too! The plan was for mom and I to dip... and Dad and Kendra to decorate. Kendra decorated all of the twists... but my dad has a lot of talent too so I moved over to the table so that he could decorate the sticks... I think he did a great job! The cute bowls I found at Hobby Lobby and with some netting in a "+" way then tied with a cute polka dot ribbon. What a fun neighbor/family gift for the 4th of July holiday! Guess which holiday is next... Halloween... and I can decorate using my favorite color ... purple!

Not Crafty... but Super Fun...

2011-07-01T00:41:00.001-06:00

Me and Dana Williams of Diamond Rio...

Dana Williams

Jimmy Olander

Marty Roe

Dan Truman

From left to right... Gene Johnson ~ Brian Prout ~ Marty Roe

and Dana Williams

Diamond Rio is going to be performing at Freedom Fire at the USU Romney Stadium tonight...(it's after midnight that I am posting this). Josh has been working all week getting the fireworks ready for the big show. The boys were hungry and thirsty.. so I dropped off some pizza and pop. Josh showed me the Diamond Rio bus next to where we were standing... then he gave me his "pass" into the stadium and told me to go enjoy.. so I did! I watched the other performers along with the American Festival Chorus and orchestra in rehearsals. I have to admit... I was in my heaven! I got to take a picture with Dana Williams and stand about 10 feet away from the stage while Diamond Rio did their sound check for 60 minutes... so much fun... I can't wait for the big show from them tonight along with the awesome fireworks display put on by Fireworks West...

I'm stoked...

2011-06-16T22:46:00.001-06:00

Are these not the cutest watermelons?

Jody had a giveaway on her blog and these cuties are

headed to my house!

Check out Jody's Etsy store too!

You could have a set just like mine delivered right to ya!

Thanks Jody!

Seeing Double... Double...

2011-06-15T23:40:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Friday, June 10, 2011

What can I say... it's beautiful here in Cache Valley! If you want to read my "stories" about the rainbows... check out my personal blog The Green Eyed Girl Too!

2011-05-22T19:31:00.000-06:00

My sweet Visiting Teacher, Liz, stopped by my home on Mother's Day to deliver this cute gift for me. She painted the frame yellow (it looks marvelous with my new purple bedspread) and then downloaded the text at Oopsey Daisy (Liz is also very talented, so I can't wait to see what she comes up with next). I think each and every one of us can relate to each and every one of these words. Thank you Liz for thinking of me on our special day and for being such an amazing woman... I feel very blessed you are my friend!

Cross Stitch Easter Eggs...

2011-05-22T19:10:00.001-06:00

My mom reminded me that I had not blogged about the cross-stitch eggs we had made. I think I made these in 1988 (Josh was 1 at the time) along with the Styrofoam eggs with material and rick rack. (they are the blue and pink ones under the stitched ones). Tradition is good... we both still get our handmade Easter eggs each and every year!

Smiley Face Bucket...

2011-05-01T19:00:00.004-06:00

I have a friend at work who is the happiest person I know... his name is Clayne. He always wears a smile... if you are feeling down... he always knows the right thing to say to bring a smile to your face. Clayne is our biggest cheerleader at work. We have High-Five Friday... which now includes the entire building! He starts in the back with display... jogs through the break room... to the girls in the front office... into the publishers office... out to us in Classifieds and then ends with editorial! Everyday he makes his rounds asking if we are Happy Campers and when he is headed back to his desk he will say Keep Smilin'. So a few months back Kendra found a bright yellow bucket at work and they were going to toss it out... she asked if she could take it and then brought it to me (she knew I would love to vinyl it up). I told Clayne about the bucket and what my idea was. I decided last week I was going to work on my "procrastination issues" and I wanted to get this project done. I found the smiley face worked better on the black bucket instead... so I used the bright yellow vinyl and cut the face. I wanted to have keep smilin' on the top of the bucket too. I had found the ribbon a few weeks ago... and thought the colors would be prefect... and they were. I used 8 different ribbons (the yellow and black flowered one pretty much took over). Josh saw it and said... "it looks to girly" for Clayne. I filled it up with lifesavers and off to work it went. Clayne loved it... girly ribbon and all!

I made these magnets for him for his birthday two years ago.

Clayne... I know you will never read my blog... but I hope that somehow you will know just how important you are to The HJ and that all of think the world of you!

Keep Smilin' friend!

I'm Doing The Happy Dance!

2011-05-01T18:29:00.000-06:00

I'm sooo stoked! After 3.5 months of hating my "blog makeover" I finally figured out how to change the one thing that was bugging me the most... without the help of the blog-makeover person (I was getting no where fast with that idea). Do you remember the stupid vertical lines that run down each side of my blog? They drove me crazy... it was right in the middle of my side bar stuff. I tried everything! Friday night I finally decided I was prepared to make my blog look nice again no matter what the price (my sanity). I did the back up... and then make sure that I saved each and every one of the sidebar blogs that I love so much (as to not loose them all again ~ as I did when I had the makeover done in the first place). I have played with the html codes in the past... and I quite like figuring out the codes... but nothing would make the lines disappear. I started pulling everything off... and low and behold... the vertical lines went bye-bye and I didn't lose a thing from my blog... that is why I am now doing the happy dance!

Pink Easter Bucket...

2011-04-24T18:55:00.006-06:00

I finally finished 1 of the buckets I was planning on doing for Easter. I had bought pink and yellow buckets and was planning on using them to put Kendra and I's Easter Chocolate Covered Pretzels in for gifts... my mom and dad and Aunt Peggy received theirs in a baggie. (I really need to work on my procrastination issues...). This bucket I finished just in time for Josh to deliver to Kendra's Family for Easter. Looking at the picture now I wish I had used green Stickles in the middle of the flower... it would have matched the pink ribbon with the flower on it perfect... maybe next year! I used my Silhouette and cut out the vinyl... and added cute pink and white ribbons to the handle. The pretzels were placed into a large cellophane bag and tied with a matching ribbon and... Voila...

Blog Award

2011-04-24T18:12:00.004-06:00

Staci at CraftyStaci was so sweet to pass along the Versatile Blogger Award to me! There are a couple of rules that go along with being a recipient of this award, and in order to show my appreciation to Staci for the honor, I’ll follow them. Thank you Staci!

First... I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself...
1. I have green eyes... hence my blog name
2. I'm an only child... and my son is an only child too! It was not "planned" that way by my parents or by me... but you play with the cards that you are dealt
3. I'm a procrastinator... and it's getting worse as I get older!
4. I love sports... NASCAR ~ I love my Jrs... Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. and Dallas Cowboy football are my faves
5. I love rainbows
6. When I was younger I wanted to he a home economist when I grew up... I used to love to cook
7. I love to blog... it takes me to my "happy place"!

Second... I am supposed to share this award with 15 other bloggers. I have so many amazing blogger friends... so I am going to ask you to check out my sidebars and go and visit a few that might interest you! I promise it will be worth your "travels".

Easter Chocolate Covered Pretzels

2011-04-24T15:08:00.002-06:00

The spread...

Up close... pretty huh

The row of "sticks"

The sticks... up close

Kendra made these cute Easter designs with molds

Kendra and I have been planning since Valentines on doing these cute Easter chocolate covered pretzels... 1 went through one whole bag of the bite size pretzels and a bag of the sticks. We both love the colors and thought they turned out super cute. I had big plans of making several buckets to put these cute treats in... procrastination... seems to be my way of life lately...

Kristie's Wood Projects...

2011-04-24T14:49:00.002-06:00

Set of 3 wood Easter eggs...

Modge Podged paper on to the wood... then she used

large size rick-rack and ribbon for the final touch!

These carrots are the cutest!

Home... she changes out the "O" for each holiday

This is a wood block painted and then she added

scrapbook paper - a saying printed on plain cardstock

and then attached it using nail heads...

