CUTEST TUT EVER!!!

Mini Bookcase with Drawers

How totally darling is this??!!! I looooooooooooove it. Check out Stamp a Sweet Impression Blog and read the instructions to make your own!!! WOOT! I'm printing the tut now ;) Be sure to look around, as there are several way cute paper crafts to make. The stamps are droolworthy too.

Thanks for stopping by on my Birthday. I am 29+7 :D

What a cute site :)

Smile, I Heart You :D

The Pink Elephant Challenge #12

This week's challenge at The Pink Elephant Challenge blog is to use this sketch by Carol Houghton (awesome sketch Carol!!). Here is my card using it:
Cardstock: Georgia Pacific, Pattern paper: Basic Grey "Phoebe", Stamps: Autumn Leaves "Mindy's Zoo", Color Box Chalks, Cricut Plantin Schoolbook Cart.(for greeting letters), White Jelly Roll Pen, Stickles, Watercolor Pencils: Kimberly
I cut around the leaves on the branch, and pushed em up to give it more dimension. I also stamped and cut out around the monkey (what a task!), and I didn't even rip him lol. I then folded some of his limbs, etc. forward again, to add dimension. I had much fun creating this one :) Thanks for looking and have a fantastic day :D

OMG! Total YAYNESS!!

I participate in a weekly challenge at The Pink Elephant. It's really fun and it gets me creating. Well, this week I won!! Because of that, I get to place this cute, shiny, new banner on my blog and I couldn't be happier. If you want to join us, click the link in this post or the banner itself ;) Everyone is so nice, and oh so talented. Thanks for the votes :D

I was checking my blog this morning, and I found this comment: "Hi Dawn! Wow. Don't they BOTH look beautiful! I'm sure you are a very proud momma! I stopped by to let you know I left you a little something on my blog. You've always been such a sweet cheering section and I wanted you to know how much that means to me.xxx Karen" , left by Karen Valentine (Be sure to check out her blog, she creates awesome stuff!!!) .

First of all, thanks so much for the kind comment Karen. :D Secondly, she gave me this!!

And here is what it means:

The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming.These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends.They are not interested in self-aggrandizement.Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

So I would like to pass this on to:

Jeanne, Rachel, Flora, Chris, Tammy, Cori, Jan, Andrea

Chris's Jr. Prom

Here are a couple of pics I took before Chris and KC left for prom. Chris is so handsome in his tux, and Kacey is beautiful in her dress. I am pretty sure they had a great time. Although I didn't pry much out of my son who when asked, "Did you have fun?". Replied with, "yes.". And then I was all, "What was your favorite part?". He was like, "Dancing.". So I went in for this one, "Got anything else to share?" (Throw me a frikken bone). He said, "I got prom presents", and he held up a lil black bag. He showed me the 5x7 silver photo frame and I snooped later to find a coupon for a free haircut at Great Clips. I am hoping KC is a little more forth coming with the deets. Without further ado I give you Chris and KC Prom 2009 pics:
This one is taken in da house (KC's house). Aren't they adorable?!!!
This pic is in front of their ride, a Escalade. I was jealous lol. (KC's Dad played "Bernard", the chauffer). I love this photo. K, B and I did a great job laughing lol ;)

Just a quick note

I am soooooooo excited!!! Today is the day of my oldest son Chris's Jr. Prom. We picked up his tux yesterday, gotta get the corsage today and then zip on over to his date's house for pictures!!! YAYNESS!! Chris tried on his tux at the shop yesterday (he took a million years!!) and let me tell ya, he looks ADORABLE!! I cannot wait to see him and Kacey together. I CANNOT wait!!!

He reminds you of something doesn't he?

The idea? Sew a "monster" using a pattern I made. So I came up with this:

He's cuteish on paper. But.........Here he is in all his fabric goodness:

The result? A cracked out version of Telly from Sesame Street LOL. . I love him. He fits right in with the ladies in my silk flower canister ;D. oh and his back is a bright, lime green fabric. ;)

*I need to remember to leave room for a seam allowance.

*I need to work on my zigzag stitch, it's hard for me for some reason.

I have to remember this....

On my way to Target yesterday (told you I would get there lol, sadly, no cute pillowcases to be had) my youngest daughter, Sarah (8), called me on my cell to ask if she could have something to eat. She tends to call every time I leave the house with some question or comment. The conversation went like this:
Sarah: "Mom, can I have something to eat?"
Me:"Sure, there's some leftover fried chicken on the counter."
Sarah: (absolute silence)
Me: "There are cookies in the cabinet."
Sarah: "Really? What kind?"
Me: "Chocolate Chip and Oreos."
Sarah: (quiet pause) and then, "Sorry, I was licking my lips."

