{cindy's critter challenge}

Cindy, at Citrus Tree Studio challenged us this month to make a gift set that included a "critter". Is an owl a critter? I hope so!!! :) :)
I started with a metal prima box that, when purchased, was filled with prima flowers. I measured the top and cut a piece of My Mind's Eye pp to cover. I stitched down a LYB die cut, added an Owl sticker, some Caribbean twine from The Twinery, a resin prima and some buttons to complete the altered top of the little box.

{you mean the world to me.}

Next I made a little card to go along w/the box. More MME pp, pop up owl sticker, twine, some machine stitching and a sentiment stamp from Papertrey Ink complete the sweet {friend to friend} card.

Now, what's a gift box if it's not filled with chocolate, right? ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a creative, hassle-free day!!

hugs, patti

{sketch challenge - the paper variety!!}

{lily} please click for a full view.

~~~~~~~~~~

This week, the challenge at the Paper Variety is to create a lay-out using the Page Maps June 2011 sketch. :)

I started my lo with a sweet piece of Sassafras pp. Orange cs and blue Basic Gray pp were distressed and machine stitched down. The title letters are Jillibean, "good times" sticker is October Afternoon. Yarn and felt flowers were made by me. Chip piece is Scenic Route, felt star & small flower are Fancy Pants, misc. buttons tied w/DMC, Offray red ribbon, lemon drop twine from the Twinery and Jo-ann Fabs date stamp finish my lo.
The winner this week will receive the Artful Delight July Kit!!!!!

Hope you'll get a chance to play!

Thanks again to Abby & Suzanne of the Paper Variety, for making my time on the Design Team so much fun!!! Best wishes to the new DT girls! Enjoy!!! :)

Thanks for coming by my blog and have a great day!

hugs, patti

p.s. Blogger wouldn't let me upload photos in my normal way today. I needed to upload them to a holding site and then post from there.

{happy birthday card}

Hi everyone! Hope you're having a nice week-end!
I have a card to share that I made this morning for 3 challenges. It's not very often that I combine challenges, so for me to get to three is big. LOL! :)

{Happy Birthday}

I found this website called Frosted Designs - and was right away intrigued by the blog title. "Frosted Designs". Love that! They presently have a challenge to create a paper project using black, white and one other color.

Next, I wanted to incorporate a cs bow on my card because my friend Mara at Citrus Tree Studio has a card challenge to make a cs bow on your card. I cheated a little bit by using black lace under my cs, but it could not be avoided {and I'm hoping Mara will cut me some slack}.

The third challenge is for the create blog. Paige has challenged everyone to use jewels and/or bling on a card. Well, just last month, my mom gave me a little bag full of old brooches that she had. Some were hers and some were my grandmother's. Excellent score and big thanks to my mom! :)

I started with AC black cs and a Heidi Swapp sticker. Next I used some light purple DMC to handstitch around the sticker. A bow was made w/Prima cotton lace and the black cs before applying the brooch. The "Happy Birthday" sentiment is a Basic Gray rub on. Pearls are Queen & Co. K&Company pp finishes the entire inside of the card.
Thanks to the bloggin' world for the inspiration and fun challenges!! I feel so blessed to have this blog, my crafty friends, a room where I can make a wicked big mess while I'm creating, and a hubs who is totally supportive.

So glad you stopped by!! hugs, patti

{a baby card.}

I needed to make a baby card to go along with the baby blanket I made last week {blogged about here}.

My sister is having a baby shower at her house, for her daughter-in-law, Rachel, this Sunday. Rachel and my nephew Jimmy are having a baby boy this fall. So exciting!! :)

The baby blanket dog fabric was my inspiration for this card. {Sidenote: I can't help but refer to this blanket as the "doggie blanket". It prompts memories of when my own boys first started talking..."dada", "mama", "doggie" were their first words. They both used our yellow lab to pull themselves up to standing positions and he was also a very handy pillow when they needed a little rest.}