My mom is so lucky that she lives a few houses away from one of the most crafty women we have both met. My mom is always telling me about a new project Kristie has completed... so I asked if she could see if Kristie would mind if she took some pictures and I posted it on the blog to share with my bloggie friends and she said yes! These are some of her latest projects... Ill try and keep you updated with all her new creations!

Dad's Orange Creations...

2011-04-24T14:32:00.001-06:00

Here are a few more pictures of my dad's

orange slice creations...

The last one is a cute rabbit it made using toothpicks

Wood Easter Basket...

2011-04-19T20:57:00.003-06:00

Last month while I was in Boise for meetings I made arrangements to meet my new "bloggy friend" Nicole. She is a super talented wood designer and cuts each and every piece of wood herself. I noticed she had designed this super cute Easter basket and knew that I wanted one... well I got two... but I only have this one finished. Nicole does amazing work and the best thing... she SHIPS... such a rare deal these days. Check out Nicole's Sweet Pickle Design Blog and have her design something for you!

Since my time in Boise was so tight and I had to hurry back to Utah on Tuesday the only available time was Sunday afternoon. I was greeted with a hug and I had the opportunity to visit with Nicole and her beautiful daughter, Avery. The more we talked, the more things we found we had in common. A big thank you to Nicole's husband for being so patient with a "stranger" and to Nicole and Avery for being so kind! As soon as I can get the dust settled at work... I'm heading back to Boise for a girls craft weekend!

I traced and cut my scrapbook paper first and then inked the edges of the paper. I painted the whole basket in white. I Modge Podged the paper to the wood and then applied a finish over the top to seal it. As you can tell I had a hard time deciding which picture I liked better... so the top one was taken outside... and it shows the ribbon behind the flower better. The 2nd one looks cool because there is nothing in the background, but you can't see the ribbon. The 3rd one has the bow with netting. The last one shows the cool "grass" I used... I love the bright vibrant colors.

I'm not really sure which way I like it better... with the bow or without... what do you think? I can't decide.

Rabbit... Rabbit...

2011-04-11T20:00:00.004-06:00

Finally... I have something completed! Let's hear a wahooo!

I have been struggling with finding time to be creative.. but this little cutie was worth the wait! I painted her white all over and sanded the edges. I then used pink chalk and added the detail around the outside edges and also highlighted some on the center of the ears (I debated about using velvet... but I didn't like the look after I cut it out). The egg is painted pink with Stickles in the crevice of the bead board. I added Stickles on the top heart of the nose and also on the flower on the egg to give her a little bling. I thought she needed a little something for her mouth so I used a gel type heart shaped sticker (upside down) and covered it with black Stickles. I used crafting wire for the whiskers... again I wanted something the didn't standout (like black wire) and this worked for me. I also added google eyes (does anyone use them anymore)? I really liked the look. Then I tried trying a bow on her ear... and it just didn't look right... so I compromised and added a black see through flower with a cute fabric covered pink polka dot brad. I can't decide which way I like her better... with the flower or without? What do you think?

LDS General Conference

2011-04-11T19:39:00.003-06:00

Every wonder how photographers get those great shots at LDS General Conference?

Check out my friend, Eli Lucero's blog to see how!

Orange Slice Designs...

2011-04-09T12:31:00.003-06:00

I had to show you that my talents don't just come from my mom. These are a few of my dad's orange creations. When my mom and I went to Boise a few weeks ago on the way home she called my dad to tell him when to expect us and asked if he would mind peeling her an orange. I started teasing her about having dad do that... her comment was... you should see some of the designs he makes for me. So I asked her to take some pictures so I could share them too! Here is a few of them! On a different note about the men in my life... I have to laugh at Josh... he's been head vaccumer in our house lately and when I come home from work I'm excited to see what design he has created in the carpet. He does the same thing with our grass.. he mows it in different directions each and every time. Thank you both for adding a smile to my day!

*** added 4/10/11 ~ my mom just informed me that my dad peals here an orange each and every day... and told me how much she enjoys his beautiful creations! ***

Spring Chicken...

2011-04-09T12:22:00.001-06:00

I wanted to post a few of my moms recent projects. I love the chick... she's so cute with the feather coming out of the top of her head... The body is scrapbook paper that she Modge Podged onto the wood... she had my dad drill a small hole in the top of the egg to glue the feather into and the sparkly glitter on the beak and feet are too cute! The egg frame turned adorable! She had painted the background and the grass different colors and after it was done... changed it to these. I think it looks so much better! I love the cute little dragonfly and the butterfly along with the pink netting for the finishing touch! Thanks mom for sharing especially since your daughter hasn't crafted in a month!

My Newest Blog Friend...

2011-03-30T23:30:00.007-06:00

Jane Isfeld Still

Jane was having a giveaway on her blog... and guess who the lucky winner is... ME! I'm so excited to receive these books. Check out Jane's Blog you, too, will have a smile on your face! For those of you who follow my blog you know I have been "not myself" for the past few months. I'm still waiting for my divorce to be final (it's been 11 months now... would the judge sign the dang paperwork already!) I read the below excerpts on her blog and burst out laughing. One of the things I have learned in my life is... you have to laugh... laughter is INDEED the best medicine! So thank you Jane... I'm looking forward to receiving my books and the chocolate to go with it... and a few good laughs to wash away my troubles... I'm off to find a good hiding place for MY chocolate because Josh is our chocolate stealer in our house! Huggies everyone!

Crazy Daze of Motherhood...

FASHION FAUX PAS
I hated going to the doctor’s office for many reasons, but my main concern centered on clothing—I worried about what to wear. …..

It seemed that no matter what the exam was, it required some level of undress. I could never be sure how much nakedness the nurse required. I certainly didn’t want to look like an imbecile by asking her to clarify exactly what “take off all your clothes” meant. Did she mean all my clothes, or did she just mean the clothes pertinent to the exam? Why should I take off my jeans if I was having my lungs looked at? It would be embarrassing to take off more than I needed to. That would make me look eager. If I must remove all my clothes, what about my socks? A person needed something on for warmth and security, but socks look dorky when you’re naked, and who wants to look like a dork? Maybe, if I wore the right style and color, they would coordinate with the gown. Would knee socks look better or rolled ankle socks? Maybe socks that slid over my feet and didn’t hit the ankle would be best. Would black socks look better than white? Maybe they would let me take a gown home and try it on in the mirror. What if you had a hole in your sock? It would look stupid to put your shoes back on to hide it, like you were ready to leap up after the exam and wear your gown the rest of the day as you ran your other errands…………

Mothers Daze...

…….tonight I was ready to don the hoops and heels. Rick was taking me out on our first official date since Jason was born. It was time to pull back the cobwebs and shake the dust from my wardrobe. There must be something in there I could cram myself into by now……I rummaged through a pile of jeans crammed in a dark corner. Did I dare? I pulled out a favorite pair. “Careful now, don’t get too excited.” I was speaking to the girl in the mirror. “They’re sliding up, over the thighs, past the hips.” One more major obstacle and . . . “Yes!” I screamed. They had encompassed the tush and pulled around the front. Four more inches, and I’d have a home run. I took a deep breath to suck my stomach in. It wouldn’t suck. I tried to flatten it with my hands and stuff it somewhere, anywhere. It wasn’t happening. I tugged at the zipper. Nothing. If I could just snap them shut, I could cover the zipper with a shirt. I tugged and then pulled again, harder. I backed against the wall, spread my feet apart, braced myself, and tried again. It was close. I felt light headed from all the huffing and puffing, so I rested on the edge of the bed. This must be how girls felt years ago when they had whalebone corsets to achieve those ridiculous waistlines that could be spanned by a man’s hands. No wonder they had to have someone hold a foot in their back and pull at the strings. That’s it! I jumped up. “Rick, I need help. And bring the pliers.” “You want me to what?” “I want you to snap up my pants.” “Honey, you’re regressing. Do we have two babies in the house now? Should I be worried about potty training time?” I punched him. “Did you think that up all by yourself? If I can button your long-sleeved shirts for you, you can snap my pants up for me.” “Turn around then.” He reached from behind and pulled and tugged my waistband forward. “Ow. You’re pinching me.” I pushed his hands away and turned to face him. “Jane, this is humanly impossible. It can’t be done. When a snake outgrows its skin, it gets a bigger one.” “Thanks a lot. In case you didn’t notice, I am not a snake, and I don’t want bigger jeans. I want smaller ones.” “Is that supposed to make sense?”……………

Free Paint...