She really cracks me up!! Love you Sarah.

Good, Gooder, Goodest

I admit I am becoming addicted to reading blogs. In my defense, I come across some really cool, funny and strange things. I would like to show you some of my finds, must makes if you will.

First, I came across Nikki's blog via her entry into TPE challenge this week. Her matchbox is totally adorable! I will be making one today. I hope ;) Visit Nikki's Blog to see a bigger pic. If like me you don't have a match box check out Mirkwood Designs for a free matchbox pattern.

I also came across these way cute Pocket Advent Calendars, I need to remember to make some this Christmas. I am trying to come up with an everyday theme so I can make one now. Any ideas?? It's such a clever idea. The snowman face on the front of the plastic is too cute. Visit: My Little Mochie to see more photos and get instructions.

This next craft had me wondering, and then laughing. I have decided I need to make one for my fridge. Maybe more than one, lol. You might be wondering if that's......Yes, it is. I introduce, Smelly Bum Magnets. Be sure to read the introduction to the instructions. It's so worth it.

Perhaps a you prefer your bum's pickled?? Pickled Bums Instructions. How can you not find this funny and bizarrely (is that a word?) cute?I mean lookit, the bums are smashed against the glass, THAT'S FUNNY! Again, read the intro to the instructions.

I need Cuter Pillowcases to Hang With Martha

I was searching free sewing patterns online yesterday and came across this bag. With this description: "Give an orphaned pillowcase a new home -- over your shoulder.".
Find the tutorial here. Pretty cute, doncha think??
So I went straight to my closet to seek out an "orphaned" pillowcase, so I could make my own nifty bag. The problem is this, my orphaned pillowcases, aren't nearly as cute as the one in the sample photo. To be perfectly honest, the pillowcases we currently use AREN'T as cute as the one in the sample photo. What I am saying is, IF I had cuter cases, my bag would have turned out (you guessed it) cuter. It has nothing to do with my sewing skills lol. What I really want to do is head over to Target and BUY a NEW cutie pillowcase to make this bag (so I can see if it's my lack of skills or the ugo fabric that makes me dislike this so much). 10-1 I am inside of Target doing just that before the day is over lol. ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL that said, here is my homely bag (that was better off as a pillowcase LOL)

I decided I needed to model the bag, so you could see it on lmao. This photograph was taken by me, in the mirror of my dresser, in my bedroom, which just speaks of romance doncha think??!! ;) I think I will paper craft today.

Thanks for looking and Have a fantastic day :)

The Pink Elephant Challenge #11

This week's challenge at The Pink Elephant is: (Insert direct copy and paste.....TADA, lol)
For Mom(Happy Mother's Day or Happy Birthday Mom)and/or Don't Throw That Away (Recycle, Reuse)you can submit 1 project (Mother's Day or Recycle) OR you can submit a project for both themes this week!!! Think of it as 2 chances to win!!
So I decided what better time to make a gift for my Mama!!! First I will show you my Recycled Project. I used a tin can (From Manwich ;), to create a pencil holder, or whatever else she wants to put in there. It came out really cute considering I made my own pattern!!
Before:

After: I sewed this cover......twice. The first one was to small to slip over the can, I didn't give myself enough wiggle room with the seam allowance >.< There is a liner inside the can too, which you can't see in the photo. In retrospect I prolly could've gotten the same result from simply using a hot glue gun .....but where's the fun in that?? I did use the glue gun to add the trim and ribbon ;)

I can't send Ma a gift and no card. Nope, nope, nope. (I hope you aren't viewing my blog mom, if you are....pretend you didn't see these lol). With that I have 2 chances to win!! :)

So happy together...(everybody sing!)
Thanks for looking!!!

I was busy yesterday :D

I was a sewing fool yesterday. For some reason paper crafting has been put on hiatus for the time being. The sewing bug has gotten a strong hold on me. It's fun to switch things up every once in awhile. Here are the things I created yesterday.
First we have a camera cozy (or iPod, or whatever you can fit in there really). I found the tut here: iPod/Camera Cozy. (I actually made 2 of them at the same time, one for my DD and one for DS's GF. Holy over usage of abbr. lol.)

