Binding Love

A couple months ago I discovered the wonderful world of Coptic stitching. It allowed me the freedom to be creative in making a journal that would fit my needs. I tried it once (in a previous post here) and, I knew I would be making more. My daughter asked for one, and I decided to make her one for Christmas. It wasn’t that easy; I needed inspiration. I remembered this bare essentials makeup box that I had planned on recycling into something crafty. My friend Lainey gave it to me a while back, and my daughter mentioned how she loved the pattern, Hence TaaDaa…   

The Box was what really tied it together, I filled it with a bunch of goodies for her.

From this angle you can see the stitching. I also used Tim Holtz metal corners adhered with my favorite E6000!

And here is the inside, For her sketching pleasure. you can find the link on my previous post that I linked up top. My daughter enjoyed this sketch book and I look forward to making more. Thanks for looking.

Recycle, Reuse, and Alter!

Shortly after I started crafting, I realized there is so much stuff I threw away that could totally be altered and remade fabulous! With that in mind even when I go through non-crafting months I save containers and bottles and such that can be reused. My favorite thing to alter is a bare essential make-up box, because they are sturdy and unique.

I am sure you can come up with a million things to do with it, and best of all it’s free! (well with the purchase of your make-up) I personally don’t use this brand, but I ask all my friends who do use it, not throw them away when done. I also like big coffee tins and small paper ones that candy usually come in. That is what I used for todays project.

I used a free digi sentiment from stampinmindy’s blog, She is so kind to share.

Here is the side view. The image “Latte” was a free digi from saturated canary, it’s no longer free but Krista is offering it for discount here http://saturated-canary.myshopify.com/products/latte

Here is the top view, I used stuff I had in my drawer to decorate it. The top is cut with a spellbinders die pendant die. I used mod podge, I just love working with that stuff! I would mod podge a room in my house if I could. (tee hee) I’m going to make a nice hot chocolate package with peppermint chips and marshmallows, of course in a nicely sealed baggie, to stick in the container, so I can give it away at Christmas time. I would like to enter this projects in saturated canary’s challenge 23 Hot Chocolate and Marshmallows. I have to say that some of these challenges keep me going in allowing me idea’s for handmade gifts. Can’t wait to see what the next challenge is. Signing off ~ Angela

Christmas Handmade

Hey there, and how are you dear blog friend? I decided to create a meaningful post today. In light of the tragic events, I must say I am sad and hold a heavy heart. I feel for all the people who have lost loved ones. This tragedy has left many questioning things we just don’t have the capacity to answer. For me this tragedy has made me realize:take nothing for granted, and to cherish everything, even the small things in life. Prior to this event I was going to go handmade on some gifts I am giving, but I have had a change of heart. I am going to include one handmade Item for everyone I am giving gifts to, because I realize how much that item will mean when I am gone, or far from that person. This is exactly what I am talking about:

This beautiful ornament was made by my husbands mother. She passed away when he was a little boy; we have been hanging this on our tree since we’ve been married. Isn’t it gorgeous, it makes me wonder if we would have been the best of crafting partners in crime?

 

Here is an ornament my friend from College, gave me. I just love it and totally adore all the hard work she put into it. It’s a pinecone, she handmade every square inch of this, drew the cute little face, and cut the felt hands and feet, and even made the present out of styrofoam.

 

And these are some my very own daughter made, out of fimo clay. She is so talented, she makes me prouder than she knows. I stare at her in amazement, because she is so good at everything she tries. I admire her strong will and her tenacity at going after what she wants.

My son made this one, and I can’t wait to add more to my collection as he grows.