2011-03-26T13:32:00.001-06:00

Ever since I moved in to my home 7 years ago... I have wanted to paint! The almost "x" husband didn't think it was necessary... "white walls sell" he would always say! In my opinion... not so much! I am so tired of white walls... and since he no longer lives here... I'm going to color my world! Every paint sample order is shipped with a paint roller and tray for each sample; a paint chip of each sample color ordered; an envelope of coordinating color chips; instruction card; and a coupon for your next Valspar paint purchase at Lowe's. What's not to love? Go to Valspar to get your free sample too! I just ordered Funshine #C1232... I want to paint my laundry/mud room yellow... it will be perfect!

A Tornado in Utah?...

2011-03-25T22:04:00.001-06:00

How embarrassing is this to even show pictures of this mess...

My life has been so busy the past 3 months... I have been flying "solo" at work... a job that should be completed by 2 people... not one. So when I get home I get home I night I don't feel like heading down to the studio... and with it looking like this... why would I? What is so ironic about this room... it's nothing like any other room in my home or my desk at work... everything is pretty organized... not this room! I haven't felt like doing much of anything with my crafts... or to even start to put anything away for that matter. We had out hair cut the first weekend of January... the Roberts sack is from that trip. How sad is that! My hope is with Josh shooting the fireworks show in Jackson tomorrow night I can start to make some progress with the mess and the crafts! Wish me luck... I'm going to need it!

My Pot of Gold and Rainbow...

2011-03-15T23:16:00.001-06:00

This picture shows the vinyl best...

This one shows how sparkly the rainbow is!

This one is a picture I had Josh take with his phone.

It's a good thing we both work at the same place

I have to admit... I've been feeling guilty... I know it's silly... but I do not have any St. Patrick's Day decorations any where in my house! All of my cute bloggy friends all have been busy making their awesome green holiday decor.. and I have nothing! I used to decorate... have parties... and make treats! But the past 7 years (that's another story in itself) I have not done anything for this fun holiday...yes I still make sure to wear something green... even though I think that having green eyes counts as wearing green ;-) I was thinking how bare my desk looked...I always have a basket ~ bucket or something on my desk at work filled with treats. I remembered I had a black pot tucked away in the closet (I re-discovered it when I was looking for anything red for my kitchen) and I thought I can redeem myself with this fun holiday! I cut the Happy St. Pat's Day out of vinyl on my Silhouette (the dark green is really hard to see and the curvature of the pot made it tricky putting the vinyl on). I made the rainbow from a Quickutz die... I added some Stickles for shimmer. I taped a skewer on the back of the rainbow... and stuck it in the Lifesavers...however the more I looked at it today... I didn't like having that stick in the middle... instead I broke it in half and taped it to the back of the rainbow on each side and stuck it in the treats... (last picture) I think it looks better... what do you think?

Clover Rice Krispie Treats...

2011-03-15T22:38:00.003-06:00

Me ad my trusty clover mold...

Josh's creations...

The amazing decorators... Josh and Kendra
(Don't they make a cute couple)

Close up of the Pot of Gold ~ Rainbow treat

Treats for Kendra's Family...

Treats for Josh to take to work... W for Wade and

J for Joey... yes those really are flower sprinkles...

Josh showing "creative" side!

More of the Pot of Gold ~ Rainbow look

Kendra and I have a new tradition... making treats for the holidays! It's always been Josh's job to help with the decorations... and he's slowly letting Kendra have her "space" in the kitchen too! He would go out in the living room to watch something on TV... and then would be back 2 minutes later to add some more decorations or (yes... he even added some flower sprinkles to the clovers... don't they say we should never squash our kids creativity?) to harass the Kendra and I... either way it was great to have both of them spending time with me and to make some delicious holiday treats! Kendra and I are already making Easter treat plans... maybe Josh will decide to sprinkle with the Red ~ White and Blue!

Roosters or Hens...

2011-03-15T21:58:00.002-06:00

My new kitchen decor...

Last summer after Val and I separated I decided that I needed change... change from the same old boring white walls (I still haven't started painting yet... we were still deciding on how long I could stay in the house without having to sell it... now I know I still have 2 years...so painting is my next big project!) black appliances and tan Formica. I wanted a bold color... RED... was my color choice and now that I am finally getting my "things" together I am loving it! It was haircut weekend so we stopped at Tai Pan and I was able to find the twig wreath to complete the look... I still have a few things to finish up... so I will post more pictures later!

Here's to change... and I'm going to embrace it!

Mom's Flower Creations...

2011-03-13T17:05:00.002-06:00

Here are the newest flower arrangements my mom has done!

I'd say she's ready for spring!

Also look how cute the Spring letters look. The "S" has patteren

paper applied to the front... the rest of the letters have cardstock

applied to the front. A sprig of white spring flowers... a purple

bow and voila...thanks for sharing mom!

An iPad For Me...

2011-03-05T22:25:00.003-07:00

The iPad box...

Almost out...

Yea... my new toy!

Valentines Day this year was just like any other day. Josh had taken Kendra to Salt Lake for the day shopping... so I came home and grabbed some dinner and headed to the studio to catch up on my blogs and Facebook. One of my friends had posted that KUTV was going to be giving away an iPad on the 10 o'clock news... so I thought... what the heck... so I signed up. About 10:10 I headed upstairs to catch up on some recorded TV shows when my cell phone rang. It was a good friend calling to wish me Happy Valentines Day! We were talking when my home phone rang... I told him I would have to call him back... my Aunt Peggy was calling and there must be something wrong. I answered the phone and my aunt said... "did you register to win an iPad on Channel 2." I said yes and she said... you just won... they just announced your name on the TV. Vicki from Logan. Wow... that's all I could say. I couldn't believe it! I had my iTouch sitting on the end table so I checked my e-mail... I was getting all kinds of posts to my Facebook wall. It was true... it was ME! Josh got home about 15 minutes later... (I'm still in shock mind you)... he walked in the door and said he had a surprise for me... I told him I had a surprise for him too. He came into the living room and I showed him my Facebook page... his comment was "Shut Up... no way... you won?". Immediately he called Kendra and I called my mom and dad. The next day KUTV called and asked when I could pick it up. I told them I wouldn't be able to get to Salt Lake for 3 weeks (still crazy busy at work and I can't take any time off now). She called me back a little while later and said they were going to UPS it to me. It was so nice of them to go that extra mile for me. Josh was home when the delivery came. He opened up the shipping box ... but was sweet enough to wait for me to get home so we could open it together. The next day Josh had all of my music and games downloaded ... I even have a NASCAR app. What a fun "toy"... I love it!

Stylish Blogger Award...

2011-02-28T22:03:00.003-07:00

Shannon over at Post Craft Ideas and Vinyl Layouts! was so sweet to pass along the Stylish Blogger Award to me! What can I say... I'm stoked! It's co nice to be "loved" and to be able to pass the "love" along to other great bloggers too! Thanks Shannon for thinking of me... you rock!

The terms for accepting the award are:
1-) Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award...
2-) Share 7 things about yourself...
3-) Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers... and
4-) Contact the blogger and tell them about the award...

7 Things about me...

1-) I'm an only child... and my son is in only child (and no we are NOT spoiled) lol!

2-) My desk and surrounding area at work are neat as a pin... my studio at home is a complete disaster area! I could show pictures... maybe that would embarrass me enough to get it cleaned up already! Which is strange for me being OCD...