Secondly, I made headbands for my girls and DS's GF ;) I posted a pic of one of them. I made 5. They are really easy to make and are totally reversible!! How cool is that?!! It's 2, (yes 2!) headbands in one!! Make one today! lol. But, seriously if you wanna make one or several find the pattern/tut here: Best Headband.

Lastly, I saw this cute little bag and I had to make one. Glasses fit in it quite well. I'm still debating what to use it for. This would have come together more quickly if my stupid sewing machine wouldn't mess up the thread. There was a lot of clunking and when I looked at the back, there was a rat's nest back there made of thread. My sewing machine, or sewing machines in general DO NOT like it when you inadvertantly put the bobbin in the wrong way. Yah, the sewing machine is the dumb one ... DOH >.<

A little seam ripping was necessary(grumble, grrrr,) and after straightening out the bobbin mess, it was a piece of cake. MMMmmm cake. That reminds me, Emily is treating us to homemade brownies after school. Woot!!(insert Homer's "MMm donuts", voice here.). Sorry, drifted off. Back to the bag. Isn't it adorable??!! If you would like to make one I found the tut here: Drawstring Bag.

As always, thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day :D

These guys crack me up!!

For the record, I have watched a video on how to put a video from YouTube.com on my blog. It didn't work. So instead I am just going to post the links. My daughter showed me these videos and I laughed so hard I almost peed!! I had to share. This is my kind of humor. Be sure to watch the bloopers at the end of each video. Teehee.
How To Be Ninja
How to be Emo
How to be Nerd
Movies in Minutes- Twilight
Enjoy and have a nice day :D

Time Warner Cable....You ruined my day!!

There are some things in life you don't mess with.
In my world, they are as follows (and in this order lol) :
My Hair
My Family
My Routine
I am a creature of habit, always have been. I fear change. I dislike the unknown. Well, Time Warner Cable our cable, phone and ISP service have upset my routine on the most basic of levels. They are constantly changing channels around, adding this, taking away that. Whatever. Today started like any other. Get the kids off to school, come home, turn on my music, start cleaning. WHOA something is a bit off, the music isn't right. See, I have digital cable and one of the perks of paying the extra bucks every month is that there are quite a few music channels to listen to and there are no commercials, talking, or static. I take advantage of our surround sound being hooked up to the tv and listen to music via this method. EVERYDAY. Channel 919 "Adult Top 40". Laugh at my music choice if you will. But it has peppy songs that keep me cleaning up after my pigs, I mean my family (as an aside, if any of my family are here reading this and decided to be offended by that comment, please feel free to stop being a pig and I will retract the comment). Got a little off track there, I apologize (but seriously, how hard is it to put a cup in the sink??). Back to the musac. I guess my station of choice wasn't popular to the masses. They yanked it and in it's place? Adult Alternative. I found out I don't care for Adult Alternative. I want MY station. The station that makes the mundane task of cleaning my house (EVERYDAY) a little less mundane. Fun even (O.O Did I really just say that? Wow). I enjoy songs I can understand the words to, sing along to, dance to (if I feel so inclined). I decided not to panic, maybe they just moved channels around. Nope. A little more desperate. Maybe there is another station I will like as well. Nope! I currently have it set to "The Hit List", it's not my favorite thing. There are some good songs (Jamie Foxx has a nice voice, did you know this? He was singing a lovely song about alcohol earlier.) I am gonna keep telling myself that I will get used to it. On the upside, I will know all the lyrics to the songs my kids like to listen to, and sing along to them in the car. They. Will. Love. That. Time Warner Cable, I implore you, resume the regularly scheduled programming.

How CUTE are these images??!!!

I ran across a couple of blogs today with the cutest headers. They had a website attached to them, so I went to check it out. What a fun place to visit!! If you want to check it out for yourself head over to rachelleannemiller.com and click on her sketchbook link. She even has stamps!! I think I need em. I simply love her style!! I wish I could draw like her!!! :D

I did indeed make a purse!!

I made the purse I was referring to in my last post!! It even turned out pretty good. Better than I anticipated. I only had to use the seam ripper once!! WOOHOO!! That is considered progress in my mind. I think the coolest thing about this purse is that the pattern pieces can all be cut from one fat quarter of fabric!! Granted the lining is from a different fabric, but still that's pretty cool. Oh and here is a blurry pic of the inside of the purse, complete with pocket :) I used orange thread on the whole thing because I thought it was a nice constrast. That and I didn't have any lime green thread O.O how did that happen? It's one of my favorite colors.

Thanks for looking and have a great day :D

I want to make.....

