It's In The Air

Yep, it's Valentine's Day again which means cards, candy and dinner out. My in-laws have this wonderful tradition of giving each other the same cards every year, adding the year and maybe a little note of love.


For me, I like to make my honey his Valentine's card. It's relaxing for me to have to worry about finding just the right card and I can really poor my heart in to the design.


This year, I made a couple extra cards just for the fun of it. I'm one of those people that once I get started, I just can't stop. And these were so easy to make - it took only ten minutes to complete both of them.


The only supplies needed were the blank cards, striped card stock cut to size, die cuts, one sticker and a adhesive. If you are really stumped and want a simple and quick card with that hand made feel, you can't go wrong with these!

Did you ever feel like...

... the universe is conspiring against you? Last week I had so many things to get done and was side tracked by several different, unexpected situations that came up. 


First, my darling hubby got an unexpected day off, which meant we could finally go get the pantries we have been wanting for our kitchen. So that day was filled quick emptying of cabinets, pulling out old cabinets, installing new, and filling them! The kitchen is slowly coming together, but there is still a lot of work to be done.


After that, I got to spend the rest of week sick. I had no energy and no motivation to do anything! I am feeling much better this week but I am getting tired of not being able to accomplish the projects I want to get done. This week is starting out better, considering I feel so much better. But it will be a short work week for me considering Friday morning I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled and have no intention of doing anything after that...


So, I am going to close this entry, grab my camera and get some much needed pictures so I can show off some of the work I have gotten finished...


Happy Monday everyone!

Wedding Fever

Well, most people think that life will slow down and regain it's normal routine after the holidays. And for most people, that is true. However if you are a crafter and have wedding in the immediate family coming up, it never slows down!


My stepdaughter is getting married at the end of June and to help them save some money, I have volunteered to help make a lot the wedding necessities. The necessities include the invitations, save the date cards, bouquets, jewelry, veil, flower girls baskets, accents for the unity candle, favors, reception decor, table and alter decorations and an alternative to a guest book.


Personally, I have decided that I don't like typical guestbooks. Unless you are having 1000 people attend you wedding, most of the pages remain empty and after the big day, it sits in a box and doesn't every really get looked at. So I suggested a signature quilt that could be hung on the wall, displayed with happy pride. We have the design picked out, a very simple block with borders in the wedding colors.


So I obviously have a lot of work ahead of me. Fortunately, I've already gotten a few pieces done (and will be posting pictures this week), including the bridesmaids bouquets and much of the jewelry.


I have lots of work ahead of me as I prepare for this wedding and continue to work on creating inventory for my etsy store. So please bear with me as I get through this all. I will post as often as possible, and share the progress I'm making....

Some of my favorite organizational ideas...

Last week, I shared some amazing ideas for beautiful crafting areas that are well organized, functional, and comfortable. Of course, not all of us can afford to go out and purchase furniture or specialty containers to create designer looks. Like so many, I live on a very tight budget and would much rather spend my small crafting allowance on supplies rather than storage. So, being creative, I look around my home and see what I can make or recycle.

One of my favorite way to store loose beads - everything from tiny seed beads to larger beads - is to recycle glass jars. As we finish off a jar of pickles, mayo, maraschino cherries, or whatever we have in jars, I start the process of making them storage containers. I rinse them immediately, run them through the dishwasher, and then soak in a sink filled with hot soapy water to remove the last adhesive residue and odor. Once they are dry, they are ready to be filled and stacked on a shelf.

Speaking of shelves, one of the centerpieces of my craft room is an antique kitchen cupboard given to me by my mother-in-law. I couldn't use the piece in my kitchen, so it makes great storage for my paper crafting supplies. Take a look around your house and find furniture you already have that can be moved to your craft area. 

If you don't have a room and do most of your crafting at the dining room table, being able to keep your supplies organized and packed away is vital. I love my clear plastic totes, particularly the ones for shoes. They stack easily, keep things organized fairly well, are inexpensive and can be gotten in multiple sizes.

Organization can be difficult to maintain, but it is so important in order to keep your crafting area functioning and you happy. That being said, it's also important to remember that organization doesn't have to expensive. Get those creative ideas flowing and get organized. Please share some of your favorite organizational ideas.

Quick and Easy Crafting Organization

Crafters are always looking for clever and innovative new ways to organize their supplies. Keeping things where you can easily access them makes any crafting project that much more enjoyable. Not mention easier to share with others.


I found this last article at BHG.com with lots of great ideas for organizing the supplies that can easily become a big mess. It's always important to keep your supplies organized so not only will you be able to get to them, but it will also save you money by keeping your supplies neat and well maintained. Click here to get some great ideas!

A Craft Room With Purpose

If you are as lucky as I am, you have an entire room dedicated to your crafting endeavors. But when you do as wide a variety of crafts as I do, it's easy for any size space to feel a bit cramped. I do lots of different types of crafts - quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, card making, needle felting, jewelry making, and painting to name a few - which means I have many different types of supplies. Being able to keep everything in it's place is some a daunting task, but so worth it when I sit down to work.


Advice on setting up and maintaining a well organized craft room is always helpful, no matter how long you have been crafting. Check out this handy little slide show with some neat hints and tricks on how to get the perfect crafting space set up. Click here to view the slide show!

Crafting Organization Ideas

Let's face it, you have lots of ideas for incredible projects, but not always enough room to sprawl out with all of your creative craft ingredients. So what do you do if you only have a single corner in which to set up your creative domain. Fear not - it can be done!


I found a great article over at BHG.com that shows you how you can transform a corner in any room into a wonderful playground for crafting fun. With careful organization and clever use of space, you really can fit a lot of crafting possibilities in a compact area. Click here to see how easy this space is to set up!