Back to the card ~ the first thing I did was cut the ears from brown felt. I knew I wanted big, floppy ears and hoped my idea for attaching them to the back of the card and folding them over would work. {Worth mentioning is Aleene's quick dry tacky glue. This glue can be used with felt as it dries clear and flexible and does not leave any mark on the felt.} I also machine stitched around the edges of the dog's ears.

For the base of the card, I simply used a circle shape for the dog's head and then a trapezoid for the base. A jillibean die cut was layered with a punched heart, doodlebug letter stickers and a jo-ann fabs button w/dmc. I hand drew the eyes on white cs, inked them w/creamy brown color box ink and then added dark brown french knots. The dog's nose was also hand cut and inked. Then I added some straight stitches to complete his face.

The inside of this card is finished with jillibean pps as well.

I'm sending this card to Paige at the create blog. We'll see if it makes it into the animal shaped card gallery this week.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Hope you're having a nice summer day. It was a beauty here today!!! :) :)

hugs, patti

{let's weave!}

{congratulations!}

This week, the create blog had a challenge to make a card using the technique of paper weaving. I had never done any paper weaving before, and wanted to give it a try.

Using my 6x6" Cosmo Cricket pp pad, I chose 3 pps to cut into thin strips. To begin, I added a strip of adhesive to the top of a piece of white cardstock. The adhesive kept the very top edges of my pps straight and secure while weaving. I then machine stitched down the edges of my CC woven pps onto a piece of red Bazzill.

I love how the weaving looks on this card. Using an Inkadinkado stamp, I chose Momento cantaloupe ink to stamp on the yellow Bazzill. It looks a little faded...but in real life, you can see the sentiment just fine. {I also tried it with black ink, but liked the cantaloupe better.} My goal was to keep the focus on the weaving. :) I also added an October Afternoon "happy days" sticker, some buttons, BG fabric brad (I so love these!), and some Queen & Co. bling. The ribbon is by Offray and twine from the Twinery.

I'm going to incorporate weaving into future projects! It has a charming sweet feel to it. :)

Thanks for coming by and have a great day!!
hugs, patti

{the paper variety challenge #38!!}

Get out your alphabets, ladies. Any alphabet will do!!! You are going to want to have a shot at winning this most awesome prize, sponsored by Close to My Heart demonstrator, Dana Swadling. Thanks Dana, you are so generous!!! :) :)

In my play list is "Roll with the Changes" by REO Speedwagon. The hubs and I took our sons to see REO at the NY State Fair quite a few summers ago. I chose to use some lyrics from this song for my son Thomas' lo. This past winter, after working at a {somewhat crappy} marketing job, he decided he wanted to change his life course and pursue a degree in Engineering. {He completed an advance level program in high school that was all about engineering and the hubs and I tried like crazy to get him to choose engineering when he was looking at colleges while still in HS...but that's a whole 'nother story.}

{...turn some pages} He applied and was accepted into the Electrical Engineering program at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Rather than wait until the end of August to move there, he went to Craigslist, found a house to live in (with 4 other guys that he's never met before)...packed up my Escape (yes, I paid for that...so it's still mine, right???), and was driving down the road at 7:30 AM, June first. The kid who normally sleeps 'til noon. He got a job at a Dunkin' Donuts in 2 days!! Last week, he worked 48 hours. He is happy. He is content. He is excited for his classes to start. This makes me a happy, content and excited-for-him mom. :) :) :)

So, if you want a chance to win that awesome stamp set and stamp pads and acrylic block (wow!!!), come play with us at The Paper Variety!

Have a great day!!! hugs, patti

{cardabilities DT sketch reveal #33!}

Hey everyone!
It's time for a new sketch by Karan Gerber at Cardabilities!!!

{such is life.} Flipping the sketch, I started with brown Bazzill and then added some {lightly sanded} coral core-dinations cs. PP and stickers are by Crate, Prima bling and birdhouse fabric tag, Fancy Pants buttons with a MME brad, brown ribbon (I think it's by Maya Road, but I'm not positive) and some machine zig zag stitching.