3-) My mom and I drive to Salt Lake City (85 miles away) to get our hair cut (and I get a weave) every 8 weeks from our favorite hairdresser, Jef Williams, who just happens to have grown up in Cache Valley too! We have been going to Jef for 18 years now. We love Jef's work and all of the shopping on the way down and back!

4-) I love to play the guitar... country music only... (is there any other kind of music)?

5-) My beloved 00 Alero just turned over 150k miles... hopefully she can last another 150k... I didn't put all of those miles on... my soon to be e-husband did... now that she is about wore out... I got her back... but I don't have a car payment so I win!

6-) My dad, son and I are all Dallas Cowboy fans... we eat ~ drink and sleep the Cowboys from July through January ... and yes one of these years we will win a Superbowl again!

7-) I love blogging... it takes me to my "Happy Place" and I love getting to know my bloggy friends from all over the country!

Here they are... in alphabetical order...

remember I'm OCD...lol

Check them out... they are truly amazing women!

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All Dahled Up...

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Auntie Lolo Crafts...

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Butter Yum...

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Chapman Place

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Cinnaberry Suite...

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Curly Q Crafts...

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Dandelions and Dust Bunnies...

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It's All In My Head...

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Kristi's Kitchen Kreations...

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Scrapendipity...

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Shady Creek...

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The Creative Homemaker...

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The Pitchers...

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The Sewer ~ The Caker ~ The Copycat Maker

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Vicky's Art...

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I've Been Spotlighted...

2011-02-27T21:56:00.003-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me the wonderful women I have met through blogging. It seems as if we can reach through the computer and connect with a friend... someone you will most likely never meet... but you have a special bond with. We share our feelings... our creativeness... our insecurities... our blessings... our sadness and even our sense of humor! I have a new friend that lives in Alaska... but discovered through e-mails that she grew up 1 mile away from me in River Heights... small world. My friend Lois has a wonderful blog... I was so excited when I found her because she has the "same taste" in crafts as I do... and she does just about everything. She asked to do a "Spotlight" on me... I was so shocked... little ole me spotlighted. It's about as close to famous as I will ever be. Thank you Lois for making me feel so special... that's what friends are all about!

Check out the feature on Auntie Lolo Crafts...

Valentine Chocolate Covered Pretzels...

2011-02-13T15:09:00.004-07:00

Kendra and I decided to try our hand at making chocolate covered pretzels... I did the dipping and she was the decorator extraordinaire!

We made a ton of them... we knew they would make great treats for our Valentine party!

Kendra...my someday daughter-in-law!

We even tried the chocolate in a few molds.. I didn't get pics of all of them... but they turned out great too!

We even did a few pretzel sticks too! For the white chocolate I used white Ghirardelli Cholocate...and for the pink and red... we used Wilton Candy Melts ... melted and put into small squeeze bottles. It made the decorating so much easier. I think we make a pretty good team. Kendra even thought these would be great for a wedding... just change the colors of the chocolate to match your wedding colors! Thanks Kendra for a fun afternoon!

Kendra and I were featured here...

Valentine Rice Krispie Treats...

2011-02-13T14:44:00.002-07:00

Kendra (my someday daughter-in-law) and I decided to make Valentine Rice Krispie treats but were on a very limited time schedule so we only did one batch for her to take home to her family (they love them as much as we do)... the two bottom treats were made special for Josh ... she even hand delivered them to him at work... she even shared a few of the others for the rest of the sports guys.

Valentine Printables...

2011-02-13T14:15:00.001-07:00

Back in January Krista at While He Was Sleeping posted this great Valentine Subway Art. I was so excited...especially since my "craft time" has been fewer and fewer the past 2 months... I printed it off on white cardstock... and then had some fun with my Stickles. I absolutely love these shiny bottles of fun... The colors I used were Christmas Red, Platinum, Pink, Magenta, Lavender and Silver. I started at the top and moved my way down the page - changing colors with each new word.

I wanted to jazz up the frame some since I put it in a white frame (I already had on hand... and it was printed on white cardstock. I found some berries... and if you look real close... they look like hearts (maybe it's just me... but I see hearts in everything!)

With my craft knife I started cutting away the large stem at the bottom of the berries... then each individual wire would come apart (since I didn't want the whole branch).

After I had all of the stems that I wanted and the height that I wanted... I twisted them together.

I cut off the extra wire (probably 1/2 inch or so) and folded the rest of the twisted stem to the side of the stem (that way it won't be hanging out below your flower. Have you ever seen glue dots this big? They will hold anything together. I added 2 glue dots to the back of the stem and placed it in the corner of the picture frame.

I took a large purple brad and anchored it onto the back of the Bazzill flower and then used a smaller glue dot to attached the small heart shaped button to the brad.

I added 2 more of the super large glue dots to the back of the flower and attached it on the top of the white stems.

I did this pink one for my mom for Valentines... now you can see the white stems look like they have hearts on them. Thank you Krista for sharing your amazing talent!

Valentine Wood Projects...

2011-02-13T13:13:00.002-07:00

After I had painted the XO's I decided that I wanted to put hearts on the "X"... I pulled out my trusty Quickutz die and started cutting out the hearts. I thought they turned out cute... but then the "O's" looked naked. Josh happened to come into the studio at that time and I asked him... what do you think... should I add some flowers... he said... "No mom... add some lips... it is hugs and kisses ya know". So I did just that... I added lips... with my Quickutz lip die. I posted this one so you can see how I have a few of them hanging off the edge... and then I just went back with a craft knife and trimmed off the edge!

I love this heart with the arrow through it... I painted the heart in Pop Pink by Creamcoat and then the arrow in Royal Fuchsia by Creamcoat. I cut out scrapbook paper ( I love this one... it has all of the colors I decorate with)... I then added Martha Stewart Tourmaline glitter to the arrow for that added wow...

The lips I painted in Cardinal Red by Creamcoat and added added Martha Stewart Garnet glitter and sealed with a spray coating to seal the glitter. It makes the glitter NOT sparkle as much.... but it goes make it much less messy.

This conversation heart is for Josh... it has been his nick-name since he was little... and the name has stuck...even now he's 23 he will always be my Babycakes!

I can't take much credit for this set... other than painting it! I cheated and bought the vinyl from the Wood Connection... I figured it was worth the $5 to already have it done... I used...Cardinal Red...Royal Fuchsia and Think Pink all by Creamcoat.

I did NOT make this awesome Love sign... I purchased it several years ago... I don't remember where... but I just absolutely LOVE it...

88... It's My Favorite!

2011-02-04T23:12:00.004-07:00

Did I ever told you that my favorite number is

It used to be 3 or 8 (even before my love of NASCAR started and my "crush" on Dale Jr...he still single... hummm just kidding mom... I would love to take a spin in his ride though!) Sorry... I got of the subject there... I just wanted to give a big shout out to all of my bloggy followers...

You Rock!

It's been a long 6 weeks (no time to craft... or I'm just plain exhausted when I get home from work... so nothings been done! So I was pretty stoked tonight when I looked at my blog and guess what... I have 88 followers... my new friend, Jenn, at All Dahled Up gave me that magic number... Thanks for a wonderful Friday surprise! I'm getting back on track... slowly but surely!

Football Rice Krispie Treats

2011-01-31T23:39:00.007-07:00

Cowboy treats

Green Sprinkles

Pink Sprinkles

My boy... The Taste Tester Extraordinaire!

One of our friends at work has been going through a pretty rough time so Josh and I decided to make him some of our "famous" Rice Krispie treats! Josh, as always, is my head decorator. He made the laces out of red icing (in the tube) it was the only color I had. Since he works in the sports department...he decided to be cute... and add pink sprinkles. Since the treats were for Wade and he loves the Eagles... which is hard for us since we are such avid Cowboys fans... but he needed some extra TLC... so Josh sprinkled some of them in green. He got tired of making laces... so he just made a wavy design on the top of the rest of them. I brought out the sparkling blue gel to experiment with making a cowboy star on 2 of them. I really needed a template... my star was in no way perfect... but it tasted super delicious!

