Dot & Whimsy

Welcome to Day #1 fun with 

Visit both manufacturer's blogs and check-out the prizes

given throughout the week:

I have two cards to share with you today!

On the first card I've used the "Hello Friend" Set

I stamped the sentiment onto the striped paper with Nightshift Blue by Colorbox.

I stamped the sentiment again with Electric Yellow by Tsukineko and then trimmed out

the airplane motif.  I added it over the blue plane and left a bit of the blue showing so

that it looks like a shadow.

The cute papers are also from Lawn Fawn: Hello Sunshine.  From one of the 6X6 papers,

I cut out the little clouds and then arranged them to create a border.  I attached the two

buttons with a couple of the Xyron High Tack Adhesive Dots.

When I know that I will be machine-stitching papers together, I use Xyron's Glue Stick

to tack the papers together before stitching.  This holds the papers in place, but without

adding too much gunk for the needle to stitch through!

For my second card, I made a tri-fold with a 10.75"W X 5.5"H piece of white cardstock.

I scored the width at the 3" and 6.5" marks.  When closed the card measures 4.25".

I cut the panels of paper 1/2" shorter than the size of the card's sections.

Adhesive was applied to the backs of the paper with the Xyron 9" Creative Station

and then adhered to the sections.

The bird and log were stamped from Lawn Fawn's "Critters in the Forest"

I stamped the log onto a piece of cherry wood paper with Staz-On and then

trimmed out. I shaded some of the areas with a brown colored pencil.

That's all from me today!  I hope that you enjoy this week's worth

of inspiration from Xyron and Lawn Fawn :)

The 4th of July is less than a week away!

Today I'm sharing a Patriotic Foiled Banner at 

Chickaniddy Crafts carries both silver and gold foil papers;

they look amazing embossed too, which I've done for the banner!

See more of my Patriotic Foiled Banner and how I put it all

together on today's blog post post!

HAPPY SATURDAY!

Welcome to the final day of the 

MAY ARTS, TOMBOW and DCWV 

There are 3 prize packs up for grabs, to win - 

comment on each blog & like our Facebook pages

• a stack from DCWV
• a spool of ribbon from May Arts
• Xtreme Adhesive, Power Tabs, Removable Adhesive and Fastener Tabs from Tombow

 For the hop today, I'm sharing an faux canvas wall hanging 

that I made for my daughter's room...she loves the chalk-art look!

To get started, I gathered my supplies:

Tombow's Xtreme Tape Runner, Glue Pen and Fastener Tabs;

DCWV's Chalk-Art Stack and May Art's Ribbon and Pom Pom Trim

The thing that I love most about crafting is improvising! 

Nothing makes me happier (well, almost) than upcycling or recycling an item!

I rummaged around in my supplies and found a wooden crate-type box and an 8X10

flat canvas.  The box wasn't quite as wide, so I trimmed the canvas down with a 

heavy-duty box cutter.

.

Of course, you can purchase the canvas blocks and achieve the same look!

To the wooden slats on the sides of the crate, I added the Xtreme permanent adhesive.

Next, I cut some of the Chalk-Art paper into strips and adhered to the sides:

I wanted the texture of the canvas to show through, so I decided to paint it rather than

cover it entirely with paper.  I gave it a coating of lime green and then cut one of the cute

Chalk-Art subway-art style prints out and adhered it with the Fastener Tabs.

I chose these tabs so that the subway art could be changed out with other pieces 

that can be found on the same sheet!

I used the Tombow Glue Pen to add the small die-cut letters to the scroll shape.  

A couple of small knotted ribbon was added to the sides of the scroll so that it

appears to be hanging from the chalkboard sign :)

I also trimmed the edge of the canvas with pom pom trim by May Arts.

Now it's all finished and ready for hanging or sitting on a shelf!

Here is a complete list from this week's hop:

Welcome, Friday blogging friends!

We have a couple of ladies at work who are

expecting little girls soon, so I crafted this card with them in mind :)

To begin, I've used the Diaper Card Die by

I die-cut the shape from white cardstock and then the front panel again to die-cut

the embossed pink cardstock by Core'dinations. 