The new Cardabilities DT has been announced!! Big congrats to everyone! :) You have until June 30th to play with this sketch and upload it to the Cardabilities gallery.

Have fun and thanks for stopping by!

hugs, patti

{a faux chenille baby blanket.}

What's that you say? This is supposed to be a scrapbooking, paper crafting blog? I know, I know...but this blanket is so sweet that I had to share it w/my bloggin' friends. :) :)
I used this tutorial at MADE. Great instructions and photos!!!

Here's the faux chenille side. I changed up the directions from MADE a bit for my baby blanket. It's going to a baby who lives in Michigan (brrrr!). I wanted it to be warm and cozy enough to be used on a wood floor. I added a layer of quilt batting and sandwiched it between the cute dog fabric and a blue cotton. Then I also added layers of brown, cream and blue 100% cotton fabrics. All together, there were five layers to stitch at 1/2" seam rows, on the diagonal. The finished blanket is about 44" square.
{close-up} {close-up of the adorable doggie fabric}
After 3 trips to Jo-Ann Fabrics (LOL!!), I had purchased everything I needed to make the blanket. All fabrics are 100% cotton, Mountain Mist quilt batting, Wrights seam binding and 2 spools of Dual Duty thread. {Note - I needed to rethread my bobbin 7 times!} It took me 8 hours to sew and then cut the rows for the chenille. I loved working on this blanket and am looking forward to making one for my couch. :)

Thanks for lookin'! Have a great day!

hugs, patti

{tuesday trigger at moxie fab}

The Tuesday trigger at Moxie Fab is Cosmopolitan Neopolitan.

Here's my interpretation ~ {love}

This is the inspiration image - strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. :)

I made my card from a Maya Road kraft scalloped edge envelope. Using light pink thread, I machine stitched the perimeter of the envelope - going around 3 times. Then I simply layered a couple of tickets, a die cut pink heart, and a Maya Road velvet flower. I removed the bling from the flower and replaced it with a FP pink brad. Heidi Grace heart pins and PP foam letter sentiment complete my card.

I attached the envelope to a brown bazzill base.

My nephew Michael is getting married in a couple of weeks. It's going to be a low-key, casual affair, so I think this card will be perfect for this occasion.

Thanks for coming by my blog and have a great day!
hugs, patti

{...it's too cute not to share!}

This little jean skirt purse. :)
The denim skirt is a size 7, purchased at Good Will for $1.50!!! The fabric is by Heidi Grace and I paid $3.00 for a half yard and have a little bit left over. I made a long fabric handle for this purse, lined it and added a yo-yo flower to finish. I told ya it was cute. ;) ;)

{the back}

{close-up of open front}

I'm thinking I will give this denim skirt purse to my niece, Skylar for her birthday in July. She will be 10 - double digits. :)
Thanks for coming by my blog for a look and have a great day!
hugs, patti

{a jean purse!}

hi everyone!

Today I want to share a purse that I made for myself from a pair of girl's Old Navy size 1 jeans that I picked up for $2.99 at my city's Thrifty Shopper (our Good Will store).


I purposely kept this purse very simple, only adding clear plastic handles. This way, it'll match with whatever I am wearing this summer. That said, I have plans for additional purses which will have more color and some embellies too. Here is the "back" view.


All you need to do to make a jean purse is cut the bottom of a pair of shorts or jeans off, just above the crotch, straight across, pin right sides together and sew up a seam. So flippin' easy and a fast project too. :)

To attach my handles (purchased at jo-ann's), I needed to move the belt loops and reposition them so that they would work with the clear plastic & metal ring handles. I used a seam ripper to remove the loops and then my machine to re-attach them - with the handle ring inside the belt loop. The back pockets have velcro. I especially like the deep front pockets though - my cell phone slides right down inside on one side and my keys go on the other.


We are having the nicest weather in upstate New York!! I hope you are too.