Vicki's "Famous" Rick Krispie Treats

1 Cube of butter

1 - 16 once bag of Kraft jet-puffed Marshmallows

10 Cups of Rice Krispies (or generic work perfect too)

In a very large bowl... I have a over-sized mixing bowl from Tupperware that I use. Melt the butter in the microwave for about 1 minute and 10 seconds... or less if it is completely melted. Dump in the Kraft marshmallows (I have to be honest here... I don't skimp on my Kraft Mac and Cheese and I don't skimp on my marshmallows there is a difference!) in the bowl and stir until the butter covers the marshmallows and place the bowl back into the microwave and cook for another 1 minute and 15 seconds. The marshmallows will get double in size so make sure your bowl in big enough or you will have a big mess. Remove from the microwave and stir together for about 15 seconds. Add 10 cups of Rice Krispies to the mixture and stir away making sure that all of the cereal is covered. Depending if you like more marshmallow or more cereal add more if you like. I have been collecting RK treat molds for 20 years... and have a mold for almost every occasion... and to be honest I don't know if you can still get them or not. It also works spreading them in a 9x13 pan. Add a little of flour to your face... do you remember this old time commercial...

Time Saving Hamburger

2011-01-31T23:04:00.004-07:00

Starting the browning process...

Draining off the fat...

Completely browned

Let the paper towels absorb the remaining grease

Work to get the rest of it out...

Yuk... that's all I can say... eeewww!

One happy mommy!

If you are like me... I don't make the time... nor do I know on a daily basis what schedule Josh is going to be on... if he will be home for dinner... if Kendra or my parents will be eating with us... so to think that far in advance and actually remember to take hamburger out of the freezer before I leave for work is impossible for me. My mom taught me this trick back several years ago... brown all of your hamburger at once. That way you only have the smell once... the extra dishes once... and I can "fly by the seat of my pants" and still cook something fast and easy for my family on a moments notice. Josh's favorite is Hamburger Helper Cheese Macaroni... (Kendra is going to love that) - but it works for Spaghetti - Tater Tot Casserole - BBQ - Lasagna - Tacos... just zap in the microwave and you are off to the races. Every 6 months I get an extra check at work... so I try to buy my meat then. I bought 30 pounds of extra lean (I think it was 93%) and I still got a ton of fat off of it. So for every 7.5 pounds I got a whole glass of fat and gunk skimmed off. I brown it in a skillet (I think the heat stays more even and it doesn't burn... when I do it on the stove top I have to watch it every second). As the meat is browning I tip the pan so the grease runs to one side and then I spoon it into a glass. After it's completely browned I have several plates with layered paper towels that a put the browned meat on to finish draining. After it's cooled some I take more papers towels and using both hands (in the pic I am only using one... I had to use the other to take the pic) and really make sure to get all of the grease out of the meat. Make sure to add new paper towels each time you start a new batch. I then pour it into freezer bags. It's usually just a little over a pound in each one... then I make sure to get all of the air out of the bag and seal it up good and tight... then off to the freezer. After 4 hours... I was ready to be done... but I know the time and energy it is going to save in the long run... Bon Appetit!

My name is Vicki... I'm OCD...

2011-01-24T00:10:00.008-07:00

Every once in a while Josh will call me... "OCD"... I in turn tell him its... CDO since I believe that the letters should be alphabetized!

An anxiety disorder in which a person suffers from obsessive thoughts and compulsive actions, such as cleaning, checking, counting, or hoarding. The person becomes trapped in a pattern of repetitive thoughts and behaviors that are senseless and distressing but very hard to stop.

By definition I know in some things I am OCD... and other things... not so much. I'm okay with dust bunnies and not running the vacuum on a daily basis...okay sometimes not even on a weekly basis... since it's just Josh and I it doesn't have to be done every day...at least that's how I rationalize it to myself!

When it comes to my blog... I am defiantly OCD. I have been working lots of extra hours at the office the past few weeks and thought I would "treat" myself to a blog makeover. I have always envied those eye catching blogs and wanted mine to be one of "those" too. I have played with the html codes and figured out some of the "tricks" before ... but I really wanted a cute header and a blinkie or two... I figured I would rather spend my time crafting then trying to figure it out. I did a backup of my blog (as was suggested to do) however... not one of the sidebar blogs I had been following for years showed up when the makeover was completed... and if you have been a visitor to my blog before... you know I have over 200 of them... I know other people visit those blogs I have on my sidebar too. Imagine my devastation when they were all missing. I looked at the backup... and it keeps all of the settings... and it stores all of your posts... but not any of the side bar items. This is where the OCD fits in... I want my blog perfect... I know it can't and won't be... but that is what I want... Perfection. From the sweet comments some of you have written... I know it's happened to you too! So please... let's spread the word and save our fellow bloggers from making the same mistake I did. Once I get everything back to "normal" again... I'll be a "Happy Camper"... or maybe I'll just eat some more chocolate... that usually cures what ails you!

So here is a word to the wise... if you are looking at getting a blog makeover... make sure you are a "Follower" to each and every one of your favorite blogs.. or make sure that you have saved each one of them as a "bookmark" on your computer. Then be prepared to spend countless hours putting them all back on your blog!

Under Construction...

2011-01-21T22:16:00.004-07:00

Please excuse the dust... I have been in the middle of a blog make-over and things are pretty messed up right now! I lost all of my sidebar blogs...I'm just sick about it... it's taken me years to acquire all of them... and they are just gone... completely gone... I am so upset right now... I know I will never get them all back! I wish I could just click... UNDO

Valentine Epson Salts...

2011-01-20T21:42:00.005-07:00

Acrylic paint - an empty Cool-whip container and
some Epson Salts...put the lid on and shake away...
just add more color if you want it darker

Modge Podge the outside... roll in the newly colors salts

The color was super pretty...

Here it is lit... Still looking pretty...

First I glued a candle stick to the bottom of a vase...

I put the candle in the middle and poured alternating

colored salts with the plain salts.

Then added a XOXO black ribbon (since I love black!)

This one I sprayed painted the base with red spray paint...

before gluing on the top... really like the red look!

I then added a washer type metal piece along with

a charm and attached them both with a red ribbon.

Cheap white rocks

The middle candle was glass with a candle on the inside.

So I rolled the glass in salts then added the rock to the

bottom to add some height and tied a bow

with another pretty ribbon.

I never thought I would like this red sparkly stuff...

but I DO! It just adds a pop that I really like.

A few left over rocks... and another XOXO ribbon

I had these old shinny hearts for years and finally decided

to do something with them. Since I won't be getting

flower for Valentines this year... I thought these would work!

The white balls are some I bought with Christmas stuff.

I love the saying... hugs and kisses and say it to Josh on a

daily basis...so I used that ribbon around the outside.

My feelings on the Epson Salts are still "out". I loved the look when it was first done... it looked like it was really frosted... however, after they thoroughly dried... not so much they left a mess wherever you put the vase and it really looked yucky on the big red candle I had done... I hated it so much I ended up washing it all off. That is the good thing... it washes right off! I loved the look of it in the vase that I alternated the colors... but the top layer... which is red... is now fading... kinda strange... but it is now a very light red instead of the darker. I have also taken the salts off of the candlestick that I painted with red... it looks tons better too! Maybe at Christmas time this would be pretty...maybe...

A Little About Vicki...

2011-01-01T15:16:00.004-07:00

Hi there! Since the Idea Room is have a link party on "getting to know you"... I thought I would jump in too! As many of you know, my name is Vicki... but my dad wanted to name me Ninamay... since I was born on May 9th... that way he would never forget my birthday! I'm pretty sure he was teasing about that... but you never know! I'm an only child... not that my parents didn't want more kids... but medical challenges prevented them from having more. I always teased that once they had me... they broke the mold... for good or bad!

