Gifts for a new teacher!

 

We have a family friend who just graduated from Florida State University with a degree in elementary education and I wanted to make her something that she could use in the classroom, but also be cute, not just practical.  (I have come to realize that I am not a good gift buyer, I tend to stick with practical gifts, because that is what I like to receive!) So I found a cute teacher quote online, and decided to cut it out in vinyl and make her a cup.  The quote says: A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart. 

I also made her a monogrammed clipboard in Florida State colors.  I found this clipboard at one of the local office supply stores, and cut out the monogram, and circles in vinyl. I stuck a Target gift card on the clip board as well.

Lastly, using the silhouette yet again, I printed out a little bookworm, and her name on printable vinyl, and wrapped them around EXPO dry erase markers.  Then I bagged them, and printed out her name again on a label, and affixed it to the bag.  I love the little bookworm, he is so stinkin’ cute! (I also love that you can print and cut with the silhouette!)

I tucked all this inside a Thirty One Bag I bought and put a bow on it, and it really turned out cute.  Unfortunately I did not have enough time to take a picture of the finished gift before her graduation party!  Just take my word for it that it looked adorable!  We are so proud of her, and wish her the best!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

~Betty

Duck Dynasty Fans

Just a quick post for all you Duck Dynasty fans, I wish I could say it was my original idea, but it is not.  I saw one very similar on Etsy.  The “quote” was so cute, and I had this little pink shirt, so I put the two together, and my son was like    “that looks awesome for  a little girl!"
Of course, anything Duck Dynasty related to him is “awesome!"
 My favorite Robertson is Jase, his favorite is Uncle Si. But we both agreed that the shirt was pretty “awesome!"  Hope you like it too!

Happy Crafting Everyone!
~Betty

Custom order & some randomness

I had a custom order for some baby items and the purchaser let me kind of do whatever I wanted.  She wanted a picture frame, and a onesie.  The nursery colors are blue and green, but with no real theme, and the baby’s name will be Jonathan.  I was free to do with it what I wanted.  Yay..how exciting and EASY.  Until I sat down to decide what I wanted to do.  I thought…animals?  trucks? sports? airplanes? Maybe not as easy as I thought after all!  So I decided to go with this.

A personalized truck picture frame, a personalized truck onesie, and a car bib.  Sure hope the new mama likes it! 
I also worked on a horse sign today. I know, kinda random, but that is how inspiration is sometimes, kinda random!

I used a 12 x12 canvas from Michaels, and some burlap from Hobby Lobby.  I found this quote online, and the horse image is from the online silhouette store. BTW, images are 1/2 price until May 4th, for those of you who have a silhouette!  I used some heat transfer vinyl that I bought a while ago, and cut it all out using my silhouette cameo.  Then I ironed on the quote, and horse image.  Let me tell you I was a little nervous about this, I wasn’t sure how well the vinyl would adhere to the burlap, but it did well. I did have to leave the iron on the image a little longer than with normal fabric.  Then I took a few of my Close to My Heart stamp pads, and ran them over the canvas to give it some color.  Once that was done, I let it dry a minute or two, and  adhered the canvas to a piece of paper using the four brads shown.  Then I glued the paper to the canvas using Liquid glass from Close To My Heart, and also some hot glue just for good measure!
It is only  two more weekends before our show, and of course, both of those weekends are already booked up for me, and not with crafting!! So I imagine that throughout the week,  I will be burning the midnight oil. It always seems to happen this way. Rush rush rush.  Maybe I just work better under pressure?? Happy Crafting everyone!
~Betty

Craft Show time…almost

Hey Everyone.  Just wanted to take a minute to let you all know that we haven’t forgotten you, yes we’ve been neglecting you, but for a pretty good reason!  Both Carrie and I have been working diligently on our products for our upcoming craft show in May!  And as you all know, and are probably experiencing yourselves, this year is flying by, and May is rapidly approaching!  I do have a couple of  pictures to share with you of some of the things I have been working on.  And I know Carrie’s favorite crochet hook has been creating sparks she has been crocheting so much!!

Here are a couple of little signs that I made that would work great in a nursery

And I have been making more baby onesies, they are so stinkin’ fun to make, and they really go fast!  I ordered some new heat transfer vinyl from a different company, and boy does it make a difference!!! These two were done using the screen print paint, not my new heat transfer vinyl.  I will be taking pictures this weekend and trying to post some more!

           

 

I also decorated a few acrylic tumblers that really turned out cute, I just haven’t had time to take pictures of those yet!  Sorry for the lapse in posts everyone, but I think it is about to get crazy ‘round here.  I am not complaining though! 

Happy Crafting Everyone!

~Betty

Party Favors

I came across these photos the other day and realized that I hadn't shown all of you  these little party favors I made for my daughter's birthday party back in January!