Thanks for coming by my blog and have a great day!
hugs, patti

{Moxie Fab World - I'm Sew Excited!}

Moxie Fab's having a challenge to incorporate sewing icons in an innovative way. Check out the Moxie Fab blog for the details. You have until June 20 to join in this fun challenge. :)

I really love to sew. I began sewing on a machine when I was 9 years old. I used to sew barbie doll clothes. I made many jumpers (hey, they were in style) when I was in high school. As a matter of fact, and seriously...this is true...I never had a store bought dress until I was a senior in high school and going to the prom. I had been to 2 previous proms and a bunch of dances, but my mother always made my dresses (and matching purses). My grandmother sewed as well, so I guess it's just a natural thing for me to enjoy. :)

{for you}

Yesterday, I was in jo-ann fabrics and spotted this pink measuring tape by Singer and right away thought it would make a pretty fab flower. :) :)

I cut the measuring tape into strips to then fold over and staple in the center. I did this four times, layering each piece and finally topping it off with a FP black button and a FP pink corduroy brad.


Next I searched through my pps for some pink and/or black patterned paper. Didn't find anything that I thought would be perfect. This prompted me to think about what else I could use. I went to my patterns and found a McCalls pillow pattern that I felt would work okay. I cut apart the pattern top cover and hand stitched it to a piece of pink bazzill, using 3 strands of pink DMC and 2 strands of black. The big fat black ric rak was adhered w/some charcoal twine from the Twinery on top. Tiny black gems by Queen & Co. were added to the scalloped edge. A tag was made using a Stampin' Up! stamp and more buttons were stitched down. The "One Size Fits All and Sale Price" are 7 Gypsies rubs.

{side view}

Thanks, Moxie Fab for your fun challenge and always beautiful inspiration!!

Hope you're having a nice week-end! hugs, patti

{father's day card}

Cindy at Citrus Tree Studio posted a challenge on Saturday to create a red, white and blue Father's Day card. (I won the challenge! A 6x6 BG Lauderdale pp pack! Yay!) I knew I wanted to make a Father's Day card for the create blog challenge as well, so this is what I came up with.

Every little bit of this card is from my stash. I started with kraft cs and added some blue and white pp by 7 Gypsies. The red cs was heat embossed with a star stamp image. For the "father" banner, I used Heidi Swapp chipboard letters and a Fiskars "you're the best" stamp w/a Queen and Co. bling gem. It's all attached to a Martha Stewart pop stick. The banner flag is tied with blue DMC; buttons are from the misc. buttons jar. :)

Thanks for lookin' and have a great day!
hugs, patti

{a new challenge at the paper variety!!}

This week at the Paper Variety the challenge is to create a paper project using FRUIT! :) :) Any fruit will do!

{home sweet home} I found inspiration from a jillibean strawberry! :)

For my framed project, I started with red bazzill. I heat embossed the Scenic Route "home" stamp twice. Then I covered a MR chip house with jillibean pp, added a AC "sweet" rub on, an embossed SR stamped heart and the layered strawberry. To finish my wall art, I added charcoal twine from the Twinery. {When using twine for a frame, I carefully apply a very thin line of Aleene's quick dry tacky glue and then lay the twine down. Using a cotton swab, I position the twine so that it is straight. This glue dries clear.}

If you participate in the PV fruity challenge, you could win this!!!! The June kit from Artful Delight!!! :) :) One more thing! Abby and Suzanne at the Paper Variety are having a Design Team call!!!

They are looking for an entirely new DT!!! It's not that the present DT hasn't done a good job...'cause seriously, we've rocked that past 6 months...{smiles!!}...it's just that fresh faces bring in more followers, more participants and blog growth. All good stuff!!

If you would like to be part of a very fun, well organized challenge blog site, I encourage you to apply! The thing I love the most about the PV is that you can choose what you want to create for each challenge. :) You have until July 24 to get your application in. Good luck!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

hugs, patti