My dad loved all things sports... I grew up being a camper... fishergirl... wanna be pheasant finder and football enthusiast. There is where my love of the game came from and anything my dad did... I was right behind. I was never a girly girl... I was a tomboy! When I was in grade school and my mom made me wear a dress... I always had to wear shorts underneath... I loved PE time and hanging from the jungle gym or playing tetherball was my favorite!

As I got older my Grandma Johnson taught me to crochet and I took a cake decorating class. Then a few years later it was painting ceramics, cross-stitching., scrapbooking and card making, wood painting and just about any other "craft" I can try... I still love doing those crafts.. (okay... maybe not the cake decorating one... it's too much work... and I never was really good at it... but I really admire the ones who have that talent!)

I've been married twice... Once when I was 20. Randy and I were married for 3.5 years... we had a beautiful son, Joshua, and I because a domestic violence survivor! I married again when I was 40. Val and I met and 4 months later we were married... fast forward 6 years later... divorced. I still believe in love and hope that one day I will find that one special man that wants to grow old together!

I'm now 46.5 (do we still use halves when you get to be a dinosaur?). I worked as a loan officer at a finance company for 17 years... then my conscience got the best of me (my Grandpa Larsen used to call me a loan shark) quit there and started as a bookkeeper at the local newspaper a few years later I became a Classified Ad-Visor and 2 years later the Classified Advertising Manager. I love my job (most days)! I can't wait until I turn 50... I get new knees!

Josh is now 23.5 and is attending Utah State University... he wants to be a broadcaster journalist... that job will be perfect for him! When he was 3 he was watching Sports Center instead of cartoons. He is now working at his "dream" job... he works part-time for the sports department at The Herald Journal too!

Things I LOVE:

* Beef fajitas and Doritos or Cheetos... I love salt!

* Sports... the Dallas Cowboys - Utah Jazz and I know... I'm pretty redneck... but... I love NASCAR too. Dale Jr and Martin Truex are my favorite drivers!

* Crafting and learning new techniques

* Rainbows... why would anyone want the pot of gold... when they could have the rainbow?

* Purple... I'm a purple girl!

* Playing my guitar... country songs are all I know

* Country music... it Rocks! (is that an oxymoron?)

* Blogging!

Things I don't LOVE:

* Spiders... and all things creepy crawly

* Seafood

* Dogs - they scare me

* Cleaning... I would much rather be in my studio...creating!

* Shoveling snow... and I live in Utah... go figure

* Clothes shopping

Here is wishing all of my bloggy friends a very wonderful and prosperous 2011!

Happy New Year everyone!

Retirement Book...

2010-12-31T01:22:00.003-07:00

A close up of the Harley Davidson logo

I used the Provo Craft embossing plate on silver cardstock

I inked one of the wheels of Josh's model Corvette

to get the tire tracks going across the page...

Our corporate office is in Seattle..

Bruce started the tradition of "Popcorn Friday"

this looks close to the machine we have in the break room

When Bruce announced his retirement... the staff decided to give him an open house. I got thinking it might be fun to make a "sign-in" book... like they have at wedding receptions for the people coming to his open house to write their best wishes for him. It also worked out perfect for the staff. We have about 80 employees so I started passing the pages around and employees could either sign their name or wish him well. I did about 14 pages. Bruce's brother in law, Roger, was training a guide dog named Chad. Chad was very important to Bruce so I decided to make Chad a page (I didn't take a picture dang it) I cut a Black lab out of velvet and a blue tag just like Chad's. At the open house I took a stamp pad and had Roger ink up one of his paws and stamp it on the page! It was perfect. All of the above die cuts were made with my Silhouette... I love that machine and I used Stickles to "bling" them up a bit!

Awesome Friends...

2010-12-30T22:45:00.001-07:00

My sweet friend, Paige, made this "I Love Pancakes" mixing bowl. The letters and polka dots are made out of red vinyl. I just love how she wrapped it too! Cute cellophane with red tissue paper and green bow... and inside was a box of pancake mix and syrup! Can I just say... I LOVE IT and I can't wait to make pancakes this weekend! Paige also made my cute Candy Sundae for Valentines last year... Check it out here

This gift was made for my mom by her cute friend, Kristie. She took a block of wood...painted it red, cut out a piece of cardstoock and adhered it with Modge Podge. She printed out the cute saying and inked the edges. Another coat of Modge Podge and added the cute brads for the finishing touch!

Both Paige and Kristie can take anything plain and turn it into something so totally cute!

I'm so glad that we have such crafty friends!

Red and Green Wreath

2010-12-21T15:17:00.001-07:00

Wood frame with Stickles on the bead board...

I bought this board and wreath last year before Christmas at The Wood Connection in Salt Lake and never had the time to finish it. I finally got it completed. (with just a few days to spare this year...lol) I can't decide if I want to put some vinyl on the corners... I will have to look at it a few days. I painted the frame black... including the bead board. I didn't want to take the time to mask off the bead board.. or try to paint it freehand... so I added Stickles instead in the crevices of the bead board to really make the whole board sparkle and POP!

Christmasary...

2010-12-20T20:05:00.005-07:00

The NEW Board...

Up close...

Cards...

Christmasary...Vicki Style!

As promised... here it is....Christmasary! (can you hear the drum roll)? Back some 20 + years ago... we used to play Pictionary all the time. I'm not artistic in any way... but I still enjoyed playing. I decided it would be fun to come up with a Christmas version (hence the name... Christmasary). I made cards (you can tell the top 3 cards were typed on a typewriter and then copied onto cardstock that's how old they are!) I did the same 5 colors... as in Pictionary and did the " * " for all plays. I did make a few changes... here is how I did it.

Yellow - Person - place or animal

Blue - Objects found around the holidays

Orange - Food that we eat around the holidays

Green - Difficult (yes... some of them are really hard!)

Pink - Christmas carol - You think you know them all... but try to draw them

We have always played on the Pictionary board... but this year I wanted to make a board that would be just for Christmasary. I painted a wood board black... and used my Silhouette to cut all of the stars - snowflakes - gingerbread men - trees and ornaments out of vinyl . I made a "start" and "finish" and also the name of the game... Christmasary! Put a top coat of sealer over the board and vinyl and viola....our new game board! For markers... we used peanut better cups!

We have found that with the "younger" generation... they don't know who Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Currier & Ives - or what bubble lights are so Josh and I will be making a new set after the holidays... for next year. We need to update a few new ideas... and change a few of them that everyone gets cranky trying to draw... like Fall Softly Snow. Let me know if you are interested and I will e-mail you the new cards when we are finished making them...

Or you can play... Win - Lose or Draw... I have printed out 150 Christmas "things" on cardstock (above) and it can be done on a dry erase board or just like Christmasary with teams using the board but everyone plays each time.

Traditions are so important... this one is has been in our family for 20+ years... and now that Kendra (Josh's girlfriend) loves playing it... I think it will stay a tradition! I may even have to make a few of these to give away for gifts next year! Merry Christmas!

Snow... Snow...Snow

2010-12-14T22:56:00.006-07:00

My mom and I went to Salt Lake a few weeks back and she found these cute plates at Tai Pan...so we decided we could "vinyl them up" and they would be super cute. I finally had some time to get them done for her. I used my Silhouette and cut out the snowflake and snow and the cut the snowman out and layered the vinyl. All I can say is... it's a good thing my dad doesn't read my blog... SNOW is considered a 4 letter word in his "book"... so after the holidays my mom will put these cute plates in her plate rack for my dad to have a perfect view every time he is in the kitchen... any bets he takes these plates and hides them? We were thinking of him... the snowman is in Dallas Cowboy colors... with a gray and blue hat and scarf. I tried to talk my mom into letting me put a little star on the rim of the hat... she was totally against it... Maybe I will have to make one and make him a "true" Cowboy dude. I did add some orange Stickles to the nose and his eyes are black "bling" but I added some crystal Stickles to make them shine... it's hard to tell in this picture...but it added a lot to the snowman.

Gift Exchange...