......a purse!!
Isn't it the cutest??!! Jessica Jones of How About Orange Blog, created it,from this pattern HERE (it's a freebie!!), by Rae Hoekstra of Made By Rae Blog. Other than the magnetic closure, I have everything required to make this bag. I hope it goes well and that I can follow directions properly. I am not a great sewer, but I love sewn things. So I continue to try :D

I also came across a zippered pouch [on My Spare Time Blog] this morning that I also might try to make. Hopefully with better results than last time. Lastly, I was on a blog search the other day and came across this one called Serenity Now, and this one titled Miss Britt Dignity is Overrated. I have added them to my list of blog links because I simply like to read what they have written.

P. S. - I am not affiliated with any of the above sites, I just found them informational and/or interesting and decided to pass them on :)
Have a wonderful day! :D

The Pink Elephant Challenge #10

I created this card for The Pink Elephant Challenge #10. This week is a color challenge using Pink, Green and Yellow. I colored the stamped image with watercolor pencils. Then dipped a Q-Tip in water to soften the edges. I've never used them before but I like the look. For some reason the bird bath looks purple in the photo, but it is actually pink IRL ;)
Cardstock:DCWV, Pattern Paper: WeRMemoryKeepers, Stamp: Provo Craft, Water Color Pencils: Kimberly's, Silk Flowers: Unknown, Brad: American Crafts,Stickles: Ranger "Diamond",White Jelly Roll pen, Cricut: Plantin Schoolbook Cart., Walk In My Garden Cart.

Ya know what? I make a terrible mess when I create. Look at my table after making the card
above!! What the heck is up with that??!! LOL.

I Love Elephants!

Introducing Mr. Elephant!!! Isn't he super cute??!!! I love him. Flora Chang, owner and creator of Happy Doodle Land Blog made him recently. Check out her stuffs sometime. She always finds a way to make me smile. I hope you will too :) it's good for the soul!

Monster number 2...WOOHOO!!! :D

I was in my craft space again today, making yet another monster. They really are fun to do and take no time at all. I made one today so yesterday's monsteress would have a friend. They seem to be getting along famously ;) . I went to my local Goodwill store to see what treasures I could find and came home with 5 or 6 different pillow cases :) They should do nicely to make more monster friends. I just have to wash em up and get on to it. YAYNESS!
As always thanks for looking!!

SuCh A ScArY MoNsTeReSs (ok, maybe not so scary lol)

On my trek across the plains of blogdom yesterday, I stumbled across this super cute tutorial on how to sew a monster. I decided after reading the directions, that even I could make one(thanks to the directions given!) . My sewing skills are limited at best, but this is pretty straight forward. I did have fun trying to get the zigzag stitch to sew close together to make the mouth on my Monsteress. I didn't have any felt so I had to improvise with what I had.....buttons ;) I am sure each of my kids will want one of these. I decided to hide this finished one away until I can finish 3 more....in different fabrics! Then let them each pick the one they want.

I had to add a close-up (your welcome Jeanne lol), of dear Monsteress's toof. Isn't that the perfect touch? Love that :)

The Pink Elephant Blog Challenge #9

This week's challenge over at TPE is to use these 3 ingredients:

Stamps, Embossing, and Punches. Here is my card for the challenge ;). Thanks for looking!!

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Porcelain (Thanks again Carol!), Stamps: Studio G, Cuttlebug "Perfectly Paisley" embossing folder, Cricut Walk in My Garden Cart (tag), Scallop Punch: All Night Media, Ink: Colorbox "Dark Brown" Chalk Ink, Brad: MM, Eyelets: MM, Crystal Embossing powder (unknown).

Happy Birthday Emily!!

That's right folks! I am now officially the mother of 2, yes 2, teenagers. Today is Emily's 13th birthday (we had her party last Saturday). So today she gets to choose what's for dinner (Porcupine meatballs). I already made her chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and sprinkles (as per her request). After dinner she gets to release a dozen helium filled b'loons into the air (It's a tradition). They represent her transition from kid-dom to teenagehood. She is looking forward to it :).
Ryan and Sarah managed to find presents to give Emily from their stash of stuffed animals in their rooms. I thought it was very sweet of them. They covet them, so it means something that they gave them to her :).

Presents YAY!

Since I cannot figure out how to add more than one photo per post, I am going to upload each one in a different post. Then I will learn and figure out for next time :)

This is a photo of Ryan and Sarah giving Em her presents.

And her presents get a close-up :)