She had a dog themed party, and rather than goody bags, we made goody buckets.  She loved how they turned out!  The girls' buckets were pink and black, and the boys were just black (I think).  For some reason, I only took pictures of the girl ones.  They were really easy to make, and didn't take much time at all.  I found the buckets in the Target Dollar Spot, and then I used the pink and black vinyl, and my lovely silhouette machine and cut out the names, and then cut out a dog paw print that came with a dog silhouette image that we actually used for the invitation. Then we filled them up with candy and gave them out to the kids at the end of the party.


On a totally different subject, my kids and husband have been gone all week to our hunting camp in Georgia for Spring Break, and I had all kinds of plans to just craft, craft, craft, however...that has not been the case.  I went shopping Monday after work, then again Tuesday after work, and so today I told myself that I was coming home tonight, straight home, not even stopping at the grocery store, and I was dedicating this evening to crafting.  Well, again, that was not the case.  I got home, fixed something to eat, and came into my craft room, and sat, and looked around the room, and just could NOT get motivated.  So I went and watched TV.  How pitiful is that?  What happened to my week of pure, uninterrupted, no children, no husband, no cooking, no cleaning, just crafting?  It was prime opportunity to craft and I failed at it.  The up side is that there's still tomorrow-right? The down side is that the mall is open til 9:00!!!!  Happy crafting everyone!

~Betty

Update On The Flower Key-Ring

Do you remember when I did the post on my flower key-ring?

At the end of the post, I told you that I get a lot of compliments on the flower that I have on my key-ring and that I somehow wanted to incorporate that into some kind of a free gift/advertisement for the business.

I think that I may have found a way to do that....I actually came up with this a while back and just forgot to share it with you....so here it is:

I found the absolute cutest little brown paper bag at Hobby Lobby. Really, the moment I saw it I knew exactly what I would use it for. A business card and key-ring fits perfectly inside.

I made quite a few of these and carried them in a little zip-up pouch in my purse.

Then I started giving them out...everyone that received one loved the idea...they felt just like they had received a little present. I have even had a few requests for more. Sure it would have been fine to just hand out a business card and flower...but this way just made it a little more personal and much sweeter. I need to get started on a few more of these...my supply is dwindling down. (But that's a good thing!)

Daily Rambles:

• I have got to get to Hobby Lobby and check out the new spring colored yarn that they have in...for some reason I find myself stocking up on yarn in the spring and fall...I do buy some off and on at other times but spring and fall just seems to be when I buy in bulk. Does anyone else do that or is it just me?

• Pollen...pollen and more pollen...everywhere! There is a yellow powder on everything outside right now. Believe me, my allergies are cranked up pretty bad...I love spring and flowers and all that but come on enough pollen already.

• Is anyone used to the changes on Crochet Pattern Central yet? I know it's supposed to be better but I still find myself missing the way it used to be... because I knew where everything was at...I don't like change...or at least it takes me awhile to get used to it.

~Carrie

My Favorite Crochet Hooks

When you start talking crochet hooks, I have to admit I'm pretty clear on what I like and don't like.

I have quite a few brands....mostly Boye and Susan Bates. I started out using the Boye brand and they were....o.k. When I began my crochet journey those were the ones that I had so of course I just reached for them. But, after crocheting for a while, I tried a few from Susan Bates and I've pretty much used only Susan Bates since. It's only my opinion....so please don't be mad at me if you love Boye....but I really love the head on the Susan Bates hooks better...it really seems to grab the yarn and it doesn't slip off the hook as easily.

You can really see the difference up close.

How many of you remember this little guy? He was the main character in my Crochet Hook Fairy Tale post. I really love this little hook....it's a C2 2.75mm....and of course Susan Bates. I use this one on the bears that I make. I like the way it fits in my hand....and because I need such a small hook when making the bears, it helps my hand not cramp up.

I inherited a lot of hooks from my grandmother. Some of them were hers and some belonged to my great-grandmother....so yeah, sometimes I just grab one of those hooks for purely sentimental reasons.

Obviously Granny loved Boye....I know you can't tell here, but some of them are pretty worn....they have worked with a lot of yarn over the years...I actually have an afghan and pillow that my Granny made using these very hooks.

  

Now if you look close at these tiny hooks, you can see quite a bit of wear. And surprise....she actually had a few Susan Bates in there....the top two are plastic....I do not like plastic hooks....something about them just seems wrong.

I am such a hypocrite!! I keep my Susan Bates hooks in a Boye case! Oh well, what's done is done.

Here is the inside of my hypocrite Boye case. I really don't know why the picture looks like I took it off the web somewhere....I promise it's mine....

Aren't they so pretty....I know I'm kinda weird....I can get more excited over a bouquet of crochet hooks quicker than I can a bouquet of flowers.

Daily Rambles:

• I let my chickens free-range outside of the coop today...they were so loving soaking up the sunshine.

• I'm trying to decide on what to make for supper...the kids want tacos....since that's easy I may just go with that....and cream cheese pound cake for dessert, yum.

• I hear that my washing machine just stopped....I guess I better go deal with the laundry...I would much rather be crocheting or crafting.....just sayin'.

~Carrie