Framed Name Art!

I got this idea from another blog I’ve been following, Lil Blue Boo. She is great at art and sewing projects! When I stumbled on this particular project I thought it would be an awesome and thoughtful idea for a baby shower present. I used her exact instructions check them out here. 

I  recommend buying the frames at Tuesday Morning. They are nice and very inexpensive! And if you don’t want a formal matted look consider using a t-shirt frame (they were on sale at Michaels for $5.99) Standard scrapbook paper fits just right as backing and there are tons of styles and colors.

This project is for my friend Lisa that is having a baby boy next month. I’m still a work in progress on perfecting this project but I’m pleased with the results!

My supplies

 

Found a cute font and printed it then traced the name using tracing paper.

Directly on the tracing paper I drew the transportation theme

Painted the background color

Then I used transfer paper to transfer the image

Let the painting begin

Once its all painted trace the outline with a black paint pen

Then frame

~Samantha

The Power of Spray Paint

I have been slowing decorating my office. I wish it was like the tv shows where the room is transformed in one day but unfortunately that's not realistic for me. Mostly because I like to buy things slowly and take my time to find great deals on sale. We came across a friend (Thanks David!) giving away an old filing cabinet from his place of work. As you can see its standard beige office decor.....yuk! But of course we could not pass up a free filing cabinet that we desperately need. So this is where the power of a can of spray paint takes charge. We went to the hardware store and found a color that resembled cherry wood and it was as simple as that! For the handles I just painted them with some extra black paint I had.
Check out the before and after.......

 ~Samantha

Stew for You!

This is an easy “set and forget” recipe sent to me from my good friend Celina. We both share the love of soups and stews. So I will be making this very soon! Celina also recommends making a large portion in order to have lunch meals for the week. Which is great way to have a tasty lunch and save money!

Thanks Celina!

Cut a lean 2 lb roast into 1x1 cubes

Add a whole bag of baby carrots

1 whole onion

4 stalks of chopped celery

1 lb of  cubed baby red potatoes

If you like it spicy 2 whole jalapenos

Mix McCormick Stew mix, water and set in crock pot for about 4 hrs.

~Samantha

Valentines Day Hydrangeas

I love the fact that instead of getting me a bouquet of flowers for Valentines Day my husband thoughtfully picks out a plant to add to our garden! We have been in our house going on 3 years so we don't have an elaborate garden yet, but with this great tradition our garden will definitely grow with love! ;-)
Our first year he gave me a Knockout Rose bush, the second year was a gorgeous hibiscus, and this year he got me a vibrant hydrangea. I cant wait to plant it!
~Samantha

Bumble Bee Clippies

Good crafternoon everyone, I am the other sister in this sister group LOL Recently we had a girls craft night and my project was to get these bumble bee clippies done for my little one's school auction. I committed myself to 20 bumble bee clippies and 5 bumble bee bow organizers. As you can see there is a theme, her school is the Beehive pre-school.

I have not finished the organizers but I did get all 20 of the clippies done on our girls craft night. I got the instructions for this website: http://www.theribbonretreat.com/custom/free_projects.aspx
The instructions on this site are wonderful!!
I will however post my step by step because I did them a bit different.
The supplies I needed:

• Yellow, black, and green grosgrain ribbon 3/8"
• White satin ribbon with frillie things (don't how the name but you will see, it is for the wings)
• glue gun
• rotatory cutter or scissors
• lighter
• needle and white thread
• the clips
• cutting mat

I started by lining the clip. I cut the green ribbon to 4 1/2 in long and gun it to the clip. Seal the edges with the lighter.

Cut the black ribbon into 1 in strip, then in half. Use the lighter to seal the edges. Next use a clip to hold one of the pieces and melt the it so that it begins to curve and look like an antenna.

Cut the ribbon for the body. You will need yellow at 4 in and 3 in and the black at 3 1/2 in and 2 1/2 in. Seal edges then hot gun the edges together.

 With this one I put a stitch but I found that it took too long and the points did not stay together. It kept sliding so I just hot glued them.

Glue all the pieces on top of each other with the 4 in yellow to start. Glue the 3 1/2 on top, then the 3 in yellow loop and last the 2 1/2 in. Cut a piece of black 1 1/8 in for the "head". Make sure you seal the edges.

Time for the wings. Cut the white 4 in and seal the edges. Use a pen to make a make at 1/8in, 2in, and 3 7/8in. Use your needle and white thread to sew the wings. Start in the center and curve the end over to meet the mark. Do the same for the other side.

Time to glue the whole thing together. Start with the antenna then the body. I use a lot of glue for the body because I don't want it to come off while using it. Now put on the wings. I try not to use that much glue because I found that it could show a yellowish stain because the glue is too hot.

That is it. I hope this was helpful and you have fun making these cute clippies.

~Jenny

Flower Wall Sconces

As part of our weekend full of crafts my friend, Mary, came over my house to do her flower sconce project. She wanted a flower arrangement  to go on each side of a mirror in her office. Starting with two candle wall sconces we selected the flowers from Hobby Lobby (yay, 50% off sale) and picked up 2 styrofoam cones, some moss for around the base, and a few extra glue sticks. 

She started by gluing the cone to the base of the sconce. From there she cut and arranged the flowers to her preference. To finish, she glue moss around the base to cover the Styrofoam. The final product was beautiful!! I can’t wait for her to make me one for my house!

~Samantha

Project Weekend Extravaganza

This weekend was jam packed with projects galore!  Saturday morning started bright and early with my best girlfriend and sister on their way to my house for a nonstop project session.  Each of us had our own list of items that we wanted to complete. We took a journey to all the craft stores we needed to get our supplies and we sat around my kitchen table all night listening to music, telling stories, and doing crafts. 

Here is a list of our success!

20 Bubble Bee Bows

2 Flower Sconces

Fitness Vision Board

Frame Family Photos

THE OFFICE (when you see it you will know why its in bold)

Stayed tuned for pictures and walk throughs ;-)

Samantha