2010-12-14T22:47:00.003-07:00

Do you ever sometimes just plain have a mental block and can't seem to complete anything that you feel like is "worthy" of giving away... I joined a gift exchange for Christmas and thought... this will be so much fun! Everything I tried to do... I didn't like how they came out... I know it must be my OCD kicking in. So this is what I FINALLY came up with. Everyone needs to be reminded that the "cook" needs some TLC every once in a while... and the clothes pin can be used to hold their favorite picture or to hold that special recipe... it's up to them! On the green clothes pin I made it double sided... some people like stripes and some don't so again... she can pick which side she would like to use.

Christmas Letters...

2010-12-14T21:27:00.002-07:00

I almost didn't get these finished in time... shocker I know! It took Josh giving me such a hard time about not getting them done... I took a day off to finish them! I bought these letters from the Wood Connection... I used the colors to match my Santa (pictures of that handsome guy are still coming) but I wanted something different to tie both the red and the green together... so I thought that the "r" and the "t" could pass as candy canes... so I did a thicker red stripe and a skinner green stripe using vinyl and then alternated the colors. I used red chalk on the "r" and "t"... green chalk on the "a" I painted in a tanish color to match the cute little gift holder that is used for the "i"... and then black chalk on the red and green letters.

Video From Santa....

2010-12-04T22:59:00.003-07:00

This is such a cute idea... you can make one for toddlers... children or adults. It asks you a few simple questions... and it will create a video that can be e-mailed to your special someone... I made one for Josh and it turned out cute... here is the link if you would like to see how it looks before trying it...

Josh's Video from Santa

the best part... it's FREE!

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

Christmas Bingo

2010-12-04T16:28:00.003-07:00

*** Wow... I had more requests than expected... so if you have not received your bingo cards yet... please leave me a "reminder" and I will get it out to you ***

I thought I might post this fun Bingo game that I made for my son, Josh, back when he was just a young boy... now is is 23... where or where did the time go. It is still one of our favorite holiday traditions (only a game or two each year instead of every night) but someday Josh will be able to play this holiday tradition with his kids.

I photocopied each of the pages...there are 10 different cards... 2 of each style and the game pieces on to cardstock. I used colored pencils and colored each of the bingo cards. On the outside I did use markers to make the heavy line and make the design stand out and trimmed off the excess cardstock. Then back to Kinkos to get them laminated. Generally we always used plain M&M's for our called out game pieces... but kisses or buttons will work too!

I have"googled" and searched on Deseret Book and I can't find where the bingo books are still available. So if you would like to have a set e-mailed to you... please let me know.

My Chistmas Cards 2010

2010-12-02T17:52:00.005-07:00

I can't wait to receive my Free Christmas Card from Shutterfly... I know they are going to be amazing! Huggies! Vicki

Embellish Noir Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards

Shutterfly Giveaway

2010-11-27T15:39:00.004-07:00

50 FREE HOLIDAY CARDS FROM SHUTTERFLY!!!!

How awesome is this

Shutterfly has some of the most fun and
super cute Holiday cards and invitations!!!

AND THEY ARE GIVING AWAY

50 FREE CARDS TO BLOGGERS!

Shutterfly has taken the difficulty out of getting your Christmas cards completed and ready to mail out... Shutterfly has over 800 designs to choose from... no matter what your colors scheme is... they have cards in every color possible! You can select how many photos from 0 to up to 6... they have flat and folded cards along with 3 different card sizes too! Picking out that perfect cards is going to be the

FUN...FUN...FUN PART

do I pick elegant... religious... fun... sassy or just plain cute? The best part is.... they are delivered right to your door. Want to make your card sending even easier... Shutterfly will address and mail your holiday cards for you for only .99 per card... You might want to grab a cup of cocoa...sit back and relax... I'll show you a few of my favorites...then you can pick out yours! Merry Christmas everyone!

I am soooo loving the red and black...

that must be because in our family pictures this year we are all

dressed in red - black and white...

our cards are going to look amazing!

Who wouldn't want come to your holiday party with these cute invites!

Great gift tags...lots of space for writing in the names!

Address labels... not just for Christmas...but all year long

I love the vroom...vroom car... it's so me!

Click Here

Pilgrim Couple

2010-11-21T23:32:00.001-07:00

I think this will be the last post for Thanksgiving crafts. I have noticed in blogland most all of the pilgrims are done in black and white. 99% of the time I would be all over doing them in black... (black is my accent color in my house) but in all of my Thanksgiving decorations there is not a single one with black. I think my OCD kicked in and I had to do them in fall colors instead. The tan color didn't photograph really well... and the paper I used for the apron on Mrs. Pilgrim has lines of orange and green to help tie in the fall colors. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Gobble...Gobble

2010-11-20T19:52:00.002-07:00

Nothing like waiting to the last minute... I'm still trying to finish up all of my Thanksgiving projects... and it doesn't look like I will be getting them all completed either..... maybe next year! I got this cutie at The Wood Connection in Salt Lake...I painted him in the same colors I used on my shelf sitters I completed last week... I sanded the edges and then used my chalk to give the feathers some detail... just a little but I like how he turned out... and of course... he has green eyes... because I am the Green Eyed Girl after all... Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Turkey Day Sitters

2010-11-17T18:50:00.003-07:00

Corn Stalk... Some yellow bling along with some

green "hair" to complete the look!
(I bought the hair to go on my witches...
that I still need to finish... next year!)

He just plain turned out cute!
The "gobbler thing" is a pipe cleaner that goes from
wide to thin and back to wide again...

He HAD to have GREEN eyes...

since I am the Green Eyed Girl!

Here are all of them on the shelf...

I'm not really crazy about the

pie... maybe I will still add some "slits"

on the top with filling coming out.

The past few weeks have been a struggle... I can't seem to get into the crafting mood for anything! Lots of ideas... just no production!

Cowboy Star...

2010-10-21T22:24:00.004-06:00

Update 10/27 Here is both of them together!

I gave the cross-stitched star to my dad for his birthday back in May and finally got it framed for him. Frank Prince from Prince Gallery did another amazing job! He was even able to match both of the mats and the frame to the Cowboys Picture Josh and I gave my dad for Christmas a few years ago... I'll post a picture of both of them together after my mom and dad get them hung.

Candy Cauldron...

2010-10-21T22:00:00.006-06:00

I had this old cauldron from several years ago and it was so plain... so what does a crafter do... out came my Silhouette and I decided how big I wanted the words... cut it out... attached the vinyl and added some polka dot ribbon... I wrapped it so that you could still see the black plastic coming through... and then tied a plaid ribbon on the ends - it helped to keep the handle up (it's the cutest part) and from falling down... and filled with Josh and I's favorite mini candy bars... I'm now ready for those cute trick or treaters..

Trick or Treat...

This is the "witch" corner of the kitchen

This is a $1.00 vase from the dollar store... I used my silhouette to cut out the Boo... attached and then added a ribbon with lots of bright colors with a knot in the back and added Lifesavers... all great colors for Halloween!

Halloween Subway Art...

2010-10-16T23:28:00.007-06:00

Update picture... I think it shows the colors better

Close up of the spider with the Stickles

The pumpkin up close

... WHAT FUN ...

Ever since the "craze" has been happening I have wanted to jump on "board". I did do a Family Name Subway Art but didn't have that the colors in vinyl that I wanted to use so I used Bazzill instead and I did it on canvass. This time I made sure to have the colors in vinyl and I bought a piece of plywood from Micheal's (since I was not sure I would do more of these). I decided on the 12 x 24 inch piece. I painted the background in soft purple (purple is my very favorite color) so it worked out perfect...and began cutting with my Silhouette. After I applied all of the vinyl I got out my Stickles and put purple in the center of the eyes of the bat and the spider... black in the center of the ghost and yellow on the pumpkin to make it stand out just a little big more! I am really happy with the end project.. I'm off to sand...I've got a few more Halloween projects to get completed!