And here are a couple of my very own, I have a lot more to go though:

Sorry for the glare. I guess my whole point in this post is that, you don’t have to have some ridiculous talent to make something handmade which someone could cherish a life time. You just have to have the will and a little time. I never throw out anything handmade, I still display handmade Christmas cards we’ve received years and years ago. I need to get busy making more ornaments and journals, in the meantime I hope I’ve inspired you to try giving handmade if you already don’t. Signing off ~ Angela

Fairytale Coptic Stitch

 

Hi Blog Friends!I have something new to share, something I learned how to make, and I am so excited. I’ve been wanting to make my own “book” Sketch/ journal/ what ever I want it to be book for a long time, but thought I would never find the time. So I searched high and low, and found this cool tutorial. The thing I love, is that I could make the journal to my specs, size and shape. (I’ll leave a link here for you to give a try, k) So for my first try, it wasn’t too time consuming, I just had to chunk out the time I spent on it.. I used a recycled cereal box (like the big boxes they sell at costco, cause it's heavier material) and 120 lbs. card stock paper (georgia pacific, bought at walmart)this way I could stamp on it too, not just draw or write. I think next time I will use a sketchpad like sea lemon used on her tutorial, because I also want a dedicated sketch book. So here is what I came up with:

And all the pages, I can’t wait to fill in the pages! When I showed my daughter how it turned out, she was like " oh mom, you're just so talented!" That totally made my day. She followed with "you think you can make me one too?" haa haa. Of course, I'm gonna make her one too! I would like to enter this in the Saturated Canary Blog Challenge and the theme is Fairytale. Isn’t the image a beauty? I colored the image with copics, and made a star like snowish background. The rose binder part, is actually a pretty hair tie that I love but never wear. So I hope you liked my idea and are inspired to maybe give book binding a try, I think I'm hooked ;) Till next time friends ~ Angela

Back to my First Love

 

Hey again, I am finding much needed comfort in my blog these days. I am dealing with the loss of a family member right now, we were close as kids and then you kind of go along your own path. But.. We always had a special connection that began from the time he was born, and that will never be forgotten. I think just knowing I won’t be able to say remember when… or make new memories is what makes my heart ache most.

It’s all been a bit crazy, and today I just had to STOP! I needed half hour for myself, and I thought what I could do in that short time that makes me really happy. The answer was simple.. Create something pretty. Then my son reminded me out of no where how the cute little notes I put in his lunch bag always cheered his day, when he started his new school. So I thought creating something small, maybe for my daughter’s lunch sometime soon.

My cousin was an artist, he painted beautifully, and my jaw always dropped when I’d have the chance to see his stuff. Maybe that is why I felt sort of connected to him tonight.  Here’s my beauty:

 

I am entering this in the Saturated Canary Challenge theme is Shaped card, It’s a circle and I layered all kinds of other shapes over it. See what happens when a girl doesn’t get to do what her heart loves best for a very long time. I went a bit overboard with the embellishments; the only thing I kept in mind was shape and happiness. Hope you all enjoy, and hope to be back soon. ~ Angela 

Meet Gertie 2

 

Hello Sweet Blog friends. Today I have the day to myself. Whoa, I better not say that too loud. Seems when I do something always comes up. I have some cleaning to do but after that I think I will craft, I’m jonesing for my copics, I look forward to an artful afternoon. And.. some baking too. This last week I baked lots of goodies for a bake sale, check out some of the goodies:

Not the best photo but I had to use a camera phone. And here is a batch I never shared on my blog.. I made these for my niece Selena a few months back.

Well Gertie, my super old stand mixer started to complain. she wanted to retire for some time now. She’s equipped to do 10 speeds but now only does about 4/5. She’s as cute as a button but you see that covered sheet cake above? It was almost too much batter for her little hopper, she spit some out at me. She’s a hand mixer too but, that is so much more work! and she uses beaters which is a pain for whipping. Here she is:

Well needless to say she had her wish granted, and she will retire. I don’t like dubbing names, but I am sure my new mixer can fill in those tired old shoes. Meet Gertie 2

Beau-ti-ful ehh? She’s a 5 quart series and I can’t wait to try her out. I’ve been wanting to try a few recipes, and I am sure my family is going to love trying all the new creations, and bigger batches Gertie 2 can help momma make! I am just so happy to be better equipped.