To the front I glued on two shabby blooms from May Arts Ribbon.

 The woodgrain leaves and 'baby' were cut from a print in the "Hello Baby" Collection by

Simple Stories.  I also hand-cut a small heart from one of the pocket cards

and added it between the flowers. 

Once assembled, the card has an opening at the top so that you can add a tag,

gift card, etc.  I also had a thought that it would look cute added to a small wreath

and used as a door-hanger as well!

See more ideas and shop for dies at www.topdogdies.com

I was up on the AUTHENTIQUE BLOG yesterday
with a "Pretty" dress-form shaped jewelry holder.  

This looks beautiful just by itself as an accent for a table or shelf.

I purchased the extra-sturdy chipboard dress-form (laser-cut) from Hobby Lobby.
 If you have a store near you, visit the bead/jewelry making section and you should find
 these stored along with the necklace/ear ring display stands.

The process is as easy as tracing the pattern onto the desired paper
(from the Classique: Pretty Collection) and trimming out.  I also inked the edges with a
 Versa Magic Midnight Black. I find that using a dauber dipped in the ink helps to
blend the color better. Ink looks beautiful on the textured Authentique papers!

And I couldn't forget about the back!  I covered it with the houndstooth "Desire" paper.

I embellished the front with a hand-cut cluster of flowers found on the "Rosette" paper,
 along with flowers by Petaloo and small pink pearls by Queen & Co. 

"Classique: Pretty" is equipped with all sorts of dress-form icons, which was the
 inspiration for this project.  A sweet gift for any girly-girl in your life! 
Pair it up with a necklace and bracelet and she'll feel like a princess :)

Authentique Products- Classique Pretty Collection: Desire Paper, Tartan Paper,
 Rosette Paper; Details 12X12 Cardstock Stickers

Other Products- Versa Magic Midnight Black Ink by Imagine Crafts; Flowers by Petaloo;
Pearls by Queen & Co., Chipboard Dress Form by Hobby Lobby

Phew, that blog title is a mouth-full :)

Today I'm sharing a bit about how I've started my 

with the Switchboard Collection by

I have several tips on how to print photos from your

computer screen and how to add journaling to scrapbook paper...

without using a typewriter :)

Come on by and see how I put it all together!

Have a really GREATTTT week!

Happy Friday, folks!  

I'm sharing a tutorial today over at 

I've used their "Our Home Steel Rule Die & Finisher Dies" 
to make this chipboard caddy!  It's sturdy enough to hold the remote controls,
or use it as a sweet "welcome" gift basket :)
Come on over and I'll show you how I put it together!
Have a happy weekend!

Welcome to Day #3 of the 

I was very anxious to try out the 8.5 X 11 Embossing Folders (Letter) by

Craftwell.  With this size, you can create amazing flyers, invitations or give

texture to printables!  For my project, I've chosen the Dotted Chevron (UNI)

 I cut a sheet of 12X12 cardstock down to 8.5 X 11 and embossed.  

I centered the cardstock over a sheet of patterned paper (by Pink Paislee)

and machine stitched around the edges.  

 Four rectangular pieces of 6X6 paper were cut and adhesive applied with the 3" Sticker Maker.

I used the Photo Tape and applied a strip to the center (back) of each photo.

I like for the edges of my pictures to have a little 'lift' from the page, so just a 

small amount of tape works fine for me! 

And I LOVE the look of an old typewriter font for my journaling.  

First, I typed out what I wanted to say and then printed onto a regular

sheet of copy paper.  Next, I cut down one of the journal cards and made

sure that it was large enough to cover the journaling.

Using the Glue Stick, I dabbed a small amount onto the top corners of the journal

card and attached it over the printed area of the paper.  I placed the paper back into

my printer and then reprinted the same journaling.

I wanted to leave as much of the embossed design showing as possible, so I 

chose to cluster my photos and embellishments in one area.

 High Tack Adhesive Dots are the perfect attachment solution for pieces such as 

vellum, acetate or vinyl.

I had a lot of fun putting this layout together and implementing my brand new embossing tool!