Added... I had a request to add what files and fonts I used... so here they are...

bat_1 C00024
boo_ C00032
candy_corn C00033
ghost_0798
halloween_garland_s
october_31 C00597
phrase_spooky_2206
pumpkin_patch_phrase
trick_or_treat_C2009
pumpkin - Quickutz die
Eek - LD Free Spirit
HALLOWEEN - LD Rock Biter
Witch - SNF Felicity

Ghost Family...

2010-10-16T10:12:00.002-06:00

Updated pic... you can see the colors on the outside

of their cute bodies much better in this one!

The Ghost Family

More wood from the Wood Connection. After sanding, I painted them all white and then sanded off some of the edges. I decided to add some chalking around the edges and did each ghost with a different Halloween color. I cut out cute ghost faces with my Silhouette and a light coat of varnish to protect their cute faces! I decided to add a few purple "blings" to the mom... for a finishing touch!

Which... Witch Cauldron...

2010-10-15T20:59:00.003-06:00

Purple "brew" cauldron

Green "brew" cauldron

The crystals I used to make the "bubbles"

These are some of the projects I started last year and I am finally finishing up this year! The wood cauldron is from The Wood Connection painted black. I added a vinyl spider web made with my Quickutz. I used Sparkle Shred for the "brew" coming out of the pot and glued these sweet half round acrylic crystals to make it appear like there were "bubbles" in the brew... I put E-6000 glue on the end of a toothpick and placed it on the flat part of the crystal...then used the end of my craft knife to place it on the shred.

Pumpkin... Changed!

2010-10-15T16:01:00.002-06:00

I like the Dallas Cowboy pumpkin much better his "stars" filled in

Pumpkins...Pumpkins...

2010-10-12T20:12:00.003-06:00

Update: I love the filled in eyes much better!

The "completed" front porch look... Josh got the corn stalks and I finished putting the vinyl on the cute pumpkins... check out the "Cowboy" one...I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I will put the centers of the stars back in the center...hummmmm... I used my Silhouette to cute out the cute faces for my pumpkins... much easier and less messy than carving them.

Mini pumpkins with cute faces...

my mom took home her favorite...

took 2 to work to decorate our "space"...

and a few to keep at home

Boo! I love this ghost...

he's made with a pop bottle, wire and some starch

The eyes are black vinyl!

Cowboy Sign and Football...

2010-09-26T21:14:00.006-06:00

It's hard to believe that a whole month has gone by and I have not posted anything to my craft blog... it's been a pretty crazy month I have to admit! I tried to have all of the Cowboy signs ready for Sunday kickoff... but only managed to get 1 "mostly" done. I used my Silhouette cutter and vinyl for the "Cowboys and the star" and used my Quickutz lettering for the "est. 1960" it was important to Josh since it is their 50th year in the NFL to have that on the board. I love how the football turned out... but I am still trying to figure out if I want to put small stars on the ends or not... Josh and I talked about putting a big "U" for Utah State in the middle instead of the laces... but I think he was worried I would put a big star in the middle instead... I'm sure you have figured out by now that we love our Cowboys... what do you think about putting Cowboy stars on the ends of the football? Let me know what you think!

Check out how cute my blog friend Kerrie's turned out... She used the "U' for the Utes and the "Y" for BYU... super cute.... and she is selling them for a bargain! Kerrie's Krafts Blog

Family Graffiti Board

2010-08-15T13:49:00.005-06:00

Have you ever played on Wordle? If you haven't... you are missing out! It's fun to make word "clouds"! Last year I did one with our favorite players from the Dallas Cowboys (you can see this one on my personal blog) So I thought... why not try and make something with all of our family names... now mind you... I am an only child and Josh is an only child too... so I decided to start with my dad's parents... Arthur Lawrence Johnson and Clara Wilhelmina Speth and my mom's parents... Boyd LeRoy Larsen and Carole Ione Nielsen then my parents Blaine Loyal and Sharon Kae then me Vicki Carole (since Carole was already on the board I didn't use it again) Since Josh's dad and I were divorced when he was 2... I didn't put any of "his" side of the family... but I did include his first, middle and last name and last, but not least... my sweet boy Joshua and that is our family "graffiti" board. I started out with a 16 x 16 white painters canvass I have had laying around for a few years now...and painted it black. I didn't like the blue colors of the vinyl I had on hand... so I decided to use Bazzill cardstock. I did cut the lettering with my Silhouette... have I told you... (I know I've been saying that in all of my posts lately...lol) The "fun" part was trying to decide where to put each name. After I had that figured out... I started at the corners and glued those names down... then I moved to the bottom and worked my way up the canvass. Since I didn't use vinyl... I used the blue painters tape to put my letters on so that they would be somewhat straight and put the glue on the back of the letters and pressed down... and slowly pealed back the tape while trying to make the letters stick to the canvass.. again... not easy when you don't have anything to press down on in the back of the canvass... Does that make sense? After all of the letters were applied I added 2 light coats of Modge Podge...if nothing else... it helped keep the letters attached! Voila!

Cowboy Mailbox

2010-08-13T19:46:00.002-06:00

Pretty Sweet...

What the mail box looked like before...

Nice job Josh!

Josh got home from work yesterday and said... "mom what do you have planned tonight"... other than going to his softball game at 9... I said nothing... why.. his comment was... I think we need to work on the mailbox! With that said... he pulled of the mailbox so I could sand it down...it's mighty tough to get into the groves... but... Then Josh took his saw and cut off the back end... I guess the man who built it thought the post office could put packages on it..ours always delivers to the porch... and it was a major hide out for wasps... our pour mail lady. Josh also decided to stain it to make it look less worn. Since the only spray paint color I had was blue... we both knew it had to be a Dallas Cowboy mailbox! Inside of the "door" I put a "Thank You" in vinyl so every time she leaves my mail... she will know I appreciate it! I got out my trusty Silhouette... have I told you how much

I LOVE MY SILHOUETTE?

Raymond Wedding Sign

2010-08-11T20:54:00.005-06:00

Josh was looking for the "perfect" wedding gift to give his good friends Tyler and Cami. Cami wanted dark brown and tan...and this is what I came up with. I've never done a "board" before...and it was more time consuming than I thought it would be. I've decided it takes "the first time" and then all of the creations like it are a piece of cake! I painted the wood a dark brown and then used my Silhouette to cut out the large letters. Josh wanted to have the "est. 2010" in cursive and in smaller letters so I used my Quickutz for them. I bought some polka dot material and frayed the edges then used my dad's trusty man stapler to secure it to the back.

America

2010-08-07T23:10:00.007-06:00

The finished product!

I sanded the letters first...

I decided that I wanted scrapbook paper on the top of each letter... 2 blue... 2 red and a white paper that combined the 2 colors! I put the letter face down on the BACK of the paper and traced around the edge.

I painted the letters the color that matched the paper

A light coating of Modge Podge for paper on both the back of the scrapbook paper and the top of the letter. Quickly adhere the paper to the letter and smooth out all of the air bubbles! I let them dry for 10 minutes or so and then went back with a nail file and filed off the edges of the scrapbook paper... some letters were a little bigger than the letter... and I wanted a white edge around the outside.

A final coat of sealer was applied to the entire letter and also on the scrapbook paper...

Another late project getting done... but I love to have my Patriotic decoration out until the first of September... so I still have a few weeks to enjoy! I bought all of the wood from the Wood Connection in Salt Lake City... I love the shadow box and I am looking forward to having something new in it for each of the seasons...

New Receipe Box

2010-07-26T21:55:00.006-06:00

Here are the pics of the old recipe box... and here are the

NEW ONES!

Ta..da... It's finally finished... I LOVE it

Since I am now doing the "single" thing again... I have decided that I need some major change in my life.. Starting with the kitchen... I want something besides the white walls... tan tile and black appliances. I want COLOR... COLOR is a good thing! After much thought... I have decided on...

RED!

I have always like the saying of "kiss the cook" and with my new found friend (my Silhouette) I came up with this super cute idea! I love the lippers and the checkerboard corners... I think it turned out pretty dang cute!