~ Angela

Beauty simple and pure

 

I need something familiar, something to cling on to. My blog is always a work in progress. Try as I may to keep up with it, life often gets in the way. I had plans this weekend to be a crafty momma. Had some of my Favorite things (copics & Ink) ready to be used.. But it seems that when I make such plans, they often fall through. I lost a family Saturday AM, It was a shock to say the least. Unexpected and this young man  was so full of life. If I said I was exhausted that would be an understatement. Today I took my aunt dinner, I wanted to make sure she was eating. It’s a hard thing to understand why people unexpectedly leave us. No lesson to be learned except how to deal with masking grief, and being strong for the people who need you most. I just wanted to share some pictures that calm me. I hope you can enjoy my eclectic array of photos today and I hope you find calmness in them too.

The backyard of my grandmother in-law, We decided to spend a couple of nights with her this week. The one below was taken last week at a beach close by our house. Who doesn’t love finding sand dollars? Seriously!

My Son Loves Parrots, he went bonkers at the county fair when he realized he could hold them

He was totally over the moon in this photo, and his face just lights me up.

Thank you for sticking around and listening to me blabber, It’s been wonderful having an outlet to my creative side and sometimes just to vent. One last not so random thought.. Contrary to common belief that states we are born with nothing, I find this utterly untrue. We are born with the innate ability to love and be loved. It’s comforting to know that when my cousin was born he was embraced and loved by many, he was surrounded by the same people who will bury him. The love this time is so much greater, because to know him was truly to love him. RIP Hector Nava, Jr.

Till next time friends,

Angela

Fun to share

Hi friends, I hope your summer is spectacular so far. I have been keeping busy with the kids; I have to to say this summer has been a great one for us. In the beginning of summer we made a list of all the things we wanted to do; we called it our summer bucket list. We have been making progress in scratching things off; it’s been ridiculously fun. Today the kids and I are going to the water park, and later this week the county fair. It’s fun to share time with my favorite little people and that one special big person too, on his days off.

I haven’t done any challenges or card making in a while, and I totally miss it. I have been doing small things here and there; more out of necessity than just because. Hopefully this week I will have some free time to make some card. I wanted to share a couple things I’ve made, hopefully it inspires you to try something new.

First up is this banner I made for my daughter’s 1st holy communion. I used a retired Stampin Up pennant banner XL die, I just can’t tell you how perfect this is for any occasion and I plan on using it allot more in the near future. My daughter hung the banner in her room after the party; this made mama very happy.

A close up:  and not sure if you could make out the image but I bought this image from mo’s and I colored them sepia tones http://www.mosdigitalpencil.com/products/Joy.html

Here are the cookie’s I made for my little angry bird. He loves everything angry birds so I surprised him with these. It was harder than I anticipated, but what fun would it be if there was no challenge?

This was my first time ever decorating a sugar cookie, so I tried to not be so hard on myself. I got a ton of instruction from http://karenscookieblog.com/  And I also googled (is that a real verb?) lol Anyhow I hope you had fun looking and that you will be inspired to try new things this summer too. Until next time ~ Angela

A baby is a gift from above

Hi blog friends. I am back with a card that I made for my son’s karate instructor & wife. She is expecting a little boy! Little boys bring so much joy they are little characters especially when they reach 3-4 years. They are just so funny. I have fond memories of my son making up laugh hysterically with funny things he’d do or say. He’d say things like Blockmuster instead of blockbuster and Yakum instead of napkin. He has just brought so much joy into our little family and I know this new little guys will do the same for the Sharma’s. They are bananas for Monkey’s (last Halloween they dressed up as giant banana’s and their first born was a little circus monkey) Cutest costumes ever. So I had to use this cute Magnolia Image I bought recently, I think her name is Sally the monkey but today she has traded in her pink for blue in honor of a new baby boy that will soon be born. 