Check out all of the fun designs at www.craftwellusa.com

 And please visit the Xyron Blog and "like" them on Facebook.

Enjoy the hop!

 

Hey, y'all! 

Nothing crafty to share today, but I do have

intentions of sharing some of my favorite recipes

from time-to-time...and today is the day!

I know, I know...I'm not necessarily a 'fan' of seeing a pile 'ole pile of meat on a tray

either but this is seriously some GOOOOD stuff.

I can't take credit for how yummy it is, in fact, I'm not sure where

the recipe originated but that won't stop me from sharing :)

--3 to 4 pound pork loin 

(mine was about 4.5 lbs and it worked just fine)

--Real Mayonnaise

--Cavendar's Greek Seasoning

--Cracked Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Wash pork loin and place in large metal baking or roasting pan.

Spoon about 1.5 to 2 cups of mayonnaise onto the top; spread evenly

over the entire top of the loin.

Sprinkle with Greek Seasoning and cracked black pepper.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place into preheated 500 degree oven.

Bake for ONE HOUR and then turn the oven OFF. 

Continue to bake for THREE HOURS.

If you have a bunch of folks running around, sniffing, and wondering

what's in the oven, place a big honkin' note that says

**DO NOT OPEN OR ELSE**

Place the loin onto a cutting board or large platter.  

You may wish to mix in a bit of the juice from the pan.

Using two forks, shred the pork into small pieces.

Serve on rolls and top with BBQ sauce and coleslaw!

It is absolutely so delish and tender!

ENJOY

Happy June, y'all!  

With Summer and camping weather around the corner,

I couldn't wait to break out the new 

and make something to hang in our camper!

 I had this adorable owl cutting file on hand from Miss Kate Cuttables and I knew that I
wanted to use it in some form or fashion. I cut him from some Core'dinations cardstock
and a polka dot paper (Seasons: Autumn Collection).

I'm all about quick gifts...they're a must-have,

especially because I wait until the last minute

 OR simply forget until it's too late!

For my Top Dog Dies project today, I have an 

easy gift idea for the grillin' or BBQ lover

(another cool idea for Father's Day too!)

 I've paired up the Apron Card Die with the new "Adventure Collection" by

The 6X6 "Adventure" Paper Pad is really nice to have on hand when it comes

to cutting with the Apron Finishers Dies.

I also used the banner die from the Mason Jar Finisher Die Set

Above is a look at the card without the recipe tucked inside.

To your bottle of BBQ sauce, add a typed out or handwritten recipe to

the inside of the pocket.  I found this one on the Sweet Baby Ray's website:

Ingredients
1 bottle of Original Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
1 lb. of bacon slices (cut each slice in half)
1 can of chunk pineapple (drain juice completely)
1 box of wooden tooth picks
Directions
Wrap a piece of bacon around a pineapple chunk and secure it with a

 wooden toothpick. Place each appetizer in a shallow baking dish.
Brush each appetizer with SBR BBQ sauce. (Be generous!)
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until bacon is cooked completely.
Serve in baking dish if you wish. Serve warm, not hot.

------------------------------------------------------

Pair up the sauce with a nice set of grilling utensils, an apron or

add a gift card to their favorite outdoor's man shopping place!

Father's Day is the weekend!

I have a quick way to dress up a plain mason jar today at

All you will need is a strip of foil paper (or any paper)

and I'll show you how to whip up these cool feathers in no time!

I often struggle to find just the right accent for masculine projects,

but you can never go wrong with feathers LOL

Again, you can see the tutorial and more photos today on the Chickaniddy Blog.

Thanks for dropping by!

Happy Hump Day!  

I'm sharing a photo tutorial over at 

on making boutique style hair bows :)

And I can vouch for the advise that the more you make these, the easier it gets!

Since making these for the tutorial, my loops seem to be much neater.

You will get an 'eye' for how large to make each loop as you practice :)

Just visit the May Arts Ribbon blog post for today to see the step-by-step photos

and instructions...let me know if you have any questions!

Doodlebug Products are from the Sugar Shoppe Collection and Cupcake Sequins