Here’s a side view. I tried to give it a 3-D effect and used super light ink, because of this the image was a bit of a challenge to work with. I added some dimension to the image using the crown and the binky as well as sticking the arm and sign in an outward position. I think next time I have a better way of achieving this look.  The Monkey is suppose to be hanging from a pocket, the pocket is going to be stuffed with a gift card like this.

I would like to enter my card in these challenges:

Magnolia-licious   Mac Make-up pallet color inspiration

Totally Tilda   Oh Baby

Magnolia stamp lovers Square shaped card

ATS Blog  Inspiration Ferris Wheel of colors

Bunny Zoe Anything goes    

In the mood

One of my favorite colors is purple. When I went on Facebook earlier today and saw 7kids was doing a purple challenge, I could not resist posting this card and sharing it with you all. And hey why not I just might get picked as a top 3 or even win some blog candy. Yummers!! Love me some candy.

I am really pleased with the way this card turned out. I loved adding the glossy accents on the window, and even put some bling on Tilda. I’m not much of a jewelry girl myself, and I just realized I don’t like shopping either. LOL so I am vicariously living through Tilda today. I’d rather spend extra cash and time on traveling or things that make me happy, like crafting, cooking or baking, sitting on the beach watching the hubby & kids surf or even blogging. And so here is my card.

Here’s another view

I used basic grey papers and stock ribbon, copic markers, glossy accents and bling. Sentiment is from MFT.  I’d like to enter my card in the challenges below.

Challenges are:

All that Scraps – Anything goes

7Kids – Purple

Thanks for looking ~ Angela

It’s been a while

Hi blogging friends. I know I have been missing in action. I can’t tell you how much I miss my crafting. I have been keeping busy in the kitchen lately. I go through phases of how I will spend my spare free time. Lately it’s been unique ethnic foods with my own spin. Lately I have been working on putting together the little details for my daughters first communion that is coming up at the end of the month. As I make things I will be sure to post them okay. Really I will. So first up is the chocolate dipped Oreo's that I will put in a clear bag and I am still looking for tags.  I know I can make these I just have to find the right image. I am pretty sure I already have one in mind. I got the plastic molds with the crosses from e-bay. You just fill then with melted chocolate set your cookie in and wha-la! what do you think?

I was trying different types of chocolate but think I will go with the easy melting bits that are pre colored. It was a time saver and made the job a cinch. The top cookie is using Ghirardelli chocolate it was too rich and the cookie had no shine it was pretty flat looking and the chocolate set in a hard rock like manner. (not very easy to bite into). The one on the bottom left was made using the easy chocolate melting chips in pink and brown. (I got those from Michael’s)  You could see it looks allot nicer, the taste was decent. (very sweet)  and the one on the right is using Nestle chocolate chips, the problem here was the chocolate got cold too quickly and clumped making it difficult to pour in the molds. I have to make about 40 of these and the molds allow me to make 12-16 at a time. Hoping I can get the job done quickly I want to make them the night before the party so they taste fresh. Ok friends thanks for reading and see you soon. ~Angela

All dogs go to heaven

Hi Friends. I am so happy to be back (well sort of) I feel like a total visitor to my own blog, how sad is that? But you know the ole saying one must apply themselves while in school.

Unfortunately, a family member of ours had the dreadful task of putting their  beloved doggie down. He’s been sick for so long but I can't imagine that would make the decision any easier.

At least they know he is no longer suffering. I went to the card store looking for a suitable card but none seemed special enough, I knew I had to break out the supplies and get busy.

Boy this was harder than I imagined because I hadn't crafted in a while. My coloring has really suffered. My copics seemed mad at me for the neglect and acted out by being down right uncooperative. ugh..

I guess this can only mean I need to pick them up and use them more often

Ok so these are the challenges I’d like to enter:

DTC    Pink or red

DP2   Bingo/ Gems. ribbons. flowers (row 1 across)

 

Stamp is found at mo’s digital pencil, flowers: wild orchid, All paper is SU. Thanks for stopping by.. ~Angela